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Goddamned tonberries [Final Fantasy VIII]
- Thread starter belgurdo
- Start date
LittleTokyo
Member
FFVIII...
Best. Game. Ever.
Best. Game. Ever.
Prince of Space
Banned
FFVIII>>>>>>>>FFVII
There was some item you can use in that game that gives you limit breaks faster, I cant recall what it was now... but your character turns a golden shade when you use it. Also learning kamikaze helps immensly. It seems to take whichever character uses it and multiply their hitpoints by 8 and then deals that much damage to the enemy. It's the only way I managed to get eden, since encounter none has no effect in that underground dungeon island.
Crazymoogle
Member
Pachinko said:
The magic was Aura, and damn it is useful.
On all three of my playthroughs I neglected to get Lionheart until the end of the game, but I have to admit its worth doing (despite what a bitch it is getting enough plasma ammo). The Lionheart limit break is like TG Cid in Final Fantasy Tactics - a game genie like option that just blows the game wide open.
Junction Ultima to Strength, trigger Lionheart with Aura...boss dead. End of story.
Sigh...I miss Triple Triad.
Greenpanda
Banned
Prince of Space said:
IAWTP
Pachinko said:
Technically, that's not true. NoEncounter did effect the 'random' encounters, but there were 9 battles you HAD to face. That part of the game bothered me mostly cause I didn't want to level up my characters too high, and you kinda can't avoid it beating 3 Red Dragons, about 6 Iron Giants and a few other monsters.
And beating the tonberries is easy. Just keep Squall's and Zell's health low and do the limit break 2-3 times (Zell's Meteor Strike helps a lot) to kill each one. The tonberrys fall before they do anything 99% of the time. Still takes a while though.
so how's the teen angst working for you belgurdo?
wait a sec...the second disc right?
It's been so long since I've played it but the second disc has the assasination event right?
TIP: if this is your 1st playthrough remember that the cave/maze thatt you'll come across requires a password that only your copy has (or some bullsh!t like that)
wait a sec...the second disc right?
It's been so long since I've played it but the second disc has the assasination event right?
TIP: if this is your 1st playthrough remember that the cave/maze thatt you'll come across requires a password that only your copy has (or some bullsh!t like that)
Echoes of Pink
Member
I also loved Final Fantasy VIII. It was the first Final Fantasy I played beat entirely on my own.
IMO, Squall is one of the most misunderstood characters ever. Every says he was a jerk, which he was at the beginning, but they fail to remember how much he grew by the end of the game. At the end, he finally realized he need others in his life and opened up.
IMO, Squall is one of the most misunderstood characters ever. Every says he was a jerk, which he was at the beginning, but they fail to remember how much he grew by the end of the game. At the end, he finally realized he need others in his life and opened up.
LakeEarth said:
Break+Status attack. Takes care of enemies and prevents experience leaks too!
And this is my third time playing the game: When I beat it the first time I used auto-junction the whole way through and the second time I Sharked it so that I could look into the debug room and use
Seifer and Edea
Problems with FF8:
too damned easy to break.
puss ass main character.
not enough side character development.
Character development/combat system that promoted sapping enemies and not using magic, making magic kind of useless, outside of Aura.
fucked up ending.
Good parts of FF8:
flashback feature was very unique and fun.
Laguna and his crew, great characters, should have been the leads.
Very good artistic design.
Overall I'd give it a 7.0 out of 10.
too damned easy to break.
puss ass main character.
not enough side character development.
Character development/combat system that promoted sapping enemies and not using magic, making magic kind of useless, outside of Aura.
fucked up ending.
Good parts of FF8:
flashback feature was very unique and fun.
Laguna and his crew, great characters, should have been the leads.
Very good artistic design.
Overall I'd give it a 7.0 out of 10.
Mystifizor
Banned
Maybe in your dreams!Prince of Space said:
FF7 ----->>>>>>>> FF8
FF7 = BEST GAME EVER!!
Prince of Space
Banned
Only for the CloudxSephiroth yaoiMystifizor said:
Naked Snake
Member
Junction 100 Deaths to Status-Attack, instant kill!
Some enemies are immune to this, but most aren't... You will be killing Ruby Dragons and T-Rex with a single hit most of the time.
Some enemies are immune to this, but most aren't... You will be killing Ruby Dragons and T-Rex with a single hit most of the time.
Raise Havok
Banned
I got that on my play though, but I think I waited till the end. I think I even got the Cactuar King before him. Which you can't even get till you have the airship. But in the end all that mattered was Siren, the best summon evAr!!!11
All and all FFVIII best in the series.
