How apt that in the week that Eurogamer itself celebrates its 20th birthday, a remaster should appear for one of 1999's finest console releases. With Final Fantasy 8 Remastered, the hope is to get the definitive edition for PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch. Two decades on from its original launch, it's conspicuous in being the last FF of that era to get any form of HD treatment - and when you see the remaster in action, it's clear why. As much as this new version takes steps in the right direction, there are points which are - sadly - a step back from the PlayStation original.
It's a shame because Final Fantasy 8 was a landmark release, taking the technological triumphs of FF7 and significantly building upon them. The beautiful video sequences returned, for example, but this time pre-rendered scenes integrated more closely with what was then state-of-the-art 3D modeling. It's an idea that FF7 toyed with at points, but it's used far more extensively in its sequel to give a suitably cinematic presentation. The Dorrit mission for example, was used to demo the game ahead of release - an incredible set piece involving a mech crab chasing Squall through the streets. It meant we got visuals far beyond what PS1 hardware could ever realistically achieve in real time - by virtue of sheer brute force, filling four CDs with pre-rendered video sequences.
This combination of FMV and real-time 3D was an incredible feat of technology for its day, but Squaresoft pushed out the boat in many other ways, too. The score used higher quality sampling on PS1, with a focus on recorded vocal tracks. The engine also ran with higher-polygon character models for the main cast - meaning that Squall, Rinoa and Seifer appear in battle with the same model as the game's traversal segments. Also, the large, intruding battle window of FF7 - which took up a good chunk of the screen's lower half - is removed. Instead the entire frame shows the 3D action, overlayed with a transparent HUD for HP. Going from one to the other in the late 90s, it's a huge improvement.