Aside from the ever-revolutionary Final Fantasy series, the RPG genre has remained fairly static. Final Fantasy VIII, which is even more experimental than its predecessors, takes elements from the entire genre, tries some new things out, and becomes a very new, and very different RPG.
Gone are the myriad of weapons and armors which so characterize RPG, replaced with the somewhat complicated, very different Junction system. While many will complain due to its seemingly complete departure from the old style of RPGs, the system is quite elegant and actually brings the game some semblance of balance. No longer do you have to spend hours outside of a town leveling up or getting money to buy equipment, instead the game is all about taking good magics from enemies and junctioning them onto your stats.
One of the complaints about the old FFs is that they're too easy. Not anymore. Levels are virtually meaningless, as the enemies level up with you, and like you, gain new spells and attack patterns. Also, enemies seem to have some degree of intelligence. Instead of the random nature of enemies in the old FFs, they actually seem to try to counter your attacks, perhaps a bit superficially, but still better than the old games.
Esthetically, there are few better RPGs. The texture quality has improved dramatically since FF7 and Parasite Eve, the framerate seems to have been upped, and the integration between realtime polygons and the gorgeous still renders is extremely good. Finally too, this is the first FF where there are absolutely no superdeformed characters: A good thing for you realism buffs, but perhaps bad for anyone who gets a strange pleasure out of misproportioned characters. The FMV is nothing less than breathtaking, with absolutely stunning motion captured characters. Musically, the game lacks the flair of previous FFs, but the sample quality, a complaint from FF7, has been improved VERY significantly.
The storyline doesn't quite engage you from the start, but it proves to be much more developed than FF7. Squall, a very Cloud Strife-ish character, is more interesting than Cloud even as an emotionless cad. It doesn't stop there, though. Unlike Cloud, Squall becomes a round character and becomes emotional, allowing the game to tackle a theme of love; wheras in FF7 the only theme of love was the frustrated relationship between Cloud and Tifa.
The other characters (excluding Rinoa), while less developed, prove to be more interesting and developed than most of the flat, stereotypical characters of previous games.
The biggest fault I see with this game is that it really needs more character development. This has always plagued RPGs, and aside from a few games (such as Xenogears) which did this fairly well, this is really necessary for story-based RPGs to reach the next level. There are also some minor problems, such as a lackluster Disc 4 and the rip-off pocketstation game, but those are forgivable.
This game is a game for the person who doesn't mind a little variation in his gameplay habits - It certainly will not appeal to the close minded player. If you give the game a chance and approach this game with the sense of awe and wonder you approached Final Fantasy 4 or 6 with, you will be suitably satisfied. Like most of Square's games, it is an innovative piece of work that definitely succeeds on most fronts.
Gone are the myriad of weapons and armors which so characterize RPG, replaced with the somewhat complicated, very different Junction system. While many will complain due to its seemingly complete departure from the old style of RPGs, the system is quite elegant and actually brings the game some semblance of balance. No longer do you have to spend hours outside of a town leveling up or getting money to buy equipment, instead the game is all about taking good magics from enemies and junctioning them onto your stats.
One of the complaints about the old FFs is that they're too easy. Not anymore. Levels are virtually meaningless, as the enemies level up with you, and like you, gain new spells and attack patterns. Also, enemies seem to have some degree of intelligence. Instead of the random nature of enemies in the old FFs, they actually seem to try to counter your attacks, perhaps a bit superficially, but still better than the old games.
Esthetically, there are few better RPGs. The texture quality has improved dramatically since FF7 and Parasite Eve, the framerate seems to have been upped, and the integration between realtime polygons and the gorgeous still renders is extremely good. Finally too, this is the first FF where there are absolutely no superdeformed characters: A good thing for you realism buffs, but perhaps bad for anyone who gets a strange pleasure out of misproportioned characters. The FMV is nothing less than breathtaking, with absolutely stunning motion captured characters. Musically, the game lacks the flair of previous FFs, but the sample quality, a complaint from FF7, has been improved VERY significantly.
The storyline doesn't quite engage you from the start, but it proves to be much more developed than FF7. Squall, a very Cloud Strife-ish character, is more interesting than Cloud even as an emotionless cad. It doesn't stop there, though. Unlike Cloud, Squall becomes a round character and becomes emotional, allowing the game to tackle a theme of love; wheras in FF7 the only theme of love was the frustrated relationship between Cloud and Tifa.
The other characters (excluding Rinoa), while less developed, prove to be more interesting and developed than most of the flat, stereotypical characters of previous games.
The biggest fault I see with this game is that it really needs more character development. This has always plagued RPGs, and aside from a few games (such as Xenogears) which did this fairly well, this is really necessary for story-based RPGs to reach the next level. There are also some minor problems, such as a lackluster Disc 4 and the rip-off pocketstation game, but those are forgivable.
This game is a game for the person who doesn't mind a little variation in his gameplay habits - It certainly will not appeal to the close minded player. If you give the game a chance and approach this game with the sense of awe and wonder you approached Final Fantasy 4 or 6 with, you will be suitably satisfied. Like most of Square's games, it is an innovative piece of work that definitely succeeds on most fronts.