FF8 is by far my favourite to date of the Final Fantasy games. Taking cues from the superior FF7, FF8 has upped the ante on the storyline quotient. There is more story here than most RPGs could shake a stick at. The designers definitely went all out on this one. Gone are the polygon characters of the 7th game as well, replaced by the more realistic looking characters that will dominate the later episodes of this series. Squall Leonhart is the hero's hero. He is cool, brooding and even a bit cocky at times. The opening cinematics had me from the second that they started as they are the coolest this series has ever had. Loved the sword duel at the start there with Seifer. Everything about the game says perfect in my mind.