Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII  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  Final Fantasy 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 Windows,  Nintendo Switch ,  PlayStation 4  and  Xbox One  in September 2019, and  iOS  and  Android  in March 2021.