The average user rating for this Game is 8.8 out of 10 (based on 69 Votes).
Ran Fast gave it a10: 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.
Cody B gave it a10: 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!
Adam D. gave it a9: 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.
Barry P. gave it a10: 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.
Tyler H gave it a10: 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.
Brad W. gave it a10: 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.
Andrew N. gave it a9: 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.
Phil M. gave it a10: 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.
Stephanie R. gave it a0: One word.. Boring!! Stopped at Disc 2.
Conca C. gave it an8: The graphics are decent, the story unfolds quite nicely, the characters are developing towards uniqueness the end, a large thing bothering me is the linear story approach. Of course you have lots of sidequests that can expand the gametime to 80 hours plus and the final boss is really a challenging one. The replay-factor is large, I completed the game about 8 times. The design of the venues is genius. Esthar, Galbadia Garden, Ultimecia's Castle and the Ragnarok are my fav spots. The soundtrack has a couple jewels, for example the Esthar song, the End battle and the tear-jerking "Eyes On Me". Still I couldn't say I had this much "fun" playing it through. It felt too serious to me. It is a great game, still I had more fun with other FF titles.
Steven P. gave it a10: 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!
Jerk Guy gave it a9: 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’s usually the first FF they play that they deem their favourite or “the best”, but I find it hard to compare this to VII because this game has allot of the same qualities, but just done with whole lot of different flavour. You can fault any game if you look hard enough for reasons but the only things in this game that got to me were the ending, I really don’t get it, and not being able to enter any of towns on the fourth disk, I’m not a fan of being restricted from adventure in a video game since that is kinda the point, but having said that I still love this game and have been able to play it numerous times over.
Christine W. gave it a10: 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.
Dave W. gave it a9: 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.
Denise G. T. gave it a10: 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
Steven S. gave it a10: 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.
Andrew C. gave it a10: 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.
Daniel G. gave it a10: 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!
Damion K. gave it a10: 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.
Bryan M. gave it a9: 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.
David R. gave it a10: 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.
Lyan H. gave it a10: The best FF by square so far. One hour play will turn into days, Trust me I know.
[Anonymous] gave it a7: This was a pretty good game. It just didn't get me hooked on as much as FFVII did. I know it's kind of hard on this game since it's the first to come out after FFVII which is believed one of the best RPG's despite the graphics now. I mean... it has to live up to its name. The thing that really annoyed me was that it took ages to get magic out of monsters and you can't equip your people. Well junction is ok..... but i mean all the time wasted in drawing magic just pisses me off. This game is quite good though i would recommend it to people that are into RPG's.
Daniel G. gave it a10: 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!
Lorenzo L. gave it a10: This game is so underrated, I makes me mad... The in-game graphics were awesome, comparable to the much touted graphics of MGS1, and as for the cut-scenes, let's just say I can only hope next-gen graphics are half as good as the. The storyline draws you in, and you can truly feel the main character's plight. The sound, like FFVII's i good though, wait for it...repetitive. As far as the gameplay...the battles are as interesting as an rpg gets, and the junction system is very complicated, in a good way. It enables you to fully customize your characters, and their strenghts and/or weaknesses are fully assesed...The only complain I have are the playable character...they're all fun to play, with different styles of combat, but not all of them are interesting or add much to the story.
Kat S. gave it an8: Even though FFVIII does not pass FFVII's storyplot and characters, it is a good example of an excellent rpg game. It's addictive and quite interesting. From the battling to the storyline including its music scores. If you don't like it, its probably because you haven't taken the time and heard negative comments. Its one of the greatest rpg and even videogame you can encounter (play).
John H. gave it a10: If you have played Final Fantasy VII and thought about getting VIII, then do so! It’s one of the best games out there, and some might say better than VII.
Time_devil gave it a10: Great game, great characters, great music. I highly recommend it.
Pauline gave it a9: 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.
Nightkin gave it a10: 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.
Lawrence P. gave it a10: This is the best freaking game on the planet and this is in the year 2005!
Piotr S. gave it a 10: The GReatest Game ever.
Naomi M. gave it a 10: This game is not a mockery, i really like it and the story, yeah, its got some problems, but they all do! This is one of the best! Better than 7!
M. Ingram gave it an 8: A good game, but not a perfect one. The draw command is time consuming and the magic it draws much too weak. The aim of the game, whilst on VII focused on a single objective, never seems sure and changes wildly, even in the last few hours. Play VII first before you call this game anything near 'incredible', or 'fantastic'.
Jesse I. gave it a 10: One problem. Magic system.otherwise perfect for any gamer.
Dragon Knight of Final Fantasy gave it a 6: A mockery of Final Fantasy but not bad the battle system is pretty crummy though and none of the girls are hot I mean look at Questis she is 18 but looks like she's 30!But the story is good and it is Final Fantasy so you still feel like you're having a pretty good time. Go buy FF7 instead.
Josh gave it a 10: One word- Perfect.
Ivanna P. gave it a 10: 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.
Ben N. gave it a 10: 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 !
Jason B. gave it a 7: This game is okay but it doesnt have the aura of past final fantasy games, i mean i like the battle system with the draw command and stocking magic but it was a queit diffrent step from final fantasy 7, a step i think that shouldnt have been taken.
Jim K. gave it a 10: 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.
Leon gave it a 10: This game is great. It has great graphics and a very unique storyline. It really is a great game worth playing.
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