On the plus side, Final Fantasy VIII has what may be the series' best gameplay, combining elements of the three previous systems into the Junction system. It's complicated, but not excessively so, and features several interesting innovations - notably, the fact that you have to Draw magic out of enemies instead of learning it like before. Though this may lead some to think that the game is comprised mostly of boring, tedious Drawing, most magic can be quickly refined from small and useless items. Speaking of items, they seem to play a much lesser role than before. And there's a new money system, too - you actually get paid at regular intervals. The graphics, easily the most-touted part of the game, are indeed worth the hype (although most of the lovely FMV is in the first disc, close to the beginning). The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a bit of a disappointment - too many tunes sound the same - though it does have enough surprising gems in it (Timber theme, Laguna's theme) to be more than worthwhile. And the game's ending is probably the best that a game in the series has ever had - cohesive, clear and providing a real sense of closure.

The game works because the storyline, weak though it is, is still not quite bad enough to make you not want to keep going - it's just that it isn't likely to bring you back to go through it again. The game's got plenty of things going for it, and the first disc marks some of the genre's best moments. When it concentrates on the original points - Squall, Seifer, their rivalry, SeeD, Garden, Edea - it definitely shines, but the rest of the time it's the same old grey RPG sludge that we've been consuming for years. For all its many good points, it doesn't expand on its small, but great ideas enough to rank up there with the genre's best. Not without merit, but disappointing.