Board 8 > what is going on in that ffviii intro (playthrough/spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I cant remember which submenu its in, but theres an Information option that will tell you about topics youve seen or heard about in the plot. For example you should be able to see in there that the reason there has been no national TV broadcast is due to massive worldwide radio interference. This is why Galbadia was invading that radio tower in Dollet from your SeeD test, the equipment there was powerful enough to break through the interference for a short while to make that broadcast.

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Pretty sure it's under Help.

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Oh hey, another Laguna section. For some reason, Zell and Rinoa don't fall down this time, even though Ward is clearly using Zell's junctions during this section. We're beset by a bunch of local soldiers in a messy tunnel that feels way less fun than the first Laguna section.

Time for the new Garden!
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That Laguna section is pretty fun because of all the different things you can do and how it affects other things.

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They could've done a full game with Laguna and his exploits.

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"It's like killing 2 pigs with one stone!" Is one of my favorite Laguna quotes and Kiros and Wards reaction to it makes it all the better.

And then of course there's AH MY LEG

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More FFVIII

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Played more! Didn't make any real progress, but I've got some dude named Irvine in my party now. He immediately seems amusing, but the party treats him like a sexual predator ("Shouldn't you go check on Selphie?") which makes me uncomfortable.

Also possible highlights: Zell doing pushups with the Galbadians, Rinoa missing the obviously-not-dead Seifer, Squall freaking out about dying himself, saving at the hotel Laguna visited with Julia.
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Galbadia Garden is pretty neat. You see a lot of good characterization from Squall there.

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one thing i like about the talking scenes is how the cast laughs at each other non-verbally a lot, especially rinoa
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Rinoa is the only one who can make Squall laugh, for better or worse!

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SeabassDebeste posted...

one thing i like about the talking scenes is how the cast laughs at each other non-verbally a lot, especially rinoa

Oh nice point! That never occurred to me.

this dungeon is kinda messy. not sure what i'm supposed to find here - believe i've been to all three of the far edges. (and fought a dumb guardian boss?)
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North and West rooms have switches you need to press. Then make your way your the middle (approach middle from south)

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not sure if that's safe to click!
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Really sorry mate. I am just explaining what you need to do in the dungeon you're currently in.

I don't say what you get in there. Just a general direction of what you need to do/where you need to go

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The only thing you "need" to do is get the ID number from the sword on the ground near the beginning of the dungeon. If you want the unique prize from within you need to interact with some stuff so that a door opens and you can fight a boss. (there are two boss fights in there)

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pjbasis posted...

The only thing you "need" to do is get the ID number from the sword on the ground near the beginning of the dungeon. If you want the unique prize from within you need to interact with some stuff so that a door opens and you can fight a boss. (there are two boss fights in there)

I'm not doing very well today lol

My directions were for the optional boss as mentioned above

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You may not have realized that, unlike the rest of the game where the camera is fixed at each screen, here the point of view is actually oriented based on the direction you came from, almost as if it were a first person dungeon crawler

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WazzupGenius00 posted...

You may not have realized that, unlike the rest of the game where the camera is fixed at each screen, here the point of view is actually oriented based on the direction you came from, almost as if it were a first person dungeon crawler

i did figure this out at least!

but yeah, i do want to figure out how to get to the optional boss. i fought something called a guardian? or something? it was on the east corner but then it ran off.

next time i play i'll try looking for the switches in the north and west, then try the center plaza again. i don't think i remember a switch at the north place specifically, but i could def be wrong.
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Simple solution to get everywhere you need to go: go right at every intersection, and when you get back to the entrance, reenter and keep going straight.

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I used the word Switch loosely.

It's actually a cog and a chain iirc

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hoping to get back to this soon
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here we go
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ugh i just saved rinoa but can't figure out how to get down from the dais
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Oh, you don't need to get down. There should be a hatch on the floor you need to open.

