FF7 or FF8?

OldSkoolFF · 11-02-2009, 11:48 AM

I love both almost equally but I was thinking the other day which one is better or which one most people prefer.
This isn't suppose to be a flame thread or anything as I enjoy both of them a lot (but hey I like FF9 best anyway). The thing is there is one I enjoy more than the other and I will detail in full why I enjoy 1 more than the other.

FF7 is a great game, one of the best FF's. But to me I enjoyed FF8 just a little bit more and I do have my reasons. First of all I start with the story, a lot of people critisize FF8's story... And with good reason there's many odd plotholes and other rubbish that makes the story almost silly. I'll show you an example for instance all the characters knew each other in an orphanage, this remove's any distinct individuality in the characters, forget them being different classes or from different regions. There all from the same place.... But that's ok it showed comrodirty and friendship as well as there close feelings to each other. Still It's all a bit odd and coincidental that there all from the same place even the baddie. Then there's Seifer who is a plothole in himself, why is it that a human can defeat Odin someone who can usually instant kill things without thinking? I never got that part of the story....
Still if you can complain about FF8's story and plotholes then you could complain about FF7's nagging begining in Midgar, FF7 starts off boring in my opinion. The drab poluted Midgar is a poor place to start a flashy RPG in my honest opinion, and you spend hours there.... Then there's the complicated plot twists and the whole Mako poisoning segment were Cloud acts like a retard for much of the game. Point is we can point out shitty storyholes in both games but FF7 and FF8 didn't have FF6's quality in storyline. Sorry I still think that FF6 is the greatest FF for story. But if we can compare gameplay then I think I can explain why I like FF8 more.

FF7 is great for gameplay and has some very good over the top battles thanks to the materia system. But I think part of the reason why people hated FF8's gameplay was cause of the complexity in the junction system. Which turned me off at first and I hated it but once I got use to it I enjoyed it more than FF7's simplistic stick gem to armor gameplay. It didn't hurt that FF8 had superior graphics and magic. I enjoyed the summons in FF8 more so than FF7's. I might also point out the challenge.... I've yet to play a last boss in a FF that is harder than FF8's last boss. I've finished FF4, FF6, FF7, FFtactics, and FF9 and none of them had particularly hard bosses. FF8's boss doesn't die in one hit like Kefka, Seperoth, and many other FF bosses hell the only boss I can think of who's a decent challenge was FF4's last boss. FF8's dungeon was also a pain in the ass. Of course I like challenge... FF7 was almost boring with its lack of challenge, about the only challenging part of FF7 was chocobo breeding which was more annoying than hard. Well all in all I'd have to say FF8 is better to me than FF7 but that's only because of its challenge, graphics, and unqiue system. FF7 is great but after a couple of playthroughs it felt kinda drab and stale. FF8 was fresh, had amazing CG character models, a new system, and a huge world full of great stuff to explore. I dunno I guess I'll go with FF8 but I'll say one thing about FF7 I liked the characters in FF7 more....

Either way explain which one you liked best because I want to know why you enjoy it. Please no flaming we can all have a favorite without flaming please...

non-canon sousaphone · 11-02-2009, 01:19 PM

FF7 was a FU to fantasy settings. It's battle system was reminicint of FFVI. The plot took a u-turn half way though and rubbed you face in it.

FF8 was a FU to teenage heroes. It's battle system is the most unique one. The plot was nice until it seem to keep saying "But wait, there's more!"

Both are good games and I'd recomend either one.

execrable gumwrapper · 11-02-2009, 01:32 PM

7 is good with a rabid fanbase.

8 is shit with a lesser rabid fanbase.

OldSkoolFF · 11-02-2009, 05:30 PM

I wanna know why people like FF7 so much more than FF8?
Isn't FF7 kinda drab? The whole setting seemed drab, dark and kinda depressing. FF8 seemed much more uplifting. And I'm not saying that because of graphics because graphics don't make a game, still the characters in FF7 were very interesting. I enjoyed FF8 more but there both masterpieces.

topopoz · 11-02-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by execrable gumwrapper

7 is good with a rabid fanbase.

8 is shit with a lesser rabid fanbase.

MalLionheart · 11-03-2009, 06:00 AM

Both are equally awesome.
Isn't this thread just begging for a flame war?

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalLionheart

Isn't this thread just begging for a flame war?

