A thread for FFVIII-related discussions! :rolleyes:

Personally, I think FFVIII is my least-favourite FF game. I felt very univolved in the events and characters and I have very limited patience with Squall... <_<

But there was a lot of cool stuff about it too!

1) While a lot of the music passed me by, the ones that had an effect on me (mostly the Sorceress-related pieces) were AMAZING. The ones that stood out were above and beyond in terms of power and quality.

2) The Sorceress storyline in general really interested me. I thought it was brilliant, and very, very cool. I love anything and everything to do with them.

3) The Rinoa = Ultimecia theory. Wow...

4) The ending. I love the succession scene with Edea, the surreal and symbolic FMV sequence, Rinoa finding Squall, Laguna's ending, the Posse's ending, the video-camera sequence (LMAO!)...all of it. Brilliance! :D

5) Last but not least...Laguna. Definitely my favourite character in the game and his story was my favourite element within the game. I loved the dream sequences, and I was really involved in and touched by his story. Kiros, Ward and Ellone were great too, and I adore his relationship with Raine. I actually felt that I had a much stronger sense of them as characters than those of the younger generation, so maybe that's why I'm more attached to them (or maybe it's because they rock). I don't see much about Ellone on these days, but I always thought she was one of the game's most fascinating characters. But seriously, Laguna's full story could easily make up an RPG game all in itself, in my opinion. Well I'd pay good money to see the whole story, anyway... ::sends Laguna-lovin' vibes towards SE:: Of course, the ending would be rather depressing though, until things are resolved nearly twenty years later. But dammit, I want to see it done anyway! ::hugs Laguna::

Agree with me? Disagree? Come here and talk about it! ^_^

I didn't really like the Squall x Rinoa development....Squall would be 'whatever' one second, and suddenly 'I can't live without her!!' the next....I didn't see much development at all between the two, instead they just suddenly fell in love...But I liked the intro and ending...The battle system was...interesting...but made the game way to easy.

Awww, I think FF8 is the most underrated FF game. The thing is, "the love story" which is the theme that the game revolves around isn't very powerful. It was supposed to be the center of the game but it failed to move me the way a lot of other love stories have.(Cloud and Aeris for instance)
But FF8 has it's moments. I love that "Orphanage Gang " part where they find out they actually all grew up together! It was so touching and seeing them as kids gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. And i love the part in the basketball court after they remember their time in the orphanage. Snow suddenly starts falling and someone(I think it was Quisty) says "A gift from the faeries"
Awesome.

"It seems quiet in there. It's not. It's deafening"
-Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The above line is basically the way I see Squall. Cold, silent loner on the outside, an emotional kaleidoscope on the inside. He may not have developed much in terms of words but the way he developed in his thoughts is astounding.
I've mentioned this in the "Whatever" thread: Squall seems like a coldhearted jerk who doesn't open up much to people in the game. Not even with Rinoa! He only opened up to her while she was a vegetable which is not really ''opening up" is it? :D But when a player sees how his thoughts and emotions slowly but surely evolve, how his past experiences play so much a part in the person he is,how confused and lonesome he really is...well you get the picture :P Well, when i saw all that, he became much more humane and well-rounded

...which brings me to one of the most frustrating things in the game. Square never said outright that Laguna and Squall are father and son but there are enough clues to make it glaringly obvious. For instance, that Ward-Kiros thing where they say "You look like your mother" "Good thing you don't look like your father". And then Laguna says "We'll have a talk after this" Awww, a father-son talk! It's just too bad that Square never developed this particular part of the story.

FF8 had many aspects which could have been fleshed out and made the story more deep and emotionally satisfying than turned out. They could have dissected the different characters in the "Orphanage Gang" They could have dug deeper into the Squall-Laguna father/son relationship. But no, those factors and many others were shoved into the shadow of the love story. And I suppose that's what makes FF8 so underappreciated- it could have been, it should have been but it wasn't.

Has anyone here read The Promise of Nightmares? It is my absolute favorite FF8 fanfic, a wonderful illustration of how some fanfics can be better than the game itself. Here's the link
The Promise of Nightmares

I loved Final Fantasy VIII. The plot was great, the sorceress thing was cool, the love story was great. I liked Squall and Rinoa and Seifer and all the characters. Seifer was great. Squall and Rinoa's love story was great. Their are a lot of plots that could have been extended. Perhaps they could've used disc four to delve further into the character's lives and resolve things and make a fifth disc for the big battle. I also wish we learned more about Seifer's past. Squall and Seifer seemed like best friends before they became ricals. I liked Squall and Seifer and Rinoa. I think their should've been a scene where Seifer find sout abotu Squall and Rinoa's relationship and gives him their blessing and we find out about Seifer and Rinoa's summer together. The sorceress thign was great and interesting. I loved Squall and Rinoa's story, but I wish they added a few lines, like Squall getting jealous or something cute like that. Squall and Rinoa got together on disc three, I wish they had gotten together earlier, like on disc two, so you'd see their relationship more.

