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A lot was changed in XII's story. I remember huge amounts of the story were changed. I could reel them off but it'd take forevever. It's a shame XII is one of my favorites but, it would have had as intricate a plot as Tactics. They cut a lot and changed the story drastically. Wasted potential. I think that what happened with Fortress is particularly disappointed.
I think they could still make use of the Basch Solo story in like a Stranger of Paradise type game. Stranger of Zodiac or something lol. But learned alot per usual, keep up the good work guys.
@@jplayer073 Dude it’s so annoying seeing everyone jump on the ‘let’s hate on Nomura’ train. He’s one of the most talented people Square has. For example, if it wasn’t for Nomura literally every single character in Final Fantasy VII would’ve been killed.
@@fearlesscheshirecat1411 Nomura is going to single handedly destroy Square Enix from inside. I've loved the guy for most of my life but the fact is he's a terrible writer and director and he should be an idea guy, not an execution guy.
@@JesseColton That’s not true at all. Everybody jumps on the bandwagon of hating, and I bet you can’t even tell me anything that he’s done that’s bad to the Final Fantasy series. He did an awesome job on FFVII Remake.
I really liked the world building in ff12, each character had an accent that you could distinguish where they’re from. Dalmascans had an American accent, Rozarian - Spanish and Archadia - English. Even the races had distinguishable voices. Truly underrated game.
i'll die on the grave that ff12 by any other name would have been a game of the year, legendary title. new ip type stuff. but it had to follow ffx to most people, and a lot couldn't embrace combat, open-ish world ff.
@@puddingway9231 you might be right. The funny thing about Rozarria is we never actually visited the continent, which gives the world of ivalice feeling bigger than what’s shown.
I was 10 the first time I played ff12 and I was watching Onepiece along side it. I would sometimes imagine myself being a sky pirate with my crew roaming the world of ivalice doing sky pirate stuff. Lol
Bhujerbans had something akin to indian or south asian dialects, viera had Icelandic accents, and baanga sounded like they were garbling on marbles. Everything sounding so believable, and the localisation team for 12 knocked it so far out of the park.
For its part in the greater Final Fantasy universe, the content certainly deserved this kind of treatment. Or, rather, FFUnion has demonstrated that they know their Final Fantasy by giving this corner of the universe some more time in the spotlight. Really great work, folks! Studied, intriguing, and valuable for every Final Fantasy fan!
Pretty sure Ivalice is a continent not a world. Rabanastre appears in ff14 so it's highly likely that ff12 is Canon to ff14 tho set place in a completely different timeline
@@SnuubScadoob I am totally making an FF D&D setting and you bet your ass Ivalice, by name if not in totality, is making a showing! I’m also delighted in adding stuff from XVI when it comes about and XIV already has some spots in my brain that need adapting. Especially a lot of the different era civilization stuffs! XIV has that shit in droves and I’d love to explore those concepts (or even outright lift some!) in a D&D setting! Ripe for dungeon fodder too lol.
What I love about Ivalice is the races, with the Vierra, Bangaa, Nu Mou, and even the designs of moogles and it made me wish all those races were also available in FFXIV since the Vierra got in.
I think it's really cute and heartwarming how Yoshi-P was so looking forward to working with Matsuno, and then got his wish with the Return to Ivalice raids.
And how he was shilling the hell out of Tactics Ogre: Reborn. Wouldn't surprise me if he is responsible for us getting TO: Reborn since it's his favorite game ever, and he's on the board of directors.
Return to Ivalice was an emotional experience for me. I fell in love with FF12, and the amount of attention to detail they put into it felt so heartwarming.
I would love a new installment in the world of Ivalice, there's still plenty of story to be told. In my opinion the next one should take place during the age of Ajora, that would be the perfect way to combine tactics with 12.
There are very few creatives I appreciate as much as Matsuno. While I'm glad he was able to prioritize his mental health, the loss of his presence and creative force for so long is a truly tragic thing imo. I'm so glad he's more active in the gaming world, and look forward to more from him. Especially if he gets to work on an Ivalice project.
He did end up doing Ivalice content in two of FFXIV's expansions. Some of my favorite raids are in there. Him working on Tactics Ogre Reborn also makes me hope he's working on the FF Tactics remaster that was in the same Nvidia leak, of which almost everything has come true.
I loved that the FFXIV devs wanted to bring back some spark of Ivalice as content in the game and asked Yasumi Matsuno if he wanted to direct that content and he accepted. Those devs have singlehandedly reunited all the old Final Fantasy developers with the IP they helped to create and have been mending bridges for the past decade, bless them; Giving these creators opportunities to be with their creations without having to deal with SE corporatism, which is the main reason they left to begin with. Bozjas and Return to Ivalice may not be the Ivalice we wanted, it is definitely not the tactics we wanted; But, under the circumstances it is better than nothing and at least Yasumi had the opportunity to revisit his creation.
SE corporatism driving away the talent is really a major theme of this company, isn't it? You have so many incredibly talented and passionate people working on those games, and then you have - frankly - idiots like Matsuda who have absolutely no clue about why the successful games they created were so successful, and instead chases fads like battle royale and NFTs, even doubling and tripling down on the latter despite the very clear backlash. Square Enix is deeply divided in itself. Genius-level talented developers, producers, writers, composers etc vs absolutely clueless, idiotic management. It's such a shame. Imagine what they could create if they had sensible people in charge ...
@@rogthepirate4593 SE's problem is not only is the company set up so that they do not recruit outside of it to fill positions of management, but those talented within the company do not want to be promoted out of working on games into management. So it is a double-edged sword, so you end up with the non-game developers being promoted into management who they in of themselves in most cases lack the credentials to run the company since the do not understand the company's product. Compare this to Nintendo, although it has the same archaic corporate system of internal promotion, the game developers there have no problem with leaving making games behind to take on the responsibility of running the company, resulting in a far different outcome in how the company is run. Yes, Nintendo makes some very questionable and upsetting wipe sweeping decisions, but for the most part they're not harming their own fanbase or harpooning their own products, despite being stubborn and having hypercritical reasons for some decisions.