XD, That's was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this thread.

puddles123 · 11-03-2009, 11:52 AM

In FF7's defense, I'm surprised people dislike the atmosphere so much. The presence of Midgar and Shinra, the inhumanity of Sephiroth, genetic engineering, and the mind fuckery of Cloud are deliberate choices by the developers to try something that doesn't involve a straight cheery fantasy. In my mind, it is what makes the characters shine, seeing how they react to the oppressiveness, and how their good sides triumph over it all. It makes those good moments stand out all the more when the rest of the story is so dark. And I think it is why Cloud makes such a compelling character. At the beginning of the story he is traumatized by Zack's death, takes on Zack's personality as a sort of psychological defense... this man has been through a lot. Then later on, his fear of Sephiroth begins to overwhelm all as Sephiroth takes advantage of Cloud's Jenova cells to exert control over him, forcing him to do things he never would have done himself.

But this scenario makes it all the more uplifting when Tifa finally rescues him from the dark depths of his shattered mind. He becomes the leader that everyone else perceives him to be, and strikes aside most of his self-doubt. He finally embraces his sense of self, which is critically important because not knowing who you are is the most unsettling feeling in the world.

In short, I believe that FF7's 'drab, dark, and kinda depressing' atmosphere serves an integral part in making what you do in the game feel like it matters. And I also attribute it to the reason why the average person tends to value that Final Fantasy above all the others. Of them all it seems to have the least goofiness, the least fantasy-like setting. It is, I believe, the closest Final Fantasy has been able to achieve to a sense of realism, a sense that you understand exactly what these characters are going through even though the things that they go through are impossible. And that is why I love this game.

Now I can't speak for Final Fantasy 8 because I've never played it, I just wanted to give my piece of mind in defense of FF7's atmosphere, which seems to be criticized at the moment.

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puddles123

A lot about FF7 Dark Atmosphere.

I agree with you.

Did you play FF tactics?

puddles123 · 11-03-2009, 01:16 PM

I've never had the chance to, although I hear it is amazing. That is for PS 1, right? I'm going to have to try and get me an emulator...

Another game that I hear is similar to FF Tactics that I have played that has a dark atmosphere is Ogre Battle 64. If you haven't played that and you liked FF Tactics, you will probably like it. I loved the gameplay in that one... And, of course, the story and characters.

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 01:21 PM

Yeah, it's for the ps1, tactical RPG, with great storyline and bad translation xD but understandable. You know I was going into the Ogre battle series, the SNES version first but then I found the PSX enhanced version and I couldn't get the sound run properly. I will take on 64 Instead. Thanks!

OldSkoolFF · 11-03-2009, 02:10 PM

Tactics was great and in many ways more depressing and dark than FF7.
I wasn't critisizing FF7 for being those things its just that I can't stand heavy realism all the time, not that it was bad in FF7 but I tend to enjoy fantasy more than reality. Reality is full of problems and its nice to be able to get away from all those things in a fantasy game. Now I've played many modern RPG's including Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout3, and Fable1 and 2 and there all just as, if not more dark than FF7. Sure Seph fucked with Cloud's mind and killed Aerith but did he kill his father, torture his mother, cut out his sisters eye's? Well Jack did that to the lead Fable hero, Its what I get tired of.... The sadistic way in which games have become. FF7 is a great game and isn't as sadistic as say Fable or Fallout3, not that sadistic is wrong you need conflict to tell a story. But I'm more of a fan of RPG's like Chrono Trigger, FF6, FF9, Tactics, Xeonogears, and even though I haven't played it FF10 looks great as well. These all have dark story's with oppressive governments and super powerful bad guys. I wasn't bashing FF7 because it was dark and depressive, I was trying to emphasize that the backgrounds, setting, and system were all a bit drab and metalic. I also wasn't as big a fan of materia as I was with the Espers in FF6 or the GF's in FF8, Its hard to care about leveling up a gem and doing nothing else with your character. In FF9 your characters learned skills from weapons and gear so it stayed with them as opposed to stayng on your weapon or armor. FF8's system felt faster than FF7 also, it had epic limit breaks and spells to (even though the spells were made kinda useless towards the end and then the only spell you needed was aura for limit boosting), but even with its problems FF8's combat felt exciting and challenging.... But my number one reason why I liked FF8 over FF7 was challenge, FF7 is the easiest RPG I've ever played. Easier than FF6, easier than FF4, a LOT easier than FF1. FF7 was drab boring combat that got kinda stale in my opinion.

