Final Fantasy VIII |
|
||
Monday October 04,1999
|
|||
Final Fantasy VIII |
|
||
Monday October 04,1999
|
|||
SquareSoft has out done themselves again ! |
This long awaited continuation of the Favorite Final Fantasy Series is the cream of the crop. As usual, the story line, characters, and magic system have all changed. Some other things have gone through a well-deserved improvement, such as the graphics and sound quality. This well-known game has had people everywhere ecstatic just to get a copy of it. It sold over 200,000 copies before its release. As you start this game, it begins to come alive; the first Computer Generated movie starts. Even though it is just an introduction before the actually game begins, it has some very good pictures. Strangely enough it doesn’t show anybody’s faces. Once you actually begin the game, a wonderful yet strange Computer Generated movie starts to play. Most game fanatics will remember this as one of the CG movie’s that are floating around the net. It starts out with Rinoa Heartilly, a beautiful young woman, standing on a beach. Throughout the whole thing, words are flashed before the screen to give it an artistic look. The main subject of this movie is a battle between Squall and Seifer, two students at Balmb Garden. Squall is the main character and Seifer soon becomes his rival. Squall, of course, takes a bad hit right between the eyes, but not without hitting Seifer. Once you movie is over, the game actually begins with Squall lying on a bed in some medical center. Thus showing when and how the battle took place. One of the greatest features of this game is the Junction System. The junction equipping system allows customization of magic attacks, effectiveness, combination and Guardian Force availabilities. A Guardian Force, or GF for short, is exactly like a Summon Creature from the earlier Final Fantasies. You may also summon them to wreak havoc upon enemy forces. With a GF equipped to a character, you can now use special skills. You must first equip these skills to your character. These skills can range anywhere from Draw to Item. The only problem is that only certain GF’s have certain skills. Also each GF has skills that it can learn over a period of time and accumulation of AP points. For instance, Quetzalcoatl can learn how to turn enemies into cards for the card game. Once he has learned the skill, any character with this GF attached can now use the Card ability as long as they junction it on. Another great thing they added into this game is the Card Game. You receive a set of 7 cards at the beginning of the game. Others can be optioned by playing other characters in the Card Game, or by turning enemies into Cards with the Quetzalcoatl GF. The cards have a picture of an enemy, character, or GF and they each have 4 numbers. The numbers are attack powers. When playing the game you choose a certain number of cards and lay them down next to your opponent's cards. The card with the higher numbers (when placed next to another card) wins. The magic system in this game is very different from all the other Final Fantasies. Instead of buying it from a store or learning it from a summon creature, Final Fantasy 8 lets you take magic away from various enemies. You must first equip the draw command from a GF. Next you have to use it in battle against enemies. In the end you should gain a certain number of magic to use either during the battle or to store. If you store the magic, it can be used on your character’s status. When you first lay your eyes on this game, you will notice that the graphics are much better than the semi-blocky ones in the previous final fantasy. In a world of 3-D, no game is more life like than Final Fantasy VIII. The graphics on this game are extraordinary. Final Fantasy VIII brought back the Limit Break from FF7, only they are slightly different. Limit Breaks are special moves that the characters can use at special times during battle. One of Squall’s limit breaks, for example, has the player press R1 at the right moment and he will slash and then fire a shot from his gunsword.
" Fabulous training room!" |
" Outstanding graphics ! " If this is pulled off, Squall does a lot of damage; if you miss, Squall’s attack is just weaker than what it would have been. Each of the character’s limit breaks are quite different and some even harder to pull off. The weapons have also changed dramatically in Final Fantasy 8. Instead of buying your weapons at a shop, you have to use specific items along with your current weapon to make a new one. This process also costs money. The way of gaining money has also changed in this game. In Final Fantasy 7, you would gain money by killing monsters throughout the game. This has all been done away with in FF8. For starters, you get money periodically, depending on the rank that Squall is when he becomes a member of SeeD, an organization founded around the world, removed military domination and created peace. His rank is based on his actions taken throughout the game. As the game progresses, Squall’s Rank will fluctuate depending on his actions. It can rise or fall depending on the decisions you’ve made, your actions during some battles, and how many enemies you’ve defeated. Your rank can quickly rise by taking tests according to your level. One of the things that never changes in the Final Fantasy games is the Chocobo. Sure there are different types that do different things in each individual game, but they are always there. In one of the forests a kid will sell you what looks like a flute for use to capture chocobos. Keep in mind that chocobos will escape and run away once you get off of them, like in Final Fantasy 7. Not many things were wrong with this game, but the 3-D environment makes moving harder for game players. The whole world is made up of this type of system. It makes the game good and bad. At times it is hard to tell where exactly you are going. You get used to it and eventually memorize the environment, which makes it so it isn’t too much of a hindrance. A new thing that they added to this game is a tutorial that you can access anytime throughout the game. Most Final Fantasies have a way to telling the players how the game is played, but this one sets the standard by making it accessible through the menu screen. The Graphics are extra special; no game in the world has any like them. Square Soft has made this game out to be the best looking 3-D game on the market. The Computer Graphics movies look so real; it is almost as if it is a movie and not a game. 3-D rendered characters add to this effect dramatically. Another great thing that Square soft added into this game, is the exceptional music. For once they added in vocal instead of just instrumental. Faye Wong sings an excellent song: “Eyes on Me”, which adds to the greatness of the whole game. Also, instead of the song being in Japanese, which is where the game came from, this song was sung in English in both the Japanese and American release. Everyone likes games with good sound, and Final Fantasy 8 has probably the best sounds and songs in a game. Square Soft has come a long way from the 8-bit genre with their original Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 8 has it all: graphics, story line, vocal music, twists and turns, mini games, and even a unique way of using magic. There is no game that can even compare to the complexity and all around fun of this game. Final Fantasy 8 is excellent in graphics, but that isn’t all that makes a game. Fortunately, Square Soft knew this and incorporated much more into this game of depth and feelings. Much, much more could be said about this game; unfortunately, not without spoiling so many great parts that nobody will want to miss. |
Companies Developer Publisher Category Notes Originality: 94% TOTAL: 95% Requirements Console Analog Controller Vibration Function Memory Card Multiplayer Rated by ESRB
|
|
