Characters of Final Fantasy VIII

Tetsuya Nomura's designs of three of the female protagonists: Selphie (left), Rinoa (center) and Quistis (right)

Square Co., Ltd.'s bestselling computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII deals with the activities of an elite group of mercenaries called SeeDs, as well as a number of soldiers, rebels, and political leaders of various nations and cities. The following are major characters, their role in the plot, as well as their creation and influence. The game's characters were created by Tetsuya Nomura.

The 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 (bread in the original Japanese version) and battles; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves vehicles and flies the spacecraft Ragnarok at a late stage in the game (If she's in the party Zell or Quistis will drive); and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man who falls in love with Selphie. Playable supporting characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill, Ward Zabac (playable characters in "flashback" sequences), and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.

Cast development and general influences

Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima has expressed that the dynamic of players' relationships with the main character in Final Fantasy games is something of importance to him, and that he puts a lot of thought into how that relationship will develop. With Final Fantasy VII, he explains that protagonist Cloud Strife's reserved nature led him to write the story in such a way that the player would be put in the position of deciding for themselves what Cloud was thinking, something reflected by the game's style of having the player frequently select Cloud's responses to certain situations and dialogue. With Final Fantasy VIII, which also features a reserved lead protagonist in Squall, Nojima explains that he wanted to give players actual insight into what the character was thinking, even while other characters in the game were not privy to this information.

Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura — while exchanging e-mails with Director Yoshinori Kitase during the period between the development of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII — suggested that the game should bear a "school days" feel, and as Kazushige Nojiima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same ages, the idea worked, taking form as the Garden military academies. Nojima also planned for the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna Loire's group of seventeen to twenty years previous) to highly contrast with one another. This idea was conveyed through Laguna's group consisting of characters who were in their late twenties and had a lot of combat experience. They were also close friends who had fought together for a long time and come to trust one another. Squall's party, on the other hand, was young and inexperienced, and Squall himself does not understand the value of friendship at the game's beginning.

As part of a theme desired by Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere ("foreign" being in relation to Japan), the objective with the character designs was to give them largely European appearances. The first character Nomura designed specifically for use in Final Fantasy VIII was Squall, initially giving him longer hair and a more feminine appearance. However, Yoshinori Kitase didn't feel that this design worked, and asked Nomura to shorten his hair and make him look more masculine, which lead to the final design of Squall seen in-game. When designing Cloud Strife, Nomura gave him distinctly spiky, bright blonde hair, to emphasize his role as that game's main character. With Squall, Nomura wanted to try another unique angle to establish Squall's role, giving him the now trademark gunblade scar across his brow and the bridge of his nose. There was not yet a complete history conceived for the character, so Nomura left the explanation for Squall's scar to Nojima. Squall's design was completed by a feather motif along the collar of his jacket, included by Nomura for the purpose of challenging the game's FMV designers, being but one example of the demands he has consistently extended to the programmers of the Final Fantasy titles as technology has advanced.

Main playable characters

Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart

Main article: Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart (スコール・レオンハート, Sukōru Reonhāto) is the main protagonist and a young student at Balamb Garden, recognized by the scar by his left eye given to him by Seifer. He does not talk much and has the reputation of being a lone wolf. As Squall's story progresses, he becomes fascinated with and falls in love with Rinoa. Squall is also characterized by forlorn memories of standing out in the rain at the orphanage where he grew up, wondering where "Sis" (Ellone, an older girl he saw as a sister-figure) went. His Limit Break is a series of sword attacks called Renzokuken.

As part of Squall's design, Nomura wanted to include silver accessories, which took the form of his ring, necklace and weapon. Squall's weapon, the gunblade (a revolver-sword hybrid that functions primarily as a sword, given a damaging vibration feature by use of the gun mechanism), was also intended to offer a new way for players to control weapons in battle, though, by Nomura's own admission, he feels that the weapon bears an odd appearance.