@@foxdavion6865 Also a factor, yeah. Although I would say that Nintendo do harm their fanbase and products, things like game preservation (or rather complete lack thereof), fairly idiotic hardware shenanigans etc. Plus, Nintendo do have the added issue that they seem to live in their own little bubble and ignore anything that's going on in the wider industry for the most part, which can make them come across as incredibly tone-deaf and backwards sometimes. Sure, it also means they mostly ignore negative trends, but the same goes for positive ones.
I grew up with FF:Tactics, love it to death, still play it to this day at least once a year, always say I'll play differently but always end up with ramza as a dual wielding monk who just devastated everything. 10/10 video, love the content, can't wait for more.
What are the odds - I do the same thing with Ramza! I know people say that Ramza can pull off great damage with the Ultima spell and/or he can learn to be a super strong knight/dark knight (if you’re on the PSP or mobile port), but nothing quite beats having Ramza walk up and two-punch everything. 😂 (For some reason I also constantly end up making a generic dragoon with the “equip sword” ability and the knight/dark knight ability set, but that’s something completely different & done only because of aesthetics…)
Maaan. That's what always happens to me too! Do you guys also grind early in the game leave one monster alive and start throwing 🪨 s at each other to grind jp?
@@PortCityBalrog It’s all about the immobilize/disable spam while everyone else shouted or buffed, for me. That way Mustadio always ended up in my group of top leveled performers! 😂👍
Ivalice has the best quintessential "Final Fantasy" art direction, world setting, and style that defines one facet of the series as a medieval-meets-futuristic high-fantasy setting that it's been known for to some players.
This makes my 12 year old heart flutter! Tactics was my safe place during my childhood. I would write myself into Ramza's squad and got me into d and d.
Low key I think Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the greatest high fantasy stories ever told in a video game. It's profoundly melancholy and bittersweet.
It’s based off of the war of the roses, which happens to be the same set of events that game of thrones is based on, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that FFT is not just one of the best, but I would dare to say, the best original story ( high fantasy or otherwise ) ever told in any video game, ever.
Ff12 is an overlooked masterpiece. Even if the story DOES feel like something was left on the cutting room floor during editing. Gambits need to return. It's such a deep game design.
No world has affected me more in molding what enjoy in a fantastical world than the world of Ivalice. The Tactics games and XII will always be some of my favorite games of all time.
Ivalice is a gem of a world for how it was made, fleshed out and made a fantasy world with rich lore able to handle both human, political matters and magical imaginative elements, creatures and races. FFT, Vagrant Story and FF12 just feel real and relatable despite being fiction. FFTA and FFTA2, while not Matsuno’s directly, have that same feeling in their DNA and can get looked over but are gems too. It’s a shame what happened to this universe with such promise and hopefully one day it comes back shining 🙂 Superb video I hope everyone watches to see Ivalice’s highs and lows, and what went into it. Bravo, stellar work!
Ivalice was / is literally my favourite gaming world. Thanks to Tactics Advance and Tactics A2 as a teen I sank soo many hours into those games, especially A2.. Then used to make my own little stories set in that world which has inspired me to make my own game.
I always wanted a Final Fantasy Tactics 2, meaning a direct sequel dealing with the consequences of the first game. It baffles me why Square Enix never realized this.
Yeah but that's what made it feel more real, because real cities aren't symmetrical entities. I forgot tactics got 2 nintendo handheld releases, I only remember the gba one
Please, Square, get it together... I love Ivalice and it hurts to see the mistreat it went trough, so I hope it gets treated with the respect it deserves in any upcoming projects.
I still want him to have the freedom to create that Tactics Ogre side game which would have been set in Andoras' homeland. I'm not sure if current Square Enix would be able to make it happen, but I hope and wish all the same.
It's not really underrated. Critics at the time gave it perfect scores - including the notoriously picky Famitsu - it got a green label reprint and has remained a cult classic to this day. It's just not the sort of game that appeals to your typical player out for lulz and flash and kawaii girls. But if you know, you know.
@@puddingway9231 This is typically how most people view the best FF game. It was the first they played. 5 was the first I played and beat but I didn't own it. 7 was the first I owned and beat so it's my favorite.
@@ReaveIdono Tactics, and then VII were my first two. But IX is my favorite, followed by Tactics, and then VI. FF Tactics kind of changed the entire trajectory of my life. I used to spend most of my free time playing basketball until I got addicted to it. From there I became a damn hermit and just spent my days playing 100-hour games and watching anime. Which sounds bad. But considering most of the people I played basketball with are either dead or in prison now, I'd say it worked out well enough.
When the world is told by such legendary games like FFTactics, VS and FFXII, it's easy to see why people want more, too bad Square hasn't been able to deliver the same quality
Sakaguchi stepping down from his position actually predated Spirits Within's dismal release. What he and some others were taking responsibility for was the company going into the red after FFX was delayed.
@@mikeclark7026 He wasn't out of the company yet, but the resignation from his position and taking responsibility for company troubles commonly misattributed to Spirits Within's failure happened beforehand. Even in the video here when it shows the article talking about his departure from the EVP seat and the company's troubles, you can see the date of the news was in February of 2001, months before the film's release. What got the ball rolling was the aforementioned delay and the company's financial woes around the same period due to them not being able to profit from an earlier release. It was ultimately just a good excuse for the other higher ups to finally get rid of Sakaguchi, as he tended to butt heads with the more business-minded people over there due to their different philosophies. Sakaguchi was against sequels, prequels, excessive amounts of spin-offs and supplementary materials, whereas the other higher ups wanted to start milking the brand.
@@Sawngawkuh That’s fascinating. It’s hard to say who I agree with fundamentally. I certainly get where he is coming from, but CC is one of my favorite games ever; X-2 has the best RPG Battle system ever, and XIII-2 is so much better than XIII. And there are some other really good spin off games as well.
@@toddwatkins5011 It was due to the financial deficit they were experiencing at the time after X's delay: i.imgur.com/adQ6SFq.jpeg Tomoyuki Takeshi and Masahi Hiramatsu also resigned from their prior positions to take responsibility and weren't associated with the movie, and Hisashi Suzuki took a 50% paycut. The company went into the red and were already experiencing losses at the time.
Insane timing with this. I was chatting with someone on Reddit about The Ivalice timeline, and how it fell, earlier today 😂 Now that’s quality customer service!
