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[PixelatedBookake]

So I'm fresh off from finishing Final Fantasy VIII, and I have to say, while there were a couple foibles and dumb moments, I thought the game was pretty great and met my expectations of what I expect from a Final Fantasy game. There will be spoilers by the way, so beware.

Story: I thought the story was good, up until a certain point. Disc 3's portion of the story just seemed confusing by the end. Rinoa was in a coma and the party had to use Ellone's time abilities (how did she get those?) to go to the past and find out why. That made sense, in the context of the story, and that whole sequence of going to space and stopping Lunatic Pandora was cool, but after Adel and the Lunar Cry was released from the moon, why didn't that have a noticeable effect on Earth? Esthar was somewhat shitty, but why was everywhere else fine? They set Lunar Cry up to be like an apocalypse level event. I'm just rambling now, lets move on to the characters.

Characters: So yeah, I get Squall is supposed to be a stick in the mud, no fun allowed character who doesn't care about anything, but by the time you reach the end of Disc 3 where he realizes his feelings for Rinoa, I don't feel like he has any substantial change in character than Squall from earlier in the game. Now he's just talking about Rinoa instead of ignoring her. The other main characters were fine, too. I thought Zell and Selphie were my favorites due to them making up for Squall's of enthusiasm about anything, and I liked Quistis and her position in the group as the mentor type character who thought things through for the group. Irvine was just there, tbh. He didn't leave an impression on me too much, but I enjoyed his scene with Squall when they had to assassinate Edea. That was a great moment in hindsight. I didn't care for Rinoa very much at all. I feel like she was all over Squall for no good reason and they had no real reason to like each other. Seifer was cool, but I feel like he got off scot-free in the end.

Gameplay: Junctioning GFs. JUNCTIONING GFS

That shit was confusing as fuck when it was first explained to me, but like anything in this world, practice makes perfect. Still need to get Bahamut tho.

I wasn't a fan of the magic system due to how much maintenance it required due to the magic that you could equip to yourself also being the most useful magic in the game, resulting in you using them up faster. Meltdown the GOAT status spell.

The Limit Break system in this game is so easily cheeseable. All it took was for me to cast triple and...

my way to victory. Suck on that Ultimecia.

So what did you guys think about the game? I already posted my thoughs on the orphange reveal in an earlier thread, and while that was the dumbest moment in the game, I still enjoyed it. Next is Final Fantasy IX. Will this thread become a fruitful discussion of the game weighting its pros and cons, or will it be another FF ranking thread? Either way...

 

[Kinsei]

This is one of my least favorite numbered FF games (The only one I like less is 2) thanks to the drawing and junctioning systems. That being said there are a ton of undeniably awesome moments in the game that prevent me from disliking it. The bit where you are in control and have to run away from a CG mech, the ballroom dance, Seifer cutting Odin in half, etc, etc.

 

[Pagusas]

I loved FF8 as a teen, replayed it 3 times. The card game was the best in all of Final Fantasy. I like the many theories about the end boss and who she really is. But the game is not the only modern FF I can't replay due to the draw system. It just makes playing the game as an adult a large chore.

Still, liked the characters, LOVED the music, loved how epic it felt, just a good FF.

 

[kromeo]

The GOAT. I don't think it has as strong of a story as VI, VII or X but something about the game, particularly the locations and music just resonated with me more than any the others

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

It's a game full of wonderful stuff bogged down by some pretty fundamental flaws. The combat system is ridiculously broken. Any Final Fantasy allows you to break the game after some time and effort, and that's part of the fun. FF8 breaks itself simply by being played as it's intended.

 

[Shift Breaker]

A flawed game, no denying that. But damn, I love it. One of my favourite games of all time, and one of the ones I consider most important to me. I used to play it yearly, toned that down recently.

Best OST in the series for sure, though.

