Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII is the sequel to the hugely popular Final Fantasy VII. It was designed specifically for PlayStation and featured similar graphics capabilities. However, it was more realistic in its graphics than the cartoon-like appearances of characters from Final Fantasy VII. The game’s development started in 1997 and took two years to finish before its release in 1999.
The game tells the story of Squall and his crew in their quest to stop a sorcerer from the future called Ultimecia from reducing time. The game features music created by the same musician who composed Final Fantasy VII (Nobuo Uematsu) and was released to comprehensive reviews of praise.
The game is based on summons like the earlier Final Fantasy games called Guardian Forces. As well as being the source of many of the most deadly attacks, Guardian Forces also provide the ability to connect magic to specific skills and stats that allow characters to improve. This is in contrast to earlier systems that concentrated on using armour and accessories that increase characters’ stats.
As opposed to many others in the series, the characters in FF8 were made to look more authentic. There aren’t any Cait Sith or Vivi-like characters from FF8.
This section provides a complete walkthrough and a strategy for Final Fantasy VIII.
Review
Final Fantasy VIII was an excellent sequel after Final Fantasy VII, which was a huge hit (and a difficult task following). It was different enough from the previous game to create a unique and enjoyable experience without deviating away from its FF formula to lose many of the nostalgic elements players of the series had hoped to be able to.
The most challenging part for the developers to work on in Final Fantasy VIII was creating an experience that was as engaging and captivating as the previous game. The developers and writers did a decent job in this regard despite the job’s complexity. The characters in FF8 are incredibly relatable since it is among the very first Final Fantasy games that lack certain of the more insane realistic characters from several other titles, such as Cait Sith from Red XIII and even characters such as Vivi of Final Fantasy IX and Kimahri from Final Fantasy X.
The story is set in a modern environment with a more modern, futuristic rather than fantasy style reminiscent of the past. A few players complained about the absence of the authentic fantasy style, which is why the creators of Final Fantasy IX decided to make a complete return to the classic design of some of the earlier titles (much to my displeasure, considering that FF9 was among the worst games of the franchise). I thoroughly loved the style and look and feel of this game.
However, the story did not have the same zing regarding Ultimecia, the plot’s final villain and principal villain. Most of the game’s story is focused on Edea as the antagonist until the point at which it becomes clear that the main adversary will be Ultimecia. Adel, along with Ultimecia. Contrary to Final Fantasy VII, where much of the time is dedicated to constructing the narrative around the antagonist (Sephiroth) and the motivations for his character’s actions, The game can spend less time exploring the background of Ultimecia. It’s essentially a powerful sorceress from the future that seeks to “compress time” to suffocate the existence of all things and combine the two, transforming her into a god. Final Fantasy IX had the same issue.
I also wanted more from the weak attempts to connect all of the characters’ stories. The game explains within the story that using Guardian Forces can cause amnesia as one of the consequences of their use. When writers have to employ amnesia as a plot tool to make a story more cohesive, it is evident that they have used shortcuts and liberties to ensure the story’s success. The problem is that there’s no need for it. The story would be the same if the main characters did not suffer from amnesia and didn’t discover that they all grew up as orphans.
The flashback scenes that took place in Laguna were utterly dull. They were essential and an excellent fit to the game’s overall theme (involving time and compression of time). However, whenever I play the game, I groan whenever I get to any Laguna chapters or sub-sections.
But they are minor imperfections on a surprisingly enjoyable and solid story with a cast of characters.
Graphics are, for the majority of the time, precisely identical to the graphics of ff8 walkthrough except for the more realistic look of the characters and settings. Many film-like sequences in the game add a lovely accent to the most significant moments in the plot (the dance sequence that takes place in Balamb Garden was a highlight). The world map was as big and exciting as the one in FF7.
The gameplay, however, is why Final Fantasy VIII needs to become more familiar with any previous games. Final Fantasy VIII employed a “magic junction” and “draw system. Every character could select the “Draw” or “Draw” command on their turn, which allowed the player to draw magic from the opponent. Every time they draw magic, they could receive from 1 to 9 points of the magic spell until they had accumulated 99. At that point, no further magic was able to be drawn. After a person had drawn a specific type of magic, it would be joined to one of the character’s stats, such as Strength, HP and Magic, increasing that stat.
This method of drawing and joining magic had an intense learning curve. I was so naive in comprehending these systems that on my first time around, I ended up into an incredibly flawed character.
It was undoubtedly a unique system that significantly shifted how players played from the previous Final Fantasy games. Still, there were some issues with the system, which included:
1.) The requirement to continually perform magic tricks until you have 99 different types of magic. This was a dull requirement for your game.
2.) Using your magic (and dropping your inventory from 99) could harm your players ‘ stats (depending on the stat you’d connected the magic with). This led to several players trying to restrict how much magic utilized and focusing their attention on attacking. This is not necessarily a problem since it can still provide engaging gameplay, but it limits the style players can play. It would, for instance, be extremely difficult to create teams that had the magic-focused character.
3.) Guardian Forces (the summons of Final Fantasy VIII) also needed to be drawn from bosses and enemies. There were many Guardian Forces could be missed completely – they could also be obtained at the conclusion of the game once more however, it was an aggravating aspect of the game, as during the battles with bosses, it was necessary to take the time to check that they’d tried to draw from every boss.
Adding the Triple Triad, the card game in the main game’s side quest, was a fantastic option! This is another aspect of the game that you can often miss crucial cards in your initial playthrough. However, there was never any need to play extra Triple Triad to complete the game than you wanted to.
Triple Triad cards could be redesigned into essential items to aid your progression through the game. Although specific rules may be very irritating (who knows how to play the Plus, Same Wall and Combo rules? ), It lent itself well to regular playing sessions as you progress through the game.
There needs to be more ending game content. However, Final Fantasy VIII certainly lends its replayability well. I’ve played the whole game about five times and will go through it again within minutes. Some aspects of the story and gameplay are unique to this game, and it is undoubtedly an excellent supplement to your Final Fantasy library.
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