Final Fantasy VIII - Worse or better?

[Gone Fishing]

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Edited September 14, 2020 by Fragtaster

[VoidVictorious]

Just now, Fragtaster said:

 

oh, most definitely. lol 

Cool, it’s nice to have someone agree with me in these threads once in a while! ?

[TheFalseDeity]

Better for sure as its my favorite of them all. Squall is my favorite character video games or otherwise, Triple Triad is my favorite minigame in all of gaming, and it has the best music and summons for the series as well. Also at least for what ive played of the series its the easiest to break and become an unstoppable god which nets many kupo points for me.

 

Id say the characters overall are weaker than a few of the other games and are ridiculously stupid at times but thats the only notable negative for me. Was the 2nd game in the series for me and has always been my favorite. Theme that came with it was disappointing but am very glad it finally made its way to PS4.

[TerminusCross]

FFVI will always be my favorite.

 

FFVIII though, when I first played it I disliked it immensely and put it away...some years later, in a hard ime of my life, was bored as duck and popped that in. Got hooked somehow. Started at 4pm, went to sleep at 8am, but not without a quick few bites of cold dinner my dad left on the stove before leaving off to his girlfriend's place for the night. (mmm, cold rice and veggies. I mean I'll always remember that) The gameplay really did it for me. As I say when I first played this it went over my head and I gave up. But on that second time around I really got into it and ate up the junction system. I don't think it's the best one in the series but as far as the old school ones it certainly was, in my opinion, the most complex and mature one. Though not perfect. Junctioning 100 meltdowns to str seems a bit overkill. Oh well it's not like you didn't earn it at that point. The stories and characters are fine, seems like general FF fanfare, no surprises, but done well. FFIX had a much simpler story that actually reminds me of FFVII a lot, so VIII is a treat, in a bit of a different way.

It's a fantastic game, and my time with it tonight says that it stands the test of time a lot more than FFVII does. There I said it, throw stones at me. 

 

FFVI is still King though lol

[TheSleepyBeauty]

We all know FF VI will be the superior of any FF game. Wanna know why? Kefka nuff said. 

[starcrunch061]

Slightly worse. I enjoy FFVIII. There's a lot to like. And normally, I enjoy when Square tries something new. But I feel like one of their ideas just crashes and burns here, and unfortunately, it's one of the main ideas of the game.

 

The Draw system is abysmally bad. The Junction system has problems, but the draw system just exacerbates them to the extreme. Further, a lot of Square's additions to the system (drawing from draw points in the field, creating spells from cards) seems to try to ameliorate a bad situation. 

 

I just could never get into the system. I found it so much easier simply to level GFs until I could get +1's to stats, and then level with them. I don't have much use for a battle system where it's better NOT to level, and FFVIII is absolutely better not to level. Just stay level 1, use the card mechanics, and you can create 255 stat characters that are destroying lvl 1 peons.

 

I also thought that the game was a little overblown. One of the great things about FFIX is that the music direction went much, much smaller. The whole Fithos Lusec opera/symphony/crap sounded like a bastard child of the (equally pretentious) Sephiroth theme. However, the Fithos Lusec stuff was used throughout the game. Contrast this with FFIX, with its far more manageable, hum-able themes, and it's not even close which one has the better soundtrack. That being said, the overworld theme in FFVIII is a real diamond in the rough.

 

All in all, a good game, but far from the level of the best FF has to offer (VI, IV, IX is the top of the heap).

Edited September 4, 2019 by starcrunch061

[TerminusCross]

Heh I love the Fithos Lusec track, even more than One Winged Angel. (which I also love) They are pretentious I'd agree, but with Final Fantasy they always seem to rightly fit the moods and how far those games go with their "from dirt to cosmos" ideals, for lack of better word. Even Dancing Mad from FFVI was ridiculously epic, even without actual voices. Perhaps even more so than the rest of the overly extravagant FF tracks due to it being on SNES and yet still so...*Kefka cackle*

Edited September 5, 2019 by TerminusCross

[Kapika96]

Better than most. It's my 2nd favourite game of all time, behind only FF10. So yeah, much better than most other FF games, but not quite all of them.

[PancakeTrans]

On 9/4/2019 at 3:44 AM, ZitMeatloaf said:

I hated the way the game treated spells like commodities. I felt like I was wasting so much time drawing spells (I'm the type of RPG gamer who likes to hoard supplies).

But this should be good? You don't need to cast any spells in this game at all once you've junctioned them.

 

The few spells that are actually worth casting (eg Aura) aren't usually worth getting 100x to junction anyway. And this game is so easy (so many different ways to become OP) that having 98 of a spell instead of 100 is meaningless. In fact, you can beat the game without ever using the Draw command (including out of battle, and including optional GFs) very easily.

