Game #1: Final Fantasy VIII
Release Date: September 1999
Director: Yoshinori Kitase
Original System: Playstation, PC
Favorite Song: "Eyes on Me"
After a lot of debating back and forth, I have decided for my first game in the challenge to be Final Fantasy VIII. I chose FFVIII to be my first game because it is one of the few FF games that I have never beaten. I figured this challenge would give me good motivation to press on through the entirety of the game and also give me a good chance to blog/interact with the community on strategies, tips and tricks, storyline interpretation, favorite scenes, etc. Also, since the FF Playstation games are available through Playstation Network, I can transfer my save files back and forth between my PS3 and PSP, allowing me to play the game on the go (awesome functionality there!)
Goal for my challenge: Beat the storyline through to the credits and obtain all GFs.
Stretch goal: Defeat optional bosses Ultima Weapon and Omega Weapon
I absolutely welcome anyone out there to play along with me over the next month! I would love to hear your thoughts, strategies, and comments/complaints as we work our way through this game.
Now I'd like to hear a bit from you guys! How many of you out there have beaten FFVIII? How does it rank among your top favorite FF games?
First off I need to mention that FFVIII is by far my favorite installment of the series. (I even have a Griever ring) This is probably because it was the first one I ever played through by myself. (I played through Mystic Quest with some friends trading off time on the game, so it never felt like I did it myself) I enjoyed FFVIII so much in fact that I have played through it (opening cut scene to end cut scene) 6 times. In 4 of those I power gamed to complete all optional sidequests. In 2 of them I regulated my card moding and level grinding to the bare minimum to complete the game. I had the best experience with the latter 2. Having said that, you will only beat Omega weapon if you powergame the crap out of this thing.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of the game (in my opinion) is the cut scenes and the music. So please, take it all in. I used to save often just so I could replay certain cut scenes (specifically the dance at the Blam Garden). Remember, I played this through before I had ready access to the internet, so I could only watch the scenes as I got to them.
Advice wise there is so much to discuss, but I will limit it to some choice topics. The draw mechanic is hard to get used to, and sometimes it can be a real grind to get enough of a certain choice spell. Unfortunately it is an integral part of the game. Even if you choose an alternative route for spells (see below) you will still want to check all boss battles for the opportunity to draw GFs. I believe there are about 4 GFs that can only be obtained if drawn from a boss, so keep your eyes peeled.
One alternative to relying on the draw system for spells is relying heavily on the card side game. The card game, if perfected, can make the rest of the gameplay too easy and unbalanced, so I suggest trying to regulate the time spent on it. Also, the card game is only useful when you obtain the "Card Mod" ability on Quezecotl. Most relevant spells can be obtained by moding the right cards.
I may not have perfected this game, but my suggestion is to avoid reliance on the early game GFs. Their damage is not that great, but the abilities they learn can skyrocket your characters quickly. For this reason I would suggest focusing on leveling their abilities that make the character better (i.e. status effect, elemental effect, etc.) over the abilities that buff the GF itself (i.e. %damage, %HP, etc.). Late game GFs are useful, but I think the transition point depends greatly on your playstyle.
I could go on all night about advice for someone playing through this game, but I think that many of those decisions need to be left up to you, especially if you have never made it the whole way through. I would like to suggest some additional stretch goals (all of which are reasonably attainable). 1) obtain both unofficial GFs, Odin and Gilgamesh. These two are tied to each other, so if you find Odin before disc 3 you will find Gilgamesh. These are not equipable GFs, however. They will appear randomly during battles once you obtain them. 2) Become the card king. This requires you to spend some time with the card sidegame, but I think it is worth it for the items you can get by moding rare cards. 3) Find the spaceship (Ragnarok) in disc 4. This is essentially the only effective way to continue leveling after entering the castle at endgame. 4) Find Pupu.
If you want any clarification, please feel free to ask me. I wish you the best of luck!