Author's Note: Minor SPOILER WARNING for anyone who has not played Final Fantasy VIII. I've tried to keep this blog as spoiler-free as possible, hence all of my images are from Disco One of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Nonetheless, this blog does talk about the game's overall story in some depth so you have been FOREWARNED!
Also, If you enjoyed this blog, might I recommend the first episode of my Final Fantasy VIII blog series? Its where my concept of playing the entire Final Fantasy franchise started and is worth a read should you ever be need for a good chuckle.
Preamble
I want to make this clear from the outset; I am not a Final Fantasy VIII "expert." Despite my occasional grandstanding, there are others I would defer to in terms of analyzing Final Fantasy VIII's mechanics and narrative structure. When it comes to me, I played the game five years ago, and here I am still playing Final Fantasy games to this day. I appreciate the game for introducing me to a franchise that is now near and dear to my heart. Nonetheless, I haven't gone overboard with my Final Fantasy VIII fandom. I didn't sign petitions to try to get this remaster made, nor did I join a Final Fantasy VIII Facebook group. The game hit me at the right time and place, and to this day, I consider it a highlight in the series.
Furthermore, I'm not someone who looks at Final Fantasy VIII with a pair of "rose-tinted glasses." I know the game has "issues," and I don't pretend they do not exist. Mechanically speaking, Final Fantasy VIII is an unintuitive nightmare, and that's especially the case when you place it next to its predecessors. The lack of proper gameplay scaffolding can very easily frustrate new players. Additionally, the junction system can be the undoing of even the most intrepid RPG player. Other mechanics, such as the game's level-scaling system, can funnel players into vicious death spirals. And then we have the drawing mechanic which is a complete slog, and its alternative, the refining mechanic, is obfuscated into oblivion.
We also have the game's story, which feels more like a fever dream than a full-fledged narrative. To call Final Fantasy VIII's story "divisive" is an understatement. Squall is a rightfully polarizing figure even without his iconic hemming and hawing. In a lot of ways, Squall speaks to a particular era of Square's writing style, which it has thankfully shied away from in recent years. The rest of the game's narrative doesn't fare any better. Across the board, the story fails to develop its supporting cast members, and it cannot commit to a single theme or genre for more than an hour. Then there's the "Orphanage Scene," which I maintain is the dumbest plot twist in video game history.
And yet, despite these issues, Final Fantasy VIII remains one of my all-time favorite games. There's nothing quite like it, and the game's ambition is undeniable. The adventures of Squall and Laguna speak to an era of Square where not only was the company on the bleeding edge of technology, but it was willing to take risks. When you consider this game followed-up Final Fantasy VII, you have to commend the creative integrity of Square's "old guard." They didn't just re-hash a winning formula and stand on the laurels of their previous success. Final Fantasy VIII showcases a magnificent world built from the ground up, and it plays unlike any other game which came before it. I think that's why the E3 2019 announcement excited me as much as it did. I knew, regardless of whatever shape the remaster took, it would serve as an excellent snapshot into Square's "Golden Age."
However, Final Fantasy VIII's remaster is currently making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The game has been "review bombed" on Steam, and several publications have expressed miffed impressions on the quality of the final product. Some of the complaints dogging the remaster are legitimate grievances, and others are your usual renditions of internet outrage. Nonetheless, with this blog, I hope to share my takeaways from Final Fantasy VIII's re-introduction to modern video game platforms. As is usually the case on these blogs, I'll try to pair my scorn with praise and vice versa. So, without further ado, let's jump into it!
Square-Enix Shot Themselves In The Foot By Calling This A "Remaster"
As the title of my blog may suggest, I struggle to call this game an actual "remaster." It's a port.Yes, it's a port with new fancy graphics, but it's still a port. I don't say any of this to belittle the hard work programmers and designers made on the new character models. Be that as it may, there are plenty of "rough edges" in this release, and several present themselves within the game's opening hours. Backgrounds animate as if they come from the Myst franchise, and some environments are downright indiscernible. Another example of the remaster's rough edges occur during the CG cutscene transitions. These transitions were admittedly revolutionary back in the day as they lent to the game's cinematic feel. Here they feel especially raw as the game outputs at a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Yup, you heard that right, the game's aspect ratio is hard locked at 4:3, which is especially peculiar considering Eidos' PC port, way back in 2000, displayed in widescreen. However, if reports of Square losing the original game's source code are correct, then this was the only viable option for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. However, what is inexcusable are the optimization issues with specific versions of the remaster. The Steam/PC release is without a doubt the worst version as it has consistent framerate issues. I was able to pick up on latency issues just fumbling through the menu screen, but the problem is even worse elsewhere. For example, the PC port will often drop to 30 FPS during cutscenes or Limit Breaks, and I even experienced framerate drops while playing Triple Triad! As a passing curiosity, I briefly played the PS4 release. While there are some technical hiccups during cutscene transitions or boss battles, this version immediately felt more "stable."
