Final Fantasy VIII

Other products by Square Enix

Product Features

• Squall, a member of an elite military team, is forced into a conflict beyond imagination
• To survive he must contend with a desperate rival, a powerful sorceress and his own mysterious dreams
• Contains realistic detailed characters and background graphics
• A breathtaking musical score enhances game play
• Another great edition of the Final Fantasy series of games

Product Details

• Manufacturer's age: 13 years and up
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000296O5
• Item Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 30, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #138 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Editorial Review
SquareSoft has always had a sure-fire hit when releasing any of their Final Fantasy titles, and Final Fantasy VIII should be no exception. The basis of a good RPG (role-playing game) has always been the story; spectacular graphics are secondary. Final Fantasy VIII's involved and interesting story line is filled with great twists, well-developed characters, suspense, and romance. As an added bonus, the graphics are beautiful. Everything--from the low-lit jazz club to the steam-filled railroad tunnels--is gorgeous and perfectly sets the mood and tone of a scene.

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:

• A story to beat all stories
• Characters worth caring about
• Hey--it's from SquareSoft
• Stunning animations

Cons:

• Too many random battles
• Combat is, as always, turn-based and offers minimal excitement
• Weak souls might give up after two or three discs of play

Product Description
Pending

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sickeningly underrated, April 11, 2004

By	Jessie (USA) - See all my reviews

As a girl obsessed with the likes of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time, I was completely unfamiliar with turn based RPGs. When I recieved Final Fantasy 7 and 8 for Christmas, I naturally tried 7 first. I was horrified when I saw that you were unable to run around in a free roaming enviornment hacking and slashing at your leisure. Waiting my turn to deliver one blow was not my idea of a good time. Disgusted, I removed the game and inserted FF8. I was floored by the opening cinema. When the game started, I was confused by all the new terms. SeeD? Balamb Gatrden? Junction system? What the hell? But something compelled me to push onward. I was instantly hooked on the characters, which to me are much more appealing than the lego characters of the previous Final Fantasy games.

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. The very different reviews serve to prove one thing: it depends wholly on the person whether or not you'll enjoy this game. Some people enjoy the game enough to get by its flaws and appreciate its differences, while others simply don't have the time or patience for it. It depends on your personality. Before buying, you must understand that:

-This is a love story

-The junction system (attatching magic to stats such as strength and HP to raise or lower the stat depending on magic type and quantity) takes a long time to understand and get fully confortable with. No other FF has had a system like this, and you may not like it

-You need to play through FOUR discs and have the time to put in upwards of 70 hours in order to get through everything the game has to offer. Patience is important.

While I am an impatient person who gets put to sleep by other RPGs, I enjoyed Final Fantasy 8 a lot. The characters meant something to me because they were realistic looking and typical teens rather than lego people with absent mouths. This is the black sheep of the series, and not everyone will appreciate it. In my case, it will always remain a favorite. For its time, no game was more gorgeous looking and emotional, and no final battle was as long and intense. The stunning ending clocks in at around a half hour. But some people aren't bothered by the long frequent GF summons, and some are extremely bothered by them. I can understand it. As I said, it all depends what kind of person you are.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Longest Running Non-Series, October 2, 2003

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

It's eye opening to turn back the clock and play the old Final Fantasy games in the light of the remarkable production values of FF X. Each game in the series set a standard for console and computer games that has changed the way today's player sees the RPG genre.

I originally played FF8 in the PC version, so I was interested in how the PS2 version would compare. Even with a my leaky memory, my impression is that the PS2 version is a bit solider graphically. And, of course, the use of a game controller makes everything seem smoother, even if it really isn't.

FF8 follows in the classic Final Fantasy mode - a team of characters headed by a serious minded leader, with a bunch of slightly wacky, but dedicated companions, take on an evil that seems to keep getting stronger and more capable with each advance of the plot. No villain ever really seems to die, the keep coming back in new and deadlier forms. And then there are the Guardian Forces, who provide all kinds of spectacle for the battles.

This time it is Squall, his fellow SeeDs, and the beautiful Rinoa. The story starts as a revolution, and then the characters discover that events are really being manipulated by a series of sorceresses who want to destroy the world so that they can rule it unchecked (I know that doesn't make any sense). All of this on a giant world make full of monsters convenient for leveling up.

And leveling up is certainly what a Final Fantasy game is about. Various side quests and challenges are provided so that reaching the levels needed to kill the final bosses doesn't become tedious, and an incredibly complex character building system makes sure that everyone's playing experience is different.

FF8 set a standard that is still higher than some games being written for the PS2 today, and managed to accomplish that on a more primitive platform. Graphics and character design are amazing, the plot complex, and the action satisfying. Proving that the best isn't always the newest and the loudest.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, August 18, 2001

By A Customer

Final Fantasy VIII, the second installment of the Final Fantasy series on the Playstation is a game with outstanding graphics,an original storyline,great character design,and more. You are Squall Leonhart, a SeeD of the Balamb Garden Military Academy.SeeD is a codename for Balambs elite mercenary soliders. Balamb was created in order to train soliders to battle against an evil sorceress trapped in the future. Squall and his comrades go on a mission once they become SeeDs and then the little problem they were sent to solve turns big.They get caught up in a mess and the time has come to fight the evil sorceress from the future. There are many twists in the game and many side quests which makes the game more interesting.Personally, I love the Real-Time graphics done by Akira Fujii, who also worked on Final Fantasy IX. The music is great and it will capture the player in battle sequences. Theres much to say about this game, but I cant give everything away. This game is definetly worth a buy.