Gaming Final Fantasy VIII

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Aaryanna][COLOR=SeaGreen]I?ve noticed that since Squall has had Shiva the whole time that his compatibility with Ifrit has dropped to zero. Are there any other GF?s who don?t get along like that?
[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
I noticed the same thing! Except that for me it was the reverse--I have Squall with Ifrit and Zell with Shiva, and neither of them is at all compatible with the other anymore. I assumed that it had something to do with opposing elements (fire and ice), so I gave the other water-related GFs that I've gotten (Siren and Leviathan) to Zell. Then again, I used to have Siren junctioned to Squall, and his compatibility with her rose to 700-something without affecting his compatibility with Ifrit.

Is it even possible to have a compatibility of 1000 with more than one GF? I have Diablos and Ifrit junctioned to Squall, and he uses both of them much more frequently than his other GFs, but if one reaches 1000 the other will be at 998, and vice versa.

Bullet: Haha, I innocently came across one of those right after I got the [spoiler]Mysterious Ring[/spoiler] from that place with [spoiler]Tear[/spoiler] in its name (you can see that I have a great memory for this kind of stuff). Afterward, I developed the habit of saving [i]very[/i] frequently while running through that area. :animeswea

~Dagger~

[JT Darkfire]

Actually, that low compatibility is normal. You see, every time you use a GF, it raises it's compatibility with it's user just a little bit, but lowers the compatibility of all other GFs by a small portion. And seeing as how Squall has had Ifrit since the beginning of the game, and Shiva is a pretty early addition to the team as well...you probably just notice it more with him.

Odds are Squall hasn't used Shiva much, right? That's why it kept going down; you just kept using Ifrit. The only real way to get more than one GF to peak is to use items, but that takes a LOT of time and effort, and once you use the GF...well, say goodbye to perfect for any other GF.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR=SeaGreen']I?ve noticed that since Squall has had Shiva the whole time that his compatibility with Ifrit has dropped to zero. Are there any other GF?s who don?t get along like that? [/COLOR][/quote]I?ve had similar issues with both Ifrit and Shiva. Who ever is junctioned with one, becomes incompatible with the other. It?s been too long since I played, but I don?t remember any of the others being like that, and as Dagger mentioned. I assumed it was due to the fire/ice isn?t compatible sort of deal.

I?ve also noticed that if you have one at 1000 the others even if you have taken the time to get them up to 1000 they are never all 1000 at the same time. At least with that character, I don't know if they can be at 1000 with more than one person at a time. Though for battle and summoning, 998 isn?t enough of a difference for it to matter. I?d have to actually time it, but as far as summoning goes, it?s just as quick as 1000 is. Which is the whole point in getting them that compatible in the first place, the quicker you can summon, the less likely you are to receive damage during the process of summoning them.

My characters go back and forth as to which GF they are at a perfect compatibility with all the time. It?s always the GF that they last summoned out of the ones I have junctioned with them. It?s a pain to use a GF enough to get the compatibility that high, but later in the game it?s well worth it as those quick summon times really make the battles go much easier. Especially when it?s a boss fight. [/COLOR]

[Zidargh]

Ah it's cool to see people playing/re-playing this game again (I assume you are right?)

For some reason I always felt quite isolated for even though FFVII was my most memorable Final Fantasy, I remember enjoying each game at equal levels, they were just different that's all. I don't know about you but FFVIII just seemed a bit more epic to me with the raging battles and that memorable Saving Private Ryan-esque beach landing.

If you want another challenge, walk around Esthar and you'll eventually fight a modified version of that boss on top of the tower (the one you fight after the Balamb landing.) I remember that one giving me a hard time.

[Dagger]

Whew! All done. :animesmil

Since I haven't criticized the game very much yet, I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first.

[spoiler]There should've been an option to recruit Seifer, Edea (Sorceress version and non-Sorceress version), Laguna, Kiros and Ward as permanent party members. Or at [i]least[/i] Seifer and Laguna. Imagine Squall fighting alongside his old man!

