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Thread: LWL's nontraditional Final Fantasy VIII Let's Play

  1. #1
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    Default LWL's nontraditional Final Fantasy VIII Let's Play

    Hello all,

    Final Fantasy VIII was my first Final Fantasy. It's also my favorite, to the point where I would name myself after the protagonist on a message board and be here almost 14 years later. Other entries such as VII, IX, X, and XII are getting the next gen treatment and being added to Xbox and Switch. However, VIII is not on the current lineup. And since we're coming up on the 20th anniversary (February 11th, 2019), and my beloved game isn't in the spotlight, I thought it would be fitting to do a Let's Play. Sort of.



    So what do I mean by nontraditional?

    This is a Let's Play for people who are already pretty familiar with this game. In fact, if you've never played Final Fantasy VIII before, this Let's Play probably isn't for you. As someone who has played this game dozens and dozens of times since childhood, I want to go through and do things I've never tried before. And see if I can find interesting facts, uncommon scenes, or just give general thoughts to places I've visited now that the years have gone by and I can give my adult take on them.

    This is going to be a trip through Final Fantasy VIII for people who have already played the game. I'm going to presume you know what Balamb is, what Timber is, who the Brothers GF are, etc. There may be places or events I don't mention at all, if I don't feel I can add something to them.

    So I will not be walking you through the story. "First we go to the Fire Cavern, and after that we go back to Garden", I'm not doing that narrative description style. Basically, this guide is my commentary to talk about interesting tidbits or facts I discover or think of during this playthrough, as someone who has played the game for hundreds of hours in the past.

    The basic premise is, if I can find something new and interesting as someone who has played the game a lot, than you might find it to be interesting, as well. I will also include memes (You're the best looking guy here!) and music covers on YouTube whenever I get to relevant parts of the story. I also want to keep track of who turns into whom in the "Dream World", and see the stats on who becomes whom the most.

    So just for the record, not that it will necessarily effect my commentary, but here's my setup and playstyle:

    I'll be playing Final Fantasy VIII as a digital download on my PlayStation 3.

    I'll be doing a complete playthrough, but not a "perfect" playthrough. In other words, I won't be getting 99 of every item, but I will do every sidequest and attempt to get at least 1 of every item. I will also attempt to:

    -Exploit Card Mod to break my game early
    -Defeat XATM092 during the Dollet mission
    -Use the Magic Lamp to summon Diablos as soon as I get it
    -"Read" Timber Maniacs to intentionally decide what scenes I see during the Laguna flashbacks and Selphie's website.

    I want to say it has been roughly 5 years (maybe more) since my last playthrough, so while I remember a lot, there may be a lot I have forgotten, as well. Note that since this is a port of the original console version, I won't be able to use the Pocket Station features of "Chocobo World".
    To end this initial post, here's my first "Thing you might not have seen before". The Insert Disc 1 image.



    Unless you put the wrong disc in when you start a new game, there's no practical reason you would have ever seen this image.

    I'm still not quite sure I've adequately explained what I intend to do with this playthrough, but hopefully as I start to post, you'll get a feel for the concept.

    Thank you and enjoy. Maybe you'll learn something new, maybe you'll just enjoy the nostalgia.

  2. #2

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    I'm ready !

  3. #3
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    -The Garden Network terminal was kind of ahead of its time. Being able to call people out for overdue library books, students at the same school wishing each other well on upcoming exams, reaching out to the staff about what's on the cafeteria menu. In 1999 if my school had a website I certainly didn't see it, and I know it wouldn't have been designed to be like a forum.

    -The Network is also a great, practical way to explore the locations and lore of the game and have it feel natural. Of course it would be available information you can look up. Unlike, some would say, the "Datalog" in Final Fantasy XIII where you're reading about the world and characters from your main menu, it makes sense in the Final Fantasy VIII world to address these things in a classroom, when you're first starting the game.

    -The idea that Zell likes hot dogs was created to appeal to western audiences. In the original Japanese release, Zell likes a sort of flavored bread.

    -As mentioned in the Timber Maniacs thread, there are novice seed cadets in the cafeteria who disappear later in the game if you don't talk to them.

    -For the first time I can recall in any playthrough, I set the Fire Cavern time to the lowest possible of 10 minutes. I beat Ifrit with 1 minute to spare. It turns out if you leave your screen on the page where you name Ifrit after the boss fight, you can let your invisible timer run down to zero, and not have a consequence.

    -I read that in the Japanese release, the time spent in the Fire Cavern is counted all the way until you leave the place, not just the end of the boss fight.

