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LTTP FFVIII: The Aesthetic Fore-bearer to FFXV
- Thread starter ScherzoPrime
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ScherzoPrime
Member
One thing I've been appreciating about the game, and I think this is true in general about most FFs, is there's a strong idea about what you need to do next.
Also yeah the NORG stuff was pretty quickly explained; just seemed like one of those things that might remain inexplicable.
Also yeah the NORG stuff was pretty quickly explained; just seemed like one of those things that might remain inexplicable.
gamingPotato7
Member
It is up there for me along with FF VII. It's very unique even in its systems and the card game is the best, although IX's is also pretty good. Esthar is amazing and I could see how a remake would make this game's vision justice. Love it and if FF XV is similar it is a win for me.
Be sure to pick the right instruments for the band
The scene that has them in the background changes depending on what you choose.Backgrounds are fine on smartphones. I wouldn't play on tablets or PC, though.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
Ragnorak is best ship
ScherzoPrime
Member
I actually restarted my game when I realized I fucked up. Thought it was Eyes On Me when it's really an Irish jig. Will do it after work.Be sure to pick the right instruments for the band
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Loved VIII. Easily one of the best.
It's both. One full set is for the jig, another one is for a remix of Eyes On Me. Or you can mix it up for some cacophony. The Irish jig is the one you want though.
vainglorious
Member
The final section of the game, from Esthar onwards is definitely weaker than the rest of the game imo but it's still my favourite in the series. Such a missed opportunity for a Laguna sequel/prequel
I love the Esthar stuff in Disk 3 just because of how crazy and over the top it is, it's paced incredibly quickly and it's such a rush. It's a lot of fun.
My only issue is that in the middle of the craziness you literally get slammed with a wall of exposition from Dr. Odine when he's introduced to Squall and the others. I think within the span of 5 minutes he explains Time Compression, and devises a plan with Ellone to temporarily halt it, and then Laguna chimes in and is all, "You need to feel the love you have for each other to make it through compressed time and into the future where Ultimecia is waiting". It's sloppily done. But it's a fun ride all the same.
Yep i'm with you there, Esthar is just fantastic to explore, and the history of the war with Galbadia is so cool. By the time Odin pops up, I'm so into it that I don't care that the final solution is devised in 5 minutes, and the ending more than makes up for it. Compare that to IX where the final boss is never even mentioned before appearing at the end. That was a WTF moment in a game I still love. At least we know about Ultimecia long before that.
Odin's plan is essentially
give her what she wants and go kick her arse. It's actually pretty straight forward without all the explanation.
vainglorious
Member
I get what they were trying to do with Necron, like... that fight represents an existential fight between the nature of life and living and Necron is a literal analogy for death and Kuja's cynicism but it's so jarring and out of left field it just completely takes you out of the experience.
One of my favorite things about Ultimecia is that she's allowed to be Ultimecia through the very end. Like, when you realize what she's transformed herself into at the very end its amazing.
Spoilers because I'm not sure what constituents as spoilers for a game that's 17 years old. And you know how people can get. 😒
When you realize that Ultimecia literally transforms her body so that she's capable of absorbing time and space into herself. Like, you see her body hanging inverted underneath and the rest of her literally blooms into this abstract monstrosity without a face, it's just so well designed. Ultimecia drawing Apocalpyse from her original body is a really nice detail as well.
No other final boss in this series is as well designed and executed. Braska's Final Aeon, the Dark Aeons, and Yu Yevon are also strong contenders but the final fight with Yu Yevon is such a wasted opportunity.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
What's more, Necron's name in the Japanese version was "eternal darkness". It isn't meant to be a character or anything. It didn't have a proper name. Its name was literally the Japanese words for eternal darkness.
I think on my intitial playthrough of IX I failed to appreciate the deeper meaning of Necron, I was 14/15 at the time. It's odd to think that now, because it's not exactly subtle. Before we even see Necron, a word for word Yoda quote is used. 'fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate..... hate leads to suffering'. That really threw me off the first time. I understand the themes of the game much better now.
Also, that picture has blown my mind, I have played VIII so many times and I never noticed the bottom half of the design. I can't believe I missed it!
Oh and I have to say Maybe I'm a Lion is god tier battle music.
vainglorious
Member
I didn't know that! I'm not surprised tho. The translations for the PSX trilogy are all over the place. There's a lot lost in translation in FF8's script as well, especially in regards to nuances in Squall's character. There aren't a lot of direct translations to some of Squall's inner dialogue and thoughts so the english translation treats a lot of it pretty roughly, a lot of Squall's "whatever" in the English script is not "whatever" in the Japanese script and a lot of subtext just gets thrown out the window.
