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This article belongs to the
Antagonist
After reading the latest batch of Final Fantasy VIII info from the kind folks at Square, I
realized that FF8won't be another gaming masterpiece.
It will be the gaming masterpiece-- of this year, if not the next two or three.
The hour-long FF8 demo included with Brave Fencer Musashi gave us a brief taste of the
brilliance to come; we got to see FF8's graphics, a little of its story, and its active
time battle system (for more on that, check out Camper's first FF8 update). But there's so
much more to the game than combat and graphics-- and that's what gives it the potential to
be one of the best games ever made
FF8 will pack a heavy dose of one thing many modern RPGs have been sorely lacking:
customization. In too many games these days, the gameplay is sacrificed for the story, and
the characters turn out the way the designer wants them too-- and if you don't like it,
that's tough.
But FF8 will allow you to fine-tune your group to suit your own style in an innovative
way. Breaking away from the usual weapons/armor/accessory system and even the sweet
"jobs" system used in Final Fantasy Tactics, FF8 will let you customize your
group using what Square calls the Junction system. Descriptions of the system are
difficult-- nothing we've seen so far even resembles it-- but I'll do my best to give you
an overview.
The whole system revolves around the Guardian Forces, which are basically creatures that
the characters can summon into battle (remember the Leviathan that Rinoa could summon in
the demo?). These powerful creatures can be bound (or "junctioned") to different
characters. As they're brought into battle, the Guardian Force creatures gain levels and
grow in strength.
As they earn experience, the Guardian Forces give their junctioned characters certain
abilities. The abilities are half of the customization; you choose which abilities you
want your Guardian Force to learn and give to you. Those decisions shape your character's
role in the party and his or her strength in combat.
There are six types of abilities that Guardian Forces can learn and share with their
junctioned characters: Command Abilities, Character Abilities, Party Abilities, Guardian
Force Abilities, and Menu Abilities. Each has its own special features, so you'll have to
be careful to mix and match them into the right characters and attack teams.
For example, Command Abilities will be important for almost all characters to get. These
powers open up new options in combat, including basic commands like Defend, GF (to call
your Guardian Force in for some butt-kickin'), and Draw (which steals spells from the
enemy). Without these basic abilities, later powers are almost useless.
However, once one or two of your characters have a Party Ability, you won't have to worry
about learning it for the rest. Like the name implies, Party Abilities grant special
powers to everyone in the party. For example, even if only one of your characters is
junctioned with the Reduce Encounters ability, the entire party won't have to face quite
as many random attacks (hoody-hoo!).
Character Abilities also grant special powers, such as HP bonuses and counter moves, but
they only work for the character who has them junctioned. In turn, Guardian Force
Abilities increase the power of the creature that learns them.
However, not all of FF8's junction abilities apply to combat. You'll also be able to pick
up Menu Abilities, useful outside of battle to combine your items or maybe even get a
better deal on a few heal potions.
But once you've gotten that level of customization down, you'll need to deal with the
Junction Abilities. These special skills will allow your characters to junction the magic
spells they draw from the enemy into their attributes. Junctioned magic can do all kinds
of things for your characters, depending on the Junction Abilities they've learned and the
spells they've acquired. For example, if you've got the Attack Power Junction ability, you
can add a spell's damage on to your own attack strength. And the more spells you junction,
the more powerful your attack becomes!
Other junctions will change your type of attack, your defensive might, effects of your
attack, and more. You can expect the traditional Final Fantasy elements (fire, sky, earth,
and water) and oppositions as well as all your favorite status changes (plus a few more).
But like many of the other titles in the series, one innovation is not enough-- we'll see
several new things in FF8. For exampe, when you're forced to stop playing the main game to
do something else (go to work, go to school, eat, shower, etc.), you can carry the
PocketStation with you and develop the power of a particular Guardian Force-- Boco the
Chocobo.
Squall actually meets Boco in the course of the game, but he's a little scrawny for a
chocobo. After their first encounter, Boco can enter his own little world in the
PocketStation. He'll have to fight monsters, grab items, and grow from a cutesy hatchling
into a hardened chunk of Guardian Force whoop-ass. Work on Boco in the PocketStation, and
he'll become a powerful ally in the main game.
And Squall will need all the help he can get. The world of FF8 is a dangerous place,
caught in grasp of a global war. Garbadia, a nation under the control of a powerful
dictator, has invaded a neighboring nation known as Dole and dragged the other nations of
the world into the conflict. To make matters worse (if they can get worse than world war)
a legendary creature called the Witch has returned and allied herself with the Garbadians.
The story focuses on Squall Leonhart, an elite soldier trained at a private academy known
as the Garden. As a member of the academy's top attack group, called SeeD, Squall is a
quiet, disciplined sorta guy (unusual for a Final Fantasy main character ;). However,
Squall's straightlaced life gets a shock when he meets Rinoa Heartilly, the leader of
Garbadian dissident group.
Rinoa's not what you'd expect from a rebel; she's lighthearted and carefree, more
concerned with the happiness of the group than their fight against the government. But she
has an effect on Squall, something that he can't understand or perceive. And to add to his
confusion, he begins having strange dreams that he's a Garbadian soldier named Laguna
Loire who aspires to be a journalist. Perhaps Squall should lay off the medication for a
while…
Unfortunately, he's a soldier in a time of war and doesn't have idle afternoons to
contemplate his life. Not long after he meets Rinoa, Squall is ordered to join a team
travelling to Garbadia. Their mission: assassinate the Witch.
No simple task, but even more complex considering that Squall's rival, Seifer Almasy, is
along for the ride. Although Seifer is a highly skilled fighter, his personal
communication skills are a little on the "annoying brat" side and he hasn't made
it into the SeeD elite. Seifer uses the same weapon as Squall-- a mix of a gun and a sword
that can deliver a punch of energy into certain hits.
Luckily, Squall will have an old friend, Zell Dincht, to back him up. Zell is brash and
outgoing-- a perfect balance to Squall's somber attitude. And specially assigned to the
group is a sharpshooter named Irvine Kinneas, whose skill with a gun is only matched by
the apparent shallowness of his personality.
Other characters will include young Garden instructor Quistis Trepe. Quistis is a lot like
the teacher all the guys had a crush on in high school-- she's beautiful, intelligent, and
easygoing, but sad at times. As an instructor, don't doubt that she can beat most of the
cadets at Garden, especially with her special Blue Magic talent.
Also expect to see Garden student leader Selphie Tilmitt taking a roll in the story.
Selphie's outgoing personality attracts followers, but she has a tendency to be a bit of
an airhead. And then there's the mysterious Laguna Loire…
But I'm not going to spoil anything for you or for myself. After, you don't get to play a
masterpiece every day. Final Fantasy VIII has already been released in Japan, and the
translation is well underway. We'll be sure to pass on any new info as soon as we get it.
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Fantasy Realm VIII is Copyright © 1999, Vince
Subrath, any images are not to be used without prior consent, publish by TriniboyX©.
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VIII is Copyright © 1999 Squaresoft Software. |
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