 

[KharmaPolice]

The Junction system feels like a rough first draft of a battle system. Paired with the fact that enemies level alongside you this really bogged the game down for me. I enjoyed it otherwise even if the story is silly at times.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Story: I thought the story was good, up until a certain point. Disc 3's portion of the story just seemed confusing by the end. Rinoa was in a coma and the party had to use Ellone's time abilities (how did she get those?) to go to the past and find out why. That made sense, in the context of the story, and that whole sequence of going to space and stopping Lunatic Pandora was cool, but after Adel and the Lunar Cry was released from the moon, why didn't that have a noticeable effect on Earth? Esthar was somewhat shitty, but why was everywhere else fine? They set Lunar Cry up to be like an apocalypse level event. I'm just rambling now, lets move on to the characters.

The development team basically ran out of time, so there are a lot of endgame stuff that isn't properly explored or just glossed over. Square stated in an interview that all all projects back then had to take two years max and FFVIII entered development in 1997.

"Back then, we had the direction of, ‘All projects take two years and that's when we need to get it done.'"

As for Ellone, her power is supposed to be similar to the Junctioning power of the Guardian Forces, but that's still pretty vague... Maybe that was supposed to be explained further, too.

 

[Pagusas]

The development team basically ran out of time, so there are a lot of endgame stuff that isn't properly explored or just glossed over. Square stated in an interview that all all projects back then had to take two years max and FFVIII entered development in 1997.


As for Ellone, her power is supposed to be similar to the Junctioning power of the Guardian Forces, but that's still pretty vague... Maybe that was supposed to be explained further, too.

You know, modern square would benifits with that rule in place. Not a single modern FF from them is anywhere near the calibure of 6-9.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Edea mortally wounded Squall at the end of disc one. Everything after that is a fever dream, hallucination as Squall lies dying. Story makes a lot more sense if you think of it this way

 

[Skeff]

It's a great game, however the only flaw I have with it is that the junction in system is a +X on stats and the monsters scale with your level therefore a +100 to strength at level 7 against a level 7 monster makes a very easy battle but a +100 strength at level 100 vs level 100 monster is still a competitive fight so essentialy the game become more difficult by leveling up. The only monster that doesn't auto level with the team is omega weapon.

Other than that I'm a big fan of the junction system. The story is probably the best final fantasy story as well in the sense that there are some things that aren't directly said and certain wild theories that make perfect sense such as:

Spoiler

is rinoa ultimecia? And also did squall die at the end of disc 1?

 

[AuthenticM]

A fantastic fucking game.

 

[Meliora]

Edea mortally wounded Squall at the end of disc one. Everything after that is a fever dream, hallucination as Squall lies dying. Story makes a lot more sense if you think of it this way

How exactly does that make more sense?

 

[Pagusas]

How exactly does that make more sense?

It doesn't. Just a stupid way some fans try to rationlize it. But that's all it is, stupid.

 

[Meliora]

It doesn't. Just a stupid way some fans try to rationlize it. But that's all it is, stupid.

Yeah I agree with you, but it would be interesting to hear why people like that theory so much.

 

[kromeo]

Yeah I agree with you, but it would be interesting to hear why people like that theory so much.

Because they don't like the orphanage scene probably. I swear if you fell asleep just for that one conversation it would have no effect on the rest of the game and the story would be better for it

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Fave FF.
Beat it once every few months.
So breakable even on disc 1.
Disc 1 lionheart and lvl 100 is hilarious
Junction system is best system

 

[TGO]

Probably is and always will be my favorite FF game.
I buy every new Final Fantasy everytime in hope it's anything like FFVIII or even FFVII.
now I'll just settle for FFIX with decent characters.

 

[Mac the KNife]

Once I realized that drawing magic in bulk was a waste of time the game got infinitely more enjoyable. Turning enemies into cards then refining them to magic eliminates the need to Draw 99% of the time. Plus turning them into cards doesn't give you exp, keeping enemy levels low.

Summoning GFs was also unnessesary by keeping Squall in critical condition & just spamming limits. If he dies a quick phoenix down puts him right back to critical.