I'm resurrecting this from ages ago but Dunan has a really great post on Squall's dialogue and how much we really lost when the game was translated.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=40972555&postcount=601
It's such a great break down of dialogue between Squall and others and what's really trying to be conveyed in Japanese.
It'll never happen, but I wish FF8 was given the remake treatment, if only for a better english script.
I really wonder how much liberty they took with Necron's dialogue. That Star Wars stuff is cringe. Just because I know that stuff like Edea's speech in FF8 during the Deling City segment is completely different from what she says in the Japanese version, so the translators do have a history of being extremely liberal here and there.
ScherzoPrime
Member
FWIW, what is a more accurate translation of the speech? The Western version is so fucking narmy.
EDIT: Eh, checked out a more accurate translation and it's still really silly, if more verbose. I'd say they more or less captured the same spirit even if some of the allusions are omitted.
vainglorious
Member
Yeah I don't really agree. The more accurate translation has far better characterization. The English translation makes her sound like a world domineering Saturday cartoon villain. There's a great gamefaqs post about it here -
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/197343-final-fantasy-viii/43179495
Spoilers again I guess.
"Okay, the English translators changed a lot of things in this speech. In the English translation Edea/Ultimecia is a total megalomaniac, while in the original she's less a megalomaniac than a bitter cynic. While in the English translation she seems bent on world domination(Galbadia's "fantasy"), the original hints more at her real goal: Time Compression. The original also shows just how effectively she uses dreams and imagination, and furthermore hints that her whole nature is more ephemeral than real.
Also, the part of her speech about running from a hard reality to fantasy seems to hint at Seifer's motivations as a Sorceress' Knight. Seifer's encounter with her at Timber could be construed to mean that there was something in his past, his boyhood, that he wished to leave behind--in fact, his whole dream of being a Sorceress' Knight was probably based on escapism. In this light it's not hard to see how Ultimecia ensnared him so easily--and how he came to commit such crimes on her behest."
Also, the part of her speech about running from a hard reality to fantasy seems to hint at Seifer's motivations as a Sorceress' Knight. Seifer's encounter with her at Timber could be construed to mean that there was something in his past, his boyhood, that he wished to leave behind--in fact, his whole dream of being a Sorceress' Knight was probably based on escapism. In this light it's not hard to see how Ultimecia ensnared him so easily--and how he came to commit such crimes on her behest."
ScherzoPrime
Member
Either way, nothing she says screams 'Yeah I wanna follow her now!'
Like really, I know Deling was a military dictator and all, but there should be some resistance to having your leader violently deposed before your eyes. Though I guess the impression the Galbadian military has devolved into fascist thugs who love kicking people around.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I always thought the Galbadian people were tricked into a facist fantasy much like she tricked Seifer into his dream to be a sorceress' knight. A little mind-control magic involved.
ScherzoPrime
Member
I have to say, I was expecting Selphie to be a full on hyperactive Genki Girl like Rikku from X, but I'm pleasantly surprised she's a bit more understated. Zell's similar, he's still a doofus but he hasn't been aggressively stupid lately.
I wish they'd either made it more explicit, or made her language less, you know, evil
Oh one thing I'm a little confused about; the SeeDs handed over Ellone to followers of Edea; I assume those are followers of her before she was possessed by Ultamecia? Otherwise why would Edea still be looking for her.
I wish they'd either made it more explicit, or made her language less, you know, evil
Oh one thing I'm a little confused about; the SeeDs handed over Ellone to followers of Edea; I assume those are followers of her before she was possessed by Ultamecia? Otherwise why would Edea still be looking for her.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
The evil language is what sold it to me as being an act of mass hypnotism. It can't possibly be a logical appeal. She openly berates the people and they cheer her on to power.
I kind of liked this concept of her taking the stage and hypnotically leading an entire empire to their doom, like some kind of pied piper.
She's basically Trump.
ScherzoPrime
Member
I guess to me though it seems sort of arbitrary who's affected and who isn't.
Her speech is pretty iconic though. It definitely made an impact.
"..lowlifes... Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one you've condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. A new era has just begun. This is reality. No one can help you. Sit back and enjoy the show. Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the beginning. Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination. Let us end this ceremony with a sacrifice."
