
The "draw" system, where players have to "draw" and store magic from enemies and other sources, was also a source of contention with the original release. Final Fantasy 8 Remastered was polarizing when it originally released because some found having to "junction" with Guardian Forces to really improve character stats in any meaningful way to be too confusing. Something that the various Final Fantasy 8 Remastered cheats don't necessarily address is the game's complicated leveling and battling systems. Better yet, achievements aren't disabled for using cheats in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered, so players don't feel like they're getting punished if they decide to use them. They can choose to experience it how it was meant to be, random battles and all, or they can turn the cheats off and on as they please. With the speed boost and other cheats, Final Fantasy 8 Remastered players can really tailor the experience to how they want to play. And since summons (called Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered) are used so frequently in battle and have their own animations, the speed boost makes using them far more tolerable. With the speed cranked up, random battles go by so fast that players won't even feel the need to switch them off. Increasing the speed in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered lets players still enjoy the game without having to deal with its more tedious elements. Those who still want a genuine challenge but want to speed up the game's more frustrating sections can make everything go 3x the normal speed, which is easily the best part about Final Fantasy 8 Remastered. They can also play through the game basically invincible. For example, players can play Final Fantasy 8 Remastered with random battles turned off. Like the enhanced ports of Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 9, Final Fantasy 8 Remastered has cheats that players can use to circumvent some of the original game's annoyances. Luckily, there are other enhancements in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered besides the graphics that do a great job of addressing some of the more dated aspects of the game. On one hand, the updated character models ensure that this game is still the best-looking version of Final Fantasy 8, but at the same time, the improved character models really make the rest of the game's dated visuals stand out. As it stands, those who are playing Final Fantasy 8 for the first time with the remastered version will walk away unimpressed by them.įinal Fantasy 8 Remastered's graphics are a mixed bag. It would have been an expensive undertaking to create brand new animation for Final Fantasy 8's cut-scenes, but the investment would have made it so modern games could truly appreciate them. At one point in time, Final Fantasy 8's cut-scenes were award-winning work, but nowadays they look drab, bland, and they even stutter a bit.
#Final fantasy 8 remastered cheats upgrade#
One area that's really hit hard by the lack of a graphical upgrade are the cut-scenes. The overworld just looks dreadful, and it's a shame that Square Enix didn't spend more time sprucing up the game's graphics beyond the character models. The pre-rendered backgrounds were fine in the 90s, but here they look ugly, blurry, and especially ancient with the upgraded character models walking through them. The backgrounds in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered look just like they did in the PS1 release. Unfortunately, not everything in Final Fantasy 8 Remastered received the same visual upgrade as the character models. This makes Final Fantasy 8 Remastered much easier on the eyes, to say the least. Squall, Rinoa, and everyone else in the game all have detailed character models that are leagues better than what was on display in the original release. The most obvious one being the new character models that replace the pixelated characters from the original release. Those concerns were put to rest at Square Enix's E3 2019 press conference when Final Fantasy 8 Remastered was officially announced, and now that it's out, we can confirm that it's the definitive way to experience the game.įinal Fantasy 8 Remastered lets players experience the original game almost exactly as it was, but with some enhancements. However, when it skipped Final Fantasy 8 in favor of an enhanced Final Fantasy 9 port, there was some concern that Square Enix wouldn't be giving Squall's adventure the makeover many felt it deserved. Over the past few years, Square Enix has been remastering its PS1-era Final Fantasy games so that modern audiences can more easily experience them.
