Game Debate #170: Final Fantasy VIII

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

[Gloves | 11,777]

Honestly it kinda sucks. The best thing about it is the fan theory that the main character dies a few hours into the story.

[Sumez | 2,951]

Probably the first in a now continuously growing line of Final Fantasy titles I didn't enjoy. (I know FF2 is notorious for not being great either, but obviously I hadn't played it at the time).

I was a pretty massive Final Fantasy fan in the 90s, after playing 4, 6 and even the fan translation of 5 (which came out about a year before FF8). I was never quite as much on board for 7 as the rest of the world seems to be, but I still enjoyed it fully, so like everyone else I was greatly anticipating 8, and ultimately really let down by it.

While the game has its defenders, and I realise it's not a complete trainwreck (on a replay many years later there were actually aspects of the story that resonated a lot better with me than it had done originally), there are just too many issues with it that I can't really ignore, because they affect so much of the game.

The characters are mostly unrelatable and annoying, and everyone shares the same ridiculous backstory. The world map is barren with few places to visit, enforcing a very strict linear journey through the game. Combat is overall ridiculously easy, and the junction system is so broken that it's not so much that it can be abused, but even using it as intended feels like abusing it. I remember the biggest challenge in combat being keeping enemies alive long enough to draw all the magic you needed for junctioning out of them, and that quickly started feeling like quite a chore.

[MagusSmurf | 577]

It’s kind of like Chrono Cross in that the audiovisuals are really great but the story and gameplay both go some overly weird places and have issues - here the story is the (comparably) normal if quirky part but the gameplay goes completely off the deep end into weird experimentation whereas In CC it’s the other way around.

FFVIII has an actually good main character though in Squall. If you like Squall, he can probably carry you through the sometimes rocky beats of the plot (I ain’t gonna defend the orphanage thing) and a supporting cast that generally doesn’t fill their roles quite as well.

I didn’t care for the battle system much but from all I’ve heard I did it wrong in my single playthrough. Apparently the better way to do is to play a decent amount of Triple Triad and then use your rewards from it to break the game to the extent you see fit? Cool card stuff certainly sounds better than spamming Draw Magic at any rate.

[RH | 4,903]

I'm going to say the best part of this game is probably the demo that came with some PS1 games.

I've never played this (other than the forementioned demo.)  I think back in the 90s when I was binging RPGs and buying up 2-3 with every single pay check in High School, this one just got missed.  I know I started it, got past the intro video and played it at least for an hour, I'm sure, but something about it didn't immediately resonate with me so I went onto some other RPG that probably went on to become a classic.

Years later now, I've heard all of the complaints.  I can't give any real opinion on the game play  but one guy I trust once said, it's not that it's a bad game--it's just not the caliber of game you'd expect from Squaresoft, much less as part of the FF franchise.  I could see that.  I mean, back in the mid-90s, we Squaresoft fans were pretty rabid about their content and it was easy to lock into just their RPGs.  I know I did and I think the only RPGs I played NOT made by Squaresoft at that time were Quest 64 (heh heh... I wish it weren't so),  Legend of Legaia and Breath of Fire III.  I had high expectations for FF VIII, especially after FF VII but somehow this one didn't grip me like FF VII, and certainly not as fast.

I still want to play this game, though.  It's a low priority though so it probably won't happen until I retire.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

9 hours ago, Gloves said:

Honestly it kinda sucks. The best thing about it is the fan theory that the main character dies a few hours into the story.

Spoiler alert! It's only 24 years old and some of us haven't finished it yet! Honestly, this is the only Final Fantasy game that I've played and not finished. It bored me from the start and I lost interest a few hours in. 3/10. 

[Webhead123 | 675]

I didn't have a Playstation or even PS2 until way late, so I missed the train on the PS-era Final Fantasies. However, thanks to Spoony, I think I've experienced everything I need to about this one. There are much more well-regarded entries in the series that I will never play, so I can't honestly say that I'll ever make time for this one. I'm okay with that.