Rinoa Heartilly

Rinoa Heartilly

Rinoa Heartilly

Main article: Rinoa Heartilly

Rinoa Heartilly (リノア・ハーティリー, Rinoa Hātirī) is the main female protagonist of the game. She is the 17-year-old daughter of General Caraway, a high-ranking officer in the Galbadian army; and Julia Heartilly, a successful pianist and singer. Rinoa is a member of the Forest Owls, a small resistance faction seeking to liberate the small nation of Timber from Galbadian occupation. When the party helps the resistance movement fight Galbadia, Rinoa decides to stay with them. Consequently, she eventually falls in love with Squall. In battle, she uses a weapon that is called a Blaster Edge which has one shot that returns like a boomerang. Her Combine Limit Break is a combination of attacks from Rinoa and her dog, Angelo. As the story nears completion and Rinoa gains Sorceress powers she gains a second Limit Break, Angel Wing, which reflects her increased spell-casting powers.

When designing Rinoa, the game's lead female, Nomura emphasized that he tried to avoid letting the possibilities presented by the recent advancements in FMV technology become the entire focus, believing that these innovations might tempt developers to make their female characters "too beautiful" and focus more on physical appearance than personality. With this concern in mind, Nomura set out with the intention to avoid making Rinoa gorgeous, and to simply make her "cute" instead. To further emphasise this, he wrote a list of vocabulary and physical habits for Rinoa's character that he felt conveyed this idea of "cute, not gorgeous," and sent them to Nojima along with the character's design.

Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire (ラグナ・レウァール, Raguna Rewāru) is a playable character in the game. Most of the experiences involving Laguna appear in the form of "dreams" experienced by the six protagonists. His weapon is the machine gun, and his Limit Break, Desperado, involves a rope hanging in midair, a grenade, a lot of fire from his gun, and some action-movie-style camera angles. It is revealed to the player in segments that he is a twenty-seven-year-old soldier in the Galbadian army, and is traveling with his two companions, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac. He is also described as a passionate writer who prefers to use writing as his weapon of choice against his enemies.

During the first two segments, the team is shown constantly getting lost and frequenting the hotel where singer Julia Heartilly, Laguna's crush, performs. After a scouting mission at Centra, the three are separated and Laguna is injured. He is taken in and nursed to health by Raine, a young woman in a town known as Winhill, whom he falls in love with and marries. However, he is drawn away from his new home when a young girl in their care, Ellone, is kidnapped. Laguna tracks her down in Esthar, where he helps the people of Esthar liberate themselves from the rule of Sorceress Adel. The people of Esthar elect Laguna their President of Esthar, and Ellone is sent back to Winhill. He does not return due to his new responsibilities in Esthar. After Raine dies, her child (implied by Ward and Kiros to be Squall), along with Ellone, is sent to an orphanage. Laguna is unable to leave his post to go see her and is still in Esthar in the present day as President.

The party meets Laguna when the White SeeD ship that Ellone is on is discovered by the Galbadians, and is rescued by one of Esthar's ships. Ellone and Laguna, who share a close relationship, are reunited in space. With professor Odine, Laguna helps the party prepare their endgame against Ultimecia. Laguna appears again at the end of the game, standing at Raine's tombstone, smiling as he remembers the night he proposed to her. Ellone comes to find him, and the two share a happy moment together.

Seifer Almasy

Seifer Almasy

Seifer Almasy

Seifer Almasy (サイファー・アルマシー, Saifā Arumashī) is a classmate and rival to Squall. During the introduction sequence, he cuts Squall downwards across the left side of his face, leaving a scar. Squall then slashes Seifer upwards across the right side of his face, also leaving him with a scar. He is said to have met and dated Rinoa during a summer school term in Balamb Garden (before she met Squall). Seifer is also part of the discipline committee, and is often seen or described as bullying other people, such as Zell, and acting on his own interests. Seifer, like Squall, wields a gunblade; his is called the "Hyperion". His Limit Break is called the Fire Cross, although he will later develop more powerful techniques such as No Mercy.

On the SeeD field exam, Seifer is punished by SeeD for acting independently from Squall and Zell; consequently, he fails the exam once again and is not promoted to SeeD. Spurred by dreams of a brighter future, he joins with the Sorceress Edea out of the promise to be a 'knight' in her new world order. From Seifer's point of view, Squall and the others are the "criminals" and he recognizes himself as the hero. His Balamb Garden friends, Fujin and Raijin, join him as they search for Ellone and seize Lunatic Pandora for Ultimecia (who was merely using Sorceress Edea as a host early in the game); the group is often cited as a "posse". At the end of the game, Seifer, who no longer has the opportunity to be the 'knight', is seen fishing with Fujin and Raijin.

