xpgno

This is really great. Thanks or writing this. I have been browsing various analyses of FFVIII for something I'm writing and this is one of the best I've read.

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned amidst all the discussion of the junctioning/levelling/combat system is how all this ties in with the plot/ethos of the game. Because, see, I approach these games primarily as a storytelling/novelistic medium. While it's fun to toy around with the stats and so on, this is all meaningless without the context of progression through a storyline. As I've delved into FF8, I've found that the integration of the battle/levelling system is almost astoundingly integrated into the (for lack of a better term) ethos of the game.

For instance, all your money comes from the SeeD salary, which is based on how well you perform your missions, or, alternatively, how well you know the game and world to be able to pass the SeeD exam. So, your money is based on your skill from an abstract, gameplay angle but also how well the characters do their actual, "in-game" job of being a SeeD. So, the distinction between your own adeptness and that of the character's "in-game" is basically abolished.

One point being brought up here is the "blank slate" nature of the characters and how this differs from the traditional job approach of RPGs. But what if this feature is intentionally put there to reinforce the plot itself, where you have these characters who are mercenaries, with no ideology of their own, just fighting battles for others, who junction Guardian Forces that erase their memories (and hence their identities)? I'm of the opinion that this is not accidental – the game devs intentionally created a symmetry between the blank slate gameplay system and the actual social/political/militaristic conditions the characters find themselves in.

And finally, one of your points which is well-made here is the fact that this game discourages battling and in fact the less exp you win the better. And Enc-None and the various other options reinforce this. Isn't it the case, though, that this non-battling ethos is also one of the main themes of the game? The discussions and pivotal moments always center on a decision about whether to fight or not, and you are confronted with various perspectives on the issue (the pacifism of Mayor Dobe, the reluctance of Rinoa, and of course Squall's own internal battle).

There are many, many more examples of this I could go into, ranging from the small to large, but just a few will suffice. I haven't played the other Final Fantasy games enough to be able to say if this is the case for all of them (except for X, where this is definitely absent), but it's this weird blurring of the lines between the gameplay and the game's in-game "world" that makes this game very appealing and fascinating.