Poll of the Day > So do people really think FF8 is bad?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Or is it just because the junction system is a little complicated? It took me a bit to figure it out but I actually really like the way it's done even if it can be kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. All other FF games ive played are super simple compared to this one for sure

I don't dislike it specifically, but a more generalized everything after 6 is trash.

I place it on the second tier of FF greatness together with FFV, beneath VI and VII on the top tier, not counting spin-offs.


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its terribad

any game that punishes a player for grinding and rewards running from battles or avoiding exp by turning enemies to stone/cards is terribad

and yes, I realize that you can beat the game perfectly fine at max levels and it's not a large detriment, but when I play an RPG I want my characters to be at their best and I don't think being at their best should require a low-level game

Plus it's kind of trash that refining zell/quistis cards just automatically sets you up for basically the rest of the game with no effort

Oh, and as for the junction mechanic... I've seen it kind of fixed in a mod (which allows for more than 9 per draw from enemies or w/e), but "here's these spells, but wait you can't use them because you'll lower your stats and no one wants to do that!" is one of the worst mechanics I've ever heard of.

I HATE the gameplay of final fantasy 8, which is a shame because the soundtrack is awesome

OhhhJa posted...

Or is it just because the junction system is a little complicated? It took me a bit to figure it out but I actually really like the way it's done even if it can be kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. All other FF games ive played are super simple compared to this one for sure

Honestly, the junction system is the only thing that makes the game remotely interesting because the rest of it is reaaaaaally weak.

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It's because it was all a fucking dream lol
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ReggieTheReckless posted...

and yes, I realize that you can beat the game perfectly fine at max levels and it's not a large detriment, but when I play an RPG I want my characters to be at their best and I don't think being at their best should require a low-level game

You should play Oblivion.
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

You should play Oblivion.

Or any Bethesda game. Level scaling fucking sucks.

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...whatever.

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Miroku_of_Nite1 posted...

Or any Bethesda game. Level scaling fucking sucks.

uhhhhhhhhh

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ReggieTheReckless posted...

Plus it's kind of trash that refining zell/quistis cards just automatically sets you up for basically the rest of the game with no effort

Really? This is my first time through and I've only now started focusing on cards because winning card games early on was impossible. I've refined some cards but it hasn't effected the game much for me

Not as much as upgrading the GFs at least

OhhhJa posted...

Or is it just because the junction system is a little complicated?

that's the exact reason for me. i actually don't think it's bad at all, just difficult for me to play, ok?

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zell and quistis cards give you a bunch of triples (like 180) and 3 str+60% for gf to learn, so basically you refine those and junction the triples to str and have the gf learn str+60% and you one shot pretty much everything for a while

What I think is funny is this part

"Everything is too hard"
"Ok, I got 99 of every magic"
"omg, why am I overpowered"

...probably 'cuz you just leveled to maximum, duh

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Let me go down on each entry and explain why a good chunk of people don't like it.

Characters: Very rough Squall seems to have no personality and the rest of the cast isn't much better.
Gameplay: As stated above pretty damn rough, whoever designed the battle system really didn't know what they were doing.
Story: Focuses heavily on Riona+Squall and their love story which is interesting but when the characters are so damn forgettable It comes off very rough. Then to top it off throws in a lot of weird time shit which makes the plot far more complicated than it should be.
Music: Quite good the soundtrack is very impressive and it has some of the most memorable and cool songs.
Graphics: Good for it's day a big step up from the blocky and weird graphics from FF VII.
Side Content: Has a pretty interesting card mini-game that is quite fun to play at least for a bit.

In my opinion FF VIII is one of the worst FF's ever made.

At this point I think that basically every Final Fantasy game is either dated or stale besides 5 and 7 and 9, each of which have something that makes them stand out. Kiseki is the new JRPG king.

And some of you might still remember that my name on here used to be "1337_FF_GoD" years ago lol.

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Monopoman posted...

Story: Focuses heavily on Riona+Squall and their love story which is interesting but when the characters are so damn forgettable It comes off very rough. Then to top it off throws in a lot of weird time s*** which makes the plot far more complicated than it should be.

I do feel like the story is the weakest out of the PS1 era for sure

Judgmenl posted...

At this point I think that basically every Final Fantasy game is either dated or stale besides 5 and 7 and 9, each of which have something that makes them stand out. Kiseki is the new JRPG king.

And some of you might still remember that my name on here used to be "1337_FF_GoD" years ago lol.

Judgmenl posted...

At this point I think that basically every Final Fantasy game is either dated or stale besides 5 and 7 and 9, each of which have something that makes them stand out. Kiseki is the new JRPG king.

And some of you might still remember that my name on here used to be "1337_FF_GoD" years ago lol.

