En remaster av Fantasy Tactics har anlänt. The Ivalice Chronicles ger val mellan klassisk pixelkonst och HD-grafik.

The original Final Fantasy Tactics released way back in 1997, with the updated version War of the Lions releasing in 2007. Now, in 2025, Square and Creative Studio III bring us Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, a remastered telling of the events that occurred during the War of the Lions. Featuring both a classic as well as a new enhanced mode, the question is: does Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles do the original material justice? Read on below for a (mostly spoiler-free) review of Square’s latest remastered piece of content.

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The Ivalice Chronicles

FFT:ITC puts you once more in control of Ramza Beoulve, a member of the high-ranking noble House of Beoulve, thrust into a war that he doesn’t fully understand. With dark and sinister beings controlling the shadows, can Ramza Beoulve and his friends discover the truth behind what is throwing the land of Ivalice once more into turmoil?

With a thrilling story fully updated to reflect its War of the Lions 2007 edition, as well as several additional features included in both its classic and new enhanced version, new and veteran players are sure to see a new side of Ramza and co. that they have never seen before.

EXP, JP, and Job Levels

So here I’ll cover the frankly staggering number of classes or Jobs that feature in FFT:TIC. There are a lot of them (33 to be exact), with 13 unique classes and 20 different ones (1 class changes based on gender). There are a lot of options when it comes to crafting your perfect party.

While you may only start with the basic Jobs of Squire and Chemist, you’ll, through time and dedication, come to unlock several of the classic and more well-known classes featured throughout the entire Final Fantasy series. Each class maxes out at level 8, which may seem quite low, but given how FFT goes about unlocking further and more advanced Jobs, you’ll see that during gameplay, frequently switching classes will become a staple feature of your playthrough.

For example, should you wish to unlock something such as Dragoon—a frighteningly powerful class complete with its classic spear and jump abilities—you’ll have to first become a level 4 Thief. In order to become a level 4 Thief, you’ll first need to become a level 3 Archer, which in turn requires level 2 in Squire. Some of the later classes require more levels, as well as several different Jobs unlocked, to become available, and this isn’t a simple ”unlock once and you have them” type of deal.

Every single member of your party will need to unlock these classes individually in order to make use of their various abilities and skills, which makes FFT:TIC quite a grind-heavy game. And while it’s not entirely required, you’ll be missing out on a lot of the content on offer by not grinding.

How do you go about leveling these classes? I’m glad you asked. As mentioned, each character and class are separate from each other. The most classic way of upgrading your character or farming JP (the currency used to unlock class abilities) would be to make use of random battle encounters. However, not all classes are designed to work on the front line, so you’re able to gain JP through all actions (with diminishing returns at higher levels). These actions don’t even have to be related to dealing damage; healing and self-buffing also offer their own sizable amount of JP. This means it is entirely possible (veteran players will understand) to clear the encounter from all but one mob and simply sit in the corner self-buffing or spamming heals in order to bring your weaker-level non-combat-related classes up to a suitable level.

The Enhanced changes (mentioned below) make the experience easier to do with their plethora of quality of life changes. Speaking of those changes, let’s now cover the differences between the classic and enhanced editions presented in FFT:TIC.

Updates and Differences:

So I’ve explained a bit about the game as well as how its systems work, but what you’re here for is the differences this new edition comes with. Whether you’re a veteran player or just returning to the series after a long time, you’ll find that Ivalice Chronicles (Enhanced Version) changes quite a few aspects of the game, bringing in a lot of quality-of-life changes that make overall gameplay a much more pleasant experience. First, I’ll cover the key differences between the classic and new enhanced mode.

Graphics: Enhanced Version is a brand-new experience with fully fleshed-out HD recreations of every character and location throughout Ivalice. These new graphics, while in keeping with the original, really do their best to brighten up some of the darker areas in the game, as well as really making each individual unit much more visually striking compared to their original counterparts. The UI during combat itself has also been given a massive overhaul, featuring a visible turn-based tracker similar to the classic ATB system from other games in the series, which makes the game much easier to get into and follow.

For those veteran players asking, ”What about the original graphics?” Well, fear not! The classic version (which is included) comes complete with the purely original pixel art sprites, as well as the original UI in both the overworld and in combat, effectively becoming yet another port to add to the collection.

Story: I’ll cover the Classic variation first here, as the Enhanced version has some extensive changes when compared to the Classic counterpart. While the Classic version doesn’t have any of the graphical updates presented in the Enhanced version, the English localization has been updated from the original 1997 version to that of the 2007 War of the Lions version with improved and updated translations, making the game much easier to follow overall. However,… all the other features that were present in War of the Lions are not included. So, none of the additional characters or Jobs are there. This is, for all intents and purposes, the original 1997 game using the 2007 script, which I will admit was quite disappointing to see. I’m however thankful that Autosave has been included (rejoice!).

However, when it comes to the Enhanced version, there have been extensive changes made to the story as a whole, including, first, a brand-new script which is now fully voiced (yes, even the random NPCs, including a certain returning FF7 character fully voiced by his Remake VA to boot!), which is frankly beautiful to hear. Conversations that had been cut or removed from the original game have also been reintroduced and expanded upon, giving the game so much more life and interaction between its extensive roster of characters. The major point is that the Enhanced version contains a completely new ending, different from both the original and War of the Lions ending. However, much like the Classic variation, the additional content presented within the War of the Lions version is not included in this enhanced version. Why this is the case, I’m unsure, as it seems quite a silly feature to omit.

