Final Fantasy 8 on PC draws more game boosters from update

Not everyone has the time to fight their way through 20+ hour RPGs, nor the skill to conquer bosses that stack eight status ailments on an entire party with one attack. If you hit either wall with Final Fantasy 8, or just never got the chance to follow protagonist Squall's development from a brooding teenager to ... a brooding, lovesick teenager, Square-Enix has updated the PC version with a new round of game boosters, which is a more subtle way of saying cheats.

Can't take out Fujin and Raijin's stupid wind-up robot, Mobile Type 8? That's fine, just switch on the "Battle Assistance" game booster and your party's ATB gauges, HP counts and Limit Breaks will always be fully stocked. Can't figure out the junction system? Switch on the "9999" booster and your standard attacks will dole out maximum damage. Similar shortcuts are offered to boost Ability Point and Gil counts, and the "High Speed Mode" booster allows players to cast Haste on "certain parts of the game (cutscenes, movies, battles and more)" to make FF8 run up to five times faster than its normal speed.

Even if cheats can't convince you to wield Squall's gunblade, there's always the Triple Triad minigame! As with the PC version's original release in 2000, the Steam version of FF8 also comes with Chocobo World, which was initially only playable on the non-localized Pocket Station. You know, in case you're just in it for the cute birds.