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[enigmatic_alex44]

Pretend that VIII was released 1st, and VII followed it (obviously the numbers in their titles would be reversed). Take both games' art directions, characters, stories and soundtracks into consideration. Would Final Fantasy VIII (named VII in this scenario) be considered the modern classic that VII (VIII in this scenario) is?

- FFVIII has a more cohesive art direction. VII was a weird mix of realistic and goofy that kind of worked, but it's hard to look at today. I do feel the VII Remake will lose a lot of that charm though. VIII is still gorgeous, with some of the most memorable towns and locations in the series (VII mostly has Midgar).
- FFVIII has the incredible romance of Squall and Rinoa. VII's poorly plotted pairing of Cloud and Tifa (many would argue Aeris is his true love anyway) doesn't compare.
- The soundtracks are pretty much tied, both are GOAT tier.
- Characters I'd call a tie. VIII has Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis vs. VII having Barrett, Tifa, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent and Cait Sith all being memorable. So VII has the better supporting cast, but VIII has Squall who is leagues better and a deeper character than Cloud plus he has the series' most iconic weapon: the Gunblade.
- Battle system wise, VII is very basic and VIII is very divisive. I'd give VIII the edge as you can avoid battles altogether for the majority of the game.
- Ultimecia > Sephiroth imo. Time Compression > merging with the planet. Plus she looks cooler.

Do you think if FFVIII released ahead of VII, it would have the love and adoration that VII enjoys? Would we have received a CG movie based on VIII and be looking forward to an VIII remake right now?

I'd say so.

 

[MissCauthon]

No, 8 sucked major balls. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Cagey]

FF7 would feel like Square apologizing and getting it right after FF8.

 

[firelogic]

8 is already the best FF, at least the PS1 entries, so yes. It would get the recognition it deserves.

 

[Gojeran]

Whatever.

Spoiler

I'm sorry

 

[Espada]

FF7 would feel like Square apologizing and getting it right after FF8.

Pretty much this.

One of the main reasons why I disliked VIII was the cast. I disliked the cast of characters in VIII, with the exceptions being Laguna's crew. Squall and Rinoa were especially grating for me back then, and even now I still dislike them.

 

[ponpo]

No, VII is better. Also your points are way too biased in favor of VIII winning. Story is boring, characters are generally worse. antagonist is definitely worse, and battle system is worse. VII gets points for card game and occasionally better music.

And

VII was a weird mix of realistic and goofy that kind of worked, but it's hard to look at today. I do feel the VII Remake will lose a lot of that charm though. VIII is still gorgeous

This couldn't be more wrong. The simpler character models and prerendered backgrounds make VII still great looking, whereas VIII suffers from looking hideous and jaggy like a lot of early PS1 games. Backgrounds are still good, though.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

It's hard to answer. Part of what made 7 such a cultural icon was the shift to Sony from Nintendo, and the sheer amount of hype that the game got amongst other things. If VIII was released before VII, it would have to depend on how Squaresoft marketed the game. I do wonder if it would have just been your typical run-of-the-mill RPG since VIII doesn't have nearly the same reputation that FFVII did as far as likability of characters, and story are concerned. And then you have the difference in content (story, gameplay, etc) which is acclaimed in VII vs. being a tad bit polarizing in VIII.

Long story short, I don't think VIII would be as critically acclaimed if it switched spots with FFVII's release date. Let's not forget, this would be coming off of Final Fantasy VI, which was also acclaimed despite not selling greatly in the West.

 

[Khrno]

To me FFVII and FFVIII are the same shit with a single a very important difference which make FFVIII the superior game: FFVIII's first disc ending doesn't ruin the whole game.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I picked up 8 on the PSN store on a whim to play it for the first time.

2 hours in and what the fuck is this junction system shit?! I swear not even pre-cal was this hard to pick up. Don't even know if I'll continue.

 

[DJwest]

No, 8 sucked major balls. But that is just my opinion.

FF7 would feel like Square apologizing and getting it right after FF8.

We're off to a terrible start with this thread. FF VIII was better than VII. And OP, the OST is probably the best in the entire series.

 

[Megatron]

I think so, yes. The graphics would have looked pretty bad after 8.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

VIII is already the best

 

[ZangBa]

It would be revered for its leap in graphics and other objective things like that, but it would not be as well liked overall since FFVII is vastly superior in just about every other way. To call their romance incredible is hilarious, but characters a tie? That's a sin.

