Final Fantasy VIII

The Good
The story is very engaging, and each of the characters are very well developed...

Although many people didn't like this, I though the draw system (basically what it is is you can't learn magic, but you have to draw it from enemies) was good as it added a whole new layer of strategy...so did the GF junctioning system (Junctioning GF's to characers to make them stronger)...

The triple triad card game was pretty cool too...

Excellent sound track...

The Bad
There is no quit option and the saved game worked in slots?!? You can tell by the way the menu is set up that it is ported directly from the console w/o any modifications...no mouse support...any developer who creates a game without a quit option or mouse support should be severely smacked upside the head...

The game speed was slooooooooooow...even with text speed turned up high, sometimes it gets so boring you feel like falling asleep...

Did they ever think about giving you an option to turn the GF intros off??? after watching Shiva break out of an icicle for the millionth time, I felt like smashing the computer screen...

The Bottom Line
Real good storyline, except you can't help but feel that it is spoiled because of the crappy, cheap console like presentation...I mean come on, slots for saved games??? As a Final Fantasy fan, I wanted to gut myself...But if you can overlook its faults, this game is definitely worth buying...

The Good
I liked the final battle. It is very difficult, but the more difficult a battle is, the greater is the satisfaction afterwards, when you see the beautiful ending video.

I think the music is beautiful. The songs are very finely composed, and it fits a lot the characters of the game.

The game has a good story. It has a lot of emotion, and is very deep. It shows a lot about the good side of a human being, and I liked controlling the main hero. The main characters are very attractive. I don't think at all they are stupid. Squall is very cute! He always tries to show he is so "cool", but actually he has the warmest heart. And the girl, Rinoa, is really cool - she is very brave, an active girl, and in the beginning she even took Squall's hand and forced him to dance with her. This was a great scene. I also liked that scene where Edea, the "mother", when she didn't recognize the little Squall. It was great, and quite philosophic, because you couldn't know any more what was real and what wasn't, and there was an illusion of time, where all times were mixed and confused, I liked this. It is hard to find a general concept of the game, but it is clear the script writer tried to BRING you something, even something about which he is not very certain himself - this is like Socrates said: "What I know is that I don't know anything". I liked the game's story very much because it wasn't black/white, there was no clear conclusion to what happened in the game, so it wasn't dogmatic. It brings the honest people a good feeling, because it teaches to be brave and never to give up. That's why it's profound.

The graphics are wonderful. I don't have any problem at all with the realistic character design, because I saw "Final Fantasy IV", and this is a big development since those times. In "Final Fantasy IV" characters look like little children. This is not my style. I understand this is the traditional Final Fantasy style, but I prefer the way the characters are made in "Final Fantasy VIII" or "Final Fantasy X", and NOT the way they were made, for example, in "Final Fantasy IX". I know some people say this "childish" style is for letting you more space for imagination, but I think a game should be more concrete in this sense. I like to see a relationship between realistically looking people, and not grown-up people who look like children.

The Bad
The monster animations are very beautiful, but it's a pity you have to watch them each time. It is beautiful when you see it for the first time, but then you don't want to see the same thing over and over again. They did it better in "Final Fantasy IX", where there were sometimes full animations, and sometimes short ones. Other than that, there was nothing wrong with this game.

The Bottom Line
Beautiful scenes, many different characters, great music, great animations, a touching story. You will not regret if you buy this game.

The Good
Final Fantasy 8, While odd compared to it's brothers (Sisters, if you must.) is still the one I enjoy the most. Not only can the story grab your attention, but it makes a hard try for you emotions as well. You just feel all warm and fuzzy inside when something works out.

Like many others, the summons play an important role in the story. (and are cool/cute/and all around awesome to look at, If I could only get plushies of them...) The summons give your characters the ability to "Junction" magic to certain stats, Such as Strength and Spirit. (Defense against magic attack for those of you who, like me, had no idea.) Summons in this game can also give you command abilities, like "Draw" which leads me to the way magic works in this game. Magic is stolen from the enemies. Simple way of putting it. You use "Draw" on normal enemies and bosses and stock up on magic which you can A:Later unleash upon other baddies in a furious storm of the elements or B: Junction to you stats to put you characters closer to godhood.

The characters.... Where to begin? They all have their storylines that somehow combine to resolve the major conflict in the game, with less flying boats.

The graphics? Well, Field and battle models are fine, much improved since 7, and not as.... well, child like as 9. But it's the "ingame movies" that really make me smile :) They are wonderful.

  Music? it has plenty!  As always, better than the last. Eyes On Me is to die for, as well as another variation of the Chocobo theme ;) <br><br>**The Bad**<br>There isn't much I disliked, Besides the fact that the enemies you fight level up with you.  Yes, I know you probably read that again but it's true.  The stronger your characters get the stronger your opponents become.  This is not all bad, since the stronger they are the higher level of magic they have to steal.  But many enemies in they game, *coughstupidfrekingrubydragoncough* pose a major threat at high levels and for me, a ruby dragon was harder than any other creature in the game.

Also, Though I am all for the "Get paid as you go" idea, I had a problem with the rank system.  I maxed out my characters early so I had no reason to fight all the time, but if you don't fight your rank goes down and you get less money...  :O<br><br>**The Bottom Line**<br>    In a nutshell, since my way of saying things is a bit round-about, play this game.<br>

If you have never played a Final Fantasy, play this.
If you always play Final Fantasy, Play this.
If you have already played this, play it again and goof off.
You'll laugh at the antics of a certain martial artist, you'll cry at the tender love story between certain characters, and you'll feel like bouncing off the walls whenever you Selphie. Don't worry, you'll know what I mean once you start playing.