Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles preview: A genre-defining strategy game expertly updated for modern audiences

I recently took part in a preview for Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles, a remake of one of the best Final Fantasy games of all time. A classic, and an early strategy game that redefined what the genre could be, it was fantastic, but not without flaw. It was a game that many said was entirely too difficult, and led to players initially being turned off from playing it. While there were parts that felt brutal, and even unfair, that didn’t stop me from falling in love with this tactical, political drama.

Ahead of the game’s launch, I also spoke with Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles’ director, Kazutoyo Maehiro. A veteran game developer, he also worked on the original release, so if there’s anyone I trust to honor the game’s legacy, it’s him. Let me tell you, he didn’t disappoint, either.

Note: All footage provided by Square Enix, and represents a game still in development. All footage is subject to change.

---

Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles is approachable for everyone: beginners and long-time fans

As a part of this Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles preview, I had access to a few parts of the early game. The first was Zeirchele Falls, and then most of Chapter 1. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to play, because of some travel issues, but I definitely got hands-on enough to know how I feel.

Protect the princess at all costs! (Image via Square Enix)

Naturally, I dove into Zeirchele Falls first. It’s one of the major plot points in Chapter 1, and while I won’t spoil it here, for those who have not played it, it is a potentially challenging, important battle. You need to protect the Princess, while also dealing with an aggressive enemy force. She’s also got Delita Hyral to help her, meaning you’ve got a pair of Holy Knights in the battle to help see you through.

It’s a fight that can be incredibly easy, but you really have to know what’s coming, and prepare for it. In my case, I just had a generic force with several jobs that would fit that point in the game. With a Geomancer, Archer, and a White Mage, we made short work of the enemy force.

This might only be the second battle of the game, but if you aren't careful, these brigands can send you packing (Image via Square Enix)

I did this on the default difficulty, and for someone who had been playing Final Fantasy Tactics since its original launch, it felt entirely too easy. Then, I went to play through Chapter 1, on the Tactician difficulty; this is the choice long-time players are going to want. It’s much closer to the original difficulty.

This is where I really got to see all the amazing changes that were made to Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles. There are some major QoL things that were done to make the game more approachable, and far less cryptic and cumbersome.

---

Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles brings a suite of incredibly important quality-of-life changes to a classic game

Just look at all the info: The objective, the fact that she's casting a spell, who is going when? I can't be thankful enough (Image via Square Enix)

There are so many great new features in Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles, that I’m not really sure where to begin. The difficulty changer is already pretty fantastic. Personally, I plan on playing on Tactician, but I get that not everyone wants to do that. This will be a far more approachable and accessible version of the game that we’ve ever seen before.

Perhaps one of the best changes is that you can see the turn order, and important skills/spells that are going to be triggered, on the left side of the screen. No more having to dig through the menus in a very tedious way to figure out what’s going to go down next. You can also see the turn order next to each characters’ health bar. The number shows who is next, with “1” being right now, 2 being next turn, and so on.

These are nice updates to the game sure, but what about things that the game always needed from the very beginning? One of the most frustrating things about Final Fantasy Tactics was that if you moved, and you hit confirm, you were committed, no matter what. If the attack you planned on using couldn’t hit from where you landed, well, you should have thought about that.

The battle info also reminds you of pending deaths; remember, this game does have permadeath (Image via Square Enix)

Now you can back out of movement! If you move somewhere, and it turns out to be the wrong move, you can just back out, and try a different position! That might be my absolute favorite thing out of all of the changes.

Another very important feature concerns the multi-tiered fights; long-time fans no doubt have some kind of nightmares from going through Riovanes Castle, not being prepared to fight Wiegraf, and then crying because they only had one save. It’s not just me, I’m sure of it.

Now, you can start from the current map if you lose, if you are defeated, and if you decide you just aren’t ready for a battle, you can just return to the World Map instead! That’s a brilliant idea. This FFT remake has some genuinely amazing features that are going to make the game not just more approachable, but will make it the definitive version of the classic strategy RPG.

---

No, the War of the Lions features and characters aren’t here, and it’s fine

While no, you can't unlock Dark Knight or Onion Knight, you can give Argath the punch he so richly deserves! (Image via Square Enix)

I know there are people that are going to be upset about this, but no, the extra characters, jobs, and features from War of the Lions will not be in Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles. There’s a reason for that, though, and honestly, I’m inclined to agree. The idea here is to be the definitive edition of the original game, and that War of the Lions content isn’t in the original PlayStation game.

That’s the focus here. I’ve got no qualms with that whatsoever. Do I miss that stuff? Of course I do. Same as with the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters; I’d love to see the extra content from the GBA games, but that’s not what the design idea was, so that’s not what’s going to go down.

If you’re expecting that, then sorry, but it’s not on the cards for Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles. We do know of at least one change, though; Cloud will start with his Materia Blade when he is unlocked late in the game. But what secrets await where the Materia Blade was? Stay tuned.

---

Final Thoughts as a long-time veteran of Final Fantasy Tactics: 100% a must play

There's really no wrong way to play this game (Image via Square Enix)

Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles is a masterclass in how to remaster and update a game without changing the original design that made it popular. Sure, there are things I’m sad about in it, but those are very far and few between. The JP Glitch is gone, for example, but that makes sense. I also miss the original “ring of jobs” from when you change jobs in FFT on the PlayStation.

That said, everything else in this game is brilliant. Combat is easy to understand, and is still hard to master. The UI is easy to navigate, and the visuals are stunning. They’re using the original BGM/OST, which again, I’m fine with. A remastered soundtrack would be fine, but that’s not a dealbreaker for me. I have a lot of fond emotional moments and memories attached to the original BGM, so that’s perfectly fine for me.

Final Fantasy Tactics was a game that was remarkably hard to get into for people not familiar with strategy/tactics games. While it’s easier than Tactics Ogre, it still had some serious skill check battles. This version of the game is visually stunning, plays great, and is accessible on modern platforms, best of all. I cannot wait for fans to get hands-on when this when it launches on September 30, 2025.