/vr/ - Retro Games

>>4196801
If you sat at your computer at the very beginning of the game, and read through everything on their and got some context to what was going on -- the orphanage twist wasn't so weird because there was propaganda against using GFs because memory loss, but they were bitched out by the staff of the center into being war machines

Stuck and so caught up in war they forgot they even grew up together

>>4196801
the good old "they were all linked together by fate since the beginning" cliche

and by good I mean pure shit

>>4196801
that's where i stopped playing the game because the story was so stupid. not to mention that i figured out the combat system early on and was killing things way too easily. i wasn't even "farming" or whatever you call it when you spend a lot of time buffing up your characters. you can practically get those limit breaks every single time you attack. also with the blond guy you can just alternate between left-right and down-up for endless damage each round. what a dumb game.

>>4196804
+agreed

>>4196806
you dumb, but are correct about what you can do with Zell -- you honestly don't sound like you played the game, just watched youtube reviews of it

reminder that the GF = memory loss twist is only not fucking stupid if you accept Rinoa = Ultimecia as canon

>>4196813
Nope. i actually played the game. i got to the orphanage place where they have all those stupid flashbacks then stopped playing because it was so stupid

>>4196815
also squall dies at the end of disc 1

>>4196801
He dies at the end of disc 1, and the rest is him imagining himself as a grand hero that everyone loves.
Not that that makes it less stupid

There are two kind of players. The intelligent ones who recognized the foreshadowing clues and identified the themes of fate and cyclical nature of time to where they weren't surprised by the scene... and retards who were blindsided and decided to cover for their mental inadequacy by blaming the game. After all, they're the smartest person they know, so if this was too much for them to figure out it MUST be poor writing on the game's part, not theirs. Never mind the other players who did get it.

>>4197020
I bet you like Evangelion, pretentious faggot.

>>4197020
I like FF8, really I do. And I'm a /lit/fag who reads pretentious crap. But it's piss poor writing to bury obscure clues that are highly relevant to the story and time travel/amnesia are almost always terrible plot devices.

>>4197020
>>4197036
>>4197041
desu you're all pretty fucked if you're getting hot and bothered 20 years later over a game made for 14 year olds

>>4197089
>Lol you mad

nice comeback. The story is retarded and poorly written. Calling it out in a thread discussing it is not being HOT AND BOTHERED and no one who's mad online is ever really as mad as you think they are

>>4197109
>The story is retarded and poorly written.
what part of appeals to 14 year olds do you not understand

Yup, thats when i quit. After the shitty combat system (either magic or good stats), the ridiculous story and everything else, that was the last straw. put it down and never played again. It was ham-fisted as fuck.

I don't see why the orphanage thing would piss people off. There were plenty more stupid things in that game to drive you away. Like jumping out of a space ship and grabbing ahold of someone in the infinite vastness of space then by pure luck finding another spaceship to drift to in order to save yourself.

>>4196801

FF8 was rushed to hell, just look at the time between 6 and 7 and 7 and 8. Plus they focused on the wrong parts. They thought FF7 was popular because it was realistic, cinematic, and because of the romance. So they doubled down on these. And the rushed nature resulted in a plot and setting that had tons of problems. They also throw in a High School setting since that seemed to be all the rage in anime at the time. It was like a requirement for your story to have a high school element in the mid 90's.

And yes, the Orphanage twist is the worst of them all. Look at where 7's plot was at the same time. The big twist at that stage of the game was the reveal that Cloud was not really Soldier 1st class, but was instead the Shina soldier. In 8 it's the Orphanage. It just does not feel natural at all.

>>4197146
it's about the concept of destiny and true love you fuckwit

>>4197119
The part where a bunch of grown men are discussing it online.

Everything after disc 1 of FF8 is stupid. And a good chunk of disc 1 itself is also stupid.

Even back when I was a teen, playing this game for the first time I thought the orphanage situation felt thrown in at the last second. Always does if there is no foreshadowing. But it also does not go into detail as to how long they were there together but that does not make up for Irvine or whatever the cowboy dude's name is for not bringing it up as soon as he saw everyone.

Regardless, it is not something to get your panties up in a bunch and quit the game over like some of you cynical cry babies claim. Still better than 90% of anything released since PS3/360 was first released.

>>4197259
Literally everything you said is foreshadowed. Even Irving brings up how dejected he felt when they show up and no one else but him realizes something is wrong so he says nothing out of shame or some shit. Imagine meeting a bunch of old childhood friends and none of them show any sign of actually being the people you knew in your youth, so you just [scream internally] and nope out. Doesn't stop it from being a shitty cop out.

FFVIII was just too soulful for plebs

Yeah VIII tried too hard to be a grand romantic story of fate. But at least they were going for something.

