Final Fantasy VIII

The Good
The CGI animation was wonderful. The opening cinematic was my favorite (Squall vs. Seifer). There was interesting missions and battles and it made you have to think on your feet when you play. The weapons look very cool and the musical score is nice and calm when it has to be and terrifying when you enter a terrifying place.

The Bad
The Card Game. It was a little confusing. Plus the numerous side quests. Too many. And the GF attacks. You summon the GF and they only do 1 attack, that's it! The graphics looks like one big noodle you could unwind until it was gone. The characters at least, especially Squall.

The Bottom Line
Play it but don't play it too long.

The Good
First off...anyone who watches the intro to this game will be hooked.

The combination of the groundbreaking (for 1999) cgi effects and Nobuo Uematsu's intense score creates a cinematic experience that was unmatched in it's day. Even today, with 6 years of hardware and software evolution, few games can match the passion, excitement and mystery inherent in the INTRO of this game.

When the game actually begins, you are thrust into the role of Squall Lionhart, one of the most complex characters ever to appear in a video game. Squall is training to become a mercenary at an elite academy, and the story is centered on him and the group of soldiers that he leads. Squall is a pretty deep guy, with the type of complex personality that is more common in novels than in video games. On the surface he is a pretty uncaring dude, but as the game progresses you find out that most of his affect is due to a pretty crummy childhood (i.e. the boy has some abandonment issues to say the least.)

In fact the characterization inherent in this game is actually, for me, one of the best features of this game. Unlike FF-7 (or 5, or 3, or 1...what is it with these odd numbered FF games....) the characters in this game have real motivations, fears, etc. they are not interchangeable cardboard cut-outs. To put it simply, each character in the game has a reason to be the way they are, and the game delves into each character's psyche enough to make them all three dimensional characters. This is truly a character driven game, which is a bit of a departure from games like FF-7.

Another great feature of this game is the Junction system. This tends to be a "love it or leave it" feature of the game, and as a veteran of EVERY Final Fantasy game (except XI) I would have to say it lives up the expectations of fans of the series. The system if flexible, and powerful, without ever being too munchkin-y. It also tends to be the type of system that is really re-playable, since you can drastically alter stat progression and power levels for your characters when you know how to really use the system. Granted, some people will not like the junction system at first glance (I have a buddy who's a FF fanatic who WILL NOT play this game because of it) but I assure that when you spend some time with it you will find that it is one of the most flexible systems within the FF family of games.

Another feature that I really like is the fact that money is not as important in this game as in most RPGs, and monsters don't drop gil when they die. Money is normally only gained through your paycheck from SEED (the mercenary company your team works for.) Personally I feel that this adds a bit of needed realism to the standard RPG formula, I know that complaining about realism in a game populated with man-eating, magic-using monsters is kinda silly, but it's one of those RPG-isms that tends to bug me. (I mean where do these monsters get all their cash....stealing lunch money from school kids?) Instead, money is only used for things that tend to be "extras", like healing items, and car rentals.

Another great feature of this game is the Triple Triad card game. Your character can play this game against NPCs and build up a collection of rare cards that can be modded into rare items. If you delve into Triple Triad, you will find yourself ahead of the curve quite often in this game, as you will have access to spells and weapons that you would normally have to wait to get.

In closing I would have to say, this is a BIG game, bigger than FF-7. That being said though, it tends to be a bit more quaint than 7 in it's general scale, most of the conflict early in the game revolves around inter-city disputes, as opposed to the constant "save the world" vibe of 7. This scale helps center the story on the characters, as opposed to the world, which makes it all the more identifiable.

The Bad
I'm a pretty big fan of this game, so it's fairly hard for me to find points to criticize, but here goes.

I would have to say that the complexities of the junction system is something that took more than one play through to really learn. As this is about a 40 hour game, playing through once just to learn the ins and outs of the junction system is an investment of time that some people just will not make. While I like the system, I would have to say that more documentation on it from Square would have been nice. Granted, now you can just grab a FAQ and learn it, but still, a couple of extra pages in the manual or a better tutorial would have been nice.

Another feature that I do not really like it the in-game tutorial system. On your first playthrough it's essential, as it explains processes that are not examined in the game manual. On your second and subsequent playthroughs it can be a bit of a time waster, I really think it would have been nice it Square would give you the option of turning the tutorials off.

