Relying on the day, Ultimate Fantasy Techniques could possibly be thought-about my favourite Ultimate Fantasy. Regardless of the day, Ultimate Fantasy Techniques is at all times my favourite SRPG of all time. Within the time once I was determined for video games to rise to satisfy my creating thoughts, this was there. There’s a maturity to it that I feel the collection has by no means actually been in a position to recapture that simply pulled me in and by no means let me go. Techniques’ advanced narrative sees younger Ramza Beoulve navigate an influence wrestle within the land of Ivalice. Conflict ravages his nation, as a battle for the crown overshadows the wants of the folks. There are so few video games which can be in a position to carry themselves in the best way Ultimate Fantasy Techniques has carried out, and I’ve by no means been in a position to let it go.
Time passes, although, and after years of persistence, we lastly have Ultimate Fantasy Techniques: The Ivalice Chronicles prepared to satisfy a brand new technology. I’ve spent round half a decade wanting this recreation to be playable on a contemporary machine that isn’t only a cell phone, so I used to be thrilled to see the long-rumored remaster lastly unveiled. After numerous hours of revisiting Ivalice (that is fairly literal; sadly, the sport doesn’t monitor your play time), I feel I can confidently say that this was the remaster I’ve been ready for all alongside.
Initially, you’ve received the choices of two fully alternative ways to play Ultimate Fantasy Techniques: Enhanced and Basic. Enhanced is the rebalanced and remastered model of the sport, clearly the brand new and fairly model that the developer put probably the most effort into. The UI was completely redone, the script in English and Japanese was given a brand new cross, the visuals have been touched up, and there’s now full voice performing. Basic is a brand new model of the unique PlayStation launch, with the unique visuals, UI, however with the very talked-about Conflict of the Lions (the PlayStation Transportable remaster of the sport) script used. I’ll primarily be speaking about Enhanced, however I discovered my time with Basic to be a devoted model of the unique recreation that can certainly appease followers who don’t need to see all the brand new modifications.
Enhanced options cleaned up sprites with added element, bringing them a league above many different 2D recreation remasters that simply throw sprites in a filter and name it a day. Character portraits in cutscenes have been cleaned up as effectively, now with added mouth animation, however retain the pixelation. The slowdown issues that plagued the PSP model are nowhere to be discovered, and the 60 frames per second is so clean it unnerved me within the very first cutscene because the 3D setting of the church rotated into body. I personally really feel that every one the visible enhancements are well-made, and the dithering filter added to them emulates CRT screens very well.
Visuals are in all probability the biggest perceivable distinction between each, however there’s rather a lot new below the hood of the Enhanced model. This model received script enhancements and new scenes by the unique author and director, Yasumi Matsuno. The UI, which is understandably clunky given its age, has been properly touched as much as make it extra approachable for contemporary audiences. I used to be thrilled to study that they’ve carried out the power to undo motion actions earlier than the tip of a flip. You even have a battle timeline to correctly plan forward.
This job system is on the core of Ultimate Fantasy Techniques’ gameplay, and might be some of the addicting iterations of the system I’ve ever seen. A tweaked model of Ultimate Fantasy V’s job system in an SRPG is a recipe for fulfillment, and it’s simply as participating all these years later. Each character in your military can decide a Class, referred to as a Job. By taking actions in battle, you’ll acquire Job factors and acquire Job expertise. Factors may be spent to unlock talents below that Job, and these fall below: Motion, Response, Assist, and Motion. You’ll be able to combine and match these between completely different Jobs to construct distinctive models.
This implies each battle is a strategy to develop your characters, permitting you to journey down the Job branches and decide up expertise that can complement one another. A Monk is nice with their native Brawler talent that permits additional injury with no weapon. From there, you may both take that to completely different Jobs, or pull Twin Wield from the Ninja job into Monk to primarily run round double-punching all the things for severe injury. Possibly you need to stack this with the power to disregard elevation, or enhance your transfer distance? You’re at all times inspired to battle extra and optimize how your crew is utilized in battle. This lets you construct some actually damaged groups, however the unbalanced nature is truthfully a part of the attraction. The sport is what you need it to be, and even when it’s not probably the most deep and completely balanced system, I feel the hook of grinding jobs captured my coronary heart for years and by no means let go.
Outdoors of this already enjoyable system is a plethora of subsystems hidden within the background, not wanted to be understood to make it to the tip, however nonetheless actually enjoyable to study. Nearly each standing ailment from the mainline Ultimate Fantasy collection is there, plus some additional ones like having the ability to solid Atheist and even Hen. You’ll be able to accumulate Chocobo to take you across the area if you wish to dissipate an additional celebration house. Terrain, climate, and elevation can be utilized to your benefit as effectively. The sport even provides each unit a Zodiac signal based mostly on their birthday, giving them constructive or adverse affinities to completely different Zodiacs. There’s only a lot right here to delve into if in case you have the time.
Enhanced mode’s steadiness modifications are noticeable in the event you’re conversant in the previous variations of the sport, streamlining development with out taking away an excessive amount of of the core expertise. Your characters will acquire JP (Job Factors) a lot faster, chopping again on numerous grinding that many will really feel is pointless. Going into my playthrough, I used to be a bit apprehensive that altering an excessive amount of of the sport’s uneven issue pacing would possibly alter an excessive amount of of the sport that I beloved a lot. Fortunately, the sport remains to be lots difficult regardless of the introduction of a number of issue ranges.
Techniques was identified for a extremely arduous early recreation, which slowly peters off as you become familiar with the methods, construct your crew, and recruit actually damaged story-specific characters. I feel this curve has been smoothed out to make the early recreation extra manageable with out dropping its tooth. I performed a lot of the recreation on Knight (with temporary bits on Tactician, the arduous mode), the traditional mode, and felt it to be lots difficult. Among the largest gauntlets the sport is notorious for are simply as devilish. You will have the power to go away these chain battles now and rethink your crew make-up or grind some, with the nice option to make your celebration ranges revert again to what they have been earlier than you entered. The friction isn’t gone from the expertise, and the feel it created remains to be current.
The one draw back to Ivalice Chronicles is what isn’t right here. The unique OST is masterful, and I really like what they have been in a position to do with the unique PlayStation’s soundchip. Nevertheless, it will have been great to even have the choice of a newly orchestrated OST. I’m additionally fairly bummed that the Nintendo Swap 2 Version doesn’t hassle to implement the console’s Pleasure-Con 2 mouse function in any respect. I’m an enormous fan of choices in my remasters, so it’s also a bit unlucky that you could’t customise extra of the visuals relying in your mode.
Limitless digital ink has been spilled on the Conflict of the Lions content material being excluded, equivalent to just a few Jobs and several other cutscenes not making the soar from PSP. Lots of people love this content material, and I completely get why individuals are unhappy to see it gone. Whereas Ivalice Chronicles has added to the supremely polished core expertise, I’ll at all times want this might have been a bit extra right here for all Techniques followers. For my part, although, nothing new to that PSP model was ever consultant of what made this recreation so particular to me. Techniques is its core gameplay and story, and that’s right here in all its splendor.
What really makes Techniques unforgettable to this present day, although, is the story, and this has at all times been the side that has stored it contemporary in my thoughts since taking part in it so a few years in the past. Ramza’s journey to know his privilege in a system far bigger than himself makes for a poignant narrative that also feels related right now. He grew up a well-intentioned noble, however a noble all the identical. Matsuno’s writing is laser-focused on class divides and revolution, choosing away at these scabs till nothing stays however blood. The primary chapter of the sport sees him study in regards to the turmoil round him, not sure why determined criminals merely don’t commit crimes. Because of a horrible tragedy, Ramza leaves that life behind as he learns in regards to the realities of the world round him. He’s an interesting perspective character to border the battle. He rejects his household title, but holds onto the beliefs he was raised with. His sense of justice is one thing different nobles solely contemplate lip service, however he continues to battle for this naive, idealized world.
On the opposite aspect is his childhood good friend Delita, a person born a commoner who seeks to control the system from the within. As we see each of them navigate the quickly altering world, their actions are at all times asking the participant to look at if ends or means are extra vital. The character of human battle, an examination of struggle as a way to fan the ego of the ruling class on the expense of the folks they oversee, and the way organized faith may be politicized to manage folks with blind religion, is simply why Ultimate Fantasy Techniques has been leagues above most online game writing because it launched.
It’s genuinely unhappy to see that the world has not improved a lot since this recreation hit retailer cabinets within the ’90s. Each battle Ramza comes upon has to do with highly effective, wealthy, and evil males abusing their authority, whereas the individuals who serve below them do nothing however what they’ll to easily survive. As you progress from one arc to the subsequent, it’s uncommon so that you can really feel true satisfaction. You’re so hardly ever fixing something, with systemic points persevering with to put themselves naked. However Ramza’s beliefs carry folks collectively, and slowly however certainly create a little bit of a small neighborhood of individuals to battle with him. Would this ever really be sufficient for you? Are we able to one thing really higher? What would you be keen to do to attain that?
Matsuno’s script, translated superbly in elevated English for the Conflict of the Lions model, does converse for itself. Nevertheless, as a voice performing geek, I’ve at all times yearned to listen to the various pointed ideological conversations from Techniques’ characters acted out in-game. Techniques on fashionable methods with voice performing is all I’ve ever wished from a remaster. This want has been granted, and the voice actors chosen to fill these roles are all the things I might have ever wished and extra. All of my favourite moments have been captured completely by these actors, and I feel it will stand out as a number of the greatest English voice performing from a Sq. Enix recreation.
Ultimate Fantasy Techniques: The Ivalice Chronicles is principally the dream remaster I’ve at all times wished for the sport. I’m unhappy it couldn’t be the proper model for everybody, however what’s right here makes it actually the proper model for me. Every little thing I cherish in my favourite technique recreation is best than ever, and I’m so joyful to see them do justice to it. What was really so vital for me, although, is for Ivalice Chronicles to have the ability to ship this recreation’s thematically dense narrative for contemporary audiences. Techniques was at all times a uncooked reflection of our actual world and politics, and I’m glad Ivalice Chronicle feels prefer it has met the second. I’ve spent years feeling that I’ve been unable to correctly convey why this recreation is so particular to me. Even now, I’m left with the sensation that there’s simply a lot extra to say to do the sport justice. I can solely hope that this downside will infect a complete new technology of people that fall in love with Ivalice Chronicles.
Model Examined: Nintendo Swap 2Review copy supplied by Sq. Enix
