So I enjoyed FF8 immensely back when it only came out, and that was before I ever played FF7. Since then, I came back to FF7 and finished it again a couple of times. But with FF8 I could never have bothered again. And the only reason was that GFs made the battles in the game way way too repetitive... Maybe if you didn't have to sit there and watch the same sequence for every single GF it would have made it bearable... but to the best of my knowledge it is not possible.

Anyone else feels the same?

You don't have to use the GFs in battle obviously,

It is all too easy to get through the game without summoning a single GF so GFs didn't ruin FF8, you aren't forced to use them, heck I was able to beat Ifrit, the first boss you're told to use a GF on, without using Shiva/Quetzalcoatl because I had decent junctions

Although the summoning sequences can't be skipped in the game, it is up to you whether or not they are used in battle. The game is made so you dont NEED to summon in order to defeat a boss or deal a significant amount of damage in one go. Their main purpose in the game is to acquire abilities and to junction. Unlike other Final Fantasy games, the summons play a role in the storyline and in the growth of your characters.

I have played this game for four times and I have NEVER use the GF in battle.

the only gf i advise summoning would be eden and odin but you cant help that besides that i just played the game without them

don't judge a game by it's optional stuff

Eden is the only GF which can do damage past 9999 limit, and ya can't control when Odin comes out. Never mind Gilgamesh, he always misses.

Yeah, GFs are pretty useless in FFVIII. If you've junctioned well, Magic and physical attacks are much more effective.

But as Hell Fire said, using Boost during battles makes the GF scenes alot more interesting

It is safe to say that the GF were there not for their attacking capabilities, but more like support characters for the main characters (Squall and company).

Their skills are very useful, but they themselves are not very useful as attackers.

In other FF games, GF were used primary as attacking tools - which is the main difference between GF in FF8 and other summons in FF games.

Unfortunately, SQUARE changed that back in FF9 where the GFs are back as attacking units (and MISS more than ever). Unfortunately, the trend is repeated again in FFX and FF12 in the same manner.

I don't know about ya guys, but I rather prefer FF8's GF which used as support characters rather than attacking characters. How about ya guys?

I strongly agree with gobi. The GF system in FF8 was probably the best idea for summons since you never really need to use them. The summoning is a voluntary part of the game, so you can pick and chose if and when you use them.

As long as you raised Yuna's strength stat, the Aeons in FF 10 were extremely useful and pretty much made every battle a breeze. The Magus Sisters could decimate the Arena foes with ease. I don't bother using the Espers in FF 12 because I'm a bit over-leveled and I forget about the Summons whenever I play FF 9. I do like the variety of GF's in FF 8 and their likeliness to pets with the Compatibility Rating. Shiva, Diablos, Quezacolt, Levaithan, and Siren were the group I relied on sometimes. The later GFs were a no go for me, I used them for Junctions and that's it. Overall, I prefer FF 10's level of control regarding the commands.

What are you guys talking about? Doomtrain is teh shit.

I've never cared for FF 8's side-quests all that much, so I don't ever remember using Doomtrain in my play-throughs.

Carbuncle's the single summon I actively avoided using. The little green-furball always seemed to work against me more often than not. The next time I start up a new game, I'll have to find a new strategy for my GF usage.

Next time I'll play it, I'll make a GF Attack-only playthrough.