/vr/ - Retro Games

>story
Lmao
ROFL, even

>>9999860
Hello zoomer thank you for stopping by. Care to articulate why you think that a sorceress from the future possessing a sorceress from the past/present is not a compelling concept for a game? It might be a bit too esoteric for you, but that is not the games fault. The plot progression from start to finish is completely coherent, so what bothers you so much?

>>9999868
>posted all this whilst being completely serious
Hahahahaha. FF8 is hilarious

Cool, I broke him.

>>9999881
Not an argument kid, keep trying.

>>9999849
You'll get shit on every time you mentioned the game but somehow Chrono Cross gets a pass and it's a "classic".

>>9999895
Not here to argue, just to laugh at FF8

I want to try FFII since I heard it's the hardest FF

The fact that you have to constantly spam three separate boards almost daily proves that FF8 is trash. Propaganda is your only weapon, as the game's merit can't do the talking for itself alone. You lost.

>>9999941
Okay, thanks for demonstrating the low IQ of VIII haters
>>9999949
I haven't made an VIII thread in months. Take your meds.

>>9999895
>he needs to steal his magic
pppffffrrrrhahahahahah!

>>9999958
>I haven't made an VIII thread in months. Take your meds.
Just act obliviously to the fact that there are constant FFVIII threads on /v/, /vr/ and /vrpg/, all with the same vindictive tone about not being appreciated or understood. It's just a coincidence.

>>9999969
I dont go on any of those boards except /vr/, so again, take your meds.

>>9999969
I think the fact that you are on /vr/ and openly admitting to going on /v/ regularly says quite a lot about the average VIII haters. It all makes sense now

>>9999849
This game sucks so much it's unreal.

>>9999998
Skill issue IQ issue

>>9999960
>stealing magic

I quite like Squall, but don’t care for the rest of the cast.

My first FF game, which is quite unfortunate. I loved triple triad and the music, but everything else was awful. For one, the romance between Rinoa and Squall is so contrived. The greater story isn't "deep" or anything either, and no amount of youtube essays or fan theories will convince me otherwise. Time compression is such a less interesting concept than lifestream too.

>>10000102
quistis is best waifu tho.

>>9999849
Ultimecia is cool as a villain
Thats it

>>9999849
You don't have to pretend. Here's music tracks that just start with the letter "B"

Balamb GARDEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D78wdfgAfOw

Blue Fields
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpfp5_5Xjms

Breezy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHiHp-xHHgU

One of these days I'm going to try to play FF8 without breaking it. No cards, no limit spam, no running from battles, limited draws per battle. I really want to see if it's possible to die in this game.

>>10000304
I did a no magic junction run and had around 1200 hp for each party member and Bahamut was hitting me for 2k a melee and I died a few times there. Also the first time I did no magic junction run I fucked up and died to the boss at the end of the missile base

>>10000304
>One of these days I'm going to try to play FF8 without breaking it. No cards, no limit spam, no running from battles, limited draws per battle. I really want to see if it's possible to die in this game.
lol I did this my first play through because I'm retarded. I think its actually pretty challenging. for the final boss I lost a bunch and just ended up grinding to 100 and it was still close.

>>9999849
I've never played this game (or any FF except a bit of X) but from the outside-in perspective it looks so fascinating. Like >>9999881 for example, I have no context why you go to space but it's bizarrely captivating to me. I don't even know what my point is, I should just go play it.

It has the best summons as well

>>9999998
behold, the closest thing to the 10th million post on /vr/

>>10000360
You go to space because it's a dumb game

>>10000380
>>9999999
>>10000000

>>10000401
You go to space in 4 and 7 as well.

>>10000427
kek mods deleted two most significant checkems of all time. rip.

>>10000380
Damn, /vr/ really just auto deletes any kind of sequential numbers, I thought it was just a joke.

trannies on fire tonight

>>9999849
10/10 game, imagine getting filtered by the draw system

>>9999849
I enjoyed Squall's limit break attacks a lot, even if it was just timing a trigger they had a nice visceral feel to them. That huge boss fight where Squall would jump on top of the boss and run around slicing and firing felt really kino.

>>9999849
VIII and Parasite Eve share a vibe that I happen to love, similar to how Tactics and Vagrant Story do. The latter is because they're in the same universe, and the former because PE was basically a tech demo for the engine that was used in VIII, but there's just something so kino for me about the modern world of the whole thing. I never liked VII to the degree most people did, because I wanted the whole world to feel like Midgar and was disappointed when you finally walked out the door. I felt like VIII did a better job about keeping things feeling consistent. Parts of it almost have a PS1 sci-fi horror vibe just aesthetically, like Galerians. To this day I get the head tingles if I hear the Balamb Garden music or think about the long nights staying up during middle school playing Triple Triad.

>>10000256
Teacher fetish + BDSM whip is hard to go wrong with. I just wish she wore anything other than her orange outfit - makes her look like a traffic flagger.

>>10001007
Regular Renzokuken attacks had a scaling animation range of 4 to 9 slashes, depending on how CRITICAL your Limit Break was. It applied to all regular enemies.
However, "that huge boss" is actually one of MANY unique Renzokuken scripted attack animation that went off against most different boss battles.

