Why do people hate/dislike this game?

[NBOX21]

I mean, don't get me wrong, between Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 9, I always found 8 to be my least favourite of the three, but I always found plenty to love about 8 despite its flaws, how different it is and how easy it can be overall, even by the series standards.

So, what is it that many people don't really like about this game?

[Kerobe]

i guess the main reason is the draw system. You have to stock spells for stats and don't really use them

[NBOX21]

Escrito originalmente por Kerobe:

i guess the main reason is the draw system

Oh yeah. This can make for a painfully slow start at the beginning, especially if you don't know how to refine items into magic spells to give you basically the same thing without the draw feature.

No, really. On discs 3 and 4, I barely even used the draw system - I mainly only used it if I need to use spells like Life, Cure or Protect on my party to give myself an advantage without wasting any spells I've stocked up.

[szlachetka]

Its mostly that people aren't fans/don't even understand how the junction system works, or how to grind the right spells to become overpowered. It could also just be the fact that they do not like the battle system itself as magic is not really used as an attack (instead junctioned) and you'll just be attacking most of the time. So basically, that you overpowered as hell and there's little strategy only drawing spells and attacking.

[Sketch]

The unnecessarily complicated junction system is probably a big one. It's fun to break once you find out about card modding but it's kinda daunting for newcomers.

[NBOX21]

Escrito originalmente por Sketch:

The unnecessarily complicated junction system is probably a big one. It's fun to break once you find out about card modding but it's kinda daunting for newcomers.

It's not even that it's complicated - it's more like it's very different compared to what we've been used to in RPGs and that could be what turns people off. Also, the level scaling - some people enjoy grinding in RPGs, but I felt discouraged from doing so in this game because enemies level up as your party does, meaning I was able to beat the final boss with only a level 27 Squall.

[Mooselager]

its cuz Squall has a cute weewee

[geromecbar]

In my opinion it's not so much the gameplay wich is interesting to say the least, but the the story which is too centered around Squall. So much so that if you don't like Squall or appreciate his growth throughout the game you'll start disliking the whole game. Other iterations of FF don't have that problem, you don't like Locke? There's Terra. Don't like Cloud? There's RedXIII. Don't like Zidane? there's Vivi (and let's be honest here you just have to love Vivi). Not fond of Tidus? Auron's there. And so on. And I'm just pointing 2 characters each but it works with the whole gangs basically. But FF8, you can't even name a second main character to balance things out, so it makes sense some people enjoy it thoroughly while some just can't see what's in it for them.

[Orca]

This was the first FF game I ever owned and I am a big fan of it, but it really gives off an early 2000's edgy teen vibe. The tattoos and moody main character. It strayed too far from the cartoon/ fantasy like characters of previous and future games.

[Legendary Revolver]

Squall's brooding attitude's probably the main reason for disliking FF8 for me, and like someone else said there's no one that really counters that because he's always front and center, and if you dislike him you're probably going to dislike the game. The over-complicated junction system's another reason, even if it is interesting in its own way.

As a taste thing for me, I also personally think the story and setting went too far into the scifi/modern elements as well without much of the fantasy, which FF as a series currently suffers from with nearly every release now. In my mind, things that FF8 and arguably FF10 (even if I'm okay with the latter) did set up for why the series isn't in a good place with new numbered entrees to the series.

[NBOX21]

Escrito originalmente por geromecbar:

But FF8, you can't even name a second main character to balance things out, so it makes sense some people enjoy it thoroughly while some just can't see what's in it for them.

What about Rinoa? She can also be renamed just like Squall can, but not any other character for some reason.

Escrito originalmente por Legendary Revolver:

As a taste thing for me, I also personally think the story and setting went too far into the scifi/modern elements as well without much of the fantasy, which FF as a series currently suffers from with nearly every release now. In my mind, things that FF8 and arguably FF10 (even if I'm okay with the latter) did set up for why the series isn't in a good place with new numbered entrees to the series.