Haven't even watched yet bc I'm at work, but this is exactly the content I have wanted to see from this channel. Thank you so much for the deep dive and I can't wait to watch it all!
Following up: finally had the time to watch this video and it did not disappoint! Ivalice and Matsuno are the best parts of the FF brand, in my opinion, and it was great to see them recounted with such detail and reverence. Thank you!
I want to play the FFXII story as it was originally planned w/ Basch as the protagonist. The YA vibe of Vaan as a protagonist really clashed with the rest of the game.
In the end, the fall of final fantasy in general was because of the greed and laziness of the directives towards the legacy build by passion of real developers, it took me a long and painful time to understand that squaresoft is no more, thanks for the video man, brought some nostalgic memories.
Been saying for years that Ivalice was, if not one of, the best worlds created in the final fantasy series! I didn’t know about all these knockoffs of the Ivalice franchise, so thank you for the very informative and well put timeline! Sad to see it went that low, but hoping it comes back better than ever! I replay ffxii and ffta2 all the time, such amazing games!
Ivalice's downfall was brought about by Square Enix itself. The greed and stupidity of its executives caused, at the time, almost destruction of the company itself, in fact. Today they try to minimize it by saying that they were just consecutive technical failures, but those who followed everything at the time know that these problems were the least worst.
Seems more like the general audience just wasn’t interested in Ivalice. Even without the original creator they made some good games and people just didn’t buy them
I'm so glad you did such a deep dive. FFT is easily my most beloved FF game.. the music, the story, the combat - everything was perfect and a large part of my youth. I can only hope they do a proper remaster. Love everything you guys do! Keep it up!
People talk about the "nuance lost in the sub-par english localization," and yeah, the upgraded translation from War of the Lions is pretty great, but nobody talks about the nuance *created* by the sub-par english localization! "Blame yourself, or God!" is still one of my and my brother's all-time favorite videogame quotes. We used to shout that at each other anytime we meant "Get over it!"
Makes me excited to play Zodiac Age soon. Happy to see a feature on Ivalice. Something about that world just oozes style that I’ve not seen in other games
I'm bummed that Vagrant Story didn't sell very well as it's one of my favorite video games ever. The storytelling and super tight narrative and characterizations are just fantastic, with its designs, combat system, music, comic book style cinematic cut scenes, and overall atmosphere and awesome localization. The learning curve was pretty high, granted, and the game's difficulty definitely was earned. But those with the patience to master the system were greatly rewarded by deep mechanics and vast customization for their character. Definitely one of my top ten games of all time.
Overlooked in its time, (possibly since it was at the end of an era) but with some more modern graphical takes and a little more refinement of that truly innovative system, it would be wonderful. Apparently the Ivalice Alliance did plan on Vagrant Story at first, but with the lower sales of their next outings, they canned the idea.
Ivalice is my favorite FF world. I wish they would return there with another tactics game. Not a FFT remake, but a sequel. And not that Gacha game I tried playing it but those games UI are so confusing. You need a PhD to navigate them
This is a fantastic look at everything Ivalice! There’s so much more than I knew! I’m especially impressed with how much of the company actions are included here, compared to any in-world stuff. This makes a fabulous supplement to the History of Square series!
FF: Tactics Advance was gifted to me when I was very little and was the first piece of media I had consumed for Ivalice. One of my favorite worlds hands down.
This was an amazing video! I never knew there was such a story behind Ivalice. I’m hoping to learn more about the actual timeline of Ivalice, the decision to create different races and the reason for their disappearance/arrival depending where each game falls within the timeline.
People clamouring for more Matsuno games should play his Crimson Shroud. It had the best writing in a Matsuno game AND it also happens to have Hitoshi Sakimoto’s best score he has ever composed.
You guys do the absolute BEST in-depth studies of rpg development and history. Probably the only creators that could get me to actually sit down and watch a documentary by myself, of my own volition.
Is it Christmas!? An hour-long video on Ivalice IS basically Christmas as far as I'm concerned. :) Thank you so much for this. And hey, Square, where is that rumoured Final Fantasy Tactics remaster? ;) And also, please please please, a proper remake of Vagrant Story!! Imagine the possibilities and potential! The game isn't available on ANY modern platform, and is way overdue for a comeback. Don't let this masterpiece fade away!!
Great video. I love the world of Ivalice. Played FF Tactics over and over as well as FFXII and the remaster. When I played the return to Ivalice raid series in FFXIV I was hit by so much nostalgia, the music, locations and characters. was amazing
The Ivalice Raids in FFXIV are still some of my favorite content in the game. Bozja/Save the Queen as well. THey made me give FF12 zodiac age another shot with newfound love.
I’ve been in love with Ivalice. Ramza is the noblest FF protagonist, tactics advanced was a genius system that needs more content and FF12 has the best world building and a unique job system with each character having two permanent jobs.
Vagrant Story was so far ahead of its' time. A true gem lost in the crowd of JRPGs. We need a remake of it with the full FF7 treatment. With today's console technology, it would REALLY REALLY BE AMAZING
My introduction into ivaclice was tactics but at the time I didn’t know ff12 was part of it. I only really got into ff12 a decade after it was released and by Jaysus I was happy with that buy
Every game Matsuno helmed is a masterpiece imo. Funny how the only thing I didn’t like about FF12 (Vaan) was the product of corporate meddling. It’s telling that revenant wings and tactics A2 are noticeably inferior products.
Oh? Who were players supposed to play as in FFXII if not Vaan? Because Vaan was an *AWFUL* choice IMO. Took whatever wind FFXII had out of its sails IMO.
@@Ilyak1986 The rumours are that it was supposed to be Basch as the party lead in XII. It might have fit better with Matsuno's writing style to have us play as someone who's been framed for murder and treason. Personally, I think Ashe should have been the lead because most of the story revolves around her.
Excellent video. I've only played a small handful of the Ivalice games (FF12, FFTA & FFTA2). Looking forward to the tactics remasters/remakes if and when they do come out. Hopefully the advance titles might be included too.
I remember listening to an interview years ago with someone at Square that said Brave Fencer Musashi also takes place in Ivalice, and that's why the artwork of people's faces in the dialog boxes so closely resembles those of characters in Tactics, Vagrant Story and later FF12. Blown away cuz BFM is my all time favorite game. Was really hoping it would get a mention in this video.
