Why do people hate FFVIII?

[Milktastrophe]

4 hours ago, wackt1 said:

I thought the only final fantasy games people were decisive about were the 13 trilogy (13-1,13-2, and 13-3 lightning returns)

I thought FFXIII was supposed to be a good game once you finish the tutorial. But since the tutorial is like 30 hours long nobody ever gets that far.

 

Edit:

FFX is definitely worse than FFVIII. I'd say either FFX or FFVI are the worst of the main series.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Milktastrophe

[Lance_87]

4 hours ago, wackt1 said:

I thought the only final fantasy games people were decisive about were the 13 trilogy (13-1,13-2, and 13-3 lightning returns)

 

That's when the internet toxicity kicked in.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Lance_87

[TerminusCross]

I think one reason is because of FFVII. It was the one rpg which brought the genre out of the closet, at least in NA and I think the expectations for FFVIII were strongly based on it. Whatever personal opinions may be, we can agree that both games aren't the same when it comes to style, characters and plot. I mean the antagonists in FFVIII were quite different than Squenix's poster boy whom to this day is still largely loved by the fanbase. And within good reason; Sephiroth is awesome. I think people were expecting mayhe FFVIII to be as extravagantly "epic" as FFVII, and many resented that it tried to be a little different and more mature.

 

There is also that after FFVIII, and this is a big complaint that I remember from back then, people were a little tired of the modern/futuristic setting the series had been using. I don’t know if FFIX amswered the call of fans or if SE really wanted to bring the series back to a fantasy/medieval setting, and I don't know how major that issue was in people not liking FFVIII but I do know it was an issue...remember the FFIX tagline? They crystal comes back.

 

And as already mantioned, the gameplay was probably the biggest reason, the draw/junction system is pretty odd, and a lot more complex than anything FF had done at the time. Drawing magic kind of sucks but otherwise I love the junction/gf system and how you can customize your guys in a way that even the class system seen in prior games didn't allow.

And I admit, when I first played it I absolutely hated it...I played it again about two years after and I swear it's one of the games I hav the longest play streaks with. I'm obsessed all over again. Maybe it's because it's a system that has an aquired taste, and the draw thing doesn't help much in giving it a chance. It can be off putting. I'm glad I gave it a chance when I did though. For me this game has aged much betterthan FFVII and in my opinion is superior to X. (X being the last I played, other than Type O and World. I kind of lost interest in this series)

[vegetollo7]

Because the junction system sucks.

[AiManiaTrophyhuntres]

Funny, now we have a hater for every entry of the series in the thread and it's only page 2.

The only thing I learn from this is that it's not FF8, for every FF there are ppl to love it and to hate it and I don't even feel that any FF entry gets more hate or less hate than other except for FF7. 7 seems to be some holy grail.

So to complete the thread: I don't like 7, bc it's so overhyped, I don't like sephiroth, shinra stories or aerith very much and I don't like the other games that came with it. It's still not a bad game though it's just that I love 8 more bc of the plot twists in the end and bc of squall. TBH I love almost every FF Game and I never get why ppl are hating in general, bc any FF is still better than most other RPGs. 

[B1rvine]

The short answer is that it's not a continuation of FF7 and I think FF7 was largely people's first Final Fantasy game. 

 

For me, it was the junction system though. I didn't really enjoy the card game either.

[starcrunch061]

4 hours ago, B1rvine said:

The short answer is that it's not a continuation of FF7 and I think FF7 was largely people's first Final Fantasy game. 

 

For me, it was the junction system though. I didn't really enjoy the card game either.

 

Junction and Draw were, well, not draws for me. I also disliked the soap operatic feel of the characters. I know that all FF games have had this to a degree (at least since FFII on the SNES), but the character interactions were so...maudlin at times, albeit without the alcohol.

 

That being said, I still liked the game. It just took time to figure out how to beat the combat system, which I disliked.

[FenRiR149]

C'mon guys there is definitely no other Final Fantasy franchise game that beats the 3rd Disk Lunar scene with Squall & Rinoa ...

[TerminusCross]

I hate that part

[cynical_fate]

I actually loved this game at the time when it first came out. I did know I enjoyed it a lot more then any of my friends most hated it because it just wasn't FF7 part 2 ? and I think that's why a lot of people couldn't just sit down and enjoy it for what it was.

I personally didn't mind having to draw magic and loved the gf/ junction system thought it was a cool way to do things.

Also Triple Triad is probably still one of my favorite card games and I put just as many hours into collecting those cards as playing through the game itself.

[Lord_Bane999]

I liked it a bit more myself but honestly 7,8,9 I feel are interchangeable in the most favourite, least favorite departments ignoring other games of the series. People like each game for different reasons and dislike the others maybe just because they do. Like for me I had to play 7 again much later too get into it. I hated 7 mostly due to a poor beta build I played, it seemed more unorganized and hard to find out where I was going (but at that time I also didn't know the part of the beta I was playing was later in the game) . But when it came to 8 I had a fresh view, all I heard from friends was Squall was a bad ass with a gun in his sword, this brought me to try it being a Wild Arms fan. 

[TerminusCross]

1 hour ago, Lord_Bane999 said:

I liked it a bit more myself but honestly 7,8,9 I feel are interchangeable in the most favourite, least favorite departments ignoring other games of the series. People like each game for different reasons and dislike the others maybe just because they do. Like for me I had to play 7 again much later too get into it. I hated 7 mostly due to a poor beta build I played, it seemed more unorganized and hard to find out where I was going (but at that time I also didn't know the part of the beta I was playing was later in the game) . But when it came to 8 I had a fresh view, all I heard from friends was Squall was a bad ass with a gun in his sword, this brought me to try it being a Wild Arms fan. 