File:Seiferkh2.jpg

Seifer in Kingdom Hearts II

Seifer enrolled in Balamb Garden at a very young age, unable to stay with a foster family for a long duration because of his attitude. Seifer had previously been living at an orphanage with many of the other main characters. Although the characters have lost most of their memories, subsequent flashbacks reveal that his disdain for Squall and tendency to bully Zell started at the orphanage. When he was studying in Balamb, Seifer would usually start a fight with Squall, since he wanted to be the center of attention and Squall would often ignore him.

With Seifer, Nomura had originally intended him to be not just Squall's rival, but to also be at the center of a love triangle between himself, Squall and Rinoa. Though this concept was not thoroughly explored in the final version of the story, Seifer did remain as Squall's rival, and his appearance was designed to serve as a contrast with Squall's. Not only did they both have scars on their faces that ran in opposite directions, but their jackets were opposing colors (black and silver), and of opposite length (Squall's short and Seifer's long). Furthermore, both characters ended up with a gunblade for their weapon, though Squall's (based on a revolver) is particularly bulky and requires two hands to be wielded effectively, while Seifer's (based on an automatic pistol) is much lighter, and can be wielded with one hand. Additionally, Seifer appears as a member of Twilight Town's Disciplinary Committee in Kingdom Hearts II. In the Japanese version of the game, he is voiced by Takehito Koyasu, and in the English version, he is voiced by Will Friedle.

Quistis Trepe

Quistis Trepe

Quistis Trepe

Quistis Trepe (キスティス・トゥリープ, Kisutisu Turīpu) is an eighteen year old instructor at Balamb Garden, where Squall, Zell, and Seifer are students. She has an unofficial fan club known as the "Trepies". Quistis uses chain whips in battle, and her Limit Break is Blue Magic. In terms of personality, Quistis is fairly insecure and prone to depression, although she does have a calm persona. Early in the game, Quistis is discharged as an instructor because she supposedly "lacks leadership qualities".

File:ISPquistis.jpg

Quistis in Itadaki Street Portable.

As the game progresses, the main characters eventually regain their childhood memories and discover that Squall, Seifer, Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine were raised at the same orphanage. They also remember that Squall's characteristic morose and unfriendly behavior began when Ellone, a girl who was an older sister figure to Squall, left the orphanage unexpectedly. As a result of these revelations, Quistis decides that what she thought were romantic feelings for Squall is really more of a big sister complex that began with her childhood attempts to comfort him over the loss of Ellone. Later in the game, she criticizes Squall when he nearly decides to abandon Rinoa, his romantic interest. Like Zell, Quistis was removed from the orphanage and then placed with foster parents, but never developed a close rapport with her new family and eventually moved to Balamb Garden at the age of ten. She proved to be exceptionally gifted in the arts of combat, becoming a SeeD at fifteen and eventually being elevated to the rank of instructor two years later.

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. Tetsuya Nomura was also surprised that the writers decided to make her a teacher, as she was about the same age as the rest of the group. Quistis (along with other Final Fantasy VIII characters) makes an appearance as a playable character in the upcoming Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable.

Selphie Tilmitt

Selphie Tilmitt

Selphie Tilmitt

Selphie Tilmitt (セルフィ・ティルミット, Serufi Tirumitto) is a main character in the game. Her first appearance comes when she runs into Squall while late for her class. She asks Squall to show her around because she has just transferred to Balamb Garden from Trabia Garden. Selphie's next appearance occurs when she delivers a message to Squall, Zell, and Seifer during the SeeD exam mission. She joins the party once Seifer runs off. Spunky, hyper, and somewhat childish, Selphie seems misplaced as part of an elite military academy, but she is actually a valuable asset to the party. During the game, she runs her own website, disarms missiles, and pilots the starship Ragnarok. She wields nunchaku in battle and her limit break is "Slot", which involves determining a series of magical spells or abilities. In the Japanese version, it is revealed that Selphie thinks in Kansai-ben (a Japanese dialect associated with humor in Japan) and thus her quirky style is somewhat justified. In the European version, her weapon of choice is called Shinobou. Throughout the game, she revisits her childhood affection with Irvine.