All and all FFVIII best in the series.
No , think the mario 64 of RPG's to use your poor allusion was FF7.
Without sony's hugely expensive advertising campaign it wouldn't have sold half as many copies and if it hadn't have sold , the next one wouldn't have sold and other RPG's wouldnt be as popular and so on and so forth.
Idono what it is with FF8, generally I find most FF fans hate it with the few who do like it considering it the series highpoint. If you look at the series on the whole the middle game of each console generation is always the experimental one.
FF1 basically took dragon warrior and added 3 other characters , with the second one they thought they should add actual characters and a storyline while reworking the experience system. They failed so with FF3 they just refined part 1 a little more and let you change jobs through the game.
Then on SNES , again square made a story oriented game but they kept the old ideas intact concerning experience and made job changes part of the plotline, experimenting agian they tried to remake ff3 with a better storyline and called it ff 5. Finally with Ff6 everything they learned culminated into a story oriented experience where each character was its own job and magic could be used by anyone.
Going to PSone, FF7 tweaked the battle system so it was only 3 characters , likely due to hardware limitations and went all out on storyline and graphics. With this newer engine established, they tried to add elements of FF3/5 into FF8 by having 100% customizable characters and abilities and experimented heavily by removing MP in favour of drawing spells individually from enemies. Apparently it must not have gone over well, becuase with FF9 we can back to a full on traditional FF game with PSone calibur graphics. Unfortunatly it's constant attempts to pay homage to the older titles made the whole experience feel a llittle bit washed.
PS2 final fantasy games... with X they went with an almost FF4 level of linearity only altering the battle system to allow for a bit more strategy , still it was a pretty traditional style FF with modern presentation for graphics and added voice acting. FFXI is the most experimental of all, it has nothing in common with the rest of the series really , for all intents and purposes its just an MMORPG with chocobos in it. Finally the forthcoming FFXII features a traditional style quest from the sounds of things with a completly revamped battle system, slightly experimental but not like with FFXI.
FF2, 5 , 8 and now 11 all tried things quite different from the mainstay of the rest of the series. I'd say 8 is the one I liked really out of those, but it doesn't compare to 6, 7 , 4 or even 10.
Without sony's hugely expensive advertising campaign it wouldn't have sold half as many copies and if it hadn't have sold , the next one wouldn't have sold and other RPG's wouldnt be as popular and so on and so forth.
Idono what it is with FF8, generally I find most FF fans hate it with the few who do like it considering it the series highpoint. If you look at the series on the whole the middle game of each console generation is always the experimental one.
FF1 basically took dragon warrior and added 3 other characters , with the second one they thought they should add actual characters and a storyline while reworking the experience system. They failed so with FF3 they just refined part 1 a little more and let you change jobs through the game.
Then on SNES , again square made a story oriented game but they kept the old ideas intact concerning experience and made job changes part of the plotline, experimenting agian they tried to remake ff3 with a better storyline and called it ff 5. Finally with Ff6 everything they learned culminated into a story oriented experience where each character was its own job and magic could be used by anyone.
Going to PSone, FF7 tweaked the battle system so it was only 3 characters , likely due to hardware limitations and went all out on storyline and graphics. With this newer engine established, they tried to add elements of FF3/5 into FF8 by having 100% customizable characters and abilities and experimented heavily by removing MP in favour of drawing spells individually from enemies. Apparently it must not have gone over well, becuase with FF9 we can back to a full on traditional FF game with PSone calibur graphics. Unfortunatly it's constant attempts to pay homage to the older titles made the whole experience feel a llittle bit washed.
PS2 final fantasy games... with X they went with an almost FF4 level of linearity only altering the battle system to allow for a bit more strategy , still it was a pretty traditional style FF with modern presentation for graphics and added voice acting. FFXI is the most experimental of all, it has nothing in common with the rest of the series really , for all intents and purposes its just an MMORPG with chocobos in it. Finally the forthcoming FFXII features a traditional style quest from the sounds of things with a completly revamped battle system, slightly experimental but not like with FFXI.
FF2, 5 , 8 and now 11 all tried things quite different from the mainstay of the rest of the series. I'd say 8 is the one I liked really out of those, but it doesn't compare to 6, 7 , 4 or even 10.
Diomedeskun
Member
VII was the turning point of the series as far as popularity in America, and it helped bring many other RPGs over here, so it was very significant. Personally, I find it lacking in gameplay and plot, with a trite cast of characters when compared to VIII.
