The only things I didn't like in the game were the Junction and Battle systems, but the music, character depth and plot more than made up for it. :) My favourite game next to FFVII, but it's a really close call.

FFVIII is an awesome game, some people I have met judge it a bit too harshly because the first FF they played was VII, in my experience with FF fans, it

This game is great. It has great graphics and a very unique storyline. It really is a great game worth playing.

The best Final Fantasy game to come out on PS, or possibly ever up to that point in time. FF VIII far surpasses Final Fantasy VII in graphics, story and ingenuity. It is perhaps people's attachment to FFVII's novelty when it first came out that make their bias judgments for it so liberal and judgments for this one so harsh.

I personally thought this was a great game. The setting and characters truly moved me. And the musical score was just absolutely superb. Although some of the characters didn't receive great character development, it was the two main ones that was truly great. Although there are many flaws in the game, I highly recommend it.

Definitely one of my three favourite games. The story is fantastic, the characters are engaging (I still cry when I listen to 'Eyes on Me' from my soundtrack CD - yes I bought that too), and the gameplay is brilliant. Some people say that FFVII is better. Those people should not be believed - they allow their inability to use the junctioning system properly (it really is quite simple, and very effective, if you sit through the two-minute tutorials) to obscure the fact that FFVIII is superior in every major element you look for in an RPG (aside from being twice the framerate as well!). Utter perfection.… Expand

They will never ever make one as amazing as 7, 8, 9 and 10 ever again. This game is amazing in everyway, should keep you playing for like... 100 hours... love the soundtrack yeah yeah.

I loved this game, because of how well-put this game was made. The romantic storyline intersecting with the main character trying to save the world, was really nice. The FMV movies in the game are spectacular! Maybe as good as FFX's. You would feel sorry if you missed out on this great Final Fantasy game.

The GReatest Game ever.

One problem. Magic system.otherwise perfect for any gamer.

Amazing game. Just stunning game play - (hours of it) and unlike some of the future games (like X), it allows for a great deal of mobility of when you want to complete particular quests and go adventuring on the side quests. Definately worth while.

The best FF by square so far. One hour play will turn into days, Trust me I know.

This is the very first Final Fantasy game I ever played, and it is also my favorite. Some people complain that it's more of an "interactive story" than a true RPG, and the many changes to the series seem to tick people off. But these are all the reasons that I really love FFVIII. It has wonderful, believable characters and a sweeping plot. Its junction system allows loads of freedom, and the graphics are superb. Square has yet to do better.… Expand

Firstly what kind of moron plays FF to look at pixelated women? Secondly this game is nothing short of the best RPG I've ever played, but I'm pretty much a sucker for anything FF based. I bought this after FFVII believing nothing could compare to it, how wrong I was, almost everything about the game was better. The graphics for PS1 are the best I've seen, especially after the previous FFs and their hideous super deformed characters (a feature which sadly reappeared in FFIX). The story was complex and every element brought up tied in well to the rest, and even after playing it for the 20th time i still don't understand the point of Ultimecia, Sephiroth was a far better main villain but still the Ultimecia battles are pretty epic for such and old game. The characters genuinely develop and reveal their feelings for one another, or hatred in some cases, and what starts as a bitter rival soon becomes a powerful villain in the game. The way the story skips between two different sets of characters in two different time periods is really well done and doesn't bore you unlike FFVII or VI somtimes do (often in the case of VI). The Junction system is probably the best leveling system on any FF I've played, it's intuitive and allows you to fully customise your character's strengths instead of having them pretty much develop in a pre-defined manner with no real control over their stats. The weapon sets are pretty cool too, and instead of rasing some Gil and buying them from the next shop you have to travel to different locations and defeat all sorts of monsters to get the parts to upgrade the weapon, I think it added an extra level of difficulty for those obsessed with getting final magic, stats and weapons (like me). The ability to draw magic from locations on the map and enemies makes it more interesting especially when you have the choice to either junction the magic to increase your stats or use it in battle. It spans four discs so back in them days it was pretty long, and still is now. One thing I don't like is the people that diss the Junction system, and then go on to praise the Sphere Grid from FFX, which sucked totally, no leveling, incredibly long wait between stat increases especially major ones like HP, which in turn makes most of the bosses incredibly hard to beat. The bosses and monsters in FFVIII however, will level up alongside your characters making sure that the battles are always just challenging enough. The only bad thing about the leveling system is that you pick favourite characters almost from the onset and the others will be at weak levels like 17. Leveling imo is the only place that FFVII has VIII beat (since characters not in use still level up, because thinking logically they have to move too so they would get into battle quite a lot), they're both good games but VIII is by far the best. Highly recommended to any gamers interested in excellent storyline, superb soundtrack, detailed characters with interlinking histories and of course, epic boss battles, enjoy!… Expand