 

[Stillmatic]

Played FF8 after FF7 and still, FF8 is my favorite FF game.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

FF7 would feel like Square apologizing and getting it right after FF8.

Can't argue with this.

 

[K.Jack]

Man that FF8 story was trash. I lost the discs when the whole amnesia bullshit surfaced.

For this to be fair FF8 would have to take the FF7 graphic, and vice versa.

FF7 would feel like Square apologizing and getting it right after FF8.

This is a good answer.

 

[tapedeck]

No.

VII is just a better game. VIII is the worst of the PS1 FF's by a mile IMO.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Of course yes. It's not even about the quality of the games (FF7 is average at best, especially after all the great jrpgs released on Super Famicom), it's about being the first "big" jrpg on PS1 with fmvs.

 

[duckroll]

I think this is a really stupid hypothetical because games, especially iterative entries of games, aren't made in a vacuum. If the concept of FFVIII were made before FFVII, it would not result in the FFVIII that came out. FFVIII exists because of the experience the staff had from working on FFVII, along with feedback from fans.

 

[TDLink]

Yes. I firmly believe most people like 7 the most because it was:

• In 3D with for the time impressive graphics
• Had awesome high quality CG Cutscenes
• Was a Playstation exclusive

Assuming 8 was before 7 (and they traded graphical styles obviously)...it would be the most popular.

I think this is a really stupid hypothetical because games, especially iterative entries of games, aren't made in a vacuum. If the concept of FFVIII were made before FFVII, it would not result in the FFVIII that came out. FFVIII exists because of the experience the staff had from working on FFVII, along with feedback from fans.

This is true though

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

VIII is by far the best either way.

 

[Ray Down]

Nah, other the graphics and maybe the ost (tastes and all that jazz) 7 is the better game imo:
-better story & characters
-funner to play
-I would say more fleshed out world

Helps its story doesn't have time shenanigans and a bad story

Doesn't help that we have know idea what FFVIII would have been like if it came out when FF7 was supposed to come and all the changes it would have.

 

[ZangBa]

I think this is a really stupid hypothetical because games, especially iterative entries of games, aren't made in a vacuum. If the concept of FFVIII were made before FFVII, it would not result in the FFVIII that came out. FFVIII exists because of the experience the staff had from working on FFVII, along with feedback from fans.

I could only imagine the localization of VIII, if it came before VII, to be simply magical.

 

[Kieli]

Level-scaling is one of the worst game mechanics ever conceived by game designers.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

7 is the better game imo:

Lies

 

[Jangowuzhere]

No

VIII is pretty damn terrible.

 

[antitrop]

There is no order of release that makes level scaling okay.

 

[Lightning]

FFVIII has too many great ideas that were executed extremely poorly for it to be considered good no matter when it released imo. Just not a good game compared to the FF games that came both before and most after it.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Its a dumb question to ask with all of those qualifiers OP. What happend happend specifically because of how it happend. You can't just switch the two games around and expect things to be looked at in the same light without any variables whatsoever.

*EDIT*

as duckroll said, they would be completely different games if things were switched around, because its specifically because of how they were developed and at what specific time period did they both turn out how they did as games.

 

[DMONKUMA]

I wish it was....it's at least better to go back to than 7.

I'm joking of course.

I never played 8 either way and I'm not too fond of 7 myself. I didn't even finished it.

 

[raven777]

If FFVIII had better characters, better story, much better gameplay, then maybe there would have been a chance.

 

[LKSmash]

We're off to a terrible start with this thread. FF VIII was better than VII. And OP, the OST is probably the best in the entire series.

VIII is already the best

8 is already the best FF, at least the PS1 entries, so yes. It would get the recognition it deserves.

These people get it.

 

[Lothar]

I don't know why you would think time has anything to do with it. 8 was a bad game, no matter what time it was released. It's not like people are still in love with the FMV scenes of VII which were mind blowing at the time and horrendous today. That aged badly. The blockiness of the characters aged badly. Everything else in the game aged well and stands the test of time. Especially the atmosphere which is still amazing.

(Although neither 7 or 8 are as good as 4 or 6)

 

[theepicoftyler]

There are no screws. Where are the screws? How do I upgrade my sword? Why do I have these weapon magazines if I have no screws? Why am I on Disc 3 and there are still no screws?

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

We'd probably be getting a 8 remake instead so I wish it did come out before.

 

[Nerokis]

I picked up 8 on the PSN store on a whim to play it for the first time.

2 hours in and what the fuck is this junction system shit?! I swear not even pre-cal was this hard to pick up. Don't even know if I'll continue.

