Review for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 03/09/2019
On February 11, Final Fantasy VIII blew out its twentieth candle, but Square Enix seemed to have nothing in store for the occasion. Fortunately, at E3 came the announcement of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, whose release date was recently announced with the following trailer:
To date (literally, since the release is scheduled for tomorrow, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch) Final Fantasy VIII is playable on all Sony consoles up to PS Vita and on PC, so Square Enix must justify the outlay of € 19,99 (double the "smooth" version present for ten years on PS Store) requested by this new incarnation of FF with some news. Let's see how. We tell you right away that in this review there will be no real discussion on the game, which however you can find in this other older (but still "posthumous") review.
The "new" graphics
The first element of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered that catches the eye is undoubtedly the renewed graphic sector, which makes use of new polygonal models for characters e fonts, as well as updated animations and backgrounds. The visual impact is actually better, also thanks to a more effective anti-aliasing, but not everything is positive: in particular, the difference between the definition of the characters (ultra-defined) and that of the backdrops (upscaled, for heaven's sake, but not too different from the past) is a bit too pronounced. The writer, then, did not appreciate the modernization of the look of the protagonists, in line with the character design of Dissidia, which takes away from the title that retro charm that honestly did not hurt.
Note of demerit, on the other hand, as regards the movies, which are upscaled to 1080p, but don't look good at all. It certainly does not help the aspect ratio, which has remained anchored to the now antiquated 4: 3 format.
The soundtrack completes the discussion on the technical sector, which, unlike the previous versions for PC (which went back to MIDI), is taken straight from the primitive version for PlayStation. And yes, if you don't remember, it was (is) beautiful.
The new features
In terms of gameplay and content, the game has not been practically touched, if not for the removal of the Chocobo World minigame, originally designed to be used on PocketStation, but present in both the PC port of 2000 and the one for Steam of 2013. The rare items that were in Chocobo World can still be recovered thanks to Angelo (Rinoa's dog) but, we honestly do not understand the reason for this exclusion.
To compensate for this loss, some features have been added, all welcome, starting with the obvious Trophies / Achievements, which are easier to collect than we expected. The most interesting, however, concern him streamlining the gaming experience: now, in fact, it is possible eliminate random encounters, triple the speed (on the other hand, the videos and tutorials cannot be skipped ...) e get substantial battle boost, consisting in the care, in the filling of the ATB bar and in the simultaneous possibility of using the Limit Breaks (which in the game would be linked to the loss of about 75% of HP). In the PC version (and only in it ... honestly, the reason escapes us ..., Editor's note) there are additional benefits (maximum money, all Triple Triad cards, etc., as you can read on the Steam page dedicated to the game).
Many of these options are equivalent to the old cheats of the Action Replay era, but we appreciated the inclusion: on the other hand, many of the buyers of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will have already faced the adventure in its time and will probably enjoy reliving it in condensed manner, cutting out all the hassle; but also for newbies it is an excellent starting point, given that the world of JRPG has changed in the last twenty years and players have developed a certain intolerance towards mechanics once considered almost physiological for this genre. Of course, if we wanted to be picky, we would have preferred a minimum of customization: for example, the battle boosts are activated all three simultaneously with the pressure of the right analog (we tested the game on PlayStation 4), while maybe we would have only wanted one. ; or the tripled speed can appear excessive in certain situations - it is no coincidence that The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel simply doubles it during the exploration sections. But that's okay too, after all.
Without trying too hard, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is currently the best version of Final Fantasy VIII in circulation, thanks to the greater graphic cleanliness - but it could have been done better - and additional options (optional), which make the adventure much more slender. and usable. Of course, the introductory price is quite high, so those who already own the game might be discouraged. Everyone else will take home a JRPG belonging to a legendary era, in its best version.
► Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is a JRPG-type game developed and published by Square Enix for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 03/09/2019
