The original Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical RPG that portrays an intricately political clash between factions vying for the vacant throne of Ivalice. Its mature subject matter and rich, class-based strategy gameplay made it an instant classic on the PlayStation nearly 30 years ago. Despite receiving an enhanced port (The War of the Lions) on the PlayStation Portable and mobile devices, Final Fantasy Tactics has never been available on PC—until now. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles ($49.99) is a remaster that enhances graphics, improves the script, refines the UI, and brings this iconic game to all modern platforms, including the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch 2, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Although I wish developer Square Enix included more The War of the Lions content in this release, The Ivalice Chronicles is the best way to play this excellent tactics game.

What Is Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles?

This isometric, turn-based RPG depicts the medieval kingdom of Ivalice as it grapples with political unrest. The king is dead, his heir is too young to rule, and the two potential regent candidates make moves in secret to sabotage one another as they vie for the throne. The plot follows two knights caught in the midst of this turmoil, which sets the young men on radically different paths. So, you assemble your party of five heroes and march into battle.

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The Ivalice Chronicles remains true to the original release by providing more than 20 job classes for your units. Many are based on classic Final Fantasy classes, such as Black Mage, Knight, and Monk. Terrain and weather mechanics make these roles much more interesting than in the mainline series, as elevation significantly impacts what you can target. For example, a melee unit is ineffective against enemies above or below it. Archers receive a tremendous range boost at higher elevations, so you’ll want them perched as high as possible on the map. Combined, these many systems make top-notch tactical gameplay.

Two versions of the game are available to play: Classic and Enhanced. Classic is a faithful port based on the original PlayStation release, while Enhanced has animated character portraits, more intuitive controls, and voice acting. Notably, the user interface features a cleaner and more legible menu system compared with the game's previous releases.

The Enhanced version's localization has also been updated for this remaster. The development team consulted with the original director and writer, Yasumi Matsuno, to ensure that the adaptation remained as faithful to the original script as possible. The Classic version, on the other hand, uses the PSP's The War of the Lions’ script. This means that dialogue in both versions uses Early Modern English (in other words, Shakespearean English). I quite enjoyed the new Enhanced script, which strikes a good balance between the simpler PS1 text and the complex PSP text.

Some die-hard fans may prefer the simpler PlayStation localization, but the development team ditched it due to its numerous errors and inaccuracies. During my interview with director Kazutoyo Maehiro, he explained that he is open to the idea of providing the PlayStation script as a possible patch, but only if these inaccuracies are addressed.

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Many other features from The War of the Lions are not included in this remaster. So, you won't find Balthier and Luso, guest characters who hail from Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, respectively. The Dark Knight and Onion Knight classes are absent, as are the two multiplayer modes: Rendezvous (co-operative missions) and Melee (competitive battles). I appreciate that the team behind The Ivalice Chronicles focused on remastering the original title, but the absence of these additions is still disappointing.

Classic Turn-Based Tactics

As mentioned, Final Fantasy Tactics features a rich array of characters, job roles, and special abilities to utilize in combat. You get a steady influx of new characters, but you can also pad out your militia with recruits you hire at the Warrior's Guild in any town. You can develop these blank slate characters into whatever class suits your needs. For example, you can give them elemental damage, equipment-wrecking actions, and the ability to steal rare items from enemies. How you deploy your team to leverage these abilities is entirely up to you.

Experimenting with these classes and abilities is tremendous fun, especially now with the cleaner UI and visual improvements. The Ivalice Chronicles presents key information more clearly than the original release. Turn order is now displayed on the side of the screen, similar to the queue list in Final Fantasy X. You can inspect the units more easily to see their equipment and level, which is integral to the gear-breaking and stealing systems. A new button toggle provides a dedicated birds-eye view command, making it easier to navigate uneven terrain. In fact, you can even reset your movement, making planning your assault much more forgiving.

The overall experience is superb: It's the classic tactical experience I remember from nearly 30 years ago, with refinements that make the game more accessible and digestible.

(Credit: Square Enix/PCMag)

Extra Features

The Ivalice Chronicles has numerous additional features that enhance the overall experience. For example, The Chronicle is an encyclopedia packed with lore about characters, locations, and key terms, providing fans with a rich compendium to explore. I adore the flavor text strewn across menus in Final Fantasy XII’s game world, which makes the game world feel so much more palpable than it would be without it. The Chronicle feels reminiscent of that.

The State of the Realm is another facet of The Chronicle, and it functions very much like Final Fantasy XVI's Active Time Lore system. As you play through the campaign, this dynamic map tracks key events and political shifts as the story evolves, so staying abreast of the plot is much easier. You can also rewatch events from The Chronicle. Extensive tutorials cover every nuance you could want about the game’s combat.

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System Requirements

Despite the graphical enhancements, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is not especially demanding on PC. To meet the minimum system requirements, your PC should house an AMD Ryzen 3 2300X, Intel Core i3-8100, or similar CPU; AMD Radeon RX 460, Intel Arc A380, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti or equivalent GPU; 8GB of RAM; and 15GB of storage space. The recommended system requirements bump the GPU to an AMD Radeon RX 470.

My test PC, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU, and 16GB of RAM, allowed me to play at 1440p/60 frames per second with no issues. The Ivalice Chronicles supports controllers and keyboard-and-mouse setups. Both control schemes feel great. The RPG has many Steam features, including Steam Achievements, Steam Remote Play, and Steam Trading Cards. Publisher Square Enix employs Denuvo Anti-Tamper, a DRM that has proven troublesome in the past.