Perhaps because I somehow skipped the Final Fantasy games from the PlayStation 1 Golden Age, I never developed that affection for the franchise that most gamers my age have. However, I've been wanting to give this franchise a proper chance for a while. After a quick look at my library, I chose to play FFVIII as a representative of that Golden Age and as a follow-up to the only other Final Fantasy game I've played, VII Remake, while also scratching my current itch for retrogaming.

Although the tone of the story and character interactions didn't always align with my taste, I found the game charming overall, especially with its fantastic pre-rendered backgrounds. Gameplay-wise, the Junction system seemed convoluted at first, but after getting familiar with it, it became almost enjoyable. On the other hand, spreading Triple Triad's rules to different regions proved to be more complicated than I'd hoped for, and I ended up spending more time than I'd like to admit trying unsuccessfully to manipulate these rules.

a big one off the list definitely not a bad game but when compared to the other games around it 6, 7 and 9 it is noticeably the weaker of the bunch that being said there are some cool things here the use of FMV's with gameplay made for really impressive scenes for something on the ps1 but also i am ngl this has been my least fav ff game gameplay-wise from the pre xiii games i did not like it and when you add on that the usual ff bs of adding a ton of difficulty at the end i really did not have a good time with the final hours of this game. the story does help a bit though its again not the best from this series but it pushed you along fair enough even if i dont think I am going to remember the names of these characters in the long run

Final Fantasy 8 is a beautiful mess of daring ideas and narrative concepts blended together through an inconsistent execution that stays fascinating for its oddity identity that gradually evokes the game's development constraints the further you get to play it.

The obvious cut of narrative content, occasionally stiff localization/writing and inventive, yet broken battlesystem adds quality imperfection in contrast to Final Fantasy 8's very finest.

Since at its best, Final Fantasy 8 is both compelling and memorable with many cool set pieces, an odd and charmy world to explore, great character moments, fantastic fmvs and finally one OST that will capture your soul.

GREETINGS FINAL FANTASY ENJOYERS, JRPG lovers, gamers from all over the world!

After battling schizophrenia and defeating my inner demons in FF7, it's high time to apply for a position as a SeeD in Final Fantasy VIII (FF8)!

The game opens with an ominous chanting and a battle, blood gets spilled and then... you arrive at the real game: you are a japanese student in a japanese high school Squall, a student at Balamb Garden and a SeeD candidate. What the heck are SeeDs? Well, they're mercs. Sounds familiar?
In contrast to the previous entry, this entry focuses much more on our main character and his inner thoughts are often voiced. The cast is rather large as per FF tradition (~7 playable characters this time, 10 under some conditions), and their interactions are usually fun: Squall being teased by Quistis, Rinoa being a teenager girl, Selphie being a typical genki girl (or a ticking bomb for all I know). Laguna will always hold a special place in my heart with his goofyness. However, the characters feel a bit lackluster somehow and not very memorable when all is did and done.
Unfortunately, the plot suffers from the same issue, while it's going places and doing some crazy stuff (like dropping the most unexpected twists in the most unexpected places), it honestly feels very haphazardly put together and straight up incoherent at times. The ending particularly was a sequence weirder than multiple schizo moments from FF7 put together, lol.
So, plot and characters wise it was fine, but honestly it doesn't feel very memorable, maybe the Final Fantasy formula is starting to wear out? Maybe I'm just missing some greater piece here...

As far as gameplay goes this entry changes things up yet again! Materia is gone. The system seems to be more in place with FF6, where everyone can have a particular summon "junctioned" to them.
It honestly was the most mechanically dense game by far. At the beginning I was straight up put off by the sheer amount of jargon and stuff you could do with the junction system, but once you get the hang of it, it feels a lot like a system that really lets you experiment and abuse the game.
There's Triple Triad as well, but I didn't do it because I personally hate any card game minigame (screw you, Gwent!), dabbled only once or twice, but surely some people out there love this.
World map controls felt a bit wonky, especially in "free camera" mode, so I mostly stuck with the default.

