Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
The game mechanics are standard fare for an RPG: acquisition of items and spells, turn-based combat, experience points earned in combat allowing advances in levels. From exploration to battles to dialogue, Final Fantasy VIII has it all. However, Final Fantasy VIII falls to that great weakness of RPGs: random battles. While necessary for advancing in levels, the battles occur with such frequency that they can grow annoying, making for a tedious game experience.
The epic storyline spans four discs--over 40 hours of gameplay--and is based around a mercenary cadet who finds himself caught up with an underground rebel faction. He winds up in a plot to assassinate the sorceress who has just seized power from the president.
You could complain of limited replay value, but this gripe is of no consequence: the game is such a satisfying experience, it doesn't require replay. Final Fantasy VIII is easily worth both the hype and the wait. You can't buy a much better game. --John Cocking
Pros:
What I cannot fathom are the intensely negative reviews coming from the people! How can a game of such caliber, genius, beauty and artisty be seen as "the worst FF ever...and so on"? I simply don't comprehend. Ive heard others like "I like all FF games, 'cept 8", or "It just doesn't belong in the Squaresoft catalogue....". Why? Upon critical analysis, I think it's because people fear change. It's part of human nature. If you adapt to something, why would you want it to change?
I have almost always noticed that some of the 'hardcore fans' proclaim that Square's old style is what should have been on this game - that they miss the old style. NONSENSE! Squaresoft wanted to do something different, temporarily. They wanted to exercise their minds a bit - to stray away from the typical RPG standards. Even possibilities of 'harsh criticism' wasn't going to stop them.....they were going to experiment. You see, even though we have an inner instinct to fear change, the human will to experiment and 'move on' conquers all (look at where experimentation has gotten us: our technology is advancing). There is no such thing as 'the way things (RPGs) ought to be'. There's nothing wrong with prefering things to remain the same, but at least, people should keep their right to experiment.
... Read more ›You play as the quiet lone wolf, 17 year old Squall Leonheart, a member of a group of mercenaries for hire known as SeeD. SeeDs reside in academys known as Gardens. When an evil sorceress gains the trust of President Deling and the people of Galbadia, Squall along with fellow SeeDs the perky Selphie Tilmitt, the loudmouthed Zell Dincht, the ladies' man Irvine, and the recently fired 18 year old instructer Quistis Trepe set out to assasinate her. Along the way, the lively and beautiful Rinoa Heartilly, a member of a resistance faction known as The Forest Owls teams up with them. Along the way, she struggles to bring down Squall's icy exterior and help him voice his feelings. The plot soon throws many curveballs, eventually bringing forth issues such as romance, possesion, time compression, prison abuse and escape, and traveling into the future.
I will admit that this game is extremely ambitious and has its flaws.
... Read more ›Being a chick, I adored it. Guys just don't seem to "get" the thing with Squall. I took the original, cynical view that the fellows I asked were just stupid, but I'm mellowing and now believe they've just been jaded by games that leap out and beat you about the head and shoulders with The Emotional Point. The interplay between Squall and those around him is much more subtle than you usually get with video game fare. And, oddly enough, Seifer was given as much attention, while none of the rest of Squall's party were detailed in any fashion.
I have two main gripes about the game. No, not the junctioning system, which rocks plankton. People who wasted hours on end drawing magic from their enemies just weren't very observant, it's much faster to convert items with GF abilities. No, my one gripe comes from the very fact that nobody was given much characterization aside from Squall and Seifer. That was a tad annoying.
My other gripe is that the plot just kind of falls to pieces in the middle of the third disk. I thought things were progressing quite nicely until the game goes into space for no readily discernable reason.
Significant gripes, but not sufficient to keep me from replaying the game.
And yes, the game was really quite easy, especially once I'd picked up the Lion Heart gunblade, enabling Squall to do about a quarter of a million points of damage in one attack. But I don't play RPGs for the thrill of having to hit reset over and over, I play them for the plot, and the plot is worth it.
|