Final Fantasy VIII version differences

The following is a list of version differences between releases of Final Fantasy VIII.

Japan
The original version of Final Fantasy VIII was released in Japan on February 11, 1999.

North America and Europe
The western versions of the game released later after the Japanese version underwent a number of changes:
 * By default, the English version of the game uses to confirm,  to cancel,  to enter the menu. The Japanese version uses  to confirm,  to cancel, and  to enter the menu.
 * Tutorials show up automatically in the game's storyline.
 * If the player attempts to leave Balamb Garden the first time without having obtained Quezacotl and Shiva from the Study Panel, Quistis will give them to the player. In the original version, the player can leave the Garden without any Guardian Forces.
 * At the Fire Cavern in the Japanese version, the player has to defeat Ifrit and return to the entrance before time runs out. In the English versions, the player just needs to defeat Ifrit to stop the timer.
 * Zell's favorite food has been changed from flavored bread to hot dogs.
 * The weapon Selphie wields is called nunchaku in the NTSC versions and "shinobou" in the PAL version.
 * Some Guardian Forces can be obtained in Ultimecia Castle if the player missed them. This is not possible in the Japanese version.
 * Torama, Iron Giant, Elnoyle and Behemoth have different HP formulas.
 * Depictions of blood and gore were toned down:
 * In the original Japanese version, the boss Gerogero's organs were red. The change to blue for the localized versions was probably made because the red makes the organs protruding from the creature look far more real.
 * The Ultimecia Castle's armory has red blood on the wall in the Japanese version, but in the localized versions it has turned green.

Greatest Hits version

 * The first sentence of Bahamut's Scan description in the English language release had a spelling mistake, reading "Called the King of GF; its Mega Flare ignores all defense, giving a powerful blo". In the PlayStation Greatest Hits (Platinum) release this error is corrected so that the first line ends with simply "ignores all defense".

Microsoft Windows
The PC versions were released in 2000 with minor changes:
 * Chocobo World bonus game can be played on Windows instead of PocketStation.
 * Siren's Tool-RF can refine 1 Dark Matter from 100 Curse Spikes at any time instead of having to get Siren to level 100.
 * Omega Weapon scales around the party levels instead of always being level 100.
 * The music was mixed down to MIDI quality to compensate for the sound hardware available at the time.

Steam
The Steam version released in 2013, and is an upscaled version of the original PC version, with a number of changes:
 * Windows XP/Vista/7/8 and newer are now supported.
 * Screen resolutions are supported up to 1920x1080.
 * Window mode is available.
 * Background music has been optimized into OGG format, although it's still the MIDI tracks of the original Windows release.
 * 45 Achievements are added to the game.
 * A Cloud saving feature allows files to be saved to the internet and synced to the web. This does not replace local saves.
 * A launcher is implemented that serves as a main menu before accessing the game. Here settings can be changed and data not stored in save files viewed (such as achievements).
 * Controls can be set from the launcher as well as in-game. The ability to change controls from the launcher means minigames and menus that use different control setups will still function with the user's chosen controls.
 * A Magic Booster feature is added.

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
An enhanced remaster of Final Fantasy VIII will be released on September 3rd, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam in celebration of the game's 20th anniversary, featuring a number of major changes whilst incorporating a number of features that were absent in the 2013 Steam version:
 * Character models have been completely remade with updated visuals, replacing the original jagged models. Added graphical improvements include new hairstyles, faces and additional animations to accessories. In particular, Squall and Rinoa resemble their most recent appearance in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. However during the dream sequence between Laguna, Kiros and Ward, Laguna's appearance resemble his main appearance in Dissidia 012
 * Weapons also have been visually updated and have more depth; for example, the barrel on Squall's Revolver gunblade is fully rendered in 3D as opposed to the original version where all gunblades were flat.
 * Updated animation effects in spells and command actions.
 * Updated and rescaled backgrounds.
 * Updated font designs for texts.
 * Triple Triad cards have updated appearances featuring new in-game renders of enemies and GF. Level 10 Cards retain their illustrated designs.
 * Improved anti-aliasing.
 * The music is of the original PlayStation version quality.
 * The full motion videos have been enhanced at 1080p, but still display at a 4:3 ratio.
 * The option to turn off in-game timers during certain events.
 * The option to multiply in-game movement speed by three.
 * The option to turn off random encounters.
 * The option for "Battle Enhancements".
 * Several battle boosters have been added exclusively for the Steam version, including the maximum number of gil, cards, stocked magic etc.
 * The Chocobo World mini-game has been removed. The exclusive items, however, can still be obtained via Angelo Search, with the probability to obtain the items made higher and thus easier to acquire.