FINAL FANTASY VIII Reviews

8 out of 10. I remember quitting the game in the final dungeon when it initially came out, it felt so foreign and I didn't feel it lived up to it's predecessor. While it had gigantic shoes to fill, I still stand by that initial assessment. The Junction/Card/Refinement system is one of the most complex and satisfying systems they ever came out with, but it just feels there is nothing to ever use it on, to customize your characters for. The enemy design is just atrocious, same enemies throughout the game but scaled up to your characters. The sinking feeling of meeting the same monsters you meet on the overworld in Balamb in the final dungeon just felt so bad.. And it is the same all game, same monsters, no variety. And the story.... while it does touch on serious themes and does have a few strong moments and conversations , it just feels so artificial and underwhelming. That whole orphanage and collective amnesia arc could have been completely left out and the game would have been improved. Overall great game, solid systems, art and signature Square quality cutscenes, but the story just isn't that satisfying and gripping.

It's fun seeing all the reviews and just what everyone's experience with it has been or what their opinion on what it contributed to gaming. Most all of the comments, speculation and opinions are simply wrong, but it's fun to see. FFVIII while a great game in the FF series... FFVIII is the confused middle child. It's not a bad game by any measure... It simply was an experiment on a system that they (Squaresoft) had thoroughly squeezed every last resource out of. FFVIII, if you look past the game itself and focus on the story, it is phenomenal. The game itself, in comparison to its older and younger siblings... is boring and basically a different universe altogether. However.... I would be lying if I said I didn't come home for 2 months after school and proceed to dump hours on hours into that game.

Unfortunately, there is a really awful bug that I (and others) have come across. The hand icon used in menus flashes faintly at the top of the screen endlessly. So much so that it burns into the screen and remains there after closing the game and restarting the computer. Thankfully, it disappears after a while but this is unacceptable. Even so, Steam did not refund the game. Very disappointed.

Great nostalgia! Lots of fun things to do in game. Triple Triad is amazing! Overall the game is old but still so much fun to play!

Sometimes when you replay an old video game, you don’t know if it’s going to feel like catching up with an old friend… or like opening the storage box under your bed and finding a pile of old birthday cards from people you don’t talk to anymore. Final Fantasy VIII is one of those games. It’s fantastic. But only if you give it thirty minutes. Because if you don’t like it by then… it’s not going to magically become the game you imagined it was. A lot of people didn’t like this game when it first came out, and the reason is mostly one guy… Squall. Squall is miserable. He’s the kind of person who would wear headphones on a plane without music playing, just so no one talks to him. He spends most of the game telling people to leave him alone… and honestly, I respect that. It reminds me of a time I tried to eat a sandwich in the park, and a stranger asked me to sign a petition about saving the bees. I signed it, but immediately regretted it… not because I hate bees, but because I realised I had agreed to give my email address to a guy wearing Crocs. Sometimes you just want to be left alone, even when it’s for a good cause. But the thing about Squall is… he has depth. Not the usual Final Fantasy “depth” where you wake up in another dimension and your dad is somehow your dog. Real depth. He starts as someone you don’t want to be, and, under an absurd amount of pressure, he becomes someone you wouldn’t mind being… for at least an afternoon. Personally, I liked him better when he didn’t lighten up. The music is incredible. It’s the kind of soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re doing something important, even when you’re just microwaving soup. The backgrounds are beautiful too, even in places you only visit once, like the emotional equivalent of a holiday photo from a city you only stopped in for an hour. The character models, though… don’t look great. There’s this famous line where Rinoa calls Squall “the best-looking guy here.” But she’s clearly talking about the cinematic version of him, not the one that looks like someone glued a triangle to a popsicle stick. And then there’s the gameplay. There’s this “Draw” and “Junction” system where you can suck magic out of enemies and glue it to your stats. Which is a fun idea… until you realise you can accidentally become godlike just by grinding for five minutes. It’s like leaving the tap running while you brush your teeth… at first it feels fine, and then suddenly your kitchen is flooded. The story is where it gets strange. The classic “memory loss plot bandaid” returns, but instead of Memento, it feels more like a soap opera where everyone dated each other at summer camp, forgot, and then awkwardly bumped into each other ten years later. It’s about romance as much as it is about saving the world, and depending on your mood, that might actually be nice. All in all, Final Fantasy VIII is a fun slog. The characters are strong, the romance is focused, and even if Squall is controversial, he’s one of the few Final Fantasy characters who actually feels like a person. And maybe that’s why people didn’t like him… because when you’re expecting fantasy, sometimes real people can feel… a little too real. Very good out of 10.

