We Interview: Kazutoyo Maehiro, Director of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

A trip to New York City is always cause for celebration: be it visiting familiar haunts in Nintendo NY or Kinokuniya, strolling through the beautiful parks, or simply chowing down on local pretzels, there's always something to do in the Big Apple. Through the grace of Square-Enix, I did all that and more just last week, but this wasn't an all-expenses paid vacation; nay, I was invited to not only preview the upcoming Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles remaster, but to interview its director in Kazutoyo Maehiro.

While I'm quite familiar with Final Fantasy and have played my fair share of strategy games, I never played the original Final Fantasy Tactics prior, so I had to conduct some serious spoiler-free research to prepare. As my preview elaborates, I walked away loving the game and now thoroughly anticipate its September 30th release, but naturally, I still had many questions. Through an interpreter, Maehiro-san was kind enough to sate my curiosity.

Maehiro-san, it’s very nice to meet you. How is your trip to New York so far?

It’s my first time in New York, but I’m so astounded by Manhattan.

(Laughter)

For the original Final Fantasy Tactics, you were the event planner. Now you’re reintroducing it to a new generation as the director. Did you ever see yourself bringing a classic back to life?

Well, I hadn’t expected that I would be the person bringing back the original game as director – even right up until before I heard this project would be happening. So it was just as much a surprise for me.

What brought about the return of Final Fantasy Tactics, and why now?

So a few years ago, I had an opportunity to play through the original Final Fantasy Tactics. It was during that time that I was able to reaffirm just how excellent the game design was and just how deep its story was as well. And I’ve known a lot of the fans of the original have loved this game for such a long time. It’s a beloved game in that sense. But at the same time, it’s also true we haven’t had the opportunity to remaster this game.

So just knowing how amazing the original game was, I strongly wish to be able to have as many people to be able to experience just how great it was themselves. So that’s what led to the inception of this project.

As the director, how has your role differed for Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles?

At the time, I was part of the development team for the original game. I was still a very, very new developer, and so a lot of what I did was a wide array of prep work under the guidance of Matsuno-san. Now as a director, I feel my goal here is to think about how to give this game that so many of my seniors had worked on its rebirth. And so I’m overseeing and producing it with that in mind.

Since Final Fantasy Tactics, you’ve been involved with the likes of Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy XVI in everything from combat design to scenario writing. As director, what lessons have you applied from those games for this remaster?

Throughout my involvement for all the various projects you just mentioned, as a game designer I feel I’ve had the chance to reflect what I can do to make certain elements and systems within those games more intuitive and easier to understand for players. And when I think about how things worked back in the day, I feel there was an inclination to think how if a game was difficult or challenging, then that makes a good game. But I feel as though even if a game’s very fun, if people can’t grasp how enjoyable it is as a form of entertainment, then that undermines it. So being able to think about how to take that fun, engaging gameplay and making it easy and intuitive for people to understand has certainly been at the top of my mind.

And when it come to the script or the scenario, it’s important to come up with a story that fits with the game you want to make. And so being able to think about how to get that idea across is something I think about a lot as well.

I confess that while I’ve spent considerable time with Final Fantasy, I’ve never had the pleasure of playing Final Fantasy Tactics until today. Playing it now, I can see how it’s captivated fans after all this time, but what is the underlying hook for newcomers such as myself? I understand accessibility is a big goal with this remaster.

So I’ve mentioned previously how great the story and game design from the original Final Fantasy Tactics games is. I feel that at the time it was a complete experience polished and refined in itself. The approach I took with The Ivalice Chronicles was taking that experience so people could enjoy and understand it further.

When it comes to the story, it’s one that’s been hailed as one of the greatest in Final Fantasy overall. I do hope that new players are able to experience just how amazing it is.

For other fans of Final Fantasy who haven’t touched the Tactics series, how is the series translated into the strategy genre? I understand the class system has a big emphasis.