Before Squall and Rinoa got together, you could see Squall's feelings develop deeper if you got the correct date, in which Squall opens up to Rinoa and Rinoa tells him, we all love you, and Squall stays with Rinoa. Also, ebfore they got together, during the garden battle, that's when Squall first realized his felengs. I loves Squall and Rinoa's relationship when they were together. When they first got together and their scene on the Ragnorak, The Eyes on Me scene, Squall letting her keep his ring, their hug in the sorceress's memorial, their kiss, their promise. I liked how they had so many sweet scene safter they got together. They had so many great scenes together as a couple. I remember, during FF: THe Spirits within, I was reminded of Squall and Rinoa's romantic scene on the Ragnorak when Aki and Grey had their scene on the ship. In the original version, Aki tells Grey that she's pregnant with his child before he dies . Squall and Rinoa did spend the night together on the Ragnorak. It'd be funny if someone mentioned, what did you two do all night in space, and Squall got all adorable and started blushing. That could've been a great scene.


Imagine


Zell: So Squall, how long did it take you guys to get down from then ship?

Squall: Um... we were in there the whole night.

Zell: The whole night?

Squall: Yeah.

Zell: Squall, did you-

Squall: ZELL! *blushes* *Covers Zell's mouth*

Others: What was that? Squall and Rinoa were alone on a ship all night together?

Squall: Yeah... *blush* We...

That would've been a good added scene. Squall and Rinoa are such a great couple.

Usagi Mamoru, there is a very similar scene in "The Promise of Nightmares" to what you're envisioning.
And in that fic, Squall and Rinoa really do do it on a ship :/ Loved that fic but I was kind of queasy with that part of the story.

Looks like you've been busy, Hyper-Ballad, creating discussion threads for nearly every FF game so far. :lol:

Nothing wrong with that though. I did write a very long reply why I love FFVIII so much...but then I somehow managed to delete it. <_<
So while I gather the energy to write it all again, I will just say that I love this game as much as I love the others. :D

Agreed. I love FFVIII. I thought the plot was interesting and seeing Squall and Rinoa together was like getting a chance to see Cloud with Aerith again. The two couples are very similiar. :D

I loved FFVIII, and I agree that it's a very underrated game. I completely agree with what Kusari Yarou said about Squall:

I thought Squall's character development in the game was fascinating, and I really enjoyed his character. I loved the way they developed how his past as a child had affected him and how he was so detached from the others basically out of a fear of being alone. Even his inablility to get back to the others through time compression was due to that fear, which showed him to be a vulnerable person beneath his hard exterior. Besides that, he's such a bish!! *drool* :lol:

I really enjoyed most of the story. What I *didn't* enjoy was most of the characters. Most characters in the story besides Squall drove me absolutely up the wall. :lol: If anything turned me off to the story, it was the characters. The only characters I enjoyed in the story were Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Edea, and Ellone. I could tolerate Kiros, Raine, and Quistis, but I wasn't at all fond of them. Sorry to anyone who enjoyed the other characters, but the other characters drove me crazy. <_< The dream sequences to me were absolutely the worst part of the game. I groaned every time one of them started up, and I couldn't wait to for it to end.

I thought the part about the sorceresses was very well done and I really enjoyed that part of the story. I loved the part about Ultimecia's castle at the end and the element of time compression. The part about the orphanage was very good, too, and how they all used to live together but didn't remember it. I loved the part about Seifer leading Abel's army against the Garden and the attempt to assassinate Abel at the end of Disk One. There were several subquests I enjoyed, too, such as going into Odin's castle and the one beneath the sea (what was it called?). The junctioning system was okay once you got used to it, although I thought it was rather cumbersome.

Rinoa and Squall's love story didn't have as powerful an effect on me as CloudxAerith and TidusxYuna. It was too predictable for it to have any real impact on me. It was lovely enough and I was happy to see Squall together with Rinoa in the end, but their story just didn't touch my heart in the same way CloudxAerith and TidusxYuna did.

And last of all, I loved the music. There's many songs from FFVIII that I absolutely loved.

Well, a lot of people seem to dislike FFVIII for some reason. It's either they can't stand Squall, the battle system or the whole uhh sorcerers thingy. I actually like FF8's plot, I don't see anything bad with it. But most girls I've seen like FF8, it's a 'girly' game? XD I actually don't like the couple SquallxRinoa, there was a time where I disliked Rinoa, but I got over it the third time I played the game. I never really examined, or paid much attention to how SquallxRinoa became, to me Squall and Rinoa's relationship came off looking real forced, it didn't have the natural appeal CloudxAerith or TidusxYuna gave off, that's probably why it didn't affect me nearly as much. But I got extremely annoyed with one sidequest which is the one where you have to defeat a lot of tornberries (sp) to get the GF itself. Geez, that annoyed me!! some of the sidequests are tough but damn, they're rewarding. I still don't know how to do the library girl sidequest for Zell .. *sigh*
overall, I find FF8 to be a great game. It's the first Square game I played, so I've got special love for it. and since FF8 was also the first game I ever completed, played, touched .. it wasn't very easy to play. The ending, I had to defeat Ultimicea with all 90++ above levels and I almost died too. Ah, but in the end the game's satisfying.

Since it was the first FF game I've ever played, so I'd have to say I LOVED this game.

But they could have done so much with the plot. I enjoyed the "history" of the FFVIII's world (although it was so brief it could fit into a molecule). I was especially interested in the Centra Ruins, Tears Point, the way the people of Centra got wiped out when Galbadia started to flourish, and especially the Soceress history.

If they focused more onto that, I'm sure they would have made FFVIII into a great game.

And am I the only one (in my delusional brain) that believes that Square really intended to use that Ultimecia = Rinoa theory but crapped it last minute? Cause there's a big plot hole involving Ultimecia and her reasons to compress the world (besides taking over the world, of course), and I don't like that.

