Final Fantasy VIII Retrospective - Why all the hate? 

I loved FF8, the junction system and the world design was awesome.

Excited to watch this. Ff8 is my personal favorite in the series, and i always love to watch someone dive into it- both its triumphs and flaws

Best moment in the game is finally encountering Sorceress Edea. You lock eyes. Cold steel. This witch needs to die. Holding back is not an option. The tension is palpable.....a beat of silence....."you wanna play Triple Triad?"

That completionist joke was super funny and underrated lol

This is one of my favourite games of all time, and I'll always defend the fact that it still deserves nearly all the criticism it gets. The game's balance falls apart the minute you actually put a modicum of effort into its core character management mechanics, so it becomes less about how you can beat the game and more how mercilessly you can beat the game. I love it. Ultimecia isn't the final boss; you are.

Rinoa has +60% strength junctioned at the time of the garden war. That's why she could hang on for so long

FFVIII is probably one of my fave games, and definitely my top FF title. I was in middle school when I played it, and like you, that opening cinematic was just 😮😮😮😮😮 I still listen to the music to this day.

The FF8 plot is proof that coke was the drug of choice in the 90s.

8 was my first Final Fantasy game. I thought that it was badly translated, but I didn't care really. I spent over 90 hours grinding it from start to finish - get everyone to level 99, give them best weapons, make best builds to complement one another and kill Omega Weapon. I did all that and boy I love this game. It's janky as hell, the amnesia part is not as bad as it could be if you have perception higher than piece of bread and read the signs and dialogue with NPCs - they will foreshadow it long before the actual story will put a big exclamation mark on this point.

the junction/stock system. you know damn well why people would hate this game. stupid title.

I don't have a problem with your Qustis pronunciation, but it sounds like you gave Ifrit another F at the end.

Any time I play this game, I always make Squall’s ultimate gunblade as early as possible on disc 1. Requires an ass ton of triple triad but it’s so fun to be wielding one of the strongest weapons in the game at least 40 hours before the game intends for you to get it. FF8 is definitely fun in the way that you can approach it in so many ways, even if the story is nonsensical most of the time 😂

Synth your magic. Goes pretty fast and takes the grind right out of drawing.

That circling destiny is not really the stupidest destiny plot FF series has done, it just has become so repeated point in both KH and FFXIII that perhaps for this reason FFVII still stands cause it is still pretty much straightforward story without meta-destiny elements.

If you buy the steam version, you can mod the graphics to be kinda insane. The level of modding for ff7 ff8 and ff9 is to the point it's literally not even comparable to the release.

I never played (or saw) Final Fantasy VII. I started with the SNES ones, then got VIII and IX on PS1, and XII on PS2. Quistis is an Instructor, not specifically a teacher. I guess its like a mentor for the younger students. Strange how no character can carry EVERY spell in the game, as they haven't got enough space. You mean DoomTrain? I think that is found, not made... Also, not all GF's have that "press button to boost" option. But, if Odin dies, you get Gilgamesh. Only drawback is he doesn't negate a fight, but randomly shows up sometimes. 14:40 True, it is a make-up test, but I'm sure Quistis would prefer if it was a make-out test...! I junction some Magic, and use the ones that I haven't Junctioned...? Like using Cura and Junctioning Curaga. I usually BLIND the T-Rexaur if I can. Then it's attacks are pretty much useless... When putting the T-Rexaur to Sleep, have Quistis hit FIRST, then Squall puts it to Sleep. Every turn is that easy? Bad guy turns out not to be the bad guy, and there's a worse one. Typical RPG "plot twist" right there! I usually call the Griever Ring, ImDead or Myself. So Ultimecia says "I will junction myself to myself". That is not Earth, by the way. In that universe, maybe the Moon and the Planet have similar atmospheres...? The Barriers on all the cities/places on disk 4, I just assumed Ultimecia did that so you cant get any items. Funny, Ellone is Squall's cousin via Raine, but Raine adopted her, so that's more like half-sister too. Crazy stuff. Favourite track? "The Man With The MachineGun", It was my ringtone, now it's my alarm in the morning... Remaking this would ruin it. Just make a version (the same game) that runs on modern Consoles/PCs. The Baharm Garden? You mean Balamb, right? Not sure you are pronouncing that right. Final Fantasy 2? That's not REAL Final Fantasy 2 though, is it? We didn't get that one... That card game is terrible but optional, the one in FF IX is worse as it's MANDATORY at some point to play! The only thing most guys like about Tifa isn't her fighting skill...Let's be honest, it's her boobs. Battle Royale, yeah, they are by far the superior films. Hunger Games pale by comparison.

