First time player!

[Shorty]

I've wanted to play this game for a long time and today I finally ordered it, because why the hell not! :jess:

Without giving anything away, what would you say you wished you knew playing this game the first time around?

[Elskidor]

I wish I had known disc 2 was broken before playing it. That pissed me off so bad getting sucked into a game, and then being forced to stop. I'll kill disc 2 one day.

I can't remember anything else that I wish I would have known, but also that won't ruin anything for you.. It's great game.

[Jinx]

Once you leave Lindblum, go explore until you find the Chocobo's Forest. Have fun playing the greatest mini-game of all time. :D

Pay attention to the weapons you have, and Synthesize Zidane's weapons! Pay attention to all of the abilities you can learn on each character's weapon, so that you don't equip a weapon after you've learned every ability/you don't equip a new weapon before you've learned an ability. You'll figure it out. :) Also, you manually equip status-deflecting abilities. Go to the abilities screen and choose a character. You'll see what abilities they've learned, and how many points you can use. Each ability has a certain amount of abilities. For example, Bright Eyes protects against blindness. It's best to rearrange what you have equipped depending on the enemies in the area.

I'm really, really excited for you. This is my second favorite game of all time. I can't wait to see you update as you go on!

[Shorty]

I will update, yeah! I have a feeling I'll like it very much. :love:

[Jinx]

I added a bit more to my post! I know this is also one of Pantz's favorites, so I'm sure he'll be willing to help you out if you need it. I'm sure you won't need it, just explaining some things that confused me the first time!

[Shorty]

Thank you very much! I'm sure those things will be much more useful for me once I actually start playing xD

[Jinx]

Yeah, right now I'm just throwing words at you. When are you getting the game? :D

[Shorty]

Hopefully next week sometime! :3

[Jinx]

Eeeee! I want you to start now! :D How much do you know about the story? Of course it's best going in with less knowledge so that you can appreciate it more, but I know that the game is old, you've been a member here for awhile...

[Shorty]

Not very much, I don't think. I know Zidane is a thief and Garnet's real name is Sarah, and I know it's set with two nations at war and there's an evil queen and then Kuja is later revealed to be the "real" villain, I think. That's about it.

[Madame Adequate]

I wish I knew not to waste my time with this game.

[Elskidor]

You may wanna know Zidane has a tail, and Kuja wears a thong. That may change your mind about playing it, but not the story itself....well, it may change your mind on Kuja's true motives.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

All you really need to know is that the game is great. That's all you really need to know, haha. The art style really bothered me back when I first played it for some reason, but I love the art style now.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Jinx is spot on. Definitely learn all the abilities you can from the weapons and armor you equip! It'll help you in the long run.

If you want to play the jump rope mini-game in Alexandria, be prepared to have massive amounts of patience if you want to get all the prizes.

Be prepared to play the card game and have no idea what's going on.

Most importantly just remember to have fun. Enjoy the side quests and the colorful NPCs. This is a fantastic game. I loved that moogles were save points and helping deliver letters through mognet.

[SirPrizes]

Look up an explanation of what the numbers mean during the card game online somewhere. The game doesn't tell you at any point, making playing it incredibly frustrating (and the game forces you to play it at one point, so it's pretty important).

Other than that, I'd give you the same advice I'd give for most FF games! Steal as often as you can, and don't let an enemy die before you've stolen its items or at least detected what it has. Learn all the abilities you can. For end-game grinding, make sure all your characters equip the Reflect ability and go fight dragons on an island to the northeast of the world map. Also, make sure to run around in patches of woods that may be hard to reach, you'll often come across a special encounter!

[Karifean]

One slight gameplay tip I could give is to generally prioritize equipment that pushes base stats over direct stats (as in, rather have something that increases Strength rather than Attack). And don't underestimate the Spirit stat, it can actually come in handy quite a bit.

Really wish I'd known both these things before having played the game.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I'll agree with stealing as well. You can get a new weapon for Zidane even before the opening cinematics are done by stealing from your first battle.

[Freya]

You could use my walkthrough (http://home.eyesonff.com/final-fantasy-ix/131814-plot-dino-says-read-walk-through.html). I have the first disc and a half written and screenshotted for every item. But honestly, with your first playthrough, JUST ENJOY IT!

Yes once you arrive at lindblum and you leave you're finally free to explore some. Go to the chocobo forest to the right! It's fun and you'll love chocobos a whole heck of a lot in this game cause of that minigame.

Don't run from battles. You'll thank yourself when you're not underleveled.

You get abilities through your weapons. Each battle you get "ap". You learn abilities when you get enough ap for that skill. If you change your equipment before you learn an ability, some abilities wont be available later. So make sure to learn each ability before you change your equipment. This may mean you have to go a few more battles with a lesser sword but at least you'll have the abilities!

There is a skill you can learn that is ap boost! So when you're in battle you get more ap from said battle. Try to get that skill cause it makes everything else easier.

And steal a lot! Most bosses have at least one super awesome thing/gear you can't get for a bit.

And don't forget to check mognet! You don't want to miss a letter! You can find mognet central if you deliver every letter and play the chocobo game. So do both!

Take your time and enjoy the ride!


Also always help stiltzkin out cause, well moogle. http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx68/Prettyypenguin/stiltzkinwalkingsprite.gif

[Loony BoB]

There are absolutely zero benefits to collecting all the cards or playing Tetra Master religiously, so don't waste too much time on it unless you actually enjoy it. That's the only advice I can give. There is a moment where I think you have to win some games, but I'm pretty sure you should be able to walk it just by getting random cards at the end of battles every now and then.

[Jowy]

- Prioritize stealing every single item from each boss. You'll occasionally be rewarded with weapons a tier above what can be obtained from shops.
- Chocobo Hot and Cold! Keep that shit up so you don't have to grind it out later on.
- You can kill Grand Dragons once you hit Disc 2 with Level 5 Death + Lightning absorption armor. Do it for tons of easy gil/exp.
- Don't sell off excess equipment; synthesize it instead.
- Carbuncle has different effects depending on which gemstone Eiko has equipped in her accessory slot.
- If you select "Queen Brahne" 100 times at the beginning, Ruby busts in and calls you a retard.
- Don't try and kill the book until Disc 2 with a Blood Sword.

And as always, don't just alternate between walkthrough / actual game. Have some fun with it. Until you quit midway through Disc 1 anyway...:aimsun:

[Heath]

Make the most of the Active Time Events. They add on some rather cute and amusing additional scenes. They're easy to miss/skip, but they're definitely worth the time.

[Shorty]

So the store I purchased this game through sent me a message saying "sorry lol not in stock" which obviously means they sold it to someone who came in the store instead. :colbert: I've reordered it from another store, but now I have to wait even longer!

[Shorty]

MY GAME ARRIVED AND I AM SO LEGITIMATELY EXCITED TO PLAY IT but I have to wait for my cheeseburger to get done cooking because I'm starving ;_______________;

I have it up on the tv and the music is taunting me ;_______________;

[Jinx]

MY GAME ARRIVED AND I AM SO LEGITIMATELY EXCITED TO PLAY IT but I have to wait for my cheeseburger to get done cooking because I'm starving ;_______________;

I have it up on the tv and the music is taunting me ;_______________;

God, you are such a dingus. I love you. xD

I'm going to give you advice I don't think has been given yet: stick with it. The game starts out incredibly slow, but once you get out of Lindblum for the first time--ka-pow! Sheer awesomeness!