File:Selphie Kingdom Hearts.jpg

Selphie in Kingdom Hearts

Selphie's design came around as a compromise. 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 simply be wearing a skirt. The aforementioned 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 overalls and a mini-skirt.

A younger version of Selphie also appears as a non-player character in the Kingdom Hearts series with Tidus and Wakka (both of whom she likes to boss around somewhat). By Kingdom Hearts II, Selphie is a little lonely as she and the guys (who are physically absent in Kingdom Hearts II) drifted a bit and are now into different things. She appears to be rather friendly with Kairi.

Zell Dincht

Zell Dincht

Zell Dincht

Zell Dincht (ゼル・ディン, Zeru Din) is a student at Balamb Garden with Squall and Seifer. At 17 years old, Zell is a martial artist; his weapons are gauntlets, and his limit break is a combination of punches and kicks called "Duel". Zell grew up in the town of Balamb, where his mother still lives. His motivation in enrolling at Garden to join the mercenary organization SeeD is to live up to the memory of his grandfather, who was a famous soldier. Zell shows a persona of impulsive behavior and overconfidence in his own skill; however, he tries to be loyal. Later in the game, it is revealed that Zell is adopted, having originally grown up in an orphanage with many of the other protagonists; Seifer's bullying also started at the orphanage.

Zell is often used as comic relief; for example, when Seifer calls him a "chicken wuss," he loses his temper. In the Americanized version of Final Fantasy VIII, Zell has a passion hot dogs (bread in the Japanese version), which are often sold out by the time he reaches the cafeteria. Zell is unable to eat the hot dogs or bread until the final full motion video of the game, upon which, he chokes on them as he tries to eat them too quickly.

Zell's design was achieved with the notion in mind that he would look and act like the main character from a shōnen manga (Japanese comic books intended primarily for boys), a concept reflected by how his neighbors from the town of Balamb view him in-game. Their opinion of his behavior and personality, as described in the Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide, is that he's something of a "'comic-bookish' type of hero."

Irvine Kinneas

Irvine Kinneas

Irvine Kinneas

Irvine Kinneas (アーヴァイン・キニアス, Āvain Kiniasu) is a student at Galbadia Garden, one of three elite mercenary academies featured in the Final Fantasy VIII world. He is known as the most skilled sharpshooter in Galbadia Garden. Irvine was originally scheduled to make a cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts but was ultimately replaced by Wakka in the final version of the game. He was named after the city of Irvine, California, which is located near Squaresoft's North American offices. Irvine is depicted as a bishounen cowboy, tall and fair-skinned with long brown hair that he wears pulled back in a ponytail. He always appears wearing a purple shirt, a long khaki-colored coat, and a black cowboy hat, and is frequently shown wielding a rifle, his weapon of choice in combat. His limit break is "Shot", a series of gunshots with damage and effects based on the type of ammunition equipped.

Early in the game, Irvine flirts with numerous women. Over the course of the game, however, Irvine comes to focus his romantic attentions more and more exclusively on his teammate Selphie; a flashback at one point implies that he has had a crush on her ever since they were small children. Although she is never shown to overtly return his affections, Selphie is seen in the final full motion video sequence wearing Irvine's hat, and becomes angry when he turns to stare at other women. Though seemingly carefree and unattached, during his mission to assasinate Edea, he explains to Squall that he always chokes under pressure. At one point, Irvine complains to Squall that he is often the "odd man out". After the assassination plan is foiled, Irvine avoids imprisonment, and is ordered by General Caraway to rescue Rinoa from the D-District prison; however, Rinoa coerces Irvine to rescue the others as well. The assassination attempt and breakout makes Irvine a fugative in Galbadia, with convinces him to join the party indefinitely.

