My Favorite Video Games #2: 'Final Fantasy VIII'

Videogames are like films to me. I mean this in the sense that my opinion of a game is often strongly influenced by what how I was feeling emotionally at the time. Final Fantasy VIII is one of the most impacting games that I recall playing, and one that holds a special place in my memories.



A powerful story set in a huge world on the brink of war; what attracted me to this Final Fantasy above all others was its focus on the love story developing between Squall and Rinoa, rather than the conflict of the world. Squall himself, was a character that I felt held a lot of qualities and conflict that were very personal to me. As a character, Squall embodies traits that a large cross section of gamers can relate to.


I did not own a Playstation at the time, but managed to borrow one in order to play this game. Wanting to return the system to him as quickly as possible, I played the game almost non-stop for a week. Eventually I hit what I consider to be one of the most powerfully sad scenes in any game. Towards the end of the third disc, I found myself crying through the entire “Eyes on Me” scene, as well as what happens immediately afterward. It was enough to depress me, and I decided to take a break at this point.

During my break, my friend returned, claiming that he needed his Playstation back for a week, and that I could borrow it again when he returned. I reluctantly returned it to him, and spent the week miserable, pondering the fate of Rinoa and Squall, unable to know how it would be resolved.


I didn’t realize something like a video game could affect my mood so drastically. I guess this was an early sign that I was destined to find passion and beauty in video games, and experience them as I would any film or book. These were powerful stories with truth and emotion to be discovered, not only in the characters, but also in the hearts and minds of the players themselves.



The game play of Final Fantasy VIII revolved around encountering enemies in battle. This is typical of the Final Fantasy games, but in this iteration the designers created a 'Junction' system to change things up a little. Throughout the game your party acquires these mythical beasts known as 'Guardian Forces' that can 'bond' with your characters and augment their abilities and skills. These junctions are powered my magical energies that you can harvest from the monsters you encounter throughout the game. Many people were critical of this system, since it was so different from the previous Final Fantasy games, and required, initially, some time spent drawing magical energies from the foes you face. Later in the game, this behavior becomes less necessary as you can break down items and loot into magic bits.



The Guardian Forces make up some of the most incredible monster designs of any Final Fantasy leading up to this installment, including the return of some favorite 'summoned' creatures, like Shiva and Ifrit.


All of this is framed around (at the time) professional quality CG Cinemas, including a sweeping opening sequence that features a bombastic orchestral piece called Liberi Fatali (Fated Children). This features prominently into the overarching theme of the story: being forced to take on adult roles in an organization called SeeD that trains war orphans to become profitable mercenary teems to be dispatched around the world. Most of the characters in the story are under the age of 18, and are forced to confront some harsh truths about the adult world that they would have been shielded from had their childhood experiences been different. There are some extremely poignant scenarios throughout the 4-disc epic storyline.


Now that the world has had 13 seperate Final Fantasy games in the franchise, not including sub-sequels or spinoffs, there exists a large pool of games to compare Final Fantasy VIII to. While I enjoyed the gameplay changes made to this particular game, I have to say that it was the emotional impact of the story that pushed the game to being my clear favorite of the franchise, and a game that I will cherish as I play through it again and again.