Final Fantasy VIII 20th Anniversary
- Thread starter Wazzy
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I detested this game when it came out. I foolishly bought it day one, since it reviewed well, in spite of me also rather disliking VII. But I wanted to believe that I could still love a Final Fantasy game, because the series was my absolute favorite on SNES. To this day, VI remains one of my favorite games of all time.
For me this game represents the end of my Final Fantasy. It was the point in which I realized that these games were not for me anymore (IX nonwithstanding since it was a farewell gift for old timers like me). I thought VII was pretty bad as well, but at least it somewhat resembled Final Fantasy.
I couldn't have cared less about anything in this game. I thought the characters were unlikable pretty boys; I hated the simplistic, yet tedious combat; I hated the lack of character classes; the lack of equipment; the lack of unique skills; the overpowered summons; I abhored the draw and junction mechanics. I guess the game had appealing visuals; certainly better than VII's inconsistent hodgepodge of styles, but that was about it. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why this game was even called Final Fantasy; it had basically nothing in common with the games I loved as a kid.
For me this game represents the end of my Final Fantasy. It was the point in which I realized that these games were not for me anymore (IX nonwithstanding since it was a farewell gift for old timers like me). I thought VII was pretty bad as well, but at least it somewhat resembled Final Fantasy.
I couldn't have cared less about anything in this game. I thought the characters were unlikable pretty boys; I hated the simplistic, yet tedious combat; I hated the lack of character classes; the lack of equipment; the lack of unique skills; the overpowered summons; I abhored the draw and junction mechanics. I guess the game had appealing visuals; certainly better than VII's inconsistent hodgepodge of styles, but that was about it. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why this game was even called Final Fantasy; it had basically nothing in common with the games I loved as a kid.
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This is easily my favorite FF from the PS era. I have such a distinct memory of me and my older brother saving up coins for months just to buy Brave Fencer Musashi to play the demo for this game. That ended up being an amazing decision in its own right, but the hype was real. We were kids just eating up whatever coverage we saw in magazines.
One aspect of VIII I feel is the most underappreciated is the dialogue. There is so many sets for NPC's and interactions that make them unique and part of the world.
When playing as Irvine for the band you can wander off and get threatened, have a forum write about how scary he is and just have little conversations that expand more on him and FH.
Another example is Balamb Garden. Compare scenes and dialogue when you first begin to when you become a SeeD and the sets have all changed. One of the most detailed aspects about VIII.
It did extremely well and is still one of the best sellers even though it has the least amount of ports.
It happened last time I did 15th Anniversary but my thread was kept because it had more content lmao
Never underestimate my crazy when it comes to VIII. I woke up 2 hours before I was supposed to post the thread which is 5am for me.
When playing as Irvine for the band you can wander off and get threatened, have a forum write about how scary he is and just have little conversations that expand more on him and FH.
Another example is Balamb Garden. Compare scenes and dialogue when you first begin to when you become a SeeD and the sets have all changed. One of the most detailed aspects about VIII.
It did extremely well and is still one of the best sellers even though it has the least amount of ports.
It happened last time I did 15th Anniversary but my thread was kept because it had more content lmao
Never underestimate my crazy when it comes to VIII. I woke up 2 hours before I was supposed to post the thread which is 5am for me.
I'd be all over Luminous Productions remaking VIII giving them a chance to flex that engine for real this time especially just to see the Battle of the Gardens rendered in real time combat. I'll just quote myself from threads prior:
Speaking of VIII, god I would LOVE a remake made in the vein of XV. It was the original fantasy based on reality after all.
Just imagining touring the halls of Balamb Garden, exploring the world, the siege of Dollet, the Tomb of the Unknown King, the assassination attempt on Edea, the Battle of the Gardens, etc, etc.
Just imagining touring the halls of Balamb Garden, exploring the world, the siege of Dollet, the Tomb of the Unknown King, the assassination attempt on Edea, the Battle of the Gardens, etc, etc.
Great game. Still remains as my second favorite Final Fantasy, tied with IX. Junction was some great stuff back in the day, and the art direction and music is some of the best in the series. Triple Triad is also yet to be bested as the number one mini-game. It was such a simple and addictive thing. Overall, I think the game's greatest strength is in the first two discs. It's paced incredibly well and has some real great set-pieces. The third disc doesn't quite measure up to the first two due to them not fully realizing the potential of the sorceress story, but the final dungeon is the best in the entire series. I think the only final dungeon that comes close to it is the revamped one in XV Royal Edition.