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So hey, I didn't know where the switches were even when I managed to reach the westernmost and northernmost points before. This time, knowing there were switches, it's easy to find them and fight the BROTHERS. I cast Shell on everyone, but apparently it's Protect that guards against physical attacks. Whatevs - either way, I let the GFs go completely ham to beat them up.

With a new GF in hand (!) it's time to return to the capital of Gabaldia, whose name I forget, and into the mansion. Before we go in, Rinoa prods us to ascertain our loyalty. It's the home of a general... specifically, Rinoa's dad, though they're estranged, and Rinoa herself disappears in her house while the mission is explained to us. We need a Gateway team, ft. Quistis, and a Sniper team, which Squall decides will obviously be him and Irvine.

I enjoy these heist explanations a lot - it really feels mission-based and clever - but actually walking in the FFVIII map just doesn't feel fun. I struggle to figure out where you can and can't cross stuff, what you can and can't interact with; what is and isn't an exit to the screen. (It takes me quite a while to figure out where the Sniper team is supposed to go while we're waiting for the parade.) The battle system doesn't really help things; I basically try to Draw from random encounters first, but run from them after a while because I don't want my enemies to become overleveled.

In a moment of almost absurd idiocy/contrivance, Quistis suddenly feels bad about having been snippy with Rinoa (whose immature side is coming out more). We go back to her place and, shockingly, get separated from Rinoa. Yeesh. Meanwhile, Rinoa herself tries to cripple the Sorceress and immediately gets rekt, plus beset by crazy beasts. The Sorceress is openly contemptuous of the population, who cheer her on raucously as she assassinates the president. This is America.

Squall and Irvine hop on up to rescue Rinoa, who gives us a line about being too weak alone or something (which will soon be changed to I CAN FIGHT WITH YOU, but which isn't particularly interesting), and Quistis navigates through the sewers. Seifer leads Edea through the streets.

Irvine begins to choke. Lots of issues we have to deal with here - Irvine's nerve, Rinoa's childishness, Quistis's brain. Squall takes off his MORAL RELATIVISM HAT and puts on his LEADERSHIP HAT again, encouraging Irvine to take the shot - even if it misses (or gets blocked, as we see), it will act as a signal. (Irvine doesn't actually give a reason why he can't take the shot, but I assume that since this is a teen-oriented JRPG, he has an issue with actually killing a defenseless enemy.)

With the shot blocked, it's time to fight head-on. Seifer's up first; we duel him one-on-one. This time I figure out to cast Shell/Protect correctly and bring him down with Thunder and the gunblade. Then it's time for the Sorceress herself, though fortunately I've got company for this one. I wear her down while stocking up on Cure 2, which should come in helpful in the future. Shell seems to keep damage manageable enough that I'm able to farm her pretty effectively for turns.

When we beat her, she sounds out a shard of ice that hits Squall and sends him over the edge. Save point get.

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* I indicated to my girlfriend that hey, I'm fighting a dude with a gunblade. She noticed that he was using magic and I wasn't and that he looked cooler as a result. I did a spell and she thought about it and said "nah, his is cooler." Bastard was using Level 2 spells, that's not fair!
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Did you get the GF from the lizard bosses? It casts Reflect on everyone, which comes in handy when fighting Edea.

Also, you should be able to refine level three spells at this points!

And I can relate to getting lost in Deling City trying to find the sniper team meeting point. It took me at least 30 minutes, to the point I made up lyrics to the tune of the song as I helplessly wandered around and I still remember them whenever I hear that song.

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Don't leave us hanging Leon...care to share the lyrics?

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Leonhart4 posted...

Did you get the GF from the lizard bosses? It casts Reflect on everyone, which comes in handy when fighting Edea.

i've got shiva, ifrit, siren, queztlcoatl, and brothers

which lizard bosses are you referring to? been a while

Leonhart4 posted...

Also, you should be able to refine level three spells at this points!

right now drawing on enemies has been my main source of spells - maybe i should try refining more?
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The ones right before you fight Seifer, the ones you have to rescue Rinoa from, so you missed it if you don't have Carbuncle. Also, use the Cursed Lamp and beat Diablos.