What kills me is the amount of people who rightly trash VIII's shortcomings but praise something like IX as a masterpiece. Seriously, the whole Terra genome thing feels like someone at Square was like "Hey this game is cool and all but you need to put in some existentialism like all our games have since VI" and it just comes off like a "LUL RANDUM XD" badly timed non-sequitur.

Point being most FF fans don't know shit when they see it.

>>4197267
>Even Irving brings up how dejected he felt when they show up and no one else but him realizes something is wrong so he says nothing out of shame or some shit.

That is just a poor excuse to go along with everyone forgetting because of GF use.

>>4197109
Except that one time.
And something before that.
And a few other times before that.
Not everybody is submissive as you.

>>4197272
this

>>4197301

>existentialism out of nowhere

Vivi's story is "existentialism for dummies" and it started as soon as you reached the Black Mage Factory.

>>4196801
Why does it sound like you all somehow played this game but were ready to review it the whole time you did -- no wonder it sucked for you you goddamn peasants

if you just went with the flow and excepted everything as it happened and suspended your own reality -- FF8 is incredibly interesting and has a LOT of character

Being able to break the junction system at the beginning is a plus for the game because then you can give yourself the luxury of paying attention to every little thing everyone says

>>4196828
16 instances over a 40 hour game really isn't that bad.

Yes.
I was 11 when I played it and after playing FFVII, I was in the mindset that final fantasy was the best thing that had ever happened to the human race. Despite being a wee little fanboy, I couldn't stomach that part and saw it how it really was : really fucking dumb.

I still loved the game though.

>>4197301
Yeah or how FFX had the "dude he was a dream ghost the whole time lol" which barely even mattered to the plot at all in the long run, hell you could have taken it out and nothing else would have changed, so it just felt like they had to force in a Shyamalan tier TWEEST just to try and appear all deep and cool etc. when it actually falls apart even under the barest scrutiny.

>>4197534
It's still incredibly flawed though, even when compared to other FFs at the time. The only one with any depth or development was Squall, everyone else was an annoying retard who barely had any relevance to the plot after the first disc.

>>4196801

>>4196801
Why can persona 2 do it and everybody likes it but when FF8 did it everybody hates it

>>4198512
Because nobody played fucking Persona 2.

>>4198493
>You can't criticize a game because an eceleb did so a decade ago.

>>4197267
The same guy who had to be hen-pecked into rescuing his supposed childhood friends from prison, torture and summary execution?

if you don't like it dont play lmaoooooooooooo

>>4198493
Has he become an hero yet?

Can anyone explain Ellonne's power, and why it was unique to her?

>>4198512
Nobody likes the first two Persona games. Only 3, 4 and 5 are ever talked about.

>>4198635
Only the true Persona fans like 1 and 2, all the angsty weeaboos with shit taste prefer the newer ones. Enjoy your echo chamber you piece of shit

>>4198638
Jokes on you faggot I never played any of them :^)

>>4198629
>Can anyone explain Ellonne's power, and why it was unique to her?

I don't think that was ever explained in-universe. It's just magic somehow, for some reason.

>>4198641
Jokes on you

>Xenogears had its budget stripped and given to FF8

>>4198649
Wasn't that just a baseless rumour?

>>4198649
>put more money in a sure fire hit than a new IP
"HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

>>4196801
>minor plot point mentioned once, then never addressed again
>IT RUINED THE FUCKING GAME!!! SO STUPID!!! WHY DID SQUARE RUIN MY GAEM?!?!
WAH!!!!!!!!!

Get the fuck over it kid...

>>4198658
I hate it not because of the twist itself but rather the way it ruined the characters by giving them all the exact same backstory. especially Squall. Yeah I know he grew up without a loving family but so did everyone else (except Zell) so why does he have to be such a pussy about it all the time?

>>4196801
i can honestly say FF8 has the worst plot i have ever read in any game ever

>>4198667
Personalities, anon.
They're all damaged and show it in different ways.

>zell tries too hard to be one of the guys,but it goes no further because he was addopted
>seipher became a wannabe rebel tough guy bully
>quistis was such an overachiever that she became a fucking teacher at age 15. Which no well adjusted person could do
>selphie is obsessed with her social activities, which I think is her way of filling the hole in her life
>Irvine acts cool and hits on girls, but underneath he's kind hearted and kinda sad
>squall spends a lot of time alone, thinking. He also gets way over attached to certain females.

The "whining" you speak of is Squall's internal monolagues. He's seen as whiney because we get to know his thoughts and feelings on everything. But not the other characters (and why would we). If we'd gotten to know everyone else that well, they'd all seem nuts.

The thing you have to remember as well is that squall was probably aware that his mom died and father dissipeared,since ellone was his actual sister and may have told him. And then ellone was taken away when squall was 4 or 5, which probably further scarred him.

