Final Fantasy VIII (VII Fainaru Fantajī Eito?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) as the eighth installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 1999 for Sony's PlayStation and in 2000 for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers. Final Fantasy VIII is the first game in the series to consistently use realistically proportioned characters, and does not have a magic point-based system for spellcasting.
The game's story focuses on a group of young mercenaries who are drawn into an international conflict, and seek to protect the world from a sorceress manipulating the war for her own purposes. Players follow Squall Leonhart, a 17 year old loner and student at the military academy Balamb Garden, who is training to become a "SeeD", mercenaries who get paid by the academy.
Development of Final Fantasy VIII began in 1997 while the English language translation of Final Fantasy VII was in process. The music was scored by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game is the first in the series to feature a vocal piece as its theme music, "Eyes on Me", performed by Chinese singer Faye Wong.
The game was positively received by critics and was commercially successful. It was voted the 22nd best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu. 13 weeks after its release, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more than US$50 million in sales, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title. The game has sold 8.15 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003.
Gameplay
Like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII consists of three main modes of play: the world map, the field map, and the battle screen. The world map is a 3D display in which the player may navigate freely across a small-scale rendering of the game world. Characters travel across the world map in a variety of ways, including by foot, car, Chocobo, train, and airship. The field map consists of controllable 3D characters overlaid on one or more 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, which represent environmental locations such as towns or forests. The battle screen is a 3D model of a location such as a street or room, where turn-based fights between playable characters and CPU-controlled enemies take place. The interface is menu-driven, as in previous titles, but with the typical weapon and armor systems removed and new features present, such as the Junction system. Also featured is a collectible card-based minigame called "Triple Triad".
The game's story focuses on a group of young mercenaries who are drawn into an international conflict, and seek to protect the world from a sorceress manipulating the war for her own purposes. Players follow Squall Leonhart, a 17 year old loner and student at the military academy Balamb Garden, who is training to become a "SeeD", mercenaries who get paid by the academy.
Development of Final Fantasy VIII began in 1997 while the English language translation of Final Fantasy VII was in process. The music was scored by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game is the first in the series to feature a vocal piece as its theme music, "Eyes on Me", performed by Chinese singer Faye Wong.
The game was positively received by critics and was commercially successful. It was voted the 22nd best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu. 13 weeks after its release, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more than US$50 million in sales, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title. The game has sold 8.15 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003.
Gameplay
Like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII consists of three main modes of play: the world map, the field map, and the battle screen. The world map is a 3D display in which the player may navigate freely across a small-scale rendering of the game world. Characters travel across the world map in a variety of ways, including by foot, car, Chocobo, train, and airship. The field map consists of controllable 3D characters overlaid on one or more 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, which represent environmental locations such as towns or forests. The battle screen is a 3D model of a location such as a street or room, where turn-based fights between playable characters and CPU-controlled enemies take place. The interface is menu-driven, as in previous titles, but with the typical weapon and armor systems removed and new features present, such as the Junction system. Also featured is a collectible card-based minigame called "Triple Triad".
