Final Fantasy VIII vs Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Final Fantasy VIII is a JRPG open-world game from Square (1999) while Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is an open-world RPG game (2003).
What each one is
Steam files Final Fantasy VIII under JRPG and Open-World. In contrast, it files Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic under Open-World and RPG.
It is a time of war. Galbadia, a Global Superpower, has declared war on Dollet, a country whose training academy is home to two personalities: the hot-headed Seifer and the 'lone wolf', Squall Leonhart. Both are equally at conflict with each other as their country is with Galbadia; to others, Squall appears lacking in team spirit, while...
It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. You are the last hope of the Jedi Order. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side?
At a glance
| Final Fantasy VIII | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.5/10 | 7.8/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 9,497) | Very Positive (91%, 33,918) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | No aggregate |
| Price | $11.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | 4 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 1999 | 2003 |
| Developer | Square | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Final Fantasy VIII vs Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Final Fantasy VIIIJRPG open-world gameStar Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicOpen-world RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Final Fantasy VIIIJRPG, RPG, ClassicStar Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicRPG, Sci-fi, Story RichThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Final Fantasy VIIIScore 7.5 · 88% on SteamStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ✓Score 7.8 · 91% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Final Fantasy VIII9,497 reviews · 4 GBStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic33,918 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Final Fantasy VIII$11.99Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ✓$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VIIIPlayableStar Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFinal Fantasy VIII and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (GamingPickz Score 7.8)
- The cheaper right now: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ($9.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (33,918 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGClassicSingleplayerGreat SoundtrackTurn-BasedStory RichFantasySci-fi
Where they differ
JRPGCard GameRetroNostalgiaRomance1990's
Party-Based RPGReal-Time with PauseChoices MatterThird PersonSpaceExploration
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Final Fantasy VIII is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Final Fantasy VIII | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | DirectX 9.0c compatible card | 32 MB with Hardware T&L |
| Minimum CPU | 1Core CPU 2GHz | Intel Pentium 3 1Ghz |
| Minimum RAM | 1 GB | — |
| Install size | 4 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Final Fantasy VIII · Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 2 accessibility features for Final Fantasy VIII and 0 for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Final Fantasy VIII and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in scope?
Final Fantasy VIII has drawn 9,497 Steam reviews and installs in 4 GB. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has drawn 33,918 Steam reviews.
Is Final Fantasy VIII or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic rates higher (7.8 to 7.5). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Final Fantasy VIII or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic?
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $11.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.