Final Fantasy fans will soon be able to bolster their physical library of games on Switch – with Square Enix announcing it is releasing a two-in-one hard copy later this year within Asia.
It includes Final Fantasy VII and the more recent Switch eShop release Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.
Both games will contain English and Japanese language support. Here is the announcement along with the official box art from the Square Enix Asia Facebook page:
For Asia, ‘FINAL FANTASY VII’ and ‘FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered’ are coming to Nintendo Switch in one physical package!
For now, this twin pack appears to be an Asia-only release. Other details such as pricing have not yet been revealed.
This announcement follows on from the news in August when Square Enix's Japanese website and Play Asia reportedly confirmed VIII Remastered would be a digital-only release.
Is this the physical pack you've been waiting for? Leave a comment below.
[source facebook.com]
Comments 86
I'm a simple man... I read the title, I put $60 in savings.
@Xombie13 you could play the games right now instead of waiting to play with a little plastic cartridge and case.
I already have VII on Steam, but I don't have VIII Remastered (or just VIII period), so I'll probably get this.
Moral of this story and many others like it: wait 6-12 months before buying a game digitally on the Switch, because there's a good chance they'll release it physical later on.
A bummer for those who bought it already, but wanted physical, but atleast it's nice that it exists. Might pick this up if it comes to Europe, always wanted to play FF8 ^_^
Here you go @Anti-Matter, one (or two) more for the physical Switch collection!
Yes, finally Final Fantasy VII is coming to cartridge where it was originally suppose to be. Hopefully this sell well enough so we get a physical release of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for Switch too.
This is the last time I buy a digital game.
That's what I was waiting for. They're stupid not to have done it before and worldwide. It's Final Fantasy, for God's sake.
Why not add IX to the collection at that point? Having only two of the PS1 FF trio just feels wrong since they each bring a different flavour of FF. FF7 is a modernised version of the classic system, FF8 is an experimental detour and FF9 is the classic gameplay through and through. I don’t want to sound like a spoiled sport but it just seems strange.
And they said it would and could NEVER be put on a Cartridge but Behold Nintendo Haters the supposedly impossible exists...where dem' haters at ?probably with the "Nintendo is doomed..." crowd in some Cave using PS Vitas and Dreamcasts as a source of warmth
FF7 on a cartridge. Never thought id see the day.
Sonuva goddangit. I just bought VII last week digitally on the Japanese sale I wish they would announce these things sooner. It's not like this is an indie title that needs to prove itself first.
@Bass_X0 yeah I know. Limited on storage space though 😕
@Tyranexx
WHAAAT...?!
Yo, thank you so much for the information !
Honestly, they should've just had FF7 be the one get the physical treatment on Switch since the history of the game was pretty crazy, even nowadays.
Planned for a Nintendo system originally, then Sony jumped in with their original PlayStation and we all know the rest.
Nice, I wonder if there will be a 3 GB mandatory download? I doubt it, I just had to poke companies for going cheap on cartridge size.
Also, I really wish they'd release the earlier Final Fantasy games on Switch.
It's going to be cost way more than it's worth, especially importing to Australia with our tax. Maybe if they added IX it'd be slightly more appealing but if I ever decide to get the games I'll probably just wait for a good eShop sale and get them for less than half as much.
I never played a Final Fantasy game but I would be willing to buy this collection and give it a shot if I don't have to import and all that...
Make it easy for me and release it physically here in the U.S. please.
If it was all of them FF games with fancy artwork and some collectables I'd do it...
Ah well, I already got VII digital. I'll roll digital for VIII. I normally buy physical when possible, but this is the only time it's happened to me. I still enjoy having a collection of quality games without having to keep some cartridges on me.
I am actually kind of tempted by this.
Remember when these games were on like, 4 CDs each? Or something like that. Times have changed!
