You play as the quiet lone wolf, 17 year old Squall Leonheart, a member of a group of mercenaries for hire known as SeeD. SeeDs reside in academys known as Gardens. When an evil sorceress gains the trust of President Deling and the people of Galbadia, Squall along with fellow SeeDs the perky Selphie Tilmitt, the loudmouthed Zell Dincht, the ladies' man Irvine, and the recently fired 18 year old instructer Quistis Trepe set out to assasinate her. Along the way, the lively and beautiful Rinoa Heartilly, a member of a resistance faction known as The Forest Owls teams up with them. Along the way, she struggles to bring down Squall's icy exterior and help him voice his feelings. The plot soon throws many curveballs, eventually bringing forth issues such as romance, possesion, time compression, prison abuse and escape, and traveling into the future.

I will admit that this game is extremely ambitious and has its flaws. The very different reviews serve to prove one thing: it depends wholly on the person whether or not you'll enjoy this game. Some people enjoy the game enough to get by its flaws and appreciate its differences, while others simply don't have the time or patience for it. It depends on your personality. Before buying, you must understand that:

-This is a love story

-The junction system (attatching magic to stats such as strength and HP to raise or lower the stat depending on magic type and quantity) takes a long time to understand and get fully confortable with. No other FF has had a system like this, and you may not like it

-You need to play through FOUR discs and have the time to put in upwards of 70 hours in order to get through everything the game has to offer. Patience is important.

While I am an impatient person who gets put to sleep by other RPGs, I enjoyed Final Fantasy 8 a lot. The characters meant something to me because they were realistic looking and typical teens rather than lego people with absent mouths. This is the black sheep of the series, and not everyone will appreciate it. In my case, it will always remain a favorite. For its time, no game was more gorgeous looking and emotional, and no final battle was as long and intense. The stunning ending clocks in at around a half hour. But some people aren't bothered by the long frequent GF summons, and some are extremely bothered by them. I can understand it. As I said, it all depends what kind of person you are.

29 of 29 found the following review helpful:

Squaresoft's Revolution.....what's wrong with you people?  Sep 27, 2001
By NOWAY
This is where it begins. Watch closely, people. If you are wise, you are (or will be) playing a game that trancends almost every idea to grace the human mind on creating a videogame masterpiece. Final Fantasy VIII is as such a classic, that if possible, should be displayed in the most important museums in the world. I'm pretty sure most reviewers 'greatly' disagree with me, but then isn't everyone entitled to share their opinion? I respect theirs as I expect mine will be.

What I cannot fathom are the intensely negative reviews coming from the people! How can a game of such caliber, genius, beauty and artisty be seen as "the worst FF ever...and so on"? I simply don't comprehend. Ive heard others like "I like all FF games, 'cept 8", or "It just doesn't belong in the Squaresoft catalogue....". Why? Upon critical analysis, I think it's because people fear change. It's part of human nature. If you adapt to something, why would you want it to change?

I have almost always noticed that some of the 'hardcore fans' proclaim that Square's old style is what should have been on this game - that they miss the old style. NONSENSE! Squaresoft wanted to do something different, temporarily. They wanted to exercise their minds a bit - to stray away from the typical RPG standards. Even possibilities of 'harsh criticism' wasn't going to stop them.....they were going to experiment. You see, even though we have an inner instinct to fear change, the human will to experiment and 'move on' conquers all (look at where experimentation has gotten us: our technology is advancing). There is no such thing as 'the way things (RPGs) ought to be'. There's nothing wrong with prefering things to remain the same, but at least, people should keep their right to experiment.

You can actually see where Squaresoft wants to take their work. FF8 houses the most significant changes ever to grace the Final Fantasy series so far. Everything from the different "Junction" system, to the "realism" of the characters (not just the models, but also the humanism), to the "science fiction-themed" dramatic love story, is proof of things yet to come. Where FFIX represents all Final Fantasy as a whole by blending the old and new Squaresoft ideas, FFVIII begins a revolution. The future of Final Fantasy (as has been presented in FFX) is hinted in FFVIII.