Reaaally? Care to go deeper in that theory?

As for me, I don't like the fact that they never went deeper into the Squall-Laguna relationship. I mean Laguna was an important part of the game and i was waiting for he and Squall to have a father-son talk... but Square probably scrapped it to give way to the love story. Sighhh :cry:

The theory's wacky. It starts something like this:

- Let's just say that in Universe One, after Rinoa's mom died when she was 5 years old, she was embittered with life and couldn't get along with her father. Since Ultimecia never existed around this time (cause Rinoa is Ultimecia), she never meets Squall because he wasn't a SeeD because SeeD was never established because Edea was never possessed by Ultimecia BECAUSE Ultimecia never existed. (does it makes sense?)

- Maybe she's somehow inherits the soceress powers from Adel. Maybe after all the years she gets corrupted with the power and in the far future, she decides to compress time so that she can live in the present forever. She uses the perfected Super-Junction-Ellone machine to reach back into the past to capture Ellone and compress time, but things go horribly wrong.

- So around this time the universe splits into two.

In Universe One: Time is compressed, but she is thrown into another universe, Universe Two since she can't really go back in time in Universe One because it would clash with the events that brought her there.

In Universe Two: A new universe that doesn't have (yet) the events in Universe One. Ultimecia doesn't exist in this universe, but could exist in the future. A dying Rinoa/Ultimecia passes her powers to Edea, and then SeeD is established by Edea and Cid in order to defeat Ultimecia when the time comes.

- The game proceeds as usual, only since Ultimecia never exists in this new universe, the events in the Lunatic Pandora and the Time Compression never happens. Squall and gang live happily ever after.

- But somehow things go wrong. Rinoa becomes corrupted with the powers, and Squall decides to stay with her and become her soceress' knight. Rinoa, wanting the time to remain the same in order that her and Squall can be together, goes back into time to capture Ellone. By going back into time, she is now known as a soceress from the future. But imagine, she finds her younger self and younger Squall here at her castle to kill her!

- Younger Rinoa and Squall defeats Ultimecia, but somehow Squall never finds his way out of the time compression. Rinoa, being embittered that Squall never returned to her, (in the far future where she is corrupted with Ultimecia's powers) decides to reach into the past in an effort to bring him back. He returns in a much altered form... (Griever perhaps?)

- Then younger Rinoa and Squall arrive to kick her butt again. Ultimecia dies, Squall returns from the time compression safely, and they lived happily ever after. Only they don't; Rinoa becomes corrupted and reaches back into time to capture Ellone in order to live in the 'present' with Squall...

- Oh, and there's this conversation of Rinoa and Squall that was pretty... strange.

Rinoa: What'll become of me?

Squall: Don't worry about it. There've been many good sorceress. Edea
was one. You can be like her.

Rinoa: But Edea's still... I can't guarantee anything, either, if Ultimecia
possesses me again... You saw me. She controlled me in outerspace and made me
break Adel's seal. What might happen next time? What will I end up doing? Will
I end up fighting everyone? ...Scary thought, isn't it?

Squall: (Rinoa......) (Even if you end up as the world's enemy.) (I'll...)
(I'll be your knight.)

Rinoa: If I fall under Ultimecia's control again... SeeD will come kill me,
right? And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall... Squall's sword will pierce my
heart...... I guess it's ok if it's you, Squall. Nobody else. Squall, if that
ever happens...

Squall: That's enough! I'll never do anything like that. The sorceress I'm
after is not you, Rinoa. My enemy is the sorceress from the future...
Ultimecia.

Rinoa: Ultimecia lives in the future and possesses me. She uses my body as her
extension in this world. How will you save me?

Squall: I'll come up with something... There's gotta be a way.

Rinoa: ......

----------------------------------------------------

Most of it is based on www.gamefaqs.com Plot Analysis of FFVIII, by Sophie Cheshire. It's an interesting read.

Imagine if Square did something like that? That'll bring Squall and Rinoa's relationship to another level. More like corrupted, will-do-anything-for-that-person lovers, that is.

:blink:

Aprillis, I didn't get many of that. I kept seeing Rinoa reaching back in time for Ellone, but it didn't seem to retain. I'll keep reading your post some time so that I can understand one day. :lol:


However, I loved FFVIII. The junction system was a bit confusing (to me!) at first, but then I got the hang of it. The graphics are MUCH better to FFVII, (:blush: You have to admit that, right?) and - I agree, FF_G - seeing Rinoa and Squall together was like seeing Cloud and Aeris together again. :wub:


And with Anastar... Squall was such a bishie!!! :wub:

Yeah, it's kinda complicated. ^^;

Rinoa = goes to future = defeats her future self = her future self in the brink of death = goes to past = passes powers to Edea (and then Rinoa) = an endless time loop

which is parallel to:

Ultimecia = compresses time = gets defeated by younger self = younger self gets corrupted = compresses time = gets defeated by younger self = and endless time loop

Then things repeat itself over and over and over again... something like that.

I have a hard time believing the Rinoa = Ultimecia theory, simply because I think Square would have made it much more obvious in the game. It's more likely that they thought about it, but scrapped the idea. If Square intended for us to know that Rinoa was Ultimecia, I think it would have been presented to us as obviously as Lucrecia being Sephiroth's real mother instead of Jenova. Would a major plot element like that be so hidden?

Yeah, I think so too.

