Final Fantasy VIII

The Good
Greaaat graphics. As far as eye candy goes, Square pulled everything they could get from the psx. The characters and enviroments now sport great textures, and great animations, not to mention amazingly-blended fmv sequences, which even nowadays hold their own against most other competitors.

Well..... There are some nice gameplay gimmicks like the draw system and whatnot....and...er...There are also great graphics!!! And uhmm.... did I mention the graphics? Oh yeah, the intro is pretty cool (but for those of you that claim it's the best one ever I encourage you to check the SPECTACULAR Privateer 2 intro).

The Bad
It comes with an officially licensed Pop Song and starts with a music video. That pretty much says it all. If you are one of those that get all misty-eyed with a bunch of "epic" images and a thumping classical song then congratulations, FF8 is gonna be for you. If you on the other hand are among the ones with gray matter in the skull then welcome to hell.

To sum it up FF8 is a tough nut to swallow. Why? Crap Gameplay, Crap Story. Historically these have been the two saving graces of videogames, if you can have both you have a golden hit, if you don't, then you just concentrate on having one (Doom, console rpgs, etc.) but FF8 blows on BOTH accounts. Let me explain, as far as gameplay goes: it is a console rpg, so that means that right from the start it's seriously impaired, I'm talking super-linear structure, simple game mechanics, etc... but FF8 introduces a series of features that make things even worse. Let's see, since everyone liked those flashy summon animations on FF7 then the game will be much more entertaining if we concentrate it all on that feature, right? Wrong. The developers decided to focuss the entire fighting gameplay on these summons (now called GFs) by making all enemies extremely powerful and hardwiring fighting skills to these GFs (which you must "junction" to yourself in order to say, cast magic) which point out another problem, you'll find out that your main focuss is to upgrade the GFs, nevermind the characters themselves. Of course, the deductive player will soon find out that due to the over-the-top nature of fights, summoning GFs is the only viable way to win, and here is when we get to the heart of the problem: you have to cast and watch these (lavishly done admitedly) animations oooover and ooover and oooover again. These animations run 3-5 mins each and turn fights into 40 min affairs, add to that that they are straightforward simple fights devoid of any strategic angle and you have a borefest in your hands. You are only required to sit there between animations and select which one to play until the monster you are trying to defeat is dead. To quote an ex-girlfriend of mine: "Are you actually playing this or what?"... I didn't know what to answer her.

Ok, so the gameplay is crap, what about the storyline? Lots of games have been saved from oblivion by the legions of pseudo-intellectual freaks that are content with having nothing more than "interactive books"... well this isn't one of them. For what I dare say is the first time ever, Square has blown it in what regards to the storyline/creative content. For starters there is a major turn to melodrama instead of epic-ness in the story, "hooray!!" says you "no more stereotyped super-heroes that save the world, right?" Wrong again. The move just focuses the stereotypes even more, since the game puts character development and relationships in the front seat. A tricky feat to accomplish right, since you have to have VERY well designed characters. Characters with dark shadowy pasts are usually popular, because they keep everything in shrouds and your imagination fills in those blanks, it's not the most original aproach, but it allows you to easily connect with your character because you essentially turn him into what you want and you don't pay attention to the cliches and stereotypes going on around you. Square had this down to a formula but they decided to forgo it in order to tell the stories between the characters here and now. Bold move, but suddenly we are disconnected from that sense of involvement that we had before and we are told to sit back and watch as the story unfolds by itself. Of course, when we do that we can't help but watch everything we have missed out before. Such as the stupid stereotyping taken to the extreme with the "dark and misterious character" "the anmesia solution to complicated plots", the stupidly incidental plot (you never drive the action, stuff in the game just "happens" around you) the plot holes, etc. Understandably enough, the main plot gets weaker as the characters become more prominent in the spotlight, but the whole thing just comes appart because it doesn't have any good characters to deal with. Every one in the game is supposedly "for real" but in reality they are the lowest forms of the sterotypes that have plaged videogames from the beggining with the added bonuses that they are super-heroes / part-time 20-something models / fashionably cool / and even Rock Stars!! (yeah, I'm not kidding you here).

You have the usual sidekick-like characters that offer comedy relief at the expense of plot integrity and general ambience (hey dude, we are in the middle of a war but let's have a rock concert yay!!!); the baddass antagonist to the main character; the mentor-like mother figure; the hero; and of course, the main love interest.

These last two deserve a whole chapter on their own, for starters every female character in this game is responsible for a regression of epic proportions that would make Virgina Wolfe rattle in her grave (anyone notice how all the female characters wear skirts or short thights? :D This game would be a perfect ad for Gap!), but Riona alone has taken female characters back 10 years at least, especially since she is supposed to be the "strong-willed and modern" chick. Bullshit. Riona spends the whole game acting as a damsel in distress barely capable of producing an adult tought. She starts out as a rebel leader of sorts but by the second quarter of the game the developers apparently forget about that and have her act like a ditzy (free-spirited for the politically correct) bimbo.

