Unfortunately, such strong showings come at a price, meaning old games will be leaving each service as well. It’s standard practice for PlayStation Plus’ new lineup of free games to replace the old one, although subscribers can continue to access any games they’ve claimed as long as they stay subbed. When Xbox Game Pass removes a game it’s back to full price, and some strong games are being lost come November 15. River City Girls, Star Renegades, and Streets of Rogue will be missed by their fans, but a potentially more notable game is also leaving. Final Fantasy 8 – Remastered will be removed from Game Pass soon, and subscribers should check out this classic RPG while they still can.
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Final Fantasy 8 is Worth Revisiting
Final Fantasy 8 holds an interesting place in the legacy of Final Fantasy. The game is one of the franchise’s black sheep, though it’s less unfavorably viewed than some others. A large part of this was that it struggled to match the reputation of Final Fantasy 7 in many fans’ eyes, and also suffered from being a more experimental entry.
Final Fantasy 8 does not play by the rules of past games when it comes to powering up the main party, and getting the magic and summons to Junction to party members stats can be rather tedious. There are ways to make it enjoyable, but engaging with the deeper mechanics of the game often feels like spiralling off into a bizarre realm of side content and exploits.
That doesn’t mean the game is bad, however; in fact, it’s far from it. Final Fantasy 8 still provides the same tried-and-true ATB combat as many of its PS1 and SNES brethren. Even though levelling and arranging stats were obtuse, they weren’t that disruptive if a player just wants to complete the game. And it was a game worth completing; Final Fantasy 8 is one of the few entries that has a strong focus on a core romance that involves the protagonist Squall coming out of his shell thanks to Rinoa and appreciating his other party members more. While the rest of the cast isn’t much to speak of, the world is still a bizarre and interesting place, and cutaways to Laguna’s story will come to feel surprisingly welcome.
Triple Triad is Final Fantasy 8’s Star Player
Many other good things could be said about the game’s music and visuals, and mention of the experimental final dungeon also deserves to be made. However, Final Fantasy 8’s main contribution to Final Fantasy as a whole, and perhaps even to JRPGs in general, is Triple Triad. Triple Triad is the most famous minigame to ever appear in Final Fantasy, and it has since been remade both as a standalone game and a side attraction in Final Fantasy 14. This seemingly basic card game revolutionized how minigames were approached in the franchise.
There are layers as to how big of an asset Triple Triad is to Final Fantasy 8. It’s deeply ingrained into the game world, with NPCs everywhere being eligible for matches. Players will constantly be gaining new cards featuring familiar faces, and there are many different rulesets to encounter. There are even Triple Triad-centric sidequests and a roaming NPC who can alter a region’s ruleset. It really feels like an entire virtual trading card game was inserted into this full-length JRPG. It even plays back into the complex spell junctioning system, with cards being eligible to be turned into items and spells that can boost stats.
Final Fantasy 8 may feel weird at times, but Xbox Game Pass subscribers who make a point of trying out everything it has to offer may find a new contender for their favourite Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 8 – Remastered is available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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