Final Fantasy VIII or Dragon Quest VIII?

[James Leopold]

I find FFVIII to be the better of the two.

[Ashley Schovitz]

[
Have you actually tried it? The amount of firagas you can refine out of the wizard stones you get from saving Ellone is more then enough to cause the amount of damage I described.

Also, you don't have to draw to the max everytime a new magic comes out. You should only do as much as you need. That's like seeing the Level # in prior FF's and thinking that it means you have to get it to 99 before proceeding.

It’s more like a game where enemies don’t give you experience unless you’re in a couple of pre-defined areas. Obviously in that situation you’re going to level up as much as is reasonable while you’re able. A game like that would be critically panned because leveling has changed from a parallel process like it is in other games to something that stops the progression of the game. Drawing magic is basically that. Obviously players are going to stock up on as much as they can, because they don’t know when they will next be able to (or do, and realize it’s going to be a while before they get another chance to) stock up on X magic. Only, unlike every other magic/ability system in the series where you just gain AP or whatever as you go (besides II, which is equally bad), you have to stop your progress and dedicate time to one, repetitive cause. Drawing is a hideously designed system with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

I don't really know what you're talking about there are a couple of times in the game where you save Ellone and I've just replayed the game recently and I have hardly any Wizard stones in fact just 20, but I spend mine scarcely and evenly. Now I have a whole lot of magics up, but I still find myself losing against bosses, like Bahamut and Ultimecia which now for some reason I can't even beat her 1st form when I beat her completely with 1 try on my 1st playthrough. You can't make that accusation that everyone would try to levelup and stock up on as much magic as they can you might, but a lot of us don't like me. I'm probably losing the game right now because most of my characters are in the 20's and Squall is like 55.

Overall both games have flaws FFVIII's I see drawing as cbeing able to collect enough items to uprgade weapons as a flaw and the inabilty to go back to your present time to do things you might have forgotten to do in Disc 4 which they don't give you any time at all to go back.I see DQVIII's lack of abilty to gain gold in the game as a flaw. It was very difficult in the game to find a lot of the items for alchemy in the game so those are the two problems. I prefer DQVIII's battle system and storytelling more than FFVIII's because it's more lighthearted. Between the two I say that DQVIII is better.

[McLovin']

i like final fantasy VIII more better it may be old but its still a pretty awsome game. i like dragonquest is well but i didnt like the part how you mix items in a pot it was annoying.

I think mixing items in a pot was less annoying than drawing magic from monsters during a battle.

Nope. Drawing magic takes one second.

[Serapy]

i like final fantasy VIII more better it may be old but its still a pretty awsome game. i like dragonquest is well but i didnt like the part how you mix items in a pot it was annoying.

I think mixing items in a pot was less annoying than drawing magic from monsters during a battle.

Nope. Drawing magic takes one second.

Agreed. Drawing isn't a top priority either.

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

i like final fantasy VIII more better it may be old but its still a pretty awsome game. i like dragonquest is well but i didnt like the part how you mix items in a pot it was annoying.

I think mixing items in a pot was less annoying than drawing magic from monsters during a battle.

Nope. Drawing magic takes one second.

Yeah but what if you're drawing magic for all three characters?...And monsters can still attack you while you're drawing magic.

[Vivisteiner]

Dragon Quest VIII retained my hair better. Therefore, I vote for it.

[Serapy]

i like final fantasy VIII more better it may be old but its still a pretty awsome game. i like dragonquest is well but i didnt like the part how you mix items in a pot it was annoying.

I think mixing items in a pot was less annoying than drawing magic from monsters during a battle.

Nope. Drawing magic takes one second.

Yeah but what if you're drawing magic for all three characters?...And monsters can still attack you while you're drawing magic.

Cast sleep on those monsters and start drawing, problem solved.

[NeoCracker]

i like final fantasy VIII more better it may be old but its still a pretty awsome game. i like dragonquest is well but i didnt like the part how you mix items in a pot it was annoying.

I think mixing items in a pot was less annoying than drawing magic from monsters during a battle.

Nope. Drawing magic takes one second.

Yeah but what if you're drawing magic for all three characters?...And monsters can still attack you while you're drawing magic.

Cast sleep on those monsters and start drawing, problem solved.

But what if thats what you are trying to draw?

[rubah]

then cast it from their stock

[ReloadPsi]

Stop pyramiding.

Well I played a bit of Dragon Quest VIII but just couldn't get into it. The French translation probably sucks too.

[Bolivar]

I disagree, because as you later stated, it's the magic refining abilities which can allow for the game to be easily broken early on. However, there are 20+ abilities for GFs to learn, and any given player may opt to learn other abilities prior.

Just because there are people who don’t understand the junctioning system well enough to exploit it doesn’t make it less exploitable. Similarly, choosing not to exploit it doesn’t make it any less exploitable either.

Also, you do get a few stones that refine highly early on, but even then, the magic you refine isn't enough to give your characters overly-exploited attributes.

Have you actually tried it? The amount of firagas you can refine out of the wizard stones you get from saving Ellone is more then enough to cause the amount of damage I described.

Also, you don't have to draw to the max everytime a new magic comes out. You should only do as much as you need. That's like seeing the Level # in prior FF's and thinking that it means you have to get it to 99 before proceeding.

