Square slams the PS with one of the biggest RPGs ever. As good as it gets, it does not live up to Final Fantasy VII.
User Rating: 9 | Final Fantasy VIII (Platinum) PS
I think by now it's safe to say that when it comes to RPGs there's everyone else, and then there's Square. No other RPGs at this point have ever approached the Final Fantasy series because it is the benchmark which all other RPGs are judged with. Final Fantasy VII sold over a million copies in the U.S., more than any other RPG to hit the PS, and is possible one of the greatest games ever. Final Fantasy VIII really pushes that envelope and it would be wrong to say that this game is less than exceptional but it does not level out to being another Final Fantasy VII. The gameplay is unfortunately a little similar to other games and took a turn that most may not approve of. It tries to make a break with FInal Fantasy games of the past in many aspects although it really doesn't do it enough. The whole magic system has been changed, but not for the worst. Just a change. Now instead of learning spells and casting them you just Draw (new command) spells from enemies and then use them against the enemy. There's no longer such thing as MP, there's only the possibility of you running out of the number of draws of one spell and then you would have to find the right enemy or draw point to get the spell from. The summons have another new title in this game and are called Guardian Forces (GFs for short). GFs are "joined" to a character so that only they can use it in battle. They also carry along there own set of abilities that make themselves or the person they are joined to stronger. In battle, when you use them, a time bar shows up in which you now see the GF's HP. Any damage done to you between the time you first select GF and when the time bar is up and the GF is casted, is done to the GF instead. If this all sounds intensely complicated, it is, but it works well and is more than bearable. Most of these GFs aren't given to you, however, and need to be found although most of them are in obvious locations. There's a problem with the GF system though. The most powerful spells in the game are made by calling down these GFs and watching them attack your enemies with tremendous force. The problem is that the people that created the cinematic sequences of the GFs really got a little to into it. You have to look through the ENTIRE sequence every time of every GF whenever you cast it. It's very nice to watch the first 10 times, but after that you just wanna pull your hair out. Regular battles can end up lasting up to ten minutes just because you need to use a bunch of GFs during battle. I think it should be time to make these shorter. Or at least give us the option to cut through a chunk of the sequence. Of all of Final Fantasy VIII's strong points, it's graphics are probably it's strongest. The lesser polygonal figures of FFVII have been replaced with highly realistic more superior polygon models that look very realistic at times. A large amount of credit is due to the character animation though. In the FMVs it may appear that you're watching real life actors. The overall production is often jaw-dropping. FFVIII follows FFVII in using 3D real time graphics running around pre-rendered environments and backgrounds. Absolutely nobody does graphics better than Square. All Final Fantasy games have beautiful scores of music throughout them and FFVIII is no exception. Much of the impact of the cut-scenes is due to the game's musical score which is terrific. I did think that weighed against FFVII, however, it didn't quite make it. As with all of Square's games, there is a metric ton of secret stuff locked away in the game for FF faithfuls. How many times can you play this game even though it's over 50 hours of gameplay? A lot more than you expect. There's no denying that FFVIII is a high water mark for other console RPGs. No other games at this time have looked so good as FFVIII. There's enough magic in this game to make an RPG lover out of anyone.