[Shorty]

I've been so excited to play this for weeks and I AM NOT A DINGUS

thank you :3

[Shorty]

The intro keeps getting stuck right when Zidane slides down a pole and goes to open a door. I've restarted and cleaned and dusted both the console and the game about ten times now and I am so incredibly frustrated at how often I've restarted this thing and everything is ruined forever and I hate this game. I haven't even been able to get to the actual gameplay.

I even bought an excellently good version off Amazon instead of the super cheap troutty options with no cases and manuals and trout like that!

Two game purchases, still no refund from the first one, and now this one doesn't work.

I guess it wasn't in the stars. :(

[Jinx]

What

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO D:

you best be getting your money back for that shit.

Have you tried just opening the lid, then shutting it again and not removing the disc? or removing the disc, then shutting it, but not turning off the console? sometimes if you leave the console on and do that, it'll work.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Are you playing it on a PS2?

[Shorty]

Yes.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I've read that the newer, slim models of ps2 can have issues with this game. That might be the problem. THe older, bigger models work pretty well. If you have a PS1, maybe try on there.

[Pumpkin]

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that :<. This is my favorite game ever so it is a shame you aren't able to enjoy it :(

[Shorty]

I have a slim PS2 :(((

[Jinx]

Yeah, the method I suggest works for the slim PS2. I say at least give it a try!

[Shorty]

I tried both of those things and neither work :(

I am ready to throw it into the street.

[Jinx]

That's a shame. :( I wish I was there to work my magic. :(

[Shorty]

It's okay :( Thanks for all your support, guys! Maybe one day.

[Shorty]

HOLY SHIT LITERALLY AS I WROTE THAT IT CAME UP

[Shorty]

JINX WHAT DID YOU DO

[Pumpkin]

:D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shorty]

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Hurray! Success! Yay Jinx!

[Jinx]

JINX WHAT DID YOU DO

I worked my magic.

[Jinx]

Hurray! Success! Yay Jinx!

thank thank you i do try

[Shorty]

Everyone keep doing your hoodoo shit and let's pray it doesn't happen any later on in the disc, because if I get even an hour into gameplay and this happens, it's getting tossed into the street.

[Jinx]

Everyone keep doing your hoodoo trout and let's pray it doesn't happen any later on in the disc, because if I get even an hour into gameplay and this happens, it's getting tossed into the street.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa196/narcissisticprincess09/SiUid8k_zpsc5fb3818.gif (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/narcissisticprincess09/media/SiUid8k_zpsc5fb3818.gif.html)

[Shorty]

My memory card that has worked for three other games in the past is not working. I even erased all of the other games I had on it! I don't think it's big enough.

I AM NOT DESTINED TO PLAY THIS FUCKING GAME :argh:

[Jinx]

Give me a jar with two ounces of your husband's baby gravy, and I'll see what I can do.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

If it's not an official Sony PS1 memory card, things like this can happen. Third party memory cards for the PS1 were awful. If it is an official sony PS1 memory card, I don't know what to tell you. If you deleted everything off of it, it would definitely have the space for a save file.

[Jowy]

sarah, spend $2 on a microfiber cloth for cleaning glasses. wipe that gently across the internal lens of the PS2 and it will alleviate any issues with reading blue back discs / PS1 games.

[Shorty]

We have dozens of those in the house and I already used one on the back of the disc. :p Any other suggestions with attitude you'd like to offer to aid in my frustration?

[Loony BoB]

PS1 memory cards are dirt cheap, you should be able to get your hands on one if it's genuinely corrupt. Less than a fiver!

However, I'm wary - you've had so many issues (two!) with this game I do wonder if it's something wrong with either your game or your PS2. Do you have a friend you can borrow a PS1/2 (or even the memory card) from to test it out?

[Shorty]

No. And I've played a few games on it beforehand and also used the memory card and have experienced no issues until now.

[Loony BoB]

Hope it gets fixed soon, one way or another. If it continues to not work then I would probably consider just emulating it if I were you. You've bought a copy of the game already, you should be allowed to play it! :( But yeah - it's either the console, the memory card or the game are faulty... or else FFIX just isn't compatible with a PS2. Not sure which of those things, though. :S

[Shorty]

After doing some research, and confirmed by Scotty, apparently you can't save PS1 games to PS2 memory cards. So I've ordered a PS1 memory card from Amazon and I hope it's here by the end of the week. (it was only five dollars including shipping)

And I emailed the original seller who burned me on my purchase and yelled at them for the second time and it looks like my refund came through.

Seriously, this game better be worth it. :colbert: I am hating it already because of the stupid effort I am having to go through!

[Jinx]

Oh, you were trying to save on a PS2 card? No wonder, ya dingus! xD

[Shorty]

I SAID I HAVE A PLAYSTATION TWO

WHY WOULD I HAVE A PS1 CARD WITH A PS2

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Hurray PS1 memory card! I honestly meant to put in my post about getting an official PS1 memory card that you couldn't save on a PS2 memory card if that is what was happening.

Hopefully this is the end of the saga of you not being able to play FFIX.

[Ayen]

I remember the first time I played Final Fantasy IX.

I thought it was weird and it was my least favorite one.

It does grow on you, though.

[Depression Moon]

I don't necessarily agree with all the suggestions of stealing from everything first. I think the game is easy with or without them I can't say really much regarding what I wish I had known the first time around because I don't think there's anything and just about everything gameplay wise you'd get on your own.

[Loony BoB]

I stole so much and I think it really helped. Especially with bosses, even if they are a right bitch to get every item from sometimes (I think they have three items each or something).

[Jinx]

I never stole, and the game is still pretty easy.

[Shorty]

I finally received my PS1 memory card so I am going to go home and shove it into my PS2 and hope that it works.

And if it doesn't, I am throwing everything out the window - game, console and all.

[Shauna]

PS1 cards work fine on PS2s. In my experience.

[Shorty]

I was able to start right up without any of the problems I experienced before!

Vivi reminds me of the Shadow Man in that super old cartoon movie Happily Ever After. That is all I have ever thought of when seeing his image all these years, and now I'm pretending like I'm controlling Snow White's prince as I play this game.

[Pumpkin]

Vivi is the best.

[Psychotic]

How far in have you actually managed to play?

[Shorty]

I spent five hours playing Tetra Master. I haven't gone up the ladder after that bratty little kid.

[Psychotic]

Ahaha, don't tell EoFF that. I always liked Tetra Master more than I did Triple Triad but to say such things is blasphemy here.

[Shorty]

It took me a long time to figure out how to properly play, and I still struggle with it. I played so long because I wanted to rob all of the card teacher's good cards away because he kept beating me. :colbert: I quite like it, but I don't see much difference to it from Triple Triad.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I prefer Triple Triad, but I think that's mainly because I just like how the cards look more. I need to sit down with Tetra Master and figure out how to play it well. I got pretty good at it the last time I played IX, but I always forget how the game works.

