Final Fantasy VIII Now on Steam

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

Final Fantasy VIII Now on Steam

The PC release of FFVIII comes complete with achievements, the Chocobo World minigame, and a sense of confusion over the ending.

Get out your Triple Triad deck, because Final Fantasy VIII is now available on Steam. Originally released for the first PlayStation in 1999, FFVIII saw a PC release the following year. Now gamers can once again experience the epic saga of soldiers, sorceresses, Guardian Forces, and really cool facial scars for $11.99. Sorry, Mac users--it's PC only.

For the uninitiated, FFVIII introduces Squall, a teenage student at a military school, as well as some of his classmates and teachers. Before long, Squall and company are promoted to elite mercenaries and wrapped up in a battle against several powerful sorceresses and an ultra-competitive sociopath. The main game is great and all, but the real gem is Triple Triad, the in-game card game that will have you obsessively battling strangers hoping to find rare cards. The Queen of Cards quest may consume you, but it'll be worth it to get that Chubby Chocobo card.

The Steam version of FFVIII comes with achievements, the Chocobo World minigame that originated on Japan's PocketStation accessory, and a Magic Booster. On top of having a classic RPG made easily accessible, you'll also have a reason to revive that 14-year-old argument over FFVII's Materia vs. FFVIII's draw system with your Final Fantasy-loving friends. Of course, anyone who thinks the draw system is better should be cut out of your life entirely.

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[Alpha Maeko]

I'll cut -you- out of my life.

Draw System for the win.

 

[Lunar Templar]

the Junction system was the good part of FF8s systems, but the draw system, meh ... Espers where better then both.

As for the game existing on Steam, neat, I guess. I'm a bit Indifferent to it since the plot starts to nose dive after disk 1. Now they just need to reason GOOD PS1 era RPGs on the PC, like Parasite Eve >.> or hell, not an RPG but show Enihander some love.

 

[FinalDream]

I loved this game! I've still got my boxed PC copy sitting right next to the PS one.

 

[BanicRhys]

Rargh, on the one hand I already have the PS1 and PSN versions.

On the other hand, a well made difficulty mod (and maybe a mod that removes all of those bullshit Triple Triad rules) could breathe new life into the game like it did for FF7.

 

[deth2munkies]

Snap buy. This was my favorite 3D Final Fantasy. Add Chrono Cross and I can finally delete my PS1 emulator.

 

[JediMB]

Okay, I guess I know what I want for Christmas now.

Although I have no idea when I'm supposed to find the time to play either this or VII again.

 

[Storm Dragon]

Haven't played this one yet. Might get it if it goes on sale.

 

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

I'll cut -you- out of my life.

Draw System for the win.

My husband loves the draw system. It's destroying our marriage.

 

[Matt K]

Since both FF7 and FF8 were relased on the PC back in the day, not a huge surprise (but a surprise none the less). Now if they actually ported some of their older games to the PC I'd be very surprised.

 

[Covarr]

Even though they listened to fans and fixed the music in FF7... they fucked up again for FF8. This music is the same crappy MIDI sounds we got in 2000.

P.S. Thanks

EDIT EDIT EDIT: As far as I can tell, this is using the SGT files from the original PC version. These are basically midis, but with a built-in soundfont. It's better than straight MIDI, but not the original PlayStation music.

 

[Rad Party God]

That was fast, I thought Square would take it's time for FFVIII after FFVII on Steam. I hope they iron out the faults of FFVII, mainly the attrocious save system with mandatory "cloud saves" that didn't worked that well half the time.

On the other hand, if this turns out as bad as FFVII on Steam, I guess emulation would still be the better choice.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Is it the exact same game from 2000, or does it boast improved graphics and sound?

 

[Covarr]

Is it the exact same game from 2000, or does it boast improved graphics and sound?

It's mostly the same. They brought back the Chocobo World minigame, which was conspicuously absent in 2000, and the game runs natively at higher resolutions (though no widescreen; you'll have black bars, but sharper models). The backgrounds haven't been redone, so they'll look pixellated.

Basically, same thing as FF7 on Steam.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Ophiuchus]

Looks like I'll be adding this to the three PS1 copies and the PSN version that I already own. Because why the fuck not.

I maybe like this game a little bit.

 

[Glaice]

Ok cool, can you add FF9 now? I loved that one.

It's nice to see Final Fantasy games on Steam, any chance to add FF4 and FF6?

 

[DaViller]

I loved this game back in the day but i never got to see the ending.

Also am I the only person on the planet who actually likes squall?

I realy liked him and was surprised to see that everyone thinks hes an emo douche once i got internet. I remember him being anti social but still thought he was cool, aside from his kinda girly face.

Loved a conversation he had with his teacher in the beginning. She kinda opens her heart to him while he just stands there going like " aha...yeah...cool". Then she gets pissed and confronts him about and he just says "Go talk to a wall" and leaves. Laughed my ass of at that.

 

[Agayek]

For the uninitiated, FFVIII introduces Squall, a teenage student at a military school, as well as some of his classmates and teachers. Before long, Squall and company are promoted to elite mercenaries and wrapped up in a battle against several powerful sorceresses and an ultra-competitive sociopath.

Don't you mean the dream of a dying man? [http://squallsdead.com/]

 

[FalloutJack]

This may sound like a very silly question, especially to the pro-FF8 people in the thread, but I have to ask it:

Ummm...why?

 

[RJ 17]

This may sound like a very silly question, especially to the pro-FF8 people in the thread, but I have to ask it:

Ummm...why?

GOOOOOOOOOOOD question!

Seriously...who the hell would want to subject themselves to that atrocious, completely BS card game again? Who the hell would want to spend hours upon hours drawing spells for junctioning again? Or, for that matter, farming up the items needed to convert them into magic spells? FFVIII was terrible in story, character, gameplay, and mechanics. Truly, at least in my book, this was The Beginning of The End for the franchise for me. FFIX was so bad I didn't even bother playing past the first disc, and after beating 10 I officially washed my hands of the entire franchise.

From everything I've heard, I really haven't been missing much since then.