You love it or you hate it

[Irvine78]

ive been playing FF games for about a year now, and i wish i would have started much sooner. i have dawn of souls, IV-VI on my computer, VII-X, and tactics. guess i'm something of a fanatic. but FFVIII has been my favourite game i purchased, seconded only by the almighty FFVI.

VIII was so fresh. say all you want about its massive fanboy/girl base or whatever else...squaresoft sort of wondered off on this tangent and made this weird, dark horse game that people just bitch about most of the time because it was so sterilized and dry.

but look at VII. FFVII was sort of like the new guy at school who crashes through on a motorcycle with a huge sword and screams at the top of his lungs "YOU ALL LOVE ME BECAUSE I'M NEW" and all the shallow people instantly fall in love with him. it was a good game, don't get me wrong...but it had the misfortune of being the game that broke RPGs into america (that honor should have went to VI). so when VIII came out on this new tangent, everybody who really expected another game with cloud and sephiroth and materia was crushed.

[AkiraMakie]

so when VIII came out on this new tangent, everybody who really expected another game with cloud and sephiroth and materia was crushed.


Thank you! arigatou! arigatou! thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!!!

man you hit the nail on the head. I cant stand it when someone puts up the arugment "ff8 was dumb, because first off all, the junction system was dumb and it didnt have materia!!@!@!!!!@!@!!!!"

that pisses me off to no end. Its like, materia was important to FFvii's storyline, just like junctioning had an accually point to the storyline of ff8. Too many people were expecting the same thing as ff7. And they were let down because it wasnt the same. I was one of those people that assumed ff8 would be just like ff7, seeing as i never had played Final Fantasy rpg's before then, but when i accually played ff8, i was throughly surprised. I loved it. Im glad that every game is different. The series would have never lasted if they had made 11Final Fantasy's that all revolved around the same storyline.

[crazybayman]

I agree. FF VIII was AWESOME. I actually liked the fact that it was a little darker, giving it a more serious feel.

Most final fantasy's do have a different system - FFVII's materia, which I like, FFVIII's Junctioning, which I really like, FFX's sphere system, which I really liked, etc......

The materia system was heavily included in the actual storyline of FFVII because it was basically Mako energy in a solid form. It was actually so much a part of the stoyline that if square included it in another FF, then it would have been tough to get away form FFVII's world and story line.

Say for instance they used the materia system in FFVIII......the game would have had nothing to do with FFVIII's story of the gardens and the sorceress, which would have been unfortunate. It probably would have ended up being close to a sequal (or maybe prequel) of FFVII. So i think its definitely a good thing that they didn't use the materia system again, although it was a great game, and a good battle system.

[smittenkitten]

FFVIII IS THE BESTEST!!!It changed my life forever *shows tear of affection* ............(sigh).....xXx..

[Vyk]

I liked that the Final Fantasys started to get darker and/or more mature. And though I wasn't fond of the junctioning and the actual NEED of GFs, that really didn't ruin the game for me. The characters personalities were so... I don't know. I related to Squall, and yet I hated him. What really bothered me though was the plot was very... political. And it seems to be a new trend for Final Fantasies. FF7 just took the same formula, tweaked it a bit, and gave it a steam-punk overlay. 8 took things in a completely different direction. And I think it was the same mindset that was used in 8 that made the FF Movie bomb. I'm sure FFT started the whole "lets play role-play polotics" but it wasn't mainstream. So I give credit to 8. But considering the FF and FFT worlds are about to combine (FF12). I fear for the future.

But for what it's worth, I do enjoy FF8. I just don't like the tracks it seems to have laid. Unfortunately.

[Big D]

I like FFVIII a lot. One heckuva lot, actually.
FFVII is still my favourite, but VIII's got a lot of great features and details that keep me coming back after all these years.

[nik0tine]

FF8 was my first time....




































































Playing Final Fantasy that is! ;)



I love FF8...

[rubah]

I probably like ff8 the best of any of them:)

But then again, very rarely do people attend forums for games they don't like. Which explains a lack of posts on my part in ff4 topics or the ff9 forumXD

[Apollo]

FFVIII is teh awesome!
(I hate talking like that)

[TheAbominatrix]

I really dont like FFVIII, and neither it nor VII was my first FF game. I knew what to expect (in general), and I didnt like it very much at all. I felt it was poorly excuted, had terrible character development, and focused too much on Squall and Rinoa, who I found extremely annoying to begin with.

