Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles does not include The War of the Lions content

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After revealing the news earlier this month, Square Enix has shared a fresh interview on their official blog about the impending upgrade of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. In this interview, Director Kazutoyo Maehiro delves into numerous topics. This conversation verifies that the forthcoming refined remaster does not incorporate the fresh elements from Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, and that Square Enix no longer possesses the original game’s source code.

In the given interview, Director Kazutoyo Maehiro clarifies several aspects regarding their decision to omit content from The War of the Lions release in this new enhanced version, emphasizes their concentration on this updated edition, and discusses why the original game’s source code and master data are now unavailable.

In the interview, Director Kazutoyo Maehiro explains the reasons behind leaving out content from The War of the Lions release for this upgraded version, highlights their dedication to improving this revamped edition, and talks about why the original game’s source code and essential data no longer exist.

What made you choose to work on enhancing the initial Final Fantasy Tactics, instead of the War of the Lions edition?

Members of our development team, including myself, weren’t personally part of the War of the Lions, yet I firmly think that the game’s content exceeded the player’s expectations during its release period.

Reflecting on it after almost three decades, while working on this game, our team (the original creators of Final Fantasy Tactics) pondered how we might adapt the game to appeal to a contemporary audience of gamers.

We arrived at our decision by pondering over this matter, eventually deciding it was best to honor the original game’s essence and strive to replicate its experience in the finest manner attainable.

Have you thought about incorporating characters like Balthier, Luso, and even the Onion Knight and Dark Knight jobs from Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions in our game? That would be pretty cool, don’t you think?

In our planning process, we certainly took into account expanding the game with fresh jobs, talents, and characters, even those from War of the Lions. However, the initial version of Final Fantasy Tactics is remarkably comprehensive, not just in terms of game mechanics but also its narrative. Altering it significantly could potentially diminish the experience for both longtime fans and newcomers to the game.

To bring Final Fantasy Tactics back to life in today’s world, our initial approach focused on staying true to the original game by emphasizing its iconic characters, roles, and gameplay mechanics, aiming to recreate the authentic gaming experience.

Our development team put their heart into creating an experience that closely resembled the original, and they achieved this by employing the authentic VFX and SFX from the original version. I believe the enthusiasts of the initial release will appreciate this aspect while playing.

What was the most significant hurdle you encountered during the development of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles?

In essence, we encountered numerous significant hurdles, primarily due to the fact that the fundamental data and programming code from the initial game had become unavailable.

Back then, it wasn’t common practice for us gamers to store such data, not because it was handled badly or mismanaged, but simply because it wasn’t the norm in those days.

In the past, we lacked the advanced resource management tools that are available now, and to make matters worse, our game production process involved creating the Japanese version initially, followed by modifying it to produce localized versions like the English one by replacing its data.

Back then, there were no online fixes or upgrades like we have today, which meant that after creating a game, there was typically no need for alterations unless there was a significant reason to change it.

It appears that creating this game with no master data or source code proved to be the most significant hurdle we faced.

How did you solve that problem?

Put simply: by sheer force (laughs).

In our process, we studied several variations of the game that already existed and recreated the code for the original. However, there were instances when we simply played the original game and figured out some parts based on intuition or feel.

The whole procedure stemmed from collective dedication, with us simultaneously focusing on adding innovative features and, in a sense, modernizing an older arcade game for the NES-like console.

The staff who worked on this game were real lifesavers. I can’t thank them enough.

On September 30, 2025, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, the latest versions of Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, as well as on PC via Steam.

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2025-06-17 22:26