Regardless, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered does not feel like a genuine "remaster" even if these issues were not present. While Square has played a ton of lip service to its new HD character models, their attention to detail in this package was undoubtedly "selective." Watching HD characters interact with giant blobs of pixels is equal parts hilarious and disorienting. More dizzying are the untouched backgrounds which feel like they are in constant conflict with the new character models. Speaking about those new character models, while they look good, nothing has been done to make them more emotive during cutscenes or close-ups. As a result, you often observe these dead-pan faces that look as if they are staring directly into the abyss. When Square-Enix's track record includes the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster as well as the Final Fantasy IX Android port, this release feels especially "cheap."
Moreover, unlike previous Final Fantasy remasters, this package lacks extra bells and whistles to challenge long-time fans. In prior remasters, Square-Enix typically includes a special "arena mode" to challenge players to new boss fights, but that's not the case here. Additionally, there aren't any "expert" features or modes for people who can beat the game in a heartbeat. To illustrate, the Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster provides an "expert" Sphere Grid which slows down the progression of your characters. In the case of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, all you get are quality-of-life additions which make playing the game easier. Worse, with Square not even including the Chocobo World minigame, which the Eidos PC port did, it's hard to call this release wholly "complete." Fuck, they didn't even include a mode where you can play Triple Triad online, and fans have been asking for that for LITERAL DECADES!
The Character Models Look Fantastic; The Backgrounds Not So Much
Seriously, I LOVE the new character models! One reason is the new models feel more "authentic" than the original ones. In the original PS1 game, Squall's tall and bulky frame made him look like a grown-ass man, and as a result, his teenaged drama-filled life felt less believable. In the remaster, he appears shorter and stalkier, which results in him looking more like an actual teenager. His face also seems smaller and more pointed, and obviously, features more detail to avoid possible "memeification." The same goes for the rest of the characters. Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and Irvine all look fantastic, and there are nice small touches to their outfits and physical appearances.
Unfortunately, these crisp new character models lead us to the most significant shortcoming of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. These HD character models put everything else in the game under a bright and awkward spotlight. As mentioned earlier, not every character in the game gets a new high-res model, and when the cast interacts with these confusing globs, the effect is unsettling. Sometimes, you will even see characters swap between their high and low poly models within the same scene! The clearest example of this issue happens with Headmaster Cid before the invasion of Dollet. In this case, while Cid reviews the mission to Squall, you look at a new and improved HD character model. However, when the game returns to the school courtyard, Cid abruptly reverts to his PS1 model.
Another point of contention about Final Fantasy VIII Remastered regards Square's decision to not touch-up the game's backgrounds. On this matter, I agree with the game's critics. I often struggled to process the new HD Squall running around low-poly environments. From time to time, it even hurt my eyes to look at the screen. For instance, Esthar is already an ordeal to navigate, and with HD characters to boot, exploring the city is even more confounding. And as I mentioned before, a substantial consequence of this clash of styles is found when the game transitions from in-game footage to CG cutscenes. When I first played Final Fantasy VIII, its transitions blew my goddamned mind. Luckily, my nostalgia prevented me from outright hating these sequences, but this time around, they were a tough pill to swallow. The game's more dramatic moments lose their gravitas because the remaster is continually fighting against them.
Finally, and I hate to sound like a broken record, but any character who is not in the immediate foreground might as well not exist. Non-named characters inconsistently get the HD treatment in Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. But this issue is not merely limited to characters. To demonstrate, let's return to Triple Triad. Here, each of the GF cards had their art changed to include their new HD character models. That might sound enticing on paper until you realize you still play Triple Triad on the same low-res playing table from the PS1 game. Every time you play Triple Triad, you look at new HD cards on top of a blurry brown table, and it always fucked with my brain.
