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Final Fantasy VIII
Page 2
Graphics
You'll be gawking at some intense CG sequences and in-game graphics.The biggest change in graphics is the character design.
No more Super-Deformed people and inconsistent designs between CG sequences and in-game. They are tall, detailed, and animated extremely well.
The pre-rendered backgrounds and camera angles of cities such as Dollet by the sea are lovely. I'd live there if I could! The background designers could exercise some restraint though. Sometimes there's so much on the screen that it's hard to tell what exactly you're looking at and where you can walk. The CG sequences are, of course, gorgeous and awe-inspiring. The motion, detail, cinematography, and direction are astounding for a movie- er, video game.
Watch the opening sequence with Squall and Seifer brawling and try _not_ to drool. The transition between gameplay and CG is almost a non-issue now. One notable aspect is that in certain CG sequences, you can move Squall throughout them. There's little difference between the polygonal Squall and the CG action going on around him. It doesn't last for too long, but it is a breathtaking step up from simply watching them.
The overworld is improved generally. There's less pop-up, and the towns, mountains, and forests look more realistic.Battle graphics are somewhat disappointing. While the animation is incredible, the same graininess of the overworld pervades the battles. Spells aren't as amazing as FFVII's, but they're nice to look at. The menus don't cover a quarter of the battle screen anymore, which gives a better view of the action.
  
Sound and Music
Nobuo Uematsu's music is above average once again.
What were you expecting? While no track tops the Aeris Funeral in FFVII or the FFVI OSV in general, the music in FFVIII is well-suited to a 50-60 hour game where you'll hear the same good tracks many times.
"Eyes On Me," the standout song, made me seek out the soundtrack. Sound effects are excellent. Do yourself a favor, and turn up the stereo(or TV or sound system) during the parade at Deling City.
The cheers from the crowd will give you chills. Battle sounds aren't the generic sword-clanging, monster growling ones. Each character's weapon, when used, gives off a unique sound, whether it be the snap of Quistis' whip or Irvine's gun blast. Each monster also has their own whimper or growl.
The only thing missing is voice-overs. While having them would be too space-consuming, I wouldn't mind some war-cries or karate yells during battles. Of course, no voices might be a blessing, considering the abuse we got in Star Ocean: The Second Story.
 
Control It
Does Square love us or what?
You can move your character with the comfortable analog stick and run without having to hold a button down. You can also adjust the analog's response. It's much less jerky than in FFVII.
When you get a vehicle, you can even use the right analog stick for movement while the left is used for direction. Perfect, perfecto, it's good, alright?!
Scrolling through your many items in the menus is a snap. They pretty much eliminated the annoyance of having to scroll down billions of items to get what you want.
For example, during battle, the magic menu lists five items in one window. If you don't see what you want, you can press right or left to slide to another row.
The only bad thing is at first the menu flipping can get confusing, especially in the Junction menu. A little practice will take care of the problem.
Conclusion
Final Fantasy VIII is in the upper realms of video game heaven along with Final Fantasy VI and Xenogears.
Do you lack a life like me? Do you like to spend hours simply strengthening your characters, thereby instilling a false sense of superiority? Do you want to escape harsh reality and immerse yourself in a harsh, but much cooler fictional world where amazing things happen all the time? Wouldn't you rather go out with Rinoa or Irvine than that skanky girl or unwashed boy in your neighborhood?
Well, FFVIII lets you do all that!
To me this is one of the best RPG games of this year and it comes very close to be the best Final Fantasy title!
-Peter
Ratings
Manual:
80% |
Graphics:
87% |
Music & Sfx:
79% |
GamePlay:
90% |
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This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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