Description

Squall Leonhart is a young man, who is in training to become of member of SeeD - a mercenary organization, the dream of all the young students in Balamb Garden. Squall is not a particularly friendly guy and has troubles with his fellow students and teachers. Currently, two countries are at war with each other; to complete his training as a mercenary, Squall and three other students are sent on a mission to aid one of those countries against the other. In the process they discover that there are some other characters pulling the strings from behind the scene, and get involved in a mystery that sheds a whole new light on their lives and ideals.

"Final Fantasy VIII" is set in a "retro" environment reminiscent of the 1960-ies, with supernatural elements mixed in. It introduces many gameplay changes compared to the previous installments of the series. You don't get money from random enemies, but instead have to earn it during your missions as a SeeD. You can customize your characters by equipping them with magic spells, which you can draw from enemies in battles. You can also cast those spells the same way you would use an item, since you don't have MP in the game. The trademark summoned monsters (called Guardian Forces in this game) play a very important role in the customization process. You can "junction" them to your characters and learn various abilities from them. They can also be summoned in battles.

Alternate Titles

  • "最终幻想8 " -- Chinese Title (Simplified)
  • "太空戰士 8" -- Chinese Title (Tradition)
  • "Финальная Фантазия 8" -- Russian Spelling
  • "Zui Zhong Huanxiang 8" -- Chinese Title
  • "Finalnaja Fantazija 8" -- Russian Title
  • "FFVIII" -- Informal Name
  • "FF8" -- informal title

Part of the Following Groups


Merchant Title Platform Price  
Amazon
Final Fantasy 8 Windows    
Final Fantasy VIII PlayStation $9.49  
ebay.com
Final Fantasy VIII    
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User Reviews

It's a love/hate relationship. PlayStation NatsFan (117)
Pure creative genius of Squaresoft. Pure uncreative whining of gamers PlayStation Unicorn B. Lynx Bronze Star Contributing Member (60141)
The fantasy to start with and it didn't disappoint PlayStation Mike Wazoski (8)
Like any true work of art...It only gets better with age. PlayStation Edward Beezy (38)
4 discs of pure fantasy PlayStation Kartanym Bronze Star Contributing Member (9910)
Possibly the most underrated game ever PlayStation Sam Tinianow (102)
Final Fantasy VIII is one of the best games I have ever seen PlayStation Fading3 (21)
Worst RPG I've ever played when I played it the first 4 times. Best RPG I've ever played after the 5th try... PlayStation Indra Depari of 'da Clan Depari Bronze Star Contributing Member (13163)
Final Fantasy meets Dawson's Creek with 112471389 hours of non-interactive videos! DUCK AND COVER!!! PlayStation Zovni (9141)
J-RPG's have a place in the PC platform Windows John Franco (161)

The Press Says

PSX Extreme PlayStation Sep 08, 1999 10 out of 10 100
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) PlayStation Oct, 1999 5 Stars5 Stars5 Stars5 Stars5 Stars 100
AllRPG PlayStation 2002 9.5 out of 10 95
Armchair Empire, The PlayStation Sep 01, 1999 9.5 out of 10 95
Svenska PC Gamer Windows Feb, 2000 92 out of 100 92
GameStar (Germany) Windows Feb, 2000 85 out of 100 85
PC Games (Germany) Windows Mar 07, 2001 84 out of 100 84
incite PC Gaming Windows Apr, 2000 4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars 80
PC Gameplay (Benelux) Windows Mar, 2000 76 out of 100 76
Thunderbolt Games PlayStation Nov 03, 2007 7 out of 10 70

Forums

Topic # Posts Last Post
OMG!!! TEH DEVIL!!! 16 Unicorn B. Lynx Bronze Star Contributing Member (60141)
Jul 23, 2007

Trivia

When the game came out, the #1 complaint everyone had was that there was no way of skipping the summoning animations - which were essential for making it through the early stages of the game. The creators claimed this was entirely intentional, and that it was somehow vital to the plot that the players be forced to sit through the same minute-long animations hundreds of times. They never changed it in FFVIII (even the later PC adaptation) but oddly, all subsequent Final Fantasies with summonings include the option to shorten the animation...


This entry was contributed by Grant McLellan (555) and Matthew Bailey (1169)
 

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