I don't want Square Enix to spend 10-15 years remaking this, since I want new FF games, but I'd love to see them hand off a remake to another developer to make something akin to REmake. Update the models and pre-rendered backgrounds, improve upon Triple Triad, and maybe do a few adjustments to the story line in certain places to really tighten it up. Feel very confident it'd sell millions even with just that and would capture the atmosphere and feel of the original a lot better than a full on remake would.
I don't want Square Enix to spend 10-15 years remaking this, since I want new FF games, but I'd love to see them hand off a remake to another developer to make something akin to REmake. Update the models and pre-rendered backgrounds, improve upon Triple Triad, and maybe do a few adjustments to the story line in certain places to really tighten it up. Feel very confident it'd sell millions even with just that and would capture the atmosphere and feel of the original a lot better than a full on remake would.
I also would prefer a faithful remake. The graphics would be made to match the FMV's but obviously a little more detailed, more sidequests for each party member, make Laguna/Kiros/Ward either playable or add more to that story, though with that I realize the purpose of the cutoff is because Ellone has a realization. Seifer/Raijin/Fujin should become playable and join in the final battle.
Battle system I would want a lot of the concepts kept such as how customizable junction is and how Triple Triad was designed with the battle system in mind. Draw should still exist but shouldn't be an ability you need to equip and is more for GF pulling/Casting Magic. Add outfit changes(but no pervy bullshit that seems to plague games that add outfits) such as SeeD uniform, Cadet Uniforms from each Garden, Galbadian Uniform, etc.
The biggest concern I have is a remake using the Dissidia style. I think Rinoa looks great for that game but it's not something I want in a remake especially because Dissidia makes both Squall and Rinoa have anime eyes and they look like dolls. The PS2 tech demo is what I hope they would look back at and understand that direction was the best one.
Battle system I would want a lot of the concepts kept such as how customizable junction is and how Triple Triad was designed with the battle system in mind. Draw should still exist but shouldn't be an ability you need to equip and is more for GF pulling/Casting Magic. Add outfit changes(but no pervy bullshit that seems to plague games that add outfits) such as SeeD uniform, Cadet Uniforms from each Garden, Galbadian Uniform, etc.
The biggest concern I have is a remake using the Dissidia style. I think Rinoa looks great for that game but it's not something I want in a remake especially because Dissidia makes both Squall and Rinoa have anime eyes and they look like dolls. The PS2 tech demo is what I hope they would look back at and understand that direction was the best one.
I remember I loved FF7 so much that I mail-ordered this game. I played the demo to death (I HATED it because of the timer) and spent the whole day reading the review in GamesMaster. I begged with my mum to let me off school to play, and she relented.. and the game arrived at 5:30pm... way after I would have been home from school anyway. Never actually finished it.. It got too weird. I loved the first 20 hours, though.
FFVIII is my favorite FF of all time.
The customization you can do by equipping GFs/adding new abilities to chars + the ability to junction magic to stats means you can play pretty much any way you want. Use GFs to give characters abilities that they wouldn't normally have, and do fun things like make your characters' normal attacks cause sleep or other status effects.
Monster levels scale so that if you're at a higher level the game is actually HARDER. Gil is given to you as a salary and isn't nearly as important as it is in other games.
Most of the hate the game gets seem to be because it was so different from any of the older FF games. I think that it's actually what makes the game great.
The customization you can do by equipping GFs/adding new abilities to chars + the ability to junction magic to stats means you can play pretty much any way you want. Use GFs to give characters abilities that they wouldn't normally have, and do fun things like make your characters' normal attacks cause sleep or other status effects.
Monster levels scale so that if you're at a higher level the game is actually HARDER. Gil is given to you as a salary and isn't nearly as important as it is in other games.
Most of the hate the game gets seem to be because it was so different from any of the older FF games. I think that it's actually what makes the game great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjBM2KjQ0ic
This Japanese cover is amazing and there's a little surprise at the end
My favorite FF. I absolutely love the school aesthetic, the music, the graphics, the GFs, squall’s limit breaks, I love it all.
