Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, PC

Publisher

Square Enix

Developer

Square Enix

Series

Final Fantasy

Genre

RPG, Strategy/Tactics

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

6.8 GB

Release Date (NA)

Sep 30, 2025

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is set to release on September 30, 2025. The game has been upgraded for modern consoles and displays from the original 1997 PlayStation game. During our visit to PAX West, we had the opportunity to experience a long demo run of this tactical game. Within the hour of playing the demo, we engaged in battles on both the revised and original versions.

A Smooth Update

The Ivalice Chronicles upgrade is based on the original 1997 PlayStation game, not the 2007 PlayStation Portable (PSP) version titled Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. War of the Lions contains more visual cutscenes than what The Ivalice Chronicles is set to have. For example, after the first battle, The War of the Lions cut to a cutscene rather than an animated version of sprites and dialogue. The Ivalice Chronicles does not, staying true to the original 1997 version by keeping the original sprites with dialogue.

The latest version of the tactical game features upgraded visuals and additional features. While sprites and battlefields still resemble the original layout, the art style is smoothed out to show additional details to the design along with textures to match the cutscenes, moving away from the pixelated look of older Final Fantasy titles. Character illustrations shown in dialogues are visually updated in the same style but with animated mouth movement along with vocalization. This additional feature adds more depth to the story, allowing players to better grasp the emotions of the game’s story.

The soundtrack remains strong and the special effects from magic and summon spells continue to shine on the battlefield. The user interface (UI) receives a nice visual upgrade, with smooth fonts and colorful icons representing parts of the menu. Before battles and cutscenes, the title text graphics are redesigned with clean animation, giving a nice smooth touch. When placing units on the field, the area where players can place units is in a black and white chromatic visual, except the fighters are in color, making it visually easier to place units on the field. Overall, the UI is revamped to make it easier for players.

The game offers three difficulty settings from easy to hard, with normal being the default difficulty like the original tactics. While not confirmed, it appears players have to start a new game to change difficulties.

Make Quick Work

One of the best features is the ability to fast forward through turns and dialogues. If you are running the battle in fast forward, players still have to initiate the attack even if the computer is commanding your “guest” characters. After playing an hour of this version and switching to the original 1997 game, which is a feature in The Ivalice Chronicles, you’ll appreciate the updates Square Enix has made, especially the fast forwarding.

Players can rotate the game’s X axis for a better view of the battlefield. However, unlike rotating on the X axis, if you rotate the camera up on the Y axis the camera does not stick to this view and automatically returns back. This is weird since the original 1997 lets players change this view to stay.

As mentioned earlier, players can switch to the original 1997 PlayStation version with its original settings. This means no cutscenes, vocal dialogues, visual updates, and no fast forwarding through battles. The UI also resembles the original versions. Save data is not shared between the two versions of Final Fantasy Tactics so players are playing it as a separate game. It’s a fun experience to revisit how playing the game was and you’ll quickly miss some of the new options that are in the upgraded version. Nevertheless, the ability to have both game options is exciting.

A Delightful Experience

Overall, the hour-long demo experience Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles was a fun trip down memory lane and players should be looking forward to its release on September 30, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.