Final Fantasy Tactics was one of the first games from the series that I played, so it holds a really special spot for me—especially with its story of Ramza and Delita falling down a spiral of class division and political corruption. So you can imagine, going into this demo, I was a bit hesitant—but I’m glad to say that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is not just a great improvement on the original, it might honestly be the ideal way to play.
Modernized Visuals and UI Enhancements
Rendered in its gorgeous pixel art, my time with The Ivalice Chronicles put me on two missions: the initial kidnapping attempt on Princess Ovelia and the following battle with Gaffgarion at Zeirchele Falls. I don’t replay games often, but Final Fantasy Tactics is one of those few I do, and I immediately got into the groove of picking my ideal team loadouts. I had my archer firing on enemy soldiers from up above, while Ramza ran into the brunt of the battle, and my black mages provided backup.
Square Enix has included a wealth of quality-of-life changes to the game, and some of them are a godsend. The most immediate one was the ability to undo your move action, so you’re no longer stuck with a bad placement. You can move a character to a spot, check how accurate an attack would be from that position, undo it, and see the attack from another spot without any fear of accidentally making a bad choice. That alone would be a game changer, but they also included battle speed modifiers, a new voice acting crew (with battle voice acting as well as cutscene dialogue), autosaves, and the ability to withdraw from a battle. Those last two are crucial to fixing some of the original game’s softlock points where you’d be stuck in a multi-stage series of battles if you had a mid-battle save. The UI also had some nice touch-ups, and it all has a crispness that doesn’t clash with the game’s look.
Why The Ivalice Chronicles Is Perfect for New Players and Veterans
All in all, The Ivalice Chronicles is a great modern coat of paint on what’s already a masterpiece, and I’m excited to see a new group of players get to experience it. Thankfully, that won’t be too long, as it’s set to release later in September this year.