That being said, I adore the card game and the overall gameplay is fun.

[Chris]

FFVIII is still one of my favorites, but I have hard time playing through it again.
Ultimately I feel like the reward for finishing the game was terribly
disappointing.

[Drift]

the ending was something to be desired for but i still reckon its one of the top FF endings since i personally can relate to the characters since they are human and not people with tails(zidane) or people that take drugs (cloud). also the ending shows them celebrating and being themselves albeit no voice (but still good) the ending does make you wonder who rinoa is with though... i know most of you will say its squall but i think it COULD BE seifer even though rinoa did rescue squall at the end, squall could've just walked away being the cold heartless guy he is

[Razo]

Final Fantasy VIII is awesome, I'm currently playing it at the moment for the first time (Disc 3, Entering Lunatic Pandora), and its great, particularly the storyline. The only thing that bugs me is the junction system, i hate the fact that one of the only ways to get magic is to draw from enemies its so time consuming and annoying,and the fact that you have a limit of magic, which in turn makes ure character weaker (if equipped) so you try not using that magic.. But then again there are other Final Fantasy games that have something annoying like that... (Final Fantasy X, even if u have an item that saves ure life u try not to use it in order to stock up for synthesis).
Otherwise a great game.

[rubah]

As far as I remember, the ending doesn't hint one bit about rinoa being with seifer.

[Masamune·1600]

the ending was something to be desired for but i still reckon its one of the top FF endings since i personally can relate to the characters since they are human and not people with tails(zidane) or people that take drugs (cloud).

There is no evidence in FFVII that Cloud or any other main character engages in drug use.


also the ending shows them celebrating and being themselves albeit no voice (but still good) the ending does make you wonder who rinoa is with though... i know most of you will say its squall but i think it COULD BE seifer even though rinoa did rescue squall at the end, squall could've just walked away being the cold heartless guy he is

Not really. Squall's "cold heartlessness" is less a function of personality than it is an outgrowth of the feelings of abandonment he subconsciously harbored after Ellone left the orphanage. Rinoa was critical to the change that we ultimately see in Squall. In any case, the game was written and marketed as a 'great love story', in which case Squall and Rinoa obviously end up together.

To return to topic, I myself am a big fan of FFVIII. It's not my favorite Final Fantasy, but it's up there. FFVIII is an incredible game, and one I've always enjoyed.

[FF Junkie]

I don't know about everyone else, but for me it's all about the storyline first and foremost. Do you get a true sense for who the characters are? What they're fighting for?.. and against? When a game makes me feel a connection with the characters and what they're going through, THAT'S a great game. All the extras like chocobo racing/ breeding, snowboarding.... they're just that...EXTRAS. Even the gameplay (the fight engine, how/ what kinds of magic are available....) and graphics are an after thought to me when compared to the quality of the storyline and character development.
I have only played (over and over and OVER again ;) ) FF4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Tactics, but one thing I must say is that Square has never let me down when it comes to the storyline aspects. And I especially LOVE the music in these games. It is beautiful at times, adrenaline pumping at others...it ALWAYS aids in taking the player on the journey and making a deeper connection.
Along those lines, FF8 is in many ways my favorite game of the series. I think that everything is set up just about perfectly to play out the love story of Squall and Rinoa. The game is such that you as the player are sitting there on several occasions thinking "just tell her already," sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what will happen next. And do I even have to mention how seeing Rinoa fall into Squall's arms after being rescued from the chamber gives you goosebumps?! There are SOOO many amazing scenes in this game that truly captivate the player, and so many intricately tied together storylines that make for one epic tale... how can anyone NOT like it?... Geez, all of this reminiscing... I may have to go dust off the Playstation again... :)

[DestinyGundam]

I actually didn't like this game for the longest time, but recently I've started playing it again and its one of my fav RPG's.

[Excelsior]

yeah, this is definately my favorite FF game. ive played through it 8 times exactly in the last 4 years. but, it does seem to be a love-it or hate-it experience, especially on these forums.

[disapointedchild]

I love it. In my opinion it is the best.

[AkiraMakie]

Yeah, i accually didn't like it much at first either. It wasnt until i started reading an FF8 fanfic that i started to apperciate ff8

[Sephex]

My first Final Fantasy game was THE first one. Hell, I played Dragon Warrior and this crappy D&D game for my OLD AS **** PC back in the day before the original FF came out.

