New Final Fantasy VIII Featurette Shows A Behind-the-Scenes Look at The Game's Development

Now that Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is already available, fans can take a behind-the-scenes look at the development of this role-playing game.

Square Enix has released a new behind-the-scenes video that looks back at the creation of the epic game, and it features interviews with Yoshinori Kitase (Final Fantasy VIII Director), Shinji Hashimoto (Final Fantasy VIII Producer), and Yusuke Naora (Final Fantasy VIII Art Director).

You can watch it here: 

It's interesting to hear Kitase talk about how they developed the game's near-future, science fiction world yet still has elements of fantasy, and how Esther, the futuristic city in the game, is based on the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz. They also talked about the realism in the game's character design and world - how they intended the characters to have consistent proportions whether in a battle scene or while exploring the environments. It turns out that they spent a lot of time and money on scouting for locations in schools so they can capture inspiration for the game's settings from them. 

The featurette also highlights the game's deep battle system, the Triple Triad card mini-game, and character designs. Did you know that Sorceress Edea was based on a Tetsuya Nomura's character that he designed for Final Fantasy VII but never used? 

Despite the story flaws and repetitive Guardian Force system, Final Fantasy VIII will always hold a special place in my memory as the first Final Fantasy game I've played, and the only one that inspired me to write in the fantasy and science fiction genre. 

Is this video a sign that Square Enix may be testing the waters to see if fans are still interested in FFVIII? It looks like they they might be thinking of a potential remake for this epic RPG. Hopefully, it happens. It's my Final Fantasy game. 

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is now available on Steam. 

Related: Final Fantasy VII Remake Shows Off Brand-New Materia System