You should not be using drawing as your main source of spells. Refining is infinitely more efficient.

Also, learn Card Mod to refine the cards you don't use.

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how do i ensure that i get a GF if i'm given the opportunity? i don't mind trying to replay that section (though i guess i'd have to re-fight seifer and the sorceress too)
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You can't fail a draw for a GF if a boss has one. Just make sure you always check a boss to see if it has one.

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welp got carbuncle this time around

real progress next time with UNCLE LAGUNA
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the fight with Edea is where Disc 1 ends in the PS1 version so the Uncle Laguna stuff is the opening of Disc 2, just for the record

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If i remember right the GF will always be at the bottom of the draw list with ???.

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LeonhartFour posted...

the fight with Edea is where Disc 1 ends in the PS1 version so the Uncle Laguna stuff is the opening of Disc 2, just for the record

yeah, i figured that was the case - it parallels the end of disc 1 of ff7 and there's an auto-savepoint

how many discs is ffviii? i really feel like i haven't gotten far in the game at all. only 12 hours or so, with not that many plot developments - this disc was comparable to midgar alone from ff7

shane15 posted...

If i remember right the GF will always be at the bottom of the draw list with ???.

it wasn't at the bottom but it did have ??? - that said, ??? doesn't always mean you're getting a GF, since i got cure 2 from the sorceress
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late to the party, but the capital of Galbadia mission is one of my favorite parts of the game - it's just wild with so many moving parts and so many things going wrong
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FFVIII has four discs. Overall, it's comparable in length to FFVII.

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LeonhartFour posted...

Also, learn Card Mod to refine the cards you don't use.

just realized i haven't played any cards at all (and have barely refined anything)

can you explain these?

Drakeryn posted...

late to the party, but the capital of Galbadia mission is one of my favorite parts of the game - it's just wild with so many moving parts and so many things going wrong

quistis going back to apologize to rinoa feels less awful only in hindsight. i do like split parties as a rule though; one of the absolute most memorable parts of ffvi is that river party split.
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I never said ??? was always a GF. ??? just means it's either a spell you haven't got yet or a GF.

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SeabassDebeste posted...

just realized i haven't played any cards at all (and have barely refined anything)

can you explain these?

Learn Card from Quetzacotl and Card Mod will unlock. With that, you can refine your card for items, which are valuable for refining and also for upgrading your weapons. You won't be able to get the best weapons without Card Mod and Mug (which you learn from Diablos, so beat that dude, seriously). You should have enough good cards just from GFs to be able to hold your own against most players now.

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Just caught up! I'm really enjoying your playthrough and it makes me want to replay this game. It's been so long and I consider it my favorite FF!

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Waluigi1 posted...

Just caught up! I'm really enjoying your playthrough and it makes me want to replay this game. It's been so long and I consider it my favorite FF!

thank you!
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i dunno if this is a bold prediction, but it's looking like laguna is in a flashback, and maybe no in current timeline. he's concerned about the esthar soldiers led by a sorceress...
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welp they just confirmed that there was a time jump for laguna after his fall. wonder if squall has also time-skipped with his injuries.
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.... and they just confirmed julia married general caraway (and might be rinoa's mom?) - this prediction came waaaay too late...
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So Disc 2 begins, and we're back in Lagunaville! And we're in the care of the bartender Raine and her daughter Ellone, both of whom are clearly fond of their dashing tenant.

As noted before, I theorized that we were in different timelines just before it pretty much was confirmed: With Kiros showing up, we find out that a year has passed in Laguna's timeline, and that Ward is now mute after that ambush. There are soldiers in Laguna's little town, though the people seem mostly concerned about a neighboring town ruled by the Sorceress. We know that Galbadia in Squall's timeline is already under Sorceress control, of course.

