First time player!

[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.

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.

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.

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 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 . 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".