FINAL FANTASY VIII

Writing this at the end of "disc 1" so things may change (I do intend to beat it), but at the moment I cannot recommend this game. TLDR: Impressive ingredients, underwhelming dish. So many things about this game are cool on their own: - The junction system brings a unique way to min-max your team in ways previously handled by a proper equipment / job system. - Guardian Forces are a twist on the FF summon staple. They come with their own leveling paths, unlockable abilities, and junction mechanics that reshape ways to customize how your character's stats - Enemy designs are unique and often combat is pretty flashy for this era of graphics. - Soundtrack is impressive. It turns recognizable FF tunes / songs into upbeat variations that add to the atmosphere. - Triple Triad is a fun card mini game with actual benefits. Finding rare and strong cards means you can win more often which in turn can give you more magic to junction to your character. My biggest problems come from the draw ...

It's not 7.. or Tactics.. but still better than 9. Right?.... RIGHT?!

+ So excited to play FF8 on pc!! Back in the day, a bit after it came out, I played it on console and beat it through many hours of play after school and rainy days. It was great. I wanted to try it on PC for the nostalgia and bought it when it was on sale. I could not believe how expensive it still is!! One negative - is about the controller hook up here. It really doesn't work. I ended up using the keyboard and set my own key bindings and with this method, once I got the hang of it, seems to be working well to where the game is starting to be fun instead of glitchy. Second Negative - Graphics sometimes glitchy and freezes, need to adjust graphics and resolution. Once you get the settings right, it is just time in the seat. When you buy this game in the FF series remember that is has old graphics and the combat system in unique. This game can be boring and slow at times but that is how the game is supposed to be!! It is grindy but the story is classic. If you get through the t...

A classic TB RPG that anyone should play in their lifetime.

There's a lot to like in FFVIII. The music is excellent, the presentation is solid, Triple Triad is fun, the limit breaks are absurd in a fun way, and the GF system is admittedly pretty cool. However, trying to play this game blind is absolutely miserable. The new magic system of drawing from enemies or draw points sounds nice, but ultimately leads to spending entire random encounters drawing form specific enemies until you've maxxed out on spells. Crafting systems exist to prevent the player from falling too far behind. But refining magic from items or lesser spells requires certain GF abilities, which can be unintuitive for new players since such a crafting system isn't really mentioned in game. Ironically, the addition of the refining abilities means random encounters aren't that useful. Players may even want to escape from almost all battles entirely to make the game easier as well. Junctioning Elemental and Status magic is a pretty cool replacement for Armor and Weapon...

This is probably my favorite FF game. What I wish was available though was the ability to turn off the full health auto limit break stuff. Yes, I know I can just unbind the keys in steam... but I shouldn't have to do that.

A classic PS1 game you can make as difficult or easy as you'd like.

end-game exploration of world map is a nice open world to continuously play

fun game. recommend.