But I wished they didn't put emphasis on the Griever ring and then brushed it away without any explaination to as why the matter was brought up in the first place. And why we were allowed to draw the Griever GF from Ultimecia but couldn't use it since it was the final battle anyways.

And I ALSO wished they'd give a history lesson about Ultimecia's motives and how she came into existance. It bothers me that there was so many unresolved issues in the game. (Like Laguna = Squall's father)

Didn't like it. But it's an OK FF.

The Rinoa and Squall romance is forced for me. I couldn't see how he fell in love with her in disk 3. I was taken by surprise for this. Cloud and Aerith, Tidus and Yuna, Cecil and Rosa, Zidane and Dagger were more convincing.

Didn't like Rinoa. I was hoping she'd grow a spine in the course of the game and stood up for herself, I dislike being forced to rescue her again and again for the sake of the plot.

The orphanage scene is kind of lame. I didn't like the whole "GF kills your memory cells!", it was also a dull way to explain the other characters' past.

Seifer teasing Zell is cute though.

I actually felt bad for Ultimecia, despite her lack of character. I'm under the impression she is doomed by the very loop she created. No matter how she tries to screw up the past, she'll only be defeated, and again and again some more. There's nothing she can do about it at all.

You could draw Griever from Ultimecia? Seriously? :woot: Too bad you can't use him though! <_< He would've made an excellent GF, and could probably inflict as much damage as Eden. :angel:

I agree though, Anti-R, that the "GFs kills off your memory cells!" was kind of weird. But it also had a scrap of FF7-ness --- Materia cuts off your HP, but it increases your MP. A double-edged sword, like what Cloud said. ^_^

For me, Squall and Rinoa was like Cloud-and-Aeris Lite. Kinda similar, but not as moving or powerful. :yawn:

I didn't like it too much either...bowl o mush compared to Cloud and Aerith's powerful love story. And it took center stage in the game when there were other things Square could have developed :whistle:

Yup, I feel the same way about Rinoa. She gets rescued more times than Tifa and Aerith put together! And though I admit that she had a well-rounded, developed personality, i never grew to like it.
She can kick ass in battles, though. I used her most among my female characters

Hey now, I loved that scene. They were all so cute! :P

Hmmm, Aprillis, I think I'm gonna have to read that Ultimecia-Rinoa theory all over again...

:lol: Yeah, I agree... it wasn't as moving or as powerful as CloudxAerith at all. I was glad to see Squall and Rinoa together at the end of it, though.

I didn't mind Rinoa at all. I can't say that she's one of my very favorite Final Fantasy characters, but she never bothered me, either. I always used her in my party, too, and I thought she was a good fighter. I always enjoyed using her dog, too. Her dog made the killing blow to Ultimecia for me in one game - go, Angelo!! :lol:

Yeah, I wish we would have learned more about it, too. That part always puzzled me... although I wonder if Ultimecia "designed" GF Griever from something in Squall's mind that he considered powerful. It's sorta like making Squall fight against himself - almost like psyching him out. Wouldn't Ultimecia be able to conjure up a GF of her own? :unsure:

I agree very much. Me and my elder sister got kind of ticked that we had to keep rescuing Rinoa (>_<), but seeing her with Squall made me think so strongly of Cloud and Aeris --- which was fully okay with me. My sister didn't like Rinoa, but she loved Squall, especially at the end when he smiled. ^_^

I know!!! :huggle: It was like seeing them all chibified and in their younger versions! ^_^ But Squall was alone most of the time, wasn't he? :unsure: The cutest parts were when Seifer teased Zell... :lmao:

I loved Squall and Rinoa's romance. I liked how they got together in the middle of the game, I wish they got together earlier, like on disc one or two instead of waiting until disc three. I loved all their sweet, mushy scenes in disc three and four. The sorceress theme was cool. I liked Squall and Rinoa's story so much. I loved how Squall fell for Rinoa, and the eyes on me scene and the sorceress memorial scene and the promise scene. It was so sweet. If you get the good date in disc two, then it shows how Squall fell for Rinoa.

You have to get all the instruments right and you see Squall open up and Rinoa tell him she loves him subtely. If you get the good date, then you really see how Squall opened up to Rinoa. I loved Squall and Rinoa's story and I think I loved Squall and Rinoa's story a little more then Cloud and Aerith's because they got together. Couples that get together early on or in the middle are always high on my list because I love relationships together during the game and I love sweet, romance and mushy moments. Hee. I liked the Final Fantasy games' stories of Squall and Rinoa, Zidane and Garnet, Zidane and Dagger, Cecil and Rosa, and more. Since I played every Final Fantasy game, I really liked all of the stories. Anyway, I wished that Squall and Rinoa got together earlier and it showed them falling for each other earlier. A lot of references made by Squall when he's together with Rinoa are from the happy version of the date. When Squall quotes Rinoa on the Ragnorak, the qutoe is from the good date. I wish they made the good date the real date, kind of like how they should have made a certain ff7 date canon.

In the good date, Squall asks Rinoa questions about her plans for the future and more. When I did my ff movie films (After I beat games a lot fo times I decide to rebeat them and film them), I filmed both date versions in a row, one after the other, and the difference is tremendous. It seemed like Squall liked Rinoa and Seifer and Rinoa won Squall's heart. Squall and Seifer were best friends and Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend.

Final Fantasy VIII is a lot like Final Fantasy IV. I loved both games, and the games are very similar.

