ToriJ plays FINAL FANTASY VIII!

[Ayen]

I've been wondering something, how come you can only name Squall, Rinoa and the GFs in this game? There aren't any voices so why be selective? Or are they trying to give you the 'self-insert' vibe by having the other mains have default names you can't change except you and your love interest?

Selphie kinda looks like a boy in her portrait, just saying.

So, I met Mr. Biggs and Wedge at the top of the communication tower. They weren't too happy to see us. Biggs told Wedge to get us but Wedge was unaccounted for. Biggs tried sneaking off but Seifer blocked his path and we fought! Wedge came in later. Poor Wedge, no pay this month. That's not going to help him feed his family. Then they both got blown away by a monster! I know it's game mechanics and all, but I can't help but imagine Seifer just standing off to the side watching us fight the whole time.

After that we only had 30 minutes to get back to our ride and this big ass metal spider/something chased us down! It didn't like thunder, though, so I had Zell give him a big taste of it with Quezacotl. The spider collapsed and we were running only for Zell to cut into the GF attack that was being built up while we were trying to run away, so I hit the thing while it was on the ground and could barely move.

It's chasing us! AHHHHHHHH! I managed to get past the fight on the bridge by turning around and running the other way when it jumped over, only to be blocked by the dog in the next area and forced to fight it anyway. NOOOOOOO! Then we ran some more from and.... NO! NOT THE CAR! Oh, the car has been ruined. I hope the owner has Geico insurance and not State Farm, State Farm will screw him over. The spider was persistent, I'll give it that much, but good old Quistis shot the thing all to hell and we got back in one piece. Seifer and his gang took off with the car so we'll walking from here. Thought we should take a rest at the Balamb Hotel before going any further. *stretches* Hey, an old issue of Timber Maniacs! *reads*

I look dashing in my student uniform, just so you know.

We got to meet Zell's mom! She seems nice. Ooh, another old issue of Timber Maniacs!

NOT!

Zell didn't want me going in his room either >.> What are you hiding up there, Zell, porno? Your 'My Little Pony' collection? It's okay to like girl shows, brah, don't be ashamed.

Edit: So all that commotion was over a communication tower? "We could have made more money if the Galbadia Army stuck around to cause a ruckus." That doesn't sound shady at all. Everyone proceeds to tell me what a good job I've done and then I get to watch Seifer be scolded by everyone. Zell, Selphie and myself all become SeeD members, even though every time I see the word I keep wanting to say CD! I'm a CD! HAH! I wonder what monster is inside me.

Seifer girlfriend says if he doesn't become a SeeD then it's my fault. That's nice. He led the applauds when we came back after becoming SeeD, though. Maybe I'll be spared.

Oh, hey, Selphie, you're in my room... alone... Let me show you my gunblade. *ahem* She tells me to get dressed for the party! Hey, it's like New Years Eve up in here! So I decide to get all dressed up and Selphie pesters Zell and I to join the Garden Festival! She didn't need to tell me twice, I am in!

Someone I never met before, but is ROCKING it in that dress of hers, approaches me and asks me to dance. "You're the best looking guy here." I know. We dance, bump into some people, I avoid stepping on her feet and then she ditches me! The nerve. What's this? Inspector Trepe wants to meet in a part of the training center alone where couples sneak out after curfew? Good lord, how did I become such a chick magnet? Is it my anti-social behavior? I hear women love anti-social men. I think Xi is into me too >.>

We talk, I try to act like a tough guy to hide my insecurities and we find some lady is being attacked by a monster so FIRE! Oh, it's the girl who visited me while I was in the infirmary. Then she takes off with her guards or something. She knows me but we have no idea who she is. I go back to my dorms to find Zell who came to tell me I have a new room. I like it. Just across the hall from my old one? That's convenient. I go to sleep and get woken up by Selphie the next morning who came to tell me we have our first SeeD mission so I meet the gang out front and we get the low down, heading for the train! The train! TRAINS! I hope something weird doesn't happen like passing out and having a joint dream or something. I hate those.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Train, train take us away...

Random fact of the day, I used to always want to dance to the song Squall and Rinoa dance to at my wedding as a kid.I guarantee I'd be a lot more awkward to dance with than Squall, though. I really can't dance.

[Ayen]

You put your arms around her waist, let her put hers around your neck and then move to the left and right, ain't nothing to it.

We all passed out on the train ride and had a joint dream. Some Galbadia soldier was making move on this pianist who wanted to be a singer. We decided to talk about it later and got off the train to Timber. Met two guys named Zone and Watts, Zone kept having stomach problems and Watts kept bowing and calling me sir. They wanted me to wake up the princess. Why can't you do it? Oh, fine...

The princess was the girl I met at the party! The game wanted me to name my girlfriend so... Name her Zira! (No one here is going to get that reference) Aminee! Nah, I'll keep her default name. I like Rinoa. LAAAAAAME! (She seems to be more interested in Seifer than you) Give her time.

