Final Fantasy VIII is Trash

[Freya]

75175

I don't know how well known it is, but I don't like VIII. I think the draw magic feature is stupid. Change my mind.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

This is unacceptable. I'm triggered.

75176

But really, a lot of it's going to come down to personal preference. I actually liked drawing magic. Instead of just learning something by leveling up, it was organic and just floating around in the ether. There were wellsprings of magic around the world. You could also steal it from people. I thought it was refreshing. I liked that you could stack it to make better spells, so the more fire you had the more impact it had.

I like gaining magic by leveling up, too. But I do prefer the draw points over buying a spell in a shop.

I was happy to see they brought back draw points for Final Fantasy XV, even though the hack and slash aspect of that game made magic less necessary.

75177

[Freya]

Oh man I didn't even realize that XV had that same concept. Welp, guess I hate that now too.

[starlet]

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Final Fantasy VIII. The story is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical time compression most of the plot will go over a typical gamer's head. There’s also Squall’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of this story, to realise that it's not just extremely well executed- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Final Fantasy VIII truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the humour in Squall’s existential catchphrase “... whatever" which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev’s Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Kazushige Nojima's genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools.. how I pity them.

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Greiver tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the fellas’ eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel k :chocobo:

[Fox]

It is.

But trash is fun.

It's the Sword Art Online of Final Fantasy games.

[Example]

In retrospect it's very hit and miss for me. There are some things I like about it and other things I really dislike. For example Squall is actually a really well-written MC, but the supporting cast is annoying as hell and lacking development. The story is interesting at first but then takes a dramatic swan dive after the first disc. I've learned to appreciate its finer qualities even though it's still my least favourite of the "Golden Age" Final Fantasies.

[Mirage]

the only people who hate this game are those who fail to realize how it all fits together with the sorceresses and time travel and how rinoa really is ultimecia in the future

it's the greatest plot twist in the history of video games and it says a lot about the intellectual capacity of the fan base when so few understand this simple fact

[Freya]

But I hated it so much I never got to that point so.... bad job mirage. This isn't convincing me

[Fynn]

It’s way better than VII, that’s for sure :monster:

[fat_moogle]

Good points = Moombas, music.

Bad points = everything else.

[Loony BoB]

Moombas and the Shumi Tribe are the most underrated additions to Final Fantasy lore from any game ever.

[Example]

It’s way better than VII, that’s for sure :monster:

Man why you gotta bring VII into this?

[Fynn]

Because it’s bad

[Loony BoB]

Stay on topic, Fynn. :p

[maybee]

WTF ? Final Fantasy VIII is great.


the only people who hate this game are those who fail to realize how it all fits together with the sorceresses and time travel and how rinoa really is ultimecia in the future

it's the greatest plot twist in the history of video games and it says a lot about the intellectual capacity of the fan base when so few understand this simple fact

SE said that it wasn't true. So you have just shot yourself.


It’s way better than VII, that’s for sure :monster:

At least the orphanage plot twist sort of makes sense, the big materia sidequest makes no sense at all. Reasons you have already explained ( about last year ?)

[Example]

WTF ? Final Fantasy VIII is great.


the only people who hate this game are those who fail to realize how it all fits together with the sorceresses and time travel and how rinoa really is ultimecia in the future

it's the greatest plot twist in the history of video games and it says a lot about the intellectual capacity of the fan base when so few understand this simple fact

SE said that it wasn't true. So you have just shot yourself.


It’s way better than VII, that’s for sure :monster:

At least the orphanage plot twist sort of makes sense, the big materia sidequest makes no sense at all. Reasons you have already explained ( about last year ?)

The orphanage twist almost ruined Squall's character for me, him going full emo for having the exact same experience as everyone else made it harder for me to sympathize with or relate to him. The big materia sidequest was dumb and unnecessary but it didn't drag down other parts of the game.

[Mirage]

WTF ? Final Fantasy VIII is great.


the only people who hate this game are those who fail to realize how it all fits together with the sorceresses and time travel and how rinoa really is ultimecia in the future

it's the greatest plot twist in the history of video games and it says a lot about the intellectual capacity of the fan base when so few understand this simple fact

SE said that it wasn't true. So you have just shot yourself.


