Different but Good
User Rating: 5 | Final Fantasy VIII (Platinum) PS
It's hard to follow a game like Final Fantasy VII, which revolutionized the way RPGs would be made. It was the first 3D Final Fantasy, it used pre-rendered backgrounds, and had several FMVs throughout the game. However, with that said, Final Fantasy VIII manages to be a worthy sequel. Graphics Final Fantasy VIII greatly improves upon what were pretty good 3D graphics and pre-rendered background in Final Fantasy VII. The characters look realistic now -- meaning they don't have that chibi look that is normal for a lot of Japanese games to have. The world map that you travel around on has had some big changes as well. It's not wow-looking now, but for 1999 it was among the best the PlayStation could produce. Moving on, the pre-rendered background have been improved as well. They just look more clear and detailed than the backgrounds in FF7. Gameplay FF8 retains the active time battle system that FF games have used for a while but introduces something new to the series: the junction system. Instead of equipping materia like in FF7, what you do here is equip magic spells to your character and your stats increase or decrease depending upon the spell you equip. For example, if you equip the spell Curaga you will see a big boost in your max HP. Another new feature is the draw system. Basically, what you do is draw spells from your enemies or from draw spots throughtout the world and stock magic. You can only carry a fixed number of spells, though. Limit breaks are still in this game, although there's been a change as to how you use them: if you health is yellow, you can use the limit break more than once, depending if it shows up when it's your turn to attack. If it doesn't show up, you can push cancel repeatedly to make it appear, assuming you are near-death in HP. Final Fantasy VIII also has a card game you can play. It isn't required to play to complete the main quest but it's a fun little game that might disctract you at times during your journey. Sound What Final Fantasy game has not had a good/great soundtrack? The answer in none and FF8 is no different. From the time you load up the game to the end of it, Final Fantasy VIII sports a soundtrack that is truly amazing at times. Replay Value Final Fantasy VIII is a pretty lengthy game. It's no walk in the park compared to other games out there. I think, if you are not a newbie to RPG games, it'll take you in the ballpark of 30-40 hours to complete it, assuming you don't want to spend time playing the card game. The Final Word Final Fantasy VIII is another great game in the Final Fantasy series and is -- nobody should be surprised -- one of the best RPGs of all-time. FF8 gets slammed countless times by people in the media and on game forums, but I happen to think it's an RPG that people just don't give enough credit and respect to. Maybe it's because it followed Final Fantasy VII, which was a huge mainstream success, or maybe it's because people didn't like the main character (Squall). What I do know is that Final Fantasy VIII is a game that should be played by every gamer that considers him or herself an RPG lover.
