Recent reviews by Fighting Irish

What can I say about Final Fantasy VIII that would do it justice? This is possibly my favorite game of all time. It was the first video game that blew me away. Long before Skyrim or any expansive modern open world game came along there was this.

I like pretty much everything about this game. I love the story, a sprawling tale of romance set amid a war torn world of Sorceresses, magic and knights. The story mostly surpasses any story that Hollywood has come up with since. It's one of those rare games where you play it more for the story than the game itself.

Not that the gameplay falls short though. VIII introduced the junction system which can have a steep learning curve but is immensely satisfying to master. It stands as my favorite Final Fantasy system to date. It's just such a rich involved system it adds a depth to the game that makes it all the more worthwhile to play.

Outside of the main story line there's just so much else to do in the world be it exploring, gaining cards, training up your characters or upgrading weapons. No other Final Fantasy comes close to VIII in this regard save XII which just pips VII for the second greatest FF game in my opinion.

The two single greatest aspects of this game however are the music score by Hitoshi Sakimoto and the cinematic sequences which are a work of art. The single greatest moment in this game arguably comes at the beginning where the signature musical piece of the game, Liberi Fatali is accompanied by the single most beautiful visual opening to a game ever. You hear this phrase bandied about far too casually nowadays but it is most defintely video game as art form. The only other sequence that beats it in terms of sheer headiness is the space sequence which is an absolute delight.

In short this game is far more than just a game to me. It is one of my greatest life experiences. At the age of 13, 14 years ago it opened my eyes to the potential of art and it's ability to affect you in a personal way. One of the only pieces of art that had a greater effect on me was Star Wars but its always going to be a tall order to surpass that. Ultimately you should play this game because if you have half as much joy playing it as I did you're in for quite an experience. Fourteen years have passed since I played it and even with all the advances in technology this still stands as the game I measure most other ones against in terms of my satisfaction. And yes I do believe this game is even greater than FF VII. So deal with it :)