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Reviews Comments: This game's okay and you're okay for liking it Final Fantasy VIII whole series review by Kerrah

I consider Final Fantasy VIII a much better game than the haters usually think, but it's still the worst Final Fantasy game I've played (4-9, in case you're wondering). Not the worst game called by the name, though. There was that one with the title Final Fantasy XII, but it clearly wasn't a part of the series. But getting back to FF8, the fact that I like it less than the others doesn't mean I think it's bad, though. Quite the contrary.

Once you get past collecting your initial magic stores, the gameplay's fun. The story may be weird and nonsensical at times, but it still left me satisfied. Triple Triad is the best minigame I've seen anywhere thus far. The locations are really beautifully designed and the soundtrack is scored by Nobuo Uematsu (in other words, perfect).

It could use a lot of polish, though. Allowing players to buy some spells with gil and giving them a starting package to shorten the drawing period would be a start. The side characters could use a lot more depth and some of the concepts should be explained better. GF-summoning should have a limit. Casting magic should be more useful. A thousand problems, and yet none of them break the game for me.

The big problem is the leveling system: I've never seen what the appeal that made Square pick it was, and it takes a lot out of the game.

But nevertheless, it's a good game and I'll be damned if I ever think the other way.

Four stars out of five.

(Edit: In case there are any more doubts, I've played through this game and beat Omega Weapon. I know how to work the system and I know how to refine magic. I know what I'm talking about.)

Comments

  • Rebochan
  • 3rd Jan 10
I agree with you about issues with magic's usefulness. Always bugged the crap out of me how quickly you stopped using spells for anything besides stat buffing.

I'm kind of curious, when discussing spell stocking, did you know about using GF abilities to refine spells out of items? It was far more useful than just drawing spells.
  • Kerrah
  • 4th Jan 10
Of course I do. That's why I wrote the words "drawing period". Meaning the time before you can refine anything and have to draw instead.

However, the only sensible way to get 300 Ultimas is to draw them off Ultima Weapon. During my last playthrough, I couldn't bother even though I knew it'd make things easier.

One thing about this game that I've always wondered about: I love the summon sequences, especially with boost on. What's up with people claiming you have to just sit through them? There's a goddamn minigame that costs 10 AP and keeps you too busy to even pay attention to the animation. Though I have to admit I hate summoning Diablos since he doesn't have Boost.

Oh, and one more thing. Odin appearing in FF8 has to be one of my favourite things in videogames, ever. Though I do wonder where he got his horse from, when there isn't one anywhere else in the world...
  • Rebochan
  • 4th Jan 10
No problem, I just couldn't tell from the review if you were also taking refining into account.

As I recall, the boost was interesting, but having to smack the button over and over without anything to break it up can get monotonous. And again, not all summons have it. Eden also takes way too long regardless of whether you could boost or not, since boost still caps at 200% and one that long will have you hitting 200% well before that.

As for the horse, dude. He's magic! He can make anything he wants ;)
  • Kerrah
  • 5th Jan 10
Another thing that was at its best in FF8 was the Scan spell. Why hasn't any of the games after it had the additional enemy info screen? That was awesome.

The more I think of it, the more this game becomes the game of many awesome and stupid things. The haters just choose to ignore the awesomeness and focus on the flaws.
  • BattleMage
  • 12th Jul 10
Four out of five is "okay?"
  • Kerrah
  • 13th Jul 10
"Okay" on the Final Fantasy scale. Not as good as VI and IX, but ten times better than XII.
  • PataHikari
  • 13th Jul 10
"There was that one with the title Final Fantasy XII, but it clearly wasn't a part of the series."

I am rolling my eyes SO HARD.
  • arcanedude34
  • 28th Nov 10
^Concurred. My eyes just exploded out of the back of my head, I rolled them so hard.
  • ManwiththePlan
  • 28th Sep 11
^ The Dis Continuity of XII may be extreme, but he has a point of it being an even weaker game than VIII.

This review is what I feel about this game 100%. I especially love how the title is a positive variation on Spoony's famous, annoyingly immitated Fan Hater line.

Though when it says it's the worst out of games 4-9...did the reviewer ever play 5? That was much less engaging than this one.
  • SpellBlade
  • 28th Sep 11
^ Five bad? Ha ha what?

  • ManwiththePlan
  • 28th Sep 11
^ Not "bad", just less engaging. I didn't care much for the story, setting, and most of the main characters. Not even Gilgamesh on his own saved it for me.
  • SpellBlade
  • 3rd Oct 11
It's possible to find quality in a JRPG outside of the storyline you know, especially since FFV is obviously focusing on the gameplay - the story's a self-aware Affectionate Parody, at least for the GBA translation.

Oh, and he did review FFV, where he pointed the above out.
  • ManwiththePlan
  • 4th Oct 11
^ Parody or not, it was a step down from FFIV and less interesting than the ones after it. I'll give you that the gameplay was decent but I like having more reason to keep playing than just gameplay, and that game just didn't have that for me. I did NOT hate the game, it just failed to stay in memory for long afterwards, which isn't the case for many other Final Fantasy games I play.
  • qtjinla15
  • 5th Dec 11
I liked it, but wished they explained the Ultimecia thing more.
  • azul120
  • 4th Jul 12
FFV is way more engaging than FFVIII, and for that matter, most of the other F Fs. To be honest, the FF series for the most part was lacking on some level in the story/narrative/character department. FFIV itself was just one sacrifice after another. At least FFV knew well enough not to take itself seriously, in addition to being infinitely more playable.

If you favor other aspects over gameplay, you're looking at the wrong medium.

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