As a character, Seifer is basically an amusing buffoon--which is fine, except that we already have Zell to fill that role. Seifer's total irrationality makes it impossible to take him seriously. He's a wimp every single time your party fights him. His presence doesn't even prolong the plot very much. It was also terribly silly of the writers to forget about the whole love triangle angle partway through the game. I just felt bad for Seifer throughout because he was so extraneous to the main story.

It was fun to gradually discover stuff about the past. So why did that stop? The most important parts (Ellone's kidnapping, leaving Raine, learning about Raine's death, etc.) were dumped out via exposition. Pretty lame. The time gimmick worked pretty well sometimes and was underutilized at other points, but switching back and forth more frequently--creating true parallel stories in the present and past--would've made the plot more dynamic and involving. More Laguna plz.

Heck, while I'm re-writing the game, what about Ultimecia? LAME. The only way she could possibly have been an interesting enemy would have been if she were actually Ellone in the future (I was hoping for that to happen!). It doesn't have to be Ellone, even--make her Rinoa, Raine, Selphie, Cid after a sex change... it's just awfully hard to care about a villain(ess) who's little more than an enigmatic name. Adel was pretty useless, too.

The Squall/Rinoa love story was rushed and resonated less with me than the few hints of Laguna/Raine (Irvine/Selphie was just distracting, especially since it looked as if he were back to hitting on Quistis in the ending video, haha. Threesome?). Plus, I wanted Squall and Laguna to openly notice/acknowledge the implied father-son thing.[/spoiler]

Other comments about the ending...

[spoiler]Plot-wise, I'm probably expecting a little too much here, but I thought the ideal ending would have been a more bittersweet one--i.e. Squall experiences real loss and loneliness and still comes out of it changed for the better. Having everything turn out A-OK kind of makes it seem as if he wasn't tested very much. Or they could have gotten that bittersweetness from Laguna's half of the story--just have Squall find out about Raine & so forth (the part toward the end when he was lost in time by himself would have been the ideal place to do this).

But that nit-picking aside, I absolutely loved the huge long ending video. It was a nice reward after the tediously long final boss fight. I also enjoyed running around Ultimecia's castle. The puzzle with the paintings was my favorite part (and took me a long time to figure out). By the way, what does the organ do?

They should've done more to address the GF/memory issue.[/spoiler]

In sum, I had a lot of fun playing FFVIII. I'm glad I bothered to get the final weapons for the characters I used most often, even though it was a real headache to run around and wait for an [spoiler]Adamantoise[/spoiler] to show up. I saw the [spoiler]Lionheart[/spoiler] limit break for the first time during the final battle, just when I started thinking that Squall would never pull it out, and it was oh so awesome. I didn't really use any limit breaks aside from Squall's and Rinoa's (and occasionally Zell's), but in most situations, theirs could outclass nearly any GF. Once my characters reached a decently high level, I started wishing that the GFs in general were stronger.

If I played the game again, I'd do everything I could to load up on the Aura spell as early as possible. I didn't discover how useful Aura and Meltdown are until I was near the end of the third disc.

One final question: [spoiler]Why was Griever suddenly a GF?[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Sandy]

Congrats on your Final Fantastic achievement, Daggy! ;D

[QUOTE=Dagger]
There should've been an option[spoiler] to recruit Seifer, Edea (Sorceress version and non-Sorceress version), Laguna, Kiros and Ward as permanent party members. Or at [i]least[/i] Seifer and Laguna. Imagine Squall fighting alongside his old man![/spoiler][/quote]

But there wasn't [spoiler]very much diversity in the six main characters themselves, so if all the guest party members had remained permanently in your fighting party, you'd only have your hands full of characters you don't really need or want or have time to train.

