Final Fantasy VIII Remastered |OT| You're The Best Looking Remaster Here

[Suede]

I just picked this up and will be playing it for the first time! Any quick tips (without spoiling anything)? I feel like I've heard you're discouraged from grinding too much?

Also which FF would you say the combat/mechanics most match?

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I haven't played every single Final Fantasy game, so I might be wrong, but I think the junction system is unique to FFVIII. I also don't think you need to worry if you level up, but I wouldn't say it's like the other games where you may have to spend a few hours grinding so you can get through some tough areas. As I naturally played through the game I unlocked most of my GF's abilities from battles. It's also about getting the best magic to 100 for your party so you can junction it to your stats. I mainly did that from drawing magic from enemies in certain battles, but you can also gain things like magic and abilities through refining cards, which is why Triple Triad can be very useful.

Disc 3 is my favorite ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I love all the weird locations and music.

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Yeah, I loved how crazy it got, and the Lunar Base and getting Ragnarok are two of my favourite parts.

 

[Deleted member 1102]

Just a quick question what's the earliest you can get Doomtrain and how? I don't want to miss any GFs before disc 4. :) thanks.

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Earliest I believe is when you get the first chance to leave Esthar in Disc 3 (I think it's when you're told to go to the Lunar Gate). Once you can leave Esthar go straight to Tears Point and pick up the Solomon Ring. Once you have the required items (Six Malboro Tentacles, six Remedy+ and six Steel Pipes) just click on the Solomon Ring and you'll get Doomtrain.

 

[Gradon]

Earliest I believe is when you get the first chance to leave Esthar in Disc 3 (I think it's when you're told to go to the Lunar Gate). Once you can leave Esthar go straight to Tears Point and pick up the Solomon Ring. Once you have the required items (Six Malboro Tentacles, six Remedy+ and six Steel Pipes) just click on the Solomon Ring and you'll get Doomtrain.

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thank you!!

 

[Deleted member 59854]

Regarding the bad old midi for The Landing: I've looked through the compressed files on the PC version thanks to the tools from the the qhimm forums, and it's not that there's a "bug" nor that this game has layered the PS1 music on top of the bad old PC midi tracks at all! The other PC midi tracks are nowhere to be found. Instead, it's just that out of all the music files, the one file (099-joriku2.ogg for the truly interested) for the looped version of The Landing (no heartbeat intro) is actually the bad old version. There's no good looped version to be found in the data. This doesn't come up if you play the Dollet raid all the way through since the full version (017s-joriku.ogg) is the PS1 version, but when you quit midway or in the Garden battle, they of course don't use the heartbeat intro, throwing you straight into the bad version instead (099-joriku2.ogg).

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Since it will probably be a while until the patch happens, I figured it would be useful to elaborate on how Steam users at least can fix the music problem for The Landing during the Dollet raid and the Garden battle in about two minutes, with huge thanks to the qhimm forum:

1. Find the other.zzz file in your PC's FFVIII folder, then copy or move it somewhere else to work with it
2. Extract it using zzzDeArchive.exe tool (you can even drag and drop other.zzz and the extraction destination folder into the tool when prompted to avoid having to type the extension manually)
3. In the extracted files, find the music folder and replace 099-joriku2.ogg (bad MIDI version included in the game) with the good version of this file from the earlier 2013 PC Roses and Wine mod, or record your own based on the remaster's 017-joriku.ogg file (make a copy and then cut out the first 50 seconds, the heartbeat intro)
4. Recompress the files using zzzDeArchive.exe (file will appear in same folder as zzzDeArchive.exe, now named out.zzz)
5. Rename out.zzz to other.zzz, and replace in your PC's FFVIII folder

Wazzy, please feel free to use in your OP if helpful.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Excuse my anxiety, but playing with no encounters is allowing me to freely explore the world map, something I didn't/don't do because of random encounters... but now I'm not wanting to visit places before story beats in fear of ruining something (npc encounters, dialog with party members later, items... etc). Not sure why I get like this. Saying this because I see the Missile Base by Deling and not sure I want to visit now.

 

[El Bombastico]

Finally at disc three. Its really satisfying defeating Edea with only 3 physical attacks considering how many hours it took to beat her on my first playthrough.

 

[Suede]

Finally at disc three. Its really satisfying defeating Edea with only 3 physical attacks considering how many hours it took to beat her on my first playthrough.

