Recent reviews by ReDeadSlayer

As of writing this review I am in the middle of playing FF10 and have played through FF1-9 to completion. For anyone reading this that doesn't know, I am in the middle of a Final Fantasy marathon and am writing this within the perspective of how each game relates to each other and how the series builds from past experiences.

On to the review portion, I really like FF8 compared to everything before it (Especially compared to the 2 previous games). My main gripes with the game though is that enemies scale only off of the main character's level and nothing else, the final encounter will pull 3 random party members to be used at the start of the fight and you have to let party members you don't want die in the fight and get cycled out and hopefully then you may get who you want (Repeat 1-3 times depending on luck). The only other gripe I could have is the "Things are now happening" nature of the game's plot. Good news though, it's not a hectic mess like Final Fantasy 7's disk 2, everything happens for a reason that makes sense (It just adds more and more reasons for things, but that's the nature of a time travel plot.)

Now for the positives, the junction system. If you were left with an itch for customization after 5 with 6 and 7 being kind of lack luster for you, 8 comes in with the good stuff. While you may not be setting up classes with different skills like in 5, you do get to customize the spells your characters use, the status effects they inflict and you get to add bonuses to all major stats. This can lead to some inflated numbers like going from 1000hp all the way up to 5000-8000hp with the right spells equipped, even with the exploitable nature of the mechanic it is tempered by making every spell a consumable and having only 100 of a spell being able to be carried by a character. The only other things of note are the main group of characters you get to control and play as. They have the best writing this far into the series, having they're own easy to understand motivations and given plenty of time to be explored especially when compared to Terra's morale plight and plot of her backstory or even Barret's plot about understanding the ramifications of his terrorism and coming to terms with and becoming a real father for his adoptive daughter. The world is also larger than FF7 with far more things around the map and sports far more cohesion than FF6's travesty of continents with a few "Dungeons" to explore. The only thing that's very lack luster about the areas around the world would be the nearly unexplained Esthar City and the sudden moon plot.

Overall Final Fantasy 8 is an interesting experience that comes out on top as a grander game than those before it with only a few short comings in 1 continent of the game and the exploitable nature of the junction system. I suggest taking the game slow and don't be afraid to use the Draw command for a while in combat. I would also suggest stocking up on "Blind" and "Pain" any time you can, seeing as alot of things are susceptible to the statuses.

As of writing this, I am in the middle of a Final Fantasy marathon and currently playing 9. I also have plenty of time on FF12 original and Zodiac Job sytem on PS2. This is my 4th time playing through Final Fantasy 7, once on PS1, 2 and a half times on PS4 and one final time on Steam just recently last month.

As an overall, this game is fine, it doesn't excel anywhere other than the Materia system. With boring characters heading the main plot, a very bogged down trite and contrived "We need things to happen" Disk 2 and a very bland over-world divided into 3ish sections I'm left with very mixed opinions on the game. The game is seen as a classic given it's the first PS1 Final Fantasy, but FF2 is far more customizable and gives me characters I care just as much about. (Which is none to very little.)

I would suggest either FF2 PSP, FF5 SNES, FF8 PS1 or Steam Release (Not Remastered) or FF12 Zodiac Job System for PS2. If you must play it, stay for the Materia system and don't get your hopes up.

Easiest abusable combination to grab is Choco/Mog + Added Effect to inflict stop using your normal attack. The summon also can inflict stop. 6/10 no real objections here but bland compared to other games in the series. (Maybe I'll elaborate more in the comments if anyone asks. Yes, I genuinely enjoyed Final Fantasy 2.)

This game is worth every penny if you can still grab a hold of it. Good luck doing that when Bandai said no.