If it was 8 and 9, sure! I'm not planning on getting 7 with the remake only coming out a few months after this physical. As it is I still have Ni No Kuni and Lost Sphear ti get through until I get 9 or 8, anyway.
TBH, I don't like FF7, so this "two games on one cartridge" deal is kinda tarnished.
Totally getting this. Also have to get ni no kuni, and 2 when it comes and I bet it will, and dragon quest xi s, and dragon quest 123 Asian version with English language, and Banner Saga trilogy on cart...
And my wife thinks I'm saving for a camper trailer...
@LoveEmpath you leave my Dreamcast cave alone 😉
Yep... really want this.
@Anti-Matter No prob! Happy to help a fellow physical media fan out! ^_^ Though we both have Liam to thank for the article. 👍
If it doesn't come to the West, I will import. Imported the Asian version of X/X-2 from Play Asia, as the western release just contained X on the cart, while X-2 was a download code.
Edit: @Liam_Doolan Will you update the article when this version will be up for pre-ordering?
Super unexpected, congrats to all the collectors.
Slowly catching on to this tactic: release digital, report that there are no plans for physical release. People buy on release. Months later, release physical edition, make double money.
I see you.
Why did they say Final Fantasy 8 will be digital only if they plan to release it physically?
The game too big for cartridges goes to disc and now to cartridge. Pretty cool for those holding out for a digital release to last the ages. Having purchased VII digitally, I'm interested for sure.
@Don Seems they meant to say "Digital only (at launch, wait a month and we'll announce a limited physical release)". In reality this was probably a last minute decision by Square Enix following fan demand for a physical release.
@Don That last sentence was a reference to the news before this where before Final Fantasy VIII Remastered was released, retail shop had already listed FFVIII as a physical release but then Square Enix later corrected the mistake and saying FFVIII Remastered will be a digital only release shooting down any possibility of a physical release for the game and now this happen. Both FFVII and FFVIII are getting physical again. I think Square Enix is just testing these to see if they would sell better on the retail space, they probably may release a physical copy of FFIX later down the road if these does well. Either that or the Collection of Mana did so well that they decided it's best to just get these in physical form to get more money. If these sell well I hope they go talk some senses into Gungho and get the Grandia HD Collection a physical release as well.
Nice, will get this.
Looking at eShop filesizes for these: FF7: 3.8GB // FF8: 2.6GB // FF9: 5.0GB
Apparently due to a difference in how the carts measure GB vs usual GB, an 8GB cart holds 7.4GB, so it seems 8+9 barely wouldn't fit on a 8GB.
Also, while there is a Asia-region eShop now, for some reason it only has FF7 and 8, no 9.
So I wonder if there's some reason they're not releasing 9 in Asia.
Well I got FF7, but not yet FF8...Well better buy this instead of waiting for a sale on FF8
@Heavyarms55 the good ol days..
Day one for me!!
Great news for the fans. I'm happy for you guys.
I don't understand why some are so bitter and begrudge others of being able to own a tangible copy of their games.
@Heavyarms55 : I remember borrowing a copy of DOOM II that was supplied on five floppies. The compression was pretty damn impressive at the time considering that the game itself was around 16MB.
FF9 is standing in the background looking all "Hey, what about me?"
Pumped!!!! I always wanted this since the beginning!!
This really should be a trilogy cart with FF IX included. If Witcher 3 with ALL DLC can fit it all without a download... C'mon Square. Quit holding out on us.
Perhaps a worldwide release with all 3 on a cart with no download will come. Till then, this is a great step in the right direction!!
Bit of stretch to call it a Twin Pack... Cloud and Squall are not even related, let alone twins.
@Bass_X0 or hear me out bruh, alot of us like to physically own it. no need to rush for a digital title out of your control
I want this, but why do I have a nagging feeling that only one of them is going to be on the cartridge
And twiiiiiiiins
@Bunkerneath its not, youll only have to look at the page itself i got both 10 and 10-2 on a single cart from play asia myself
Yes!!!! One request, please give us plain white covers, a la the 90s. They were so classy compared to the busy ones SE uses these days.
