Final Fantasy VIII: The Altimate Rewrite

As the title suggests, The Altimate Rewrite by Albert is a retelling of Final Fantasy VIII through a combination of text and edited game screenshots. The work is notable primarily for its Broad Strokes approach to the source material: unlike a standard Novelization or Let's Play, it makes extensive alterations to setting, backstory, characterization, and plotline, with a large amount of original material worked in.

Fan response is strongly divided. Those who like it embrace the many changes as improvements on the original game; those who dislike it find it too removed from the original to the point of being Final Fantasy VIII In Name Only.

As of May 2011, it's reached nearly 200 pages in length and is still ongoing, making it a Long Runner of the fanfic world.


 * Batman Gambit
 * Chessmaster: Cid, to the point where even people who know what he's up to, like Martine and Laguna, are appalled at how good he is at it.
 * Groundhog Day Loop:
 * Hey, You:
 * Mildly Military: Heavily averted.
 * Mind Screw: Your brain will be tied into knots.
 * Schedule Slip: When Albert lost his saves, he decided to grind back up to max stats. This has caused no small delay in between entries.
 * Scrapbook Story: The rewrite is told out through Thay's officer diary (with a few entries from the rest of the party).
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts: Thay and Rinoa.
 * Timey-Wimey Ball
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Mostly averted between Thay and Rinoa. They do have a major falling out on the Ragnarok, however,
 * Wild Mass Guessing: The story has been subject to countless pages worth of speculation on the real identity of  and just what the heck is going on. Fans periodically PM Albert with their guesses, to which he is fairly responsive. The content of these private exchanges has largely been kept secret, and the mystery hasn't been spoiled yet.