Final Fantasy VIII remastered

Darkglasses · 02-09-2019 12:26pm #1

Anybody else excited about this? Due to land on steam tomorrow I believe.

Jurgen The German · 02-09-2019 1:26pm

Didn't know it was getting a lick of paint but will pick it up at some point, my fave in the series and the gun blade is a bad ass weapon.

Daith · 02-09-2019 1:58pm

Yeah, couldn't get to grips with it originally but it's become a fave.

Still think it's a pity you can't explore much at the end though.

Vicxas · 02-09-2019 2:07pm

Really looking forward to this. Be interesting to see how the touch up looks

ZiabR · 02-09-2019 2:18pm

Pre-Download is available at the moment and its only 2.81GB. I am not sure what to expect from this release. I can't see it looking overly different.

Retr0gamer · 02-09-2019 2:30pm

I've been playing the original release with mods to make the game look a whole lot nicer. There's mods to replace all the character models and backgrounds with much better looking ones. I think this is using the old assets with nothing new added.

That said the original PC release is janky as **** with lots of graphical issues that still aren't fixed.

Darkglasses · 02-09-2019 2:47pm

Good write up and set of screenshots here - https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-viii-remastered-review/

The cheats are definitely an interesting addition for lapsed gamers who purely want a nostalgia walk through.

fixXxer · 02-09-2019 3:31pm

That draw magic system though

Adamcp898 · 02-09-2019 4:17pm

Probably will pick it up at some point, most likely whenever it's on sale. Have the PS1 copy hanging around somewhere but never did finish it all those years ago.

pixelburp · 02-09-2019 4:25pm

I haven't played this since its original release fadó fadó, so I'm fascinated to play it again. Something of the ugly duckling of that trilogy of PS1 FF games which is probably down to Squall; and while I vaguely recall enjoying it overall, I think I had a lingering disappointment it wasn't more FF7 (not being aware at that point that each Final Fantasy game was set in its own world).

fixxxer wrote: »

That draw magic system though

With only vague memories of the abstract, I've read this a lot but don't get it: what was it about the FF8 magic system that caused such heartache?

frisbeeface · 02-09-2019 4:44pm

Had a great time going through the remastered VII and IX on PS4. Really nice to be able to turn off random encounters when I just wanted to be able to push forward with the story, looking forward to doing the same with this one.

fixXxer · 02-09-2019 4:52pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I haven't played this since its original release fadó fadó, so I'm fascinated to play it again. Something of the ugly duckling of that trilogy of PS1 FF games which is probably down to Squall; and while I vaguely recall enjoying it overall, I think I had a lingering disappointment it wasn't more FF7 (not being aware at that point that each Final Fantasy game was set in its own world).

With only vague memories of the abstract, I've read this a lot but don't get it: what was it about the FF8 magic system that caused such heartache?

You had to suck manage from bad guys to use it, but using it reduced your stick of magic. As you junction magic to weapons and armour the more magic you had the more power you had. I played FF8 recently on the vita and found it very tedious to level up, fights lasting ages while you drew off enough magic from badguys before killing them.

BIGT4464 · 02-09-2019 5:05pm

I thought it was FF7 they were remaking.

pixelburp · 02-09-2019 5:08pm

BIGT4464 wrote: »

I thought it was FF7 they were remaking.

They still are: this is just a remaster of FF8, where they replaced the old low-poly character models with HD versions (along with some small quality of life additions like the ability to opt out of random encounters)

The FF7 remake is just that, a complete 100% remake from the ground up (and apparently will be released in multiple parts)

BIGT4464 · 02-09-2019 5:20pm

pixelburp wrote: »

They still are: this is just a remaster of FF8, where they replaced the old low-poly character models with HD versions (along with some small quality of life additions like the ability to opt out of random encounters)
remake is just that, a complete 100% remake from the ground up (and apparently will be released in multiple parts)

Oh ya, thanks for jogging my memory. I don't think I have the time anyway for either

riffmongous · 02-09-2019 5:21pm

I haven't replayed it since the old days so I'm very tempted by these new character models, the option to speed up the game will be very useful too

Evade · 02-09-2019 5:51pm

du-nun-nun-nun-clap-clap--clap

Darkglasses · 02-09-2019 6:09pm

I'm slightly tainted by the fact that this was the first RPG I really liked (Alundra was too scary for young me

) and probably the first game I ever dumped hours and hours (and hours) into. The reviews seem adequate so I'll definitely be jumping on this tomorrow.

Varik · 02-09-2019 11:25pm

Anyone get the theme preorder bonus?

gimli2112 · 03-09-2019 7:58am

Saw the demo on metacritic my god the battle music brings back memories. It's greatest flaw is at the beginning and drawing magic and then replacing and drawing more powerful magic several more times. Some of the dream sequences were a little ponderous.
I played the card game to death. To get one the Laguna card you had to go through quite a long cutscene in space and the game forced the random rules, you could end up losing powerful cards and having to reset. This led to many shouts of "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!" in the Gimli household.