This article is really helpful.... Thank you so much..
Would've preferred 8 and 9, I don't like 7.
Cya
Raziel-chan
@tamantayoshi And here I thought the game was released on PS1 because it couldn’t fit on a cart
The cover is just ugly and why not include FFIX too?
For the cover art, just a white backround with the game logos would have been much better. Maybe simplify it just by saying Final Fantasy on the front and then the numbered game logos on the back. And then put all the other graphics on the backside so it would show on the inside of the case.
I'm very interested in this even for just FF VII alone, but I have to ask if the Switch version of FF VII is worth playing or not.
Did they ever fix the issues with background music not resuming after battle?
Disappointed that they didn't add IX to this. A trilogy set of the PS1-era FF games (the mainline ones, sorry FF Tactics) would have been perfect to own on one cartridge.
Oh well, I do have IX on the Switch anyway and will be getting this twin pack.
Dang it. Of course.
...Of course, I got suckered. Well played Squeenix.
"Final Fantasy VII" ...yay!
"...and Final Fantasy VIII" ... aww...
@RupeeClock Yes. Square Enix released a patch a month or so later that corrected that issue. I believe the issue in IX was corrected also.
@retro_player_22 Except that War of the Lions is a perfect example of how not to do a remake/remaster.
Why not just go all in and include 9? All the PS1 final fantasy games on one cartridge is a pretty good deal.
If only they weren't already downloaded on my Switch...
Why isn't it VII, VIII, IX???
Late 1990s: over 20 cartridges needed for FFVII.
Late 2010s: 1 "cartridge" needed for FFVII AND FFVIII.
Don't feel down, optical media, you shone for a long time.
Never coming to the west!
Of course I read this just a few days after I get VII and VIII
Asia only..... Ugh. Whyyyy?!
This and the Dragon Quest trilogy will be the first titles I import. I can't resist having a physical copy of these classics. I just hope all the patches are included on the cart.
Though it hasn't been confirmed for physical in the west, all I can say is my backlog has saved me from unnecessary digital purchases before. I'll continue to let FFVII and VIII sit till either they're physical, I clear enough backlog, or get a hard sale I can't pass up.
This is a truly momentous occasion guys.
Let this sink in. Final Fantasy VII is finally releasing on a cartridge on a Nintendo platform (and not just as a console game, but a handheld one as well).
@NEStalgia
??
Because Asia doesn’t do downloads. It’s why we got Final Fantasy X/X-2 all on one cart there, Dragon Quest 1-3 all on a cart there, and now Final Fantasy. Just be grateful that we have region free now (I haven’t forgotten the Wii U and 3DS era, every time a retail game would release in another region people would complain that they couldn’t import it, and rightfully so).
We now have region free, and we have games getting released on cart with English that we can now obtain if we so desire. Be happy! There’s always going to be releases like this over in Asia in Japan that we never get. But it shouldn’t be something to complain over, it should be something to celebrate. Thank God for region free and the sensibility of Square Enix to include English on the cart.
@Quarth preorders are open now
@JaxonH "Asia doesn't do downloads" Allow me to despise the population of the West for a moment for caving to corporations where even ASIA(!) didn't follow as told.... I mean how upside down is that?
I'm glad about region free of course. But as long as all we have is signature required exporters it's still an obnoxious "problem" to deal with if that doesn't work out well. I went out of my way to avoid signatures for the Switch(s) themselves let alone a reprint of a mid-90's game. Sometimes scalpers get them through Amazon and it works out.
Oddly my last Play Asia package ended up not needing the sig....but I take that as getting lucky.
@adh56 Thanks! Play Asia?
