Customer Reviews
Final Fantasy 8, a good game of the series
Of all the Final Fantasy games I've played. I'd say this is one of the finest. Although the battle sequence isn't that good. I would definetely recommend this game to anyone whos a dire fan of Final Fantasy or looking to complete a set. Although I wouldn't discourage other people from this game I would advise not to get it, if you have no previous past knoweldge of FF. The junctioning menu is a great change from the older versions of Final Fantasy. Because it allows you to customize your character very well with different GF abilities. The graphics are decent. And I absoutely love the cutscenes. (It's a break from all that tough fighting I suppose) Again I must say what a great storyline because since Squall joined SeeD , (the main character) He has been faced with many challanges. All of which contribute to a great and addictive storyline. Well, I'm not going to ruin the ending or anything like that. So I'll leave it to you. You just have to buy this game and find out for yourselves what you've been missing! Also Best of luck to you once you get it! :)
Story: 5, Gameplay: 3
When comparing Final Fantasy 8 to the adjacent games in the series, one thing is very obvious: FF8 is fundamentally different, in terms of both story and gameplay.
Where 7 and 9 were both basically save-the-world-from-great-evil scenarios, with a little bit of a love story mixed in, 8 is essentially the opposite: a big, dramatic love story with a bizarre, somewhat half-baked save-the-world laid over it. Whereas 7 and 9 both feature singularly evil villains introduced early in the game and maintained throughout (Sephiroth in 7, Kuja in 9), the central villain in 8, Sorceress Ultimecia, appears late, only REALLY appears until the last few hours of the game, and anyway is underdeveloped and uncompelling. Then again, the love story in 8 is reason enough to follow through to the end; though Aeris and Tifa in 7 and Dagger in 9 were all interesting and compelling characters, the budding romances are uniformly cut off short, while the relationship between Squall and Rinoa is well-paced and fully realized. ...The point of this being, like any Final Fantasy game, FF8 is heavily story-dependent; it just happens to be a very different story from its siblings.
FF8 also has a fundamentally different approach to combat and character development- though the differences are mostly under the hood and won't be seen immediately. The biggest difference is that enemies-- both random encounters and bosses-- level up as the player characters do; so, for example, an enemy will have significantly more health, do more damage, and have stronger magic when the player character is level 30 instead of level 10. ...What this really means is that leveling up characters with random encounters-- the core of character development in Final Fantasy games-- is pretty much unnecessary, since it benefits enemies as well. (I should add that 8, like 7 and 9, has a secondary type of experience, called "ability points," which develops abilities, not levels, and which does not benefit enemies, so acquiring AP, unlike EXP, is only beneficial.) Whether this system is better than the standard Final Fantasy system isn't something I can judge; it's just worth noting that it's different.
FF8's new magic system, though, is one aspect I am willing to criticize. Instead of learning spells and then casting them at the cost of magic points, FF8 bypasses MP altogether, and simply treats spells as a sort of item: you take ("draw") them from enemies or refine them from items, then cast them out of your spell inventory. However, because spells can also be used to give a character's stats (strength, vitality, etc.) a much-needed boost, and having more of a certain spell makes for more of a boost, it seems generally beneficial not to use the spells at all (after all, why bother casting Ultima when you could junction it to strength and probably do more damage anyway?). While the junction system is pretty amazing and flexible, the unfortunate consequence of it is that actually casting magic is generally more trouble than it's worth.
Related to the junctions is FF8's versions of summons, which are here called "guardian forces" or GFs. Whereas 7 and 9 introduced summons a good five or ten hours into the game, 8 makes summons available from the get-go, and makes them probably more powerful than they should be, such that you'll be watching the same summon animations over and over throughout the game. Still, the GF system, like the junction system it's a part of, is a very complex and flexible system, significantly more so than the synonymous systems in 7 and 9 (though, like 9, it is almost entirely optional, since you can ask the game to automatically optimize your characters).
Unfortunately, while the junction system is flexible, it's not particularly well-balanced, particularly near the end of the game. Because of the nature of the junction system, and the new approach to limit breaks, when Squall acquires his ultimate weapon and limit break, the remainder of the game becomes dishearteningly easy, since almost any boss (with the exception of Omega Weapon, which is an optional battle anyway) can be defeated in three or four rounds. The game is chock full of optional content-- extra weapons, abilities, items, cards-- but if the game can be made so easy so readily, that stuff is exactly that, optional; and only diehard completists will bother with it.
I don't want to be unclear: I did enjoy Final Fantasy 8, and I'm glad I finished it. The story was sweet, compelling, and different, and the gameplay system was complex and engaging enough to keep a control freak happy, without alienating more casual players. Just don't try to make it into something it isn't; the game has its flaws (some story holes; a few half-baked gameplay elements; pretty major balancing issues), but these are generally overcome by the game's merits.
Under rated game.......
Every one always says 7 is/was the best.Given,7 changed rpg's forever but that doesnt mean cause cloud or aries isn't in 8 that it isnt good.I actually liked 8 and thought 8 would make for a better movie then 7 did(even though advent children was 10 outta 10)..Im just saying I hate when people only go ohh 7's the best ohh 7777777..8 is in no way my fav but for a game that had to try and out due the hype that 7 brought/had I think It did a pretty good job and come on, You gotta love rinoa =)
Fav final fantasy Games
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1.FF X
2.FF VII
3.FF IX
4.FF tactics
5.FF X-2
