Final Fantasy VIII Remastered in Widescreen Campaign #FF8WIDESCREEN

Vivi-gamer

Vivi-gamer

Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Shenmunites!

After the poor job of the HD ports from d3t, I hope you can understand why I need to make a fuss about this. I'm very excited to see we're getting a Final Fantasy VIII Remastered Edition - It's among one of my treasured games of all time!

Yet, looking at the footage, I saw one jarring flaw, it was still in 4:3 Aspect Ratio! We have had ports of FFVII & IX This generation both suffering from the same fate - IX being the worst offender with grey boarders which ruin the opening sequence! I still cannot play Shenmue II on the PS4 due to it's cutscenes not only being in 4:£ but Letterboxed also! (I stick to the Xbox version, played on my 360).

I've got a PS1 version of FF8, PC version and PS Store download version of FFVIII but all are lacking. This can be fixed, just look at the recent Ports of Resident Evil 0 & 1 Remake - They have cropped pre-rendered backgrounds which move in sync with the players movement. So it can be done people, we just need S-E & DotEmu to listen!

I'm posting to S-E & Dotemu who are developing this remake to plead with them in making it widescreen. This is the chance to bring Final Fantasy VIII back and make it a release to last generations!

So please pester DotEmu on their social media pages and let's get this made!:
https://twitter.com/Dotemu

I'm posting on a daily basis which you can support too if you'd like.

Thank you Shenmunites, for your time :)
 
How are they going to make it widescreen without cropping and scan and pan? Eww. What is people's problem with 4:3 anyways?
 
Reprise said:
How are they going to make it widescreen without cropping and scan and pan? Eww. What is people's problem with 4:3 anyways?
Click to expand...
I don't mind if they crop and pan. I just cannot stand boarders because it simply isn't fit for the TV I am using - I just find it less immersive and it ruins the experience for me. With Resident Evil ports, they di crop and pan and that worked great, I don't see why other developers can't take the time to implement it.

After d3t's Shenmue port, I really can't bare to see another game I cherish gets such half assed treatment, so I'm at least trying to get something done this time.
 
I'm the opposite dude. I hate crop and pan and scan, it's ugly and unnecessary in my opinion (you're not seeing anymore of the screen than you would in 4:3, in fact you're seeing less). I played the RE Remake and 0 remasters in 4:3, as it's how they were intended to be played.

Good luck anyways. Hopefully they add it as an option for those like you who want it.
 
I used to crop and pan scan; no longer, though. Dunno why I didn't care about an ugly stretched image when I have been an avid S-video/component supporter for years--why stop there with the video puritanism? :p
 
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yeah, realized my d'oh/duh moment, but edited before seeing reply haha

One way I've found to make it less jarring with the border box, even in Shenmue 2, by setting brightness so blacks are the tiniest gradient above pitch black, but enough so the in-game bars don't match precisely with the TV's permanent side bars. The 4:3 border being pure black and darker blends in with the TV, so you don't notice as much and/or easier for your optic psychology to disregard the darker black.
 
I would not mind the option for viii as I am looking forward to it too. I did not actually complete viii nor did I Vii. I bought Vii for 7.99 on amazon one day in 2018 I played it in preparation for the remake got near the end and left northern crater and saved. reason I did that was because I wanted to complete other stuff and platinum the game which I will do because I need to get back to it before vii remake releases.
 
Eh, 4:3 is fine by me....actually, whenever I hook up the Dreamcast; PS2 or any retro console, I usually flick the TV to 4:3 mode because I can't stand the image being stretched (it looks like garbage)

So 4:3 is perfectly fine by me.
 
yeah I would not mind 4:3 either. But if there is another option I would not mind it.
 
The thing is, this is deemed a Remaster, not even the Shenmue Ports had that within the name, so by that very defintion it should be a worthy upgrade - Looking at what they have done to the text and character models I cannot complain though, they all look great!

Yet, I find 4:3 such an eye sore, the space around the image and between my TV frame just breaks the immersion for me. I really would rather play the game stretched as a last resort (I heard some peoples TV's can sort of do that within the options, not mine it seems). But if this is a Remaster, I think they should push the boat out and make the game fit for 16:9 display.

Yes it would take some effort, I don't knww all the technicalities but I know it can be done, it was down with the Final Fantasy X Remaster too as some of the interior locations are with Pre-Rendered backgrounds - Most notable before the Chocobo Eater fight we you don't see Auron step into the Inn before the fight. Plus as I mentioned Resident Evil, has already shown it is possible and them games really benefited from it - Really surprised to hear people chose to play them in 4:3!

Final Fantasy VIII is an important game for me and this news has me more hyped than t he Final Fantasy VII Remake! But I just want it to be done right and with the game lacking a 16:9 option, it just feels there is no purpose in buying it - Which as a super fan of the game is a major let down.
 
Reprise said:
How are they going to make it widescreen without cropping and scan and pan? Eww. What is people's problem with 4:3 anyways?
Click to expand...

Yes Do not get it either. At the Moment I play 90 per Cent just Retro games on my 4k tv with the framemeister and I have no issues with 4:3. But maybe I just got used to it too much, because I rarely play modern games. So I am not spoiled by 16:9.


I also think that bringing 4:3 games to 16:9 is not working properly. The Re Remake Remaster for example just Looks wrong in wide Screen. I do not kow if Capcom just screwed the port or it is hard to get a good widescreen mode out 4:3 games in General.