"..lowlifes... Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one you've condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. A new era has just begun. This is reality. No one can help you. Sit back and enjoy the show. Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the beginning. Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination. Let us end this ceremony with a sacrifice."
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
It's definitely unclear.
I don't really think she's directly controlling anyone except for Seifer and perhaps Deling. It's just that she's manipulating the will of the mob on a mass level.
I keep meaning to replay this some day since the first time around I honestly don't think I understood the systems too well. I don't think I played Triple Triad at all or used the card mod bit or really understood the junctioning system. I do wish this could get an HD remake with a new script.
ScherzoPrime
Member
I sort of got a Grima Wormtongue to Theodon feel with her and Deling, though I also think Deling was drunk on the power Edea offered, even though Galbadia was ostensibly an Anti-Sorceress state. Does the game go more into how Seifer allowed himself to be deluded?
I'm kinda hoping the game goes on to say that Seifer's Romanticism and Squall's precociousness are both forms of childishness, and growing up is about finding a happy medium between the two. I'm liking the little intervention the rest of the SeeDs staged at FH.
vainglorious
Member
It's ambiguous in the game but the Ultimania Guide clarifies and states that she casts a "fascination spell" over the crowd.
Edit -
There's also the small detail of upon the assassination with Irvine failing you'll notice that the spell breaks because the crowd completely erupts into chaos and you see the soldiers fighting and holding them off as Squall guns down the boulevard with the car.
Muffdraul
Member
FFVIII is one of my favorites, right behind VI and VII. I admit there are issues with the characters and story, and the battle system is one of the easiest to break. Not just for FF, but RPGs in general. But I can't get enough of that world and visual design. Retro-fitted Futuristism with a weird neo-baroque flourish. So goddamn good. IMO FFXV design is actually a couple steps behind it.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Not really. You can piece together what influenced him to have the dream of becoming a sorceress' knight. It's his weakness in a very down to earth way.
That sounds about right.
I'm happy that you enjoyed Final Fantasy VIII and are willing to share your opinion of it.
My opinion though is that it's one of the worst main numbered titles in the series. The story is incredibly disappointing after disc 2. I feel like there's no real payoff for some characters and it hurts. The drawing is not fun at all.
I do love the soundtrack and I think the Guardian Forces's customization options are cool. Triple Triad is great.
I just cannot get over how bad the story is. It's really, really bad. They really messed this up. It actually makes me a little sad when thinking about it.
My opinion though is that it's one of the worst main numbered titles in the series. The story is incredibly disappointing after disc 2. I feel like there's no real payoff for some characters and it hurts. The drawing is not fun at all.
I do love the soundtrack and I think the Guardian Forces's customization options are cool. Triple Triad is great.
I just cannot get over how bad the story is. It's really, really bad. They really messed this up. It actually makes me a little sad when thinking about it.
neoism
Member
I'm
yeah still got mine and ff7 and 9s 8 guide was awesome...
lol i played 8 about 8 hours today... my GARD the random rule is literally the fucking worst thing in the game.... took me 3 hours to get rid of it. just completely makes TT shit to play.
loving my playthrough middle of disc 2 squall still level 7 �� i love playin on my psp but man i really wish they would do a remake like 9s on ios... with higher polygon characters and enemies why the hell did they skip 8 ��
Some of the fondest memories of my entire life playing this game. Means more to me than I can put into words really.
EDIT: This isn't mine but I do still have the strategy guide that I bought from a mom and pop gamestore after I beat the game for the first time.
I spent forever going through meticulously my second play through trying to find everything I missed and really soaking it all in.
yeah still got mine and ff7 and 9s 8 guide was awesome...
lol i played 8 about 8 hours today... my GARD the random rule is literally the fucking worst thing in the game.... took me 3 hours to get rid of it. just completely makes TT shit to play.
loving my playthrough middle of disc 2 squall still level 7 �� i love playin on my psp but man i really wish they would do a remake like 9s on ios... with higher polygon characters and enemies why the hell did they skip 8 ��
And yet, finally ending Random once and for all is perhaps one of the most satisfying moments of all time. I used to never bother trying to abolish card rules in all the years I played this game (hence why I always struggled with it) until recently but it is so incredibly frustrating yet relieving once you finally abolish it for good.