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It was nice to beat the boss that stopped my playthrough in its tracks a few years ago, in just a few hits. The only boss battle that gave me trouble for a bit this time was Ultimecia.

 

[Weiss]

3x speed an unlimited Limit Break is a godsend for King Tonberry grinding.

 

[Weiss]

Just finished the Orphanage scene.

...I know it's been a while since I've played FFVIII, but this is what people complain so much about? There's an explanation, a rational reason for it not to come up by now, it ties into the game's themes and it sheds light on the current antagonist.

I blame the Spoony review.

 

[Suede]

Just finished the Orphanage scene.

...I know it's been a while since I've played FFVIII, but this is what people complain so much about? There's an explanation, a rational reason for it not to come up by now, it ties into the game's themes and it sheds light on the current antagonist.

I blame the Spoony review.

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Yeah, it had been a while since I had seen that scene and I was surprised how not bad it was? People really blow it out of proportion.

 

[Occult Fan]

Just finished the Orphanage scene.

...I know it's been a while since I've played FFVIII, but this is what people complain so much about? There's an explanation, a rational reason for it not to come up by now, it ties into the game's themes and it sheds light on the current antagonist.

I blame the Spoony review.

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Yeah, that scene has become such a meme. I find it to be quite beautiful in its presentation and adds to the big themes of VIII, despite having some convenient plotting. Never understood the outrage.

 

[Weiss]

Yeah, that scene has become such a meme. I find it to be quite beautiful in its presentation and adds to the big themes of VIII, despite having some convenient plotting. Never understood the outrage.

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Yeah, it had been a while since I had seen that scene and I was surprised how not bad it was? People really blow it out of proportion.

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Like there's questionable elements but on its own merits its not really egregious.

 

[Deleted member 426]

Just finished the Orphanage scene.

...I know it's been a while since I've played FFVIII, but this is what people complain so much about? There's an explanation, a rational reason for it not to come up by now, it ties into the game's themes and it sheds light on the current antagonist.

I blame the Spoony review.

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People complain about the fact that the characters don't remember their childhood, whilst people simultaneously don't really remember how the game actually plays out (because it was from their childhood...)

 

[Meows]

The worst thing about the orphanage is that it is pretty much the end point for every character's development outside of Squall, Rinoa, Laguna, and Seifer. Other than that, I've never had any problem with it (as a dumb little kid, that was actually one of my favorite moments in the storyline). Maybe they should have brought up the GF plot-thread a couple more times afterword instead of just dropping it but meh.

The game is about destiny and fate, so it completely makes sense to me that every event and character are connected to the smallest detail.

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

I thought the orphanage thing was odd, but I did see it coming because I read the GF explanation at the beginning of the game.

I thought the Edea twist was even stranger, but no one cares right?

 

[Deleted member 1102]

The only thing I don't like about the Orphanage reveal is how Irvine just never said anything because...he didn't feel like it? I think that could have been fixed with an easy extra line when you meet him where he asks if you've met before and you say no. That way it shows that Irvine at least attempted to dig further and plants the seeds for the later reveal.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

The game is about destiny and fate, so it completely makes sense to me that every event and character are connected to the smallest detail.

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Their destiny and fate are kinda man-made though, since it's a time loop that Cid is aware of. Cid is the one who orchestrated many of the events to make sure everyone meets up according to plan.

It's interesting that the Dissidia series also put their Cid in a similar time loop.

 

[Meows]

Their destiny and fate are kinda man-made though, since it's a time loop that Cid is aware of. Cid is the one who orchestrated many of the events to make sure everyone meets up according to plan.

It's interesting that the Dissidia series also put their Cid in a similar time loop.

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It kinda had to happen though for Ultimecia to be defeated.

Spoiler: ending spoilers

Since Squall is the one that defeats Ultimecia and gives Edea the idea of SeeD and Garden, thus making it essential that he always comes back to fulfill his role, even if Squall isn't ready. I used to think it was dumb how Cid just thrust seventeen year old Squall as the leader of the entire Garden but it makes sense, they had to shove him into positions he may not be ready for in order for the future to be saved.

I always thought it was cool how Liberi Fatali means "fated children."

Toss in Squall and Rinoa fulfilling the relationship that Laguna and Julia couldn't have, etc, I find the way the games brings together events very interesting.

