LogFAQs > #973255811

Sorry guyz, I've been too busy to post lately because I'm going to Japan soon, and I've been spending all my time planning my trip. I'm going to be gone for two weeks, but I'll try my best to bump this topic. Please help me keep it bumped in case I forget.

#8. Final Fantasy VIII

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/3/9/AAK53VAAEcbv.png

It's weird because this game exists in two separate places in my mind - me playing it as a kid which is just pure nostalgic joy, and then me revisiting it as an adult and coming to recognize it's many flaws.

FF8 is unlike any other game in the series. This game was inevitably going to rake in huge amounts of cash after the success of FF7, and Square could've just played it safe and did something familiar. But instead they took a hard left, and I kinda respect that. It's kinda like Metal Gear Solid 2 in that way.

And I honestly think it paid off for the most part. The Junction system is either a convoluted clusterfuck, or possibly the most ingenious progression system in the entire series, depending on your perspective. I personally tend to lean towards the latter. Have you guys seen the videos of people breaking the game in the first couple hours? It's like you go get Quistis' Card, Refine it to some crazy item, go get Diablos' Time Magic Refine, get a gazillion Triples, and now all of a sudden your characters can do like 5000 damage per physical attack, or Renzokuken can do like 40,000.

And I'm just fucking aghast at the fact that the game let's you do that so early on. The game totally gives the player enough tools and freedom early on to go crazy, and it's up to them to put the pieces together. But then again, good luck navigating those obtuse tutorials and never-ending sea of acronyms. When I was a kid, I just ignored most of that stuff and played it like a regular RPG and did fine lol (which I actually find to be a testament to it's design - you can play as casually or hardcore as you want.)

Really the achilles heel in all this is how long it takes to Draw Magic. If they could just speed that up, it'd improve this entire package exponentially. Maybe they did in the Remaster? I haven't played it yet.

But yeah. The characters and story? Either you're here for it or you aren't. Me personally, I just embrace the madness. Hotdogs and trains, man. Quistis is probably my all time favorite FF waifu, and I always loved every scene Laguna was in. And Triple Triad? Still my all time favorite FF mini game.

The pre-rendered backgrounds were absolutely breathtaking, and the music equally so. This was definitely Square at their A-game - I don't think any of FF8's flaws can be attributed to cutting corners or lack of talent. They were at the height of their success, and they just wanted to go crazy and see if they could completely redefine what it meant to be an "RPG". Maybe it paid off, and maybe it didn't. It's definitely the black sheep of the series in that way.

Me personally? 8.7 seems about right. Not quite a 9, but I respect the hustle nonetheless.

The ranking so far
#8. FF8 - 8.7
#9. FF5 - 8.6
#10. FF14 ARR - 8.6
#11. FFX-2 - 8.5
#12. FF12 - 8.5
#13. FF11 - 8.4
#14. FF7R - 8.4
#15. FF1 - 8.3
#16. FF15 - 8.0
#17. DoC FF7 - 6.0
#18. FF2 - 3.5
#19. FF13 - 3.0