I'm fine by myself now. I have all the skills I need to survive. I'm not a child anymore. That's a lie. I don't know anything. I'm confused. I don't want to depend on anyone. How can I do that? Someone tell me... Someone? So I'll end up depending on others after all.
Beaten: 2014, with a few unfinished playthroughs previously
Version played: PC (Steam)
I've written a lot about my feelings on FFVIII already on my Squall site, so I'll give the highlights here.
I tried to play FFVIII several times, and I kept falling off before getting very far in — I think I played Disc 1 three times. I eventually made it all the way to the end of Disc 3, but then I fell off again. It wasn't until 2014 that I finally sat down and actually played through the game all the way through.
FFVIII is the red-headed stepchild of the Playstation Final Fantasy games. It came after the juggernaut of FFVII, and right after it came the much-beloved FFIX. In the middle we have a frankly bizarre story about child soldiers in floating military schools who face a powerful sorceress while dealing with the woes of adolescence. Oh, and a totally unique battle system never seen before or since, don't forget that.
A lot of FFVIII's story is incoherent and surreal. There are parts of it that don't make much sense. And yet: I adore it. Is FFVIII kind of a hot mess? Sure. Is it also a delight? Absolutely.
Even though I haven't played it in a decade, there are scenes from FFVIII that still stick with me, and probably always will.
Favorite character
Technically my favorite character is Laguna, who was my main motivation for actually playing the game — I just wanted to get to the Laguna parts. Where Squall is a moody teenager, Laguna is an adult who's unintentionally hilarious in most of his scenes, and I've always been very fond of him.
But the more I think about it, the more I think my favorite character is Squall.
FFVIII is Squall's story, and Squall makes for an intensely relatable lead. He's a teenager who acts like one, from the poor decisions he makes to the way he rebuffs anyone who tries to get past his walls. He doesn't want to be alone, but he doesn't know how to let anyone in — until Rinoa gets through to him.
I really like this cast in general, though. Most of them are underdeveloped outside of Squall, but they all add a lot of character to the game.
Favorite music
Man, this is one of Nobuo Uematsu's best soundtracks. Like the game itself, it goes so many wild places. From the very beginning, "Liberi Fatali" sets the scene that we're in for a time, and it only escalates from there.
Here's some of my other favorite tracks, none of which should be a surprise.
- Balamb Garden
- Blue Fields
- Don't Be Afraid
- Force Your Way
- Shuffle or Boogie
- The Man with the Machine Gun
- Eyes on Me
- The Legendary Beast
- Maybe I'm a Lion
- The Extreme
Favorite location
Balamb Garden, no contest. It's so delightfully weird. I mean, sure, it's a school to train mercenaries, but what is that design. It's such a strange setting! And yet it has all the things you'd expect from a school: a library, a cafeteria, classrooms, and so forth.
Of course, it also has NORG... but nothing's perfect.
Gameplay thoughts
I love the junction system. Full stop.
Whenever I start up FFVIII, the first thing I do is run down to the beach and draw 100 Water from the fish monsters. From there, it's just a matter of breaking the game to my will. You can do so many funky things with the junction system, and it's an absolute delight.
And that's not even getting into the rest of it. Yeah, it's still a turn-based ATB Final Fantasy game, but it has such a unique flair. The limit breaks stand out in particular: having to hit Squall's gunblade at just the right time to make it fire is so satisfying. Selphie has a limit break that can just end any fight. And so on.
The weird thing about FFVIII is that the monsters level up alongside you, so grinding is unecessary. One day I'd like to do a playthrough with zero leveling up and see how it goes. I started a run for it back in the day, but I don't think I got very far.
The Guardian Forces are also a standout. Summons had been in the series for a long while, but this is one of my favorite iterations of them. Attaching them to characters is so neat, and even if it gets tedious to watch the summon animations over and over again, I still love them all.
And of course I have to mention the best minigame of all time: Triple Triad. I have been hooked on Triple Triad since I first played FFVIII in 2007 or so. The fact that I can still play it today in FFXIV is a joy beyond measure. (If only I could turn monsters into cards in FFXIV!)
Further reading