TheJollyCorner
Member
Care to elaborate? Because as someone with the polar opposite opinion, 'really, really bad', although subjective, seems extreme to me.
neoism
Member
lol yeah most def the best part was i needed it done for the card quest thing and once it said random has been abolished from the region it took open,same and elemental with it lol so i have no rules at all now but diff.. 😎😎😎 after tryin for 3 hours it was 😵
I'll give a brief overview of why I'm not a fan of it.
1. They completely wasted Laguna's character development on him being a Mayor who has little interaction to Squall. They spent half the game building him up and did a fantastic job until...the end point. The meeting. I was hoping Laguna would be more central to the plot than just a device to help Squall progress. I felt like he earned much more than that.Yes, I know that Laguna helped progress the story by doing other things like influencing Julia's love song "Eyes on Me", not coming to see her which lead to her being with General Callway, among some other things.
What bothers me though is the Squall connection, or lack thereof. It just kills me so damn much that they spent so much energy into building Laguna up to be a great character and he is a great character. I love Laguna. He's one of my favorite characters in FF ever. But to have his encounter with Squall be so "meh" that it really killed me. Laguna helps Squall accomplishes what he needs to in Esthar and that's it. They barely talked to each other. That just frustrated the crap out of me. You could have cut Laguna out entirely, rewrite the game to omit the minor plot points that he helpd create and the game would stroll along just fine. If the Squall meetup would have turned out differently, I would like this game more.
2. The orphanage scene. Convenient storytelling that had all the characters forget who each other because of Guardian Forces. Outside of this, the Guardian Forces barely play a part in the story. Outside of this scene, the information presented that they all were in the same orphanage did little to enhance the story. It's a convenient excuse to try to make the characters closer to each other. It doesn't really work for me. You could have omitted the orphanage entirely and the game wouldn't be much different with some tweaks. The characters were already motivated enough just by the fact that Edea/Ultimecia was caused Balamb Garden chaos and how her threat could impact the whole world. Squall's interactions with Ellone carried the whole orphanage deal.
3. Ultimecia. Ultimecia is such a fascinating but underwhelming villain. So much of the game is spent trying to chase Edea and then figure out the mystery of sorcery that Ultimecia's part in it is too short. Ultimecia should have spoken more and have a more direct outcome of the story and earlier. Honestly, I think Square dropped the ball here. If they would have made Ultimecia truly compelling, this game would have been better. Imagine if Ultimecia was Rinoa and it was Rinoa's love for Squall and Squall's desire for protecting her that caused all of this. The Ultimecia-Griever connection with those two would have been completely epic. That would have made this game so tragic and awesome. It also would have been more compelling if they left Edea as the villain.
4. Squall and Rinoa's love story sucks. Most of the hints of love regarding these two were provided by Rinoa being cute and bubbly towards him. Squall barely shows affection towards her at all. Every hint that he shows is just him scoffing towards her advances. I guess that's cute? I figured it was just him being a dick like he's been during the entire game. He treats others the same way. He doesn't realize he's in love until the space shuttle scene. My problem with that is that the game wants us to be in his mind and to get an understand of who he is. With that, they barely show any indication that he was romantically interested in her.
5. Squall himself. I think a character with emotional problems can be great. They can be relatable and more human. However, with Squall, I don't feel that. All he does for a long period of time is act like he hates everyone around him. He just wants to be alone. He just wants to mosey about life and give no craps about anyone else or their feelings. That to me, is a character, especially a main protagonist, not worth playing though. The idea of getting inside the main character's head is great. I like that. However, it doesn't actually help making him an empathize-able character. It's ok to be angry and hateful sometimes and I get that with Squall. It's just all that he's about for a long time. The growth is just too slow for me. The payoff doesn't make the journey worth it for me.
These are just some of the problems I have with the story and characters. I hope you understand my position which is that I've only finished the game twice and don't remember every single piece of the puzzle. I know you might offer a rebuttal and I appreciate that if that's what you wanna do. However, it's going to take a lot of convincing for me to believe this story is good. So if you really want to channel your energy into it, go ahead. I'm just letting you know before hand lol
The Emperor
Member
I dunno I found XIII had more of a similar aesthetic to VIII.
Like the gardens in VIII and places like Palumpolum in XIII have such a similar feel to them with how a lot of the buildings even look.
XV strikes me as completely different in aesthetic, it's just more grounded thus far and the one fantasy location we have had a glimpse of (Tenebrae) looks more like a realistic FFIX town.
Like the gardens in VIII and places like Palumpolum in XIII have such a similar feel to them with how a lot of the buildings even look.