It's so broken but I liked where their heads were at.

 

[Meliora]

Once I realized that drawing magic in bulk was a waste of time the game got infinitely more enjoyable. Turning enemies into cards then refining them to magic eliminates the need to Draw 99% of the time. Plus turning them into cards doesn't give you exp, keeping enemy levels low.

You can also draw-> cast instead of using your own stock of magic. The draw system is not that bad, but it gets boring if you think you have to keep drawing and saving magic

 

[Toth]

I have an easy fix for the game: Make the amount of spells able to be junctioned only equal to your current level. Boom! Balance restored. Also, buff magic spells to be a viable alternative to physical attacks. These fixes means you can a) have extra spells to fling out without lowering your stats and b) allows more flexible builds.

 

[.....]

My favourite FF. The card game along with the junctioning system are my favourite mechanics to abuse. Throw in a low level run and its a breeze.

 

[nivorae]

Edea mortally wounded Squall at the end of disc one. Everything after that is a fever dream, hallucination as Squall lies dying. Story makes a lot more sense if you think of it this way

it doesn't

 

[DiipuSurotu]

They should have made Triple Triad the main focus of the game, with the RPG aspect only a shorter optional side-quest.

 

[Muffdraul]

IMO FF was at its peak with VI, VII, and VIII, i.e my three personal favorites. VIII clearly falls behind the other two in story and characters, but its incredible world and art design kinda make up for it.

BTW what does Triple have to do with Limits? Did you mean Aura? =P

 

[Vincent Alexander]

They should have made Triple Triad the main focus of the game, with the RPG aspect only a shorter optional side-quest.

The final battle against Ultimecia should have been a triple triad fight, Yugioh style!

 

[Onemic]

My 2nd favourite FF of all time

GOAT intro cinematic, GOAT OST, GOAT mini game. For its time it was also easily one of the best looking PS1 games out.

 

[ethomaz]

What I love in FFVIII

- Junction system
- Triple Triad
- Irvine
- Rinoa's dog

What I don't like in FFVIII

- The world itself
- Limit breakers
- Dialogues

Everything else is fine but I don't either love or hate.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Up next: FFIX.

Be forewarned, it is the single greatest game in the franchise and my favorite game ever.

FFVIII is somewhere in between good and great. It has problems akin to FFXIII and FFXV, but it at least delivers in gameplay, dungeon design, and challenge. Also Triple Triad is awesome, hard for me to choose between it and Tetra Master as best card mini-game.

 

[X05]

Best FF.

Also, if you want to easily destroy stuff later in the game, make sure Rinoa only has Meteor as offensive magic and junction her magic attack stat to 255. Then spam Angel Wings.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

FF8 was great. The space scene was masterful. They did it to me again ... then didn't. I cried.

 

[PixelatedBookake]

IMO FF was at its peak with VI, VII, and VIII, i.e my three personal favorites. VIII clearly falls behind the other two in story and characters, but its incredible world and art design kinda make up for it.

BTW what does Triple have to do with Limits? Did you mean Aura? =P

I meant cast triple and then cast aura on all of your party members including yourself. Then go ham

 

[Fou-Lu]

Glad you over all enjoyed it OP! I love everything about FFVIII except the level scaling and casting of most magic being pointless. I do wish it took just a bit more effort to break the battle system. The world, the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the OST, Triple Triad, it's all awesome with few dips in quality. It's nice not to see the usual shitting on other games in the series in this thread... yet. I still like 7, 9, 10 and 12 more, and it's a close call between 4, 6, and 8, but I love every game in this franchise for different reasons.

 

[encephalon]

I want to play a modified FFVIII that doesn't just let you refine tents into Curaga and be invulnerable for the first 50% of the game. This is a game that is fun to break and be crazy powerful, but could also be a lot of fun if it was hard. Maybe moreso than other ATB games.

I should start a playthrough and make some rules (maybe 1 LV = can junction 1 magic?) and see how that goes for me.

