What's new in the Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles remaster coming to PlayStation 5?
During Wednesday's PlayStation State of Play showcase, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, a remaster of the popular tactical role-playing game, will release on September 30 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
Set in the richly imagined world of Ivalice, the game follows the story of Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral, childhood friends caught in the political and religious strife of the War of the Lions. First released in Japan on June 20, 1997, for the Sony PlayStation, it marked Square Enix's first game in the tactical role-playing genre. Arriving in North America in January 1998, the game was both a critical and commercial success.
In Japan, it sold about 1.24 million copies by the end of 1997, making it the fifth best-selling home video game in the country that year. By August 2011, global sales surpassed 2.4 million copies.
Here are all the additions and changes fans can expect from the new remaster when it arrives in September.
What's being added?
An auto-save feature will be introduced for the first time in the game's history. This addition fixes one of the long-standing frustrations of the original, which is the risk of losing progress due to difficult battles or forgetting to save the game.
The new system automatically saves progress at key moments, such as before and after missions, giving player a more forgiving and modern experience. While maintaining the challenge famous in tactical RPG games, auto-save gives players more accessibility and convenience, especially for newcomers or those revisiting Ivalice on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Have graphics been updated?
The remastered Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will feature significant graphical enhancements that give a new look to the classic game. Character models and environments are updated with high-definition visuals, showing details and vibrant colours.
Battle animations have also been refined, offering smoother and more dynamic combat sequences. Spell effects and environmental elements, such as weather phenomena, have been improved to provide a more immersive experience. The user interface has been optimised for modern platforms, ensuring easy navigation and accessibility.
Will the story be the same?
The remastered game will retain the popular improved translation from the 2007 War of the Lions release, which offers a refined narrative experience. This translation adopts a more formal, medieval-inspired tone, aligning with the game's setting and themes.
While some fans have voiced appreciation for the elevated language, which enhances the game's atmosphere, others prefer the original's straightforward approach. The remaster allows players to choose between the enhanced version with fully voiced dialogue and updated visuals, and the classic version that preserves the original gameplay alongside the War of the Lions translation.
Which consoles will it be playable on?
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is scheduled for release on September 30 and will be available on multiple platforms, including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S and Windows PCs.
Previous versions of the game were only playable on the original PlayStation, as well as improved ports of the game on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: Why former diplomat-turned-filmmaker explores 'unpopular' communities
From diplomatic missions to international movie sets, Dubai-based Russian filmmaker Olga Sapozhnikova has spent her life trying to bridge divides between nations, between people, and even within the self. A former Russian diplomat stationed in Japan, Sapozhnikova describes her life's work as one continuous pursuit of 'cross-cultural communication'. 'In the beginning I was more interested in how it's possible to stop wars. Now I'm more interested in how to stop conflicts between people; like if two groups in a company hate each other, or a husband and wife don't get along, how can we make them be friends?' Her journey began with a fascination for Japanese culture and diplomacy. She studied Japanese at the Moscow Linguistic University and went on to take a course in political science, which she described as 'additional knowledge' to support her interest in diplomacy and conflict resolution. She eventually became one of the first female Russian diplomats to serve in Japan, posted at the Russian embassy in Tokyo, where she was responsible for cultural affairs. 'Before, there were never women in this position,' she recalled. But it was a deeply personal crisis that pivoted her career towards filmmaking. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. From trauma to storytelling In 2001, her younger sister was caught near Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks in New York. For three days, Sapozhnikova's family had no idea whether she had survived. 'She lived next to it. She was studying for the New York Bar. For three days we didn't have connection with her,' she recalled. 'She survived, but she lost her house. She was living somewhere without clothes or food. She was helping Americans from under the ground.' That experience, coupled with rising Islamophobia at the time, pushed Sapozhnikova to take action. 'In Moscow [at the time], if somebody in hijab entered the underground, everybody would run away. So, I thought it was very important to do something to connect Muslim people and Christian people,' she explained. Her motivation was also shaped by her own childhood experience. 'When I was 12 years old, living in Kuwait, I was saved by an Iraqi doctor. Nobody could cure me, and he saved me. That's why I'm so devoted to Muslims, and I thought it would be great to build a bridge. I have a lot of Muslim friends, especially girls. They are very kind and very smart. I wanted to portray that.' She pitched a film concept to a Russian TV station, which turned into her debut work, Hareem. Though she clashed with the director, who openly admitted to anti-Muslim bias, Sapozhnikova fought to keep her vision intact. 