Excellent review... I was lucky enough to see the opening sequence for this at E3 back in 99, waited and got the game and loved it.

I commonly like to joke that FF8 is a fangame and that Squall should be the one saying "This is my story" instead of Tidus Honestly, I found the story of FF8 really underwhelming, I feel like there was meant to be way more but they probably ran out of time

This is my least played one, second only to X (yeah I despise X). Recently picked it up again just to see if my opinions have changed 20+ years later. The gunblade works in a similar fashion to the Gunlance from Monster Hunter. Except the blade fires a cartridge that empowers the blade, not an actual projectile.

my most loved FF games. nothing compares it to its relatable characaters, replayability and flexibility of game mechanics. and realistic models. its not a good story and convuluted mess but i loved its weirdness. and compensate for its story. the game is somewhat open world compare to FF7 you can be overpower early in the game if you wanted to end enjoy the story without restrain.

I really liked Final Fantasy 8, tbh. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the junction system. Even then, though, it's not that bad.

It's kind of insane how they kept having success while changing up every game so much. I dont like the modern ones but I can respect not just playing it safe.

When I was a child, my dad had Legend of The Dragoon, Parasite Eve, and a few Final Fantasies. I remembered being fascinated with all of them, but was only barely able to read at the time and had barely even developed consciousness so I did not know how to progress. To this day I STILL tell myself I'm gonna play Legend of The Dragoon. I really loved the FMV/Cinematic or whatever at the beginning of the game. Still remember that to this day

I always gave Edea Bernadette Peters' voice. I feel like she would have voiced her if the game had voiceovers.

At release the thing that made me hate it was the world leveling with you. Dumbest possible thing you can do in an RPG imo. I still hate it for that but after platinuming it I hate it for the non sense story. I hate squad for turning down quistis when she was dtf.

You complain so much this video is completely a waste of time because of your ranting. Just don’t play it

Alright so I'll explain the Gunblade a little bit. It does not fire a bullet. There is no barrel, and no projectile. What it does is fire a blank, which, when the blade is moving through the enemy, vibrates the blade and causes additional trauma. Is this practical in reality? Almost certainly not, but hopefully it at least makes some sense.

Ami, my favorite song from the game. I’ve said disc one is some of the best FF story telling then it gets weird towards the end but the feeling of disc one is top tier.

it was my first final fantasy i ever played, because i didn`t liked back then the lego characters in game in ff7. and for me it is still the best final fantasy, yeah you need time too get into it but if you get into it everything makes sence and works together really really good. i never ever played the original final fantasy 7, i have it now, but i can`t get over the bad character design in it, it takes me out of the imersion everytime i try too play it. i can play everyother ff game but ff7 never ever will be my favorite final fantasy game. the remake is very good but too this day i never finished it, i want too in the future of course. FF8 will allways be my favorite final fantasy game close behind is final fantasy 10 and 10-2, then final fantasy 16 is my third most liked ff game.

Final Fantasy 8 is one my most favorite JRPG Games and My very first JRPG Game I ever played

Liked and subbed. I dig this and you’re pretty good at this too. Keep it up Dont give up

This pretty much the objectively correct ff8 review. Its a game thats equally so amazing yet equally so awful at the same time. The system is broken, probably due to how rushed it was. You could say the same thing about ff6. Nothing like watching your xp bar constantly so you can swap your esper for the correct level up bonus.

