Final Fantasy VIII is on Steam.

[Pike]

FINAL FANTASY VIII on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/39150/)

It costs £9.99/€12.99 /$11.99, and includes a couple of bonuses and new features such as the Chocobo World minigame which hasn't yet been seen outside of Japan.

[Source: Final Fantasy 8 is now on Steam • News • PC • Eurogamer.net (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-12-05-final-fantasy-8-is-now-on-steam) ]

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I might buy this on a sale unless I find out that this release is terrible for some reason. Right now I don't have much reason to buy it when my discs work just fine, but it'd still be nice to have the option to play it on Steam.

[Gamblet]

Only thing that might make it worth to buy is the Chocobo World minigame.

[Rostum]

I'll wait for a Steam sale just like with FFVII.

[Aulayna]

Just purchased it!

edit:

Okay, word of warning. This uses crappy MIDI quality tracks again like the Steam release of FFVII did. It's possible to mod it, like with FFVII, to use the original tracks.

[Dr Unne]

It's sad that they'd release it with the sucky MIDI. I can see maybe a reason for it back in the day when disk space was premium. There's no excuse nowadays.

Link to the mod?

[Aulayna]

Steam Community :: Guide :: Better Music Mod (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=201036734&tscn=1386297377#188119)

[Slothy]

It boggles my mind that they wouldn't take the time to fix the soundtrack. It doesn't even really make a ton of sense to me that they ever used it back in the day anyway. It's not like CD's were lacking in storage space, or expensive. Even if they'd just included an install disc back in the day that loaded the soundtrack and some other assets to the hard drive, rather than relying on midi when they didn't have the PSX soundchip, it would have made things a lot better.

[Ayen]

Not understanding the soundtrack stuff, cool that it's on Steam though. I still have the hard copy for the PlayStation so I'm just going to stick with that for now. Hardly have any money to spend anyway.

[Slothy]

Not understanding the soundtrack stuff, cool that it's on Steam though. I still have the hard copy for the PlayStation so I'm just going to stick with that for now. Hardly have any money to spend anyway.

For the soundtrack talk, the original PC versions simply had midi files for the music which were played through a pretty shitty synthesizer. The quality of the electronic instruments, and the audio quality in general really, were far below that of the PlayStation versions. When they re-released the PC version of VII, and now VIII, instead of using the higher quality PlayStation audio, they used the original stuff. But now it isn't even midi so you can't run it through a better synth. They literally converted the original stuff to music files, despite certainly having access to the better quality music files quite readily.

Basically they didn't even bother to fix the easiest to fix problem ever before re-releasing the games.

[Ayen]

I meant not understanding why they can't fix it. Sorry for not bearing clear before.

[Skyblade]

Actually Chocobo World has been seen on a US release. It was available on the original PC release of FFVIII as well.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I'm almost surprised that they went with the crappier music; especially since everyone complained about that with VII and they ended up updating the music. I hope they come to their senses again and add the PS1 music.

[Loony BoB]

I meant not understanding why they can't fix it. Sorry for not bearing clear before.
haven't/won't*

[Carl the Llama]

So Final Fantasy VIII has been given a steam clean (pun totally intended) and I was wondering if we could get an in game comparison thread going?

So far I am ambivalent about one of the features; Magic Booster:


When Magic Booster is used, the player’s inventory of the following spells is increased by 100:

Cure, Cura, Curaga, Fire, Fira, Blizzard, Blizzara, Thunder, Thundara, Sleep, Blind, Silence, Berserk, Bio, Esuna, Aero, Confuse, Break, Zombie

This feature can be used from the launcher.

Sure it's nice not to have to draw all those magics, but doesn't it kinda kill the game, especially Curaga right from the start?

Anyways, the main thing I am curious about is the graphical update, really eager to see some side by side pictures of the graphics.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I actually don't mind the Magic Booster. I mean, it's something you don't have to use at all, but the option is there if you just want to quickly play and enjoy the story. I might actually use it if I play the PC version, but that's partially because I want to try getting some screenshots and such for something I will potentially work on in the future. It will save me some time.

[Freya]

I want to know about this chocobo world.

Honestly I've tried VIII several times but couldn't get into it. I may pick it up now that it's on steam though.

