Good or bad?
I personally think it's bad, but it's the price we pay for getting better graphics in our games. Each 3D model would be incredibly difficult to make and take ages to do, but recolours can take 1/5 of that. I was almost considering using palette switching for my own game, which is a side-view system and since it is quite hard to find monsters for those systems, I have to make them myself. But I've decided quality over speed.
All FF's above and including FFX had this feature. Even off my head, I can name over 10 in the three that have been reused.
So, what does everyone think?
Yeah, pretty much all FF's below FFX used this, too.
So did Chrono Trigger.
I dunno, I don't think it's really a big deal.
But play Okami. The enemy designs are incredibly original, and there's absolutely no palette switching.
It's little things like that that make Okami such a good game.
Pallet switching is double edged. Do it right, and people won't notice it- sometimes they'll appreciate it. I enjoy finding a favorite enemy in a stronger form later in the game, complete with a new and doubly threatening paint job. Of course, OVER do it and you'll just make your game look half-assed.
Moderation is key.
The only palette switching I remember in FF8 was Tiamat and Bahamut, and they were supposed to be the same monster/GF...
honestly it's not really a big deal. In the end the monsters still die ;)