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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

This month marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy 8. Arguably the awkward middle child of the PS1 era, its tale of teenage mercenaries and trippy sorcery would likely benefit from a remake more than the ever-popular Final Fantasy 7 has. And, while there’s absolutely no plans for Square to do so, the RPG’s original director has thoughts on what would need to be changed in a hypothetical remake.

Talking to IGN, Final Fantasy 8’s director Yoshinori Kitase said he’d “really rework the battle system on [Final Fantasy 8]”, noting that players struggled with the stat-heavy Junction system that powered the RPGs characters and fights.

“I think you may remember we had the Junction system in Final Fantasy 8,” he said. “And the thing about that system was the enemies levelled up in line with what the player’s level was. And obviously you had to then use the Junction system and how you customise that to overcome the challenge there. And I think it was a very difficult system for some people to get into. Depending on player skills, sometimes they just didn't work out the best way of doing it.

“So I think I'd want to return to that and really rework the battle system on [Final Fantasy 8] and make it something where that level of difficulty and approachability for some fans was a lot better balanced. So I think that's the thing I'd look at most if I was going to look at remaking it.”

Of course, a remake of Final Fantasy 8 seems unlikely. “I've worked out that trying to recreate that kind of volume of content you had in the RPGs back then in the modern day really is not something you can take up lightly,” said Kitase. “It's such a massive investment of time and effort that we really have to think very hard about taking on any kind of project like that.”

Kitase’s words reinforce his recent comments about Final Fantasy 6, which he estimates would take around 20 years to remake.

Emphasising the sheer undertaking of a remake, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said, while laughing, “If after we’ve finished the three games in the [Final Fantasy 7] remake trilogy, Mr. Kitase then comes to me and says, ‘Right, we're going to be remaking another numbered Final Fantasy game and you are on the project,’ I'll just turn around and go, ‘No!’”

While Hamaguchi was talking about the situation lightheartedly, the conversation made it clear that remaking a SNES or PS1-era Final Fantasy is a colossal undertaking that requires a significant budget, a long development period, and potentially multiple instalments. Right now, it seems that we shouldn’t consider Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s success as a clear signal that Square Enix will definitely remake other games.

As for that remake project, our latest hands-on with Rebirth sheds new light on how the original’s overworld has been transformed into a modern open world. We also learned more about how the original game’s romance system has been enhanced and made less stressful, and how Cid and Vincent are being held back for the third game – at least as far as their role in battle goes.

Final Fantasy 8 Director Would Change the Combat System in a Remake - IGN

Final Fantasy 8 director Yoshinori Kitase says he'd rework the combat and Junction system in a hypothetical remake of the 25 year-old PS1 classic.

www.ign.com

 

[diffusionx]

FF8 is a wildly underrated and unappreciated game.

 

[Dis]

‘Right, we're going to be remaking another numbered Final Fantasy game and you are on the project,’ I'll just turn around and go, ‘No!’”

 

[cireza]

It is all of these broken systems that make FF VIII a magical game to play. If a remake sees the light of day, you can be sure that all of this will be thrown under the bus.

Steeling is tedious this I of course admit, but the beauty of this game is stacking on spells and never using any of them, nor using the G-Force. Always loved to brute-force enemies using Mad Rush. But of course, it was not the only way forward obviously !

 

[Shifty1897]

FF8 was a mistake.

 

[Skifi28]

FF8 was a mistake.

You were a mistake.


No wait, that was me.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

FF8 was a mistake.

Nope. One of the most beautiful worlds ever crafted in a game.

The art direction really stands out, the mix between modern, fantasy and futuristic is wonderful.

Balamb, Deiling City, Fishermans HQ etc... =

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I'm sure they would.

FF VIII is really solid except for the whole awful orphanage thing, otherwise I really enjoy that game. Grrreeat OST, all time great.

 

[Regginator]

I'm not too familiar with Final Fantasy (played through some of the FF7 original, and completed the Remake), but how much did the combat from 8 differ from the one in 7? I always assumed it was the same-ish turn-based combat.

Anyway, the combat in FF7R is legit one of the best combat systems I've ever played. It strikes a tremendous balance between that feeling of turn-based with ATB and a more traditional action-style. It's just that the pacing was incredibly off and I didn't particularly care much for the story (though I suppose you'd have to play the original for that), but in terms of combat it was an absolute blast.

 

[saintjules]

FF8 was a mistake.

I still liked the Limit Breaks in there

 

[Chuck Berry]

Good. I thought the Junction system was the stupidest shit and such an unfun downgrade from Materia. An immediate turn off after coming off of every other thing Square related during that time. It was such a bummer for me because I loved the character and world design. Story seemed like it wouldve been ok too.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I'm not too familiar with Final Fantasy (played through some of the FF7 original, and completed the Remake), but how much did the combat from 8 differ from the one in 7? I always assumed it was the same-ish turn-based combat.

