Final Fantasy VIII (PC) Review

The first thing any player should do before diving into the PC version of Final Fantasy VIII is fix the sound, because Square Enix evidently isn't going to fulfil the promise it made to do it. A free mod achieves this, and it's merely a matter of downloading—the mod even has an installer to keep it simple. This shouldn't be necessary, and this review entails the unmodified sound, but this is also a matter that must be discussed. The modified sound is awesome. Pulling music largely from the Official Soundtrack (OST) that was recorded with live instruments and embellished by Nobou Uematsu's metal band The Black Mages, the mod provides some of the best music in the franchise. Without the mod, however, the music is terrible, and should have been fixed years ago.

For the most part, this is a great example of how a classic game should be brought to modern audiences. The graphics are noticeably improved, with a healthy dose of anti-aliasing making character models vastly superior to the originals - a small but welcome alteration. Other advantages this has over playing with "that E-word" are the inclusions of Chocobo World and Magic Boost. The former was a keychain-like game that supplemented the main game, and it is fun, but certainly no chocobo breeding or Chocobo Hot and Cold. The latter gives a full stack of about a dozen different spells to each character, and presumably is for those who want to play the game without having to actually play the game.

One of the strongest aspects of the gameplay is that characters can be customised to a ridiculous degree—perhaps more so than in any other entry. The Junction System, although simple to understand, gets pretty complicated when trying to junction every stat to every party member. The summons, known here as Guardian Forces (GFs), are an integral part of the plot and gameplay, though there usually isn't a reason to summon them in battle. The GFs are present mostly to allow characters to junction magic to abilities, thereby increasing one's Strength, Magic, or Elemental Defense. It is fun to game this system, particularly since enemies level up with the party; the most efficient method of playing is to avoid gaining levels and to, instead, seek powerful magic to junction to stats.

This is a love story, and players should know that before diving into the game. It is also a bit of a sloppy love story, worsened because one-half of this relationship is Squall. Whatever he became thanks to the Kingdom Hearts titles, here he is a mopey, angsty jerk; ostensibly, he was intended as an anti-social cool guy who was too cool to care whether he was cool, but heavy-handedness has him, instead, acting as an arrogant jackass. For some, this isn't a problem; for others, it's the last nail in the coffin. Meanwhile, the plot deals with war, an evil sorceress, and time travel, but the thread woven through everything else is a romance, and it's not a particularly good romance, because there's no natural progression to Squall and Rinoa's relationship.

Of course, FFVIII has everything that it's supposed to have: a secret boss, chocobos, a one-time-only character customisation system, Biggs and Wedge, and Cid, but this is also the first time a mini-game was presented as a core part of the game. Triple Triad debuts here, and the card game is integrated very well into the main game; low level challenges utilise Triple Triad extensively, because some of the best spells and items can be gleamed directly from the card game—as long as the Random rule isn't spread around.