It’s way better than VII, that’s for sure :monster:

At least the orphanage plot twist sort of makes sense, the big materia sidequest makes no sense at all. Reasons you have already explained ( about last year ?)

as if squenix would tell us the truth about their games. wake up, sheep.

[Wolf Kanno]

It's better than XIII. Just saying. :wcanoe:

More seriously, VIII certainly has it's problems and frankly it just gets worse the farther in the plot you go, but it comes up with some interesting ideas and it's frankly a pretty unique game in terms of gameplay and scenario, even among FFs.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I feel like VIII had a lot of potential that it didn’t fully live up to. I can see why people don’t like it. I love it though, and it’s what got me into the series and JRPGs in general.

It’s one of my favorite worlds to explore, and I like talking to all of the NPCs. I also like some of the little touches like how Selphie updates her little website on the Balamb computers throughout the game as well as how some of the other stuff on the Garden website changes. I like all of the characters, the designs, and the music. I like how Seifer is made to basically be the stereotypical main character only to ultimately be a failure, often due to some of those more lead characterish traits. Also, the Moombas and Shumi tribe are great additions to FF lore. I also just felt the characterization of these teenage characters was pretty realistic, and Squall was pretty relatable to me back at that age.

I can concede that the orphanage twist was poorly done and poorly utilized (though I still think it could have been good). Quistis got the short end of the stick with the rest of the party, though I still like several of the aspects that are there for her character. Junction/draw is pretty exploitable and a lot of people don’t like it, but I do like it. There are lots of other faults too, but I love the game despite them.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Final Fantasy VIII is a perfect game and I love it don't even @ me with your orphanage hate.

Even if you thought the "we all grew up together" scene felt convoluted or ridiculous, you've gotta give hats off to the idea that using guardian forces had real life consequences. In other games, you don't really have to answer for summoning large beasts, it's just a power you have. In this game they really tried to establish that there's a price to be paid.

This is the hill I will die on.

[maybee]

Final Fantasy VIII is a perfect game and I love it don't even @ me with your orphanage hate.

Even if you thought the "we all grew up together" scene felt convoluted or ridiculous, you've gotta give hats off to the idea that using guardian forces had real life consequences. In other games, you don't really have to answer for summoning large beasts, it's just a power you have. In this game they really tried to establish that there's a price to be paid.

This is the hill I will die on.

Right !

I will die on this hill too.





The orphanage twist almost ruined Squall's character for me, him going full emo for having the exact same experience as everyone else made it harder for me to sympathize with or relate to him. The big materia sidequest was dumb and unnecessary but it didn't drag down other parts of the game.

But Avalanche wanted to save the planet, saving those rocks is going to be pointless if there is no planet left. :/

[Fynn]

As much as I love it though, I’ll say FFVIII probably has my least favorite soundtrack in the series. And don’t even @ me. I know what everyone thinks. And I think it’s all backwards :stare:

[Freya]

Final Fantasy VIII is a perfect game and I love it don't even @ me with your orphanage hate.

Even if you thought the "we all grew up together" scene felt convoluted or ridiculous, you've gotta give hats off to the idea that using guardian forces had real life consequences. In other games, you don't really have to answer for summoning large beasts, it's just a power you have. In this game they really tried to establish that there's a price to be paid.

This is the hill I will die on.

Look, I know we're friends but your opinions are not good.


I will concede the consequences thing seems more engaging though.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I like the orphanage twist and the consequences of using GF. I liked when the little clues kind of clicked when the reveal happened. I can just admit that it could have probably been done even better.

The only part of the game I’m iffy about is the Garden Master NORG part.

[Foo]

As much as I love it though, I’ll say FFVIII probably has my least favorite soundtrack in the series. And don’t even @ me. I know what everyone thinks. And I think it’s all backwards :stare:

The soundtrack is fantastic. Don't make me call Nobuo Uematsu

[Fynn]

He hasn’t composed anything good since 2010, so go ahead :monster:

[Foo]

Well whenever the hell that FFVII remake comes out we'll be basking in his auditory glory

[Fynn]

Ugh

[WarZidane]

He hasn’t composed anything good since 2010, so go ahead :monster:

Whoa.
Whoa.
He composed Heavensward and Stormblood's main themes, thank you very much.

Anyway, I wouldn't go so far as to say VIII is trash. But it's not great.

[Slothy]

Change my mind.

Why would I ever do that? You seem to be pretty on the ball.