Ff7 is the not the best game of all time. SNES FF3 is. FF8 is definitely the underdog of the franchise for exactly the reasons you said. FF7 is what blew the franchise up and a lot of it has to do with the new console of the playstation and most people didnt play FF until the release of 7 and like you, many also thought that the rest of the FF games would be some kind of sequal to FF7 and as much hype FF7 brought to the franchise, FF8 would undoubtedly live in the shadows of FF7, especially when all you've known before was FF7 and its combat system. Now you get FF8 with different characters and a different combat system and its unfamiliar to y'all so many look down on the game, but for players like me that started since NES FF1, we already knew it wasnt going to be the same characters, but the newest thing for us was also the combat system with using materias and how you can make any of your characters pretty much be any class. I always knew that FF8 was never going to outshine FF7, but IMO it did its job. FF8 is totally underrated and is the underdog of the franchise.

i think the when u see him get his face cut up he miss it or was the test if i recall thast y hes got to re do the test

I love this game. I can break this game in like 4 hrs, After dollet mission you’re broken.

Excellent retrospectives, i liked the jokes and banter along with the analysis. FF8 can be 'broken' but you can make it as hard or easy as you want

My daughter was teaching college algebra in college to college seniors when she was 18 (And she's a professor today) so that can be how education works....of course she isn't training special force fighters!

having odin in the late game does not really make a difference. but not seeing cifer interact with him does make a difference for me :)

I have a few things to say but the only one that i will say is this: they didnt travel to the future in disc 4. Elone compressed all of time into 1 moment, bringing the past, present, and future into the same moment. I know, kindof a bit of a nit pick but this game has been played by me once a year, every year, since i was 9. Im 33. Lol

Great video. Absolutely love FF8. My favorites were and always have been the even numbered ones at least for awhile. 4, 6, 8, and 10 are all phenomenal. 7 was big when it came out but i never liked the characters or story...until the remake and now i love it. 9 is absolute garbage trash rubbish though. i will never understand why people suck that game off.

Ff7 and 8 OSTs are the friggen best. IX X etc get more conventional.

Everybody talks about how easy this game is and yet it is the only only final Fantasy I could never beat I guess I didn't understand the system Then again 12 kicked my butt when it came out and I just bought it again. Loved it, beat it. Only complaint? Too easy!

This video is exactly my experience

I'm not sure if you liked this game but this was great.

ironically- i think 8 is the quality best one on the playstation. you can see parts of 8 in 10- so even if you dont like the game its skeleton built 10 the best quality wise game in the series.( i dont count graphics or story there i just mean the game mechanics are consistently above others in the series) i enjoy junctions the summons being tied to your skills is great the enemy design is challenging but cheesable if you really wanna go there its minigames set new standards the card game the chocobo forest ( i hate 9s tho 8s is less intimidating) as a complete package 8 is the best of the ps1 final fantasies its just surrounded by the best narrative driven final fantasy in 7 and the best homage to the series 9. i havent even played the first 6 yet im still going through em- but just from finishing 9 i felt nostalgia. the series is always above average and good for most rpg fans- i didnt grow up with 8 i went from 97 to 2001 with only 7 tactics and x in my library by the time 12 was announced. i only played it last year for superbosses and also cause i missed out- only to find alot of the criticisms of the game were highly exaggerated. this games straight up comfy. like i could listen to the balam garden theme forever and be totally satisfied with life. if anything it being so good makes me even more confident to round out the whole series- experiencing all of their superbosses along the way. cause if people who grew up on the series back then dont like something i do- there tends to be a massively compelling game that simply set their hopes so dauntingly high that theyre not even sure how they would want it cleared. as a starwars fan im familar with this behavior XD empire strikes back was so good it made people think phantom menace was trash XD like thats seriously hilarious half of all the most fun moments happen in those prequels and youd have to twist their arm just to admit they take up a considerable amount of good movies and make them look really boring.

