Final Fantasy VIII needs a remake more than IX
Square Enix/Team NinjaRumors about a Final Fantasy IX remake are circulating the Internet, but Final Fantasy VIII is in far greater need of being reborn in the modern era.
The idea of Final Fantasy IX receiving a remake while Square Enix is still working on the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy seemed laughable. After all, it made much more sense for Square Enix to finish Cloud Strife’s return before moving on to other remakes.
Things changed in 2021 when the Nvidia GeForce Now leak occurred. Dataminers uncovered a list of upcoming titles in development, many of which hadn’t been announced yet. The list of games had many Square Enix titles, including Kingdom Hearts 4 and remakes/remasters of Chrono Cross and Tactics Ogre. Shockingly, a remake of Final Fantasy IX was also on the list, though it still hasn’t been announced.
Fans were surprised that Final Fantasy IX was receiving a remake ahead of Final Fantasy VIII, with the most likely answer being as a promotional tie-in to the upcoming Final Fantasy IX animated series. Final Fantasy VIII is in far greater need of a remake than its successor, even though it already has a high-quality remaster on modern platforms.
Square EnixFinal Fantasy VIII’s story needs updating
The biggest issue that a Final Fantasy VIII remake can fix involves the story. Final Fantasy VIII is notorious for how utterly bizarre some of its story beats are and how key characters are underdeveloped.
Final Fantasy VIII is the game that introduces a ridiculous magic-induced amnesia plot halfway through the story, and things only get more nonsensical from there. What starts as a military-themed story about mercenaries quickly becomes unrecognizable by the end, especially as so many of its fantastical elements are left unexplained and unexplored.
There’s also the time travel plot involving Laguna, which makes a lot more sense on a second playthrough but is likely to leave first-timers baffled as they go through lengthy gameplay sections with new characters seemingly unrelated to the story.
There’s also the issue of the game’s villain, Ultimecia, an extremely flat character with the most generic evil villain motives. She’s a major disappointment when compared to her predecessor, Sephiroth, and her successor, Kuja, who both had way more character development and presence in the story. A Final Fantasy VIII remake can flesh out Ultimecia and make her a villain worth fighting rather than just an obstacle that must be overcome before you can see the credits.
A Final Fantasy VIII remake doesn’t have to go the whole multiverse/timelines route that the Final Fantasy VII Remake used, but it can use the opportunity to clean up the story, remove/trim the sillier elements (like the amnesia), and flesh out some of the characters who were underdeveloped in the original.
By comparison, Final Fantasy IX doesn’t need as much work (if any) done on its story. While it has some ridiculous guide problems (mentioned below), like Final Fantasy VIII, the story is a lot more solid. It doesn’t need changes, except for maybe using Kuja as the final villain instead of a new character introduced in the game’s final hour.
Square Enix/Team NinjaFixing Final Fantasy VIII’s gameplay
The Final Fantasy series is known for its experimental shifts between games, and few exemplify this better than Final Fantasy VIII. To this day, Final Fantasy VIII has one of the most unique gameplay systems in any RPG, with characters needing to steal magic from enemies and apply it to their stats, giving you countless options for customizing your characters.
The problem with this system is twofold. Firstly, it’s explained poorly in the original game and can be difficult for newcomers to get their heads around, especially people unfamiliar with RPGs. As such, players can go through the game not utilizing the system properly, leaving them underpowered when fighting enemies.
Secondly, Final Fantasy VIII’s combat & stat system is notoriously easy to abuse, especially as the game matches the enemy’s level to that of the party. It’s possible to game the system in Final Fantasy VIII so that your party becomes unstoppable, all within the first few hours of gameplay. A part of this involves the Card Mod ability, which lets you turn Triple Triad cards into end-game items, allowing you to trivialize the rest of the game.
In fact, the director of Final Fantasy VIII agrees with this assessment. Yoshinori Kitase told IGN that he would rework both the level scaling and the Junction system if given the chance to remake the game.
Also, it probably goes without saying, but the Guardian Forces need to be changed. Their ridiculously long summon sequences were the source of mockery in the PS1 era. They need their cutscenes trimmed considerably if they come back as powerful attacks (rather than the summonable allies like in Final Fantasy VII Remake).
Final Fantasy IX doesn’t have this problem, as its gameplay system is straightforward and is far more difficult to cheese than its predecessor. The base game’s only issue was that its combat system was so slow, and this was addressed with the fast-forward option in its remaster on modern consoles.
Final Fantasy VIII’s remaster retains all of the issues of the base game, all of which could be addressed with a remake. Square Enix would likely go for a more action RPG approach, as it has done with its recent games, but the Draw system could still be included. The game just needs to get rid of level-scaling, scrap the Card Mod ability, and tinker with the Junction/Draw system to it can’t be used to make overpowered heroes.
Square Enix/Team NinjaFinal Fantasy VIII’s secrets are relics of a bygone era
Final Fantasy VIII also struggles with hiding its biggest secrets behind obscure clues, such as how you get the ingredients to craft the best weapons, find the best Guardian Forces, and acquire all the Triple Triad cards, some of which would take forever to discover on your own.
These overly well-hidden secrets result from Final Fantasy VIII coming out during the era of the original PlayStation when guidebooks and game rentals were a big deal. This means there was an incentive to hide some of the best stuff behind methods that no one would stumble upon by accident.
Nowadays, video game guides are just a click away, meaning that people playing the remastered version of Final Fantasy VIII can discover the answers to all the secrets immediately. A Final Fantasy VIII remake has the chance to get rid of these obnoxious secrets forever, leaving more sensible solutions to finding the best gear.
To be fair, Final Fantasy IX also has this issue, but not to the same degree as Final Fantasy VIII. It also helps that some of Final Fantasy IX’s most infamous secrets are well known, such as rushing to find Excalibur II or the Nero family trip, so fans are better prepared if they want to tackle them.
Square EnixSquall needs a debut outside of Cloud’s shadow
Final Fantasy VIII launched in the shadow of Final Fantasy VII, a genre-defining game that helped establish JRPGs outside of Japan and contributed to building the PlayStation brand. Cloud’s story is the backbone of one of the most important video games ever made.
Squall’s story launched in the shadow of Final Fantasy VII, where it had to contend with people who were angry that Cloud’s story wasn’t continuing, disliked Squall’s appearance, or just turned their noses up at a JRPG with romance & love as a central theme.
The original PlayStation era was long ago, and while the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is loved, they’re not as important to the industry as their source material. This means that a Final Fantasy VIII remake can leave a mark with a whole new fanbase, one that won’t judge it out of the gate with unfair comparisons to its predecessor.