[Arcesius]

I really liked every single FF I played, even the ones I'd consider to be the "worst ones". As for FF VIII.... 

 

Top 4: IX, VI, X, VII 

 

    --> FF VIII sits somewhere here

 

Bottom 4: Lightning Returns, XIII-2, X-2, XV

 

 

But I also have the feeling that I didn't like the game as much as the others because I was too young when I played it. In comparison to the "cartooney" IX and over the top VII (and X), this entry was a bit more serious and with a more realistic color palette. 

 

And this is why I am really looking forward to playing this game many years later and see how I like it now!  

Edited September 5, 2019 by Arcesius

[MiamiNights89]

I still can’t believe how many people don’t appreciate how amazing IX is.. except for the last boss (still to this day I don’t understand where that thing came from or it’s relevance to anything) 

Then again, there’s people who enjoy The XIII trilogy.. ?

VIII was the weaker of the holy ps1 trio IMO, but still fantastic. Remake is great, but the original is where the true heart is at.

[SnowxSakura]

15 minutes ago, MiamiNights89 said:

I still can’t believe how many people don’t appreciate how amazing IX is.. except for the last boss (still to this day I don’t understand where that thing came from or it’s relevance to anything) 

Then again, there’s people who enjoy The XIII trilogy.. ?

VIII was the weaker of the holy ps1 trio IMO, but still fantastic. Remake is great, but the original is where the true heart is at.

The first 2 and a half discs are, then the story becomes stupid. Not to mention the surprise last boss

[KaiRong-Sama]

Overall, FF VIII is my second most favorite Final Fantasy game, right after FF X, and just a bit before FF VI - and I played and finished the majority of FF games, including the spinoffs on other consoles. The only exceptions I haven't got a chance to play were the Japanese-exclusive mobile games from the 2000's, Final Fantasy Dimensions 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics A2. And the only ones that I haven't properly finished was FF IX (I lost my memory card with the save on the last disc), FF XI and FF XIV (but plan to finish this one, seems awesome based on my experience).

In FF VIII, I really liked the cast (thus this Dissidia version of Squall has been my avatar for a long time ), the cadet school setting, those weird "another world" segments, and the pseudo-psychological story. It was also the first FF that was somehow open-ended and its ending was subject to many interpretations later on. I'm really happy that we got a remaster version on PS4.

Edited September 5, 2019 by Cortez71

[DamagingRob]

Well, if you ever saw my last name, in a game where there's an option to put a last name, you'd figure out right quick which Final Fantasy game is my favorite. Not like I want to marry him, though. "Rob Strife" just has a nice ring to it.  I can't say I disliked anything FF7 related. Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, and Advent Children were all good to me.

 

8 is also one I really liked, though. It was the first FF game I bought, since my friend next door at the time had 7 (and is the one who introduced me to the series). Figured I'd buy a different one, but eventually bought my own copy of 7. And 9. That entire PS1 trio was so amazing. As was X. Other games in the series didn't have quite as high of an impact on me as those 4, but 13 was the only one I can say I was truly disappointed with (but I loved the sequel, so might consider buying it again). 

 

If I had to rank them, it would probably be: 7 > 8 & 10 > 9 > 6 > 4, 12, 13-2, & 15 >  10-2 and other spinoffs, I guess > 1, 2, 3, and 5 > 13 > Tactics (just not my kind of gameplay) > 11 & 14 (? I haven't played them, since they're MMOs)

[starcrunch061]

1 hour ago, MiamiNights89 said:

I still can’t believe how many people don’t appreciate how amazing IX is.. except for the last boss (still to this day I don’t understand where that thing came from or it’s relevance to anything) 

 

Oh, yeah. It's Necron, baby! You know, that thing that...was never mentioned a single time during the game?

[Platisfaction]

Played 7 and 8 when I was a teenager, prefered 8 since it felt more mature. Hated 9 because it feld so childish.

[DeathNyx]

FF8 is, for some reason, considered the black sheep of the series. A misunderstood game. Not that i care since i prefer lower profile games over the popular ones. Oviously FF8 has its cons like every other games.

FF7 is the "beloved son" of daddy Square-Enix and so well regarded, perhaps for good reasons since it is the game that made FF series famous worldwide who knows, in any case i never enjoyed it and neither the story (apart from certain emotional moments who still had a great impact). FF8, as my first played FF, had a greater impact during my childhood and entertained me more. I'm glad to have the possibility to replay this milestone in a remastered version once more but a game like ff8 deserves a remake.

[Cappy4000]

I am a massive FF fan, I have played the majority of them since VII and i have to admit, each game has had it's pluses and minuses.