But you see I don't hate FF7 in fact it had many things over FF8 such as story and characters (even though they abandoned the amazing job systems of other games in exchange for lifeless dolls you insert gems into) the characters story's, traits and personality's shined right through. Quite the opposite from FF8 who's characters barely had any personality of there own, they were all pretty much second fiddle to Squall and Rinoa. Hell FF7 has fan followings to everyone from Red13, Yuffie, Barret, Cid (the best FF Cid) and even Cait Sith! Who remembers Irvine or Selphie from FF8? Well I do, but I only remember Irvine because he had badass AP ammo that shred bosses. That's why I liked FF8, there games.... Sure a good story is great, but when it comes down to it these are games and it comes down to whats fun. FF8's combat and system were more fun in my opinion even though the story wasn't quite as good as FF7 it wins in my eye's because that's why I play games, exciting gameplay.

Oh and this isn't meant to be a flame I like both games almost equally I just thought FF8 had a more exciting and fresh combat system.

tanis_lionheart · 11-03-2009, 02:32 PM

FF8 had a better story/OST/characters/themes/designs/summons/ect.

FF7 felt like a weeaboo experiment.

Don't get me wrong, both games fail when compared to FF6 or FFT (which was given a GREAT GREAT GREAT remake/port for the PSP).

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 03:52 PM

FF8 better story?, tell me what is better in the storyline of 8.

FF8 challenging?, If in ff8 exist boss-rush give me 20 minutes and I finish it.

Hey I remember Irvine & Selphie, they were like the only good thing in there.

OldSkoolFF · 11-03-2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanis_lionheart

FF8 had a better story/OST/characters/themes/designs/summons/ect.

FF7 felt like a weeaboo experiment.

Don't get me wrong, both games fail when compared to FF6 or FFT (which was given a GREAT GREAT GREAT remake/port for the PSP).

FF6 and Tactics are both very good FF's.
FF6 in my opinion has the best story hands down. But I never said FF8 had a good story I was saying it had good gameplay, colorful graphics, flashy battles, new systems, and quite a bit of combat. When it comes to limit breaks FF8 also has the best and most over the top limits, unfortunately some limits are better than others.
I liked FF7 to, but I think that it gets the over rated treatment often. Meanwhile FF8 unfairly gets bashed....

tanis_lionheart · 11-03-2009, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topopoz

FF8 better story?, tell me what is better in the storyline of 8.

FF8 challenging?, If in ff8 exist boss-rush give me 20 minutes and I finish it.

Hey I remember Irvine & Selphie, they were like the only good thing in there.

There was actually a story in it.
FF7 was your 'lets go place to place and at the last minute the villain gets away'.
All this 'great story' that FF7 fans like to mention are either in the offshoots or fan-fictions.

The actual game had a very bare bones plot with some VERY weak characters.

FF7 also had one of the worst end boss in the FF series.
Even the FFX-2 was more of a challenge.

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 04:43 PM

mmm.... you're saying nothing about 8. Every FF have a story.

7 having weak characters, that depends on what you consider a weak character. Is squall a strong character in comparison?

"villain gets away", 7 is not the perfect game, now what would happen if he didn't get away. he would smash your face because characters are not prepared and they will survive because of plot convenience and it would be as any other storyline. (Leviathan attacks ship on the sea rings a bell).

FF7 easy in terms of gameplay, yes. But FF8 is even easier, you can beat the game in lvl1 if you wish.

OldSkoolFF · 11-03-2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topopoz

mmm.... you're saying nothing about 8. Every FF have a story.

7 having weak characters, that depends on what you consider a weak character. Is squall a strong character in comparison?

"villain gets away", 7 is not the perfect game, now what would happen if he didn't get away. he would smash your face because characters are not prepared and they will survive because of plot convenience and it would be as any other storyline. (Leviathan attacks ship on the sea rings a bell).

FF7 easy in terms of gameplay, yes. But FF8 is even easier, you can beat the game in lvl1 if you wish.

FF8 wasn't as easy to me as FF7 I guess I'm a newb I dunno.
But for some reason FF8 was the hardest FF I've ever played and I've mentioned the FF's I've played.
Although I'm working on FF1 and its a bitch.