Junction system
This new system designed by battle designer Hiroyuki Ito revolves around "summonable" monsters, called "Guardian Forces" ("GF"). A character must have a GF assigned ("junctioned") to them before he or she can do anything in battle besides "Attack" with their weapon, such as "Magic", "GF" (summoning the GF to perform an action), and "Item". While previous Final Fantasy titles provided each character with a limited pool of Magic Points (MP) that were consumed by each spell, in Final Fantasy VIII, spells are obtained ("drawn") from enemies, Draw Points distributed throughout the game's environments, and through refining items and cards. Spells are then stocked on characters as quantified inventory (up to 100 per spell and limited to 32 distinct spells per character) and are consumed one by one when used. Guardian Forces allow characters to "junction" these spells to their own statistics—such as Strength, Vitality, Evade, and Luck—for various bonuses.[2]
The flexibility of this system makes it possible to build a powerful party early in the game. This alternative use of such summoned creatures was a significant departure for the Final Fantasy series, as they were previously used almost exclusively to deliver a single devastating attack during battles. Furthermore, junction replaced the equipment system of previous installments with a permanent, specialized weapon for each character. Each major character's weapon can be upgraded, increasing its power and changing its appearance. Armour and accessories are not included in the game.[3]
Limit Breaks
As in Final Fantasy VII, each character has unique special attacks called "Limit Breaks" ("Special Arts" in the original Japanese version). Whereas Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII are triggered by filling the Limit meter through taking damage, in Final Fantasy VIII, they are randomly available every turn when the character's health (Hit Points, or HP) is below 32% of its current maximum, and influenced also by the negative status effects the character is afflicted with. This system is similar to the Desperation Attacks from Final Fantasy VI, which are triggered on rare occasions when a character is near death. The magic spell Aura increases the probability of Limit Breaks appearing, regardless of a character's remaining Hit Points.[4]
Another change is that most of the main characters' special techniques feature interactive elements, ranging from a slot machine design to fighting game-style button inputs. These elements, which are dependent on the character and the nature of the Limit Break, can be used to increase the potency of the attack.[5]
Experience levels
Experience points are awarded following successful battles against randomly encountered enemies. When a character accumulates a certain amount of experience points, he or she gains a "level", which increases that character's base statistics. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, however, randomly encountered enemies have no set level—their levels increase alongside those of the playable characters. Higher-level enemies are capable of inflicting and withstanding significantly more damage, may have additional special attacks, and carry additional magic spells. Statistic increases from "leveling up" are minuscule compared with those that are available through the Junction system.
In addition to gaining levels, Guardian Forces earn Ability Points (AP) after battles, which are automatically allocated to special abilities that Guardian Forces can learn. When a Guardian Force has learned an ability, that ability becomes available for any character—and, in some cases, the entire character party—to use, such as field abilities. Through learned abilities, characters can receive attack enhancements in battle, refine magic spells from items, receive stat bonuses upon "level up", have remote access to shops, and use additional battle commands.[6][3]
Plot
Setting
Main article: World of Final Fantasy VIII
Most of Final Fantasy VIII is set on an unnamed fantasy world with one moon. The planet comprises five major landmasses, with Esthar, the largest, covering most of the eastern portion of the map.[7] Galbadia, the second largest continent, lies to the west,[7] and contains many of the game's locations. The northernmost landmass is Trabia, an Arctic region. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies Balamb, the smallest continent,[7] the island on which the game begins. The remaining two landmasses are smaller and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain caused by the impact of a "Lunar Cry", an event where monsters from the moon fall to the planet.[note 1][8] The southernmost landmass includes an archipelago of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. Islands and marine structures flesh out the rest of the game world, and a handful of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas.
As part of a theme desired by director Yoshinori Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere, various designs were given to its locations using the style of internationally familiar places, while also maintaining a fantasy atmosphere. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society.[9][unreliable source?]
Characters
Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy VIII
The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on his duty to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for martial arts and hot dogs; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves trains and pilots the spacecraft Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man.[1] Temporarily playable characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.
During the game's pre-production, character designer Tetsuya Nomura suggested the game be given a "school days" feel. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age; their ideas meshed, taking form as the "Garden" military academies. Nojima planned that the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna Loire's group from the past) would be highly contrasted with one another. This idea was conveyed through the age and experience of Laguna's group, versus the youth and naïveté of Squall's group.[9][unreliable source?]
To maintain the game's theme of a foreign atmosphere, the characters were designed to have predominantly European appearances. The first Final Fantasy VIII character designed was Squall. Desiring to add a unique angle to Squall's appearance and emphasize his role as the central character, Nomura gave him a scar across his brow and the bridge of his nose. As there was not yet a detailed history conceived for the character, Nomura left the explanation for Squall's scar to Nojima. Squall was given a gunblade, a fictional revolver–sword hybrid that functions primarily as a sword, with an added damaging vibration feature activated by use of its gun mechanism,[10] similar to a vibroblade.[11] His character design was complemented by a fur ruff along the collar of his jacket, incorporated by Nomura as a challenge for the game's full motion video designers.[9][unreliable source?]
With Final Fantasy VIII came the inclusion of some designs Nomura had previously drawn, but had not yet used in a Final Fantasy game. These were the designs of Edea, Fujin and Raijin. The latter two had originally been designed for use in Final Fantasy VII, but with the inclusion of the Turks characters in that game, it was felt that Fujin and Raijin were unnecessary. Nomura had designed Edea before the development of Final Fantasy VII, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.[9][unreliable source?]
