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Final Fantasy VIII

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Final Fantasy VIII
Developer(s)Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)JPN Square Co., Ltd. (PS1)
NA Square Electronic Arts (PS1)
PAL SCE Europe (PS1)
NA Eidos Interactive (WIN)
EU Eidos Interactive (WIN)
JPN Square Co., Ltd. (WIN)
Designer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi (executive producer)
Shinji Hashimoto (game producer)
Yoshinori Kitase (game director)
Yoshitaka Amano (image illustrator, title logo designer)
Tetsuya Nomura (character designer)
Kazushige Nojima (scenario writer)
Nobuo Uematsu (composer)
Yusuke Naora (art director)
SeriesFinal Fantasy series
Platform(s)PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseJPN February 11, 1999 (PS1)
NA September 7, 1999 (PS1)[1]
EU October 27, 1999 (PS1)
AUS October 29, 1999 (PS1)
NA January 25, 2000 (WIN)
EU February 18, 2000 (WIN)
JPN March 23, 2000 (WIN)
Genre(s)Console role-playing game
Mode(s)Single player

Final Fantasy VIII (ファイナルファンタジーVIII, Fainaru Fantajī Eito) is a console and computer role-playing game developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) for the Sony PlayStation video game console and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers. 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 this war for her own purposes.

It was released in 1999 and thirteen weeks after its release, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more than US$50 million in sales,[2][3] making it the fastest selling Final Fantasy title. Additionally, Final Fantasy VIII was voted the 22nd-best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu.[4]

Final Fantasy VIII departed from many traditional standards of the Final Fantasy video game series. It is the first game in the series to consistently use realistically proportioned characters, the first to feature a vocal piece as its theme music, did not have a Magic Point-based system for spellcasting, and one of the only titles to deviate from the series' traditional means of increasing a character's power. It is also one of the first games in the series not to use a chiefly traditional fantasy setting.

Gameplay

File:FFVIIInavigation.JPG
An example of navigation on the field map

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 and a collectible card-based minigame called "Triple Triad".[5]

Junction system

This new system designed by battle designer Hiroyuki Ito revolves around "summonable" monsters, called "Guardian Forces" (GFs). A character must have a GF assigned to them ("junctioned") before he or she can use several standard Final Fantasy battle command abilities, such as "Magic", "GF" (summoning), and "Item". Only "Attack" can be performed without a GF. While previous Final Fantasy titles used a limited pool of Magic Points (MP) that were consumed by each spell to restrict unlimited magic use, in Final Fantasy VIII, spells are "drawn" from enemies and special Draw Points distributed throughout the game's environments. Additionally, certain GF abilities allow players to "refine" magical spells from items. Spells are then stocked on characters as quantified inventory (restricted to 100 at a time) and are consumed one at a time when used. GFs allow characters to "junction" these spells to their own statistics — such as "Strength," "Vitality," "Evade," and "Luck" — for various bonuses.[6]

File:FF8battlexample2.JPG
The party summons a Guardian Force, Shiva, during a battle with an early boss

The flexibility of this system makes it possible to build a powerful party early in the game. This alternative use of GFs was a significant departure for the Final Fantasy series, as summoned creatures were previously used almost exclusively to deliver a single devastating attack during battles. Furthermore, the system replaced the equipable weapons, armor, and accessories of previous games with an unequipable, specialized weapon for each character. A limited number of upgrades can be performed on each character's weapon throughout the game, increasing its power and altering its appearance. For example, Squall begins with a gunblade called the Revolver, but after fully upgrading it, it becomes the Lion Heart.[7]

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 accumulating a set amount of 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 (84% in Seifer Almasy's case), 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.[8]

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.[9]

Experience levels

Experience points are awarded following successful battles against randomly encountered enemies. When a character accumulates 1000 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, and may have additional special attacks. 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 is allocated to special abilities that Guardian Forces can learn. When a GF has learned an ability, that ability becomes available for any character — and, in some cases, the entire character party — to use. Through learned abilities, GFs can receive attack enhancements in battle, refine magical spells from items, provide bonuses to characters when leveling up, provide access to shops, and add battle commands.[10][7]

Plot

Setting

File:Ffvii worldmap new.png
A map of Final Fantasy VIII's world, displaying all major in-game locations.

