Review Insights · App Store
FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered
SQUARE ENIX · 385 ratings · ★ 3.6
3.6
★★★★★
385 ratings
🎯 Build a better version
Top complaints - extracted from 66 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
36 negative reviews mention this · 55% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Opening Cut Scenes Lag and Stall. Super bummed to open this on the latest iOS in 2026 for this game to not even be playable." - Big Taste
2
"screen"
20 negative reviews mention this · 30% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Lazy port. Why is this not full screen support or at the very least make it cover 70 percent of the screen it cover a third of the screen that is unacceptable" - Hgjknb
3
"black"
14 negative reviews mention this · 21% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Game doesn’t bootup. I’ve been having issues getting this game to work on my iphone xr. Once i get past the main menu, the game doesn’t start. It’s just stuck in a black screen. Wish the developers would send out an update to fix this problem." - Frank da tank1510
4
"iphone"
13 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t load. Not sure what’s happening. iPhone 13 and phones updated but it won’t get past first loading screen." - Blankchicjen
5
"load"
11 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great but….. Card game never loads,tried many saves" - Tim moody $$$
6
"play"
11 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Opening Cut Scenes Lag and Stall. Super bummed to open this on the latest iOS in 2026 for this game to not even be playable." - Big Taste
7
"working"
11 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Simply will not launch. I have multiple devices - and the game will not launch on any of them. Tried contacting support, but they are worse than useless. They ask a question….i answer. They ask another….i answer. They ask another (all over messaging, so days g…" - rebitzman
8
"doesn"
11 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Game doesn’t bootup. I’ve been having issues getting this game to work on my iphone xr. Once i get past the main menu, the game doesn’t start. It’s just stuck in a black screen. Wish the developers would send out an update to fix this problem." - Frank da tank1510
9
"update"
10 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Final fantasy. After the last update game won’t open and when it does it will stop every second and will kick you out of the game" - dark6151
10
"past"
10 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Won’t even open past the opening screen" - GrL Pony
11
"work"
10 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No longer works.. Buttons stick, and crashes, all before leaving the main menu." - JeffM9999
12
"black screen"
10 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Game doesn’t bootup. I’ve been having issues getting this game to work on my iphone xr. Once i get past the main menu, the game doesn’t start. It’s just stuck in a black screen. Wish the developers would send out an update to fix this problem." - Frank da tank1510
📋 All 66 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Opening Cut Scenes Lag and Stall
Super bummed to open this on the latest iOS in 2026 for this game to not even be playable.
Final fantasy
After the last update game won’t open and when it does it will stop every second and will kick you out of the game
Unplayable Mess
The game stutters nonstop. Don’t waste your money on this.
SOUND
No sound asking for refund
Game won’t run
Got a 2020 ipad. Either won’t run or lags and breaks. Please fix.
No longer works.
Buttons stick, and crashes, all before leaving the main menu.
Literally unplayable
I want my money back. This piece of trash is unplayable, controls don’t move or respond. This is my fave FF game, and this hurts how bad it is. I couldn’t even get through the intro.
Lazy port
Why is this not full screen support or at the very least make it cover 70 percent of the screen it cover a third of the screen that is unacceptable
Scam
Won’t even open past the opening screen
Won’t load
Not sure what’s happening. iPhone 13 and phones updated but it won’t get past first loading screen.
No sound
No sound on iPhone 14 Pro Max running 17.4.1
Simply will not launch
I have multiple devices - and the game will not launch on any of them. Tried contacting support, but they are worse than useless. They ask a question….i answer. They ask another….i answer. They ask another (all over messaging, so days go by between communications)……
Extra sad given that I play several games from these folks without issues. This one - and the team working on it - absolutely the worst.
Extra sad given that I play several games from these folks without issues. This one - and the team working on it - absolutely the worst.
Here for the vibes
Honestly the gameplay is trash, but the music and aesthetics are worth it. Gorgeous game.
My scratched ps1 disks work better.
If you have a phone with recent technology, you can’t play it.
Are you gonna fix it?
Reinstalled multiple times but game won’t go past square Enix
Update: still not working.
Update: still not working.
Game doesn’t bootup
I’ve been having issues getting this game to work on my iphone xr. Once i get past the main menu, the game doesn’t start. It’s just stuck in a black screen. Wish the developers would send out an update to fix this problem.
You can only play it offline…
To everyone having a problem playing this title - the issue appears to be with the cloud save server. The game tries to connect to it and then fails. And it doesn’t take failing to connect to the server gracefully. You do not need to enable airplane mode to play this game, unlike what other reviewers have said. Instead you just need to disable Internet access. So you can still use bluetooth controllers if you want!
More than likely it is a server certificate or network protocol issue that cropped up with the 17.2 update. I am certain that all Sony needs to do is push a small update for the app, or possibly even just upgrade the server.
