This is my first review on Vizzed, and I might have a couple more. But anyway, today I've beaten FFVIII for the first time on my PSP, so I've decided to write a review. It'll be broken down to four sections: Story, Gameplay, Music, Graphics.
Let's get started

Story
FFVIII has quite a nice story. It's satisfyingly deep, and has plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you interested. It's also quite "uncliche", at least from my understanding of JRPGs. The characters aren't exactly the most dynamic, but they aren't completely cardboard in terms of development and personality. I really liked the ongoing theme of love that the story has. The whole thing revolves around it, which is pretty unique. I'd say that this game has one of the best romance stories in an RPG. I also liked the flashbacks with Laguna and his crew, as it sort of gives you a good understanding of the background.
Anyway, the story of FFVIII is definitely a memorable one. And just for that, it's getting a pretty high score from me. Of course, I've already listed plenty of other reasons why it's good.
Score: 9

Gameplay
As a tradition, Square always seems to have lots of changes as each new FF game is released. Of course, this game isn't new anymore, but you know what I mean .
In FFVIII, the game's biggest change is the customization, the Junction system. In the Junction System, you can sort of equip GFs, which are the summons, espers, eidolons, whatever. Then, you can junction magic onto the stats of the character, increasing their ability to fight, evade, and prevent damage, as well as their speed and other things. The GFs also have a leveling system which allows new abilities. It's a very deep system. I really enjoyed it.
But, I wasn't exactly very excited about the Draw system. Instead of using MP, FFVIII uses the Draw system to collect spells and stock them like inventory. Then you could junction them. Of course, the Junction system I just said some much awesome stuff about wouldn't exist without the freaking Draw, but still, it's kind of annoying to constantly draw magic from enemies. It does make the game harder though. I have to give it that.
The game itself was harder than the FF games I've previously played(except for FFI and II, which I've put on hold XD). It's satisfyingly difficult at times. I always love a challenge. However, this might not be the same to some other players and occasionally the bosses and enemies can be frustratingly difficult, especially without the proper Junctions.
I have yet to talk about the superbosses of the game, but I assume their hard. I usually don't go for them until my second playthrough, since in my first playthrough I'd only rush through it in order to watch the story unfold.
The minigame Triple Triad is also a very addicting one; it's simple yet challenging and it's very necessary if you want to get some of the more rare items and weapons.
So, the gameplay of FFVIII is very deep and satisfying. It's great for those RPG lovers, but not so much for beginners of this genre.
Gameplay: 9

Music
The music of this game is awesome. Of course, basically any soundtrack by Uematsu is great. But I really loved the whole Latin chorus type thing going on. It's just so frickin perfect for this game. Of course, I never really did figure out what the heck "Fithos Lusec, Wecos Vinosec" means ... but oh well . And also the whole romantic type songs, with Eyes on Me by Hong Kong singer Faye Wong highlighting the soundtrack(did I mention I was from Hong Kong? ). But anyway, that shouldn't matter, it's still a good song lol. The technicality of the music in some pieces was very pleasing to hear too. And the Extreme is a great final boss theme.
Score: 10

Graphics
The graphics of the game were of course, very nice. Square was always one step ahead of the competition when it came to realism. The FMVs and everything else had great graphics, and the battle animations were pleasing to the eye. Not much else to say here.
Graphics: 10

So, my final score for the game
Overall Score: 9(not an average)

This is a great game and I'd definitely recommend it to people, especially those who just love RPGs like me . Go play this game if you haven't already!!

I loved that game and I actaully thought that it was far better than final fantasy 7 and its super overhyped stuff!

I agree, it was probably the only ff game storyline that was mostly driven on love, the whole time travel and time compression thing was also interesting, especially at the end. And the latin song Liberi Fatalli was awesome, I only wished they used it more in the game (maybe for a boss battle or something.)