>>9999868
Yeah all the people complaining on gamefaqs in the 2000's were zoomers

A quote from Odine is all I have to say to you to prove FF8 is rubbish: "There may be many reasons, but that doesn't matter"

>>10000000

>>10001205
You mean all the retarded baggy pants slipknot fans with wallet chains who wanted FF7-2? Yeah, true, technically not zoomers

>>10001205
>A quote from Odine is all I have to say to you to prove FF8 is rubbish: "There may be many reasons, but that doesn't matter"
How does this prove anything? You;re so low IQ that you don't even understand the concept of proof or debate, and you're using other peoples opinions as an argument? lmao, this retard can't even think for himself

>>10001205
just another npc regurgitating his programmed """opinion""" hilarious

>>10001629
> retarded baggy pants slipknot fans with wallet chains

Never forget. The 00's were fucking horrible no matter what the nostalgiafags claim around here.

>>9999949
when's the last time you played 7?

I want to motorboat Edea.

>>10001632
>>10001634
More proof that 8fags haven't even played the fucking game since 1999 since they think Odine is some e-celeb I'm channeling instead of one of the most important characters in the story

>>10001687
We know who Odine is retard, we are talking about this retard citing random gamefaq opinions. Christ your reading comprehension is bad.

>>10001692
The only thing that was ever said about gamefaqs in this thread is a rebuttal to the claim that only zoomers would dislike FF8. Acknowledging their existence doesn't mean I got my opinions from them, lmao, I got them from playing the fucking game. My jaw dropped when Odine delivered that line

>>10001697
So how is a quote form Odine "proof" that VIII is bad?
>A quote from Odine is all I have to say to you to prove FF8 is rubbish:
How does this "prove" anything? Unfathomable retard

>>10001698
Do I need to jog your memory mate? Haven't played the game since Christmas '99? Odine's line is the game's epic revelation in the final act detailing the main villain's reasoning and endgame.

>>10001705
That's not proof of anything you retard. That is you taking a quote from the game and trying to be clever and snarky. It's not proof you inbred fuck.

>>10001707
Really, it ain't proof that the script just said "dunno lol" in the climax? How do they fuck that up? That scene most definitely speaks for the rest of the game's quality.

8fag will use snark himself but can't stand it being used back. Fucking sad.

>>9999849
R = U is canon

Screw the debunk moron out there.

>>10001804
R = U spits in the face of FF8's themes. Fuck me, way to ruin what little good the game has by believing such a retarded theory

>>10001135
> one of MANY unique Renzokuken scripted attack animation that went off against most different boss battles.
Yeah that's it. I've been trying to find clips of the particular boss I was thinking of but I haven't been able to find it. I remember it as being a huge mechanical boss and I have this distinct memory of Squall landing on top of it and running around on its roof with the camera panning out to show how big it was while Squall kept slashing at it. Does that ring a bell for anyone? Or is my memory just playing tricks on me?

>>10000298
FF8 actually has a killer OST. That's about the only good thing that came from it.

>>10001135
>randomly whacks Rinoa on the third hit against Adel
Based Squall keeping his woman in line.

>>10001646
I don't give a toss about 7 but it's definitely better than 8, just like 9 is also better. FF peaked with the SNES trilogy.

I am not playing a stupid, shitty card game as a primary gameplay progression mechanic

>>10001878
Don't need to, just refining items you win in battle will be enough to make the game a breeze.

The game is barely tested
>draw mainly
boring shit, no limit to drawing, game's still easy
>refine items won
less boring but makes the game way easier
>refine cards
almost as boring as drawing but turns the game into a complete joke so what's the fun

>>9999849
More like the breast an' most spheres

>>10001804

>>9999849
One thing they botched is characters. Squall is nice but just about the rest of the party is dull. Still, it's my favorite FF just because of how interesting the world is and how gorgeous the art direction is. It's a world I would actually like to see remade, unlike FF7's dingy villages

>>10001816
No it reinforces them. I don't know how had you have to miss the point of FF8 not to realize it's love story about Squall and Rinoa. And with R=U Squall literally fucks the crazy out of Rinoa, saving the world with the power of love.

>>10001941
that's retarded. Rinoa is obviously not that sort of person, and the moral of the story isn't and should not be to be so horrifically codependent that it's the only thing stopping you from destroying the time space continuum

>>10001881
I drew and refined, and I still have shit gear. Took several attempts to beat Adel and my final attempt took 40 minutes. Can't beat the final boss.

>story heavy grindfest
Should have just been a movie/television series/book. CRPGs with minimal to no story interrupting the game every five seconds are the only good RPGs.

>>10001990
r/thathappened

>>10002104
I'll dump my save file off my PS2 then, gimme a minute

>>10001986
You went from "it spits in the face of FF8's themes" to "it reinforces them too much, I don't like that". Typical R=U denier, you people generally have no idea what you're talking about and change your position on a dime just to win the argument
>Rinoa is obviously not that sort of person
That's what not having sex while stuck in an infinite timeloop does to a hoe. That's the lesson of the game

>>10001993
>story heavy grindfest
So is it too heavy on the story or too heavy on grinding the gameplay? Those are two opposite things

>>10002108
>>10002104
which one is ff8

>>10002130
Okay BASLUSP00892042600 is FF8. This save is for the NTSC ROM: https://files.catbox.moe/w8opw9

>>10002167
NTSC-U I should say

>>10002104
You can screw yourself in that fight if you are overleveled or don't have a lot of healing items.

I'm about 30 minutes into FF8 based on this boards recommendation

You are telling me that these clowns cannot even use a simple potion in battle without "junctioning" to some asshole fire spirit???

>>10001850
That gif is wildly small because of 4chan, but he's striking away Adel's hand as she reaches for Rinoa.
That's common in that battle: Adel steals life away from Rinoa to the point where you can lose if Rinoa ever dies.

>>9999849
I like the majority of it. It's a different kind of challenge to do low-level runs until you have enough GFs to get extra stat boosts on levelup. Putting actual effort into never gaining levels, then being rewarded for that, is a fun subversion of JRPGs for me. As for the story, setting, etc. it's a fun ride up until the last disc.

