On my first day of labor at IGN in 2018, I used to be requested, “What’s your favourite online game of all time?” My reply then was the identical as my reply as we speak: Final Fantasy Techniques. After I first performed it on the unique PlayStation again within the ‘90s, I used to be enraptured by the job system, the memorable forged of characters, and a narrative that provided little in the way in which of simple solutions. Between the PSP re-release (The Warfare of the Lions) with further content material however main efficiency points, and cell variations that includes solely contact controls, the panorama of 2025 has lengthy been primed for an up to date model of this RPG traditional that’s worthy of the unique. Did Sq. Enix ship with The Ivalice Chronicles? With only some caveats, it completely did.
Regardless of all of the enhancements within the turn-based tactical RPG style over the past two-and-a-half many years, the unique Techniques is a type of classics that also holds up as we speak. The story, informed to you by a historian a few years sooner or later, has a robust starting wherein we be taught your character, Ramza, will go down in historical past as a hated prison whereas his brother in arms turns into a legend regardless of not being all that he appears.
What begins as a reasonably centered story spirals into conspiracies, backstabbing, the evils of a caste society, supernatural threats, and all the opposite staples you’d anticipate from a fantasy political drama. All through all of that it retains Ramza on the heart, with a foot in each worlds for perspective. It doesn’t offer you tidy endings, and doesn’t shrink back from the atrocities that the frequent individuals should face when highly effective males with armies refuse to put aside their quest for energy, and Ramza should frequently come to phrases with why he’s preventing within the first place.
Fortunately for our sake, all that terrible preventing continues to be actually enjoyable to play by way of. Final Fantasy Techniques focuses a lot of the ability in particular person models relatively than their synergy with one another, however the flexibility you’ve got with the way you need to use these models is immense. Every of the 20 jobs comes with its personal set of motion, response, assist, and motion expertise, and as soon as discovered they will all be combined and matched with different lessons. Desire a Monk that may twin wield each fists (after leveling the Ninja class) whereas ignoring the elevation of the terrain (after leveling the Dragoon class) so he can leap 30 ft within the air to immediately punch a far-away enemy unit to dying? Have at it.
When you put within the work, you may create some actually busted characters. The act of merely leveling a unit is a pleasure since you get instantaneous development suggestions from each motion you carry out, and might simply assess your progress by way of the brand new UI. Since development happens with every particular person motion and never by ending battles, you may both run by way of a bunch of various maps, leveling as you go, or spend a very long time in a single map, buffing, attacking, and therapeutic buddies and foes alike till you acquire simply sufficient expertise for the subsequent ability or job.
That old-school grind could not sound enjoyable at first, however having the choice to grasp whole jobs in a single battle or simply earn the requisite expertise that you just want relatively than being caught with one you don’t need long-term offers you fixed, concrete objectives to attain as you proceed to construct your social gathering. And that carrot-on-a-stick feeling of the subsequent job or subsequent spell being inside your attain should you do just a bit extra is important to having fun with a job system reminiscent of this one. Aside from Xenoblade Chronicles 3, I truthfully can’t consider one other RPG job system with such satisfying development pacing.
And also you will have to progress, because the stability of the again half of the story is actually nutty. As sword-and-sandals warfare offers method to instant-kill methods and screen-clearing summons out of your enemies, you’re given some fantastically damaged choices in each late-game characters and lessons. And since many of those late battles solely require you to defeat one particular character relatively than a whole group so as to win, it additional emphasizes the outsized significance a single unit can have in the direction of the top of the story, since you may plan round diving by way of the enemy group to take out its chief. One character you recruit within the final stretch of story missions is a one-man wrecking crew, as is becoming along with his status, however his inclusion is indicative of the wild swings Techniques leans into. You’re not pressured to make use of him, however the problem is way increased should you don’t.
By way of lessons, you’ve got the usual fare choices reminiscent of Squire, Knight, Archer, and Black Mage, which might all be highly effective on their very own – however every character additionally chooses from jobs that embrace Geomancer, which use no matter terrain they’re standing on as the premise for his or her long-range assaults, and Arithmetician, which casts any black magic, white magic, time magic, or mystic arts you’ve discovered with that character immediately and with out utilizing MP based mostly on the multiples of stats like EXP or present elevation (with out distinguishing between foe and good friend). It’s loopy stuff that will get fairly damaged by the top, however a flawed button press can nonetheless wipe out your whole social gathering. It’s a small image of simply how unstable these late fights will be, however you actually must earn your method there because the conditions for the category are intense.
