Square Enix: Best Ivalice Alliance Games, Ranked

Highlights

• The Ivalice Alliance series within the Final Fantasy franchise has a dedicated and passionate fanbase, with games like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics being standout entries in the series.
• Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings is a spin-off that features the same cast as Final Fantasy 12 but with real-time strategy gameplay, creating a unique and enjoyable experience.
• Vagrant Story, although not originally intended to be part of the Ivalice Alliance, is still considered one of the best games in the series, with its robust action RPG gameplay and compelling story.

Final Fantasy is no stranger to spin-offs, as this long-running JRPG franchise has quite a few different subseries that exist underneath the mainline titles. But perhaps no spin-off has as much of a ravenous following as the Ivalice Alliance series. Ivalice itself first appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics, establishing it as a realm where the franchise could spread its wings.

Ever since then, Ivalice has cultivated a devoted and passionate fanbase that has pushed Square to revisit this unique setting every so often. Some of the games in the Ivalice Alliance have even been more interesting than the franchise that spawned it, as this fascinating fantasy world has been home to some of Square’s best titles.

5 Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings

Metascore: 81

Initially beginning development as a completely unrelated game, Square eventually decided to turn this DS RPG into a Final Fantasy 12 sequel of sorts. Although it’s not seen as a direct sequel by Square, Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings does feature the same stellar cast from FF12. And while the combat and gameplay aren’t entirely similar to the console version, it’s still an absolute blast to play.

Whereas FF12 on the console was a sort of hybrid between turn-based and MMO-style combat systems, Revenant Wings is a full-on real-time strategy game. It almost feels like the perfect blend between the action-based combat from 12 and the strategic elements of Final Fantasy Tactics. It’s not often talked about today, but Revenant Wings is still one of the best entries in the Ivalice Alliance series.

4 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Metascore: 87

Final Fantasy Tactics is still one of the most popular strategy RPGs on the PS1, and the Gameboy Advance version of this spectacular title is one of the best entries in the Ivalice Alliance series. Tactics Advance isn’t a sequel, but rather a side story. Taking place in the town of St. Ivalice, it chronicles the adventures of a group of children who get transported to Ivalice and their struggle to escape.

Everything that made Final Fantasy Tactics a great game is here in the GBA version, featuring gorgeous sprite work and the same delightful strategy gameplay. Along with an amazing soundtrack and some truly deep customization, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is still worth tracking down today as one of the Ivalice Alliance’s most worthwhile entries.

3 Final Fantasy Tactics

Metascore: 88

Final Fantasy Tactics was the debut title in the Ivalice Alliance, as fans saw their first glimpse of this fascinating world back in 1998. The franchise was starting a meteoric ascent thanks to the recent release of Final Fantasy 7 just a few months prior, so Tactics came out at the exact right time. It even features Cloud Strife as a hidden character.

Tactics is still one of the greatest strategy RPGs of all time, as the rich and complex battle system plays out perfectly on the brilliantly designed maps. Everything from the music to the sprite work, the cast of characters, and the fantastic writing, all melds together into one of the best entries in the series.

2 Vagrant Story

Metascore: 92

Although it wasn’t initially conceived as a part of the Ivalice Alliance, Vagrant Story was folded into the series via references to the city of Lea Monde where the game takes place, and the introduction of the Riskbreaker clan ranking in Final Fantasy 12. No matter how one slices it, Vagrant Story is still one of the best games that one can play in the Ivalice Alliance series.

This robust, gorgeous action RPG stars Ashley Riot, a member of a group called the Riskbreakers that gets caught up in a conspiracy surrounding a cult led by the charismatic Sydney Losstarot. Featuring a wonderfully unique battle system, Vagrant Story is still one of the PS1’s greatest RPGs and a spectacular entry into the Ivalice series.

1 Final Fantasy 12

Metascore: 92

As a result of Final Fantasy 11 being an MMO, the gap between single-player FF games was a bit larger than usual. But the result turned out to be worth it, as Final Fantasy 12 was released five years after Final Fantasy 10 in 2006 and was set firmly in the world of Ivalice. The turn-based elements that had made up the previous games were still there, but this bold new direction for Final Fantasy set the stage for what the series would become moving forward.

The combat system was influenced by MMO design philosophies, as it excluded the traditional random battles entirely and fights that unfold in real-time with auto attacks. It is one of the first games that springs to mind when the discussion of Ivalice is brought up, as it established a lot of the larger world outside what had already been established. It’s certainly one of the more unique Final Fantasy games, but easily the best game to be born out of the Ivalice Alliance.