>>9999898
>You'll get shit on every time you mentioned the game but somehow Chrono Cross gets a pass and it's a "classic".
Meh, at least I have some desire to finish Chrono Cross when I play it.

With FF8, I lose all interest during the final mega-dungeon. What am I even fighting for? Story-wise, IDGAF at that point. Mechanics-wise, there aren't meaningful equipment, character, or other upgrades ahead. Even at the eleventh hour, I can't find a reason to bother finishing.

Hasn't stopped me from starting a new game of FF8 multiple times and enjoying it, though.

>>10001820
You're speaking of the 3rd boss fight in the game (after Ifrit and Elnoyle) against the X-ATM092 "Black Widow" spider robot used by the Galbadian forces invading Dollet. It was part of the SeeD test.
It was an optional boss fight that basically everyone was forced to do; if you were skilled enough, you could run away from it without ever fighting it. If you were EVEN MORE skilled (probably from grinding), you could destroy it before reaching the escape watercraft. If you didn't/couldn't, Quistis would appear on the craft behind a machine gun turrent and blow the fuck out of it as you escaped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0iNjlwjjE

>>10001820
>>10002450
Unless you meant jumping on top of NORG and he just stands there bashing his face.

>>10001993
Grinding is one of THE MOST UNECESSARY things in FF8 than an in ANY JRPG. You seriously do not have to grind AT ALL. You're outright PUNISHED for grinding EXP, even!

You sound like you read a Player's Guide about how to "break" the game's combat to make it easy, so you did, and now you're complaining you were able to break the game and it made it too easy.

>>10001820
>>10002452

>>10002461
I loved how you could fight this guy twice, basically, since there's a clone of him (and many other bosses) in Ultimecia's castle.

i sometimes think that ff8 haters stopped playing square games after it.
i see no difference between it and 15 and what ive seen in 16 is just the same but the writter thinks he is much better at his job then he actually is

>>9999849
8 is my favorite FF, debate me in real life.

>>10002470
I like how he attempts to swat Squall off with his sword.

>>10002450
that's probably it, thanks anon. Could even be that my brain melded that with the Bahamut fight where Squall's running across the wings. I loved all those cinematic fights.

>>10001710
It's not proof of anything. At best it demonstrates some questionable writing, but the idea that it takes away from the games superior music, battles, characters, themes, locations, stat system, summon design, monster design, story, etc is wrong. You just have to accept that VIII is king and your tastes are too unrefined to appreciate its greatness.

>>10000298
I fucking love Ellone's theme

>>9999849
Being king of the shit hill isn't the accolade you think it is.

>>10002815
>le i'm such a xHARDCOREx gaymer cuz i don lik jarpig
I will enjoy my jarpigs while also enjoying shooters, stealth, horror and crpg and there is nothing you can do to stop me.

>>10002979
based videogame enjoyer

>>9999849
I like the trains

>>10002315
I like 8, but IMO lack of items in battle without junctions is actually stupid. But I guess it's a trade-off for more slots on the command menu, since Square were insistent on only four.

>>10002452
>>10002461
>>10001135
Dissidia really short changed Squall and his Renzokuken animations.

>>10002459
>You're outright PUNISHED for grinding EXP, even!

That is not true. That is only true if the player is retarded and doesn't make use of everything the game has to offer.

>>10002979
True retro gamers only play 2D sidescrollers anon

>>10003952
>True retro gamers only play 2D sidescrollers anon
I am not, sadly.

>>10003952
Hey this happened to me. The game starts and you can take solo Squall to the training area where a rare dino spawns that is really hard and gives a ton of XP, I grinded that area forever to become powerful and made it to very high levels (I don't remember exactly but I was overleveled to ridiculous extremes).
Then the action starts and you get your first team with the punch guy and the girl, but every mob would insta 1 shot the two of them and then 3 shot Squall.
I later found out that the game levels the enemies with you, but has some wonky formula with some average stuff, so mobs where like 20 levels above the other 2 characters and Squall couldn't solo the enemies.
I actually got stuck there because I couldn't go back to the academy and the 2 companions just couldn't stay alive to get xp.

There is really nothing else like it in terms of quality. No jarpig comes close to VIII in terms of elegance.

>>10001816
R = U would be too clever and sort of actually adds a bittersweet twist that vindicates Squall's cynicism. It would be too clever if Squall only comes out of his shell and reaches out to other people, due to sorceress Rinoa controlling and influencing him the same way Seifer got controlled, it would be too ironic.

I just finished eight for the first time. KINO
I can't believe I played this one last because everyone was saying it sucked (I started with 9) but it's not even close!!

>>10001804
Jannie too

>>9999849
posting in based thread. i only wish the menus weren't so banal.

>>10002110
>You went from "it spits in the face of FF8's themes" to "it reinforces them too much
What? FF8 is a love story; codependence is not love

>>9999849
FF8 posting should be banned on all boards.

>>10005876
Go back to /v/ lol

>>9999849
What was the story about? I think, I forgot...

>>10005635
I never played 9 at the time because it looked childish.

>>10005635
>everyone was saying it sucked
A lot of people, both on /vr/ and elsewhere are NPCs and just shit on the game because other npcs shit on it. It really truly is the best FF game, and a top 10 jarpig. It's a shame that the haters are too stupid to comprehend it.

>>10005610
>R = U would be too clever and sort of actually adds a bittersweet twist that vindicates Squall's cynicism. It would be too clever if Squall only comes out of his shell and reaches out to other people, due to sorceress Rinoa controlling and influencing him the same way Seifer got controlled, it would be too ironic.