Balamb Garden, where Squall, Quistis, Zell, Seifer, and eventually Selphie were all trained, encourages the practice of junctioning powerful magical beings called Guardian Forces, or GFs. However, the junctioning process causes severe long-term memory loss as a side effect. Because Galbadia did not follow this practice, Irvine is at first the only character who remembers that he, Squall, Quistis, Zell, Seifer and Selphie were raised at an orphanage run by Matron Edea Kramer, who by the time the game starts has fallen under the control of the evil Sorceress Ultimecia.

Irvine's design also gave Nomura various difficulties, as he felt that making him too handsome would overlap with Squall's appearance, while not making him attractive enough would be rejected. He settled for giving him a handsome appearance, but a laid-back and casual personality, leaving the overall expectation that he would come off as less attractive than Squall due to this. As part of this non-serious appearance, he was given goggles, but — with this being an accessory Nomura had previously given to both Reno and Cid Highwind in Final Fantasy VII — he decided to give him the appearance of an American cowboy, including the traditional hat and boots.

Kiros Seagill

Kiros Seagill

Kiros Seagill

Kiros Seagill (キロス・シーゲル, Kirosu Shīgeru) is Laguna's close friend and comrade in the Galbadian Army. He fights with dual blades called "katal" that he wears on both arms; his Limit Break, Blood Pain, is a barrage of attacks. Following the disastrous mission in Centra, Kiros was separated from Laguna and Ward. He heals quickly and decides to leave the Galbadian army, but soon finds life without Laguna is lacking excitement. Kiros resolves to discover his whereabouts, a search that takes the better part of a year to complete and finally brings him to Winhill. Surprised by Laguna's willingness to settle, Kiros reminds his friend of his journalistic aspirations. When Laguna is forced to leave Winhill to find Ellone, Kiros accompanies him, helping him earn money to fund the expedition. Kiros remains by Laguna's side throughout his adventures in Esthar, earning a place as Laguna's advisor when he becomes president.

Ward Zabac

Ward Zabac

Ward Zabac

Ward Zabac (ウォード・ザバック, Wōdo Zabakku) is Laguna's other close friend. During one flashback, he loses his voice in a battle with Esthar soldiers. He is very large; he throws a large harpoon in battle, and rides it down in his Limit Break (Massive Anchor). He becomes an advisor to Laguna when he becomes president of Esthar, directing affairs with gestures and ellipses. Due to their closeness, Laguna and Kiros can understand Ward's silent expressions; Kiros serves as his translator.

Edea Kramer

File:Tetsuya Nomura--Edea Kramer.jpg

Edea Kramer (イデア, Idea) is presented early in Final Fantasy VIII as a power-hungry sorceress who takes control of Galbadia. Her motives are initially unknown, but SeeD is dispatched to assassinate her. It is eventually revealed that Edea is being possessed by sorceress from the future called Ultimecia. When Ultimecia releases Edea, Edea takes the side of the SeeDs in the struggle, and for a short time joins the party. Later on, Edea accidentally gives her powers to Rinoa, making her a sorceress. She attacks with magical bursts of energy, and her Limit Break, Ice Strike, forms and hurls a giant icicle. This Limit Break is depicted in a scene at the end of Disc one when Ultimecia uses it on Squall while possessing Edea's body. She is also the wife of Headmaster Cid, and was known as "Matron" to Squall and his friends during the time when they lived with her at the orphanage in the continent of Centra.

Edea is one of three character concepts, along with Fujin and Raijin, to have been created before the development of Final Fantasy VIII. Edea had been a design that Nomura created before even Final Fantasy VII's development, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.

Other major characters

Adel

Sorceress Adel

Sorceress Adel

Adel (アデル, Aderu) is a sorceress who rose to power in Esthar and is the initiator of the Sorceress War. As the ruler, she had her soldiers abduct every girl who might serve as her successor, such as Ellone. During the revolution, she was tricked by Laguna and placed in suspended animation in space. Seventeen years later, after losing control of Edea, Ultimecia possessed Rinoa and used her to free Adel to serve as a new vessel. Adel was later revived in the Lunatic Pandora and was defeated by Squall and his party when she tried to absorb Rinoa. Adel's Tomb was responsible for the radio interference that had blanketed the world since its activation, due to the construction of the wave jammer to prevent Adel's powers from manifesting. During her incarceration, Adel was able to project messages within the powerful signal.

