Released: 19990909 Publisher: Square Electronic Arts Developer: Square Co., LTD. Genre: RPG

Review by: Carlo

When Final Fantasy VIII was first presented to the world back in 1998, my heart thumped with excitement. For the past year, we have seen tons of previews, pics, production comments, interviews, news, Japanese game sales and other media stuff relating to Square's latest installment of the infamous Final Fantasy series. We also remember how Final Fantasy VII in 1997 made a such tremendous impact on the genre, setting a new standard for all future RPGs. Yes, we all remember how FF7 blew us away, and simply could not wait to embrace that same blow of greatness again. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case with FF8.

For starters, Final Fantasy VIII is a mixed bag of arrows, flying every which way. If you played Final Fantasy II (Japan FFIV), Final Fantasy III (Japan FFVI), and Final Fantasy VII, you might ask yourself, "Where did Square go with FF8?" You might think Square tried their very best with this latest game, but to my shock it strangely does not feel that way. And, for the first time, I found myself wading through a series of disappointments, the first time I've experienced back-to-back disappointments in a FF game!

Graphics


Visually, Final Fantasy VIII shows improvements, as well as a few setbacks. The characters now carry a realistic, more human-based look instead of the previous Super Deformed appearance. Though they look realistic (especially with the new character animations), their textures seem rough, which is a disgrace because I know Square could have done much better. Honestly, Squall looks as if he was drugged, and Rinoa does not look beautiful in the slightest.

As for the in-town/location exploration portion, Square still opts for the "3D characters in 2D environment" setup like in Resident Evil 2. The pre-rendered backgrounds are visually superior over FF7, particularly with added animated activity like smoke spewing from a chimney, fire crackling from a fireplace, and the like. Problem with this portion deals with the 3D characters, which still don't mix well with the pre-rendered backgrounds. In short, environments come off looking rather "fake". Now with the world exploration, moving around feels more realistic. The polygonal backgrounds like mountains, forests, towns, and others have been sculpted with greater detail, surpassing all current RPGs.

Onto the summons, most GF sequences are truly spectacular and some exceeding those presented in FF7. Ifrit's sequence is mighty to watch as you see him swoop up into the air, strike a meteor with both hands, which crashes into your opponent with a major blow. Awesome! Another example would be Leviathan, where the PlayStation is obviously taxed heavily for processing power to produce some awesome wave effects and animations. Must be in heaven here! The use of special effects from the PSX effects library is remarkable! But, the real star of the graphics department is obviously…the CG movies! The movies are truly incredible throughout (though to note, the animation is not as smooth as in Resident Evil 2 where motion capturing was used) and you will absolutely love them! It's quite nice to see our characters in true form, and you'll have many glances because there are plenty of FMV cut-scenes. The story telling through the FMV is pretty good too, and you'll surely enjoy them all.

Sound


The audio in FF8 is also a mixed bag. Let's start with the sound effects. The FX are still minimal in usage and presentation, but noticeably sound clearer and more detailed (just listen to the clink and clank of Seifer and Squall's swords!). The effects, though, are much better heard during the movie scenes.

Regarding the in-game music, I was rather disappointed! In my opinion, Final Fantasy III carried the best music followed by FF7 and FF2. True, FF7's music was steps behind FF3 but still great nonetheless. But in FF8, the music simply reversed in terms of expression. Clear example, the battle music in FF8. Weak! We all remember how mighty FF7's battle music was wherein you truly felt mighty and motivated during a fight. In FF8, the battle music sounded quite puny in comparison, nowhere near FF7's majesty. Why? Why such a backward move? Anyhow, for the rest of the music, they seem to follow suit and lack expression when compared to such music tracks in the old Final Fantasy games, Star Ocean: The 2nd Story, Wild ARMs, Suikoden, Xenogears, and the list goes on. I have to admit there are a few good tunes to listen to, but you'll end up wishing there were more in the end. As for the voices, you won't hear any which renders the game a bit lifeless, especially if you're accustomed to RE2. You can still hear the roars of some guardians, which are few, but well fitted.

Gameplay


Now, onto the gameplay. FF is recognized for its player-friendly menu interfaces and easy to pick up controls. FF8's set-up is more on the more difficult side, with Square attempting to pull off something new and innovative. There's that Junction feature where you assign GFs to your characters, where you may set up the commands for your character to use like Magic, GF, Item, Draw, and more. The Junction feature replaces the familiar Materia system, which is, surprisingly, not a good move. Having Attack, Magic, and Item is basic to the FF series, but in FF8 you'll really have to make adjustments. The big flaw lies in the modifications to the magic system. Since the materia system is now extinct, you'll have to depend on your GFs for the "Magic" and you'll have to "Draw" magic from your enemies in battles.

The Draw feature is a new way to gain magic spells by number (example: you get to draw 8 Cures in a turn) and cast them depending on many you have in possession. The Draw is fine, but I don't find it innovative and soon becomes a time-consuming hassle.

