If Final Fantasy 8 was made by Bioware

[Fynn]

This looks like a discussion my girlfriend and I could be having You see, she was the one that loved cRPGs (mainly BG and its sequel), and I was the FF nerd. I asked her to play VII (she then played VIII and BoF4 and wants to play CT and IX) and in turn I played the BG series (along with Planescape: Torment, after which I started playing NwN and Icewind Dale). We both loved the games, but agreed that they are actually very different kinds of games. The great thing about western RPGs is that they are open-ended, non-linear and have tons of side-quests. Whereas jRPGs concentrate more around the atmosphere, the characters and their relations (Torment had superb characters, but it's still done in a different matter than in jRPGS). Considering this, FFVIII, like many have said before, would turn out to be a completely different game, were it done by BioWare. And I wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want Baldur's Gate to be made by SE, for that matter. The reason these games are great is because they are what they are, what, and by whom, they were made.

[Rantz]

Deleted all the off-topic posts. The topic, as far as I can tell, is "What would Final Fantasy VIII be like if BioWare [or another company]?" Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure about that, but it's not about Baldur's Gate 2.

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Actually, as far as "timeless" classics go, Chrono Trigger has held it's reputation 5 years longer than Baldur's Gate II (CT released in 1995, BG 2 didn't come out until 2000).

Back on topic (seriously, this is not a discussion about BGII. Quit the pointless back and forth bickering), if FF8 had been made by BioWare, it wouldn't be FF8. Look at CT and BGII. Both great games, and both very different. If you like the WRPG style of BioWare's titles, like BGII and Mass Effect, fine, go play them. But that does not mean that every RPG in existance should be like one of those games. Final Fantasy games have their own strengths and focuses, and FF8 does as well.

I'm just saying this game would be a hell of a lot better if you could actually choose who you're virtual girlfriend is gonna be because I don't like Rinoa and I don't like having Rinoa's love forced upon me!!!!

[Vyk]

Its not being forced on you. Its being given to Squall. You're just witnessing it from his perspective. That's one of the major differences in the styles. Squall is a character. He's not your avatar like in WRPGs. You don't make him and he doesn't represent you. He's got his own thing going on and Square was trying to tell that story. Just like a movie or a book. JRPGs have constantly been accused of being merely interactive movies since cinematics have gotten ever-more prevalent... But yeah. Much to the ire of most of the posters in here, FF8 wasn't one of my favorites, and I've fallen out of love with linear JRPGs. So I probably could appreciate a FF being made by BioWare. But I don't think I'd ever say I'd want that to happen. I like most of the games BioWare makes already

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Its not being forced on you. Its being given to Squall. You're just witnessing it from his perspective. That's one of the major differences in the styles. Squall is a character. He's not your avatar like in WRPGs. You don't make him and he doesn't represent you. He's got his own thing going on and Square was trying to tell that story. Just like a movie or a book. JRPGs have constantly been accused of being merely interactive movies since cinematics have gotten ever-more prevalent... But yeah. Much to the ire of most of the posters in here, FF8 wasn't one of my favorites, and I've fallen out of love with linear JRPGs. So I probably could appreciate a FF being made by BioWare. But I don't think I'd ever say I'd want that to happen. I like most of the games BioWare makes already

I feel like I am Squall though because in reality I'm anti-social and I'm a loner.

[Skyblade]

It would be "different", not necessarily "better". I liked Mass Effect (only BioWare game I've played, I think). It was a great game. But it was very different from an FF game. Which is "better"? It depends on what you look for in a game. As I said before, each had its stronger points, and each also has its weaknesses. There are some things ME did great that FF8 did terribly, but there are also things that FF8 did great that ME failed at. I can appreciate both games for their strengths, and I'm not even going to try to decide which is "better", since their are different enough that the question becomes meaningless to me. I'll play each of these games when I want to enjoy the parts of them that I loved.

Making every game into a carbon copy of Mass Effect, no matter how great that game was, would suck. Can't you just enjoy the parts of FF8 you like without demanding that the entire game be rewritten just because you don't like the story? It's not Mass Effect (or Baldur's Gate, or any of their other RPGs), and it will never be one of those RPGs. I am fairly sure I would not enjoy this game nearly as much as I do if it was an open ended game like Mass Effect.

Accept the game for what it is: a Final Fantasy game. If you can't, then go play Baldur's Gate and leave the rest of us alone.

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Accept the game for what it is: a Final Fantasy game. If you can't, then go play Baldur's Gate and leave the rest of us alone.

I've played better Final Fantasy games VII and VI were a lot more fun.

[trancekuja]

If my grandma had a she would be my grandpa. What's done is done.

[Leigh]

*Squall throws dice*
*Seifer smacks squall in the mouth*