Vimm's Lair: PS1 Reviews - Final Fantasy VIII

PlayStation
Final Fantasy VIII

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.25
8.34
7.70
7.90
Votes: 77
Reviews: 5


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Reviewer: Simply_Tim Date: Sep 10, 2018
I've been a gamer since Oregon Trail on my mom's Apple II, and have played most if not all of the mainstream RPG's to come out since. This is easily in my top 10, even compared to the modern era high FPS low content games.

Graphics: 9
While I can't call them "perfect", for it's time, FF8 was still one of the best there was. They stepped it up over FF7 in every way they could, and the graphics sure weren't overlooked.

Sound: 10
The audio is something that I CAN call perfect. While they still hadn't developed in-game voice overs at this point, Square always seemed to nail it when it came to the score. The background music always fit the situation and emotions of the moment. I read another review that rated it lower than FF7, but to me, the music was much more mature and refined, VS. the almost constantly cartoonish music of 7, and 9 as well.

Gameplay: 9
I couldn't give a 10 due to the draw system of magic usage. Especially in the wake of the "materia" system in FF7. Also, while it blows the current garbage out of the water, it still seemed much shorter than 7 total play-through wise. The saving graces here are the character development, the card game (so much easier to grasp initially than 9's), the plot twists, the way literally everything including GF's upgrades as you go, the evolution of transportation in the world map... I could go on and on, still not "perfect" to me though.

Overall: 9
Overall, I would give a 9.5 if it was on the list. To label something a perfect 10, when it is not that would be a bogus review. However, in my eyes, the flaws are so small and honestly have no real effect on the enjoyment of the game. It seems a shame to have to cut a whole overall point off.

If you enjoy RPG's, this is a must as it is a classic and was a part of what shaped the genre today. Other than FF7 and maybe Skyrim, this is about as much "depth" as you are going to get from a console game.

 

Reviewer: pauljb336 Date: Sep 2, 2015
You may not like this review, but I'll tell it how it is anyway.

Graphics: 6
The graphics were better than FF7, but not as good as FF9. The movies of it are the best of the game, graphic wise. Still, personally, my standards are pretty high and this just didn't reach high enough.

Sound: 7
Sound and music are great. The themes of the game, Liberi Fatali, as well as Eyes On Me. The world map music I found only good, not great.

Gameplay: 7
The story is a little confusing. The end, I won't say too much, was kind of ridiculous. The final boss isn't even mentioned until Disk 4 and the ending is weird. It's hard to like something you don't understand and I just don't get the ending. As for the rest of the game, characters backstories are great, suspension is great, and there's even a little bit (but not much) of humor.

Overall: 7
I found this to be a work in progress. Square obviously wanted to improve their graphics, sound, and gameplay from FF7 and they did, at least in graphics and sound. I don't think this game's gameplay made it past FF7's. But, it's alright, because they made FF9 next and that did exceed the boundaries.

All in all, it was good. Not great, but good.

 

Reviewer: Zeltarius Date: Sep 4, 2013
The Final Fantasy series has always been at the heart of the RPG world since the days of NES, and still to this day on the Xbox 360. However it was around the time number 7 and this one came out where Final Fantasy became the top of the RPG food chain. Now onward to Final Fantasy VIII(8).

Graphics: 9
The cinematics are the first thing noticed by most people upon starting these type of story based adventures and this one doesn't disappoint. At its time, the cinematics of this game were among the best and you would have been hard pressed to find better. Surprisingly enough, the actual graphics of the game itself were also quite impressive making use of what the Playstation hardware had to offer, and for the Playstation the visual effects of the spells and abilities were quite extraordinary as well which added that measure of enthralment and excitement upon learning a fancy new ability.

Sound: 10
Final Fantasy has always had a mesmerizing sound track that set the mood for virtually any manner of situation or scene that may have come in the game. The battle music gets you pumped and the boss battle music set the tone for an exciting yet intimidating encounter. Nobuo Uematsu was a gaming music genius and this game among his other works is a fine show of his musical expertise.

Gameplay: 8
Adding in various new concepts to the classic turned based battles worked very well for this game. Battles were classic Final Fantasy with the added ability to time button pressing or rapidly press a button to increase the effect of whatever ability or spell you happen to be using which added more involvement in the battle and less sitting on the sidelines watching. The sidequest-ish card battle system was also quite entertaining adding a great diversion to the random battles and underwhelming story. My only complaint was the awkward change to having spells treated like items rather than abilities with a cost. If you need a spell you needed to find places to collect them rather than learning them permanently which could have added the possibility of improving abilities for greater effect.

Overall: 9
Overall Final Fantasy VIII(8) is a classic that will live on for a long time. Only the story keeps this from getting a perfect score. I found the story to be strange and even at times nonsensical. The main character Squall I also found to be emotionless and difficult to connect with, leaving me with a sense of carelessness about his fate.

I would say this is a definite play for any RPG fan as it should not be passed up for the revolutionary ideas it brought to the genre. This has been my first review of anything and I hope it helps and was a good read.

 

Reviewer: FF Legend Date: Jan 18, 2013
I have played this series since Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on SNES, this is one of my favorite games. I think that the junctioning/drawing systems was very innovative for an RPG and was hoping that it would carry over to the next game. I first played this game in the summer of 1999 sometime before FFIX came out.

Graphics: 8
At the time this game came out it would have been a 10 on graphics. I would have given it a 10 now except the Playstation had about another 2 years left on its console life before it was retired. Stunning CGI and smooth frames.

Sound: 8
FF7 is a tough sound track to follow. I'm a musician by trade and this particular game is good, its just not as good as its predecessor.

Gameplay: 9
This game has an awesome card game which is a must! It has about 10-25 hours of extended sidequest gameplay according to how well you manipulate your GF's. All of the creatures and bosses (except Island closest to heaven and hell) stay on/near your level.

Story = 9
Characters = 8.5
Plot development/Climax = 9.5
It's a cliffhanger all the way up to disc 4 and then you only have a couple of hours of gameplay left.

Overall: 9
This is an excellent game. I'm like most FF8 nostalgists though. I wish SQUARE ENIX would quit making garbage these days and remake this period of video games for the new generation to be able to enjoy..... a thought provoking, beautifully crafted game. It will truly go down in video game history as one of the greats of this series.

Yours truly the FF legend.
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Reviewer: Varanhost Date: Oct 5, 2011
I have never done a review before but I strongly believe this game deserves one.

Graphics: 9
(Note all ratings are for at the time the game was released)
The first time I played final fantasy eight I was blown away by the beautiful cut scenes (something I hadn't seen before as this was my first encounter with the series) I firmly believe that this game had some of the most impressive graphics for the PlayStation generation.

Sound: 8
I never really paid to much attention to the in-game music but I do remember that music during some of the cut scenes was very powerful and moving. (I'm not a music fan so this was a first for me)

Gameplay: 10
The story was intense for me. I wanted and needed to know what happened next. Well scripted perfect voice acting (there was none so second rate actors couldn't screw it up) Although I didn't appreciate Squall going from a bad ass loner to a whiny kid toward the end.

Overall: 10
I'm sure not everyone will agree with the perfect overall score but this is my favorite game of all time. Most people prefer seven over this game. I'm not one of those. Squall and Seifer would dominate Cloud and Sephiroth any day of the week.