Final Fantasy Tactics Switch 2020

For many, Last Fantasy Tactics was the beginning real gustation of the tactical RPG subgenre. Led by Yasumi Matsuno, mastermind backside the Ogre Battle series, Tactics would release in 1997 to universal acclaim, rapidly becoming a favorite among the RPG customs and easily attaining the "Greatest Hits" characterization on the original Playstation. Not but that, it would do well enough to spiral out into its own full-fledged subseries thereafter. For the meliorate part of two decades, Square Enix would go on to release three additional titles nether the Tactics umbrella, though each subsequent game would bear witness to perform worse than the one before it, and none would ever come close to achieving the success or adoration brought about by the gramps of the franchise.

And so, nothing. While the world of Ivalice has remained live thanks to its influence and presence in other titles – most recently, Terminal Fantasy XIV – the actual Tactics branch of games has been silent for over five years now. And then, what happened to it? Who can really say, for certain, though I can speculate on where things went wrong and what may become of the franchise – if anything – in the hereafter.

They Chose…Poorly

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was released roughly five years later the Western release of Concluding Fantasy Tactics, sharing many characteristics with its predecessor while introducing some new systems, such as the game-changing "Laws" mechanic that would forcefulness players to adapt to strict rulesets on each battleground. The game was well received and would be a fiscal success, though not on the same level as the original game.

To my surprise, Tactics Accelerate would blaze its ain path in the Ivalice universe rather than working off the rich lore established in Final Fantasy Tactics, instead centering around… a group of kids with a magical book. Look, I take nothing against NeverEnding Story but the jump from the realistic, politically charged entrada of Tactics to one with kids throwing snowballs at each other (in the prologue) was a bit also much.

I'grand sure that the jump from Playstation to Nintendo had something to practise with this tonal shift, just was it actually necessary? New isn't inherently bad – Final Fantasy, for better or worse, has opted for "new" with nearly every new mainline entry – only there is just so much potential for expansion on the original Tactic's narrative that it feels bad knowing it has been confined to a dusty closet for over two decades now. I don't mistake Square Enix for diversifying their production on multiple platforms, but I don't experience it was worth sacrificing the far superior temper plant in the original Final Fantasy Tactics in the process – if that was the reason for its abandonment. I've already outlined why I think a true Last Fantasy Tactics sequel/prequel makes sense, then I'll continue it short here: Foursquare shouldn't have abandoned the lore of the original so soon. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Matsuno would shift from his previous director position (with Tactics) to producer for Tactics Advance.

Down The Rabbit Pigsty They Go

Square Enix would again ignore the original game in favor of a straight sequel to Tactics Advance, dubbed Terminal Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, released in N America in 2008. For me, this conclusion would further solidify the new direction in which the series would take, further acting equally a wedge between the new path and the original vision conceptualized by Matsuno a decade prior. Coming off pivotal roles in the evolution of both Tactics Advance (released 2003) and Final Fantasy XII (released 2006), Matsuno would seemingly have no influence on the evolution of this sequel. Grimoire would be more or less postively received, but would one time over again mark another refuse in sales in comparing to its legacy. At this signal – for me whatever way – it was clear that alter was necessary, though the impending change would not exist what most fans would clamor for.

Don't Y'all Guys Have Phones?

With the rising popularity of smartphones and mobile gaming in the late 2000s, information technology was only a affair of time before our favorite series would make the jump to the overwhelmingly lucrative platform. Tactics would prove to be no exception, with Final Fantasy Tactics S releasing in the Japanese mobile market in 2013. This would not be the first foray into the mobile platform for the serial – the original Terminal Fantasy Tactics earned that accolade back in 2011 – but would mark the first new mobile game and first new entry in the series in five years. Tactics and turn-based games in general lend themselves to fitting well on any device due to the slower pace of gameplay, but not even that nor the legacy of the series would be plenty to relieve this mobile title from shutting downwards a mere 13 months after launch. Details surrounding its demise are slim, but things had to have been bad for a mobile title (donning the Final Fantasy prefix) to fold so shortly after release. The situation had never looked so grim for the series, so where could things maybe go from here?

The Unsung Story

At this bespeak, in 2014, series creator Yasumi Matsuno had more or less been "hands off" with the franchise for over a decade, simply his artistic vision would before long exist summoned over again. Unsung Story would be announced on Kickstarter that same year and would exist touted as the "spiritual successor" to Concluding Fantasy Tactics thanks to Matsuno's contributions. While his company, Algebra Factory, would non lead the project, he would apparently be involved with the artistic process in some form. Today, Unsung Story still hasn't released after six years thank you to a rather tumultuous development history – by no mistake of Matsuno's – only is rumored to finally be releasing by the end of 2020. Only time volition tell whether the project will actually live up to its inspiration, or simply join the ever-growing sea of Tactics-like titles that only tin't seem to find the same "magic" that exudes from the 1997 original.

Time Flows Like A River…And History Repeats

"Never" is a potent word and shouldn't be thrown effectually liberally, but I'chiliad fairly certain that nosotros'll never see another Last Fantasy Tactics game. Its legacy volition live on, of course, only information technology is clear to me that the heyday of the series is long gone. Historically, the franchise has released one title every five years or so before abruptly ending that trend after the seemingly disastrous Terminal Fantasy Tactics Due south. Even though the testify at this point is rather damning, I would still love a return to the original Ivalice brought virtually past Final Fantasy Tactics, whether that exist through a sequel or a prequel. The key with either theoretical iteration would be Matsuno, as I believe he would be the only one capable of making it a success. Although he hasn't been a direct employee of Square Enix for some time at present, he has contributed to Ivalice-related scenarios in Final Fantasy XIV recently…and then peradventure there is some promise for something completely new from the franchise in the future.

I think a more reasonable goal – for both Square Enix and our own wishful thinking – would exist to bring the original Concluding Fantasy Tactics or its re-release, State of war of the Lions, to the Nintendo Switch. One of our highest viewed manufactures year-over-year is, in fact, on this very discipline, so in that location is an obvious demand for the classic tactical RPG to come to Nintendo's newest platform. The mature theme and darker tone of Tactics that Nintendo may take once detested would certainly be embraced by their mod standards, as the Switch eShop is full of far more than potentially heinous content than could ever be plant in this title.

The Rose-tinted Lens

Bringing Tactics as-is to a modern platform has some potential downsides, however. While I would instantly buy it, I'm not blind to the improvements that accept been made in the genre over 20 years that might shed a more than negative light upon revisiting the experience in 2020. I recently completed Cruel Seal: Arbiter's Mark on Switch, and while it is nowhere near the same level as Tactics from a narrative perspective, it features some amazing quality-of-life improvements that Tactics would be stupid non to adopt.

Remember spamming "Focus" and damaging your ain political party members for hours on stop in club to efficiently farm job points? That sucked. A far ameliorate solution would be an emphasis on swift victories and per battle MVPs similar those found in Cruel Seal. I could go on, but y'all become the idea. Hindsight is twenty/20, and the same line of thinking could be applied to almost any game from decades ago, only that is all the more reason why I'd love to encounter something brand new in the Final Fantasy Tactics universe. Not only does it deserve a 2nd chance, it would be amazing to see the Tactics framework injected with modern conveniences. If not, I'd still settle for a port of the original Terminal Fantasy Tactics (or WoTL) on Switch.

Who knows, possibly 2020 is the year?

It professional past day, RPG enthusiast by nighttime. Owner, webmaster, and content creator for this site. Dog dad and fan of dark beers.

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