XV strikes me as completely different in aesthetic, it's just more grounded thus far and the one fantasy location we have had a glimpse of (Tenebrae) looks more like a realistic FFIX town.
All fair points I feel, the game has problems for sure. The only thing I'd try and rebut is the Ultimecia part. You have to think that she is the villain from the get go. Everything Edea says and does is Ultimecia. The reveal of Edea's possession is at the beginning of Disk 3, so a decent amount of time with her specifically named as the villain. It's what they do with many FF's. Yu Yevon popped up right near the end, we were discussing Necron earlier who literally appeared in the final scenes. There is normally something more evil behind the evil we know for most of the game.
Her motivation for time compression is to basically make time stand still. Her dialogue in the final battle refers to the passage of time. I'll post the Japanese, as it's been butchered in English again.
Have you remembered something?
Something from your childhood
A sensation
The words from back then
The emotions from back then
As you become an adult
You leave something behind, throw something away
Time will not wait for you
Even if you cling to it
It slips away the instant you open your hands
And
A big theme of the game is loss, Squall's loss of Ellone as a child and his reaction to it, the loss of memories, Rinoa's loss of her mother, Laguna's loss of Raine. It all plays into the desire to stop time and avoid the pain of it. Which is where the fan theory of Rinoa being Ultimecia comes in, it's the same principal of being unable to deal with loss. Yet even without that added explanation, the theme is still there.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
The best part of Ultimecia's speech in Japanese is how she name-drops the title of the series. "Together, we shall create the final fantasy."
Why did they remove that? It wasn't even cheesy like "So that's it, huh? We some kind of suicide squad." or "You know, Ellie, we really are the last of us".
Why did they remove that? It wasn't even cheesy like "So that's it, huh? We some kind of suicide squad." or "You know, Ellie, we really are the last of us".
ScherzoPrime
Member
One thing I don't get, well I get it but seems extremely inaccurate, is Squall's reputation as an Emo. He's really just aloof and precocious out of fear of being emotionallyrics hurt, but it's not exactly something he flaunts.
It's the wardrobe and the scowl.
The "emo" label seems to have gone through a few evolutions.
Appreciate the response. Let me clear something up a bit though. I might have misspoke about what I meant about Ultimecia. I understood that it was her controlling Edea from the start. I should have clarified that. The time compression thing could have been much better if her reasoning was explained better. The Japanese-dialogue version is far superior than the English version. What a shame for us, in that case.
I actually do like the overall theme of the game. I also don't need a story spoon fed to me but they should have really tied up loose ends, cut out the fat, and made the story more coherent. I actually loved the first two discs of FF VIII. It really pulled me in. I actually liked it more than the beginning of FF VII. The Time Compression thing would have been fantastic if they would have done a better job linking the pain of loved ones to the original purpose. As you stated, that was a central theme. The game should have been more open about explaining that.
I truly do love that Rinoa-Ultimecia fan theory though. It would have really skyrocketed this story to an epic level for me. Despite me not liking FF VIII, I would love to see a Remake of that game with the story and battle system tweaked. A second chance could breathe new life into a game that had such amazing potential.
Yeah I see what your saying, the interesting thing about VIII is that the complaints levelled against it are pretty legit and It's still my favourite game. At the same time I can't disagree with anything you've said.
Saying that a lot has been lost in translation does feel like i'm making an excuse, but much like VII, VIII has some serious translation problems (hopefully fixed in the VII remake). Another example as someone mentioned earlier, is Squall's 'Whatever' phrase. In Japanese it's actually a line of dialogue that they just didn't bother to translate. It's hard not to feel hard done by in that respect. I'm not sure if the connection between the loss of loved ones and time compression is better presented in Japanese, I can only assume it is from what i've read. I understand it all better due to my own nerdy reading of the translated Ultimania guide, it wasn't obvious to me initially, which is a problem.
Saying that, I think people do pick up on that theme in our version too, the Rinoa theory is an extension of that, people 'get' it. It's just not presented to us very well. I agree, a remake would be fantastic for this game, that final explanation of Ultimecia's plan/motivation would really benefit from a revision.
The orphanage scene is really bad for character development reasons but I thought it was really fantastic in the way that it drove home the theme of "fate." Liberi Fatali, the opening song of the game, means "children of fate." The SeeDs were directly connected to Edea and the sorceress from the very beginning, it was their destiny. Squall and Rinoa were destined to be together to fulfill the promise that Laguna and Julia made in the past. The sorceress inheriting process is an endless cycle, one that they will always be fated to. It may have not been implemented in the best way but they got really creative in honing these ideas in.
