Board 8 > Goshox has started his FFVIII playthrough for the 128 best games competition

(+) Yeah! (+)

As many know, after the 128 best games ever competition Shox, Sonic, and myself started a challenge to complete all 128 games from the contest. Progress is sometimes (very) slow, but we are gradually making our way through all 128 games. You can see our progress (and our noncontroversial ratings) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_SKvnMZTbqzkwbA1fEUfJ3ITIVLm3sZY_Gb62Tizamk/edit#gid=0

Shox has now started FFVIII, a game he knows literally nothing about. He does not know any of the gameplay or storyline mechanics at all. This is a unique opportunity for FFVIII fans to see a fresh playthrough. He is streaming the entire game (he just started about an hour ago) here: https://www.twitch.tv/goshoxtv . I know some people may be especially interested in this. (@LeonhartFour, I'm looking at you)

He has agreed to post his thoughts and theories on the story in this topic as he plays if people agree ahead of time to not tell him if he is right/wrong about anything. Please also don't post gameplay hints, as he doesn't want those either (so please no "hey you should go back to xyz to get a strong weapon you missed"), as this is supposed to be a "blind" playthrough.

Enjoy!
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hype
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is he reading this topic as far as 'gameplay hints' go, or can we spoil stuff in here safely
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He would prefer that you didn't until he beats the game, but I suppose it's fine if you put it in spoiler tags.
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yeah thats fine, I'll respect his wishes and just not.
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FFVIII so good.

Is he doing optional stuff or just the main stuff?
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He will do whatever he finds!

Also if you want to discuss gameplay stuff you can do it in his twitch chat since he won't be reading that.
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oh, i just assumed he would read twitch chat. thats why i asked if i could comment in here!
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Yeah he doesn't read his twitch chat for blind playthroughs (too many bad experiences with people spoiling things in the past)
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just got done with my first session, about 3 hours in. I just got back from the SeeD mission and escaped wedge's robot boss

for the record, I've been "spoiled" on two things. the first one I know is true: that there is a floating city at some point, the second one I have no idea if it's true or not: that Squall dies. since i have no idea if the latter one actually happens it doesn't really affect my predictions as to what's gonna happen

i'm enjoying it so far, i keep going back and forth as to whether seifer is gonna be an ally or enemy. he's so condescending sometimes and i was assuming that the disciplinary committee would be some kind of villain, but now i'm thinking they're just kinda there for humor. i also don't get squall's background or why he seems so... weird. but i know it will all get explained in time. i also am assuming that the evil sorceress they talk so much about will be a/the final boss

also i have this feeling that zell is gonna die

i also feel like selphie is a weird character, she's a messenger who just got transferred here who is suddenly in my party and communicating with leaders? idk i'm probably looking to much into it

oh and i may or may not have lost my ifrit card when trying to figure out how the game worked

Depends if you believe the fan theory he dies from the ice shards and everything after is the after life or not.
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You can win back lost cards by challenging the person you lost it to, although they may not play it right away. You may have to play them a couple times before it shows back up.

It's a pretty good idea to save before you try to play cards until you get used to it because you can just reset in the worst case scenario.
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Leonhart4 posted...

You can win back lost cards by challenging the person you lost it to, although they may not play it right away. You may have to play them a couple times before it shows back up.

It's a pretty good idea to save before you try to play cards until you get used to it because you can just reset in the worst case scenario.

He literally asked you not to do what you just did.

LordOfDabu posted...

As many know, after the 128 best games ever competition Shox, Sonic, and myself started a challenge to complete all 128 games from the contest. Progress is sometimes (very) slow, but we are gradually making our way through all 128 games. You can see our progress (and our noncontroversial ratings) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_SKvnMZTbqzkwbA1fEUfJ3ITIVLm3sZY_Gb62Tizamk/edit#gid=0

Shox has now started FFVIII, a game he knows literally nothing about. He does not know any of the gameplay or storyline mechanics at all. This is a unique opportunity for FFVIII fans to see a fresh playthrough. He is streaming the entire game (he just started about an hour ago) here: https://www.twitch.tv/goshoxtv . I know some people may be especially interested in this. (@LeonhartFour, I'm looking at you)

He has agreed to post his thoughts and theories on the story in this topic as he plays if people agree ahead of time to not tell him if he is right/wrong about anything. Please also don't post gameplay hints, as he doesn't want those either (so please no "hey you should go back to xyz to get a strong weapon you missed"), as this is supposed to be a "blind" playthrough.

