A five day gap between the due date of my last essay and my first (open book) exam has left me with several consecutive days off. I have used those days to complete Final Fantasy 8; not a bad way to spend some time if I do say so myself. Being a longstanding fan of its predecessor (FF7) it is somewhat difficult for me to make a totally unbiased assessment. Even though these two titles have very little in common, they are constantly being compared against eachother as the usual candidates for "Greatest Squaresoft RPG ever". And although FF7 has a larger fanbase and the universally acknowledged status as one of the greatest games ever made, FF8 is no slouch either. There's a whole sect of people (including Nova) who see 8 as being superior to 7 and in a lot of ways I can understand why.

 Graphics do not make a game, but they are important. The case of FF8 is somewhat unique so I'll deal with it first. At first glance the graphics don't seem that great; many of the textures are extremely grainy (even for PSX) and in some cases actually end up looking worse than FF7. A perfect example is the overworld; FF7 didn't aim as high and thus acheived a more polished product. FF8, on the other hand, pushed the envelope and while it worked in some cases, it was a drawback in others. It's somewhat hard to explain but if you've ever played the game you probably understand what I'm getting at. It is better to aim a little lower and have a slightly less advanced product that looks more polished than to set ones sights too high and try to push the software too hard. FF7 didn't use any textures at all in some cases and although this certainly took away from its visual appeal, it was actually a smart decision. It's a lot easier to put up with low detail figures that move cleanly than higher-detail ones that look grainy.

 Now comparing the two titles, especially on graphics, isn't really fair. FF8 does not try to be FF7, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed playing it so much. Even so, some comparisson is going to be inevitable given the close relationship between the two titles. I should reiterate that there is nothing wrong with FF8's graphics (for the time it was made, 1999); I just felt that in some cases Square would have been better suited to use lower detail models than try for something that the PSX just cannot handle. Thankfully this is only really a problem in the games overworld, where you don't spend a hell of a lot of time anyways.

 One huge plus factor for graphics... the FMVs. This game is four discs for very good reason; the FMV's look phenomenal, especially for their time. I'd say they're still reasonably good even by todays standards. They're well done and plentiful, they don't ever skip or stutter and they enhance the story tremendously. So whatever the game may lack in its overworld graphics engine, it more than makes up for with the FMVs.

 On to the storyline then. FF8 is often regarded as one of the most romantic games of all time and I suppose I can understand why that is. Even so... I'm skeptical, in one sense. Firstly I must absolve my own tastes in gaming; anyone who knows me knows I am a very romantic person, and also that I tend to like RPGs that differ from the mainstream. I also know that the FF series, while excellent, is the definition of mainstream. So with that in mind I can understand that the romance aspects would have to be limited in some ways, otherwise lots of potential gamers could have been turned off. But even with that in mind I didn't find the game to be overly romantic. Certainly it's a huge part of the storyline and all, but I guess I was just expecting more from the game that's known as "most romanctic ever". Again, let me clarify - I am not criticizing either the story or the romance of it. Nor am I saying the romance was weak. All I'm saying is that when you go into a game with the knowledge that it is universally regarded as one of the most romantic titles ever, you have certain expectations. In some ways I found FF8 didn't quite meet those expectations. For the longest time our hero and heroine aren't even able to confess their feelings to eachother and even when they do, they still act as if they feel nothing. At times it is almost silly and certainly distracting. Here's one spoiler-free example. Our hero, Squall, risks certain death to save the heroine (Rinoa) from her own demise. All the while he is thinking to himself about how much he cares about her, how much he yearns to tell her how he feels. Our hero is of course able to do the impossible and save the heroine... and yet when all is said and done and they're safe, he won't even embrace her when she asks him to! I realize the hero's character is supposed to be somewhat cold and aloof, but there have to be limits. There are a couple scenes like this and I found them very frustrating; I almost wanted to yell at the characters because of their behaviour. I know part of a good romance involves some awkward moments and such... at first. But this scene happens three quarters of the way into the game and it just felt wrong. The intensely romantic heroism of Squalls act to save Rinoa is completely ruined by his cowardice in not even bothering to give her a hug. I mean come on.... I'll concede that FF8 was a romantic game, but I hesitate in calling it the most romantic ever. Personally I found FF10 to be just as romantic, and thankfully it was spared from some of the flaws present in this title.

