Talk about a stark reality check: While one would hope that humanity would evolve as a civilization in relative step with the passage of time, Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno has pointed to the continued relevance of the game’s story as proof positive that things in the real world are going less than spectacularly.
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Matsuno, who in addition to also writing the classic PlayStation 1 RPG will reprise his dual-role for its upcoming The Ivalice Chronicles remake, offered this reflection on the current state of human affairs during a recent FFT-centric interview given alongside returning scenario designer Katzutoyo Maehiro, returning art director Hiroshi Minagawa, and newly-added producer Shoichi Matsuzawa, to Japanese video game news outlet Den Famico Gamer.
Following a lengthy discussion whose topics ran the gamut from the history of the game’s creation, to the reason why they felt now was the right time to revisit the game, to the circumstances that led to Final Fantasy VII protagonist Cloud Strife appearance as a recruitable unit, the devs were asked by their host to “share a message for the fans who are looking forward to Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles“.
First up was Minigawa, who highlighted, “We really put a lot of effort into overseeing the production of the new Ramza figure. If you’re interested, I’d love for you to check it out.”
“As I mentioned before, the ‘Classic’ version really is the crystallization of all the effort we put in back then — we gave it everything we had,” he said, as machine translated by ChatGPT. “And the ‘Enhanced’ version includes compelling new features like full voice acting, letting you enjoy the story with slightly different interpretations and elements. If your schedule allows, I’d be thrilled if you could play both versions and think, ‘Hmm, what’s changed here?’”
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Offering up their two cents, Maehiro then asserted, “It’s been nearly 30 years since the original release, and now here we are in the Reiwa era… but Final Fantasy Tactics is returning in two forms: ‘Classic’ and ‘Enhanced.’“
“Whether you’re a longtime fan of the original, someone who’s heard of the game but never played it, or someone hearing about FFT for the very first time — this is a title that lets all kinds of players fully enjoy the world of Ivalice,” he added. “I truly hope you’ll have a great time with it.”
Next up was Matsuzawa, at which point the Final Fantasy XIV project manager recalled, “For me, I got involved as a producer because I really wanted to share the emotional experience I had back then with as many people as possible. So I’d especially love for new players to give it a try!”
“And for those who played it back in the day, just like I did — I think there are tons of fun new ways to play this time around,” the Like doing a monster-only playthrough, or restricting yourself to using only the Yin-Yang Mage class… there are all kinds of creative challenges to enjoy. I hope returning players will have fun discovering new ways to play too.”
Finally given the spotlight by his colleagues, Matsuno first joked, “Alright, I’ll be serious now (laughs),” before diving into the uncomfortable truth that our world has stagnated, if not outright gotten worse, in the past three decades:
“We made this game nearly 30 years ago, during a time when Japan was dealing with a lot of issues — the bubble economy had burst, the Gulf War had happened, and both the economy and politics were unstable. Japan especially was suffering from the aftermath of the bubble burst: the economy worsened, many companies went bankrupt, and we entered the ’employment ice age’.”
“In that social climate, we released FFT as a game that depicted class struggle, with ‘the haves’ and ‘the have-nots’ as one of its core themes. But now, 30 years later, sadly, the world hasn’t changed much.
“Economic disparity is still prevalent, and in terms of division, the situation hasn’t gotten any better. As for global conflicts — Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hezbollah, Syria — wars and disputes continue to break out around the world.
“I had hoped that things would’ve improved by now — that maybe 30 years later, things would be a bit better — but in some ways, it feels like nothing has changed… maybe even that the ‘90s were actually better. In that sense, I think that even if you play this game in 2025, it will still resonate with something inside you.”
Closing out the interview, Matsuno ultimately asserted, “Whether you’ve played it before or not, I sincerely hope you’ll pick it up and give it a try.”
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