 

[Rolf NB]

Yeah I agree with you, but it would be interesting to hear why people like that theory so much.

This way they don't have to face the possibility that the story was a phoned in hack job.

 

[Tarextherex]

Edea mortally wounded Squall at the end of disc one. Everything after that is a fever dream, hallucination as Squall lies dying. Story makes a lot more sense if you think of it this way

This is the stupidest fucking meme

I dunno how people still insist on saying stupid shit like that when game simply had a rushed final act just like every other freaking PS1 RPG. Hell how are you surprised of the story being so weird when the whole first disc had so much mystery around it, like what's up with the radio, with sorceresses, what's the point of seed, etc.

 

[ethomaz]

This is the stupidest fucking meme

I dunno how people still insist on saying stupid shit like that when game simply had a rushed final act just like every other freaking PS1 RPG. Hell how are you surprised of the story being so weird when the whole first one had so much mystery around it, like what's up with the radio, with sorceresses, what's the point of seed, etc.

It is not stupidest I think... it is ambiguous and there aren't enough evidences for both sides.

http://squallsdead.com

 

[OrionX]

I didn't care for Rinoa very much at all. I feel like she was all over Squall for no good reason and they had no real reason to like each other.

Yeah I was never completely sold on their relationship either. I guess it's mostly because he was the prettiest guy in the room, as she freely admits.

Spoiler

I saw more potential in Squall/Seifer tbh.

 

[Aleh]

It is actually my second favorite FF game, behind FFIX which, let's be honest, is the best game ever.
The plot is a bit confusing and some characters could have been handled better, but overall it still has a magic feeling to it that some other games failed to recaptured, like for example FFX which I loved as well but didn't feel as special like a "book come to life" mostly due to the voice acting and different style of narration.

It's a great game, despite the flaws.

 

[EndMerit]

Mid-tier story with solid core gameplay, but junctioning deserves the complaining criticism it gets, not to mention it kind of shakes some of the game's world-building.

Anyway:
VIII's Triple Triad >>> IX's Tetra Master
IX's Chocobo Forests > VIII's Chocobo Forests

 

[Fou-Lu]

It is not stupidest I think... it is ambiguous and there aren't enough evidences for both sides.

http://squallsdead.com

Not this both sides stuff! No one needs to prove that Squall didn't die. The burden of proof rests on people trying to say he did.

Anyway:
VIII's Triple Triad >>> IX's Tetra Master
IX's Chocobo Forests > VIII's Chocobo Forests

Very true. Obviously FFXVI should have Triple Triad and FFIX Chocobo Forests.

 

[Paltheos]

Opinion is widely disparate on GAF. You either love it or hate it, and there's little room inbetween. I tend to side with the 'hate' group although I'm not as vehemently against the game as others.

The story and characters are ridiculous. Plot contrivances, implausible developments, and of course people being dumb for no good reason are all big problems. People have talked to no end about all that shit, so I'll cut it.

One thing that bothers me that isn't as frequently talked about (or maybe I just don't notice it as much but w/e) is the wildly inconsistent application of technology in this game. The game world is purposefully presented so as to be analogous to our own. Ya know, to make it more familiar to us. But it doesn't work. Do you mean to tell me that a civilization that can build a machine that allows a giant 50 bajillion ton building to float and, indeed, straight up fly around would be living in suburbias (hell, just the garden itself is a technological wonder)?

I guess what I'm getting at is the world is too relaxed. It doesn't seem like a place where the world is moving forward. The steampunk setting of FF7, for example, made that world more plausible, or at least one where I wasn't looking at my screen wondering, "What?" I could accept some level of difference in advancements because the technologies and the worlds weren't so perfect. Everything in FF8 is so relaxed. Seems like the people you meet in towns have been living the way they have, largely comfortably, for a very long time without many changes, and I just don't buy it.