Most of Final Fantasy VIII is set on a large, 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.[11] Galbadia, the second largest continent, lies to the west,[11] 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,[11] 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.[12][13] The southernmost landmass is long and thin, and also 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 smattering of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas. Details on the game's locations are available at the Final Fantasy Wikia.

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.[14]

Characters

Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy VIII
Tetsuya Nomura's designs of Selphie (left), Rinoa (center) and Quistis (right)

The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on duty and avoids letting himself care for others to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, a passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations and does not hesitate to speak her mind; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for hot dogs and fighting; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves vehicles and flies the spacecraft Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man who falls in love with Selphie.[5] Playable supporting characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.

File:GunbladeopeningFFVIII.jpg
Squall's gunblade, as seen in the game's opening credits

During the game's pre-production, character designer Tetsuya Nomura suggested that the game be given a "school days" feel. As scenario writer Kazushige Nojima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age; the 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 inexperience of Squall's group.[14]

In keeping with the game's theme of a foreign atmosphere, the objective of the character designs was that they have predominantly European appearances. The first Final Fantasy VIII character that was designed according to this theme 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,[15] and his design was completed by a fur ruff along the collar of his jacket, incorporated by Nomura as a challenge for the game's FMV designers.[14]

File:Ff8-edea.jpg
Tetsuya Nomura's conceptual art for the character of Sorceress Edea

Nomura ended up altering each character's appearance before they reached the final design stage, which required sacrificing his original intentions. For instance, he had originally wanted Seifer Almasy to be involved in a love triangle with Rinoa and Squall. As another example, Quistis was to originally be designed with a skirt, but in the end was given a long skirt worn over pants. With Rinoa wearing a mini-skirt over shorts, this led to a conflict with the intended notion that one of the female characters would wear a skirt. A compromise was made in this regard with Selphie's design: she was originally intended to be wearing overalls, but Nomura decided that her outfit should be something of a combination of the two. Finally, when designing Rinoa, Nomura decided to avoid the temptation of FMV technology by making her "cute" and full of personality, instead of "too beautiful".[14]

With Final Fantasy VIII came the inclusion of three designs Nomura had previously drawn, but had not yet used in a Final Fantasy game. These included 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. Edea had been a design that Nomura created prior to even Final Fantasy VII's development, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.[14]

In addition to designing all of the game's characters, Tetsuya Nomura designed all of its Guardian Forces. Aware that there was a type of "training" involved with their role in the game, Nomura decided to give them all features that distanced them from human beings and gave them more the appearance of mystical creatures, even in the rare cases of the game's humanoid GFs.[14]

Story

File:SeifervsSquall.jpg
Seifer knocks Squall to the ground during the opening sequence.

Final Fantasy VIII opens as Squall Leonhart duels with his rival, Seifer Almasy, in a training session outside the military academy known as "Garden". During the bout, the two cadets scar one another's faces and are returned to Garden for treatment.[16] Meanwhile, the Galbadian regime, led by Vinzer Deling, invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire the Balamb Garden branch of "SeeD" — Garden's elite mercenary force — for aid. SeeD uses the mission as a field examination for its graduation-eligible cadets,[17] and with the help of his instructor, Quistis Trepe, Squall passes its prerequisite. While SeeD prepares for the assault, Squall is assigned to an assault squad with Zell Dincht and Seifer Almasy. In Dollet, Seifer abandons his team halfway through the mission, forcing Selphie Tilmitt to accompany Squall and Zell for the duration. After the player completes the mission, SeeD halts the Galbadian advance, Squall, Zell and Selphie graduate to SeeD status, and Seifer is disciplined for acting independently.

Shortly after graduating, Squall meets a young woman named Rinoa Heartilly, whose attitude and approach to life are apparently the opposite of his own. Assigned to help her Galbadian-resistance on his first mission, along with Zell and Selphie, Squall learns that a sorceress named Edea is the mastermind behind Galbadia's hostilities. Edea soon kills President Deling and turns Galbadia into an imperial dictatorship.[18] Under orders from both Galbadia's and Balamb's Gardens, Squall and his comrades — now joined by Quistis and sharpshooter Irvine Kinneas — attempt to assassinate the sorceress. Despite a nearly flawless execution of the plan — arranged by Galbadia's own General Caraway, Rinoa's father — the party is defeated and imprisoned. Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's second-in-command.[19]

File:FF8War2.jpg
Students from Balamb Garden battle Galbadian soldiers.