However, there is one point of contention about Final Fantasy VIII Remastered I find untenable. If you are publicly decrying this release because you missed out on two extra centimeters of Rinoa's thigh; I cannot help you. I can't believe I have to say this, but "modernizing" visuals from over a decade ago is NOT censorship. Furthermore, Square-Enix owes you NOTHING, and these characters are their property. Likewise, if you signed a petition calling the removal of Siren's underboob "censorship," I want you to know we cannot be friends. I find this whole controversy especially bewildering considering Final Fantasy VIII is a video game about inclusion and accepting oneself. If Square-Enix wants to expand that message to another generation of gamers, then more power to them for making the game more welcoming to new audiences.
Leaving The Gameplay Untouched Was The Right Call; The Tutorials Still Suck
As I said earlier, I don't consider myself an "expert" on Final Fantasy VIII by any stretch of the word. If anything, you can brand me a "Final Fantasy VIII Communicator" as I have on more than one occasion advocated in favor of its Byzantine mechanics. Not to mention, when the remaster was first announced, many of you may recall my emotional plea to leave the original game's mechanics untouched. Therefore, it continues to bother me critics and reviewers are advocating for the removal or rehaul of the drawing system for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Look, I get it, the drawing mechanic isn't fun when you first approach it. That said, if you remove the drawing mechanic, Final Fantasy VIII ISN'T Final Fantasy VIII anymore!
Purely for the sake of game preservation, I am happy Square didn't change a single part of Final Fantasy VIII's gameplay for this remaster. You might disagree, but, for the sake of argument, name a single video game that uses Final Fantasy VIII's item or card refining systems! More than that, I dare you to recall any game which emulates Final Fantasy VIII's junction system! What does any of this prompting prove? Final Fantasy VIII's mechanics need to seen to be believed as they are truly "one of a kind." As another example, everyone talks about how much they love Triple Triad, but few, if any, talk about refining Triple Triad cards into magic spells! The minigame allows you to opt into as little or much combat as you want! Don't get me wrong, Final Fantasy VIII is a busted video game, but that is precisely why I love it as much as I do!
Trust me; I have played some broken-ass video games in my life. But, for whatever reason, I have always found Final Fantasy VIII's lack of balance "liberating." As it stands, I can reliably break Final Fantasy VIII within two to three hours. That is to say; it's not a matter of "if" I will beat Final Fantasy VIII, but "when." Using a few of my favorite techniques, I can start the game's third hour with characters capable of one-shotting every act one boss. The same goes for your other character stats. Applying a set of 100 "Full-Life" spells is bound to increase any character's max health to at least 5,500 points. Does doing so fundamentally break the game? Yes, but it is also wonderfully delightful!
Maybe you're still unconvinced Final Fantasy VIII's mechanics are worth preserving for posterity's sake. Some of you probably have horror stories of the game's level-scaling system rearing its ugly head during a nigh twenty-hour play-through. And you know what? I'm not about to belittle your misery. Final Fantasy VIII does a terrible job of cluing you into its mechanics and unorthodox gameplay. To illustrate, I have encountered people willing to bemoan the game's drawing system but are unaware of the item or card refining mechanics. It's NOT okay for the remaster to leave these systems entirely in the dark to new players, even if the original game did. Likewise, it's shocking Square-Enix did not include a digital game manual for those who do not purchase a physical copy. Including one would have made this release a more straightforward recommendation for newcomers.
With that out of the way, let's talk about the "quality-of-life" additions included in Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Several of these features, such as playing the game at triple speed, were included in previous releases, most notably the 2000 PC port. Oddly enough, the Steam version allows for even greater player customization when compared to the console releases. On the Steam version, you can max out every character's limit break or acquire every item in the game with a simple click of the button. Honestly, I don't see the appeal of these features as I find playing Final Fantasy VIII to be part of its charm. Nonetheless, these features are here and are a godsend to anyone who gets stuck during the game's final two acts. If there is one nit-pick I can think of, it has to do with Triple Triad. While you can give yourself every card in the game at will, there's no easy way to eliminate Triple Triad house-rules. So, if you end up spreading the "Random Rule," may God have mercy on your soul.
The Story Is As Wild A Romp As Ever
What I'm about to say will shock long-time followers of my Final Fantasy blog series: I have come around to Final Fantasy VIII's story. In my quest to play all of the PlayStation One and 2 Final Fantasy games, there's something about Final Fantasy VIII's story that continues to feel "refreshing." Yes, Squall's brooding moments define much of the game's first act. That said, his slow evolution is something I did not give the game enough credit for when I first played it. If anything, it's a character arc the game remains committed to from beginning to end, and in hindsight, I cannot help but admire it for that.