This video was the best you’ve ever done, you, your wife and your entire team that worked on this did an OUTSTANDING job. I was enthralled from the moment I clicked till the epilogue.
Thank you so much for the kind words Mike. We are always trying to raise the level of our output and it's pleasing to see it resonated so well! ~Darryl
Thanks you for making this video. It made me realised how much of a fan of Ivalice I am, and now i just wish Square to understand the potential of it. This video hyped me a lot for futur project !
Crazy how they basically get rid of the person who created the world, and ever since then they just cant fully realize the potential of the world like he could.
This was a really good watch! Always appreciate you guys coming through with this much solid information and not just all the surface level stuff that's out there. The fact that Final Fantasy XII was set in Ivalice was probably the only reason I played as much of it as I did. I'm such a huge fan of Final Fantasy Tactics that I'll try anything that says it is even remotely related.
They should've made triangle strategy take place in a land near Ivalice and have some characters from Ivalice cameo in the game. Honestly it's kinda criminal they haven't at least referenced the world of Ivalice at all despite the fact that it's just a continent of it's world
"They" Square publishes triangle strategy and the team that actually developed the game has no connection to Tactics or 12. Most of those devs can be found working on 14 and now 16
@@WinkleAbiding triangle strategy is basically FF tactics in everything but name. If they were going to publish it they could've given them permission for Ivalice references, it's not like square is doing anything with Ivalice except nostalgia references in an MMO.
@@windwaker0rules no, it literally isnt FF anything. I get wanting more Ivalice and shit, but expecting a dev team that had no involvement in any FF games left alone FF Tactics games to take up lore that the head of which, Yasumi Matsuno, isnt working at Square anymore, I find it incredibly unreasonable to expect Triangle Strategy devs to just take up Ivalice when they had their own game and world to tell
I sort of suspect there might be a link, the story mentions a "Great Cataclysm" which changed the shape of the world tremendously at some point in the past. There are a lot of allusions to FFT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they plan to, at some point in the future say that Norzelia was part of Ivalice all along.
What a wonderful video! I have so many fond memories of Final Fantasy XII, Tactics, and Vagrant Story. Truly a golden age. Would love to experience Tactics Orge.
I'm not a huge final fantasy player, only have played through a few of the core series games, with little interest to do more of them. Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, is one of my absolute favorite series, and I hope to see another soon.
I honestly would love a new Ivalice game from Ito and Toriyama. Maybe taking place centuries after the War of the Lions. Or between 12 and Tactics to sort of explain why magic and magitek took a backseat in the Ivalice culture, as well as stuff like what happened with Rozzaria and Archadia.
FFT, Vagrant Story, and FFXII (for the world and systems and all the characters but Vaan and Penelo) were some of my favorite games of all time. I'd love to play more Matsuno Ivalician games. They were the best imo. Matsuno is still my favorite FF game creator. If nothing else for Tactics alone.
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Would you like to consider toning down music in the future? It's a tat bit loud for me to focus on the narration.
Nice job as per usual.
A lot was changed in XII's story. I remember huge amounts of the story were changed. I could reel them off but it'd take forevever. It's a shame XII is one of my favorites but, it would have had as intricate a plot as Tactics. They cut a lot and changed the story drastically. Wasted potential. I think that what happened with Fortress is particularly disappointed.
I think they could still make use of the Basch Solo story in like a Stranger of Paradise type game. Stranger of Zodiac or something lol. But learned alot per usual, keep up the good work guys.
I love Ivalice. I love viera. But most of all, I love Fran.
I regret buying and watching The Spirits Within now.
Ivalice is the best world Final Fantasy has created, and I really hope we return to it someday, especially with a Final Fantasy Tactics sequel
Only if Nomura isn't involved in writing it
@@Tetsaga I think it had less to do with the story and more with the fact that it was tied to a game mode that players really didn't enjoy.
@@jplayer073 Dude it’s so annoying seeing everyone jump on the ‘let’s hate on Nomura’ train.
He’s one of the most talented people Square has. For example, if it wasn’t for Nomura literally every single character in Final Fantasy VII would’ve been killed.
@@fearlesscheshirecat1411 Nomura is going to single handedly destroy Square Enix from inside. I've loved the guy for most of my life but the fact is he's a terrible writer and director and he should be an idea guy, not an execution guy.
@@JesseColton That’s not true at all. Everybody jumps on the bandwagon of hating, and I bet you can’t even tell me anything that he’s done that’s bad to the Final Fantasy series.
He did an awesome job on FFVII Remake.
I really liked the world building in ff12, each character had an accent that you could distinguish where they’re from. Dalmascans had an American accent, Rozarian - Spanish and Archadia - English.
Even the races had distinguishable voices. Truly underrated game.
i'll die on the grave that ff12 by any other name would have been a game of the year, legendary title. new ip type stuff. but it had to follow ffx to most people, and a lot couldn't embrace combat, open-ish world ff.
I always thought Rozarian sounded Italian. Other than that, completely agree. Such a great game.
@@puddingway9231 you might be right.
The funny thing about Rozarria is we never actually visited the continent, which gives the world of ivalice feeling bigger than what’s shown.
I was 10 the first time I played ff12 and I was watching Onepiece along side it. I would sometimes imagine myself being a sky pirate with my crew roaming the world of ivalice doing sky pirate stuff. Lol
Bhujerbans had something akin to indian or south asian dialects, viera had Icelandic accents, and baanga sounded like they were garbling on marbles. Everything sounding so believable, and the localisation team for 12 knocked it so far out of the park.
A 1 hour video on Ivalice? Yes please!
My same reaction
For its part in the greater Final Fantasy universe, the content certainly deserved this kind of treatment. Or, rather, FFUnion has demonstrated that they know their Final Fantasy by giving this corner of the universe some more time in the spotlight. Really great work, folks! Studied, intriguing, and valuable for every Final Fantasy fan!
It was an hour long? Feltlike 20 minutes for me 😂... i swear, i didnt even realize it said 1hr vid
Ivalice deserves a worthy comback... this world is part so many timeless masterpieces ~ just magical ❤
It really does. I love Ivalice so much it has a major influence on my FF D&D setting.