Fisherman's Horizon is my favorite song in FF. It's straight beautiful.

ff8 is the best. God i love ff8

I can tell a lot of effort was put into this. I hope that It gets the recognition it deserves

Made me want to replay the game, great vid!

Honestly my favorite tied with Tactics when I was kid 8 was easy for me but probably because I loved triple triad all I played the first day after showing selphie around then watching my friends play drawing magic all day I had to show them their futility then they hated it even worse since hours wasted for nothing some fire and scan magic lmfao then they couldn’t figure out junction wondering how the T. rex dies in like 2 hits for me at a lower level with less damage then it felt too advanced for them that 100 death in sta atk inflicted death spell and hated it further lmfao basically dumb people hate this game because they couldn’t follow a tutorial or got mad they couldn’t use magic like tf you need ultima for 3k damage when you have meltdown lol but now in my old age I only replay for story so I mod in 2 pages of ultima and apocalypse for all characters that I also have unlocked

Hot take, Selphie and Zell are the two worst Final Fantasy party members in the series (from a story perspective).

Awesome video. Subbing

Favorite ost was Premonition. The sorceress battle theme

cause all bestiarys level system

I did call the ring Billy Bob.

Ppl that say that Enemies scale to your lv is true and false at same time they scale up to lv80 but not beyond that you can out level bosses but won't happen for long time but note if you do this enemies get considerably stronger. Especially boss battles, never been the type to want to speed run and win cheesily at low level I want the bosses to get to their maximum

Yea... I knew at least lol it's what made me like it more cuz I could break the junction system. I admittedly put like an hr into messing with the system and had so much fun id tweak it every session.

5:14 I get what you're saying, but something I noticed when playing through some of the pixel collection, is somehow these games have always managed to convey emotions really well. It was still sad seeing characters upset because a block of pixels died Also VIII is my favourite one, so I was hyped when I saw this come up on my homepage! Edit* The part about the scar is so relatable, I used to think i'd have looked so badass with that same scar haha I will stop adding stuff to this comment now, but last thing. I always got Odin as soon as I could because that little cutscene is so sick, and makes Seifer just that much more of a badass, especially the first time you see it

Make a Parasite Eve video

I called Griever "Wuchtfetz" (purely nonsensical German gibberish). I then forgot about it and was totally baffeled, why a later Boss was called Wuchtfetz. How would japanese people come up with that term, which isnt even a real word? :D

What bothered me a little about FF8s world, and don’t get me wrong I love the game, is that the Gardens seem to be a very integrated and integral part of the world overall but they were founded to fight Edea. How does an institution get that integrated into the world when it’s only what? 10-15 years old? How are there SO many students???

Honestly mate, the way you talk reminds me so much of Necroscope86, which is a good thing. Especially when you say 'fudge'.

Awesome video

I still love 8, although it def isnt as good as it was when it came out when i was 15 - 16...was more relatable back then. 😉

I bought the game when it came out. Got to a certain point and couldn't go on. Didn't understand it at all. I put it down and never returned to it and now all these years later I recently purchased it again

I never could get into this game. Maybe it would be different these days. I played Final Fantasy 7 for the first time as a kid around 2010 after randomly deciding to download it on PS3 and it quickly became me and my friends favorite single player video game. When we moved on to ff8 we were just confused. The game wasnt what we expected at all.

for what the game was played, being monsters leveled up as you do, changing Odin to gilgamesh is much more makes sense IMO, and you got a badass cutscene with seifer too

I found the exact thing when I put the ff8 disc in! I was like man this game looks like it will suck.. and it did! Yet now all these years later I kinda do love ff8

I think another game that had an uphill battle was Metal Gear Solid 2 on ps2 same circumstances as FF8 such high expectations

This plot hurts my head listening to it. Hence I don't know how I feel about playing this one. 🤯

21:48 you can grind in ff8 but you wanna grind for learning points, spells (cards), not levels

It is easily the most polarising game in the Playstation trio, if not the entire series. If you asked most fans to rank their favourite games eight would be either right at the top or near the bottom. It is also the biggest black sheep and departure from style until FFX-2 came along a handful of years later.