But I do agree FF7 was just chase Seph half the time.... And run away from Shinra. But I do think FF7 had some of the best FF characters next to FF6 and FF9.

OldSkoolFF · 11-03-2009, 05:01 PM

Oh and I'm a little confused how do you get to the last boss with a level 1 in a game with random battles? Do you just run from everything?

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 05:03 PM

run+diablos+enc-none. need ap?, kill cactuars or transform in card the monsters. you don't receive xp by transforming them in cards.

tanis_lionheart · 11-03-2009, 05:06 PM

Weak as in, I didn't give a crap about any of them.
As in, they were more shallow than the main power rangers (original series).

Never mind the only character I thought was cool, Vincent, wasn't even needed for the main plot.
You could skip him with no issue what so ever, WTF?

He could have actually been there, or, heck, done something epic like Kefka and destroyed the world or something memorable like shank the hell out of someone like Edna.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FF8 had a flawed story, I won't deny that.
Especially that BS 'we all lost our early memories because of the GFs' crap.
And there were some questions like 'If you're the leader of a whole country why not use your power to find your girlfriend?, you moron.
I could have also used some more info on Ultimica.
------------------------------------------------------------------

In FF7 everyone was the same. Materia was horrid.
The limit breaks were a JOKE, I hardly used them (expect for Cloud).
And the mandatory boss battles weren't nothing to write home about.

In FF8 the game leveled up WITH YOU, that's why you could beat the game at a low level.
Regardless, I still had an issue with some bosses and even non bosses (Islands Closet to Heaven/Hell, anyone?)

Also the draw/junction system was a bit broken, like FF2's system.
Great concept, but the execution was off a bit.
I think if this system was done in another game it could be refined.

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 05:21 PM

Vincent is the worse character of 7 with Tifa to me.
Sephiroth was a psychopath and a megalomaniac he was playing with the party.
Limit breaks in 7 are a joke? in 6 are a joke and in 8 are an unbalanced power house.
Island close to heaven/hell is completely optional.
Materia was strategical, Junction was good but like you said with bad execution.

tanis_lionheart · 11-03-2009, 05:36 PM

Meh, I dug the whole 'turns into a monster' and has a gun thing at the time.

Sephiorth wasn't a very good nut job. He was more of a cry baby with some mother issues.
But not nearly as cool as Norman Bates.

Truth be told, I don't even remember FF6 "limit breaks" too well. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
In FF8 they all looked pretty good at least.

True they are, but so are the harder bosses in FF7.

I didn't see much strategy in Materia. Especially in the later levels.

topopoz · 11-03-2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanis_lionheart

Sephiorth wasn't a very good nut job. He was more of a cry baby with some mother issues.
But not nearly as cool as Norman Bates.

I didn't see much strategy in Materia. Especially in the later levels.

And some god complexes.

Norman Bates is from Clock Tower? I can't finish any clock tower because of that horrible gameplay XD. Maybe I'll watch a playthrough on youtube.

There is strategy in Materia even at later levels, but you use it only if you're up to complete the optional things.

OldSkoolFF · 11-03-2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanis_lionheart

Meh, I dug the whole 'turns into a monster' and has a gun thing at the time.

Sephiorth wasn't a very good nut job. He was more of a cry baby with some mother issues.
But not nearly as cool as Norman Bates.

Truth be told, I don't even remember FF6 "limit breaks" too well. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
In FF8 they all looked pretty good at least.

True they are, but so are the harder bosses in FF7.

I didn't see much strategy in Materia. Especially in the later levels.

The FF6 limits only happened when you were really low on hps and even then they had a very low chance of happening.
Unlike in FF8 were you could limit pretty much anytime you wanted.
I dunno I thought the FF7 characters were pretty cool and very different from each other, FF8 had weak characters in my opinion. But like I said I liked FF8 because of its challenging gameplay. Story's great but story won't make you keep playing.

