Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII was the first Final Fantasy I ever played. I watched a friend play it for a bit and decided that, one day, it would be mine. I would buy a PlayStation just for this game.

I couldn't have made a better choice. Let me tell you why FFVIII is probably the best RPG ever created.

First of all, the opening scene is tremendous. The song, Liberi Fatali, is definitely one of Nobuo Uematsu's greatest compositions. The battle between Squall and Seifer at the beginning is simply amazing. This scene right here revolutionized how a game should look. The movie sequences are totally amazing.

Squall is a young cadet at the Balamb Garden, a training ground of sorts for SeeD, an elite mercenary group. Squall is not the most optimistic person. He is, however, very realistic, which causes many people not to like him. From this paragraph already, Squall has much more character than Final Fantasy VII's Cloud. Cloud couldn't make up his mind who he wanted to be. Squall knows what he wants, knows how he will act, and does it. His character stays true. About halfway through the game he has a sort of inner climax, in which the conflict within him is so great that he is forced to change views of the world. This is a real character. He grows, he's round, he's not flat. I was very impressed with his ever slow turnaround, from his thoughts before the parade to the scene on the Ragnarok.

The battle system is excellent. FFVIII introduces a "Junction System", in which magic can be attached to stats to make the character more powerful. The Guardian Forces allow the characters to achieve these amazing feats. Guardian Forces are so much better than FFVII's Summons, which were only used in battle. GF's can give characters plenty of new abilities, and ability points will not be wasted in this game. The Summons in FFVII were just there like rocks... the GF's in FFVIII are characters in themselves which serve to better your main characters.

Although this new battle system is astounding, it isn't without its flaws. You could spend countless hours just drawing magic from enemies, and if you wish to get a really good character, you will have to. If you don't use the right abilities from the beginning, you will end up with a Level 100 character giving only 7,000 damage at the end (instead of a whomping 9999). But these are only a few things compared to how much fun the junction system is. It's almost like a sports game. You can sit for several minutes just rearranging your magic, figuring out what works best where, managing your stats, so to say. It sounds complex, and indeed it is. But this system is more rewarding than the Materia system or the Attach-Magic-Stones-in-Clothing system of the deranged Final Fantasy IX.

Some people complain that FFVIII's plot is dull, shallow, and utterly witless. I have to disagree. Although it is very unusual, and it seems to shift entirely too much about halfway, we must remember sappy FFVII's chase-Sephiroth plot. Now THAT was boring. Squall, Zell, Quistis, and the others in your group must complete several missions and get to the third disc before you even know who the final boss is (and that boss does just appear out of nowhere--I'll admit, that's quite awkward).

The music is just like much of Uematsu's work. It is very entertaining in some parts, such as Only a Plank Between One and Perdition, Never Look Back, Liberi Fatali, and the ominous voices in Succession of Witches, but it can be very pointless and dull in areas. Such as when you're up near the moon, or in the final castle. Ugh.

The main flaw I've found in Final Fantasy VIII, as well as all other Final Fantasy's (except, of course, Final Fantasy I), is that the plot gets in the way too much. I never felt like I had any time to run around and defeat monsters for experience points. In certain parts, you will not be on the world map for what seems like ages. But some of the enemies are great, and FFVIII sports one excellent bestiary.

To sum up what I've said, Final Fantasy VIII is much better than it's sappy predecessors, has much better movie sequences, has superior music, astounding character development, an excellent battle system, and a plot that will nearly devour you with its twists and turns. I would recommend this to ANY gamer of ANY skill. Anybody who enjoys pure modern fantasy with a great plot and superb animation can NOT pass this one up.