Final Fantasy VIII Getting High-Res PC Release

StewShearerOld

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Jan 5, 2013
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Final Fantasy VIII Getting High-Res PC Release



Square Enix is working on a new version of Final Fantasy VIII that smooths out the graphical wrinkles of the PlayStation era.

There are eras of gaming that have aged arguably better than others. Looking back on the 16-bit years, for instance, there are many gamers who would probably still consider it a beautiful time for gaming. The 32-bit years, on the other hand, often feel like the awkward teenage years of videogame visuals. 3D graphics were still new and there are more than a few games that look less than stellar now that the passage of time has shown us just how good things can get. In short, what was shiny on the PlayStation may not be so shiny today.

Hoping to spruce up one of its PlayStation-era titles, Square Enix has revealed that it's working on a high-resolution version of Final Fantasy VIII for PCs. Currently lacking a release date and still exclusive to Japan, the new version of VIII will polish away the rougher edges of the game's visuals. It will still maintain many elements of a late-90s PlayStation title, but screenshots released by Square Enix definitely point to an experience that looks smoother than its original release.

One thing we'd love to see, if this version of VIII is a success, is a similar high resolution version of Final Fantasy IX. Aside from being sorely under-appreciated, IX is the only member of the mainline PlayStation Final Fantasy's to never see a release on PCs. Considering its visuals, though rooted in a different art style, suffer from largely the same problems as Final Fantasy VIII, it too could benefit from a bit of smoothing out. Final Fantasy VII, of course, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118275-Square-Enix-Finally-Confirms-PC-Final-Fantasy-VII>saw a PC re-release in 2012.

Source: <a href=http://www.famitsu.com/news/201305/16033362.html>Famitsu via <a href=http://kotaku.com/this-game-is-terrible-leveling-system-was-awful-the-d-508168782>Kotaku


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Fractral

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Feb 28, 2012
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I hope it does see a release in the west. I have FF9 and FF7 but I held off on getting FF8 because of how mixed the opinions on it are. If it does get released I'll probably buy it so I have the full collection.
 

CriticalMiss

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Jan 18, 2013
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I think 7 is more in need of a visual make-over than 8, at least the latter didn't suffer from barbell arms. And I will hop on the FF9 bandwagon, give us more resomolutions Squeenix!
 

Zetsubou-Sama

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Mar 31, 2010
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Still one of my favourite FF's. Also heavily underrated due to how easy it is to exploit and due to the fact it was not Final Fantasy VII.

Oh and the stupid disc II plot twists.
 

Alcaste

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Mar 2, 2011
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FF8's visuals were pretty striking for the time, but its good to see Square taking an interest. That said, running your PSX version on your PC can produce very similar results to this... I hope its more than just unlocking higher resolution textures and effects.
 

ASnogarD

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Jul 2, 2009
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Why ?
FF IX I could understand as there was no PC version but there was a PC version of VIII, I had it and finished it... wouldnt play it again mind you, the drawing out mechanic and the GF system was terrible. Made for some loooong sessions of collecting a new magic type to max out the amount you had to get best stat boost possible, the idea of when you used magic you actually made your character weaker statwise... the GF stuff IIRC got to the point it was more GF fights than using the characters... except for the limits.

I would buy a updated and graphically (and audio) updated FFVII PC (not the add a few achievements and a cheat system and call it a day rubbish, recently done).
 

Caffeine_Bombed

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Feb 13, 2012
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I'd buy that for a dollar!

My all-time favorite Final Fantasy installment and one of my all-time favorite games in general!
 

Powerman88

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I am of the camp that 8 was not good and 9 was the best of the series. Really my complaints with 8 are the same as everyone elses; draw system was boring and the plot/characters were pretty lame imo. 9 on the other hand I have played through 3 times and always cry like a little kid at the end. Would love to see a HD re-release on PC.
 

SonOfVoorhees

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This game was good, but god was the main character a moany, depressing bastard. Moody all the time. I would of exchanged him for another character if i could.

Actually, maybe they should make a new FF game about time travel like FF13-2, but it involves all the previous game characters and enemies in one game. That would be awesome. Then you can stick whiny face in a time out and just play as cloud, but then he was whiny a bit as well.
 

Charli

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Nov 23, 2008
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bringer of illumination said:
Where is my HD FF IX rerelease you twats?