9 is still my favorite and one of my favorite rpgs period

I love the game but it is quirky, easy to break and the story is a mess. I can see why people dislike it.

I loathe FFVIII, and it has literally nothing to do with the mechanics.

Though the mechanics are also trash.
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OhhhJa posted...

9 is still my favorite and one of my favorite rpgs period

I have been thinking a lot about 9 recently. I don't really consider it one of my favorite games anymore, but it has 3 things going for it that make it a unique experience.

1. The depth of its world (specifically when it comes to flavor text, which is basically unrivaled in how said flavor text is presented to the player)
2. The pacing of the first 2 and a half discs
3. The OST

Even then, the depth of the world falls short (because Disc 4 exists), the pacing falls short (post Blue Narcissus) and the OST falls short because of the repetition of many of its tracks (this doesn't necessarily mean that the OST is bad). I still note it because despite the fact that the game has lows (it's full of lows) the game's highs are basically unrivaled. Contrast to Chrono Trigger, which I'd consider a game with no lows.

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I remember being bored with it. Of course, I'm a grinder on most RPGs, and I frit was the first Esper. After a few hours of grinding with him and the + strength bonus I was nearly one shoting all of the bosses/etc.

The story was pretty bad. I don't remember being punished for leveling but it's been such a long time since I last played it.
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I've played every Final Fantasy and most spin-offs up to and including the XIII trilogy (minus XI; also just got a PS4 so I'll be catching up on XIV, XV, Type-0, VIIR, etc soon), and the only one I'd actually consider *bad* is XIII. Most of Final Fantasy games after VII, aside from IX, tend to have people who consider them *bad* because the game either didn't fit their expectation or it introduces elements they dislike, but I find most of them to be solid games with good stories. XIII on the other hand is a mess. The game is so linear the map is literally a straight line aside from a brief area that isn't all that expansive and the story isn't that memorable and kinda convoluted. The only thing I liked about XIII is the party dynamic of it being a group of people who don't necessarily like each other but still have to put up with each other. XIII-2 is even more of a mess in the story department to the point where it doesn't really make much sense. I know there's people that like the XIII trilogy and perhaps I fall into my own criteria of it not fitting my expectations or introducing things I didn't like (such is literally linear maps), but I don't know too many people who consider XIII and its sequels good.

it's the best final fantasy title, outside of tactics.

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helIy posted...

it's the best final fantasy title, outside of tactics.

Lol.
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Revelation34 posted...

Lol.

You have to remember, helly is from a mirror universe where everything is opposite.
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helIy posted...

it's the best final fantasy title, outside of tactics.

Your sig is very relevant, specifically the last line.

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JigsawTDC posted...

I've played every Final Fantasy and most spin-offs up to and including the XIII trilogy (minus XI; also just got a PS4 so I'll be catching up on XIV, XV, Type-0, VIIR, etc soon), and the only one I'd actually consider *bad* is XIII. Most of Final Fantasy games after VII, aside from IX, tend to have people who consider them *bad* because the game either didn't fit their expectation or it introduces elements they dislike, but I find most of them to be solid games with good stories. XIII on the other hand is a mess. The game is so linear the map is literally a straight line aside from a brief area that isn't all that expansive and the story isn't that memorable and kinda convoluted. The only thing I liked about XIII is the party dynamic of it being a group of people who don't necessarily like each other but still have to put up with each other. XIII-2 is even more of a mess in the story department to the point where it doesn't really make much sense. I know there's people that like the XIII trilogy and perhaps I fall into my own criteria of it not fitting my expectations or introducing things I didn't like (such is literally linear maps), but I don't know too many people who consider XIII and its sequels good.

At least XIII-2 and XIII had an interesting battle system, rather play that then draw magic from enemies and then junction it. XIII-2 had a very fun battle system and I enjoyed the game quite a bit. FFVIII struggles with nearly every aspect of the game XIII's biggest problem is not enough side areas barring a few zones and a rough story. XIII-2 fixes a lot of those problems and I think it's one of the most underrated Final Fantasies.

I didnt like it because I didnt understand the card game when I was younger. I had plus/all/BS rules everywhere and it made it not fun to play. I like any game where you level up, increasing HP and other stats. Although, the character system in this one is more confusing than most games in the series. Replaying it on Xbox right now.

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(Realized I started to type a response several days ago and didn't hit post?)

Yes. The story was terrible (especially the weird twist), the characters were so-so, the whole flashback arc was stupid, and there's a lot of silliness. On the plus side, it had Triple Triad. Otherwise, the graphics are still reasonably good, some elements of the junction system were cool,

OhhhJa posted...

Or is it just because the junction system is a little complicated?

lolwut? The junction system is both easy to figure out and very easy to exploit.

