Is Final Fantasy IX better than Final Fantasy VIII?

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Discuss.

[trancekuja]

No , but it's better than Tomb Raider 2

[Bastian]

I've never played VIII. I refuse to play VII, VIII, and anything that looks super techy. If it doesn't have castles and swords and moogles and chocobos and crystals and pre-industrialized civilization, it's not FF to me.

Thus, I LOVE IX, because it was finally a return to the FF roots after what I feel are three massive departures.

[charliepanayi]

No, but only just. They're both my favourite FF games and there's very little between them for me. I do love how different FFIX is to its predecessors on the PSX though. And having a main character who was less introspective made a good change too (I like Cloud and Squall, but I like a bit of variety too).

[arcanedude34]

Yes. LOTS of things are better than Final Fantasy VIII. Like getting hit by a freight train! : D

[FFIX Choco Boy]

Yes. FFVIII was too... I can't really think of a word, but it could have been alot better. Monsters lvling with you? Bah! That means you can hit lvl 100 in the first area! WHAT? LVL 100? NO! L5 death is now useful!(Yeah, it has decimated my whole party many times before.) Hmm, I can now do great damage with GFs and summon them unlimited times! Good thing, it's the only thing in the game that even does a good amount of damage. What? If I want to do anything other than attack I need to equip a GF anyways? What if I get a person without a GF thrown into the Ulty battle? Bah! No more MP you say? Ok, then what? A draw system with 100 max magics? Juntion? I used ultima and my HP went down! WTF!

Yeah, IX rocks VIII, except in the card game. VIII was good, but IX seemed way to random...

[Lacarus]

VIII's my favorite, IX a close second, might even make first-place in a year or so. VIII was my first FF, and at the time I identified myself with Squall, we was like sooo alike. I love the world, the idea of Gardens, the monsters, the summons, the characters (except Quistis), Ragnarok and the story.
IX has more replay value to me, it has the absolutly best mini-game, Choco's Hot&Cold, which is a great way to get all the good stuff. Other side-quests and mini-games like frog catching and Mognet Central etc. are all great. The fighting system, however, has some flaws. It's too slow and it took me a while to get used to it and calculate which commands to give. And the Trance can't carry over, which i horrible, as I sometimes missed it by issuing a command to one character, then the enemy hits another character who enter Trance state and the first character finishes the enemy off. But, again, the world, characters, monsters and story were great.

[Wolf Kanno]

I love IX, I like VIII. Both have their faults but between the two I felt IX had fewer and its faults were more tolerable. I love the ideal of VIII. It really tried to do so many different things and when I think about how it all could have worked so well, I see it for the masterpiece it is. Then reality sets in and its back to business as usual. Still, I give the game loads of applause for trying something new and being different which is more than I can say about some other faulty games in the series.

IX is a genuine masterpiece, it has a few hang ups here and there but nothing I feel that takes away from the overall experience. Battle system wise it wasn't anything terribly new but it had also been so long since we played an FF title with established classes that it felt fresh despite being old school. I don't feel the gameplay bothered me as much as others but then again, I rate battle systems on function.

IX definetly had a better soundtrack and easily the best FMV's in the entire series. In fact, most IX's FMVs were awesome whereas some of VIII's were a bit irrelevant and felt more like the programmers just showing off what they could do.

[Mirage]

No. FF9 was fail.

[Lacarus]

IX definetly had a better soundtrack and easily the best FMV's in the entire series. In fact, most IX's FMVs were awesome whereas some of VIII's were a bit irrelevant and felt more like the programmers just showing off what they could do.
Can't believe I forgot to mention the music. I second that.

[Heath]

FFIX, simply put, had better gameplay, plot and characters. I'm not so sure about the music as I feel both FFIX and FFVIII have great soundtracks (though VIII does have a better piano collection).

[Crimson]

This thread is obvious flamebait.


To each his own opinion.

[Depression Moon]

I've never played VIII. I refuse to play VII, VIII, and anything that looks super techy. If it doesn't have castles and swords and moogles and chocobos and crystals and pre-industrialized civilization, it's not FF to me.

VIII and VII has all of that

In my opinion I think that IX is the better game. I prefer set classes in my FF games though if free will is available I think it has to be very balanced. I like IX's story a lot more than VIII and the characters as well. The characters have more background and personality in IX than in VIII. Not to mention that IX has a better rounded soundtrack as well. The FMVs are more frequent and astounding in IX. It's personally my favorite and I hold it as the olympic torch of all Final Fantasy's.