Visually, the game is good. I played the remaster but I checked out some clips and screenshots from the original. I appreciate the fact I can actually see characters' faces proper outside of combat in the remaster, haha. Compared to FF7, the FMVs in this one are tens if not hundred times better. Cutscenes were a real feast for the eyes!
Characters are also very animated, very amusing seeing various cast members also act in the background.

Musically, as per usual, it's very good. I certainly enjoyed the ominous chanting song (Liberi Fatali), town tunes and battle tunes. It's all great stuff, although I feel like there's less impactful pieces but maybe that's just because I'm comparing to FF7. My favourite ones after learning their names: The Man with the Machine Gun, My Mind, SeeD, Premonition.

Overall I think that it's a decent game, pretty mid I'd say. Maybe there's some deeper meaning I'm missing out, not sure. I wouldn't recommend this as a first Final Fantasy entry though, but well if you're a masochist like me and want to see what this Final Fantasy is all about you'll play through it anyway, play 4, 6 or 7 first and maybe visit this one after, or if you're the type that saves best for last, playing this ahead would be better.

Well, I'll see you in Final Fantasy IX, time compressor.
[junctions this review]

To be honest, I wasn't very interested in playing Final Fantasy VIII at first. Fortunately though, it got me hooked rather quickly and I stayed till the end; Final Fantasy VIII's story starts off quite well and it stays consistently interesting for at least the first half of the game, and its characters serve the story just fine.
Also, the music is great and the visuals are miles better than the visuals in Final Fantasy VII, especially the character models.
Unfortunately for Final Fantasy VIII though... this is where I already run out of positive things to say about the game.
First of all, the second half of the game feels rushed and the story gets very convoluted and straight up nonsensical, with many dumb moments or just badly written plot points, and for a story that emphasizes on the theme of love first and foremost, Final Fantasy VIII's love story is surprisingly weak.
While the characters's personalities are mostly fine, almost all of them lack depth and are incredibly uninteresting.
The Junction System brings some interesting ideas on paper, but the execution falls short. Overall, it's kinda tedious and its tutorials are so goddamn tiring. It's unique though and I can see why some people enjoy it.
Lastly, the game does have some minor outdated elements like the other older Final Fantasy games.

Pros:
+ Intriguing plot points
+ Very good music
+ Improved visuals
+ Serviceable characters
+ Unique mechanics

Cons:
- Very weak writing
- Characters lack depth
- Junction System
- Outdated minor elements

Narrative: 3/10
Gameplay: ?/10
Content: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Music: 8/10
Graphics/Audio: ?/10

Final Rating: 6/10
- Decent -
Unfortunately, Final Fantasy VIII falls flat in almost every way, however, I really appreciate it for being experimental and trying to execute unique ideas, I just wish these ideas were executed properly.
At the end of the day, Final Fantasy VIII is an experience that's better than the sum of its parts, with a very solid build-up, but an unsatisfying pay-off.

Do I recommend it?:
I would recommend it only to those who want to get deeper into the series.

A great story with interesting characterization, well-told, unfortunately wrapped in a game that is mechanically compromised. The confusing menus of junctioning led to a dull drawing system that haunts the entire game, and shortly after the opening hours I elected to use all the assists provided in the remaster to essentially play the game as a visual novel. The fact that these assists exist is proof that the remasterers know that the mechanics of this game are kinda busted on a fundamental level, but they allow you to mostly bypass them to enjoy the story. Until you get to one of the late-game bosses that straight up HP-checks your party's build and kills you unless you go out of your way to grind some more before the final boss. I'm not ashamed I went and looked up the ending of this game online after I let it bother me enough. The reason all of this sucks so bad is that there is a genuinely great story hiding beneath all these warts. I thought the romance between Squall and Rinoa was genuinely well-written, and it was a pretty coherent and interesting time-travel story that served to bond the couple even closer. I wish we got some more depth to the other party members, but the developers seemed to know which relationships were important and focused on those. The bad mechanics of the game can't take away the achievements of a great story, but neither can the world's best story overcome a game that is at its most fun when I chose to ignore the mechanics.