Enjoy!

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I don't think that really violates anything because it's not really a gameplay hint but thanks for quoting the entire opening post for no reason
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Leonhart4 posted...

I don't think that really violates anything because it's not really a gameplay hint but thanks for quoting the entire opening post for no reason

Figured you should try reading it since you clearly didn't!
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Or I took it to mean he didn't want specific direction on how to play the game or sidequests he should do or missables, and he wasn't talking about something as innocuous as saying lost cards aren't lost forever.
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Blind, Leon, blind! Anyways it's all good.
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Leonhart4 posted...

Or I took it to mean he didn't want specific direction on how to play the game or sidequests he should do or missables, and he wasn't talking about something as innocuous as saying lost cards aren't lost forever.

I think what you posted is a game mechanic hint and should therefore be ok to post.
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I mean if even that is too much for him I'll lay off but I only said it because I thought it wouldn't be a big deal
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Maybe he doesn't care. I just figured by blind he meant nothing at all. Like, if he spends 30 minutes trying to figure something out then it is part of knowing nothing about the game already.
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tag
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squall dies

but so does everyone else, just use phoenix downs
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ScareChan posted...

squall dies

but so does everyone else, just use phoenix downs

Spoilers
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I have been wanting to play this again too. I think the farther I have gotten is disc 2?
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Stream has resumed
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I just started the last one. Should I just jump to current?
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i haven't read anything since my last post just to avoid spoilers, but I did find out on my own that you can go to the "card" tab and find the current location of a card that you've lost, which apparently is what people were discussing per lordofdabu. so thankfully I can get ifrit back. unfortunately i'm down to 4 cards for now, but i won't be kept down for long. i still don't know what my purpose is in this game, but if it's to save the world or something major, showing my true skill in a card game and dominating every npc on the planet comes first

i just ended my second session on the train to timber, something is incredibly shady with the garden people. it seems like cid is actually being controlled by others against his own will and the mission to support a resistance in timber for "very little money" is really sketchy. he tells squall that they will talk in private at some point.... i can't imagine that's for no reason

also (spoilers for FF4, 5, 6, 7, and tactics): basing this off the FF games I've played, cid is never actually someone bad, except for a little in 6 but he turns out to be good in the end. so i can't imagine them making him evil in this game

i still don't really get what's up with squall, and his "date" with quistis obviously is important in just informing you of how squall apparently doesn't care about other people. my guess is that someone (i still think it's zell) dies in a sad way during the game and it's what turns squall around and makes him start caring about people

also i meant to post this earlier but i'm a little disappointed they ended the trend of having the first boss be a counter-attacking boss like it is in 4, 5, 6, and 7, and maybe the other ones that i haven't played yet. maybe the bad english translation in 7 where they tell you to attack him when you're not supposed to scarred them so much that they decided to never have a first boss like that again

did someone say

l i t t l e m o n e y
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Look at this lore prediction expert: https://clips.twitch.tv/SquareSuperBatEagleEye
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good call

gone talkin' to a wall
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still talking to a wall
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Just watched him lose his Diablos card 10 seconds after getting it.

