Am I completely alone??

[Ancient Goddess]

Not to mention the love story. For the first two discs, Squall writes Rinoa off as an irritation. He doesn't have any feelings for her, except during the dance, but that was when he didn't know her and it was just curiousity. Then after she goes comatose, he starts flipping out about how much he loves her and that he might never hear her voice again or anything like that- he sounded like Cloud after Aeris died, but he had actually showed affection before that.

I totally agree with you. I think Square was centered on trying to throw in a variety of elements that appealed to everyone, and the romance setting is something that failed miserably.

I can see Squall getting used to Rinoa because they work together, and fight occasionally, but yeah...the point when they decided to "reveal" Squall's feelings towards Rinoa was a shock to me. I mean, the first time I played it, I knew that if there was a romance, it would have to be of Squall and Rinoa...but the funny thing is, they went into more detail about Quistis' feelings for Squall than Rinoa ever did. Square might as well made them hook up instead of their other choice.

In a war-torn world, you think your enemy leaders are gonna just stand in front of you?

No, but I'd expect a significant character in the story to be a little more present than Ultimecia was. Kuja in IX you met in the first disc. Kefka was in the beginning as well...even Sephiroth made cameos in the start of the game. They said nothing about Ultimecia's presence until at least the third disc. When she was unveiled, I found myself wanting to cease playing because the idea of Square throwing her in as a second thought seemed too unrealistic to me. I know it's just a game, but if they wanted people to take it a little more seriously, they'd have to do a better job than that.

[nik0tine]

They are all great games. They are all very unique in their own way, and for me, it's very hard to say one is better than the other. However, FF8 does have a special place in my heart, as it was what introduced me to the series.

[GhandiOwnsYou]

The whole thing is an FF VIII/ IX spoiler

(SPOILER)except she wasn't introduced in the end. her NAME was, but considering you had been fighting against her various possessions since TIMBER, you can't really argue that she was "thrown in".... And for the Kuja Comment, may I ask who the final boss was in Ix? Granted, its been a few years, but as i remember, it was some kinda of random cosmic doodad dealing with Time. how is that Kuja again?

[aeris2001x2]

The whole thing is an FF VIII/ IX spoiler

(SPOILER)except she wasn't introduced in the end. her NAME was, but considering you had been fighting against her various possessions since TIMBER, you can't really argue that she was "thrown in".... And for the Kuja Comment, may I ask who the final boss was in Ix? Granted, its been a few years, but as i remember, it was some kinda of random cosmic doodad dealing with Time. how is that Kuja again?

the last boss was clearly (SPOILER)Death incarnate but he appeared(SPOILER)because the cosmic battle against Kuja had proved(to him) that all life exists to end .

So while he was the last boss, he was not (SPOILER)directly manipulating Kuja or Garland or what ever. . so he is not the main villain.

[Ancient Goddess]

The whole thing is an FF VIII/ IX spoiler

(SPOILER)except she wasn't introduced in the end. her NAME was, but considering you had been fighting against her various possessions since TIMBER, you can't really argue that she was "thrown in".... And for the Kuja Comment, may I ask who the final boss was in Ix? Granted, its been a few years, but as i remember, it was some kinda of random cosmic doodad dealing with Time. how is that Kuja again?

Actually, I do somewhat agree...but the fact is, Square didn't do a good job explaining things 'til the end. They lead you to believe that it was Edea and they didn't really mention anything about possession until Disc Three. Some people may call that pathetic thing a plot twist, but I call it a joke. And when they did explain it, or try to, it devalued the game. The crew was like, "Well, we don't know what to do or fight since Edea's okay.....oh wait, there's someone else in the future? Let's go!".

And no, Kuja was not the final boss in IX, but he was the villian in it. He actually played a more significant part than Ultimecia did. That was my point. I don't think it's been said that Kuja was the final boss, just the villain in it. And aeris2001x2...that is a good point.

[iluvpenelo]

First off, Im a dude. Secondly, i (personally, ME) agree with zaphier and ancient godess, ultimecia came from nowhere and i found that insanely irritating. and also, the fact that they were all in the same orphanage when they were little?? i found that absolutely ridiculous.