Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is Creative Studio III’s attempt at bringing an all time classic to modern devices. In its original release, Final Fantasy Tactics revolutionized strategy based RPGs, putting the genre on the map – literally and figuratively.
With good writing, a fantastic class system, and incredible art direction, Final Fantasy Tactics became one of the most celebrated and cherished games ever made. Please refer to our previous review on the original game as I strongly recommend reading it before this review.
So what needs to be asked is how well does this modern iteration of the legendary game hold on it’s own? These are large shoes to fill, if not, the largest. Join us as we explore the aftermath of the Fifty Years War once more in our Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles review!
This is a review coupled with a supplemental video review. You can watch the video review or read the full review of the game below:
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5
Release Date: September 30th, 2025
Price: $49.99
To those, such as myself, who have played the original, and War of the Lions version on the PSP, will quickly realize a rather sizable amount of disappointment in a multitude of categories.
Primarily, the biggest behemoth in the room will be the extensive amount of cut content that didn’t make it in from the PSP edition of the game. The dark knight class, Onion Knight class, as well as several optional joinable heroes such as Luso and Balthier are nowhere to be found present in this version of the game.
The disappointment doesn’t stop there. All features that would involve multiplayer as well were given zero effort to find new life in this port. Granted, the game is primarily best for its solo experience, the removal of these features took out a lot of value and unique experiences one could once have.
If you consider the fact that Final Fantasy Tactics is now more portable than ever with the steam deck, and both Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 being as they are, the removal of multiplayer features feel more obtuse then they should.
With the removal of these features, that also means the removal of the vast, and rather sizable amount of loot you could get from them, which also do not appear in this version of the game.
The removal, or lack of effort to include them from the PSP update, continues with the exclusion of various story segments that were added in that version. This featured some scenes which actually breathed life into some characters that needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
This would also even include an extended story sequence involving optional characters such as Beowulf and his lover Reis, introducing an entirely new antagonist involving the both of them from their past.
However, in The Ivalice Chronicles, that’s not to say they didn’t add more story and dialogue segments of their own. One particular addition is that certain choices you make will actually change the dialogue of certain events. Early on, a decision can be made, and, without spoiling it, will have a certain important character react far differently than if you were to make the other decision.
While The Ivalice Chronicles probably cut more content then any other game remade, the only real effort that was made was to add presentation value. This includes things like voice acting, a refined UI, tweaks to various options, and quality of life features to further smoothen the experience for players new and old.
A lot of these quality of life features are welcomed, but some of them actually felt as if they caused more harm to the game’s health then they did good. One particular case of this is being able to completely opt out of random encounters.
This, at face value can be seen as a boon indefensibly, but due to how effective it is, causes the Errand feature to feel rather redundant. While the Errand system itself felt very easily exploitable through the means of save consuming and avoiding random encounters entirely, this was their chance to make it work more tangibly.
All you have to do is move Ramza around the map a certain amount of days to have your men return, and since random encounters can be ignored, there’s really no point to have the process at all. You literally just drag ramza around a map and get free rewards.
A perfect solution to this was actually present all along in one of Square Enix’s other titles, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 1 and 2, where full battles must be completed instead to fulfill the errand requirements. Fast forwarding battle however, certainly is a fantastic addition through and through.
Final Fantasy Tactics is a grind-heavy game and being able to speed up enemy and friendly turns will save players of all kinds a lot of time. However, hearing the sounds and voices sped up during it is rather jarring and feels disengaging.
Where This version of the game certainly does succeed however, are still the very new features they did promise. The voice acting is utterly phenomenal and adds a lot more life into battles with the random banter that not only human characters say, monsters as well.
The sound of slaying a chocobo is hilarious. Their death cry will remain on your mind and always fulfill you with a good laugh. During my time playing the game, any time I would slay one, it would follow with my wife in the background behind me laughing hysterically.
The performances done by Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio and Argath especially deserve an accolade for their brilliant portrayals of their respective characters. Some cases, such as the voice behind Gaffgarion however, are not bad but didn’t fit the character as much as I would hope. I expected something far more scruffy, where if the voices were in Japanese, felt much more fitting for him.
While a lot of content was cut gameplay wise, and nothing was given in return. No new classes were added, no new playable characters, nothing, nada, zilch. Yet for some reason, they decided to include the reworked dialogue from the PSP version, so it’s not like they had an excuse to not keep the content as they clearly were able to take at least that from it.
The only content that’s new which got added can only be earned from pre-ordering the game or getting the digital deluxe edition, and even then its mostly early level equipment that won’t maintain their usefulness halfway into the first chapter at best.
This was especially upsetting as being a physical collector, I even went and bought the ridiculous 300$ collector’s edition and still didn’t get access to the digital deluxe version content. This made me have to buy both for the complete new content experience.
Some classes and JP values were reworked, which is possibly the biggest stretch of new content that can be made in The Ivalice Chronicle’s defense. The Archer skill, aim, is now much more consistent and useful, though not much else has been re-tuned. Rapha and Marach have been sort of buffed, but their improved kit’s still won’t make you think much differently of their viability.
Why did they decide to make Teleport cost so much? The skill itself, even at its best use in certain areas, still fails in comparison to instead using ignore elevation from the Dragoon/lancer class, a far less expensive ability.
This only suggests that the people involved are out of touch with the game, and meddled in areas that weren’t needed. This is further reinforced with the newly added difficulty system. The addition of making the game easier comes with no trade off, a recurring pox on the gaming industry.
However the newly added tactician difficulty does add some fresh new challenges, such as the nerfing of the arithmetician class. However there is no reward to pursuing this difficulty, rendering it completely unnecessary other than for self imposing challenge fans.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, while still retaining its core as it’s one true saving grace, is not the release it deserved. There’s cut content galore with nothing meaningful to fulfill their absence, an inexcusable strike against the game.
Nothing was added to fill this massive void other than presentational features and QoL. If you want a more fuller, intact version of the game, you are better off just playing the mobile version which still available for smartphones, and for less than half the price.
Final Fantasy Tactics is a legendary game, and possibly, if not the greatest strategy RPG to ever exist. It’s sad to say, but it deserved way better than this. There’s rumors of a potential sequel that may happen but if Creative Studio III is behind it, I worry about its direction.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles was reviewed on PlayStation using a copy provided by Square Enix. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles has been available for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on September 30th of this year, worldwide.