Just as the original version, this is a tactical RPG. I do think the genre is one that may initially seem complicated or difficult to approach, but once you experience it, you’ll be able to see just how deep and robust the character build system is as well as the combat system. I do think there’s also an underlying feeling that tactical RPG combat may be challenging in some ways, but you’ll find there’s some similarities to RPGs and Final Fantasy overall. So series fans should be able to settle into it quite easily.

This remaster includes full voice-acting for the first time. What was the approach to incorporating that in a story-dense game such as this? For the record, I was very impressed with the localization on display.

Thank you very much.

When the game launched twenty-eight years ago, we didn’t have any voiceover for the dialogue. But when it comes to today’s landscape, obviously that’s very common. With The Ivalice Chronicles, we wanted to make Final Fantasy Tactics easier for people to try and pick up. So by having full voice-acting and Matsuno-san revising the script as necessary, we were able to create a version of the game where you can feel the emotions behind the characters and dialogue. I feel we’ve delivered a final product where you can experience a newer version of the story that fans of the original can appreciate.

And I’m so happy to hear the kind words you’ve given toward the localized product. I’ll be sure to pass those words on to the team when I return.

Final Fantasy Tactics is known for its distinct visual style in everything from diorama-styled battlefields to its cute, deformed cast – what was the process in retaining this iconic look in HD?

Regarding the iconic visual style of the original game, what comes to mind for me is the charming pixelated artwork as well as the three-dimensional, isometric maps. For The Ivalice Chronicles, we wanted to take that expression and make it feel more modernized without undermining that aesthetic. So to achieve that, we implanted a new engine to recreate that look. In that sense, I do think that unlike many other remasters that we’ve seen, we’re pushing a boundary in that unique aspect of Final Fantasy Tactics.

I understand that content from the PSP version, War of the Lions, won’t be featured in this remaster out of strict adherence to the original PS1 version. Can you please elaborate on that?

When War of the Lions came out, we had newer characters added into the game like Balthier (Final Fantasy XII) and Luso (Final Fantasy Tactics A2). And ultimately, I feel as though War of the Lions was a complete package as well. But as we were thinking as to what to do with Final Fantasy Tactics’ modern rebirth, we felt the best approach would be to recreate the original experience.

That said, we didn’t want to cut everything from War of the Lions, be it the localization you so kindly complimented or the cel-shaded animated scenes created by Kamikaze Douga studios. We’ve also inherited some of the balancing and abilities as well.

Speaking of Balthier, Final Fantasy Tactics shares the setting of Ivalice with Final Fantasy XII, although that came out years later. For players like myself only familiar with Vaan’s adventures, can we expect any familiar characters or locale to latch onto?

So when the project was kicking off internally, there were ideas we explored such as what new characters might make sense to include. However, where that conversation landed was that we wanted to put all our intention on recreating the original experience as faithfully as we can, so ultimately those were ideas we decided to forego.

That said, I want to reassure that when it comes to guest characters who made an appearance in the original Final Fantasy Tactics, like Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, they will also appear here too.

This being a strategy game, balance is absolutely paramount. As you’ll also be appealing to newcomers, was there any significant rebalancing done for this remaster?

When it comes to this iteration of the game, we have three new difficulties that weren’t part part of the original game: Squire (causal mode), Knight (standard), and Tactician (hard mode). For the Squire setting, we had heard from many fans who really enjoyed the story in the original and wanted to keep progressing, but the gameplay was too difficult for them. So we wanted to provide this new difficulty setting so they could focus on the story.

The Knight setting is generally the game’s original difficulty, but there were difficulty spikes that were very steep, so we wound those back a bit to keep the experience more accessible. And for the Tactician level, this is a setting we created to present a challenge for those who have a lot of experience in the genre. For those feeling confident about their tactical RPG skills, I hope they give it a try.

Regarding more granular changes, there were some abilities that were less intuitive than we thought, so we took steps to make them easier to use. We also made adjustments towards the Job Point leveling system.

While there’s an emphasis on player accessibility, strategy games can overwhelm newcomers with how involved they are. Do you have any advice for Final Fantasy Tactics newcomers like myself?

