Second Impressions: Final Fantasy VIII

So I cracked and bought FF VIII.  I don't regret it.  yet.  This is my second time playing FF VIII, the first was many years ago on my PC.  

I've played about an hour of the game, and I'm enjoying it so far.  As a protagonist, Squall gets a lot of flak for being moody, but I kinda like that.  I was a moody teenager too, so I can relate.  Plus, his instructor and love interest mostly just laugh at him for being moody, which really takes the edge off.  Maybe that's easier to see now as I approach middle age, but teenage moodiness is so typical that it's best to laugh or ignore it, or generally treat a person gently.  

alright, he is pretty moody

It's still very early in the game, so I'm just out of the tutorial stage.  I am pretty psyched for the Junction system.  The way that it is used in place of equipment is nice, because it allows me to focus entirely on Guardian Force Junctioning in order to build and customize the characters.  The Junction system is so deep, that there really isn't room for any other kinds of equipment.  

Also, I have to say I really love the 'Draw' method of spell gathering.  It's just nice to freely gather resources during cheap random encounters.  It's also nice to find new spells when fighting new enemies.  It reminds me vaguely of the 'steal' ability in past final fantasy games.  I use it, jsut to see what's there.  However, the success rate is much higher, which is nice.  

Finally, the graphical update looks great.  The game isn't advanced by any means, but it is crisp.  While the backgrounds are a little bit lower res than the characters, and this makes them clash a little, so far it doesn't bother me.  I definitely appreciate having sharper graphics, rather than the pixely mess that is the original Playstation graphics.*  

This game can't be less than 30 hours to beat.  Probably more.  Given my recent track record, I'll get really sick of the game at about 15-20 hours.  We'll see.  Having the option to take it to work and play at lunch or before work is a real advantage.  And I think I generally have a greater tolerance for grindy jRPGs than other genres.  In the mean time, I'm enjoying this blast from the past.

-D

*Don't worry PSX, I still love you!

P.S. One thing I want to say about the Playstation final fantasy games is that I love the pre-rendered backgrounds.  While they are very dated, I really think they work.  It's fun to explore the environments from all of the different static camera angles.  I feel this is true to Resident Evil games on PSX as well.  There's just a nice cinematic effect.  

One idea that popped into my head while wandering around the Garden in FF VIII is that this would be a wonderful format for an adventure game.  Really, the downtime of an RPG is basically a point and click adventure game.  Go here, click that, talk to this person.  I would play the hell out of a Final Fantasy point and click adventure game with PSX style design.