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Anime Fantasies
Squaresoft's display area had to be one of the
most crowded. A row of monitors dedicated to Final Fantasy 8 attracted people by
the throngs to watch demonstrations of spells and in-game actions. A large TV
monitor replayed one of the opening sequences over and over again mesmorizing
everyone. Not only have Squaresoft incorporated realistic character models into
the game, they have introduced beautifully animated new characters with
realistic details and facial movements. Squall, an androgynous somewhat pouty
anime character, is taught to dance by a free spirited, young woman, Rinoa
Heartilly, in the opening animation. It's obvious Squall has no idea what he is
doing as he trips and stumbles about. Finally, so embarrassed, he tries to
leave. Rinoa though patiently draws him back into the dance each time. Watching
their expressions one cannot help but get excited over a game which will
actually look more anime and less childish.
She giggled, "come on!"
Squall introduces a new story-line in the
Final Fantasy series. He leads an elite combat team involved in a power struggle
of two large factions. The story will have two branches, and two main groups of
characters each with their own personalities and capabilities. There are parts
of the story which leave behind the other group. The characters level up by
gaining experience points, increasing their stats.
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Improvements in FF8 include
a new interface which can disappear in full-screen mode giving the gamer a
larger view of the action. As I watched a battle demonstration against Shiva,
the Ice Queen, controls seemed easy to use and the full screen mode allowed for
deeper immersion. That was thanks to some out-classing special effects. The
combat system is still active-time battles in a cross between real-time and
turn-based in which the player has a certain amount of time to make a move
before the fight moves on. It does have some nice additions, for example, an
intensity adjustment feature that allows players to choose how strong they wish
to cast a spell using a slide bar. If you want a massive fire-ball you can crank
up the power, using more mana of course.
Some of the more interesting
spells include Ultima, a nuclear explosion that destroys just about everything,
and one in which a fire train descends on a track through a starlit sky bringing
with it explosions and color streams of delight. These are combined with special
attacks.
 Swirls
of Light
Of course, the biggest thing going for FF8
will be the story. I have yet to see much of that, but given the recent success
of FF7 it would be far fetched to think they would not come through with an
excellent script. From the movie on display one can tell they are going for a
romantic angle, and an impressive one, if images convey a thousand words. It's
all the better since the characters are no longer little cartoon, miniature
representations, but tall full-length, leggy 3D models that look like their
movie counterparts. I wouldn't be surprised if FF8 grabs an even larger sector
of the market this time around, especially in the female sector. Squall is just
the kind of tortured, boyish anime hero a woman can fall for, if you like that
sort of thing.
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