 

VII - Being my first FF game, nostalgia, love of materia, the characters etc. made it a big favourite of mine. The main draw-backs were that you could cheese your way through the biggest bosses with a simple materia set up, which kinda of made the weapons a joke.

 

VIII - They built a lot of the game as an improvement on VII, lovely sequences, Triple Triad, also good characters overall, but I was not a fan of the junction system at all, and as many people have said, it pretty much made magic obsolete as a weapon, and it became a purely stat pumping item. 

 

IX - Loved this game, for a very simple reason, 4 party members ? but in all seriousness, some bad-ass game-play, a rich variety of characters, with specific roles, which made party choices a lot more relevant past which limit breaks you want to use. However, wasn't too much of a fan of the chibi character models in the game world and the fact that you couldn't have all of your learned abilities equipped due to limited crystals to use. And that skipping mini game...

 

Overall, big fan of the PS1 trio, and enjoyed each of them immensely the first and subsequent times I have played them (PS3 backwards compatibility was awesome for the replay using my PS1 discs)

 

X - Voices. Blitzball. That Tidus laugh. Dark GFs. Yojimbo cheesing. But that damn sphere grid was a b*****d. It just took to long to farm all of the spheres in the monster arena and i just ended up giving Yojimbo enough money to buy his own universe just to put down the remaining big bosses and get it over and done with. And the lightning dodging...

 

X-2 - Costumes!!!!!! but seriously, a pretty good game other than the abundant fan-service.

 

XII - Gambit system was a plus and a minus. Loved the automated healing commands, but in the end you could just set it up so that you didn't have to do a damn thing in a fight and just cheese your way through the game. Otherwise, had a lot of fun playing it

 

Overall, quite enjoyed the PS2 offerings, mostly because of X and the fact that they actually did a sequel for a FF game, it was something nice and different to what they had done before.

 

XIII - So much potential, some of it met, a lot of it untapped. Still had a lot of fun playing through it overall, but it could have been sooo much more than it was. Paradigm system was a good idea, I liked quick tactic changes in battle, but you just ended up mostly relying on staggering and then smashing your opponent each time, very repetitive. I did like that each character got their own summon though, solid idea.

 

XIII-2 - Loved the whole time travel mechanic, but the story was a bit of a mess, and it was a bit bizarre having a random monster as a party member just to make it up to three. Do not regret playing it though, enjoyable in it's own right.

 

Overall, PS3 offerings were passable, but thankfully, they developed some beautiful FMVs for the games, and they allowed me to go "oooooooo, pretty" and forget that i was not enjoying the gameplay as much as the previous games.

 

XV - I liked a lot of this game, and then the end just got so streamlined that i just ended up losing a lot of interest near the end. It just lost momentum soo quickly. But a very beautifully constructed game world, loved the car, the characters, plus I actually quite enjoyed the battle system, contrary to a lot of peoples opinion. There is just something about finally being able to dodge an attack myself (well, i had played Type-0, but i don't really count it, good game but a little easy to cheese complete it). 

 

I am looking forward to the remake for FFVII, but I have to admit, I am not a fame of this multiple games bull**** that they are going with. But like a good little FF fan, I guess I will just have to admit they already have my money, my bank account just doesn't know it yet. 

 

Will defo be picking this remaster up though, need to complete it for a third time on a third different generation of console, plus trophies ?

[TerminusCross]

12 hours ago, MiamiNights89 said:

I still can’t believe how many people don’t appreciate how amazing IX is.. except for the last boss (still to this day I don’t understand where that thing came from or it’s relevance to anything) 

Then again, there’s people who enjoy The XIII trilogy.. ?

VIII was the weaker of the holy ps1 trio IMO, but still fantastic. Remake is great, but the original is where the true heart is at.

Seemed to me like the Friday the 13th syndrome. If I can't have a normal life, than everyone just die. (Kuja invoking final guy) I myself can't remember how Necron came to appear but I do believe there are actual explanations out there on net land. Kuja wanted to return everything to 0, or just try to start over. Don't understand how he came by doing this though.

Only finished it once. Can't remember. Had a whole nihilism thing to it though, kind of like Kefka in...fine wtv I'm biased lol

Edited September 6, 2019 by TerminusCross

[Dead Weight]

There's only 1 reason to play Final Fantasy VIII and it's Triple Triad

 

Change my mind

[databoy2k]

Triple Triad, the reasonably creative (if easily exploited) junction system, and the range of characters are all there, but there's a lot of 'in the moment' aspects of the game that push it to the top.

 

1) If you were a male of a certain age, let's say late pre-teens, when this game came out, Rinoa was, well... an awakening of sorts. Sorry folks - if you missed that particular window you're probably going to have to find something else about this game, but for some of us Rinoa's something we'll fight you over.