[Skyblade]

Overall, I like the game. However, the Junction system is trash.

It's a neat idea. And it's a fairly new one, so it's expected to have some flaws.

But after seeing a game which implemented that system WELL, it's very clear that the Junction system is just really poorly executed.

[Shauna]

But after seeing a game which implemented that system WELL, it's very clear that the Junction system is just really poorly executed.

Out of curiosity, which game was this?

[maybee]

For all u haters out there. Lol.


https://i.redd.it/m3ts4gdzul401.png

[Skyblade]

But after seeing a game which implemented that system WELL, it's very clear that the Junction system is just really poorly executed.

Out of curiosity, which game was this?

Golden Sun

The Djinn system is basically a properly executed Junction system.

Each Djinn can be Set (Junctioned) to a character. Each one has its own minor stat boost that it gives a character as long as it remains Set. In addition, different types of Djinn in different combinations will change a character's class, which provides larger stat boosts.

By using a Djinn in combat, you can Unleash their unique effects, which are typically powerful attacks, healing, shielding, etcetera. But, by doing so you lose the Djinn's stat boosts and effect on your class. So the more you use, the weaker your character becomes, similar to Magic in FFVIII weakening the stats its Junctioned to as you cast it.

Unleashed Djinn go to a Standby mode. From here, you can either take a turn in combat to Set them back and regain their stat boosts (or do it for free out of combat), or use the Standby Djinn to perform a Summon (the more Djinn you have on Standby, the more powerful spirit that you can Summon). After you Summon them, they will slowly Set themselves back to the character (at a rate of 1 Djinn per turn).

So, the most basic way to use them is to Set them, Unleash them for their effects, then perform a Summon and wait for the Djinn to go through the Recovery state and Set themselves again.

It copies FFVIII's system of having powerful abilities that weaken your character, but it's a LOT better executed.

Summons are your most powerful attacks, but the more powerful a Summon is, the more Djinn it requires, and the longer it will leave your character in a weakened state (and the more prep work you have to do Unleashing Djinn to Summon in the first place). So, instead of GFs having health, they can instead be used less frequently, do more damage, and leave your characters substantially weakened both before and after using them.

Djinn are the equivalent to FFVIII's magic spells. Using them harms your stats and can change your class, which can change access to what spells you have. But, Djinn are generally powerful to make this tradeoff worthwhile, and unlike the game's spells, don't require PP, just time and stats. Some Djinn nearly double your attack strength, some can drain enemy health or heal the full party. There's even one that reduces all damage you take by 90% for one turn. Yeah, taking a stat loss for that is rough, but that is a POWERFUL effect. So while magic is nearly worthless in FFVIII, Djinn are a very worthwhile tradeoff that you have to consider when and where to use (as well as calculate when to Summon with them and take that stat loss for longer).

Finally, there are your basic attacks, which are generally your weaker options until you gain access to some of the endgame weapons. But they're very reliable and don't come with a stat penalty. And spells use PP and won't usually do enough damage to one shot enemies (especially at the beginning of the game), but can affect multiple enemies at a time, giving them their own utility.

Overall, the system is just much better balanced and executed. It serves the same idea of having powerful effects that reduce your stats, but it cuts out the entire draw/refining system in place of acquiring a much smaller number of Djinn, which each have a larger individual impact on your stats. And it makes these strong enough to actually use, instead of just taking the stat buff and forgetting that you actually have spells the way you do in FFVIII (though note, you CAN play the game without Unleashing or Summoning Djinn if you want, it's totally viable).

[Forsaken Lover]

There are certainly things to like about FFVIII. i have replayed it multiple times because of those things.

However I can never in any good conscience call it a good game. The cons far outweigh the pros.

The game really feels like they had no direction and just threw a bunch of "this sounds cool!" together. In the real world, you'll think its Christmas at the start of November. In FFVIII World, MONSTERS FALLING FROM THE MOON is not mentioned until right around thet ime monsters start falling from the moon.

The "ancient super advanced civilization" of FFVIII also vanished a grand total of...80 years before the game started. Yet almost nobody knows of the Centra civilization and you might have thought it vanished hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

You learn more about Sorceresses from a random NPC you can talk to in Balamb at the start of the game than you will ever learn from a main story cutscene in the entire game.