Can't believe I'm in the minority here but I just love this game, the gameplay is damn fun and while the Junction system is definitely overwhelming at first and they should have introduced it differently instead of bombarding you with information 15 mins into the game, it's a fun system and it's so fun when you figure out how it works and breaks the game.The story well...I get the criticisms but I think it's solid.The main problem is that besides Rinoa, Squall and maybe Seifer the characters don't get fleshed out, Quistis and Zell are pretty interesting and Irvine gets one cool moment but the game just drops their development halfway through and Selphine is just...there.

There are a number of long-running media series out there that inevitably have that entry that sets a new bar. The big blockbuster that is so earth-shattering, you have to wonder how the creators could possibly follow it up. Putting my own feelings of FFVII aside, no one could possibly deny that FFVIII had a herculean task to follow that up. The new shift in focus and mechanics featured in FFVIII would not be for everybody, but boy were they for me.

FF8 focuses on a group of teenage soldiers who are being raised and trained to become "SeeD"s, highly elite soldiers for their respective "Garden"s to go off and fight in whatever contracts their Garden chooses to take. They make use of Guardian Forces (GFs) which serve as their summons, and slowly over time learn more about the world around them. There are a lot of parallels here to another more recent game I care very dearly for, and fans of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 should probably be giving this game a go.

As you may have guessed, FF8 does lay out the anti-war sentiment as many of their games do, but here it serves as more of a backdrop for a much more personal message. More so than (most) other FF games, FF8 is highly centred around its main character. Squall is a distant, awkward kid who ends up having a lot of trust and responsibility thrust upon him. Over the course of the game, he learns more and more about himself and how he handles a lot of difficult situations. It is not an exaggeration for me to say that Squall's whole story arc is a big driving factor behind my 5-star rating here. He is very much a love-him-or-hate-him type of MC, but he REALLY hit that note for me.

As for locations, the game has a ton of really varied and expansive towns and cities to explore. The dungeons are all really unique and varied (you go into a cave like once), and the final dungeon in particular is one of the coolest I have ever played through in an RPG.

Another big divisive part of FF8 and its core identifying feature is the Junctioning system. To equip skills, you "Junction" a GF to that party member, and that allows them to not only choose if they can use items, magic, summon, etc. but also attach magic to their stats to buff them up. There's quite a few little nuances to this that can easily turn someone off if they don't fully understand it, but I thought it was VERY satisfying once it clicks and you're able to do all sorts of broken shit to your liking. Enemy weak to ice? Then junction blizzaga to your elemental attack and go to town. Enemy deals a ton of AOE physical damage? Then junction Blind to your status attack and make it so just hitting them will apply the debuff. There really is a lot you can do with it, and there's no shortage of items and optional content you can go crazy with. In particular, FF8 also introduced my beloved Triple Triad card game which allows you to collect (or lose) cards of all the monsters and bosses in the game. It's pretty addicting, and there are a ton of rule modifiers to mix it up. The cards can even be refined into items, so they are worth collecting from a gameplay standpoint too.

FF8 also just might be the best looking game to come out for the PS1. The gorgeous hand-painted backgrounds (like in FF7) are now populated with realistic-looking character models, and the detail is staggering. There are a number of moments where the game transitions into pre-rendered cutscenes while you are playing some of the more cinematic moments, and it's really really impressive the amount of detail and animation quality they were able to get out of PS1 hardware.

One last thing I would like to mention, in a series of amazing OSTs, FF8 is one of the best. The mix of chill, strange, and hype themes for different locations and moments makes for the perfect atmosphere to drive home the messages of the game. I really can't speak highly enough of Final Fantasy VIII here, and it definitely sits among my favourites.