[Maehara]

The controls are pretty wrecked. The 16 way analog movement is not present in the controls. Otherwise, replace the music files, and it's better than the PS1 release, by far.

[Jessweeee♪]

Awesome.

[Carl the Llama]

So I bought the game on steam and so far I'm not really that impressed with the character models, for a start, I thought their faces would look a bit better but they make me think that they look exactly the same as the PS1 models (been a few years since I played it so I might be seeing the PS1 version through rose tinted glasses) so obviously I am disappointed.

The chocobo mini game is a little dull to be honest, you spend a lot of time running around fighting random monsters (almost no interaction here just rapidly tapping the left and right arrow keys to get your attack in before the other guy) finding random treasures and so forth, story is a little thin and apparently (I only know this because I read a guide) that at level 20 (loads of grinding) you meet coco and she gives you a kiss and you fall in love... apparently there's more to it but that's the jist of it.

On the whole I find myself questioning the £10 price tag I spent on this game but there isn't anything I can do about that now.

Oh and here is the picture that made me think they had actually done some graphical updates on the game:

http://i.imgur.com/vkFTOU8.png

I don't know about you but when I saw that (well done square you sneaky bastards) I thought that had actually went ahead and given us a true HD FFVIII. I don't recall EVER seeing that particular shot of Zell in an FMV.

You will also notice the cleaver wording they have on the website advertising:

Optimized for PC
Fully Enhanced for modern HD PC's

I foolishly thought (along with that picture in the email I got) that the game had been remade. All I need now is for Mr T to come in and tell me he pities me.

[Jiro]

That's in the Dollet escape, when Zell is calling Squall to jump into the vessel. Sorry you feel a little duped :(

[Jessweeee♪]

Idk it seems about the same as the steam release for FFVII. Prettier looking than on the PS1 but not totally redone or anything. Worth it to me because my PS1 discs stutter and freeze on the FMVs, and I've been assimilating as much of my gaming library as I can onto my PC.

[Carl the Llama]

That's in the Dollet escape, when Zell is calling Squall to jump into the vessel. Sorry you feel a little duped :(

Ah no wonder I've never seen it, I always kill the mech spider thing for its huge AP reward.

[Black Magic Shopkeeper]

At first I was all excited for this because of Chocobo World, but then I found out that the game is held under strict DRM.
Can't even start the game unless you have an SE account
and can't PLAY it offline.
Nope. Not getting it.

[Jiro]

I'm probably gonna end up buying both this and VII next time they're on awesome sales. My PC copies are, uh, not entirely stable (or legal) but disc scratches make the PS1 versions unplayable. Been hankering for a throwback to VIII lately, I'm actually a huge fan of it :aimsun:

[Mirage]

FINAL FANTASY VIII on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/39150/)

It costs £9.99/€12.99 /$11.99, and includes a couple of bonuses and new features such as the Chocobo World minigame which hasn't yet been seen outside of Japan.

[Source: Final Fantasy 8 is now on Steam • News • PC • Eurogamer.net (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-12-05-final-fantasy-8-is-now-on-steam) ]

False! Chocobo world was included with the original PC release of FF8 over 10 years ago :3

[Rostum]

I'm probably gonna end up buying both this and VII next time they're on awesome sales. My PC copies are, uh, not entirely stable (or legal) but disc scratches make the PS1 versions unplayable. Been hankering for a throwback to VIII lately, I'm actually a huge fan of it :aimsun:

Damn, you just missed FFVII for $3 the other day on a Steam sale!

[CarvingUp360]

Yay! I probably wont buy the steam version mainly because there aren't many improvements from what i can see by reading all of this ^^^ Plus, my ps1 discs still work perfectly so i can still play it at any time i choose ^.^ But still I'm happy to see that this game hasn't been forgotten about c:

[Baloki]

This is a pretty half arsed refresh to be honest, other then them sorting out the dialogue boxes and about 50% of the character models (just have a look at some of the NPCs in the classroom scene near the start for an example), everything else is the old PC version (480p background and FMVS and all...), including the audio glitches during FMVs have survived...

Not exactly impressed, luckily I got it in the Stream Sale, but if I'd paid full price (and for some reason you have to log in using your SE account?) I'd have been pretty disappointed.

[GuitarGuy1181]

This is awesome, even though I have the discs still. I know a lot of people are hoping IX comes out on steam soon....Im actually crossing my fingers for 1-6 personally.