Balamb is basically a high school that dabbles in murder but the real implications of our heroes all being child soldiers is never really addressed or treated well. Similarly, Cid being a coward and asshole of the highest caliber is never talked about.

And much, much more. There's a good story in FFVIII but it was never properly executed at any point,

[Fynn]

Sky, if you say Djinn are basically the same as the junction system but better, I can tell right away you’ve probably scratched the surface of Junction, because it is a FAR more nuanced system.

[Skyblade]

Sky, if you say Djinn are basically the same as the junction system but better, I can tell right away you’ve probably scratched the surface of Junction, because it is a FAR more nuanced system.

Uh-huh. And I'm guessing you barely scratched the surface of the Djinn system, because it has far more nuance than a lot of people realize. And I've played with the Junction system quite a lot, certainly more than most.

But even at its basic level, the Djinn system is better, because it's just a smoother and more polished execution. The Junction system is hideously imbalanced, ridiculously easy to break/exploit/manipulate, renders most magic completely worthless, and frustrates a lot of players with the difficulty in gaining the absurd numbers of spells that you need in order to fully outfit your characters. In Golden Sun, it maintains the same idea, while keeping the various aspects of it usable and fun.

[Fynn]

Just to clarify, I wasn’t stating which system was better - just that they’re different on a fundamental level and shouldn’t be compared. Djinn are a risk vs reward system based upon the decisions you make in battle - higher stats and better magic vs single more powerful spells and temporary debuffs. Junction is about micro managing every stat and using multiple GFs to unlock various skills that shake up gameplay in battles substantially, and there are zero drawbacks to summoning GFs (heck, you even get a temporary damage sponge until you unleash the ultra powerful spell, making it like, all the pros with no cons), and it’s not like you lose all the Junction bonuses you get from them if their HP reaches zero - you just can’t summon them anymore. So like, the only thing they have in common is the lore behind them - you assign multiple magic beings per party member. But everything about their execution and how they influence their battle is completely different to the point that you can’t say any one of them is a better execution of this system, because the systems couldn’t be more different than they are mechanically.

[Skyblade]

Thank you for proving my point, Fynn. The Junction system is all about min-maxing your stats.

Notice what you ignored there? The actual mechanic you use to min-max your stats. The Magic spells themselves. Because they're basically completely useless, except for maybe Meltdown or healing spells.

The Djinn pull off the "min max stats" system, but the Djinn themselves are useful outside of just the effect on your stats. The way Magic feels as though it's SUPPOSED to be in FFVIII. Magic should be a high risk, high reward system. You should cast it for a power effect, but know that, by doing so, you're going to weaken your stats and leave yourself vulnerable.

This is the entire reason they moved away from an MP system. The stat boost you get is based on the number of spells you have Junctioned. So, if you cast one, you get a smaller boost. But the spells are basically completely worthless, to the point that you don't bring them up in your analysis of the system at all except for their stat benefit.

If that is the intended design, they could have abandoned the numerical system and just stuck with MP. You just assign a spell to a stat to get the boost, but casting it has no effect on that stat. Casting a spell has an effect on the boost you get because it is SUPPOSED to be a risk/reward system. It just fails because the reward is worthless compared to your physical attacks, and the risk is, while relatively small for any single spell, just not worth it. Sure, casting a single spell won't likely reduce your stats by even one point until the very endgame and with the spells with the largest multipliers. But why bother? You'll just have to take extra time to reacquire the spell, and the effect is still either inferior to or on par with your basic attacks.

[Fynn]

Again, I’m not arguing which system is better, but the fact that magic has a completely different use in either game (I.e. means of attacking vs mostly a resource) is whatvreally cements the fact that these systems were created with completely different goals in mind.

[Skyblade]

I just want you to know that the reason I'm disagreeing is because I don't think Magic was MEANT to be mostly a resource. If it was just a resource, there's no reason to Cast it, or to track the varying number. I feel that it was meant to be a resource and a utility in its own right, and that's where I feel it failed. It IS just a resource, and that's one of the biggest flaws in the system. But it's not a flaw with the overall system, just with the execution and balancing.

[Krizzy]

I don't think VIII is trash, the story may be convoluted but it's good, just remove Squall and Rinoa.

If there's an FF is trash, that's definitely XIII trilogy.

[maybee]

I don't think VIII is trash, the story may be convoluted but it's good, just remove Squall and Rinoa.

