so I've been plugging away at Final Fantasy VIII and I've really been enjoying it! This was the first Final Fantasy I ever played but I got stuck shortly after starting disc 2 back when it came out (I was very young and knew nothing of RPGs) but this time around not only do I still love it but I'm rocketing through the game with ease. After playing a lot of different western and eastern RPGs and understanding fundementals like min/maxing, equipment and whatnot, this game still shines with ingenious gamepay design.
My next comment will probably have both haters and lovers of the game against me but I find this title to be in the same dogshed as XIII, insofar as it having a very unique battle system contained in an otherwise forgettable package that leaves the fanbase divided. The complete lack of equipment really shocked me at first, but once you start getting into GF abilities and how much they can alter your gameplay experience you start to see into the game's philosophy and how it wants you to play. My choices with regards to junctioning started getting so tactical that when the occasional tutorial popped up to explain one thing or another, it's hours late to something I was well into exploiting.
Stuff like ENC-None, MD-Mag-RF, and other abilities really empower you as the player and make a significant difference in the battles, as well as having the option to draw from any and everything you might face to further increase your options when you're armpits deep in menu-fu. To be fair I can see how that could alienate some, but what I love about this series is how different every game is and this one gets extra kudos for not only being different from FF at large, but being unique as an RPG in its own right.
I just got to the part where Balamb Garden lifts off. While I find the story to be mostly aimless, incoherent, and sophomoric, I haven't found any different in the FF titles from 7 onward and it doesn't detract from my experience but rather offers light hearted breaks in the action. I don't really find any of the Laguna sideplot interesting in the slightest and everything except Squall's development as a more headstrong leader is sleep-inducing at best.
Regardless, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon and I hope this will be the first FF I see through to the end. My party is powerful where it's at, I picked up Diablos as soon as I got the magical lamp, scored Carbuncle, but missed Brothers sadly (though I think I can go back for them?). I'll update y'all if I make it to the third disc.
Oh and the music is kickass
