FFVIII Was the First Shot at “Realistic”
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered has been out for a little while now. It has stepped outside the shadow of Final Fantasy VII for now, until the release of the Remake next year. While these two games will always be compared to each other, Final Fantasy VIII has a special place in the hearts of both fans and developers. We learn why in a mini-documentary released by Square Enix called “Inside Final Fantasy VIII Remastered”. In it, we are shown what inspired the game and what they were trying to go for.
Believe it or not, a game called Final “Fantasy” VIII was actually going for as much realism as the name would allow. Like Final Fantasy VII, the world of FFVIII used a lot of science fiction elements, but the sorceresses were included to fulfill the fantasy aspect of the game. The Wizard of Oz was actually a big influence of the sorceresses. There was a good one and an evil one; one from the West and one from the East. The city of Esthar where Sorceress Adel was from is almost entirely blue, which was meant to be green but did not want to imitate Emerald City too closely.
The producers and designers of Final Fantasy VIII also spoke about the design of the characters in contrast to Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and his companions had very exaggerated proportions outside of battle. In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall and his party was meant to have more realistic proportions both in and out of battle, which actually played a large role in how the world around them and the scenes they were in were designed. You can check out all that and more in the video above, just turn on the closed captions, unless you are fluent in Japanese. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Where does Final Fantasy VIII fall in your favourites of the series? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: YouTube