    -Early on in the game, you should challenge the Queen of Cards in a match and quit until you see the "All" rule, then as soon as you see that, quit again. This will spread "All" through the region and allow you to win 5 cards from people instead of 1.

    - Apparently if you don't go to the Cafeteria before heading to the Fire Cavern, you just miss the scene where Zell rushes in and asks about the Hot Dog supply.

    -The music in the Dollet mission was different in the demo that was bundled with Parasite Eve/Brave Fencer Musashi. Allegedly this was because the theme sounded too much like Hans Zimmer's score for Sean Connery's "The Rock", which was a very big film at the time.



    -Here's the movie track if you want to decide for yourself:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPtPxqTdkig

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    Witch of Theatergoing Karifean's Avatar
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    I like this idea! I've been considering doing this with FFX myself already, so I approve of this concept =P

    Yeah the garden network is actually super neat. I tend to enjoy having a sort of hub to explore right off the bat in a game, and Balamb Garden does this pretty damn well, even allowing to find some hidden Draw Points - for which you need to have gotten Quezacotl and Shiva from your seat and experimented around with junctioning abilities. I feel like this part is designed to flow more organically than people give it credit for, especially since you legit cannot miss the Draw Point on the way out. Of course none of this prepares you for mass stock drawing later on but eh.

    I'm kinda curious where Squall got Quezacotl and Shiva from, and are they + Ifrit the "default loadout" for SeeD, or are they just the GF that Squall happens to own?

    Did you get the Quistis, Zell and Mini Mog cards yet? ^^ I like to get those right off the bat usually.

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    -(I think) the better your magic stat, the more likely you are to draw a lot of magic from any given enemy, so whoever has Quezacotl junctioned will draw the most in the beginning.

    -It's better to strike down Biggs than Wedge, because Biggs gives you 2 elixirs. Where Wedge is just 2 cottages

    -Another thing that struck me in this playthrough, fresh off of playing other FF games, is how unique it is to be able to draw your GFs from special enemies. It's set apart from having mandatory summons. But being able to find them in the wild, like in VII, is also cool.

    -I beat X-ATM092! This changes a lot of things. For one, you don't get to see the awesome cutscene of Quistis wiping the spider from existence. However, when you finish the battle you do get to see it explode, which is cool, but no cutscene. You don't have to save the dog in the town square, and actually you can't interact with it. And, of course, that one car doesn't get destroyed. You just leave by meeting Quistis at the ship. For destroying it I got a Power Wrist, but it also has the chance of dropping an Orihalcon, Hypno Crown, or Force Amulet.

    -Of the two Timber Maniacs in Balamb (one in train station, one in hotel) you can decide how the scene with Laguna and Julia will play out. If you grab the train station one, he'll feel like he talks too much. If you read the one in the hotel, he'll fall asleep. This makes Selphie's jornal entry either about alcoholism or the hotel. Though, ironically, the article about alcoholism has her consider Laguna a lightweight, even though picking up that magazine makes him stay up longer. Reading neither magazine defaults to the train station choice.

    -Abandon all hope ye who decide to rent a car for 3,500 G to travel from Balamb to Balamb Garden.

    -My SeeD Rank is 9. A full 100pt on Judgment, 80pt on Attack, 70pt on Spirit, and 40pt for Conduct since the spider fight took so long. Points Deducted were 80 but I got a bonus of 100pt. I think the highest SeeD Rank you can get initially is 10.

    -I'm bummed that SeeD never did end up being an acronym for something. The capitalized D made it seem like it might have, but it's simply a play on words because seeds come from a garden.

    There is an unused image in the Dormitory. Wonder what's behind the door?


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJU20w-UjFA

    Quote Originally Posted by Karifean View Post
    Did you get the Quistis, Zell and Mini Mog cards yet? ^^ I like to get those right off the bat usually.
    I did! I'm about ready to get the Seifer card, as well.

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    -This is kind of random, but one time I was watching Charlie's Angels (2000) and Drew Barrymore fell down a hill and knocked on someones back door for help. The kids who heard her were playing FFVIII on their tv "two player" summoning Quezacotl in the training room.

    -I think it would be neat if you could change your clothes whenever you wanted in Squall's dormitory. If the game were released now, that's probably how you would change your costume DLC.

    -Some draw points definitely refill faster than others. I got back from Dollet and still can't use the one in the library.

