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Post by Stu on Dec 28, 2016 18:17:36 GMT -5
Here's my question. Final Fantasy VIII came out after the highly successful Final Fantasy VII and was hyped up pretty well. Unfortunately, at the time I was young, broke and without a Playstation. My family eventually got one and we bought Final Fantasy VIII. But I never got to play Final Fantasy VIII and I know very little about it, other than whichever characters showed up in Kingdom Hearts.
I rarely hear it mentioned and I was never clear on if it was even all that good. Is it worth pursuing? Where does it stand among other Final Fantasy games?
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The Ichi
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Post by The Ichi on Dec 28, 2016 18:40:55 GMT -5
It's hard to answer this since it's basically the Marmite of the franchise.
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Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Dec 28, 2016 18:56:38 GMT -5
It's hard to answer this since it's basically the Marmite of the franchise. Didn't know so many in Australia had fond memories of it
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Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Dec 28, 2016 19:40:56 GMT -5
I really enjoyed it. Thought it was a very good game with some really good character moments.
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Post by Harry The Arrow was Wrong! on Dec 28, 2016 19:48:49 GMT -5
It's probably my second favourite in the series behind IX. Really good characters and story.
I liked the junction system and the fact that there's about 20 different summons. It also has some of my all time favourite summon designs in Ifrit, Diablos, Doomtrain etc.
It also has the coolest airship in the series, Ragnarok.
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Zone Was Wrong
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Post by Zone Was Wrong on Dec 28, 2016 19:55:20 GMT -5
It's my favorite Final Fantasy so I'm a tad bit bias, but yes. After I finish 15 I'll probably grab it off of Steam and play it again. Great story, loved the characters, fun mini games, so many awesome summons, wonderful music. I highly recommend giving it a shot.
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Fundertaker
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Post by Fundertaker on Dec 28, 2016 19:56:13 GMT -5
It's hard to answer this since it's basically the Marmite of the franchise. Didn't know so many in Australia had fond memories of it After seeing Abroad in Japan's video on Marmite, I can say that that comparison is slightly off. I mean, sure, it's a love it or hate it game (it will really depend on how much you gravitate towards the characters and the draw/junction system) which is just like Marmite, but everything around it isn't disgusting or bland like Marmite's, so it's got that going for it So, responding to the original question: you need to play the game and get your own opinion on the matter. I don't mind the junction system (it's just that draw farming takes such a long time) and adore most characters and it's my favorite game of the franchise, but for quite a while it was the most reviled one by the fanbase, since it was the one that was further away from the norm. After XII, the XIII trilogy and 2 MMO's it seems to start to become more appreciated, but it doesn't have the rabid nostalgia-goggled fanbase of VII, the didn't-knew-any-better-late-commer fans from X or the purists/elitists from IV, VI or IX. On a personal note, if any game in the franchise should be remade it should be this one for two reasons: a streamlined version of the draw/junction system (maybe associate spells with GF's and have the affinity score affect which spells/abilities you can use without junctioning the respective GF in addition to quicker summoning) and the fact that this would be the one FF that would benefit from voice acting. If nothing else because SQUALL IS NOT AN "EMO KID" GODDAMN IT! HE IS A JERK WHO BECOMES A BETTER PERSON AS THE GAME GOES ALONG! *ahem* There are a few moments that would greatly benefit from voice acting (almost everything sorceress related, Squall, Seifer calling Zell "chicken wuss", most Ellone moments, everything in the dream world). That, HD graphics and not change anything else and we're good.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Dec 28, 2016 20:16:35 GMT -5
The farming in the junction system could be tedious, but I loved the summon designs, story and character development. Squall's probably one of the more underrated Square protagonists.
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The Sam
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Post by The Sam on Dec 28, 2016 21:29:47 GMT -5
I would tell you, but first, do you have any cards?
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Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Dec 28, 2016 21:46:24 GMT -5
It's a love it or hate it game, I like it but it's a heavily flawed game.
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MrBRulzOK
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Post by MrBRulzOK on Dec 28, 2016 22:01:46 GMT -5
The main problems seem to be the characters all being either really annoying or really unlikeable, with the exception of Quistis and the story being... a bit of a trainwreck. I also wasn't personally a big fan of the Draw or Junction system. Coming off of the Materia system, which was probably one of the best they had, they had a hard act to follow and the whole junction thing just didn't live up to it.
I also hated the fact that it seemed like you pretty much had to use the GFs to get through most battles because your basic weapon was pretty pathetic. Which of course meant you had to sit through the same cutscenes again and again, at least until you figured out how to turn them off or shorten them. Granted it probably got better as you were able to upgrade it, but the actual way to upgrade stuff was obtuse as well since you couldn't just buy new weapons. Instead you had to find magazines, which told you the recipe for items which you then had to track down in order to build it.
The thing to me is Final Fantasy VIII made things way too needlessly complicated. Which also works against it a great deal.
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Post by Red Impact on Dec 28, 2016 22:47:33 GMT -5
Yes, you are missing something Whether that is something good or not really depends on how well it grabs you.
To me, FFVIII is an example of a game with so much potential that just barely managed to not meet it on any points.
- They obviously put a lot of thought and care into making a complex story, but just missed the mark as it seems they either ran out of time or wrote themselves into a hole partway through.