[FFIX Choco Boy]

Oh god, I forgot the simply amazing music and FMVs of IX! How could I? Shame on me. VIII's music wasn't as good and the FMVs did seem really unneeded alot of the time.

[charliepanayi]

FFVIII's FMVs were unnecessary? I have no idea if they were 'necessary' but they were fantastic so frankly I couldn't care less. The opening, the ending, the introduction of each main character, the ending, Waltz for the Moon, Squall getting an icicle through the chest, the Lunar Cry...did I mention the ending? Not to say FFIX was shabby in that department, the destruction of Lindblum, Cleyra and Alexandria, entering Memoria, Bahamut turning on Brahne, all pretty thrilling too.

[trancekuja]

the FMVs did seem really unneeded alot of the time.
FMV's are always needed!:)

[Bastian]

http://www.geocities.com/secondwebsite/final_fantasy8_3.jpeg THAT (and all the other screen shots I found) do not fit in my definition of fantasy. The definition that games 1-5 set up.

[Wolf Kanno]

FFVIII's FMVs were unnecessary? I have no idea if they were 'necessary' but they were fantastic so frankly I couldn't care less. The opening, the ending, the introduction of each main character, the ending, Waltz for the Moon, Squall getting an icicle through the chest, the Lunar Cry...did I mention the ending? Not to say FFIX was shabby in that department, the destruction of Lindblum, Cleyra and Alexandria, entering Memoria, Bahamut turning on Brahne, all pretty thrilling too.


I said some, not all. VIII has a few FMVs showing big things doing minor stuff. For instance, I have a scratch on the short cutscene of the Lunatic Pandora moving to its spot for the Lunar Cry. This sequence is a 30 seconds sequence of the a giant metallic pillar moving over a circle. It takes 8 minutes for it to finish due to that damn scratch and its what made me aware of how silly and irrelevant a few of the FMVs are. VIII is filled with scenes that don't show the characters or even have decent music and are basically minor and just plain pointless events. Like all the sequences showing off what the Gardens look like from a few separate angles.

Most of IXs were reserved for the badass moments and even the more sceneic ones have this calming feel to them. IX does have a few pointless scenes as well, to be perfectly fair. Yet both games still have the overall best FMVs in the series. :cool:

[Lacarus]

http://www.geocities.com/secondwebsite/final_fantasy8_3.jpeg THAT (and all the other screen shots I found) do not fit in my definition of fantasy. The definition that games 1-5 set up.
From wikipedia:
"Fantasy is a genre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre) that uses magic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29) and other supernatural (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural) forms as a primary element of plot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_%28narrative%29), theme (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_%28literature%29), and/or setting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setting_%28fiction%29). Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction) and horror (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_%28genre%29) by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macabre) themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three."
Says nothings about castles.




I said some, not all. VIII has a few FMVs showing big things doing minor stuff. For instance, I have a scratch on the short cutscene of the Lunatic Pandora moving to its spot for the Lunar Cry. This sequence is a 30 seconds sequence of the a giant metallic pillar moving over a circle. It takes 8 minutes for it to finish due to that damn scratch and its what made me aware of how silly and irrelevant a few of the FMVs are. VIII is filled with scenes that don't show the characters or even have decent music and are basically minor and just plain pointless events. Like all the sequences showing off what the Gardens look like from a few separate angles.

Most of IXs were reserved for the badass moments and even the more sceneic ones have this calming feel to them. IX does have a few pointless scenes as well, to be perfectly fair. Yet both games still have the overall best FMVs in the series. :cool:
Rather too many than too few. If the staff wants to show, even if it's pointless, then hell yeah! The Lunatic Drop is pretty significant in the story and how would you show that with regular graphics? Seems that scratch ruined it for you.

[Quindiana Jones]

FF9 was my first and is still my favourite. I've played 7 to 12 (not including 11). The last time I played 8, I didn't really fancy it, but I was younger then and didn't give it a chance to go anywhere. Getting rid of that game is a decision I regret, as from everything I've checked out recently it looks like a cracking game with a nice story.

Having said that, I'd like to throw in on the side of Tetra Master. That card game is epic. Screw you haters. ;)

[sdm42393]

http://www.geocities.com/secondwebsite/final_fantasy8_3.jpeg THAT (and all the other screen shots I found) do not fit in my definition of fantasy. The definition that games 1-5 set up.
From wikipedia:
"Fantasy is a genre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre) that uses magic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29) and other supernatural (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural) forms as a primary element of plot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_%28narrative%29), theme (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_%28literature%29), and/or setting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setting_%28fiction%29). Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction) and horror (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_%28genre%29) by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macabre) themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three."
Says nothings about castles.