Pretty sure Ivalice is a continent not a world. Rabanastre appears in ff14 so it's highly likely that ff12 is Canon to ff14 tho set place in a completely different timeline
@@SnuubScadoob I am totally making an FF D&D setting and you bet your ass Ivalice, by name if not in totality, is making a showing!
I’m also delighted in adding stuff from XVI when it comes about and XIV already has some spots in my brain that need adapting. Especially a lot of the different era civilization stuffs! XIV has that shit in droves and I’d love to explore those concepts (or even outright lift some!) in a D&D setting! Ripe for dungeon fodder too lol.
@@RaidenKaiserAnd Metia, from ff14, is also in 16, making all of them distantly related one way or another.
What I love about Ivalice is the races, with the Vierra, Bangaa, Nu Mou, and even the designs of moogles and it made me wish all those races were also available in FFXIV since the Vierra got in.
same
Actually I never liked the other races. Call me racist but humans vs humans was best in fft
I think it's really cute and heartwarming how Yoshi-P was so looking forward to working with Matsuno, and then got his wish with the Return to Ivalice raids.
And how he was shilling the hell out of Tactics Ogre: Reborn. Wouldn't surprise me if he is responsible for us getting TO: Reborn since it's his favorite game ever, and he's on the board of directors.
Return to Ivalice was an emotional experience for me. I fell in love with FF12, and the amount of attention to detail they put into it felt so heartwarming.
I would love a new installment in the world of Ivalice, there's still plenty of story to be told. In my opinion the next one should take place during the age of Ajora, that would be the perfect way to combine tactics with 12.
Ivalice - my favorite fantasy video game setting, in all its incarnations.
No, it's MY favourite setting.
@@CruzifixioOG no it’s MY favorite !
@@lego_pirate I'll see you both outside after class and we settle this once and for all.
looks like we need judge magister for this
There are very few creatives I appreciate as much as Matsuno. While I'm glad he was able to prioritize his mental health, the loss of his presence and creative force for so long is a truly tragic thing imo. I'm so glad he's more active in the gaming world, and look forward to more from him. Especially if he gets to work on an Ivalice project.
He did end up doing Ivalice content in two of FFXIV's expansions. Some of my favorite raids are in there.
Him working on Tactics Ogre Reborn also makes me hope he's working on the FF Tactics remaster that was in the same Nvidia leak, of which almost everything has come true.
I loved that the FFXIV devs wanted to bring back some spark of Ivalice as content in the game and asked Yasumi Matsuno if he wanted to direct that content and he accepted. Those devs have singlehandedly reunited all the old Final Fantasy developers with the IP they helped to create and have been mending bridges for the past decade, bless them; Giving these creators opportunities to be with their creations without having to deal with SE corporatism, which is the main reason they left to begin with. Bozjas and Return to Ivalice may not be the Ivalice we wanted, it is definitely not the tactics we wanted; But, under the circumstances it is better than nothing and at least Yasumi had the opportunity to revisit his creation.
SE corporatism driving away the talent is really a major theme of this company, isn't it?
You have so many incredibly talented and passionate people working on those games, and then you have - frankly - idiots like Matsuda who have absolutely no clue about why the successful games they created were so successful, and instead chases fads like battle royale and NFTs, even doubling and tripling down on the latter despite the very clear backlash.
Square Enix is deeply divided in itself. Genius-level talented developers, producers, writers, composers etc vs absolutely clueless, idiotic management. It's such a shame. Imagine what they could create if they had sensible people in charge ...
@@rogthepirate4593 SE's problem is not only is the company set up so that they do not recruit outside of it to fill positions of management, but those talented within the company do not want to be promoted out of working on games into management. So it is a double-edged sword, so you end up with the non-game developers being promoted into management who they in of themselves in most cases lack the credentials to run the company since the do not understand the company's product. Compare this to Nintendo, although it has the same archaic corporate system of internal promotion, the game developers there have no problem with leaving making games behind to take on the responsibility of running the company, resulting in a far different outcome in how the company is run. Yes, Nintendo makes some very questionable and upsetting wipe sweeping decisions, but for the most part they're not harming their own fanbase or harpooning their own products, despite being stubborn and having hypercritical reasons for some decisions.
@@foxdavion6865 Also a factor, yeah.
Although I would say that Nintendo do harm their fanbase and products, things like game preservation (or rather complete lack thereof), fairly idiotic hardware shenanigans etc. Plus, Nintendo do have the added issue that they seem to live in their own little bubble and ignore anything that's going on in the wider industry for the most part, which can make them come across as incredibly tone-deaf and backwards sometimes. Sure, it also means they mostly ignore negative trends, but the same goes for positive ones.
FF XII is my favourite Final Fantasy. Ivalice with all it's different terrain felt so rich and superbly designed.
I grew up with FF:Tactics, love it to death, still play it to this day at least once a year, always say I'll play differently but always end up with ramza as a dual wielding monk who just devastated everything. 10/10 video, love the content, can't wait for more.
What are the odds - I do the same thing with Ramza! I know people say that Ramza can pull off great damage with the Ultima spell and/or he can learn to be a super strong knight/dark knight (if you’re on the PSP or mobile port), but nothing quite beats having Ramza walk up and two-punch everything. 😂
(For some reason I also constantly end up making a generic dragoon with the “equip sword” ability and the knight/dark knight ability set, but that’s something completely different & done only because of aesthetics…)
My Ramza is always a mediator that tries to save as many people as possible
Always end up calculater throwing bolt 3 and entire team wearing rubber boots.
Maaan. That's what always happens to me too! Do you guys also grind early in the game leave one monster alive and start throwing 🪨 s at each other to grind jp?
@@PortCityBalrog It’s all about the immobilize/disable spam while everyone else shouted or buffed, for me. That way Mustadio always ended up in my group of top leveled performers! 😂👍
I love Yatsumi Matsuno's stories. I agree with Resonant Arc, IMO he is old Square's best storyteller.
Ivalice has the best quintessential "Final Fantasy" art direction, world setting, and style that defines one facet of the series as a medieval-meets-futuristic high-fantasy setting that it's been known for to some players.
This makes my 12 year old heart flutter! Tactics was my safe place during my childhood. I would write myself into Ramza's squad and got me into d and d.
