Board 8 > What are your thoughts on Final Fantasy VIII?

(+) Yeah! (+)

VeryInsane posted...

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

Well, the main thing they'd have to work out is Chocobo World functionality.
---

Oh yeah, another thing I like is the futuristic/fantasy mix. IMO FF7 did this best (Midgar so good) but FF8's setting is pretty neat too. I pretty much always prefer a mix to a straight fantasy setting.

LeonhartFour posted...

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.

That's fair, but I still think Rinoa is really presumptuous/rude. Like, if someone clearly expresses that he wants to be left alone, then IMO you should respect that (unless you're a close friend who knows what he actually wants). If you're essentially a stranger with a crush, then you should butt out when asked.
---

I think that's a bit of a generous interpretation of Squall's interaction with Rinoa as well tbh.

Like yeah he has reasons he pushes people away that are unrelated to wanting to stay in a shell but you can literally see Squall's thoughts and him legitimately finding Rinoa obnoxious for a long while.
---

Surprisingly you can like someone and occasionally be annoyed by them or not agree with everything they say or do. Squall and Rinoa are very different people, so it's not too surprising that they would butt heads on a lot of things. That doesn't mean they hate each other. Rinoa pretty regularly expresses annoyance with Squall, too (There's a version of the concert where she storms off in a huff because she's so mad at his obtuseness), but that doesn't mean she doesn't like him.

Squall is pretty clearly smitten with Rinoa from the moment they meet and treats her in a way he literally doesn't treat anyone else in the game.

Also, Quistis is really the only one Squall explicitly tells to butt out. He might find Rinoa annoying sometimes , but he never tells her to go away or leave him alone.
---

I hated the mechanics of ff8 badly, that i couldn't really make myself get anywhere in it. Junction and every summon trying to be Knights of the Round can go die. I also disliked mister "Whatever" as a protagonist.

I am of the firm belief that ff8 had two good things come from it. The music and Triple Triad.

I also interpret it that he doesn't even realize how much he actually liked her until she was "gone" disc 3.

Lopen posted...

him legitimately finding Rinoa obnoxious for a long while.

And he also uses the excuse "you're my client" when it was probably obviously not his motivation to continually help her. I forget when exactly.
---

The simplest explanation though is Rinoa pushes and gets her way and even squall can't fight it long enough that she gets into his head and heart anyway.

Just like another romantic pair Leon loves so much
---

Well yeah, the point of Disc 3 is to force Squall to confront his feelings instead of trying to avoid them, run away from them, or excuse them. He might not have been completely aware of his feelings, but I think he gives enough hints that Rinoa can pick up on them.
---

Leonhart4 posted...

and occasionally be annoyed by them

Occasionally is an interesting word to use until disc 3!
---

pjbasis posted...

The simplest explanation though is Rinoa pushes and gets her way and even squall can't fight it long enough that she gets into his head and heart anyway.

Just like another romantic pair Leon loves so much

Eh, I think Squall does enough to give Rinoa the impression that her advances are not entirely unwelcome, despite how much he tries to resist it. Part of him likes her and another part of him doesn't want to like her, but I don't think it's necessarily just because of her.

also I'm not even sure which couple you're talking about
---

Lopen posted...

Leonhart4 posted...

and occasionally be annoyed by them

Occasionally is an interesting word to use until disc 3!

just as you accuse me of being generous you try to be as ungenerous as possible when it comes to this stuff
---

LeonhartFour posted...

also I'm not even sure which couple you're talking about

Kyon/Haruhi

Not that kyon is like squall. But they both seem to express annoyance internally at their straightforward antics.
---

Oh, Kyon is even more dishonest about his real feelings than Squall is, yeah.
---

I'm not saying he hates her outright but you definitely have to fill in a lot of the blanks yourself-- disc 3's transformation would ideally be a lot less abrupt. To be fair this isn't entirely on disc 3 as much as a lack of progression between disc 1 and disc 2.

Squall's a terrible tsundere.
---

Well, that would be because he's not actually a tsundere to begin with. Tsunderes are aggressive to cover up their feelings.
---

He totally is, dude. "Aggressive to cover up his feelings" is literally your defense of Squall's transformation not being abrupt to begin with.
---

yes I remember all the times Squall yelled at and was physically violent toward Rinoa like your classic tsundere

Squall covers up his feelings, but he doesn't do it by being aggressive toward other people, so no, that has never been my defense of him.
---

You don't have to physically hit people to be a tsundere unless it's a bad slapstick anime.

Dude verbally destroys her plenty
---

What did I think of Final Fantasy VIII? I thought it was...