All this busted stuff can also be fully elective relying on the way you construct your group, as you might select to combat your method by way of most of Final Fantasy Techniques utilizing Ramza and some chocobos should you actually wished to check your self. That’s very true for The Ivalice Chronicles since there are actually three problem choices. I performed by way of on the center problem, and it appeared a lot the identical as I bear in mind other than some tweaks to statistics, necessities for studying expertise, and even some enemy placements. Having completed that, I’m now greater than midway by way of a brand new playthrough on the very best problem, and I’m having fun with the additional problem. Hopefully it maintains this tempo by way of the ultimate chapter, as that’s the place most of the stability points lie.
I’m additionally nonetheless working by way of Midlight’s Deep (often known as Deep Dungeon within the authentic Techniques), an elective endgame multi-level dungeon set fully in the dead of night, with exits hidden on explicit squares, that’s full of stronger enemies than you’ll discover all through the story. The more durable encounters are enjoyable, however discovering the exits with no information is truthfully sort of a chore as you may’t defeat all of the enemies till you’ve discovered the staircase to the subsequent stage. It’s actually for the sickos who need to push their events to the restrict, however I can’t see informal followers having a lot enjoyable with it.
The authentic Techniques did have issues apart from the stability points which have fortunately been alleviated right here. It was very poorly localized, with stilted dialogue that rendered the advanced political panorama unintelligible at instances, and had bizarre anachronisms like Ramza – a personality from a supposedly medieval interval – yelling out “Geronimo!” (a reference to an early Twentieth-century Apache navy chief) as a struggle cry. A lot of the depth of its characters was additionally hidden away in both hard-to-read menus or neighborhood guides, and the UI was needlessly clunky and sophisticated (as was the fashion on the time), making loads of very important information a chore to know. I’m pleased to say that almost each one among these points, apart from among the endgame stability swings on the usual problem, has been addressed in The Ivalice Chronicles.
Not one of the further content material present in The Warfare of the Lions model on PSP, together with the brand new playable characters, new jobs, or multiplayer mode are current in The Ivalice Chronicles. I did like Final Fantasy XII’s Balthier as a celebration member because it’s a cool connection throughout the Ivalice setting, however I don’t notably miss the rest from that model, and the unique Techniques’ cameos from one other Final Fantasy I received’t spoil are nonetheless included – now with voice performing, which is absolutely cool to listen to. The one holdover they’ve stored from The Warfare of the Lions is the vastly improved translation, which is nice to see.
One other instantly noticeable enchancment is the up to date graphical fashion, which is clearly a lot increased decision whereas preserving the unique’s retro isometric look. Whereas I nonetheless yearn for a real HD-2D graphical remake with the look of Octopath Traveler or Dragon Quest III, this route actually grew on me after some preliminary resistance. At first look, particularly by way of YouTube compression, it seemed virtually like a smoothing filter over an emulated retro sport, however I discovered that there’s virtually a canvas-like high quality to the feel of the display as your toy troopers march throughout the battlefield after I performed it for myself. At its very worst, it didn’t trouble me after a number of hours; at its greatest, particularly in scenes with heat lighting across the edges or the added tilt-shift focus, it could possibly look very nice and improve the phantasm that you just’re enjoying with miniatures.
If the brand new look is simply too heretical for purists, the unique model of Final Fantasy Techniques can also be included with The Ivalice Chronicles, however you need to load into a distinct sport fully (versus one thing like Monkey Island or Halo: The Grasp Chief Assortment, the place you may swap forwards and backwards at will) and you’ll’t even switch save recordsdata between the 2 variations. I can respect the selection to stay with the classics, however know that doing so means you’ll additionally miss out on the most effective elements of this up to date model: the brand new options and voice performing.
I do know “quality-of-life enhancements” aren’t often the attractive a part of a overview, however the myriad modifications in The Ivalice Chronicles add as much as a lot, rather more than the sum of their elements. Dozens of modifications, large and small, have sanded down many tough edges and made this really feel like a relatively fashionable sport. A very re-tooled interface suits fashionable TVs and locations very important data up entrance, reminiscent of a dynamic flip order listing on the left aspect of the display, the present Job Factors (a significant development stat) of your character’s class, and elective life bars and names you may toggle on and off with the press of a button. There are fast choices to retry a battle immediately or to retool your social gathering earlier than leaping again in, or to load a save straight from the pause menu. You may maintain the left set off and scroll by way of every character within the order of their actions to see precisely what spell that wizard is casting and the place with the intention to be sure to don’t stroll proper into it. You may reset your motion should you haven’t picked something up in that area or dedicated to an motion afterward. And when deploying your troopers for battle, you achieve this on the precise map, not only a floating liminal area which will or could not work out the way you deliberate when you begin the precise combat. You may even fast-forward, an virtually mandatory function when revisiting retro RPGs by way of a contemporary lens – our tolerance for video games losing our time has shrunk to virtually nothing today, and it’s exhausting to argue that’s not an excellent factor.
