Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered

Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered is a remastered version of the cult 1999 JRPG Final Fantasy VIII, released for the 20th anniversary of the original. The title was developed and published by Square Enix.

Plot

The story of Final Fantasy VIII (and Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered) takes place in an unnamed world in which - like Final Fantasy VII - fantasy elements combine with modern and futuristic technology. The main character is Squall Leonheart, a young student of one of the three military academies of the SeeD organization, who, together with other cadets, is sent on a special mission as the last test before being formally accepted into service. The group is sent to the town of Dollet, which was attacked by the neighboring kingdom of Galbadia. Soon, Squall and his companions become involved in a complicated intrigue, in which the mysterious sorceress Edea Kramer plays an important role.

Mechanics

In terms of gameplay, Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered does not make any changes to the original. As in other jRPG games, it's all about exploring new locations and facing multiple opponents, which allows you to gain experience and develop the ability of your heroes to better cope with new challenges. As in the previous installment of the Final Fantasy series, the combat system combines the classic turn-based combat system with real-time battles - characters attack in a specific order, but waiting too long will make the enemy move first.

Although the core of the game remained unchanged, FF VIII also introduced a lot of changes in relation to Final Fantasy VII. The key mechanics are GF, which is a modified version of the summons from previous entries. Each of them can be assigned to one character, allowing them to use special abilities, as well as to summon a particular GF to the battlefield. They gain experience just like the heroes do which helps them develop and gain new skills. The creators have also rebuilt the spell, currency and weapon systems and added scaling to the player's character level. As a result, players have a much greater ability to customize their team to cope with any challenge.

Technical aspects

Stylistically, Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered doesn't go far from the original PlayStation release. The three-dimensional visual setting has been refreshed, offering, among other things, better textures and support for higher resolutions. The quality of the soundtrack composed by the renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu has also been improved.

Last updated on June 13, 2019