'The will to resist is in your hands': Final Fantasy Tactics director makes statement on the political backdrop of the original and the 'inequality and division' that persists today

A Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is really happening, and will release on PS4, PS5, and Steam this September.

With the announcement, Square Enix has published statements from the remaster's development leads, and the internet has responded in particular to comments from Yasumi Matsuno, writer and director of the 1997 original.

Matsuno outlined the economic and political context within which he wrote the Final Fantasy Tactics story—a Japan in which "many were robbed of hope" amid economic stagnation—and noted that "inequality and division are still deeply rooted in our society" today.

Here's Matsuno's full statement, which was posted to X:

Nearly 30 years ago, the collapse of Japan's bubble economy engulfed the nation's financial institutions in mountains of bad debt, triggering a wave of corporate bankruptcies, a sudden and extreme rise in unemployment rates, and stagnation of Japanese society as a whole. It was an era when many were robbed of hope, when dreams were measured by their price tag.

Against this historical backdrop, I crafted a story. It was the story of Ramza, a young man who fought tirelessly against the entrenched social class system. It was the story of Delita, who sought to take advantage of this confusion and despair to advance his own social position. It was a story of a peculiar destiny, in which friendship and betrayal intertwine.

And now, in 2025—a time when inequality and division are still deeply rooted in our society—I offer this story once again.

The will to resist is in your hands.

The Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is officially called Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. It'll be out September 30, and will include two versions of the game.

The "classic" version "stays true to the original in almost every aspect, but includes some handy features such as auto save," says Square Enix. Alternatively, the "enhanced" version adds voiced dialogue, an updated UI, and other new features and changes.

There is, unfortunately, no way to turn off the backdrop of inequality and division that shaped either version.