With Kiros's arrival, we head off to work: i.e. dealing with the monsters that have overrun this town. This is a bit of an usual sight. Sticking to my MO, I just run from every battle.

(Interlude: How do I initiate a card battle, and should I do it? And where do I get materials to refine into spells? I've been enjoying the game less than I want to, partly because there doesn't seem to be incentive to battle. But people also say the battle system is among the most fun, so what should I do to take advantage of it? I'm going to start learning Card Mod with the next segment.)

When we drop back in, Raine and Ellone are talking about how they want Laguna to stay, but how they sense wanderlust in his heart. Julia, meanwhile... has likely married General Carraway, making her a likely ancestor of Rinoa's (if not directly her mother). Love the little animation of Laguna and Kiros ducking to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

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That takes us back to our world, where Zell is the one who experienced that flashback this time. We're in a Galbadia prison after the failed assassination attempt. Zell's knowledge comes from Ward, who apparently worked this prison before. Rinoa is taken off alone (probably because she's the general's daughter), while Squall, kept separately, is getting zapped by Seifer. Unsurprisingly, the bizarre "hey let's just have a bunch of mercenaries" system of Garden and SeeD likely has further mysteries, which Seifer is asking about. We lie: "... Flower." Oh hey, TheCruelAngel's sig from like 2005.

Like in Chrono Trigger, being in prison means no weapons (and also no magic, for SUPPRESSION reasons), so our fist-fighter, Zell, gets his chance to shine. When we finally stop getting beaten up by Mean Guy (love this name), Zell recovers our weapons almost immediately. The moment we do, we're accosted by more guards... Biggs and Wedge, who are pretty upset about getting demoted after our last skrimish. We dispatch of them, and with the help of a random adorable animal that got tired of being abused by Mean Guy, we wander the floors of this interestingly-designed-but-bland-to-explore prison. (I feel like the environments have been consistently something of a weak point so far - beautiful but empty/tedious-feeling. Probably amplified by running from battles, but there doesn't seem to be a ton to discover here. No cool weapons/armor like in other RPGs.)

We break out Squall and hook him up with his gunblade and then immediately decide to send Zell off alone to operate a mechanical arm. (Great.) Zell almost immediately gets into trouble, so we backtrack a little and run into Irvine and Rinoa. A funny explanation happens; Irvine's attempt at walking down the stairs in a dramatica rescue is unceremoniously undercut when Rinoa boots him down the final steps and explains that Irvine isn't rescuing her; he's picking her up at her father's request (and with the empire's permission.) Love their little gesticulations as they explain the story and Rinoa talks over Irvine.

With that done, it's time to split the party yet again. Squall/Rinoa/Zell run into a few enemies as we're trying to get out the top, but we finally pull the switches at the same time and free Quistis/Selphie/Irvine. Once we're out, we discuss what we've learned: that in retaliation, Galbadia intends to annihilate two Gardens, including Balamb. We watch as two missiles are launched, and there's yet another party split. As Squall/Zell/Rinoa get on the train - followed by a very impressive runner who eventually faceplants - Selphie (who's the most ired that her home Garden is a target) leads the others in a car.

I'm appreciating the game's devotion to party-splitting - I appreciate the way it makes you rotate through characters faster, and the "Switch Junction" command makes switching almost seamless. Quistis, Selphie, and Zell aren't instantly likable the way Rinoa and Irvine are, so they would be tough for me to put into my party of 3 unless I were specifically trying to get reps on lots of characters. But letting them have their own missions all the time is really fun.
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If you want materials to refine, then you probably shouldn't run from every battle. You are not helping yourself as a first time player by actively avoiding leveling. You need to actually understand the mechanics to make the most of that.

Also, press square when talking someone to play cards, but not everyone plays cards.

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And if they ask to combine rules from another region, say no until they stop asking

With the Card ability you can defeat monsters without killing them, earning you AP without giving you Exp. Plus you get the card! I think you can still get item drops that way too, but you really want to get Mug for that.

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