Oh, and he's a 17 year old boy put in command of the third largest military force in the world, against his wishes. But he's not supposed to complain?

Fuck you,anon.

>>4198710
Squall and Ellonne aren't biological.

>>4196817
Thats STOOPID. You're STOOPID. EVERYTHINGS STOOPID.

My 6 year old nephew could make a better argument than you.

The story is dumb enough, but the battle system is what really ruins the game. Best way to play is hands down setting the encounter rate to 0%.

>>4196801
Those who don't get this game probably also aren't leaders in their communities

Squall is being pecked at by a few ladies but at the same time is being browbeat into leading everyone -- things I can absolutely relate to in real life

then add in questionable family ties and a past that's hard to put together -- sorry you all FF8 is a good game

Maybe it's too chic and cool and maybe you'll never be a person that experiences some lifestyle similarities to squall

If you didn't grow up playing the game, you're fucked and shouldn't bother because you will just never understand the social contect with it when came out

>>4198757
this isn't a bad thing -- this is a good thing

why would being able to set encounter rate to 0%. and be able to rely on a broken junction system to coast through battles

You don't HAVE to break the battle system lol

>>4198742
OK,my bad. But they both came from the same town and ellone knew squall's parents. Squall's mom having raised her and all. My point was that squall was super attached to her, and she got taken away, scarring him which also explains why he went to such lengths to save rinoah later on.

>>4196815
Rinoa being Ulty could have made a much more interesting plot desu.

>>4198757
I love how everyone rants and raves about FFVIII being broken (regardless of the sheer volume of variety and options this allows you) yet mostly the same people suck the cock of FFVI, which is broken by design.

FFVIII takes knowledge and some effort to break. And enc-none isn't an early game skill by the way. And without a guide, most first time players can't even complete disc 2, because they play the game totally wrong.
On top of that,you can give yourself a real challenge by raising your level, and then taking on certain optional bosses with over a million hp at that level.

FFVI has characters who do mega damage early on with screen clearing special attacks that have zero mp cost. Oh, and characters who can do over a thousand damage in the first few hours. All of which is just handed to you and takes zero effort. Only tongs easier and easier as you progress, as each new character is stronger than the last.

But nope, FFVI is a masterpiece and FFVIII is a broken heap of shit...

>>4198850
FFVI just has shitty balancing and customization options, the battle system and gameplay itself isn't broken. Also, FFVI just does everything better than VIII.

>>4196801
Play a stupid game
Win a stupid prize

>>4198854
>the battle system and gameplay itself isn't broken

Evade bug.

>>4198854
>gameplay itself isn't broken
Vanish + Doom working on bosses?

>>4198949
>>4198954
Bugs, not shit design in itself.

>>4198854
>Also, FFVI just does everything better than VIII.
interesting. Please explain.

>>4196801

How do you even notice a twist happening in a story that's too sloppy and disjoint to comprehend in the first place?

>>4199003
VIII's story was hard to comprehend?

I'd just like to add something to this conversation. I frequently see people mock the idea that all of the children at the orphanage miraculously ended up coming back together again. It's constantly labeled as a plothole, yet it makes quite a lot of sense in retrospect. At the time of Edea's possession, Cid is in the process of establishing the three gardens out of the unused Cetra shelters. After Edea is possessed, Cid is left with an orphanage of children that he knows he cannot care for by himself, so he takes them along with him to his new project, the Gardens, until such time as he can find a more suitable home for them. Squall, Seifer and Zell are taken to Balamb with Cid. Zell is adopted to the Dincht Family, while Quistis is sent off to a new home, but after problems, Cid decides to bring her back to the Garden with the others, who have at this point forgotten her. The reason Squall and Seifer weren't adopted was probably because they were the two most unlikeable children. Squall, withdrawn and miserable, Seifer a bully. This does not go on to explain why exactly Selphie and Irvine were sent to different Gardens, though. But I think it goes someway to explain that part of the story.

Here is another through about one of the possible points and meanings of the orphanage scene:

One of themes of FFVIII is fate and "Liberi Fatali" which translates to children of fate. Now as we all know Squall and co. are those children of fate and how they grew up together, forgot about each other and later on found each other again. I think this might be to strengthen their bond with each other in order to make them trust each other more and to be able to have friendship and love for each other for certain scene later on where it apparently is needed. If they wouldn't had anything to do with each other before the event of the game they'd basically still be complete strangers for each other and not have any real reason to care about each other.

>>4196803
There was a war?
Jesus fucking Christ, I forgot all about it because of that dopey time cunt taking over the game.
What was the war over anyway?

>>4199023
thank you senpai -- genuinely good contribution

>>4198850
>enc-none isn't an early game skill

You can have it before you go to timber. Beat diablos and card the fish on the beach.