11-02-2009, 11:48 AM	#1
OldSkoolFF Onion Kid Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 14	FF7 or FF8? I love both almost equally but I was thinking the other day which one is better or which one most people prefer. This isn't suppose to be a flame thread or anything as I enjoy both of them a lot (but hey I like FF9 best anyway). The thing is there is one I enjoy more than the other and I will detail in full why I enjoy 1 more than the other. FF7 is a great game, one of the best FF's. But to me I enjoyed FF8 just a little bit more and I do have my reasons. First of all I start with the story, a lot of people critisize FF8's story... And with good reason there's many odd plotholes and other rubbish that makes the story almost silly. I'll show you an example for instance all the characters knew each other in an orphanage, this remove's any distinct individuality in the characters, forget them being different classes or from different regions. There all from the same place.... But that's ok it showed comrodirty and friendship as well as there close feelings to each other. Still It's all a bit odd and coincidental that there all from the same place even the baddie. Then there's Seifer who is a plothole in himself, why is it that a human can defeat Odin someone who can usually instant kill things without thinking? I never got that part of the story.... Still if you can complain about FF8's story and plotholes then you could complain about FF7's nagging begining in Midgar, FF7 starts off boring in my opinion. The drab poluted Midgar is a poor place to start a flashy RPG in my honest opinion, and you spend hours there.... Then there's the complicated plot twists and the whole Mako poisoning segment were Cloud acts like a retard for much of the game. Point is we can point out shitty storyholes in both games but FF7 and FF8 didn't have FF6's quality in storyline. Sorry I still think that FF6 is the greatest FF for story. But if we can compare gameplay then I think I can explain why I like FF8 more. FF7 is great for gameplay and has some very good over the top battles thanks to the materia system. But I think part of the reason why people hated FF8's gameplay was cause of the complexity in the junction system. Which turned me off at first and I hated it but once I got use to it I enjoyed it more than FF7's simplistic stick gem to armor gameplay. It didn't hurt that FF8 had superior graphics and magic. I enjoyed the summons in FF8 more so than FF7's. I might also point out the challenge.... I've yet to play a last boss in a FF that is harder than FF8's last boss. I've finished FF4, FF6, FF7, FFtactics, and FF9 and none of them had particularly hard bosses. FF8's boss doesn't die in one hit like Kefka, Seperoth, and many other FF bosses hell the only boss I can think of who's a decent challenge was FF4's last boss. FF8's dungeon was also a pain in the ass. Of course I like challenge... FF7 was almost boring with its lack of challenge, about the only challenging part of FF7 was chocobo breeding which was more annoying than hard. Well all in all I'd have to say FF8 is better to me than FF7 but that's only because of its challenge, graphics, and unqiue system. FF7 is great but after a couple of playthroughs it felt kinda drab and stale. FF8 was fresh, had amazing CG character models, a new system, and a huge world full of great stuff to explore. I dunno I guess I'll go with FF8 but I'll say one thing about FF7 I liked the characters in FF7 more.... Either way explain which one you liked best because I want to know why you enjoy it. Please no flaming we can all have a favorite without flaming please...

11-02-2009, 01:32 PM	#3
execrable gumwrapper Acid Rain -- DEF DOWN! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: California Posts: 6,617	7 is good with a rabid fanbase. 8 is shit with a lesser rabid fanbase. __________________ [Hidden link. Register to see links.]

11-03-2009, 11:52 AM	#8
puddles123 Grand Shriner Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 185	In FF7's defense, I'm surprised people dislike the atmosphere so much. The presence of Midgar and Shinra, the inhumanity of Sephiroth, genetic engineering, and the mind fuckery of Cloud are deliberate choices by the developers to try something that doesn't involve a straight cheery fantasy. In my mind, it is what makes the characters shine, seeing how they react to the oppressiveness, and how their good sides triumph over it all. It makes those good moments stand out all the more when the rest of the story is so dark. And I think it is why Cloud makes such a compelling character. At the beginning of the story he is traumatized by Zack's death, takes on Zack's personality as a sort of psychological defense... this man has been through a lot. Then later on, his fear of Sephiroth begins to overwhelm all as Sephiroth takes advantage of Cloud's Jenova cells to exert control over him, forcing him to do things he never would have done himself. But this scenario makes it all the more uplifting when Tifa finally rescues him from the dark depths of his shattered mind. He becomes the leader that everyone else perceives him to be, and strikes aside most of his self-doubt. He finally embraces his sense of self, which is critically important because not knowing who you are is the most unsettling feeling in the world. In short, I believe that FF7's 'drab, dark, and kinda depressing' atmosphere serves an integral part in making what you do in the game feel like it matters. And I also attribute it to the reason why the average person tends to value that Final Fantasy above all the others. Of them all it seems to have the least goofiness, the least fantasy-like setting. It is, I believe, the closest Final Fantasy has been able to achieve to a sense of realism, a sense that you understand exactly what these characters are going through even though the things that they go through are impossible. And that is why I love this game. Now I can't speak for Final Fantasy 8 because I've never played it, I just wanted to give my piece of mind in defense of FF7's atmosphere, which seems to be criticized at the moment. __________________ I am writing a novelization of the events occurring in the game Final Fantasy VII. See here for a sampler - [Hidden link. Register to see links.] Currently writing this stage of the FF7 story - Shinra Tower: Phase 1 - Entrance by Stealth