Cid Kramer

Cid Kramer

Cid Kramer

Cid Kramer (シド・クレイマー, Shido Kureimā) is the respected headmaster of Balamb Garden. The loyalty of the Balamb student body is tested when an internal staff conflict is sparked between Cid and the Garden Master, NORG; however, many of the students and faculty remain loyal to Cid and return him to power. Afterward, Cid aggressively confronts NORG, who started the SeeD civil war over financial issues. Cid and his wife, Edea, are estranged for most of the game; they are leaders of opposing factions in the early part of the game, until Ultimecia transfers her conciousness to Rinoa.

As each Final Fantasy title included a character named "Cid" — usually being someone who is knowledgable about the game's airships or some other key element of the plot — Nomura wanted to design someone who was similar to the past Cids in Final Fantasy, but also someone who was markedly different. He decided on giving him the appearance and personality of an older, benevolent character who would watch over Squall's party and offer them advice about things which they didn't know, but with which he was thoroughly affiliated. In the end, Nojima decided that this type of good-natured, kind-hearted character would work best as the headmaster of Balamb Garden.

Ellone

Ellone

Ellone

Ellone (エルオーネ, Eruōne) is a mysterious girl who wanders in and out of Balamb Garden, and who knows Squall from his past; she is the missing "Sis" he has been looking for. It is later revealed that she has the ability to send a person's consciousness back in time and into the body of another, so they can watch and sometimes influence the actions of said other. She uses this talent to send Squall and his friends into Laguna's past adventures in the hopes that they will be able to alter the past; however, she eventually concedes that history cannot ever be altered. This power is needed for Ultimecia to achieve time compression, which is why she has Galbadia search the world for her. Ellone's parents were killed by Galbadian soldiers during an occupation, and she then lived with Raine until she was captured by Esthar soldiers. She shares a close relationship with her de-facto "uncle", Laguna.

Fujin

Fujin

Fujin

Fujin (風神, Fūjin) is a young woman with pale skin, short silver hair, and an eye patch. She is a member of the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee with Seifer and Raijin; the three of them form a close "posse", even when Seifer joins with Edea and, later, Ultimecia. Fujin speaks in single-word sentences, which she normally exclaims (such as "RAGE!" and "LIES!"). In the Japanese version of the game, she speaks in single exclamated Kanji characters. Towards the end of the game, her speech pattern returns to normal, when she makes a plea to Squall and his companions to save Seifer from himself. In battle, Fujin wields a chakram and uses wind-based magic. She shares her name with the Japanese god of wind, Fujin.

Like Raijin, the concept and design of Fujin was initially going to appear in Final Fantasy VII; however, the addition of the Turks made the designers feel that the characters were unnecessary. Additionally,Fujin appears as a member of Seifer's gang in Kingdom Hearts II. She is shown without her eyepatch (her hair is covering her eye instead) and going by the name "Fuu". She still speaks in one or two word phrases but does not yell them. In the Japanese version of the game, she is voiced by Rio Natsuki, and in the English version, she is voiced by Jillian Bowen.

Raijin

Raijin

Raijin

Raijin (雷神) is the partner of Fujin. He is a member of Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee with Seifer and Fujin; together, the three form a close "posse", as he calls it. He always ends his sentences with "ya know," and sometimes opts out of explaining difficult things, like Seifer's supposed "execution" by Galbadia, simply by saying "ya know". Like Fujin, he stands loyally by Seifer even as he turns away from SeeD and Garden and sides with the enemy, the Sorceress Edea. However, Raijin has no animosity towards Squall and his friends; he is merely following Seifer's orders. Near the end of the game, Raijin comes to the realization that Seifer is headed down a path that he cannot follow. Along with Fujin, he pleads with Squall and the others to help save Seifer from himself. In battle, Raijin uses a long staff with two large battering weights on either end. He is shares his name with the Japanese god of thunder, Raijin. In the ending FMV, he is celebrating the fact he caught a large fish until Fujin kicks him off the pier into the water.

