Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII
North American box art showing (from left): Squall, Rinoa, and Seifer, with Edea in the background
Developer(s)	Square[a]
Publisher(s)	PlayStation JP: Square NA: Square Electronic Arts EU: Square Europe Windows NA: Square Electronic Arts EU: Eidos Interactive JP: Square WW: Square Enix (Steam) Remastered WW: Square Enix
Director(s)	Yoshinori Kitase
Producer(s)	Shinji Hashimoto
Designer(s)	Hiroyuki Ito
Programmer(s)	Ken Narita
Artist(s)	Yusuke Naora Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s)	Kazushige Nojima
Composer(s)	Nobuo Uematsu
Series	Final Fantasy
Platform(s)	PlayStation Windows Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One Android iOS
Release	February 11, 1999 PlayStation JP: February 11, 1999 NA: September 9, 1999 EU: October 27, 1999 AU: October 29, 1999 Windows NA: January 25, 2000 EU: February 18, 2000 JP: March 23, 2000 Remastered NS, PS4, Windows, Xbox One WW: September 3, 2019 Android, iOS WW: March 24, 2021
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Final Fantasy VIII^[b] is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the eighth main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, the game follows a group of young mercenaries, led by Squall Leonhart, as they are drawn into a conflict sparked by a sorceress named Edea Kramer who seized control of a powerful military state. During the quest to defeat the sorceress and the forces manipulating her, Squall struggles with his role as leader and develops a romance with one of his comrades, Rinoa Heartilly.

Development began in 1997, during the English localization of Final Fantasy VII. The game builds on the visual changes brought to the series by VII, including the use of 3D graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds, while also departing from many Final Fantasy traditions. It is the first Final Fantasy to use realistically proportioned characters consistently, feature a vocal piece as its theme music and forgo the use of magic points for spellcasting.

Final Fantasy VIII was well received by critics. The game was a commercial success, grossing $151 million in its first day of release in Japan, and more than $50 million during its first 13 weeks in North America, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title until Final Fantasy XIII, a multi-platform release. A Windows port followed in 2000, with the addition of the Chocobo World minigame. Final Fantasy VIII was re-released worldwide as a PSOne Classic on the PlayStation Store in 2009, for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, with support for PlayStation Vita in 2012. It was re-released via Steam in 2013. By August 2019, it had sold more than 9.6 million copies worldwide. A remastered version was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in September 2019, and Android and iOS in March 2021.
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