Story
Final Fantasy VIII begins as Squall duels with Seifer in a training session outside the Balamb Garden military academy. The two cadets scar one another's faces and are returned to Garden for treatment.[note 2] Meanwhile, the Galbadian regime invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire assistance from the Balamb Garden branch of "SeeD", Garden's elite mercenary force. SeeD uses the mission as a final examination for its cadets;[note 3] with the help of his instructor, Quistis, Squall passes its prerequisite and is grouped with Seifer and Zell. Seifer disobeys orders and abandons his team halfway through the mission, forcing Selphie to accompany Squall and Zell for the duration. After the mission, SeeD halts the Galbadian advance; Squall, Zell, and Selphie graduate to SeeD status; Seifer is disciplined for his disobedience.[note 4]
During the graduation party, Squall meets Rinoa, whose personality is apparently the opposite of his own.[12] When assigned with Zell and Selphie to help her Galbadian resistance, Squall learns that a sorceress named Edea is behind Galbadia's hostilities. Under orders from the Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, Squall and his comrades—now joined by Rinoa, Quistis, and Irvine—attempt to assassinate Edea.[note 5] Despite a nearly flawless execution of the plan, the sorceress thwarts the attack, and the party is detained. Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's "knight", her second-in-command.[note 6]
After the team escapes, Galbadian missiles deploy towards Trabia Garden. Fearing that Balamb Garden is the next target of Edea's revenge, the team splits into two units: Squall's group returns to Garden to warn of the attack, but must first stop an internal conflict incited by NORG,[note 7] SeeD's financial supporter; while Selphie's team travels to the Galbadian Missile Base in attempt to stop the missile launch, but fails. Squall inadvertently turns Balamb Garden into a mobile fortress and manages to evade the missiles; however, he loses control, and the Garden collides with the docks at Fisherman's Horizon.[note 8] While local technicians repair the Garden, Galbadians invade in search of a girl named "Ellone",[note 9] who had been staying at Balamb Garden until recently. Ellone eventually escapes to Esthar, the world's technological superpower.
During Squall's meeting with Ellone, he learns that she had been "sending" him and his party members into flashbacks set seventeen years in the past in order to change it.[note 10] The scenes center on Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. During the flashbacks, Laguna changes from Galbadian soldier to the defender of a country village to leader of a resistance movement against Sorceress Adel, and later goes on to become the president of Esthar.[note 11]
Meanwhile, Squall confronts his personal anxieties fueled by ongoing developments,[note 12] such as Headmaster Cid appointing him as SeeD's new leader,[note 13] and his increasing attraction to Rinoa. While investigating Trabia Garden's ruins, Squall and his comrades learn that they, along with Seifer and Ellone, were all raised (with the exception of Rinoa) in an orphanage run by Edea; they later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces.[note 14] It is also revealed that Cid and Edea had established Garden and SeeD primarily to defeat corrupt sorceresses.[note 15] After these revelations, the forces of Balamb Garden and the Galbadian army, led by Squall and Seifer respectively, engage in battle above the orphanage. After Balamb defeats Galbadia, the player learns that Edea is merely an unwilling tool for "Ultimecia",[note 16] a powerful sorceress from the future who wishes to compress time into a single moment; it is for this reason she has sought Ellone.[note 17] Edea loses a decisive battle against the SeeD, forcing Ultimecia to transfer her powers to Rinoa; Edea survives, but Rinoa enters a coma. Squall becomes obsessed with waking her and goes to Esthar to find Ellone, as he believes that she can help save Rinoa.[note 18]
While Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her orbital prison. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate the Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a rain of creatures from the moon that sends Adel's containment device to the planet.[note 19][note 20] Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in outer space. Squall rescues her, and they return to the planet on a derelict starship. Upon their landing, delegates from Esthar isolate Rinoa for fear of her sorceress abilities,[note 21] forcing Squall to rescue her. President Laguna apologizes for the incident and announces Dr. Odine's plan to let Ultimecia possess Rinoa, have Ellone send Rinoa (and thus Ultimecia as well) to the past and then retrieve only Rinoa back to the present, enabling Ultimecia to achieve Time Compression to occur, as it would allow Squall's group to confront Ultimecia in her time.[note 22] To do this, Squall's team infiltrates Lunatic Pandora, defeats Seifer and Adel, and has Rinoa inherit Adel's sorceress powers.[note 23] Time Compression is thus initiated; Squall and his allies travel to Ultimecia's era and defeat her.
