This review contains spoilers
Final Fantasy VIII, aka, FF8, is potentially the most divisive game in the Final Fantasy franchise. Released after the huge success of FF7, it had a lot to live up to. For many fans, it hit the spot, but for others, not so much. With it being the latest FF game in my quest to complete them all, I'm hoping I can shed some light on why this is one of the most controversial entries to grace the series.
As is the case with many FF titles, the first thing that comes to mind with FF8 is its cast of characters, and as is usually the case with these games, they live up to expectations. Not only are the protagonists likeable, but many of the side characters are as well, many of them having direct involvement with the plot of the game. The characters only become more likeable as the game goes on, with a heavy focus on character development being ever present, particularly for the leading man, Squall Leonhart.
We also have an interesting main antagonist, who, despite not being actually revealed until nearer the end of the game, is in fact an ever present threat from near the start, with a reveal that ties in nicely with one of the plot's biggest twists. Sadly, the secondary antagonists fail to live up to the hype of their previous counterparts, such as Shinra and the Turks.
As far as the music goes, as per usual with Square games in general, we once again get treated to a glorious soundtrack. Whilst not as iconic as the OSTs of other FF entries, especially those of FF6, FF7 and FF10, tunes like Force Your Way, Liberi Fatali and The Extreme really tie this game together.
As far as the plot is concerned, FF8 is by far the most sci-fi influenced entry to the series thus far, and in a series full of time travel, airships, and futuristic cities, that's quite the accomplishment. Naturally, being so heavily influenced by sci-fi, particularly the themes of time travel and paradoxes, it is also one of Final Fantasy's most convoluted plots, which often leads to it being one of the biggest points of contention within the FF fandom. The only way I can think to describe the plot is wibbly wobbly timey wimey, which is apt, as it will appeal most to fans of shows like Doctor Who.
Unfortunately, the most controversial aspects of FF8 are mostly related to its gameplay. The main progression system of the game is the Junctioning system, which is pretty much mandatory. Players have to junction summons (or Guardian Forces, as they are known in this world) to access magic, items and other available options in battle, with only Attack being available otherwise. Junctioning also allows players to boost their stats by junction magic to them, which is far more important for getting stronger than levelling up is. It also leads to a rather interesting gameplay dilemma.
Magic doesn't work the same way in FF8. Rather than learn spells and use MP, you 'draw' spells from specific places and from enemies, and then stock them. You can also refine magic from items, provided you have earned enough AP to learn refining abilities from your GFs. This leads to a lot of farming on a near constant basis, especially if you want to optimize your stats via junctioning. Also, using junctioned magic decreases your stats as you will have less of that spell attached to your stats, so unless you have a lot of different spells and are able to switch them based on your current situation, it can make having a dedicated mage incredibly difficult, especially earlier in the game and before unlocking the ability to refine magic from items. You can also cast directly from drawing in battle, rather than stocking the spells first, but you will do less damage.
The other big gameplay issue many players have is the level scaling. Every enemy scales as the player levels up, and this can actually make the game more difficult at times. An enemy at the start of the game will always be as comparatively strong, no matter your level. This is particularly frustrating if you get stuck on a boss, as it doesn't really leave any options to better prepare for the fight, unless you are able to leave and stock up more magic.
On top of this, FF8 is particularly infamous within the fandom for the number of tutorials it throws at you, and the not so friendly menu UI. Sorting your items does not rearrange their battle order, which you have to do manually, and exchanging magic between characters can be just as annoying.
There are, however, a couple of gameplay elements that are widely received quite well.
Limit Breaks are surprisingly in depth in comparison to FF7's and the Overdrives of FF10. They start to appear with a low chance at around 25% health, being more likely to appear if HP is lower. They also have a hidden stat called Crisis Level, which makes them far more common and potent based on how low HP is, if any party members have been KOed, and how many status effects are negatively affecting the party. A player with good knowledge of FF8's limit system can abuse it almost infinitely.
FF8 is also home to one of the most popular FF minigames of all time, Triple Triad. It's a simple enough card game (for the most part) which you can win more cards through, and even has a few side quests attached to it, as well as a card collection for you to complete. Some of the rules that can come into play do complicate things though, with random card selection being one of the most frustrating.
With multiple ports and versions now available, Remastered is the best FF8 experience, having fixed numerous issues, as well as finally making Squall the actual most handsome guy in the room. However, despite the improved models, the pre-rendered backgrounds don't upscale very well and are quite blurry at times. Chocobo World and a few achievements have also been removed. However, Boko's upgraded abilities and the exclusive items can be obtained natively instead, and the missing achievements are mostly Chocobo World related or super grindy, like killing 10k enemies.
Overall, Final Fantasy VIII is not a bad game. It certainly gets a lot more negative reception than it deserves. If you are able to learn its intricacies, it is quite enjoyable. However, more casual JRPG fans will likely find the game to be more frustrating than anything else, and it is easy to see why this game causes so much controversy within the overall FF fan base. Regardless of this, I still recommend it for the story alone, even if you have to resort to the built in cheats later ports included.
