When Final Fantasy VII debuted in 1997 it was hailed as the greatest of great RPGs.  When Final Fantasy VIII came around in 1999, it had so much to live up to.  So much hype that the bar was set too high, even for Final Fantasy VIII to hit.  Almost ten years later, it's a little easier to look at Final Fantasy VIII with fondness.  In part because that bar it had to reach is no longer there.  The hype has settled.  We can now look at Final Fantasy VIII for what it is.  It's a great game to be sure, but it still has some problems it has to address.