Call Griever First Aid so Ultimecia says "First Aid, make them bleed!"

Without understanding anything about the series, it was the anticipation of ff8 that caused me to buy the greatest hits ff7 while waiting for it to come out and got me hooked. And yet still, the end goal for me was ff8. This game means a lot to me

_CUZ THEY EARNED IT. BAD GAME_

Out of all the GF summons, my favorite has to be Diablos. Idk if it's design, it's color scheme or his attack itself but man it's just too cool.

And for zel, hotdogs. You got my subscription and like right there

Irvine and Zell were the broken limit breaks pre- sorceress Rinoa. Both have v high damage output if you set em up right because they hit a bunch of times, Zell even more so with his infinite combo once you get very quick at inputting it. It's how i kill the spider super quickly.

Not sure if anyone mentioned it but currently the title of the video reads VII instead of VIII

Oh yes I love Final Fantasy retrospectives!! I'll be watching and give my thoughts after

You dont make a RPG game like Final Fantasy into a teen drama story that ages poorly. Which is what happened with FF8 will and has happened with FF15.

7:24 Wow yeah you're right, that level of bad editing for a prime-time Playstation ad is JARRING! It restarts like 5 times and has a progress bar like it's a screen capture of a RU-vid video. "Absolutely farcical" and "ridiculous" indeed.

Your're the best looking guy here.

Great Retrospective! You are right, back in the day those FMVs were the shit! We( kids back then, like 12 years old) were completely blown away. Real looking and moving characters and the combat was animated so well. I would say in terms of cinematography some scenes still hold up, like the battle set pieces during the garden war. The game even had seamless transitions between the Cutscenes and gameplay like when you land at Dollet for example. And of course the soundtrack is legendary. Yeah I agree with you, I doubt it will get the remake treatment, but it still holds a place in my heart. Some story aspects I would change, I think all the main cast are way too young to deal with this kind of stuff, as you mentioned aswell. Also yes I was addicted to Triple Triad...

love the accent

Thanks

The reveal of how Edea got her powers, and how SeeD was started was so stupid to me that I uninstalled the game in the middle of the ending lol. There’s no character development outside of Squall, and his arc is basically just Cloud’s arc from ff7, but less interesting. You know next to nothing about the villain, she gets introduced in the third act, and has a big spooky castle. All you know about her is that she’s powerful, and she’s mean. lol. Laguna is a big stupid himbo who SOMEHOW subdues a massively powerful sorceress with her own army behind her, and SOMEHOW he put her in a big space prison. You’re telling me Esthar elected Laguna as President? Gimme a break. Some good ideas, but it’s pretty stupid. What even ARE Guardian Forces? Why is Balamb the only garden that uses them? Why do they use them, if they are known to cause extreme memory loss? Why are you told in the beginning to ignore what other people say about said memory loss? Why is Balamb not telling their cadets about that, even denying that it exists? The answer is there is no reason, the only time they bring it up is for that idiotic reveal about the orphanage. So you have your elite mercenary force kitted out with weapons that cause them to lose their memory? Why would anyone do that? Lolol.

You can't remake this game and replace the junction system. The junction system is what makes this game stand out. Maybe just limit the amount of magic your characters can draw based off the level or make it harder to draw magic. And yes when I first played the game I had the strategy guide and it does say the enemies scale with the players character levels. I have hope we will see a ff8 remake after playing ff7 remake I can only imagine what a ff8 remake would look and play like.

I'll happily watch an hour long video on FF8. Best game in the series

Apparently the correct pronunciation of Quistis is "Kiss-tis", which sounds stupid.

To be fair fighting a fire deamon probably would have been easier and less stressful than the A levels 😅

I member playing this when it first came out blew my balls right off and is still my favorite of all of them to this very day.

This game defined my childhood, great video and retrospective, appreciate it lad!

still not as good as 7.

The most important part of FF VIII is how much of an angsty doofus Squall is.