Final Fantasy VIII is back, and Episode 243 is here for it

It's the best-looking podcast here.

We've been journeying through the Final Fantasy series a game at a time for several years now, most recently with Final Fantasy Tactics. I've taken great care to space these episodes out as much as possible to prevent burnout, but I'm afraid Square Enix went and forced our hand by announcing the release of a long-awaited remaster of Final Fantasy VIII set for tomorrow. So, as they say in lukewarm J-to-E localizations, it can't be helped.

One member of our standard FF recap crew, Chris Kohler, decided to sit this one out because he hadn't played FFVIII in a long, long time and didn't have a lot to say about it. Funnily enough, the last time I played FFVIII was about a decade ago... but I didn't really need to refresh my memory on this one. FFVIII is one of those games that sticks with you, you know? I also had a memorable experience with the original release, which was the first role-playing game I ever imported from Japan to play early. Let me tell you, figuring out the quirks of this game with only less-than-rudimentary Japanese reading ability was quite a journey.

This episode really gets into what makes FFVIII so interesting and why it's so incredibly divisive. If you haven't played it before, you'll probably want to try the remaster before listening to this (we spoil everything). Otherwise, welcome.

Retronauts Episode 243: Final Fantasy VIII
MP3, 51.3 MB | 1:50:54
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Episode description: Continuing our journey through the Final Fantasy series, Kat Bailey joins Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey to talk about what makes Final Fantasy VIII such a weird and wonderful chapter in the series—just in time for the remaster! Just mind the spoilers...