ok... i''ll enlist some stuff that makes FF8 great IMHO:

-I really like the relation between squall and seifer. Compared to the other protagonist/antagonist relations in FF7, FF9, FFX (FF9 actually tried to copy this... but Kuja cant stand the comparison with Sephiroth; FFX - Seymor actually had some aspects of Seph as well but IMHO he was a good antagonist as well since he had some character aspects Seph didnt have) Seifer was net über-guy from the beginning on but developed himself simultaneuosly with squall - both are even. Seifer unlike Seph&Co is actually human including flaws, etc...

-The ending is the saddest final fantasy ending ever. seeing squall dying in the time bubble, the vision he has after that, rinoa left behind beeing mentaly wrecked (seeing squall in the end)

-The laguna sidestory is good as well. The short note the player takes from the singing girl in the club/bar he fell in love with (-> eyes on me) and later on the information that rinoa is her daghter; the love-story between laguna and raine(? ... the girl who dies --- the mother of both squall and his sister; did you notice that laguna is squalls father?) is actually good as well as it makes lagunas character more clear --- once again the ending movie is great showing him at the girls grave, kiros and the other guy at the hill

-forthermore i like the backgroundstory with edea/cid, the way the witch-power takes (given from rinoa/ultimecia to edea), the many emotional problems and conflicts the actors have: quistis beeing in love with squall in the beginning but not beeing actually noticed, selphie wanting to be a part of the new garden but not beeing that succesfull, ...


... im still waiting for real comments BTW


concerning squall = copied cloud:

i dont think its easy as that but i have to say that they are really similiarities between them: both characters are in the beginning not interested in others, unfiendly to others and both develop during the game --- the reason for this is, that this may be a good theme for teenagers since they are sometimes mentally in a similiar situation. manga/anime characters most of the times have teenager problems (having to be accepted in a certain society, reaching this with success; etc), FF is nothing different.

but there''s still a large difference in the finer scales of squalls and clouds characters:

squalls reason for beeing isolative is the event in his childhood where his sister left the orpham-house (bad english :/) and he was left on himself. from this point on he become cold and tried to handle everything on himslelf and did not accept help by others. he tries to prove his independence to himself but during the game he realises that he needs the help of his friends.

clouds reason is that he was an outsider in his childhood in nibel and he allways was ''behind'' the others reputation/skill-wise - he''s a soldier whereas zack is a member of shinras special squad; he takes his place after the happenings at mount nibel in which seph falls into the mako stream and zack dies. during the game seph is allways superior to him and he can only overcome him in the final fight. the fact that he''s allways worse then some1 else makes him develop a certain coldness which expresses in his statement about his intention/motivation to help avalanche in the beginning since he wants to seem better as he feels of himself. during the story he becomes accepted by his friends and thus is more open to them.

Wow! How did this turned into a ff7 vs ff8 slugfest?

Anyways, Spartan III, I think you should be a little more specific with the genre you want. I mean, it''s not fair to compare an rpg game to a puzzle game (silly ).

Zombie Nation!! (aka The severed Japanese head that saved America)

Zombie Nation is the worse game story ever, and for a game that is b-side good, or at least, playable, it makes it even worse.

Zombie Nation

1999, What appeared to be a harmless meteorite crashing in the Neveda desert has turned out to be Darc Seed, an evil alien creature with horrible Powers. By shooting strange magnetic rays, Darc Seed had turned the helpless nation into zombies and had brought the Statue of Liberty to life to do his dirty work. These rays had also given him control over many deadly weapons, but none were more Powerful than the legendary samurai sword, Shura. When the great head of the samurai, Namakubi, heard that the sword had fallen into evil hands, he set off immediately for the United States. For only he Possessed the strength and knowledge needed to recapture the magical sword and free the U.S. from the evil clutches of Darc Seed.

--

So yes, there is a stage where you attack the statue of liberty Also, even tho your mission is to save the people of america, you destroy skyscrapers(samuri don't understand skyscrapers) and eat people for energy.

This game is for the NES only, which may explain a lot.

Oh I forgot to mention, you pay the "great head of a samurai", so you are a floating head...that shoots rays out of his eyes, and spits bombs from his mouth...