I want a fucking IX rerelease!
Dude I want a whole remake, prettied up CGI cut scenes and voice acting. THE WORKS. That game was the shiznit.

...Leave me to my dreams.
 

bbchain

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May 6, 2013
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I'm really glad they're doing this, It's about time VIII got some attention. The graphics were great for its time but it could do to use a little sprucing up like VII got recently. IX doesn't really look like it needs an update, it honestly looks fine as it is. It has an art style that still looks good today, the graphics have definitely aged better than VII and VIII.
 

twaddle

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SonOfVoorhees said:
This game was good, but god was the main character a moany, depressing bastard. Moody all the time. I would of exchanged him for another character if i could.

Actually, maybe they should make a new FF game about time travel like FF13-2, but it involves all the previous game characters and enemies in one game. That would be awesome. Then you can stick whiny face in a time out and just play as cloud, but then he was whiny a bit as well.
The funny thing is final fantasy 10 and 10-2 are prequels to 7 and exist in the same universe, though there was planet hoping
 

Deshin

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Aug 31, 2010
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twaddle said:
The funny thing is final fantasy 10 and 10-2 are prequels to 7 and exist in the same universe, though there was planet hoping
Erm... got a citation on that? FF10's planet was Spira and FF7's planet was Gaia. If I remember correctly I think FF12 had the same universe as FF9 did but I'm not entirely sure on that one either.

Edit: I looked up what you said. As far as I can see none of it is "canon" and more a case of "oh I see what you did there" by saying Shinra (the boy, not the company) was planning on using Farplane energy. But it still makes 0 sense because let's say Shinra does indeed plan that out -> harvest Spira -> Travel to Gaia -> 1,000 years of nothing -> new company pops up named Shinra that does the same thing. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and is more than likely a 'lost-in-translation' of them saying "We made a refence to one of our other games, phnar phnar!"
 

excalipoor

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Jan 16, 2011
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Deshin said:
twaddle said:
The funny thing is final fantasy 10 and 10-2 are prequels to 7 and exist in the same universe, though there was planet hoping
Erm... got a citation on that? FF10's planet was Spira and FF7's planet was Gaia. If I remember correctly I think FF12 had the same universe as FF9 did but I'm not entirely sure on that one either.

Edit: I looked up what you said. As far as I can see none of it is "canon" and more a case of "oh I see what you did there" by saying Shinra (the boy, not the company) was planning on using Farplane energy. But it still makes 0 sense because let's say Shinra does indeed plan that out -> harvest Spira -> Travel to Gaia -> 1,000 years of nothing -> new company pops up named Shinra that does the same thing. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and is more than likely a 'lost-in-translation' of them saying "We made a refence to one of our other games, phnar phnar!"
As fucking stupid as it is, Shinra (the FFX-2 character) is mentioned in the FFVII Ultimania Omega guide. That would suggest that this is, indeed, canon.

I'm not happy about it either.
 

Quijiboh

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Mar 24, 2011
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SonOfVoorhees said:
This game was good, but god was the main character a moany, depressing bastard. Moody all the time. I would of exchanged him for another character if i could.
I would argue that one of the main plot points of the game was that being a moody, depressing bastard isn't so great, and maybe Squall should lighten up a bit. For example, with the way the game juxtaposes him against Laguna.
 

twaddle

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Nov 17, 2009
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Deshin said:
twaddle said:
The funny thing is final fantasy 10 and 10-2 are prequels to 7 and exist in the same universe, though there was planet hoping
Erm... got a citation on that? FF10's planet was Spira and FF7's planet was Gaia. If I remember correctly I think FF12 had the same universe as FF9 did but I'm not entirely sure on that one either.

Edit: I looked up what you said. As far as I can see none of it is "canon" and more a case of "oh I see what you did there" by saying Shinra (the boy, not the company) was planning on using Farplane energy. But it still makes 0 sense because let's say Shinra does indeed plan that out -> harvest Spira -> Travel to Gaia -> 1,000 years of nothing -> new company pops up named Shinra that does the same thing. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and is more than likely a 'lost-in-translation' of them saying "We made a refence to one of our other games, phnar phnar!"
That not as implausible as you make it seem. All they are saying is The humans from spira developed space travel and traveled to another hospitable planet, and 1000's of years later disaster occurred and they lost the technology, eventually humans created a new civilization re-developed technology using remnants of the past.