Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (Nintendo Switch 2) Review

It’s been far, far too long since we have seen a Final Fantasy Tactics game. We’ve been drip-fed some tactical RPGs in the form of TRIANGLE STRATEGY and Unicorn Overlord over the past few years, but beyond that…very little. The last Valkyria Chronicles title came out in 2017. Disgaea 7 was released in January of 2023, Fire Emblem Engage one month later, and Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp a few months after that. Toads of the Bayou, while a mashup of TRPG and roguelike deckbuilding, lightly scratched that TRPG itch in November of last year.

Very little has compared to the quality of Final Fantasy Tactics; very little has scratched that TRPG itch that rarely, if ever, gets scratched.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is the closest thing to a new Tactics game that players have seen in years. It’s a remaster of The War of the Lions (the PSP’s re-release of Tactics) with improved visuals, new voice acting, light improvements to game balance and UI, among many more little tidbits. I’ve been hankering for a new Tactics game, something that isn’t a rerelease of a rerelease, but I’m more than happy with The Ivalice Chronicles for now. Given how Square Enix has faithfully remastered and reintroduced Tactics for new players and veterans like myself, I am eager to see where they go from here.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s take a step back and talk about Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. This remaster contains two versions of Final Fantasy Tactics. For veterans, there’s the Classic version – a faithful recreation of the 1997 release with smaller form changes to preserve the game in its original state. Secondly, there’s the Enhanced version, which features a revised script, additional voiceover, new UI, improved graphics, and player-friendly improvements to make Tactics broadly appealing for modern players. Autosaving! Adjustable game difficulty! Fast-forwarding through battles! Good things to deal with the grind.

My review period of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles involved me playing the Enhanced Version, but I did spend a few minutes checking out the Classic version. Save files can’t be ported over between the versions, but I was relieved to see and experience the Classic iteration’s original state (despite it being rebuilt from nearly scratch by the development team).

Regardless of which version you choose to play, the gameplay and story remain just about the same. Ramza and Delita’s story, one of nefarious puppeteers in the shadows and backstabbing, hits just as hard as it did back in 1997. The trials and tribulations of a protagonist facing supernatural atrocities are made real when that protagonist questions his place amidst selfishness and never-ending quests for power. The political novella that is Tactics will keep you invested throughout its duration, even during the turn-based battles that comprise its gameplay loop.

As a TRPG, Tactics adopts a unique, albeit overly complex, approach to army building and character building on a per-unit level. Units come-and-go throughout the story, some of which act on their own accord during battles, constantly requiring upkeep and tinkering thanks to Tactics’ job system. At the start, Ramza and co. are set as squires, but leveling them up and spending job points (JP) unlocks more and more of Tactics’ 20 available jobs.

The job system in Tactics functions similarly to that in Final Fantasy V (and in a sense, BRAVELY DEFAULT’s), but with an appropriate TRPG spin. Some jobs grant additional movement, while others allow you to cast magic (like the traditional White / Black Mage). To a new player, much of this system will look familiar, but some of its nuances will be lost. The Enhanced version’s UI has added appropriate quick tutorials that can be quickly glanced through, but there’s still much left up to the player with regards to how units can be built and what can be done with Tactics’ flexibility.

I had no trouble mucking about in the menus and swapping job classes as I pleased, but there needed to be a firmer, potentially more explicit, layout of the job system’s intricacies. Tactics allows for some crazy busted and overpowered builds, but it tends to reward those who are already familiar with the systems rather than give players a solid on-ramp with how to take advantage of that flexibility. There are few games that give players this degree of flexibility, meaning that the sooner players can not only see, but experiment with, that flexibility is critical to their enjoyment.

I won’t go so far as to say that The Ivalice Chronicles is too difficult for players. Its Enhanced version has made big strides in making some of its complexities easier to understand, but…it’s still a TRPG. TRPGs are notoriously difficult to learn and even harder to master. I very much appreciate what was done on ironing out the unit management menus and the progression feedback. The Ivalice Chronicles is perhaps the best way to experience Final Fantasy Tactics, but it’s still a grind.

That said, the job system is satisfying in this space. Tactics gives players space to prolong battles just to level up individual units at their own pace. With the new progression UI, seeking what needs to be done to level units up acts as a finish line for achieving the units of players’ dreams. Yes, there’s some carrot-on-a-stick in the form of spells being “this close” to unlock, but it almost always pays off in terms of power and creativity.

Once you master Tactics’ systems, though, you can create some mind-bogglingly overpowered teams that are just as broken (metaphorically) as your late-game opponents. No spoilers here, but things amp up quickly and encourage players to exploit the job framework to hit absurd power fantasies that end up being a race to one-hit-kill enemies. If you fail, you’ll be wiped just as quickly.

With regard to the Enhanced version’s updated graphics, they’re…decent. They grew on me after a few hours, but coming from Octopath Traveler and TRIANGLE STRATEGY’s HD-2D crispness, The Ivalice Chronicles looks and feels relatively cartoonish in comparison. It still captures the essence of Tactics’ charm, but it was here where I wanted a crisper redesign.

I digress, The Ivalice Chronicles is a great redesign of the gold standard of TRPG gameplay. Every single one of its battles remain fun, even though there are minor quirks with how information is visualized. Rotating the battlefield can be finicky because of how it treats presenting the battlefield from four specific angles rather than giving the player full reign over rotating the view. With some recent additions like FFXVI’s Active Time Lore manifesting as the State of the Realm, it is easy to get invested in the timeline of Tactics.

There’s so much to love here – more than I could put in words.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is the best iteration of Final Fantasy Tactics yet. Its phenomenally creative job system, engaging gameplay, and gripping storytelling make it top of the list for anyone wanting a good strategic RPG. Best yet, it perfectly encapsulates what TRPGs should be, even with its handful of quirks.