What are your thoughts on Final Fantasy VIII?

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Board 8 » What are your thoughts on Final Fantasy VIII?
Commodore
12/25/2017
07:49 PM
#1
What is closest to your opinion?





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Hey y'all, hope everyone is doing well. All is well here, PA school going great, etc. Anyway, using these couple of weeks off to replay my favorite game, FFVIII. In my opinion, it is even better than I remembered, I pick up more details and subtleties every time I play it.

But I'm well aware this is not the reigning opinion on the board. So I was wondering...what do you all like or not like about it?

Is it the Junction system? The plot? The characters? Curious to see what parts of this game are either loved or hated by different people. (No fanboying or arguing from me, just a general interest in people's thoughts!)
Commodore
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LeonhartFour
12/25/2017
07:50 PM
#2
The GOAT
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5tarscream
12/25/2017
07:52 PM
#3
When I originally played it when it was released I didn't really like it. It's grown on me over time though and I think the characters are much better than those in 7 which is my favourite game ever. Seifer is one of my favourite characters in any game I've played. I'm still not a fan of the ending though.
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Menji
12/25/2017
07:55 PM
#4
It's okay. I've never beaten it but I've gotten to the end.

I think the problem was I didn't play it when I played all my other JRPGs.

But I remember not liking much of the cast. I definitely need to replay it sometime. Hopefully when it gets a remaster like 7/9 did.
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Commodore
12/25/2017
08:04 PM
#5
Yeah, I definitely hope I like the ending more this time around. Discs 1 and 2 are perfection imo, then 3 is where the plot goes off the rails a little bit. Favorite game ever, but I've always felt the first half is stronger than the second half.
Commodore
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LeonhartFour
12/25/2017
08:07 PM
#6
I like the ending a lot.
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pjbasis
12/25/2017
08:10 PM
#7
I think the plot point of Esthar might be the weakest one. It's a little hard to swallow one culture being that much more advanced than the rest of the world.

It's also an oddly paced section if I had to be really critical. But still

LeonhartFour posted...
The GOAT
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pjbasis
12/25/2017
08:11 PM
#8
I do love the actual ending ending.

And best final dungeon in the series.
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Xuxon
12/25/2017
08:27 PM
#9
starts out great but then goes way downhill starting near the end of disc 2 or start of disc 3, sorta redeems itself with an awesome last dungeon and a decent ending. characters hit or miss. i like the junction system a lot. overall i'd say i like it.
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Cavedweller2000
12/26/2017
06:31 AM
#10
LeonhartFour posted...
The GOAT
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Nanis23
12/26/2017
06:45 AM
#11
Post will contain spoilers-

Terrible, horrible piece of dogshit
It doesn't matter how many chances I give this piece of shit, I always lose interest and stop playing like midway in
The characters sucks
Rinoa - YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE ME
Squall- Whatever
Selphie - I love trains!
Seifer - Somehow even more emo than Squall

Leveling is pointless because enemies scale with you
Battle system is too complex for no reason
Upgrading weapons is a painful grind
Main villain turns out to not be a villain for no reason because ha ha ha plot twist
We all grew up on the same orphanage but we forgot lol
Let's go to the moon because reasons
NORG
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MariaTaylor
12/26/2017
07:16 AM
#12
I like it, pretty much always have. Not sure if I have it in me to do an extensive write up about why since for me it's either 0 or 100% and I haven't played the game recently enough to give a full analysis nor do I really have the energy to write walls of text right now.
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#13
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Lord Ephraim
12/26/2017
08:10 AM
#14
When I first played the game, I had no concept of how the mechanics worked in the game. I had no idea I was suppose to draw magic, then junction them to my stats to make my party members not suck. Yeah I didn't read those tutorials at the beginning of the game. For almost 15 hours of the game I had to rely on summoning to do all my damage. Once I learned you can junction powerful spells on your attack, I instantly stopped using summons in favor of normal attacks. What a difference it makes.
SNARGLEBLAGH
Lockes Ragnarok
12/26/2017
08:44 AM
#15
I like it but Im still stuck at the final dungeon. I was never able to win those fights and then going back to it years later I dont even know where I am. That save is like 15 years old haha
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MZero11
12/26/2017
11:14 AM
#16
The final dungeon was dumb and the space stuff was dumb. Probably the best cast of the PS1 era though. Overall I liked it but it's pretty middle of the pack for me
MZero , to the extreme
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__starsnostars
12/26/2017
11:15 AM
#17
My least favourite final fantasy.
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LeonhartFour
12/26/2017
12:12 PM
#18
Final dungeon is great.
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Jeff Zero
12/26/2017
12:14 PM
#19
I like it a fair bit but I don't love it. It's a middle-of-the-road Final Fantasy.

