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Final Fantasy VIII Review

PSX

Squaresoft brings you this new addition to the Final Fantasy collection, and what a game it is! This has the best graphics of the series yet, and the characters each develop into their own personality. The sound is fantastic, the plot twists dramatically at least once on each of this game's 4 discs, and there are plenty of surprises around every bend. The only problem is the addition of the Pocket Station. There are secret items and even a GF - the Mini Mogg - on the Pocket Station version of this game. This is a problem because Pocket Station is not for sale outside of Japan. Nonetheless, this game is truly a hit. The basic plot will keep you going throughout the game.

You are Squall, a SEED in training at the Balamb Garden. In other words, you're a student at a college/military training ground. You and your rival, Seifer, are sparring as a training routine in the beginning. Eventually, Seifer lets the training get to his head and it eventually turns into an all out sword fight with the SEED standard issue, the GunBlade, which is a sword blade attached to the front of a gun. Both Squall and Seifer are injured, but Squall takes the most of it. A slash across his face leaves a scar on him for the rest of the game. Squall's injury leads to being taken to the infirmary. When he awakes, his schoolmaster, Quistis, visits Squall and reminds him of his upcoming SEED exam. The test is actually a battle where they are examined during combat! After you pass, you are officially a SEED graduate. You get money from your salary. This is paid to you by the Garden depending on your SEED rank. You start receiving missions from the Garden and you must carry these out. Sooner or later, you are trying to assassinate the Sorceress Matron. This ends up as the main plot, but at disc three it completely twists around. Find out for yourself!

PLOT IDEA 9.2 (Like most Squaresoft games, FFVIII has a very interesting story line. You get to do all these cool missions, and there are cinematics about every 30 minutes. Some Squaresoft games, like Xenogears, completely stop with movies after about 8 hours of this. Final Fantasy VIII is not at all like this. There is a lull at the end of the second disc, but they all start up again about 30 min into disc 3. Going to Esthar, flying through space, the Lunar Cry-It's all good.)

GAMEPLAY 8.2 (Easy to move around in world, but driving the Garden can get frustrating pretty fast. Also, the menus are very hard to control at first, and you may not know how much of an impact the change you make is going to have on the game. You can junction magic to all of your stats, but most of the time you can't really notice all the complicated work you do. Batles are easy to control, yet there is something that is not said anywhere in the game or manual. If you teach a GF "Boost," you can increase your GF's attack power by holding select as it is appearing and tapping square. When you see an X appear over the finger shown in the bottom right corner, stop pressing or you'll have to restart.)

SOUND 9.6 (All the sound is very realistic, but you never hear any voices so you don't get to know your characters that well.)

MUSIC 10 (The music is fast paced at exciting places to get you tensed up and even worried at some parts! It's slow and calm in towns and other peaceful parts.

GRAPHICS 9.4 (Very smooth and clear. Only problem is when you use a GF like Ifrit in battle. He flies up into the sky and throws a meteor at your enemy. Sometimes this does not make sense. When you get the overhead view of the battlefield, it shows all the flat polygons from above so it appears as if the walls disappear. Also, the meteor is sometimes out of proportion to the field. For example, if you use Ifrit when fighting on the train, it looks as if the meteor would completely demolish the train, yet it doesn't. The cinematics are very clear and smooth. There are plenty of other fun surprises in this game, like when you're fighting one of the Sorceress's soldiers dangling from the winch of a helicopter!)

SPECIAL EFFECTS 10 (The special effects in this game are astounding. The GFs attack with the best mix of sound and explosions. Every time you see a GF attack for the first time, it blows your mind. You'll also enjoy how some of the cinematics mix movies and the actual game together, sometimes allowing you to play while watching the movie in the background!

SECRETS 5.8 (There aren't too many astounding secrets in this game, and the inability to play the Pocket Station in the mini quest seems like a tease. There are a few secrets that are impossible to find without the aid of a walkthrough. How are you supposed to know that you must fight 20 Tonberries in a row at the same place you find the GF Odin to make the GF Tonberry King appear? Even if you searched for it, you wouldn't be able to find that on your own.)

AVERAGE 8.9

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PLOT IDEA	9.2 (Like most Squaresoft games, FFVIII has a very interesting story line. You get to do all these cool missions, and there are cinematics about every 30 minutes. Some Squaresoft games, like Xenogears, completely stop with movies after about 8 hours of this. Final Fantasy VIII is not at all like this. There is a lull at the end of the second disc, but they all start up again about 30 min into disc 3. Going to Esthar, flying through space, the Lunar Cry-It's all good.)
GAMEPLAY	8.2 (Easy to move around in world, but driving the Garden can get frustrating pretty fast. Also, the menus are very hard to control at first, and you may not know how much of an impact the change you make is going to have on the game. You can junction magic to all of your stats, but most of the time you can't really notice all the complicated work you do. Batles are easy to control, yet there is something that is not said anywhere in the game or manual. If you teach a GF "Boost," you can increase your GF's attack power by holding select as it is appearing and tapping square. When you see an X appear over the finger shown in the bottom right corner, stop pressing or you'll have to restart.)
SOUND	9.6 (All the sound is very realistic, but you never hear any voices so you don't get to know your characters that well.)
MUSIC	10 (The music is fast paced at exciting places to get you tensed up and even worried at some parts! It's slow and calm in towns and other peaceful parts.
GRAPHICS	9.4 (Very smooth and clear. Only problem is when you use a GF like Ifrit in battle. He flies up into the sky and throws a meteor at your enemy. Sometimes this does not make sense. When you get the overhead view of the battlefield, it shows all the flat polygons from above so it appears as if the walls disappear. Also, the meteor is sometimes out of proportion to the field. For example, if you use Ifrit when fighting on the train, it looks as if the meteor would completely demolish the train, yet it doesn't. The cinematics are very clear and smooth. There are plenty of other fun surprises in this game, like when you're fighting one of the Sorceress's soldiers dangling from the winch of a helicopter!)
SPECIAL EFFECTS	10 (The special effects in this game are astounding. The GFs attack with the best mix of sound and explosions. Every time you see a GF attack for the first time, it blows your mind. You'll also enjoy how some of the cinematics mix movies and the actual game together, sometimes allowing you to play while watching the movie in the background!
SECRETS	5.8 (There aren't too many astounding secrets in this game, and the inability to play the Pocket Station in the mini quest seems like a tease. There are a few secrets that are impossible to find without the aid of a walkthrough. How are you supposed to know that you must fight 20 Tonberries in a row at the same place you find the GF Odin to make the GF Tonberry King appear? Even if you searched for it, you wouldn't be able to find that on your own.)
AVERAGE	8.9