If there's an FF is trash, that's definitely XIII trilogy.

Laguna as the lead instead could of made a interesting game. But then there will be no dog rocket launcher. ):




If there's an FF is trash, that's definitely III

Fixed :3:

FF3 can fight me outside Denny's at 3am.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Interesting video about the junction system.

It brought up a contradiction I never really thought of. You simultaneously have to grind to build up your magic stock while at the same time from a level perspective not needing to grind at all because the enemies grow with you.

It's not really a big deal, especially if you know how to manipulate the system and get card mod early on, but it definitely would have been more cohesive if the enemies didn't level with you. It would make the traditional grinding more worth it.

hptoJEQPcSg

[Jessweeee♪]

FFVIII is great because you can break the game by playing yu gi oh in the school cafeteria with the other yu gi oh nerds.

[tony123]

My biggest issue with the game was that basically only two of the characters in the entire game mattered at all and everyone else was pretty much just there. Also the overall story seemed to come second to the personal love story between Squall and Rinoa.

Compare that to FF7 where all the main cast was developed well and it also had a very defined overall story. Cloud's love story with Aeris or Tifa was just a part of the plot.

FF8 is a difficult game to take the entirety of it and still really enjoy it/love it. There are pieces here and there that you can focus on that you can like or love but much harder when you are trying to take the game as a whole. I think the game was always intended to be an experiment game though and experimental projects often do tend to be polarizing.

[Example]

My biggest issue with the game was that basically only two of the characters in the entire game mattered at all and everyone else was pretty much just there. Also the overall story seemed to come second to the personal love story between Squall and Rinoa.

Compare that to FF7 where all the main cast was developed well and it also had a very defined overall story. Cloud's love story with Aeris or Tifa was just a part of the plot.

FF8 is a difficult game to take the entirety of it and still really enjoy it/love it. There are pieces here and there that you can focus on that you can like or love but much harder when you are trying to take the game as a whole. I think the game was always intended to be an experiment game though and experimental projects often do tend to be polarizing.

That honestly applies to most FF games, or at least the ones post-SNES. FF7 wasn't that much different. Once the side characters got over their mini arc they did almost nothing for the rest of the game.

[Sorceress Claire]

FFVIII is actually one of my favorite FF's and is in no way a trash game. I guess you have to be the type that can relate too and understand the story to like it... as the second poster a while ago stated. I personally relate to Squall a lot as we are both intensely introverted. The difference between him and I though is that he is a natural leader and I'm definitely not.

I wanted to make a correction to a misinformation here. A user said that magic was nigh 'worthless' in this game when that's very far from the truth. Using the magic damage formula one can see that magic out damages attack command on a turn for turn basis double and triple casted.

The magic damage formula is...

casters mag + spell power = step 1
step 1 * (265 - target spr) / 4 = step 2
step 2 * spell power / 256 = step 3
step 3 + rnd mod multiplied by elemental attributes if any = final damage.

Using this formula damages will go as follows for some of the mightiest magics...


1: 22000 damage triple casting Firaga against a Snow Lion per turn.
2: 16000 damage triple casting Water against Jumbo Cactaur per turn.
3: 18800 multi target damage triple casting Quake against Adamantoise per turn.
4: 7800 multi target damage single casting Ultima, 15000 double, and 22000 triple per turn.
5: 14000 damage single casting Meteor, 28000 double and 42000 triple per turn.
6: 9999 damage single casting Demi against Malboro,19998 double, 29997 triple per turn.

Attack command can only ever deal 9999 in one turn but has the status atk advantage. However the mightiest enemies are immune to ohko's making double and triple magic superior for dealing with them.

[Lord Golbez]

This is thread is trashier than any game in the series, even XII. Possibly equally trashy to II.

[Rez09]

Oooooh, that's swinging pretty low man.

In regards to Claire's post, magic isn't useless in the sense that it can't be powerful, the problem comes from two other extremely exploitable mechanics in the game - scaling enemy levels and limit breaks. Because your stats can be buffed by junctioning spells early and enemy stats can be kept low via non leveling, limits effectively erase everything in the game and there is simply no reason to ever use magic for anything other than buffing your stats. Magic is still plenty damaging in the game to be sure, especially under triple with GFs boosting your stats, but a lot of people don't go that route.

