A must-play game. If you have a PSOne and don't have Final Fantasy VIII in you collection, consider it empty!!
- Story: as always, Squaresoft delivers a very interesting story (although a little redundant from other FF games) with well defined characters that grow deep into your heart and clearly evolve during the game. Some tears may appear in your eyes, be warned.
- Graphics: Square decided that Super Deformed characters (such as the ones in FF VII) were no more when FF VIII arrived. They are now more like characters from Resident Evil or Parasite Eve, and that's actually good (not for all of you, but well...). Scenery, as usual, is breathtaking, and no town is equal than the other, so the vast places in the world make the game really interesting, especially for architects or graphic designers or such. Square has a LOT of imagination when it comes to graphics.
- FMV: now this was a HUGE face-lift from FF VII. FMV's are a LOT better, and help you see the characters better. What I liked a lot is that Squaresoft understands that a game that can take more than 40 hours to complete (fully complete, that is) deserves an ending that makes it worth your while. Believe me (and this could be kind of a spoiler so BEWARE!!!!!), you'll simply LOOOOOOVE the half-an-hour-or-so ending this game has to offer.
- Playability (is there such a word? I don't know... let's invent it, shall we?). You could think that a long game would get pretty boring after a while. Not with this one!! There's always something new, some new magic, some new item, GF (Ifrit, Ramuh, Shiva, Bahamut, all the ones we love so much), or hidden enemy or ally to get. Trust me... you think you have finished all the game? Think twice. Maybe three times. You need a LOT of time and patience to fully enjoy what this absolute masterpiece has to offer. There is also a mini card game that you can play with virtually anyone while you're doing your main quest. And if I can say so, I LOVE IT!!! It is SO adictive I started a whole new game just to get all cards!!!!! As you can see, this game has a LOT of value.
- Sound: Nobuo Uemasu, and that's all I'll ever say. I'm pretty sure that everything that was worth listening to in ALL Final Fantasy saga was composed by this Jedi of music. The Opening Theme just gives me the chills.... Liberi Fatali, remember those words.
So, what's the catch? Is this game perfect? Surely if you catch a look at Final Fantasy X-2 you'll understand that this game WAS perfect at the time it hit the streets. Believe me, it takes all the juice out of your 32-bit console. But the thing that makes Final Fantasy VII better than its predecesor is simply the characters, and the fact that Square is playing a LOT with FF VII characters, including their ULTRA-SUPER-MEGAPALOOZA-HOLY Movie Advent Children, but that's all.
Trust me, you won't regret getting this game.