I loved how Squall and Rinoa got together in the middle of the game, but I wish they had gotten together earlier so we would've seen more scenes with them.

Hmmm UM, I haven't tried to analyze those two as much as I've analyzed Cloud and Aerith ( like I said, they are Cloud-n-Aerith Lite to me :D ) but I think they hadn't fallen in love yet in that date. They were beginning to.

She wasn't really "officially" Squall's girlfriend throughout the game. I mean, he didn't ask will you be my girlfriend or anything :P And gosh, Seifer and Squall, best friends??? :o Ahhh, Seifer and Squall are the farthest thing from best friends! They are rivals. Have been, ever since.

Anyone else here who liked Seifer? I did. Well, not exactly liked, more like I was fascinated by him. He had such a twistedly arrogant mind and was outrageously ambitious but when everything fell apart, even his most trusted cohorts abandoned him. He came off looking pretty pathetic.
I was a little disappointed that Square never explained why he turned out htat way. They resorted to showing us that he’s been a bullying git since he was a kid “and that’s why he’s like that now”.

Oooh, there's another kawaii thing i remember about the orphanage scenes.I loved the way they talked when they were kids. Saying “yoo” instead of “you” and “Matwyin” instead of “Matron” Awwwwwwww!!!! :sad:

Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend. When you start going out with someone, a lot of the time it happens without asking. A lot of couples become girlfriend and boyfriend without asking, it happens naturally. Also, Seifer was his best friend, if you look at all his quotes on the first two discs, Seifer was his first friend. Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend and Squall's only love. I liked Seifer too. Seifer had a lot of great quotes. I wish he came back to the party. The whole game I thought he'd come back, but he didn't. Squall, Rinoa and Seifer are my fav FFVIII cahracters. Rinoa and Seifer were the two people Squall showed the most respect/love for.

Now now, I'm certainly not contradicting the fact that she was his love interest!

.
Uhhhh...okay...if that's the way you perceive. I was just saying that it wasn't "official"

What quotes???

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude! :o Sorry if I came across that way. I didn't mean to come across that way at all! :) A lot of times when I type I mean it as nice/playful, but since when you type you can't hear someone's voice, it may have a harsh tone. Anyway, a lot of anime/manga/live action/video game couples in Japan become boyfriend/girlfriend early on. They have lots and lots of sweet kisses/hugs/get married and call each other girlfriend/boyfriend, but when they first get together, it comes naturally and is really sweet, but they don't say "Will you be my ____", because it's said they are already together. Most of anime/manga/live action/video game couples in Japan that get married are boyfriend and girlfriend throughout most of the series, have lots and lots of kisses and hugs, call each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but when they get together, they don't ask to go out, they get together natually. The American version of "Official" is a bit different. Theirs a lot of cultural differences and a lot of stories about how culture clashes are different depending on which country your from. I'm from America but I love reading/watching/playing lots of anime/manga/live action/video games and more. In series, I love couples that are boyfriend and girlfriend throguhout the series and get together early on in the first/second season and are together for the majority of the series. A lot of times in Japan, the way asking someone out and marriage proposals can be differently. Giving someone a ring and saying "I Love You", asking someone if they want to be together each day, asking someone to marry you, asking someone to live with you and always be in your house, giving someone a ring are all ways of marriage proposals. I've watched lots of anime and read lots of manga and watches lots of live actions shows from Japan in Japanese. Anyway, back to the topic. They were official, because everybody said they were together and they said were together. On the teasing thing, a lot of times teasing and arguing and fighting is more closeness and sweetness. Well, that's how it was with my boyfriend and I before we got together. *Blushes a bit* My boyfriend and I used to argue a lot before we got together. Ah, *blushes* I shouldn't have used that example.


Some quotes for both I didn't put in order and some aren't word-for-word, I replaced some of the him/her/them with names.


Squall "I don't know what to do..."
"This is just another crossroad in my life. But, for the first time, I don't know which way to go."
"I've come this far because I've...fallen for you."
"......Rinoa......"
"Now...am I just supposed to let you go...?"


Squall "GOD!!!!!! Rinoa is gonna die!...I can't take it. Ellone, please."
"I've never felt this way in my life."


Rinoa "Squall!"
"Thank you."


Squall "It was, ah...don't worry about it."
"It was my job. We're still under contract. And it was everybody else's idea, too."
"And I just happened to find you. That's all."
"So like I said, don't worry about it."


Rinoa "You know something, I couldn't afford to fall off that cliff and die."
"I have something very important that belongs to you."
"I can't die until I give it back to you, right?"
"Zell gave it to me, see? I've been holding onto it."

Squall (I'm gonna kill him...)
"That's my favorite ring. You'd better give it back."

Rinoa "I'm sure it is. It's a cool-looking ring. What's this monster on it anyway?"

Squall "It's not a monster. It's a lion."
"Lions are known for their great strength and pride."

Rinoa "Hmm...great strength...pride......Kinda like you, Squall."

Squall "I wish..."

Rinoa "Hmm...so this L I O N of yours. Does it have a name?"

Squall "Of course."

Rinoa "So that's what you call it."
"You know Zell said he'll make me one exactly like it."
"Who knows, maybe I can become like a lion, too."
"That'd be crazy, huh!? I mean, everyone might, y'know, get the wrong idea about us."

Squall (If it's so crazy, why do you sound so delighted?)
(Everyone is trying to get us together.)
(It's so obvious even I can tell.)
"You sound like you want everyone to get the wrong idea."