Hey bro, Wild Arms is great! I wonder when the Devil we'll get another game, or at least another port with trophies. Really loved getting the plat in WA3, such a challenge lol. 

[Lord_Bane999]

3 hours ago, TerminusCross said:

Hey bro, Wild Arms is great! I wonder when the Devil we'll get another game, or at least another port with trophies. Really loved getting the plat in WA3, such a challenge lol. 

Honestly with all the classic RPGs getting ported soon I hope we see one too

[DemonicDraco]

Hated this game when it was new, figured id give it another chance 20 years later... and I still hate it. Don't like any of the characters, the junction system is awful, GFs are a bizzare incarnation of summons, hate the story and find the card game boring.. after giving this game another chance I'd rank it as my least favorite in the entire series.

[ZaPistol]

I remember when VIII was the most hated FF. 

[Lordidude]

On ‎10‎.‎09‎.‎2019 at 4:33 PM, ZitMeatloaf said:

I felt like I was spending half my time drawing spells.

 

I never understood the complaint for the draw system. If people don't like the drawing that much they can get magic by different means. Yet they still draw and complain about it.

 

It's like complaining while playing Call of Duty that you are using the pistol half the time even though the game offers you multiple alternatives.

[sporty_chin8]

I have never heard anyone shit on this game and as a matter of fact this is the first I have ever heard people say much negative about it at all. It is one of my favorite games in the whole franchise and I have played most of them. I rarely even hear people talk about this game at all as a matter of fact. dunno why, its really good.

 

You wanna play the "black sheep" of the series? Try the Fabula Nova Crystallis trilogy. This is why I am glad this game got remastered because those games sucked ass and we needed a game like this to come back.

[ZitMeatloaf]

On 10/14/2020 at 4:58 AM, Lordidude said:

I never understood the complaint for the draw system. If people don't like the drawing that much they can get magic by different means. Yet they still draw and complain about it.

The only other ways to get spells are draw points (very limited use before a recharge period) and refining items. I'm an RPG hoarder (which I realize is a me thing), so I want maximum spells and don't want to have to refine my items to get them. For someone with my preferences, it's definitely a valid complaint. Especially since number of stocked spells affects your overall stats. If you like it, that's cool too.

 

And I wouldn't say the draw system made me hate the game (I did go back and replay it on Switch). It just makes it my least favorite in the series.

[You]

I think many of us don't like it so much, because we were expecting it to be as good, or better than Final Fantasy VII which is an impossible task really, I remember getting stuck somewhere, and shortly after Squall is laying on his bed, saying he is bored. And I was too. I hated the way you basically have 3 less characters than in FF7 because Squall and his pals are like some other world thing, so you're screwed out of a third of members to enjoy levelling up and choose from, doing their limit breaks etc. Rinoa's attack is so slow, it takes 3 seconds or so to happen.

Having a final boss, that just appears right before you are about to fight it, also doesn't help. I love the music though.

 

I dunno, FFVIII is certainly not a bad game, far from it. There's just something about it, like the world map is grey, instead of green, and there's no gold saucer and the characters just aren't as interesting. Not having paired magic and fun things to do because there is no materia, that always me sad.

Edited October 16, 2020 by enaysoft

[Lordidude]

16 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

I think many of us don't like it so much, because we were expecting it to be as good, or better than Final Fantasy VII which is an impossible task really,

 

But at the same time many people actively overlooked the flaws of FF VII.

I believe many people simply were introduced to FF with number VII.

Nostalgia.

 

VII really did nothing new compared to the previous titles.

It was 3D and had FMVs but other than that there is nothing that makes it stand out over let's say IV or VI.

36 minutes ago, ZitMeatloaf said:

The only other ways to get spells are draw points (very limited use before a recharge period) and refining items. I'm an RPG hoarder (which I realize is a me thing), so I want maximum spells and don't want to have to refine my items to get them. For someone with my preferences, it's definitely a valid complaint. Especially since number of stocked spells affects your overall stats. If you like it, that's cool too.

 

The draw system definitely has flaws as it incentivizes not using any magic.

There could have been better systems: Keep magic as consumable items but change how they work when juncioned. Once you hit 100 spells the effect when junctioned does not go lower than 100.

 

But really apart from drawing from enemies and draw points but way more: You could get them by refining them from items, turn weaker magic into more potent one, you could win items after a fight, steal them or buy them and ultimately you can get all spells simply by playing cards and refining the cards into magic.

 

If you are a hoarder/completionist and don't want to use any items then that is on you. The game does not prefer one way of obtaining magic over another. If you chose to ignore other ways then you can't really complain that there are no others.

[ZitMeatloaf]

47 minutes ago, Lordidude said:

...

Not much else to debate on this one. You like the system, I don't. That's just the way it is.

[DeathNyx]

[Nigh7s7ein]

On 19/9/2020 at 2:43 AM, DemonicDraco said:

Hated this game when it was new, figured id give it another chance 20 years later... and I still hate it. Don't like any of the characters, the junction system is awful, GFs are a bizzare incarnation of summons, hate the story and find the card game boring.. after giving this game another chance I'd rank it as my least favorite in the entire series.

 

I had the exact opposite reaction of the game, it was my favorite game on my childhood and still is (maybe tied with FFIX and Vagrant Story) and replaying old games it's not a strength of mine. x3 speed was great too.

[Johnnyhatesrap]

This is my first and favorite Final Fantasy.

[DarkStarSquall]

Because unsatisfied people are always the loudest. I know lot of people who like the Game and also some who dislike it. 
But hey you got me with that headline. Good work!