From the very get-go, we wanted to make Final Fantasy VIII something much lighter in both visuals and tone. Yoshinori Kitase: I’m not sure if you could really call this a “concept,” but Final Fantasy VII was quite visually dark, and it was also a very serious, heavy story. Game Informer: At the beginning of the Final Fantasy VIII project, what were the core concepts for the game that the team hoped to build on? With this unique game back in the spotlight, we asked the original director Yoshinori Kitase (now producer on Final Fantasy VII Remake) about his behind-the-scenes stories from the time he spent working on this classic RPG that was ahead of its time. The recent release of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered gives fans the opportunity to see this 20-year-old title in a new light – and some players are experiencing the adventure now for the first time. That willingness to take risks is also what makes the game so special, giving rise to a narrative that jumps between generations, a complex progression system that encourages players to test its limits, and the addictive Triple Triad card game that has appeared in multiple entries since. But wherever you land on that spectrum, everyone can agree: Final Fantasy VIII is different.
Instead of learning spells and casting them, players stock magic like items and “junction” them to improve various stats.įor players who were expecting familiar Final Fantasy plot points and systems, these changes were a surprise, and resulted in some split opinions among series fans when the game launched.
Instead of stylized art, the visuals are more realistic. Instead of seasoned heroes, the story follows a group of young students. Every installment of Final Fantasy experiments and innovates in various ways, but when Final Fantasy VIII released in 1999, no entry had ventured so far outside of the series’ traditional formula.