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It has so many problems beyond the junction system being an exploitable mess, but I don't really feel like going off on a rant tonight so I'll spare you beyond saying:
*Plot is a mess
*Cast is a mess.
*Gameplay is a mess.

The best thing the game has going for it is aesthetics, which... hell no. I'm not going to give a game a pass just because it had a solid OST and some neat set-pieces.

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I did my best to learn the junction.. function, but when I eventually got to the end, I decked out only Squall, used the invincibility items and finished the game

I recall constantly reassigning stats, GFs and materia(?) every time I had to swap party members

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When I level, I want my levels to matter. When I spend extra time leveling beyond what is necessary, I want that to be my choice without feeling like the game just keeps apace with my grinding.

When I pick up magic spells, I want to use them freely without impacting my stats in a negative manner.

When I play a game for its story or for its music, I want either one to be actually decent or better. Likewise, when I want to get to know some characters in the game I'm playing, I want such a venture to be worthwhile and not result in me saying I really don't give a damn about these people.

When I acquire an airship or other means of flight in a RPG with an overworld, I want to feel like I'm moving faster than if I had just walked to my destination.

FFVIII did so much I didn't care for, personally.

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The only good thing about the game is the card game. The rest are all garbage.

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from what I recall of the little I played of it a million years ago, the characters were boring, the story was boring, driving the "school" around the map was ridiculous, and when there was actually combat it was relatively interesting compared to everything else, but not enough to keep me interested.

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Learning magic from enemies like that is neat I guess.
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Entity13 posted...

When I play a game for its story or for its music, I want either one to be actually decent or better.

The soundtrack is good though. In fact, that's generally known as one of the redeeming qualities and generally considered one of the better soundtracks among FF fans

Zeus posted...

lolwut? The junction system is both easy to figure out and very easy to exploit.

I didn't personally find it super difficult but apparently a lot of people have trouble with it

OhhhJa posted...

The soundtrack is good though. In fact, that's generally known as one of the redeeming qualities and generally considered one of the better soundtracks among FF fans

I generally thought a few tracks were nice, but the rest made my mind feel numb with wanting. It's the reason I mute half the Eden-related music in FFXIV.

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Back in 2001 or so (after FFIX came out), people really didn't like it. Though there was a guy who made an argument that it was one of the best games of all time, mostly because the entire plot and all the characters were a metaphor for Squall and his psycological issues. I didn't entirely agree, but he made some decent points.

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I <3 FFVIII

Gaawa_chan posted...

I'm not going to give a game a pass just because it had a solid OST and some neat set-pieces.

It's not even that solid of an OST. At the time I felt like it had the weakest and least memorable music of any FF game I'd ever played up to that point - even the MIDI tracks on FF2 and FF3 (aka FFIV and FFVI) had way more character and charm. And since then tons of games have come out with much better music.

"Eyes on Me" felt like their attempt to repeat the success of "One-Winged Angel", but which failed miserably because it felt tonally jarring to the rest of the game, and was the love theme of two characters I felt apathetic about at best and actively hated at worst. All of the battle themes and incidental music felt bland compared to previous games. I can still hum tons of songs from FFI, FFIV, FFVI, and even FFX (mostly "To Zanarkand"), but if you held a gun to my head today and asked me to hum a single song from FFVIII, I'd be dead.

FFVIII's music sort of came in that murky period when composers were still getting used to the idea of being able to work with full CD-quality audio in games (as opposed to being limited to chip-tune MIDI tracks as in earlier generations), and we really didn't start getting strong soundtrack compositions until the next generation or so.
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I'm a huge fan of Fisherman's Horizon theme. Is it an all time FF great? I don't know, but that is one I like a lot.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

It's not even that solid of an OST. At the time I felt like it had the weakest and least memorable music of any FF game I'd ever played up to that point - even the MIDI tracks on FF2 and FF3 (aka FFIV and FFVI) had way more character and charm. And since then tons of games have come out with much better music.

"Eyes on Me" felt like their attempt to repeat the success of "One-Winged Angel", but which failed miserably because it felt tonally jarring to the rest of the game, and was the love theme of two characters I felt apathetic about at best and actively hated at worst. All of the battle themes and incidental music felt bland compared to previous games. I can still hum tons of songs from FFI, FFIV, FFVI, and even FFX (mostly "To Zanarkand"), but if you held a gun to my head today and asked me to hum a single song from FFVIII, I'd be dead.

FFVIII's music sort of came in that murky period when composers were still getting used to the idea of being able to work with full CD-quality audio in games (as opposed to being limited to chip-tune MIDI tracks as in earlier generations), and we really didn't start getting strong soundtrack compositions until the next generation or so.

FF6 is probably the best FF soundtrack.
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Yeah, great soundtrack. Everything else is pretty awful. The junction system is probably the least of those problems though.


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