After escaping prison, the team splits into two units, both of which are controlled by the player in separate scenarios. Squall's group stops an internal conflict at Balamb Garden incited by NORG, SeeD's financial supporter, while Selphie's squad fails to prevent a Galbadian missile attack on the Balamb and Trabia Gardens. The missile launch forces Squall to turn Balamb Garden into a mobile fortress to avoid the attack, leaving the facility temporarily uncontrollable until it collides with the docks at Fisherman's Horizon in the middle of the ocean. While Squall negotiates with the mayor of the town, Galbadia invades in search of a girl named "Ellone", who had been staying at the Garden until recently.

Throughout the game, Ellone sends Squall and his allies into a series of flashbacks set seventeen years in the past. The scenes center on a man named Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. During the flashbacks, Laguna changes from Galbadian soldier to the self-appointed defender of a small country village, and then from the leader of a resistance movement against Sorceress Adel, the leader of Esthar seventeen years before, to the president of Esthar, the game's technological superpower.

Meanwhile, Squall deals with personal conflicts fueled by the game's ongoing developments,[20] such as Balamb Garden's Headmaster Cid appointing him as SeeD's new leader,[21] and his increasing love for Rinoa. Squall particularly struggles with the latter, as he had previously shut out all feelings of affection due to a fear of becoming vulnerable after Ellone left the Orphanage.

As Edea and Seifer continue sweeping the world in search of Ellone, matters are complicated further during an investigation of Trabia Garden's ruins. Squall and his comrades learn that — with the exception of Rinoa — they were raised along with Seifer and Ellone in an orphanage run by Edea, and later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces. Furthermore, it is revealed that Edea is Cid's wife, and together the two had founded Garden and SeeD to defeat evil sorceresses.[22]

Later in the game, the full forces of Balamb Garden and the Galbadian army (using the now-mobilized Galbadia Garden), led by Squall and Seifer respectively, engage in conflict. After Balamb defeats Galbadia, the player learns that Edea is merely an unwilling tool for a greater sorceress known as "Ultimecia", who resides in the future and wishes to compress all time into a single moment. This would grant her the power of all sorceresses that ever existed; it is for this reason she has sought Ellone.[23][24] A conclusive battle with Edea forces Ultimecia to transfer her powers to Rinoa, allowing Edea to survive, but leaving Rinoa frozen in a deep coma. Squall becomes obsessed with waking her and seeks the help of Dr. Odine, a renowned scientist living in Esthar. However, while Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Adel, an imprisoned sorceress responsible for the war of seventeen years past. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate Esthar's Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a rain of monsters from the moon in a phenomenon called the "Lunar Cry". This brings Adel's containment device from space to the planet's surface, while simultaneously leaving Esthar swarming with monsters.[25]

File:SnRembracescene.JPG
Squall and Rinoa embrace after he frees her from confinement in Esthar.

Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in the void of outer space. Squall rescues her, but they become stranded until they encounter a derelict spaceship. After using it to return to the planet's surface, they are approached by delegates from Esthar, who lock Rinoa away in fear of her sorceress abilities.[26] Squall and his companions rescue Rinoa and finally meet Laguna, revealed to be Ellone's adopted father. Together with Dr. Odine, a plan is devised to let Ultimecia use Ellone to compress time, as it would allow Squall's group to confront Ultimecia in her own era. As Time Compression begins, Squall is forced to duel Seifer once again and kill Adel when she attempts to assimilate Rinoa. With their friendship serving as their bond to reality, Squall and his friends immunize themselves to the effects of Time Compression, travel to Ultimecia's era and defeat her.[27]

As Ultimecia is defeated, the universe begins returning to normal, and Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time as he witnesses the origins of the game's entire story. When a dying Ultimecia travels back in time to pass her powers to Edea thirteen years in Squall's past, he informs Edea of the concepts of Garden and SeeD that she will create. Afterward, he is warped away into the timestream and is unable to find his own way back to the present until he is rescued by Rinoa. At the end of the game, SeeD holds a banquet to celebrate their victory, and Squall is shown kissing Rinoa while smiling for the first time in the game.