I've played VIII start to finish ~25 times since 1999 and I did no magic stat junction run for the first time, and it was absurdly fun. It was probably the most fun I've had playing the game since 1999. I encourage people to try it. I did it with Squall, Rinoa and Quistis, and call me autistic, but I summoned Cerberus a lot and did 2x 3x casting and it was a ton of fun.

>>10003952
>True retro gamers only play 2D sidescrollers anon

>>10007787
It's a lot of fun not junctioning magic and becomes quite a challenge. I'm going to do one soon I think, been a few years since I've played VIII.

I started the second disc recently but have been too busy to play lately. I like the game so far but the draw system does seem redundant and pointless. The game looks great though.

I hate how it's impossible to discuss this game anymore without the shitty fan theories being discussed more than the games

That and the people discussing those usually know more about the "theories" than about the game itself.

>>10008727
The theories are a coping mechanism whereby fans pretend the story is good and deep. It's much like Phantom Menace fans who are still struggling to come to terms with the fact they made a bad Star Wars movie (with more to come)

>>10008609
>redundant and pointless
wut does this mean

>>10008609
The draw mechanic is the only thing I truly hate about the junction system. Motherfuckers really sat in a room and decided the player would have to draw 100 spells from enemies every now and then. Either that or play cards. At least Triple Triad is fun.

>>10008735
Phantom Menace was good.

>>10000364
slow 3D animation = garbage-level summon easily defeated by any one from any preceding 2D FF game

I've never played this game and I've read a lot about it. I haven't watched any videos of it or listened to any music though. I have no idea whether I would enjoy it.

The story seems like garbage, the characters sound unlikable, and the graphic style looks really boring. But maybe the garbage will be entertainingly absurd or otherwise flavorful? The mechanics sound bizarre and I can't get any handle on whether they might be fun for me to explore. Obviously all the tedious waiting you have to do in a 3D JRPG (mainly for in-battle animations) is guaranteed to be very very bad. Soundtrack is probably very strong. I really don't know.

I don't think this jury's ever coming back (unlike with Xenogears, which I've been able to consign to the trash bin, also without playing it or watching video of it) so I guess I'll just have to play it sometime. Probably. Might have to lean on an emulator's speedup button unfortunately. Maybe it'll be fun though!

>>10010628
>Motherfuckers really sat in a room and decided the player would have to draw 100 spells from enemies every now and then.

The game balance NEVER demands the player to draw 100 of every spell or 100 or ANY spell. You can easily make do with 30-50 of each spell, half of which acquired through methods other than drawing.

The only design flaw from the devs is that they underestimated the players' autism level.
I don't know what attracts it in this system, when you get a new materia in FF7, do you go like
>Noooo! Now I have to stop my progress and grind until I maxed it out!
or when you get a new Esper in FF6 do you go like
>Nooo! Now I literally have to stop and go grind and make sure all my 16 characters learn all the magic from it!! What a piece of shit design!!
or when every single time you get a new gear in FF9
>What?! You mean I won't be able to use the bonus unless I stop to grind for it?

>>10011138
and btw, the fact that using magic uses up from that same pool is just another proof the game never expects the player to have 100 of everything or anything

instead autism be like
>Nooo I literally can't use magic in this game or else I will lose one stat point for a stat I don't even know what it does for every 3-5 magics I use!

>>10011138
>You can easily make do with 30-50 of each spell
Load my save file and beat Ultimecia: >>10002167

>>10011148
convert it to a file useable with mednafen and I will

>>10011160
https://files.catbox.moe/7yjwop.mcr

>>9999860
filtered

>>10011162
I'll give it a shot later today

>>10010993
>also without playing it or watching video of it
are fucking zoomers really like this.

>>10008727
its because the story makes no fucking sense, you have no choice but to indulge in speculation and theory.

>>10011395

I'm older than your dad, fatty. Old people have eyes that can be used to watch videos, despite what your crappy memes have told you. Go console yourself by staring at another thousand crude drawings of Wojak variants meant to represent whatever tribe you dislike, and stop posting here.

Squall is the only good character in FF8 and he has the insurmountable task of carrying the rest of the game on his back. If you think Norg is a good character, fuck you

>>9999860
>>9999941
>>9999949
>>9999960
>>9999998
>>10000181
>>10000401
>>10001759
>>10002315
>>10002432
>>10008735
>>10010979
>>10010993
>>10011404
>>10013209

Filtered

>>10013209
not op but this is even more embarrassing

>>10011404
I can simplify the story so you could understand, but I get the strong feeling you won't accept it, you'll claim I'm wrong, and or you'll simply comment, "boring" or "stupid." Let's try:

>The plot
The universe is under threat of a witch taking over the world's most powerful army. There's a premonition that "a SeeD soldier will kill her," and Squall is that SeeD. In her fear, she's going to crush all of time; past, present and future. She never realizes it, but that very time-crush is the reason Squall is able to kill her.

>The story
Squall is an orphan who grows up to be a super soldier. He's not very sociable. Rinoa is a pseudo-princess to Galbadia's General, and she's acting like a bratty rebel. She's very sociable. They meet at a dance and fall in love. Over time, Squall comes out of his shell as he keeps rescuing her while Rinoa becomes more and more anxious as she ultimately becomes a witch. Squall promises he'll devote his life to her since she's become so important to him.

