GRcade

I'm up for giving this another fair shake as I've bounced off it every single time I've tried previously.

Hopefully we will be able to speed up the draw system

In light of this announcement I’ve taken it upon myself to listen to the soundtrack today while I work

Rubix wrote:Hopefully we will be able to speed up the draw system

This. I don’t mind the system although it’s fundamentally flawed in that using magic actually reduces your stats. And the slog to grind new magic is painful. A 4X speed option would really help this.

I have it on Vita and want to replay but the thought of grinding the draw system is a little off putting.

I can't see this not having a 2/3/4x speed option like the other recent releases have so that will make a big difference. Also once you get hold of the right "Refine" abilities you shouldn't need to do that much drawing anyway!

I wouldn't say that the draw system and it's relationship to stats is a flaw necessarily- that's just part of the strategy!

Looking forward to some Triple Triad

I completely forgot about having to draw from enemies. It's been about 18 years since I played this so it will be like playing the game again for the first time

Forgetting to Draw at key moments was always a struggle in this- GF's that you have one shot to get, certain magic that is very limited in availability etc.

Seeing some screenshots and they've really done a great job cleaning up some of the backgrounds. Obviously, it can't be crystal clear perfect but there's still a lot of attention to detail being put into this which has me stoked. Dotemu are nailing it so far.

Of the FF games I've played, this is the one I most wish I'd actually finished.

Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

I wasn't too familiar with JRPGs at the time (probably one of the first ones I'd played) and just couldn't be bothered with the grinding.

Ironhide wrote:Of the FF games I've played, this is the one I most wish I'd actually finished.

Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

I wasn't too familiar with JRPGs at the time (probably one of the first ones I'd played) and just couldn't be bothered with the grinding.

That was a tough section if you were under geared or hadn’t optimised the draw system. I recall struggling here first time around against the alien creatures.

FatDaz wrote:

Ironhide wrote:Of the FF games I've played, this is the one I most wish I'd actually finished.

Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

I wasn't too familiar with JRPGs at the time (probably one of the first ones I'd played) and just couldn't be bothered with the grinding.

That was a tough section if you were under geared or hadn’t optimised the draw system. I recall struggling here first time around against the alien creatures.

That bit is actually really easy, if you know what to do. But I think the game does a crap job of communicating what the actual challenge is!

Jenuall wrote:

FatDaz wrote:

Ironhide wrote:Of the FF games I've played, this is the one I most wish I'd actually finished.

Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

I wasn't too familiar with JRPGs at the time (probably one of the first ones I'd played) and just couldn't be bothered with the grinding.

That was a tough section if you were under geared or hadn’t optimised the draw system. I recall struggling here first time around against the alien creatures.

That bit is actually really easy, if you know what to do. But I think the game does a crap job of communicating what the actual challenge is!

I agree and that’s probably why I struggled with a lot of the game on first play through, a theme I think is common to a lot of players. I really struggled with knowing how to switch junctioned magic when with flashback characters. A few times I accidentally had characters with no gear or magic at all.

FatDaz wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

FatDaz wrote:

Ironhide wrote:Of the FF games I've played, this is the one I most wish I'd actually finished.

Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

I wasn't too familiar with JRPGs at the time (probably one of the first ones I'd played) and just couldn't be bothered with the grinding.

That was a tough section if you were under geared or hadn’t optimised the draw system. I recall struggling here first time around against the alien creatures.

That bit is actually really easy, if you know what to do. But I think the game does a crap job of communicating what the actual challenge is!

I agree and that’s probably why I struggled with a lot of the game on first play through, a theme I think is common to a lot of players. I really struggled with knowing how to switch junctioned magic when with flashback characters. A few times I accidentally had characters with no gear or magic at all.

I was the same, my second and subsequent playthroughs made me see the game in a much better light simply because I was spending less time fighting against the systems and had finally understood them enough to enjoy it!

Ironhide wrote:Think I got to a bit where you're on some space station thing trying to save Rinoa or something.

Oh god, i remember that, you had to kill the monsters in colour coded pairs otherwise they endlessly respawned.

One of the problems FF8 did have was the lack of explanation with a lot of the puzzles, hell, some of the GF unlocks (such as Doomtrain) were so ridiculously vague, no one could unlock it without reading a walkthrough first.

Also the special cards you get for the card mini game is totally missable, if you don't play with the characters in the right place at the right time.

A lot of important moments are missable. Like if you don't have Odin by the time you fight Siefer for the last time...

There's a load of missable stuff, stuff that isn't explained, things that are explained but in a way that is just confusing etc. But that is half of the charm!

But it has some cracking moments too - the Dollet mission, attacking Edea at the parade (also Edea, totally would obvs ) the train heist, Garden battle...

One of my fav gaming memories was finally beating Omega Weapon

Jenuall wrote:But it has some cracking moments too - the Dollet mission, attacking Edea at the parade (also Edea, totally would obvs ) the train heist, Garden battle...

Seriously, this game is rammed with exciting sequences. Despite it being one of the FF's that I most frequently see shat on, I still look back on it with more fondness than the other entries from the PS1 / early PS2 time period. I've always been really taken with the designs, atmosphere and it has my favourite soundtrack of the bunch.

I still find those moments where you control the characters while a pre-rendered scene plays cool. I have no idea if it actually is difficult to pull off (much more so back then, I'm sure) but I at least feel like I should be impressed every time.

Also the gun blades is much more an icon weapon in a Final Fantasy game.

I like it that you can manually trigger the critical hits while using Squall’s basic attack.