Development

Development of Final Fantasy VIII began in 1997 during the English language translation of Final Fantasy VII. [28] As with much of Final Fantasy VII's production, series creator and veteran Hironobu Sakaguchi served as the executive producer, working primarily on the development of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and leaving direction of Final Fantasy VIII to Yoshinori Kitase.[29] Shinji Hashimoto was assigned to be the producer in Sakaguchi's place.

From the beginning, Kitase knew he wanted a thematic combination of fantasy and realism. To this end, he aimed to include a cast of characters who appeared to be ordinary people. Character designer and battle visual director Tetsuya Nomura and art director Yusuke Naora strove to achieve this impression through the inclusion of realistically proportioned characters — a departure from the chibi designs used in all past installments. Additionally, Naora attempted to enhance the realism of the world through predominantly bright lighting effects with shadows distributed as appropriate. Other measures taken included implementing rental cars for travel in-game,[28] and the use of motion capture technology to give the game's characters lifelike movements in the game's FMV sequences.[30]

Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima has expressed that the dynamic of players' relationships with the protagonist is important to him. Both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII feature reserved, quiet protagonists in the form of Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart. With Final Fantasy VIII, however, Nojima worked to give players actual insight into what the character was thinking; a direct contrast with his handling of Final Fantasy VII's script, which encouraged the player to speculate.[31] This approach to Final Fantasy VIII is reflected by the frequent use of dialogue that takes place solely within Squall's mind, allowing the player to read his thoughts and understand what he is thinking or feeling even when he keeps those thoughts to himself.

In 2000, a PC version of Final Fantasy VIII was ported to Windows. This rerelease featured smoother graphics, enhanced audio, and the inclusion of Chocobo World, a minigame starring Boko, a Chocobo featured in one of Final Fantasy VIII's side-quests.[32][33] For most North American and European players, the PC version of the game was the only means of playing Chocobo World, as the game was originally designed to be played via the PocketStation, a handheld console never released outside Japan.[33][34][35][36]

Audio

Main article: Music of Final Fantasy VIII

Regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu wrote and directed the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VIII, which was released on four Compact Discs by DigiCube in Japan, and by Square EA in North America. Additionally, a special orchestral arrangement of selected tracks from the game — arranged by Shiro Hamaguchi — was released under the title FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC, and a collection of piano arrangements — performed by Shinko Ogata — was released under the title Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII.

The score is best known for two songs: "Liberi Fatali", a Latin choral piece that is played during the introduction to the game, and "Eyes On Me", a pop song serving as the game's theme, performed by Chinese singer Faye Wong. The latter song was released as a CD single in Japan and sold over 400,000 copies,[37] placing it as the best-selling video game music disc ever released in that country until the release of "Hikari" by Utada Hikaru for Kingdom Hearts. "Liberi Fatali" was played during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the women's synchronized swimming event.[38][39]

Merchandise

In the month of Final Fantasy VIII's Japanese release (February 11, 1999), a beginners' guide and a postcard collection were released. These were followed in March by Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, a book that features an in-depth guide to Final Fantasy VIII and interviews with the developers. A sticker album (Final Fantasy VIII Seal Book) and a pictorial transcript of the game (Final Fantasy VIII Memorial Album) were released in June and September respectively. An origami book was released on November 19, 1999.

On September 22, 1999, a CD-ROM titled Final Fantasy VIII Desktop Accessories was released. It contains desktop icons, computer wallpapers, screensavers, and an e-mail application. Additionally, Final Fantasy VIII Desktop Accessories features an edition of the Triple Triad minigame from Final Fantasy VIII, creating the ability to play against opponents via a local area network.[40]

The European release of Final Fantasy VIII saw a relatively large amount of merchandise being packaged together with the game for an initial run special release at no extra cost. These were all sold in a large rectangular box which contained a Final Fantasy VIII t-shirt, a PlayStation memory card and a selection of Final Fantasy VIII stickers - designed for adhering to the PlayStation memory card.

