Lunatic Pandora
FFAdicts's Overview of the Game












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Quick review

Final Fantasy VIII, while excelling in the graphics department with a huge 1.13Gb of 4 CDs devoted to full motion video and in game graphics that were only surpassed by those in Vagrant Story, is still considered by most gamers to be the worst of the three Final Fantasys released on the PlayStation.

Its much despised draw system is considered the major flaw, as one would have to waste large amounts of time drawing from monsters to obtain even the slightest advantage in battle. Apart from the tedium, the reason many gamers see the system this way is probably because it is different from the other Final Fantasys.

The plot was, to some, weak and confusing, but to others who understand it find it dramatic and compelling. It's not that difficult, in fact a future section here may well be a narrative explanation of the plot, just to straighten things out.

FFVIII is extremely easy, without difficult final bosses like the old Final Fantasy games. FFVIII introduced a simple card game called "Triple Triad". The only mini-game present, without the requirement of a PocketStation, actually managed to become popular in some circles, and online versions were developed. Other gamers couldn't be bothered. (I, for one, am a god at this part.) There is, however, one reward that might be worth playing for.

Gamers' opinions are thus divided about this game. To see some of our forum members' opinions, click this link.

Story

Final Fantasy VIII is an intriguing role playing game by Squaresoft, which tells the tale of Squall Leonhart, 17, whom is swept up in a plot by an evil Sorceress bent on taking over the world.
Squall Leonhart is a mercenary in training at Balamb Garden. SeeDs from Balamb Garden are dispatched to the highest bidder to assist in any situation, mainly warfare oriented. With use of weaponry and the Guardian Force based para-magic, SeeDs are a force to be reckoned with. Now, with the might of the Galbadian army against you, you must rise above your comrades and defeat the foe in an epic story of betrayal, with a little romance thrown in the side.

Battle

The battle system is turn-based, yet the time between turns is based in real-time and can be affected by certain attributes. After all, where would a RPG be without statistics?

A typical battle is shown below. Each battle has a list of commands available for the user to select. There can be a maximum of three characters to a team and each character will have a turn, although not necessarily in sequence.

Each of your party and the creatures you fight against look similar in the field, unlike the game's predecessor, Final Fantasy VII.

Each battle takes place in a large rendered clearing depending on your location. The extra space may as well not be there, though, because your characters and enemies must stand in fixed positions.

Each character has an "Active Time Gauge" and a his or her HPs displayed. When the bar is filled the character can take action.

When a Guardian Force is summoned the GF receives any damage dealt towards the character summoning that GF. If the GF's HP reaches zero the summon will not continue.

Statistics

Each statistic has a maximum of 255.
Each character needs only 99,000 EXP to reach level 100, with only 1000 experience seperating each level.

Hit Points represents how much damage, both physical and magical, a character can take before passing out.

Strength affects the amount of damage your character will deal out with physical attacks, for example with guns and swords.

Vitality reduces the amount of Hit Points taken when a character is attacked by a physical attack.

Magic affects the amount of damage your character will deal out with magic attacks.

Spirituality reduces the amount of Hit Points taken when a character is attacked by a magical attack.

A higher Speed statistic will mean less time between turns for the character.

Evade represents your character's chance of an enemy's physical attack missing.

Hit represents your character's chance of hitting an enemy with a physical attack.

Not much has been conclusively determined about the Luck statistic, however an investigation may be undertaken to determine its noticeable effects.
Note that Hit and Evade have percentages after them, yet they can have values over 100%. This is not good math.

Most enemies you face will be at or close to your allies' levels. Thus, while leveling up will give you advantages, the foes you face will become harder also.