    -I beat Diablos with 1 Renzokuken. It's actually not a hard fight with the proper setup. If you cast Blind on him, there's a good chance he will only have his gravity attacks land, never actually being able to kill you. If you use Demi on him (from your stock, not draw cast) he will funnily enough heal you with Curaga. Interestingly, you can use Laguna and the gang to win this fight from their inventory, as well.

    -The dance scene was created as a PS2 tech demo:



    -There's no way I was gonna get to this point without reposting this gold:


  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf Leonhart View Post

    -I'm bummed that SeeD never did end up being an acronym for something. The capitalized D made it seem like it might have, but it's simply a play on words because seeds come from a garden.
    My head canon is that, since only S and D are capitalized, and the purpose of SeeD is to defeat the Sorceress, it stand for Sorceress Defeaters or something like that, while the double e's in are just there for the seed planted in a garden metaphor and to disguise the purpose of SeeD.

    If you like though, Sorceress Defeaters.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf Leonhart View Post
    -(I think) the better your magic stat, the more likely you are to draw a lot of magic from any given enemy, so whoever has Quezacotl junctioned will draw the most in the beginning.
    This is definitely true. Early in the game the difference might be small enough that there's room for doubt, but as the magic stat gets higher, you'll easily see the difference is undeniable and couldn't be purely random chance. It's a good reason to only draw with chracters that have good magic stats, and just transfer spells to the other characters.
    Last edited by Lord Golbez; 12-12-2018 at 05:55 PM.

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    I definitely spent all morning before going to work playing triple triad thanks to your recent threads. I look forward to testing any new stuff you might bring up as I play through!

  9. #9
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    -I really like the concept of the underwater train that travels between continents. A sort of hyperloop. Though I wonder how they build those tunnels underwater. Magic, I guess.

    -I'll be keeping track of who becomes who in the flashbacks. Laguna=Squall, Kiros=Zell, Ward=Selphie. Another great concept that wasn't really explored outside of this game is the "invasion of the body snatchers" approach. Controlling other characters but with your character's stats. Very awesome.

    -As a general, the money Laguna has can be spent and the items carried over, but the money itself will not carry over. So spend it all in the flashbacks.

    -Even if you don't say "The Owls Are Still Around", they still let you through. They paid too much to let you leave. I really like the comedic relief of Zone and Watts and would have enjoyed seeing them incorporated into the story more.

    -Another underappreciated aspect of the game is the train car mission, and being able to control your characters during an actual cutscene. You can't do much, but it helps with the immersion. I never stop for the "guard sensors". If you just run straight to the other side of the screen, they don't detect you.

    -It's probably obvious, but talking to the NPCs really helps flesh out the story. Zone and Watt's fathers were shot in front of them, and that's what inspired them to carry the torch of resistance.

    -As it turns out, America isn't the only place with a skinsack pretending to be human residing as the president, my dudes. Gerogero has "blue guts" in the western release, unlike the east which has the more realistic red. I think this was to turn down the grotesque factor.

    -Do not teach Angelo Recover or Reverse, as this may slow down the Angelo Searching ability later in the game.

    -The outdoor tv at Timber reads cryptic messages when the signal is lost, like "I am still alive", "Bring me back", "I will never let you forget about me" in red lettering. Great foreshadowing.

    -It's a good thing the RNG is easy to manipulate in Dollet, otherwise people would be pulling their hair out trying to abolish random.

    -Pretty much every hotel you stay at will have a Timber Maniacs when you stay the night, except in the case of Balamb, where it won't be there if you get the TM from the train station.

    -During the second flashback (excavation site): Squall is Laguna, Selphie is Kiros, and Quistis is Ward.

    -Also in the excavation site, examining everything (old keys, hatches, detonator) not only allows Squall's group to find new items there later, but reduces the amount of soldiers you fight at the end of this flashback.

    -Off to Galbadia, and the gangs all here:


  10. #10

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    You know later on for at least one segment, but I think it might be a couple ones you can choose who gets junctioned to who in the past (Squall/Laguna is probably locked). I wonder if that has any effect on dialogue. Probably not, because the degree to which the SeeD members' voices interfere decreases as the game goes on, but I wonder.

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    -I really like that the earlier games gave train stations and gates between continents their own screens. It seems the more modern the games get, you're either in a city, a dungeon, or the world map. These older games gave you a lot more places to go, though granted it may be that newer games are open world and have less loading screens, so it may just appear like less.

    -I used card mod on the Kiros card in Deling City and now I have auto-haste for the rest of the game. Gotta go fast!

    -Bio can be junctioned as both an elemental and status attack.