>The substory
Squall frequently "dreams" about watching a Galbadian soldier named Laguna going to war. Laguna is over-the-top rambunctious and annoying, but dedicated. Squall eventually realizes what he's dreaming is real, and eventually discovers it has already happened. It gives answers to his past and leads to people (and even a nation) that can explain why his memories behave like this. It's because of witchcraft, and his faulty memory is due to summons. Laguna's story is merely exposition to the world and Squall's family/purpose.

>>10011142
Plus you could just use the three reserve characters as magical pack mules to carry extras of spells. Obviously this falls apart during the Laguna sequences and the final battle, but the game gives you more than enough tools to solve whatever problems it throws at you.

>>10011169
i'm still looking forwards to this

>>10014189
Things came up and I didn't have time but I haven't forgotten about it

>>10013441
It's never explained why he had the visions. The summon stuff is stupid as well as it's never explained what causes it either.

>>10015112
>It's never explained why he had the visions.
Ellone specifically is explained as the reason why.

>>10015112
>The summon stuff is stupid as well as it's never explained what causes it either.
Guardian Forces occupy a person's brain when they are junctioned. Specifically, they causes deterioration in one's memory.
But they grant immense power, so it tends to be worth it if you can get one (or 12).

>>10015112
>It's never explained why he had the visions.
Yes it is.
>The summon stuff is stupid as well as it's never explained what causes it either.
It's explained in literally the first thing you can read at your school desk when you grab Quetzocoatl. And then discussed more than a dozen more times. Playing a 40-hour-long game can tell you a lot.

>>9999849
I like it. Its fun

>>10011395
Yes. They watch "reviews" online and copypasta the opinions and memes as their own. YouTube, Twitter, and Tiktok generation. A short easily digested, and popular opinion is easier to deal with than a complex and nuanced, original opinion that could potentially bring dissent

>>10013021
Post hand or shut the fuck up

Probably the best Uematsu score in the franchise. The game world is also oddly very compelling, it really resonates with a lot of people who've played it. I think that's also why the "You have to kill yourself for the transfer to work correctly"-dream copypasta meme has legs, it really has some of the comfiest environments in a video game period.

>>10015112
You're embarrassing. FF8 is extremely easy to follow. I understand the story, I just think it's shit

>>10016235
I have friends who've never even played FF8 but still say it has their favorite in-game origin story/religion thing. The Hyne story is so unique and great.

Squall and Rinoa being siblings is too based to be canon

>>10018076
Half-siblings?

>>10015506
>be a rural African with me, share in my obsession with petty tribal conflicts
no. I live in a city and am literate and curious

>>10018403
>Dont be tribal, only were allowed to be tribal.

I'm more than willing to allow for nuanced and open opinions and getting rid of divisions. Unfortunately, Im one of the few people to put my money where my mouth is. Can the same be said of you?

>>10019340
FF8 calls out /vr/ janitors

>>10018401
Not ideal but it'll do

>>10000102
This. I’m an 8 apologist and even I can recognize that the cast is completely forgettable and inconsequential to the plot outside of Squall and Rinoa. 8 did a lot of things right, but characters was not one of them.

>>9999849

>Magic are now expendable like Items. Why the fuck? You have MP for that.
>GF are free to spam forever as long as the enemy doesn't deplete their HP. No other cost or cooldown. Lol.
>Drawing magic is stupid and time consuming.
>No ability to mix and match your Magic/Abilities like Materia.
>No Gil rewards after battles, take stupid quizzes and wait for your salary. Imagine wagecucking in a videogame.
>battles have you spam GF, use protect/shell, aura with Limit Breaks and meltdown over and over to win.
>"dungeons" are 3-4 screens long and there's no treasure chests, no reason to explore anything off the beaten path.
>Esthar is a teasing you with its size but it's actually a huge barren continent with a couple tiny-ass "dungeons".
>Story lacks buildup and has many stupid forced moments and romance. Ultimecia is barely mentioned. Squall acts like an emo git until Disc 3, it's annoying. Seifer is never mentioned after Disc 3.
>Sidequests are dumb and require you to grind/timesink. Also lacking any character or significance.
>GF animations are fucking long, no option to skip them after the first time you seen them like FF9.
>No chocobo breeding or racing, overall lack of minigames.
>The Castle in the end that locks your abilities for some reason is dumb and done only for the sake of padding.
>All towns and dungeons locked at Disc 4. Retarded. One of the joys of FF7 was being able to explore the world and finish sidequests.

FF8 is an great example on how not to create a JRPG.

>>10021559
>GF are free to spam forever as long as the enemy doesn't deplete their HP. No other cost or cooldown. Lol.
yes GF play a major role in ff8 and is another fun mechanic.

>>10021626
>fun mechanic
Yeah waiting for the long unskippable summon animations to end is fun

>>9999849
Don't take it bad (even considering the numbers), but this game is someway even enjoyable, but the problem is that the story is some way stupid and childish and the game mechanic is idiotic. The musics could even be good.

My favorite video game of all time next to Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits and Shadow Hearts Covenant

>>10021559
>Magic are now expendable like Items. Why the fuck? You have MP for that.
FF1 didn't have conventional MP either tbf. It had different points for different spell levels.

>>10000364
Pretty sure I fapped to this

>>9999849
Tiem Kompression

>>9999898
Crossfags are unironic coprophagists.

>>10000364
BOOTA

>>10019340
Those non-payment freaks look self in the mirror

>>10021559
half of these are wrong, some of the others are things that, considering your level of intellect, you wouldn't even have figured out without looking up a guide, and the rest is just "waaa FF8 isn't like FF7! I want FF7!"

>>10014468
I will be patient like a loyal dog

>>10021652
This is the downside to them, yes, but VIII definitely has the best summon designs. You can't honestly say that any recurring summon from any game looks better than the VIII design.

