Why Does Everyone HATE Final Fantasy VIII?

Everyone seems to hate on Final Fantasy VIII - but why?

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Intro 0:00
Background & History 0:49
Junction System 2:59
Triple Triad 4:47
PSA 5:41
Level Scaling 6:10
Story & Plot Holes 7:15
Do I Hate FFVIII? 9:51
Outro 10:47
#jrpg #finalfantasy #cozy

[ErekLadd]

Do you dislike FFVIII? Let me know! And don't forget to subscribe for weekly JRPG/Final Fantasy content!

[Flanagax]

I've always kinda hated the "FF VIII is too technological" argument, when series darlings VI and VII were both clearly industrial and post-industrial settings. Going all the way back to the original on the NES, and you still have submarines, spaceships, and robots.
The series has always been about the intersection of magic and technology.

[fenris]

I don't. It's always been my favorite.

[kagekun]

Final Fantasy VIII was my very first FF game. I was blown away by the opening FMV, I was impressed by Squall's coolness, the awesome music also swept me away in the game. It will always hold a sentimental place in my heart, but I can understand how this may not have reached universal popularity like FFVII did.

The biggest factor I'd say would be the Junction system. It's incredibly unintuitive, and the tutorials didn't help. As a dumb preteen who only thought leveling up was the way to get stronger, my first playthrough in FFVIII was a nightmare. I kept running into brick walls like Diablos who kept one-shotting me no matter how high my level, and boss fights were full of GF animations. As beautiful as they are, you are going to get bored of Shiva's Diamond Dust when you do it ten times or more during a fight. In the end, I just gave up after switching to Disc 3.

But once I got a little older, and had access to a Gameshark, I soon had access to lots of magic, and with that, I learned how Junctioning works, and the importance of learning GF skills. From that, I learned how Triple Triad works, how nasty the Random rule was, and that leveling up was not a good thing at all. Once I comprehended how the Junction system worked, then everything was smooth sailing for me. Subsequent playthroughs were a breeze to me.

Really, though, the game had a very tough learning curve. It's still one of the best games.

[supremefankai]

The only thing I didn't like was drawing magic and then not being incentivised to use it because of the junction system. Other than that it was a fine game.

[zakirstocks]

I just don't see why some people hated *Final Fantasy VIII.* If you ask me, it's one of THE Best Underrated FF Gaming Masterpiece. I Absolutely Love this game from my Childhood Years.

[julioflores]

The main reason is that it came after FF7.

[virgoaraaf]

This is my first Final Fantasy game, I will never hate it. I didn't really get what's the story back then since I was only 10, but once I re-play the game few years ago, I still like it, not as much as I like 7 (my second FF game) or 9, but it's pretty good for my liking. The graphic back then was really really good. The music? AMAZING. I'm still listening the Balamb Garden theme often, especially when I need to relax, chill, and feel a bit nostalgic.

[saltyk]

I think the biggest problem is drawing and junctioning magic. It takes a long time to draw spells (even if you can pull 9 at a time). Then, you don’t want to cast spells as it both reduces stats and means more drawing (or refining). The Remaster really helps with that as you can hit the 3x speed and draw spells in minutes.

[Yurikon]

Junction system really isn't that big hurdle to understand: "Stronger magic -> bigger boost, more of that magic -> even more boost"

Its biggest crux is its drawing system. It is very dull way to become stronger which doesn't really offer that much risk or tension. Usually the idea is that there is action which is riskier but brings bigger rewards. There is the chance of failure, but yearn for challenge and overcoming the odds can surely make a difference. Drawing system only requires time. Enemies aren't really that threatening and even if you just draw the weakest spells they can offer signinficant boost when capped.

If gaining spells required a system which perhaps required bit more risk and engagement from the player so they can balance taking heavier chances but being rewarded with better spells without dull draw-waiting game, junction system could perhaps be base for very good leveling system.

The draw-back of "no sequel"-policy was that system which were innovative but had some crustier parts didn't get to be polished in later titles.

[guruthosamarthruin]

It's funny. People claim that 8 is one of the most hated, or at least one of the most divisive. But, every time a "favorite FF" poll is done, 8 consistently comes in 4th, behind only 7, 10, and interchangeably either 6 or 9.

[markli]

I loved ff8 but i will admit that i was pretty early on the internet scene and when i had trouble with junction, i read an online faq essentially explaining the concept of not leveling and just getting stronger through drawing and refining spells. Then i just bought tents from stores, turned them into curagas, and basically i became invincible for all the early portions most people had trouble with while learning.

[offthedeepend]

I like FF8. But I do not like the junction gameplay function. After the materia system in FF7, it was kind of hard to beat that.

[sandythompson]

The hate is mainly because it was contrary to expectations of ff fans. Ffvii was huge and a lot of people new to the series were expecting more of the same. I remember thinking that myself. It took me a few years to love it. But I think I’ve clocked more hours on viii than any other in the last 10 years as once you’re into it, it’s so addictive!

