Final Fantasy VIII General Discussion

[I will set you free]

Nearing the end of disc 2 of this magical ride of a game so far, i wish i had enjoyed it sooner but none the less, so much fun. The bosses of Fujin and Raijin were a bit of a reach of back to back but even though it tested my knowledge i was able to win. Such a cool game. Do i need all of my party members for final battles or can i focus on 3? I like using squall zell and irvine.

 

[abigail]

i really should hunt down a way to replay this. most likely on the switch.

same as og 7. my first play thru i could not figure out junctioning for the life of me. but when i tried it again i got stuck around the end of disc 1 or 2? (the one where you fight seifer before moving onto the enxt disc. and can draw alexander from medea?)

so its one of the few FF's that i started but didnt finish to this day.

thanks to the internet i know about the big twist(s) that happen after that boss fight. but it is a bit of a regret that i didnt make the time to finish it.

 

[I will set you free]

i really should hunt down a way to replay this. most likely on the switch.

same as og 7. my first play thru i could not figure out junctioning for the life of me. but when i tried it again i got stuck around the end of disc 1 or 2? (the one where you fight seifer before moving onto the enxt disc. and can draw alexander from medea?)

so its one of the few FF's that i started but didnt finish to this day.

thanks to the internet i know about the big twist(s) that happen after that boss fight. but it is a bit of a regret that i didnt make the time to finish it.

Appreciate all the feedback from you and others, means everything.

 

[Ite]

Without giving too much away, yes, you should have all characters stocked up with magic. Don’t grind their levels (because if Squall’s level is too high, it’s gonna be more difficult for everyone) but start thinking about the possibility of needing 6 characters all equipped with GFs — what combos will allow you to junction as many character’s stats as possible?

I started thinking about that when I got to Disc 3, and I was glad I did!

I don’t know if you’ve seen the notorious “basketball” scene yet. If so: what did you think of the twist?

 

[Obsidian Fire]

You have more than enough GFs to let everyone specialize in one of the Main Stats. Having a set of three "favorites" is fine, but don't neglect the other three you like using less. You definetly don't want to have three overpowered characters and three that aren't developed at all.

It is possible in Late-Game to juggle what Stats GFs let magic be Junctioned to if you really need to. Just... don't go removing GF abilities that can't be learned from other items to let them Junction more stats (mainly the GF stat abilities). Keeping the percentage stat abilities is really good too as that lets you be a lot more flexible with Junctioning.

 

[JBedford]

With Junction exchanging I don't know why you'd bother to have more than three sets of Junctions. I mean, there is that one fight that tries to punish you for not having Junctions on everyone, but that's easy to get around and not worth getting double the amounts of magic and further complicating the GF Stat Junction abilities balance.

If you're levelling up characters, you want characters levels to be balanced due to how enemy level scaling works. When you're stuck with certain characters you don't want them to be dead weight. A lot of the time you'll be able to choose your party, but chances are you'll end up having to use every character for a bit.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

That's... well... it would be spoilers to say why that wouldn't work in the long run...

Also, getting tons of magic wasn't ever a problem for me. I was using my "unfavorite" characters just to have a place to hold more magic spells I wasn't using. Triple Triad refining and Item/Magic refining can be... amazingly abused to brute force the vast majority of "difficult" content in the game.

 

[I will set you free]

I prefer to use irvine squall and zell, guess i need to start using the leftovers but i just always found using dominate 3 for many rpgs like X for example but i suppose i can't do that here with this game.

 

[LivingLegacy]

I just began playing this game again last week for the first time in probably 15+ years. I find that it’s resonating with me more this time around, now that I understand the junction system. Also the 3x speed option on remaster really helps make the grind with draws more bearable.

I like squall more this time around. His closed off, aloof demeanor makes sense to me now given his upbringing. When I played this as a kid, I didn’t have the attention span and didn’t really make the connection of childhood shaping present behavior. I think the general community is too hard on him.

 

[LivingLegacy]

Has anyone heard this version of blue fields? Man, it gives me chills. An orchestral rendition just works so well with this song.