To sum up, FFVIII is a marvel to behold. Don't dismiss this game because of negative reviews, as I did. If you do want to go by the reviews, take into consideration that some of them are written by hardcore fans who don't appreciate change....who want the same redundant ideas in their videogames. Don't let them fool you. Take it from someone who appreciates good art, and knows a good videogame when he sees one. I am usually a harsh critic when it comes to most things....and I truly do mean it when I say this game gets 5 stars. A classic!

25 of 26 found the following review helpful:

A Classic  Aug 18, 2001

Final Fantasy VIII, the second installment of the Final Fantasy series on the Playstation is a game with outstanding graphics,an original storyline,great character design,and more. You are Squall Leonhart, a SeeD of the Balamb Garden Military Academy.SeeD is a codename for Balambs elite mercenary soliders. Balamb was created in order to train soliders to battle against an evil sorceress trapped in the future. Squall and his comrades go on a mission once they become SeeDs and then the little problem they were sent to solve turns big.They get caught up in a mess and the time has come to fight the evil sorceress from the future. There are many twists in the game and many side quests which makes the game more interesting.Personally, I love the Real-Time graphics done by Akira Fujii, who also worked on Final Fantasy IX. The music is great and it will capture the player in battle sequences. Theres much to say about this game, but I cant give everything away. This game is definetly worth a buy.

42 of 50 found the following review helpful:

Longest Running Non-Series  Oct 03, 2003
By Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™"
It's eye opening to turn back the clock and play the old Final Fantasy games in the light of the remarkable production values of FF X. Each game in the series set a standard for console and computer games that has changed the way today's player sees the RPG genre.

I originally played FF8 in the PC version, so I was interested in how the PS2 version would compare. Even with a my leaky memory, my impression is that the PS2 version is a bit solider graphically. And, of course, the use of a game controller makes everything seem smoother, even if it really isn't.

FF8 follows in the classic Final Fantasy mode - a team of characters headed by a serious minded leader, with a bunch of slightly wacky, but dedicated companions, take on an evil that seems to keep getting stronger and more capable with each advance of the plot. No villain ever really seems to die, the keep coming back in new and deadlier forms. And then there are the Guardian Forces, who provide all kinds of spectacle for the battles.

This time it is Squall, his fellow SeeDs, and the beautiful Rinoa. The story starts as a revolution, and then the characters discover that events are really being manipulated by a series of sorceresses who want to destroy the world so that they can rule it unchecked (I know that doesn't make any sense). All of this on a giant world make full of monsters convenient for leveling up.

And leveling up is certainly what a Final Fantasy game is about. Various side quests and challenges are provided so that reaching the levels needed to kill the final bosses doesn't become tedious, and an incredibly complex character building system makes sure that everyone's playing experience is different.

FF8 set a standard that is still higher than some games being written for the PS2 today, and managed to accomplish that on a more primitive platform. Graphics and character design are amazing, the plot complex, and the action satisfying. Proving that the best isn't always the newest and the loudest.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Guys just don't seem to get it  Nov 16, 1999

I've found that, with few exceptions, the line between those who love FFVIII and those who loathe it coincides with the gender of the person being asked.

Being a chick, I adored it. Guys just don't seem to "get" the thing with Squall. I took the original, cynical view that the fellows I asked were just stupid, but I'm mellowing and now believe they've just been jaded by games that leap out and beat you about the head and shoulders with The Emotional Point. The interplay between Squall and those around him is much more subtle than you usually get with video game fare. And, oddly enough, Seifer was given as much attention, while none of the rest of Squall's party were detailed in any fashion.

I have two main gripes about the game. No, not the junctioning system, which rocks plankton. People who wasted hours on end drawing magic from their enemies just weren't very observant, it's much faster to convert items with GF abilities. No, my one gripe comes from the very fact that nobody was given much characterization aside from Squall and Seifer. That was a tad annoying.

My other gripe is that the plot just kind of falls to pieces in the middle of the third disk. I thought things were progressing quite nicely until the game goes into space for no readily discernable reason.

Significant gripes, but not sufficient to keep me from replaying the game.

And yes, the game was really quite easy, especially once I'd picked up the Lion Heart gunblade, enabling Squall to do about a quarter of a million points of damage in one attack. But I don't play RPGs for the thrill of having to hit reset over and over, I play them for the plot, and the plot is worth it.

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