@Quarth yeah, sorry I thought that was mentioned up in the article
https://www.play-asia.com/final-fantasy-vii-final-fantasy-viii-remastered-twin-pack-multi/13/70cs9p?tagid=1248773
@NEStalgia
https://www.play-asia.com/blog/2017/12/14/video-game-localisation-asia-english/
I’m never home for signatures, ever, and I import at least three different things a month from Play-Asia. All you have to do is go to the website listed on the brown slip they leave and check the box that says you authorize them to leave it on your porch or wherever you want.
You never have to sign for any package the rest of your entire life if you don’t want to. This is been a feature of the post office for years now.
@Bass_X0 "stop liking things I dont like waaaah"
@JaxonH That's....interesting....I wonder if it's region specific or something? USPS forms they leave (usually a pink or yellow card) used to have an option to sign it, leave it in the mailbox, and then they'd bring it back 2 days later (one to retrieve the card, one to bring back the item.)
But about a year or so ago they redesigned their forms and even removed that option so you have to be there no matter what (or go pick it up.) I've never received a brown paper from them, and it's never had a website to go to on it. That sounds really different from anything I've seen.
FedEx and UPS have waiver forms, but that only applies if the driver doesn't deliver it because they feel it is risky there. If the shipper requires signatures, they won't release it unless you're there.
I love how things have essentially come full circle here with the obvious, "VII is on a cartridge" but I do wish IX was also included so we could have all 3 of the PS1 main series games similar to the upcoming physical release of the NES Dragon Quest games next week
Also, I personally wouldve preferred the box art to be the simple white background with the VII and VIII logo and some minimal text on the box indicating how it's a bundle, especially since it's Asian exclusive and the trend they have there with the gorgeous white boxes with the beautiful logos for each game prior to XV.
@Xombie13 If that double pack is $60, I will be picking them up digitally.
I do wish that they would add back the analog control and vibration from the PS1/PSN version of FF8. The PS1/PSN version also has a helpful tutorial screen showing the game controls, but that is missing from the Switch version. And I hope they can fix the music, which sounds a bit muddy and off-pitch on the Switch version.
I realized something interesting which is "Final Fantasy VIII Remastered" doesn't include "HD" as in the "HD Remaster" versions of other games, which seems fair given that it's mainly the character and monster models and UI that has been upgraded (though Squall does look a bit different now that his face texture has more than 20 pixels.)
IX and Tactics would be nice. And as much as I like Crisis Core as a PSP exclusive it is another obvious choice.
It looks like I will be holding off on these to see if there will be a physical release in the states.
Cool, might pick it up.
Niiiice, I was intrigued by the FF8 remaster but I already bought FF7 for ps4, ps3 and vita but to have both FF7 and FF8 on a physical release on console outside of the ps1 I'm totally sold on that.
They should have done a “trilogy” with the PS1 classics.
Now people can stop complaining.
Yeah like that'll ever happen right?
@FLEEBS What War of the Lions was a great port of the original.
@retro_player_22 There are three things which turn me off to War of the Lions. First off, they unnecessarily changed the spelling of certain characters and locations within the game. Why? It makes no sense, and ruins much of the nostalgic effect playing an older title has. Second, they changed the names of many abilities and spells. Again, why? There was absolutely no reason to change names like this, and it was confusing when searching for a particular ability/spell, not to mention ruining nostalgic effect. But the thing that bugs me the most is the downgraded music and sound effects. Final Fantasy Tactics has one of the best soundtracks in gaming, and I was excited to hear the soundtrack again for War of the Lions. I don't know exactly what they did, maybe they compressed the audio so they could fit the FMV scenes into the game, but I felt it was a terrible choice to change the audio. Many sound effects also don't sound right. I never looked into exactly why these changes were made, but they are puzzling and annoying, to say the least. All of them mess with nostalgia, and as a result, I couldn't stand continuing to play the game. If they were able to fix all of my concerns, I would love to play War of the Lions again, but I feel about 99.9999% certain everything will stay as it was as in the PSP release.
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