More than likely it is a server certificate or network protocol issue that cropped up with the 17.2 update. I am certain that all Sony needs to do is push a small update for the app, or possibly even just upgrade the server.
doesn’t work. dont buy. lol
welp…. why is this even in the app store.
UNPLAYABLE
Please please update this app or fix the bugs. Can’t get past the start title screen. As soon as it opens I get a black screen. This happens regardless if I’m connected to WiFi or have background apps on. Guessing that iOS updates just broke this game. Extremely sad, because I love this game. Very unhappy with this……
Broken
The game does not work properly on my iPad Pro. Everything is substantially slower (like it's in slow motion), sound doesn't work, controller support no longer works. I really hoped to keep playing until the end, I hope it gets resolved.
Why can’t I play it?
Game opens, but the screen just stays black. Tried reinstalling several times, also tried running in “airplane mode” nothing has worked. Please fix.
Love the game when it actually works.
iPhone 15
IOS 17.3
The game was working but now it won’t load beyond the initial loading screen. When you tap to start it goes straight to black.
IOS 17.3
The game was working but now it won’t load beyond the initial loading screen. When you tap to start it goes straight to black.
PLEASE FIX!!
I have an IPhone 15 Pro Max and the app doesn’t work anymore. It has a hard time loading and when it does, it lags a lot! (Like less than a frame per second) It worked fine on the IPhone 12 Pro Max, but haven’t been able to play it since.
Not working at all
Need my refund or fix this
Game won’t start
Game won’t start. Common square. Be better than this.
iPhone 15 pro max
iPhone 15 pro max
Not functioning correctly
Game is taking awhile to load… lagging to no sound, and game freezes before beginning cutscene can begin…
i absolutely love this game but it is unplayable and lost my save :(((
I seriously enjoyed this game but for some reason the game itself won’t load- it’s making me depressed because i relied on this game to keep my mental health in check- PLEASE PLEASE fix this i want to play it again
Won’t load
Downloaded the game and played it just fine. The next day it won’t load or the fps is so bad the game is unplayable. I submitted a message to square, I’m hoping for a fix soon.
Unplayable DO NOT BUY!!!!
Beware. This game is unplayable. Stutters and freezes within one minute of opening the app. I wish I could get away with charging $20 for nothing.
Can’t get pass title screen
One of the best sequels in the series. But app won’t load correctly I am just getting a black screen on iPhone 15 pro. I want my money back.
Game does not work
I just purchased the game, installed, and went to play but unfortunately the screen goes black and doesn’t load anything after the Square Enix logo fades. Is there any fix to this? I’d be happy to change my review if so.
Do not buy in 2024
Just picked this up for 10 bucks on sale and the game crashes constantly and does not run. I can’t get past the intro video.
$10 game and does not work
Title says it. I need a refund please
Games not working
Getting stuck on a black screen, please fix!!
Doesn’t boot anymore
Black screen….also doesn’t allow the use of most VPNs
Won’t work
I was excited to play this game with my Backbone controller but it won’t load past the start up screen. I submitted a report to Apple a couple of months ago but it still doesn’t work. Please fix this game so I can get my $20 worth from it!
Not Loading After Title Screen
iPad Pro IOS 17.2 will not load past title screen. Big Square Enix fan but might as well have flushed my money down the toilet. Same outcome.
Doesn’t load past squaresoft screen
Game doesn’t load
Black screen
Can’t play it goes to a black screen.
Not working
Final Fantasy VIII is not working on iPhone 15pro max.
:( 17.2 does not work
Game does not run on 17.2
Broken on 17.2
Game loads to a black screen and stays frozen.
Please fix - not running anymore
Was working fine but now broken with last iOS update.
Otherwise it’s a great game if it runs.
Otherwise it’s a great game if it runs.
Says it Works but not really
It says it works in my phone, but no mater what I do it won’t go past the press start screen. Just goes to a black screen.
It works…
The game was working great prior to IOS 17.2 but apparently if you put your iPad in airplane mode it works….please push an update out and fix the game
IOS 17.2 NOT WORKING
Using an iPhone 15 pro max at iOS 17.2 the game freezes and is unplayable. So I downloaded the game on my 2018 iPad Pro running iOS 17.0 and it was working fairly perfectly until I updated my IPad Pro to 17.2 right after and the game became completely unplayable as it was on my iPhone.
Black screen
It’s just a black screen. It won’t launch.
Painfully Slow
The game itself, is one of my all time favorites from the series. This particular iteration is a complete let down as it only plays at half speed on my phone, even with the 3x speed activated. Save your money and get the game on PC, or on console.
Save Data lost??
Lost My saves!!! Find something else to spend your money on
Sound is not working
The sound is not working.
+ 16 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
62%
Positive (4-5★)
8%
Neutral (3★)
30%
Negative (1-2★)