A slower paced affair, FF8 largest success is it's stunning visuals, and a cast of characters worth caring about.
But, at the end, while the characters were fine, I wished I cared about them more. Don't get me wrong...Cloud and co. were fantastic, but outside of expanding their motivations throughout the game, the game just didn't make me care the way, say, FF10 made me care. For example...I liked Cid, but I LOVED Auron. I liked Tifa and Yuffie, but I ADORED Yuna and Rikku.
Everyone's got their cup of tea, and for me, it's the people involved, watching them grow, laugh, relate to one another, and form true bonds. It makes me care about them, so I care about their plight more for it.
Final Fantasy 8 came real damn close to repeating the experience I had with FF10. Real close.
So, first, let's talk about where it fails (to save the best for last, as they say...)
The story drags.
It's not a bad story, but it's nothing groundbreaking. Evil sorceress wants to take over the world...yep, real groundbreaking. Though, I've often thought and said "it's not the premise, but the execution of the premise that matters." Half Life 2 proved that. The problem with Final Fantasy 8, is that the story drags, in the sense that the game almost has to force you to go somewhere before it picks up. For example...there are dream sequences that weren't my favorite part of the game, but stuff's happening, and there's a clear direction to move, and at those moments, the game picks up.
Though, in the regular game, most of the time I felt like I was wandering aimlessly, TRYING to find some clue that would say "this way, stupid!" And, when I did find that clue, the game DID pick up, but much aimless time is wasted trying to find it.
Also, I think I've finally reached the point where random encounters are beginning to wear on me, cause if there's nothing worse that wandering lost in a game, it's wandering lost while having to fight battles I don't want to fight, that lack a context of concern from me, and border on annoyance.
Almost done with the bad.
Also not helping this slow-trodding pace is the guardian force system. The system, itself, is just fine, and I like the idea of breaking away from mana points and such, but it requires some tedious walkthroughs to understand, and a good number of battles to really get the hang of.
The biggest problem I have with the system is this. You fight some random mobs...which would only take, say, 30 seconds to kill. BUT...you're low on 'cure' spells, so you 'draw them from the enemy...maybe spending three or four turns to stock enough, and a 30 second battle takes 3-5 minutes. With the lack of mana system, this is how it is. This ties into what I'll call "FF13 syndrome." Where a game's playtime is extended by tedious mechanics that make a fight take longer that it actually needs to, and it happens often. So, a 20 hour game takes 35-40 hours. A 40 hour game takes...you get the idea.
Ok, that's it. So, what's good about this game.
The characters!
Yep, they're pretty cool. Outside of Squall, who's kind of a wet rag (and by 'kinda' i mean 'total', and by 'wet rag', i really mean 'douche!'), all the other characters are pretty cool to start with.
Quistis is fantastic, doing a fair job of making fun of Squall's tendency toward douchbagery by mocking and mimicking him along the way. She's also a rarity in FF games, in that she's a sexpot, knows that others think so, yet doesn't use it, or silently resent the fact she's seen that way by some, and simply presents herself as a respectable and professional woman at all times. People have talked about how certain FF characters are positive female role models...Quistis is the most complete role model for women, and people in general, that has ever come out of a FF8 game.
Rinoa is a lover her or hate her kinda girl, and I loved her. I like that she's rebellious, mocks Squall as well, and unlike Quistis, has the tool set to reach past his barrier, and get him to look at his own needs, while acknowledging the people who care about him.
Zell is worthless, but there's always one.
Selphie succeeds where many quirky girls in FF games fail...she is childishly charming, while remaining completely likable along the way.
And then there's Irving...this guy is fantastic. He makes no qualms about being all about women...he loves all of them, yet manages to do so without coming off as creepy. In FF games, that's a rarity.
That's how they start. Though as the game progresses, you watch every character come to a point where the iconic cutout they've made for themselves out of their lives is challenged, and instead of doing what most FF games do, which is droll and moan about it, they're challenged by circumstances to overcome it. There are times where Selphie must be serious and take on leadership roles. Irving must rise above his fear. Quistis must acknowledge that she has weakness. Rinoa realizes that she needs other people's strength to remain strong.
And Squall must see into people's pain and dilemmas, understand them, to help them pull through, which allows him to see his own pain and dilemmas, and draw on others to pull through his own. Which makes him pretty likable, and relatable, by games end.
The difference between most FF games in this regard, is that the characters are mostly likable to begin with. They simply become LOVABLE by the end.
And, speaking of ends...this game has the BEST ending of any FF game I have ever played. Because you see this culmination of growth in nearly every character. It's a happy ending, but a happy ending earned. Everyone in the game has grown, while remaining themselves. That's a rare feat in games.
If it weren't for the often sluggish gameplay, this could have easily been the best FF game ever. It easily surpasses 7 in graphical prowess. And surpasses 10 in character development. Where it falls short of those two games, is story and pacing in 7, and having the clear sense of direction that both 7 and 10 had.
But, it's character success is the best in the entire series. I have the feeling, playing this game with the benefit of hindsight and progression, that they were trying to make the series "grow up." I think if they kept on this track, they would have succeeded shortly after 10, but losing key players in the company has definitely take it's toll on the franchise, and instead of having evolutionary progressions to allow us to see "where it all started" in the series, were left with relics in the series, that only leave us with clues to "what could have been."
But, it's definitely a relic worth playing.