Final Fantasy 8 Remastered will use the original PS1 soundtrack instead of the godawful PC version

If you’re looking for the best visual Final Fantasy experience that money can buy currently, then the PC version of the RPG masterpiece is the way to go. Sure, every character still looks like knock-off LEGO that has been listening to Linkin Park’s early albums for far too long, but that edginess is juxtaposed with delightful 240p backgrounds that have been horribly upscaled to 1080p in the process.

On the audio side however, the PC port of Final Fantasy 8 is the equivalent of shoving fully forged Lionheart gunblades into your ears. Unlike the PlayStation version which made the most of its CD-ROM format, the PC port of the game instead relies on the MIDI soundtrack to transmit every track in the game, from Balamb Garden’s soothing serenity through to the tense preparation for the first Showdown against Sorceress Edea in the heart of the Galbadian capital.

The extra sting in this tale is that Final Fantasy 8 was re-released back in 2013, and still never bothered to update the game files to include the far more competent music, leaving fans to finish the job and fix the game. With a remaster around the corner and the memory of the more slap-dash port that was Final Fantasy 9, fan fears over Final Fantasy 8 being another rushed port to newer consoles are justified.

When quizzed over this over on Twitter, Final Fantasy 8 Remaster studio DotEmu confirmed that Nobuo Uematsu’s oroginal score would be lifted from the original PlayStation files:

Combined with the visuals that look properly 3D and certain gameplay sections tripling the speed of animation (No more watching your children grow up without you every time you summon Eden!), Final Fantasy 8’s remaster is looking and sounding hot. It’ll be out later this year on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. Just in time for the twentieth anniversary of one of the most underrated chapters in the Final Fantasy series.

Last Updated: June 19, 2019