It’s more like a game where enemies don’t give you experience unless you’re in a couple of pre-defined areas. Obviously in that situation you’re going to level up as much as is reasonable while you’re able. A game like that would be critically panned because leveling has changed from a parallel process like it is in other games to something that stops the progression of the game. Drawing magic is basically that. Obviously players are going to stock up on as much as they can, because they don’t know when they will next be able to (or do, and realize it’s going to be a while before they get another chance to) stock up on X magic. Only, unlike every other magic/ability system in the series where you just gain AP or whatever as you go (besides II, which is equally bad), you have to stop your progress and dedicate time to one, repetitive cause. Drawing is a hideously designed system with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

Once again, I disagree with your first and second comments for my previous point - the exploitability of the game is largely exaggerated, especially by those searching for reasons to bash the game (i'm not saying you're one of them). Of course I've refined the Wizard Stones you get from saving Ellone - there are only 8. That gives you 40 -aga magics. Maybe you were underleveled, but even if you gave all 40 to one stat on one character, that hardly makes them broken. Not to mention that would be using up the entire thing on ONLY one stat for ONLY one character; its far from broken. Spreading out the magics, as I'm sure alot of people would do, highly reduces the effectiveness. The only other method early in the game would be to refine tents into curagas, but that is expensive considering the salary in the beginning of the game. If you were to use a cheat sheet and fly through the exams, (which you can only take up to your level) it reinforces what I said earlier - that you're still spending time away from the main story to do these things, much like level grinding in any other title.

As far as your third point, your example makes no sense. Every RPG has monsters in pre-designated areas, so I'm not quite sure what it is you're trying to say. You hardly need to stock up on as much magic as possible in order to progress through the game, only some, and that's it, not to mention with the reifning process, you can have characters which never need the draw command (it is optional, by the way). Also, you should refrain from using words like "absolutely" in describing your disgust for the system, because it's only your opinion. Rather than "a hideously designed system with absolutely no redeeming qualities" alot of people like me find it to be an intriguingly designed and incredibly flexible system which allows for a fresh experience every time you pick up the game.

[rubah]

I agree with boliovar about the infinitely flexible and intriguing bit

[Karellen]

Once again, I disagree with your first and second comments for my previous point - the exploitability of the game is largely exaggerated, especially by those searching for reasons to bash the game (i'm not saying you're one of them). Of course I've refined the Wizard Stones you get from saving Ellone - there are only 8. That gives you 40 -aga magics. Maybe you were underleveled, but even if you gave all 40 to one stat on one character, that hardly makes them broken. Not to mention that would be using up the entire thing on ONLY one stat for ONLY one character; its far from broken. Spreading out the magics, as I'm sure alot of people would do, highly reduces the effectiveness. The only other method early in the game would be to refine tents into curagas, but that is expensive considering the salary in the beginning of the game. If you were to use a cheat sheet and fly through the exams, (which you can only take up to your level) it reinforces what I said earlier - that you're still spending time away from the main story to do these things, much like level grinding in any other title.

As I said, the amount was enough to allow me to kill bosses with two or three limit breaks. I’m not saying the amount you get in the beginning will last you the entire game, but it’s enough to make the beginning of the game effortless. By the time you DO need more you’ll quite commonly come across fiends that not only drop these items but allow you to draw high level magic directly. 40 –aga spells might not seem much on paper but seriously, next time you go through the game test it out. You really can cause the amount of damage you described. Similarly, while you probably won’t afford ten tents for each character from right after you get Siren, the amount you can afford is enough to give your offensive character enough HP that he doesn’t have to fear being KO’ed while on critical. After that you can just refine them as you can afford more, for when you’ll actually need high HP for the later battles.

I already covered the point about people not following the methodology I described. As I said, just because people don’t know how to break the system doesn’t make it any less broken. The point is you shouldn’t be able to break it to begin with.

As far as your third point, your example makes no sense. Every RPG has monsters in pre-designated areas, so I'm not quite sure what it is you're trying to say. You hardly need to stock up on as much magic as possible in order to progress through the game, only some, and that's it, not to mention with the reifning process, you can have characters which never need the draw command (it is optional, by the way).

I meant that your analogy wasn’t particularly accurate because in other games you consistently gain experience as you go, which means there is no need to stop and level up. The difference in FFVIII is that you can only given a few set opportunities in the beginning to gain some of the better powerful magic, with it only becoming available en masse (through draw points or refining better items) much later in the game. Therefore, I said a better analogy would be if there was a game where most monsters didn’t give EXP unless you are in a few set areas within the game that a few and far between. In that situation, I think most people would level up because they knew they wouldn’t get another opportunity for some time.

Also, you should refrain from using words like "absolutely" in describing your disgust for the system, because it's only your opinion.

Yes, it’s my opinion that there is absolutely nothing good about it. I really don’t see any reason to tack ‘IMO’ or whatever on the end of it, especially when you seem to be able to tell I was stating an opinion anyway.

Rather than "a hideously designed system with absolutely no redeeming qualities" alot of people like me find it to be an intriguingly designed and incredibly flexible system which allows for a fresh experience every time you pick up the game.

Other games have had just as flexible system without being broken. Hell, virtually every non-Japanese RPG gives you the same level of customization. It’s worth noting though that I wasn’t talking about the junctioning system. I was talking about the draw system.

[sillybuttons™]

You must CHOOSE OR DIE, and BE KILLED if your choice is not THE CORRECT one. Gamers are fun that way.

I sprayed chips all over my monitor laughing at that lol.

Anyhoo FFVIII is the one for me (draws shell and protect and casts on self in case this isn't the correct answer):mog:

EDIT - What am I worried about? I know its DEFINATELY the right answer.... 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-Renzokuken-R1-R1-R1-R1-R1-R1-R1-PERFECT-LION HEART-OVERKILL...
You recieved the Dragon Quest VIII Card...... Right nows wheres that Omega?

[rubah]

my skip turn button is triangle like normal people 8)