So when it comes to newer players, we did include new features to make it more accessible. That said, I’m sure there’ll be people who’ll find it a little more challenging. For those players, I would remind them that this isn’t a real-time strategy game; it’s turn-based. You always have the time to think about what move you want to make, and that’s what I would encourage.

Aside from that, you can visit the Chronicles menu of the game where we’ve prepared resources and references that can teach players how to best strategize, or use abilities, and so on. For those who still struggle with it, I hope they utilize that as it’ll help polish their tactical skills.

It was just announced that the “sound novels”, a feature cut from international releases of Final Fantasy Tactics, will be included in this remaster. Can you describe what those are, exactly?

So the original game had what were called the Scriptures of Germonique, which were translated into English, but the Japanese version had four sound novels that were included as mini-games. Due to various factors, we weren’t able to localize those into the English version. But now that we’ve had the opportunity to bring this game back, we were able to translate them into English for the first time. Even though they’re just mini-games, many North American players will be able to experience them for the first time, so I hope that’s something they can look forward to.

Ogre Battle was an obvious influence on Final Fantasy Tactics given the development team’s background, but were there any other inspirations from the strategy genre? Moreover, what influences from Final Fantasy Tactics itself do you think persists today?

It’s true that there’ve been many tactical RPGs following the release of Final Fantasy Tactics. I do think the genre is one where people take what’s working and incorporating them into their own ideas, so they’re constantly giving inspiration to one another. As a result, The Ivalice Chronicles exists as an extension of this rich history.

Final Fantasy Tactics’ story depth still resonates with players to this day, not the least in its political commentary. I know the game’s original director and scriptwriter, Yasumi Matsuno, drew from the Japanese economy crash. Do you feel its themes are still relevant today?

This is something Matsuno-san himself has mentioned as well, but just knowing the world as it was twenty-eight years ago and the events that were happening back then, it feels like there hasn’t been almost any changes with what’s happening now. That’s a surprise, so I agree with that sentiment. Many who’d already played through Final Fantasy Tactics may feel this way as well.

With this current iteration, there’ve been refinements and additions to the script by Masuno-san himself. And because it’s coming out now, there will be elements that may resonate with modern players. So I hope they’ll give it a try.

This may sound a little silly, but to draw further on this, Final Fantasy Tactics has taken on a life of its own in internet meme culture, namely with a doctored screen of the character Wiegraf stating “If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.” Many fans fell for this thinking it was an actual line from the game – do you think this speaks to the authenticity of the game’s messaging?

When I first saw that meme, I was initially very surprised.

(Laughter)

Even though it is a doctored image, I do feel it’s just something fans use to express what they feel is poignant and important. It may be a meme, but it’s not one that’s making fun of the game; if anything, it’s made in line with the character himself. And I feel there’s a lot of love in the way fans utilize the memes, so it makes me very happy.

Personally speaking, one thing I noticed when I was playing the demo was that even all the enemy soldiers had names. I was very surprised to see this level of detail. How did that come about?

So when it comes to depicting characters and locales in games, I feel that the names are very important. And with these additional details, it not only deepens the experience but also the overall story too. I think we were able to achieve that.

Those are just my general thoughts, but when it comes to fleshing out the world, me and Matsuno-san have different ways to thinking in how we approach things. So for as to how that came about, I think that’s something you’d have to ask Matsuno-san about and dig a little deeper. (Laughs)

Even the fiends have names…that made me feel very sad. Do you think there’s a political struggle there too?

(Laughter)

Names are such an important part of the world-building when it comes to making games. It’s something I think about whenever I write stories, but I’m sure it was very important to Matsuno-san too.

Do you feel The Ivalice Chronicles could lead to a continuation of Final Fantasy Tactics? If so, would you take the helm again?

If The Ivalice Chronicles become a success, I think there’s a very real possibility to explore a sequel or even a new IP in the genre. If that were to happen, I don’t know if I’d be the director, so I can’t make any promises. But if I did have the chance, I would love to be involved with creating another new tactical RPG game.

Maehiro-san, arigato gozaimasu.

You speak very good Japanese.

(Laughter)

This interview has been edited for clarity.