It would seem Square Enix had made no further delays for tactical RPG fans today. Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles has been released today, and the Final Fantasy VII official account went on to change the profile picture to one that featured none other than the real Cloud Strife. The real deal: Spiky-haired SOLDIER of FFVII made that appearance in the legendary tactical title that set the precedent for so many others on the PlayStation.
The announcement instantly made players erupt into social media frenzy. Cloud depicted in that classic and doom and gloom Yoshitaka Amano art style just hits you differently. It’s peak, said a Twitter user. That vibe is flawless, transporting you back to the ’90s in instant memory to the golden era of Final Fantasy.
So, whatever went down with Cloud-and Ivalice? If you never played the PS1 version of Final Fantasy Tactics, then you’ll know that this has been around for a while. Cloud Strife was a secret character in the 1998 release and is making a comeback in this more recent one. “He was always in Tactics. That was the 1998 release. That was a crazy hidden quest where you had to show up at the top of a volcano, find him, then grind that dude from level one all the way to ninety-nine. Totally worth it, though, according to those that did the grind back then,” shared one veteran player.
The community response has become insane. Some players are just pigging out on watching Cloud look fresh. MY MAN with an excited Giphy gif, another fan wrote. Another called him their pixel pookie, which is really cute, but that’s not quite universal hype. There’s a fair share of the player community that is pretty upset about the language options, or at times, the lack of them.
Many are calling out the lack of Spanish translation. One simply said, “No spanish transleted….bye,” while another commented, “Would be great if it was in Spanish.” Requests for Portuguese subtitles were put in by the Portuguese-speaking community as well. This is a big one that Square Enix might want to look into if they’re seriously about grabbing the international market.
Then there is the confusion of new players who have never gone through the original. “Cloud is in this game?” a really taken aback few people enquired. In fact, he guest-starred with another FFVII character, a well-informed fan explained. It’s the kind of cool crossover moment Square East used to do back when they weren’t afraid to get weird with it.
A very interesting time to release, if you ask me. Keeping the hype still fresh on all things Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is just prime marketing; putting Cloud back in the limelight for a Tactics release. Not that some players are too occupied and are already thinking about asking for Part 3 news for the main line of FFVII remake. You can’t really blame them- that ending for Rebirth left everybody clinging.
Away from all this theorizing, some are wondering about the actual version. Is that the PS1 remaster? An official said. The Ivalice Chronicles seems a rather new brand for what is probably an updated port of that classic game, but there is still quite a bit lacking in the details. Square Enix far from digging out any details has let Cloud do most of the talking for them.
Which, to be truthful, is really working. That classic art style of Cloud has everyone waxing nostalgic. Cloud seeing Aerith again in Ivalice like: heartbroken, joked a user with a crying gif. No wonder he couldn’t afford a 1 gil flower. He must spend a fortune on hair gel, commented another. That gave the community a good laugh.
Day one hype is a thing now. Let the grind begin,” one player proudly broadcast, ready to jump into classic Tactics gameplay. A chance to relive one of the greatest tactical RPGs ever made for a lot of people with their favorite Final Fantasy character included. For others, it’s new, with an actual game to play that they might have missed on the first go-around.
Now, to observe, not all remarks were bubbly. One user came back with a chain of vomiting and poop emojis. Can’t please everyone, I guess. Though the general ambiance is considerably rather positive across the core Final Fantasy fanbase.
This also leads to the interest of how Square considers itself now. Therefore, what with the Pixel Remaster series and this revival of Tactics, they’ve really been leaning on their back catalog lately. This is really a smart move with such a historical backdrop of classic games in which new generations could have definitely missed out on.
Now the big question would be if that opens the door for more on Tactics further down the line. An actual sequel? More remasters? No idea. But in the meantime, players get to go and get their hands dirty trying yet another very new (or old, depending on your POV) iteration of Final Fantasy Tactics with everyone’s favourite spiky-haired mercenary front and center. Ivalice Chronicles is out, and Cloud waits at the top of that volcano just as he did 26 years ago. Those things never change; honestly? Don’t they have their charm? Xbox players might be interested in future releases as well.
