Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII is finally out for PC and fanboy reviewer extrodinare Nash Werner has been playing it non-stop. Read what he has to say.

Japanese RPGs have rapidly become part of the mainstream in our country. Developers like Square, with their 'Final Fantasy' mega-franchise, have even become household names. And now, Square's largest RPG to date is being released on the PC.

The story starts you off as a young Balamb Garden Military Academy student by the name of Squall Leonhart. You begin by leading Squall through his military training and eventually earning him a rank in SeeD, an elite fighting force. Squall and his academy friends are swiftly thrust into a mysterious war between SeeD and the Nation of Galbadia. A war, the new recruits are to learn, that this is as far from ordinary as possible.

Using classic over-head camera angles, FF8 combines indoor and outdoor movement. Your indoor movement is set to remarkably detailed backdrops. While outdoor movement allows you to rotate the camera and pan up and down as you travel. You'll also have access to vehicles such as cars, ships, and giant birds known to fans as chocobos.

Combat is a mixture of real-time and turn-based set in an independent combat cutscene. Your combat actions include basic attacks, special attacks like spells and items, and finally the ability to summon forth one of several Guardian Forces, or GFs.

The GFs are the source of all your spells and special abilities. As you and your GFs grow in power (they gain experience just like a normal party member), you'll select from a list of abilities your GF can learn. Abilities like converting certain items into magical spells, boosting a character's attack value, or condensing several weaker spells into more powerful versions of themselves.

Gameplay, like most RPGs, is an addictive quest to keep advancing your characters so that newer more powerful abilities and weapons become available. But FF8 designers have taken it a step further by adding two entire mini-games to FF8: The Card game and Chocobo World. The Card game is a game of cards played by various NPCs throughout the game. And Chocobo World is the mini-game, which until now was only available on Japanese PSX handhelds, the PocketStation.

Sadly, another new gameplay element in which you rapidly mash your gamepad buttons to boost attack damage was added. While this sounds good on paper, it's hell on your fingers after long hours spent playing.

Graphically, FF8 is loaded with beautifully rendered cutscenes and scenery. Not to mention hundreds of gorgeous, polygonal monsters and spell effects.

The only drawback would be some mismatched textures and 2D-pixelation, which led me to believe the graphics were rushed when converted. When I tried to adjust my Direct3D settings in attempts to improve these mismatched textures and ugly pixelation, FF8 would either crash, freeze up, or worst of all, refuse to run. Finally settling down on settings that did work, I was horrified these blemishes did not go away.

On a good note: Square's audio team never ceases to amaze me. From FF8's chilling musical score to its special audio effects, FF8 sound quality is out of this world.

So there you have it. The intoxicating graphics and music of FF8 bundled up nicely in a brand new PC format. Perhaps a little more time spent polishing the edges would have made this a near-perfect RPG experience. Maybe next time.

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