That aside, I certainly don't think the game is trash, but I don't especially love it either. From a narrative point of view, I love most of the entire first disk, especially the Dollet mission, and I found the idea of playing as this elite mercenary squad super engaging. Unfortunately, the second disk hits, and that's about where the game's story completely loses my interest. I also find the combat related systems quite interesting, and like the theory behind what they were doing, but things are beyond exploitable, especially limits, and even if you play things legitimately your characters often become extremely carbon copy unless you go out of your way to enforce classes upon them -- an odd problem with too much freedom some games have. That said, I do go out of my way to enforce classes, and it makes the experience significantly more enjoyable, but that isn't really a part of the game.

[Lord Golbez]

Limits don't become a viable normal attack (unless you eant to remain in critical condition constantly) until you get aura late game and even then you have to shuffle until the limit comes up.

Far too much is made of the enemies leveling issue. It's almost a non-issue. In the first place, it's a decent way to get the same enemily types (like Galbadian soldiers) that appear throughout the game to grow. Secondly, unless you're playing very poorly your growth will almost certainly outpace that of most enemies due to learning new GF skills, having new magic become available, etc.

The main problem with using magic in the game is its in limited supply and the best spells are often junctioned to your stats, which means using them lowers your stats. It's still generally worth it to use some spells and then draw or refine more as needed though.

The carbon copy issue has been an issue with most FF games since FFVI. Arguably, FFV even, where making everyone a mime or something like that at the end is a viavle option.

[Sorceress Claire]

Oooooh, that's swinging pretty low man.

In regards to Claire's post, magic isn't useless in the sense that it can't be powerful, the problem comes from two other extremely exploitable mechanics in the game - scaling enemy levels and limit breaks. Because your stats can be buffed by junctioning spells early and enemy stats can be kept low via non leveling, limits effectively erase everything in the game and there is simply no reason to ever use magic for anything other than buffing your stats. Magic is still plenty damaging in the game to be sure, especially under triple with GFs boosting your stats, but a lot of people don't go that route.

That aside, I certainly don't think the game is trash, but I don't especially love it either. From a narrative point of view, I love most of the entire first disk, especially the Dollet mission, and I found the idea of playing as this elite mercenary squad super engaging. Unfortunately, the second disk hits, and that's about where the game's story completely loses my interest. I also find the combat related systems quite interesting, and like the theory behind what they were doing, but things are beyond exploitable, especially limits, and even if you play things legitimately your characters often become extremely carbon copy unless you go out of your way to enforce classes upon them -- an odd problem with too much freedom some games have. That said, I do go out of my way to enforce classes, and it makes the experience significantly more enjoyable, but that isn't really a part of the game.


Very nice response! The End and Degenerator are kinda like limit magic and they're powerful. Granted I'm disappointed with how weak they made Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar though. At a Crisis Level 4 with 255 magic and spirit 0 status inflicted on the enemy it still only deal 32972 damage. They should have made Shockwave Pulsar multi hit based on some analog boost system like Lulu's 'Fury'.

The fist disk is also my favorite as well as the second disk which is probably why I started so much games on this, so I can re experience the beginning and mid game. I just love the game in almost every way.. maybe because it was my first RPG back in 2002 when I was 13 years old.

[Rez09]

And here I always thought Pulsar was pretty strong. :roll2 That's a good point though, since most of the game's really devastating limits do deal damage in multiple hits and Pulsar is a bit of a pain to get, you'd really expect it to have some other upside. That might have stepped on Angel Wing Rinoa's meteors, though. :p



Limits don't become a viable normal attack (unless you eant to remain in critical condition constantly) until you get aura late game and even then you have to shuffle until the limit comes up.

Er, yeah, you . . . just remain in critical health and shuffle; Zell and Squall will carry you through the whole game that way with almost no real effort, and God help the universe once you get Irvine.


Far too much is made of the enemies leveling issue. It's almost a non-issue. In the first place, it's a decent way to get the same enemily types (like Galbadian soldiers) that appear throughout the game to grow. Secondly, unless you're playing very poorly your growth will almost certainly outpace that of most enemies due to learning new GF skills, having new magic become available, etc.

