Apart from Final Fantasy 7's Midgar, it's Ivalice that made a mark as one of the most memorable Final Fantasy settings. Ivalice provides a rather eye-catching aesthetic that is basically Square Enix's take on medieval fantasy. Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy Tactics' take on their stories further expanded Ivalice's overarching mythos. Instead of Midgar's alternative modern take, Ivalice had this enjoyable medieval theme.
Ivalice has a lot more hiding in its setting outside the games that feature it. Some things behind the scenes and in the background may improve any fan's understanding of the setting. However, just what details about Ivalice should fans take note of?
10 The Summons Rebelled Against The Gods
In Ivalice's games, players can use the Summon command to conjure the power of Espers through magic. However, their immense power comes not just from nowhere. In fact, Espers turned out to be beings created by the Occuria – Ivalice's gods – to become their servants or Scions. According to lore, 24 Scions originally existed, each in charge of their own aspect. However, Scions of Darkness led by Ultima rebelled against the Occuria. These Scions of Darkness became bound into Ivalice and transformed into Espers.
Minus Ultima, the Scions of Darkness each represent a sign of the Zodiac. They also have a counterpart Scion of Light, albeit none of which appeared in any Ivalice-set game yet.
9 A War Of Gods Created Ivalice
Aside from the Espers' rebellion against the Occuria (which lore considers as the Thousand Years War), other scholars attribute Ivalice's creation to another event. Apparently, gods under the Fabar and Danan factions found themselves in constant battle. Unfortunately, paranoia led Dana god-king Xabaam to cast aside his trusted General Ahnas, the person prophesized to kill him.
However, Ahnas managed to set himself free, ally with the Fabar, and kill Xabaam as the prophecy foretold. Now known as Ahnas the Shining, he withdrew to the heavens after casting Xabaam's body to transform into Ivalice.
8 It Had An Ice Age
As with Earth, Ivalice also had its own version of the ice age. At some point after its creation, Ivalice found itself covered with ice. This event forced most of the land-based creatures to adapt or be left behind. Ivalice's rising temperatures caused the ice to melt, summoning a great flooding of the seas, killing multiple species.
During this ice age, species like the Coeurl survived through adaptation. Meanwhile, more cold-blooded creatures such as the Croakadile had dwindled in their numbers through the eons.
7 Gods Try To Manipulate Fate With People
Despite Ivalice's turbulent status in FF 12, it used to have a unified leadership in the form of King Raithwall, also known as the Dynast King. Raithwall, armed with the Sword of Kings and the powerful Occuria-created nethicite, managed to subjugate most of Ivalice under his rule. It's thanks to him that Ivalice's continents – Valendia, Ordalia, and Kerwon – soon got unified.
When the renegade Occuria Venat orchestrated the events in FF 12, the Occuria sought out a new Dynast King in the form of Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, who in the game also sought power to reclaim her kingdom.
6 Ravaged By An Unknown Cataclysm
As per the timelines of the Ivalice Alliance's main titles (FF Tactics, FF 12, and Vagrant Story), it seems a great Cataclysm bridged the gap between themes the games used, including cultural references, approach in aesthetics, and in-game history. Based on the timeline, FF 12 takes place in the Golden Age of Ivalice. This timeframe shares predominant themes based on ancient cultures in the Mediterranean, such as ancient Egypt and Turkey. On the other hand, FF Tactics and Vagrant Story take place after said Cataclysm, now with an aesthetic and even outfits shared with Renaissance and Medieval-era Europe.
The games don't reveal much about the Cataclysm that happened between these two eras. However, extremely small details in the game do imply that the event happened less than 1,200 years before FF Tactics.
5 Luso May Have Time-Travelled To Ivalice
Thanks to the Gran Grimoire, Mewt Randell got to use his imagination to create his dream world of Ivalice. If this narrative in FF Tactics Advance becomes canon, then Luso Clemens may have time-traveled using the Gran Grimoire in his adventures in A2: Grimoire of the Rift.
In the original A2 story, Luso got to travel to Ivalice and meet Vaan and Penelo, now full-fledged Sky Pirates instead of usual Jobs. As such, A2 should take place just after Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. However, Luso makes a second appearance in War of the Lions, the Tactics PSP remake. In his appearance in War of the Lions, Luso briefly joins the party in search of his friends.
Fans who played Advance might consider this appearance in War of the Lions as canon. After all, Mewt gave Luso the Gran Grimoire after A2, which means War of the Lions essentially also takes place after the former's adventure with Marche Radiuju in Advance.
4 It May Have Been A Dream World After All
Events in FF Tactics Advance do lead to some existential questions regarding the true nature of the realm of Ivalice. For instance, the titles made no clarification whether Ivalice can be considered a planet, or if it's simply a dream world as per what Advance suggests.
In A2, Mewt Randell accidentally used a mystic artifact called the Gran Grimoire which, through his imagination, transformed the simple town of St. Ivalice into Advance's Ivalice. This version of Ivalice uses much of the concepts and themes present in the original FF Tactics game. In turn, no one could tell whether Mewt's imagination extends to FF Tactics' events, or if Advance's Ivalice is a different realm entirely.
3 It Served As An Ancient Empire In Hydaelyn
The rich lore of Ivalice gets explored once more in FF 14's "Return to Ivalice" raid series. Interestingly, much of this raid gives a retelling of Ivalice's history between FF Tactics and FF 12 in the context of FF 14's world Hydaelyn.
These historical alterations include Saint Ajora as well as the Zodiac Braves, the latter being a group of heroes that defended Ivalice in times of dire need. Additionally, the War of the Lions in FF 14 isn't a civil war for control over Ivalice. Instead, the War of the Lions became the struggle of Zodiac Braves led by Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral who stopped Ultima's return in Ivalice.
Interestingly, FF 14 also reveals that the technologically-advanced empire of Garlemald had ancestors from the Clockwork City of Goug.
2 It Became The Setting Of Fortress
The lore of FF 12 could have received a much-needed follow-up with Fortress. While "Fortress" simply served as a codename, this unannounced project for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 would've been set in Ivalice. The game seemed to propose a more action-adventure take on Final Fantasy, sort of like Dark Souls.
Additionally, the game's story seemed to take place across two years in the aforementioned Fortress. Apparently, Basch would have become stationed to the Fortress with the task of defending it against a looming threat. Given this premise, the game might have hinted towards a base-building mechanic as well.
Unfortunately, fans only caught wind of Fortress after developers GRIN shut down. Final Fantasy 13 director Motomu Toriyama put the final nail in the coffin when he confirmed both the existence and cancellation of the project.
1 It Has A Weird Relationship With Vagrant Story
Fans who encountered Square's Vagrant Story back in 2000 might get confused about its similarities with 1997's FF Tactics. For instance, many gemstones and items in Vagrant Story seem to share names with characters from FF Tactics. Additionally, these references imply that the former takes place sometime after the latter. Given the lack of confirmation at the time, fans simply assumed these "instances" served as Easter Eggs.
Director Yasumi Matsuno initially confirmed the connection between the two games in 2004, two years prior to the release of Ivalice-set FF 12. This interview made sense, given how FF 12 had allusions to Vagrant Story in the form of names and concepts. Unfortunately, Matsuno stated in a 2010 tweet that Ivalice from Vagrant Story is separate from FF Tactics'.