Low key I think Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the greatest high fantasy stories ever told in a video game. It's profoundly melancholy and bittersweet.
It hits harder the older I get
It starts off simple then just icebergs before you noticed.
It’s based off of the war of the roses, which happens to be the same set of events that game of thrones is based on, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that FFT is not just one of the best, but I would dare to say, the best original story ( high fantasy or otherwise ) ever told in any video game, ever.
I miss Balthier. 🥺 You know, ‘the leading man, who else?’ ❤️
Ff12 is an overlooked masterpiece. Even if the story DOES feel like something was left on the cutting room floor during editing. Gambits need to return. It's such a deep game design.
No world has affected me more in molding what enjoy in a fantastical world than the world of Ivalice. The Tactics games and XII will always be some of my favorite games of all time.
Ivalice is a gem of a world for how it was made, fleshed out and made a fantasy world with rich lore able to handle both human, political matters and magical imaginative elements, creatures and races. FFT, Vagrant Story and FF12 just feel real and relatable despite being fiction. FFTA and FFTA2, while not Matsuno’s directly, have that same feeling in their DNA and can get looked over but are gems too. It’s a shame what happened to this universe with such promise and hopefully one day it comes back shining 🙂
Superb video I hope everyone watches to see Ivalice’s highs and lows, and what went into it. Bravo, stellar work!
i loved how it made a whole roster of summons. too bad they are kinda weak in the original game
Ivalice was / is literally my favourite gaming world. Thanks to Tactics Advance and Tactics A2 as a teen I sank soo many hours into those games, especially A2.. Then used to make my own little stories set in that world which has inspired me to make my own game.
FFXII will always be my nostalgic favorite. Such a beautiful and atmospheric experience.
I always wanted a Final Fantasy Tactics 2, meaning a direct sequel dealing with the consequences of the first game. It baffles me why Square Enix never realized this.
I played FFTA 1 and 2 so much that i fond memories of that Ivalice. Recently i bought FF12 for the switch and its been fun seeing familiar names
Yeah but that's what made it feel more real, because real cities aren't symmetrical entities.
I forgot tactics got 2 nintendo handheld releases, I only remember the gba one
Please, Square, get it together...
I love Ivalice and it hurts to see the mistreat it went trough, so I hope it gets treated with the respect it deserves in any upcoming projects.
At least square still try to make new game from ivalice IP.
Not like konamy who abandon their IP like suikoden.
I still want him to have the freedom to create that Tactics Ogre side game which would have been set in Andoras' homeland. I'm not sure if current Square Enix would be able to make it happen, but I hope and wish all the same.
@@yogi_gs I'll never forgive Konami for abandoning Castlevania.
Vagrant Story is such an underrated gem
It's not really underrated. Critics at the time gave it perfect scores - including the notoriously picky Famitsu - it got a green label reprint and has remained a cult classic to this day. It's just not the sort of game that appeals to your typical player out for lulz and flash and kawaii girls. But if you know, you know.
Vagrant story a nonstop action game very nice
I litterally just beat ff12 on the weekend. What a game. It's honestly a 10/10.
12 is probably my favorite
It was my first ever FF game, played many others after but 12 the best one honestly.
@@puddingway9231 This is typically how most people view the best FF game. It was the first they played. 5 was the first I played and beat but I didn't own it. 7 was the first I owned and beat so it's my favorite.
@@ReaveIdono Tactics, and then VII were my first two. But IX is my favorite, followed by Tactics, and then VI. FF Tactics kind of changed the entire trajectory of my life. I used to spend most of my free time playing basketball until I got addicted to it. From there I became a damn hermit and just spent my days playing 100-hour games and watching anime. Which sounds bad. But considering most of the people I played basketball with are either dead or in prison now, I'd say it worked out well enough.
hopefully they remake it and give it more areas 2 explore along with a better story for vaan and penelo maybe insert some of ff12 fortress into it
I just started the Trails series and the world building on this game is quite fascinating as well
trails world building is top tier
When the world is told by such legendary games like FFTactics, VS and FFXII, it's easy to see why people want more, too bad Square hasn't been able to deliver the same quality
Sakaguchi stepping down from his position actually predated Spirits Within's dismal release. What he and some others were taking responsibility for was the company going into the red after FFX was delayed.
are you sure on this? You’re the first person I’ve ever seen say he was out before Spirit Within.
@@mikeclark7026 He wasn't out of the company yet, but the resignation from his position and taking responsibility for company troubles commonly misattributed to Spirits Within's failure happened beforehand. Even in the video here when it shows the article talking about his departure from the EVP seat and the company's troubles, you can see the date of the news was in February of 2001, months before the film's release.
What got the ball rolling was the aforementioned delay and the company's financial woes around the same period due to them not being able to profit from an earlier release.
It was ultimately just a good excuse for the other higher ups to finally get rid of Sakaguchi, as he tended to butt heads with the more business-minded people over there due to their different philosophies. Sakaguchi was against sequels, prequels, excessive amounts of spin-offs and supplementary materials, whereas the other higher ups wanted to start milking the brand.
@@Sawngawkuh
That’s fascinating. It’s hard to say who I agree with fundamentally. I certainly get where he is coming from, but CC is one of my favorite games ever; X-2 has the best RPG Battle system ever, and XIII-2 is so much better than XIII. And there are some other really good spin off games as well.
He was taking responsibility for spirits within because they projected failure before it released.
@@toddwatkins5011 It was due to the financial deficit they were experiencing at the time after X's delay: i.imgur.com/adQ6SFq.jpeg
Tomoyuki Takeshi and Masahi Hiramatsu also resigned from their prior positions to take responsibility and weren't associated with the movie, and Hisashi Suzuki took a 50% paycut. The company went into the red and were already experiencing losses at the time.
This make me want to re-download FFXII and do a Trial Mode run! Thank you for the wonderful video
Insane timing with this. I was chatting with someone on Reddit about The Ivalice timeline, and how it fell, earlier today 😂
Now that’s quality customer service!
My god I needed this.
Slow day at work and this was amazing to listen to in the background!
Thank you for this wonderful video!
Glad you enjoyed it Drew! ~Darryl
Haven't even watched yet bc I'm at work, but this is exactly the content I have wanted to see from this channel. Thank you so much for the deep dive and I can't wait to watch it all!