Almost all of those options and items of data have been accessible within the authentic model, however provided that you knew the place they have been hidden within the archaic menus and behind odd button presses, or by quitting and reloading. If you add up the time and complications saved over a marketing campaign that lasts for dozens of hours, these modifications make an enormous distinction. All of those battle alterations really feel methodical and deliberate, as if the builders cleaned the cobwebs out of a dusty outdated storage so you may respect the beautiful, shiny automotive sitting inside it.
Equal care has been given exterior of battles. Fast guides for jobs that inform you what attribute harm scales off of and really useful expertise to be taught, a fast one-sheet of skills at a look, a job tree that reveals you the necessities of your subsequent unlock, pop-up tooltips that provide the vital features of expertise and tools, fight units that can help you change your roster setup on the fly, the listing goes on. You may even keep away from random encounters on the newly redrawn map, and set off beforehand random encounters at will. They’ve actually finished a fantastic job with smoothing out the wrinkles with out altering what made the unique particular.
One other new addition that may be exhausting to think about going with out is full voice performing, and never only for cutscenes. Battle cries, small remarks throughout actions, and even pleas to your humanity as you dismiss a unit are expressed with virtually universally wonderful performing. Frequent robbers and peasants will converse in a working-class cockney accent, the nobles with florid aptitude, and mid-battle anger and anguish comes throughout rather more clearly than earlier than when it was simply textual content. A number of the dying wails, which was sort of a goofy and ethereal sound results, now actually drive dwelling the purpose that you’re killing these individuals on a battlefield. I used to be a little bit shocked by that initially, but it surely does make extra sense.
One instance of voicework elevating a celebration member is Rapha, a personality I’d by no means actually cared a lot for beforehand. Regardless of her story at all times being a tragic one, listening to the ache and anger in her voice, in addition to her accent being so completely different from everybody else’s, rounded out her character rather more this time round. Additionally, there are just a few world-class insults in right here, and it’s enjoyable to lastly hear them out loud.
One factor of notice is that usually the tone within the Japanese language monitor may be very completely different than the English one. What can seem to be intense anger within the former will be an attraction to motive within the latter. They each work, however if you would like feelings continuously ratcheted up a notch, Japanese is the way in which to go.
With these new voices additionally come new conversations that you just’ll solely hear should you convey the suitable mixture of characters into explicit story battles. Plenty of these aren’t very attention-grabbing, sadly – many simply see them espouse platitudes in regards to the nature of energy and don’t reveal a lot new details about the characters themselves, they usually are inclined to make battles a bit too chatty. However there are a number of that provide real perception into relationships between folks that have been by no means explored within the authentic, which I actually loved.
That doesn’t imply all these relationships are simple to maintain monitor of, nevertheless, because the story entails a number of difficult energy constructions throughout a civil struggle, and so many individuals are double-crossing one another. Fortuitously, very similar to the Lively Time Lore function of Final Fantasy XVI, The Ivalice Chronicles features a absolutely interactive timeline referred to as State of the Realm that reveals you all the massive movers and shakers as you proceed by way of the story. Mixed with a full encyclopedia, a listing of all of the cutscenes and the choice to rewatch them, and a bunch of different tabs to maintain phrases, collectibles, and sport ideas straight, it helps quite a bit. Whereas a few of these overviews and biographies existed within the authentic’s Chronicle menu, their ease of entry and up to date format right here make them a lot much less of a chore to peruse when on the lookout for particulars I missed.
The tutorials have acquired an overhaul as nicely, with the format turning into rather more reader-friendly. For example, the zodiac compatibility chart, a system you might full the story a number of instances over with out figuring out something about, was offered in a display that seemed like an ASCII FAQ from the early 2000s; it’s now simply written out in plain language and separated by tabs.
There are additionally varied criss-crossing aspect quests within the last chapter which might be notoriously exhausting to comply with, however their status should change now that all of them have quest markers pointing you to new and vital locations. This doesn’t make these quests any simpler to beat, as you continue to must combat the identical powerful battles to finish them, but it surely makes them quite a bit much less irritating as a result of it saves you from having to lookup the place to go at each step. It’s simply one other instance of getting you to the enjoyable that was already there.