Square Enix has announced a remaster of the Playstation 1 classic Final Fantasy VIII, with a release date of Summer 2019. In addition, all PC users who have purchased Final Fantasy VII will receive an update, which includes the ability to switch between FF7 and FF8 renders at will (effectively bestowing players with two graphical options for their entire library, with the possibility for all future FF games to follow suit). The announcement comes as a prelude to this month’s E3 Conference.
The original Final Fantasy VIII was released in 1999 on Playstation 1 and went on to become one of an elite few games (including FFVII before it) that developed a cult following among gamers. The game features a number of well-known characters, including Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, and the Guardian Force Brothers (commonly known as ‘the GFs’) which include Ifrit, Shiva, Siren, Diablos, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Alexander and Doomtrain.
How Long Is FF8?
The game is the eighth main installment of the Final Fantasy series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It is notable for several reasons, including its use of realistically proportioned characters (a novelty at the time), its complex plot involving love, friendship and betrayal; as well as more modern features such as an extensive side-quest and characters with unique Limit Breaks.
It was also notable for being the first Final Fantasy game to use realistically proportioned characters. As the first Final Fantasy game released on Playstation 2, it was graphically impressive at the time, managing to recreate the scope and breadth of iconic locations such as Balamb Garden and also including FMV sequences which were rendered in real-time (whereas previous installments had featured pre-rendered environments and CGI movies which were, for the time, groundbreaking).
The Final Fantasy 8 Remaster Is Coming Out On March 3rd, 2019
The game has also received a number of spin-offs, most notably involving the characters Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas in Final Fantasy VIII: The Lion War. The story follows on from the main game, focusing on their journey to save the world once again.
There are also several other smaller titles which have been released, including four games in the Chocobo series , a number of card games – notably Triple Triad – and several mobile editions.
FF8 Remastered Will Be Available For PS4 And Xbox One This Year?
The Final Fantasy 8 Remastered Edition will likely include the various bug fixes and graphical updates which have been added to later editions, including character swaps – notably replacing Rinoa with Quistis in certain story-lines. It is not yet clear whether there are plans for new content or bonus levels of any kind, however it is expected that the game’s soundtrack will be ‘remastered’ to include popular songs from the series, including Eyes On Me.
The remastered edition of Final Fantasy VIII will be available for PS4 and Xbox One on March 3rd 2019. Those who already own the original game via Steam or GOG will receive an update which unlocks this version.
There Are No Plans To Release The Game For PC Or Switch At This Time
The Final Fantasy VIII remaster has been generally well received by those who have already had a chance to play the game.
However, some fans have expressed concerns over the graphic changes which they believe will ‘dilute’ some of the original story’s elements, including the use of more contemporary-styled character models. It is clear that the remastered edition will still be largely true to the original game, however certain changes – or ‘modernisations’ as Square Enix put it – are inevitable.
Conclusion
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered was finally announced!
However, it will be available for PS4 and Xbox One only. Details on a possible PC release will be confirmed later in the year. Changes to graphics and the soundtrack will be detailed in the coming weeks and months ahead of release, however early impressions point towards an exciting new era of a high definition Final Fantasy VIII. The game was first released in 1998 for PS1, with a PC version following in 2003.