With Ultimecia defeated, the universe begins returning to normal; however, Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time as he witnesses the origins of the game's story. When a dying Ultimecia travels back in time to pass her powers to Edea, Squall informs Edea of the concepts of Garden and SeeD that she will create.[note 24] Afterward, he is able to properly recollect his memories and was able to regain consciousness and thus return to the present. The ending cinema depicts the events after Squall and co.'s return to the present. Seifer is once again reunited with Raijin and Fujin; Laguna visits Raine's grave (and recollects his proposal to her) along with Ellone, Ward, and Kiros; and a celebration takes place in the Garden, with Squall and Rinoa embracing one another under the moonlight.
Setting
Main article: World of Final Fantasy VIII
Most of Final Fantasy VIII is set on an unnamed fantasy world with one moon. The planet comprises five major landmasses, with Esthar, the largest, covering most of the eastern portion of the map.[7] Galbadia, the second largest continent, lies to the west,[7] and contains many of the game's locations. The northernmost landmass is Trabia, an Arctic region. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies Balamb, the smallest continent,[7] the island on which the game begins. The remaining two landmasses are smaller and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain caused by the impact of a "Lunar Cry", an event where monsters from the moon fall to the planet.[note 1][8] The southernmost landmass includes an archipelago of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. Islands and marine structures flesh out the rest of the game world, and a handful of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas.
As part of a theme desired by director Yoshinori Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere, various designs were given to its locations using the style of internationally familiar places, while also maintaining a fantasy atmosphere. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society.[9][unreliable source?]
Characters
Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy VIII
The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on his duty to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for martial arts and hot dogs; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves trains and pilots the spacecraft Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man.[1] Temporarily playable characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.
During the game's pre-production, character designer Tetsuya Nomura suggested the game be given a "school days" feel. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age; their ideas meshed, taking form as the "Garden" military academies. Nojima planned that the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna Loire's group from the past) would be highly contrasted with one another. This idea was conveyed through the age and experience of Laguna's group, versus the youth and naïveté of Squall's group.[9][unreliable source?]
To maintain the game's theme of a foreign atmosphere, the characters were designed to have predominantly European appearances. The first Final Fantasy VIII character designed was Squall. Desiring to add a unique angle to Squall's appearance and emphasize his role as the central character, Nomura gave him a scar across his brow and the bridge of his nose. As there was not yet a detailed history conceived for the character, Nomura left the explanation for Squall's scar to Nojima. Squall was given a gunblade, a fictional revolver–sword hybrid that functions primarily as a sword, with an added damaging vibration feature activated by use of its gun mechanism,[10] similar to a vibroblade.[11] His character design was complemented by a fur ruff along the collar of his jacket, incorporated by Nomura as a challenge for the game's full motion video designers.[9][unreliable source?]
With Final Fantasy VIII came the inclusion of some designs Nomura had previously drawn, but had not yet used in a Final Fantasy game. These were the designs of Edea, Fujin and Raijin. The latter two had originally been designed for use in Final Fantasy VII, but with the inclusion of the Turks characters in that game, it was felt that Fujin and Raijin were unnecessary. Nomura had designed Edea before the development of Final Fantasy VII, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.[9][unreliable source?]