Fantastic game, even today i enjoy playing it, great characters and an excellent storyline, although in my younger years i didn't understand most of it, it all became clear once i matured and began to think outside the box. Today this game may not seem like much compared to more graphical and mainstream final fantasy games, but this is a true classic! it clearly stands out above the rest!

So addicting. I've played VII and IX too, and I have no idea how this game scored lower than the both of them. The story is great and the romance is tasty. Graphics are pretty nice too for that time. I LOVE THIS GAME. The juctioning system is a bit confusing at first, but you'll get used to it.

This along with Final Fantasy VII are both the greatest games I've ever played in my life. The only downside I have to point out in this game is that it ends. A lot of people whinge about the battle system, I never had any issues with it. The only mechanic that didn't seem to work too well was that you always only need 1000exp to level up meaning you can't really "catch up" to higher level characters.… Collapse

The characterization in Final Fantasy 8 is incredible. In terms of storyline and setting,its one of the most sophisticated games in the series. An unforgettable epic.

If Final Fantasy VIII had come out before VII, we wouldn't be seeing these VII spinoffs and movies. VIII took what VII did so very right and made it so much better. It took the already incredible graphics and gave them a steroid injection. Beautiful magic, summon and limit effects and gorgeous rendered backdrops really took my breath away in '99. The characters, who were given the shaft in VII so the story could take focus, are gloriously fleshed out and are truly worth getting attached to. In fact, this is a love story which at first sounds like it could be a total bore and a complete cheese fest but actually turns into something very moving and emotionally captivating. Gone is the Engrish that marred past Final Fantasy entries and in its place beautiful dialogue that doesn't just speak to game nerds but everyone who is able to pick up a controller to play. By just reading text you could tell which character was speaking, something that VII just couldn't do. Its plot is also nothing to pass off either as it is epic and sweeping with clever plot twists that effect not just the world but the characters themselves (something that, again, VII did not incorporate). The battle system also takes an interesting turn. Gone is MP which makes way for a Stocking system of magic, where spells are used like items. Yet interestingly, these spells can be equipped to your characters' stats to give them an often times much needed boost, which is my favorite part of the whole game. Over all, a beautiful game that I have played countless times through and still continue to play, despite its noticeable age.… Expand

Amazing amazing game!! Truly if this game had been FF VII and the actual FFVII had come out later we'd be watching an innumerable number of 3D movies of Squall and Rinoa! I believe this is the second best in this franchise, the best being FF IV as it is the first RPG i have ever played at age 10.. FF VIII has an amazing storyline, not meant at all for the average gamer because of its heartwarming depth of ideas such as the connected life of all the characters involved.. I almost cried when Ultimecia was annihilated because the group had become an integral part of my life by then! Exquisite plot, awesome FMVs and scintillating progress of ideas in this edition of Final Fantasy.. Hats off to this Square Enix story writer.. Gameplay could have been slightly better, particularly magic system very tedious.. graphics too not impressive.. im really hoping the two games FF 7 and FF 8 are remade in Xbox 360 and PS3.. id give any amount of dollars to buy those two and just compare with 21st century graphic technology!… Expand

This is the greatest game ever...the storyline is awesome and the gameplay i superb....i would recommend any rpg gamer to get this game...NOW!......even though its like a long time ago.

One word- Perfect.

Great game, great characters, great music. I highly recommend it.

This is the best freaking game on the planet and this is in the year 2005!

This is a very good game I also like the mini game. My only problem was the graphics it looks like they tried to make it look so good but they really made it look bad.

