I bought it as a kid a long time ago, and I loved the shit out of it, but I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I don't think I ever played a game of Triple Triad or ever bothered with GF Ability growth. I got to the Ragnarok and thought I had no way of beating it. I was in 4th grade so I gave it away to my crush at the time lol
Then I had a friend gift me a PS1 copy many years later, but the discs became unreadable and I couldn't go past the beginning of Disc 3.
But now, with the Remastered version, I FINALLY actually beat it.
And I think it definitely became my favorite FF.
Just almost everything about it was glorious.
It's unfortunate that the game is a bit unfriendly and some of the systems are obtuse. I feel like a lot of people think the game requires GF spamming or draw spamming, when that isn't the case.
There's just so many options and so many abilities that it's almost overwhelming.
You could GF spam. You could also find an enemy and draw a certain magic spell to 100 and Junction that to your Strength. Or, you could learn the ability to transform cards into items that could be extracted into Magic, which can be junctioned. You could also rely on Limit Break attacks, which I think are fun little mini-games. And there's probably many other ways I could lay out just how many options you have.
So, that aside, the atmosphere is amazing.
Absolutely insane amount of variety in locales; all beautiful and creative as hell, and the game carries a mysterious atmosphere the whole way through.
Music is incredible, of course
Though I do wish they put a little more emphasis on Quistis and co., I actually really enjoyed them all (minus Irvine who I just didn't care for), and I loved Squall and Rinoa, Cid, Edea, etc.
And as for the story and its pacing; on one hand, pacing was fast, and I was never bored. It always felt like the party had like at least 3 things to worry about at a time. Which is the problem; it's a tad too fast and some important info is very easily missable. It leads to some revelations that may appear to be really dumb or out-of-nowhere, and sometimes plot points are thrown at you at breakneck speed and there's zero room to breathe and take it in.
Despite this, I found the story very enjoyable overall. Not flawlessly executed, but thoroughly enjoyable with countless memorable moments and interesting world building. I also loved all the sections with Laguna. Also mixing fantasy with sci-fi, and specifically adding in sorceresses/witches as a major part of the plot?? Literally exactly my shit.
I could go on, but it's been a long day.
Final Fantasy VIII, I fucking love you.
Then I had a friend gift me a PS1 copy many years later, but the discs became unreadable and I couldn't go past the beginning of Disc 3.
But now, with the Remastered version, I FINALLY actually beat it.
And I think it definitely became my favorite FF.
Just almost everything about it was glorious.
It's unfortunate that the game is a bit unfriendly and some of the systems are obtuse. I feel like a lot of people think the game requires GF spamming or draw spamming, when that isn't the case.
There's just so many options and so many abilities that it's almost overwhelming.
You could GF spam. You could also find an enemy and draw a certain magic spell to 100 and Junction that to your Strength. Or, you could learn the ability to transform cards into items that could be extracted into Magic, which can be junctioned. You could also rely on Limit Break attacks, which I think are fun little mini-games. And there's probably many other ways I could lay out just how many options you have.
So, that aside, the atmosphere is amazing.
Absolutely insane amount of variety in locales; all beautiful and creative as hell, and the game carries a mysterious atmosphere the whole way through.
Music is incredible, of course
Though I do wish they put a little more emphasis on Quistis and co., I actually really enjoyed them all (minus Irvine who I just didn't care for), and I loved Squall and Rinoa, Cid, Edea, etc.
And as for the story and its pacing; on one hand, pacing was fast, and I was never bored. It always felt like the party had like at least 3 things to worry about at a time. Which is the problem; it's a tad too fast and some important info is very easily missable. It leads to some revelations that may appear to be really dumb or out-of-nowhere, and sometimes plot points are thrown at you at breakneck speed and there's zero room to breathe and take it in.
Despite this, I found the story very enjoyable overall. Not flawlessly executed, but thoroughly enjoyable with countless memorable moments and interesting world building. I also loved all the sections with Laguna. Also mixing fantasy with sci-fi, and specifically adding in sorceresses/witches as a major part of the plot?? Literally exactly my shit.
I could go on, but it's been a long day.
Final Fantasy VIII, I fucking love you.