Anyway, the combat in FF7R is legit one of the best combat systems I've ever played. It strikes a tremendous balance between that feeling of turn-based with ATB and a more traditional action-style. It's just that the pacing was incredibly off and I didn't particularly care much for the story (though I suppose you'd have to play the original for that), but in terms of combat it was an absolute blast.

I think really he's moreso talking about the supporting systems, such as Junction and the scaled leveling system. Fundamentally it's very similar to VII, ie it uses ATB.

I love Junction, but it's broken and needs revision.

 

[TGO]

I'm not too familiar with Final Fantasy (played through some of the FF7 original, and completed the Remake), but how much did the combat from 8 differ from the one in 7? I always assumed it was the same-ish turn-based combat.

It was, it was just that magic was obtained from enemies and "Draw Points" and was like spendable items.

 

[SCB3]

Good, VIII is a fantastic game but the combat system is god awful in so many ways

I would actually like to see VIII Remake after their done with 7, it holds up well

 

[TGO]

Final Fantasy XIII is the only FF that can stand side by side with VII.
X is good too, but those two out of the 3D era that your GOATS
IX was just filler until X came out.

 

[SaintALia]

"And I think it was a very difficult system for some people to get into." It was?

I think it needs a major overhaul, but not because it was difficult, because by the end of the first or second disk you could become ridiculously powerful if you know what you're doing. I can't recall a single enemy posing a legit challenge to me after a time. As long as they don't go real time again, I'd be interested in seeing what they come up with.

But I think Square is way too caught up in big flashy projects for the mainline FF series and trying to distance themselves from turn based combat. Though it would be really nice if the games could somehow channel The Last Story, and make us have a full party(that's not a sausage fest) with full changeable gear and party controls, that's realtime and not too braindead to play.

It and Chrono Cross still have the GOAT intro musics tho.

 

[Kilau]

Fix the dumb story and dialogue first.

 

[Pelao]

Still my favorite Final Fantasy.
Love the junction system, the world, characters, music and plot.
I've never engaged with the meta, though. I just play it however I want each time and experiment with different configurations. I had no idea people didn't like the combat system until many years after it released.

 

[SantaC]

Fix the dumb story and dialogue first.

only the english translation was bad.

 

[TGO]

I had no idea people didn't like the combat system until many years after it released.

The game has SBM before COD
what did you expect

 

[cireza]

Nope. One of the most beautiful worlds ever crafted in a game.

The art direction really stands out, the mix between modern, fantasy and futuristic is wonderful.

Balamb, Deiling City, Fishermans HQ etc... =

Yeah, the mood/atmosphere in this game was unique. The soundtrack helps a lot.

Mayor, your city is about to be ruined !
Oh no, we have to do something quickly !
You are right... but first, let's play some Triple Triad

 

[Mibu no ookami]

With Persona 3 released, I don't know when I'm going to get around to FF7 Rebirth. It could be right after I finish or it could be months.

I didn't love FF7 Remake and a large part of that was because I didn't share the same vision as Square Enix for the remake, especially changes to the combat system, but the changes to the story and the padding of the game are what really turn me off.

I never finished FF8, so a remake would be interesting, but it would be so low on my list of priorities based on recent Square Enix games.

Not sure why they've decided that they need to turn everything into an action game, but that's why FF16 didn't sell as well. There are plenty of action games available, there aren't a lot of AAA turn based RPGs.

 

[Ansphn]

Make this a Souls like

 

[Xion_Stellar]

Would such a change rob the potential remake some of its identity? Sure

But I would welcome this change because I don't like the Draw system, I don't like that enemies level with you and I don't like how exploitable the Weapon crafting system is.

 

[Pelao]

only the english translation was bad.

This.
I've only played it in Spanish and Japanese. It was funny to find out what the English localization was like through Internet memes.

 

[TGO]

Might as well post my OT for it for those fancying a visit to FFVIII

|OT| - Final Fantasy VIII ® Remastered |OT| Recensored & Still Waiting...

Out Now! The gunblade was designed by Tetsuya Nomura for Squall’s weapon in Final Fantasy VIII with the aim to make the battles more dynamic, the players needing to press a button at the correct time to deal a critical hit, and to give Squall an iconic weapon. The weapon’s debut...

www.neogaf.com

 

[Aion002]

That's good. The original battle system is terrible.

FFVIII is quite meh, specially compared to VI, VII and IX.


They would probably change a lot of stuff and nothing of value would be lost.

 

[TGO]

With his comments, you can kiss IX Remake goodbye.
It's not happening

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

To this day it's the only main Final Fantasy game i never finished. So yeah i agree

 

[SantaC]

That's good. The original battle system is terrible.

FFVIII is quite meh, specially compared to VI, VII and IX.


They would probably change a lot of stuff and nothing of value would be lost.

OST was god tier

 

[Aion002]

The soundtrack is great and they wouldn't change that (much).

