Final Fantasy 8: One of my favourite games of all time

I am in the minority of people who consider Final Fantasy 8 to be the best in the long running series. So with the remaster due to be released on the PlayStation 4 on the September 3rd, I thought that it would be a good reason to write about one of my favourite games of all time.

I have a quick confession to make, I am not a big Final Fantasy fan, before and after number eight was released. I liked seven and twelve, but the others just haven’t held my attention for their entire lengths. To the surprise of many, I rather enjoyed thirteen, I think it has the best combat in the entire series, but like the other games, the story just didn’t hold my attention to the end.

So, what makes Final Fantasy 8 so different?

I simply love the setting and characters. The protagonist is a guy called Squall, he’s somewhat dour and a bit of a loner. Someone I could relate to (especially at the time of the game’s initial release when I was in high school); which is a contrast to most videogame characters at the time. He doesn’t really fit into one social group, and it’s not until the latter part of the story that he begins to open and reveal his emotions to those around him.

The beginning of the story and a large section of the setting is based in Balamb Garden, it’s like a militaristic university where students live while studying. It’s an unusual setting that is still rare to find in videogames to this day. I like it because it makes the characters feel like they are a part of something bigger, that connects to the wider world. And unlike a lot of other Final Fantasy worlds, the world in eight is far cleaner and pristine. It’s certainly a futuristic aesthetic, but one that is not overloaded with technology and glitz, and neither is it a fatalistic wasteland on the other end of the spectrum. Overall, the visuals, the world and the character models are more realist compared to those in Final Fantasy 7 and 9.

The side characters vary in design and they are all interesting for the most part, as well as being important to the context of the story, especially when a major revelation takes place in the last third of the game. The characters drive the story forward, they aren’t just reacting to their surroundings, which is not the case with a lot of videogame stories let alone a Final Fantasy game.

You also take control of a character that exists in the past, these come in the form of dream sequences that the protagonist has at random points. Not only was Laguna a character I enjoyed spending time with, but I saw another aspect of the world through his point of view.  

As with all Final Fantasy games, the music is spellbinding, the theme to Balamb Garden is probably the best piece of music in any game that I have ever heard. Listening to its thoughtful and distant melancholy gives me goose bumps and reminds me of more simpler times in my youth.

Unlike its modern successors, Final Fantasy 8 has turn based combat, it’s rather simplistic compared to the latter games in the series. But it makes you approach the combat in a strategic manner, which is the opposite to the combat in Final Fantasy 15s free flowing hack and slash style. Which grew tedious in my opinion.

Final Fantasy 8 is not perfect, few games are. The Guardian Forces battle animations are way too long when you cast them, the story does drag out a little towards the end, and while the latter narrative revelations are imaginative and unpredictable, the execution is not wholly convincing. A few of the supporting cast are not really given much substance within the narrative after their initial introduction.

The villain is interesting for the most part, and it is revealed that she has a deep connection to the protagonist, which adds an extra dimension to the overall plot. But she’s kind of there in the background most of the time, which is understandable because she is just a cog in the protagonist’s overall journey, but she leaves no real impression at the end of the game.

Its been ten years since I last played Final Fantasy 8, and though nostalgia can be cruel, I can’t see the experience to have lessened since. Which was the case when I recently played Shenmue, but I cannot wait to immerse myself in its world once again, and so should you.