I guess I'll write this since I'm feeling a little nostalgic, Final Fantasy VIII hits PC for the second time, and after so much confusing moves from Steam and Green Man Gaming by moving this game in and out of my region it's finally available now.
Final Fantasy VIII was first released on 1998 on PC and PS1 and was my second Final Fantasy after FFVI (back when it was released as FFIII in US version), the animation was so awesome at that time and as a highschooler it quickly grabbed my attention, however at that time I'm still a hot headed gamer and burned my way through the content before completely stuck on the last boss, I re-played it several years later with a pace of a snail, reading all dialogues, question all NPCs and stuffs, and I experience the full gist of it. Speaking of 'it' here's five things I like about Final Fantasy VIII
5. Selphie
I must admit that I used to be madly in love with this character, Selphie Tilmitt has a cheery optimistic aura, she truly cared about all of her peers and the total opposite of Squall, she thinks Squall's too aloof while Squall thinks Selphie is an annoyance, she do have some emotional meltdown moments in the game but always bounces back at her feet after some well designed conversation or scenes. You encounter her early at the game before you recruited her to be a permanent squad member. Her Limit Break is called Slot, it's a roulette where you can cast some super-powered spell with no cost... well, almost... since the mobs will continue to attack as you tried to find THE END, the spell that will end battle, even the LAST BOSS BATTLE!! (upgrading her weapon helps you gain much more higher level spells) Lovable character, truly, joking all the time and put a joke in the last battle itself =))
4. Limit Breaks
Limit Breaks are high damaging super powered flashy moves of playable characters (also some NPCs too), They sometimes go beyond all reason to emphasize how devastating those attacks are, when I first watched limit breaks scene I was stunned and realize it will be the major legacy of Final Fantasy series, I was right (especially when Limit Breaks on Final Fantasy VII is not that flashy)
3. The Setting
Gaia is a world where Magic and Technologies go side by side, although techs are seriously hindered, it will be explained during the storyline so I can't spoil it. The setting is a total revamp of other Fantasy series where it's usually set on Medieval-like era with some touch of tech, in final Fantasy VIII everything is the future: trains, tanks, APCs, gunblades, big cities with neon lights, while maintain the fantasy side with well designed monsters and GF (summoned creatures). Gardens as the mercenary breeding grounds fit perfectly in this warmongering era although the war itself isn't really showing, instead FFVIII push the stories of trained hired hands teenagers to the audience and portrayed their emotional conflicts, not perfectly, but still great
2. Deep Sea Research Center
The Deep Sea Research Center is an optional dungeon and it's the House of Horror of FFVIII, it's not even in the map and house the baddest mobs ever, worse it you can't skip them with no-encounter junction, you can't run away and you must fight them with a chance they will one shot you even if you're maxed your HP because of sloppy junctions, at the end of the dungeon you'll face Ultima Weapon: The strongest monster in the game (well... no, it's not) :D
The reason why I like this dungeon because it's scenery was traversing from beautiful seaside platform into a dark, depressing hell hole accompanied with mobs and hellish random encounters.
1. Triple Triad
Triple Triad is the FFVIII card mini game, the rules are simple but sometimes hard to execute winnings, you can play triple Triad with most of the NPCs scattered around the world of Gaia by pressing 'O' button (if i'm still remember), there are numbers of picture card, ranged from the monster card, GF cards, and character cards (which usually the strongest ones), there's even a society of it where you challenged the lowest member and climb your rank up until the unknown king of cards (which makes a satisfying reveal of mysteries). And what do you do with cards? You can keep it or refine it into some useful items, you can also create cards with GF abilities (usable on mobs) and if you're a completionist you won't waste a chance travelling the world between stories just to reach an NPC rumored to have some cards (there's a guide of course, scattered on the web). I can't put my finger to the real reason why triple triad is my favorite aspect of the game, perhaps it's a welcomed break during random encounter battles, or perhaps it's the thrill of obtaining new rare cards (and the frustration when you lost it), nevertheless this mini game is the reason why my play hour is longer than my sleep hours =))
Spoiler: The strongest monster is Omega Weapon :)