11-03-2009, 02:32 PM	#13
tanis_lionheart Chainsaws: They Make Every Game Better Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 810	FF8 had a better story/OST/characters/themes/designs/summons/ect. FF7 felt like a weeaboo experiment. Don't get me wrong, both games fail when compared to FF6 or FFT (which was given a GREAT GREAT GREAT remake/port for the PSP). __________________ FF7 Is Overrated: A Video Essay [Hidden link. Register to see links.]

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11-02-2009, 05:30 PM	#4
OldSkoolFF Onion Kid Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 14	I wanna know why people like FF7 so much more than FF8? Isn't FF7 kinda drab? The whole setting seemed drab, dark and kinda depressing. FF8 seemed much more uplifting. And I'm not saying that because of graphics because graphics don't make a game, still the characters in FF7 were very interesting. I enjoyed FF8 more but there both masterpieces.

11-03-2009, 06:00 AM	#6
MalLionheart Onion Kid Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 16	Both are equally awesome. Isn't this thread just begging for a flame war?

11-03-2009, 01:16 PM	#10
puddles123 Grand Shriner Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 185	I've never had the chance to, although I hear it is amazing. That is for PS 1, right? I'm going to have to try and get me an emulator... Another game that I hear is similar to FF Tactics that I have played that has a dark atmosphere is Ogre Battle 64. If you haven't played that and you liked FF Tactics, you will probably like it. I loved the gameplay in that one... And, of course, the story and characters.

11-03-2009, 01:21 PM	#11
topopoz Mystic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 138	Yeah, it's for the ps1, tactical RPG, with great storyline and bad translation xD but understandable. You know I was going into the Ogre battle series, the SNES version first but then I found the PSX enhanced version and I couldn't get the sound run properly. I will take on 64 Instead. Thanks!

11-03-2009, 02:10 PM	#12
OldSkoolFF Onion Kid Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 14	Tactics was great and in many ways more depressing and dark than FF7. I wasn't critisizing FF7 for being those things its just that I can't stand heavy realism all the time, not that it was bad in FF7 but I tend to enjoy fantasy more than reality. Reality is full of problems and its nice to be able to get away from all those things in a fantasy game. Now I've played many modern RPG's including Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout3, and Fable1 and 2 and there all just as, if not more dark than FF7. Sure Seph fucked with Cloud's mind and killed Aerith but did he kill his father, torture his mother, cut out his sisters eye's? Well Jack did that to the lead Fable hero, Its what I get tired of.... The sadistic way in which games have become. FF7 is a great game and isn't as sadistic as say Fable or Fallout3, not that sadistic is wrong you need conflict to tell a story. But I'm more of a fan of RPG's like Chrono Trigger, FF6, FF9, Tactics, Xeonogears, and even though I haven't played it FF10 looks great as well. These all have dark story's with oppressive governments and super powerful bad guys. I wasn't bashing FF7 because it was dark and depressive, I was trying to emphasize that the backgrounds, setting, and system were all a bit drab and metalic. I also wasn't as big a fan of materia as I was with the Espers in FF6 or the GF's in FF8, Its hard to care about leveling up a gem and doing nothing else with your character. In FF9 your characters learned skills from weapons and gear so it stayed with them as opposed to stayng on your weapon or armor. FF8's system felt faster than FF7 also, it had epic limit breaks and spells to (even though the spells were made kinda useless towards the end and then the only spell you needed was aura for limit boosting), but even with its problems FF8's combat felt exciting and challenging.... But my number one reason why I liked FF8 over FF7 was challenge, FF7 is the easiest RPG I've ever played. Easier than FF6, easier than FF4, a LOT easier than FF1. FF7 was drab boring combat that got kinda stale in my opinion. But you see I don't hate FF7 in fact it had many things over FF8 such as story and characters (even though they abandoned the amazing job systems of other games in exchange for lifeless dolls you insert gems into) the characters story's, traits and personality's shined right through. Quite the opposite from FF8 who's characters barely had any personality of there own, they were all pretty much second fiddle to Squall and Rinoa. Hell FF7 has fan followings to everyone from Red13, Yuffie, Barret, Cid (the best FF Cid) and even Cait Sith! Who remembers Irvine or Selphie from FF8? Well I do, but I only remember Irvine because he had badass AP ammo that shred bosses. That's why I liked FF8, there games.... Sure a good story is great, but when it comes down to it these are games and it comes down to whats fun. FF8's combat and system were more fun in my opinion even though the story wasn't quite as good as FF7 it wins in my eye's because that's why I play games, exciting gameplay. Oh and this isn't meant to be a flame I like both games almost equally I just thought FF8 had a more exciting and fresh combat system.