I kinda feel the same way - it almost feels like a slightly different series than it does Final Fantasy. Yeah, FF7 had Midgar and similar locations throughout the game, but that game also had plenty of fantasy-like locations to balance things out and as a result it still felt like a Final Fantasy game.

[Sketch]

Escrito originalmente por NBOX21:

It's not even that it's complicated - it's more like it's very different compared to what we've been used to in RPGs and that could be what turns people off.

I feel like it needlessly complicated things by adding extra steps to an already simple process.

A big major flaw of the junction system that comes to mind is magic. It's tied to your stats and what's worse is that it's dispensable so already I don't feel like ever using it. And the reason why I don't want to use it is because I don't want to go through the long tedious process of drawing magic for 5 or so minutes for just one spell. And I have to repeat this process not just for my stats but also for any new type of magic that I want in my inventory.

This already makes me feel bad for wanting to try something new and leaves me with less options to experiment with in battle. There was a cost to using magic before but it was a reasonable trade off for your time because after battle you could easily use ethers/tents purchased from shops or rest at an inn at a fraction of the time compared to the long and tedious process of drawing magic.

Again it's fun to break but I'd rather have the much simpler traditional battle systems haha.

[NBOX21]

Escrito originalmente por Sketch:

A big major flaw of the junction system that comes to mind is magic. It's tied to your stats and what's worse is that it's dispensable so already I don't feel like ever using it. And the reason why I don't want to use it is because I don't want to go through the long tedious process of drawing magic for 5 or so minutes for just one spell. And I have to repeat this process not just for my stats but also for any new type of magic that I want in my inventory.

While I can see your point, at the same time I rarely ever used any of the magic I stocked up, not because it decreased my stats or because I have to get all that magic back, but because I never really needed to do so. Potions are easy to come by and it's so easy to get healing magic to use in the menus. And there are ways to refine items into magic spells so you don't even have to play the card game or draw for 5 minutes for one spell, thus avoiding the tedium.

You can buy 100 tents, refine them into curaga spells for your entire party and junction them to your HP stat so you'll have over 2,000 HP even early on. A good strength stat also breaks the game, especially with Squall. Mid to late game you can get ultima spells and junction that to the strength stat and easily deal around 2,000 HP of damage every turn, and with Squall's limit break, even most bosses can go down within a couple of turns.

Plus if you draw stock an enemy with the cure spell instead of using your own cure spells, you can heal your party without even using up any of your own resources, which is why I don't even apply the magic command to any of my party members and only ever using the GF, Draw and Item commands. There are so many other ways to break the game that I didn't even mention nor figure out.

[geromecbar]

Escrito originalmente por NBOX21:

What about Rinoa? She can also be renamed just like Squall can, but not any other character for some reason.

I didn't even realise that, and I wasn't talking literally. Rinoa is, like everyone but Squall, a very secondary character and has no growth to speak of throughout the story. Either you like Squall or you don't like the game is the point I'm trying to make.

[DayStalker Games]

The story sucks. After CD1 it makes no sense. Someone thought of a theory that Squall died from Edea at the end of CD1 and after it is just a dream or Squall's journey to paradise or something like that.. that is why after that the game is entirely focused on Squall's story line... And Rinoa, that was previously in love with Seifer, fall in love with Squall (come on, Squall is unlovable) ... For how stupid it sounds I prefer to think that the theory is true rather than random time travel, go to space, lunar cry and many others random events..

But I love the Junction system and the combat so it is still my 2nd favorite FF after FFX.

[NBOX21]

Escrito originalmente por Day Stalker:

But I love the Junction system and the combat so it is still my 2nd favorite FF after FFX.

I'll admit, I love the junction system after actually having a better understanding on how it works - with enough magic spells and GF abilities, this allows for so many ways to customise how your characters will be and what they can do, which is something I feel that FFIX was really lacking where you could only set up characters a specific way with nowhere near as much freedom as other games like 6, 7 or 10.

And I don't even think the story is all that bad - I just think it's focused too much on one or two characters with not enough focus on the entire party.