The Final Fantasy Tactics remake is a full rebuild ‘because the original code was overwritten’
“This was simply the norm at the time,” explains director Maehiro
Square Enix has confirmed that the original code for Final Fantasy Tactics has been lost, and that the new remake of the game, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, has therefore been rebuilt from scratch.
The remake is being directed by Kazutoyo Maehiro, who served as an events planner on the original game.
In a new interview, Maehiro has revealed that the game’s original source code is no longer available, due to the then-common practice of overwriting development materials and the limited preservation elements.
“This was simply the norm at the time,” explains Maehiro. ”We didn’t have the kinds of effective resource management tools available today, and we developed games by essentially overwriting the previous code each time we fixed a bug or added a new language.”
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will launch with both a classic version and an enhanced version of the original game.
“Since the classic version was intended to recreate the original game, we did have the option to implement using an emulator,” he continues. “However, this method wouldn’t have allowed us to make granular refinements even if the objective was to recreate the original game. After our analysis, we felt the best way to ensure the game met modern playability standards while staying true to the original was to rebuild it.”
The tactical RPG was initially released on the PlayStation back in 1997, but is getting a modern remaster on PC and consoles called Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, set to arrive on September 30 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PC.
In a recent interview, the game’s original script writer claimed that the game’s political message is still relevant 30 years later.
