Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Review

Writing this review, it dawned on me that many people playing this release would likely not have been alive when it originally came out…

1997, a simpler time in gaming. Microtransactions, live service games, premium editions, years before the rot of corporate greed laid its roots, established IPs weren’t afraid to try new things.

Looking to offer Final Fantasy fans an accessible, job-based foray into the tactical genre, Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy Tactics was born.

Even today, it is regarded by many as one of the greatest games of all time – and especially within the tactics genre – but how does it hold up nearly 30 years later?

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Review

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles doesn’t just hold up; it stands proud as one of the granddaddies of the genre.

This title delivers challenging, strategy-fueled combat, and a killer narrative aided by the addition of voiced dialogue, which is quite possibly the single best addition to the game.

The Job system, an iconic part of the Final Fantasy franchise and a driving mechanic of many tactics titles, sees players nurture a roster of growing characters into new and powerful job roles.

Beginning as a lowly Squire, players can develop characters down both magical and physical trees to unlock several iconic roles. Everybody is here, from Summoners and Black Mages, to Knights and Samurai.

The reward and excitement of grinding away levels to unlock that next new and exciting class in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is as glorious as it was at release. Some struggle with diminished power levels at the latter stages of the game, but the ability to mix and mash jobs together creates for some incredibly powerful combos.

The simplicity of its 90s design shines throughout. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles excels at two things: Telling a story and giving players challenging combat.

That’s what it does – that’s all it does.

It doesn’t try to tick every box or venture into territory in which it doesn’t belong, and it’s all the better for it. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles’ near-perfect pacing makes every story note hit the spot, with every battle feeling engaging and worthwhile.

Albeit a bit random in the difficulty department.

Graphically, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles may be a bit difficult for some players to rally behind. However, for original fans, the return of sprites and isometric battlefields is a welcome trip down memory lane.

Although, it does make it difficult to understand who is who if you’re not very good with names.

It retains the original’s feel, but sees improvements across the board with improved environments, characters, and UI design.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles serves as an important reminder: You don’t need to render individual strands of hair or deliver cutting-edge ray tracing to create a meaningful experience.

The addition of the voiced dialog is fantastic and really brings the story to life like never before, but the original soundtrack and quirky animations is still enough to deliver, even all these years later.

Despite many of its strengths coming from its 90s developer philosophy, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles also struggles with questionable mechanics and the limited technology of the time.

The game’s difficulty is all over the place.

One will see simple, fast, easy battles that are followed by a challenging encounter that can take hours to navigate through – and that’s if things go smoothly. While I very much welcome the opportunity to tackle challenges once again, it may be off-putting for some.

A rather punishing mechanic sees a character’s weapons and equipment get destroyed during battle; we’re talking completely destroyed. On that note, they are not returned after the battle. This, in itself, is irritating, but it forces a gameplay loop that is both boring and monotonous.

Returning to a town to navigate a clunky buy and sell menu to replace gear on a regular basis is a stark contrast to how it tells a story through a fantastic combat system and impactful dialog.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles stands the test of time as one of the best tactics games the genre has ever seen. Its voiced content adds a modern layer to an already incredible story, and although its combat system hasn’t changed much, it’s just as good today as it was nearly 30 years ago.

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