Not counting Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy 8 is the latest installment in Square's ever-popular Final Fantasy series, now over a decade old. However, as you will see further down, this proud tradition of RPGs bearing the Final Fantasy name is FF8's greatest flaw, as it breaks countless time-honoured Final Fantasy rules, such as the ability to wear armour, the use of MP (Magic Points) and the leveling system which, to most players, is an entirely new experience. But, before I head off into one of my "Tsk, tsk… games these days..." rants, let me explain a bit about the enigma that is Final Fantasy 8 ^_^

Final Fantasy 8 is, like FF7, a futuristic RPG that rather seamlessly combines the worlds of science fiction and fantasy. The game centres around Squall Leonheart, a 17 year old student at Balamb Garden, which is one of three such Gardens or Academies that train young men and women to become SeeDs. SeeDs, on the surface, are simply mercenaries for hire but early in the game SeeD's "real purpose" is alluded to. At first, the game focuses on Squall and his life at the Garden as he and his friends work towards their goal of becoming SeeD members. It's not long, however, before Squall and his young friends are pulled into a tangled web of betrayal, political turmoil, and love, all while trying to decipher their mysterious dreams in which they take on the roles of Laguna Loire, a Galbadian soldier, and his friends, Ward and Kiros. And just when they thought life couldn't get any more complex their own memories and pasts are suddenly put into question. It's the typical average-teenager-to-mysterious-hero/heroine-overnight routine.

Graphically, FF8 is beautiful. I was in love with this game from the moment I saw those oh-so-realistic waves beating at the shore in the opening FMV. The FMVs were all wonderfully realistic and were dished out to the player at appropriate points in the game, reasonably spread out. They truly added depth and emotion to the game, such as the way Squall, who is usually so stoic, tenderly caresses the head of his love, Rinoa after saving her life. That particular scene became one of the most heartwarming and memorable I've ever seen in an RPG, simply because of the expression on Squall's face (Or maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic ^^).

Like the FMVs, the area graphics were also stunning. With bright, detailed backgrounds that were beautifully textured for the utmost realism, the world of FF8 came alive. The settings were all vibrant, colourful, and helped define the more light-hearted atmosphere for the game, as opposed to say the bleak gray setting of many of FF7's areas. If anything FF8 was too bright, particularly the towns (I had to reduce the colour level on my TV after a few hours in Balamb Garden. I was getting a headache ^_^;;). The dungeons, while not as bright and cheery as the towns, were equally realistic, and, unlike past Final Fantasy games, they weren't a cakewalk. Yes, you can actually get lost in this one, folks! Don't get too scared, though. Going against the recent trend in games, you cannot change the camera angle in this game, so you won't get turned around quite so easily, or for as long...hopefully ^^;

The battle graphics, though, are where FF8 truly shone. The characters themselves looked fantastic and, most importantly, realistic. Through fluid movement coupled with beautiful character graphics the battles really came alive. On top of that, the FF8 battle system contained some of the most beautiful spells I have ever had the privilege of casting, particularly the summons, which were so real that, at times, I was almost frightened. I still get chills when I watch the Odin summon. Square really paid attention to detail here and it definitely shows. My only gripe about the battle graphics is that many of the summons take a very long time to cast, and since in the early stages of the game you rely on your summons to get you through a battle this makes for some very lengthy fisticuffs.

Final Fantasy 8 had a good plot but, although it is a 4 disc game, most people could beat it in a mere 30 hours or less, which doesn't actually leave a whole lot of time for plot development. Square did do a good job, though. The plot is well thought-out and the characters nicely developed with winning personalities. I really liked every character in this game and if I didn't have someone in my party for a while I started to miss them. However despite all this the plot seemed a bit rushed, and it didn't take a person long to feel like they were lagging behind as they pondered events that in most other games would still be considered the latest plot twist but for Final Fantasy 8 were a disc old. This is definitely a fast paced game, not for the faint of heart. You quickly jump from one SeeD mission to the next and are bombarded with character development events every time you turn around. Of course, if you're looking for a roller coaster ride of a game, FF8 will suit you nicely, and if, like me, you like to let things sink in before something new happens it gives FF8 a great replay value.

One thing that must be said about the plot, though, is that it was never meant to be a grandiose story about a young man saving the world from destruction. That IS what the game is technically about, but the real heart and soul of Final Fantasy 8 is the interaction and developing relationships between the characters, particularly Squall and Rinoa. The love story of Squall and Rinoa is refreshingly realistic. It wasn't a case of love at first sight like in most RPGs but rather you had the absolute pleasure of watching the bond between the two grow. You saw the ups and the downs of their relationship and I found myself, for once, genuinely caring about the love lives of the characters. It wasn't cliché at all, it was beautiful and sweet.

