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'Final Fantasy VIII' Remastered is coming out on September 3rd
Were you disappointed to hear that Square Enix merely remastered Final Fantasy VIII instead of remaking it like it did its predecessor? We hope you can take solace in the fact that you don't have to wait years for its release. The developer has revealed that FFVIII Remastered will be available on September 3rd for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Steam.
'Final Fantasy VIII' is getting its own, less-involved remaster
Final Fantasy VIII, which curiously missed out on the journey to the Nintendo Switch when the rest of the series was ported over, is back. The reason for the delay? Square Enix was working on another remaster. To that point, the characters' battle models are more polished than the original, and even the higher-resolution PC version. Don't expect entirely reinvented battle systems or episodic content like Final Fantasy VII Remake, however. This is a humbler re-polish for 2019 (it will launch later this year) and will come to PS4, Xbox, Nintendo's Switch and Steam. See how it'll look in the trailer below.
Theatrhythm's new DLC Beat stars The World Ends with You
Theatrhythm Curtain Call continues to ignore its Final Fantasy prefix by adding The World Ends with You music as part of the latest DLC batch. "Twister," the 2007 JRPG's theme song , and "Calling" are two of six new tracks available now in the 3DS rhythm game. As per the Shibuya-infused DS game, Twister is a Battle Music Sequence in Curtain Call while background tune Calling is a Field Music Sequence. The three other new BMS tunes are "Liberi Fatali" from Final Fantasy 8, "Final Confrontation" from Romancing SaGa 3, and "World Revolution" from Chrono Trigger. The sixth song and second FMS is "Wind Scene," also from Chrono Trigger. All six DLC songs are priced 99 cents (£0.89/€0.99). To remind yourself of TWEWY's J-pop music - your humble author would argue it's one of the best soundtracks you'll find on the DS - do the Twister again below the break. By the way, don't think the Curtain Call DLC train is stopping just yet. According to Square Enix, the game's next dollop of add-ons is planned to arrive on February 19.
The Daily Grind: What MMO systems are too complicated for you?
In my experience, game designers are prone to creating systems in RPGs and MMOs that are, well, antagonistic to the extreme. Maybe they made sense to the dev who had it all mapped out in his or her head, but to the average player, it's only a little more understandable than reading War and Peace in Sanskrit. The customization systems of Final Fantasy VII and VIII always come to mind when I think about this. VII's materia was easy to grok, allowing me to clearly understand what effects I wanted to equip and giving me a path to level them up. Then came VIII's junction system, which allowed scads more customization but was just a jumbled mess of incoherent ideas and a generally bad approach. Don't get me wrong; I don't want a Fisher-Price MMO. I think that the more complex a system is, the clearer the instruction and design needs to be for us to navigate it. So what MMO systems are too complicated for you? How would you make them better? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Report: Remastered Final Fantasy VIII coming to PC in Japan
[Rough translation of the above dialogue: "...whatever."] The ever-sullen Squall and his friends are set to make a high-resolution return, as Famitsu reports that Square Enix is developing a remastered PC version of Final Fantasy VIII. Final Fantasy VIII was originally released for the PlayStation in 1999, and PC players saw a no-frills Windows port one year later. News of Final Fantasy VIII's forthcoming rerelease follows up on last year's upgraded PC port of Final Fantasy VII, which added cloud saving and unlockable achievements. While the new version of Final Fantasy VIII boasts a graphical update, no further details are known, and a release date has not been announced. [Image Credit: Famitsu]
European PSN releases for February 4
Hey, look at you, Europe! You finally got your hands on Final Fantasy VIII! Try not to get too jealous about the fact that we've been playing that jam for a couple of months now -- after all, you guys already got Vagrant Story. You jerks. There are tons of other noteworthy items in this week's update, including a demo for Alien Vs. Predator and Battlefield Bad Company 2. You'll also find a few packs of downloadable souls for Dante's Inferno, some of which require real-life money to obtain. Basically, you purchase souls without having to actually play the game. As far as we're concerned, that's straight-up sloth. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Final Fantasy VIII tops PSN sales for December