Reception and criticism

Review scores
Publication Score
Edge
9 of 10
IGN
9 of 10
Game Informer
9.5 of 10
Electronic Gaming Monthly
9.5 of 10
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
5 of 5
GameSpot
9.5 of 10
Gaming Age
A-
Game Revolution
A-

Within two days of its North American release on September 9, 1999, Final Fantasy VIII became the top-selling video game in the United States, a position it held for more than three weeks.[41] Aside from grossing a total of more than US$50 million within the first 13 weeks to follow,[2][3] in Japan, it sold roughly 2.5 million units within the first four days of release,[42] and during 2006 was voted by readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu as the twenty-second best game of all time.[4] More than 6 million units were sold in total by the end of 1999.[43]

Reviews of Final Fantasy VIII's gameplay have been mixed. Multimedia news website IGN felt that it was the weakest aspect of the game, citing its Guardian Force attack sequences as "incredibly cinematic" but tedious,[44] sentiments echoed by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[45] They also regarded the battle system as intensely complicated, yet refreshingly innovative and something that "RPG fanatics love to obsess over".[44] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine claims that the game's Junction system is a major flaw due to repetitive stocking of spells,[46] while the UK-based magazine Edge comments that the battle system consists of a "bewildering" number of intricate options and techniques that "most gamers will ... relish".[47] GameSpot praised the game's battle system, commenting that the "possibilities for customization [with the Junction system] are immense".[48]

Critics have compared the other aspects of the game to previous Final Fantasy installments. Gaming Age cited the storyline and graphics as two major improvements over Final Fantasy VII, while considering the music "hardly a step up...".[49] Though questioning the game's lack of voice overs for its characters, Game Revolution praised its storyline and ending.[50] For their part, Edge labeled Final Fantasy VIII "... a far more accomplished game than FFVII". On the other hand, the magazine also felt that the game's length left its story unable to "offer consistently strong dialogue and sub-plots". Additionally, it found some of the story's plot twists "not ... suitably manipulated and prepared", leaving it "hard not to greet such... moments with anything but indifference". Overall, Edge considered Final Fantasy VIII to be "yet another outstanding edition of SquareSoft's far-from-final fantasies", summarizing it as "aesthetically astonishing, rarely less than compelling, and near peerless in scope and execution...".[47] Electronic Gaming Monthly offered similar comments, stating that the game's character development "is the best of any RPG's" and that "Final Fantasy VIII is the pinnacle of its genre".[45]

