I have had FF8 for other 3 years, and have not completed it, i got to the 4th disk, but i couldnt get any further.
so i stopped playing the game altogether.
now i want to start it again and actually try to finish it. I HAVN'T FINISHED ANY OF THE FINAL FANTASY GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so does anyone have any tips on anything just to help me get started?!
cheers!

[SIZE=1]How far on the fourth disc were you?[/SIZE]

I think it was the 4th disk. (it has been so long since i have played)
ummm it's where squall and rinoa were in space, then where i got up to they were in this ice cave, this really huge one, and then i met this tough boss who i think (i think, im not sure) was mechanical, or it was either one of the baddies.
Thats all i can recall,
but if anyone has some tips so just tell me, how to best play the game or stuff, i am open to hear them. :lol:

Very good stratagy madhtr but I think the boss he should really be worrying about is adel........Unless you fire off a lionheart going into the battle your going to need one hell of a stratagy........ heres what i got for ya I managed to get HP readings and defects of this hidious creature.........

BOSS: Adel HP: 50,000+ Draw List: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Flare
ALLY: Rinoa HP: Variable Draw List: Esuna, Dispell, Regen
Total AP: 0

You'll have two targets to choose from here, and you MUST NOT let Rinoa
die in this battle. Adel has quite a formidable arsenal of magical
attacks, and occasionally she'll drain Rinoa's HPs. Counter this by
junctioning spells to Rinoa's HP parameter prior to this, and casting
Regen on her at the start of the fight.

You can't use spells such as Ultima, Squall's Renzokuken or any G.Fs
here as they'll also damage Rinoa, so stick to physical attacks on
Adel. A 'Meltdown' spell on her before that should make your task
easier. Heal Rinoa when needed.

Limit breaks which work here include Zell's 'Duel' and Irvine's 'Shot'.
Just make sure you don't accidentally trigger any of their 'hit all
targets' attacks.

Side note: Actually, I had no idea about the Renzokuken damaging Rinoa,
and sorta used it on Adel. Strangely enough, even though the finishing
blow (Blasting Zone) did 9,999 damage to both Adel and Rinoa, I didn't
get a Game Over. I took Adel down with this move though. Apparently, as
long as Adel is defeated, the game doesn't bother to check if Rinoa's
still alive. This method's a bit risky, though.

i'm just a little curious about the lionheart thing coz i used it when i fought adel. Its very useful coz it helps me alot to defeat that stupid sorceress. Renzokuken is very powerful but i used limit breaks for three times and it work. adel is finished

thats because the limit breaks u were using probably didnt hurt every enemy just 1 which was adel ..........Altough its always nice to kick off a lionheart.

[SIZE=1]I did it an easier way, what you do is cast reflect on rinoa so that when adel starts to drain her it will just reflect back, you could also use kamikaze because you don't get experiance for this battle and it takes off a lot of health, well I hope that helps bye. [/SIZE]

strange that you used Reflect on Rinoa and Adel couldn't drain her. in my game the Reflect didn't help at all. i just cast shell, protect, and regen on her and pounded away at Adel.

general tips- don't spend time to level up. enemies level up as your characters do, so they'll be harder to beat if you're at higher levels. the magic you can Draw from enemies changes when their levels go up, usually at level 20 and level 30 the magic will change.
- it's important to teach your GFs their abilities. the Status Defense abilities are extremely helpful.
- be sure not to skip tutorials unless you already know what you're doing.
- HP junction can help a lot. save Curaga or Life spells for junctioning to HP. don't cast junctioned magic unless you have to.
- you can Draw magic from most enemies and use it against them, so you don't have to waste time stocking magic very often.
- fight Fastitocalon-F (the underground fish on the beaches) during the beginning of the game. they're worth a good amount of AP and your GFs will learn their abilities faster.
- Draw from every new enemy you come across, especially bosses. you can find GFs inside some bosses, and they usually have useful magic.
- during fights don't worry about healing as much as you do about curing status ailments. with low HP your characters can use their limit breaks. stock up on Phoenix Downs.
- if one of your characters gets hit with an annoying status effect you can 'cure' it by knocking out the character and reviving them.

I started playing FF8 four times and I kept forgetting where I was . I was determined to finish it so I put -Encounter None- on and wandered around until I worked out where I was up to .....I had been playing so long my levels were high enough to do that ......when I found the Lunatic Pandora I just got right into it . I finished the game the night before last ...it was a relief to get it done , but I am going to miss it . I was a bit disapointed with the final battle as I thought it was easy compared with some of the earlier battles , so don't give up....you too can do it.

first off BREATH! you sound like your gonna blow. E-mail me with any specific questions at Dominc_Lestat@yahoo.com
i know a lot about that game.