David Bridges
Quick Summary
- Remake process: The Square Enix team had to rebuild the source code of Final Fantasy Tactics — The Ivalice Chronicles from scratch due to lost files.
- Source code issues: The original code was overwritten during translation, necessitating a complete overhaul using the 1997 game and other resources.
- Character balance: Instead of nerfing Cid, the development team decided to enhance other characters to maintain gameplay balance.
- Future plans: There are hints at potential sequels or new games in the strategy RPG genre, contingent on the success of The Ivalice Chronicles.
The Square Enix team behind Final Fantasy Tactics — The Ivalice Chronicles didn’t just remaster the iconic strategy RPG, they had to go through the trouble of remaking the source code from scratch, according to Bloomberg. In an interview with Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier, the game’s director Kazutoyo Maehiro explained the arduous process of designing The Ivalice Chronicles, which is set to release at the end of the month.
When getting to work on the remake, Maehiro and his team discovered they had to rebuild the source code from the ground up since it was lost thanks to the industry’s unstandardized practices in the ’90s, according to Bloomberg. When translating Final Fantasy Tactics from Japanese to English for the global release, the company would overwrite the original Japanese version’s code. For Maehiro, that meant the team had to undertake a ground-up overhaul and recreate the source code by playing the original game that released in 1997, consulting the game’s master disc and looking at the 2011 version called Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, according to Bloomberg. Maehiro also said during a PAX West 2025 panel that the team gleaned a lot of lost info from fan-made databases.
Revealing more of the behind-the-scenes decisions for The Ivalice Chronicles, Maehiro told Bloomberg about the debate surrounding Count Cidolfus Orlandeau. Better known as Cid, and appropriately nicknamed Thunder God Cid, this overtuned character joins you later in the game, but many fans complained about him being overpowered. Instead of nerfing Cid, Maehiro told Bloomberg that keeping this character’s power level the same would better represent the storyline since “his role in the story is being that very powerful character who joins your party.” To quell any concerns of Cid being too broken, Maehiro told Bloomberg that the team decided to buff the other characters to even things out. Looking ahead, Maehiro also hinted at exploring sequels for the Final Fantasy Tactics franchise or even brand new games in the strategy RPG genre, given that The Ivalice Chronicles does well, according to Bloomberg.
Daniel Mercer
