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This is the previews section, here you can see some previews from great sites (Videogames and Gamefan ). When the game is released, i'll put the reviews section instead of this.
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The first preview is from Videogames and was written by the staff.If you want to go to the second preview of Gamefan just click here.
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Final Fantasy VIII
Hot on the heels of Final Fantasy VII,
Square is constructing the eighth wonder of
the RPG world, Final Fantasy VIII. Many
fans of the series were asking about the
game long before they'd finished playing
VII. But it's going to be at least six months
before the game falls off trucks in Japan
and slightly longer before it swims ashore here. However, the
good news is, a playable demo has shipped with Square's
release of Brave Fencer Musashiden in Japan and will come
with its US debut later this year.
At Square's official press conference to announce the title,
Tomoyuki Takechi (president of Square) and Hironobu
Sakaguchi (vice president, executive producer of the game)
presented a demo of the game to reporters. As reported in
GameSpot News, "At first, a huge parabola antenna appeared
on the screen. Then the screen changed to sky and about a
half-dozen fighter jets flew in formation creating a vapor trail
with moonlike stars in the background. Finally, the Final
Fantasy VIII logo appeared on the screen.
"A fleet of huge ships forged through the sea. Among the fleet,
standing on the deck of one of the ships, was one of the
game's two main characters, the 17-year-old
gunblade-slinging Squall Leonhart. Squall's gunblade is a
revolver with a blade instead of a barrel. Apparently, you can't
fire it like a gun; it has no bullets. But it does have a trigger,
and if you pull the trigger at the same time you attack, the
gunblade will inflict twice the damage it would otherwise."
What we know so far about Squall is that he attends a school
called the Garden. The Garden's a lot like West Point in that
it's a military school, but it's very different in that it begins
accepting kids at age six (West Point is a college). Students
have four years to pass the graduation exam, which is
apparently quite difficult, but if they haven't passed by age 19,
they're expelled.
More difficult than graduating, however, is becoming a
member of SeeD, a highly selective group of top soldiers not
unlike the Green Berets. Squall wants not only to graduate, but
also to become a member of SeeD. According to Square,
Squall is a taciturn, poker-faced loner of sorts. If you can
engage his interest, he will chat with you, but his people skills
and relationships are definitely not his strong suits.
.
The other main character is 27-year-old
Laguna Loire. Loire and Leonhart live in
different worlds, and at some point in the
game, their paths and worlds will cross.
There have been some reports that you will have to play as
both Squall and Laguna Loire. Laguna (named after Laguna
Beach interestingly enough) is just the opposite of Squall in
that he's optimistic and people-oriented. He's abandoned his
army career to become a journalist.
Also, Biggs and Wedge will make cameo appearances in the
game. Originally it was thought that they wouldn't show up, but
Square seems to have had a change of heart. Other
characters include Squall's companion Zell Dincht, an
energetic boxer who looks a bit like Final Fantasy VII's Cloud
fresh out of a dance club. The soft-spoken Rinoa Heartilly, a
well-dressed young lady with a wicked wrist-mounted blade
thrower, has the most potent magic of the bunch. Though he's
not a member of Squall's party, a man called Seifer Almasy
also makes an appearance. Hot-tempered, clad in a white
overcoat, and armed with a gunblade not unlike Squall's, the
distinguished Seifer looks to be a key player in the grand
scheme of things.
When asked about the theme of FFVIII, Sakaguchi answered,
"There are lots of elements in the game, but one of the
members of the development team, Tetsuya Nomura, the
character designer, is saying that the theme is love." On the
flip side of love, the battle scenes at this early stage, although
few have been seen, seem to allude to some well-crafted
enemies and excellent dramatic effects.
Although the presentation was no more than ten minutes long,
it presented a solid indication of what FFVIII may come to be
once complete. The characters in FFVIII appear less like
anime and more natural, in that their proportions and
movements appear to be more realistic than in FFVII. Also, the
sound composition is enormous and epic - full-on Square-style
and almost like a CG movie. In a word or two, the quality of the
CG and the presentation was top notch.
Regarding the gameplay, we're finding things out slowly.
Here's what we know so far: Normal people will not be able to
use magic, so FFVIII won't have magic shops - though Garden
graduates will have some access to magic.