 Other than the somewhat frustrating pacing of the romance, the story is pretty good. It's got lots of twists and turns, some so shocking that it'll actually take a while for the player to get their head around it. The ending, while confusing in some ways, was solid and certainly a better effort than many RPGs receive. So there's definitely no criticism there. I found the characters to be compelling and intriguing, so there too I have no criticism. Despite my earlier objections on the whole the story is actually very good and certainly worth experiencing. I just felt that one or two scenes (like the one I outlined) were botched, and that sadly cost the story in some of its more critical moments.

 The gameplay is where FF8 really shines. Unlike most RPGs, levels are essentially irrelevant in this game. Your enemies level as you do, so there's never any need or point in power training. The ability to turn random encounters on and off, coupled with the fact that all forced battles (ie. bosses) don't give you any experience means you could very realistically face the final boss with Level 10 characters (and a level 10 end boss). Now this is not really a smart idea, since you'll want to acquire strong items and magic from your battles. But even so, having the option is a godsend. I admit I spent about 40% of the game with the battles turned off - sometimes you just get tired of battling, or are so into the story that you just want to find out what happens next. That's actually another compliment to the strength of the story; it can carry its own weight and doesn't really even need the battles. One might see this as indicative of a weak battle system, which couldn't be further from the case. Although FF8's junction system is hopelessly confusing at first, once you get it you get it (as Nova so eloquently put it). It allows for a lot of customization of characters and, in my case, strategic abuse of the system. See, your enemies level as you do - their levels are the average of the levels of your three active party members. So by strategically overpowering one character (ie. Squall) while intentionally stunting the growth of others, you can really tip the balance in your favour. For a long time I had Squall around level 40 and my other characters at level 20. This made enemy levels around 25, and the overlevelled Squall was more than strong enough to cover for his weaker counterparts. According to Nova this is "cheating", but I see it as fair game since it is merely one method of utilizing the junction system.

The soundtrack for the game is top notch; one can expect nothing less from Nobuo Uematsu. The theme song for the game, "Eyes On Me", is a wonderful romance song and perfectly meshes. All of the other tracks are great too and although there aren't quite as many memorable tunes as in FF7 or 9, the soundtrack is definitely on par. Sometimes the best scores are the ones that blend so well you don't even notice them at first glance. That was often the case here.

As for replay value... well, there's isn't a whole lot but that's to be expected in a game like this. There are of course several optional subquests which do help extend the longevity of your playing experience. Even so, compared against games like Nocturne or Vandal Hearts II which have multiple paths and endings, FF8 really cannot compete. It's still a great game though - I'd certainly play it again for the sheer enjoyment factor. That's another positive toward the game; it's just fun to play. It's always hard to pin down the fun factor, as it varies so much from person to person and even from game to game. But whatever it is, FF8 has plenty of it.

In the end, I have a wholly positive reflection on the game. Sure, it's not perfect but then no game is. Directly compared against FF7 it surely has less flaws. Does it supercede FF7 for me... perhaps in one sense. FF7 will always hold a special place for me that no game (not even Nocturne) can occupy. Even so, FF8 was a spectacular effort and a wonderful experience to play. In the end I'll say the two are about equal, albeit different. Both have their flaws but still remain, to this day, templates against which all RPGs are inevitably judged.

With FF8 complete my next game is Jade Cocoon 2, which I bought like five months ago and am just getting to now. So far it seems pretty good... a little below my age level at times, but cute and funny none-the-less. I can also sense, even at this early stage, that this is going to be a highly addictive game. I'll post again with more info on it later.

What else? I think my computer might have a virus... my IEXPLORE.exe process keeps crashing on itself. Whenever I leave and explorer window open without refreshing it for more than like five minutes (it happened while trying to make this entry actually) the browser window sucks up all my system resources and then stops responding. I suppose my options are to either find the virus and remove it, or switch to a different internet browser like Firefox. And just now my cellphone crashed, somehow... -_- It's just been one of those days, I guess.

Oh well, I'll post again later.