[Rantz]

I like both card games, but Tetra Master slightly wins out for me. So excited for you to play this game! It's my favourite ever! :D

[Tigmafuzz]

Tetra Master is the best.

I'm glad you finally got around to playing the best game in the series.

[Shauna]

Looks like Tetra Master might be the true best card game from an FF title.

[Ayen]

IX has a card game?

[Psychotic]

Let's add it to EoFF.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Let's add it to EoFF.

While we're at it, can we add Blitzball to EoFF?

I'm excited to see your progression of the game!

[Shorty]

I think I prefer Triple Triad. It's at least understandable.

Zidane reminds me of the Gelflings from The Dark Crystal.

I'll post updates more or less like Nicky's FFVII thread when I'm at my computer :jess:

[Shorty]

First time encounter with Ragtime Mouse! That was fun :jess: (I answered incorrectly and he blew up one of my party members)

[Elskidor]

Ahaha, don't tell EoFF that. I always liked Tetra Master more than I did Triple Triad but to say such things is blasphemy here.


I suppose I'd get banned if I said I hated both. :tongue:


I guess I never tried it long enough to understand how to play either though.

[Pumpkin]

I've never played Triple Triad. But I have played Tetra Master aside from the times they make you.

Yay Ragtime Mouse!

[Shorty]

Observations so far:

Queen Brahne appears to be a frightening clown who has run away from an evil circus and somehow through her tricks of the trade managed to fool the people of the land enough to obtain monarchial status in order to rule over them. Garnet must be adopted; there is simply no other explanation for the mortifying difference in physical appearance.

Zidane is a bit too focused on the ladies, isn't he! Around the time when he wondered to himself, "Maybe she'll reward me with a kiss or two," I wondered to myself if I could take him seriously through the rest of the game. It's a nice change of pace from Squall's broody brooding, but I don't know how much more female desperation I can take. Thankfully, he seems to have lightened up a bit. I am so pleased that Garnet can hold her own and isn't afraid to show her disinterest. I would roll my eyes if the actual love story began this early in the game.

Freya is my favorite character so far and she is a badass. I also love love Beatrix and can't wait to see more of her! I've known part of her story since before I started this game and always admired girls who dressed up as her for cosplays, etc.

I am very much enjoying the leveling up and ability customizations. One of the things I loved about FFVIII was how freely the junctioning system allowed you to customize the characters to suit your needs. I am a little irritated that there isn't quite so much freedom with this system. The obvious restrictions set up to guide the characters into the roles they are meant for bother me. For example, I dislike using Blue Magic - I've never liked using it. I also dislike the fact that Vivi is pidgeon-holed into a magic-specific role that relies on MP to function in battles. Characters with physical strength don't rely on AP to function in battles, so the fact that I am having to keep a constant and steady flow of Ethers available in order to make use of Vivi during battle is confusing and bothersome to me.

Pretty fed up with Steiner's tantrums.

The Vivi kidnapping business made me incredibly sad. Vivi himself makes me sad! He's so timid and sad, I just want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be okay. I'm looking forward to some hopeful character development there and also wondering about more behind his story.

Thanks to everyone who recommended the synthesization methods! I admit I was a little confused at first and was trying to sell out a bunch of equipment I had outgrown, and for some reason thought that synthesization only applied to Zidane so I got rid of some hats and leather stuff that I later found out I could have used. Lesson learned!

I am enjoying the story so far. My eyebrows raised a bit with Cid pulling the whole "I arranged for your kidnapping so you'd be safe" business, but I guess it fits well enough. I've only just now made it to Disc 2 and turned it off before even changing the disk to go to bed, otherwise I'd have been up all night continuing to play.

Also, Kuja is much more androgynous than I suppose I expected. That hair and them hips! Why is it that several of the games' villains have such luscious locks of hair? Sephiroth, Seymour, now Kuja. I'm sure there are more. Is this a pattern or a running joke I'm not yet aware of?

I can see why so many people enjoy this game. I am becoming lost in the fantasy aspects of it. I enjoy the fact that it's a bit more fantastical than FFVIII, which seems pretty logical to me if there were to be a contest of "which FF could theoretically be real" (I know we've had these threads in the past). I appreciate how realistic FFVIII is, but this game is on another plane, and I am really enjoying the fantasy behind it. If this were the first Final Fantasy I played, I'm sure it would be my favorite. I think it's safe to say, though, that FFVIII will always be my favorite because it's the one I started out with.

Excited to begin Disk 2 tomorrow!

[Jinx]

DISK TWO :D


It's a great disc, man

[Shorty]

:love:

I'm pretty sure I dreamed about this game last night. Ridiculous.

[Psychotic]

Never liked Freya, always found her a bit dull. Beatrix is indeed fantastic and I can't believe you hate Steiner! Steiner is brilliant. The way he talks, the way he walks (clank clank!) and the never ending stream of indignance - I smurfing love him.

[Shorty]

I don't hate him! I'm just sick of his tantrums and him jumping up and down all the time!

[Psychotic]

The jumping up and down with the clanking is the best bit! It's so ridiculous, I love it.

[Shorty]

He's a silly man who gets nothing but the short end of the stick all the time. I do like his clanking, though.

[Jinx]

he likes pickles

[Ayen]

Well, you made it farther than I did...

[Pumpkin]

Yaaaay!

I disiked Steiner at first too, but now he is one of my favorites. I think you'll be pleased with Vivi's character development. Disc 2 is a big disc for him and has my favorite moment in the whole game involving him. Steiner's development isn't as obvious, but it is still there.

[Slothy]

How did I miss this thread until now?

It's about damn time you played one of the best FF's missy.

[Ayen]

I'm calling it now, this will end in one of two ways, either Shorty ends up forsaking VIII and declares IX her new favorite, or she'll still prefer VIII to it at the end and Vivi will snap her neck and then scream in agony.

[Freya]

Freya is the BEST.

Also, the great thing about this game is all those character observations you've made, timid Vivi, womanizing Zidane etc etc, the characters grow well in this game. It has a lot of depth with that. Glad you're enjoying it!

[Shorty]

Further obvservations:

Am I... am I missing something with Garnet's summons? I'm onto the second disk and they're all greyed out still. It has been furiously bothering me why I can't use them! It seems absolutely absurd to have them there and appear to be available for use but not. Did I miss something?

This game is obscenely generous with dropped gil, dropped items, items to steal, and hidden items to pick up. I was rolling in cash and loading up on items and equipment and still managed to hit the auction scene with 60g's in the Dark City! (and now I'm down to 9k but that's okay.)

Now I am in the desert sandstorm city and got my ass handed to me by an antlion. :colbert: I know he has some good items on him and I kept trying to steal them but they wouldn't let up and his bitch ass kept using his sandstorm attack on me, dropping everyone's HP to 1 or some trout :doublecolbert: I shut the game off in a fit of fury. I suppose I'll need to equip some anti-status abilities before going to fight him again. I've been playing so far without a walkthrough because I want to be surprised, but I think I need to look up help for battling this asshole. Also, I do not like the sand tunnels leading up to that city.

