Gaming FF8 and the bad curse

[DragonClaw2]

Is it just me or does ff8 seem to get a really bad rep?????? It has negative energy everywhere it goes. I liked ff8 the only thing wrong was the junction sysytem.

[Matto Tradagen]

[color=navy][i] No it's not just you. It does get a relativly bad reputation. The reason for this is probably the new things they expirimented with it.
I see FFVIII as being an expirimental work by Square. They tried out many new idea's and concepts, to see if they would be a good idea in later games. Of course i'm talking about the Juction system, the weapon upgrade system, drawing and stocking magic and the SeeD level payments. Also, the unbeliveible low amount of EXP you need to reach higher levels.
The main thing that turns people off is the Junction system. It get very tedious and annoying, Junctioning constantly as you get more magic. And to make matters worse, the tutorial add's unecesary confusion to it. You'd be much better off someone teling you how to use it. And with the Junction system in place, your leveles mean almost nothing. You can be level 100 and still have very poor power because you don't have the proper magic, or weapon upgrades.
Drawing an Stocking magic was completly new. Personaly, I didn't like it. You had to waste a turn in battle to recieve magic. That really wsn't fun. Sometimes you had to draw for a GF, and if you miss it, you don't get a chance to get that GF until the very last part of the game.
The money system I didn't like. If i didn't have enough money for items, I had to wait twenty minutes for my next payment. Sure, it's more realistic, but honestly, I don't think people play FF games for total realism.
It was infact my least favorite Final Fantasy game, for the reason listed above, and also the story. It was more or less a love story with political themes around it. It's just not "Fantasy" enough for my liking.
All in all, I think it gets a bad rep for it's new features, and also it's storyline. It looks like many people don't want a love story out of a game.
~Matto[/color][/i]

[DragonClaw2]

i was good at the junction so my characters were good. And i also good at getting the stuff for weapon upgrade. but even know i was good at the junction it dosent mean that i liked it i hated that part. But the story wasnt just love it also had a very good part to do with a futuristic like army. i liked the game it was good in my opinion but some parts were pretty stupid like drawing magic.

[GinnyLyn]

Matto hit all the points I was going to make--and I never made it past the first disk. Why? Because I quit.

[i]Because the game was boring.[/i]

I've never quit on any game before--except FFViii. Matto is correct in saying that games aren't made to be too realistic. For me, that sorta defeats the purpose. If I'm going to sit around waiting for payday, I might as well do it in the real world vs. the imaginary one.

I might go back and play it some day, though personally, I have many more games I'd rather play. I've already read everything about FFViii and I know just about all the broader points, so I might as well sit down and play it. But still...

*waits for Sem to come down like some demigod and rip her apart, because she know he will* ;)

[Shinmaru]

You know, there's a reason why FFVIII has a bad rep.

Because it sucks.

Everything that Matto mentioned hit the nail right on the head. Also, add in the fact that the game was really, really easy (in my opinion, at least) and that certain attacks are far too powerful for my tastes.

Also, I didn't like the characters or the story and found both to be pretty boring.

[Sandy]

To clear things up at first I have to tell that I once had FFVIII, then I quit nearly at the end because my characters, weapons and GFs weren't upgraded enough, and it was impossible for me to continue. Then I sold the game, thinking I'll never EVER try to play it again.

Well, guess what happened not so long ago. After replaying FF6 I really started to miss another FF game. Since I don't have PS2, I had to settle with the games I'd already played. I could have gone with Anthology or Origins, but after FF6 I was frankly quite fed up with sprites and flat graphics - I wanted something more flashy! FF7 and FF9 weren't much of an options, because I had played them through already.

Then my thoughts returned to FF8. I hadn't even managed to spoil myself on the ending, so it really began to intrigue me, although my previous bad experience with it.

So now I'm a happy owner of the game AGAIN, and I'm at the end of the third disc, doing my best to upgrade everything, get all the cards and do all the sidequests.

The main problem with the game to my experience is that it hides too many secrets that are nearly impossible to discover by your own, without a walkthrough of somekind. With the secrets I mean the secret GFs, rare cards, the items you receive from monsters and the sidequests like Obel Lake and UFO-sightings.

Now I've been playing the game, once in a while glancing at the net for instructions - and surprisingly, I'm really liking it!

I now have the patience I didn't have before to upgrade, fight and hunt - and to junction on and on again. My characters are doing well, and I have all monster- and boss-cards, plus the majority of GF and character-cards, good weapons (though not the best), all but three GFs and so on. A little more work and I'll be ready to whup some serious Sorceress-butt. :toothy:

There's really nothing wrong with the storyline or the characters. Sure Squall (I named him Dante) and Rinoa (I named her Beatrix) can be annoying with their cuddling sometimes, but it's not often you see these things in games. I love all the characters, their looks as well as their personalities, and if you concentrate on the storyline, you'll see how well-written it really is.