Ehe, easily my favorite game. The characters are just great and there isnt really a sob feast element going on like in 7, although I do have to admit that Squall was a bit a cry baby, but that made him cuter for some reason. The graphics were amazing for its time. Overall a really excellent game

FFVIII is ofen over shadowed by it's direct predecessor in the series. The story here is very deep and intricate compared to the vast majority of games. The world is well crafted. The only niggles that hold me back from rating this a 10 are minor issues with the difficulty pacing, possibly leading players into boss fights they do not have the braun to win in areas they cannot rectify the issue in (disc 4 first boss, exp is 1 a fight in this area, and it's easy to reach this point massivly under-powered if you're a fast player). It is also possible to max your character and GF levels out on the first disc extremely quickly by exploiting certain easy to defeat monsters in very early areas of the world map.… Expand

This game is really good, but not perfect. The story is top-notch and the cinematics are well-done. It's pretty lengthy (maybe a little too lengthy) and gets you hooked easily. The only problems are the battles and the fact that there is no voice-acting. They could have easily added voice acting and have just made the game five discs instead of four, but they felt the immense urge not to. Instead, we get characters that aren't as emotional because everything they say is in text. They fixed that now, but come on. I would have loved this game to be voice acted. Second of all, the battles are fun, but not incredibly fun. They could have made the battles more intuitive and a lot more fun to play, making you actually want to not run whenever you have a random battle. Overall, though, this is a great game with a great story, good characters, an amazing soundtrack and satisfactory gameplay. Also, to the idiots who rate this and other games 0 out of 10, learn what makes a game bad. If you think the game is boring, it deserves a 6 out of 10, not a 0 out of 10. A 0 out of 10 is for a game that is an absolute disgrace to humanity, a game that no one enjoys and is broken in every way. As far as I am concerned, this game is not like that. Please stop being idiots and give the game a fair rating, unless you really, really, really hate it and think it is as good as Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. Which, in that case, I would be fine with your rating. However, "boring" does not make the game a Big Rigs. Please rate fairly.… Expand

Simply amazing. This game is everything you'd expect from Final Fantasy, most notably a great story with an amazing ensemble of characters. This, along with FF7, are among my most favorite games to date.

This game is truly a masterpiece. The characters, story, combat system, and graphics are top notch. Never have I played a game that kept me so interested in what was next.

Possibly my favourite game in the series. It's adult approach makes it a pleasure to play and the love triangle with the characters involed is something different compared to the other games. The relationship with all of the characters make sense, especially with Rinoa and Squall. [***SPOILERS***] they meet on the dance floor, you see something between them as Squall looks over to Rinoa as she walks away. It's not until disc 3 that they fall for each other (even though Rinoa liked him since the start; Squall wasn't giving anything away and didn't get Rinoa's cues. There's so much to see and do, with 16 GF's to capture and much magic to collect. Where as other titles had similar power systems where MP (mana points) was the main focus for use of magic It has a different approach on the power system, where the player must junction their magic in the best suited abilities to raise their status and effects. It does get ridiculed for a few flaws and major differences to the others but what makes it so marvelous to play is it's originality. People claim Final Fantasy VII and IX to be head and shoulders above VIII and the rest of the series but they are wrong. This game stands alone, comparing it to the likes of Final Fantasy VII is somewhat wrong due to their differences. VII set the benchmark for all of them released on PS1/2 but this one shows just as much character in my opinion. I completed the game a dozen times and i seem to be finding more things every time i embrace it. The game is simply epic production that every Final Fantasy fan should try and admire the work Square have put into developing this masterpiece.… Expand

The first final fantasy game I ever played and my number ps1 game of all time!!! Some people hate it, some people like it, most people love it to death as I do. The graphics, characters, and storyline are all so freakin epic all the way from the intense beginning to the beautiful ending, and to all the fuckheads who DO hate this georgeous masterpiece that surpasses every other final fantasy out there and never actually understood the storyline or each character or just gave up at a certain point and just refused to give it the chance it deserved, GO FUCK YOURSELVES!!! To the fans of FF8, you all know what a true masterpiece is. FF8 is to the ps1 what The Godfather is to movie entertainment!… Expand

THE God of all games, i'd truely say this is the best game EVA, an im sayin this on the date 27/11/2003, this games blows away any PS2 game with ease, this truly is in a league of its own ! ! ! impressively astonishing !

Even though I have not other wise quite liked RPG games, I enjoyed this game a lot. It has a good mix of humor and seriousness, the combat system works well though GF attacks have too long animation. This game is LONG, taking over 50 hours just to get to the middle of the game, if you haven't played the game before. There are few stupid things, which should have been skipped from the game, but the game is still a must buy to anyone, who still has PS1.… Expand

My favorite RPG of the PSX era and probably of all time. This game is so deep in every single level. Story, Gameplay and Graphics. Even the mini game inside the game was incredibly fun.