Rinoa "We all love you. There, I said it. Please don't freak out. We just wanna live, y'know, live through this time with you, together."

Squall "......Together...?"

Rinoa "Keep it in the back of your mind."
"Call on us whenever you need to."
"We'll be waiting."
"Like I said, who knows what's gonna happen in the future...but I have a feeling we'll be together for a while."
"So, what's on your mind? Do you have any dreams, Squall? Anything you want to do with your life?"

Squall (......I've never thought about it.)
"That's something I'd rather not talk about."
"What about you?"

Rinoa "...I don't know. I guess I'd rather not talk about the future, either."
"But right now..."
"...I wanna stay right here...like this."

Rinoa "Squall?"
"You have to voice your feelings, or else I won't understand."

Squall "You were...part of a resistance movement in Timber, right?"
"Unlike others who are all talk, you took to your weapon and fought..."
"And now you're saying all this? What happened to you?"

Squall (......Rinoa)


Squall "Where's Rinoa?"


Squall (Rinoa...You feel so cold.)
(Are you going to be like this forever?)
"......"
"Isn't there anything I can do!?"
"You were so full of life."
"Now you don't even make a sound..."
"I want to hear you voice."
(This is like talking to a wall.)
"Rinoa...Call my name."
(......)


Squall (Rinoa......Where are you?)
(I'm gonna find you, no matter what.)
(I have to get in front of her......And catch her...)


Rinoa "Squall...thank you."
"I heard your voice."


Squall "...I can't believe it."


Rinoa "Are we gonna make it?"

Squall "Don't worry."

Squall "Rinoa, hold on..."

Rinoa "The space suit was in our way before."

Squall (Huh?)

Rinoa "Give me a hug."

Squall (...?)

Rinoa "A real tight one!"
"I need to know that I'm alive!"

Squall (...Alive?)
(We still have to get back.)
"We may be alive right now...But look at our situation..."
"You want to live, right? You want to go back and see everyone, right?"

Rinoa "And not become other people's memories?"

Squall "That's right."


Squall "Thanks."

Rinoa "Hey!?"

*Squall jumps up and takes her inn his arms*


Squall "Go sit over there. Put your seatbelt on."

*Rinoa sits in Squall's lap*

Squall "Now go sit down."

Rinoa "Just a little longer."

Squall "Why are you holding on to me like this?"

Rinoa "You don't like this, Squall?"

Squall "Just not used to it."

Rinoa "How about when you were little?"
"Didn't you feel safe and secure being held by your parents?"

Squall "I can't remember anything about my parents..."
"But...Ellone was there for me."
"Ellone was there to hold my hand."

Rinoa "Made you feel safe and secure?"

Squall "Sure."
"But she left. Just disappeared."
"I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of having that feeling of comfort taken away."

Rinoa "You were afraid of losing us?"
"Is that why you kept your distance?"

Squall "I was always alone..."

Rinoa "Squall..."
"You missed out on all the good things in life."
"You've missed out on so much."

Squall "...Maybe."

Rinoa "Definitely."
"I like it like this."
"I liked having my mom hold me."
"May dad, too, back when we got along."

Squall "I'm not your mom."

Rinoa "No, of course not."
"But now...Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort."
"Comfort and happiness..."
"And annoyance and disappointment, too!"

Squall "...Whatever."

Rinoa "...Whatever."

Squall "You should get back to your seat now."

Rinoa "Just a little longer."

Squall (You'll be safer in your seat.)

Rinoa "We're gonna make it home, right?"

Squall "We can only hope."

Rinoa "When we get back...We won't be able to stay together, huh?"

Squall "...Maybe."
"No one can predict the future, there are no guarantees."
"Those were your word, Rinoa."

Rinoa "That's not what I meant."

Squall "We'll figure out what to do once we get back."

<Rinoa sits in her seat.>


Rinoa "They'll all be angry at me."

Squall "Angry?"

"This is Airstation. Ragnarok, please respond."

Squall "This is the Ragnarok."

"We have some questions for you."
"We're collecting escape pods."
"We have a good idea of what happened."
"I hear no one from Lunar Base is on the Ragnarok."
"How many of you are there?"

Squall "Just two."

"......Your names?"

Squall "Squall. I'm a SeeD from Balamb Garden."

"And the other?"

Squall "...Rinoa."

"Rinoa? The sorceress!? She's on the ship!?"

Squall (So...It's true? Rinoa is a sorceress?)

Rinoa "I've...become a sorceress. I can't stay with you anymore, Squall."

"Respond, Ragnarok!"

Rinoa "I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still. I just want to stay here with you..."

Squall (Rinoa...)

"Respond, Ragnarok!"

Rinoa "Nobody would want to be around me anymore..."

"The sorceress will be seized upon arrival. Be sure to follow the crews instructions."

Rinoa "I'm...scared."

"Squall, do you copy? Is the sorceress listening, too?"

*Squall shuts off machine*

Rinoa "I'm scared, Squall."

Rinoa "I don't wanna go back."

*Squall kneels by Rinoa and hugs her*

Squall "Rinoa! Don't go!"

Rinoa "......Thanks, Squall. But I have to go..."

Squall (......Rinoa.)

Rinoa "......Oh...I still have your ring."

Squall "You keep it."

Rinoa "You sure?"

Squall "Yeah..."

Squall (What am I doing...?)
(I may never get to hear Rinoa's voice again...)

