The direct continuation of the FF series, Final Fantasy VIII, tells a completely new (in comparison with FF VII) story of the two Balamb Garden students, an energetic and pasionate girl, and a one evil sorceress. Now with Steam achievements and optimisation for PC!
The story and the characters
Final Fantasy 8 focuses on Squall Leonhart, a young Balamb Garden cadet with a “lone-wolf” attitude. Together with Rinoa Heartilly and the rest of his companions he is to stop Edea the Sorceress from destroying his homeland.
As it is quite typical for the series, FF VIII presents the players with a set of unique and distinguishable individuals. Squall is a lone wolf, focused on his duty and ready for anything to save his home. Rinoa, on the contrary, is a cheerful young woman with a very positive attitude to the others and to the world. The contradiction between those two seems to play a major part in their relation. However, don't forget about a proud and power-hungry Seifer Almasy, Squall's rival both in terms of combat and the woman they both love. Engage in the conflict and help Squall's companions defeat mischievous Edea.
The gameplay
The gameplay of Final Fantasy VIII resembles the already-known mechanics. Turn-based combat, travelling the world map and completing another missions. Just like in case of FFVII, the game is divided into three “game modes”, such as the world map mode, the field mode, and the combat mode.
The combat system is based upon “Active Time Battle”, known from the previous instalments of the FF series. Basically, characters exchange moves and attacks until the members of the one side of the battle are all dead.
Again, the players are presented with a number of transportation methods. Those include going on foot, using airships and riding popular Chocobos, which can be found scattered throughout the game world.
However, what is new to the series in Final Fantasy VIII is the “Guardian Force” system. It's a kind of monster-summoning system based on a “junctioning” mechanics. The players can “junction” various GFs to their characters and thus give them the ability to use Magic and GF attacks. Also, the spells now are not cast with the use of “magic points”, but instead, they are stacked on the characters and then drawn one by one when the player wishes to use them in combat. Those systems give the players a wide array of customisation possibilities.
Key features
- Optimised for PC – now together with Steam achievements!
- Magic Booster – use the Magic Booster increase the number of certain spells held by the character in the inventory.
- The engaging story of the rivalry, love and the conflict between good and evil – dive right in and defeat Edea the Sorceress.
- Chocobo World – having been once a separate appliction, now the full game “Chocobo World” is included in this version of the FF 8 for Steam.
- Take advantage of the “Guard Force” system and the “junctioning” mechanics, and customize your party of heroes to your heart's content.
