- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 6,658
- Awards
- 6
I feel flipped on my criticism for this game, compared to everyone else's. The demo for FFVIII is technically the first FF I ever played, though I didn't touch this installment until after X & X-2 (though I never beat the game until I restarted it and marathoned it in 2014/2015).
While this game pumped out one of my favorite characters in the series ever (Rinoa), as well as one of the best beginning arcs in the series (Disc 1), everything pretty much falls apart after the beginning of Disc 2 for me. There's a lot of great mythology and backstory that is explored, and so much fantastic music and boss battles, but I hated how it turned into the Rinoa & Squall love show. The romance in FFX is one of my favorite aspects of that game, so it's not even that VIII had a romance but moreso how it was written. By the end of the game, Squall did everything only for Rinoa, only fought for Rinoa, and actually went from being a complete loner to being completely co-dependent. The only other person he expresses some sort of feelings for is his sister.
Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine all take a back seat once we have the whole giant "Selphie's Big Mission" arc in the main story. Sure, we have the orphanage reveal and visit Selphie's school, but never once did it feel like this cast was growing together and getting really huge moments together passed a certain point in Disc 2 (imo). I wanted to see them all get super cool, awesome moments and grow together like the cast of FFXIII (which is one of my personal favorite casts from the franchise), as well as see Squall grow to trust everyone around him and even become good friends with Zell. But his development is completely linked to Rinoa and Rinoa only.
We get some great Laguna flashbacks and exploration of a team there, but the team in VIII never really felt like a team to me.
That being said, I actually adore the Junction system and the GFs. Could it have been better developed? Of course. But overall, I found the gameplay to be some of the most fun for me in the game passed Disc 1. I liked how you had to be careful with overleveling due to enemies scaling with you, and therefore making it more important to grow the GFs and garner better magic moreso than traditionally level up.
But I mean, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I think FFVIII would benefit greatly from a remake in its story department, seeing as how everyone felt like they were just... there passed a certain point. The way I rank the series (of titles I have played) is FFXII and FFIV tied at the top, FFX, FFXIII and FFV tied together at the next rank, and then FFVIII. I'm barely making my way through VII again in an attempt to finally finish it, and I haven't played II, VI, IX or FFXV. FFIII and FFI are my least favorites and tbh games I don't ever plan on revisiting by choice in the franchise.
While this game pumped out one of my favorite characters in the series ever (Rinoa), as well as one of the best beginning arcs in the series (Disc 1), everything pretty much falls apart after the beginning of Disc 2 for me. There's a lot of great mythology and backstory that is explored, and so much fantastic music and boss battles, but I hated how it turned into the Rinoa & Squall love show. The romance in FFX is one of my favorite aspects of that game, so it's not even that VIII had a romance but moreso how it was written. By the end of the game, Squall did everything only for Rinoa, only fought for Rinoa, and actually went from being a complete loner to being completely co-dependent. The only other person he expresses some sort of feelings for is his sister.
Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine all take a back seat once we have the whole giant "Selphie's Big Mission" arc in the main story. Sure, we have the orphanage reveal and visit Selphie's school, but never once did it feel like this cast was growing together and getting really huge moments together passed a certain point in Disc 2 (imo). I wanted to see them all get super cool, awesome moments and grow together like the cast of FFXIII (which is one of my personal favorite casts from the franchise), as well as see Squall grow to trust everyone around him and even become good friends with Zell. But his development is completely linked to Rinoa and Rinoa only.
We get some great Laguna flashbacks and exploration of a team there, but the team in VIII never really felt like a team to me.
That being said, I actually adore the Junction system and the GFs. Could it have been better developed? Of course. But overall, I found the gameplay to be some of the most fun for me in the game passed Disc 1. I liked how you had to be careful with overleveling due to enemies scaling with you, and therefore making it more important to grow the GFs and garner better magic moreso than traditionally level up.
But I mean, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I think FFVIII would benefit greatly from a remake in its story department, seeing as how everyone felt like they were just... there passed a certain point. The way I rank the series (of titles I have played) is FFXII and FFIV tied at the top, FFX, FFXIII and FFV tied together at the next rank, and then FFVIII. I'm barely making my way through VII again in an attempt to finally finish it, and I haven't played II, VI, IX or FFXV. FFIII and FFI are my least favorites and tbh games I don't ever plan on revisiting by choice in the franchise.