There are also several new features in battle mode, among
them something called draw. Draw allows you to "draw" magic
from the monster you're fighting, and you can either use it or
stock it for future use. You can only use the magic you've drawn
once. And the draw function will not be available each and
every time you have a battle.
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Also, when you summon monsters, rather
than have them do the same thing every
time they appear (like in FFVII), they
change and progress. You can have
several of them as well.
So the big question is, what does Square hope to accomplish
with FFVIII? At the press conference, Sakaguchi told the crowd
that he wants to pursue a more in-depth and detailed storyline
for the game and that he is seeking a more effective graphical
expression for the storytelling. He added that he hasn't
forgotten about the interactive elements that make it a video
game. Sakaguchi also addressed the fact that Square's
overseas offices contributed to the technical aspects of FFVIII
- specifically the game's CG and development tools.
Also, unlike in its 32-bit predecessor, the characters in the
game are all texture-mapped, reports GameSpot News. This
means the characters will be more detailed in battle scenes.
Hashimoto said that the characters are now much closer to the
ones that appeared in the movie sequence. More surprisingly,
all of your party members will be shown on the field screen,
which is a first in the series.
But recently, fans were given a chance to see the game for
themselves. In July, gamers who purchased Square's comical
action-adventure game Brave Fencer Musashiden were
equally interested in the included Final Fantasy VIII demo, if not
more so. And if anything, the Final Fantasy VIII demo proves
that the game will indeed be a worthy follow-up to its highly
acclaimed predecessor.
The demo lasts a bit over half an hour and details Squall's
battle through a war-torn, nearly deserted city up to a
communications tower and back to his warship. Along the way,
you'll witness the tension between Seifer and him, fight a
couple of bumbling enemy soldiers, vanquish a fearsome
demon, and flee from a huge mechanical spider in a
breathtaking finale. The game looks far superior to Final
Fantasy VII, not just technologically but stylistically as well.
Gone is Final Fantasy VII's inappropriate and inconsistent
cuteness; now every character is realistically proportioned
both during and outside combat. In another authentic touch, the
entire party is shown onscreen at all times, as opposed to
previous games in the series where just the leader
represented the entire party outside of combat.
The animation in the game is nothing short of spectacular.
Gone are the stiff, unrealistic movements of Final Fantasy VII:
Seifer angrily kicks at a small dog that takes a liking to him;
Zell clutches his fists in rage; and Squall coolly turns his back
after defeating his enemies. And speaking of enemies, they no
longer simply vanish when defeated, but collapse in
appropriate death throes. Meanwhile, the camerawork is even
more impressive than before. Several smoothly edited shots of
the battlefield introduce each fight, and after you win, the
camera tends to highlight the character who scored the
decisive blow.
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Final Fantasy VIII's production values are
unprecedented. From the seamless
integration of polygons and prerendered full
motion video to the amazing detail in the
texture mapping and camera angles to the breathtaking
musical score, Final Fantasy VIII feels more like a big-budget
science-fiction film than a game. If there's anything
disappointing about the demo, it's that the game still plays
much like Final Fantasy VII, complete with random encounters
almost every step of the way and little or no interaction during
dialogue. But such elements are conventional to the series, so
between its incredible graphics and its consistently serious
tone, there is no question that fans will be more than
impressed with Final Fantasy VIII.
Based on the demo, the fighting has remained the same as
FFVII, including items, limit breaks, summons, and spells.
When using the gunblade, you can hit R1 right as the sword
strikes the enemy to create a small explosion, causing more
damage than a normal strike would.
The limit breaks and summons are absolutely incredible.
Casting Leviathan causes the sea beast to appear, then a
huge rock formation grows out of the ground. Leviathan goes
to the top of the formation and explodes into water. The water
then tumbles down the rock formation, washing away the
enemies below. The game's art style is much more realistic.
All the characters in your party look very human and very
detailed.
Other advancements, on the business side, include a
well-received statement from Takechi announcing that FFVIII is
being developed with an overseas release in mind. He
promised that overseas gamers will have their version of
FFVIII with less of a time lag than was the case with FFVII,
where there was a six-month lag between the Japanese and
overseas release dates.
And in true FF fan form, followers of the series may already be
wondering about Final Fantasy IX. Sakaguchi's response, at
this point, is a firm, yet friendly, "Spare me, please."
Videogames.com will keep you informed of any more details
as they emerge.