Anyway, I loved VII, but obviously it wasn't my first RPG. I just thought it was a very well put together game with a certain charm found in few other RPGs. I understand why people are annoyed that most mainstream gamers cling onto FFVII while ignoring everything else, but stuff like that is going to happen.

Anyway, I liked FVIII when it first came out. However, I quickly got annoyed with the game (I beat it, though). Almost everything about the game bothered me.

However, I gave the game another shot last summer, and I found that I enjoyed it. It still isn't one of my favorte FFs, but I do enjoy it a lot more than I previously did.

[SeeDRankLou]

Final Fantasy VIII is an awesome game, however it is also an aquired taste. It has plot that is layered, unoriented and hidded within itself. It has characters that can at times be very unrealistic and whose personalities are so hidden inside of the story that most people will never really see any of these characters' full development. And even if they do see it they also may not fully understand it because a lot of this story leaves much to implication and introspection. While it's not bad to do that, Square really really milked that aspect and it made for a story and characters that not many will get or understand, and even then there's the likeability aspect of these characters that varies greatly from person to person.

But the gameplay aspects of this game are top notch. Battle was fun, junctioning was a good concept that only had a few kinks to work out, and dialogue wasn't horrid at all. Triple Triad was very very fun. It had an awesome soundtrack and great graphics. And it had some of the best clothing and hairstyles of any final fantasy game. I mean, I can only look at blue hair very blatantly defying gravity before it just gets to me. :tongue: Seriously though, they had rather good character design, especially with the sorceresses.

[DJZen]

I like FFVIII a lot, but really just for the gameplay. Squall is a stupid queef and Rinoa is just plain hopeless. Up with gameplay! Down with plotline!

[BackRoomKid]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT

i like Squall's moodiness and hoplessness...it gives me someone to laugh at

but seriously
FFVIII has been tied for first place on my FF list...i won't tell any of you what the other is...all that's gonna happen is someone quote me and flame me

[MrEvil]

I'm playing it as we speak, just beat the first disc.
This is my first "modern" Final Fantasy exposure, although I have watched Final Fantasy 7 play out to some extent.

I like Final Fantasy 8 because it's less fantasy than it is science-fiction, it gave one a good feeling when they were hired to assasinate the sorceress, only to see it fail when she simply blocks the bullet. Oh well, I got to kick some *** anyways, plus, the cinematics are awesome.

I can only hope that I won't be let down by the next 3 disk.
Or FF7 when I play it.

[rubah]

I like Final Fantasy 8 because it's less fantasy than it is science-fiction

Exactly. I like me a good futuristic story, not some drafty wet castle with a moping princess.

awesome spaceships>drafty wet castles anyday.

[BackRoomKid]

what i really liked it was the stereo typical "i'm a teenage and i have issues" kinda theme with Squall...cuz when i was playing it I was major drama boy and all that crap...so it got me more attached to the game

[Trumpet Thief]

chaos: I really did like FFVIII, as it got me into looking for old-school Final Fantasy games. I knew there werea few flaws, some very noticeable, and some not so much, but, I got into the game pretty fast, so i was able to ignore all of those, and enjoy the game to it's fullest.

Rubedo: As well, Squall's personality, and various quotes from him made me laugh a WHOLE LOT from time to time. Overall a good game, which I had fun with.

Albedo: *Laughs maniacally*

[MrEvil]

Exactly. I like me a good futuristic story, not some drafty wet castle with a moping princess.

awesome spaceships>drafty wet castles anyday.
Infact, if I remember correctly, the "princess" is yelling at you to stop moping.
Plus, the human interaction seemed, well, human!

[ViVincent]

Well i have played my handful of rpgs
Including FF VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X, X-2, and II.
THere is not one that i despise more than VIII, i did yes play this after VII, but that is not what decided it for me. The game really requires no skill ever, just GF GF GF. Characters are bland and boring. IT is easily my least fav. FF. SOrry if i offend any VIII lovers, but it is what it is to me :cry:

[rubah]

Then don't use GFs.

[HowSoonIsNever]

I've played every single Final Fantasy (except XI) and I have to say FFVIII is my favorite. Not only my favorite FF but favorite game, ever. Everything about it is so universal yet personal to me, it's like a relic of my past. The game isn't perfect, but what game is? The Junction system was a bit annoying at times but I like the fact that you had so much power of customization over your characters. The random battles sorta get on your nerves after a while, but that happens in almost every FF. I could pretty much counter every nitpick, but you get the idea. It's an experience I'll never forget.