Well, FFVIII did not live up to its hype. Simple as that. Yet I think that calling it the worst game of all time is rather exaggerated. FFVIII tried to make the storyline interesting using FFVI methods of intricately detailed characters. Problem is, there weren't enough interesting characters. And half the detailed characters were turnoffs (e.g. Selphie). But, its goods are good, and its bads are bad. Read on.

Gameplay: 10/10

The junctioning system is complex in FFVIII, but its really easy to take advantage of once you know how it works. Really easy to take advantage of. But of course, what with the monsters leveling up as you do, and a hardass Omega Weapon if you don't know how to fight him right, and actually, a rather challenging final boss despite your super-charged characters make the gameplay fun. FFVIII also introduces a card game. Of course, Xenogears had one too, but in FFVIII the importance of card playing is obvious, as they reap very nice rewards.

Music: 9/10

Well, some of the music were flops, but overall Uematsu was very consistent in his music. He had less outstanding hits, but each song was overall closer to the average level. The music wasn't outstanding like FFVI or VII, but it is still very nice.

Storyline: 4/10

And this is where it all falls apart. Unfortunately, for the reasons I described in the beginning, FFVIII's storyline is a little better than a porn movie's. Ok, maybe that was a little harsh, but you're getting the idea, right? Other than a few plot twists and suspenseful moments, it's pretty much nothing. To give you an idea, only half the game is the story. You would think a storyline should have more of a role than that, especially in an RPG.

Final Dungeon: 10+/10

Screw the Cleft of Dimensions (FFV), this place rules! You gotta fight through 9 bosses before you go off to fight the final boss at full strength. You kinda have to fight each boss, because each one you defeat lets you regain a certain ability which gets locked while in the castle. It, like the overall gameplay, is quite complicated, yet its fun as well.

Final Boss: 10+/10

Four consecutive boss fights that rival those of FFVI. In fact, the way the characters are fight is reminiscent of FFVI: as soon as one dies, that person disappears and another person arrives. This kinda forces you to juice up all your characters before fighting. Also, the bosses are no pushover, even at level 100. They're fun to fight, really.

Replayability: 6/10

Usually, an RPG is replayed because of its storyline. You may replay it once more to get everything in the game, but that'll be probably it. Or, you may play it another time to write a walkthrough. Or, you may think this is the awesomest RPG ever and play it till you drop, which in this case, I have to say it is obvious you never played Xenogears.

Overall: 7/10

The storyline really tarnishes the overall grade of this game. It's a shame, because if only the storyline was better, this game would have been a classic that would have eclipsed Final Fantasy VII. But, oh well. Such is life.