So I've started up Final Fantasy VIII. It's the...

So I've started up Final Fantasy VIII. It's the first time I've played this game for anything for than 10 minutes since 1999. I remember really, really liking most of it. As I go, I'll write a few notes and put them here, under the tag you see on this post.

Notes on the first few minutes:

The intro is super flashy, but it's also a highlight reel of moments from later in the game. It's a huge contrast from VII (I'll probably do a lot of comparisons between the two), and I feel it actually does a worse job of drawing you into the world. VII's intro is so good because it slowly zooms in on the present moment while not really revealing much. VIII's first few minutes are a mishmash of character composites staring at something while "Final Fantasy VIII" typography seizure-flashes around.

I like how the actual game starts, though. Instead of a brazen hero about to save something, you're an injured student healing from a training wound. It's immediately clear that you're in some kind of military school (albiet a fancy futuristic-style one), you're a broody punk, you have a rival who is a douche bag, and your teacher has a crush on you. You learn this all within three minutes, but nothing is actually stated. It's all shown.

There's a woman in the infirmary who says "so we meet again," even though you have no idea who she is. I never liked this part even after I found out about it all, because I've already been dropped into an unfamiliar universe with strange characters and unknown motivations. I don't even know who I am yet, and I already have to keep track of mysterious women? Again, compare that to FFVII, where the only thing you needed to know was that you were an environmental terrorist (something easy to pick up on from real life), and the planet was dying (relatable), and you didn't really trust the people around you (because you, the player, knew the characters as little as Cloud, the protagonist). In FFVIII, everyone is already familial, and you're left playing catch-up.

What's nice about it, though, is that if you're going to drop a player into a world where the protagonist is already part of a mesh of characters, you should give them some non-crisis time to walk around and get their bearings. FFVIII does this really well, as nothing critical happens in the plot for a few hours. By then, you've met everyone, wasted time getting lost in the giant school, probably already played some cards (more on that later), and acclimatizing yourself to the feel of the game.

FFVIII holds up 13 years later way better than FFVII. The character models look dated and rough, but the pre-rendered backgrounds still look super sharp. And because the characters aren't drawn all blocky like VII, it's easier to imagine them looking nicer.