My favorite things are the atmosphere and soundtrack.
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ninkendo
12/26/2017
12:20 PM
#20
best of the PSX games and 2nd favorite overall
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NowItsAngeTime
12/26/2017
12:23 PM
#21
MZero11 posted...
The final dungeon was dumb and the space stuff was dumb. Probably the best cast of the PS1 era though. Overall I liked it but it's pretty middle of the pack for me


All my thoughts besides me liking FF9s cast more.
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pjbasis
12/26/2017
02:23 PM
#22
Nanis23 posted...
Leveling is pointless because enemies scale with you


This isn't even an opinion. It's factually incorrect.
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Vengeful_KBM
12/26/2017
02:27 PM
#23
Played the first few hours
Game crashed
Never tried to launch it again because everything that had happened thus far in the game was just overwhelming, chaotic confusion with bad mechanics
pjbasis
12/26/2017
02:28 PM
#24
Nanis23 posted...
Battle system is too complex for no reason


This is also asinine. You can dislike complexity, fine. But I enjoy it. So clearly it was made complex because...some people like it that way. Wow shocker.

Furthermore it's not that complex, I think the game does a pretty bad job explaining it though.
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LeonhartFour
12/26/2017
02:30 PM
#25
Yeah, you'll be hard pressed to maximize FFVIII's battle system if all you do is follow what the tutorials tell you, but the system encourages you to mess around with it and experiment. I just love being able to bust it wide open.
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Gatarix
12/26/2017
02:48 PM
#26
Don't like most of the cast, hate the love story (which the story heavily focuses on). Those are pretty much dealbreakers for me. In particular I don't like Squall's initial stance of not wanting to be a hero/leader, not having any conviction in the rightness of what he's doing, and then having leadership forced upon him. I've never been much for reluctant heroes generally.

And then I find Rinoa to be no end of obnoxious the way she won't leave Squall alone. I guess I am projecting somewhat because I am also a person with a shell, and frankly I like it and am quite comfortable in here, and if someone tried to drag me out Rinoa-style I would hate it. So it feels really forced to me that it magically works on Squall and they wind up together.

Battle system I'm ambivalent on; I didn't like it that much when playing but I didn't know how to break it properly. I'd probably enjoy it more on a replay.

Stuff I liked:
- Great soundtrack (although I don't care for the world map music and regular battle theme, which is kind of a downer in-game)
- Deling City sorceress assassination mission is one of my favorite plot sequences in any RPG - I love how there are so many moving pieces on the board and the whole thing keeps nearly going off the rails only to be saved and then veer off again
- Top tier final dungeon
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LeonhartFour
12/26/2017
02:53 PM
#27
Gatarix posted...
I guess I am projecting somewhat because I am also a person with a shell, and frankly I like it and am quite comfortable in here, and if someone tried to drag me out Rinoa-style I would hate it. So it feels really forced to me that it magically works on Squall and they wind up together.


Probably the main difference between you and Squall is that he doesn't actually feel comfortable in his shell, despite all the stuff he says (which are largely things he thinks a mature person should say in an effort to convince himself more than anyone around him). He retreated into it because he thought it was the least painful solution, and he thought pain was the only outcome in life. Some people aren't in shells because they want to be (Squall actually forms attachments very easily, which is what scares him), and I can actually pretty strongly relate to that so it's part of the reason I love Squall.

Gatarix posted...
- Great soundtrack (although I don't care for the world map music and regular battle theme, which is kind of a downer in-game)


I actually totally agree with this. I feel like I'm in the minority for not liking Blue Fields and Don't Be Afraid, but I've always found them to be weak links in the soundtrack.
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pjbasis
12/26/2017
03:01 PM
#28
Squall's shell is a result of losing Ellone, who he was unusually dependent on, as evidenced by the other members also being in similar situations but not reacting the same way.
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pjbasis
12/26/2017
03:02 PM
#29
Yeah blue fields and don't be afraid are great wtf. I've started to enjoy the soundtrack more in general when I used to put it firmly behind others.
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LeonhartFour
12/26/2017
03:04 PM
#30
Yeah, that's the thing about FFVIII. All of the major characters have to deal with the pain of loss, but Squall's the only one who reacts by retreating into a shell because he's tired of getting hurt. You can't be abandoned if you never get attached to begin with, or so he thinks. Squall doesn't really know how to cope, and he's a kid who's trying to act like an adult without really knowing how to be one, largely because he's never really had any adult role models worth looking up to.
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Jeff Zero
12/26/2017
03:05 PM
#31
Blue Fields is the weakest world map theme since like FF3 but still decent. I love overworld themes; what can I say?

