Final Fantasy 7 broke new records in 1997 in Japan and North America, but Japan secretly got another hot item: Final Fantasy Tactics. Western fans had to wait until 1998 to play it, and while it didn’t sell Final Fantasy 7 numbers, it went on to become a classic tactical RPG. It received several ports over the years since the PS1, but it has been gone for at least a decade now.
That is, until its latest remaster, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, which is exactly what fans wanted it to be. It’s been updated with tons of new features, but it doesn’t affect anything crucial. Let’s get into why this is a great tactical RPG for anyone who wants to get into the genre.
Differences between Enhanced Version and Classic Version of Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles
In Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles, you can choose between a Classic version of the game and a new, Enhanced version.
The New Difficulties
It's No Longer A Brutal Game
The original game is one of the hardest tactical RPGs ever made, and one of the big reasons is that there was only one difficulty setting. That’s not the case in the remaster, as there are now three: Squire, Knight, and Tactician. The easiest setting will make the early hours a bit simpler, but that doesn’t mean the game still can’t be challenging.
Party members can die on the easiest setting if players aren’t careful, and they can be lost permanently. Thankfully, they can be revived with Phoenix Downs or spells within a certain time limit in battle, so it’s not as punishing as, say, the earlier Fire Emblem games, which feature permadeath. A well-prepared party is necessary, but The Ivalice Chronicles is still a good tactical RPG to start with, even though players cannot coast through.
Story Pacing
No Need To Spend Hours In Cinematics
One of the game’s newest features, besides the revised script, is voice acting. Every single line during the story is voiced, and the actors all sound top-notch too. It’s funny hearing dramatic lines being read in a sprite-based game with HD graphics, but it does add some flavor, which is nice. Plus, games with voiced dialogue and the ability to autoplay scenes will often hook players more easily than a game purely with text and reading.
How to Unlock Every Job in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (All Jobs List)
There are 32 jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles, although some of them can only be used by certain characters.
Beyond the voices, what’s great about The Ivalice Chronicles (and the original game as well) is that it’s well-paced. Players won’t spend more than five minutes in a cutscene before they can get back to battling, which anyone who enjoys gameplay over story will appreciate. Bad pacing can sometimes turn away players, but that’s not the case for Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, which is why anyone new to the genre won’t find the story content strange.
The Job System Is Easy To Learn
Blending Traits Between Classes
The original Tactics game was not the first Final Fantasy to feature a Job system. FF3 and FF5 were the two big examples, but those were not released in the West until much later. This meant Final Fantasy Tactics was the first game to offer players a taste of the Job system. This was already good in 1998, and the improvements to the system in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles make it more addictive than ever. Defeating enemies will level up a character’s overall level and Job level, along with earning them JP, or Job Points.
JP can be used to buy skills for that Job, some of which can be equipped while in a new Job, including ways to counter enemies or increase movement ability. By leveling up Jobs, players will unlock new Jobs and thus gain more options. It may sound confusing, but the Job system in The Ivalice Chronicles is one of the easiest to understand across all Final Fantasy games and RPGs as a whole, meaning newbies will fall in love with it quickly.
The Maps Are Smaller
Battles Go By Quicker
There are a lot of great tactical RPGs that are good for beginners. Triangle Strategy and Fire Emblem Awakening are two good examples. However, those two games have fairly large maps, meaning they can easily take an hour to finish, depending on the match type and difficulty rating.
All Playable Characters in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (Main Party List)
There are 16 playable characters in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles and seven guest party members.
While some of the more intense battles can also take a while in The Ivalice Chronicles, there are two things about the remaster that make matches go by quicker. First, there is now a fast-forward feature. There is only one speed, and players have to hold it down, but at least it’s there. Also, maps are significantly smaller than most tactical RPGs, meaning there won’t be as much ground to cover in between moving and attacking enemies.
It’s Easy To Grind
Don’t Worry About Random Encounters
The original version of the game allowed players to grind as much as they wanted, but it was an odd system. Battles were randomized, meaning players had to go back and forth on map tiles, praying for an enemy to spawn, which could take a while. Thankfully, players can select to battle monsters at their leisure on any map in The Ivalice Chronicles. So, if there’s a certain map they like, players can grind away. There are still random encounters, but players can flee if they choose.
There's also an auto-battle function if players want to grind while not paying too much attention. This could backfire if players aren’t careful, but it’s something that newbies can get accustomed to. Even if the game is proving too hard, grinding away can make things easier for story missions. The monsters in the field level up with players, so they should keep that in mind.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
- Released
- September 30, 2025
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Language, Drug Reference
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG, Strategy
