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Final Fantasy VIII (FFVIII) was my first game from the Final Fantasy series. It was this game that got me so obsessed with Final Fantasy. The second I laid my eyes on the TV screen, watching the opening sequence, I thought to myself "I am in love with this game already". The opening movie was so overwhelming, I was getting goosebumps. The starting theme song "Liberi Fatali" was just so right for that moment. Powerful, fierce and frightening. A good start to a good game. However, this was only a small portion of what was to come.
First of all, I really liked the storyline. It was romance, comedy and action blended into one game. The story revolves around Squall's family and friends and overall there's a really heart-warming ending. Some people I know said they hated FFVIII because it was so complex and the past, present and future are always intertwined together but think about it, isn't all the Final Fantasy plots based loosely on that? Sometimes I really don't understand these people.
Throughout, the whole game I was treated to numerous CGI (FMV) sequences. Unlike FFVII with its' anime-ish looking characters and FFIX with its' cartoony characters, the characters in FFVIII were proportioned properly and looked close to the real thing (which I seem to like better). When looking at the CGIs, you can really see how much more work they put into FFVIII compared to FFVII. In one scene where a shot of Squall was shown, I could almost see every strand of hair on his head (Well maybe not every strand, but certainly enough for me to see that Squall is using a really good shampoo). Of course, there are millions of other scenes for you to indulge. From a romantic ballroom waltzing scene to motorbikes launching into mid-air, the team at Squaresoft knows how to make your eyes water.
The sounds and music in FFVIII is also something to brag about. Along with FFVI, the FFVIII soundtrack has got to be my favourite. All the songs featured in the game are in the soundtrack. Many people complained about how the music in FFVIII was too similar but I really didn't mind. You've got to admire Nobuo Uematsu for his fantastic talent of music composing. Nearly, if not all of the songs go completely well with the places and situations that the characters are in. I especially like the 'Overture' as it was something different from the usual Final fantasy 'Prelude'. So as you can tell from what I've wrote I am seriously in love with the music (Buy the freakin' soundtrack).
I think the most common complaints that I've seen about FFVIII is the battle system. To me, I think the junction system is the best. I think its great how you can junction so many magic abilities to one character (32 slots for magic I recall). I rather junctions more than materia (FFVII) because instead of buying materia in FFVII, you get junctions from draw points around the world. This is great for two reasons. One is because you get to explore the world while collecting junctions and two, because it saves you many Gils.
There are some very minor, almost unnoticeable flaws but I mean all games have glitches and errors so I'm not complaining. The thing that I would have changed in FFVIII is when you've killed an enemy, Gils should be rewarded to you. But overall, FFVIII is one of those games you have to own if you've got a PS or PS2. Plus, since it's gone platinum, it's incredibly cheap.
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Format | CD-ROM |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | 02.11.1999 |
| Released US | 09.07.1999 |
| Released EU | 09.29.2000 |
| Aprox. Length | 20-30 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 8.0 |
| Gameplay | 8.0 |
| Music | 9.0 |
| Originality | 8.0 |
| Plot | 9.0 |
| Replay Value | 8.0 |
| Sound | 10.0 |
| Visuals | 9.0 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Overall | |
| 8.6 | |
Final Fantasy VIII
By: SquaresoftReviewed By: Zanarkand
What a game!! Many people have said to me, "Buy Final Fantasy VII, the storyline is really good" or "buy Final Fantasy IX, the graphics is breath-taking". Then I went home to think about it and finally I told myself "Okay! I'll go and buy Final Fantasy VIII". After playing the game, my friend asked me why I decided to go with Final Fantasy VIII and I told her "Because not only is there a suspenseful and mysterious plot, but there is also killer graphics in this game".Final Fantasy VIII (FFVIII) was my first game from the Final Fantasy series. It was this game that got me so obsessed with Final Fantasy. The second I laid my eyes on the TV screen, watching the opening sequence, I thought to myself "I am in love with this game already". The opening movie was so overwhelming, I was getting goosebumps. The starting theme song "Liberi Fatali" was just so right for that moment. Powerful, fierce and frightening. A good start to a good game. However, this was only a small portion of what was to come.
First of all, I really liked the storyline. It was romance, comedy and action blended into one game. The story revolves around Squall's family and friends and overall there's a really heart-warming ending. Some people I know said they hated FFVIII because it was so complex and the past, present and future are always intertwined together but think about it, isn't all the Final Fantasy plots based loosely on that? Sometimes I really don't understand these people.
Throughout, the whole game I was treated to numerous CGI (FMV) sequences. Unlike FFVII with its' anime-ish looking characters and FFIX with its' cartoony characters, the characters in FFVIII were proportioned properly and looked close to the real thing (which I seem to like better). When looking at the CGIs, you can really see how much more work they put into FFVIII compared to FFVII. In one scene where a shot of Squall was shown, I could almost see every strand of hair on his head (Well maybe not every strand, but certainly enough for me to see that Squall is using a really good shampoo). Of course, there are millions of other scenes for you to indulge. From a romantic ballroom waltzing scene to motorbikes launching into mid-air, the team at Squaresoft knows how to make your eyes water.
The sounds and music in FFVIII is also something to brag about. Along with FFVI, the FFVIII soundtrack has got to be my favourite. All the songs featured in the game are in the soundtrack. Many people complained about how the music in FFVIII was too similar but I really didn't mind. You've got to admire Nobuo Uematsu for his fantastic talent of music composing. Nearly, if not all of the songs go completely well with the places and situations that the characters are in. I especially like the 'Overture' as it was something different from the usual Final fantasy 'Prelude'. So as you can tell from what I've wrote I am seriously in love with the music (Buy the freakin' soundtrack).
I think the most common complaints that I've seen about FFVIII is the battle system. To me, I think the junction system is the best. I think its great how you can junction so many magic abilities to one character (32 slots for magic I recall). I rather junctions more than materia (FFVII) because instead of buying materia in FFVII, you get junctions from draw points around the world. This is great for two reasons. One is because you get to explore the world while collecting junctions and two, because it saves you many Gils.
There are some very minor, almost unnoticeable flaws but I mean all games have glitches and errors so I'm not complaining. The thing that I would have changed in FFVIII is when you've killed an enemy, Gils should be rewarded to you. But overall, FFVIII is one of those games you have to own if you've got a PS or PS2. Plus, since it's gone platinum, it's incredibly cheap.
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