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Well here goes,

I just finished Final Fantasy VIII for the first time since its release and I can't understand why so many people hate this game. It has everything: awesome FMV, a gripping storyline and a cool cast of characters that aren't the normal "save the world before breakfast" bunch.

I know this game got a lot of criticism because of the long GF animations, but I found myself hardly using the GF system at all my second time through since I had mastered the junction system so well and was able to create uber-physical attacks almost immediately. Repeat drawing wasn't much fun, but it was MUCH more rewarding then simply gaining levels because I got to apply my gains in whatever manner I chose. Plus that Lion Heart attack is just SOOOOO cool.

Does anyone else have any recollections of this game they want to share? Is there anyone else besides me who just absolutely loved this game?

Voted the 4th option. The series really no longer appeals to me. FFII and III were the best, after that it just got too "meh" for me.

Sorry, hated it. I will again list the reasons, for people to agree with or contest at their leisure.

The Draw system. Instead of two magic systems that worked, we get an entirely new one that adds an extra dimension: Mindless tedium!

The more you levelled up.. The more your enemies levelled up. So the entire mechanic of levelling up was essentially pointless. There was no added challenge in a low level game, there was no benefit to a high level one.

The GF's were okay, in and of themselves. They were too tedius to build up, though, in my mind. The long animations didn't bug me as much as the incredible investment it took to make them potent.

The plot simply didn't engage me. 'Aren't we cool, we use ancient mysterious power and cutting edge technology to be mercenaries'.

Non-engaging plot + Mindless tedium = Me not giving a shit enough to finish the first disc.

I haven't been able to get into final fantasy since 6, and seeing the girl band comertials for X-2, I think I've been wise to do so. Also I'm a nintendo fanboy and thats where they broke up. Tactics Advance was cool though. Not saying I hate them, just meh, I'd rather spend my time bitch slappin' around ganon or diablo.

After 2 times through, I was rather bored the 3rd time through, and the only thing that I liked was the card game.

FFVIII suffers from the same problem as...Attack of the Clones, actually.

Everything surrounding the main story is great. Gameplay, characters, everything. But that doesn't change the fact that at the heart of the game/film, lies a poor romance novel.

I've played the game through many times, and I really did enjoy it each time. But I really wish the love story hadn't been central the way it was. And no, Rinoa/Squall wasn't a relationship that bothered me, and I thought that the ending FMV with the two of them was genuinely touching. But I wish the writing getting to that point would have been better (the writing during the Ragnarok love scene was incredibly awkward, though that may have just been a bad translation). Where there is no writing, however, chiefly in the FMV scenes, the romance works quite well, in my opinion.

Really, there's a lot to like about FFVIII. Ultimecia is really an excellent villain (it's amazing how well developed she is, given her limited screen time, yet there's still so much mystery surrounding her), Rinoa is a good foil to her, and the characters are a likable bunch.

On a somewhat unrelated note: FFVIII is the Final Fantasy, for me, finally pushed the fantasy/sci-fi fusion completely beyond credibility. FFVI and FFVII were really pushing it, but FFVIII really got ridiculous with it; Galbadia has military technology that appears to be at least on par with some of the stuff that we have today, Esthar is sending men into space and has built a space station hundreds of years beyond what we have, Odine is discovering time travel, but our SeeDs, supposedly the best mercenaries in the world, are still fighting with swords, whips, and kung fu. Sorry, but that just doesn't make any sense. It hasn't been a problem since (FFIX was medieval, and FFX explained it through a plot device), and I hope it doesn't return. I have no problem with futuristic Final Fantasies, but they should go all the way; no more kids going up against tanks and armored soldiers with medieval weaponry, let's have a party armed to the teeth with modern weaponry at the very least. Melee weapons are fine, but not to the extent that they completely supplant practical stuff.

When I first played it I'd just come off FF7. Just had no appeal.

I gave up on the game about the time it was revealed that they'd all grown up together or some such.

I haven't been able to get into final fantasy since 6

Me neither, until X. Skipped VII, VIII, and IX, and haven't missed 'em.

FFX, however, easily snakes into the No. 2 spot. A pretty close second, in my opinion.

Gandalf wrote: When I first played it I'd just come off FF7. Just had no appeal.

I never gotinto that one.

I gave up on the game about the time it was revealed that they'd all grown up together or some such.

Storywise that one part completely killed my interested in the game.

From what I watched, it was pretty good.

FF 6, (3 in US) was the final fantasy to me. i really enjoyed that game.

7 was great but not what most people make it up to be imo.
8 was a flaming turd and was very easy to beat especially if you drew enough aura spells to just use limit after limit on the final boss.

I did love 9 though, it felt like a final fantasy again to me.

10 was alright but i quit right before the final battle sequence and started playing xenogears again. ( love that game).

I will not play x-2.... just fan service imo...

the only Final Fantasys' I've ever gotten into to the point that playing them was like an orgasm on toast, were 7 and 10. Couldn't get enough of them, and if it's good enough tha same shall probably be said for FFX-2, even though I'll be insanely jealous of Wakka for getting Lulu up the duff.

