Story:

The story drops you in on lone-wolf mercenary Squall Leonhart, who is going to
take part in the SeeD graduation exam. After a successful mission, Squall and partners Zell Dinct and
Selphie Tilmitt, become fully fledged SeeD members.

His first contract with SeeD was one that would change his life forever, working for
the Timber Owls, a resistance faction, under leader Rinoa Heartilly.

After a failed attempt at assasinating the Galbadian Leader and Sorceress Edea,
Galbadia delcares war on SeeD and it becomes a battle for survival.

Although previous Final Fantasies had love stories, VIII was the first to
concentrate on the story of the two lovers, Squall and Rinoa, and the changes it
causes between them and their close friends.

Final Fantasy VIII was also different for having two separate leads, reluctant hero
Squall Leonhart and compassionate Laguna Loire. Both were designed to sharply
contrast each other with Squall as cold, serious, high-ranked mercenary while
Laguna a clumsy, caring private in the Galbadian Army.


Gameplay:

Where Final Fantasy VIII truly excels.

Final Fantasy VIII is arguably the most flexible Final Fantasy. Unlike all other
Fantasies where you out-leveled your enemies, they would remain at the characters
levels, allowing players to complete VIII without gaining an experience
point.

But if you're the hardcore grinder type, VIII is the game for you. In stead of
requiring to get an increasing amount of experience per level, you only have
to reach 1000 experience per level allowing you to reach level 100 with all of
your characters without getting into the plot.

Magic is obtained via a new system: Drawing. Using your GFs (summons), you
draw random amounts of a selected spell from enemies. Unfortunately, it can get
repetitive because you can draw at max 9 spells at a time, but the rewards
outweigh the boredom.

You might be asking, "Samejamesbond, how do I get better than my enemies if
they level up with me?" That is where junctioning come in my good friend. Like in
Final Fantasy VI you junction summons to teach them special abilities such as Item
Refinements, Stat Junctions, and Stat Bonuses. You then you junction magic drawn
to your stats (such as Speed or Strength) to increase them according to your
design.

Another new feature is how you obtain better weapons, instead of simply
purchasing new equipment, your weapons are upgraded using parts you refined
using your GFs.

Finally, the new card game called "Triple Triad" allows players to kill time and
obtain new cards which can be used to refine for parts and spells.

Graphics:

Many say Final Fantasy VIII was the best looking game for its time; people who
say that are wrong because the Dreamcast was released on the same day. But for
a 5th generation game, it pushed the graphical limits of the Playstation and is almost
unmatched by any game on the console (as seen in the intro) :

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q09quI356sQ"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

FFVIII was also the first Fantasy to include realistic character models, allowing for
realistic body movements and expressions among characters.

Finally, FFVIII also was the first to have interactive scenery, which graciously blended
into the background.

Sound:

Final Fantasy VIII has one of the better soundtracks in the series with tracks
ranging from from soothing:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMRLUAjbnn8&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpZ3lCJ1TVM&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ica1ZC_asgU&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

To dark and heart-pounding:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01mxuw31GVs&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8h6vt-5B2g&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czn2_ngX6_k&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

Each song fitting well with the setting and each help keep you entertained.

Liberali Fatali (Opening theme) was also used as the song by the 2004 Summer
Olympics games US Synchronized Swimming team:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dfAjfByvXY&feature=related"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

Overall:

Final Fantasy VIII is a master-piece, it doesn't match the sales of FFVII or FFX,
but the story is spot on, graphically beautiful, and has many ways to keep you
entertained.

I'd rate it a 9.8/10


Please constructively comment on my first review, so I know what to do for the next one.