Letdown
Written: Jun 17 '00 (Updated Jun 17 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: spectacular graphics, terrific storyline
Cons: the battle system makes this game lose major points
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| marcmerica's Full Review: Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 1 |
Hot on the heels of the incredible Final Fantasy 7, I was really looking forward to Final Fantasy 8. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed.
There are many improvements that FF8 made from FF7. The graphics are better, looking more polished and refined. The animated sequences are without a doubt the finest Playstation has to offer, and will blow you away. The sounds and music are excellent, although I prefer FF7 in this case, just slightly. The characters and storyline are more developed. These are the two strongest points to this game, and are the reason this is a very good game.
The problem is, I have come to expect a lot from Squaresoft, especially regarding the FF series. They screwed up one thing in this game that is impossible to overlook. I'm talking about the battle system.
This game uses a junction system where you can equip GF (Guardian Forces) to help you in battles - your summon magic in other words. This is terribly awkward at first, and once you get used to everything, the game is ridiculously easy. There is no limit to how often you can use a GF during battles, making them no challenge at all. The GF spells look pretty impressive at first, but eventually I started to dread using them because, even though they were strong, watching the same GF summon two, three, or even more times during a battle gets old very fast. Because of the GF spells there is almost no emphasis on the physical attacks, and they pretty much become weak and useless.
Your magic is actually found rather than acquired, you can "draw" it from enemies and use it as your own - you can also find draw points around the game which store magic spells. You can carry up to 100 units of one magic spell at a time. I do not like this at all. If you know magic, you know it. You shouldn't have to worry about losing it and then reacquiring it. But again, because the GF's are so powerful, only a few of the magic spells have any impact at all.
I overemphasized my distaste for the GF's to get a point across. I still like this game very much, and sometimes the battle system is fun to experience. This is still a very good game that I would recommend to most RPG players. I just thought they could have balanced the strengths better.
Check this game out if you have played Final Fantasy games before, or are a fan of RPG's. If you have never played an RPG before, I would recommend FF7 before this one, but FF8 would not be a bad choice for your first attempt.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
marcmerica
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Location: Fort Myers, Florida
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 17 members
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