Admittedly, the story of Final Fantasy VIII is a HOT MESS. If a good story is what you look for in a video game nowadays; I cannot recommend Final Fantasy VIII. For those unfamiliar with the game's narrative ebbs and flows, it starts with a handful of teenagers practically BEGGING to become mercenaries in a private military company. Then, a half dozen of these teenagers are arbitrarily selected to MURDER A SORCERESS! Past that, we discover everyone forgot they were childhood friends, and BOOM one of your party members turns into a witch while you are floating in space. YEAH, REMEMBER THE TIME WHEN THE GAME GOES TO SPACE?
Nevertheless, the narrative of Final Fantasy VIII showcases a great deal of emotional sincerity. That sincerity is what continues to draw me back to the game all these years after the fact. While it frequently falls flat on its face; no game swings, misses, and keeps on swinging, quite like Final Fantasy VIII. Inevitably, this leads me to the relationship between Squall and Rinoa, the main crux of the game's story. After mulling over it for a few years, I honestly think the writing staff behind Final Fantasy VIII wanted to share their version of a romance story. In that regard, I think they succeeded. The relationship between Rinoa and Squall is awkward, messy, and downright inconceivable in parts. Therefore, it is a perfect representation of genuine human love.
It is for that matter I was relieved to see nothing was done to change the "tone" of the story or characters. If there were any localization changes, they must have been for the best, because I did not notice them. Squall behaves exactly how you remembered, ellipses and all. Credit to Square for not re-contextualizing Squall using his appearance in Kingdom Hearts as a reference; which I continue to pretend NEVER HAPPENED! The same goes for the rest of the game's cast. I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was to see Selphie singing about trains, or Zell punching the sky. As goofy and moronic these characters may be, watching them animate as I remembered, felt like meeting an old friend for the first time in years.
In general, the story is the one part of Final Fantasy VIII Square has my full permission to leave untouched. I don't want or need voice acting during the game's cutscenes. In any event, I suspect adding voice acting would negatively impact the emotional weight of the game. Could you imagine modern-day Square-Enix trying to graft its current wheelhouse of voice actors to characters like Squall or Zell? For me, the mere idea is vomit-inducing. Personally, I miss the old days of being able to role-play as Final Fantasy characters and voice their lines as they come out. By including voice-acting, I think the Final Fantasy franchise took away the player's agency in interpreting the actions of their characters, but that's a topic for another time.
Should You Play The Final Fantasy VIII Remaster?
To me, Final Fantasy VIII is an aberration everyone should experience at least once in their life. I don't ask you to respect or support every design decision in the game. Goodness, even I have my fair share of criticisms of the game's story or level design. No matter, Final Fantasy VIII is a novel game that deserves a shot if and when you have the time. I wish this offering were on par with previous HD repackagings of Final Fantasy games, but that is neither here nor there. By default, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is the best way to experience Final Fantasy VIII to date. The original game spans multiple discs and is hard to come by. The PSN re-release obviously isn't available on as many platforms and has the original game's crazy load times. The 2000 PC release is plagued by visual glitches and a horrible MIDI soundtrack. For anyone wanting to jump into Final Fantasy VIII for the first time, or possibly relive their memories, this is a great way to do that.
In spite of that, I cannot help but think Final Fantasy VIII deserves better than what it got. We all know Square-Enix can do better, and they have countless times prior. If the reason for this weak package is Square-Enix losing the game's source code, I want to say a little honesty would have gone a long way. In fact, Square-Enix doesn't need to be ashamed of themselves as they are not the first developer guilty of poorly curating their back catalog. If, however, this is nothing short of a rumor, then there's no reason for this remaster to be as bare-bones as it stands. The lack of any new scaffolding of the game's mechanics creates barriers for new players. Likewise, the absence of new modes or features makes it a hard sell to those who have already played the original game and lack nostalgia for Squall and his troupe of goofballs.
Even then, Final Fantasy VIII is a fantastic snapshot of Squaresoft's "Golden Age." I cannot even begin to fathom the insurmountable challenge that faced the team of designers and programmers assigned to Final Fantasy VIII. They took significant risks when making Final Fantasy VIII, and I respect them for it. Every minute and hour of Final Fantasy VIII is packed to the brim with gall and boundless creativity. The story and gameplay disregarded all of the standard conventions for games at the time, let alone Final Fantasy games. Yes, these risks do not always pay dividends. However, those few moments when things do work are magical, and I genuinely hope you take the time to seek them out.
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