Anyway I am really looking Forward to the FF8 Remaster and I will get for sure.

Also hope that they can make a good widescreen mode for the People that want it.
 
The game got a release date already. It is coming much faster than I thought it would. Looking forward to it and will play it for sure. Not sure what to think about the art style though. It looks better I guess, but I still prefer the classic Ps1 graphics. it has more charm somehow.

 
£$%&ing devistated! truly am! I've spent 71 days contacting S-E & DotEmu & nothing. Currently writing an email but it looks as if console version will suffer just like Shenmue HD did. Such wasted potential, I'll be sticking to the original version until I get a better PC to mod it next year.

 
Wow I did not notice it is just 4:3 nor do I care. For me 4:3 is total normal. Modern games are really not my thing. I am not spoiled with 16:9 at all and I do not even care About 16:9. :ROFLMAO:

Still good luck for your fight, vivi-gamer although it is futile and this ,maybe for the better.

In the end it is maybe just a matter of taste and I might be wrong but making games that made in 4:3 to 16:9 just looks weird. The characters in FF 10 Remaster and RE Remake look just weird, fatter than in 4:3 and then the Remake has this strange camera changes too, to adjust to 16:9. I think i tis wrong to Change the old content to make it look more modern, but that is just me

and I might be wrong. Would not be the first time. :eek:
 
I genunely cannot play Final Fantasy VII & IX on PS4:
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The borders are far too intrusive, as I have said with Shenmue II, I'd rather take a widescreen version stretched as a last resort over playing in 4:3 on a widscreen TV:
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I still can't bare to playh the PS4 version and stick to my XBOX version on the 360, It's not completely 16:9 but much more bareable! & Honestly, I still resent d3t a year later.

I never thought issue of the FFX Remaster, I don't think it was stretched but cropped - There is one scene after Luca when the Chocobo Eater appaears when at an Inn. Auron appears at the bottom of the screen (Birds eye view here) and asks everyone to get ready, in the Remaster you don't see him at the entrance. Same with RE, I was under the impression it was cropped & tracked the character models position.
 
I think it depends how much you are used to 16:9 games are not. I think the last modern game I touched was Days Gone, a game that I have finished in May. Since then I have just played 4:3 games on old consoles with my Framemeister. So I an in 4:3 mode for about 3 month. I am just too used to it I gues that I do not even see the bars.

But I can understand that it is distracting for somebody that plays current gen stuff all time time and Retro stuff only once in a while. For such people the Retro throwback is too much and does no good. Not everybody is a avid Retro gamer like myself.

If was more into modern games I would feel the same for sure.

I hope they will find a solution for you vivi-gamer and the rest of the modern Gamers.
 
Sorry but I'm not enough of a sensitive soul to be bothered by such minor thing.. so much that I want to lose the top and bottom of an image and then zoom in on an already blurry background just to 'fill' my 16:9 screen.

Not least of all many scenes in the game have realtime rendered 3D overlays synced on top of moving pre-rendered video backgrounds.. all of which are 4:3. How would you reconcile that when you've slice, diced, zoomed and butchered the backgrounds..

... people need to get a grip.. it's never enough for gamers.. always gotta whinge about something..
 
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I've grown out of my need to FILL TEH SCREENZ and appreciate the intended 4:3 for about 2 years now. Never knew how garrish and over balooned the textures were until i tried the original aspect ratio

luckily, my tv has a nice display area setting for -1, full or +1 pixel. the negative 1 makes it a bit bigger like 5:3ish without cutting off much or any top and bottom
 
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Maybe I'm too old. I don't understand how black bars on the sides breaks immersion? The TV always ends at some point. At the edge of your TV is presumably whatever is beside your TV, or on your wall. Doesn't that break immersion? Black seems less intrusive than the complete end of a TV.

I however grew up with 4:3 TVs. I preferred watching movies in widescreen on 4:3 TV's once DVDs starting coming out that way (didn't have many options with VHS tapes) with black on top and bottom...because why would I want to see less of what was filmed?

The pictures you post of Shenmue being stretched to mostly fit 16:9 is worse...how doesn't it break immersion to see all the characters stretched out and stout looking? Ryo's shape is goofy in that picture. Because it should be 4:3.

Sure it would've been great if they recoded the whole game to run an actual 16:9 but that isn't feasible. I'm more disappointed that they didn't do much about sharpening up the pre-rendered backgrounds more. I think they also changed some stuff in Squall's model to match his more modern counterparts (ie his shirt & necklace), which I'd prefer they left to match the original art/design not to match Dissidia or whatever that costume is.

Final Fantasy VIII is in my top tier of games along with Ocarina and Shenmue. All things considered, I'm just glad Square Enix acknowledged that the game still exists.

Edit: For the sake of being clear, I'm also fine with S.E. adding a stretched and/or cropped 16:9 for those who want it. I just certainly don't want to use that option myself. And I also understand why it'd be basically impossible to make it true 16:9. I do share the opinion of "The Night Sky Prince" on YouTube that if PC modders can manage to use predictive upscaling for the backgrounds and make them look pretty good...it seems like S.E. could implement something similar to get the textures and backgrounds looking better...but, again...I'm glad it's getting any amount of attention and updating.
 
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