Final Fantasy VIII (8)

Time for something a little bit older here. Final Fantasy 8 is one of the many installments of Squaresoft's (now Square-Enix) Final Fantasy series. Most of the games are completely separate stories set in different fictional worlds. There are common features in all of the games such as Mogs and Chocobos, but there are also lots of recycled names and non-player characters. Final Fantasy 8 was originally released on PS1 in late 1999. Back then it was on 4 discs, which shows just how big this game was, considering that most games fit on one disc. This was also the case for it's predecessor, FF7 which was released in late '97 on three discs. After the commercial success of FF7, Squaresoft were regarded by many as master storytellers and brilliant game maker, but following FF8's release they became known for smashing the competition to pieces with their stunning cut-scenes. The cut-scenes in this game were so advanced that it is difficult to believe there was room for improvement. The characters looked more real than anything in any game or animated movie and I don't recall any other game of the time coming anywhere near as precise and lifelike as FF8. 

Cutscene

Like any gamer that revisits a treasured nostalgic game, I started FF8 with quite a knot in my stomach. I was wondering if it would be as good as I remembered. Would it be as good-looking? Would it be as encapsulating? Would it feel the same? This time round I have downloaded FF8 from the PlayStation network and played it on my PSP, which removes the element of undivided attention from the proceedings, because I tend to do other things while I am using my PSP. It was probably for the best however, because this game is very time-consuming. Back when I was 10 years old this was a huge plus, because it meant that for the price of one game I could be entertained for months and months. Now that I have other things in my life such as a job and a relationship and family etc., I do have to split my attention between more than just games and food. So, in a roundabout way I'm trying to say that the PSP allowed me to play for an amount of time I could not give to the PS3.

In-game

 The game was just as I remembered: lots of menus, drawing magic from monsters, equipping magic to raise stats, stealing, fighting, finding, reading and exploring. Each of the characters that I found along the course of the story were like old friends I was catching up with, scheduled and familiar because I knew when they all came into the story, of course. The story unfolded as I played and I knew what was going to happen at every turn. I found myself returning to a random corner of a house or stealing from a certain boss because I just knew that that's what I should do. It would seem that all of the habits and tricks I had picked up in the past had stuck with me over the last decade. Playing the game felt very much like de ja vu and I took delight in the fact that I had remembered to play cards with the boy in the blue top and the Trepe Groupie #1 in order to get my Minimog and Quistis cards. This might sound crazy to anyone who hasn't played the game, but if you have then you will know what I'm talking about. If you've played the game again recently then I'd really like to know if the game had the same effect on you. 

Battle

If I was looking at the game as a new release in 2012, then I would have to say that the cut-scenes look good, the in game graphics are grainy and the lack of spoken dialogue means the text boxes are a bit heavy on the eyes. I would probably think that the turn based battles were a bit slow and that the story was good, but the game's difficulty hiked up by the games complicated levelling and junctioning system was too difficult for a newcomer or casual gamer. That said, if you've enjoyed other Final Fantasy games then I would recommend this, as well as the others. If, like me, you haven't played this game for a long time I would say it's definitely worth a trip down memory lane.

DannyDarko x