I do agree though that it would've been neat to spend more playtime with all the guests.[/spoiler]

[quote]By the way, what does the organ do?[/quote]

When played correctly (check a FAQ), [spoiler]it calls out Omega Weapon, the toughest monster in the game, which of course with Auras and Hero Drinks isn't that tough.[/spoiler]

[quote][spoiler]Heck, while I'm re-writing the game, what about Ultimecia? LAME. The only way she could possibly have been an interesting enemy would have been if she were actually Ellone in the future (I was hoping for that to happen!). It doesn't have to be Ellone, even--make her Rinoa, Raine, Selphie, Cid after a sex change... it's just awfully hard to care about a villain(ess) who's little more than an enigmatic name.[/spoiler][/quote]
[quote]
One final question: [spoiler]Why was Griever suddenly a GF?[/spoiler]
[/QUOTE]

These two issues you raised actually have everything to do with each other. Since the release of the game, there has been [spoiler]a huge debate between FF-fans wether or not Ultimecia is Rinoa/Rinoa's descendant. Griever is one of the biggest evidences for it. Remember how Rinoa copied Squall's pendant (nicknamed "Griever")? Nothing more was put into that event during the game, but many things can be deducted from it...[/spoiler]

Of course nothing official hasn't been said about it, so all we can do is fanwank it until we die. :P

[JCBaggee]

[color=darkred][size=1]The whole thing had something to do with calling upon Squall's fears. Hence, the biggest bad (well, next-to) would be [spoiler]the GF Squall conceived as strongest[/spoiler]. Heck, who knows?

As for the [spoiler]Rinoa/Ultimecia[/spoiler] deal...they're used to be a FANTASTIC web site with some pretty hardcore proof, including photographic evidence (FMV screen grabs and some overlays of the two) that pretty much sold me on the idea. Me, I'll just resort to posting some facts and such located elsewhere and end by saying that, yes, I believe [spoiler]Ultimecia is Rinoa in the far, far future[/spoiler]. *dodges tomatoes*

[spoiler]First off, in the final FMV, there are some shots of Rinoa's coat/top thing from behind, with white angel wings. If you pay attention, for a slight second, they flash and turn into black wings.

Secondly, look up pics of the two from the FMVs and in-game footage. The two just look so alike. Ultimecia really does favor a much older Rinoa.

Several lines in the game hint Rinoa has planned time compression. Such as on the Esthar Station while in Space.....

"[b]Rinoa: I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still. I just want
to stay here with you...[/b]"[/spoiler]

There's more on the interweb if you just do a Google search for the theory, its actually quite popular. But for now, I'll leave it be with that...

--Chris[/color][/size]

[Magus]

[color=darkblue][size=1]Bah, need a little help. I went back to playing this game, and I'm currently going after Doomtrain. I finally beat Malboro's (YES!), and got about maybe 16 tentacles. Now, these Remedy+. Are there any other ways in getting them without Med LV thing. (Outside of the whole Ultimecia's (sp?) castle thing.) I haven't even gotten the Med Data thing yet. [/color][/size]

[Dagger]

Do you have Siren? If you have her, get ST Med-RF (at least I think that's it, heh). I don't really know of any other way to get a Remedy+ except by refining regular Remedies... and it's such a simple process, at any rate, that it wouldn't be worth the effort to find them in any other way.

~Dagger~

[TheResplendent]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Do you have Siren? If you have her, get ST Med-RF (at least I think that's it, heh). I don't really know of any other way to get a Remedy+ except by refining regular Remedies... and it's such a simple process, at any rate, that it wouldn't be worth the effort to find them in any other way.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

[font=tahoma]It's been quite a while since I last played FFVIII, but if i remember correctly you can also use your card refinement ability to obtain a certani number of remedy+ from a certain card (which exactly slips my mind atm, but it is a rare one). It is actually easier to refine remedies then doing it the alternative way, i remember obtaining doomtrain almost immidietely after getting the [spoiler]solomon ring[/spoiler]. [/font]

[Magus]

[size=1][color=darkblue]I was intending to edit my last post. I did get Doomtrain. I just went on ahead and kept fighting to level up and whatnot. But I still think I screwed up. Similar situation, but this time I need a Force Amulet (or Armulet?) so I can get either Selphie's or Rinoa's (one of those 2) final weapon. I think I used my first one to either buy a weapon or something... I probably didn't mug Edea the 1st time.. (I think that's who I got it from the 1st time.)

