Final Fantasy VIII is a masterpiece.
I had never really heard anything about VIII, but I got the discs from a local retro game store. It has ended up being one of the best JRPG's I have ever played. I really feel that by the time it came out, Square really had the whole 3D look down, as this game is visually absolutely stunning. The whole game had me feeling like I was exploring a beautiful art piece. The story is pretty gripping and honestly I like it a bit more than VII's (don't hate me) Also, the combat is some of the most fun I've ever had in an RPG. It's not grindy at all in my experience. I love the junctioning system by the way! I can see why some people dislike it because it's a bit contrived at first, but once I figured it out, I found myself enjoying the feeling of creating my own classes basically. When I smurfed up and lost to a boss, I'd just switch around junctions until I found the optimal way to go about fighting the boss. This type of gameplay may not be for everyone, especially those new to turn-based RPG's, but it certainly was gripping for me! I'd also like to mention that the extra internal monologues that the main characters have add so much more depth to the characters. My friends watch me play and we all do voices for each character, what a blast. Zell has a thick Boston accent and Squall has a depressed emo kid voice. But anyways, yeah, Final Fantasy VIII is phenomenal. I'm moving on to V and VI next, then I'll play IX. Love this series so far.