[Koyasama]

The biggest problem with the junction system/level scaling was that enemies gained all their stat boosts from the level gain, while your party members barely get anything, because they're expected to be junctioning spells. Grinding isn't just ineffective, the player actually gets punished for it (and you barely get anything from equipment upgrades, either).

Story-wise, yes, the entire orphanage thing came out of nowhere. The memory loss was briefly hinted at in a couple of easily missed NPC dialogues, but nothing else until Irvine hits everyone over the head with it. And regardless of the memory loss being set up or not, the idea that such a wide range of important characters, whom you meet throughout the course of the game in many different places, all "coincidentally" grew up at the same orphanage is ridiculous.

The theme of FF VIII was supposed to be romance, but the romance itself was very poorly done. It doesn't help matters that this is one of the few Final Fantasy games where almost every major character is an immature teenager--up to and including Quistis "Don't Stand So Close To Me" Trepe--with characterizations to match their age. Squall is the only one with a coherent character arc in the game; growth for anyone else is spotty, at best. (And don't talk to me about Rinoa. Don't even get me *started* on that pathetic caricature of a romantic interest.)

[ryuka-ruki]

FF8 was my first Final Fantasy, and as such, I grew up on the incredibly easy to break but confusing and not greatly explained junction system. I only really struggled with the gameplay for a little bit before figuring it out. It still has drawbacks though, since you're essentially encouraged to never use magic as if they're items because they're finite and will lower your stats.

Nowadays I focus on my gripes with the plot, not the gameplay. Turn based games like this tend to be my jam regardless of being good or bad, so that's harder to judge without bias.

My main gripes were that Squall and Rinoa both stole the plot relevance and also their relationship was, not unrealistic since they're teens that both can rush a relationship (Rinoa) and also be in denial of their own feelings (Squall), but messy to the point I didn't want to suspend disbelief for it and put up with it.
If you're not Squall or Rinoa, you are not relevant past disc 2, and possibly even during disc 2 itself. Selphie and Irvine stick out most, but Zell and Quistis don't fare much better. Even Zell's Disc 3 leadership mission and exposition dump feel pointless because A. he failed the mission and B. we literally saw what he's talking about while Squall was in space, and Laguna exposits the same info 2 cutscenes later anyway.
As for the romance, even if you pick the options that make Squall nicer and limit the amount of squabbling between him and Rinoa, it still feels forced. Special mention goes to the end of disc 2 into disc 3, where Squall, who's really, really busy trying not to get the students killed with bad leadership, is forced by the other party members to save Rinoa because they can't do it themselves for some reason and aggressively bitch at you to go do it, then when he does he points out in his thoughts that everyone else is so obviously trying to hook them up, then she winds up in a coma and Squall immediately takes an emotional 180. Not helping is if Rinoa was sent to the missile base, rendering her role and the relationship building lost since most of it happens while the Garden is lost at sea. Also not helping is how many times Rinoa needs rescued (once per disc) and how avoidable each one felt (even the coma one since the team already had a reason to go to Esthar thanks to Edea's guidance). I can see the potential in a romance between opposites, but it doesn't work for me here.

I think some people (myself included) play FF8 with 2 specific mods for both plot and gameplay, Martial Law for gameplay, and Succession for story, since they're meant to remedy the common complaints. Not sure if you'll play it like that, but I thought it was worth bringing up.

[chriskrause]

I too loved 8, but the critiques I can understand the most are:

It’s super easy to break the game once you understand junctioning and level scaling. Card mod enemies to get AP but not EXP, turn cards into powerful magic, and you can junction your low leveled characters to be super OP’ed and breeze through the game. Now, I thought it was fun to figure this out, but some people wan the game to still be challenging even when you’re optimizing everything, so I can see why they didn’t like that.

Secondly, the orphanage twist is just kinda silly. It would help if most of the info about GF’s taking your memories wasn’t in ancillary things you pick up and read (that are easily missable) until the big reveal.

[Dullshimmer]

It's been a long time since I've played FF8, but I always remember enjoying it overall. It's not my favorite in the series by any means, but was still a solid entry. I do remember being confused by the story and not sure I really understood what was going on. I was also not a huge fan of Squall with his whole loner brooding attitude, but I generally liked the rest of the cast and even Squall gets better over the game. I can understand why people don't like the game, but it's never been one I've disliked.

[danm]

I enjoyed the function system, although I can understand why many have an issue with it. I appreciated Squall's development from a loner into someone who opens up and values his friends. The story definitely gets convoluted like you said, but I think the strength of the characters really helps push the game along...would love to see what they could do with a remake!

[PiedraDeIjada]

I wouldn't say I hate it but it is definitely my least favourite. Mainly due to the characters. Squall, Rhinoa, and Laguna were fine. But everyone else fell kinda flat with the shared backstory. It felt like the party members did not have own motivations as to why they are part of the team.