 

2) Those animations. Good gawd almighty THEY FIGURED OUT WATER. I showed that opening cutscene to more older people. In a time when technology had just gone through the big, "Oh crap, date codes using two digits to save space are about to bite us all in the ass" panic, the fact that computers could generate realistic looking oceans in FMVs blew all of our minds. Add in the other FMVs (I can still see Balamb Garden rising, and I haven't played the game since 2001) and the visuals accompanying the storytelling absolutely took our breaths away. 

 

3) Approachable, but mastery is going to be your challenge. I still remember when a buddy of mine and I stayed up all night doing one battle: Omega Weapon. If you wanted that kind of challenge, it could be arranged. But nobody came to that game, played it for 5 minutes, got hopelessly lost on what to do and put it down. You could figure it out, maybe even get good at it, but if you wanted a challenge it was there. 

 

4) Gunblade, but seriously all of Squall's weapons. I still have a gunblade letter opener - my first purchase on Ebay. Come on - a revolver with a sword tacked on for good measure? And that's the base model? Yeah - awesome.

 

Oh the time I sunk into that game. Gameplay was always interesting - limit breaks are far from automatic, require just enough skill but once again are not out of reach; structuring your fighting style so that your stats didn't plummet when you cast spells, combining GFs with their associated best partners. Various crazy characters and a totally looney story. The feeling of Ragnarok. The game had so, so much to offer.

 

But remember: a game should also be considered in its time. At the time, the game was a technological marvel that changed what we thought a game could be. It redefined "realism" in a way that we didn't think was possible. Imagine seeing FFVII, having your mind utterly and fantastically blown by everything that game did, and then the next game says, "Here's more, with more realism in our visual presentation, more minigames, more things to do in general." FFVII still had one foot firmly planted in the 16-bit generation, but VIII was the true birth of the 32-bit generation. Judge it by our today standards at your own peril. 

[Asmund]

It'll always be the one that introduced a whole new genre to me. Without FF8 I would have never played all the others...I shudder to think of the gamer I'd be today if not for a kid in 1st grade leaving it at my house on accident. Probably be screaming at 10 year olds on Fortnite and CoD if not for that kid, I hope he's well where ever he is.

[GearsOfTheDead]

If we're talking PS1 entries, I rank FFVIII as last. I rank VII and IX as a tie for 1st. I just love everything about those games. VIII was the first main series foray into looking human with no chibi/super deformed characters. I loved when IX looked more like VII. I haven't loved the FF series since they went "normal" with character design. Normal being FF VIII, X, XII and so on. Human, rather than anime-ish.

 

I never really got into FFVIII. I played it beginning to end and maxed all characters, collected every card, and did everything there was to do. I just never felt anything for these characters or the story. It just felt disconnected and lacking in life that other Final Fantasy games had. Better than most RPGs of the time, just not better, in my opinion, than the game before it or after.

[Appappachai]

I’ll be checking this out next month. I’ve only played a handful of Final Fantasy’s. Out of the ones I’ve played I’d say it goes FF4 DS edition, Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions, Final Fantasy 10, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy 9, Final Fantasy Type 0, Final Fantasy 1-2 compilation on PS3, Final Fantasy 3  for the DS. 

[MMDE]

On 9/3/2019 at 9:33 PM, Fragtaster said:

 

Final Fantasy VII is beyond over-hyped (and this is coming from a massive sephiroth fan). The only reason it's up for debate is because - as I recently found out in the wake of the remake - Final Fantasy VII is often the ONLY Final Fantasy you're average joe has actually played thru.

 

Anyone who has actually played and beaten Final Fantasy VIII or IX knows they have much deeper writing and more complex characters (Final Fantasy games got better as they went along that gen). Thats not to say Final Fantasy VII isn't a masterpiece for it's time, but subsequent games built upon what it did and improved upon that. Final Fantasy VIII and IX are masterpiece's in their own right too - though they rarely are ever given that in the court of public opinion because relatively less people are familiar with them (or they only played a few hours of them and wrote them off).

 

In the annals of history Final Fantasy VII seems to be the face of the series for better or worse.

 

FF7 is one of the most expensive games in history. A lot of it went towards marketing. It was the first in 3D and on PS1.

 

As for the characters, FF9 is by far the best one IMO, but when it comes to FF8 and FF7, eh, it's difficult to me. They actually started on FF9 around the same time as FF8.  FF8 tried to do a lot of time stuff, but it got a bit messy, and you often don't learn much about the characters past, just their progression from where they start. FF7 has focus on the past, and how the characters gets to where they are, not so much what happens to them as you progress in the story, except for some few characters.

 

FF8 did a lot of things really well, but it will always be a bit of a black sheep due to it's broken battle system.