When you boot up Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles for the first time, you will get the option to choose between the Enhanced Version and Classic. While the screen where you choose between them does have some information on what the differences are, you might want to know all the details before making that choice.
This article will dive into all the differences, what has changed between the original FFT and other remakes, and more. This way, you'll know what you are getting into with both and can make the best decision for you Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles playthrough.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Review
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is a terrific, if not exactly revolutionary, remaster of one of the PS1's best TRPGs.
What is the Difference Between the Enhanced and Classic Versions in The Ivalice Chronicles?
In order to make a good choice before starting this challenging tactical RPG, you will probably want to know what is different between the two and what has changed. Classic mode is going to be almost exactly like the original from 1998, but the Enhanced version has added a lot of quality-of-life changes to make FFT faster and more accessible.
Changes to the Classic Version of FFT
This is the original Final Fantasy spin-off game. There are no upgraded graphics, but the English localization has been replaced with The War of the Lions script, which was much clearer and edited by English speakers. All the other changes made by The War of the Lions have been removed, such as additional characters and jobs. The maximum number of units in your party is sixteen. Autosave has also been added to the original 1998 version, and some of the cutscenes have been tweaked.
Changes to the Enhance Version of FFT
This is the high-definition remaster version of Final Fantasy Tactics. Upgraded visuals and sound were added, along with animated portraits of characters and full voice acting. All changes made in The War of the Lions have been removed from this version as well. Here is a complete list of the changes and upgrades made to this version:
- A new script that is fully voice-acted with several new voice actors and re-recorded dialogue to make it all sound better in English. Additional dialogue has been added during many FFT battles and in some conversations. Conversations that were cut from the original game in 1998 due to lack of time have been added and recorded.
- Upgraded cutscenes and graphics, including animated character portraits.
- A whole new ending, different from both the original and The War of the Lions ending. The Final Fantasy Tactics character jobs and units added in WotL have been removed.
- There is an updated user interface for better ease of use.
- Autosave has been added.
- The ability to speed up battles has also been added.
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Difficulty options have been added; there are three to choose from so you can choose how challenging you want your game to be.
- Squire: Casual (easier battles)
- Knight: Normal (original difficulty)
- Tactician: Hard (enemies have better stats than Normal)
- Rebalancing party members, enemies, and equipment to help keep all jobs in balance.
- You can now make presets of equipment, jobs, and abilities for each unit.
- Random battles are no longer required.
- A new maximum of 50 units in a party instead of 16.
- Other UI and menu options added to make play easier, like a turn order number above units, job display, and lists of what shops are available in which towns.
- Battles can now be viewed from a top-down perspective, turning the battleground into a tiled plane.
- Genji equipment can now be acquired by stealing.
- You can now change the color of Ramza's equipment.
- Gender-specific equipment like bags are no longer gender-specific.
What Does Your Birthday Do in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles?
One of the first things that Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles asks you is about your birthday, and you might wonder how important it is.
Which Version of FF Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles Should You Play?
While the original 1998 version of FFT is undoubtedly a massively popular game, if you have no nostalgia for it, playing the old version will most likely feel dated. New players that are used to modern video games will most likely prefer the updated Enhanced version with the battle speed-up, rebalancing, and difficulty modes. However, if you played the original and wish to see it again as it was, choosing Classic is the way to go; just keep in mind that without the battle speed-up and removal of random battles, Classic will take a lot longer to complete than Enhanced will.
- Released
- September 30, 2025
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Language, Drug Reference
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Franchise
- Final Fantasy
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- PC Release Date
- September 30, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG, Strategy