Following up: finally had the time to watch this video and it did not disappoint! Ivalice and Matsuno are the best parts of the FF brand, in my opinion, and it was great to see them recounted with such detail and reverence. Thank you!
Thank you so much, FFXII is my fav and watching some quality content about Ivalice is always a pleasure. 🙏
I want to play the FFXII story as it was originally planned w/ Basch as the protagonist. The YA vibe of Vaan as a protagonist really clashed with the rest of the game.
In the end, the fall of final fantasy in general was because of the greed and laziness of the directives towards the legacy build by passion of real developers, it took me a long and painful time to understand that squaresoft is no more, thanks for the video man, brought some nostalgic memories.
Ivalice is a setting that ties together 4 (technically 6) games is just an amazing setting.
Been saying for years that Ivalice was, if not one of, the best worlds created in the final fantasy series! I didn’t know about all these knockoffs of the Ivalice franchise, so thank you for the very informative and well put timeline! Sad to see it went that low, but hoping it comes back better than ever! I replay ffxii and ffta2 all the time, such amazing games!
Ivalice's downfall was brought about by Square Enix itself.
The greed and stupidity of its executives caused, at the time, almost destruction of the company itself, in fact.
Today they try to minimize it by saying that they were just consecutive technical failures, but those who followed everything at the time know that these problems were the least worst.
Seems more like the general audience just wasn’t interested in Ivalice. Even without the original creator they made some good games and people just didn’t buy them
Anytime I see documentaries on the development of the Ivalice games or the narration found within, I absolutely must share it.
Truly wonderful work. 👍
I'm so glad you did such a deep dive. FFT is easily my most beloved FF game.. the music, the story, the combat - everything was perfect and a large part of my youth. I can only hope they do a proper remaster. Love everything you guys do! Keep it up!
Thank you so much for the kind words Simon, much appreciatred! ~Darryl
People talk about the "nuance lost in the sub-par english localization," and yeah, the upgraded translation from War of the Lions is pretty great, but nobody talks about the nuance *created* by the sub-par english localization! "Blame yourself, or God!" is still one of my and my brother's all-time favorite videogame quotes. We used to shout that at each other anytime we meant "Get over it!"
Haha classic! I loved that opening chapter line too, seemed very blunt and to the point. Like dog eat dog world style
Makes me excited to play Zodiac Age soon. Happy to see a feature on Ivalice. Something about that world just oozes style that I’ve not seen in other games
Zodiac age is reall the best version of ff12. I hope you enjoy
I'm bummed that Vagrant Story didn't sell very well as it's one of my favorite video games ever. The storytelling and super tight narrative and characterizations are just fantastic, with its designs, combat system, music, comic book style cinematic cut scenes, and overall atmosphere and awesome localization.
The learning curve was pretty high, granted, and the game's difficulty definitely was earned. But those with the patience to master the system were greatly rewarded by deep mechanics and vast customization for their character. Definitely one of my top ten games of all time.
Vagrant Story deserves more Attention these days. In my opinion, it's one of the PS1's Best Titles.
Overlooked in its time, (possibly since it was at the end of an era) but with some more modern graphical takes and a little more refinement of that truly innovative system, it would be wonderful. Apparently the Ivalice Alliance did plan on Vagrant Story at first, but with the lower sales of their next outings, they canned the idea.
Came here for more and I almost finished video before I realized you weren't gonna be talking about Ivalice itself at all.
Ivalice is my favorite FF world. I wish they would return there with another tactics game. Not a FFT remake, but a sequel. And not that Gacha game I tried playing it but those games UI are so confusing. You need a PhD to navigate them
This is the one I've been waiting for, Ivalice is my favorite Final Fantasy setting
This is a fantastic look at everything Ivalice! There’s so much more than I knew! I’m especially impressed with how much of the company actions are included here, compared to any in-world stuff. This makes a fabulous supplement to the History of Square series!
Finished Tactics A2 last night - perfect timing!
The Part 1 background song is one of the best themes Square has ever made.
I still play ff12 religiously. Ps2 version of course.
Started playing ffxii again today and then look at RUclips to see this! My day is made
FFXII and Ivalice were the first video game worlds I fell in love with. Magical experience, and it remains my favorite FF setting
You need to experience Zemuria from Trails
God I miss the Ivalice setting. it felt so real and yet so fantastical. FFXII, Tactics, Revenant Wings...fuck I miss it all
Props to you for including Vagrant Story! This game holds cherished memories of playing video games at my uncles house back in high the day!
FF: Tactics Advance was gifted to me when I was very little and was the first piece of media I had consumed for Ivalice. One of my favorite worlds hands down.
Makes me want to play XII again
This was an amazing video! I never knew there was such a story behind Ivalice. I’m hoping to learn more about the actual timeline of Ivalice, the decision to create different races and the reason for their disappearance/arrival depending where each game falls within the timeline.
People clamouring for more Matsuno games should play his Crimson Shroud. It had the best writing in a Matsuno game AND it also happens to have Hitoshi Sakimoto’s best score he has ever composed.
Thanks for lead.
Thank you. I've never heard of this! But if you're saying this is Matsuno's and Sakimoto's best, well, that's some high praise I can't ignore.
Final Fantasy 12 is one of the few games I've bought a collector's edition simply because of its ties to Tactics, I still have that Steel Box
You guys do the absolute BEST in-depth studies of rpg development and history. Probably the only creators that could get me to actually sit down and watch a documentary by myself, of my own volition.
Thank you so much for the kind words! We worked very hard on this video, so it's great to hear that you enjoyed it so much :) ~Darryl
Is it Christmas!? An hour-long video on Ivalice IS basically Christmas as far as I'm concerned. :) Thank you so much for this.
And hey, Square, where is that rumoured Final Fantasy Tactics remaster? ;)
And also, please please please, a proper remake of Vagrant Story!! Imagine the possibilities and potential! The game isn't available on ANY modern platform, and is way overdue for a comeback. Don't let this masterpiece fade away!!
Great video. I love the world of Ivalice. Played FF Tactics over and over as well as FFXII and the remaster. When I played the return to Ivalice raid series in FFXIV I was hit by so much nostalgia, the music, locations and characters. was amazing
Ivalice is probably my favorite fictional fantasy world, it's a real shame that it had such a rocky history. Thanks for the detailed look!