Overall though great game and in my top 3 FF games with VII and X.

AlmightyCushion · 03-09-2019 9:06am

gimli2112 wrote: »

Saw the demo on metacritic my god the battle music brings back memories. It's greatest flaw is at the beginning and drawing magic and then replacing and drawing more powerful magic several more times. Some of the dream sequences were a little ponderous.
I played the card game to death. To get one the Laguna card you had to go through quite a long cutscene in space and the game forced the random rules, you could end up losing powerful cards and having to reset. This led to many shouts of "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!" in the Gimli household.

Overall though great game and in my top 3 FF games with VII and X.

The random rule was such bullshít.

Retr0gamer · 03-09-2019 11:08am

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

The random rule was such bullsh

Found it made the card game way more fun and interesting.

The biggest issue I had was when it popped up in a bull**** sidequest where you had to lose a specific card to get a new one. You would have to keep playing until that card appeared then lose the match (which became even more annoying when you accidently won a match you were trying to lose with a massive combo right at the end :mad:)

Losing that Ifrit card to Rinoa's dad was a load of me hole.

Evade · 03-09-2019 4:48pm

Random was fine. Random, Same, Same/Wall, Plus, Elemental, Direct was more than a little annoying. Especially when you had 8 useless cards you need 10 of to refine and you end up with 4 of those and a player card.

BeerWolf · 03-09-2019 6:08pm

Evade wrote: »

Random was fine. Random, Same, Same/Wall, Plus, Elemental, Direct was more than a little annoying. Especially when you had 8 useless cards you need 10 of to refine and you end up with 4 of those and a player card.

I still punish myself with them rule sets in FF14s Triple Triad card game... the Same/Plus rule is just so freaking annoying.

Evade · 03-09-2019 7:25pm

I just got around to playing now. The world map is jarring to say the least.

BeerWolf · 03-09-2019 7:50pm

Evade wrote: »

I just got around to playing now. The world map is jarring to say the least.

Just wait for a remake in 20 years time!

Darkglasses · 04-09-2019 12:25am

It seems that the rules behind Triple Triad have changed..? The Trepe fanclub don't seem to have the Quistis card after beating Ifirit, and changing the Queen's trade rule to All hasn't changed everyone's rule to all. Although maybe it's user error

Vicxas · 04-09-2019 10:12am

Darkglasses wrote: »

It seems that the rules behind Triple Triad have changed..? The Trepe fanclub don't seem to have the Quistis card after beating Ifirit, and changing the Queen's trade rule to All hasn't changed everyone's rule to all. Although maybe it's user error

Literally unplayable if that's the case

chopperbyrne · 04-09-2019 1:20pm

This is a very lazy remaster.

Literally, only the character models and text boxes have been changed. Everything else is the same.

Game is letterboxed, and all the backgrounds look extra fuzzy as they're stretched out on modern screens.

One thing I never knew, which this port has revealed, is that after Cid details the exam mission, and it cuts back to your control, Cid is just an interactible part of the background on that screen, not an actual character model.

So it goes from his new model, to a blob of colours in a few seconds.

04-09-2019 1:26pm

Unpopular opinion probably

Can't stand this game, tried so many times to like it

gimli2112 · 04-09-2019 1:30pm

I have a number of games like that. I tried to like them but couldn't get into them. I do find in such instances the higher acclaim the game is held in the more I tend to dislike them, when they don't click with me, for whatever reason. Everyone's entitled to an opinion. Except for the last of us. If you don't like the last of us I hate you

Kiith · 04-09-2019 1:39pm

chopperbyrne wrote: »

This is a very lazy remaster.

Literally, only the character models and text boxes have been changed. Everything else is the same.

Game is letterboxed, and all the backgrounds look extra fuzzy as they're stretched out on modern screens.

One thing I never knew, which this port has revealed, is that after Cid details the exam mission, and it cuts back to your control, Cid is just an interactible part of the background on that screen, not an actual character model.

So it goes from his new model, to a blob of colours in a few seconds.

It's not so bad... :P

Squall Leonhart · 04-09-2019 1:45pm

Haven't played computer games in many many years. Maybe it's time I gave FFVIII another whirl, or the remake of VII.

Loved the card game!!

chopperbyrne · 04-09-2019 1:46pm

The new character models are lovely though in fairness.

ForstalDave · 04-09-2019 1:52pm

chopperbyrne wrote: »

This is a very lazy remaster.

Literally, only the character models and text boxes have been changed. Everything else is the same.

Game is letterboxed, and all the backgrounds look extra fuzzy as they're stretched out on modern screens.

One thing I never knew, which this port has revealed, is that after Cid details the exam mission, and it cuts back to your control, Cid is just an interactible part of the background on that screen, not an actual character model.

So it goes from his new model, to a blob of colours in a few seconds.

