Final Fantasy VIII gives about as much grief as it gets. I'll be the first to admit the game has some serious flaws. But... I still have a sentimental feeling for it, and remember fondly the days back in the late nineties when I played it in my ghetto apartment in San Francisco. It doesn't help that it's sandwiched between (what I consider) the two best FF games, FF7 and FF9. But, it does have its charms.
The magic drawing system is my biggest complaint... it's hard to believe someone thought that was a good idea. It's pretty annoying. And the summons! Oh god, you can't get through this game without doing the long summons. I have them memorized. One of the reasons I don't replay it as much as the other FF games is I don't want to watch those summons again.
Still, it's an interesting world to explore and I like the music. Plus, the story is pretty interesting, though quite unusual for a FF game.
And while it's sort of the black sheep of the family, it is still a good game. It's just too bad that some of its flaws hold it back from being great.
After playing FF7, I appreciate its differences but ultimately I didn't like it very much. Unforunately, they decided to focus on those differences I didn't like in FF8. That's why FF8 was the first FF game I wasn't interested in and never played. You're right about the music, though. Luckily Square made up for it with FF9. That's what 7 and 8 should've been.
yeah, FF9 is one of my favore it games of all time. FF8 needed more moogles.
Everything could use more moogles.
I guess Im in that rare group that prefers 8 to 7&9. I think that at the time the game came out I was more into anime and it had that high school anime thing going for it like the current persona games. It also looked better, with the character models and visuals, than 7. I didn't appreciate 9 until much after it released, mainly because I was more into the cyberpunk dystopia aesthetic than traditional fantasy.
Isn't it possible to play 8 without summons? I thought that was a thing in the game. You can overpower your characters and not rely on summons. I have to play it again some time when its on sale again. Do you like the soundtrack at least? Its very odd music.
I don't know if it's possible to play the beginning of FF8 without summons... but I think later in the game they are less important. I do really like this game, but its flaws make me play it over again less than the other final fantasies.
And I do like the music. It is odd, but I like it.
FF8 is a special game to me as well. Besides the graphics (better than most games on the Dreamcast, which launched at the same time) and the music, the story resonated with me. Squall was a lot like me when I was that age. i also got it right before I started my first semester of college, which I was anxious about, so the school setting really appealed to me.
yeah I was just out of high school when I played this too, so I dug that. I really like Balamb Garden, the opening school of the game. It's fun running around there with that great music.
I realized the other day that, with the exception of FFV, I have played I-VII...and nothing since then, despite having detailed knowledge of those later games. I haven't played a mainline FF game since 2006 
I think my problem is twofold: 1. I have played waaay fewer RPGs since college because they just take so dang long and 2. I have always intended to catch up on FF, and so...here I am. Knowledge without experience 
oh, you're missing out, man. There are some good later games. FF9, 10, and 12 are quite awesome.
I'd love to play VIII. Did they remaster it like IX?
They did.
Great!