Growing up, my father wasn’t around most of the time as he works in another country. Most of the time, I saw him only once or twice a month. I know that it can’t be helped and I do not blame my family, but it created this fear of loss. My family’s situation plus a couple of lousy friends and a shy personality led me to become socially awkward and paranoid. I was always afraid of getting close to someone and losing them. Still am, actually. That’s the reason why I love Final Fantasy VIII.
Like everybody else, I played it for the cut scenes and the promise of a mind-blowing epic story. But ten years later, it is Squall that lingers in my mind. It’s hard enough being a teen, much worse if you are a loner struggling to fit in. Squall’s thoughts hit close to home for me and made a huge impression in my life. It’s nice to find out that even heroes are emotionally messed up too, to know that they struggle to fit in and has trouble dealing with loss. I am a voracious reader and read about hundreds of flawed lonely protagonist, but strangely, a video game, or to be more precise - Squall’s thoughts, reverberates strongest to me.
Many gamers criticized FF8 as the weakest game in the series. Even more gamers criticized Squall as a pansy who’s all emo and no action. Well, to me, FF8 is perfect, pixels and all. Happy 10th birthday, FF8! Thanks for helping me get through the teenage years. Here’s to many more years of re-plays. Cheers.