 

[1000 Needles]

Excuse my anxiety, but playing with no encounters is allowing me to freely explore the world map, something I didn't/don't do because of random encounters... but now I'm not wanting to visit places before story beats in fear of ruining something (npc encounters, dialog with party members later, items... etc). Not sure why I get like this. Saying this because I see the Missile Base by Deling and not sure I want to visit now.

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I think you're probably ok on that front. Even when the story sent me to the Missile Base, I tried to enter on foot just to see what would happen. They straight up denied me entry. So you probably can't mess things up by going places early

 

[Deleted member 1102]

Hey everyone, if you're enjoying the game why not come and check out the FF era discord server! We have a pretty great community there (except for keym) and we have a ton of VIII fans! Feel free to check us out and leave if we're too weird!

You need to reply to this thread in order to see this content.

 

[Wazzy]

Since it will probably be a while until the patch happens, I figured it would be useful to elaborate on how Steam users at least can fix the music problem for The Landing during the Dollet raid and the Garden battle in about two minutes, with huge thanks to the qhimm forum:

1. Find the other.zzz file in your PC's FFVIII folder, then copy or move it somewhere else to work with it
2. Extract it using zzzDeArchive.exe tool (you can even drag and drop other.zzz and the extraction destination folder into the tool when prompted to avoid having to type the extension manually)
3. In the extracted files, find the music folder and replace 099-joriku2.ogg (bad MIDI version included in the game) with the good version of this file from the earlier 2013 PC Roses and Wine mod, or record your own based on the remaster's 017-joriku.ogg file (make a copy and then cut out the first 50 seconds, the heartbeat intro)
4. Recompress the files using zzzDeArchive.exe (file will appear in same folder as zzzDeArchive.exe, now named out.zzz)
5. Rename out.zzz to other.zzz, and replace in your PC's FFVIII folder

Wazzy, please feel free to use in your OP if helpful.

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I'll threadmark so people can see it easier! I don't know that many are reading the FAQ part of my OT anymore xD

 

[El Bombastico]

So after playing around with it a bit I can confidentially say that with 3x speed enabled, using the draw point at Shumi Village to get 300 Ultimas is a viable option now if you want that as early as Disc 2. Provided you completed the Chocobo Forest quest, have that character at at least 80+ magic state and also have a SeeD rank at about 18 or so since it WILL go down a few ranks doing this. Just draw from Shumi, leave and go to the near by Chocobo forest, ride it to the Chocobo Santuary on Esthar, ride that chocobo back to Shumi, and bam, it should be refilled. The 5000 gil per use should be a pittance since your SeeD rank will trigger 2, sometimes three times as you ride the Chocobo...

 

[Shane M]

When I buy this I'll own the Remaster on every platform(physical makes Switch purchased twice) except Xbox. I'm even considering buying an Xbox One at some point so I have all achievements unlocked for each platform.

Oh and I guess there is some cool Xbox games I could play...

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Lost Odyssey!

 

[Retsudo]

Hey everyone, if you're enjoying the game why not come and check out the FF era discord server! We have a pretty great community there (except for keym) and we have a ton of VIII fans! Feel free to check us out and leave if we're too weird!

[Hidden content]

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Will do. Thanks for letting people know about this.

 

[crimsonECHIDNA]

The only thing I don't like about the Orphanage reveal is how Irvine just never said anything because...he didn't feel like it? I think that could have been fixed with an easy extra line when you meet him where he asks if you've met before and you say no. That way it shows that Irvine at least attempted to dig further and plants the seeds for the later reveal.

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Yeah for me, the whole orphanage reveal only made it all the stranger that Irvine had to basically be forced by Rinoa to go rescue everyone from the prison at the start of disk 2.

 

[Meows]

Here is an awesome fanart on Tumblr I found of Rinoa in space (their other Final Fantasy artwork is really good too).

 

[Radec]

I didn't know you could just lose all 4 cards at the same time to the QoC instead of doing one by one. Saves alot of time.

 

[Shane M]

The only thing I don't like about the Orphanage reveal is how Irvine just never said anything because...he didn't feel like it? I think that could have been fixed with an easy extra line when you meet him where he asks if you've met before and you say no. That way it shows that Irvine at least attempted to dig further and plants the seeds for the later reveal.

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I mean, he does ask out loud if this is fate shortly after he meets the group.