You folks brushing off X-2 need to get over yourselves. Sure, it's fanservicey, but as far as game mechanics goes it may be the best Final Fantasy ever.

Joe wrote:You folks brushing off X-2 need to get over yourselves. Sure, it's fanservicey, but as far as game mechanics goes it may be the best Final Fantasy ever.

Agreed, the battle system totally rules.

That said, I still didn't like it THAT much as I found the story to be pretty much crap. Yuna wasn't that interesting to begin with.

I'm enjoying X2 a great deal. My one complaint is they ditched 10's battle system. It's campy, yes, it's silly, yes, but it's still alot more bearable than 'aren't we cool we're mercenaries with swords and mystic powers against people with space travel'.

FF VIII was the first real RPG I ever played and I loved every minute of it. IX was my least favorite and Ten was the best, I haven't finished seven yet and i haven't really played any of the other but I am planning to when I get some free time

being a hardcore final fantasy addict (well, former. i started off with the original one on the NES), 8 is easily one of the worst games in the series. the setting is incredibly inconsistent as mentioned earlier, with insanely different levels of tech for different countries.

the majority of the characters seem to be whiney, angsty teens that just react to everything and rarely take action on their own.

the mechanics system in 8 is incredibly retarded and unbalanced compared to the other series. want magic? all you gotta do is keep drawing until you max out your limit of spells you can carry. that makes it incredibly tedious and not much fun to work with. the methods you used to upgrade equipment was novel, but it was just as tedious as leveling up a GF or gaining magic.

sometimes it could be a real bitch to get just the right parts you need for a certain piece of eq. another thing i disliked was that leveling up was inconsistent. you could focus on one or two characters leveling up throughout the entire thing and didn't really need to bother working on leveling up the others at all. the fact that the character that gets the last blow in or does the most gets the most exp didn't make it easier.

the story was a pathetic attempt at a 'romance' version of FF. not that there's anything wrong with that, but making romance the main theme (or at least attempting to) of a final fantasy series really makes the story of saving the world lose its impact. anyways. . .enough ranting for now.

Sporkzen wrote:FF 6, (3 in US) was the final fantasy to me. i really enjoyed that game.

7 was great but not what most people make it up to be imo.
8 was a flaming turd and was very easy to beat especially if you drew enough aura spells to just use limit after limit on the final boss.

I did love 9 though, it felt like a final fantasy again to me.

10 was alright but i quit right before the final battle sequence and started playing xenogears again. ( love that game).

I will not play x-2.... just fan service imo...

Its sort of amazing that I can say this, but I agree completly with everything you said.

My biggest complaint with FFX-2 is Rikku. Sure, she was a tad ditzy in FFX, but she was still a fully realized character; she believed in something, she had goals, and she was devoted to her friends. In X-2 she was little more than eye candy and saccharine cut scenes with Brother.

Paine was good though, and I liked what they did with Yuna's character (except for the pop star crap).

SirNitram wrote:I'm enjoying X2 a great deal. My one complaint is they ditched 10's battle system. It's campy, yes, it's silly, yes, but it's still alot more bearable than 'aren't we cool we're mercenaries with swords and mystic powers against people with space travel'.

Yeah cause defeating giant mecha with swords is soooo realistic

The Kernel wrote:

SirNitram wrote:I'm enjoying X2 a great deal. My one complaint is they ditched 10's battle system. It's campy, yes, it's silly, yes, but it's still alot more bearable than 'aren't we cool we're mercenaries with swords and mystic powers against people with space travel'.

Yeah cause defeating giant mecha with swords is soooo realistic

There's a lovely strawman. I somehow suspect a series of games based around crystals that grant supernatural powers aren't going to be big on 'realism'.

i thought this thread was gonna be about final fantasy porn

The only thing i liked about FFVIII was the whole Laguna thing. The GF crap pissed me off. Want to win? Summon Doomtrain.
The best is Final Fantasy Tactics. It's genius in tactile form, it's art. I love it.

FFVIII can eat my ass. Sorry, I couldn't stand the battle system and such. FFIX, while going back to the "roots" was something I wanted (instead of more futureistic crap that FFVIII was...), the characters, the villan, the story were.. meh, it was mediocre. That being said...

My favorite final fantasies include FFIV (FFII in the US), FFVI, and FFX. This takes gameplay and story into account. FFVII, while it was fun, just for some reason doesn't appeal to me as much as everyone else *shrug*. I loved the characters and storyline of FFIV, FFVI.. I think it speaks for itself - and FFX I like pretty much all the characters (except the vitually worthless Khimari - if his "blue mage" abilites were actually that, and not worthless overdrives he may have been worth something) I loved the story though, definatly an epic one (that and I always liked summons, and this one practically revolved around them). Now, while I am very well enjoying all the side missions, battle system, and the many many many different abilities of the many dresspheres - with Sin gone, there's no way *for* the story to be anywhere near as epic as any other FF. Lots of fun? Definatly. And getting the good ending is a treat after the ending of FFX - but overall the story suffers from an unavoidable lack of epicness.

Overall for me though my favorite final fantasy comes close between FFIV and FFX... can't decide between them.

Oh yeah, you might like this tidbid of information:

FFXII, as I heard, is to take place in the Tactics world.