Final Fantasy

[probablyoliver]

I got magical luck all of a sudden. At the save point in Henne Mines I already got 3 Golden Amulets all from treasure chests and dropped loot. Now I only have to buy three at Bur-Omisce.

Don't bother, just remember to switch equipment every time you switch your party round. It's a lot cheaper.

[GoGo Yubari]

VIII has the best soundtrack by far. Anybody else not really notice the music in X or XII? Seems like with voice acting I notice it less and less.

I'm totally with you on the music in X. Aside from one song, everything sort of blurs together and is really unremarkable. VIII is my favorite FF soundtrack by a mile.

[Cadet Ember McLain]

I'd have to say IX gets the nod for my favourite soundtrack, with VI coming in second. X gets an honourable mention due to "Otherworld" and "Jecht's Theme"...

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh, wait, Jecht's Theme. Forgot about that. I'd say that ranks third in the grand pantheon of major boss battle music in FF for me.

[stokeriño]

Oh, wait, Jecht's Theme. Forgot about that. I'd say that ranks third in the grand pantheon of major boss battle music in FF for me.

I presume you don't actually mean 'Jecht's Theme' (which is a rather quiet ambling track that you generally hear while watching the spheres), but rather the theme during the Jecht boss. Being Otherworld, of course. So I don't know why Kryp mentions both, since Jecht's Theme is really nothing special.

I do however love the old school blippiness of the Seymour Battle music (fourth battle, inside Sin).

Edited February 24, 2008 by stokeriño

[Momo]

Oh, wait, Jecht's Theme. Forgot about that. I'd say that ranks third in the grand pantheon of major boss battle music in FF for me.

I presume you don't actually mean 'Jecht's Theme' (which is a rather quiet ambling track that you generally hear while watching the spheres), but rather the theme during the Jecht boss. Being Otherworld, of course. So I don't know why Kryp mentions both, since Jecht's Theme is really nothing special.

I do however love the old school blippiness of the Seymour Battle music (fourth battle, inside Sin).

[stokeriño]

With the cooler tracks like Otherworld and Seymour Battle aside though, my actual favourite track from X is 'Someday The Dream Will End' (the airy instrumental version of 'Suteki da Ne' which is on when you head through the ruins of Zanarkand for the first time). Very soothing, which is a rarity for computer game music.

[Skummy]

So, I started playing Final Fantasy VIII again today...in all my blind hatred of it, I'd forgotten how lush it all looks, but Balamb Garden still irritates me no end, the card game isn't as good as the one in IX, and the junctioning system is pissing me off already....Why can't I just have Magic, GF, Draw AND Items?!

Oh, and perhaps 10 minutes was a little optimistic of me as an estimate for how long it would take me to do the Fire Cavern. D'Oh. Quickest Final Fantasy game over of my life, methinks.

[Benji]

So, I started playing Final Fantasy VIII again today...in all my blind hatred of it, I'd forgotten how lush it all looks, but Balamb Garden still irritates me no end, the card game isn't as good as the one in IX, and the junctioning system is pissing me off already....Why can't I just have Magic, GF, Draw AND Items?!

Oh, and perhaps 10 minutes was a little optimistic of me as an estimate for how long it would take me to do the Fire Cavern. D'Oh. Quickest Final Fantasy game over of my life, methinks.

10 minutes of training outside, have about 50 blizzards between Squall and Quistis and you should be able to do it, it's not really that hard with a tiny bit of training.

[Cadet Ember McLain]

So I don't know why Kryp mentions both, since Jecht's Theme is really nothing special.

[stokeriño]

In terms of ambling sub-protagonist melodies, Auron's Theme >>> Jecht's Theme.

Damn straight.

[DMN in the House]

The best music in X is the opening blitzball theme, hands down.

[Trey]

That would be Otherworld, one of my favorite Final Fantasy songs. You ever listen to the words of it DMN, it is exactly what it needed there, great foreshadowing and everything.