Why couldn't they make Edea a permanent party member again? Her being a sorcerress has nothing to do with being able to fight or use spells since any character can be made into a mage.

>>10021652
aren't you supposed to be strengthening their attack during this sequence? Something I didn't know about because it wasn't in the manual.

>>10024328
What

>>10024104
Just wish my boys Quezacoatl, Pandemona, Cerberus, and Doomtrain got used again
I guess Cerberus makes for a better enemy than summon, and Pandemona/Doomtrain are too "weird". Quez gets the boot for boring old man Ramuh most of the time. What a shame.

>>10024430
When you get boost ability for any GF you do this Select Plus Square https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Nqt0B3MHQ

>>10000102
They had interesting ideas with some of the characters but they didn't use them.
Quistis was pretty interesting as the prodigy who became a teacher at a young age but then wasn't great at her job.
Seifer had potential with him being a cocky bastard that got overshadow by Squall
Irvine was also interesting when he failed his mission

But they just didn't use them that much beyond.
Zell and Selphie feel like they are just there as comedic relief and nothing else

I don't like Squall though. He has the most character development but he still feels dull for me. It doesn't help that Riona is easily dislikable
Laguna will always be the best character in FF8, even if we just get to see fragments of his life.
>>10003952
>That is only true if the player is retarded and doesn't make use of everything the game has to offer.
Which is completely possible and likely for a blind first run. If you have no idea on how to get strong, is pretty easy to farm too much EXP without actually becoming strong enough to beat the enemies

>>10024985
>Which is completely possible and likely for a blind first run
Hence I challenge somebody to beat Ultimecia for me, here's my save in two formats: >>10011162
>>10002167

>>10000364
Can you skip them? Might decide if I try a playthrough

>>10025340
Yes? Never mind "skipping" their animation, you don't ever have to see them.
You can spend the entire game never summoning a single summon. Ever. They are especially not required in-battle.

>>10025346
Ehh, I'll pass.

>>10021559
Literally half of those things are so showing that you are just retarded and didn't understand what the fuck you were playing, not understanding the nuances of their purpose left and right.

I genuinely dislike FF8, I think it's pretty shit compared to most in the series, but all your takes just prove that you are a FF7 cock gobbler with no understanding of nuanced game mechanics.

VIII is king and Squall is the best lead in the series

>snow white, pouty witch Edea

>>10017845
>>10013441
Why the fuck does it look so good
Seriously how did they achieve this in 90w/e thefuck it was released? I remember being dumbfounded when first seeing this.

>>9999948
I've been playing the pixel remaster and unless they rebalanced the game there has been zero challenge. In comparison FF1 pixel remaster still had quite a bit of challenge in the early game.

>>10000256
This scene was perfectly executed

>>9999849
FF8 was neat and a decent story until everyone but Rinoa was at the orphanage. They also really should have leaned into SeeD's Legion of Superheroes thing but they pussed out.

>>10027594
He's too busy thinking about sucking Sifer's cum out of Rinoa.

>>9999849
>atmosphere
No, but it's still good.

>story
No, and even the creators admit this. They had no unified vision and it shows hard.

>music
Debatable but IMO it does have one of the best soundtracks in JRPG history.

>battles
No. Drawing is leagues below materia, GFs are leagues below sphere grid. Every battle becomes drawing enough magic to junction into your stats and never ever doing anything but releasing Attack unless you need to use a Phoenix Down or Elixir. Objectively one of the worst FF combat systems.

>aura of elegance
I dunno what this means but a lot of FF8 feels more well built and soulful than most FF games, even if it couldn't stick the landing story wise.

>>10000038
There's no skill involved, it's literally junction and attack the whole game.

>>10027602
Okay, I was expecting "Whatever" so that took me by surprise and I chuckled. I've probably saved that image before, but I'm saving it again. Thanks.

>>10022014
The magic also wasn't your stats or extras on your weapons.

I just beat the flying fortress boss in FFV SNES and I feel like I'm doing something horribly wrong in this game because I have died multiple times to every single boss so far before looking up the strategy online. I fundamentally do not understand how you are supposed to figure out what an enemy is weak to besides trial and error shit. Like that flying fortress:

>had no idea you could disable the missile launchers by targetting them separately (fuck you the sprite doesn't even show them)
>had no idea the boss was vulnerable to Lightning damage

Once I looked these two factors up, I slaughtered it very, very easily. Regular enemies are total jokes that I oneshot easily but bosses all absolutely SHIT out absurd amounts of damage to the point where if you don't know the optimal way to melt them quickly you are just totally fucked within the first 30 seconds of the fight, because good luck outhealing any of their entire party hitting bullshit.

Am I missing something that could enable me to play better or is this game just absurdly hard for some reason?

>>10000401
>You go to space because it's a dumb game
wow just like FF7 baby first jrpg

>>9999849
We get it, its 2023 and you are becoming demoralized
Game was carried by Uematsu and without him would have been scrapped
FF8 was ahead of its time but not as some forward thinking anachronistic masterpiece, it was made for dispassionate antisocial losers like squall except they had their own subcultures at the time skating/punk
the whole game is a sardonic departure from the expected high fantasy epic and if released today as FF16 probably would work with the 'modern audience' eager to consume next product
Still doesnt make it a good game

>>10000804
>10/10 game, imagine getting filtered by the draw system
I love when FFVIII haters expose their tiny IQ when they criticize the Junction System.
>drawing 100 of each magic sucks
>spamming GF summons sucks
LMAO poor idiots.

