Should I skip Final fantasy VIII?

[kevin_psx]

I hear nothing but bad reviews of it? Good story; lousy game.

[pacmanhat]

I seriously question the credibility of the 'reviews' you've heard...FF8 is excellent. It's not the best game ever (or even in the series), but that doesnt' mean it's not worth playing. Take a look at this if you feel like it:

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpage...fantasy%20viii

There's plenty of positive reviews you can read from there.

[blissfulnoise]

I personally think, story wise, it's the best game in the series. But that's not a popular opinion.

If you consider yourself a fan of role-playing games then every Final Fantasy game needs to be on your must-play list.

[kevin_psx]

To get magic in Final Fantasy VIII, you must “Draw” it, either from an enemy or from draw points, which is annoying because you can eventually run out of magic and spend your time battling just to draw stupid magic. It’s quite irritating indeed. Also, you can junction your magic to raise certain stats if you have learned a Stat-Junction ability. You have no idea how much time this takes up. And this happens to be very boring, taking away any fun factor this game has.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/review/R15242.html

Sounds boring to me too. Is it?

[Sylentwulf]

Personally, I think it's the third or fourth best game in the series. Much better than FF9, and MUCH MUCH better than FFX could ever hope to dream of becoming.

[Joelius]

Reviews don't make the game. You must expierence it for yourself. ESPECIALLY if it's from a blockbuster series like Final Fantasy.

[Daltone]

I'd at least try it. Should be pretty cheap, and what's the worst that can happen? Well, other than your PSX suddenly exploding making the disc fly out and decapitate you. Personally I didn't think that it was that great, but the story at least kept me interested.

[davepesc]

To get magic in Final Fantasy VIII, you must “Draw” it, either from an enemy or from draw points, which is annoying because you can eventually run out of magic and spend your time battling just to draw stupid magic. It’s quite irritating indeed. Also, you can junction your magic to raise certain stats if you have learned a Stat-Junction ability. You have no idea how much time this takes up. And this happens to be very boring, taking away any fun factor this game has.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/review/R15242.html

Sounds boring to me too. Is it?

Unfortunately, it's the junction system that kills the game for me. Not only is it a pain to draw magic, but actually using that magic permanently (unless you draw more) lowers your stats. I am against any FF game that penalizes you for using magic.

[s1lence]

The junction system in VIII blows. Its not a bad game to play and if you are a FF fan I would say go for it.

[Poofta!]

the best part of the game is the card mini game that you can play with variouse denizens of the ff8 world. other than that id say its pretty bad, story was 'meh' and the gameplay is just plain horrid.

youll pretty much know if you like it or hate it after playing it for half a day, so try that. my vote? try for the card game, and after that lost its appeal, on to the next game on your list.

[hezeuschrist]

The junction system in VIII blows. Its not a bad game to play and if you are a FF fan I would say go for it.

That pretty much sums it up. That and the protagonist is a completely whiney pussy. Why can't anyone OVER THE AGE OF 17 SAVE THE FUCKING WORLD?

[calthaer]

Someone said "Bad game, good story"

I'd disagree. I'd say "mediocre game, bad story." The inane plot twists (oh my! we're all orphans, WE JUST FORGOT!) and crap like that make the story absolutely ho-hum. The junction system sucks, as has already been mentioned...and I'd agree - it's only that card game that saves this game from being a complete and utter bore.

The PC version comes with a cool little ChocoboWorld program that gets you some neat items, though.

[kevin_psx]

Decided to just watch the movie & sell the game



http://cgi.ebay.com/Final-Fantasy-VI...QQcmdZViewItem

[Kim Possible]

Ick. FFVIII was terrible. I barely made it through the first time and will NEVER play it again. Boring story (only good toward the end), too much "school" at the beginning, terrible "junction" system, boring card game (the game in FFIX is better), etc.

The only think I liked a lot were the summons. They were awesome.

[s1lence]

Ick. FFVIII was terrible. I barely made it through the first time and will NEVER play it again. Boring story (only good toward the end), too much "school" at the beginning, terrible "junction" system, boring card game (the game in FFIX is better), etc.

The only think I liked a lot were the summons. They were awesome.

The summons are cool the first couple times, but they get really old , really quick.

[whoisKeel]

Oh c'mon it isn't that bad. It's not my favorite either, but I only remember excessive drawing of magic when trying get strong enough to beat the *optional* bosses. (Omega or whatever). Sure the summons were long, but wasn't that the one (or was it 9?) that you can hit the button really fast to build them up, so at least you're doing something while watching the animations. My memory is a little foggy, as it's been a few years, but seem to recall the ending being the best I had ever seen (at the time). There's still some sequences I remember like the parade and space that were cool.

[towerofsong]

Final Fantasy VIII is my least favourite game in the series, found it frustrating and was not keen on the character designs at all. Couldn't get the hang of the battle system, the junction thing is annoying as hell.
But...well
I still reccomend you play it. It still has that certain hold over you as you play it, well it did for me anyway. Annoying as it was I still completed it.
Thank god FF IX rocked.

[Chronodriftersx]

no m8 it's great

[Arkaign]

Bottom line, check it out for yourself, there's no sure way of telling how *you* will care for it. It's cheap now as well, as many others have already noted.

Personally, I don't like any of the FFs on PSX onwards. I went to Diablo and other PC RPGs from the 16-bit stuff.

But that's just me, everyone will come to and from each game with their own perspectives and experience, and though they may share some degree of their outlook on a title, it's fundamentally and undeniably an individual opinion that each of us ultimately arrive at.

[Kid Fenris]

I'm with the posters who've suggested that you hunt the game down and play it. If this thread shows anything, it's that Final Fantasy VIII leans heavily into the "love it or hate it" category.

For what it’s worth, I found FFVIII decent. It’s amusing even when the plot stumbles, and the magic-extraction play mechanics are a nice break from the repetitive attacking found in most RPG battle systems.

I'd disagree. I'd say "mediocre game, bad story." The inane plot twists (oh my! we're all orphans, WE JUST FORGOT!)

Detractors tend to overstate the silliness of this particular revelation, which is actually plausible if one pays attention to the subtler points of the story.

Also: SPOILERS, DUDE.

The PC version comes with a cool little ChocoboWorld program that gets you some neat items, though.

This mini-game is available in the regular PlayStation version, provided that you have a Pocketstation on which to run it. Also bear in mind that the PC version's interface is more awkward than the original's.