 

[Deleted member 59854]

I'll threadmark so people can see it easier! I don't know that many are reading the FAQ part of my OT anymore xD

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That's great! At least PC users can enjoy two of the best sequences in the game with the proper music while we wait on the patch.

Soon after, I started trying to patch in the demo version of The Landing, which I love even more in the Dollet sequence, but the track is a slightly different length and won't loop to the proper place as a result. Ah well.

 

[Meows]

Found this on reddit, people are already working on the character textures for the Steam version:

Subtle work, mainly just to bring the textures closer to the original PS1 release, but cool to know people are already working on it.

 

[Wazzy]

Found this on reddit, people are already working on the character textures for the Steam version:

Subtle work, mainly just to bring the textures closer to the original PS1 release, but cool to know people are already working on it.

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Those look good! I like that Squalls hair is lighter.

Now if they can just tweak the hair a bit more to look like his CG :P

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Those look good! I like that Squalls hair is lighter.

Now if they can just tweak the hair a bit more to look like his CG :P

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Squall's hair stood out, but don't see what's different about Seifer (been a bit since I've seen him in game).

Also wonder if they'll fix Zell's back.

 

[Linkura]

Yeah for me, the whole orphanage reveal only made it all the stranger that Irvine had to basically be forced by Rinoa to go rescue everyone from the prison at the start of disk 2.

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Irvine is kind of a shitty person tbh.

 

[Suede]

Found this on reddit, people are already working on the character textures for the Steam version:

Subtle work, mainly just to bring the textures closer to the original PS1 release, but cool to know people are already working on it.

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I like Squall's hair, definitely an improvement.

 

[d00d3n]

I bought a ton of scrolls in the big city and also got a Rosetta stone

Is there a way of seeing which GF has which junctions so I can not duplicate them, so for example if I give a HP-J scroll to a GF, I don't want to waste the HP-J scroll on them if they already have it

I know I can check the GF menu but that seems like a lot of back and forth

Is there an optimal GF to give the Rosetta stone to?

Edit: Never mind, I solved the first part myself, so just need to know the Rosetta stone thing

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Check out the GF Distribution Guide on gamefaqs for help on how to strategically place abilities on different guardian forces. The guide suggests distributions of guardian forces at various points in the game, mostly in a thoughtful way, except that Diablos/Hit-J on Squall is a pretty stupid idea

Personally, following the guide linked above, I chose to use Rosetta stones on Shiva (assigned to Squall/Selfie), Ifirit (assigned to Zell/Irvine), and Siren (assigned to Rinoa/Quistis). Squall/Selfie will get a duplicate of the ability with Bahamut down the line, but I wanted to have access to Abilityx4 as soon as possible. I also gave auto-haste to those same guardian forces btw.

 

[Linkura]

Diablos/Hit-J on Squall is a pretty stupid idea

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Or Selphie

I wonder why only Squall and Selphie get max hit from their weapons. Squall I guess I can get because he's the MC, but why Selphie?

 

[Deleted member 59854]

In revisiting this old favorite, I'm still struck by how despite the completely wild and unique world design, the basic human issues are some of the most familiar, modern, and relatable in the series: increasingly bad decisions as a result of insecurities and big dreams that aren't working out (Seifer); the challenge of trying to keep up the buoyant personality people expect of you even in the face of personal tragedy (Selphie); missed romantic opportunities and family life as a result of overwork or deployment (Laguna); and the frustrations and moral hazards of financing a major project (Cid).

In particular, the politics around Balamb Garden are really standing out to me this time:

Spoiler

The takeover attempt by Norg was always a puzzling and sudden aside to me growing up, but this time, the tension between the visionary school principal and his financial backer is really clear to me from the start. (President and a hostile board takeover?) When I was a kid, I did always think the uniformed Garden staff were creepy, but their interrupting Cid's speech during the SeeD ceremony or rushing him off to meetings might have seemed comical. Now, I see that they're deliberately undercutting him on Norg's behalf even while using polite tones. And after Seifer flunks the Dollet raid exam for going too far, Cid shows some sympathy and suggests to him that showing initiative is good...yet the sneering Garden staff you can talk to next suggests the whole incident will teach Dollet a lesson to pay up if they want more involvement (like Seifer did), and that SeeD isn't a charity. And then there's their comment that criticism of the use of GFs by any future employers should be "strictly ignored."

 

[Weiss]

Irvine is kind of a shitty person tbh.

