Final Fantasy VIII Details, Meaning Final Fantasy VIII Article and Explanation Guide

Final Fantasy VIII Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

*Final Fantasy VIII*

Developer:	Squaresoft
Publisher:	Squaresoft
Release date:
Genre:	RPG
Game modes:	Single player
ESRB rating:	Teen (T)
Platformss:	Playstation
Media:	CD

Final Fantasy VIII is a video game created by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) for the PlayStation and computers. The graphics have been improved since Final Fantasy VII, so the characters now look more realistic. The game engine has been changed significantly, adjusting to the new Junction system, a considerable change from Final Fantasy VII's materia system.

Table of contents

1 Story
2 Gameplay

2.1 Junction System
2.2 Limit Breaks
2.3 Levels
2.4 Place in the series

3 Characters

3.5 Main Playable Characters
3.6 Other Major Characters

4 Fanbase
5 Musical Score
6 Reappearance of FFVIII Characters
7 External links

Story

The nation of Galbadia, ruled by Sorceress Edea, has started a war against nearby nations Dollet and Timber. Pleas of aid have been sent to Balamb Garden, an elite military academy that trains elite mercenaries called SeeDs. Three young SeeDs are dispatched to deal with the conflict, but soon find themselves drawn into a conflict far greater than they could have imagined, a conflict which threatens the world itself.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Final Fantasy VIII is quite different than that of its predecessors, with a strong focus on overall character development, in place of the more familiar weapon/armour/ability collecting.

Junction System

A new "Junction System" is used. This new system revolves around summon monsters, called Guardian Forces (GFs). A character must have a GF junctioned before he can use any command abilities in battle, such as magic or items. Magic now does not consume MP; instead magic "spells" are drawn from special draw points or enemies, and then consumed one at a time. The GFs allow characters to junction these item-like magic spells to their own statistics for significant bonuses (a doubling of the base stat is not uncommon). GFs can be summoned as many times as the player wishes in a battle, although there is a time lag between issuing the summoning command and the action taking place.

For these reasons, many players found themselves eschewing magic altogether, relying on GF summons alongside junction-enhanced standard attacks and Limit Breaks. Battles in VIII can thus be completed by an endless repetition of any of these three. However, it is frequently more interesting (and effective) to use a repetoire of status-changing magical attacks or esoteric GFs.

Armor has completely disappeared in favor of Junctions, and characters cannot be equipped from a selection of weapons: instead their current weapon recieves a permanent upgrade.

Limit Breaks

VIII also lacks the one-use limit breaks that characterized special attacks in previous Final Fantasy games: a fully-charged Limit Break bar only allowed for a single attack. In VIII, limit breaks are available with increasing frequency as the character's HP drops. Once the character's health is critical, it is usually possible to perform limit break attacks continuously, albeit at risk of a sudden death from a foe. The magic "Aura" temporarily allows the player continuous limit breaks regardless of their HP level. This can frequently make boss battles easier; while an attempt to balance this was clearly made (Aura magic is a universally effective booster when junctioned to a statistic, making it worth conserving), if the player has located a good source of Aura magic they will often face little difficulty in progressing.

Some have lambasted the game for this lack of difficulty; however an vocal fanbase supports the relative impunity with which the player can move through the game--and thus indulge in varied settings, plot and character development, which is the main reason that many people play Final Fantasy games in general and Final Fantasy VIII in particular.

Levels

The other big change in Final Fantasy VIII was the concept of enemies leveling up along with the player. The idea was to prevent the endless leveling up so prevalent in older games such as Dragon Warrior or the first Final Fantasy. This way one could be theoretically low-level and still make it to the final boss. However this is not without its own problems. If you did have a high level, some bosses were disproportionately harder than if you were low-level, because they gained abilities, just as the player did, while leveling up. At first glance, this would give almost no incentive to level up and in fact made the system quite questionable in the first place. However, if a player has spent a great deal of time playing the game, they may appreciate the extra complexity which the boss's new abilities add to the battle.

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Place in the series

Final Fantasy VIII was the first in the series to introduce a "collectible card game" in the game world, now a firm feature of the franchise. Final Fantasy games are known for their story, and use of FMV, and Final Fantasy VIII was the first real proof after VII of how far advances can go. The character development, especially that of Squall from an antisocial misfit into a more gentle character, is very well done, and used in fanfiction frequently. The combination of FMV and interactive story telling made Final Fantasy VIII pull through for some doubtful gamers. A great surreal experience would be when Squall and his friends first have their lucid-yet-bizarre dreams of being other people in a different world. This made Final Fantasy VIII feel frequently less like a game, and more like a movie.

Characters

The main playable character in Final Fantasy VIII is Squall Leonhart. He is an apathetic young SeeD at Balamb Garden. He is, of course, quickly joined by a cast of characters, the most important one being Rinoa, who is the only main playable character not a trainee of one of the three Gardens. Character development is paramount, which is shown by Rinoa and Squall, who develop an intimate love relationship throughout the game.

Main Playable Characters

Squall Leonhart - A young student at Balamb Garden. He does not talk much and has the reputation of being a lone wolf. He quickly falls in love with Rinoa, and the two are one of the main focal points of the game. Squall's name follows Cloud's tradition of bad weather. Squall also uses a very odd yet 'cool' weapon called the Gunblade, which is essentially a sword with a trigger and barrel built in; the weapon deals extra damage if the player squeezes the controller's R1 trigger button while he attacks. Squall has the typical hero-guy moves and special abilities. He could be best classified as a fighter.

Rinoa Heartilly - A young, beautiful, carefree girl, daughter of General Caraway of Galbadia. Her tenderness, warm-hearted nature, and kind compassion makes her very endearing. She and Squall have something very special together--more than one decision of theirs is made out of love. Rinoa often uses light magic. She could be best classified as a White Mage.

Quistis Trepe - Quistis joined SeeD at the age of 15, and due to her extraordianary talents, she quickly became an instructor. She now serves as Squall's instructor, and joins his party early on. She serves as a mediator and intelligent voice. Quistis knows Blue Magic as well, allowing her to take abilities from enemies and use them as her own. She would be best classified as a Blue Mage.
Zell Dincht - A martial arts expert who joined Garden at 13 to follow in his grandfather's footsteps as a great soldier. He often blurts things out without thinking first. Zell uses his fists as a weapon, and his special attacks allow you to perform combo moves in a fighting game-style on enemies. He would be best classified as a Monk.
Irvine Kinneas - Irvine is a loner from the Balamb-affiliated Galbadia Garden, who is called the 'Best Shooter in Garden' due to his sharpshooting abilities. He is also known a ladies' man. He tries to charm Selphie several times throughout the game. His guns and sharpshooting abilities would best classify him as a Gunner or Sniper.
Selphie Tilmitt - A young happy-go-lucky girl, Selphie seems out of place at a military academy. She has an overbearingly naive view of the world, and is always there when people need cheering up. She uses simple moves but is strangely reminiscent of Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII. She would be best classified as a fighter. The type of weapon she uses is called nunchaku in the NTSC (Japanese and U.S.) versions and shinobou in the PAL versions.