So we had a briefing about the plan to take the president's cart right from under him! I like Rinoa's model trains and want to take them home with me. Everyone kept ribbing on her for the ugly train model of the president's cart. Apparently ugliness = hate. She must REALLY hate him! Then we got on the train, got caught the first time. Luckily for me this is a video game and I got to do it over again, that time I succeeded. (Couldn't even finish a simple mini-game) Shaddup! The president turned out to be a body double who turned out to be a large skeleton thingy. Whuddatwist! From there we learned they want to use Timber TV to air the first live broadcast all around the world in seventeen years. People here take their television VERY seriously. Rinoa wanted to hijack the studio to broadcast Timber's independence. Sounds like a plan, let's go!

On the way some kid tried to squeeze 10 gils out of me and got spanked by his mother. That was funny. Also, on the way I won my first Triple Triad game, woo! Woo! (I don't think it's count when the guy you're playing against is drunk) Yes it does! It was a draw the first time! You got a draw against a drunkard! Be cool, man! Be cool! We made it to the outside of the studio but there were too many guards and I handed Rinoa some cold hard truths, then apologized 'cause I felt bad but it had to be said. The Galbadia military may be filled with a bunch of incompetents that go down in a few hits but your setup isn't much better. Why don't you join up with all the other resistance groups or something? Wait, the Galbadia military are filled with incompetents who are easy to kill, why aren't we storming them again? Look, Seifer just took out a bunch of them single-handedly and got the president. Dammit, Zell, don't tell them where we're from!

The president mentioned an ambassador when going to talk to other nations leaders about world peace, or something like that. The Sorceress. Hmm, I remember reading at my desk in class about someone experimenting on a sorceress to learn more about magic, or make magic possible for regular folk, I forget. Anyways, the Sorceress makes her first appearance and keeps us at bay as she leaves with Seifer. Now we need to get Rinoa out of Timber and whatnot. Never a dull day in the life of a SeeD member.

Also, a special shout out to the Galbadia officer who keeps losing the salary he needs in order to propose to his beloved! You hang in there!

[Pumpkin]

Well, you've already passed me. You go to fast!

I like Disc 3 the best

[Ayen]

Each disc ain't that long, really. You could probably finish each one in a day.

Well, we made it out of Timber. Zone was nice enough to give Quistis his ticket. Apparently naughty magazines would make a nice gift if she wants to repay him.

Now onto my least favorite part of disc one. Laguna dream sequence #2!

[Pumpkin]

I'm so slow with games. It takes me a day to do like... one area. I take the scenic routes.

I like disc 3 because of the way the plot changes.

Disc 1 plot: A --------- B
Disc 2 plot: A ----------B
Disc 3 plot: A ------- G ---K~~~~~~R ^^^^^^^^>>>>>>><<<Q ===L

[maybee]

Each disc ain't that long, really. You could probably finish each one in a day.

imo it depends on your skill and experience with your game, if you're not used to the Junction System the boss at the Missile base & Adel can slow you down.

Also if you've picked the wrong team for the Missile/ Balamb Mission as well, that can really slow you down. First time playing, I choose all my weaklings to go with Selphie, assuming the big boss would be at Balamb Garden.....


nooope.

[Shorty]

Also if you've picked the wrong team for the Missile/ Balamb Mission as well, that can really slow you down. First time playing, I choose all my weaklings to go with Selphie, assuming the big boss would be at Balamb Garden.....


nooope.

I did this same thing xD but I still do it, because I prefer a specific group with Squall.

[Ayen]

Each disc ain't that long, really. You could probably finish each one in a day.

imo it depends on your skill and experience with your game, if you're not used to the Junction System the boss at the Missile base & Adel can slow you down.

Also if you've picked the wrong team for the Missile/ Balamb Mission as well, that can really slow you down. First time playing, I choose all my weaklings to go with Selphie, assuming the big boss would be at Balamb Garden.....


nooope.

I mean story wise the length of each disc isn't that long compared to the first two discs of VII. I didn't know jack about the junction system and the boss at the missile base didn't slow me down by much, never made it to Adel.

We made it to Galbadia Garden where I loss some more cards sucking at Triple Triad! Seifer is presumed dead after his attack on the president and now we have new orders to assassinate the Sorceress that Galbadia is using in their quest for world domination! Introducing, Irvine Kinneas to the cast! Hey, Irvine, got anything you'd like to share? Talk about? Anything? Anything...? No? Okay then, but you better not think of anything important to discuss later...

Irvine tried to take off with Rinoa and Selphie in his party...

Irvine: How's this?
Me: I'll decide. *puts Rinoa and Selphie in my party* There.
Irvine: What!? Are you serious...?
Me: I've balanced out the party.

Oh, great, Irvine and Zell don't get along. Dammit, game, I know how to switch party members! Onward to Deling City!

[Ayen]

All right, so, we all made it to the train unscratched. The game confused Selphie as a he for some reason. Irvine talks about how no one understands him after being shot down by both Selphie and Rinoa. Teen angst! I think Selphie likes him, though.