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I rationalized it as Irvine being scared and faced with impossible odds but yeah, it does stick out given that he knows the gang are his orphanage family and that he's been carrying a torch for Selphie. You'd think a good piece of foreshadowing would be Irvine using retrieving Rinoa as an excuse to save everyone.

 

[Wazzy]

I didn't even realize this could happen but you can also find Selphie wearing her SeeD uniform when she isn't in your party.

Normally you just see her regular outfit or Cadet:

I've only ever seen Cadet and regular so this shocked me. Now I'm trying to see if Zell can wear his SeeD uniform but no luck so far.

 

[Xavi]

I just finished disc 1. What the hell? That was one of the best sequences in a Final Fantasy game, ever. The tension, the music, the dialogue , everything really.



Also, I hear you Kefka.

 

[JCal]

I just finished disc 1. What the hell? That was one of the best sequences in a Final Fantasy game, ever. The tension, the music, the dialogue , everything really.



Also, I hear you Kefka.

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ABSOLUTELY! Your first time playing? How I envy you. One of the greatest moments in the series and a powerful narrative hook. Things really get going after that. Enjoy.

 

[Xavi]

ABSOLUTELY! Your first time playing? How I envy you. One of the greatest moments in the series and a powerful narrative hook. Things really get going after that. Enjoy.

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I tried to play this game and looong time ago but didn't get too far because I didn't understand the junction system, and because I am not a fan of enemies getting stronger as you level up so now I'm giving the game a second try and boy am I enjoying myself

 

[Suede]

I just finished disc 1. What the hell? That was one of the best sequences in a Final Fantasy game, ever. The tension, the music, the dialogue , everything really.



Also, I hear you Kefka.

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Yup, it's one of my favourite moments too.

 

[Pavemaniac]

I didn't even realize this could happen but you can also find Selphie wearing her SeeD uniform when she isn't in your party.

Normally you just see her regular outfit or Cadet:

I've only ever seen Cadet and regular so this shocked me. Now I'm trying to see if Zell can wear his SeeD uniform but no luck so far.

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Makes me wonder; I don't remember officially seeing Irvine in uniform. Wonder if he's ever worn one or whether he somehow wheedles his way out of ever wearing it. Sure, throughout the game he's on a mission and is away from his Garden so the opportunity never really presents itself but I'm unsure he would if it did. It's also kinda amusing that the most outwardly casual and carefree party member came from the most militaristic/strict of the three gardens.

 

[Slaythe]

Hah the shade

 

[Awesome Kev]

this game's story is one of the best in all final fantasy

the ending spoilers...

Spoiler

Laguna standing over Raine's grave hits me in the feels harder then i think just about any movie, game or book ever has. everything just has that perfect ending feeling to that last sequence.

 

[ZeroX]

Hah the shade

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Any respect I might have for people doing these fixes goes out the windows when they act like assholes to the devs about it

 

[Slaythe]

Any respect I might have for people doing these fixes goes out the windows when they act like assholes to the devs about it

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He emailed them and offered them the very easy to implement fix and he was ignored.

At this point they lost any good will. He's not asking for your respect or anything, he's doing this for free. He acts however he wishes, he wasn't insulting them.

 

[Wazzy]

I just finished disc 1. What the hell? That was one of the best sequences in a Final Fantasy game, ever. The tension, the music, the dialogue , everything really.



Also, I hear you Kefka.

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Ahhhh I'm even more excited to see how you feel about the last half of Disc 2!

Make sure once you get access to easier travel(I don't want to spoil anything) to update the thread so I can tell you something to checkout. :D

He emailed them and offered them the very easy to implement fix and he was ignored.

At this point they lost any good will. He's not asking for your respect or anything, he's doing this for free. He acts however he wishes, he wasn't insulting them.

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I've been curious about something for a long time now regarding modders and the Remaster. I think they have created some great for previous versions and the Remaster but I legitimately want to know if they are even capable of implementing their mods across multiple platforms or if these are purely Steam tested. If it's possible and easy then I will fully agree that Dotemu is being lazy in some aspects(Triple Triad is evidence of that) but how can they be so sure these work easily on consoles?

I don't know enough about the scene so I really do want to know. I still disagree with most modders who are jumping on calling this Remaster lazy all together because no matter what they say it's by far the definitive way to recommend the game to newcomers.

 

[Radec]

Done with my 2nd playthrough.

Any recommendations for the 3rd one? I've done max and low level runs.