Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation)

As an avid follower of the FF series since its inception, I've played each one and am a steadfast fan of all things FF. Final Fantasy VIII is a welcome addition to this lineup, with great graphics, incredible cut scenes, a more mature and intense storyline, highly customizable characters and gameplay, and many other unique features that are almost too many to list. Many reviewers seem to be disappointed that it wasn't "as good" as FFVII (or other games in the series.) However, one of the dependable features of FF games is that each one is clearly different than the rest. Characters, storyline, gameplay, even the "mood" of each game are unique and continually evolving, not stagnating. Any RPG fan would love this game, which gives you countless hours of gameplay and a very high re-play value. I highly recommend it to any lover of RPG or fantasy.

PROS
- Compelling, fascinating, rich storyline with unforgettable and personable characters, from the heroes to the bosses, and unique features (such as the "dream sequences") that really add to the mystery and drama of the plot.

- New junction system allows you to "draw" magic from opponents and allows for high level of customization for your characters and gameplay.

- Darker, more mature theme with sinister villians, plot, and battles; not lighthearted gameplay as some past FF games.

- Incredible, more true-to-life realistic graphics (for its time) and the use of nearly an hour of cutscenes ("mini-movies" that highlight pertinent scenes in storyline and enrich the gaming experience with lush, beautiful sequences.)

- Outstanding musical score.

- Interesting side quests including an engrossing card game; cards can be "cashed in" for valuable items which makes the game even more entertaining.

- Great replay value with interesting side quests.


CONS
- Leveling up takes many hours of gameplay.

they deliverd the game promptly and stuck true to their words about it not even leaving its origonal pacaging.

I like this game a lot thats why i had to have it. Im a final fantasy addict i get enough of the games.

The item is rare, and I was looking for it. The price of it was good, and everything is just as discribed! thanks

everything i expected! it's great. i played this when i was a kid and i started collecting all of the final fantasy games. this brings back some good memories for me.

I've played this before as a youngster and now I finally get to own it.
It's a fantastic game that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat.
Although a oldie, always a goody [to me anyhoo.]
The storyline is easy to follow and sophisticated enough to make you want more out of it. Excellent attacks + creatures for you to deal with.
The characters are amazing in their own special abilities.
Excellent Game. Don't hesitate to try because chances are, you'll like/love this game.

Good seller. Would do business again. Item as described. Shipment wasn't as quick as I'd like it, but the item is excellent. Thanks for selling it.

This is another one of those Great games that gets a little underrated because it was compared tot he Monster FF7. It worth playing and has a very good story with a lot of interesting and new Ideas for a battle system. A must have for any True RPG lover.

FFVIII was the apitemy of greatness in follow up. Square-Enix outdid theirself on the release of this game. Certainly kept audiences on the edge of their seats in this series

This game is one of a series of classics! I can't wait to have the full collection. Final Fantasy 7,8,10 are must haves for any fan of the series.

Very deep story, Great in-game cenima for its time. I would recomend this game to any FF fan out there, I loved FF7 but i still like 7-10. Very well made series till after 10 lol. But still. Go get this one if u can!

this is a good pick for the whole family to enjoy and not have to worry if your children or husband is watching or playing something they shouldnt this is a great pick and you cant go wrong with this game. splurge a little and buy this one a+ game buy buy buy

Overall good experience with seller. Good quality product, fast shipping, and they kept me updated on when the item was being sent and when they recieved my payment.

I like the game it came in excellent condition but the book is falling apart completely. I bout this item because my original game was old and really scratched,and about the guide well I never had one and this first one...well it's not all that great.

I like everything about it, this game is just oldschhol and great. The game was brand new newr opened, discs not sratch. Just excelent. I collect old games and I am really happy when I see that the game newer been opened.
Just awsone. Anyways any oldschool gamer should get this great game for PS1, I know that people think that I am crazy PS2 or PS3 is in style these days, but I think that old school games still rocks, like this one!!
Thanks for reading my review!!!

The game is mint, it was a birthday gift and made the day- the year for our son. Excellent game to play and all family members have taken turns playing it.

Great cinematics, cool gameplay system, lots of mini games, great story awsome ending! Overal great Game.

