Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Preview – Preview

I never owned a PS1 myself, but a close friend down the street did have one, and that’s where I first played both Final Fantasy 7 and less than a year later, Final Fantasy Tactics. To say that I was smitten with both is an understatement, but it was the challenge, story and customizability of the latter that stuck with me for years. While I enjoyed them, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and A2 didn’t quite hit in the same way, and so I’ve eagerly awaited a new incarnation of the series. More than just another in the long line of Square Enix remakes and remasters, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles feels like a worthwhile release for this classic turn-based RPG, which hopefully inspires a true sequel sometime down the road.

During PAX West 2025, I had the opportunity to demo a handful of upcoming Square Enix RPGs, the first of which was The Ivalice Chronicles. When the game was first revealed, my initial impression was one of slight disappointment; I had hoped for a more full makeover for the almost 30-year-old title. Having a chance to go hands-on with it forced me to change my tune pretty quickly. For one thing, the added voice acting imbues the gravitas of the main story and its individual character moments with an even greater depth and resonance. An early example of this was the scene involving Ramza’s father on his deathbed, where the voice actors truly accentuated the drama and grief of the moment. Another standout from the demo was the work of Paul Panting in the role of Gaffgarion. I’m excited to see this compelling narrative brought to life through the efforts of its capable voice cast.

The enhanced, modern version of Final Fantasy Tactics that is included in the package appears to offer a faithful but polished experience. While it doesn’t include the War of the Lions content, there is added flair and presentation elements that will be welcome to both newcomers and veterans. A small introduction scene plays whenever a guest character joins your party, and something similar happens when an ally turns traitor, which was fun to see. The menus, world map, and combat environments are all easier to navigate in terms of controls and appearance. A new fast-forward mechanic makes it easy to speed through character dialogue and more importantly the battles with perhaps foregone conclusions, like the random encounters that can pop up when traveling between map points. Given that I’ve played through the game multiple times, including on PS1 and via the PSP version on Vita, I’m pleasantly surprised that this 2025 release manages to feel fresh and contemporary within a much more crowded tactical-RPG genre.

I recall with frustration the lag and slowdown that plagued The War of the Lions release on PSP, and so it’s already a fairly big win to see how smoothly Final Fantasy Tactics runs on modern platforms. My demo included time with the PS5 version and the Switch 2 version in handheld mode, and the experience was absolutely comparable on both, particularly in terms of performance. I’m expecting that Switch 2 owners won’t have to make any major sacrifice if they want to take the game on the go.

I didn’t have time to check out the Classic Mode included with The Ivalice Chronicles, which uses the mechanics and graphics of the original 1997 release but with The War of the Lions script and an added auto-save feature. However, what I could play of the Enhanced Mode has absolutely pushed Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles higher up on my list of fall and winter games-to-play. It reminds me of taking your favorite blanket out of the dryer on a cold day; it’s comfortable, warm, and familiar, but it also manages to feel like new. Best of all, we don’t have long to wait before we can get our turn-based, job class swapping fix. The Ivalice Chronicles launches on September 30th on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.