FF8 has the unfortunate curse of being the next in line after FF7.  That means it had a lot of hype to live up to.  I suspect that's why some people will hate this game-- it just isn't FF7.  However, even though this game isn't FF7, it's an extremely good RPG that stands on its own merits.  It's one of my favorite games of all time (just as good as FF7, although my absolute favorite game is FF9).  Well, let's jump right into the review!