Some of my very favourite video games over the last few years have been tactics games, and for good reason. By blending strategic gameplay with classic RPG hooks they just appeal to every part of my brain, and whenever a new tactics game is announced I’m always eager to get stuck into its grid based combat. Despite this love of the genre though I had never actually completed the game often considered to be the one that started it all: Final Fantasy Tactics. Over the years I tried many times to get into the fight for Ivalice, but I’d find myself losing early game battles and feeling as defeated as my army. But now thanks to Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles I have finally been able to see this fight through to the end, and I’m so glad I did.
Final Fantasy Tactics follows the story of Ramza, an adopted member of the noble family of Beoulve. Ramza aims to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a knight that fights for good, but in a world fuelled by political and religious corruption that’s easier said than done. Ramza’s best friend Delita (who isn’t a noble) joins him on his quest, but the pair soon begin to see how those of common blood get treated by those in power. It’s a story as relevant today as it was back on the PS1, of those with the power taking advantage of those who struggle the most.
When I jumped into Final Fantasy Tactics I expected to be greeted by a tale of heroes overcoming evil, and over the top characters making smart remarks. Instead what I got was a bleak story where the corruption of those in power feels insurmountable. The game even opens by a historian looking back at the wars of Ivalice saying that history has labeled Ramza a heretic and a coward, setting the scene perfectly for the tragedy about to unfold. Although not all sunshine and rainbows this story is gripping from start to finish, and honestly might be the best narrative Final Fantasy has ever had. It’s only improved by the voice acting added in The Ivalice Chronicles too, which is fantastic.
That’s the Final Fantasy side of the game anyway, so let’s talk about the Tactics. Well being that this game inspired hundreds of other tactics titles, how it plays will be pretty familiar unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last twenty eight years. You move units around a grid, they all use different moves, and hopefully the enemies drop down before you. It’s tried and true, and addition of different jobs make it even better.
Final Fantasy and job systems go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and that’s no different when it comes to Tactics. There’s a whole tree of different unlockable jobs, which all have loads of skills and spells you can learn with job points. There are basic black mages and knights, and way more wild jobs like geomancers and orators. It’s entirely down to you to decide on the builds of all your characters, so do some experimenting and find the style that suits you best.
As well as having a main job, each of your characters can also equip skills from another job they’ve levelled up and a few other different passives. Because of this the possibilities are practically endless when it comes to creating the perfect unit, although you’ll need to do a lot of levelling up to unlock everything you want. Early on I decided to invest a lot of Ramza’s time into training as a monk so I avoided spending money on weapons, and had time mages supporting him with the ability to take damage to mana instead of health for extra survivability. It felt great to come up with my own battle plans, and throughout the campaign I changed things up constantly to try and find more powerful strategies.
To unlock new jobs and the abilities they bring you’ll need to gather job points, which you’ll gain by using attacks or skills in battle. This will happen as you play through the various story missions, but if you want more job options you can always move around on the world map and take on some random battles against familiar Final Fantasy monsters. I often found myself grinding just to chip away towards the next exciting new class, and in all fairness enjoyed my time doing so.
For a long time this grinding was mandatory though, as I wanted to try and play on the default difficulty of Knight. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles has more streamlined difficulty in its remastered mode for newcomers like me, but even with this improvement I struggled a lot as the story progressed. Some missions feel like massive jumps in difficulty (although I did have to restart a mission in my first hour with the game) and eventually I caved and declared myself a Squire. Thankfully this was much more enjoyable and carried me to the credits with just the right amount of challenge, ensuring I finally got to check this classic off my bucket list.
Many of the other improvements to The Ivalice Chronicles are the modernisations you’d expect, like the new higher fidelity visuals and the addition of that wonderful voice acting. There are also convenient little features like the speed up button and the tactical view that allows you to tilt the camera and ignore elevation to see the battlefield clearer. The selection of mod cons added to this remaster is definitely appreciated, and will help gamers in 2025 get to experience what makes Final Fantasy Tactics an all timer.
It’s likely obvious that I’m rather smitten with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, but despite this newfound love I’m also able to admit the game’s faults. The combat, while revolutionary back in 1997, feels rather old fashioned by modern standards, as so many wonderful games like Triangle Strategy have perfected and improved on the game that paved the way for them. The visual style also isn’t quite as timeless as a lot of older Final Fantasy games, with chunky battlefields that both block views and lack visual flair.
With compelling tactical combat and a story rivalling the best gaming has to offer, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles deserves to be appreciated by a whole host of new fans. It may seem a little bit old fashioned by 2025 standards, but there’s plenty of heart in this classic that makes it worth seeing through to the bitter end for the good of the kingdom.