Sure, I still can't say FFVIII is the best game I've played, but it has really risen near the other FF-games in my eyes.

Just have to cross fingers I can make it to the ending video this time!

[Valen]

Seems that all of the FF games I've played so far, except for Mistyc Quest, revolved around a love story in some screwed way. Though I've only played MQ, VII, VIII, and IX.

Anyway, back on topic, yeah, FFVIII does have one of the worst reps... I mean, to add challenge to the game, you don't go giving someone a GF that does WELL over 9999 damage. It's just dumb.

As for what killed the game for me was the boringness of the over-world. It was very undetailed and very...just... bleh. Though I, too, see it as an experimental, I have come to the conclusion that that game royally sucked. FFVII wasn't as good as i'd hoped it would be either, but that's a different story.

[Wondershot]

Well, I liked FF8 better than FF7, contrary to popular opinion, and it was because of the new things that they added, such as the new method of payment and Junction System.

The Junction system won a place in my heart because of the many things you could do with your characters. The possibilities were endless, and that kind of open ended play I haven't seen in most of the other FF games, and I liked it, despite having to update it all the time.

The game did get a little too easy, though. Nowadays I just use Irvine's AP Ammo to decimate bosses in a few rounds. Right now, I am at the last leg of the game and I'm only lvl. 25 or something, is that normal? To that end, it was a little easy, and enemy AI's left little to the imagination.

In short, yeah, I do agree with the experimental point of view, and maybe it did earn a bad rep for that, but I still like it, and I have the right to my opinion.

[JCBaggee]

[color=red][size=1][font=arial]FF8 receives a bad rep for all the things mentioned above. There's other things, too. As mentioned, the weapons system made upgrading a bit difficult. Junctioning was infinitly more complex than the Materia system fans had come to love. And the card game was a bit confusing. I've also heard people say they hate the story, because it revolves around the theme of love.

But, if you know me, you know I [b]love[/b] FF8. Upgrading weapons, to me, was great because in addition to getting a stronger weapon, getting the materials meant I would have to fight, which means you ultimatly leveled up.

Junctioning is, in my opinion, [b]better[/b] than Materia. The Materia system was too simple, too fast, too easy, in my opinion, Junctioning allows me to completely customize all my characters in a way that is the most effeciant for all matters in all aspects, unlike Materia which could affect one aspect positivly and another negativly with the same Materia orb.

And the card game was (and is) a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. Its also an easier means of getting the rarer items in the game you need for everyones strongest weapons (i.e.: the Malboro Tentacles for Quistis' 'Save The Queen' whip).

As for the story, I am and always will be a hopeless romantic, and in addition to that I can relate to Squall in some tiny way. It was nice and kind of comforting to watch someone as disconnected and alone as him find a group of friends and a women he loved, and [spoiler]the final cutscene, with him crying, followed shortly by him smiling at the end[/spoiler] made the game's story complete and intriguing.

But that's my opinion. I respect what you all think about the game, but personally, I simply loved it.[/color][/size][/font]

[Yami Asura]

FF8 is and forever will be my favourite. I don't see why people don't like it. Here are my points:

[u]Experimental?:[/u] Yes, Square made it to test out new systems, but that shouldn't put the game down. Why let the experimental value put it down? If you simply played the game enough then you'd learn to at least like it. Everywhere I go, people are putting FF8 down. I usually seem to be the only one defending it. Why? Because people get bored with the fact that the characters are introduced fast and the story is drawn out. Just play the game, and if you have and still don't like it, then okay.
[u]Junction System:[/u] A very-well put together system on Square's behalf. The fact that they reversed the usual method of magic. The made it easy to obtain magic, and hard to implement it. Kudos to Square for noticing a weakness in most FF players. You usually find the system hard at first, but you get better with experience. With FF8, on the other hand, it's just a case of how you implement your magic. If it's Junctioning that turns you off, then get someone's advice on Junctioning or at least listen to Quistis' tutorials.
[u]Replay Value:[/u] I find that there's a lot of Replay Value in ANY RPG. You underestimate FF8's replay value. Sometimes you replay a game, just because you don't understand the ending because you forgot a vital part of the storyline, because let's face it, storyline is most important part of any RPG. With FF8, it's easy to follow the story, because it's drawn out. That means you have time to let a certain vital part of the story sink into your brain and so you can understand it. I understand EVERY part of FF8 and that was just from one play. I find the replay value comes from the Junction System. The Junction System allows you to manipulate magic in countless ways.
[u]Conclusion:[/u] FFVIII is more superior than most RPGs out there. I find it even more superior to FF7 and FF9. The only one I find comes close to FF8 is FF10.

By the way, my current count for completing FF8 stands at 241 times.

