Final Fantasy VIII Update

Well, the game has been out in Japan and is selling really well, But we still have another three or so months til it hits U.S. shores. So for all you raving FF fanatics, here's a little something to cool you off until then. Enjoy!

As you may have guessed by the name, FFVIII is the eighth installment in the series. Ever since the first FF, the series has slowly been shifting into a more technical, futuresque type world. FFIII(VI in Japan) introduced a story that involed many real life situations set in metropolistic cities and towns rather than castles and villages like the previous games. FFVII took that approach a step further with the inclusion of many different situations involving conflicts from more than one source at once which resulted in a very complex story. Character development also played a major role in FFVII. Everyone will admit that FFVII was a great game but it still offered nothing new in terms of gameplay. So SquareSoft set out to make FFVIII the absolute greatest game in the series so far.

FFVIII lets you take on the role of Squall Leonheart, a passive young man who carries a vicious weapon called Gunblade. Once Squall graduates from Garden, a training shcool for soldiers, he becomes a member of the elite group known as SeeD. Durring the initiation dinner for new members of SeeD, Squall stumbles upon a girl by the name of Rinoa Heartilly. Although at the time Squall and Rinoa don't know each others backgrounds, it will soon come out that Rinoa is apart of a rebellion group called Forest Owls. From there Squall and Rinoa set out in an epic battle against the empire known as Galbaldia and the evil witch Edea. I'll let you find the details out for yourself.

Among some of the innovative little touches that make FFVIII so great is the new magic system known as the Draw System. Once a character aquires a Guardian Force, he/she can draw magic from their enemies. For example, if you get into a fight and draw an enemy, you may get 8 uses of the cure spell. Once you get further into the game, you can aquire more and more powerful spells but you won't get as many uses of that spell like you would for cure or heal. Let's say you get Ultima from an enemy, you might only get 3 uses so if your smart, your gonna probably want to save them for bosses or a large group of difficult monsters seeing as how you cant just refil your uses whenever you stay at an Inn.

Guardian Forces are FFVIII equivalent to FFVII's summon spells with some major differences. When you equip a Guardian Force, it almost acts as another member of your party. It has stats including HP. Whenever you call upon a Guardian force to unleash a vicious summon attack, the GF will take in all damage that you may recieve durring the duration of the summon spell. GF's will also give you various abilities, kinda like rewards for taking good care of them. These abilities range from spells, status changes, and extra commands. What the GF reward you with depends upon how much experience the GF has, its similar to leveling up your own character.

FFVIII also introduces Junctions. Junctions let you modify just about everything you can think of on your character. Kinda like the blue materia from FFVII, but to a much greater extent. I have to admit that this Junction system is really confusing for me, especailly since I have been keeping myself from hearing anything about FFVIII until now. If you would like to, you can send me an e-mail telling me about the Junction system in a more descriptive way then maybe I can add something more here.

To accompany the epic story, Squaresoft has given the game a little bit of a visual overhaul. At first glance you may notice that the CG backdrops are remarkably similar to a game like Resident Evil 2 or FFVII. But Squaresoft has added much more animation this time around to give the characters a feeling of being alive. You'll also be able to notice that they've done away with the blocky, pudgy characters and opted for a more realistic look. They have even gone as far as to include little details such as animations in the backdrops or refocusing of the screen as your character runs from a great distance away to right infront of the camera. Speaking of the camera, FFVIII includes some dynamic view points to give it a movie like feel to it.

The cites and town you can explore have also been improved dramatically. A very large portion of the game looks like it was taken straight from the real world. But still staying true to it's name, there are many areas that could only be in a fantasy world. SquareSoft has also done away with weapons this time around. But that doesn't mean your stuck with the same exact weapon you start the game with. It just means you have to upgrade your weapons as often as possible with items you find around the world at junk shops.

If all that wasn't enough, Squaresoft threw in a plethora of little extras and mini games for you to mess around with. For example, whenever Squall does a normal attack, if you press the R1 button at the right time you can get an extra hit in with his gunblade. Also, when using a summon spell, a little square will pop up on the screen which tells you to rapidly start pressing the square button and a counter will rise. When the X button pops up on the screen, you better stop pressing the square button or the counter will reset itself. Once the attack hits, depending upon how high the counter is you will do much more damage than normally.

With all the new little touches added to this game, let's hope Squaresoft hasn't strayed too far from what made the previous six games so popular. FFVIII is expected to be released sometime in September.

5/22/99 Check out my killer Final Fantasy VIII Preview!

5/11/99 From the RPG Gods “Squaresoft” comes Final Fantasy VIII. The whole world is in awe in anticipation and Squaresoft plans to shoot the whole Dreamcast system down with just one Playstation game. But not just “any” game, its Final Fantasy VIII and it’s gonna kick Dreamcast’s Lilly @$$!! As Final Fantasy VIII inches ever closer to release, we keep learning more and more about it. Here's the latest.

There was a time when domination ruled the planet. But there were no victims, no conquerors, no dictators, and no martyrs. SeeD, an organization founded around the world, removed military domination and created peace. SeeD members were special and possessed magical powers. In order to join SeeD, one must train hard at the Balamb Garden and pass the graduation exam.

One such teenager dreamed of the chance to join SeeD. Now the fate of the world lies in his hands.

A powerful witch, whose existence was thought only to be a myth, has awaken and now threatens the peace which once inhabited the world. Her malevolence and strong magic power were feared, but her presence has received worship and praise.

When Squall is inducted into SeeD, the elite mercenary force of Garden, he attends a dinner party for the new recruits, during which he meets Rinoa. Although they do not reveal their identities at the party, Squall encounters Rinoa later, and discovers she is the leader of the Forest Owls, a rebel organization fighting against the nation of Galbaldia.

The Forest Owls are not very effective in their battles against Galbaldia, despite being assisted by SeeD. All the members of Forest Owls appear to have little concern about the consequences of their actions.

After meeting Rinoa, Squall has a very strange dream, in which he is Laguna Loire, a Galbaldia soldier who would rather be a journalist. In the dream, Laguna is on a mission with Ward and Kiros.

Meanwhile, the nation of Galbaldia has annexed neighboring Dole, and has declared war on the rest of the world. The president of Galbaldia was assisted by the witch Edea. Because it is suspected that Edea is behind the recent Galbaldian actions, Squall is sent on a mission to assassinate her.

Complicating matters is the appearance of Seifer, Squall's long time rival, at Edea's side. Seifer has two loyal bodyguards, Raijin and Fuujin who will also make Squall's mission harder.