You seemed to have misunderstood his post.

[Rantz]

Having said that, I'd like to throw in on the side of Tetra Master. That card game is epic. Screw you haters. ;)

Seriously. Triple Triad is fun but too predictable, Tetra Master is where it's at.

[scrumpleberry]

For me, yes. I prefer the characters, the story, the world and the magic/learning/battle/whatever system. Also music is better imo. Also all the concept art is much more beautiful obv. ;D I DON'T CARE IF IT DOESN'T COUNT

[Zeromus_X]

Yes, I think so.

[Comet]

Vamo' Alla Flamenco.

[RedPouch]

I've never played VIII. I refuse to play VII, VIII, and anything that looks super techy. If it doesn't have castles and swords and moogles and chocobos and crystals and pre-industrialized civilization, it's not FF to me.
I think that's a little narrow-minded, though. Granted [aside from the fact that VII and VIII do posses some of the things you just mentioned], I feel that games like FF IV, VI, and IX were a lot better than VII and VIII in many ways, I still don't think it's fair to completely discredit VII VIII for "book cover" reasons.

Just because VII and VIII were more futuristic-oriented, doesn't mean they weren't good. I will admit that VIII was even my second least favourite of the FF series [right under FF X], but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't worth a play-through at all.

To address the topic directly: I thought IX was awesome, hell yes. It was much better than VIII in all honesty, I won't lie.


I said some, not all. VIII has a few FMVs showing big things doing minor stuff. For instance, I have a scratch on the short cutscene of the Lunatic Pandora moving to its spot for the Lunar Cry. This sequence is a 30 seconds sequence of the a giant metallic pillar moving over a circle. It takes 8 minutes for it to finish due to that damn scratch and its what made me aware of how silly and irrelevant a few of the FMVs are. VIII is filled with scenes that don't show the characters or even have decent music and are basically minor and just plain pointless events. Like all the sequences showing off what the Gardens look like from a few separate angles.

Most of IXs were reserved for the badass moments and even the more sceneic ones have this calming feel to them. IX does have a few pointless scenes as well, to be perfectly fair. Yet both games still have the overall best FMVs in the series. :cool:
Yet again, you speak the truth. However, even though it's good that Square has learned to "control themselves" in terms of going crazy with all the FMV's [and I'm only emphasizing this with the limitations of the PS1 in mind], I still think it's good that Square pushed the idea of doing FMV's that frequently out there at the time. Certainly, it showed that the developers were willing to push themselves with increasing the entertainment value for these games, thus giving them the experience they needed to create the games that succeeded VII and VIII. I think one could easily argue that if they had done IX right after VII [instead of the current VIII], then it would have turned out alarmingly bad.

It's all about doing something new, then learning how to incorporate it reasonably and proportionately into your future works. As an anime artist that's still learning, I can definitely relate [as can any creative works-developer].

Finally, I'm also going to credit Wolf Kanno for stating this opinion before I was able to:

IX definetly had a better soundtrack and easily the best FMV's in the entire series. In fact, most IX's FMVs were awesome whereas some of VIII's were a bit irrelevant and felt more like the programmers just showing off what they could do.
I have to strongly agree with this one as well. I felt that VIII's soundtrack as a whole seemed rather dry, and IX had a lot of wonderful-sounding tracks. The soundtrack for FF IX is definitely one of the better sound compilations of the FF series.

[Roogle]

Well, I feel like the story of Final Fantasy VIII was much more serious than the story of Final Fantasy IX. I like my games to be more somber than light-hearted, and I think I enjoyed Final Fantasy VIII more despite my dislike for the junction system and my preference for the job class system.

I liked Final Fantasy IX a lot until you were allowed to select your party. I would have preferred it if it simply locked in a final party like Final Fantasy IV with the majority of the story choosing your party for you.

[Rantz]

I liked Final Fantasy IX a lot until you were allowed to select your party. I would have preferred it if it simply locked in a final party like Final Fantasy IV with the majority of the story choosing your party for you.

I can agree with this, sort of. IX is a simple game, when you have to choose your members things definitely get more complicated. Not so much that I don't enjoy being able to select who's in my party, I just think having that all sorted out for you may have fit the atmosphere of the game better.

[RedPouch]

Well, I feel like the story of Final Fantasy VIII was much more serious than the story of Final Fantasy IX. I like my games to be more somber than light-hearted
As do I [my love for Valkyrie Profile should show how much more I like serious, somber, and at times dark atmospheres for video games/anime], however VIII just had too many things at once that I felt detracted from the enjoyment for the video game. It's not my least favourite Final Fantasy, but it's quite close unfortunately.