Like Fujin, the concept and design of Raijin was initially going to appear in Final Fantasy VII; however, the addition of the Turks made the designers feel that the characters were unnecessary. Additionally, Raijin appears as a member of Seifer's gang in Kingdom Hearts II. He goes by the name "Rai" and like his Final Fantasy VIII self, ends all his sentences with "ya know" (except spelled "y'know"). In the Japanese version of the game, he is voiced by Kazuya Nakai; in the English version, he is voiced by Brandon Adams.

Ultimecia

Sorceress Ultimecia

Sorceress Ultimecia

Ultimecia (アルティミシア, Arutimishia) is the sorceress that SeeD was formed to defeat, and is the antagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. She is discovered late in the game, as she operates through the body of Edea Kramer before her revelation. While possessing Edea, Ultimecia gains control of Galbadia, and later possesses Rinoa to release Sorceress Adel from her tomb in space. Afterward, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa, leaving her to die in space, but Rinoa is rescued and Ultimecia is soon fought and defeated. A sorceress from the future, Ultimecia is capable of reaching back through time via a special machine to possess other sorceresses, and seeks to cast a spell called "Time Compression," which would cause all eras to merge. She could then absorb the power of all the sorceresses throughout history and absorb all space-time itself, essentially becoming a god to direct all creation as she pleased. It is through her desire to alter the past and cheat her fate that she is defeated at the hands of Squall Leonhart and his comrades, and perpetuates the cycle that will lead to the formation of SeeD.

Minor characters

Biggs and Wedge

Biggs

Biggs

Wedge

Wedge

Biggs and Wedge are members of the Galbadian Army. Biggs is of a higher rank than Wedge. They cross paths with the party on three occasions; the duo are bested by the main characters each time and demoted in rank as a result. The last encounter in the game does not result in conflict. Their names keep with the Square tradition of naming two minor characters in most Final Fantasy games Biggs and Wedge, and they also share their names with two pilots in Star Wars: Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles.

General Caraway

General Caraway

General Caraway

General Caraway is a member of the Galbadian military, who advises the main characters in the game on their mission to assassinate Sorceress Edea. His decision to help SeeD is sparked by his opposition of Sorceress Edea's rise as Galbadian ambassador. When Laguna went to war and did not return, Caraway comforted Julia after his disappearance. Eventually, they married and bore Rinoa. Caraway and Rinoa have a very cold relationship, in which Rinoa refers to Caraway as "that man". He does love his daughter and does not want to see her get hurt, as demonstrated when he attempted to lock her in a room while the assassination plot takes place, as well as his efforts to free her from the Galbadian Desert Prison. After the assassination attempt on Sorceress Edea, he is dismissed of his duties as General.

Vinzer Deling

Vinzer Deling is the President of Galbadia. During the game, Deling appoints Sorceress Edea as a so-called "peace ambassador" to resolve problems Galbadia had with other nations. For protection against SeeD and the Forest Owls resistance group, he uses a body double named Gerogero. Later in the game, Martine tells the party that Deling chose Edea because he knew that other nations feared Edea as she was a sorceress. Using this fear, he aims to control the other nations. However, Deling was killed by Edea during the welcoming ceremony he arranged for her at Deling City, immediately before the assassination attempt on Edea.

Mayor Dobe and Flo

Mayor Dobe is the mayor of Fisherman's Horizon. He and his wife, Flo, detest violence and stubbornly oppose the Garden's presence in his territory. He was somewhat mollifed after Squall and his party save the Mayor from certain death when Galbadia invades Fisherman's Horizon.

The Forest Owls

The Forest Owls is a small resistance faction against Galbadia, based in Timber. It comprises Zone as their leader, with Rinoa and Watts as loyal members. Both Zone and Watts' parents were killed in the Galbadian occupation, which prompts them to create a resistance faction of their own. Watts acts as a scout and informant, while Zone is the technical expert. Zone is obsessed with girlie mags and gets a major stomachache whenever they are about to undergo a mission, while Watts has a tendency to be left behind whenever the Forest Owls' mobile base moves to a new location.