[edited by - dede on May 24, 2003 1:22:14 PM]

Hohoho LOL. Zombie Nation. Sounds like a shooter. :D At least, it's kinda creative <<>me steals storyline<>>

There's a action/rpg that I really hate. The name escapes me but I know it's the prequel to Terranigma (which imho, is a great game, gameplay-wise and story-wise)

At the beginning of the game, you are told (by your friends) that you are a psychic, yadi yadi yah. You go into your secret clubhouse and one of your friends shows three face-down tarot card. The funny thing is, no matter which card you choose, it will always be the ace card. And your friends start saying that you are psychic to get the ace card. And when you got out of the clubhouse, you find out that somethings wrong and the world changes, etc. Anyway, in the game, you can enter the body of a warrior, your friends help you (in a strange way). You are the savior, blah blah blah. In the end, you are reincarnated and so are your friends but you're the only one who remembers. Head hurts.

[edited by - s_cloudx on May 24, 2003 9:58:04 PM]

[edited by - s_cloudx on May 24, 2003 10:02:40 PM]

quote: Original post by Thor82
i think that FF8 is only a bad copy (a REAL BAD one) of FF7, THAT was a story!and easy to play...
in ff9 they put a million of sort of things all toghether...only a great mess..(it''s a MY opinion)

There aren''t problems that can''t be solved with a gun...

The entire FF series repeats itself. FF4 is like FF9. FF7 is like FF9. FF3 is like FF8.
But despite this the plot is generally enjoyable and a good game.

I''d say the worst plot would be any of those N64 games with Mario & friends

Save the princess - Mario 64
Defeat the evil pig in a race - Diddy Kong Racing
Beat up your friends to find out who is the strongest - Super Smash Bros
Save the princess - Nearly every game starring Mario

quote: Original post by BB-Pest
ok... i''ll enlist some stuff that makes FF8 great IMHO:

-I really like the relation between squall and seifer. Compared to the other protagonist/antagonist relations in FF7, FF9, FFX (FF9 actually tried to copy this... but Kuja cant stand the comparison with Sephiroth; FFX - Seymor actually had some aspects of Seph as well but IMHO he was a good antagonist as well since he had some character aspects Seph didnt have) Seifer was net über-guy from the beginning on but developed himself simultaneuosly with squall - both are even. Seifer unlike Seph&Co is actually human including flaws, etc...

-The ending is the saddest final fantasy ending ever. seeing squall dying in the time bubble, the vision he has after that, rinoa left behind beeing mentaly wrecked (seeing squall in the end)

-The laguna sidestory is good as well. The short note the player takes from the singing girl in the club/bar he fell in love with (-> eyes on me) and later on the information that rinoa is her daghter; the love-story between laguna and raine(? ... the girl who dies --- the mother of both squall and his sister; did you notice that laguna is squalls father?) is actually good as well as it makes lagunas character more clear --- once again the ending movie is great showing him at the girls grave, kiros and the other guy at the hill

-forthermore i like the backgroundstory with edea/cid, the way the witch-power takes (given from rinoa/ultimecia to edea), the many emotional problems and conflicts the actors have: quistis beeing in love with squall in the beginning but not beeing actually noticed, selphie wanting to be a part of the new garden but not beeing that succesfull, ...


... im still waiting for real comments BTW


concerning squall = copied cloud:

i dont think its easy as that but i have to say that they are really similiarities between them: both characters are in the beginning not interested in others, unfiendly to others and both develop during the game --- the reason for this is, that this may be a good theme for teenagers since they are sometimes mentally in a similiar situation. manga/anime characters most of the times have teenager problems (having to be accepted in a certain society, reaching this with success; etc), FF is nothing different.

but there''s still a large difference in the finer scales of squalls and clouds characters:

squalls reason for beeing isolative is the event in his childhood where his sister left the orpham-house (bad english :/) and he was left on himself. from this point on he become cold and tried to handle everything on himslelf and did not accept help by others. he tries to prove his independence to himself but during the game he realises that he needs the help of his friends.

What relation? At the beginning there was something but then Seifer became the standard mad, bad guy.

The ending wasn''t effective because I didn''t care about the undeveloped characters.

The Laguna story was totally lame, the psychic girl explained she needed people she knew to explore her past. The writers made that excuse to go back in time, it''s the kind of thing I would do in my stories when I was 10 years old.

Edea? One of the biggest disappointment of the game. They brought her in as this evil interesting woman and then she was completely pushed aside to make place for another big bad vilain who appears just at the end(and of course, she tells us that we`re rats).

Hum, Quistis and Selphie? Background fodder.

Don`t bring in teen education to cover lack of inspiration. Squall was not an original character. His reasons for being fucked, as you described, have been seen over and over. "I''m an orphin". Heh.

You read too much into the plot, let the plot reads itself to you instead.