I . . . agree? Enemies leveling with you is a non issue the SaGa series has executed well numerous times, and the FF series itself has used pallet swaps to effectively power up the same old enemies alongside you since its inception. What makes it exploitable in 8 is that your ability to increase your stats is not level gated, and thus you can leave enemies in an extremely under stated state while you power up substantially, the most obvious example being early Water or Tornado to Strength junctions before you head to Dollet. This allows you to quickly reach the point where normal attacks and limits are vastly more effective at killing enemies and bosses, respectively, than spells are, and so magic tends to get glossed over in the game, regardless of how powerful it actually is.


The carbon copy issue has been an issue with most FF games since FFVI. Arguably, FFV even, where making everyone a mime or something like that at the end is a viavle option.

I wouldn't argue this point, though, admittedly, my preference is for 2 freelancers and 2 mimes to effectively recreate FF3's 2 Ninja 2 Sage setup. The series has historically had issues with this element whenever it strays more towards total character freedom, starting roughly with FF2. That said, this isn't something 8 skirts in any meaningful way, unlike FF6 which at least attempts to via equipment locking and unique skills, and is something I do consider a weaker element of the game. I'd have much preferred if different characters had differing compatibility with the various stat junctions, or if GFs scaled more with character loadouts than usage and abilities like Mag+x% scaled with that compatibility. It would have made for much more diverse and interesting junction and character development systems. I would really like something to encourage making Selfie a mage over Squall, for instance, as opposed to just making her another generic attacker.

[Scruffington]

For all u haters out there. Lol.


https://i.redd.it/m3ts4gdzul401.png

https://i.redd.it/0bom3bj7v7k21.jpg

The rebuttal, one year later.

[maybee]

Lol ! My hero ! :love:

[Sorceress Claire]

Wait did this stuff really happen at a show wrestling event? Or is this all a joke going over my head?


By the way I can circumvent the stat junction issue and use magic freely with no worry because I micro manage my levels through my playthroughs and make sure that each level I gain occurs when I have a stat boost ability set. Literally every level up my characters get from their starting levels all the way to level 100 are done with Str bonus, Vit Bonus, Mgc Bonus, and Spr Bonus set. My Rinoa at level 100 has 151 base magic as a result then when I junction Flare(because I never cast this) her mag is 195 + mag+60% = 255. Basically, all my stats are almost 255 with menial junctions.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

75984

[Scruffington]

Wait did this stuff really happen at a show wrestling event? Or is this all a joke going over my head?


By the way I can circumvent the stat junction issue and use magic freely with no worry because I micro manage my levels through my playthroughs and make sure that each level I gain occurs when I have a stat boost ability set. Literally every level up my characters get from their starting levels all the way to level 100 are done with Str bonus, Vit Bonus, Mgc Bonus, and Spr Bonus set. My Rinoa at level 100 has 151 base magic as a result then when I junction Flare(because I never cast this) her mag is 195 + mag+60% = 255. Basically, all my stats are almost 255 with menial junctions.

Yeah, these were actual fan signs that appeared on live TV at WWE events :p

The second one that I posted happened maybe a week or two ago. Pretty fun to see.

[Jinx]

75984

don't forget the gunblade is the dumbest fucking weapon in the series.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

75984

don't forget the gunblade is the dumbest smurfing weapon in the series.

No one has ever really been able to justify saying that outside of "I just don't like it", which fair enough but

Don't give me some bs like impracticality or design makes no sense because this is a game where you can hit dinosaurs with nunchaku or blow up robots with your fists and it's effective. A sword that vibrates when you pull a trigger isn't a stretch okay.

[Scruffington]

No one has ever really been able to justify saying that outside of "I just don't like it", which fair enough but

Don't give me some bs like impracticality or design makes no sense because this is a game where you can hit dinosaurs with nunchaku or blow up robots with your fists and it's effective. A sword that vibrates when you pull a trigger isn't a stretch okay.

Devil May Cry has something similar.

Nero can literally rev up his sword like a motorcycle, and it allows him to do different / stronger attacks.

Personally, I think it's pretty cool.

[Sorceress Claire]

I agree with you two. I've always loved the Gunblade ever since I first seen and heard of it. I imagine Squall's gunblade uses some form of retained magic(from drawing, as he literally draws magic into his blade.) Which he uses to then generate a temporary barrier after each bullet fires to block shrapnel from backfiring at him or simply directs the shrapnel towards the enemy.