Squall "The only thing I know is Rinoa."
"The only thing I want to do for sure right now is for Rinoa."
"We're going to get Rinoa back!"

Squall "...I know what I want and what I have to do."
"...There's still a chance. I'm not gonna look back."
"I'm taking Rinoa with me."

Squall "Rinoa, hold on! I'll get you out in a sec!"

<Squall punches the glass.>

Squall "What am I supposed to do!? Come on!"

<Squall cuts the wires.>

*Squall and Rinoa hug*

Rinoa "Squall, don't! I'm a sorceress."

Squall "I don't care."

*Squall and Rinoa hug*

Squall "Let's go."

Squall "Get what?"

Selphie "I never imagined you two would end up together."
"I mean...You guys are complete opposites."
"So I didn't think Rinoa's straight-forward approach would work."
"I'm glad I was wrong!"

Rinoa "What about you, Selphie?"

Rinoa "What'll become of me?"

Squall "Don't worry about it."
"There've been many good sorceresses. Edea was one."
"You can be like her."

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."
"What might happen next time?"
"What will I end up doing?"
"Will I end up fighting everyone?...Scary thought, isn't it?"

Squall (Rinoa......)
(Even if you end up as the world's enemy,)
(I'll...)
(I'll be your knight.)

Rinoa "If I fall under Ultimecia's control again..."
"SeeD will come kill me, right?"
"And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall..."
"Squall's sword will pierce my heart......"
"I guess it's ok if it's you, Squall. Nobody else."
"Squall, if that ever happens..."

Squall "That's enough!"
"I'll never do anything like that. The sorceress I'm after is not you, Rinoa."
"My enemy is the sorceress from the future...Ultimecia."

Rinoa "Ultimecia lives in the future and possesses me."
"She uses my body as her extension into this world."
"How? How will you save me?"

Squall "I'll come up with something...There's gotta be a way."

Rinoa "......"

Squall "Don't worry. Trust me."

Rinoa "...I trust you."
"Well, until you find a way, maybe..."
"Maybe I should stay in Esthar, at the memorial? Wouldn't that be better?"

Squall "No...That'd be pointless."
"I'll just end up gong after you again."
"Rinoa...Just stay close to me."

Rinoa "Oh..."
"Those words!"

Squall "What?"

Rinoa "That's what started everything."

Squall "What are you talking about?"

Rinoa "You don't remember?"

Squall "Something I said?"

Rinoa "Oh, just forget it!"

Squall "No, it's because of the GF. That's why I forgot."

Rinoa "That's just an excuse."

Squall "Feeling better?"

Rinoa "Yeah."
"Can I tell you a story?"
"I had a dream. It was a scary dream."
"We make a promise. We promise to see shooting stars together."
"I get dressed up and put on your ring."
"But the thing is, I can't remember where I'm supposed to meet you."
"I start to panic. I really want to see you, Squall, but I don't know where to go."
"I start running through the mountains, the desert, the plains...Through Timber, Balamb and Galbadia..."
"When I realize I can't run any longer...I...I just want to see you so badly..."
"So I scream, Squall, where are you!?"
"Then I woke up. I was crying."
"I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything."
"I just felt like I had to tell you."

Squall "It was just a dream..."
"It doesn't mean anything."
"Don't worry about it."

Rinoa "...I guess you're right."

Squall "How about this..."
"I'll be here..."

Rinoa "...Why?"

Squall "The reason why you couldn't find me was because we haven't promised yet."

Rinoa "Promised...?"

Squall "I'll be waiting for you. If you come here, you'll find me. I promise."

Rinoa "I'll be here, too. It's a promise!"
"Thanks, Squall!"
"Next time, we'll meet for sure!"

Squall (Let's go, Rinoa. Let's go meet Ellone.)
(Ellone will bring us together.)

Squall (First time we met was the day I became a SeeD. We met again...in Timber...)
(We had a lot of arguments at first. But in time, things began to change.)
(You were looking at me...You smiled when our eyes met.)
(It made me feel calm, tranquil.)
(Rinoa...Give me another chance.)

Squall "You're used to battles, aren't you?"

Rinoa "I couldn't...I just couldn't."
"I couldn't fight alone..."

Squall (...You're not ready for all this.)
"Better get going."

Squall "I haven't forgotten your order."
"Just stay close to me."

Rinoa "I'll...Probably disappear..."

Squall "Just stay by my side. I won't let you disappear!!!"


Seifer "I love battles. I fear nothing."
"The way I look at it, as long as you make it out of battle alive, you're one step closer to fulfilling your dream."

Squall "What!? Your dream?"

Seifer "You have one too, don't you?"

Squall "...Sorry, but I'm gonna pass on that subject."

Squall (I liked Seifer... wasn't really a bad guy...He was one of us...)

Squall (Seifer... You've become just a memory.)

Squall (...Feel sorry? Seifer wouldn't want to to hear that.)

Squall (Is Seifer ever coming back?)

Squall (That's just to ease your mind. Am I the only one who thinks that? No, I'm sure Seifer...)

Squall (Seifer...)

Squall (Seifer was there...)

Squall (But... Now, you're just...)

Squall (He's sided with the sorceress. You guys alright with that?)

Squall (...Could Seifer here, too?)

Squall (Seifer probably thinks he can't go back now.)

Squall (...So Seifer's alive.)

Squall (Would I have to go through Seifer?)