[spacepup | 2,404]

This one is really difficult for me to rate.  I bought it right when it came out, and played through and beat it.  At that time in my life, I enjoyed it well enough, and liked the visuals, music (especially), and overall didn't have a ton of other new games at the time and was super into RPGs.  I loved Final Fantasy and was pretty open minded. 

I've only beaten the game once, and never really had much interest in going back and playing through it again, but I don't think it's a "bad" game.  I definitely had some criticisms and I really didn't like the draw system. 

Unfortunately, it's also overshadowed by the game before and also after it.  I loved 7 and I LOVED 9, and while I enjoyed 8, it just didn't quite stick with me like the others.  Having said all that, I don't regret playing through it and I would have to say I enjoyed the game.  I just don't know how I would rate it!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

1 hour ago, spacepup said:

This one is really difficult for me to rate.  I bought it right when it came out, and played through and beat it.  At that time in my life, I enjoyed it well enough, and liked the visuals, music (especially), and overall didn't have a ton of other new games at the time and was super into RPGs.  I loved Final Fantasy and was pretty open minded. 

I've only beaten the game once, and never really had much interest in going back and playing through it again, but I don't think it's a "bad" game.  I definitely had some criticisms and I really didn't like the draw system. 

Unfortunately, it's also overshadowed by the game before and also after it.  I loved 7 and I LOVED 9, and while I enjoyed 8, it just didn't quite stick with me like the others.  Having said all that, I don't regret playing through it and I would have to say I enjoyed the game.  I just don't know how I would rate it!

In the same boat.  Really enjoyed my playthrough back around 2000.  Haven't played since.

And you absolutely can break the game with Triple Triad.  Hell, everything can break the game 

[Hammerfestus | 3,844]

I liked it.  9.  

[TDIRunner | 2,737]

I want to say I've heard of it.

 

This was a game I always wanted to play.  Everyone I knew that played it loved it including many people who had never played RPGs before.  But for whatever reason, I never got around to trying it.  Not sure that I will ever get around to it now, but maybe someday.  

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Of the 20th century FF experiences, often the Nintendo stuff has FF2(FC to be clear) called the black sheep title because they did away with what was starting to (and has since been) considered normal in leveling, growing, experience gathering and shit the bed.  In the S-space of FF titles, that's what FF8 is, a game that shit the bed once more.  The story for what it is is fine, the area too and all that, but again like the old FC game it's the broken obnoxious changes to the basic systems of the game that made it an utter put off.  It's the only one of the Sony trio I intentionally want to forget exists.  Items, magics, gear, this one off change to how stuff works just sucks, bad, and I see no redeeming value in it, and neither did they considering after they pivoted to a N-style(SFC era) FF title with #9.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Tanooki

[spacepup | 2,404]

I remember, at the time, thinking the FMV scenes were very nice, as well as the music in the game.  It had a very nice soundtrack.  I also liked the Triple Triad game which Reed mentioned, I remember having a lot of fun with that.  Honestly, while I didn't like it as much as several others in the series, I still enjoyed the game and don't think it's as awful as some portray it, especially at the time of its release.  It was a very successful game both in Japan and also in the US.  

Compared to some other FF games, maybe it wasn't amazing, but compared to a lot of other mediocre RPGs out there, it certainly wasn't bad, IMO.

[Sumez | 2,951]

5 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

I didn't have a Playstation or even PS2 until way late, so I missed the train on the PS-era Final Fantasies

I also didn't get a PS1 until after the ps2 came around, so I played Final Fantasy 7 and 8 on pc. The pc ports at the time were actually quite good, and I preferred how the game looked in high res compared to the 240p graphics on PS1. 

For FF9 I played an original purchased copy, on an emulator 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Sumez

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

I treat FF8 like 7-Up.  Never had, never will.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

I had a PS1 back in the day but somehow avoided this one despite the hype. At this point I'm never going to play it.