The bad things that you might like, but you know what they are, is what they would change.

 

[poodaddy]

Good. I thought the Junction system was the stupidest shit and such an unfun downgrade from Materia. An immediate turn off after coming off of every other thing Square related during that time. It was such a bummer for me because I loved the character and world design. Story seemed like it wouldve been ok too.

To be honest, everything about FF VIII is secretly better than VII, everything except the act of actually playing it. The characters, story, music, art, environments, lore, hell even some aspects of the combat system, like having a more skill based system for the limit breaks and the standard gun blade attack; it's all so far ahead of VII it makes it seem dull in comparison, but the junction system and the enemy level scaling system ruined it completely.

It deserves a remake, and it's much more in need of one than VII ever was.

 

[TGO]

That's good. The original battle system is terrible.

FFIX is quite meh, specially compared to VI, VII and VIII.


They would probably change a lot of stuff and nothing of value would be lost.

And now you know how I feel about IX.
but I still enjoyed it, it was just a bit of disappointment coming from VII/VIII

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I don't get it. Just use the same damn artwork and gameplay and make the game prettier with better music. That's literally all they need to do with these old games. Some new CG, quality of life improvements, controls changes (and dreaded localization changes...), and boom. New game. Sell it for $50 and make lots of money. Square Enix is so dumb.

 

[rubik's dude]

They don't need to change the combat system necessarily, but if they could explain how it works better and balance it more, that would be perfect.

The main problem is that it's a difficult system to understand initially, but once you understand it, the game becomes trivial way too quickly. The main challenge comes from trying to understand it, rather than the combat itself.

 

[TGO]

To be honest, everything about FF VIII is secretly better than VII, everything except the act of actually playing it. The characters, story, music, art, environments, lore, hell even some aspects of the combat system, like having a more skill based system for the limit breaks and the standard gun blade attack; it's all so far ahead of VII it makes it seem dull in comparison, but the junction system and the enemy level scaling system ruined it completely.

It deserves a remake, and it's much more in need of one than VII ever was.

I mean I'm fine with it, but if that's what is needed to make people open their eyes and see what you see.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Grrreeat OST, all time great.

This. Even to FF standards, its one of, if not my favourite FF ost

 

[TGO]

I remember when I first saw the intro
The chills I would get when the name pop up

I knew it was gonna be something special

 

[bbeach123]

As a 15 years old playing this game(first time playing a full scale rpg) who had no fcking idea what a "level scaling" is I was in for a world of hurt.

Not until the third playthrough( first was stuck because I had no fcking idea about the junction system , seconds stuck at 2nd disc because I had no idea wtf is level scaling )

 

[SuperBabyMethod]

I never could ever have fun with the battle system, and the plot falls off a cliff at the 3rd disc. That being said, it has great art direction (not as good as 7 or 9) and a god tier soundtrack (among others of Uematsu)

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Real G's got their first taste with the demo disc that came with Brave Fencer Musashi Anyway, great FF but yes, both Junction and Draw systems need to be completely reworked or scrapped otherwise day 1 if they ever remake it, Final Fantasy for life

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

I really don't see any issue with that system... But I'm just one guy.

It is a gimmicky game, for sure. But if you enjoy that, you will be addicted to it, like I was.

Sadly, in my opinion, the characters are mediocre, and the game spends more time with a incredibly bland romance, then establishing the upcoming doom, with ______ and ______ awakening.

If you are expecting the antagonists of FF 8 to have as much importance and impact on the story as Kekfa or Sephiroth did in their respective games, you will be disappointed.

 

[Doom85]

As a 15 years old playing this game(first time playing a full scale rpg) who had no fcking idea what a "level scaling" is I was in for a world of hurt.

Not until the third playthrough( first was stuck because I had no fcking idea about the junction system , seconds stuck at 2nd disc because I had no idea wtf is level scaling )

If I’m remembering it right, the SEGA RPG Skies of Arcadia did not have level scaling EXCEPT for the optional boss battles that were added to the Gamecube version. It really threw me off playing the game a second time and level grinding far more than the first playthrough and STILL finding those optional bosses pretty challenging.

 

[Mephisto40]

If they were going to make a remake, the combat would be like the FFVII remake combat

 

[Yoshichan]

imagine "fixing" the one thing that is superior to every other FF game.

 

[Exede]

One can't hate on the game that brought us the best minigame of all of Final Fantasy, Triple Triad.

 

[AV]

Change everything except the music and Triple Triad.

It's a dogwater video game. If you think otherwise then you must have first played it in '99 or around then.

 

[Švejk]

Thank fuck, because the draw mechanic killed it for me...

 

[Kilau]

only the english translation was bad.

Whatever

Is the story presented in less of a mess in Japanese?

 

[Trogdor1123]

I never got into the story on ff8. It just didnt click with me but that was many years ago. I should give it another chance some day.