Guardian Forces are easy to exploit but other than that, this game is the closest thing to perfection unleashed on mankind. Gameplay is fun, graphics are playable (even today), story is great and the game has the deepest, most beautiful cast of characters ever created in the world of video games. If you like RPGs, you will fall in love with FFVIII.

I adore the storyline, and the graphics were a huge improvement over FF7. Honestly, FF7 gets overrated so often that FF8 falls in its shadow. It's very unfortunate. The battle system is great, but the music can get repetitive at times. My major complaint about FF8, however, is the junction system. Parts of it are good, such as the idea of having the GFs (summons) give you different abilities. What I don't like about it is how you get magic abilities by drawing it from enemies to a max of 100. It can take a very long time to get the magic you want or need. That's not the worst of it: you can change your stats by equipping your magic to each stat. This makes things overly complicated, and makes it so that using magic WEAKENS YOU. It annoys me heavily because I'm usually a pretty heavy magic user. Even more annoying than that is that the last 3 bosses in the game have the ability to deplete one magic spell to 0, which absolutely cripples you. Of course, I also like it in a way because it gives some added difficulty to the last boss even if you're level 100. Which brings me to my favorite part of the game: the enemies scale to your level for once! They really need to do that with more final fantasy games.… Expand

This game good i love the junction its the best, people who say its **** then go play different game this game was may long ago its not new and why play it if you only care about hot girls and the combat is not **** if you think its **** then your noob go play different game that good for you.

Favorite FF game so far. The characters are much more developed than in VII and the junction system is actually something I'd consider a good feature.

I grew up with FF8. This was the game that would spark my love of gaming. Of course you probably imagine that you can't trust my review since I'll be blinded by nostalgia. However, I played this game once again recently and while it was still a fantastic experience i can now see that the game definitely stumbles on occasion. For the first two discs the story is thrilling and effectively told. After this, it becomes messy, confusing and more than a bit ridiculous (you know I'm talking about the orphanage twist). Every character except Squall and Laguna are dull and don't develop in any meaningful way. The world feels strangely small and doesn't have the personality of FF7 or FF9. Still, the combat system is excellent and deep, the story is engaging for the most part, the animation is superb for its time and the mini games are addictive. Despite my grievances, FF8 is a worthy entry in the venerable series and I look forward to playing it again.… Expand

A game with a personality; it's dialogue wasn't as banal as previous efforts within the Final Fantasy series (though that may have been the fault of translation), and the battle system while obviously not for everyone had considerable depth, the joy of customization within how you wanted to play the game was definitely a plus. It possesses a soul that Square-Enix's games nowadays sorely lack... The characters within the game added an extra dimension to the bland dialogue and mistranslations Final Fantasy 7 were rife with, locations in the game were well designed and while the plot may not be for everyone, it definitely was an attempt to reach heights 7 couldn't. Like every other game in the final fantasy series the music is excellent and involving, with the climax of the plotline setting the standard for future Final Fantasys… Expand

This game knows how to suck you in. The Junction System may seem weird first but offers many possibilities for different combinations. The Story, altough getting a little stuck in the end, is pretty epic. It focuses on the main chara like no other RPG, probably also a reason why the other characters come a bit short. The Soundtrack is great, the battle system very smooth. Superb Game.

A simple masterpiece to the fullest extent.
Everything in is game is carefully crafted and so much care is taken to make a connection with these characters and their epic struggle to save the world.
Easily my favorite game and would highly recommend this to fans of Final Fantasy 7!

Haters gonna hate, this is the best FF, if VII is your favorite dont mean nothing, VIII has the best story, characters, music, everything is perfect here, if you think VII's better, go play it, but don't come here to say something stupid like that.

Masterpiece.
That's the perfect word to describe this game.
Well, there's another word to describe it: Perfection
That's all.
Everybody must enjoy this perfect masterpiece.

This game is definitly one of the best, love the junctions and it has more summons than all of the others which is cool. It has better gameplay than IX however i loved IX story the best of any FF game. the gameplay of VIII isnt as good as VII but it is a better story which wins me over. Now that VII has crisis core and all the other VII's it makes it almost equal, but not quite!