>>10001037
>VIII and Parasite Eve share a vibe that I happen to love
#metoo

>>10027658
Unironically doing it right bro
No guides, just figure shit out the games were designed like that back then. Zelda series really drives this point home and its why all of us know the Zelda "secret" jingle.

>>10001629
>You mean all the retarded baggy pants slipknot fans with wallet chains who wanted FF7-2?

You can't blame them for their ignorance.

For the majority FF7 was their first FF, they didn't know that every installment was a new story in a new world with different characters that share similar elements.

They bought FF7 based on pure marketing thanks to those amazing CGI-only trailers that didn't show any gameplay.

Any other game that released after FF7 as the new FF8(even if it had 9,10 or 12 plot) was doomed because it didn't continue the adventures of Cloud and co.

>>10010628
>Motherfuckers really sat in a room and decided the player would have to draw 100 spells from enemies every now and then.

>>10027673
You sound like a massive faggot

>>10000804
>>10027676
Squall was the King of Games before Yu-Gi-Oh was cool.

>>10027658
Figuring things out is why games used to be fun.

>>10015112
>It's never explained why he had the visions.
Oh Lord

>>10027702
The average VII fan was entirely new to the genre and had no idea how much it was aping other better works. Having no idea that the things they were praising it for had already been done many times before, they acted like it was this pivotal groundbreaking game, and they were gratingly hyperdefensive to the point of insulting every other JRPG ever made by Squaresoft.

To make an analogy, imagine if someone had never read a fantasy novel before and they picked up The Sword of Shannara. The Sword of Shannara is not a terrible fantasy novel, but it's painfully derivative of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It's essentially a rewrite with modifications of LotR by Terry Brooks, lacking in Tolkien's much more poetic verse.

This is what VII fans were like. They raved about how no game had ever killed off a main character. Of course, that wasn't true. Previous Final Fantasies had, but they didn't know that, so it was groundbreaking to them. They hadn't played Chronotrigger, so Jenova didn't feel familiar to them. They hadn't played VI, so the materia system didn't feel so much like a knockoff of magicite, which had been quite innovative. They hadn't played IV, so the idea of the main protagonist starting off the game morally grey, which had been quite the shock for Final Fantasy players 3 games ago, was amazing to them. They were amazed that the game didn't end after leaving Midgar. No one who'd played another Squaresoft jrpg was.

>>10000000

>>10027840
you need to watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcQLa2aDZxw

>>10002315
Please understand, they're students... Of a super elite mercenary unit.

>>10002459
The story sucked even for a jrpg and Golden Sun made a more interesting system with their spirits making new commands.

Final Fantasy VIII was clearly a game with a rushed development. Everyone talks about the junction system as a failure, and it was a failure, but it was a failure in part due to the fact that the game was rushed. The level scaling was likely an ad-hoc fix, a bit of duct tape to help balance the game.

The story was axed down from a grander narrative, involving half the game with Laguna and half the game with Squall. The leftover story threads were hanging everywhere and the game just sort of threaded them together. Irvine I strongly suspect was planned to be in Laguna's timeline and used to thread both together. Them all being in the orphanage as kids was done because Xell, Selphie and Irvine would really have little reason to stick around otherwise.

That said, this rushed aspect and the story threads being left scatttered everywhere had a positive effect, you pick up on shit by looking for it, and you discover more about the world in future playthroughs. Like the Winhill Laguna dream sequence, when he wakes up in the bedroom with bullets in all the walls. It's only when you read up on the attempted kidnapping and Ellione's parents death do you realize that those gunshots were from Esthar soldiers breaking in and trying to steal Ellione. Modern final fantasy would have a 15 minute drawn out dramatic sequence showcasing it all, while in Final Fantasy VIII you just see the shot up house, see Laguna being extra protective of Ellione and offhand comments are made about Ellione's real parents.

I don't think the Final Fantasy writers are skilled storytellers, none of the shit they've written has exceptionally stood out, and they have zero sense of subtlety based on their recent movies and games where they have all the special effects to fully indulge. It's because of technological limitations and a rushed development we have this surprisingly kino game. The game should by all regards be hot trash, but it's so accidentally kino at a lot of moments.

>>10028305
If the game was half/mostly Laguna and crew, then it would be a contender.

>>10002315
>>10003771
The entire point is to force the player into engaging into the system. Had items been more available, even MORE idiots would come crying about how the game is shit because they grinded for exp until level 50 in the Dollet mission and the game won't let them win

>>10028305
All of these things have nothing to do with the game being "rushed".

The difference between FF8 storytelling and other FFs is that the devs thought the players would be smart enough to see the bullet holes in the destroyed home and realize something happened here and connect the dots on their own. Other FF games don't do that, they take the players for the idiots that they are.
This is 8's only real "mistake": overestimating the playerbase intelligence.

And btw when other games do this kind of stuff, everyone is like
>WAAAA this game is so SMART
and REVOLUTIONAL it tells the story through GAMEPLAY rather cutscenes!!!
This even when the "gameplay" part is nothing more than glorified cutscenes in which the player is locked and can move around (Half Life)
and then when FF8 does it it's like
>huh this is stupid and rushed and the devs didn't know what they were doing

>>10028305
>Modern final fantasy would have a 15 minute drawn out dramatic sequence showcasing it all, while in Final Fantasy VIII you just see the shot up house, see Laguna being extra protective of Ellione and offhand comments are made about Ellione's real parents.
But this is exactly what makes VIII the superior experience and use of the medium. The player has to pay attention to context clues and explore the environment and seek out information rather than just watch some fucking movie explaining every last detail. All the information IS THERE, it's up to the player how much of it they want.

