Over the last few decades, progress in video game preservation has been significant. Today, developers and publishers invest more time and resources into safeguarding source code and development materials compared to earlier times when it wasn’t considered necessary. Regrettably, it appears that was the case with ‘Final Fantasy Tactics‘. In a recent interview with the PlayStation Blog, the director of its remaster Kazutoyo Maehiro disclosed that the original version’s source code was overwritten after its launch in 1997. Consequently, the team had to essentially rebuild the game from scratch for ‘Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles’.
Back in those days, it was just how things were done, as I shared with the PlayStation Blog. We didn’t have the advanced resource management tools we have now, so we created games by essentially rewriting the old code every time we found a bug or wanted to add a new language.
I, a devoted fan, echo Maehiro’s sentiments about the development team’s choice in not incorporating an emulator for the classic mode within “Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.” While some of us might have relished such a feature, it seems that this decision allowed the team to focus on what Maehiro refers to as “precise enhancements.” Consequently, they opted to rebuild the game from scratch, striving to preserve the original vision. Here’s hoping Square Enix can continue the esteemed legacy of “Final Fantasy Tactics” with this new iteration.
Square Enix has faced issues in the past due to their management of older video game source codes, as demonstrated by the recent release of Collection of Mana exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. This is because Square Enix had lost the original Super Famicom game’s source code for Trials of Mana many years ago. Fortunately, Nintendo still possessed it, enabling Square Enix to translate the game into English. It’s essential to understand that bringing old games to modern platforms demands more effort than most fans may assume, and if the original source codes are unavailable, the process can become significantly more complex.
Over time, the video game industry has shifted its priorities towards preserving classic games more effectively. Companies are investing significantly more resources into this endeavor, understanding that potential remasters or archival materials could hold value in the future. For instance, developers at Square Enix might not have anticipated demand for a remastered version years down the line, but the industry now understands the importance of preservation to prevent such valuable assets from being discarded. Therefore, there should be no excuse for neglecting game preservation in the future.
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2025-07-24 00:20