I am really not understanding Quina's Blue Magic abilities and they are causing me disress. Apparently s/he can't use them when the enemy is at full health. So I keep trying to lower the health down a little bit, but Quina still can't seem to eat them! And then I inevitably end up killing the enemies and become furious at my wasted time. Every time I tried to use Eat, it didn't take, so I stopped trying for a long time before I learned what it could actually do, and now I'm afraid I've missed out on some abilities I would not otherwise be able to acquire. I am growing to hate Quina. :mad2:

When traveling with Garnet, I exited Treno for a little bit and went to the forest that was to the right, just below the mountains. Hoooly trout, those mandragoras were a lifesaver for leveling up. Also, I killed Marcus in cold blood, took away his equipment and left him dead throughout the entire level grinding to award more experience to Garnet and Steiner because smurf you, Marcus! I tried to level up Blank for a while in the beginning and even equipped him with trout and I am fairly certain that equipment was stolen from me when he left my party :colbert: (to become petrified in the forest, but that's not the point). So I decided to not let that happen again and to just kill Marcus this time around.

On the subject of leveling, I feel very underleveled right now - everyone is between 16-18, and I like to atleast be to 20 by the time I reach the second disk.

[Jinx]

QUINA IS THE WORST. Getting its abilities are horrible, and it's just the most annoying character. I don't understand why people find it funny.

And no, you're not missing anything with Garnet's summons. Spoiler alert: they don't become available until late in the second disc.

[Shorty]

Not a spoiler! That's okay, I was just beginning to worry.

I get that Quina is supposed to be cute and whimsical but I'm not seeing it.

[Jinx]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Quina at all.

And yeah, the summon thing annoyed and stumped me for a long time as well!

[Rantz]

Quina is actually incredibly useful, but it's very frustrating to try and teach her abilities before you know which monsters actually do give you abilities.

You have to get the monsters down to < 25% health before Eat takes. Use Scan to get an idea of how much to attack before trying. When Quina's in trance, Eat becomes Cook which raises the bar to < 50% health. Also, if you come across a Trick Sparrow (I think this is the only one you can get to right now), Dragonfly, Zaghnol, Ogre, Land Worm, or Armstrong... eat them! They'll give you Matra Magic, which has a chance of lowering an enemy's HP to 1, guaranteeing a successful Eat if Matra Magic hits.

[Shorty]

Oooh, thank you! I am near Carrion Worms, Dragonflies and Sand... brutes or something. I think someone just learned Scan, so I will try to put it to use.

I was not aware what Cook even did, so that's very useful! Thank you. :heart:

[Slothy]

or she'll still prefer VIII to it at the end and Vivi will snap her neck and then scream in agony.

Much as I like to get all hands on with my work, I would never snap her neck.

I'm more of a high powered rifle from a kilometer away type of guy. Or perhaps a drone strike if one is available.

[Shorty]

A drone strike is a cowardly move.

[Pumpkin]

Well people already answered most of the questions for me.

Antlion has an attack that will reduce everyone to 1 HP. It isn't as serious as it sounds. He will probably just regularly attack one character after and at most kill one. Just heal everyone up and keep going. If I remember correctly, Blizzara is pretty good against it.

Also, I love Quina. S/he is my second favorite character :D

[Ayen]

A drone strike is a cowardly move.

You're just mad you didn't think of it first.

[Slothy]

A drone strike is a cowardly move.

You're just mad you didn't think of it first.

People who fight fair tend to be the ones on the losing side.

[Shorty]

I understand if you're afraid of losing a quick-draw to a step-headed red child. I wouldn't want to go up against me, either.

[Slothy]

I'm not afraid of death, I simply don't seek it out, and always look for the best ways to eliminate my opponents with the least personal risk.

[Ayen]

Death's a babe. She totally digs me.

[Relena Peacecraft]

Come on, Sarah. Half the fun of this game is getting through most of it at level 1.

As far as Garnet's summons go, I'm pretty sure you *can* technically use them earlier, but their MP cost is like four times higher than normal, and you wouldn't actually have that much MP unless you're heavily overleveled. A story-related event later makes them accessible to mere mortals. Not that I ever use them anyway.

[Shorty]

Advice on games from Jason Lynch! I never thought I'd see the day. You're the one who made me want to first play this game twelve years ago or whenever it was :flirt:

[Psychotic]

:quina: I do what I want, you have problem?

[Freya]

I hated quina for the longest time until I actually tried to get it's blue magic. Then I enjoyed the character more. If I don't have to use Quina though, I wont.

I think Freya should have a regen move. Reis Wind. You should have that by now I think. Just cast that so when it hits you with the sandstorm you start regening right away. I think it's on a weapon in treno. If you've been there yet. I don't remember. Mythril Spear or something.

[Relena Peacecraft]

The way to whip on antlion is to have Quina at 1HP (Thank you sandstorm), and then use Limit Glove. If you don't have Limit Glove, I can't help you. Get Limit Glove! It's really important in low level games. :|

[Shorty]

How do I get it!

[Relena Peacecraft]

How do I get it!

There are various enemies you can eat: Mandragora, Mu, Axe Beak, Blazer Beetle, Jabberwock, or Catoblepas. However, I don't think any of them are particularly accessible at that specific point in the game. Can you even leave Cleyra?

That said, if you're at a normal level, you shouldn't need gimmicky tricks like Limit Glove. Then again, it's been about seven hundred years since I've done a non-low level playthrough, so don't look at me. :|

[Shorty]

I don't do low-level playthroughs, I max my trout out as far as possible. I'm not sure if I can leave Cleyra.

I have come across Axe Beak, but it was well before I acquired Quina , I think. Other than that, I have encountered none of those listed enemies.

I do have the Mythril Spear for Freya and I did utilize Regen, but it didn't do much good. I'll try again.

I'm picking this back up again shortly. I'll update my progress after!

[Relena Peacecraft]

The standard way is to go encounter a Mandragora in some forest near the Chocobo Forest after picking up Quina. Obviously that doesn't help you at this point.

[Shorty]

It's okay, I beat the antlion :jess: He only used Sandstorm once this time! The first time, it was almost every turn of his.

[Jinx]

I hate him so goddamn much.

[Psychotic]

I do low level playthroughs in that I can never be arsed to grind, and get bored and fed up of random encounters so I just end up running away. Every boss battle then becomes a challenge :shobon:

[Pumpkin]

I grind like crazy in this game and as such the bosses aren't usually a challenge. The worst would have to be Hilgigars because I have to keep the fight going for an hour for that stupid fairy flute and Zorn and Thorn because I want to steal everything, but there's a stupid time limit.

[Shorty]

More observations:

I forgot to mention that I liked the fact that Cid's story included him having an affair. It puts a very real and ugly situation in with a fantasy world that isn't quite so unreal as a mother kidnapping and executing her daughter for magical powers. I liked the humanity of it.

Acquiring Ramuh. I liked his little test at the end and the reasons he gave for giving it, and the fact that he questioned Garnet over her decisions. I am always questioning how people have reached their decisions and answers because the answer isn't important to me, it's why they chose it. What I liked even more was when Zidane was puzzled about the old man trying to assign an arbitrary meaning to her choices and he got schooled. I enjoyed this scene.

I about had fit in the Mage Forest when I kept going in circles. :colbert: But I finally figured it out!

I am a little confused as to why the eidolons were even a part of Garnet's inventory if they couldn't be used and were then taken away. Does not make sense.

