Which FF is easier, FF8 or X?

[starvmarv]

i've managed to get someone I know into FF and I would like to introduce this person to an actual FF game.

I don't find either game difficult, but when comparing both which game may give a better challenge? These days, i don't think people are going to play going blind like the old days, people will want to get the best experience of the game on the first play through now (at least, the person i'm trying to introduce).

So if i can get some good/honest opinions on difficulty comparisons:
• Which battle system was harder to learn/understand (sphere grid or junction)?
• Which game has the harder enemies (monsters, story bosses, and secret bosses)?
• Which game has the harder final weapons/armor to attain?
• Which game is harder to complete?

IMO, VIII is harder because junction is so hard and you can't make a mistake or you will die?

[Wolf Kanno]

I feel FFX is the easier entry between the two. VIII can be a cakewalk, but that requires learning the Junction System and I find most casual players just don't want to bother whereas you can ignore half the content in FFX and still get to the endgame pretty easily. FFX was made to be more of a "starter entry" than VIII was.

Though I do feel FFX has some more challenging bosses, this still comes down to knowing VIII's mechanics, especially when you consider that VIII has the anti-grinding "enemies level up with you" which can be a handful for some people if they aren't paying attention to Junctions. VIII's optional bosses aren't too bad. Ultima is fairly easy with the real challenge being trying to Draw Ultima spells from him before he kills you or you kill him. Omega is a piece of work though, but there are a few simple strategies to beat him as long as you know his attack algorithm which is fairly simple. Their counterparts in FFX are jokes by comparison, but FFX has the Monster Arena and that's where are all the really challenging monsters are that are easily tougher than anything in VIII or most of FFX's story campaign.

FFX has the harder "Ultimate Weapons" to obtain as you either have to go through mini-game hell or farm all the necessary materials to build them. VIII's are easier to obtain in comparison. Though this is also where FFX has more complexity as weapon and armor crafting are essential for the post-game nonsense, whereas in VIII, only Squall's weapon matters outside of better accuracy.

In terms of a "Perfect Run". FFVIII has more permanently missable content, but not a whole lot of it is essential like Zell's Crush quest, which nets you an item a little earlier than you would be able to purchase it for example. The hardest completionist element of the game is collecting all of the Triple Triad cards, especially from the Card Queen Quest or PuPu quest. FFX is the more time consuming experience. You're definitely going to be grinding extra levels and materials to get all of the post game stuff, and if they are playing the International or HD remaster of the game, then trying to tackle something like Penance at the end of the Monster Arena is going to require way more time and grinding than anything in the game. VIII can be completed in like 40 hours, and a completionist run may jump that to over 50 hours. FFX in comparison can be beaten between 35 to 40 hours I feel for the main campaign but a completionist run could easily knock that number into 80+ hours depending on how far your friend wants to go.

If your friend is doing a blind playthrough and isn't interested in doing extra content, I'd say FFX is the best bet. If they are going to bother with a guide and do care about completion, then FFVIII will be the lesser hassle in my opinion.

[Karifean]

Hmm for an absolute newcomer to FF (and JRPGs in general I'm guessing?) I'd recommend FFX with the Standard Sphere Grid. I'd say FFVIII is easier if you quickly grasp how to use the Draw/Junction system to your advantage, but if you don't, the game can be pretty frustrating at times. FFX doesn't have this problem so long as you at least get how to advance and activate nodes on the Sphere Grid, and the game paces its difficulty spikes well enough. And finally, FFX has no element of time pressure in its battles.

I do not recommend them going into the postgame of the game unless you they enjoy it though.

[Lord Golbez]

Both are easy, however I think FFVIII is probably a bit easier overall. That said, the sphere grid is a bit more straiggtforward/easier to learn. On final weapons FFX is orders of magnitude harder because of those stupid minigames.

[starvmarv]

I'm not just referring from start to finish story only type.. but at least getting the most out of both games (final weapons, character building, etc..).

When i'm talking about someone new, this person is at an older age and wants a game that still has substance in it. I just want to make sure she doesn't have much of a hard time trying to have a good game so i can't decide between 8 or 10. I can teach the junction and sphere grid, and i know there will be guides that this person will access for weapons and stuff.

[Wolf Kanno]

At that point, I feel the real question is how well do you feel they will respond to grinding?

VIII to me is an awkward, but more even-handed experience that can be mostly completed rather easily with only a couple of minor annoyances like the timing of certain optional segments, the Triple Triad collecting, and balancing mechanics. FFX is a more lopsided one with the main story campaign being fairly straightforward and simple; but the post-game completionist portion of the game is much more hardcore with an emphasis on grinding to get anywhere. If your friend isn't afraid of putting some effort into things and doing a little grinding, then I would say FFX is still the easier title to get into as it was designed that way. If you're worried they may suffer from burnout trying to complete all the extra stuff and post-game elements, then FFVIII is the clear choice in this regard. As I mentioned in my previous post, completing the majority of VIII is less time consuming than FFX.

Again, FFX is designed to be more user-friendly to new players with the post content being designed for veterans and more hardcore players. VIII's issue is just the higher learning curve of its mechanics, but once you have them figured out, VIII is significantly easier in comparison. It really comes down to how committed you feel this person is going to be.