The long-awaitedFinal Fantasy VIII Remastered, which Square Enix finally announced atE3 2019, will come with features that will enable faster progression.
Series producer Yoshinori Kitase said in aninterviewwith Famitsu magazine thatFinal Fantasy VIII Remasteredwillintegratethe features of triple speed, which will make the game run at a much faster pace; battle enhancements, which will keep all characters’ HP and ATB gauges at max and Limit Breaks always available; and no random encounters, for uninterrupted movement across maps and areas.
The features will allow players to replay theFinal Fantasy VIIIstory without having to go through the same grind as during their first crack at the 1999 PlayStation classic RPG.
PC players will be able to enjoy additional features that will allow them to acquire all items, abilities, Limit Breaks, and triple triad cards, as well as boost GF levels, gil, and magic to maximum. The PC version will also offer highly customizable system settings, though it remains unclear what exactly this means.
Kitase did not reveal in the interview why the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions ofFinal Fantasy VIII Remasteredwill not come with the PC exclusive features.
Hiroshi Harada, Tomohiro Kayano, and Tetsuya Nomura, who all worked on the battle programming and character designs for the originalFinal Fantasy VIII,areinvolvedin the remaster, according to Kitase. This means that the project is in good hands, which is good news for the game’s fans.
Digital Trends rankedFinal Fantasy VIIIamong the best entries in the long-runningFinal Fantasy series, so gamers are hyped over the RPG’s upcoming remaster, which is set to launch within the year.
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, however, has been overshadowed by theFinal Fantasy VII Remake, which snagged the spotlight at E3 2019. Kitase, who is also producing the highly anticipatedRemake, said at the annual video game event that Square Enix hasno cluehow many episodes the game will require, as its initial release on July 09, 2025 will only cover the story within Midgar.
While waiting for Cloud and the gang to return in theFinal Fantasy VII Remake, fans of the series will at least soon haveFinal Fantasy VIII Remasteredto keep them busy.