'I was the idea author and the scriptwriter. I was doing everything. But because I was very young, they didn't put me in the credits at first,' she said. The film aired 25 times and reached an audience of 140 million people. 'After this movie, a lot of people in Russia started studying Arabic,' she added. 'I showed that we are all one blood.' Women on the edge Her follow-up project was a sharp turn from her last one. She began profiling women in extreme professions for a film titled Risky Girls. She documented female stunt riders, tiger trainers, and base jumpers — each pushing past boundaries often seen as male-dominated. 'I was studying why women choose risky professions. Because by nature, the heart of a woman is to be safe,' she said. 'One girl was jumping from buildings. It's the most dangerous because the parachute opens at the last minute. 'During one of the jumps, she crashed hard into the side of the building — so violently that the cameraman, normally calm, started yelling, convinced she might not survive the impact.' The film featured women who lived double lives: nurturing mothers and fierce athletes. 'Few of them really surprised me. They had three kids, they cooked in the house, they wore dresses. But then suddenly, they were doing things men were afraid to do,' she added. The beauty of growing old Another theme that has emerged in her work is ageing, particularly how it is perceived in different cultures. Her recent projects have spotlighted elderly icons from Kazakhstan, Russia, and the UAE. In Hidden Beauty, she told the story of Jamila, the first Emirati woman to work in ambulance services, as well as other pioneering women in the UAE. In a Kazakhstan-based film on longevity, she featured women aged 60 to 90 who were still modelling internationally, a 103-year-old Russian woman who recites classical poetry weekly to keep her memory sharp, and an 86-year-old dancer who believes 'love will never get old.' 'In Kazakhstan, people over 60 stay at home. Some said they felt shy to go outside because of their wrinkles. I wanted to show they can,' Sapozhnikova said. 'They have an incredible desire to live.' Rewriting life's script Living in Dubai, Sapozhnikova works as a life and public speaking coach, helping people, particularly women, reshape their internal narratives. 'A lot of women, even if they are very successful, will say 'Yeah, but I'm still not married' or 'I'm already 45'. I help them rewrite what they want,' she said. 'I ask questions, they write it down, and for 21 days, they read it to themselves. And they change.' The method draws from her experience in diplomacy and filmmaking. 'In a way, I work like a director, helping them rewrite their scenario." One woman from Kazakhstan, she recalled, came to her ready to give up after losing her husband, son, and home. 'She said there was nothing else left. But after the programme, she changed completely. Now she's living again.' A global vision Sapozhnikova's films have been broadcast widely and recognised at festivals from Cannes to Los Angeles. Her subjects range from Emirati policewomen to Kazakh Olympic champions training in cabbage warehouses. 'I choose unpopular topics. A boxer who didn't have gloves. A girl jumping from a vegetable market to a stadium named after her. People don't believe such stories exist,' she said. Next, she plans to host a forum in Dubai focused on longevity and is considering a new documentary on 'higher vibrations' — a concept she defines as the mindset that allows people to focus on what unites rather than what annoys or divides. 'When you start thinking about building something bigger, your vibration changes. Then you start taking all your resources, all your mind, all your network — and you do something that makes you and others stronger.'
Tahawul Tech
13 hours ago
- Tahawul Tech
Nintendo Switch 2 Archives
"We're entering this transition from a position of strength and bringing real-world experience to meet the demands of the AI factory". Learn more about @Vertiv's alignment with @nvidia below. #Vertiv #NVIDIA #tahawultech
The National
15 hours ago
- The National
Trump presses Fed's Powell to cut interest rates by a full point
US President Donald Trump called on Jerome Powell to cut interest rates by a full percentage point on Thursday, ramping up his pressure on the Federal Reserve chair. Mr Trump's latest attacks on the Fed chair came shortly after a Labour Department report showed employers added 139,000 jobs last month, slower than its March gain but still above economists' projections. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 per cent. ''Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster!,' Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Mr Powell. 'Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!' In a series of follow-up posts, Mr Trump claimed rate cuts would allow the US to lower short and long-term rates 'on debt that is coming due'. Mr Trump has regularly attacked Mr Powell in recent months over the Fed chair's caution in cutting interest rates. Mr Powell so far has resisted the pressure from the White House and maintains that policy decisions will be data dependent. He and other members on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee are currently debating how Mr Trump's tariffs will affect the economy. Speaking in New York on Thursday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler laid out her support for keeping rates at their current level due to rising inflation risks. Also speaking on Thursday, Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid said he expects tariffs will 'likely push up prices', with their effects not being 'fully apparent for some time'. The Fed, which has left rates unchanged for the past three meetings at roughly 4.3 per cent, will hold its next two-day meeting from June 17-18. The Fed's next blackout period begins at midnight on Saturday, meaning there will be no public communications from the central bank before it announces its next rate decision. Traders anticipate the Fed will keep rates unchanged through the summer, according to CME Group data.