Lol. Love the pre-cal comparison.

The junction system is unintuitive in some ways, but it lends itself to some fun stuff. Basically, GFs can unlock various junctions (strength, HP, etc.), and spells can be allotted to them with varying results. You get spells by drawing from enemies, finding draw points on the map, and (most efficiently and unlocks a bit later) through cards.

This is the main form of character progression and customization in the game. You can make a character's attacks do fire damage or put people to sleep, can make a certain character have a ton of HP and another one do a lot of magic damage, etc., etc. Once it stops being confusing and you get a handle on it, it's pretty cool.

 

[bounchfx]

it would, but in a very different way. even if 7 came after it would be revered (except for the character models..). 8 was excellent on it's own despite some weird shit, but it was still a fantastic game and it would still have been the first 3d final fantasy and was a fucking HUGE game.

It had fantastic graphics, the junction/GF system was fun, an amazing score. It was a great game, it just came after 7 which is quite possibly the only real thing it did wrong, barring some junction system complaints (which are fair, but it certainly didnt ruin the game), and story stuff.

 

[aitakute]

FF8 is one of the few FF game where I couldn't finish. I didn't like the casts at all. Story is boring, combat is worse than FF7 imo. Tried playing it a few times but keep dropping it. I played 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,13. Other than 13, I'd say that 8 is the worst of them all

 

[Monado Blade]

This is a very interesting question. I think the answer would be yes. Mostly because FF7 was the game that made people go "wow" and if FF8 had come out first, it would have blown people's minds, definitely. If FF8 had come out first, the graphics would have been more inferior but with a consistent style and brilliant design, I think it would have still come out pretty good overall. I imagine we would have been playing as a super deformed Squall instead.

Both FF7 and FF8 had strange, oddball stories so I don't think that would have been much of a factor. Some people would have been turned off by how confusing it is but a lot more people would have found it charming.

A lot of 16-bit Final Fantasy veterans might have been turned off by the drawing system, I know I was when I first played it.

I, however, would not call Squall and Rinoa's romance "incredible". "Forced" would be the word I'd go for.

 

[killatopak]

7 was great and goofy. The translation was amazingly funny and it would suffer(get fixed) if they switched release dates.

 

[MoonFrog]

8 is a bad game, 7 is a good game. But what is lovable is not always that which is loved so who knows.

 

[Synth]

We're off to a terrible start with this thread. FF VIII was better than VII. And OP, the OST is probably the best in the entire series.

There's no "probably" about it. FFVIII ost is easily the best in the series.


With that said, I imagine FFVII would be better received in VIII's place than the current scenario. I do think also though, that VIII would be received almost (or equally) as well as VII is had it come first, so it would have reflected better on the series all around. FFVII sure as hell couldn't have the same graphics that it had though, that shit wouldn't have flew post-VIII. It would need to be more like IX in how despite being uniquely stylized, it isn't a technical fucking disaster.

 

[duckroll]

I could only imagine the localization of VIII, if it came before VII, to be simply magical.

Well, there are only so many ways to localize "....."

 

[m_dorian]

No. Combat is superior in 7 and story is far better.

 

[afternoon delight]

Every single character in 8 could perish in a tragic gasoline fire and the world would be better for it. One of 7's central characters is more fun than half of eight's.

I answer nay. Graphic quibbles even seem nebulous after all this time and the PC ports.

 

[Gemeanie]

This thread seems like your typical FFVII vs FFVIII thread.

For me though, the answer is no because what made me really loved FFVII was the side content (chocobo breeding & minigames in Golden Saucer, hidden locations eg submarine and the maze) and the cast with majority came from different background and have story of their own.

Red XIII story is still one of my favourite sidestories within the entire FF series.

 

[KeyBladerXIII]

Couldn't get past the first couple of hours in VIII. The draw system was tedious garbage and the junction crap was annoying.

VII was simpler, if everything stayed the same but a switch in release dates, VII would still be the winner.

 

[ponpo]

Couldn't get past the first couple of hours in VIII. The draw system was tedious garbage and the junction crap was annoying.

VII was simpler, if everything stayed the same but a switch in release dates, VII would still be the winner.

Draw system is garbage until you find out about card mod ability and never draw again.

7 is still better ThOoOoOoO

 

[Jangowuzhere]

There's no "probably" about it. FFVIII ost is easily the best in the series.

Eyes on Me is a shitty song

Also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlfH3r780So

I feel like I'm listening to circus music.