I am finding that I do not care about stealing from general monsters. It just prolongs battles, and I receive plenty of items at the end of battles, anyway. Stealing from bosses, though, that's some trout I will waste my time on. I spent ages and ages and ages trying to get the Gold Helm from the Antlion and the Coral Sword from Lani. It got to the point where wasting my time, energy and resources I was expelling in order to sustain myself during battle did not seem worth it, and thus I slaughtered them and moved on.

I hope I haven't built this game up in my head as something more than it is. For years I've heard that it's so amazing and many people I've spoken to claim it as their favorite or as one of their favorites. Right now I'm excited to see where the story goes, but I'm afraid of disappointment after thinking it would be great all this time.

Do any potentially old members remember the FFIX music video Squally Leonharty created?

[Heath]

As mentioned above, there's a reason for their Eidolons being in the skill set but not available which will become clear later.

On the stealing front, I think you have it right stealing just from bosses. That's all I ever bother with.

So glad you're playing this though, as FFIX is great.

[Depression Moon]

Yeah, I think I only stole from bosses myself as well. From baku at the beginning for the Iron Sword, The Ice Lion for the Mythril Dagger, attempted to steal from Hildegigas, but that was taking forever, and I think I didn't bother much after that. I can just buy whatever I missed. Money isn't that big of a problem in this game, except for maybe the beginning.

[Shorty]

I am imagining Bleys speaking to me as these little Scottish toad dwarves.

[Psychotic]

I wish I could marry Quina :(

[Relena Peacecraft]

"World only have two things: Things you can eat and things you no can eat."

It's philosophical brilliance like this that makes Quina the best character.

[Psychotic]

:quina: You stand here say nothing, then you just like other dummy-dummies! No can tell difference!

[Rantz]

There old saying in my tribe... "Leftovers good!"

[Freya]

I think what's great about this entry is that it has that whimsical feel to it while still tackling things like the ramuh stuff. It has its serious moments and they don't feel out of place.

rally ho. Rally ho yourself

[Shorty]

Eiko is annoying. Is she really six? I thought she might just be really small. It's weird to me that she's all up in Zidane's business, but when she was "talking" to her grandfather about how she won't be so alone anymore, that definitely tugged at my heart. Then when she talked about axing Garnet out of the picture, I lost all sympathy for her because that's totally bitchy. :mad2: Pretty silly for Zidane to get a glimpse of how he treats poor Garnet with his fawning over her, though!

Between Zidane looking like a Gelfing, Eiko looking like even more of a Gelfling who has her own little pet(s), and a precious stone being stolen from Eiko's village, I have confirmed that this story is retelling of The Dark Crystal. I am just waiting for some Skeksis to pop out from somewhere and ruin everything.

Can I bitch about moogles for a minute and possibly get hate for it? I hate having to go through dialogue options every damn time I want to save. In FFVIII it's as simple as walking up to a save point and accessing your inventory screen. I hate hate hate having to click through dialogues and waiting for them to open their big stupid books every single time. I just want to save and run on with the game! Why do you keep making me do this, it's making me resent them! They are adorable and whimsical and I do like the mognet messaging (though I wonder if there's a point to it?) and all of their different names and personalities, but this is the one qualm I have with them. :stare:

That big tree guy was weird. I wonder how it's going to affect the Mist and if Kuja will counter with a ploy of his own.

Also, thank you to the advice from those on Quina. Understanding how to can acquire Blue Magic is very helpful.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I kind of like the save moogle, but I would prefer to just save and move on with my adventure. My favorite part about the save moogle is to just keep calling him a bunch of times in a row without actually saving to piss him off.

I'm not a fan of Eiko. I find her annoying too. She has her moments in the story, but especially starting out I can't stand her.

As much as some of the characters look like Gelflings, I can confirm (at least based on my memory) that there never is a trial by stone in this game, which is unfortunate.

[Shorty]

Trial by stone! Trial by stone! Me the Emperor!

[Scotty_ffgamer]

You should make an effort to shout out "The Crystal calls!" anytime a crystal type thing is mentioned, though.

[Pumpkin]

I really like the save moogles too. One of my favorite parts of the game. Eiko is annoying at first, but she gets better in my opinion. She'll never be my favorite but I liked her more and more as the game goes on. She and Garnet actually develop a good friendship.

[Shorty]

Saw Garnet's adoption coming from miles away. Interesting! I wonder if she and Eiko are related.

Amarant's addition to the party felt a little... afterthought-y? What purpose does he have for joining the party? I confess that I did cheer to him telling Eiko she was a brat and to shut up. He's pretty broody, and I'm not loving that hair. Also, what the smurf kind of skill does he have? Throwing trout? Seriously? I selected for him to throw a Mythril Rod to see what would happen, and now it's gone from my inventory! :nonono: Why is that even an option! Worst skill ever!

I like Fenrir. I am partial to Greek and Norse mythologies, and I know that many of the summons throughout these games reflect on that. I have never seen Fenrir before, though! I like him.

You know when you're prompted twice leading up to a battle that it's going to be a big one. I was pretty disappointed with how easy the Mistodons were. Every battle that I enter, I hope it's going to be a challenge. The only time anything has been proven a challenge is when I hold off inflicting damage in order to steal something. Nothing so far has proven to be difficult at all. I'm only on level 28-30 for the party.

I like Kuja quite a bit. Is he riding on Quetzalcoatl? Pretty surprised that Brahne decided to attack Kuja; that seems like the worst idea ever. But she seems stupid enough and consumed enough by her greed, considering her past actions. Garnet's sentiment for Brahne is puzzling, but I can probably empathize with how she feels. If it was a question of letting someone destroy themselves who has raised me and only recently become such a horrible, cruel person, I might have trouble letting go from them as well.

Bahamut's introduction was awesome. What the trout is that eye, though? What is it?

The entire bit leading up to the scene of the attack and Brahne's death all feels... underwhelming. All in all, I feel like disc 2 was a little underwhelming. And short. Felt short. I feel like I haven't had to fight many bosses at all, and I feel like most of the disc changes end or should end with boss fights. Oh well. Maybe disc 3 will be better!

[Pumpkin]

I loooved the scene with Garnet and her mother when he mother dies.

Disc 3 is my favorite :3. I hope you like it. It has some really powerful and touching scenes, I find.

[Psychotic]

Eiko certainly does seem more like she's 11-12 than six. And yeah, annoying as all hell.

[Loony BoB]

Gonna echo on the "Eiko is annoying" thing. Definitely.

[Freya]

She I'd. And amarant is totally an afterthought. I don't understand his place in the party.

IX itself really isn't very hard. It ha a few difficult moments but I think its more about the story.

[Heath]

Amarant does feel a bit like a spare part. I used him in battle more than I had previously in a playthrough a couple of months back and found him surprisingly useful, and more enjoyable than I'd found to be the case before. Though I can't say the experience was revolutionary enough to make me want to use him again.

[Shorty]

After feeling a bit disappointed with the end of the second disk, I think I subconsciously lost a little interest in this game, so I took a small break for a while to play others.

