Original PC release
In the box
- CD-ROMs with a simple disc check
In the game
- Full game
- Chocobo World minigame
Published by Square Electronic Arts, shipping from 25 January 2000.
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the eighth main installment in the Final Fantasy series.
Role-playing (RPG)Adventure
- Space needed
- 4 GB
- Time to beat
- about 37.4 hours
- Plays offline
- Yes
Overview
Final Fantasy VIII is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the eighth main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, the game follows a group of young mercenaries, led by Squall Leonhart, as they are drawn into a conflict sparked by a sorceress named Edea Kramer who seized control of a powerful military state. During the quest to defeat the sorceress and the forces manipulating her, Squall struggles with his role as leader and develops a romance with one of his comrades, Rinoa Heartilly.
Development began in 1997, during the English localization of Final Fantasy VII. The game builds on the visual changes brought to the series by VII, including the use of 3D graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds, while also departing from many Final Fantasy traditions. It is the first Final Fantasy to use realistically proportioned characters consistently, feature a vocal piece as its theme music and forgo the use of magic points for spellcasting.
Final Fantasy VIII received critical acclaim and is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. The game was a commercial success, grossing $151 million in its first day of release in Japan, and more than $50 million during its first 13 weeks in North America, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title until Final Fantasy XIII, a multi-platform release. A Windows port followed in 2000, with the addition of the Chocobo World minigame. Final Fantasy VIII was re-released worldwide as a PSOne Classic on the PlayStation Store in 2009, for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, with support for PlayStation Vita in 2012. It was re-released via Steam in 2013. By August 2019, it had sold more than 9.6 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Final Fantasy games in the series. A remastered version was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in September 2019, and Android and iOS in March 2021.
Official trailer
Final Fantasy VIII PC Launch Trailer, Square Enix. Watch on YouTube
Gameplay
PC Longplay [108] Final Fantasy VIII (Part 1, SeeD Exam), World-of-Longplays. Watch on YouTube
Screenshots
Game details
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
- Developer
- Square
- Publisher
- Square Electronic Arts
- Series
- Final Fantasy
- Platforms
- Windows
- Age rating
- ESRB T
- Modes
- Single player
- Yes
- Local multiplayer
- No
- Online multiplayer
- No
- Co op
- No
- Age ratings
- ESRB
- T
Release dates
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | North America | 2000-01-25 |
| Windows | Europe / PAL | 2000-02-18 |
| Windows | Japan | 2000-03-23 |
Editions
European release
In the box
- CD-ROMs
Published by Eidos Interactive on 18 February 2000.
Steam release
In the game
- Upscaled version of the PC game
On Steam from 5 December 2013, still sold.
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
In the game
- Full game, remastered
A separate product from 3 September 2019, by Dotemu and Access Games with Square Enix.
Space and patches
Space needed4 GB
DLC
Final Fantasy VIII had no DLC on PC.
Playable today
Playable offline todayYes
Single-player only, with no online features.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ever released on disc | Yes, CD-ROM, 25 January 2000 |
| Ever released in the store | Yes, Steam, 5 December 2013 |
| In the store to buy today | Yes, US$11.99 on Steam The Remastered version is sold separately. |
| Can be downloaded again if you already bought it | Yes |
| Disc runs with no patch | Partly The launcher falls back to low resolution textures on modern graphics cards, and there are graphical glitches. Fan drivers fix both. |
| Disc runs with the final patch | Partly Patch 1.2 fixes bugs, but the modern graphics card problems stay without fan drivers. |
| Playable offline today: campaign | Yes |
| Playable offline today: local multiplayer | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Does not exist |
| Has online features | No Single-player only. |
| Online servers running today | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: online multiplayer | Does not exist |
Online
Plays offlineYes
Staff and cast
- Staff
Role Name Developer Square Publisher, North America Square Electronic Arts Publisher, Europe Eidos Interactive Director Yoshinori Kitase Producer Shinji Hashimoto Designer Hiroyuki Ito Programmer Ken Narita Artists Yusuke Naora, Tetsuya Nomura Writer Kazushige Nojima Composer Nobuo Uematsu
Credits
- Publisher
- Square Electronic Arts
- Developer
- Square
- Director
- Yoshinori Kitase
- Released
- 2000-01-25
- Age rating
- ESRB T
- Region
- US
- Time to beat
- about 37.4 hours
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