We made it to Deling City but the general who's waiting to see us won't let us past his guard until we pass a test, so we have to go alllllll the way out to like the edge of the continent we're on to find some missing student ID number and then walk alllllll the way back! I didn't have enough money to rent a car. After that we finally get to talk about the assassination attempt, oh and the general is Rinoa's father *le gasp*

The Sorceress is having a big parade because she's worth it so to make a long story short we're splitting up into two teams, the sniper team which will carry out the assassination and the gateway team that will trap the Sorceress in her float. Rinoa also has a plan but Quistis shot her down, saying that this is not a game. I didn't have the heart to tell Quistis that it is a game and I've been controlling her all this time. On the way to the gate where the Sorceress is set to make her appearance Irvine and I have an interesting discussion, by discussion I mean I mentally spoke most of it and left him hanging. Right and wrong isn't what separates us, it's our perspectives that separates us. Both sides blame the other but there is no right or wrong, just two sides with different viewpoints. I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember it word for word. Go me! That was pretty insightful. Why don't you talk aloud more? (You're one to talk) Good point.

Quistis feels guilty about the way she treated Rinoa and decides to go back to apologize. Kind of a bad time, don't you think? Can't it wait until after the mission is over? Oh well, we still have time. I'm sure NOTHING bad will happen from this decision.

"Lowlifes. Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame?"

Edea gives the best speeches.

[Botchmun]

Sorceress: Because she's worth it!

Good go-through, me gusta.

[Ayen]

The Sorceress was a bigger pain in the ass than I remember. I'm not looking forward to the second boss fight with her at the end of disc two.

Man, oh man, what a day! Rinoa runs off to see Sorceress Edea by herself and get thrown across the air as one's come to expect when dealing with witches and the likes ending up with the Gateway team being locked up in the room her father set to seal her inside of. The loud click noise is kind of a dead giveaway there, dad, what ever happened to just a good old fashion baby lock?

Dad came in to plug in the HD cable so I can get my HDing on, he accidentally press the reset button on my PS3 and I lost my place. NOOOOOOOOOO! Good thing I save like a mofo or that would have SUCKED! I got to listen to the Sorceress' speech again and hear my mom read one of her lines that appeared on screen so it was all good.

The sewers is my second least favorite part of disc one. My God I ran into this one monster that just wouldn't die. Attack, attack, attack, attack, attack! You're still breathing? That's it, GF! FINALLY! Pain in the... what else is there? Oh, yeah, Seifer is alive! His romantic dream? To be the Sorceress' knight! No, I get that. I do.

Irvine choked up and couldn't shoot until I pep talked him a little and he took the shot. Wait, what's that? She blocked it with magic! Oh no! A Sorceress used magic to get out of the trap, I never would have thought it! Seriously...

I was impaled by blizzard. Touche, Sorceress, if I were you I would have done the same thing. Or crush me inside out, that would have been more gruesome and final. I'm passed out so I'm having another Laguna dream. I'm an uncle! Wait, WHAT!? Cute kid, though.

[Mirage]

Does that mean you're liking the game?

[Pumpkin]

I haaate the sewers level. Easily my least favorite part of the game.

[Ayen]

I haaate the sewers level. Easily my least favorite part of the game.

Needed more turtles.

Laguna seems to be aware of the back and forth happening between us and him, there's something fishy going on around here. OMG Julia, she's Rinoa's mom! Whudatwist? I think Julia got the short end of the stick there if you ask me (the husband, not the daughter). Also, what is up with having a bunch of buildings with nothing in them? Seriously. Most of them didn't even have anybody to talk to. I'm just running around wasting play time.

Now I'm in a desert prison! So much sand and Moombas! The hell? Anyways, they seem to know Laguna by name. I didn't know he kept pets. Zell's familiar with the prison thanks to Ward, but all Ward did was mop floors so not much help there. There was this mean guy called Mean Guy who kept picking on them and the Moomba so Zell kicked his ass. Biggs and Wedge paid them a visit later, always nice to see old friends. They kicked their asses too.

Meanwhile, I'm now hearing Alexander Anderson's voice in Seifer's dialog and being tortured. I was about ready to tap circle repeatedly but then I remembered what game this is. No idea where the wound from the blizzard went. Did someone patch me up while I was unconscious? Speaking of going unconscious, I loss consciousness a lot. Frigging electricity. The Sorceress wanted to know what SeeD was for. Kay... I don't know anything! Aww, I'm on your 'tough nuts to crack' list? I'm touched. Oh, so that's what your list back in disc one was referring to.

Long story short, my friends busted me out of there, we took the lift down, rescued Zell who stayed behind to control the lift and met up with Rinoa and Irvine, the former of which was taken by the mean guys by order of her dad. Nice to know we were expendable all this time. Irvine tried to take off with just Rinoa, I'll kick him later. They take security serious around here, when a prisoner escapes they release a bunch of monsters to try to kill you.