This is just stupid!

[Ergroilnin]

TT

What is this?

Eh, Triple Triad?

[Spooniest]

TT

What is this?

Eh, Triple Triad?

Oh that!

[metagloria]

This is a game that I liked when it was new, grew to dislike it for awhile, and now to me it is a decent FF. A lot of the problems that people have with this game can be found across all FFs of this type (SNES,PS1 titles).

The orphanage plot twist doesn't bother me because it happened, but how poorly it was handled. They could have totally made that work if only they hinted at it better. I know there is an offhand mention of the GF memory problem in the desktop at the Garden (if I am remembering that wrong, it's something like that...I GUESS THE GFS MADE ME FORGET), but they should have incorporated that element into the story a bit more, but keep it subtle do you don't give away the twist. Show a student with memory problems. Have a NPC that obviously uses GF forget a couple of minor, but important details of their past. If it was built up like that then that whole scene could have been so much better and believable within the game's world.

I don't really have a problem with the orphanage twist as-is, but this is a really good point that makes a lot of sense.

[Kalevala]

And it has Doomtrain.

Yes, but can you suplex it?

I didn't think so.

[Jessweeee♪]

And it has Doomtrain.

Yes, but can you suplex it?

I didn't think so.

No but you can punch dolphins at a mustachioed cactus the size of a building.

[Ayen]

Everybody knows Sabin was using performance enhancers to lift that train. Sabin is a fraud!

[Spooniest]

Everybody knows Sabin was using performance enhancers to lift that train. Sabin is a fraud!

FFVIII hating I will tolerate. FFVI hating I will tolerate. I will, on a good day, even tolerate Sabin hating.

Train Suplex hating is not allowed. You are hereby banished from Potos village. Now get out of here!

[Ayen]

Everybody knows Sabin was using performance enhancers to lift that train. Sabin is a fraud!

FFVIII hating I will tolerate. FFVI hating I will tolerate. I will, on a good day, even tolerate Sabin hating.

Train Suplex hating is not allowed. You are hereby banished from Potos village. Now get out of here!

I'm taking all the potatoes. All of them!

[Omni-Odin]

I never have anything but good things to say about this game because it gets enough hate. I think it's amazing. A graphical and musical achievement. The game with more balls than any other game in the series because it tried to change things up. Here try this. Ok didn't work for some. That's okay, because FFIX is on the way to throw waves of nostalgic, simplistic leveling and a lighter plot your way.

Btw, I in no way dislike IX or think down upon it. I just thought it was easy and predictable. I respect VIII because I thought it was challenging.

The orphan plot twist....ok I get where people are coming from and I guess it's been a while since I played it, but isn't there more than just the NPC that hints at memory loss? Maybe I'm forgetting, but I thought there was.

Also, was there any need for that twist? Or was it just a way to connect the characters to Edea after she was set free?

[Spooniest]

I never have anything but good things to say about this game because it gets enough hate. I think it's amazing. A graphical and musical achievement. The game with more balls than any other game in the series because it tried to change things up. Here try this. Ok didn't work for some. That's okay, because FFIX is on the way to throw waves of nostalgic, simplistic leveling and a lighter plot your way.

Btw, I in no way dislike IX or think down upon it. I just thought it was easy and predictable. I respect VIII because I thought it was challenging.

The orphan plot twist....ok I get where people are coming from and I guess it's been a while since I played it, but isn't there more than just the NPC that hints at memory loss? Maybe I'm forgetting, but I thought there was.

Also, was there any need for that twist? Or was it just a way to connect the characters to Edea after she was set free?

It was, in the parlance of storytelling, an ass pull.

It gets all of the characters' backstories out of the way in one neat stroke, to make more room in the story for the romance plot.

T_T Cheap, superficial storytelling does not appeal to me. But I forgive FFVIII because after the insane mindscrew of FFVII, it just wouldn't have been possible to generate something more shocking or insane.

Cuz FFVII is kind of uh...out there. The plot development is overall well done, but the way the plot resolves is complicated and very talky. If you are paying close attention, and can read through the awful awful translation, it is pretty intricately set up and a real "Aha" moment.