Oh man, Beatrix finding the loveletter is so great. And the fact that so many people are finding it is wonderful. Marcus' nose starts bleeding, ahaha that was great xD Sucks for Beatrix and Steiner, though! I was so looking forward to a super cute moment. So looking forward to Beatrix and Steiner getting together!

Garnet's ceremony dress is so pretty! ;__________________;

Hoooooly trout. Did not expect Bahamut to come in and start destroying trout. #troutgotrekt

Eiko is still annoying.

I empathize with Garnet a lot in her not knowing her role, not knowing what it is to do, not wanting or having to ask for help even though she seems lost and confused.

I am still so frustrated with the eidolons being released in the game so late. I understand the reason for it now, I just don't think it's a very good one. It completely wastes the possibility of using them for the entire game. Stupid, stupid. Alexander is awesome as trout, though. I've always liked him.

THAT smurfING EYEBALL. WHAT IS IT. WHY IS IT IN THE SKY AND WHY IS IT SO CREEPY. GO AWAY, SKEYEBALL.

Between Kuja, Amarant, and now Garland being introduced so late into the story, I'm pretty fed up with characters showing up late to the party. One I could handle. Three across different levels/platforms is pretty ridiculous.

The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them. In FFVIII, Squall makes a decision to go rescue Rinoa, which ends up as a main arc in the story. Zidane does the same thing in FFIX. Why the hate for FFVIII, yet this one is loved so much more with a good portion of the story being the same? A mysterious girl runs away, meets boy, said girl is important in one way or another, decides to follow through with her duty of this and that involving some power or other that she and she alone holds and has to leave her group of friends after adventures traveled, guy decides to come rescue her from inevitable turmoil of x relating to that duty. This is incredibly puzzling to me. If anything, FFVIII seems more mature about it, and that would probably appeal to me more, so I don't understand why it's so hated. But I understand that FFIX is whimsical and more fantasy-based, and that would appeal to some. Hate FFVIII for different reasons, sure, but that is the most common complaint I hear is that FFVIII's lovestory sucks. This complaint coming from those who loved this game is not valid in any capacity because FFIX's lovestory follows along the same lines conspicuously closely.

[Pumpkin]

I honestly never understood all the VIII hate. It's my second favorite FF (after IX :P). There is certainly a prominent love story in IX.

I didn't mind at all the late intro characters. I loooove the Alexander, Bahamut scene, and the scene with Beatrix and Steiner going through town together. The love letters scene is great.

The third disc is my favorite :jess:. It's also thestart of when they stop separating your characters finally. There's a great scene with Zidane coming up later on.

The eye in the sky wields a pleasant surprise :3:

[Shorty]

(sorry guys, in case you haven't figured out, I'm doing/going to be doing a lot of comparisons to VIII. I'm still trying to let this be its own thing, though, and appreciate it for what it is.)

I like that Alexandria has it's own "secret." It reminds me very much about how the Garden is mobile in VIII.

bawwww Zidane coming to save Dagger from the castle crumbling ;_________;

I'm pretty disappointed I didn't get to see more of the destruction of Alexandria. Something had better not have happened to Beatrix or I'm going to start flipping tables.

Ohh man, Garnet losing her voice is nuts. Could not have foreseen that happening. That is pretty damn heartbreaking. I wonder why that had to happen. I don't understand what it has to do with her grief, though. Even so, Doctor Tot is a boss, so I trust what he has to say.

Upon entering the town of Lindblum to engage in a search for potions, I came across a crabby old man who shouted at me, "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a miracle-worker! Ask somebody else." to which I squealed in delight over. And the potions didn't even work! After all my searching, poor Cid got turned into a frog xD Maybe I should second-think Tot after all!

I know there is a Quina-love in this forum but I honestly cannot see the use for Quina at all. Not in the story, not in Quina's own ATE adventures, not in battle. Maybe the full purpose has not yet been revealed. I don't hate Quina, I just think that having a useless character around is annoying.

I realized that even though Zidane can get pretty irritating with his going on about women all the time, I like him. He's charismatic and has the personality of a leader, but he's not perfect and he doesn't know everything, and more than that he doesn't act like he does or that he's afraid that he doesn't. He's pretty clumsy. I like that he isn't a perfect star character. Along the lines of that, I really like seeing all of the character development going on. There's a lot to be said about almost everyone's personal stories here. Mostly I am a fan of simplicity, but when it comes to a large cast, the worst thing possible is to have them be boring. Varied stories and the depth of exploring those stories are imperative, and I feel like this game has done a good job of it.

[Ayen]

Garnet has become like Ward. Now she'll have to communicate by slightly turning her character model and staring at your character.

There was a Star Trek reference in-game? Nice.

[Shorty]

Yeah, I was pretty surprised but also pleased!

[Pumpkin]

Who is your favorite character so far, Shorty?

[Shorty]

I feel like I identify with Garnet in ways the most, even though I've found her pretty bratty at times (though I concede that I am bratty and that I am bratty often). I like Beatrix the best, though. Strong badass female characters with eyepatches I am all about. Normally I would probably consider a villain coming to the "good" side to be a bit wishy-washy, but I can forgive this instance.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Beatrix is sweet. Reading this thread really makes me want to play this again.

Skeyeball. I love it.

[Pumpkin]

Beatrix is pretty great :jess:

[Jinx]

Yeah, I'm glad you don't care for Quina either. Dumb, dumb.

Also, at this point in the game they should've told you what the eyeball is.......

[Psychotic]

The Eyeball is Jeff. He is a giant floating Eye that flies about the skies looking for his partner Claire. Will he ever find them? Will they be reunited with Montgomery the nose? KEEP PLAYIN' TO FIND OUT!

Also also I hated the love story in VIII because it ruined Squall. He was this asshole in a world full of idiots and I took great pleasure in him not giving the slightest of fucks about all of the stupidity around him. He just was not having any of it. Then he became all sappy and talkin' 'boot FEELINS and it ruined him :colbert:

Also also also Quina does not serve any purpose. It is a joke character designed to provide a little bit of levity to situations. I think FFIX's story focuses on the first four (plus Eiko) a bit too much and Freya, Amarant and Quina are mostly there to make up the numbers.

[Ayen]

Also also I hated the love story in VIII because it ruined Squall. He was this asshole in a world full of idiots and I took great pleasure in him not giving the slightest of smurfs about all of the stupidity around him. He just was not having any of it. Then he became all sappy and talkin' 'boot FEELINS and it ruined him :colbert:

Moral of the story: love ruins people. You heard it right here on EoFF.

[Shorty]

As of me typing this, I believe what I saw was Garland or whatever his name is inside the skeyeball, perhaps operating it, and defying Kuja's request to destroy the city. If I recall correctly.

So I boarded the Blue Narciss and said "smurf you guys I'm not going to the Black Mage Forest". Instead, I went to the west and landed the first beach I came across. What first two creatures do I encounter upon entering into battle? A Gigan Octopus and a Zombie Whale! :jess: A+++ favorite enemies ever. So pleased. Especially since they gave me an assload of XP and especially since I can take out a Zombie Whale with Life easy like Sunday morning.

And then I got my ass annihilated by a Grand Dragon. I died atleast four more times by those smurfing dragons before I managed to kill one in a pure stroke of luck in critical health with one single party member left (this has happened many more times since - 35k XP, woo!). Those smurfers are hard!