ScherzoPrime
Member
Went back to Deling City before I go trigger the confrontation in Balamb, to get the word on the street for the new administration; was amused by the blase attitude many Galbadian citizens have towards Deling's death (one guy said he 'looked good on the outside' but was secretly a loser), while others complimented Edea's sense of fashion. I also feel a bit smug about being kinda right, that the Galbadians think with the Sorceress at the helm they'll be able to take on Esthar.
I still think she should've at least tried to tap into some raw nerve the Galbadians had when mesmerizing people to her side; that's what, you know, IRL demagogues do after all.
Heh, thanks, to be honest this only took like half an hour to throw together.
I still think she should've at least tried to tap into some raw nerve the Galbadians had when mesmerizing people to her side; that's what, you know, IRL demagogues do after all.
Heh, thanks, to be honest this only took like half an hour to throw together.
ScherzoPrime
Member
At Trabia Garden; this is pretty appropriately depressing. Guns and Bomber Jackets laid before makeshift graves. ;~;
Also the infamous reveal about the Orphanage; TBH it seems alright but I'd honestly say the GF element is overplayed. I definitely think it's a part, but I think probably one of the big reasons is that they've repressed their memories of their childhood. They're all war orphans after all and it must've been a very traumatic experience. I think it makes more sense to say the GFs 'help' lock away memories that people find difficult to process, than to totally eliminate them.
Which sorta makes me think, do you figure the majority of SeeDs are War Orphans too? I think it'd make sense that victims of the Sorceress War would, consciously or unconsciously, have a desire to become soldiers dedicated to preventing the rise of tyrant like Adel.
Also the infamous reveal about the Orphanage; TBH it seems alright but I'd honestly say the GF element is overplayed. I definitely think it's a part, but I think probably one of the big reasons is that they've repressed their memories of their childhood. They're all war orphans after all and it must've been a very traumatic experience. I think it makes more sense to say the GFs 'help' lock away memories that people find difficult to process, than to totally eliminate them.
Which sorta makes me think, do you figure the majority of SeeDs are War Orphans too? I think it'd make sense that victims of the Sorceress War would, consciously or unconsciously, have a desire to become soldiers dedicated to preventing the rise of tyrant like Adel.
That last bit doesn't really work since the SeeDs think they are what their cover story says they are, elite mercenaries. Edea's white suits might know the score, but the Balamb gang are in the dark about their up and coming role as the Sorceress-slayers. One just needs to recall the Seifer - Squall interrogation scene where he tries to get Squall to spill secrets which he doesn't know.
The visit to Trabia is indeed a somber set of visuals which I've always found pretty fitting. Not too heavy, but heavy enough to instill a sense of loss. I've always passed the whole lost orphanage memories thing under the quite literal "whatever" -file, where I just accept it as is even if I don't think it to be a very good explanation to everything. Mostly due to there having to be some differences as to how much and how early all of the kids started using the GFs. I guess the war orphan trauma part would make it work better.
ScherzoPrime
Member
Meant to add 'unconsciously', but yeah.
I think my biggest issue with the reveal is I don't know what it really 'adds' to the characters. Wouldn't it be less messy for only Squall to have known and then forgotten Ellone?
ScherzoPrime
Member
At the Battle of he Gardens; the build up to it was pretty great with all the squads of SeeDs forming up. Just imagining Klaxon's wailing and SeeDs grabbing rifles from gunracks.
Man this is really cinematic; how they keep cutting between cutscenes and gameplay. I don't think FFVII or IX were as ambitious as this; X might have been but I don't think it was as impressive as this was given its time.
Man this is really cinematic; how they keep cutting between cutscenes and gameplay. I don't think FFVII or IX were as ambitious as this; X might have been but I don't think it was as impressive as this was given its time.
ScherzoPrime
Member
Hahahahha man, FFVIII's gone full Uncharted here.
I have to say this game's been smarter about incorporating its minigames than FFVII, which tended to throw them in for the hell of it most of the time. Here they seem to happen more to setup cinematic set pieces.
I have to say this game's been smarter about incorporating its minigames than FFVII, which tended to throw them in for the hell of it most of the time. Here they seem to happen more to setup cinematic set pieces.
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