...whatever.
---

Plenty as in once in Timber shortly after they start working together, and his frustration is more with the Forest Owls' methods than with her. Like, that's the only time he ever goes on anything toward her that could be construed as a tirade.
---

My favorite part of Fate/Stay Night UBW was when Rin did a raw blink on Shiro
---

That's a loaded thing to say because Squall doesn't typically go on tirades on principle. Cold one liners to most efficiently ruin someone's self esteem is more his jam.
---

Lopen posted...

Cold one liners to most efficiently ruin someone's self esteem is more his jam.

and this isn't a tsundere thing so yeah
---

Lost in all this is Rinoa's grip strength.

She was hanging onto crumbling earth for like 30 minutes
---

It totally is man

Your lack of weeaboo cred is glaring here
---

I mean Squall is more of a kuudere than a tsundere

being a tsundere requires actually expressing emotion even if it's fake while Squall tries to suppress emotion altogether

tsundere isn't a synonym for jerk
---

Discs 1&2: Squall is an emotionless robot girl.

Discs 3&4: Squall is a yandere
---

Tsundere is classified by a cold or hostile behavior towards the person by default. Kuudere would imply he's more neutral towards Rinoa-- he's not neutral though he's pretty much pushing her away.

Going ham with it is just what bad anime does for cheap laughs. Totally not necessary.
---

SaveEstelle posted...

Discs 1&2: Squall is an emotionless robot girl.

Discs 3&4: Squall is a yandere

...yeah this is actually more accurate

he does kill two sorceresses who try to hurt Rinoa
---

I thought kuudere was a subset of tsundere

doesn't "tsun" just mean pushing someone away, whether it's through being cold/aloof (kuu) or violent or whatever

maybe I'm the one showing my lack of weeaboo cred here
---

Nah, kuudere is cold on the outside and warm on the inside. Squall wants to project that he doesn't care when he actually does.
---

If Squall was less of a jerk and just more neutrally blunt he'd be a Kuudere

It's the harsh edge to his bluntness that makes him lean Tsundere, because there's actually nothing in the Tsundere handbook that means you have to be hot blooded about it. That's just what dirty casuals think.
---

Regardless why Squall is bad at it is not because he's not hot blooded enough but because he doesn't telegraph his dereness nearly well enough till he goes full blown psycho.
---

One thing's for sure: Commodore didn't expect this
---

he telegraphed it well enough for me
---

Worse than West Wing Season 1, better than West Wing Season 5.
---

SaveEstelle posted...

One thing's for sure: Commodore didn't expect this

nah anyone who knows FFVIII is the GOAT is aware of the quality and quantity of conversations you can have about it
---

scarletspeed7 posted...

Worse than West Wing Season 1, better than West Wing Season 5.

What's your West Wingion of Final Fantasy 9
---

SaveEstelle posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

Worse than West Wing Season 1, better than West Wing Season 5.

What's your West Wingion of Final Fantasy 9

Better than West Wing Season 6 first half, worse than Season 6 finale.
---

Squall's mostly like a... Tsun... how the hell do I say "neutral" in moonspeak
---

I recently played it on my vita as part of my project tp beat the 3 final fantasies i hadnt pkayed yet and honestly it was a huge chore that wasted a lot of time on characters I didnt enjoy alongside a Junction/GF system that i didnt find interesting and overall found the grinding to be more irritating than fun.
---

if you're grinding you're doing it wrong
---

Grinding for spells is still grinding
---

the secret to FFVIII is to play Triple Triad and get rid of the dumb rules by resetting

then you can turn those cards into spells and become a god
---

You're supposed to use refine skills to turn items and cards to spells rather than grinding draw

Not that that is at all obvious to a first time player. And I suppose in some ways Triple Triad could be considered a grind too if you don't like it much.
---

FFII & FFVIII are my least favorites in the series. Just in the last two years, I finally forced myself to beat it because I was playing through all the FFs in order. In every previous attempt, I always got really bored around when you go into space.

Not a fan of drawing spells, junctioning making things really easy if you know what youre doing, dislikes most of the characters, really didnt like the whole we were orphans together part, and Im in a minority here I think, but I didnt like Triple Triad.

Truth be told, I do like the story through disc 1. After that, I quickly start losing interest. Still, I can respect others for having a different opinion than mine.
---

Nanis23 posted...

Someone in Fishermans Horizon calls you a heartless son of a bitch if you say you don't like cats

Sounds like this guy's on to something!
---

Agree
---

I didn't know what I was doing the first time through and I still never grinded. Never played Triple Triad either on my first run.

Grinding is the enemy in any and every RPG and you should never actually have to do it to beat the game
---

The Popo posted...

Still, I can respect others for having a different opinion than mine.

You think this makes it ok to hate FFVIII you piece of shit gtfo
---