In a nutshell

• Square Enix has shared new insights into Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles through an in-depth interview with Director Kazutoyo Maehiro.
• The discussion highlights the technical hurdles of rebuilding the game from scratch, the modern features added to enhance accessibility, and the deliberate decision to focus on the original 1997 version over War of the Lions.

The long-rumored Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is now official, and with it comes an announcement that was welcomed by adoring fans and looked forward to by newcomers.

Square Enix has been providing information about the title’s development in the weeks and months leading up to its September release. In a recently published interview with Director Kazutoyo Maehiro, we learn more about the game, the team’s challenges during development, and what we can look forward to in the coming months.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Interview Details

One of the most significant challenges was the complete absence of the original Final Fantasy Tactics master data and source code. Maehiro explained that preserving such assets wasn’t standard due to the development practices of the late ’90s.

As a result, the team had to reverse-engineer the game by analyzing existing versions and, in some cases, relying on memory and intuition to replicate systems and mechanics.

“There were a number of major challenges, but all of them stemmed from the fact that the master data and source code from the original game no longer existed.”

“This isn’t to say that they were mishandled or poorly managed or anything like that – keeping that kind of data wasn’t a normal thing to do at the time.”

“In those days, we didn’t have the sort of robust resource-management tools that exist today, and on top of that, the production workflow for the game was such that the Japanese version was produced first, and then we would create localized versions by overwriting the data with that of other languages, including English.”

Despite the technical setbacks, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will introduce several enhancements to modernize the experience while preserving the original as much as possible.

These include:

• Fully voiced dialogue with a revised script
• Revamped UI and control scheme
• Quality-of-life improvements like autosave, battle speed options, and a new “Squire” difficulty
• Enhanced visuals
• Additional character conversations

Interestingly, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will not take on the version set by the “War of the Lions” release. While WOTL introduced new characters, jobs, and cutscenes, the team chose not to incorporate its content because the goal was to honor the original 1997 version, which he and much of the current team worked on directly.

“However, as we looked back on everything nearly 30 years later, during the creation of this game, we asked ourselves what our team – those who created the original Final Fantasy Tactics – could do to bring this game to a new generation of players.”

“It was through considering this question that we came to the conclusion that the most appropriate path for us was to pay respect to the original game’s experience and recreate that in the best form possible.”

Although the remaster includes a “classic” mode with translation from WOTL, additions like Balthier, Luso, and the Onion Knight were intentionally left out to preserve the original’s balance and design.

“We did of course consider the addition of new jobs, abilities, and characters – including the jobs featured in War of the Lions. However, the original version of Final Fantasy Tactics is a very complete game both from a game design and story perspective. If we were to make major changes, it would only be a loss for not only fans of the original game, but also those new to the title.”

“With this in mind, our first step in reviving Final Fantasy Tactics in the present was to adhere to the original and put a spotlight on the original game’s characters and jobs, as well as the original gameplay experience.”

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Steam on September 30, 2025.