6) Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
While Final Fantasy VII was the first game in the series with polygons, Final Fantasy VIII was the first to really take advantage of the then-new technology. For the first time the characters and world looked relatively proportionate, and the cutscenes were just stunning. Heck, they still hold up well today. Who could ever forget the iconic dance between Squall and Rinoa, or that awesome opening cinematic set to Liberi Fatali?
The battle system is divisive, with the Draw mechanic allowing the player to potentially break the game simply by grinding low-level battles and drawing all the magic you want. Likewise, enemy levels scale to your team’s, so if you run away from every fight you’ll find yourself with an insanely underwhelming and easy string of boss fights at the end of the game. It may make for fun speed runs, but it doesn’t come off as particularly well thought-out. This game also has the issue of the ever-changing villain. Is your real enemy Sorceress Edea? Or is it Ultimecia? Wait, it might actually be Adel. Who really knows? And what’s with the whole “we all knew each other when we were kids but conveniently forgot because the Guardian Forces screwed up our memories” deus ex machina?
Final Fantasy VIII may have some inconsistencies with the plot, but it really pushed the series forward in a lot of ways. Plus with all the wild fan theories out there that are still widely discussed and debated to this day, 17 years later, the staying power and legacy of FFVIII is obvious.
