Games that feel like FF8?

[TheImplodingVoice]

I wouldn't call this generic.

There is a lot of effort gone into getting the style and colour balance just right. It's an impressive amount of detail for the era (this is a HD fan remake)

Always relaxing to chill at Balamb Garden.

 

[Damned Registrations]

There is a lot of effort gone into getting the style and colour balance just right. It's an impressive amount of detail for the era (this is a HD fan remake)

I mean, you can say the same of most other games of a similar nature. None of them are generic, at least none of the good ones.

...

I was going to dig up more examples but it's a pain trying to find screenshots when everything is getting remakes these days. The point is they've got a lot of original artstyle in them, especially when it comes to architecture.

Anyways, FF8 isn't generic in the way say, Dragon Quest is. It doesn't just throw tropes everywhere for familiarity and nostalgia's sake. But it also doesn't have a specific theme to it. It's all over the place. It's not like say, BoF5 with it's very heavy focus on class warfare with the dirty undercity and polished, opulent elites above. If someone asked for something similar to that, I'd at least have an idea of what they wanted, though I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head. Other examples of focused themes would be the bright colours and cartoonish themes of Mario RPG and Dragon Quest, or the gritty muted and dark style of Vagrant Story.

FF8 is more like SaGa Frontier, which has a ton of wildly original aesthetics, but is also a very random mashup of everything from vampire castles to space ships to peppy malls and a gigantic glitzy casino. It's not a thing you can be similar to because it's not a single thing.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

But it also doesn't have a specific theme to it. It's all over the place.

I respectfully disagree. There's a lot of different locations but they often share a colour pallet of gold and deep blues. Excuse the reddit link but if you look at these upscaled back drops you can see the colour thing I mean. Even the party members except Squall (who dons it for his school uniform) keep this same gold and blue focus.

If you google Grand hotels and look at all the different shapes and sizes they come in, they all still look grand. That's what FF8 pulls off and it does it pretty consistently across all of it's different locations. There's visual language linking them despite them using different shapes and expressing things differently. The run down train tracks should look old and worn, but the shelter there looks like it was made in the same grand style. It's using the same visual language despite being something decaying.

 

[mediocrepoet]

But it also doesn't have a specific theme to it. It's all over the place.

I respectfully disagree. There's a lot of different locations but they often share a colour pallet of gold and deep blues. Excuse the reddit link but if you look at these upscaled back drops you can see the colour thing I mean. Even the party members except Squall (who dons it for his school uniform) keep this same gold and blue focus.

If you google Grand hotels and look at all the different shapes and sizes they come in, they all still look grand. That's what FF8 pulls off and it does it pretty consistently across all of it's different locations. There's visual language linking them despite them using different shapes and expressing things differently. The run down train tracks should look old and worn, but the shelter there looks like it was made in the same grand style. It's using the same visual language despite being something decaying.

So the theme of FF8 that things should be similar to is sci-fantasy... with a specific colour scheme throughout, even better if it's gold and blue. Gold and blue being FF8's theme.

If you're serious, I think we look at games far differently.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

If you're serious, I think we look at games far differently.

I'm autistic about colour theory. We likely do look at things differently and I don't expect most people to see things the way I do. I think FF8 has a very clear design philosophy that applies throughout it's environments.

 

[mediocrepoet]

If you're serious, I think we look at games far differently.

I'm autistic about colour theory. We likely do look at things differently and I don't expect most people to see things the way I do. I think FF8 has a very clear design philosophy that applies throughout it's environments.

Well, I wish you luck, I can't really help at all there. I'm basically completely unartistic, but Squenix tends to have good artistic presentation, as do most AAA companies. Blizzard does/did but I'm not sure they have anything that fits the genre you're looking for.

 

[Pound Meat]

Unfortunately nothing. There is nothing out there that can compare to Final Fantasy VIII

This is a true statement. FF8 is RPG perfection. Only Fallout 3 for the PS3 comes close, but even then there's a huge margin between them.

 

[Athena]

Final Fantasy VIII is a great looking, expensively made kusoge. It's always great to reminisce until you replay it and remember why you hated it.

 

[Damned Registrations]

The run down train tracks should look old and worn, but the shelter there looks like it was made in the same grand style.

I think you may have a warped view of what a grand train station should look like, but I can see what you mean with the rest of it. It's got that 'longing for older times vibe' I suppose. I never really noticed it before and don't think it really applies in some shots, like that first one with what amount to mud huts or the train shelter, but I'll concede it's got a 'faded glory' kind of vibe overall, with a few holdouts like the gardens still being pristine. I can't say anything else really matches that.

I also don't feel like it really makes sense? How does a whole world decline slowly at the same time? It's normally the kind of thing you see in a region after a war or disaster breaks it's ability to sustain itself. FF8's setting never really made sense to me. It felt very half baked. The GF amnesia thing was nonsense, there's like 2 nations in the whole world, but somehow a massive demand for mercenary...amnesiac child soldiers? And the villain's goal is to 'compress time' but it's never explained what that would do or why a person would want to do it. Bah.

Anyways if it's a cohesive visual theme you're after, I'd suggest avoiding big budget titles in general. Too many cooks spoil the pot and all that.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

The shelter isn't a grand thing but it's still made with style in a similar fashion to the big stuff. Like an ear ring can be made to look rich and grand even though it's tiny.

 

[Lord_Potato]

While not a jrpg, I can say that The Technomancer is a fantastic game. Nailed the setting and I liked the story. Pity Spiders aren't allowed to make a sequel

Why do you say Spiders aren't allowed to make a sequel?

I haven't played The Technomancer yet, but I enjoyed Mars: War Logs.

Technomancer is much better than Mars: War Logs. It really shows Spiders' progress as a developer.

I am also curious about the sequel thing.

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

While not a jrpg, I can say that The Technomancer is a fantastic game. Nailed the setting and I liked the story. Pity Spiders aren't allowed to make a sequel

Why do you say Spiders aren't allowed to make a sequel?

I haven't played The Technomancer yet, but I enjoyed Mars: War Logs.

Technomancer is much better than Mars: War Logs. It really shows Spiders' progress as a developer.

I am also curious about the sequel thing.

Spiders can't make a sequel to The Technomancer, because they do not own the rights to it. Deep Silver owns the rights. That is the only way they could secure the funding to actually make the game.

 

[janior]

any shit game feels like final faggotry

 

[Lord_Potato]

Technomancer is much better than Mars: War Logs. It really shows Spiders' progress as a developer.

I am also curious about the sequel thing.

Spiders can't make a sequel to The Technomancer, because they do not own the rights to it. Deep Silver owns the rights. That is the only way they could secure the funding to actually make the game.

Okay, but can't they like, cooperate once more? Spiders aren't a big company, they always need a publisher anyway.

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

Technomancer is much better than Mars: War Logs. It really shows Spiders' progress as a developer.

I am also curious about the sequel thing.

Spiders can't make a sequel to The Technomancer, because they do not own the rights to it. Deep Silver owns the rights. That is the only way they could secure the funding to actually make the game.

Okay, but can't they like, cooperate once more? Spiders aren't a big company, they always need a publisher anyway.

They were bought by NACON. Unless NACON manages to negotiate some form of rights to use The Technomancer IP. But I guess that will never happened.

 

[JDR13]

They were bought by NACON. Unless NACON manages to negotiate some form of rights to use The Technomancer IP. But I guess that will never happened.

Too bad they couldn't have stayed with Deep Silver. I've heard nothing but bad things about Nacon.