I guess the last thing I will mention is that, on my first playthrough, the lack of armor and the weapon modification system kinda bothered me. Granted once I learned the system better (i.e. your Strength stat determines how much damage you do with physical attacks; Vitality reduces physical damage like armor) I never had a problem again, but it's worth mentioning.

The Bottom Line
An essential part of the Final Fantasy series of games. If you haven't played it you should.

The Good
In 1999, SquareSoft, released Final Fantasy VIII, perhaps the most controversial incarnation of the series, as for many Final Fantasy fans it was an insult of a game. I know many FF Fans that now hate the series because of FFVIII. I did not pay the game much mind as in 1999, I did not own a PlayStation, I was far to busy playing my new Dreamcast, and my PC. It would not be until several years later until I would play the game. It is a little better than FF7, but not by much.

In FF8, you are Squall Lionheart, a rude little shit. That people are drawn to for some reason. If being antisocial is so cool, how come I am not more popular? Anyhow, you are a student at the SeeD Academy. Where the teach kids to become warriors. Not unlike Harry Potter. The games plot starts off well enough, despite a prick for a protagonist. About 5 hours or so into the game it takes a most displeasing turn. More on that later.

Also good, are the Graphics. The characters of FF8 are large and well detailed. And for the first time in the series do not change appearance in battle. The backgrounds look better than in it’s predecessor. They are more detailed, and more colorful. And often are animated. But the better graphics feel wasted on the often poor character design. Why did Square fire Yoshitaka Amano? His art used to be one of the best things about the franchise.

The Bad
On to the negative portion of my review. The opening video is just plain stupid. When Deckard wannabe, Seifer slashes down at Squall head, he would have taken his head off, not just left a little scar. Furthermore the plot quickly gets sour. Around the time you meet up with Rinoa, the love interest, that Squall seems to have contempt for. At this point you are on a train and assault it. This results in an idiotic mini-game in which you attempt to uncouple the train cars. It is very annoying. And almost resulted in me quitting the game right then and there.

I would like to say that the plot picks up, but it really never does. Often, you run around doing things, for reasons that are unclear. Many weak plot points abound. Such as why would SeeD, send children on a dangerous mission? The fate of the city rests of inexperienced youths? The plot of the two evil sorceress’ is just dumb. There is also what has to be one of the dumbest moments in video game history, when during a battle between two SeeD schools, Squall and Rinoa stop to have a chat when three feet away people are dying. Blood would splatter on Squall’s face and they would continue to chat. Furthermore the dialog is unimportant, and trite. This also almost made me quit playing the game.

The new magic system of FF8, is GF’S. This is one of worst magic systems ever conceived for a game. You equip these GF’S, and can learn skills from them as well as magic. There are no MP points in FF8, instead you must “draw” magic. No not with a pen and pad, but by sucking magic from foes and “draw points”. For instance you draw Fira, 5 times and you can use it 5 times. This makes battles incredibly tedious. And can make even the simplest battles last ten minutes. And considering you are attacked by invisible monsters every 10 seconds you spend about 75% of the game do this crap.

The GF’S also allow you to “junction”. This allows you to increase attack power, HP, etc. This system is flawed at best. For example say that you junction you attack power + 50%. Then you standard attacks even from weaker characters do about 8000-9000 HP damage, when summoning the GF only does about 4000-5000. WTF?

Limit Breaks are back and just as moronic as in FF7. This time to learn them, you must find magazines for a particular PC and have them use it. An interesting idea but a little silly. You have a limit break bar that must fill to be used, this often results in wasted Limit Breaks, and harder boss fights. Some limit breaks are interactive a nice touch, but take a little getting used to.

Also in FF8, you DO NOT WEAR ANY ARMOUR, this is very dumb. And instead of buying new weapons, you upgrade them, this in if it self would not be so bad if you did not have to find the materials, first. What kind of merchant makes you bring them the materials? That as if when you buy a house the carpenters make you bring them the lumber. Also making weapons is sorta like MacGyver, a turtle shell + a rock + a feather = a new sword…huh? Also the weapons are all lame. From “gun blades” to giant nunchaku?

The Graphics, while good, are often ruined by atrocious character. Take a look at Selphie, and Irving, and you will see what I mean. The monster designs are also bad.

The music is horrible. It just plain sucks. None of the music is memorable or often not even fitting the moment. It is God awful. And there is still not voice acting….WTF?

The Bottom Line
Overall, even many Final Fantasy gamers hate this one. But who knows others may like. As many non-FF fans do like the game. But there are so many better PS RPGS, I cannot recommend this one.