Do you think FFVIII's Game Design had an Impact on the series?

[Wolf Kanno]

^ It is and it isn't. You have summons that affect your stats and skills and using them in combat lowers your skills but that very vague description is how they are similar. They don't play anything alike, though I would argue that they both also share the whole "risk factor" of each system is a bit grossly embellished. You can get through 90% of Golden Sun by spamming summons and not worry about the risk to your stats.

[Depression Moon]

Summons can hurt your stats in VIII?

[Wolf Kanno]

No, only using magic does (barely), Golden Sun is where using summons hurt your stats. They both have a "risk factor" system which is why people are comparing them in this thread.

[Darylisgogo]

i think the one really unique attribute that had a deep impact on the series was the romance development in the storyline. hell its on the cover of the game title with squall holding rinoa. up until this game there was never as well drawn out romance story development in the final fantasy series. cecil and rosa were together at the beginning of ff4 so that doesn't count. If there is any romantic relationships that developed during the storyline in previous final fantasy games between some of the main characters its usually vague and mainly left for the players imagination like aeris and cloud or celes and locke. not really covered in detail just hints to a possible romantic relationship between the characters. and the inner thought dialogue of squall was really different as well at that time, but didn't have a strong impact and wasn't picked up by any of the more recent games in the series. Cloud had his crazy breakdown inner dialogue thoughts as well but they made squall's thoughts a major part of the storyline. In my opinion that can really help character development in the storyline. the song eyes on me had a huge impact as well. Eyes on me was probably one of most memorable things of ff8. Think that's why ff9 had melodies of life song in it. but as far as battle system ff8 was the first to raise lvl cap to 100 (i don't think any later final fantasy game copied that idea tho) It was also the first to have over the cap damage feature in it with kamikaze and eden that could hit well over 9999 traditional cap in one hit. ffx, and ffxiii went much further with that idea breaking outside the traditional cap. As for junction system I think it was different and unique but did not have a strong impact on the series. I like ff8 a lot but junction was an epic fail and its biggest downfall imo, and im pretty sure squaresoft realized it too, because they seemed to make a point in ff9 to go back to a more traditional armor and spell system.

[Sylvie]

I'll start off by saying that Final Fantasy VIII, outside of any lovable nostalgia one may have, has a terrible plot and pretty much all of the characters suck. Square took a high school anime approach, and while they did it better than most actual high school-themed anime series, it still sucked. It incorporated probably the worst plot-twist I have ever had the displeasure of being a victim of. Click here to find out before it's too late if you haven't played the game yet.All the characters find out that the game's summon system has repressed their memories of having been orphans together in the same orphanage run by the main antagonist at that point of the game who was actually just being brainwashed by a more significant antagonist. What a piece of sh*t.

Now, here's why I love Final Fantasy VIII: It did things differently. Instead of the usual four-to-five piece armor setup, you get a weapon slot and an armor/accessory slot, which did carry on into later games in the series.

The draw system is something that most hated. But if you're any good Final Fantasy fan, you should've been toughened up and prepared for tedious tasks at that point in the series. I'm okay with power-drawing all the spells that I can possibly draw for a few hours, somehow.

The junction system is by far one among the most original, interesting, and attractive stat management system I've encountered in a JRPG. I felt like I had more options, and I felt that those options were more unique to and dependent upon me as a player and how much time I'm willing to put into my character's attributes.

I'll also add that the game had the best window skin/color scheme ever. But I realize this is a fairly mundane and weird preference to have.

One thing I didn't like was the limit break system. I hardly use them because I can't smurfing stand having low HP and it's absolutely retarded that you need to be close to death in order to take advantage of the powerful attacks that the game offers. I'm going to throw in here that I did not complete the game and I'm not very well versed on the limit system because I didn't bother with it, due to the low-HP requirement. If I'm wrong about any of that, I apologize.

FFVIII did pivot Final Fantasy and probably JRPG's as a whole into a more modern and sleek tone. FFIX actually deflected this, but FFX picked it right back up.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

One thing I didn't like was the limit break system. I hardly use them because I can't smurfing stand having low HP and it's absolutely retarded that you need to be close to death in order to take advantage of the powerful attacks that the game offers. I'm going to throw in here that I did not complete the game and I'm not very well versed on the limit system because I didn't bother with it, due to the low-HP requirement. If I'm wrong about any of that, I apologize.
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You could draw the spell "aura" or "aurora" (I don't remember) to put the characters into limit break mode. They stay that way for a while. Admittedly if you did this while their HP was high, you were less likely to get one of the more powerful limit breaks, but there's always a way around that.

[Darylisgogo]

One thing I didn't like was the limit break system. I hardly use them because I can't smurfing stand having low HP and it's absolutely retarded that you need to be close to death in order to take advantage of the powerful attacks that the game offers. I'm going to throw in here that I did not complete the game and I'm not very well versed on the limit system because I didn't bother with it, due to the low-HP requirement. If I'm wrong about any of that, I apologize.
.

You could draw the spell "aura" or "aurora" (I don't remember) to put the characters into limit break mode. They stay that way for a while. Admittedly if you did this while their HP was high, you were less likely to get one of the more powerful limit breaks, but there's always a way around that.

That was kind of one of the ridiculous things about FF8 is when it comes down to it the hardest boss fights you can just walk in battle with low hp or put aura on and spam limit breaks till they fall... makes it way too easy. Limit breaks should be badass and fun to use just like summons, but not a requirement or an easy cheat to rush through hard bosses i don't think. FF8 went overboard on limit breaks, i guess cuz magic wasn't all that useful and relying on GFs could only get you so far.

[Roogle]

One thing I didn't like was the limit break system. I hardly use them because I can't smurfing stand having low HP and it's absolutely retarded that you need to be close to death in order to take advantage of the powerful attacks that the game offers. I'm going to throw in here that I did not complete the game and I'm not very well versed on the limit system because I didn't bother with it, due to the low-HP requirement. If I'm wrong about any of that, I apologize.

I had the same problem with the Limit Break system when I played through the game as a child. I almost never saw most characters' limit breaks because I was always keeping my characters' HP up to an optimal level and whenever it did show itself, it wasn't very impressive.

My solution every time I play the game is to use a code or modify the game to allow me to access the Limit Breaks whenever I choose. This makes every character unique and I have fun balancing the gameplay and difficulty with my own style of playing through the game.