Final Fantasy 8 - A critical reevaluation

[Prince Lex]

That really was an interesting read.

I'd like to see a project dedicated to retranslating Final Fantasy 8 the same way as we're doing with 7 right now. I can't help but feel some things might have gotten lost in translation, y'know?

I'm playing through the game again for the first time in a few years, and I might be up for this.  I don't have the mad programming skills that some of you have, but I can translate pretty well.

It might be fun to do a reimagined version of this game with a better translation and a few other flaws fixed -- it's always bugged me that there are no hints about some of the easy-to-miss stuff.  In particular, I would have liked to know that it's OK to wander around a bit after becoming a SeeD (the rules against talking to people are off) -- you can rent a car and go up to Dollet from Timber if you like! -- and that there are two GFs on your study panel.  Oh, and Cid should just hand you the Battle Meter! 

If you're interested in this when you play through it still, give me a PM or add me to msn. I can't translate, but I'd invest the time in changing the script and examining lines and whatnot after certain parts are translated.

[Jamers]

I actually loved FF8. FF7 is naturally my favorite, simply because of the story (I've yet to see a more mentally twisted protagonist in any game), but FF8 was close. It is a beautiful game, and the story showed signs of brilliance... it just wasn't translated into English all that well, and I thought they dropped the ball with some of the character motivations, but in general the story was very good.

[Covarr]

I just last night decided that I needed to give XII a try. I don't know how that will turn out. Here's hoping...

I loved the battle system in XII. The story isn't the most interesting, but the encounters are less random and more fun than in other FF games, IMO. In fact, the story could have been complete trash, or even the story from Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, and that battle system would have made it worthwhile.

[Jamers]

Oh, and junctioning 100 Death (I think it was Death) to Squall's gun blade made the game ridiculously easy, even at level 100. But it was so much fun! Slashboom -- dead!

In truth, I never had a problem with the junction system. Personally, it just meant I didn't use magic much unless the fight was quite difficult. Really, come to think of it, my biggest gripe with FF8 was the whole orphanage plot device. Did every character have to have such elaborate connections with each other? Just seemed to mar an otherwise wonderful story.

[Xelane]

now that i look back i faintly recall the orphanage deal.

can someone remind me the details on that? i can't remember the story for ff8. in fact, i cannot remember how squall ended up in balamb seed...or why seifer went with the sorceress...or why galbadia attacked balamb....

holy $^!* i can't remember more than half of the story!!

[Hellbringer616]

Neither can i haha.

I got to the end of the game, had three level 100's And like.. the rest 30 ish, Got to the end, made me split everyone up and ended up being i HAD to have my low levels in one team haha. So i was boned and stopped playing XD

[Jamers]

now that i look back i faintly recall the orphanage deal.

can someone remind me the details on that? i can't remember the story for ff8. in fact, i cannot remember how squall ended up in balamb seed...or why seifer went with the sorceress...or why galbadia attacked balamb....

holy $^!* i can't remember more than half of the story!!

Heh, I had to think for a while to remember the details, but basically... all of the SeeDs came from one orphanage, only they had forgotten it because they all used Guardian Forces (GFs). Furthermore, the orphanage had been run by none other than Edea, the sorceress who was being controlled by Ultimecia. It all just seemed a little too convenient if you know what I mean. Like they were trying so hard to figure out a way to connect everybody, but really, they didn't need such a hokey plot device. In my opinion anyway.

But I did love the overall story... just not that part of it. Maybe a better translation would have helped, but I remember the moment falling flat and it being pretty easy to jump out of my suspension of disbelief.

Oh, and you should definitely look into finishing the game at some point hellbringer! It has my favorite ending in any FF game save Tactics.

[Covarr]

In truth, I never had a problem with the junction system. Personally, it just meant I didn't use magic much unless the fight was quite difficult

I loved the junction system, eventually. It took me forever to finally understand it, because it was too complicated and the menu for using it was confusing and poorly implemented, but the ideas behind it were good and once I got used to it I couldn't live without it.

[Hellbringer616]

It would have been cooler is magic didn't get used up.

I hated that my options were use magic, get weaker, Or stay strong, no magic

[Lionfist]

It would have been cooler is magic didn't get used up.

I hated that my options were use magic, get weaker, Or stay strong, no magic

Get enough magic = use it,still be strong

  it really isnt taking that much time.

[Jamers]

I just played it again on my laptop while on vacation... I forgot just how much I enjoyed playing this game!

It really is very under appreciated. Sure, aspects of the combat mechanics could be a little less frustrating, but for me, that's a minor trifle compared to the great story. I would have to agree with the reviewer mentioned at the outset of the article concerning the plot. One of the strong points of the story is that it knows what it wants to do right from the beginning, and rarely strays, whereas in most FF games, the plot is typically all over the place. FFX comes to mind as another game that knew where it wanted to go from the outset, but FF8's story appeals a little more to me, perhaps because they actually develop a love story in it. Now, don't get me wrong, I love action and excitement as much as the next guy, but a good love story has its place too, and I had forgotten just how well this one was done.

Additionally, there was never a case where I thought, why are the characters doing this? In many of these games I fundamentally have a problem with the typical saving the world for the sake of saving the world theme. Often, this is masked by personal tragedies, such as losing homes or loved ones, but that's so cliche. I thought FF8 managed to maintain a fine balance between personal motivation and overarching concern for the world at large. Oh, and the orphanage moment I mentioned before wasn't so bad. It wasn't a strong point of the plot, but it wasn't as self-indulgent as I had remembered and feared.

Finally, it visually is simply an amazing game. The character and environment designs are simply top notch. I can't wait until I get home and can play the game again on my 'gaming' computer and see the visual difference.

FF7 has always been my favorite because of the groundbreaking (in a game) journey that Cloud takes with his psyche, but I have to admit that FF8's story, on a whole, is more concise and engaging than FF7's. FF7's story was great, but admittedly very complex, to the extent that it required numerous play throughs, at least for me, to really grasp what was going on, and even then there were many ambiguous elements. FF8 never really suffers from that problem, if you want to call it a problem.

[Covarr]

Finally, it visually is simply an amazing game. The character and environment designs are simply top notch. I can't wait until I get home and can play the game again on my 'gaming' computer and see the visual difference.

What Square did with the Playstation was absolutely amazing. On a SDTV, the game looks almost as good as a 1st gen PS2 game. The game also looks fantastic in 640x480 mode on PC. Honestly, I think that a graphics mod for FF7 should strive for FF8's style and quality rather than Kingdom Hearts or Advent Children. It would fit with the game universe and still look fantastic.