Ultimate Fantasy Ways is a basic PlayStation title from the latter half of the ’90s, which, 30 years down the road, is getting a remaster, with expanded gameplay and content material match for contemporary methods and requirements.
Throughout Gamescom 2025, we had the prospect to sit down down with sport director Kazutoyo Maheiro and co-director Ayako Yokoyama, who shared a number of useful perception relating to Ultimate Fantasy Ways –The Ivalice Chronicles. They informed us concerning the sport’s improvement, the explanations behind remaking such an previous title now, in addition to what newcomers and veterans alike can anticipate from the title.
Right here’s the complete interview.
Word: Components of this interview have been edited to take away frequent speech repetitions and permit for higher textual content readability. Third-person translations have been additionally put in first individual for higher studying.
Why did you resolve to make a Ways remaster now, almost 20 years later? What was the choice behind remastering the title as a substitute of doing a totally fledged remake?
Kazutoyo Maheiro (director, Inventive Studio 3): Really, I had the prospect a few years in the past to play the unique model of Ultimate Fantasy Ways. And in enjoying the unique model once more, regardless that the sport is almost 30 years previous, he nonetheless realized that it has a superb story and actually good sport design, and it’s nonetheless one thing that resonates with gamers.
So, after I had performed, I believed, man, I actually want to carry this story to a number of new gamers, and that was form of the place to begin of the event for The Ivalice Chronicles.
As to your second query, I felt that the unique Ultimate Fantasy Ways was already a really full sport, and I actually needed to carry that sport to a brand new era. And I believe that if we went too far in that path of the complete remake, it could form of degrade that a part of Ultimate Fantasy Ways. You already know, it already has that nice story, it already has that nice background music and all the pieces like that, so we needed to guarantee that we have been holding that intact once we offered it.
As we glance into this remaster launching on the finish of September, I used to be interested by how the staff is seeking to outline success for this title and what the potential for a brand-new FF Ways could be, relying on the success of the sequence.
Ayako Yokoyama (co-director, Inventive Studio 3): I believe with technique RPGs normally, possibly there’s a little bit of a problem curve. They are often troublesome video games, and, properly, we needed folks to have the ability to play via all the sport. So I believe we have been making an attempt to carry it to as many individuals, together with those that is perhaps a bit averse to the technique RPG style.
And as I used to be mentioning, we did need to carry this to as many individuals as we might, and so we have been making an attempt, not only for technique RPG followers, however simply folks normally, we needed to form of increase on who was in a position to expertise Ultimate Fantasy Ways. So we’re hoping that we’re in a position to actually present this sport and permit for a lot of, many extra folks to play it.
Maheiro: And I believe we’ve seen some actually, actually good reception for this title, and I do know that there are lots of people who know concerning the authentic, however they really by no means had an opportunity to play it earlier than. What we might contemplate a hit [would be] if we offered that sport to these individuals who haven’t had an opportunity to play it, after which see their response, [and] that they actually loved it.
We all know there are a ton of followers of the unique, and I’m pretty conscious that they are on the lookout for a sequel or a continuation. I believe that form of relies on how The Ivalice Chronicles performs and what the reception is from gamers. So it’s form of seeing what occurs as soon as it does launch, after which [that could be] one thing we will contemplate.
You each talked fondly about holding to the unique and trustworthy story and presentation of the sport, all the best way right down to the artwork model and the way the sport is offered. However you may have added new issues with the remaster, resembling voice appearing, UI enhancements, gentle modifications, and many others. I used to be curious if the staff additionally checked out implementing different modifications that may not have made their manner into the ultimate product, and if that’s the case, why?
Maehiro: I believe total, once we take into consideration our purpose of bringing Ultimate Fantasy Ways to the trendy era of gamers in 2025, and the issues that we added to provide them one of the best expertise attainable, I really feel like we managed to get all the pieces in that we actually needed.
I believe one other strategy to put it’s, once we have been fascinated with what we needed so as to add, we managed to guarantee that we weren’t including something that was pointless.
Yokoyama: So once more, the Ultimate Fantasy Ways story is kind of superb, and I believe to assist folks take pleasure in that to the fullest, we made a number of updates to the Chronicle.
And also you is perhaps accustomed to Energetic Time Lore from Ultimate Fantasy XVI, and we had truly considered together with one thing comparable in The Ivalice Chronicles. However there have been a few challenges surrounding that, and a number of it has to do with the sport’s flags of progress.
Between the improved model, which we have been updating and making a number of new additions and changes to, and the basic model, the best way these flags have been was totally different. And [since] we mainly needed to recreate the engine for the improved model, it was actually troublesome for us to form of arrange all these flags, and because of this, it simply turned too arduous to incorporate the Energetic Time Lore, simply due to the best way that was arrange.
In order that was one factor that we did need to put in, however we weren’t in a position to
While you have been initially designing the remaster of this sport, was there any inclination or any thought to show the 2D sprites into extra 3D-scale worlds and environments? The staff clearly selected holding the 2D to protect the originality. I’m curious if there was ever a dialogue or thought relating to that 3D artwork model.
Maehiro: I believe from the beginning of the event of the challenge, we by no means actually thought that we needed to make these full 3D fashions or something like that. And truthfully, if you concentrate on Ultimate Fantasy Ways, these cute pixelated characters and people 3D isometric backgrounds actually are form of like the guts and soul of the sport.
Wanting on the reception to Ultimate Fantasy Ways remaster and the huge library of tactical RPGs and older video games that Sq. Enix has, I used to be questioning if there was a great older sport or title that each of you may need to see get the Ultimate Fantasy Ways therapy sooner or later and what could be your private favourite challenge to work on.
Yokoyama: Vagrant Story. I’m conscious of what number of followers there are for that. So many individuals depart feedback and say, like, we’d actually wish to see a Vagrant Story remake, or one thing like that. And Maehiro-san truly labored on the unique improvement of it. So it’s a really memorable challenge for him as properly. However I actually surprise and need to see what it could be like if we made this now with the most recent graphics.
Maehiro: Phantasm of Gaia. For me, as a participant, simply enjoying that sport was extraordinarily enjoyable. In order that’s why I want to recreate that.
Engaged on a challenge like this, with a sport and a narrative that could be very beloved by followers, how pressured did you are feeling engaged on this title [while trying] to make it as trustworthy to the unique and never stray from the course an excessive amount of by including issues?
Maehiro: I believe the strain that I felt was quite a bit totally different from that you simply may really feel in the event you’re making a brand-new sport. Clearly, there are a number of followers of the unique, and one of many issues we positively don’t need to do is disappoint these followers. However on the identical time, we need to guarantee that new followers are additionally having fun with it. So it was a problem for us to guarantee that we’re in a position to each appease the unique followers and the brand new followers as properly, however carry that have to them.
Yokoyama: I didn’t work on the unique 28 years in the past, in contrast to Maehiro-san. Inside the staff, nevertheless, there are lots of people who labored on the unique sport, who nonetheless find it irresistible, so coming from that perspective, we needed to verify nobody was disenchanted with what we have been doing.
Slightly than including in all of those new options and altering issues, it was extra of a give attention to making the sport straightforward to play and making it approachable for folks. We needed as many individuals to play it as we might. So there have been issues that we added in, like issue settings. So you may have the Squire setting, the Knight setting, and the Tactician setting, these three totally different difficulties.
It permits the one who’s enjoying to mainly choose the expertise they need and offers them the liberty to take action. After which that form of ties again into the entire being approachable, being straightforward to play.
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