They lost the files for the background years and years ago so were unable to redo them, Think it is the reason this was the last one remastered

pixelburp · 04-09-2019 1:54pm

Kiith wrote: »

It's not so bad... :P

Holy crap, I was going to pick this up for the sake of nostalgia but that's awful looking. Hadn't remembered/realised not all the characters in scenes were 3d models.

That's dreadful looking. Not expecting miracles from this remaster, but by those metrics it barely qualifies as that.

Darkglasses · 04-09-2019 2:37pm

The overworld still looks atrocious too

All that aside, I'm still happy with the game so far. Wasn't really looking for much of an improvement, just an easily playable PC version.

Retr0gamer · 04-09-2019 3:06pm

Darkglasses wrote: »

The overworld still looks atrocious too

All that aside, I'm still happy with the game so far. Wasn't really looking for much of an improvement, just an easily playable PC version.

Wow, that overworld look horrendous. So this is a total hack job then. It doesn't look like that in the PS1 original but the misaligned textures is an issue with the PC version on new GPU tech compared to when the game was released (due to how old graphics cards handled texture alignment compared to new cards). So they just ported the PC version with minimum effort.

Think I'll stick to the old steam version because this stuff has at least been fan patched.

chopperbyrne · 04-09-2019 3:24pm

I bought it on PS4.

No refunds, no fan mods.

This is it.

Least I don't have to farm 200AP for Encounter-None, just press L3 + R3.

Robert ninja · 04-09-2019 7:23pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Think I'll stick to the old steam version because this stuff has at least been fan patched.

Do you still need a Facebook or SE account to play it? I dropped it because of the DRM at the time.

Evade · 04-09-2019 7:45pm

A few minutes of carding monsters around Balamb and I got an Elvoret and a Krysta.

Evade · 04-09-2019 8:32pm

Darkglasses wrote: »

It seems that the rules behind Triple Triad have changed..? The Trepe fanclub don't seem to have the Quistis card

I'm having a similar issue with getting the kid in the blue t-shirt running around Garden to play his Mog card.

EDIT: But Trepe Groupie #1 played Quistis first time

Underground · 04-09-2019 11:09pm

The three things from this game that remain etched in my memory to this day whenever I think of it:

1. That bloody Diablo boss fight where you have to beat him to get him as a GF

2. That sewers maze when you're on your way to do a sniper thing with Irvine

3. Some horrible maze dungeon out in the world map somewhere where I think the end game is again getting a new GF.

Might buy it on the Switch though.

nix · 05-09-2019 3:09am

hah, the only thing i can recall from the original really, is that the game falls apart story wise at a certain point, dont wanna spoil for anybody who cant remember or who hasnt actually played it before, but the key word is "orphanage" :pac:

I'm looking forward to playing this again, i have only played it the once and that was back at its original release. But the screenshots ive seen in this post are disappointing, I'm gonna get it on my switch so will wait until its at a bargain price..

Retr0gamer · 05-09-2019 7:49am

It was always kind of kind but at that point I wouldn't say falls apart so much as totally ****s the bed.

Still the junctioning is so broken and the visuals and music are so interesting it's worth playing.

Evade · 05-09-2019 9:41am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Still the junctioning is so broken

I've already broken it. I'm about to leave for the SEED exam and Squall is reliably doing 2,000+ damage per turn.

Retr0gamer · 05-09-2019 9:56am

Evade wrote: »

I've already broken it. I'm about to leave for the SEED exam and Squall is reliably doing 2,000+ damage per turn.

Pretty sure you can get Squall's best weapon and therefore insane limit break by the end of the first or second disc

Magic refine is chef kiss good and I love the stat +1 GF moves that let you hit stat caps so early.

Evade · 05-09-2019 10:03am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pretty sure you can get Squall's best weapon and therefore insane limit break by the end of the first or second disc

First disc is a bit of a pain but once you can free roam on disc 2 again it's easy.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Magic refine is chef kiss good and I love the stat +1 GF moves that let you hit stat caps so early.

I only ever use physical attacks and hitting the strength cap is almost pointless because of the damage cap. Especially if you meltdown the target.

Retr0gamer · 05-09-2019 10:08am

Evade wrote: »

I only ever use physical attacks and hitting the strength cap is almost pointless because of the damage cap. Especially if you meltdown the target.

I didn't realise that but by the time you are at 255 stats and destroying everything (usually very early if you know what to do

) It doesn't matter. And big numbers are nice to look at.

Evade · 05-09-2019 10:12am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I didn't realise that but by the time you are at 255 stats and destroying everything (usually very early if you know what to do ) It doesn't matter. And big numbers are nice to look at.

9999 is 9999 no matter how you get there.

Daith · 05-09-2019 10:24am

Nostalgia is an interesting thing

I didn't realise how many "this is how you use this menu" tutorials we got. Forgot how easy it was to break the game and have it as walking simulator.

Still love the world and ideas though.

Final Fantasy VIII remastered

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