 

[ForceStealer]

FFXIV does a good rendition:

 

[waw]

Quistis is one of my favorite video game characters. Really simple but effective design. I also felt her blue magey-draw style fit the character really well.

Irvine is one of my least favorite designs. I'm always baffled when a character is added in with a really odd culture that isn't reflected in the world. (Rosso is similar, having a peculiar accent for no reason). The whole cowboy look stands out as being awkward.

I loved Edea as a character, I liked the idea of SeeDs fighting monsters all over the world, and the sidequests in the game were really enjoyable.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

Squall, Rinoa, and Zell is always my go-to party combination, mainly due to their limit breaks. (This combination is particularly useful against Ultima and Omega Weapons).

And when I first played FF8, Irvine immediately reminded me of WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels due to his hair, cowboy outfit (Shawn Michaels has lived in San Antonio, TX since he was in High School), and penchant for flirting with women (this was part of the "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick in the 90s).

 

[Kuja9001]

Personal funfact - I've only gotten the Laguna Card one time ever and it was on complete accident with like all the cheating rules.

Psychometabolism! Who need steroids when you can ensorcel your own body to be giant and unstoppable!? Those bug-eyed Estharians will have to worship you now!

Headcanon-wise, most sorceresses take this approach, as when you fight through the gauntlet of past sorceresses, most are huge and mutated. Ultimecia was a bit of an outlier in this regard, perhaps she saw what good it did those other broads.

I read somewhere that their power causes mutations with enough usage.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

Personal funfact - I've only gotten the Laguna Card one time ever and it was on complete accident with like all the cheating rules.



I read somewhere that their power causes mutations with enough usage.

That Random rule in particular is the bane of my existence, but I didn't even realize the Plus rule was only one notch below Random until my most recent playthrough. Abolishing Random is always my first order of business in any region that has the audacity to have that rule in the first place.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

Upon searching YouTube videos, I stumbled upon a fan theory that flew completely under the radar;

Spoiler

Rinoa was not the only Sorceress candidate among the main heroines. Selphie was a candidate to receive the Sorceress powers as well.

And frankly, I don't think this gets the attention it deserves, considering the fact that

Spoiler

Selphie came close to becoming a Sorceress on three occasions, as she was in close proximity to either a dying Sorceress (Ultimecia and Adel), or a Sorceress with a near-death experience strong enough to expel her powers (Edea). Taking this a step further, Selphie directly contributed to all 3 incidents. And if Edea did know that Selphie was a strong Sorceress candidate, then that would clearly vindicate her decision to take the dying Ultimecia's powers on the spot.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I mean, I've been thinking that about her ever since I saw my girl able to use any magic for free with her limit break, and even being able YEET any enemy to the great beyond with The End.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

All three female characters have magic LBs. Quistus needs Monster Parts to unlock her Blue Magic spells at least... but she's still using magic without using up materials after that...

 

[Shademp]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359797440782729216

 

[Kuja9001]

I mean, I've been thinking that about her ever since I saw my girl able to use any magic for free with her limit break, and even being able YEET any enemy to the great beyond with The End.

Don't laugh buuuut I've only used "The End" once in my life and I've owned this game like 5-6 times(I'm a diehard fan). I was a kid fighting one of the weakest monsters in the game, a freakin Bite Bug, saw it show up, was like I never used this before, and boom its dead.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I only used it once too.

And that was via the disc cover open method

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Yeah, The End is... not reliable... I'd much rather use Meteor Angel Wing on Rinoa which works every single time so long as your enemy isn't immune to Magic Damage...

 

[ultima espio]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1364308884534493184

 

[Makoeyes987]

You know. I always imagined the reason the team would follow right behind Squall was because they knew it annoyed the shit out of him to be followed so closely. Which worked perfectly with my team of Rinoa and Quistis.

 

[Shademp]

I already had a soft spot for FF8 but this AGDQ speedrun from January 2020 definitely increased my appreciation of this game, both in its mechanics and its overall presentation. Great execution and delicious commentary in this 9-hour run.