VII would have been much better with just Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris, as most of the characters felt tacked-on. Most of the story was simply chasing after Sephiroth.
I was much more immersed in Final Fantasy VIII, especially with the use of first person monologues to shwo how Squall is processing the events around him. If it were remade, it would need to be rebalanced in terms of physical, GF, and magic damage, but it actually provided a decent gameplay experience.
VII would have been much better with just Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris, as most of the characters felt tacked-on. Most of the story was simply chasing after Sephiroth.
I was much more immersed in Final Fantasy VIII, especially with the use of first person monologues to shwo how Squall is processing the events around him. If it were remade, it would need to be rebalanced in terms of physical, GF, and magic damage, but it actually provided a decent gameplay experience.
Yeah, people tend to latch onto IV/VI/VII a lot for some reason; I'm of the opinion of the fact that they likely just played these first and got attached to them because RPGs were hard to come by before the hype train expanded by the time VIII came out. These three titles have their own character development and gameplay balance issues themselves, and arent' (or at least shouldn't) be exempt from being criticized because of nostalgia.
I wonder that if Nintendo hadn't blocked the release of FF proper in the US because they wanted to support Dragon Quest (which ultimately ended up backfiring anyway), would we see a lot of the arguments we see today?
I wonder that if Nintendo hadn't blocked the release of FF proper in the US because they wanted to support Dragon Quest (which ultimately ended up backfiring anyway), would we see a lot of the arguments we see today?
Catchpenny
Member
FFVI is the best of the series. I like FFIV just as much, but can admit that's due in part to nostalgia.
VIII has better characters than VII, and a more interesting combat system. VIII is the better game of the two, or at least the more playable game in 2004. However, the game is crippled in my eyes due to the terrible levelling system, where enemies actually grow stronger than you as you increase in levels. You can still get very powerful, of course, using methods that are even more boring and tedious than levelling. The plot also gets very silly towards the end, and VIII started the trend of boring villains in Final Fantasy games. Oh yeah, this is also about the point where they really started throwing in insanely cryptic, difficult sidequests to sell strategy guides.
VIII has better characters than VII, and a more interesting combat system. VIII is the better game of the two, or at least the more playable game in 2004. However, the game is crippled in my eyes due to the terrible levelling system, where enemies actually grow stronger than you as you increase in levels. You can still get very powerful, of course, using methods that are even more boring and tedious than levelling. The plot also gets very silly towards the end, and VIII started the trend of boring villains in Final Fantasy games. Oh yeah, this is also about the point where they really started throwing in insanely cryptic, difficult sidequests to sell strategy guides.
Diomedeskun
Member
The levelling system in VIII gave me some actual gameplay value in areas I had visieted before, but it had its problems, as did much of VIII. Thankfully, VIII had the encounter-none ability. I wish many other games I have played had it (Breath of Fire 2, Tales of Destiny).
VII is actually the first game I ever needed a strategy guide for, as it is loaded with cryptic details and nonsensical secrets that few will find on their own. I missed Odin's Castle the frist (of many) time I played FFVI, but I would probably have found it eventually. I found most of the other secrets and I found all secrets on my own in the earlier games in the series (except I, which a friend helped me through with information he had read from the strategy giude in a bookstore).
VII is actually the first game I ever needed a strategy guide for, as it is loaded with cryptic details and nonsensical secrets that few will find on their own. I missed Odin's Castle the frist (of many) time I played FFVI, but I would probably have found it eventually. I found most of the other secrets and I found all secrets on my own in the earlier games in the series (except I, which a friend helped me through with information he had read from the strategy giude in a bookstore).
Catchpenny
Member
You're probably right about the obscure secrets starting in VII. I haven't played that game in quite a while, and in fact haven't completed it since my original playthrough six or seven years ago.
I do miss the days where you could participate in most/all of the sidequests without needing to look up a FAQ. The non-linear second half of VI really appeals to me for that reason, but plenty of other people just think it's a mess.
I do miss the days where you could participate in most/all of the sidequests without needing to look up a FAQ. The non-linear second half of VI really appeals to me for that reason, but plenty of other people just think it's a mess.