Imagine this, your first two characters are on a quest, and acquire many spells after the quest. Then in comes a new character, and you'll have to fill him/her up with magic as well. Obviously, it's beneficial that all your characters possess the same magic spells, as part of being ready for any "I need magic now!" moments. Since there are a good number of characters in FF8, you'll find the Draw utterly tiring. And with lots of magic at hand, it can easily spoil you into using magic to fight battle. For the GF system, you get to fight certain Guardians first before getting them on your side (Ifrit being the first). Once with you, you get to use and develop them. During battles, GFs can actually get hurt when your character gets struck by an enemy while casting the GF. Use of GF can spoil you in battles but the increase of challenge in battle is noticeable as you progress in your quest, and you'll have to acquire more GFs later to match up with newer opponents.

In addition, the aspect of buying has changed. Normally in RPGs, you earn money after battles, but you now earn by a salary system based on your SeeD ranking. Money comes in from time to time, and weapons and armor are now more limited than ever too. These changes are disturbing actually. Items are similar to any past FF, but the new thing is with the Guardians who now have their own items like potions.

Battles are done in Active Time Battle form. As mentioned earlier, GFs and magic can spoil your fighting in the long run (Squall's Gunblade looks odd and there is nothing special about it). There is one big change, however. Battles seem slower now and I find myself fighting longer than ever before. At times, the battles became such a bore I felt it was all a complete waste of time. Furthermore, another of the biggest disappointments lies in the change done to the now famous Limit break system, popularized by Final Fantasy VII. In FF7, limit breaks were a standard for each character but not in FF8!

In exploration, you'll be treated to an abundance of places to visit, plenty more than in FF7. This comes in particular with the many towns and cities, where I found myself lost more than a couple times. The towns are deeper, but counter-balanced by the limited world map exploration.

FF8's setting is now more realistic, and this is disturbing because I find the setting of FF2, FF3 and FF7 more interesting than this one. Frankly, there is too much technology for my taste, and the same goes with the urban features. The added realism takes away from the "fantasy" concept in a way or two.

Story


I'd say the plot is good and works well with the theme of love, but deteriorates as you progress. There were times I simply lost interest in finding out what would happen next when I was on the 2nd disc. The 3rd disc only gets worse, and I struggled in wanting to push on. In retrospect, Final Fantasy III and VII had me hooked on the story, all the way from start to finish. FF8's story started with promise but due to lack of polish, the story weakens with every advance…and this is a Final Fantasy game! What I disliked most was the "military academy" concept in the beginning. I don't have anything against militarism actually, but seeing all these "academy" stereotypes just does not cut it for me and it landed on the FF series! Final Fantasy as far as I'm concerned, is more about adventurism than militarism. Playing as Squall does not make me feel like an adventurer, but more of a soldier with a mission… disturbing! Heck, even Cloud was more adventuristic to play (good thing he left SOLDIER). Ah, memories of the unforgettable cast in FF3 where you had a treasure hunter, ninja, king, warrior, artist, gambler, imitator, former soldier banding together to save the world.

But for those who're into romance or drama, FF8 has the goods! Character interaction is at it's best in the series here! You'll appreciate the attention to character development, most notably with the relationship between Squall and Rinoa. Each character has great expression of himself/herself/itself making it one of the strongest points in the game. Square really defined Squall as a SeeD leader, Seifer as the hot-headed fighter, Zell as the zany guy, Rinoa as…oops, better stop it there! Without the strong character development and relationships, the story could have been a disaster. To compliment, Square did a great job translating the game from Japanese to English. FF8 is one of the best written in English, with great use of vocabulary.

Concerning game time, I'd say this one is longer than I had predicted. I expected 60 hours but ended with a staggering 71 hours of gameplay. The ending of FF8 (NO SPOILER!) is what I would say, much better than FF7! It's pretty long and more satisfying overall! You'll feel a great sense of satisfaction with the ending, though you'll wonder why Square flopped with the story.

Overall, Final Fantasy VIII is good but sadly the weakest Final Fantasy game I've ever played. FF8 is nowhere matches the greatness and entertainment value of FF2, FF3 and FF7. I was disappointed with the fact that FF8 failed to reach the bulk of my expectations, especially when I expected to be blown away (with the greatness and divine power of Square) in the manner of FF3 and FF7. This brings to mind what some have said, "after you play Final Fantasy VIII, you'll never want to play another RPG" That is completely untrue! Even after playing FF8, I still felt enticed to play my other RPGs, and still very much looking forward to Grandia and Suikoden 2. Not uncommon, Final Fantasy VIII failed to reach the hype. FF7 still bears the crown of the ultimate 32-Bit RPG. In some ways, this game does not deserve the title Final Fantasy. The long wait I had went to waste in my case, because this latest edition was nothing I expected.

Square loses some magic with Final Fantasy VIII, so don't expect that wave of excellence to overwhelm this time around. Now let's hope Square learns from their errors, and return FF to it's former greatness in Final Fantasy IX.

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