PS, I've abandoned the card game. If there's no in-game reward, I don't care to continue playing it. Not worth it.

Time to max out everyone's levels!

[Relena Peacecraft]

The best part is that Quina can brutally slaughter Grand Dragons with Lv. 5 Death.

I'm not sure the card game has any real reward at all. It's one thing I never really bother with except at the one time you're forced to.

[Shorty]

Eric mentioned that earlier. I suppose I could put Quina in the party and rotate everyone else out. I've just been trying to level up my main party and were going to switch them all out after, but I guessssss I'll test it out now (thank you)

Also, I keep running into the damn Gimme Cat! I want to be friends with it but I don't have a smurfing Diamond to give him! And why the trout does it have a rat tied to its tail. Why.

[Pumpkin]

Listen to me.

DO NOT

give him any Diamonds. This is important. Just kill his butt.

[Shorty]

oh man are you serious D: I was wondering about the music that plays when he appears on screen! It isn't that cute whimsical Ragtime Mouse music, it's battle music! Hmmmmmmm.

I am super curious about what happens when you give him a diamond, so please tell me what happens and I will kill him next time he appears.

[Pumpkin]

He will run away and give you nothing. NOTHING!!

I've heard if you use a non-damage dealing skill like Steal, he will fight you without using Comet, but I've never tried. Comet wasn't so bad anyways.

If I recall correctly, he doesn't give the greatest amount of points. But giving him a Diamond is just kind of... pointless. There are better things to do with your Diamond than give it to him and have him skip town.

[Shorty]

What a trouthead :aimmad: I haven't encountered him yet so I will be sure to destroy him once I do.

This Quina Lvl 5 Death business is almost not even worth it. Quina isn't leveled up enough to withstand a Thundaga attack, and Garnet barely is. In order to make this trout worth it, everyone has to be alive in order to receive the XP. I'm wasting too much damn time trying to keep Quina and Garnet alive and I keep going in circles and it's just all horsetrout. I'm getting so fed up with it.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I don't ever think I messed with the lvl 5 Death stuff when I played. Then again, I never really used Quina all that much. Those Great Dragons are nasty things, though.

[Pumpkin]

I used all of my characters equally, but Quina is my second favorite from the game.

I never bothered fighting those dragons either until I was leveled up enough to withstand the attacks. There's other ways to get EXP :P

[Jowy]

What a trouthead :aimmad: I haven't encountered him yet so I will be sure to destroy him once I do.

This Quina Lvl 5 Death business is almost not even worth it. Quina isn't leveled up enough to withstand a Thundaga attack, and Garnet barely is. In order to make this trout worth it, everyone has to be alive in order to receive the XP. I'm wasting too much damn time trying to keep Quina and Garnet alive and I keep going in circles and it's just all horsetrout. I'm getting so fed up with it.

Silk Shirts from the beginning of the game offer 50% Lightning damage mitigation while simultaneously being the weakest armor in the game. Thundaga is your biggest threat in this encounter and by the beginning of Disc 3 you will have enough HP to survive it. Three hours of killing dragons will net you 9999 damage on demand with Dragon's Crest if you steal it from Ark or buy it in Bran Bal.

Personally, I killed Ark in four turns with Trance management. Fuck that boss.

[Loony BoB]

If you get a couple of good skills on Quina, then Quina is a beast during many fights. Personally, I see Quina as a Red Mage role - able to hit decently, able to do cast decently and able to heal decently. I would use Steiner/Zidane/Garnet/Quina whenever I was able to.

Quina is also kind of hilarious and/or sweet due to how simple Quina is.

Skills I felt worth getting...

LV5 Death - Obvious spell is obvious. MP cost 20.
LV4 Holy - Ditto. MP cost 22.
Aqua Breath - Quarters enemy HP (50% accuracy). Good for high HP enemies. MP cost of 14.
Mighty Guard - Protect & Shell on entire party. MP cost of 64, but still worth it in some battles.
Matra Magic - Reduces enemy HP to 1 (20% accuracy). Great for Eat. MP cost of 8.
1,000 Needles - 1,000 damage. It has it's place. MP cost of 8.
Pumpkin Head - Damage to a single enemy equal to the difference in Quina's Max HP and current HP. I've used this to great effect on occasion given it's very low MP cost of 12.
White Wind - Recovers HP to all targets equal to 1/3 of Quina's Max HP. MP cost of just 14 makes this really useful.
Angel's Snack - Uses four Remedies from your inventory on the four players of your party. This has an MP cost of just 4 and if you're like me and stack up on Remedies etc. due to the over-abundance of gil in the game, then this is a no-brainer during fights that use a lot of status effects on all of your party.
Frost - 30% chance of giving an enemy the Freeze status. Cost of 8 MP.
Auto-Life - Target is auto-revived the next time they get KO'd. MP cost 14. Not majorly useful but like many of the above, it has it's place.

Not to mention Quina is pretty strong for most of the game when doing standard attacks, although for some reason in my playthrough Quina's attacks struggled near the end. Not sure if that was my fault or not.

[Slothy]

The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them.

The problem I had with the FFVIII love story wasn't really one of prominence so much as not finding it believable. You spend much of the game with Squall being a dick and Rinoa throwing herself at him because, well, not really sure why. Apparently she finds cold and distant assholes who display no interest in her attractive. Then all of a sudden he can't live without her. It just felt like a complete 180 degree turn in his feelings for her with no real build up to it, making it feel as convoluted as the GF's cause amnesia plot twist.

[Loony BoB]

The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them.

The problem I had with the FFVIII love story wasn't really one of prominence so much as not finding it believable. You spend much of the game with Squall being a dick and Rinoa throwing herself at him because, well, not really sure why. Apparently she finds cold and distant assholes who display no interest in her attractive. Then all of a sudden he can't live without her. It just felt like a complete 180 degree turn in his feelings for her with no real build up to it, making it feel as convoluted as the GF's cause amnesia plot twist.
I dunno, I find that to be a pretty accurate summary of many relationships in the world we live in. :p

[Slothy]

The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them.

The problem I had with the FFVIII love story wasn't really one of prominence so much as not finding it believable. You spend much of the game with Squall being a dick and Rinoa throwing herself at him because, well, not really sure why. Apparently she finds cold and distant assholes who display no interest in her attractive. Then all of a sudden he can't live without her. It just felt like a complete 180 degree turn in his feelings for her with no real build up to it, making it feel as convoluted as the GF's cause amnesia plot twist.
I dunno, I find that to be a pretty accurate summary of many relationships in the world we live in. :p

Yeah, but most people have a transition period before they start professing it. Or at least soften up to the person a bit first. Squall just basically kept being Squall until then. Considering we frequently get an inside look at what he thinks and feels in private it just made no sense to me not to give some hints at it before hand.

[Quindiana Jones]

Coral Ring will absorb Thundaga and ensure Quina's survival. Problem solved. :)

[Shorty]

Thank you!





The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them.

