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Months ago, I told readers that I was going to try to finally finish Final Fantasy 8. It's September now, but I'm already hooked on playing through disc two.
As much as I hated the first part, I really can't help but fall in love with the post-collegiate group of magical knights in this game.
I almost quit the game from the start. The first part was more like a boring, tedious session of collecting magic. Unlike every other Final Fantasy, this one requires characters to collect their magic from other enemies by using the draw command in battle. Sometimes battles turn into extremely long draw-fests, in which players must draw for a half hour just to collect the maximum amount of magic.
Don't worry, this will only take an hour or so...
I stuck with it, because the atmosphere of Final Fantasy 8 is more stunning than many other RPGs. This time, I was living in a beautiful academy that resembled my years in college. Compared to the dark, dingy wasteland of Fallout 3, this place is like a virtual heaven.
The story also plays out differently than any other Final Fantasy game. Instead of an overly epic storyline, Final Fantasy 8 is more like a slice-of-life game. It takes people into the day-to-day life of a magical knight squad. I grew more attached to Squall, as he moved up the ranks. Near the end of the first disc, he courageously led his team in an attempt to assassinate a sorceress in an epic parade sequence.
The outfits of the main characters impressed me the most. Squall has a smooth space cowboy uniform, with two belts, a rugged leather jacket and a gunblade. Selphie sports a chic one-piece dress. Rinoa looks especially beautiful in her blue sleeveless jacket, as long you try to ignore those cute wings on the back.
I still have a few gripes about the magic micromanagement system throughout the game. I spent more time figuring out the best way to properly distribute my magic amongst my characters. Each individual character can only hold up to 32 different spells at once.
However, the weird minigames and collectible magic quests actually grew on me as I wandered through the city of Timber. I always discovered at least one noteworthy magic spell or card to collect. Even after collecting the maximum amount of magic, I could convert my lower-level magic into mid-level magic, as long as my guardian force summon monsters learned the proper abilities. The card game was also a fun diversion from all the random battles.
Technically, Final Fantasy 8 doesn't have the best graphics anymore. It looks more like a glorified version of King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow. The old CGI graphics and polygon character models didn't age very gracefully over the years. The charming story is really what sets this epic game apart from many of the fantasy games in the FMV era. Instead of using the graphics to make everything look real, Squaresoft used the CGI cutscenes to emphasize the heavy emotions of the storyline.
By the time I finished the last fight at the end of disc one, I was glad that I had spent so much copious time. I don't think I've ever had this much fun leveling up my characters and building up a super-powerful collection of monster cards. I'd probably spent too much time oogling over my card collection and all the beautiful girls in my party, but I loved every second of it.
I'm already working on disc two. Be sure to read my article on it once I'm finished with part two.
What were your first impressions of Final Fantasy 8? More importantly, will Jonathan ever complete his endless challenge to finally finish the game? Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments below.