Square Enix is preparing to reintroduce one of its most beloved tactical role-playing games with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, and director Kazutoyo Maehiro has shared his hopes for what could follow if the project performs well. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Maehiro suggested that strong reception could pave the way not only for sequels but also for entirely new ventures in the strategy RPG genre.
“I think fans would want to see a game that takes place in Ivalice,” Maehiro said. “Personally, I’d love to be able to take all these new systems we’re able to create, expand it even further and maybe explore the idea of creating a new world with new characters, a new IP. That’s something I’d love to be able to do one day.”
The director also spoke about the challenges of developing the remaster. Once production began, the team discovered that the original game’s source code no longer existed. “Once the project was taking off, we thought, ‘OK, let’s take a look at the source code,’” Maehiro explained. “That was when we realized that the source code wasn’t there.”
This meant that in order to revive Final Fantasy Tactics, Maehiro and his team had to meticulously rebuild the game. The process involved studying the original PlayStation release, analyzing the master disc, and even examining the 2011 mobile port. Maehiro described it as an exhaustive effort that required years of work and many difficult decisions about what elements to preserve. “There were just so many different variants or versions,” he noted. “The question of what is the original experience, being able to come up with an answer to that was a process that took us a very long time.”
Originally released in 1997, Final Fantasy Tactics became a cult classic thanks to its intricate tactical gameplay and politically charged narrative set in the war-torn land of Ivalice. It went on to inspire spin-offs and even tie into the mainline Final Fantasy XII in 2006. An enhanced port titled The War of the Lions arrived in 2007, but The Ivalice Chronicles represents the most ambitious return to the title yet.
The remaster is set to launch on September 30, 2025, for modern consoles and PC. It not only celebrates the original game but also serves as a potential starting point for the future of Square Enix’s strategy RPGs. Maehiro’s comments suggest that the company is ready to invest further in this beloved genre, whether through sequels set in Ivalice or through entirely new intellectual properties.