The Ivalice Raids in FFXIV are still some of my favorite content in the game. Bozja/Save the Queen as well. THey made me give FF12 zodiac age another shot with newfound love.
I’ve been in love with Ivalice. Ramza is the noblest FF protagonist, tactics advanced was a genius system that needs more content and FF12 has the best world building and a unique job system with each character having two permanent jobs.
Vagrant Story was so far ahead of its' time. A true gem lost in the crowd of JRPGs. We need a remake of it with the full FF7 treatment. With today's console technology, it would REALLY REALLY BE AMAZING
Ivalice. My most favorite world
Think about that particular game from time to time. It just gripped me back then so well.
My introduction into ivaclice was tactics but at the time I didn’t know ff12 was part of it. I only really got into ff12 a decade after it was released and by Jaysus I was happy with that buy
Every game Matsuno helmed is a masterpiece imo. Funny how the only thing I didn’t like about FF12 (Vaan) was the product of corporate meddling. It’s telling that revenant wings and tactics A2 are noticeably inferior products.
Oh? Who were players supposed to play as in FFXII if not Vaan? Because Vaan was an *AWFUL* choice IMO. Took whatever wind FFXII had out of its sails IMO.
@@Ilyak1986 The rumours are that it was supposed to be Basch as the party lead in XII. It might have fit better with Matsuno's writing style to have us play as someone who's been framed for murder and treason. Personally, I think Ashe should have been the lead because most of the story revolves around her.
Excellent video. I've only played a small handful of the Ivalice games (FF12, FFTA & FFTA2). Looking forward to the tactics remasters/remakes if and when they do come out. Hopefully the advance titles might be included too.
I never felt the tactics advance was part of the same world, I never did like the law system that it had. Loved original tactics though
Noice. Definitely looking forward to watching this all the way through after work 😊
I remember listening to an interview years ago with someone at Square that said Brave Fencer Musashi also takes place in Ivalice, and that's why the artwork of people's faces in the dialog boxes so closely resembles those of characters in Tactics, Vagrant Story and later FF12. Blown away cuz BFM is my all time favorite game. Was really hoping it would get a mention in this video.
An hour long discussion of Final Fantasy? Count me in!
This video was the best you’ve ever done, you, your wife and your entire team that worked on this did an OUTSTANDING job. I was enthralled from the moment I clicked till the epilogue.
Thank you so much for the kind words Mike. We are always trying to raise the level of our output and it's pleasing to see it resonated so well! ~Darryl
I write up modules for Ivalice 3.5 and I love this.
made my Monday! Still have my original copy and original startegy guide. Picked up the soundtrack 20 years ago love this so much.
Thanks you for making this video. It made me realised how much of a fan of Ivalice I am, and now i just wish Square to understand the potential of it. This video hyped me a lot for futur project !
Crazy how they basically get rid of the person who created the world, and ever since then they just cant fully realize the potential of the world like he could.
More than just an incredible and rich world, the epic stories that took place in Ivalice are what I'll keep close to my heart.
This was a really good watch! Always appreciate you guys coming through with this much solid information and not just all the surface level stuff that's out there.
The fact that Final Fantasy XII was set in Ivalice was probably the only reason I played as much of it as I did. I'm such a huge fan of Final Fantasy Tactics that I'll try anything that says it is even remotely related.
They should've made triangle strategy take place in a land near Ivalice and have some characters from Ivalice cameo in the game. Honestly it's kinda criminal they haven't at least referenced the world of Ivalice at all despite the fact that it's just a continent of it's world
"They" Square publishes triangle strategy and the team that actually developed the game has no connection to Tactics or 12. Most of those devs can be found working on 14 and now 16
@@WinkleAbiding triangle strategy is basically FF tactics in everything but name. If they were going to publish it they could've given them permission for Ivalice references, it's not like square is doing anything with Ivalice except nostalgia references in an MMO.
@@windwaker0rules no, it literally isnt FF anything. I get wanting more Ivalice and shit, but expecting a dev team that had no involvement in any FF games left alone FF Tactics games to take up lore that the head of which, Yasumi Matsuno, isnt working at Square anymore, I find it incredibly unreasonable to expect Triangle Strategy devs to just take up Ivalice when they had their own game and world to tell
I sort of suspect there might be a link, the story mentions a "Great Cataclysm" which changed the shape of the world tremendously at some point in the past. There are a lot of allusions to FFT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they plan to, at some point in the future say that Norzelia was part of Ivalice all along.
21:26 Vagrant Story's intro is still so badass after all these years! 🤩
1 hour ivalice themed video? LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I have been banging the drum that Ivalice needs a D&D setting book. I would love to read that!!
Ivalice introduced the Viera and for that I am grateful.
FFXII is probably the videogame I played the most as a child/teenager, and still my favourite FF to this day ❤ thank you for this great video!
How the hell am I just finding your channel!! Your a legend sir thank you for these beautiful videos 😢❤
What a wonderful video!
I have so many fond memories of Final Fantasy XII, Tactics, and Vagrant Story. Truly a golden age.
Would love to experience Tactics Orge.
I'm not a huge final fantasy player, only have played through a few of the core series games, with little interest to do more of them. Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, is one of my absolute favorite series, and I hope to see another soon.
I honestly would love a new Ivalice game from Ito and Toriyama. Maybe taking place centuries after the War of the Lions. Or between 12 and Tactics to sort of explain why magic and magitek took a backseat in the Ivalice culture, as well as stuff like what happened with Rozzaria and Archadia.
FFT, Vagrant Story, and FFXII (for the world and systems and all the characters but Vaan and Penelo) were some of my favorite games of all time. I'd love to play more Matsuno Ivalician games. They were the best imo. Matsuno is still my favorite FF game creator. If nothing else for Tactics alone.
Someone that remembers vagrant story.. oh the golden age of square..
I love Ivalice so much and I was so happy to find the Ivalice raids in FFXIV. I would love another mainline game or Tactics game set in that world
Tactics 2 BABY! With Triangle Strategy earlier this year, Front Mission Remake on the horizon and Tactics Ogre Reborn leaking TRPGs are back!
Despite its flaws... 12 will always be my favorite main number FF.