Don't Be Afraid isn't great either.
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Jeff Zero
12/26/2017
03:05 PM
#32
LeonhartFour posted...
Yeah, that's the thing about FFVIII. All of the major characters have to deal with the pain of loss, but Squall's the only one who reacts by retreating into a shell because he's tired of getting hurt. You can't be abandoned if you never get attached to begin with, or so he thinks. Squall doesn't really know how to cope, and he's a kid who's trying to act like an adult without really knowing how to be one, largely because he's never really had any adult role models worth looking up to.


I can def relate with these aspects of him too
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ChampionCloud
12/26/2017
03:06 PM
#33
pjbasis posted...
I do love the actual ending ending.

And best final dungeon in the series .


Bahamut....

We all know why I'm here. Let's just do this....
MZero11
12/26/2017
04:31 PM
#34
Best song in FF8 is the airship theme
MZero , to the extreme
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LeonhartFour
12/26/2017
04:37 PM
#35
It's the best airship theme in the series, at least.
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LeonhartFour
12/27/2017
10:05 PM
#36
A bump for the GOAT
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Underleveled
12/27/2017
10:22 PM
#37
Best game in the series, top 10 game of all time
darkx
Se7enthrust
12/27/2017
11:02 PM
#38
Pretty low on my ranking of Final Fantasy games tbh.

I never liked that the enemies level with you and actually come to think of it... there really isn't a game where this happens that I do like. The whole point to an RPG imo is to eventually become overpowered and feel like a god. Otherwise the grind feels like a total waste of time and that almost always brings complete dissatisfaction.
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LeonhartFour
12/27/2017
11:04 PM
#39
Se7enthrust posted...
The whole point to an RPG imo is to eventually become overpowered and feel like a god. Otherwise the grind feels like a total waste of time and that almost always brings complete dissatisfaction.


the good news is that FFVIII lets you get to that point earlier than most games and completely gets rid of the waste of time that grinding always is

also even if you level up to 100, you're still way more powerful than any enemy with proper junctions
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Corrik
12/27/2017
11:13 PM
#40
Way better than people want to admit or let on.
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GranzonEx
12/27/2017
11:22 PM
#41
Junction is the second best battle system after Sphere Grid

The fact that you can get no random battles easily makes this game so amazing to replay
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Se7enthrust
12/28/2017
06:46 AM
#42
LeonhartFour posted...
also even if you level up to 100, you're still way more powerful than any enemy with proper junctions


Then clearly I never learned how to use junctions effectively because the struggle was real for me. I remember dying way more than usual compared to most other RPG's that I have played.
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Se7enthrust
12/28/2017
06:49 AM
#43
I forgot to also mention that I hated Triple Triad. I seemed to lose a ton and still to this day don't fully understand how the game is supposed to work. >_>
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Meow1000
12/28/2017
07:44 AM
#44
I thought 7 was good-but-overrated

I hated almost every character in 9, and quit shortly into the second disk after being told it wasn't going to get any better. Also, those loading times good lord

I have never played 8. Should I play 8 sometime
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VeryInsane
12/28/2017
08:09 AM
#45
Good environments, music, one of the better casts

Shaky plot and gameplay but it wouldnt be FF without those two!
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azuarc
12/28/2017
09:13 AM
#46
In my mind, I love it, but if I actually stop and think, there are tons of things about it that I don't like at all.

* The draw system
* Stupidly long GF cutscenes where you're supposed to mash a button rather than skip them
* Inane story
* Huge interruptions to your gaming to play as Laguna
* Triple triad

And then there's the fact that the PC port I had of it crashed frequently, and I kept losing progress because I didn't save every 5 minutes. I played it enough to have beaten it twice, and only got a little more than halfway in.
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banananor
12/28/2017
10:13 AM
#47
i hated a lot about it at the time, but it did so many cool things that i'm glad i played it. the series eventually got worse, so i appreciate it more in retrospect

the draw system and GF system were both such traps that they could easily suck all the fun of the game away on their own, and i wasn't a huge fan of a couple plot twists and heavily focused characters

however, i thought the gardens were a really cool idea, outer space, different cultures, setting fantasy in a futuristic world, and believable characters all came together to do awesome stuff

i'm glad they trod on new ground- ff9 was such a disappointing reactionary reversion

i feel like ff8 is the floor of what constitutes a great final fantasy game. everything below isn't quite worth it and everything above 100% is
You did indeed stab me in the back. However, you are only level one, whilst I am level 50. That means I should remain uninjured.
#48
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LeonhartFour
12/28/2017
11:27 AM
#49
Triple Triad hate makes me sad

best FF mini-game

UltimaterializerX posted...
Fantastic game. Very annoyed it got skipped over when we got PS4 ports.


Eh, I don't think that means we're never getting one. It'll come out eventually.
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VeryInsane
12/28/2017
11:31 AM
#50
I think it's more that IX they didn't have to make any changes to while they would have to for VIII I think
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