Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles hands-on preview — what's old is new again

When I stepped into the offices where I was to preview Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and interview the director Kazutoyo Maehiro, my eyes were immediately drawn to the snack table; more specifically, the powdered white donuts that laid before me. Not the little munchkins bundled in Hostess or Tastykake bags; oh no, the big kind. See, it doesn’t matter where I am, or what I’m doing, or how full I am – if those delightful, succulent rings of vanilla goodness so much as cross my sight, they are to be popped into my mouth post-haste, bellyaches be damned. Anything to conduct that sweet explosion of sodium and sugar upon my taste buds, satisfying my craving much as it brings divine revelation.

I bring this up not as a non-sequitur nor to flatter Square-Enix PR – although it was much appreciated! – yet entirely to illustrate how we all have our triggers and cravings when it comes to media entertainment. Maybe it’s channel-surfing and happening upon a South Park rerun, or walking down a college dorm hall and being graced with the anarchic symphony of a Smash Bros. match. Whereas I established careful restraint with the donuts – only two servings; pinky swear! – I left my Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles session wondering how dedicated fans (not the least in our editor-in-chief, Ron) maintain their addiction, what with strategy games already being demanding timesinks. It was my first time with the beloved spin-off, you see, and I was struck by how much it left me wanting more.

A remaster of the 1997 (or 1998, for our American readers) PlayStation classic, Final Fantasy Tactics has built something of a reputation as to what co-director Ayako Yokoyama describes as the tactical RPG. For those who’ve grown up playing Fire Emblem or recently dove into the genre via Square-Enix’s own Triangle Strategy, its assemblage of isometric battlefields should certainly prove familiar. The tile-based movement paints a game of chess, two opposing armies routing each other in a game of wits as spells fly and swords clash.

For the PlayStation 5 version we played, we were treated to three story-based battles. My band of heroes was small: a ragtag-bunch of Squires and Chemists tasked with everything from an ill-fated escort mission to an impromptu rescue operation. The sword-wielding Squires naturally needed to fan out and hold the front lines, whereas Chemists were, gasp, the only class with access to healing items! With their relative fragility in mind, it was vital to hold them back, but not too far lest they couldn’t reach wounded allies with their healing prowess.

As I continued experimenting with Chemists, the logistics of waging warfare were gradually deciphered. My first two missions were simple routs, yet the final battle’s sudden rescue mission demanded a change in tactics, not the least when dealing with a bloodthirsty Red Panther. Enemies dropped tantalizing crystals when defeated, which yielded much-needed HP boosts for wounded soldiers. In one instance, I nearly leapt out of my seat when an enemy soldier leveled up! While quickly dispatched, I can’t say I’d encountered such a nasty surprise in any other strategy game.

The Ivalice Chronicles is the first re-release of Final Fantasy Tactics since 2007’s War of the Lions on PlayStation Portable. Whereas that version introduced everything from multiplayer features to new characters and job classes, The Ivalice Chronicles takes a more faithful approach, reconstructing the original isometric epic from scratch. And when I say faithful, I mean faithful: if the silky-smooth visual upgrade isn’t your jam, the Classic Mode presents the game in all its former low-poly glory. (As seen above – contrast with the screenshot prior.) When married to quality-of-life improvements such as autosaves, difficulty settings, fast-forward, and more, The Ivalice Chronicles is certainly establishing itself as a definitive edition.

For those grumbling about the absent War of the Lions content, fret not: both the animated cutscenes and updated localized script are included. The latter is of particular note in how The Ivalice Chronicles includes full voice-acting for the first time, gracing what’s already written as a Shakespearean play with British-English flair. The online flamewars may wage over which script is superior, but I found myself quite charmed by the voicework and old English on display, not least when paired with the not-so-subtle political commentary so lauded over the years.  (“Honest work would see them die old in bed, yet they choose instead this early grave. Why persist in such folly?” asks protagonist Ramza, having put down a band of thieves. “Because crimes are born out of desperation,” the recesses of my mind echoed.)

The heart-pounding suspense of a ferocious enemy tearing through my units. The race against time to send my Chemist running across the field, only to rummage through an empty bag for potions. My feeble Squires chipping away at an enemy panther, slaying the foul beast where it stood. Such had I fallen under Final Fantasy Tactics’ spell, its in-game miniatures clicking and clacking together, that I hadn’t even noticed the Square-Enix rep re-entering the room.

“Would you like to keep playing?” she asked, breaking through the din of battle. “We can begin the interview now, if you’d like.”

“Oh, yeah, just one more round,” I said.

Much like those powdered donuts, addiction had set in. Still, I couldn’t keep the guest of honor waiting; one more round it would be. And I was glad I did – I’d already noticed how each and every enemy soldier had a name, adding a touch of tragic humanity that invites players further into the world of Ivalice. (May the non-descript entity Bertrand, who “disappeared forever,” rest in peace.) Yet this final skirmish yielded one last surprise: even the fiends had names! The familiar Goblins and Bombs from Final Fantasy proper had class-based struggles of their own, it seems. Another question to ask Maehiro-san.

As a budding Final Fantasy fan over the past decade, Final Fantasy Tactics had been but a distant objective on my ever-growing backlog; now, the The Ivalice Chronicles remaster has rendered it a top priority. How I'll juggle it in what's already a packed fall remains to be seen, but much like eating sweets, my medieval chess will have be conducted in moderation. In the meantime, you can read my interview with the game’s director, Kazutoyo Maehiro, here.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles releases for Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X on September 30^th, 2025.