Final Fantasy 8 marks many changes in the Final Fantasy series, but one thing they do keep is the depth and variety of characters. Some are among Squaresoft's all time greats, some are livable and forgettable, some you really wish you could forget. Pans of characters here should not be taken as diminishing my endorsement of the game itself. I absolutely love it and consider it the best RPG on the market.

Let's start with our hero, Squall. Reluctantly pegged with being the leader and the first character you meet, he's an anti-social and brooding teen whose only strong emotional response seems to be "Whatever." This can be fun if you get into the roleplay aspect and sympathize with him, it can get annoying if he reminds you of someone you know and want to slap on occasion. However, by not picking the standard dialogue choices when given an option, you can get some funny lines out of him. And I liked the fact that he didn't suddenly change into a different person halfway through the game as many Square heroes tend to do. His changes are subtle and realistic as he matures into a strong leader.

Squall's nemesis is Seifer, a good guy gone bad. While we know that there's an antagonistic relationship right off the bat seeing as the game starts with Squall recovering from an injury given to him by Seifer in training, as time goes on it seems that Seifer and Squall have an unspoken understanding of each other. Square could have improved a bit by providing more on this relationship, and on Seifer in general. We're left to guess a bit at his underlying motivations when the reasons they give for his behavior come off as superficial. He is, however, an intriguing character, and his sidekicks Raijin and Fujin provide a bit of comic relief.

Quistis, our 'mentor' member of the party, is great. My god, has Square created a female character who's not a ditz, can fight, is fairly well-adjusted, and has brains? Don't take her for the cool and collected and rather boring, type, however. Given the opportunity Quistis can throw caution to the wind and get impulsive.

The romantic interest is Rinoa, although the interest is only on her part for most of the game. Rinoa has the potential when you first meet her to be fascinating, but it quickly deteriorates to spoiled brat. She is perhaps Square's only failure here as she does go through one of those inexplicable changes that leaves you wondering if they switched characters on you.

While Selphie is annoying at first, I found a way to look at her that makes her actually pretty funny, and from the dialogue I can only assume to be the way that Square meant her to come off, though perhaps they could have made it clearer and presented it earlier. She's not simply immature and hyper. She's insane. She's a bonafied psychotic with a terrorist hidden behind that perky Kathy Lee smile. And in comparison, I found her to be less annoying than FF7's Yuffie. At least she didn't bounce around in cheerleader glee after every battle. Admittedly she wins the prize for worst hair and costume, although in the ending CG she manages to look a little less goofy.

Zell definitely did not click for me, but I know people who love him. Go figure. Zell especially was annoying with his spaz qualities, that tattoo (is it a lightning strike or a stylized chocobo? I dunno), and the fact that he's such a failure at anything other than shadowboxing and yelling like a dork. Add to this his complicated limit break (reminiscent of Sabin, a character I liked in personality but dreaded playing for his limit break) and he's a surefire loser. The saving grace is that optional dialogue gives you the chance to have the other characters mock him. (Selphie's opinion of him is a little boost in liking her.)

Then there's Irvine. Unless you play this guy you'll never know what a gem he is. Cocky on the surface, sweet underneath, a bit of an airhead but with sound advice when it's needed, and borderline nuts enough to stand calmly and wipe out enemies while the other more sane members of the party dive behind barricades. The extra scenes and dialogues you get with him in the party are some of the best in the game. And as the sole member of the party who really knows what's going on, he's indispensable for the plot. While more of a loner than a leader, Irvine is the one who keeps things going, encouraging the other party members to continue, reminding Squall of what's important, and of course always playing the ladies' man. In the ending CG, the absolutely funniest parts come during the credits with Irvy stealing the show.

Edea is the evil sorceress that the team must go after. To talk about her too much would be to reveal too many spoilers, but suffice it to say that she is the most beautiful enemy Square has ever created.

Laguna, Kiros, and Ward are your alternate party for when the team is in the 'Dreamworld'. Laguna is an airhead, but an extremely likable one, and Kiros is a character you really wish you could know more about. With his quick wit and wry sense of humor played against Laguna's lack of common sense you should get through their scenes with more than one chuckle. Throw in Biggs and Wedge, the hapless Galbadian soldiers the team keeps defeating, and you've got a lot of humor to go around. Cid Kramer, another minor character, provides a mature touchstone with his fatherly advice and his failures as a parental figure.

While some have decried Squaresoft's lack of deep characters in FF8, I found them to be more real and playable than in most cases. There's not the level of tormented and tragic pasts that have become the hallmark of Final Fantasy characters, allowing you to see these characters as more real and easier to relate to.



Recommended: Yes