I can agree with this, sort of. IX is a simple game, when you have to choose your members things definitely get more complicated. Not so much that I don't enjoy being able to select who's in my party, I just think having that all sorted out for you may have fit the atmosphere of the game better.
I don't mean to sound rude, but I think one would have to be quite warped to find FF IX difficult in any way. I actually have to say that I'm quite glad they allowed you to choose your party in FF IX. It brings more variety in your party and it's never a bad thing to have the freedom of choice. I'm certainly glad [for example] that I wasn't stuck with the ugly "dark/loner-wannabe" Amarant in a "Developer's Choice" of final party. I also generally take Sarah/Dagger instead of Eiko just because I like Sarah more, despite the fact that Eiko is better to have [I believe Eiko gets spells that Sarah doesn't, such as Dispel, Holy, Full Life, etc... there may be more but I've forgotten, as it's been years since I've played this game].

As for the game being difficult, let's be realistic here. It's been a while since I've played, but I defeated Ozma with a level 50-ish party [or somewhere around there, I can't remember the exact number] without completing that sequence of friendly monsters so you can go melee against Ozma. You could probably defeat Ozma on an even lower level than that, but that was just an example I felt like throwing out there about how this game in no way could ever hope to be considered "complicated" or "difficult". You can also defeat Trance Kuja with a level 1 party.

[Rantz]

Hahaha, no, the game is certainly not difficult—never said the word—in any way, and I'm not saying the game gets really complicated with the ability to change your party; just that it complicates matters a touch. Have you played Final Fantasy IV? You might see in what manner I'm saying it would be simpler to have your party change in course with the story.

[RedPouch]

Have you played Final Fantasy IV?
Of course! It was one of my favourite ones ever since I was a kid.


You might see in what manner I'm saying it would be simpler to have your party change in course with the story.
I'm afraid I don't see what you're saying though. I don't think it really complicates things. All the party members can be made to be quite useful in battle [I even went with Quina all the way through one run], so It seems pretty easy-going to me.

[Rantz]

Well, I don't think I can explain it any better than I already have, so sorry if you don't understand. It's a question of atmosphere rather than gameplay.

[McLovin']

They're both the best.

[Fynn]

Yeah, they are ;) Though I loved VIII's story, system, FMVs and music, I found IX AMAZING! I mean, it's definitely in my top three (along with XII and VI). It had a great atmosphere, the characters were very varied and likable (I liked the characters of VIII as well) and even though it was rather light-hearted, it touched some big themes (identity, life and death and so on...). FFIX RULEZ!

[abrojtm]

Yes, yes it is.

[joerevs300]

Considering I played FFVIII for 30 minutes and have played through FFIX a few times, including many of the sidequests, and my answer is resoundingly FFIX. It's really tough for me to even choose between FFVII and FFIX, because both introduced different things. I think the story of FFVII is stronger, but I think the gameplay is very similar.

FFVIII is definitely the "love or hate" game of the FF series along with FFV and FFXII for the PS2.

[Bolivar]

I look at it like this: FFVIII took many more risks, FFIX played it safe, but delivered an extraordinary experience in the process. I consider VII, VIII, IX, and sometimes X as all candidates for the best in the series, and on any given day I could say that any one of them is the best.

I also have to note just how damn corny FFIX is. When I read some of the dialogue, or think about the situations, I feel like I'm playing a children's game. The scene where Caraway shows you the assassination plan in FFVIII delivers a sharp contrast, with Squall thinking to himself about how complicated the real world is, whereas IX jumps headfirst into simple-story absolutes.

It's also a pet peeve of mine every time I hear someone say "FFIX stuck to the roots", "goes back to the roots", "roots, roots, roots & root beer". On one hand, yes, it goes back to cartoony-styled characters (not bashing it, IX's designs were awesome) and is stylistically perhaps more analogous to the earlier ones. However, it takes its cue from the work done in FFVII and FFVIII - 2d pre-rendered backdrops positioned at different angles as the background for the field screen, 3d battle screens as opposed to horizons, 3d world map with rotating camera. Final Fantasy could have transitioned into 3d in any number of ways, but FFVII set the precedent for its successors. Also, if big castles and pretty princesses are what you need to define the roots of FF, I think that's a really shallow way to discount some of the other games. It also overlooks how you battle mechanized warriors, with robots running around operating computers in the wind shrine in FFI, the highly digitized dungeons in FFIV, the advanced race and technologies in FFV. I love FFVII and VIII because they took the series to explore different sub-genres of fantasy, VII resembling the harsh irreconcilable aspects of nature & technology, with VIII showing the two in harmony.