Julia Heartilly

Julia Heartily

Julia Heartily

Julia Heartilly (ジュリア・ハーティリー, Juria Hātirī) is a resident lounge pianist at a Galbadian hotel frequented by Laguna during his days as a Galbadian soldier. After being admired by Laguna from afar for some time, Julia approached him and introduced herself one night. Julia confessed to Laguna that she had always dreamed of writing her own songs and becoming a singer. Inspired by his encouragements, she eventually established herself with the song "Eyes On Me" (which is also the game's theme song). Laguna was shipped out on new orders the following day and ensuing circumstances prevented him from returning. Julia eventually married Galbadian military officer General Caraway and had a daughter, Rinoa. She was killed in an automobile accident just before Rinoa turned five years old. Julia is the only character in the game with a named character theme, Julia, which is a piano arrangement of Eyes On Me.

Raine Loire

Raine

Raine

Raine was Laguna's second love, whom he met after she found him lying injured at the bottom of a cliff and brought him back to her home town of Winhill to recover. Being very direct and self-sufficient, she was irked at first by Laguna's reluctance to express himself outright, but the two eventually married. After Laguna became President of Esthar, his duties as President stymied his efforts to return to Winhill, and thus Raine died without Laguna at her side. She died after giving birth to a child, who, along with Ellone, was taken away to Edea's orphanage. It is strongly implied in the game that Squall was that child.

Martine

Martine was the head of Galbadia Garden and was ordered to use SeeD members to carry out the assassination plot against the Sorceress. Squall and his team travel to Galbadia Garden after fleeing Timber, and Martine tells them that it is their responsibility to assassinate the Sorceress in hopes that he would remain safe and place the blame on Balamb Garden's master, NORG. Consequently, his actions helped trigger the conflict within Balamb Garden when Garden Master NORG tried to kill Headmaster Cid to appease Sorceress Edea after the failed assassination plot. Edea, Seifer, and the Galbadian army seize Galbadia Garden and Martine flees to the pacifist city of Fisherman's Horizon. He was originally named Dodona in the Japanese version of the game.

Minor SeeD members

• Card Club — the Triple Triad fanatics of Balamb Garden. They consist of: Jack, who is the first to mention the CC Group to Squall; Knight Club, a quiet man; Princess Diamond, who are a pair of female Galbadian students; Prince Spade, who gives Squall his first deck of Triple Triad cards; Queen Heart, who is Xu; Magician Joker, who appears in several locations throughout the game; and Master King, who is Quistis and was formally Dr. Kadowaki.
• Dr. Kadowaki — the Balamb Garden doctor who tended to Squall's wounds after the fight with Seifer in the opening sequence. Despite her serious demeanor, she cares for the students.
• Nida — a student at Balamb Garden who passes the SeeD exam along with Squall and later pilots the Balamb Garden mobile base.
• Xu — a high ranking SeeD who helps Squall throughout the course of the game, such as revealing where Headmaster Cid is during the Balamb Garden civil war. She is a friend of Quistis and a member of Squall's staff once he becomes the leader of Balamb Garden.

NORG

NORG

NORG

NORG is an exiled Shumi residing on the lower B1 floor of Balamb Garden. He lent Cid the money to build and develop the Garden roughly ten years before the game, and took the position of Garden Master on its completion. NORG is more concerned about the revenue acquired by SeeD as a mercenary organization rather than their noble duty of opposing the Sorceress. He is considered a "black sheep" of the Shumi tribe. After hearing about a failed assassination attempt on Sorceress Edea, NORG begins to distrust Headmaster Cid and attempts a coup of Balamb Garden, causing a minor 'civil war' to erupt between factions loyal to the Headmaster and Garden Master. Feigning loyalty to the Sorceress, he attempts to kill the SeeDs who carried out the failed assassination. After he is defeated in battle, he enters a cocoon-like state.

Dr. Odine

Dr. Odine is a scientist whose lab is in the capital of Esthar. He is a famous researcher of magic, and has taken a special interest in the sorceresses. It was he who discovered the GFs and Junctioning, and who engineered a machine that mimicked Ellone's power. He developed the necessary technology to allow Laguna to entomb Adel. As the creator of the Lunatic Pandora, he also played a significant role in the attempt to prevent a Lunar Cry from occurring over Esthar. Odine also plays a role in the plot to destroy Ultimecia, and explains to Squall and his friends how to survive Time Compression.