>>9999998
>>9999998
>>9999998
So damn close.
Who got it?

>>9999999

>>10028675
Oh....

>>9999995
>>10000080
Owned

>>10028305
>The game should by all regards be hot trash,
trying to sound like an authority and fails.

>>10027840
>Music has "been done before" if you like new music you're such a newbie
>Guys, "wearing shorts" is just APING fashion that's already been done before, it's disgusting!
>It's so lame for anyone to "win a race" and think people are going to like them for it: it's like they've never heard of a human winning a race before, ugh
>You can't praise a book for having new content because I've already thought about space travel before

>>10026831
NURBs or subdivision surfaces

VIII is the best honestly, just wish it was longer

>>10028394
>But this is exactly what makes VIII the superior experience and use of the medium.

....that's what I'm saying, Final Fantasy VIII gets it right.

>>10028312
They went into the game wanting to minimize flashbacks because Final Fantasy VII was trashed in Japan for them. Sakaguchi browsed online and basically fitted Final Fantasy VIII around the criticisms he found. Final Fantasy VII wasn't that well received by fans in Japan, as they had enough experience with JRPGs to know its shortfalls.

The online consensus at the time was
>Killing off characters as a shock factor is cheap and sappy
>too many flashbacks, lazy storytelling
>world is grimdark and edgy
>Cait Sith and others are too silly, tonal clashes

You can see Final Fantasy VIII as being a direct response to these criticisms. The world is mellowed out, they attempted to keep flashbacks to a minimum and there's no overtly silly schlock. The fact they backtracked on the flashback aspect out of necessity shows that a lot of the plot wasn't planned. The orphanage and Lagunas sections were late in development narrative fixes. You also see too many unused assets and too many chopped assets. Rinoa being in the Dollet vehicle during the spider tank sequence on the beach, unused assets of Laguna and Squall together. These definitely aren't signs of a highly thought out game.

>>10028754
I'm literally right about everything, always have been.

>>10028324
Nomura, Sakaguchi and Nojima have made some good games, but they also have a lot of shit with their name on it. Games are made by people, and you can work out a lot by seeing what they did before and after.

>>10029758
FF8 is one game I wish I could see making off, all cutting room material. Whatever the world is supposed to be.

> One challenge for me with writing the story, was that I would sometimes write scenes rather casually, but the test players would really get into it and read into it things I never intended. They gave me their feedback about once a week, and I’d hear things like, “Oh, what was going on there?” and “I can’t wait to see how that mystery unfolds”, and I’m just like… uh… I hadn’t thought about it that deeply.

The fan-theories started even before the game was released kek.

>>10029758
>These definitely aren't signs of a highly thought out game.
actually the issue is that they ran out of dev time.

>>10002746
>the idea that bad writing detracts from the story is wrong
8fags, everybody

>>10031150
it's lost in translation mate, cant do anything about that

>To be certain, love is a theme of FF8, but in my opinion, to be more specific, it’s more like falling in love. But what comes after—after you know you love someone? I tried to suggest that question, to drop hints of that idea in the story

What were the hints bros?

>>10024985
>>10024989
Not that one anon, but I managed to win. It's not a free first try win, but it is possible.

The Magical Lamp from Cid way way back in Disc 1 lets you get the Diablos GF, and also 4 Heros.
You also didn't fight the last of the bosses to unlock all the command slots in the castle. This fight gives 30AP.
I set Diablos to learn Time Mag-RF which conveniently costs 30AP. I also set Cerberus to learn SPD-J.
The Tiamat boss also has the Eden GF available for drawing from him. (Actually every boss in the castle can have a GF to draw if you missed them before - I don't think it's hinted at anywhere so don't like the Draw command, you're fucked in that regard)
Used one Hero on Squall for this fight to last through one Dark Flare.

After those two fights, you have two GFs with SPD-J, and Time Mag-RF available.
From your inventory I refined 50 Triples for one person, and 100 Hastes for all three.
You can also refine Demolition Ammo for Irvine, 160 Lifes, get everyone's Curagas to 100 etc.
You don't get to continue the game after the last boss so no reason not to refine everything.

The fight against Ultimecia was a trial-and-error affair where the most important thing is getting a grasp for the timing of the strong team-wipe moves since you can't survive through them - so you want one person to have Hero active to get through it that way, then you can full-ilfe the rest back up.
Having SPD-J with Haste junctioned greatly speeds up the ATB bar, and you can further cast Haste during the battle as well.
If Squall's HP isn't in the yellow, use an Aura Stone on him to make him able to Renzokuken even in white health. There's a trick where you can switch characters and it rerolls the RNG for whether you get a Limit Break or not.
(You can also still leave the castle and go back to the world map as well - even reach the ship again, although I doubt many would find that by themselves)

>>9999849
yeah its good but i stopped playing on disc 3 or something. i remember more about ff8 than ff9 despite me completing ff9

>>10031874
You're a legend bro

>>9999849
Based. VIII was truly the peak of the franchise. 3rd world brownoids, Jews, and faggots still hate on it to this day though because the plot revolves around white heterosexual romance throughout time.

>>10033461
>white
Rinoa has brown eyes

>>10033494
>He thinks white people don't have brown eyes
Hello there, rabbi

>>10033517
>He thinks white people should resemble Arabs
>He thinks white people should MINIMISE their genetic distance to Africans
Hello there, rabbi

>>9999849
the villain sort of looks like Eve, and FFVIII in general sort of looks like PE. It's why I call FFVIII "Final Fantasite Eve"

>>10033552
Nice try, Shekelgrubber. How the weather in Tel Aviv?