As for the main character Squall has got to be the most stupid character ever to grace a computer game, you see, in the culturally inept elite circles image is associated with attitude, so for instance if you wear leather you are a badass (see Britney Spears => I love Rock & Roll), if you have tattoos you are a badass, if you speak "l33t" you are hacker, if you have body piercings you are baaad, etc, Get it? Well, the idea behind Squall is that he is "real" and that of course means acting like an asshole and being an obnoxious bitch (because in the simplified world of Square character design flawed equals "real") and since FF8 is a "really real" game and not like "those other fantasy games", Squall gets to act like an asshole a lot. And I do mean a LOT. One of the reasons it is so hard to connect with Squall is because he is just an asshole! Early in the game you see his best buddy (dunno how the hell he can put up with Squall) aproach and extend his hand to congratulate him. His reaction? Ignoring him and looking somwhere else... Is that supposed to be "real"?? If I were Zell I would have broken the motherfucker's nose... and that's just the beggining. Through the course of the game you'll see him bitch and moan and crawl into fetal possitions and storm out of rooms like a histerical bitch (no, I'm not making this up). Of course, Squall by himself is nothing but an annoying bitch (much like Episode 2's Anakin), the problem arises when he is shoehorned into the game just because he's the lead character. You'll scratch your head in disbelief as everyone treats him nicely just because he's the main character, you'll have a brain stroke trying to figure out how they can name an asshole like him the leader of humanity's last stand or how Rinoa falls madly in lover for him....

And of course, the icing on the cake comes in the form of a mushy-feely coat of cheap sensibility aplied to the game, if you look at it closely the game's whole point is to mix the right amount of mushy strings to make the emotionally challenged among us go "ahhhh" with a sad misunderstood guy and a harsh cold unfriendly world and then just when you think it's all so mean and nothin's fair... Whammo! Love conquers all!! yay!!!!! Most people will end this game tear-stained thinking they have actually tought something when in reality they have lost precious time and swallowed four discs of pure teenie-booper crap....Either that or the rules of the universe just switched and a sequence where the lead and the female interest find themselves acting like schoolgirls and cuddling and speaking about their feelings while the officially licensed Touchy-Feely Pop Song (tm) plays in the background are actually meaningfull and touching moments.

The Bottom Line
To sum it all up: Am I an nutcase? Everyone loves this game! Why am I the only one to point out these things? Well, you see, we videogamers need to be less forgiving about the content of our products if we are to be taken seriously by the world. This game is a perfect example because it is pure unadultered CRAP. And, because it made it's translation to another art-form. No, really. FF8 is in spirit the same as FF: The Spirits Within, it changes some characters and doesn't have chocobos, but at it's soul is the goddamned story of Squall's inept existance, it even has a crappy touchy-feely sequence in space!!!

So what happens??? FF8 is praised by everyone in the videogame community, and the game sells millions, while FF:TSW is regarded as nothing but a flashy and hollow overpretentious crap by the motion picture community.... Are we surprised then when the masses regard computer games as kiddie stuff? Of course, I'd like to point out that while the psx version of the game was a success, the PC version bombed terribly, which makes me particularly proud of being primarily a PC-gamer :)).... There is a lesson to be learned in here kids, maybe I'm not as nutz as you think :)

The Good
The demos in the game are perfect. They are extremely detailed and look like real. The best part of the game is these demos. Your mouth will be opened and you won't feel it because you will find the demos perfect. The scenario is the second best part of the game. At first, Squall is only a student at Balamb Garden, not knowing how his life will change. Playing this game is much better than going to the cinema, and one of the reasons is the scenario. And the gameplay is perfect. The junction system is a very-well thought thing for gameplay. And the "draw" is a very good thought too. People who hate the burning of mana while making magics will LOVE this thing. And the music... The musics are extremely well. Did you know that SquareSoft paid 2 000 000 $ to a very famous singer to sing a song named "Eyes of Me" for the game?! The battle system is perfect. You "draw" magic from enemies, you don't use mana to make magics. And this "GF" idea is perfect. Everywhere is saying "Calling GFs more than a thousand times makes the game disgusting". No, that's wrong. There is an ability of the GFs (Except Diablos) named "boost". You can make your GF attack stronger with holding F and pressing A many times in combats. If you don't stop pressing A when a cross appears the power will reduce. The combats are very cinematic and fun. The charaters were well thought. They're all different and that helps the scenario. Don't think this game doesn't have any secrets. If you want to find all the secrets (if you don't want to play the game from its beginning three times like me) finish the game with a very very detailed walkthrough. The atmosphere is incredible. The scenario, the graphics and demos make an excellent atmosphere. You will think you're not playing a game but watching a movie. The boss fights are very strategic (Mostly Adel) They're like chess, but a very fast chess.

The Bad
Well, it's hard to say something bad about this game. If you really want to see a bad part of the game, you will not want to play the game from the beginning when you finish it.

The Bottom Line
A perfect game! If you don't buy this game you will find something missing in your life!

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.