just beat final fantasy 8 the 6th time

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

FF8 gets a lot more shit than it deserves.

I think most of the complaints is from the dramatic departure from the usual gameplay from FFI-VII.  Doesn't necessarily mean it was bad though.  I also wonder how many of the FFVIII bashers actually played the game or just jumped on the bandwagon.  That or how many kept getting their asses kicked at the end of the first disc when they half assed it and hit a wall.  FF8 is definitely a game where you have to put in the effort if you want to make progress.  It won't hold your hand.

[AdmiralViscen]

I think most people just spammed GF and Draw instead of playing the efficient way.

[Tucah]

FFVIII is on the list of FFs that I've never gotten around to playing (also includes FFX and X2, which I planned on playing after I finished XII, but it was so terrible that I was completely turned off from the series).

[recursivelyenumerable]

Hawaiian Team Undecided

No, FF8 was made in Tokyo (well, Square USA helped out a bit, mostly with tools and plugins for the CG movie team in Japan IIRC).  It was 9 that was made in Hawaii.

[Himu]

FF8 gets a lot more shit than it deserves.

I think most of the complaints is from the dramatic departure from the usual gameplay from FFI-VII.  Doesn't necessarily mean it was bad though.  I also wonder how many of the FFVIII bashers actually played the game or just jumped on the bandwagon.  That or how many kept getting their asses kicked at the end of the first disc when they half assed it and hit a wall.  FF8 is definitely a game where you have to put in the effort if you want to make progress.  It won't hold your hand.

Not to mention, story wise and thematically, it kicks all other FF"s in the penis.

[Himu]

Non-serious reply: because it's the best FF, lol

Serious reply: What makes FF8's story is so great is how every thing is tied together, even the small things. In FF8, unlike most FF's, everything isn't shoved in your face. A lot of key story points are left to the player's imagination, such as Rinoa being Julia's daughter, or Squall being Laguna/Raine's son. The movie Laguna was in on disc 3 influenced Seifer so much it pretty much made him who he was. Notice how when Laguna uses the gunblade against the dragon, he fights with Seifer's stance. Where do you think Seifer got the stance from? At the beginning of the game they say a movie called The Sorceresses Knight is on the waiting list, most obviously Seifer wants to watch it again.

Another facet that makes FF8's story so appealing, to me, at least is that it's a time travel story. I love time travel stories. The entire game is one endless time loop. If Squall hadn't gone back in the past along with Ultimecia in the ending, then Ultimecia wouldn't have given her powers to Edea. But at the same, that very moment Squall gives Edea the idea of Seed and Garden. If this event didn't happen, Garden and Seed wouldn't exist, but at the same time Edea wouldn't have been possessed and who knows what would have happened.

Knowing this, Cid and Edea already know Squall's future because the future Squall already told Edea before she could become possessed. So when Cid pushes Squall in the game, it's not only because he's a natural leader, it's also because he knows that Squall's the one that defeats Ultimecia in the first place, so he pushes him to do this.

Ultimecia is defeated, but the heroes of FF8 keep doing this over and over in one endless time loop. No one know which loop number it's on when the game starts.

Thematically, the game has a lot more themes going for it than most other Final Fantasy's, especially since they all aren't shoved down your throat, like in VII or especially IV. The themes of destiny, considering the different philosophies of enemies, and defeating one's inner demons were never been pulled off so well in a Final Fantasy.

Story wise, what Final Fantasy bar VI  has better story pacing and memorable moments? The Dollet mission, the Laguna flashbacks, the parade and attempted assassination on Edea, the Garden war, the missle base and attempting to stop these said missles hitting Balamb Garden, Garden flying in the fucking air, Esthar, going into space, the Ragnarok, and more? The entire game has memorable moment after moment and not one of these moments is dull. The story is action packed and never lets up.

[Positive Touch]

stop trying to make me play through this game AGAIN

[Himu]

Lemme tell you this.

The first time I played FF8, I was left bitter. I completely misunderstood it. I wasn't even fair to it because I expected FFVII-2. I replayed a few years later after it came out, and it became my favorite Final Fantasy.

That's typically the story for a lot of people.

The older I got, the mroe rpgs I played, the more I was able to appreciate FF8's design sensibilities and not expect FF7-2.

[AdmiralViscen]

The movie Laguna was in on disc 3 influenced Seifer so much it pretty much made him who he was. Notice how when Laguna uses the gunblade against the dragon, he fights with Seifer's stance. Where do you think Seifer got the stance from? At the beginning of the game they say a movie called The Sorceresses Knight is on the waiting list, most obviously Seifer wants to watch it again.

Oh shiznit

[demi]

Hawaiian Team Undecided

No, FF8 was made in Tokyo (well, Square USA helped out a bit, mostly with tools and plugins for the CG movie team in Japan IIRC).  It was 9 that was made in Hawaii.

What a surprise, the good final fantasy is the American one.

[Himu]

Well, mr. fash, the thing isnt exactly a design flaw, it's just the way FF8 ticks. there are multiple ways to have enemies NOT level up with you. My personal favorite is carding enemies. this makes fights more interesting because you have guess every single battle how much hp the enemy has and when it's possible to card, who should attack so you don't kill them, and so forth. Staying at a low level the entire game makes the game a challenge itself.