Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster Fans Are Divided On Its Art, But Not Its Developers
“The will to resist is in your hands.”
After years of speculation, Final Fantasy Tactics is finally getting a new release for modern consoles. A remaster of the classic tactics game was announced at Sony’s recent PlayStation showcase, and more than anything shown off in the game’s trailer, it’s the returning developers from the original game that players are excited about.
Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles is set to launch on September 30. While it was announced at a PlayStation event, it’s not an exclusive, with versions landing on both Switch consoles, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in addition to PlayStation.
The Ivalice Chronicles include two ways to play the game. Classic mode is the original game including the translation of its script released with the PlayStation Portable version, The War of the Lions. Enhanced mode has a newly revised script with voice acting for all of its dialogue, including new additions to the story. It will also update the user interface and add other features to improve its combat and graphics, as well as its art.
The Ivalice Chronicles includes updates to the original’s art and battle system.
However, whether the new art is actually an improvement is debatable. As with so many attempts to modernize the pixel art of classic games, the new look of The Ivalice Chronicles has already been met with heavy scrutiny. The sharp edges of Final Fantasy Tactics’ original art have been smoothed away, resulting in a style that’s more pleasant to some players’ eyes, and approaching an abomination for others. I frankly can’t stand the smooth look of the new art, and not having a way to combine the new features with the original pixel art seems like a huge misstep.
One aspect of the game that players as a whole are more excited about is who’s making the game. The new voice cast includes actors who’ve worked in previous Square Enix projects like Timothy Watson (Final Fantasy XIV) and Final Fantasy VIII stan Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI). Final Fantasy Tactics famously includes a cameo from Cloud and Aerith of Final Fantasy VII, who will be played by Cody Christian and Briana White, their actors from the remake series. The remaster’s development team also includes the original game’s director, Kazutoyo Maehiro, art director, Hiroshi Minagawa, and writer, Yasumi Matsuno. Along with the game’s announcement, Square Enix shared messages from Maehiro, Minagawa, and Matsuno on social media, and the latter’s comment in particular caught the attention of fans online.
Matsuno explains that Final Fantasy Tactics’ story was at least in part inspired by the collapse of Japan’s economy in the 1990s.
“It was an era when many were robbed of hope, when dreams were measured by their price tag,” Matsuno writes.
The story of Final Fantasy Tactics’ deals with just such a period of turmoil in the fictional Ivalice, when the game’s key characters are locked in battle to either upend or take advantage of the kingdom’s rigid social hierarchy, with those at the bottom inevitably treated as disposable.
“And now, in 2025 — a time when inequality and division are still deeply rooted in our society — I offer this story once again,” Matsuno continues. “The will to resist is in your hands.”
Final Fantasy Tactics’ writer left a stirring message for fans of the game.
The claim that games should be or ever were a nonpolitical artform has always been ridiculous, even when developers themselves are saying it. Final Fantasy Tactics in particular wears its political themes in the open more than most games of its era, or even most blockbuster games today. However the changes coming to The Ivalice Chronicles shake out — and whether or not Final Fantasy Tactics’ version of class struggle actually stands up to scrutiny nearly three decades after its release — such an unabashed statement from its writer only adds to the excitement around one of the most anticipated remasters ever.