end-game exploration of world map is a nice open world to continuously play

+ So excited to play FF8 on pc!! Back in the day, a bit after it came out, I played it on console and beat it through many hours of play after school and rainy days. It was great. I wanted to try it on PC for the nostalgia and bought it when it was on sale. I could not believe how expensive it still is!! One negative - is about the controller hook up here. It really doesn't work. I ended up using the keyboard and set my own key bindings and with this method, once I got the hang of it, seems to be working well to where the game is starting to be fun instead of glitchy. Second Negative - Graphics sometimes glitchy and freezes, need to adjust graphics and resolution. Once you get the settings right, it is just time in the seat. When you buy this game in the FF series remember that is has old graphics and the combat system in unique. This game can be boring and slow at times but that is how the game is supposed to be!! It is grindy but the story is classic. If you get through the tedious times, it is worth the gameplay. It is exactly copy of when it came out on disc. Enjoy! I'd recommend it.

I only recommend this version of FF8 if you use mods or if you can't play the PS1 version. This version is basically the 2000 PC version with a launcher and with minor quality of life, such as 16:9 resolutions and skipping those lengthy Quistis tutorial rants. It's much better for modding and much cheaper than the "Remastered" version. But we FF8 fans deserve a proper remaster of this game. Square Enix isn't even trying.

Writing this at the end of "disc 1" so things may change (I do intend to beat it), but at the moment I cannot recommend this game. TLDR: Impressive ingredients, underwhelming dish. So many things about this game are cool on their own: - The junction system brings a unique way to min-max your team in ways previously handled by a proper equipment / job system. - Guardian Forces are a twist on the FF summon staple. They come with their own leveling paths, unlockable abilities, and junction mechanics that reshape ways to customize how your character's stats - Enemy designs are unique and often combat is pretty flashy for this era of graphics. - Soundtrack is impressive. It turns recognizable FF tunes / songs into upbeat variations that add to the atmosphere. - Triple Triad is a fun card mini game with actual benefits. Finding rare and strong cards means you can win more often which in turn can give you more magic to junction to your character. My biggest problems come from the draw system and the story: - The draw system is, what I interpret as, an evolution of the FF blue mage job; a combat mechanic that allow the player to take magic aspects from an enemy. Drawing allows you to cast the magic immediately or stock it for later use. The major problem here is it is almost ALWAYS more beneficial to stock the magic so you can junction it to your stats. This alone turns what should be exciting new enemy encounters into a chore of spamming draw until you get a max stack of a new magic to try and junction. Instead of engaging in actual combat, you're stuck drawing, it overall just makes combat feel like farming in the most boring way. - The story feels like an afterthought entirely. Plot progression happens in a way that always made me go "...okay?" and sometimes even "...what the fuck?". Just graduated and became a member of SeeD? Your second assignment is to assassinate the sorceress because someone paid for you to do it... no buildup to this point btw, just go assassinate the sorceress. Even something as small as going from point A to point B is so strange sometimes. Want to exit this room? Pick up a random glass and place it into this statue's hand. Want to progress through this tunnel? Interact with a door that looks like a wall. I swear to God, one time you walk into a train and the only way to progress the story is to walk out the same way you walked in only to get stopped by an NPC... let me repeat that... you walk into a train and immediately turn around and attempt to walk out to progress. How the hell is that intuitive or fun? The Laguna arc feels rather strange because of how quickly it becomes normal to your party, you have a shared dream and all of the sudden your party members are just like "Yep! Guess this happens now!" I'll reserve more judgment on this because it will likely make more sense later. This game has so much potential but these two pain points make it difficult to play for long periods of time, I actually fell asleep during a draw session once. Pirate this game instead. horth

It's a great game, I've played it many times and I have owned it on multiple systems, but I'm not making and logging into a SquareEnix account to play a 26 year old single player game. I don't care that it's got remote play on tablet and phone, that should be optional. Refunded within 10mins. Big thanks to the guy in the reviews that reminded me about Duckstation.