Final Fantasy VIII

The Good
Final Fantasy 8 is one of the very few J-RPG's ever to hit the PC platform, and it happens to be one of the best RPG's overall to hit the PC. Although I have played PC games like Diablo and Baldur's Gate, this gave me the best RPG experience ever. Final Fantasy 7 was also great, but it can't compare to the greatness of Final Fantasy 8. The Storyline, the game's plot (an unusual time-travel story) is about some sorceress in the distant future who wants to "compress time", as in there is no future, there is no past, simply she wants to control time itself, and its up to the game's protagonists to stop her. There is also a very touching romantic subplot to the game. Every J-RPG I have played has a breathtaking storyline, and this is no exception. Great graphics, the game was the first of the series to use realistic character models (which I enjoyed very much), and the background blended well with them. This was also the only game in the series to feature an all-human playable character cast.

Cinematics, they are gorgeous to look at, console-style cinematics to the PC at their best. Original game play, I found the Junctioning thing fun to play around with, one can consider several combinations or strategies that best fit you're particular character, and even though the MP thing was gone (the only J-RPG game of it's kind) I found using a particular spell 99 times a huge advantage. The drawback about the no MP thing is one has to gather particular magic spells from several monsters and locations, lots of traveling and exploring. Fortunately, that's what I like about the game, traveling and exploring. Outstanding music score, every J-RPG like a Final Fantasy has a great music score regardless. Final Fantasy 8 is obviously the best Final Fantasy title ever to hit the PC platform. I only wish that more J-RPG's like this would come to the PC. An absolutely wonderful game!

The Bad
One of the downsides of this game is the exiting part. I have to press ALT+F4 to exit the game. I found that earning money depends on your SEED rank, not killing random enemies, which takes a long while to gather. Money after all is the key to any J-RPG game. The Gameplay can be quite confusing at first, but once you get over it, you're in for the thrill of a lifetime.

The Bottom Line
This is the game that will convince people that J-RPG's have a place in the PC platform. I still don't understand why the PC has very little games like this, I feel games like Final Fantasy 8 have shown they can make smooth transition to another platform, especially to the PC.