One of the best final fantasy games ever period! The storyline is good, battle mode is awsome, and the GF'S rock in this game! I highly recommend this game to any FF fan who hasnt played this yet pick one up today!

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Was amazed at condition and shipping! Will buy from this seller again. And the price was so cheap on a brand new game thats hard to find.

This one was probably my favorite. I never really got that much into final fantasy 7. The hype surrounding 7 was so huge, the second I got to the second disk, I was so disapointed with it, I just couldn't continue. The only good characters were Cloud, Sephiroth and thats about it. The only reason people even cared about Tifa was because of her "tomb raider"-like rack.

Anyway, back on-topic. Final Fantasy 8 is often criticized for the card system involving monsters that you battled. I myself didn't like the system either, however the beauty of it was, you didn't need to use it. It was more in there for the sake of putting more into the game if you ask me.

The characters are all pretty cool, and if you've played kingdom hearts before, the main character from 8 shows up several times, although with a different name and slightly longer hair. (I forgot what his new name in Kindgom Hearts was, but in ff8 his name is Squall LeonHeart). Probably the coolest thing in the game is Squall's gunblade. As you go for a melee attack if you hit the right button at the same instant that the blade makes contact with the enemy you will also shoot the enemy as you slice through them. Very nice extra damage bonuses.

You will meet up with alot of other very likeable characters as you go along through the game. One of the stranger sides to the story however, is while some parts of the game you are playing as Squall and his company, there are what seem to be flashbacks or visions of someone else's adventure. This machine gun wielding mystery man is on the run, and I won't spoil the twists for you here.

Needless to say the graphics are very nice for a playstation 1 game, the battlesystem and interfaces are all as easy as ever to use, and the story is phenominal.

If you like good rpgs, or are a die hard final fantasy fan, definetly look into getting this gem of a game (its pretty easy to find a cheap but good condition copy).

This is by far the most under rated Final Fantasy in the series. Granted 7 was the best, this has to be a CLOSE second. The gunblade is a very creative weapon, the storyline is deep, and the gameplay is challenging. Granted by now, it is a few years old, but classics are STILL sometimes better than new releases. If you do not have this one yet, pick it up, add it to your collection, and enjoy one of the best in the series.

A true classic that lives up to the Final Fantasy name. Great combat and magic systems that all come together with a compelling story.

At the time I purchased FFVIII, I already had Final Fantasy VII and IX. I am a big fan of the Role Play genre of video games, and have long been a fan of Squaresoft's hit series.

Eight differs from the other Final Fantasies that I own (listed above) most notably in the character's visual design. The characters are very elongated. This must have proven rather popular for Final Fantasy because all of the 'episodes' following Nine have had the same, more realistic height of it's characters. Personally, I liked the cute, cartoon-like characters of Seven and Nine, but Eight does have it's merits.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about the Final Fantasy universe, is that they never use the same mechanics for learning and using magic in each saga. The 'Draw' system of acquiring and using magic has not been very popular, and I must admit that especially in the beginning of the game, it is a pain in the butt to get your characters to a working level of magic. This requires many battles spent sustaining your enemy just so that you can get every last bit of whatever particular spell or spells that enemy has.

The summons in this episode, I think were rather genius. The player has the option of naming each of the 'Guardian forces' acquired during game play. Currently, I have a theme going of short names beginning with the letter 's'. It is nice to have the control over what beneficial talent the GF's learn, and who they share that talent with, facilitating every status benefit of the characters.

Of note Eight has the first appearance of the card game. While I like the more refined version presented in Nine, it is nice to see that evolution. It is difficult to a)keep all the additional rules straight, and b)make sure the rules you don't like don't spread, but having the challenge of collecting as many cards as possible is fun too. Even if you don't like playing the card game, there are advantages to collecting the cards. One of the abilities of one of the GF's is the card mod ability. This ability allows you to change cards into useful items. So the cards are worth collecting, especially the rare cards. Using the card mod ability with some of the rare cards is the easiest if not the only way to obtain a large amount of some of the rarest objects in the game.

Over all, while there are some cumbersome parts of the game, it is definitely worth owning.

the item is perfect, the price reasonable, the shipment was suposed to be free, but when i checked out i discovered that i had to do a "minimum" purchase (that wasn't displayed at the auction's page) to win that free shipping... but in the end it was cheap.