Catchpenny said:
I liked how they handled the non-linearity of the second half of VI, but I HATED how in the case of some characters their entire backstory/character development is offered or wrapped up in whatever dungeon they happened to be attached to. It weakened the story a bit I think.
belgurdo said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but it wouldn't've changed my opinion any. My first FF was Final Fantasy for the NES, followed by IV and VI on the SNES, then II and III for the Famicom and V for the SuFami (with the help of a girl I was living with at the time). Then came the Playstation and PS2 FF's. The only ones I haven't played are XI and (to my shame) IX, which is sitting here on my desk gathering dust--though I've had it for years, I haven't even popped it in to watch the intro. (I keep promising myself I'll get around to it eventually...)
Anyway, having played the games in that order, I wasn't too keen on VII when it was released, and actively disliked VIII to the point where I had to force myself to finish it. The plot was too disjointed for my taste, I didn't like the weapon-upgrade system or draw/junction, and the world just didn't fire my imagination in general, but even those flaws would've been tolerable if the main character wasn't so damned unlikable. When a character consistently treats the party members who try to reach out to him (some of whom I did like) like shit, I stop caring about why he's that way, about what childhood traumas 'force' him to act like an asshole. He's just not somebody I'd want to know IRL, let alone someone I want as my avatar in a game world for 40+ hours. Rinoa struck me as shallow, and the whole romance between them played out like something in a cheesy teen flick--'brooding jock with tragic past is drawn out of his shell by perky, 'popular' girl, and learns to trust again'. That's kind of in keeping with the whole 'school' theme, but it didn't resonate with me. (Maybe it could've, if I'd liked the characters more to begin with; I can't say for certain.) Squall's 11th-hour conversion into a halfway decent guy seemed forced--I remember thinking it felt too abrupt at the time, and it came too late in the game for my taste. (By then, I'd already been loathing Squall for many hours, and it would've been tough to do anything to change my opinion of him.) On the other hand, I loved the flashback sequences. I instantly took a liking to Laguna, and I thought his crew (Kiros and Ward) were incredibly cool. Pretty soon, I found myself wishing that the entire game had been about those guys, instead of Squall and company.
And yes, I'm of the opinion that X is the best FF to date, but I also recognize that personal taste factors into that heavily. Characters I like (which should include the one I'm controlling!) and an interesting plot or a world that intrigues me are enough to let me ignore a game's other flaws (unless the gameplay is hopelessly broken), while the reverse usually isn't true. The linearity in X didn't bother me at all (I loved how the linear route was presented as a formal pilgrimage in the context of the game, which made sense, instead of trying to create an illusion of freedom that never quite works, as most RPG's do), and I liked the characters and the way their relationships developed over the course of the game. (I was particularly impressed with how Yuna and her guardians were portrayed from the start as a group, with a history and a strong camaraderie between the members. Tidus comes into the picture as an outsider, and we get to see him gradually become a part of that group through the course of the game. No 'dramatic turning point', no 'you're one of us now, little buddy' scene, just seeing the ties between Tidus and the others growing stronger as they get to know him, the way these things tend to happen in real life.) For all the accusations people level against Square for their 'formulaic' Final Fantasy plots, the fact that that different games in the series appeal to people with widely varying tastes is a testimonial to their creativity.
Bizarro Sun Yat-sen
Banned
He's probably that way because the other party members consistently act like a bunch of fucking morons.
Anyway, I don't much like FFVIII, although it had a lot of unrealized potential. (even the developers have admitted they were disappointed with how it turned out) It's mostly the lack of balance and overall slowness (load times, animations, drawn-out events that could use some editing, maps that make you run into the distance etc., involved Junction setup - which I liked, but it did contribute to the slow pace) of the game that turned me off. The story was interesting, if silly (but if that bothered me I wouldn't be playing these games at all). I'm hoping some future elite ROM/ISO hacking group will make a nice patch to fix it someday.
Squall was never supposed to be a generic "happy" hero; he's sad because he lost both his biological and surrogate families and he's got some serious abandonment issues, and spending a couple of days around five people that share no common interests with him (at least at first) wouldn't help his situation any. That's why Rinoa is presented as the way she is: She's basically the "antidote" for Squall to make him open up to the world with her own openess. I notice that in a lot of other forums people complain that Squall should have hooked up with Quistis, but the reason the writers didn't have this pan out is because pairing him with the generic "hot girl" who would have just accomodated him instead of helping his mind out would have been counteractive to what they were kind of doing with the story.
Now as for just going through the game with Lag's party, it would have cute to see him bumble through the plot and have Kiros carry him through it, but like most games where everyone in it is an eternal optimist, it would have gotten old fast and for some the game would just be a 40 hour dungeon crawl just to level up and get to the end. It's why I dislike IX's character: Everyone except Vivi just shrugs off their problems and puts a "happy" mask on until the end of the game, when we start seeing all of this forced, heavy-handed revelationing and exposition that isn't really tied up even at game's completion.