[Marky Tee]

yes but id say 8 is argueably the 2nd best in the series

id maybe go as far as to say ff9 is the best game ever but its realy difficult to make that claim

[Garnie]

I'm not sure. I love them both.

[Quindiana Jones]

Have you played Final Fantasy IV?
Of course! It was one of my favourite ones ever since I was a kid.


You might see in what manner I'm saying it would be simpler to have your party change in course with the story.
I'm afraid I don't see what you're saying though. I don't think it really complicates things. All the party members can be made to be quite useful in battle [I even went with Quina all the way through one run], so It seems pretty easy-going to me.

The way I understood Rantzien's post is that it's the question of "What have I missed by not choosing X?" that complicates matters. Sure, you can choose your favourites, but what if you accidentally miss some cool scenes or dialogue? If your party is chosen for you, you can be sure that nothing is missed. I don't think he was referring to difficulty in battle.

[Rantz]

Something like that, yeah. IX is pretty damn easy to play, I'm not contesting that.

[Rocket Edge]

IX is awesome, but VIII is the greatest game ever made.

[Laddy]

Play the Sci-Fi RPG's. They are very good.

IX is better than VIII, imo. FFIX characters are more unique, diverse, and have more battle-based individuality. IX has beautiful music, a touching storyline, and great combat. And IX is the absolute best in terms of side-quests.

VIII is a good game in its own right, though.

[Marky Tee]

i think its IX's cast that make it so great
i mean the story is awesome but not terribly ground breaking
the cast on the other hand are the most amazing and memorable in the whole series
IMO

[G13]

Having said that, I'd like to throw in on the side of Tetra Master. That card game is epic. Screw you haters. ;)

Seriously. Triple Triad is fun but too predictable, Tetra Master is where it's at.

You two seem to have pretty stout heads on your shoulders.

IX is much better than VIII IMO. Certain qualities of VIII are lacking, like grabbing my attention span and not letting go. IX has a much more intriguing storyline and characters. Granted I did play IX before VIII, but that has nothing to do with why I like it better... I think. VIII just isn't as interesting as IX.

I agree with Bastian that FF title's are incredibly awesome when they're like IX, but they are equally as good as IX when they aren't like it. If they made everything the same, s#!% would get boring quick. That said, Bastian man, you should play the others, they're equally as badass with the machinery.

[Quindiana Jones]

We have pretty correct heads on our shoulders, you mean. :)

[G13]

Correct! :)

[roen]

Vivi makes FFIX awesome and better than FFVIII.

[Quindiana Jones]

Vivi's the standard God point. People may hate FF9, but there's no denying that Vivi rocks. And if anyone does, then we can just burn them at the stake. It's a win-win situation.

[I Don't Need A Name]

Simple answer
Yes

[Marky Tee]

Vivi's the standard God point

im sure you meant steiner?:P

[drotato]

Well, yes in my opinion.
But that's because IX is my favorite, and will always be my favorite. I liked everything in it better than VIII. :nibbles:

[MrNash]

I lean toward FFIX if only for reasons of nostalgia. I grew up on the early FF games, so it was nice to see the game give a nod to the series' roots after the previous two games went in much more modernized direction in terms of the game world.

[rubah]

Of course not. What gave you that idea?

[J.Raven]

Final Fantasy IX's big draw for me was the medieval themes, large variety between characters, engaging storyline, and eidolon sequences.

Its downsides were in-game graphics were a far cry from the FMVs, and the FMVs themselves didn't have voice-overs, just lots of action and music. And no kissing scenes.

FFVIII main turnoff was the modern setting. The last thing I need when playing a fantasy game is to be reminded of daily modern life.

[Vivisteiner]

Well duh.

FFIX is better than everything.

[Sword]

I don't see how this is a very productive discussion. They're different. Nuff said.

[asukaevaunit02]

IX has always been my no.1, but VIII was a close 2nd until I played XII.

I find IX so memorable, I can recall so many moments in the game, and just pick it up and play happily. Where as VIII had a few nice parts but I don't remember a lot of, that said VIII was unique. The battle system was interesting I liked the change from the pretty much the same of the other titles, and the little love story was a nice touch, the ending almost made me cry which was a first for a game.
But like I said IX was more memorable, the music is just awesome, the opening theme is great, the characters were good and a lot of fun to play with.
Also I have played/finished IX start to finish atleast 4 times or more, compared to the once of VIII... and would like to play VIII again but something kinda puts me off it for some reason.
But both are good games, just in different aspects.