FINAL FANTASY TACTICS was first released in 1997 for the original PlayStation and has since been lauded as one of the best video games ever created. With its engrossing story, likeable cast of characters and deep gameplay mechanics, it has stood the test of time. Now, almost 30 years later, Square Enix has remastered the title as FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – THE IVALICE CHRONICLES , complete with graphical enhancements and quality-of-life additions to make it more accessible to more people than ever before. I sat down with director Kazutoyo Maehiro and art director Hiroshi Minagawa to talk about the timely release of this remaster, its revamped art direction, and the team’s desire to introduce the game to a new audience. It’s been almost 30 years since the original Final Fantasy Tactics was released. What made you decide that now was the best time to release this remaster? Kazutoyo Maehiro : A few years ago, certain circumstances led me to play the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS game. It was my first time playing the original game since it first released all those years ago, and I got to experience the brilliance of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS all over again, including its timeless story, outstanding game design and beloved combat system on par with modern games. It truly struck me once again that it is precisely because the original game is such an outstanding game that it has been cherished by fans for so long, from its release to today. However, there was no way to play the game on the current generation of consoles. I strongly wished for not just the fans of the original game, but the younger generation of players who didn't get to experience the original release, to be able to play this incredible game, but with modern enhancements and quality of life updates. That's why we started developing this title RELATED: FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE IVALICE CHRONICLES Shows Off Enhanced Opening Movie It was previously mentioned that the original source code was lost, so you had to draw from other versions of the game, such as the retail release and mobile port. Looking back on the original’s and this remaster’s development, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken from the whole process? Maehiro : The biggest challenge was reviving the original game. The primary goal of this title was to recreate the gameplay experience of the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS . Back then, we didn't have the sort of robust resource-management tools that exist today. As an example, games would be constantly rewritten during development, where we’d create the Japanese version first and then localize that into English by overwriting the codes and so forth. The true original version of the game was lost because of this. Furthermore, while several versions of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS exist, such as the PSP and smartphone versions, these too were optimized for their respective hardware at the time, so the original version could not be found there either. Therefore, we analyzed all existing versions, then reconstructed the original version by referencing YouTube videos uploaded by fans and the data on items and abilities they had gathered. When creating the Enhanced Version, you implemented new upgrades like reworked UI and voice acting. Can you describe the process that went into this and why you chose these kinds of upgrades? Maehiro : The main reason we reworked the UI was because we wanted new, modern players to play the game. Additionally, we wanted to provide longtime fans with an experience that felt more accessible and enjoyable, even if it’s experienced today. Game UIs tend to change with the times and vary from platform to platform, though it's true that the design choices of the game itself are also a factor. It's been a long time since the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS came out, so it's only natural that the UI seems dated by modern standards. Our goal with these enhancements was to make the overall experience of the game design of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS more enjoyable. We began by identifying aspects of the original UI that were particularly difficult to understand. We then completely overhauled the interface, including adding in new features so that it would feel more comfortable for modern players. Regarding the addition of voice acting, it has become the norm for games to have fully voiced dialogue, but when the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS was released, this wasn't the case. Of course, there are huge benefits to having voice acting in a game: it allows you to portray the feelings of the characters accurately and it increases the level of immersion in the story. So, having this game be fully voiced was a necessity. On the other hand, the dialogue in the original game was written to be read by the player, so just having it be read out by a voice actor as-is would have felt quite unnatural. So, with help from Yasumi Matsuno, who wrote the script for the original game, we adjusted the dialogue to make it better suited for voice. I think we have kept the overall feel of the original intact while creating more natural spoken dialogue, which offers an even greater level of immersion into the story. RELATED: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Mobile Game to End Service Could you explain the approach of updating the game’s art style, as well as creating the new cinematic opening? What’s it like seeing these updates on this classic game? Maehiro : Various options were considered regarding the visual style of the enhanced version. For instance, we could have gone fully 3D or leaned more heavily toward the HD-2D style. However, FINAL FANTASY TACTICS is defined by its charming pixel-based characters and its isometric maps, which preserve its unique identity. Therefore, rather than using an existing style, we incorporated a visual style that better utilizes these characteristics. We believe this resulted in an upgraded style that suits modern platforms without losing the essence of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS . Regarding the opening movie, the animated sequences added in the PSP release of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS : The War of the Lions were exceptionally well done, so we thought how wonderful it would be to recreate the original opening movie using the same style. We subsequently enlisted the help of Kamikaze Douga — the studio that created the original animation sequences — to produce a new one. We feel that the visuals built specifically for FINAL FANTASY TACTICS , combined with this new opening movie, immerse players in the world, successfully highlighting the game's grandeur. We believe players will experience that sense of being drawn into the game. Hiroshi Minagawa : This project was developed by a very small team compared to newer modern titles like FINAL FANTASY XVI, which is the game I worked on just prior, but we accomplished this by utilizing “procedural” graphic production techniques to recreate the original version's data. The foundation for upscaling and improving the graphics was 80 percent extrapolated without artists, using pre-set procedures and algorithms. From there, our artists refined key areas to maintain a consistent, original atmosphere, achieving a quality that stands up to modern high-resolution displays even with a smaller team. While many staff members joined from the FINAL FANTASY XVI team, and the workflow and art style was significantly different, I am deeply grateful that they understood the concept of this title exceptionally well and created visuals that exceeded my expectations. Regarding the opening movie, Kamikaze Douga Studios made effective arrangements to the original layout, creating a truly remarkable piece that sets the tone for the game's beginning. It was also previously mentioned that if the Ivalice Chronicles is well received, there could be opportunities to remaster the other entries in the series, like Advance and A2, as well as other new games. Hypothetically, if a new entry were to be developed, would you stick with the same sprite-based graphics style or use 3D models? Minagawa : The availability of staff and the development period would greatly influence this, but if we were to create a new title starting from now, I believe we’d consider using 3D models. Simply put, creating a new title in this genre using pixel art style requires a large number of 2D artists, which has become difficult in recent years. On the other hand, because this title had various data assets of the original game and was developed with a small team, if we’re talking about games like FINAL FANTASY TACTICS Advance or FINAL FANTASY TACTICS A2: Grimoire of the Rift , there’s a chance we may develop them in a similar style to this one. I would love to implement playability enhancements, such as map rotation or a top-down camera view. RELATED: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Creation Detailed in 4-Part Documentary Series Are there any particular upgraded features that you’re excited for older fans to see? What do you hope they get from stepping into this world again? Maehiro : There are two features I especially want fans of the original to experience. The first is the story and fully voiced dialogue. Through the dialogue and full voiceover of the script — significantly expanded and refined by Yasumi Matsuno, who served as original director and scriptwriter for the original version — you can now feel the characters' emotions and thoughts more deeply. Even if you've played the original version, you can experience the wonderful story of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS once again. The other is the combat timeline. While turn order is crucial within the FINAL FANTASY TACTICS battle system, checking it was a hassle in the original version. This enhanced version made improvements to constantly display this information on screen, making it extremely user-friendly and easier for players to devise tactics. This allows players to enjoy combat in a different way from the tactics honed in on the original version, so we highly recommend giving it a try. Minagawa : Compared to the original PlayStation era, graphical precision has changed, making map rotation and scrolling smoother. This significantly improved the overall feel and responsiveness of the controls. Furthermore, the addition of basic features — including a fast-forward feature for better pacing, the combat timeline feature for instantly checking turn orders, and a tactical view that clearly shows each character's movement and attack ranges — has dramatically enhanced the ease and enjoyment of battles. Furthermore, added features like voice acting — as well as a feature within the Chronicle menu that makes it easier to follow the situation of each faction and character within the story — allows you to enjoy the narrative even more deeply! Since it has been nearly 30 years, there’s a pretty good chance that this would be someone’s introduction to the world of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS . What’s it like knowing that this remaster could be someone’s first experience, especially when it comes to Yasumi Matsuno’s statement of, “The will to resist is in your hands.”? Maehiro : I would be very happy if this game became someone’s first experience with FINAL FANTASY TACTICS . Video games are heavily dependent on the hardware of their time, and no matter how excellent a game was, it's not that often you get to play older games. FINAL FANTASY TACTICS was one such example. The original version has been beloved by fans for a very long time and I’d imagine many people know the name but have never actually played it. Our entire team sincerely hopes that those people will pick it up. We hope that not only fans of the original game will rediscover the brilliance of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS and the depth of the tactical RPG genre, but that new players will also experience something they’ve never experienced before. We hope players, old and new, feel that the story’s themes resonate with them as they step into — and out of — the world of Ivalice. FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – THE IVALICE CHRONICLES launches on September 30 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S.