[Clawson]

I got magical luck all of a sudden. At the save point in Henne Mines I already got 3 Golden Amulets all from treasure chests and dropped loot. Now I only have to buy three at Bur-Omisce.

Don't bother, just remember to switch equipment every time you switch your party round. It's a lot cheaper.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Clawson

[Ruki]

So, I started playing Final Fantasy VIII again today...in all my blind hatred of it, I'd forgotten how lush it all looks, but Balamb Garden still irritates me no end, the card game isn't as good as the one in IX, and the junctioning system is pissing me off already....Why can't I just have Magic, GF, Draw AND Items?!

Oh, and perhaps 10 minutes was a little optimistic of me as an estimate for how long it would take me to do the Fire Cavern. D'Oh. Quickest Final Fantasy game over of my life, methinks.

You are bad people in my eyes now. I loved the VIII card game, and I still don't understand the IX one...even though I still play.

[tenaciousg]

I actually like the VIII game more than IX, even though IX's is easier.

I never got the VIII cardgame before my last playthrough, and rarely upgraded - if anything, only Squall upgraded, once - and it was to Lionheart. In my last playthrough, I just seemed to 'get' the cardgame, and kicked ass. By the midpoint of Disc Two, Squall had Lion Heart and every other character had at least their third upgrade.

Anyway, I have to share the love for the VIII soundtrack, and for the Seymour Omnis battle music.

[Whisper]

I still love VIII more than any other FF, perhaps it's just that it was the first one I completing (After playing VII round a mates and deciding I hated it). I loved the story to FFVIII, I know a lot of people didn't but I think it's just the best story, aside from possibly IX, in the series.

Also, I heart Seifer.

And to clarify, I love VII now, am playing it as we speak.

EDIT - Lion Heart > all. VIII's card game, while awesome, did make it a little to easy (combined with the refine system) to get awesome magic and items way too early. I completed VIII recently without dying at at all. Just keep Squall at low health and Renzo the fuck out of everything.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Whisper in the Wind

[Benji]

FFVIII had one of the best stories, but its gameplay value is horrid, it isn't replayable to any decent extent and its battle system is awful.

[Whisper]

Each to his own. I would beg differ, I love everything about VIII ( the easiness of it aside) and I've played through it countless times, must be well into double figures. Once you get past the, admittedly dull, Garden stuff at the beginning I can play it again and again. The Dollet mission is brilliant for the end cutscene alone and, although ridiculous from a story standpoint, the stuff in space on Disc 3 is superb. The Lunar Cry cutscene is probably my favourite from any game ever. As I said, this might all just be because it was my first FF.

[Skummy]

The thing with Final Fantasy VIII is that the storyline never really captured me at all...there's no depth to it, it's all THERE, it's on the surface, there's nothing else. There are some interesting bits and pieces, but there's nothing like the depth that VII has, or the genuine mystery and suspense that the early development of IX's story can deliver, and every time there's a major plot twist, it just seems forced and it's difficult to really bring yourself to care. "Oh, but erm...yeah, GFs, they affect your memory.", that kind of shit.

Oh, and NORG. What the fuck was all that about?

The reason I'm replaying it is that my memory of it's a little hazy, as I've not played it in nearly ten years, and I'm hoping that aspects of it that I might not have picked up on last time will appeal to me now, or that I'll realise it's hidden charm...but so far, it's the only Final Fantasy on the PS1 that more often than not feels like a chore to play, it's just not FUN at all, and the characters aren't likeable enough or the story in-depth and enthralling enough to hold my attention despite that.

Also, the secret quests are all ridiculously obscure. The Obel Lake/Mr Monkey bullshit is utterly absurd, it's IMPOSSIBLE to figure out that on your own. Every other Final Fantasy game, it's conceivable that even the most difficult sub-quests and secrets could be figured out on your own, there is NO WAY you could complete the Obel Lake shit without a strategy guide, it's just a series of talking to entirely unrelated insignificant-looking points on the World Map. Fuck that.

In its defence, though, I will say that even now it is, with the exception of the World Map, one of the most beautiful looking games I've ever played, especially the FMV, which is stunning.