Winner: Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Writeup by Ben Love
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles marks the long-awaited return of Yasumi Matsuno’s tactical tour de force, now on modern platforms and with all the bells and whistles. While the changes don’t go quite as far as Tactics Ogre: Reborn’s gameplay tweaks and rebalances, FFT‘s redone UI, added quality-of-life features, and new voice over (with plenty of additional voiced lines to boot) put a nice new coat of paint upon what was already a masterpiece. Better yet, if any of the changes or additions aren’t to your liking, the PS1 original is included in the package, just as you remember it.
I spent dozens of hours building up a team of incredibly broken party members, experimenting with the class system, and falling in love all over again. While not as finely tuned as Matsuno’s other work, the sheer amount of freedom and potential class combinations makes the game shine upon revisiting it just as much as it did in 1997. As Matsuno himself noted last year, the story of Ramza and Delita struggling against the oppression of the ruling classes against a backdrop of social instability and economic ruin resonates even more strongly with me today than it did in the late ‘90s. I hope Matsuno’s call to action in Final Fantasy Tactics inspires another generation with the will to resist.
Runner-Up: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake
Writeup by Zach Wilkerson
After the massive success of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Square Enix could’ve easily followed the same formula for Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake: make small adjustments to the gameplay and story, and lean on the beautiful look and quality-of-life features. But no, both games here are very different experiences, with new story content, locations, and even a new party member in Dragon Quest II. While I might be less impressed with Dragon Quest I‘s additions, the second game shines now: the characters are well-written, the story feels epic and moving, and there’s just enough direction to keep you going. It’s one of my favorites in the series now, and for a game I’ve maligned for years, that’s special.