Story
Final Fantasy VIII begins as Squall duels with Seifer in a training session outside the Balamb Garden military academy. The two cadets scar one another's faces and are returned to Garden for treatment.[note 2] Meanwhile, the Galbadian regime invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire assistance from the Balamb Garden branch of "SeeD", Garden's elite mercenary force. SeeD uses the mission as a final examination for its cadets;[note 3] with the help of his instructor, Quistis, Squall passes its prerequisite and is grouped with Seifer and Zell. Seifer disobeys orders and abandons his team halfway through the mission, forcing Selphie to accompany Squall and Zell for the duration. After the mission, SeeD halts the Galbadian advance; Squall, Zell, and Selphie graduate to SeeD status; Seifer is disciplined for his disobedience.[note 4]
During the graduation party, Squall meets Rinoa, whose personality is apparently the opposite of his own.[12] When assigned with Zell and Selphie to help her Galbadian resistance, Squall learns that a sorceress named Edea is behind Galbadia's hostilities. Under orders from the Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, Squall and his comrades—now joined by Rinoa, Quistis, and Irvine—attempt to assassinate Edea.[note 5] Despite a nearly flawless execution of the plan, the sorceress thwarts the attack, and the party is detained. Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's "knight", her second-in-command.[note 6]
After the team escapes, Galbadian missiles deploy towards Trabia Garden. Fearing that Balamb Garden is the next target of Edea's revenge, the team splits into two units: Squall's group returns to Garden to warn of the attack, but must first stop an internal conflict incited by NORG,[note 7] SeeD's financial supporter; while Selphie's team travels to the Galbadian Missile Base in attempt to stop the missile launch, but fails. Squall inadvertently turns Balamb Garden into a mobile fortress and manages to evade the missiles; however, he loses control, and the Garden collides with the docks at Fisherman's Horizon.[note 8] While local technicians repair the Garden, Galbadians invade in search of a girl named "Ellone",[note 9] who had been staying at Balamb Garden until recently. Ellone eventually escapes to Esthar, the world's technological superpower.
During Squall's meeting with Ellone, he learns that she had been "sending" him and his party members into flashbacks set seventeen years in the past in order to change it.[note 10] The scenes center on Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. During the flashbacks, Laguna changes from Galbadian soldier to the defender of a country village to leader of a resistance movement against Sorceress Adel, and later goes on to become the president of Esthar.[note 11]
Meanwhile, Squall confronts his personal anxieties fueled by ongoing developments,[note 12] such as Headmaster Cid appointing him as SeeD's new leader,[note 13] and his increasing attraction to Rinoa. While investigating Trabia Garden's ruins, Squall and his comrades learn that they, along with Seifer and Ellone, were all raised (with the exception of Rinoa) in an orphanage run by Edea; they later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces.[note 14] It is also revealed that Cid and Edea had established Garden and SeeD primarily to defeat corrupt sorceresses.[note 15] After these revelations, the forces of Balamb Garden and the Galbadian army, led by Squall and Seifer respectively, engage in battle above the orphanage. After Balamb defeats Galbadia, the player learns that Edea is merely an unwilling tool for "Ultimecia",[note 16] a powerful sorceress from the future who wishes to compress time into a single moment; it is for this reason she has sought Ellone.[note 17] Edea loses a decisive battle against the SeeD, forcing Ultimecia to transfer her powers to Rinoa; Edea survives, but Rinoa enters a coma. Squall becomes obsessed with waking her and goes to Esthar to find Ellone, as he believes that she can help save Rinoa.[note 18]
While Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her orbital prison. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate the Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a rain of creatures from the moon that sends Adel's containment device to the planet.[note 19][note 20] Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in outer space. Squall rescues her, and they return to the planet on a derelict starship. Upon their landing, delegates from Esthar isolate Rinoa for fear of her sorceress abilities,[note 21] forcing Squall to rescue her. President Laguna apologizes for the incident and announces Dr. Odine's plan to let Ultimecia possess Rinoa, have Ellone send Rinoa (and thus Ultimecia as well) to the past and then retrieve only Rinoa back to the present, enabling Ultimecia to achieve Time Compression to occur, as it would allow Squall's group to confront Ultimecia in her time.[note 22] To do this, Squall's team infiltrates Lunatic Pandora, defeats Seifer and Adel, and has Rinoa inherit Adel's sorceress powers.[note 23] Time Compression is thus initiated; Squall and his allies travel to Ultimecia's era and defeat her.
With Ultimecia defeated, the universe begins returning to normal; however, Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time as he witnesses the origins of the game's story. When a dying Ultimecia travels back in time to pass her powers to Edea, Squall informs Edea of the concepts of Garden and SeeD that she will create.[note 24] Afterward, he is able to properly recollect his memories and was able to regain consciousness and thus return to the present. The ending cinema depicts the events after Squall and co.'s return to the present. Seifer is once again reunited with Raijin and Fujin; Laguna visits Raine's grave (and recollects his proposal to her) along with Ellone, Ward, and Kiros; and a celebration takes place in the Garden, with Squall and Rinoa embracing one another under the moonlight.
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