Did you guys know there were actual real gunblades and gun knives to be exact. Here are some pics...


759867598775988

There's way more historical examples as well. Just google search them!

[maybee]

Yeah was just going to say, how is the gunblade the most stupid weapon to ever be created when they actually existed in RL ? This is also the same series where Wakka throws his sportsball at monsters and Quina's weapon is a fork.

[Jinx]

just because something exists in real life doesn't make it not stupid

donald trump exists in real life

frozen hot chocolate exists in real life

people who like ffviii exist in real life

you see my point?

[maybee]

just because something exists in real life doesn't make it not stupid

donald trump exists in real life

frozen hot chocolate exists in real life

people who like ffviii exist in real life

you see my point?

I'm not a history buff or expert, but people who created weapons in the past knew what they were doing and didn't fuck around.

Also people who like FFVIII in real life are beautiful. That is true in real life as well.

http://33.media.tumblr.com/136d4c2e8a6f285b162a49a93ac8e013/tumblr_nnwla7w7K31uspabho1_250.gif

[Jinx]

are you just talking about bayonets because

lol

[Sorceress Claire]

I don't imagine that the real gunblades were the most viable weapons myself but if improvements were allowed to be made overtime they could have managed to make it work. Bayonetes are the only examples of gunblade-like weapons that are fully functional with awesome real world applications and potential. Heck the modern military forces still use them to this day. The issue with the other gunblade designs is that vibration from firing the gun would vibrate the blade and cause temporary heat at the same time which would lead to morphing the blade overtime nullifying it's use.

[maybee]

are you just talking about bayonets because

lol

No I wasn't.

https://vimeo.com/275116175https://vimeo.com/275116175

[Sorceress Claire]

are you just talking about bayonets because

lol

No I wasn't.

https://vimeo.com/275116175https://vimeo.com/275116175


That was interesting thanks Maybee. I didn't think they'd have had such a real world usage back then.

[Jinx]

The blade is also like 1/5 of the size of a gunblade. Still stupid, but far more functional. And it didn't work by having the bullets shot INSIDE the blade and having its extra damage come from "vibration".

nah, m8, ff gunblades are dumb af

[maybee]

The blade is also like 1/5 of the size of a gunblade.

And ?




Still stupid, but far more functional.

As the man said, if somebody attempted to make a quick escape they could shoot 'em. I wouldn't call that stupid if you are tactical.




And it didn't work by having the bullets shot INSIDE the blade and having its extra damage come from "vibration".

That's like saying that swords are stupid because you can't limit break with them in reality. "Oh no you can't Tidus Overdrive in real life swords are dumb " ?



nah, m8, ff gunblades are dumb af

And you are being negatively biased towards FF8 because you said that Gunblades are the worst weapons in FF history when Wakka has a soccer ball basically as his weapon and Quina has a fork lol.

[Freya]

nah, m8, ff gunblades are dumb af

And you are being negatively biased towards FF8 because you said that Gunblades are the worst weapons in FF history when Wakka has a soccer ball basically as his weapon and Quina has a fork lol.

Hold the phone, some of those soccer balls have spikes on them and have you ever been stabbed by a fork! I mean think, if you sharpened each point, it's more like a Trident!

Also it's been so long that I forgot that i made this thread lmao

[Lord Golbez]

And a gunblade at its very worst is still a sword, so I'll take that over a spiked ball.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I'm not even gonna throw shade at Wakka. I embrace all FF weapons.

You're welcome to hold your wildly unpopular opinion. No sweat off my Lionheart.

[maybee]

Hold the phone, some of those soccer balls have spikes on them and have you ever been stabbed by a fork! I mean think, if you sharpened each point, it's more like a Trident!


Yeah but in reality Wakka would have to throw the ball

Run after the ball and try and find it again

Pick up the ball

Toss the ball again


That's stupid.


And no I haven't been stabbed by a fork ^^;

[Jinx]

The size matters. The hilt of the gunblade is the handle of a gun. It is not made or capable of supporting a sword the size, especially how you hold a gun.

[Lord Golbez]

This is essentially equivalent to arguing Cloud's sword is too big. Oversized weapons is kind of par for the course. It's not special because it's an oversized gun blade.

[Mr Gashtacular]

This is a terrible thread and I'm not saying that because of the drastically wrong title. Everyone is wrong and right at the same time.