- The combat system was a neat departure and designed to make fights more interactive than just selecting attacks on the menu, but unfortunately (or fortunately) what they did made a lot of things very abusable.
- The sidequests actually had some substance behind them, and if you knew what you were doing, you could totally break the game.
- The junction system was a great idea, but very tediously executed. However, with the sidequests, you could also break the game.
I mean, honestly, if you're the type of person that likes to mes with the mechanics of a game and see how well you can break it, FFVIII is the best PS1 title for it. Other than that, I think it's all a matter of how lenient you are with people who obviously have a lot of passion making a few missteps.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2016 22:51:50 GMT -5
Doomtrain is the truth. Best thing about the game.
For everything else about the game that's kind of neat, there's something about it that's stupid. You can junction magic to your stats and be nearly invincible, but there's no MP, spells work like items, and when you use them your stat increases start to disappear. Squall has a decent character arc but spends most of the game being a jackass. Triple Triad is a fun minigame, but some of the rules you end up getting are terrible. The story is okay enough, but there's some major plot points that I found to be incredibly stupid.
It's worth playing if you have the time, I think, but there's a not small chance that you'll hate it. It all depends on how much you like what works with the game.
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Post by Hugh Mungus on Dec 28, 2016 23:01:51 GMT -5
There's also their leveling system; from what I can recall, whenever you level up, the monsters also get stronger, though there are commands that will allow you to lower or increase the monster's level. By raising the level higher, it'll be harder to defeat, but you'll get higher-valued items.
Also, Meltdown is a necessity.
Finally, Cactuar Island is the best place for AP farming (each Cactuar is worth 20 AP) without gaining a lot of EXP. Be sure to junction a lot of Triples on the Hit Rate, as the Cactuars are very evasive, and are strong against magic.
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Post by Alucard on Dec 28, 2016 23:14:16 GMT -5
I'm a big fan.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Dec 28, 2016 23:17:35 GMT -5
It was the first mainline Final Fantasy I really disliked... and was probably my least favorite of the series until 13 came out and failed on every level instead of most. the Junctioning system isn't really explained particularly well and it is necessary to figure it out to beat the game and you only find that out on like the last boss as you can pretty much cheese all the other bosses with summons that do 100x more damage than you can use with your weapons alone and using spells messes with your junctioning... but you can't use summons towards the end of the game. finding the things to get the new weapons could be a pain in the ass as well as they are mostly hidden... which again isn't a major problem for most of the game due to the aformentioned summons. also it's a pain in the ass to actually draw all teh things you need to junction since the enemies level up with you so you are always in a battle where you could very easily die. 8 is very much a love or hate game. edit: oh and it was the first of the games to decide that we needed a terrible card game with pretty nonsensical rules. which is kinda optional but I think you need to play it to get certain items.
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Push R Truth
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Post by Push R Truth on Dec 28, 2016 23:37:00 GMT -5
The music in the game was top notch
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Post by SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman on Dec 29, 2016 2:38:30 GMT -5
It's my favourite game ever so obviously, to me the answer is yes. To me, it's a game there is a lot you can nitpick but not much to really complain about. It really has the best, most profound character development and arcs in the franchise and it is pretty much the only romance I ever felt actually invested in. And I don't mean that I just didn't mind a romantic subplot, I mean it's one of the few stories where I was actively rooting for the characters to get together.
I think what really helps is that their relationship develops realistically, with them slowly learning to know each-other and realize their feelings. There isn't a meet cute, there isn't a big "I love you" scene, instead, they grow attached to each-other during the events of the game. Hell, this is one of the few works of fiction where I can remember the two lovers being shown going on dates.
I also think it's one of those games that gets more enjoyable as you grow up and start picking up on the more subtle aspects. Ironically, while FF8 can be rough around the edges, it also shows a lot of attention to detail in some aspects, like how early in the game, there is a running gag where Squall is refusing handshakes offered to him, but once he meets Linoa, he immediately and happily accepts hers without even thinking about it, showing that even this early, he already liked her more than most people.
Look, I can literally go on for hours about how much I love this game and the countless ways it is in my opinion the most thought-provoking game in the franchise so go ahead and play it.
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Derk!
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Post by Derk! on Dec 29, 2016 2:53:16 GMT -5
It's a shame the junction system stopped this game from being playable.
Seriously, I dig the story, the music, the characters. After a certain point in the game, early on, at that, it just stopped being fun..
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Dec 29, 2016 3:15:11 GMT -5
It was the first mainline Final Fantasy I really disliked... and was probably my least favorite of the series until 13 came out and failed on every level instead of most. the Junctioning system isn't really explained particularly well and it is necessary to figure it out to beat the game and you only find that out on like the last boss as you can pretty much cheese all the other bosses with summons that do 100x more damage than you can use with your weapons alone and using spells messes with your junctioning... but you can't use summons towards the end of the game. finding the things to get the new weapons could be a pain in the ass as well as they are mostly hidden... which again isn't a major problem for most of the game due to the aformentioned summons. also it's a pain in the ass to actually draw all teh things you need to junction since the enemies level up with you so you are always in a battle where you could very easily die. 8 is very much a love or hate game. edit: oh and it was the first of the games to decide that we needed a terrible card game with pretty nonsensical rules. which is kinda optional but I think you need to play it to get certain items. I dont often disagree with you, but I do here. VIII is one of the best games of the franchise.
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