The worst Final Fantasy (but Final Fantasy's a hell of a series)
Written: Feb 21 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Awesome graphics, beautiful soundtrack, amazing FMV, great story
Cons: A bit too complicated for its own good, undeveloped final boss, slow to get going
The Bottom Line: This is a great game, although not for everyone. If you're willing to take the time to learn the complex junction system can enjoy this game. Personally, I enjoyed it.
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| snoogans86's Full Review: Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 1 |
Intro:
Final Fantasy VIII, believe it or not was my first PlayStation game. Back when I had FFVII PC, the sequel had my itching to get my hands on it. So much I sent my mom to get it for me the day it came out even though I didn't own a PlayStation yet. I've had it ever since. But of course the day I beat it is February 17, 2003, at 4 in the morning. It's because I thought I was an RPG buff but I was still green. I had a huge collection of RPG's but I had beaten only a handful. Well after I beat FFIX I popped in FFVIII and resumed my record. Man, do I love this game.
The Good:
Of course these are some of the best on the PlayStation. Most definitely the best FMV. I mean, FFIX of course was a step up but it didn't seem as impressive as seeing realistic looking people doing motion captured moves. The sequences look as real as it gets (except for maybe The Spirits Within). The in-game graphics are good too with a few sore spots. For one, FFVII used FMV extensively and so does VIII, but not as much. In VII a train would be pre-rendered and FMV would play as you entered. In this one this train is rendered in real-time which makes it stick out like a sore thumb. But this is forgivable. The game is so atmospheric it's amazing. Nobuo Uematsu did great job making quite possibly the best FF soundtrack that I've heard. VII's was not quite as good, it was a bit too depressing except for the last few songs, VIII's had me running to download tracks. I implore you to get Maybe I'm A Lion to see what I'm talking about. The game starts out a bit slow which is made more apparent when you play FFVII, but it quickly gets good. The SeeD test is perhaps my favorite part of the game. With one of the best sequences in the game, best songs, and most thrilling chases (X-ATMO92 I think it's called, you'll know when you get there) in the game. All this convinced my friends that Final Fantasy must be an awesome series even though this is perhaps the most inferior FF.
The Bad:
First of all, I hate this leveling up. When you level up, so do your enemies, which all but negates the point of leveling up. The only real incentive to level up is so that your enemies learn new spells for you to draw (more on that later.) This makes the game both extremely easy and extremely hard depending on who you ask (and what point in the game you are). Also the Junction system while innovative and interesting, is extremely complicated. It's nearly impossible to understand it without glancing at an FAQ just to understand what's going on. Basically it comes down to your Guardian Forces (the name for summons, it changes each game). Without these guys you are nothing. Your stats are low, and all you can do is attack. When you junction a Guardian Force to your character you can add up to 3 more commands to your character. There's Draw, Magic, GF and Item. The problem is that you only have 3 choices so you have to decide whether it's more important to be able to draw Esuna from your enemy or if you should have Item for those Remedies you have. You can also junction magic which is where it gets very complicated. You junction different spells to stats and depending on which spells you use and how much of that spell you have you can improve your stats dramatically. The problem is when you use that spell in battle you're in effect lowering your stats. Finally, I must address the magic system. Magic Points do not exist in this game. You draw spells from enemies. Like if you draw Esuna you might draw 3 Esunas. Basically magic becomes like a more complicated item system. And so you have to make sure you're well stocked with the magic you need for the next battle, and if you run out of it (yes run out of magic), you'll just have to go draw some more. This game is too damn complicated. One more thing, I had this same issue with FFIX. The final boss (who will be revealed at the end of the game) is undeveloped. You only hear about him/her, and never see him/her til' the very end. The drama is lost once you reach the final boss, since you don't feel how evil they are.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
snoogans86
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Member: Phil Istine
Location: Miami Shores, Fl, USA
Reviews written: 65
Trusted by: 27 members
About Me:
"Digest a group then sell the poop on eBay" - MF Doom
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