【Final Fantasy VIII】Cutting-edge Graphics and Disappointing Gameplay [Lovable Shit]

Final Fantasy VIII is an RPG released by Square (now Square Enix) in 1999 for the PlayStation, and is the eighth game in the FF series.
Following the commercial success of the immensely popular FF7, the previous title, Square put a lot of effort into the production of this game, including doubling the budget of the previous title!
Such immensely anticipated Final Fantasy VIII, but unfortunately, I’m going to introduce it as a “lovable piece of shit”…!
In fact, FF8’s reputation is divided: “It’s a masterpiece! You may be offended by this, but I dare you to be here! I’m referring to it as the “fucking game”!

FF8 Basic Information

・Genre RPG
・Supported Models: PlayStation
・Developed and released by Square (now Square Enix)
・Number of players: 1
・Release date: February 11, 1999
・Specifications 4 CD-ROMs

The graphics, music, and other aspects of this game have been upgraded from the previous FF7, creating a more “realistic” RPG.
Perhaps because of the anticipation for the previous title, reservations started pouring in even before its release, and although it sold about 3.7 million copies in Japan, not as many as the previous title’s 4 million copies, it was a commercial success.
However, the game’s reputation as a mainstay game was divided from the start, and it was often treated as a crappy game.

Quality beyond the game

The graphics, music, and other aspects of the game have been significantly upgraded from the previous game, giving the game a “cinematic feel” that has not been present in previous RPGs.
The character designs have a more realistic touch compared to the previous FF series, not to mention the field movement and battle scenes are much more realistic than in the previous game.
This also leads to CG-created event movies without any discomfort, making this game “feel like you’re watching a movie”.
Simply put, it’s like “a Hollywood movie with a fantasy setting that you can enjoy in a game”.
I didn’t have any complaints about the story, so the pivotal event movies, for example, I couldn’t help but watch and be kind for a period of time!
It’s hard not to get excited about the fact that the previously miniature FF characters will now be real and appear in the event movie!
FF8’s graphics technology was state of the art at the time, and no other game was as close to live action as it could be.
I can tell you that this led to what would later become the best game in the series, FFX (10), without a doubt!

So why is it a fucking game? Unique System Junction

Sure, it’s got state-of-the-art technology, and the event movies and other presentations are 100 points…
So why is this game certified as a crappy game?
One of the reasons for this is one of the new elements that have never been in FF before: the Junction system.
This junction is a system that allows you to increase your character’s stats and customize your commands, but this system is “not so great”.
In most RPGs, powerful weapons appear as the game progresses, and you level up accordingly.
But in this game, instead, you need to draw G.F. (summoned beasts) and magic from enemies and bosses and junction (equip) them.
Magic can be bought, so it’s not a big deal, but the G/Fs that help you in the game have to be drawn during boss fights, which is a lot of work.
Sometimes you have to draw in the middle of a close fight and you’ll be asked “Draw? I can’t afford that.
Moreover, it’s stressful because you can fail to draw, and if you fail to get it, there are things you won’t be able to get in the future.
And even if you succeed in your draw, you’ll be so desperate to get it that you’ll think, “I’ve lost to the boss…
It’s too early to tell if you’re drawing to fight the boss, or if you’re fighting the boss to get a draw…!
There are many such systems today, but back then they were few and far between, so I had a lot of trouble getting used to them myself…w

Further fucking points? The last boss fight was just too long

That said, I’m a huge FF fan myself, so of course I played this game, and I completed it well and was impressed by the ending.
But it was just so long leading up to it…!
The last boss is a witch called Artemisia, but I won’t go into too many details about the battle because it would be a spoiler if I told you too much about it, but it took me “two hours” to defeat her.

Dare I say it again, “2 hours”.

…Perhaps if you strengthen the game thoroughly, it won’t take that long, but it’s two hours with normal play and a reasonable amount of strengthening, so that’s not something to be ashamed of.
I wonder if they’re going to let an elementary school kid who plays the game for an hour a day beat it…
The previous game, Sephiroth, was an Artema Weapon Ranaway, and it only took a couple of turns, so two hours in this game is a “screw you”! And I felt like throwing the controller at the W
Many times in the middle of a battle, my heart would break and I would say, “I’m hungry…” or “Should I stop now…? It was so tough that I thought it was going to be tough…
In the past FF series, just like the above mentioned Sephiroth, the promise was that you could easily beat the last bosses if you strengthened them up a bit, and that’s when you’d get to the “challenge” part, and I was looking forward to it, but this game was anything but that, and by the time I beat it, I had run out of patience and energy, to the point where I was in the middle of watching the ending and said “I don’t want to play this game anymore…” with tears in my eyes.

Summary

To be clear, I have a lot more to say about Final Fantasy VIII.
Why is magic “stock-based? There’s a lot to say about it, such as the “Romasaga formula”, which makes the field monsters stronger as you strengthen them, but it’s also true that the story and the presentation of it was outstanding.
Other things I’ve often heard people say are “the loading is slow” and “once you get to disc 4, it’s over (once you get to disc 4, you can’t get into all the towns)”, but well, I didn’t mention that because it’s inevitable.
That’s how much attention it’s gotten and how well it’s sold, so for better or worse, this game has had a huge impact on the gaming world!