11-03-2009, 03:52 PM	#14
topopoz Mystic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 138	FF8 better story?, tell me what is better in the storyline of 8. FF8 challenging?, If in ff8 exist boss-rush give me 20 minutes and I finish it. Hey I remember Irvine & Selphie, they were like the only good thing in there.

11-03-2009, 04:43 PM	#17
topopoz Mystic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 138	mmm.... you're saying nothing about 8. Every FF have a story. 7 having weak characters, that depends on what you consider a weak character. Is squall a strong character in comparison? "villain gets away", 7 is not the perfect game, now what would happen if he didn't get away. he would smash your face because characters are not prepared and they will survive because of plot convenience and it would be as any other storyline. (Leviathan attacks ship on the sea rings a bell). FF7 easy in terms of gameplay, yes. But FF8 is even easier, you can beat the game in lvl1 if you wish.

11-03-2009, 05:01 PM	#19
OldSkoolFF Onion Kid Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 14	Oh and I'm a little confused how do you get to the last boss with a level 1 in a game with random battles? Do you just run from everything?

11-03-2009, 05:03 PM	#20
topopoz Mystic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 138	run+diablos+enc-none. need ap?, kill cactuars or transform in card the monsters. you don't receive xp by transforming them in cards.

11-03-2009, 05:06 PM	#21
tanis_lionheart Chainsaws: They Make Every Game Better Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 810	Weak as in, I didn't give a crap about any of them. As in, they were more shallow than the main power rangers (original series). Never mind the only character I thought was cool, Vincent, wasn't even needed for the main plot. You could skip him with no issue what so ever, WTF? He could have actually been there, or, heck, done something epic like Kefka and destroyed the world or something memorable like shank the hell out of someone like Edna. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FF8 had a flawed story, I won't deny that. Especially that BS 'we all lost our early memories because of the GFs' crap. And there were some questions like 'If you're the leader of a whole country why not use your power to find your girlfriend?, you moron. I could have also used some more info on Ultimica. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In FF7 everyone was the same. Materia was horrid. The limit breaks were a JOKE, I hardly used them (expect for Cloud). And the mandatory boss battles weren't nothing to write home about. In FF8 the game leveled up WITH YOU, that's why you could beat the game at a low level. Regardless, I still had an issue with some bosses and even non bosses (Islands Closet to Heaven/Hell, anyone?) Also the draw/junction system was a bit broken, like FF2's system. Great concept, but the execution was off a bit. I think if this system was done in another game it could be refined.

11-03-2009, 05:21 PM	#22
topopoz Mystic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 138	Vincent is the worse character of 7 with Tifa to me. Sephiroth was a psychopath and a megalomaniac he was playing with the party. Limit breaks in 7 are a joke? in 6 are a joke and in 8 are an unbalanced power house. Island close to heaven/hell is completely optional. Materia was strategical, Junction was good but like you said with bad execution.

11-03-2009, 05:36 PM	#23
tanis_lionheart Chainsaws: They Make Every Game Better Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 810	Meh, I dug the whole 'turns into a monster' and has a gun thing at the time. Sephiorth wasn't a very good nut job. He was more of a cry baby with some mother issues. But not nearly as cool as Norman Bates. Truth be told, I don't even remember FF6 "limit breaks" too well. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. In FF8 they all looked pretty good at least. True they are, but so are the harder bosses in FF7. I didn't see much strategy in Materia. Especially in the later levels.