The one absolutely positive thing I can say about FF8 is it has a great soundtrack. I think everybody agrees on that. I also like how broken the battle system is. So-so on Triple Triad, which has more flaws than its proponents often admit (the awful, add-on rules that you literally have to herd and quarantine to avoid dealing with).

 

[PK Gaming]

The single best moment in the game

Absolutely lost my mind when it happened

 

[PixelatedBookake]

Not this both sides stuff! No one needs to prove that Squall didn't die. The burden of proof rests on people trying to say he did.



Very true. Obviously FFXVI should have Triple Triad and FFIX Chocobo Forests.

Oh my god the Chocobo Forest in this game is horrible. How do you go from the best implementation of chocobos (so far) in FF7 to the bullshit in FF8. Paid Chocoboy every time. Ain't nobody got time for that whistle shit.

 

[Breakage]

I wasn't fond of FF8. It had some cool cutscenes and the best-looking FF airship, but everything else just felt dull and tedious. Coming off FF7, I hated the junction system. I cheated my way through to the end with no regrets.

 

[Paltheos]

Edea mortally wounded Squall at the end of disc one. Everything after that is a fever dream, hallucination as Squall lies dying. Story makes a lot more sense if you think of it this way

This is the stupidest fucking meme

I dunno how people still insist on saying stupid shit like that when game simply had a rushed final act just like every other freaking PS1 RPG. Hell how are you surprised of the story being so weird when the whole first disc had so much mystery around it, like what's up with the radio, with sorceresses, what's the point of seed, etc.

Of course it's not true, but that's not really the issue. The only good reason I can come up with for saying it's not true is because I don't believe Squaresoft would write an adventure game like this where the protagonist dies at the end of the first act (at least not without banging us over the head with it)

The problem is that the game's story, characters, and world are a mess in so many ways that a theory like this can be woven together to begin with.

 

[LKSmash]

VIII is the GOAT. OST is incredible. Triple Triad is incredible. Gun + Sword = you guessed it, incredible. And if you're heading straight into IX, prepare for the suck. I'm usually in the minority here but I think IX is trash.

 

[AuthenticM]

Wasn't there a well-made mod for the game that completely rebalanced it?

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Opinion is widely disparate on GAF. You either love it or hate it, and there's little room inbetween. I tend to side with the 'hate' group although I'm not as vehemently against the game as others.

The story and characters are ridiculous. Plot contrivances, implausible developments, and of course people being dumb for no good reason are all big problems. People have talked to no end about all that shit, so I'll cut it.

One thing that bothers me that isn't as frequently talked about (or maybe I just don't notice it as much but w/e) is the wildly inconsistent application of technology in this game. The game world is purposefully presented so as to be analogous to our own. Ya know, to make it more familiar to us. But it doesn't work. Do you mean to tell me that a civilization that can build a machine that allows a giant 50 bajillion ton building to float and, indeed, straight up fly around would be living in suburbias (hell, just the garden itself is a technological wonder)?

I guess what I'm getting at is the world is too relaxed. It doesn't seem like a place where the world is moving forward. The steampunk setting of FF7, for example, made that world more plausible, or at least one where I wasn't looking at my screen wondering, "What?" I could accept some level of difference in advancements because the technologies and the worlds weren't so perfect. Everything in FF8 is so relaxed. Seems like the people you meet in towns have been living the way they have, largely comfortably, for a very long time without many changes, and I just don't buy it.

The one absolutely positive thing I can say about FF8 is it has a great soundtrack. I think everybody agrees on that. I also like how broken the battle system is. So-so on Triple Triad, which has more flaws than its proponents often admit (the awful, add-on rules that you literally have to herd and quarantine to avoid dealing with).

You need to replay the game. The main civilization in FF8 didn't build the Gardens from scratch. The only thing they did is convert pre-existing shelters that had been built by the Centra civilization.

 

[AlphaDump]

Awesome game. Probably my second favorite Final Fantasy, 9 being the best. I never really got the hate, and think it had huge shoes to fill coming off of the popularity from 7.