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Final Fantasy VIII seems to be the series game that gets the most hate, and it's understandable why. It's not so much that the game fails in any areas more than other FF games, but that so many aspects of the game are completely different. When I initially played the game nearly ten years ago (it was released on 9/7/1999), I didn't like it. I played it, but I didn't enjoy it. So since it's the game's tenth anniversary in North America, I decided to give it another shot.
I'm about fifteen hours in on the second disc, and what I've come to realize about the game is that I didn't like it initially because I didn't take the time to understand it. I'm pretty sure I must have just glossed over the annoying tutorials that were begging to explain the depth of Final Fantasy VIII to me, and just treated it like any other FF. That was my biggest mistake. That's not to say the game doesn't have its faults, but if you take the time to actually understand FFVIII you can at least hate it for the right reasons. You might even start to like it.
If you go in expecting a typical Final Fantasy game, you're going to be disappointed. If you were like a lot of fans back in the day and went in expecting something along the lines of Final Fantasy VII, you'd also be left wanting. All Final Fantasy games are different and VIII was a bigger departure than most gamers expected. While simple in practice, it could take some time to fully understand the junction system and realize all of the micromanagement that is required to take full advantage of it. You can't just blindly walk through the game and be effective. Also, for once, grinding is not your friend. Leveling up is not your best option, as enemies level up with you and quickly gain an advantage. Another major change is the way the summons are used for character development, not just slaughtering enemies. In fact, those that relied heavily on summons in prior Final Fantasy games would be advised to rethink wasting their time with those long, drawn-out animations and just stick with physical attacks.
If you were one of the people that took the time to dig into the gameplay, the game still gave you lots of chances to dislike it. While I hear cynical people make arguments all the time about Final Fantasy games not having coherent stories, Final Fantasy VIII really takes the cake when reaching out into the realm of unbelievability. Without going into detail here, I'll just say that amnesia and coincidence play too heavy a part in the overall story. Those issues aside, the game's story had a lot of potential that just seemed to be handled in awkward ways.
There are other reasons that people hate on Final Fantasy VIII, one of which is the soundtrack. While it's not one of my favorites, the game still has some very good music within. Others complain about the art style and character design, even though at the time they were some of the most realistic looking characters. Some gamers just want to hate on Squall for being a whiny, emo jerk. Honestly, all of these areas of complaint are subjective, so to each their own.
In the end, hating on Final Fantasy VIII is fine. I have no problem with anyone that doesn't like the game... as long as they have a good reason why. Hating on the game because you hear that it's bad doesn't cut it. Disliking the game because you didn't understand how it works just makes you look ignorant, but is ultimately fine. Not liking Final Fantasy VIII because it was not what you expected is fitting as well, but you just need to understand that all Final Fantasy titles are not created equal. If you're like me and couldn't really recall why you didn't like the game, I encourage you to try it again with an open mind and ignore the story. You might just like it, or at least you might have a better reason to hate it than "the internet told me I should."
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