Thanks Aaryanna for the tip on beating Malboro's. And thanks to SunfallE for giving that info to Aaryanna.[/color][/size]

[NashvilleDream]

There's this one spot in the game that I honestly have no idea how I got past it the first time, and would really like to be able to figure out how on my second go.
[spoiler]The escape from the desert prison[/spoiler]

[JCBaggee]

[QUOTE=NashvilleDream]There's this one spot in the game that I honestly have no idea how I got past it the first time, and would really like to be able to figure out how on my second go.
[spoiler]The escape from the desert prison[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

[color=darkred][size=1]Hey Nashville, don't feel bad, it gave me some trouble the first time around too.

[spoiler]Just keep heading up the stairs. If you answered all the questions while being tortured truthfully and honestly, you can talk to the three moogles in the torture room and they'll remove three of the small doors blocking your path directly to the stairs. Everywhere else, you'll have to run around the full circle to the steps and head up. Don't forget to stop and talk to the prisoners, most of them will play Triple Triad with you, and one even has an upgrade to your Party Info screen if you can beat him.

Once you get to the platform where the prison starts to go back underground, just keep tilting the analog stick towards t he rest of the party and you'll get past it no problem. As long as you don't stop or attempt to double back, its a piece of cake.[/spoiler]

Hope that helps ya out man!!

--Chris; scary because that's from memory...[/color][/size]

[NashvilleDream]

[QUOTE=JCBaggee][color=darkred][size=1]Hey Nashville, don't feel bad, it gave me some trouble the first time around too.

[spoiler]Just keep heading up the stairs. If you answered all the questions while being tortured truthfully and honestly, you can talk to the three moogles in the torture room and they'll remove three of the small doors blocking your path directly to the stairs. Everywhere else, you'll have to run around the full circle to the steps and head up. Don't forget to stop and talk to the prisoners, most of them will play Triple Triad with you, and one even has an upgrade to your Party Info screen if you can beat him.

Once you get to the platform where the prison starts to go back underground, just keep tilting the analog stick towards t he rest of the party and you'll get past it no problem. As long as you don't stop or attempt to double back, its a piece of cake.[/spoiler]

Hope that helps ya out man!!

--Chris; scary because that's from memory...[/size][/color][/QUOTE]Well, what I was talking about was the part where [spoiler]The things were collapsing.[/spoiler] I died the first time and then the second time I lived, and I've no idea what I did.

[JCBaggee]

[color=darkred][size=1]Yeah, when you're over far enough you seemingly disappear and don't know you've made it until the next scene kicks in. The problem is that you're so small in the whole thing that you can never really tell where you are.

--Chris[/color][/size]

[NashvilleDream]

Exactly!
So I was going into it blind, essentially
And I hate that.

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][QUOTE=JCBaggee][color=darkred][size=1] The problem is that you're so small in the whole thing that you can never really tell where you are.

--Chris[/color][/size][/QUOTE]When the scene first starts though you can see well enough to make sure Squall is moving in the right direction. Every time I've played it I've just kept moving him over towards where the others are, it won't let you climb up once you reach them, but so long as you are over there you shouldn't die. At least the couple of times I've played through that spot I never have. I didn't even know you could. [/COLOR]

[G/S/B Master]

Whoa, what a surprise o_o. I was going through my Final Fantasy collection, I've beaten FF(GBA version mind you) as all White Mages, and since i can't find my FF7 disk, I had to resort playing FF8.

I've taken up the No-Level challenge and so far, it's easy peasy. I basically abuse everything thats available to me. I play Triple Triad as much as possible to get good junction/items/blue magic and used Seifer to level up my GF since [spoiler]he's not technically a real member of the party so you can level him up as you want[/spoiler].

I've spent 9 hours, I'm just learning skills for Diablos and Siren so I can continue building my magic collection.

[Valen]

FF8 took chances that many of the other FF games did not. I.E., the junction system. Any magic could be junctioned to any stat on any character, provided you junctioned a GF with the proper junction ability. I don't think its the BEST FF game, but it comes in second only to FF9.

