Between the groundbreaking releases of Final Fantasy VII and its follow-up Final Fantasy VIII, a spin-off of some renown etched its name into Final Fantasy history. Final Fantasy Tactics has often been regarded as the pinnacle of the turn-based strategy genre. Its impact can be seen right across the series, with future games incorporating the same gameplay and world setting, and its mature storytelling marked a departure from the humour that was prevalent in previous titles. Remastered once before on PSP, Square Enix has seen fit to bring the game to modern platforms again, with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.
This self-confessed Final Fantasy fan never quite managed to dedicate time to the original PlayStation version of Final Fantasy Tactics, despite having played through its successors, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. Now presented with this opportunity to experience the latest remaster of the highly regarded classic, it is clear why Square Enix decided to craft future entries using the Final Fantasy Tactics formula. It is also apparent that those Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS titles are mere imitations of the real deal.
A medieval setting gives Final Fantasy Tactics a familiar and old-school series feeling, where kings and queens reign, and powerful families struggle for power, with politics at the core of the narrative. Expect all the hard-hitting notes of treachery and deceit, with the privileged swordsman Ramza Beoulve at the centre of the story, caught between what binds him by blood and his good-natured heart. The focus on man’s desire for dominance might suggest the story holds extra meaning in today’s social climate, but the truth is that this is a tale that has always been relevant.
This maturer take for Final Fantasy is a bit of a departure from what came before it, especially since Tactics was conceived well before the fight against planet-destroying corporations in Midgar, but the darker writing suggests this could quite easily have been the latest entry in the long-running series and it wouldn’t have felt out of place in the slightest.
Newly added for this remaster, the voice acting elevates the dialogue to incredible heights. There is always a worry that voices for the sake of having voices can ruin a game, especially one that has such a large focus on an important and constantly moving story that advances near enough after every battle, but there is a level of quality here that is surprisingly good. The praise is warranted more so since a 16th century-like style of English is used for the script, which could have gone all over the place, but fits the themes of the game like a glove.
It helps that genuine British actors have been used here, having done a remarkable job at adapting to the archaic dialects, but not only that; these characters are performed to such a high degree of quality that it’s impossible not to want to scream at the likes of Argath’s gross opinions of those less fortunate than himself, since his lines in particular are delivered to a believable standard.
Setting Final Fantasy Tactics apart from its RPG peers is the job system, a fan favourite character customisation feature that many fans will recognise from early entries in the series. It is debatable whether Final Fantasy X-2 or Final Fantasy V come closest to competing with Tactics for having the best rendition of this unique ability system, but there is a level of freedom here that players will gain a lot of satisfaction from.
Every recruitable soldier that joins Ramza’s team over the course of his adventure can be assigned a job that grants them specialised abilities to perform in battle. Ranging from recognisable black and white mages, monks, thieves and ninjas, to archers, knights, geomancers, and summoners, characters can switch between these different jobs at any time between the fight, learning abilities from one and equipping them while under the guise of another. Mixing and matching and discovering distinct combinations is a core part of the Final Fantasy Tactics experience, and it stands out from the rest of the series in a special way, with even the GBA and DS successors being unable to match the freedom presented in the original.
There are some caveats, though. For one thing, the way a character levels up its job is by earning job points that are only attained by using abilities in battle. Not always is it necessary to force a command with every individual, but if that JP wants accumulating, an action outside of just movement must be performed. Then there’s the strict limit on how many soldiers can be entered into each fight. Without allowing for the picking of more than four or five characters at once, it can put a restraint on how many in the party are able to level up at pace.
Adapt to these restrictions, though, and battles are the place a player will always want to be. There is nothing better than putting the many personalised adaptations of mages and warriors to the test in grid-based tactical warfare. Although the maps could stand to be larger and there are camera issues at play, the importance of verticality and direction of approach puts the tactics into the name of the game. When opponents start in elevated positions that give them better reach and attacking options, there is a need to think carefully about the next move.
Levelling up is required on occasion, fighting in generic battles across the map for experience points, and attempting to gain a little coin for better equipment, too. Stopping by the local taverns in city areas and hiring new recruits or tackling errands that reward in all of the above may also be necessary. Reassuringly, a lower difficulty option has been implemented to provide a slightly easier time of it all, allowing for a bit more experimentation without worry of making punishing battle choices, and ultimately letting the story progress at a faster pace.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is a slightly odd package, though. It not only contains this updated remaster, but also a modified version of the original PlayStation title. The classic game available to select from the title screen doesn’t feature any voice acting or the updated graphics, and it contains a script closer to what was used for the PSP edition, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
This isn’t the exact original PS1 title, but neither the classic nor the remastered versions in The Ivalice Chronicles feature the additional content that was introduced in the PSP game. How much that really matters to someone that hasn’t played Final Fantasy Tactics at all before… Well, it didn’t prevent yours truly from thoroughly enjoying it. Some multiplayer missions and extra characters may not have too big an impact overall. That said, it is a strange decision to not simply provide a third option – that being the choice to play The War of the Lions itself.
