Square EnixThe Ivalice Chronicles is in an interesting place, somewhere between a remaster and remake of the beloved Final Fantasy Tactics — a game that already had a remake on PSP. But with the game’s creator, Yasumi Matsuno, attached to the project, The Ivalice Chronicles is looking to be the definitive version of the strategy RPG. A recent update on the game’s site makes the extensive amount of changes coming even clearer. There’s one particularly interesting tidbit, a fan-favorite feature from the original PlayStation release of Final Fantasy Tactics that, sadly, wasn’t included in the English version. For the first time ever, the game’s Sound Novels will be fully localized and included in The Ivalice Chronicles. The Japanese site for The Ivalice Chronicles recently posted a new page walking through nearly a dozen updates or additions, from the overhauled interface to a new tactical view in battle. But mentioned in the middle of all that is a little mention of the Sound Novels, which you may not have ever heard of.In the original Final Fantasy Tactics, these are essentially mini-visual novels, almost like choose-your-own-adventure stories supported by audio and pictures. There are four different Sound Novels that are unlocked when you obtain specific artefacts, and while none are vital to the main narrative, they help enrich the world of Ivalice and dive into its lore and history. These were unfortunately completely cut from the English release, likely because of the extra time and workload it would have taken to localize. It’s fantastic that this feature is finally being brought over, as it only helps to enhance the already rich world of Ivalice — easily among the best game settings ever created. But it’s basically a footnote in the changes The Ivalice Chronicles is bringing. The site stresses that the entire game’s script has been rewritten to accommodate voice acting, with new events and battle dialogue added on top of that. Another fun tidbit is the addition of new intro videos, if you wait on the main menu screen. These will introduce the background story and give you Fire Emblem-esque job introductions. Tactics’ Sound Novels are essentially mini choose-your-own-adventure stories. | Square EnixThere are a lot of extra little quality-of-life features detailed on the page as well. You can now check the categories of items sold in each town from the world map, without actually having to go into the shop. A lot of streamlining for jobs seems to have happened too, with full trees that tell you the unlock conditions, and the ability to save up to three job, ability, and equipment sets to quickly switch up character builds. As you might expect, there’s also now a fast-forward button to speed up battles. If you weren’t already aware, The Ivalice Chronicles will feature two different modes: Classic and Enhanced. The Enhanced Mode is what will feature all of these little changes, additions, and quality-of-life features, along with the voice acting and rewritten script. However, if you’d like to play the original version of the game, preserved as closely as possible, that’s where Classic comes in. This version won’t get any of the difficulty features or enhancements, and will use the War of the Lions PSP game script without voice acting. In the menu screen, you can now favorite specific units, so they’re easier to find as you recruit more characters. | Square EnixWhether you want that classic experience or something with a bunch of new bells and whistles, The Ivalice Chronicles will be able to provide it — and it’s even more of a treat that we’re getting narrative elements that, up until now, have simply been lost to English fans.Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles launches on September 30 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2, and PC.