In recent months, I've tried to explain the storyline and [spoiler]time compression and how Rinoa is Ultimecia[/spoiler] to my friends who keep asking about it, and I confuse myself around the fourth time explaining it to them, lol. Ah well, it was a great game and will always hold a place in my heart as the first Final Fantasy that I've played that isn't Mistyc Quest.

[Magus]

[font=comic sans ms]So I've finally beaten this game. After putting it off for a year or two, hell, even after selling it at one point, I finally beat this game, in a matter of 4 to 5 days at that.

Good game. I can probably tell what the story was about, but seeing that it's one of those romantic types, I stopped paying attention somewhere on the 3rd disc. :)

Holy Wars and Hero's are a cheap tactic to win, but hey, I got tired after fighting Gargantua, so I said forget it (actually, I couldn't find some key that was suppose to be by some water fountain in Ultimecia's castle.), and just went straight for Ultimecia herself. (she's a slut I tell ya.)

I missed out on some of the side quests, but I did manage to do that Deep Research facility. (I think that's what it's called.) It wasn't as bad as I thought it would turn out. Mainly because I was following a no level-up guide (which I happened to level up a couple of times because of Odin.... I can't stand that thing. Popping up when I don't want him to, and no showing up when I need him at desperate times.)

I had all of the GF's, but I still need to see Bahumut, (sp?) Eden, Tonberry, and Cactuar's summoning.

My party

Squall (of course): Lvl 9
Zell: lvl 9
Irvine: Lvl 13 (maybe 14)

I haven't fault Omega Weapon just yet. Probably won't for a while either because I'm a little tired of the game at the moment. (It might even be a while before I start playing Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne because I'm tired of turn based combat now.)

All in all, it was definately a good game. Playing that card game takes it's toll as well. Plus and Random rules are stupid. >_>

[spoiler]Seeing Zell throw a hotdog into the camera was pretty funny :D[/spoiler][/font]

[TheResplendent]

[QUOTE=Phenom][font=comic sans ms]

All in all, it was definately a good game. Playing that card game takes it's toll as well. Plus and Random rules are stupid. >_>

[/font][/QUOTE]

[font=tahoma]Indeed Random rules suck, especially if for some reason you don't want to part with your lower cards (reason that makes most sense is for card refinement) because most of the time you're lucky to get one good card. Unfortunatley I managed to spread the rule throughout a few regions without even realizing it and it pretty much killed the card game for me until I got everything I needed from refinement.[/font]

[Magus]

[font=comic sans ms]^ Agreed. I kept getting stuck with a lot of my weaker cards because I didn't have enough cards in the 1st place to refine them. (That's really a downer too.) I had to reset my system about 4-5 times going against that one guy who had the Alexander card. (Trade rule was also set to Diff... >_<)

With that being said, it did have it's addicting points. I probably would play the card games again just to get better in the long run... (..right, my patience has ran out with that card game. lol)[/font]

[COLOR="Navy"]Edit: Been a while since I've had questions about this game.. Well really, I've had lots of questions, but most of them were answered while playing along with the game.

In any case, I don't know if any of you play the triple triad card game (which absolutely sucks, but addicting at the same time :) ) but I keep encountering some smidget problems. It's mainly my lack of knowledge about the dumb card game. I know alot about it, but I don't know much... If that makes any sense at all lol.

One of my hands on disc one: Ifrit, Zell, Diablos... 2 random cards that I can't remember.

I was up first and I played Ifrit in the bottom right hand corner. I start like this all the time mainly for being cautious, but the guy played Quistis card right above my Ifrit, and it flipped it...

Another incident.. disc 2: Ifrit, Ultima Weapon, Catebl..something, Sacred, Rinoa. I was playing Xu btw. Again I started off with the same move. Ifrit on the bottom right. She drops Carbuncle right above it, and like the Quistis card, it flips Ifrit.

And Ifrit can't flip those cards.... Yet his numbers are bigger. What am I missing here?

I also found out when playing against Cid that the Quistis card can't make the Seifer card flip for some unknown reason. Cid normally started the game off with Seifer in the top left corner.

And the Zell card can make both the Quistis and Ifrit card flip.... What the crap?[/COLOR]