why do people prefer FFVII over FFVIII

i my self think VIII is better and dont like VII at all. but thats just me i also think IV is better than both

I think they're both kind of bullshit, looking back, but one had Triple Triad and the other didn't. So the winner is obvious.

The junction system felt overly complex, the need to "draw" spells was stupid for a lack of better words, Squall was inherently unlikable, and something about the art direction always felt off to me.

VII remains my favourite game of all time, most people say that because its their first FF experiance, its not mine.
Imo VIII is alongside XII as the worst FF games

VIII is better than VII in every single way. People see those Lego men in VII and start going blind with nostalgia.

It was to many their first ff, and to many their first jrpg.  it holds a special place because of this. 

Because 8 was the end of Fantasy styled FF games and brought everything into SciFi. FF9 was to shut the fantasy fans up. 
 
Some argue FF7 was the beginning of the SciFi, and it was. But it was also rooted more in classic FF conventions.
 
Now they're dipping into the Fantasy side again, but it doesn't feel the same as it used to.

7 was a big break through, and was so far ahead of itself when it came out on the PS1. I still prefer 8 for plot, combat ect.

The Junction system was absolute shit in my eyes.  It was cool to use magic to permanently influence the stats of my characters, but the process of Drawing said commodity from enemies really became tedious after a while.  It got to the point where I completely ignored Magic as an option in combat in effort to avoid ever having to collect on the various spells again. 
 
I personally prefer IX over all of them, and I hope Square and Sony are quick to release that particular entry in this long running series on the PlayStation Network.  My PSP Go is practically begging for it.

VIII was my first FF. I was (and still am) addicted to the GF's and leveling them. Boost was like a game within a game. I loved trying to do as much damage as I possibly could. 
 
I very much prefer it to VII for some odd reason. IX is really damn good as well. Vivi is a timeless character.

" The junction system felt overly complex, the need to "draw" spells was stupid for a lack of better words, Squall was inherently unlikable, and something about the art direction always felt off to me. "

Well, you've gotta respect VII for what it brought to the table in terms of 3D graphics, and revolutionary cutscenes, and magic/summon animations. Without those things, VIII wouldn't have been as good. Still, VIII did all of those things better than VII did.
 
VII has the better story and characters (better as in "not so convoluted"), you could play as Cid in VII, Tifa was a good kickass girl, and Cloud had real issues that made him a likable protagoinist. Oh, and Sephiroth > Ultimecia. In VIII, Squal was way too whiny, Rinoa was such a throwaway heroine, and Selphie and Irvine were just f*cking annoying, as bad as Cait Sith any day. 
 
The Materia system was really really great, but the Junction system did allow for more in-depth customization. But the Junction system was fatally flawed with the Draw system and consumable magic spells. The GFs were better as summons than just having another Materia for each summon, and GF affinity was really cool, making certain people better with their GFs by upping their affinity was a good idea.
 
Side quests and weapons split evenly, but VII gets a huge boost with the chocobo racing circuit. And while VIII did have Triple Triad, VII had the Gold Saucer. 'Nuff said.
 
IMO, the nostalgia factor is what makes most people believe that VII was superior. To me they're an even split, they basically did all the same stuff, but went about it differently. Still IX happens to be my favorite, and I like XII very much, so my opinion may be flawed. :)

i actually prefer 9, but you know im just weird like that.

 This is why FF7 is better:
 

" The Junction system was absolute shit in my eyes.  It was cool to use magic to permanently influence the stats of my characters, but the process of Drawing said commodity from enemies really became tedious after a while.  It got to the point where I completely ignored Magic as an option in combat in effort to avoid ever having to collect on the various spells again.  I personally prefer IX over all of them, and I hope Square and Sony are quick to release that particular entry in this long running series on the PlayStation Network.  My PSP Go is practically begging for it. "

Nostalgia and hype make VII better, whether or not you find the statement true doesn't matter because society and the gaming community as a whole have declared VII to be the best. Yeah, that sounded kind of rude. Sorry.
 
Of course, I take the openly elitist stance of saying that the SNES ones are way better than anything Square has put out in the past 12 years, but that's just me and my J-RPG hating ways.

I liked Cloud more than Squall. People say he's too "emo", but if I had his problems I would be a little whiny, too.

I haven't played FF8, but FF7 was absolutely incredible....until I got out of Midgar. Then it was really boring for some reason, and I just stopped playing somewhere around Disc 3. Maybe I'll get back to it, I hope so.

VII was decent
VIII was where I started to dislike the series
VI was the best Final Fantasy of all time, Anyone who says different either has VERY different taste in games than me or never played it until after they played VII or any of the later ones.

  In 8 I liked the fact that you could have your characters early in the game in 8 doing around 1000 damage because of the junction system. Doing all the draws did take time, but if your playing an RPG you should enjoy leveling up and grinding for more points and lvls. "

I loved both, 7 was amazing but 8 just gave me the sci-fi realism love I wanted. It's hard to explain I don't dislike 7 it was amazing I just love the neo tokyo feel of 8...ugh so long ago.

is it just me but see so many people say that 8 was sci-fi. certain towns felt more steam punk to me

Know what? FFIX was pretty awesome.

"
A lot of people will probably disagree with me, but this's the order in which I favour each game. No.1 being my favourite FF game/JRPG. 
 
1. FF9 
2. Lost odyssey 
3. FF7
4. FF10
5. FF8

This may be a travesty to some, but I really do like Lost odyssey and I think anyone who call's themselves a JRPG fan owes it to themselves to play this game. (Especially those who liked FF7, since it was written by the same guy who wrote FF7.)  FF12 dosn't count, because it's got crappy story and sloppy gameplay mechanic's. "

It would be interesting to see where that dreadful piece of shit Final Fantasy X fits into all this.

@Willy105 said:

"I haven't played FF8, but FF7 was absolutely incredible....until I got out of Midgar. Then it was really boring for some reason, and I just stopped playing somewhere around Disc 3. Maybe I'll get back to it, I hope so. "

I hope I can go back and play them too :-) But I think we both know that we won't, lol. 
The graphics are terrible by today's standard's and games have improved in term's of gampelay so much that it'd be hard for me to go back. And I'm guessing that this's true of you as well. Guessing... 
 
FF9, FF10 and Lost odyssey maybe, but FF8 and FF7. I just couldn't. I don't want to ruin the nostalgic memories. 
And memories is how they'll stay. 
 
Although I'll never throw the disc's and their respective cases out. lol.

I think that Final Fantasy VIII is absolute shit sauce. Since everyone is listing their favorite ones in order I guess I will, too.

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Final Fantasy
   
4. Final Fantasy VII
   

@CharleyTony

" any body that says that FF7 is better than FF8 is completely crazy. Any one who came into this series with the first playstation title (FF7) might have a hard time adapting to all the changes they made when making FF8. But fans that have played all of them know that they like to mix it up.

This is something that I never got.  As a game, VIII is much more enjoyable.  Its characters are more likable and the story is more personal.  VII gets all the glory because of its villain which is BS.

" This is something that I never got.  As a game, VIII is much more enjoyable.  Its characters are more likable and the story is more personal.  VII gets all the glory because of its villain which is BS. "

Because people are weird.

I always liked the card game in 8.  Dunno what it was but I found it way more enjoyable then the game itself.

Oh a girl died. Whoop whoop.

I'm not a fan of ether, actually. Just not my thing.

I don't prefer that over that.

" @gla55jAw:   Eh... am I the only one that doesn't like how in FFXIII you do fucking insane damage? Numbers are popping up 4,000. 3,265. 4,935. 3,333. 8,000 Crit... The mobs must have hundreds of k in HP. "