December was a good month for PlayStation Network. According to a statement from SCEA's Patrick Seybold, December 2009 marked PSN's single highest revenue month so far, increasing 155% from a year ago. Most likely enamored with gifted systems and PSN cards, people were spending quite a bit of time on the PlayStation Store on Christmas Day -- it was the busiest day on the virtual marketplace that month. So what were people buying? Lots and lots of PSone classics: 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII (PS3/PSP) 2. PixelJunk Shooter 3. FINAL FANTASY VII (PS3/PSP) 4. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS3/PSP) 5. Resident Evil 2 (PS3/PSP) 6. Frogger Returns 7. Call of Duty Classic 8. Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned 9. MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 10. Battlefield 1943
PSN Thursday: Prepping for the holidays ... oh yeah, and Final Fantasy VIII
This will be the final "normal" PSN Thursday of 2009. Next week the update will occur on Tuesday, December 22, and there will be no update the following week. Let's be honest, though, there's plenty of great downloadable games and DLC available that one week without an update isn't going to be that painful. For those who've been practicing their aversion to fun this year and are ready to accept joy, now's the time to check out some of this year's PSN titles like Fat Princess, Critter Crunch and PixelJunk Shooter. Also, today's update adds Final Fantasy VIII. Any other great downloadable titles from 2009 worth mentioning? Check out the full PSN update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Final Fantasy VIII 'coming soon' to PlayStation Store
Though Japan finds itself awash in Square Enix RPGs in the PSOne Originals channel of the PlayStation Store, the American PSN is suffering from an inexplicable drought. Fortunately, that situation will be rectified shortly -- according to a recent email bulletin sent out to its customers, Sony revealed Final Fantasy VIII will be coming to the U.S. PlayStation Store. No exact timeframe was given for the game's arrival, but it's listed under a section of the newsletter titled "Coming Soon." We've contacted Sony to try and get something more concrete than that. [Thanks, Solace.]
Alexander O. Smith on localizing games for Square
We've heard the horror stories about the conditions under which famous Square translator Ted Woolsey had to work -- strictly constrained time and space limits and no feedback from the games' creators, which led to sometimes odd translations. Alexander O. Smith, who localized games for Square including Vagrant Story, shared some anecdotes about his tenure (and subsequent freelance work on games like Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions) that revealed that it wasn't much better for a translator in the PlayStation era. "We would get a copy of the game," Smith told Gamasutra about working on Final Fantasy VIII, "and we would say, 'Well, what about files?' And they would say, 'Oh, I don't think you need those.' So we all bought Game Sharks." Smith called the situation "very sad." He compared it to Final Fantasy XII, for which the team got full gameplay footage. The interview covers not just work for Square, but Smith's subsequent move into freelance with Joseph Reeder, and a lot of inside information about the localization work (and surprise musical careers) of both.
TGS 2009: Sony Japan unveils 250GB Final Fantasy XIII bundle
Click to embiggen. The 250GB PS3 is real! Sony is taking advantage of its exclusivity of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan by introducing a new bundle. For 41600 yen, Japanese gamers will get a special limited edition system with Lightning (the main character, not the weather condition) printed on the body. It'll be available for purchase on 12/17 (so importers, get ready!).We'll upload images as soon as we get them. In the meantime, you can download Final Fantasy VIII from the Japanese PlayStation Store for 1500 yen.%Gallery-73855%
Homebrew MMO Final Fantasy game releases
The "fraking awesome" MMO homebrew game, Triple Triad, is (as expected) finally out. The game is available both for PSP and PC play, and has players competing in a highly expanded version of Final Fantasy VIII's card game. Further details (and download) can be found at DCEmu. Non-members can visit QJ.net for the download as well.
Homebrew FFVIII game goes MMO
Triple Triad is no ordinary piece of homebrew. Like Wandria, or Hexaxis, this title is pushing the limits of what we thought homebrew development could produce. But, this game isn't a graphical showcase. Rather, it's pushing the online capabilities of the system, becoming the first ever homebrew MMO game.The game is based on the card game from Final Fantasy VIII, with over 330 cards from Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X (with XI to come later). Not only will you be able to buy, sell and trade your cards with others, you'll also be able to send each other private messages, chat during the game, and more. You'll be able to have a friends list, a blacklist, and you'll also be able to track the movements of other players. Quite ambitious, is it not?Hopefully, this revolutionary project will be able to deliver on all its promises. There won't be too long to wait, though: the game is planned to release this Monday.[Via PlayStation Forums, QJ]