EDIT: I misread this as being about Final Fantasy VII. I did play Final Fantasy VIII and couldn't get into it.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by mbd39

[Estil | 1,264]

I remember the first time I played this after FF7 and I did NOT know what the fudge I was doing and the game mechanics were really confusing...not to mention the boss fights were taking FOREVER.  Which made me feel really STUPID as a gamer because I naturally figured most who played this back in the day probably had no trouble figuring all this out and regarded it almost as highly as FF7.

So I put it down and gave FF9 a go...and I was like, now this is more like it!

[CMR | 520]

It's the Final Fantasy II of playstation Final Fantasy games.

[AstralSoul | 502]

Don't love but like it a lot. My 7th favorite mainline FF so right in the middle of the pack. 

[rdrunner | 422]

47 minutes ago, AstralSoul said:

Don't love but like it a lot. My 7th favorite mainline FF so right in the middle of the pack. 

Lol I would need to play 3 more FF games just to have a 7th favorite.

[Estil | 1,264]

On 9/7/2023 at 8:40 PM, CMR said:

It's the Final Fantasy II of playstation Final Fantasy games.

Indeed, those are most definitely NOT for beginners of JRPGs (as I was at the time)!  Though I gotta say that chick in FF2 in the PS1 version especially looks like she's just wearing a bra from the waist up!   

 

 

[Renmauzo | 1,201]

I was hype for months leading up to release, went to the midnight launch...I was all in. Set pieces, music and atmosphere were all memorable, everything else was a disappointment:

- The combat was interesting but ideas not completely thought through made it a throwaway experience.

- The story was told in such a way as to be unbelievably obtuse and occasionally breaks it's own rules.

- Speaking of breaking it's own rules, the card game is infuriating, especially considering the concept would have made for an amazing card game like Gwent from The Witcher.

- The characters are absolutely insufferable, and their teen stupidity and - often - idiotic worries (like, does this guy like me?) during points of crisis made for a game that made me dislike everyone except Zell who felt like an honest portrayal of who he was supposed to be.

The bones of a good to great game are there...the bones of a great story are there too, but there are too many misses here for it to be considered worthy of the name, especially when sandwiched between two amazing entries in 7 and 9.

To be honest, this is the game that comes to mind when I think of Square's tonal shift in culture and story telling and - in my mind - marked the beginning of the end of it's golden run. While there has been the odd release since that has been memorable, Square's never seemed quite the same and is a company that I find is largely not for me anymore (and really doesn't gear what it makes towards people like me and what I care about in a game). This started the trend of me buying titles based on the company's pedigree while continually being disappointed and thinking, "Maybe the next one will be great like they used to be..."

Square seems too focused on nailing a specif aesthetic and trying to tell stories in as obtuse a fashion as possible. To my mind, the hubris that this attempt at playing 'I'm the smartest one in the room' shows with their story composition and delivery is very tiresome.

In any case, I got games like Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics, and Live A Live out of them (to name but a few), so FF8 - and much of what's come out since - being throwaway for me is no big deal in the grander scheme of things,

[Link | 2,710]

Never played never will.

RPGs have never appealed to me. Action RPGs obviously do but Final Fantasy isn't that. I do have some interest in the first game and I'd like to try it, using the Explorer's Guide because I have it and I appreciate such supplemental material.

[Sumez | 2,951]

2 hours ago, Renmauzo said:

To be honest, this is the game that comes to mind when I think of Square's tonal shift in culture and story telling and - in my mind - marked the beginning of the end of it's golden run. While there has been the odd release since that has been memorable, Square's never seemed quite the same and is a company that I find is largely not for me anymore

This sums up quite precisely how I felt about FF8. 

FF7 already did a bunch of things that I felt was an unfortunate change to the formula, but those really feel like nitpicks compared to how FF8 started to steer the series, company (and in some ways the whole genre) if not off a cliff, then at least far away from the lane I was happy in.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

17 hours ago, rdrunner said:

Lol I would need to play 3 more FF games just to have a 7th favorite.

It's my 7th favorite, but I've only played seven of the main games.