A Valuable Lesson in Version Control

Back in June, Kazutoyo Maehiro, director of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, revealed that Square Enix had lost the original source code for Final Fantasy Tactics. During a recent panel at PAX West 2025, he provided further details on how the dev team reconstructed a replacement for the original code using archived data from dedicated fans.

Maehiro acknowledged, “It’s true that we didn’t have the source code.” This was due to the management practices at the time, which lacked strict data version control.

“We would take the data from the Japanese version and overwrite the English data on it. And then if we wanted to do another language, we would just keep stacking data… basically, the true original ceased to exist.”

Today, Square Enix utilizes more effective resource management tools that archive game code with every update. However, during the original development, practices were significantly more lax.

Maehiro expressed gratitude towards fan archivists, stating, “I do want to thank all of the fans for all of their help in keeping that information archived.” By analyzing various versions found online, the development team could compile a version that stays true to the original gameplay experience.