[Ayen]

Im actually crossing my fingers for 1-6 personally.

That would be so cool. It'd probably be the fastest way for me to get III, IV, V and VI too if they all came out on Steam.

[AssassinDX]

Unfortunately IX was never made for the PC originally so it's unlikely to appear on Steam, unless Square Enix have been working on it secretly but they don't exactly have a reputation for giving their fans what they want in recent years.

That said I through VI is entirely possible, it's a case of whether or not Valve and Square can work out copyright issues and so on because they'd probably have to be emulated rather than ported to PC like VII and VIII were. We'll see in due time no doubt.

[Shorty]

I love how unenthusiastic the title of this thread is xD

[Slothy]

Well it's not like we're talking about FFIX getting re-released or anything.

[Jessweeee♪]

I got it, and I'm going for the Contrived Finish achievement. Wish me luck :v

[Jiro]

I just want it to be on sale for less than $7 (because that is all the money I have).

[Jessweeee♪]

Yeah ok the PC soundtrack is really terrible. I didn't think it would be, because everyone was saying the same thing about FFVII and I didn't hear a difference at all. Turns out FFVII had been patched with the PS1 soundtrack by the time I bought it. Hopefully the same will happen for FFVIII :<

[Jiro]

oh man that is gross :(

[Baloki]

Yeah ok the PC soundtrack is really terrible. I didn't think it would be, because everyone was saying the same thing about FFVII and I didn't hear a difference at all. Turns out FFVII had been patched with the PS1 soundtrack by the time I bought it. Hopefully the same will happen for FFVIII :<

Found a mod that tidies up the music to the MP3 versions:

[REL] Roses and Wine (for FF8) (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13715.0)


Anyone know if there's any graphical mods that up scale the quality of the backdrops yet?

[Mirage]

that's not how 2D works, baloki.

[Marshall Banana]

The buttons are killing me. I'm using my PS1 controller, and when the game says something like "Press B4!" I panic. I have no idea which button is B4, so I just press them all. :-/

[Rocket Edge]

I'm very impressed by the update in the graphics, even though they apparently didn't do much work on them. I'll have to upgrade my laptop if I was to play it fluidly though. Will probably get this when I do.

[Jiro]

The buttons are killing me. I'm using my PS1 controller, and when the game says something like "Press B4!" I panic. I have no idea which button is B4, so I just press them all. :-/

...how do you even do that? Connect a PS1 controller, I mean. Incredible.

[Ayen]

The buttons are killing me. I'm using my PS1 controller, and when the game says something like "Press B4!" I panic. I have no idea which button is B4, so I just press them all. :-/

There's not even a B4 button on a keyboard, unless you meant to put F4 on there.

[Marshall Banana]

The buttons are killing me. I'm using my PS1 controller, and when the game says something like "Press B4!" I panic. I have no idea which button is B4, so I just press them all. :-/

There's not even a B4 button on a keyboard, unless you meant to put F4 on there.

51499

"B7," "B4," "B3," etc. represent whatever keyboard keys or controller buttons you assign to them, in place of square, triangle, R1, etc.



The buttons are killing me. I'm using my PS1 controller, and when the game says something like "Press B4!" I panic. I have no idea which button is B4, so I just press them all. :-/

...how do you even do that? Connect a PS1 controller, I mean. Incredible.
I'm using this: Amazon.com: Playstation 2 PSX TO PC USB Converter 4 Ports (Super Joy Box 5 Pro) SKU: 01056-4: Video Games (http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-PSX-Converter-Ports-Super-2/dp/B001DU25UO)

Then you have to assign the buttons in your settings or in-game.

[Ayen]

That seems extremely confusion.

[Jiro]

yeah wow convoluted :|

[Rocket Edge]

I think its pretty cool. I wonder will they release a HD(?) port like this onto consoles like the PS3/4?

[magemasher]

So I'm at Balamb garden on disc 2. When in the library I run right up to the screen and noticed that all square have done is photoshopped a better looking head on the characters, the bodies are still rather pixelated when you see it close up lol SE so cheap, I don't really care because I'm loving the game but thought it worth pointing out.

[Jessweeee♪]

I thought it was just a rerelease of the PC version without the compatibility issues with versions of Windows after XP?