    -It may not be efficient to get Lion Heart on disc one, though you technically can. You just have to mug/drop from level 30+ monsters for laser cannons, not beneficial for a low level playthrough (which you may want to do, since enemies level with you).

    -Interesting that they would choose 3 people to go to the gateway team, and 2 people for the sniper team. I understand why they would need to do it from a gameplay perspective, since you max out at 3 characters, and one team goes through the sewers. But if it were a realistic strategy, you might just have 1 or 2 go to the gate to pull the lever, and then everyone else to attack the sorceress.

    -During your walk with Caraway, most of the bystanders for the parade are just part of the scenery, having no dialogue.

    -The NPCs in Deling City feel like they're "under a spell", which explains why they're cheering when Edea kills their president in front of them and calls them all idiots.

    -If the Iguion fight is your first time using Irvine, he'll tell you about his limit break instead of talking about saving Rinoa during the battle.

    -Seifer has like a 6% chance of being mugged for the "Hero" item, but if you've spent any amount of time modding yourself, you probably only have a sword swipe or two before the battle's over.

    -Once you can start drawing the second level -ra spells, you're better off just converting all your level 1 spells. They're kind of a waste of your 8 page magic inventory otherwise.

    -If you use Carbuncle during the Edea fight, she'll waste her next 3 turns dispelling you. You can't get a game over here for losing, but if you win you get 20ap.

    -Squall isn't dead. Get over it.


  12. #12

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    If it were a realistic strategy they would not alert the sorceress by closing a stupid gate before taking a shot. How does that help? What kind of sniper can't handle a target in a slow moving parade following a predictable path? A gate only obscures visibility and alerts a powerful magic user that something is amiss. I really have a problem with that mission for that reason. It's just an incredibly bad plan.

  13. #13
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    -Funnily enough, playing on PS3 I had to "digitally change discs". When I played Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox One, there was no disc change, it just went through the whole game.

    -Winhill flashback: Laguna (Squall), Kiros (Irvine), Ward (Zell). This is the one where Ward is working at the prison and we don't see him.

    -You have to ask Kiros about Julia if you want the Eyes on Me entry.

    -Setting your cursor to "memory" really helps if you want to spam the draw function over and over again.

    -I love everything about Winhill. The music, the cobblestone roads, the small town seclusion. It's like a family, Kiros is welcomed instantly. As long as you earn your keep, you're welcome to stay. Not everyone feels that way (the shopkeeper is rude) but I like the close knit feel, and how Laguna doesn't want to write about it because he doesn't want tourists to take away its sanctity (or Raine). Laguna just wants the best for Julia, and it's so nice to see that he's able to find a place with Raine, not dwell on the past, and just be okay with where everyone's at.

    -Moombas are such adorable and memorable mascots, it's hard to believe they aren't used more often like moogles. If you have a Pocket Station, you can summon them:



    -If the enemy is weak enough, it can be a good idea to keep healing them until you get their mug item. I healed Biggs with his own Cura so I could get the Regen Ring and Wedge's Strength Love.

    -The card player on Floor 5 of the prison has a 1/64 chance of giving you a Luck Up if you beat him. Yeah, good luck with that. Update: Holy crap, I actually got it!

    -The card player on Floor 10 gives you the "Character Report" upgrade for your battle meter. Assuming you got the battle meter from Cid when you got the magic lamp.

    -The card player on Floor 11 can give you a Rosetta Stone and HP Up, both with longshot odds. I got the HP Up at least, and a RS can be found later.

    -I totally forgot there was an item called "Hi-Potion+". Heals twice as much.

    -There's 11 cards for each level of card 1 through 10. I wonder if there were any monsters made so that they could have 11 cards in each category?

    -I'm really glad they carried over the Dolphin Blow from Tifa to Zell. Reminds me of sneaking into Junon.

    -I wonder how you get paid your SeeD Rank? I get that it flashes on screen, but I wonder how the party receives it. This world has PetPals and PayPal.

  14. #14
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
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    If memory serves me correctly, doesn't Cid or Xu say that your salary is directly deposited into your bank account or something? Loving this Let's Play by the way.

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    I’ve apparently never gone to Balamb and talked to people before going to the fire cavern before. I’d never seen this short scene where a person sitting by the docks asks Quistis to sit with him and she says something like: “sure, we can discuss the test you failed last week.” Kind it amusing seeing her interact with other Garden students as a teacher.

    Thanks to you reminding me, this is the first time I’ve tried manipulating the All rule right from the get go too.

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