"Videogame Memories: Final Fantasy VIII"

“Final Fantasy VIII was the very first Final Fantasy I’ve ever played!”

Year 1999, The Beginning:

I can still remember the time when I was at a videogame store in Manila called “Circuit City” that I first stumbled upon the game “Final Fantasy VIII”. At first FFVIII was really not my first pick to buy, but I was really impressed with the great opening video of the game. It was the video of a duel between Squall and Seifer. The graphics were so jaw-dropping and cool that it really piqued my interest to try that one out.

My actual choice at that time was Resident Evil 2 but I find the controls so damn annoying! So instead I asked the saleslady about FFVIII and was surprised to know that the game had a FOUR-DISC length! I really found that absurd as videogames in The Philippines are so damn expensive! So it was really way beyond my budget to buy four discs of ONLY ONE GAME. Yet my interest for the game never waned so instead of buying a game that time, I’ve decided to postpone buying one. It was to be another week before I was able to come back to that store. After a week’s saving, I was finally within range of buying it! After testing out the game in the store and so on, I finally bought it and immediately went home.

First Impressions upon playing:

“Final Fantasy VIII is soooo damn boring!”

Confusing, repetitive and boring was my first impression on playing FFVIII. Yeah the graphics were good, but limited only to the cutscenes. The actual game graphics is just like an amateur drawing by some stranger, heck even Mickey Mouse looks more decent! Being the very first JRPG I’ve ever played, I was SOOOOO DAMN CONFUSED with how the system works. The junctioning was confusing and there were so many contexts to absorb within the game (ehem…SeeD, Garden, GF etc…etc…) And hoho the battle…well that’s my BIGGEST PROBLEM with the game! It’s just so DAMN repetitive! It was like Attack (Squall Slash)

wait for the ATB Gauge to fill then Attack again, then again wait then Attack…well you get the picture BOOOOORING! I was so regretful on buying that damn game! I’ve spent so much money on the game which only looks good on the opening scene but is crap on actual gameplay. After three days of playing it, I’ve had enough and decided to shove it in our bookshelves.

Change of Hearts:

Three months have passed since I last played FFVIII. During that time, I’ve just recently finished Resident Evil 2 (I bought it 2 weeks after sidelining FFVIII) and was so damn bored with nothing much to do anymore. I’ve decided to try reading something for a change and checked out books in our shelves. Then somewhere inside one, I found my copy of FFVIII. Then I’ve remembered about my conversation with friends at school. They told me that FFVIII is quite good, once you’ve got the hang of it. And so because of boredom and regret for the cash I’ve spent for it, I’ve decided to give FFVIII another go.

Yeah we’re back to the saliva dropping cutscenes again and the long texts. After a few while I’ve tried understanding the junctioning system more and tolerated the actual game graphics and repetitive battle. Soon I was finally getting the hang of it! Reading the actual storyline texts finally got me interested in understanding the well-made storyline of the game! Then later on I’ve finally understood how junctioning works and also learn to love the battle system! Finally FFVIII was turning me on! Weeeeee!

Getting deeper into the game:

Okay now I’m really enjoying playing FFVIII. It’s a story about a young student from an academy garden thing (Balamb) named Squall Leonhart as he journey to find the meaning to his life (Epic). You start off by going with your hot teacher named Quistis Trepe to the Fire Cavern to train and tame a GF (dubbed: Guardian Force- a beast you summon to beat the sh*t out of your opponents) named Ifrit. After acquiring Ifrit’s aid, you and Miss. Hottie then go back to Balamb to prepare for a SeeD (The garden’s assassin force hired by different organizations) mission. The said mission is actually the final exam before a student in the garden can fully graduate into a real SeeD. The mission takes place in the town of Dollet as you rid the place of enemy forces. You are to complete the mission with your teammates Seifer Almasy (Squall’s rival) and Zell Dincht (a tough guy wannabe with bad hair). Soon the trio made their way to their target area, but Seifer’s not contented with their achievement and start b*tching about going deeper into enemy territory.

Deep inside, they’ve reached a tower and there they meet a fellow schoolmate Selphie Timlett, who’ve brought along a message from the head. But the thick-headed Seifer pushes on and soon the team ascends upward the tower. At the top part of the tower, the party encounters a boss called Elvoret (a giant bird…thing I don’t know). After beating the hell out of him, the team heads back towards the main garden forces at the beach after a retreat command was given by Selphie. On your way back you are suddenly chased by a giant crab-robot, which you’re given an option whether to fight or flight. Well basically that’s just a small fraction of the first disc of FFVIII, because if I were to discuss the entire story, it would take FOREVER! It’s a long game damn it!

The things I loved about it:

To simply put it, I love everything about this game: The rich storyline, addictive gameplay and catchy music. Everything about this game is worth playing. The storyline may have lacked a certain depth at some point and the twist may have been a bit shallow but nevertheless overall story still rocks! This was probably the first ever Final Fantasy that mainly centered the theme “love” as portrayed by Squall and Rinoa Heartily (his love interest).

Although their love story may get cheesy at times, it still manages to garner the attention of many fans. Characters are not so bad as well; they are well-designed and lovable. This was actually the first Final Fantasy that featured a non-cartoonish cast of characters (note: previous FF titles were of anime design). Gameplay-wise, yeah the battle’s repetitive and may be boring at times but who cares? As long as it tinkers with your mind by letting you plan out strategies to win it can still be very fun. The junctioning system may be confusing at first but once you got the hang of it, it can be very addictive. The graphics, well it’s okay for the most part but quite excellent during cutscenes (Perhaps one of the best in the Playstation Console). And of course…the wonderful soundtrack of FFVIII, which in my own opinion is the best ever in the entire series (Who could ever forget the FFVIII Battle tune or “Eyes On Me”?). It is a highly recommended game for everyone. Yeah it may be old school, but I’ll bet even the newer generations of gamers would still love it! Final Fantasy VIII is the game that I’ll never ever forget.