The problem I had with the FFVIII love story wasn't really one of prominence so much as not finding it believable. You spend much of the game with Squall being a dick and Rinoa throwing herself at him because, well, not really sure why. Apparently she finds cold and distant assholes who display no interest in her attractive. Then all of a sudden he can't live without her. It just felt like a complete 180 degree turn in his feelings for her with no real build up to it, making it feel as convoluted as the GF's cause amnesia plot twist.
I dunno, I find that to be a pretty accurate summary of many relationships in the world we live in. :p

Yeah, but most people have a transition period before they start professing it. Or at least soften up to the person a bit first. Squall just basically kept being Squall until then. Considering we frequently get an inside look at what he thinks and feels in private it just made no sense to me not to give some hints at it before hand.

It seems believable enough to me. Squall can put on a hard shell all he wants, but he's consistently spent time with Rinoa now for what, three discs? It's not impossible to believe that someone doesn't realize how much another means to them until they are gone, which is something that many of us probably experience in our lifetime.

[Psychotic]

Look, I've known you for three discs - let's stop this gallivanting and just screw in Cid's Office.

[Ayen]

Shorty got us to talk about Final Fantasy VIII in a Final Fantasy IX thread. Just let that settle in for a moment.

[Heath]

The more I play this game, the more I remember echoes of haters berating FFVIII for its love story. I don't get it. Of the games I have played - VII, VIII and IX, it seems like the love story is pretty prominent in all of them.

The problem I had with the FFVIII love story wasn't really one of prominence so much as not finding it believable. You spend much of the game with Squall being a dick and Rinoa throwing herself at him because, well, not really sure why. Apparently she finds cold and distant assholes who display no interest in her attractive. Then all of a sudden he can't live without her. It just felt like a complete 180 degree turn in his feelings for her with no real build up to it, making it feel as convoluted as the GF's cause amnesia plot twist.
I dunno, I find that to be a pretty accurate summary of many relationships in the world we live in. :p

Yeah, but most people have a transition period before they start professing it. Or at least soften up to the person a bit first. Squall just basically kept being Squall until then. Considering we frequently get an inside look at what he thinks and feels in private it just made no sense to me not to give some hints at it before hand.

Pretty much. Replaying FFVIII recently has made me aware of quite how rapidly that change takes place. There's no real transition between the two states.

But alas, we all know that FFIX is a superior game, so let's talk about that :)

On the topic of Quina - I've used her on occasion, usually when I want to have someone who can deal damage in my squad so I can drop Garnet or Eiko. I felt that the Blue Magic was a little unpredictable - too dependent upon enemies being of a certain level, Quina being of a certain HP, or of an attack actually hitting due to low accuracy rates. This is mirrored by the seemingly random damage dealt out by physical attacks. The only reason I used them in my last playthrough was on Grand Dragons to level up a few of my lesser used party members. Still, they're not useless and do add a bit of spice to the game!

[Kalevala]

Look, I've known you for three discs - let's stop this gallivanting and just screw in Cid's Office.

Or in NORG's pod.

[Elpizo]

The fun thing about Lv5 Death in this game is that you can kill everything in Desert Palace with it. Every. Single. Enemy. (Except for the boss.) Which makes running through it with your mage party (Garnet, Eiko, Quina and Vivi) a whole lot less painful or difficult. Lv5 Death kicks butt.

[Shorty]

FYI, I'm just grinding away lately and getting mighty bored with it, so I'm not doing it often. Will probably be done by the end of the week, judging by how much time I've put into it lately.

[Jinx]

Unless you enjoy it, you don't really have to grind. I know some people have beat this game in the 30s.

[Shorty]

I don't enjoy it, but if I don't max everyone's levels out I feel like I've done the game a disservice somehow :stare: I don't know why, it's just an OCD thing!

[Jinx]

You can probably max out stats in Memoria if you just want a change of pace. There are 4 boss battles during, so that might help too.

Do you max out EVERYONE'S stats, or just your main party?

[Shorty]

I try to max out everyone's, but if I can get secondary party members atleast to level 80 or 90 before I get too miserable, I'll be happy. Often times, though, I'm so close and will just push them all to 100 anyway xD

[Pumpkin]

I usually get to level 70. They don't gain levels as easily as in VII for example, so it'll take some work. You can comfortably beat the game around level 40-50. But if you want to continue grinding, go for it :D. I just love the story too much too put it off as I play.

[Loony BoB]

You always do this, Sarah? Oh, wow. D= No wonder you don't play FF's very often, that must take forever. I think the only FF I ever capped the level on was FFXIII. FFXIV too, if you count "base level" rather than "item level".

[Psychotic]

How come you've never maxed out your level on Fallout when it's easier and more fun than on an FF game? :3:

Not to say Fallout is or is not more fun than FF, but I love that you get EXP for stuff besides winning battles and think FF should implement that.

[Shorty]

You always do this, Sarah? Oh, wow. D= No wonder you don't play FF's very often, that must take forever. I think the only FF I ever capped the level on was FFXIII. FFXIV too, if you count "base level" rather than "item level".

I don't play FFs very often because I haven't had a console in like a decade.


How come you've never maxed out your level on Fallout when it's easier and more fun than on an FF game? :3:

Not to say Fallout is or is not more fun than FF, but I love that you get EXP for stuff besides winning battles and think FF should implement that.

I believe I have maxed out my levels in Fallout! 30 is the highest you can reach, correct? Why do you think I have not done this, silly? xD

[Heath]

To be fair, it's also ridiculously easy to hit level 30 in the Fallout games and incredibly tedious to reach the top level in most FF games!

I agree with Jinx above about maxing out. Fair play with abilities - they'll be useful (typically the longer to master ones - e.g. Auto-Life are), and the command abilities you might want to learn all of just so you can see them. There's some pretty nice skills there which aren't replicated in other FF games.

[Quindiana Jones]

Auto-[x]s are all a waste. :colbert:

[Heath]

Even auto-haste? I almost always use that.

[Rantz]

Auto-Regen is the only one I use, but that one is amazing.

[Shorty]

Ahem.

Where were we?

[Shorty]

I am really not loving this leveling up system :/ It takes so long for higher levels to reach their next level; it's obscene. There is no feasible way to ever get to level 100 unless I put like 500 hours into this game! Even fighting Grand Dragons!

It was around this time that I began to use a walkthrough for some parts. I picked it up to help me remember where I was to go after not playing the game for so long and... it went on from there. It came in useful, too; had I not traveled up north on the Forbidden Continent to the chocobo tracks to snag myself a bird, it would have taken me ages and ages to reach Oeilvert.

I was so frustrated in Oeilvert. I kept running into Epitaphs, who kept using Mirror on my partyr members and killing them off! aaaah! I wasted fifty high potions healing myself at first before I realized they didn't do much else damage except for their Mirror attack and I was just running dry :| Sons of whores! Those stone faces were goshdarn creepy, though, but neat! Also, going into Oeilvert, I decided to not bring Garnet under the sound logic that she was of no use because she couldn't do magic! :shobon: Doink!

HOLY CRAP THOSE GARGOYLES HEADS TURN AND WATCH YOU MOVE

I really hated navigating Kuja's place. Truly and awfully.

I am finding that I am a bit sad that this game isn't more challenging. I know it was made half a lifetime ago for some people, but still! Ah well, I am still enjoying it. More to come tomorrow!

[Jinx]

Kuja's castle is probably my favorite dungeon in the whole game.