Final Fantasy 8

[Cassius_Smoke]

I couldn't find a thread on this so I made one.

This game turns 20 years old this week (I simply can't believe it!), so I thought I would wax lyrical about what this game personally means to me.

Out of all the games I've played in my life, this is one I hold the most dear.

Back in 99 I was 15/16 and my life wasn't great. I grew up in a poor council estate and school life wasn't the best. I didn't have many or any school friends and had pretty much ghosted through the last 4 years. I existed and people knew my name vaguely and that's as far as it went. I was considered an under performer by the teachers meaning I was smart, I just didn't write any of it down. I knew my exams were coming up and I was stressed and was probably suffering with depression (although I didn't know it at the time).
So when I got this game, and it was set in a school environment featuring people my age and a main character who was aloof and sad like me, it felt like I belonged. It was an escape for me. I played it relentlessly that year, and I account this to the poor results I got in my GCSEs, although I doubt I would have done much better anyway. I would come home from school, watch Pokemon and then play this most of the night. My parents didn't seem to care.

I never had a Girlfriend at school and the crush I had 1000% wasn't interested in me, so in my youthful naivety I was pulled in by love story between Squall and Rinoa and I believed in the journey of the characters, probably more then any game before.
I've started and restarted it so much back then that even now I know the first disc off by heart. I don't think I got all the cards, that may have come later with a guide. I'm not even sure I got all the Guardian Forces by the time I completed it for the first time. I know that by the time I got FF9, I was still playing this. I don't know when I stopped playing and switched over the FF9 and other games, but I do know that nothing seemed to fit me like a tailored jacket so much as FF8.
When I play it now I'm taken back to that time in a bitter/sweet way, which I why I would be too bias to write a proper review, but I do think that there is something captivating about its light and breezy music and bright environments.

I guess I'm saying this game came around at the right time for me, with the right amount of everything. I sure lots of people have a game that did this for them.

So what is everyone else's thoughts about this game?

(also, where the hell is the HD remaster like FF7?)

[Neon Ignition]

100% - don't care what anyone says - FF8 is a much, much better game than FF7. Doesn't get the credit it deserves in the shadow of the preceding entry. It's not so much to slate FF7, just that for so many FF7 was their first proper experience of a high budget, cinematic JRPG so it made an impression that FF8 could never recreate but for me it's like saying Mario 64 is better than Mario Galaxy, bless them but - no.

[Asura]

(also, where the hell is the HD remaster like FF7?)

I think SE is less inclined, mainly just due to how the game looks a lot better by default than VII does. For VIII, back in the day, SE rendered the backdrops and videos at a higher resolution (not HD, but still, higher than PS1) because the PC version of VII had sold well, so they already planned to do a PC version of VIII.

Also I think VIII will always suffer from simply being VII's successor, when VII was such a big deal for so many people, myself included, as the first proper JRPG we played all the way through.

[Atticus]

Eee, 20 years! Great post [MENTION=16707]Cassius_Smoke[/MENTION] ... FF8 deserves lots of love. I remember playing the Japanese demo (might have come with Brave Fencer) over and over and then finally getting NA release and loving it. Edea's Parade was the most epic set-piece I'd ever experienced at the time. In a way I love that it's a bit of an outsider in the series. It tells a great (love) story in a great way.

[speedlolita]

They apparently lost the source code for VIII, which is why a remaster isn’t in the works.

[Zaki]

They apparently lost the source code for VIII, which is why a remaster isn’t in the works.

How do you manage that with one of the biggest games in series history?!

[MrKirov]

Plus, there’s a version of 8 with all the features 7 and 9 had on steam already. 7 and 9 were just quick steam ports, they even had the same bugs- so I’m surprised they haven’t brought 8 across.

[speedlolita]

Plus, there’s a version of 8 with all the features 7 and 9 had on steam already. 7 and 9 were just quick steam ports, they even had the same bugs- so I’m surprised they haven’t brought 8 across.

That’s sorta what confuses me about that information. Maybe it’s the work of porting it to a different architecture or something?

[MrKirov]

No idea, that’s what surprises me. 7 & 9 were steam ports when they came to PS4, so I don’t understand why they don’t do the same. Same with switch versions- they’re the same ports with the exact same music bugs.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I can only assume its either that Square don't want to port it to the ps4 and switch. I can't think of a reason why because I'm sure it would sell.
Or they can't port it because of either technical issues or licensing issues maybe?
The crazy idea is that they won't port it because they have something else planned for it, like a full remake, but I doubt it.

So if I wanted to play this again what's the best option?

I've still got my original PS1 game, so I could get a ps1 to play it on.
Or
I can get it on my ps3 from the store.
Or
I can emulate this on my laptop.
Or
I could get the pc version, which opens up the option for mods.

[speedlolita]

Depending on the region of your PS3 and FFVIII, you could just pop your PS1 disc in. Otherwise I’d go the store route.

Don’t want to be messing with scalers and that for one game.

[Dogg Thang]

Plus, there’s a version of 8 with all the features 7 and 9 had on steam already. 7 and 9 were just quick steam ports, they even had the same bugs- so I’m surprised they haven’t brought 8 across.

Yeah, this seems weird given that IX dropped onto the Switch now. Why not VIII?

Anyway, I love so many things about VIII. I think the three negatives for me in the game were 1) that it just didn't feel like there was as much game as VII (very few games can compete in that regard, I guess), 2) the story kind of lost its way in the last parts, 3) when that happened, the speeches got longer and longer so there was less gameplay.

But what I loved about the game was the design, the characters and the music. Together, they created such a rich sense of place and I think it stands out from all the other FF games as being its own thing. It's a world I loved visiting. It felt cool and dramatic. And I loved that it was different to VII. I can only imagine there would have been a huge temptation to follow that game with something very close but FFVIII took some risks and came out feeling like it was very much its own thing.

And the soundtrack is one of the finest of the FF soundtracks. It's beautiful.

[MrKirov]

FF8 soundtrack is superb. I loved the setting and the world.

I also really loved the junction system and how breakable it all was. It was as easy or difficult as you wanted to make it. Drawing stuff was a pain, but it was also unnecessary when you looked at transforming cards.

It’s always been a black sheep, but I don’t see why. You could argue outside of Rinoa,Squall and Seifer, the main squad didn’t get much development, and the amnesia stuff was a crazy turn, but outside of that, I loved it.

[Dogg Thang]

Yep, the amnesia stuff was all a bit bizarre. And while, yes, some characters didn't get much development I think they were so iconic in their design and position in the team that it didn't matter all that much. At least to me.

[Team Andromeda]

Yeah, this seems weird given that IX dropped onto the Switch now. Why not VIII?

Square lost the source code