[PSx] Final Fantasy VIII

[Ultiɱℯciɑ]

This Is one of my all-times favorites as you might had guessed by now The story follows Squall, a young student from Balamb Garden and SeeD candidate It is a war-torn world. After the Second Sorceress War a dictador, president Vinzer Deling, took over the second biggest nation and started to, well, conquer the smaller ones. Meanwhile the biggest one, Esthar, decided to literally withdraw and cut all communications. The SeeD is a mercenary army of sorts. Within two hours into the game, maybe less depending on your own pace, Squall is admitted into SeeD and sent to a mission to help a small resistence group against Galbadia but ends up having to face the mysterious new Galbadian ambassador, a sorceress. The good part of the story is that you can read magazines around the world (Timber Maniacs) to learn a bit more at the game's glossary, the bad is the game assumes you do so and skips some explanations. The characters are also great, none of them is over the top, all the main party gets some personal growth ( some more than others, of course). Also as the story continues, sometimes Squall's party faints and they all got this collective dream about this man called Laguna and his friends. And Laguna is awesome ! The battle system is quite interesting. You see, the enemies' status are according to the active party's overall level, so you'll hardly find a unfair fight, unless you messed up equiping and setting up. After you equip the GFs (summons) you can equip their specific abilitities which they learn along the way, like Vit+20%, mug or counter. They also enables the junction, where you can equip magic to boost your stats and customize further. You can also make yourself resistent to elements or status effects or even cause them! All it takes is to check the best config. The Draw system is something you love or hate it. You see, there's no true magic, except for the sorceresses, so the GFs allows them to use something called Para-Magic. In action is the same thing but to use it you got to steal the magic units from the enemy. You can stock it to use with junctions or cast them later via Magic command. You can also Draw and cast it "on the fly" right there. There are Draw Points, but they are rare. I'd love to be able to buy magic stocks at stores but... The soundtrack is one of the best in the series. It's really wprth listening. And... I guess it's all. No need to talk about graphics cuz it's Square so it's always stunning Soon as I get back home I'll post pictures from the PSN version ( on PSP, of course)

[Ultraboard101]

EDIT*** Dammit i posted that with a whole bunch of typo's, because the 1st time i did it my internet went out and i lost all the stuff i typed, i just wanted to post it first and do spell check after i knew it was all posted, but i dont see that option anymore.....dammit, excuse my 1st grade spelling..... ehh im a huge final fantasy fan ulta, but i do have to say 8 was my least favorite. Although it was better then this new shit they are throwing in our face, (the last good one in my book was X, maby X-2, but everything after that is pure garbage. 8 was kind of dissapointing to me in the sence that you had to draw your magic. I know its a hugely common for people to nitpick this, but its such a awful system i just cant get over. Squall is a good character, dont get me wrong, but that wasnt enough redeaming factor for me. I miss the midevil settings of previous games like the snes ones and 9 is a great example. It really adds the taste of FANTASY to final fantasy. I was kinda immideiatly turned off by the setting of the game, starting out in a school with high tech machines. Machines and technology dont belong in these types of games IMO. I let it slide for 7 because the whole concept of their tecnology was to harnest whats most pure, the lifestream (example, mother earth) and one could EASILY agrue that in FFX theres heavy use of machines, but if you look at how beautiful some of the places that focus on nature are, its easy to look past that, plus being the first of the series for ps2 it kinda did make sence to give the whole feel to it a little bit of technology. Ah, just so dissapointed at where the series is going. I could littarly wright a book on my feelings of this series. Im starting to think it has gone far past the point of no returen, in extange for a wider audience with a dumbed down battle system, GAY ass characters, and flashy animations. I miss the good old days when the combat system was tight, the characters where for the most part, all likeable, and the story's where engageng. Now ill be totally fair and honest, i probally never gave 8 the chance i should have given it, being as i only played up to about 10 hours of the first disk until i lost intrest, but of the games i deem true final fantasy's its on the bottem of my list. I will point out some parts of it i did really like, which are the GF animations looked BAD ASS, and you where spot on with the music, the soundtrack was pretty epic. Im not sure whats wrong with me, if its just a personal probelm or what but 8 really just never appealed to me like pervious installments. Im sure this is NOT what you wanted as a first reply to this topic, but i feel its better then nothing and i have alot to say on the subject. Im sure once you reach disk 2 or so it gets more engaging, but i havent had the desire to get there YET. It was a good while ago when i gave this game its 2nd chance, and it was better then my first playthrew, but i still never felt the need to go past disk 2. Maby these years after ill give it another shot some time soon, but the name final fantasy is just honeslty depressing. I made the mistkes of purchesing 11, 12 and 13 and they where all terrible in my opption. Couldnt be more linaer, the combat system is a joke, and honestly i have yeat to find a reason why i give 2 FUCKS about any of these new lame ass characters. /sigh. My childhood has been raped : /