Now as for just going through the game with Lag's party, it would have cute to see him bumble through the plot and have Kiros carry him through it, but like most games where everyone in it is an eternal optimist, it would have gotten old fast and for some the game would just be a 40 hour dungeon crawl just to level up and get to the end. It's why I dislike IX's character: Everyone except Vivi just shrugs off their problems and puts a "happy" mask on until the end of the game, when we start seeing all of this forced, heavy-handed revelationing and exposition that isn't really tied up even at game's completion.
TheGreenGiant
Banned
Damn you guys. I want to go out and buy FFVIII and VII again now. :O
can someone tell me how much better if any this two babies look on the PS2 or should I get the PC version (which I thought was fugly)
can someone tell me how much better if any this two babies look on the PS2 or should I get the PC version (which I thought was fugly)
Bizarro Sun Yat-sen
Banned
Five people that share no common interests with him and act like total dumbasses.
I put so many hours into this FF (the clock stopped at 99 hours). I loved it so much, but I don't understand everyone trying to make Squall out to be some deep character. My personal favs were Selphie, Irvine, Edea (possesed by ultimecia), Fujin, Raijin, and my man Zell. Too bad most of them got dissed when it came to character development. Another thing I don't understand is how people can bash the junction system. It's just as tedious as levelling up in other rpg's, but this one is ultra customizable which is can be a good or bad thing depending on the player. Oh, and Angelo rocks. So did the Moombas. I wish I had a Pocketstation As for the ending, I've always believe that Ultimecia is a cursed Rinoa from the future. Seemed believable. I just hated how they left that open. Almost as bad as the FFIX boss (Not garland. He'll knock you bitches down.) The ending rocked too. Oh, and speaking of the ending, what the hell happened to Zell? Was he choking? Why'd he get so pissed?
The sountrack rocked so hard. I don't know, seemed so very bright and melodic, and the chants and more use of latin.
Odin.
Gilgamesh There should be a new summon/enemy in a future FF game, Enkido
Oh, one more thing.
*DOINK!*
As for the ending, I've always believe that Ultimecia is a cursed Rinoa from the future. Seemed believable. I just hated how they left that open. Almost as bad as the FFIX boss (Not garland. He'll knock you bitches down.) The ending rocked too. Oh, and speaking of the ending, what the hell happened to Zell? Was he choking? Why'd he get so pissed?The sountrack rocked so hard. I don't know, seemed so very bright and melodic, and the chants and more use of latin.
Odin.
Gilgamesh
There should be a new summon/enemy in a future FF game, Enkido Oh, one more thing.
*DOINK!*
belgurdo said:
If the game had focused on Laguna and Co., I'd've liked them to go with a 'rite of passage' motif, something where Laguna starts out as this bumbling, affiable goofball and gradually matures through the course of the game. (Yes, I know it's been done countless times before, but I don't think that diminishes its impact. IMO, the main reason rite of passage stories are a popular theme in RPG's is because they stir the emotions, especially when you're guiding the main character to overcome his flaws on the path from zero to hero, rather than passively watching or reading about it.)
AssMan said:
It's sad when I hear people talking like Squall was some kind of positive role model. Do you really think that being a bastard and mistreating the people who try to befriend you because you can't bring yourself to trust them is 'strength'? Even Squall didn't consider that 'strength'--he saw it for the weakness in himself that it was. Strength is having the courage to open up to others, something that Squall couldn't manage until near the end of the game. On the other hand, the 'sissy pansey', as you call him, managed to deal with his problems without pushing everyone away or closing off his emotions. That takes more strength than hiding behind a 'badass loner' image does.
Tellaerin said:
hahah, yeah, and it was so cliche how he did it, too.
/me looks away, crosses arms.
I understand that it was to emphasize the new character animations and that was the thing to do in the silent film days (PSone
), but it was so overdone. You want to admire a FF character, admire Terra. hmph, she had it rough. And what about Interceptor? Effing Shadow. >:|Bizarro Sun Yat-sen
Banned
When the people who try to befriend you are idiots who repeatedly almost get you killed? Yes.
Crazymoogle
Member
Serafitia said:
I don't think there was anything special about that. He just choked on his food. Several times in the game he made mention to how he wanted a Hot Dog from the cafeteria, and now that he finally obtained one, he ate it too fast.
The motion capture for that scene was rather brilliant, though.