>>4198710
>The thing you have to remember as well is that squall was probably aware that his mom died and father dissipeared

No he wasn't, the only one he's shown to have remembered from his childhood was his "sis" Ellone.

>>4198791
So you're saying this is a game that can only be enjoyed by angsty teenagers?

>>4199206
That is dedication to the cause, naturally you're not going to want to do that.

Especially when he's got great Junction abilities, magic refine, and a flashy command to learn. I know as a first time player, I used his Command whatever it was called all the time just because it was something to do.

And I think he has Mug, too.

>>4196801
That cunt can rot in hell, such an annoying character.

>>4196801
go fuck yourself, anon

>>4197245
Disc 1 screwed the pooch hard.

>introduce Irvine and build him up to be some big badass cowboy sniper
>keep at it how he's all cool, calm, an collected
>so hype for when his moment to shine finally comes
>he cucks out immediately and proves worthless

WAY TO GO SQUARE

You just ruined the one good character you had in that game. Bravo.

Where the fuck did Galbadia Garden go after disc 2?

>>4201469
they hang out by the orphanage

>>4198512

I can't remember, weren't they all wearing masks and didn't use their real names or something?

>game casually condones child abuse

Dropped. I don't understand why writers opt to include this kind of shit, especially when it has no relation to the plot.

>>4201594
is your pussy still sore

>>4201594
But that was one of the main points they used to advertise it. Seems kind of silly to criticize it.

>>4196803
To be fair, the game seems to repeatedly resist you from even touching those computers and by the time you can access them, you've lost interest.

>>4201384
you must be easy to please

when they first introduced Irvine, he seemed like a raging faggot and then later when he completely failed to follow through I wasn't surprised -- I wanted him completely out of the story

>>4201678

Huh? I don't remember Square advertising that woman who beats her children.

>>4201856
How was he a faggot? Just because he was independent and not melodramatic like Squall's gang?

>>4201384
>>4201856

How would you handle having to shoot your mother figure?

>>4196801

Does anything even happen if you have the band not play like complete shit?

>>4201980
Did he even remember anything at that point?

If my mother became a demoness out to destroy society I would have no qualms about taking care of business.

>>4198791
>If you didn't grow up playing the game, you're fucked and shouldn't bother because you will just never understand the social contect with it when came out

I was 13 when the game came out, I was the prime demographic for this game. Its still a shit game, halfway of Disc 2 more or less pisses on anything they were trying to do with Squall. Disc 3 straight up makes him so retarded, even fucking quistis calls him stupid.

Disc 1 Squall was pretty swell though.

>>4198613
soon

>>4202274
very soon

Once the game hits Disc 2 it's all downhill.

>>4202470
Pretty much the case with most Square games at that point.

>>4202470
what would be the 'disc 2' of older games?

>>4202275

this poor bastard needs to get out of his rut by trying something new

such as washing his hair

>>4201995
>Did he even remember anything at that point?

He was literally the only one who knew everything

>>4202275
I know everyone on here traditionally has to be a complete asshole and treat everyone like shit but dam I feel sorry for him i loved his videos I hope he can get through this

>>4202675

He brought a lot of it on himself

>>4202470
How so?

>>4202687

Disc 1 for any fault it might have is basically the set up disc. It introduces the characters and setting etc and while Im not a fan I will grant the game that it does that all very well despite some hiccups in regards to pacing.

Disc 2 and beyond are where that setting and characters are developed and expanded upon and the game does not do well at telling an interesting or compelling story at all. In fact in a desperate attempt to be clever it goes full retard (though it's hardly alone in that regard. Looking at you dream water polo player from the future)

>>4202695
I'm not sure why disc 2 is getting brought up when most of the "full retardation" happens 3 barring the extremely foreshadowed GF junction memory scenes.

Disc 2 was the plot CD. It has your characters escape from prison. Get set adrift from a siege. Learn the truth behind the Garden and how an old married man was able to acquire the funding for an industrial mercenary complex. Understand the actual ramifications of junctioning which an astute player would have put together by now. There's even a spot of character development for Selphie, Irvine, and Squall. (Rinoa doesn't exactly change all that much and neither does Quistis). Even your flashbacks plays out both like an episode of where are they now and builds the framework for the war that happened in the backstory.

At the second half of the CD you move into workups that lead in a big garden to garden battle against the sorceress herself and culminates with what is very clearly a rather hollow victory. And then the disc ends.

I mean what in regarding to disc 2 is a problem? I'll head-off the orphanage "twist" by reminding anybody that there's only one orphanage that we see (and probably in general) and the entire Garden trainees mostly comprise of said orphans so having a gaggle of dummies who knew each other ain't exactly far fetched.