[ZytaZiouZ]

Final Fantasy VIII is ok. I personally perfer the materia system. With FF8, you just figure out how to pair each stat with the best magic for it, do the status, etc. Not to mention that fighting the final boss consists of using aura and lionheart. Wow, that is strategy. Maybe to add to it, you can stock pile holy wars to make your people invincible. An item that makes them invincible. With FF7, you have to figure all that out for yourself. You can't just say, "gardian force, learn auto life." You have to think to pair final attack and life. What takes more thinking, selecting something, or thinking and testing to see if it even exists?

[JCBaggee]

[color=red][size=1][font=arial]The Aura/Lionheart strategy is BS. Consider this: [spoiler]Your characters are randomly selected, and only replaced with others when they die, which is rather risky. The chances of getting Squall are not 100%[/spoiler]. I managed to defeat the final boss several times [b]without[/b] LionHeart, and rarely using Aura.

--Chris[/color][/size][/font]

[Yami Asura]

Not all people rely on Squall and Lionheart. After all the chances of getting Lionheart aren't 100% either.

But people do evenly balance every character, so they can make light work of Ulti. Take me for example, I've 100%ed the Euro Game [spoiler](Can't 100% completely, cos of Chocobo World)[/spoiler] but still, all GFs and Characters are Level 100. All my characters have a GF with Str-J and HP-J, which are, in my opinion, the 2 key Junction Abilities to defeat Ulti. High HP = Low damage taken in, High Str = High Damage given out. Bearing this in mind, I do have my own little "key party", as I call it, which consists of Squall, Rinoa and Selphie. But with GFs equipped to all Party members, I can beat the game with Quistis, Zell and Irvine. I like to call it Consistance Training. If you're unsure with what to do on the 4th Disc, head to the Island Closest to Heaven/Hell and give Consistance Training a go. If it doesn't work, then you might not have done it right. Try getting Ultimate Weapons, changing your strategy for defeating monsters (mine was 100 Death Junctioned to ST-ATK), use anything you can. Even, if need be, try Kamikaze. Kamikaze is an underestimated maneuver. Sure, it annihilates one party member, but the move could become your best friend. It delivers around the same amount of damage as Eden. Try experimenting with different moves and abilities. If you still can't beat the game, then you're obviously doing something wrong, so change strategies again. It's the changing factors, that makes this game so much better than any other FF.

[Zanarkand Abes]

All my friends hate FFVIII and say it is the worst of the series, but I love it almost as much as FFX. I do hate the Junction system though. I will be in the middle of a boss fight right after switching my characters, anbd forget to switch their junctions, so I end up with no Gaurdian Forces at all. RRGGHHHH

[Sai]

FVIII rocks! I don't care what others say but its the best FF gameI've played in my opinion. So the junction system is a little bad that doesn't mean its the worst.

[craig8429]

FF8 was allways looked down upon, but you have to realize it's a love story, the majority of ff gamers are male i'd say, how many of your average male like love stories?

not many.

besides that I personally think ff8 was pretty nice the card game was amazing and the graphics for the time were good.

[Ares]

I think Final Fantasy 8 was good and all, but it wasn't one of Square's really good games, if you know what I mean. Yeah, it was a kind of experiment for Square, and it worked pretty well for them. They discovered their mistakes. Personally I would give FF8 a 4/1/2 out of 5. And I'd give all the other FF games almost a 5 out of 5.

[Sandy]

I just finished the game yesterday, and I must say I LOVED the ending. [spoiler]Especially Selphie's homevideo was amusing, and it gave a good glimpse at all of the main characters - I was surprised to see even Cid and Edea there!

I must admit the scene where Squall is trying to remember Rinoa's face is highly disturbing, and it almost gave me a headache, but it was very original anyhow.

The ending didn't leave anything important open, and that was only positive - except I didn't get a confirmation to wether Squall was Laguna's and Raine's son or not...[/spoiler]

Anyhow, the game's worth has majorly risen in my eyes, though it still has few major flaws.

[JCBaggee]

[color=red][size=1][font=arial]Hey Sage...(and all you other doubters)

[spoiler]A rain(Raine) storm over a lagoon(Laguna) is called a squall(Squall).[/spoiler]

--Chris[/color][/size][/font]

[Guest Jessica_Halo]

Personally I think it all depends on the person, I like FF8 because I personally have played worse games, like way worse. I usually like the games if the characters look good and if I can understand it. I also look at the length of the game and FF8 was pretty good. I understand all the points you have made about why you don't like it, it just requires effort, thats what most of you are complaining about. The fact it requires effort. Given, some of you are complaining about how easy it is, but some of you are complaining about the fact it requires effort. In my personal opinion FF9 was WAY easier than FF8 and so is FF10, as much as I have played. I'm not saying I like FF8 more, FF7 is by far my favourtie, but I don't think you should knock FF8 because it's too easy or too hard... And besides, if you automatically junction to a certain thing, you don't have to think about what magic should go where, it'll do it for you, and if you don't like it you can fix it up. Anyway, sorry if I said something to offend, I just like FF8 and I think you should all give it a chance.