Overall, Final Fantasy Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles feels more like a War of the Lions 1.5 than a complete experience. And while I’m sad to miss out on some of my favorite content that War of the Lions added, these following changes bring such a big difference to gameplay as a whole that I’m willing to forgive this blunder and just continue showering this game with my praise for all the right decisions that have been made.

Gameplay Changes:

Once more, I’ll start with the Classic version here, as there is not a lot to cover outside of the addition of Auto-Save features and story updates. As mentioned, the classic version is a complete, updated retelling of the original 1997 game.

Enhanced Edition gameplay changes the script to a frankly staggering degree. Rather than go deep into all the changes presented (there are a lot of them), I’ll briefly list the most important features, as well as one of my own personal favorite changes that I’m honestly thankful was included.

• Revamped UI
• Superior keyboard and controller support
• Revamped Job Menu with clear indications for unlocks
• Tactical View and Battle Speed Options
• New Difficulty Modes
• Hundreds of new Dialogue options
• Increased party size (from 16 to 50)
• Random Battles no longer mandatory
• Multiple Presets for each and every character
• Totally rebalanced Jobs
• Gender-locked items no longer locked (Yes, that does include those exceptionally strong female-exclusive items that were originally designed to make them just as viable as their male counterparts)
• Music Player
• Encyclopedia and Lore Features

Along with many, many more features that would cause this already long review to become overblown. All I’ll say regarding these changes is I’m so thankful for them. Final Fantasy Tactics is a big game that demands a lot of attention to detail, as you can quickly find yourself getting into a soft-locked situation (veteran players know the pain of that one particular fight). The Enhanced version has become my new de facto way to play the game, and while I still very much enjoy the original for its unique experience and charm, if you’re just trying to get into this style of game, Enhanced is definitely the choice for you, and I couldn’t recommend this game more highly because of it. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is a beautiful game that has been wonderfully remastered for yet another generation. Given how much I’ve talked about this at length, I’ll omit my usual conclusion section, as nothing I could say within would do this game justice.

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AI-genererad sammanfattning på svenska

En definitiv remaster av Ivalice

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles är 2025 års release från Square och Creative Studio III, en omfattande remaster av det taktiska RPG-spelet från 1997 och dess uppdatering från 2007, War of the Lions. Spelet låter återigen spelarna styra Ramza Beoulve när han navigerar genom den politiska turbulensen och de mörka hemligheterna i Ivalice. Recensionen fokuserar på om denna nya utgåva, som har både ett ”klassiskt” och ett ”förbättrat” läge, lyckas uppdatera det älskade materialet.

Jobbssystemet och grindandet

Kärnan i spelet är fortfarande dess djupa och komplexa jobbsystem, som har 33 unika klasser. Att låsa upp avancerade jobb är en krävande process i flera steg. För att bli en dragoon måste man till exempel nå nivå 4 som tjuv, vilket först kräver nivå 3 som bågskytt, och så vidare. Dessutom måste varje enskild medlem i sällskapet individuellt låsa upp dessa jobb, vilket gör FFT:TIC till en exceptionellt grind-tung upplevelse. För att mildra detta tillåter spelet spelare att samla JP (Job Points) genom alla åtgärder, inklusive healing och självförstärkning, vilket möjliggör ”veteran”-strategier där spelare rensar bort alla utom en fiende för att oändligt nivåera supportklasser.

Klassisk vs. förbättrad upplevelse

Remasterversionen erbjuder två olika lägen:

Klassisk: Detta läge behåller den ursprungliga pixelkonsten och användargränssnittet, men uppdaterar berättelsens manus till den förbättrade engelska lokaliseringen av War of the Lions. Det är viktigt att notera att det utelämnar de ytterligare karaktärer och jobb som introducerades i War of the Lions-versionen, men tack och lov inkluderar det en autosparfunktion.

Förbättrad: Detta är flaggskeppsversionen, med fullt utvecklad HD-grafik för alla karaktärer och platser. Den innehåller ett helt nytt manus med fullständig röstsättning och återställda/utökade konversationer. Liksom det klassiska läget utelämnar det oförklarligt bonusinnehållet från War of the Lions och introducerar ett nytt, tredje slut, vilket gör berättelsen annorlunda än de båda tidigare utgåvorna. Transformativa uppdateringar av livskvaliteten Trots det frustrerande utelämnandet av innehållet från War of the Lions introducerar det förbättrade läget massiva förändringar av livskvaliteten (QoL) som gör det till det ”nya faktiska sättet att spela”. Viktiga förbättringar inkluderar: ett omarbetat användargränssnitt med en synlig turräknare, tydliga visuella indikatorer för jobbuppkopplingar, tillägg av nya svårighetsgrader, möjligheten att göra slumpmässiga strider icke-obligatoriska och möjligheten att öka partystorleken till upp till 50. Mest betydande är att spelet ombalanserar alla jobb och tar bort alla könsbundna föremål, vilket åtgärdar en långvarig begränsning från originalen.

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Written by: Steve Gilman