Final Fantasy VIII- The review

As far as RPG's are concerned, Square have beed in a class of their own for longer than I can remember.  The zillion-selling crown jewel of their games has to be the Final Fantasy's.
This latest installment is no different. You start off as Squall, and as you try to recover from the dazzling intro sequence, you are treated to a heart warming view of the entire Garden, as the screen pans around and a brilliant FMV is shown
But, while Final fantasy VII excelled in its mixture of realtime characters with pre-rendered backgrounds and FMV scenes, Final Fantasy VIII takes the technique and takes it to new heights.
The characters seem to blend even better with the backgrounds than they did in VII, and the character detail is better than I've ever seen.
If there is anything wrong with Final Fantasy VIII it's that the characters are too detailed, so the battle scenes are not as spectacular as they could be. Take Ultima, for example. In Final Fantasy VII it was a masterpiece where the screen seems to split open in

a filter of green which devastates the enemy in a single go. In VIII, however, all that happens is a pitiful mushroom cloud of green exploding near the enemy. The GF's are not as brilliant, bar Eden which is brilliant. Brothers is a pants attempt at comedy, especially when the stupid exclamation mark appears above Sacred's head.
However, apart from that minor fault the game is perfect. Slightly more complicated than VII, which is a good thing.
And, this game contains the best FMV ever, in any game! The ballroom sequence is a classic piece of computer animation which puts even the spectacular Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within to shame. I didn't even know the Playstation was capable of doing that kind of art at the time.
Saying that, though, each and every FMV in the game is memorable, like the one where the in-game graphics blend perfectly in with the FMV as Squall frees Rinoa from her cage after you get back to the planet.

GRAPHICS 9/10
The actual in game graphics could have been tweaked in certain areas, but the FMV's are more memorable even than those of VII

SOUND 10/10
The sound is, again, a little on the BIG side. Each individual tune is a masterpiece to listen to.

LENGTH 10/10
The game doesn't have any replay value like VII, but it will take you well over 30 hours to complete if you do it right.

GAMEPLAY 8/10
Some areas are a little iffy, as you have to navigate your way around when you can't see. Still, the game can be forgiven for this minor fault.

Overall: 95%