(He refuses to save scum out of principle so he's not reloading after these losses)
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accidentally rubbed the lamp and fought diabolos, had accepted my fate and my game over until i accidentally discovered that using demi on him makes him use curaga on you and beat him

then i lost his card

the dream scene was interesting, especially given that laguna is like a polar opposite of squall. talkative, emotional, etc. but i don't think it was actually a dream, i don't have anything to add on to that but having it only be a dream seems too basic

Shoxfan11 posted...

accidentally rubbed the lamp and fought diabolos, had accepted my fate and my game over until i accidentally discovered that using demi on him makes him use curaga on you and beat him

yeah this is a great discovery the first time you stumble upon it

Diablos rewards you for beating him at his own game
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Stream is live
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started this session with 6 cards, ended up with 4

anyways seifer obviously wasn't executed but was instead brainwashed, since multiple npc's have hinted at this.

my theory: there's two parallel worlds, one of which is the world we're in and the other is the "dream world" as the characters call it where you control laguna and the rest. the sorceress has some sort of control over these two worlds, and sent seifer to the other one

also i'm still not reading posts to avoid spoilers but i did tell dabu that if he felt i should comment on something, then he could tell me and i'll post about it

i'm trying to keep this topic alive until i beat this game cause i do want to read through it afterwards, plus i know i'll have questions about the plot and stuff. who knows how long it will take though..

we'll be here

Board 8 is patient
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just got to the start of disc 2 and saved for the night. i'm really really really enjoying this game, as you can see by the fact that i'm letting it kill my sleep schedule :)

i don't think squall is actually dead.. for him to die like that would be pretty pathetic i think but we will see

Squall dies and reincarnates as Leon, as seen in the canonical works of Kingdom Hearts
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excellent
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i liked the start of disc 2 but man, that prison dungeon was really freaking boring and easily my least favorite part of the game so far

since the dog thing recognized squall as laguna, i guess i was wrong that they're in parallel universes. they must be in the same world

and i have a bad feeling someone is gonna die going to the missile base where the sorceress is, and i'm thinking it's gonna be selphie

Yeah, D-District Prison is widely regarded as one of the worst parts of the game, so you're not alone there.
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also i'm gonna call this now:

(final fantasy 4 spoilers): i'm gonna get seifer back near the end of the game similar to how you get kain near the end of ff4. the stories are really similar, both have been brainwashed (i guess this hasn't been confirmed for seifer yet but i'm feeling pretty confident), so i imagine seifer will rejoin my party near the end to take down the final boss who is probably the sorceress

i'm taking the night off from ff8 but just bumping this so this topic doesn't get archived so i can read it all when i eventually beat the game

so i was thinking about the plot earlier today, and started thinking that the "dream world" is actually flashbacks, maybe to some kind of past life. the fact that julia married the general (cant think of his name right now, carover?) was discussed in one of the scenes in the dream world, and obviously they had rinoa as a kid so it made sense that this scene occurred years ago. and this was confirmed today since ellone is actually on the sailing balamb garden and is apparently the one pulling squall into this dream world. so my theory of parallel universes was off but oh well

and cid is also married to the sorceress... but my understanding is that the sorceress like destroyed civilizations in past times? so maybe she just like keeps coming back to life?

and i have no idea what that fight with the real master of the garden was, i didn't even want to fight him but the game made me :(

i played for 4 hours today and am probably more confused now than i was before

Shoxfan11 posted...

(cant think of his name right now, carover?)

Caraway
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i'm not enjoying disk 2 as much as i did disk 1, i'm hoping i'm just in one of the more boring stretches of the game. i just finished rescuing balamb and am about to go to the mountains

also it was pretty obvious that selphie + the two others i sent to the missile silo weren't dead since i could still interact with them on the menu... if the game actually wanted me to believe they were dead it could've at least removed them from that lol

I think Disc 2 gets really good toward the end, but I suppose it can be kind of hit or miss.
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onto disk 3!

when rinoa randomly showed up at the start of the sorceress fight, i knew something bad was gonna happen

i'm guessing it's something like the sorceress kinda just possesses bodies. since we beat her in her current body, edea, edea went back to how she used to be. but rinoa is out cold so i don't know if that means she's next?

also let's just say i was not a fan of the part where the garden is attacked and you get in a 1v1 with a soldier that turns into a fighting game where you have absolutely no idea what to do