Rating: 
Summary: As good as the Final Fantasy 7 guide
Review: After writing the great Final Fantasy 7 guide, Cassidy had a lot to live up to. And he achieved it with the Final Fantasy 8 guide. He takes you step by step through one of the most complex RPG's to date, making it easier to understand and helping you complete this game. This guide has it all, Dont miss this book if you are looking to tear this game apart quest by quest.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know
Review: Exhaustive is probably the word I use to describe this book. Everything, and I mean everything, is in this book. Detailed walk-throughs make sure you don't get lost or left behind. The beastiary is incredible, and the help with the card game is invaluble. A must if you think you missed something the first time around (because, believe me, you did).
Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know
Review: Exhaustive is probably the word I use to describe this book. Everything, and I mean everything, is in this book. Detailed walk-throughs make sure you don't get lost or left behind. The beastiary is incredible, and the help with the card game is invaluble. A must if you think you missed something the first time around (because, believe me, you did).
Rating: 
Summary: Not just for cheating
Review: I bought this guide and was accused of "cheating" by one of my friends. Actually, I suppose I was, though the first time I played the game I resisted the temptation to simply "play by the book." It was difficult, but I was victorious. Needless to say, the second time I played through, I was a stronger, more powerful character. While them not giving away every secret on every page for just the casual reader, it was frustrating to have to read almost fifty pages ahead to find something out. Additionally, sometimes the lack of information hindered rather than helped. Most of the maps were excellent, though not all of the displays were accurate enough for my taste. Additionally, the binding is rather flimsy and the book, with extensive use, would literally come to shreds. I did not notice any great amount of typos or misspellings in the guide, as one reviewer pointed out. Finally, I will say that one advantage is this guide is more or less compatible with both the PlayStation and PC versions (with the exception of which buttons to push).
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I did not actually buy this from amazon. I got it from my brother's friend's cousin. He found it in his freezer wrapped in plastic. Naturally, it was in terrible shape, but nothing a litte tape couldn't fix. The guide itself is pretty good. It tells you everything you need to know, but it is not as detailed as other guides i have bought. There's no "hand-holding" in this guide. Oh, and i wish there was a little more artwork in it, but i guess they couldn't fit it. Overall, an excellent guide.
Rating:
Summary: Essential companion to the game
Review: If your like me and played the FF games in order and are used to the style of the FF7 guide, your in for a world of change. This time the guide is divided into help areas and no longer "tells". This can be annoying at first if your used to the guide for 7, but quickly becomes a vast improvement over the other. It doesn't give away the story and I found it always helped when I needed it. The only thing I don't like about it is that its easy to pass items along the way because the game doesn't inform you that they are there. For example, you have to keep checking the card guide in the back to make sure that you are getting the cards as they become available. Just looking at the walkthrough doesn't always let you know when an important card is within your reach.
Rating: 
Summary: Average...
Review: Keeping the theme of most previous reviewers this book is average. Unfortunately that makes it quite a poor strategy guide. As far as the walkthru's are concerned it isn't too bad at giving you the general idea of what you hgave to do. Unfortunately that is about it. When it comes to finding out related information you will find yourself flicking endlessly through the pages trying to put together all the information you need to do something (I mean, would one big table which shows what everything refines into not be slightly better than about 20 small ones!). The 'secrets' are at the end which is OK, but they look like they have been thrown in as an after thought. And worst of all they have split the maps! PLain and simply the map layout is absolutely abysmal. This is daft as it is flying around on the maps that you do for most of the game! The Bestiary is also poorly laid out with inaccurate and misleading information that will frustrate you, especially if you are looking for a specific monster which is supposed to be in a specific area. All in all, it will help you get to the end of the game but it could have been done a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: A Top Gaming Value
Review: Most players suspect that using game guides is cheating. And in some cases, that is undeniably true. But in an RPG as large as Final Fantasy VIII the effect is exactly the opposite. Instead, the guide functions more like a travel guides, making sure you know all the cool places to visit, and providing maps. The remove some of the irritations, help in planning, and improve the overall experience.It is quite possible to get through FF8 in less that 50 hours with goot strategy and a bit of luck. Some people no doubt do, and think they've really experienced the game. Others get bogged down by a complicated puzzle sequence and miss an important feature and become frustrated when they can't complete the game. This guide is designed to alleviate just these problems, and enhance the entire gaming experience. If you actually tried to do everything the guide covers playing time could go over 120 hours, making FF8 three times the game you thought it was. The guide also makes an effort to clear up some of the poor (or non-existent) explanations of useful game features. And yes, there are clues and explanations for those of us who aren't capable of reading the minds of our consoles, So I would recommend the guide to any new owner of FF8. Whether you follow it religiously or just keep it handy as a reference I think you will feel it's well worth the price. It has all the charts and item lists, full details about characters and character building, and all the other paraphernalia that will enhance any enthusiast's experience.
Rating:
Summary: A Top Gaming Value
Review: Most players suspect that using game guides is cheating. And in some cases, that is undeniably true. But in an RPG as large as Final Fantasy VIII the effect is exactly the opposite. Instead, the guide functions more like a travel guides, making sure you know all the cool places to visit, and providing maps. The remove some of the irritations, help in planning, and improve the overall experience. It is quite possible to get through FF8 in less that 50 hours with goot strategy and a bit of luck. Some people no doubt do, and think they've really experienced the game. Others get bogged down by a complicated puzzle sequence and miss an important feature and become frustrated when they can't complete the game. This guide is designed to alleviate just these problems, and enhance the entire gaming experience. If you actually tried to do everything the guide covers playing time could go over 120 hours, making FF8 three times the game you thought it was. The guide also makes an effort to clear up some of the poor (or non-existent) explanations of useful game features. And yes, there are clues and explanations for those of us who aren't capable of reading the minds of our consoles, So I would recommend the guide to any new owner of FF8. Whether you follow it religiously or just keep it handy as a reference I think you will feel it's well worth the price. It has all the charts and item lists, full details about characters and character building, and all the other paraphernalia that will enhance any enthusiast's experience.
Rating:
Summary: A great guide to a great game
Review: This guide is very careful about telling you just what to do. And that is one of its few problems. It tells you JUST WHAT TO DO. It doesn't give you a little shove in the right direction, it tells you what to do, where to go, and how to do it. I think game guides should hint, not scream. Next problem: some of the things it tells you to do are somewhat impossible. Like get 10 Holy Wars? That's damn near impossible. But, besides that, it's good except that it gives you no hints whatsoever on the final battle (which is hard UNLESS you know what to do. If you have the right strategy, it's simple as pie). The pictures in this are beautiful. It's good quality, hard to destroy. Overall, a good buy.
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