The music, while good, didn't quite live up to my expectations for a Final Fantasy game. Standing alone, FF8 does have a nice soundtrack but when compared to those of its predecessors it just doesn't cut it. While some songs were good and immediately grabbed my attention, like the Laguna battle theme or "Succession of Witches Love" most were completely unmemorable and if you asked me to hum a few bars of most of the songs I wouldn't be able to. The scores were lifeless and eventually became mundane. I got quite tired of hearing the same themes over and over again. Not many songs seem to fit quite right, they didn't really express what they were meant to. For example, I would have expected the theme of the Shumi Village to be quirky, or at least happy. I was hardly expecting to hear the exact same theme as in the Fire Cavern. How can two completely different areas, one a fiery, monster-ridden dungeon and the other a frozen, mythical village, share a common theme? Or more accurately, how can these two areas share a common theme that suits them both?

Unlike the music, the game's sound was great. Square really put some work into it, and added many sounds that ordinarily you wouldn't miss, like the clip-clop of Odin's horse or a monster's "battle cry" before a battle. While some effects sounded a bit cheesy, like Ifrit's roar, most were well done and realistic sounding. The great sound effects, coupled with the stunning graphics gave this game a sense of realism that is hard to find in an RPG and made it an auditory as well as visually impressive experience. If only we had smellivision, FF8 would be a complete sensory experience.

The battle engine and gameplay is, I think, the factor that most displeased those who dislike FF8. Why? As I said, FF8 breaks the rules. First of all, magic does not consume MP or anything of the kind. Instead magic is "drawn" from enemies or special "draw points" or refined from an item. The magic can then be distributed among your party members however you wish and in battle is used like an item. For example, if you draw 5 Fire spells from an enemy and do not draw or refine more Fire spells, once you use up those 5 spells you can't cast Fire again until you draw more, thus making magic seem more like an item than a skill. Your magic can also be "junctioned" to your characters to increase their stats. The junction system, however, replaces the traditional system of buying and equipping armour and accessories. You also can't buy new weapons. Instead you find the parts you need to refine your original weapons, a system some found fun and challenging, like a treasure hunt. Others found it "untraditional" Personally, I was rather disappointed by how little a new weapon increased my strength. It somehow didn't seem worth my time to gather materials.

Also, leveling is quite different in Final Fantasy 8. It takes exactly 1000 Experience points to gain a level, no more, no less, all the way up to level 100. A bit odd, but not too different. But wait, there's more. Your stats don't change as you level up, except for your HP. The only way to increase your stats as you level up is by learning special abilities such as Magic Level Up. Also, your enemies level up as you do. A bit annoying, since it makes leveling up seem a bit pointless, but higher level enemies drop different items and higher level spells can be drawn from them. So, in the end leveling is useful after all, just not in the traditional sense where your stats increase naturally to the point where you're far stronger than an enemy or a boss.

But wait, how do I learn abilities like Magic Level Up? Just hold your horses, I'm getting to that! The battle system in FF8 is dominated by the Guardian Forces, or GFs. A GF is simply a summon monster who travels with you, and can be junctioned or joined to one specific character. The character who junctions a certain GF then has the option of summoning that GF in battle, as many times as you like, until either the battle is won, someone casts "Silence" on your character, or your GF is killed. Another good reason to become fast friends with your GF is the ability of the GF to learn special abilities that can be passed on to the character. Some abilities allow you to junction magic to another stat, like your HP while others, like, HP + 20% or Counter must be selected from a list of abilities and set to your character. Unfortunately, the number of abilities a character can take on is limited, so take care!

You also don't earn money during battles. Instead, once you become a full-fledged SeeD member you are paid a salary every 30,000 or so steps, and the amount you are paid depends on how high your SeeD rank is. I won't go into great details about this, because money isn't much of an issue in FF8 (you rarely run low on funds, no matter how low your SeeD rank is). Basically, SeeD rank is determined by the volume of battles you fight, how you perform on missions, and the results on SeeD written tests you can take at any time, and as many times as it takes for you to pass.

Making the crossover from Final Fantasy 7 to 8 is the concept of Limit Breaks, which are special attacks that a character can perform when enemies make them "angry" enough. Your party members become angry when they receive damage, so the lower a character's HP the more likely they are to reach their limit break. Usually though, you must be in critical condition to perform a limit (HP is reduced to 1/5 or lower) The only other way to use a limit is to cast Aura on a character. Aura is a special spell that dramatically increases your chances of performing a limit break, no matter what your HP is. Later in the game, when GFs become impractical in battle (they do about as much damage as a normal attack...but take far longer) you tend to rely heavily on limits and Aura to pull you through.

One of FF8's finest qualities (to me) is the amazing number of sidequests and other little extras. From an extremely addictive card game to secret bosses and items, FF8 keeps you coming back for more, and you always find something new each time. I still haven't collected every card possible in the Triple Triad card game (darn it!) and I'm sure there are countless secrets I still haven't found. All the more reason to play through the game a second time! Or fourth time...whatever...

There is still so much to be said about this game. It was truly revolutionary but I just don't have the luxury of being able to write it all here. Besides, I have to leave some surprises for you! So I will close with this simple statement: Final Fantasy 8 is, in it's own right an excellent game and I recommend it to any RPG player. However, it is a game that in many ways is not "Final Fantasy". It was revolutionary as far as its battle engine and gameplay go. So a word of caution to all Final Fantasy followers like me; don't go into this game expecting something like FF6 or even FF7. It's a great game and I'm sure you'll enjoy it… if you keep an open mind!