It was released in Japan in June 1997 and in North America in January 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment, it is the first game of the Tactics sub-series within the Final Fantasy franchise, and the first entry set in the fictional world later known as Ivalice.

The story follows Ramza Beoulve, a highborn cadet placed in the middle of a military conflict known as The Lion War, where two opposing noble factions are coveting the throne of the kingdom.

Production began in 1995 by Yasumi Matsuno, a newcomer who had created the Ogre Battle series at Quest Corporation.

Matsuno acted as director and writer, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was producer, and the battles were designed by Hiroyuki Ito.

Multiple other staff members were veterans of the Ogre Battle series, including artists Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida, and composers Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata.

The world of Ivalice saw the setting for multiple other titles, including other Tactics games and the 2006 mainline entry Final Fantasy XII.

An enhanced port of the game, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, was released in 2007 as part of the Ivalice Alliance project.

Magic is predominant in the land, although ruins and artifacts indicated that the past populace had relied on machinery, such as airships and robots.

The king of Ivalice has recently died and his heir is an infant, so a regent is needed to rule in place of the prince.

Behind this backdrop is a revelation by the game's historian Alazlam J. Durai, who seeks to reveal the story of an unknown character whose role in the Lion War was major but was covered up by the kingdom's church.

He is joined by a cadre of characters which include Delita Hyral, his closest friend, and Agrias Oaks, the knight in charge of protecting Princess Ovelia.

The story progresses to include characters from the Glabados Church, which has been controlling Ivalice silently and engineering the war in question.

Ramza joins a mercenary group, led by Gafgarion, who protects Princess Ovelia from being hunted by both sides of the Lion War.

He acquires proof of the Church's lies about Saint Ajora, a central figure in the religion, and attempts to use it along with the Zodiac Stone to reveal the organization's plot.

Ramza stops the battle and rescues the general, Count Cidolfus Orlandeau, though the Church eliminates the two leaders to secure its control over Ivalice.

[16] During this period, Square had broken its long-standing development partnership with Nintendo and moved their game projects over to Sony's PlayStation.

[18] Matsuno described the working environment at Square as more democratic than at Quest, with a greater ability for the whole staff to contribute design ideas.

[18] Contrasting against the polished CGI aesthetic of Final Fantasy VII, the team wanted a hand-drawn artstyle.

[20] Matsuno's prototype was originally closer to his previous real-time strategy game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen and would have featured 2D graphics; some sample images were produced, but this concept was then scrapped.

[15][24][25] Ito disliked tactical RPGs of the time, growing bored with their mechanics, so designed the battle system to be engaging and feel fast and exciting.

[22] Under Matsuno's direction, the game's design strayed significantly from Sakaguchi's original concept, particularly in its narrative tone.

[30] During its preplanning phase, the music was going to be in an upbeat style in line with the mainline Final Fantasy series.

[15] The original score was written by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, both veterans of the Ogre Battle series.

[33] Iwata described the game as a "giant project" to work on, and he received a lot of help from other staff members at Square.

[31] Sakimoto described his music for the game as "bright and cheerful tunes", carrying themes of hope and love.

[40] In 2001, four years after its release, Final Fantasy Tactics was selected as part of the Sony Greatest Hits line of re-releases.

[39] Final Fantasy Tactics also became part of Ultimate Hits, Square Enix's main budget range available in Japan.

[47] A reviewer at RPGFan criticized the game's difficulty as inconsistent, in part due to abilities unique to certain characters which unfairly sway the tide of battle either in favor of or against the player.

The game setting and engine are similar to the ones of its predecessor, but the cast of characters is considerably smaller and the plot is simpler.

[77] An upcoming game, Unsung Story, is meant to be a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics.