Square Enix has unexpectedly launched Final Fantasy VIII Remastered on Android and iOS.
The turn-based RPG follows a group of mercenary students, led by the stoic Squall, as they fight against an evil sorceress bent on compressing time.
In addition to enhanced visuals, Remastered features three boosters that players can enable at any time — ‘Assist’ (max out HP/ATB/Limit Breaks), ‘No Encounters’ (turn off random enemy encounters) and ‘3x speed’ (play the entire game, barring certain cutscenes, at triple the speed).
The original Final Fantasy VIII launched on the PlayStation in North America in September 1999, while the Remastered version released worldwide on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC in September 2019.
Notably, with VIII Remastered available on Android and iOS, this means the first nine numbered Final Fantasy games are all now playable on mobile.
Remastered costs $23.99 CAD on both Android and iOS. While the app stores’ descriptions note that there’s a special launch discount on the U.S. price, that doesn’t apply to Canada.