The legendary Final Fantasy Tactics is making a grand comeback, reborn as The Ivalice Chronicles, and guess what? It’s hitting all major consoles and PC on September 30, 2025.

A mix of new visuals, quality-of-life features, and full voice acting aim to modernize the classic. Get ready to dive back into Ivalice.

What’s New Under the Hood?

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what’s changing. The biggest shake-up is definitely the new visual style. While it tries to stay faithful to the original pixel art, some people aren’t entirely sold on it, especially if you were dreaming of an HD 2D remake. That dream is on hold for now.

Good news though, you can switch back to the original visual style, but here’s the kicker: you’ll lose out on all the cool modern upgrades like the quality of life features, full voice acting, and the updated UI if you do. Apparently, the new cutscene style, however, is pretty incredible.

Speaking of full voice acting, it’s in. The reception here is a bit mixed, with some performances sounding great and others not so much.

The UI is getting an overhaul, which is always welcome, and the cutscenes are looking really good. But where this remake really shines is with the gameplay updates that make an already fantastic game even better. We’re getting a tactical view for easier battlefield scouting, a clearer way to confirm turn order, fast forward options similar to what we saw in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. And in-battle autosaves, that alone makes a big difference in those brutal encounters. There are also new dialogue sequences and additional conversations.

Square Enix’s goal here seems to be about streamlining the experience without messing with the core strategy that makes Tactics so good. They’ve clearly made smart quality of life changes to an already fantastic game, ensuring it’s the Tactics you know and love while enhancing the experience through features that allow players to better focus their time and efforts into things like the job system, party strategy, and more. Basically, all the good stuff without the old frustrations.

Community Buzz and The Big Picture

And what about the vibe out there? As mentioned, the new visuals and voice acting have gotten a pretty mixed bag of reactions. A lot of us were really holding out for an HD 2D remake, and The Ivalice Chronicles reveal kind of crushed that dream. But even with those visual caveats, it’s still Final Fantasy Tactics, and that means something.

The original game is a total legend, and it’s widely considered one of the greatest tactical RPGs of all time. So, getting a modern version, even with some debatable changes, is a big deal. This release also fits nicely into Square Enix’s ongoing strategy of revisiting their classics, with those fast forward options feeling right at home alongside other remastered Final Fantasy titles.

Final Thoughts

The Ivalice Chronicles is launching on pretty much everything: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, the upcoming Switch 2, and PC. So, no excuses not to jump in.

Despite some initial reservations about the visuals and voice acting, a lot of people are still excited to dive deep into one of the genre’s best.

Source:

  • https://eu.finalfantasy.com/news/974