FFVIII realized that to try to top something like that would be futile, so it went with a simpler, more down-to-earth story, with less focus on cerebrum and more focus on sensory stimuli. The focus of the characters is much more limited as well. You are mostly watching Squall or Rinoa or some combination of the two for almost the entire game.

That said, FFVIII succeeds in its immersive qualities where FFVII drops off. You do feel like you are in this world, no question. The character proportions are well done, and the free-roaming map is pretty seamless, unlike FFVII's.

And FFVII is missing a little bit of human warmth that FFVIII has in spades.

I really think that was the basic idea: we did a dark one, now let's do something nicer.

[Rin Heartilly]

I don't understand haters than hate on FFVIII for silly things like graphics or one thing that happened in the story. Anyway IMHO this is why FFVIII doesn't deserve the hate:

1. Best overall FF soundtrack - I'm not even being biased, it consistently has the best music. Other FF's have stand out tracks but VIII consistently has awesome tracks. The only FF's that come close to VIII's consistent awesome music is IV, VI and VII.

2. Most addictive mini game: Triple Triad. 'nuff said.

3. Most attractive main cast of characters: This sounds really shallow....but none of the main cast are ugly. Squall, Seifer, Irvine, Zell and Laguna are all attractive along with Rinoa, Selphie, Quistis, Edea and Ellone are all beautiful too. This point probably only matters to teens but whatever~

4. Most immersive open world: When exploring the world map, places/cities feel like they are actually connected to the world that they're in. You see train lines running too and from cities on the map and it makes it feel like there's actually things going on inside cities when you aren't in them. The npc's in most places are often worth talking to and are entertaining and sometimes hilarious.

5. Trains: Trains are awesome.

6. Coolest looking summons: The summons/GF's are also the most consistently cool and there is tons of them. Shiva, Ifrit, Bahamut, Diablos look awesome. Jumbo Cactuar and King Tonberry are iconic and funny. Carbuncle and Boco are adorable and Cerberus, Leviathan and Doomtrain are badass.

7. Best Odin: I'm biased on this one, but he always chopped foes up for me

8. Best/coolest airship: The Ragnarok looks like a big red dragon that has little robotic arms and claws, it shoots lasers and has huge rockets!

9. Moombas:

10. Junction system was innovative for its time: It could make you a broken killing machine, you could change the difficulty in game by messing with your magic preferences, you could experiment with endless combinations of magic for boosting stats, creating immunities, adding elements to you attacks...etc

11. (Bonus) It's still better than XIII: Yah...I went there :S

I haven't even gone into the story or characters or anything but I really don't understand why it gets as much hate as it does. Some people are just picky I guess hehe

[Galuf]

FF VIII always changes for me. its pretty good. not the best, but pretty good. it has moombas. a pretty good soundtrack ( though i say IX VII VI and V all beat it) and like rinoa above me said: its still better than xiii

[MissH]

Bubba and I have been playing this for what seems like an eternity and I have TOTALLY lost interest. It seems to have gone on forever and has just been unnecessarily dragged out. As I've lost interest I find I'm now totally confused on the plot. Bubba assures me we've not long to go and I will finish it but I much preferred FFVII.

[Omni-Odin]

and like rinoa above me said: its still better than xiii

Lol, I feel like 15 years from now I'll be responding to a thread defending XIII because my '20s' were so nostalgic. And we'll be saying things like, "Welp, at least it's better than XXII is"

[Perducci]

This is a game that I liked when it was new, grew to dislike it for awhile, and now to me it is a decent FF. A lot of the problems that people have with this game can be found across all FFs of this type (SNES,PS1 titles).

The orphanage plot twist doesn't bother me because it happened, but how poorly it was handled. They could have totally made that work if only they hinted at it better. I know there is an offhand mention of the GF memory problem in the desktop at the Garden (if I am remembering that wrong, it's something like that...I GUESS THE GFS MADE ME FORGET), but they should have incorporated that element into the story a bit more, but keep it subtle do you don't give away the twist. Show a student with memory problems. Have a NPC that obviously uses GF forget a couple of minor, but important details of their past. If it was built up like that then that whole scene could have been so much better and believable within the game's world.

Basically all of this.