This is my favorite Final Fantasy game on the PS1 and is far more accomplished than Final Fantasy VII. The story and characters are fantastic, The soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in a Final Fantasy game, the battle system feels far more advanced (in a good way) than Final Fantasy VII the Junction system is a bit complicated but in my opinion it is one of the best systems because the character customization options offered by the Junction system are huge. The ability system feels very similar to Final Fantasy VI seeing that you have to equip the Summons to get the abilities. however the game is by no means flawless even though it's much better than FF7 it does have a couple of issues: Stocking magic spells can be a big chore, the SeeD rank system should have been removed because it get's a bit erratic at times seeing that your SeeD rank randomly increases and decreases so your better off selling items you don't need because you get alot more money doing that, there are a couple of other small niggles but it's not enough to ruin the game. Even though it's not perfect it is still an awesome and memorable RPG experience that you shouldn't miss out on.… Expand

People always rate games as "best game ever" which is impossible to do, but this game is so close to that statement it is kind of scary. It has a touch of everything that a fantasy game requires, addictive combat, mini games, strong and gripping story line. If there is one problem I can point out is the fact that square enix didn't bring out a HD remastered version of the game. It is one of those games that you cannot get tired of and the more you play it the more you want to play it, regardless of how retro the game is… Expand

This game is very good. people say that the combat system is complicated and the storyline is confusing.. its not, you need to get into the game instead of just turning it on and doing a review. I have beaten this game mutliple times and it it very good.

One of the greatest game series to come out of Japan, an epic masterpiece that will entertain you from beginning to end. Its one of the big 3 Final Fantasy games that came out in quick succession, with VIII, and IX, during the series glory years.

If you have played Final Fantasy VII and thought about getting VIII, then do so! It

The magic drawing, altough i like the "traditional" way more, is an interesting feature along with the junction system. The story is not like FF VII but focuses more on the main character and shows him changing his own for better, which is shown great. FF VIII has also nice graphics and superb FMV´s and also a wonderful soundtrack. Top game.

Best JRPG of all times. Is a little bit better than Final Fantasy VII, which gives it the extra score up to 10 in my opinion. The artistic design is more adult and detailed, the history is more adult too. All game localizations are much more diverse between them and make you wish to explore them. The battle mechanic is improved, using magic as an item and the Guardian Force collecting and summoning. The game is also full of secrets for the player to discover and use in its benefit in later battles. The soundtrack is amazing and helps very well at setting the right gaming ambient.… Expand

My second favorite final fantasy game next to final fantasy 9! This game just kept having crazy twists one after another! Very underated game! One of the best games ever!

Final Fantasy VIII is a good game. One of the reasons that it is good is that it's a lot different from other Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy VIII manages to include Science Fiction aspects as well as a great fantasy story that fans of the Final Fantasy series have come to love. The battle system is nothing special but the very unique story makes up for the flaws that this game has.

This is the Final Fantasy of my hearth.
Maybe because I was the perfect age when I played it (13), but I never got so emotionally attached to a videogame like I did with this one.
Today the graphics are outdated, but at the time they looked marvelous. Music was superb, so were the cutscenes. I even loved the Junction system that many people disliked. Above all, there was the story and the characters.
To me, it's the best videogame I've ever played.… Expand

Amazing game, full of original ideas for its time, epic story line with loads of side quests and hidden bosses. Would love a graphically updated re-release :)

The story is pretty straight-forward. Unlike other FF games, there is no real good and/or evil. There are just two sides. It had many plotholes, sure, but it was entertaining... until disc 4... then the story really began to hurt my head. Anyway, get an emulator or a PS and give this game a shot, it's worth your time!

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My favorite FF ever. I have played every FF from VI to XIII. This is my favorite out of all of them. Their is everything in this game. A great battle system once you master it. A deep emotional story with great characters and development and a fantastic musical score. Squall and Rinoa's love story only heightens this games already amazing resume. This game doesn't deserve the hate it gets. The junction system is a very unique and fantastic way to customize all your characters to your liking. Squall may be somewhat unlikable in the beginning but that is on purpose. He develops dramatically as a character throughout the game. The only reason this game divides the fanbase is because it was the game after the so called perfect FFVII. Final Fantasy VII is great but VIII tops it in almost every aspect. I highly reccommend you buy this game on PSN and play it if you love FF and JRPGS or just looking for a great game.… Expand