After so much time, so much effort, the fun ended. But somehow, it isn't over.So I couldn't just complete it without a full review. But first, my story:
I originally hated this game. Like many others before it. I first played FFVIII in the spring, maybe 3 or 4 years ago. I didn't understand it, and I didn't see the point. By the time FFX came out, I went back and tried FFVIII again, thinking I would have second thoughts. This time, I gave the game more of a chance. After much time trying to figure out the junction system, I finally got the feel of the game. And I loved it. I had never played a RPG this fun. I got farther and farther, and continued to rent the game. I had actually rented the game long enough for the money renting, to buy it. But I didn't, not until a year ago. I must have rented out the game for 2 months I think it was. Then waited for it to drop in price so I could buy it. I eventually bought it, and soon enough, gave up on it. I was stuck, and I felt as though I would never finish the game. I had 6 saved games. Trying over and over everytime I missed something. Finally, I chose to buckle down and finish it or I would never figure out how the story ended. And all the money which had been spent to rent it would have gone to waste. I completed this game, FMVs & all on Saturday, June 26th @ 3:16pm year of 2004. And I wasn't disappointed.
Graphics- 9/10: OK, so the game's a little old. But during the time it came out, the graphics were top-notch/awful damn good. And if you were to watch just the FMVs right now, I think you'd be surprised at how ahead of its time this game is.
Sound- 9/10: The sound in this game is just as good as the graphics. Ahead of its time. The music adds a lot of mood and actually isn't irritating.
Gameplay- 7/10:This game has a medium difficulty, giving it about an hour to learn. The junction system can be confussing at first, but read through every part of the tutorial and you should understand the concept fine. It's about the what, not the how. As long as you do it, it's done and doesn't really matter how you did it, you're another step farther in the game so don't complain.
Value- 10/10: The game is tricky to complete, but worth it in the end. Hell, here I am playing it, four, maybe five years after it originally came out, and it's still good! The replay value didn't disappoint.
Overall- 10/10: The game is ahead of its time, and is still good today. That deserves 100% in my mind. I will never get tired of the music, and the story is so long playing the game twice makes it just that much more special. The game is tricky to learn at first, but then that comes back to the replay value. Put fair time into the game and it will give you double back. Couldn't have been any better and I would have done nothing to change it.