Unofficial Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Port Gets Zoom, Gamepad Support and Native Linux in 2.0 Update

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has not been given an official remaster by Square Enix. However, there's now a remastered community tool out there that lets it run natively on modern PCs. Called the unofficial port, FFTARecomp 2.0 now means you don't need to emulate it and you can use your regular controllers and monitors. If you've ever been curious to play this tactical RPG on Windows, Linux or Steam Deck again, you can now do it with much better ease and visual clarity.

Community tool recompiles GBA ROM for native Windows and Steam Deck play

FFTARecomp is a way to take the original ROM file for Game Boy Advance and have it be native in Windows, Linux or Steam Deck. This means you don't have to emulate it with a traditional method. This gets rid of the need for a BIOS file and makes the whole experience generally smoother. As per the description, they take your ROM and recompiles the game for you so that you can have these modern methods.

The v2.0 update brings a completely overhauled UI, where they've changed things up to fix some past issues with layout. You're now able to zoom in or out on the tactical map, which will help when it comes to dealing with more complex battles and your formations. This update also adds native Linux support and fixes issues with aspect ratios that were extremely wide which would make the view skewed.

A big addition here is generic XInput gamepad support. This means you can now use regular Xbox-esque controllers and don't have to deal with complex keyboard layouts. Another new feature is a new Normal mode for the audio.

Plus, scrolling through installer windows is now better when you have a small screen. This makes the game a lot more accessible on PC hardware with a more console-like approach to controls.

There hasn't been any word from Square Enix on an official remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. That means there's a big opportunity for community projects like this to step in and provide something like this. But with the v2.0 update, we can see how the fans have successfully modernized this in a high quality manner without the need to wait for a publisher to do it.