As is the case with many FF titles, the first thing that comes to mind with FF8 is its cast of characters, and as is usually the case with these games, they live up to expectations. Not only are the protagonists likeable, but many of the side characters are as well, many of them having direct involvement with the plot of the game. The characters only become more likeable as the game goes on, with a heavy focus on character development being ever present, particularly for the leading man, Squall Leonhart.
We also have an interesting main antagonist, who, despite not being actually revealed until nearer the end of the game, is in fact an ever present threat from near the start, with a reveal that ties in nicely with one of the plot's biggest twists. Sadly, the secondary antagonists fail to live up to the hype of their previous counterparts, such as Shinra and the Turks.
As far as the music goes, as per usual with Square games in general, we once again get treated to a glorious soundtrack. Whilst not as iconic as the OSTs of other FF entries, especially those of FF6, FF7 and FF10, tunes like Force Your Way, Liberi Fatali and The Extreme really tie this game together.
As far as the plot is concerned, FF8 is by far the most sci-fi influenced entry to the series thus far, and in a series full of time travel, airships, and futuristic cities, that's quite the accomplishment. Naturally, being so heavily influenced by sci-fi, particularly the themes of time travel and paradoxes, it is also one of Final Fantasy's most convoluted plots, which often leads to it being one of the biggest points of contention within the FF fandom. The only way I can think to describe the plot is wibbly wobbly timey wimey, which is apt, as it will appeal most to fans of shows like Doctor Who.
Unfortunately, the most controversial aspects of FF8 are mostly related to its gameplay. The main progression system of the game is the Junctioning system, which is pretty much mandatory. Players have to junction summons (or Guardian Forces, as they are known in this world) to access magic, items and other available options in battle, with only Attack being available otherwise. Junctioning also allows players to boost their stats by junction magic to them, which is far more important for getting stronger than levelling up is. It also leads to a rather interesting gameplay dilemma.
Magic doesn't work the same way in FF8. Rather than learn spells and use MP, you 'draw' spells from specific places and from enemies, and then stock them. You can also refine magic from items, provided you have earned enough AP to learn refining abilities from your GFs. This leads to a lot of farming on a near constant basis, especially if you want to optimize your stats via junctioning. Also, using junctioned magic decreases your stats as you will have less of that spell attached to your stats, so unless you have a lot of different spells and are able to switch them based on your current situation, it can make having a dedicated mage incredibly difficult, especially earlier in the game and before unlocking the ability to refine magic from items. You can also cast directly from drawing in battle, rather than stocking the spells first, but you will do less damage.
The other big gameplay issue many players have is the level scaling. Every enemy scales as the player levels up, and this can actually make the game more difficult at times. An enemy at the start of the game will always be as comparatively strong, no matter your level. This is particularly frustrating if you get stuck on a boss, as it doesn't really leave any options to better prepare for the fight, unless you are able to leave and stock up more magic.
On top of this, FF8 is particularly infamous within the fandom for the number of tutorials it throws at you, and the not so friendly menu UI. Sorting your items does not rearrange their battle order, which you have to do manually, and exchanging magic between characters can be just as annoying.
There are, however, a couple of gameplay elements that are widely received quite well.
Limit Breaks are surprisingly in depth in comparison to FF7's and the Overdrives of FF10. They start to appear with a low chance at around 25% health, being more likely to appear if HP is lower. They also have a hidden stat called Crisis Level, which makes them far more common and potent based on how low HP is, if any party members have been KOed, and how many status effects are negatively affecting the party. A player with good knowledge of FF8's limit system can abuse it almost infinitely.
FF8 is also home to one of the most popular FF minigames of all time, Triple Triad. It's a simple enough card game (for the most part) which you can win more cards through, and even has a few side quests attached to it, as well as a card collection for you to complete. Some of the rules that can come into play do complicate things though, with random card selection being one of the most frustrating.
With multiple ports and versions now available, Remastered is the best FF8 experience, having fixed numerous issues, as well as finally making Squall the actual most handsome guy in the room. However, despite the improved models, the pre-rendered backgrounds don't upscale very well and are quite blurry at times. Chocobo World and a few achievements have also been removed. However, Boko's upgraded abilities and the exclusive items can be obtained natively instead, and the missing achievements are mostly Chocobo World related or super grindy, like killing 10k enemies.
Overall, Final Fantasy VIII is not a bad game. It certainly gets a lot more negative reception than it deserves. If you are able to learn its intricacies, it is quite enjoyable. However, more casual JRPG fans will likely find the game to be more frustrating than anything else, and it is easy to see why this game causes so much controversy within the overall FF fan base. Regardless of this, I still recommend it for the story alone, even if you have to resort to the built in cheats later ports included.