References

  1. ^ Square Enix (2006-04-18). "Customer Support". Square Enix North America. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Sato, Yukiyoshi Ike (1999). "FFVIII Sells Six Million Copies Worldwide". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b IGN staff (1999). "FF8 Breaks Sales Records". IGN.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Campbell, Colin (2006). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Next Generation. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. pp. 20, 24, 36. SLUS-00892GH.
  6. ^ Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. pp. 28, 33–35. SLUS-00892GH.
  7. ^ a b Cassady, David (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide. BradyGAMES Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 1-56686-903-X.
  8. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square Enix. p. 64. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  9. ^ Cassady, David (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide. BradyGAMES Publishing. pp. 6, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18–19. ISBN 1-56686-903-X.
  10. ^ Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. pp. 28–35. SLUS-00892GH.
  11. ^ a b c "Final Fantasy VIII - World". Square Enix.com. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  12. ^ Centra Civilization
    A civilization in Centra 4000 years ago. These Centra people immigrated to other continents and founded the Dollet Empire to the west and Esthar to the east. Centra was destroyed 80 years ago by the Lunar Cry. Square Co. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  13. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square Enix. p. 40. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Khosla, Sheila (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura's 20s". FLAREgamer. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/SquareEnix. p. 43. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  16. ^ Dr. Kadowaki: Why don't you take it easy in training? Next time you might not be so lucky. / Squall: Tell that to Seifer. / Dr. Kadowaki: Quistis? Come get your student. Yes, yes... His injury's not serious. It'll probably leave a scar. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  17. ^ Xu: Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago. 49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the inner city. Currently, they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops. That's the current status. Now onto the mission objective. According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  18. ^ Edea: ...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. HAHAHAHAHA. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  19. ^ Squall: So, you've become the sorceress' lap dog? / Seifer: I preferred to be called her knight. This has always been my dream. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  20. ^ Squall: (How long has it been since we started moving?) (There's not much more to do now. We've taken care of all the monsters in the Garden.) (Oh yeah... I still have to report to the headmaster. There's a lot of things I want to ask about, too.) (He's probably still busy, trying to reestablish order in the Garden.) (...We're in the middle of nowhere.) (Man, I'm bored...) (I hate having nothing to do. It gets me thinking too much.) (I hope Selphie and the others are all right. Was it wrong for me to let them go? I wonder how Quistis and Irvine felt about it.) (That sorceress... Who is she? Why fire missiles at the Garden? Is Seifer ever coming back? I'll get even with him next time.) Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  21. ^ Cid: This journey will involve many battles. A well qualified leader is needed for this. Therefore, I am appointing Squall as your new leader. From now on, Squall will be the leader. He will decide our destination and battle plan. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  22. ^ Cid: She had been a sorceress since childhood. I married her, knowing that. We were happy. We worked together, the two of us. We were very happy. One day, Edea began talking about building the Garden and training SeeD. I became obsessed with that plan. But I was very concerned with SeeD's goal, that one day SeeD might fight Edea... (Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  23. ^ Edea: ...I have been possessed all this time. I was at the mercy of Sorceress Ultimecia. Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future. A sorceress many generations ahead of our time. Ultimecia's objective is to find Ellone. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  24. ^ Rinoa: There was a sorceress inside me. Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future. She's trying to achieve time compression. Square Co. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  25. ^ Rinoa: But Edea's still... I can't guarantee anything, either, if Ultimecia possesses me again... You saw me. She controlled me in outer space and made me break Adel's seal. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  26. ^ Descendant 1: Sorceress Rinoa. Hyne's descendant. / Descendant 2: Come with us. We must seal your power for the sake of the world. Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  27. ^ Laguna: Ok, this is the showdown folks! Time compression is about to begin. 'Love, friendship, and courage'! Show'em what you got! Square Co (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA.
  28. ^ a b Coxon, Sachi (1998). "Interview with Yoshinori Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora". PlayStation Japan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Coxon, Sachi (1998). "Interview with Hironobu Sakaguchi". PlayStation Japan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Final Fantasy Shrine site staff. "Final Fantasy VIII Kitase, Nojima, Naora and Nomura Interview". Final Fantasy Shrine. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Square Enix North America site staff (2001). "Behind The Game The Creators". Square Enix North America. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ Final Fantasy Shrine site staff. "Final Fantasy VIII PC Interview". Final Fantasy Shrine. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ a b Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. pp. 38–40. SLUS-00892GH.
  34. ^ Calderman, Dan (2000). "Chocobo World Playable on PC". RPGamer. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ IGN site staff (1999). "FFVIII PocketStation Opens Up Chocobo World". IGN. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ sahas (2006). "The Sony PocketStation". Skatter Tech. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Square Enix USA site staff. "Nobuo Uematsu's Profile". Square Enix USA. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Suds (2004). "Video Game Music In the Olympics!". Video Game Music Archive. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Empire arcadiA site staff (2005). "The Culture of Videogame Music". Empire arcadiA. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ Yukiyoshi Ike Sato. "New FFVIII CD-ROM Announced". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ IGN staff (1999). "Final Fantasy VIII Tops Videogame Charts". IGN.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ IGN site staff (1999). "Final Fantasy VIII Is Out!". IGN.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ "Final Fantasy VIII Sells One Million". 1999.
  44. ^ a b Lundigran, Jeff (1999). "IGN: Final Fantasy VIII Review". IGN. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ a b Editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly (2004). "Final Fantasy VIII PS Review". 1UP.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Editors of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (2004). "Final Fantasy VIII PS Review". 1UP.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ a b Editors of EDGE magazine, ed. (1999). EDGE Autumn 1999. Future Publishing. p. 87. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
  48. ^ Vestal, Andrew (1999). "Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation Review". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  49. ^ McTague, Bob (1999). "Gaming Age Review - Final Fantasy VIII". Gaming Age. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  50. ^ Liu, Johnny (1999). "Game Revolution Review Page - Final Fantasy VIII". Game Revolution. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

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