After years of waiting, Square Enix is finally delivering a remastered version of the oneFinal Fantasygame that’s been left on the shelf for almost 20 years. Welcome backFinal Fantasy 8, which was launched on the original PlayStation in 1999 and on PC in 2000. As of E3 2019,Final Fantasy 8 Remasteredhas now been confirmed to come to Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, PS4, and Xbox One. Better yet,Final Fantasy 8 Remasteredwill be launching in 2019.
Final Fantasy 8has lived inFinal Fantasy 7’s shadow in near every regard, even being announced after the hugeFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeblock during the Square Enix E3 2019 press conference. But hopefully a modern release forFinal Fantasy 8will help bring it out of the shadows somewhat. Squall may never be Cloud, but he’s certainly something unique to his own. Not that he cares much either way.
For those unfamiliar,Final Fantasy 8tells the of Squall, a military cadet who aspires to become a powerful magical mercenary. As befits the franchise, Squall’s aspirations lead him on a journey of self-realization and ultimately a quest to save the world.
One worry that persists after the announcement ofFinal Fantasy 8 Remasteredis that Square Enix is simply going to port the 19-year old PC version of the game with little in the means of updates. This is something that Square Enix has done forotherFinal Fantasyportsbrought from PC to consoles, largely to the disappointment of fans. There’s little argument thatFinal Fantasy 8 Remastered’s visuals have been updated for modern resolution standards, however. But if that’s the limit of the game’s improvements it may lead to some controversy.
It’s unfortunate, but the announcement ofFinal Fantasy 8Remasteredwas leakedwell before the announcement came through. Luckily for Square Enix 20 years of excitedly waiting for an updated version ofFinal Fantasy 8likely wasn’t hampered whatsoever by a little leak.
Final Fantasy 8releases in 2019 for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