Ahhhh! My post was so long. I hope I didn't come across sounding rude again! :no: :D :P :lol: :) ^_^

No that's okay, you didn't sound rude :D I don't fully accept the Japanese perception of boyfriend and girlfriend but that's just because of cultural differences(I'm from the Philippines). My perception was that those labels of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are just names but it doesn't matter as long as two people love each other. So when you're saying that they're "boyfriend and girlfriend throughout the series before they got together", I view it as "they loved each other and then they got together" It's just a matter of different perspectives, I guess :P

Those quotes are interesting. Now here's my view on Seifer. I don't think Squall and Seifer were best friends in that buddy-buddy way. For me, they were really not friends. They were rivals.But I think they did influence each other in a reverse psychological way. Seifer fed his ego from bullying Squall. Squall was determined to prove himself because he wanted to prove Seifer's taunts wrong. So unconsciously, even with that enmity between them,they were helping each other grow stronger. Squall only just realized that when Seifer finally left them to fulfill his "ambitions". He says he liked Seifer...I think he meant he liked how Seifer helped him grow. Of course, yaoi fans would perceive that in a different light :unsure:

Holy baloney! Did you paste the entire FFVIII game script here??

And about the Squall liking Seifer thing, I don't think anything ever happened. AT ALL. They were rivals and stayed rivals. There were no affectionate exchange throughout the game, so there's no basis to the Squall/Seifer pairing.

But if it's for fandom's sake, then I guess it's alright to like that couple.

I said Squall loved Rinoa, his girlfriend and love and liked Seifer as a friend. Squall shows he loves Rinoa and likes Seifer. The first one we know because Squall and Rinoa get together in disc three and become boyfriend/girlfriend. They admit their love. In the first two discs Squall says he liked Seifer and respected him a lot, as he thinks about him a lot and Seifer is the first person Squall shows respect for. For discs one and the first half of two, Squall's thoughts are about Seifer, for the second half of disc two and discs three and four, Squall's thoughts are about Rinoa. When Squall and Rinoa get together, Squall is completely devoted to Rinoa and has lots of romantic scenes with her and is always loyal to her. Throughout the game, Rinoa and Seifer are the two people Squall shows the most respect for. I made an FFVIII video and can access any scene at any time.

I apologize for the long list of quotes. If it's taking up too much bandwith I'll delete them.

I still don't... ah, never mind. UM, I'm afraid we shall never reach an agreement about that boyfriend/girlfriend definition thing due to our different perspectives. So let's just leave it as it is, shall we? ;)

About Seifer, yeah Squall did respect him. Like I said, they always had this unusual reverse psychological connection between them ever since they were kids. That is, Squall always seemed to respect Seifer despite the fact that Seifer always bullied him to feed his ego. The question is, does Seifer respect Squall?
When he clapped for him after the SeeD exam, I wasn't sure to take it as sincere or sarcastic. He knocked him down during their opening duel and practically sliced his head open...not a very respectful gesture, is it, slashing your oponent while he's down?
Seifer doesn't seem to respect anything besides his own ambitions. And everything he does seems to revolve around that inflated ego of his. So when his pride got injured by not passing the SeeD exam, he took drastic measures and tried to fulfill his dream of becoming the Sorceress' Knight. He didn't want to feel like nobody. His pride wouldn't allow it.

Rabid yaoi fangirls are crazy. Evidence, schmevidence; Proof, schmoof; as long as they can get two bishies in bed, they will look for basis that isn't there They took advantage into that rival connection between Squall and Seifer and turned it into hardcore yaoi-lovin <_<

:lol:

Like the scene at the underground dungeon where Seifer was torturing Squall with electric currents. That's proof they loved each other, really!

My last message had been to to Appril, the previous message. Squall loved Rinoa and respected Seifer. I didn't say that Squall thought of him like that, because Squall and Rinoa are together and I am a huge supporter of Squall and Rinoa's relationship. Squall and Rinoa are a great couple. When I said Squall had respect for Seifer, I meant he had respect for him as a friend, not, like, you know. He thought about him a lot and was worried about him. As I said, I'm a Squall and Rinoa supporter and they are together, Squall didn't have feelings for anyone else. Things changed from how they were at the beginning. Squall had respect for Seifer during disc one and the first half of disc two, he even said he liked the guy "I liked him", not like that, but he liked him and had respect for him, as he thought about him a lot, but it changed on the second half. Squall fell in love with Rinoa and thought about her a lot and they became a couple on disc three and Squall loved Rinoa during discs three and four and they were together then. Squall liked Seifer, but did not have any, you know, feelings for him, the one he loved was Rinoa, as they are together during discs three and four. Throughout the game, those were the two people Squall showed the most respect for, as Squall didn't seem to have as much good interaction with Zell, Quistis or Irvine. Squall showed respect for Selphie, but the two people who Squall knew the most were Rinoa, his love and Seifer, whom he had respect for because he felt they were similar. I'm a huge Squall/Rinoa fan and I like Seifer a lot, he's a good character. Squall, Rinoa and Seifer are my favorite Final Fantasy VIII characters. Just wanted to clear that up. So, how about we talk about FFVIII music. I own the soundtrack and it rocks. FFVIII has some of the best songs. Yeah, I was just repetetive. Sorry about that. I just wanted to clear up what I meant.

I still don't agree that Squall and Seifer were meant to be friends, but considering that you've brought out good points here, so that's a point taken.

Actually what was Seifer's exact role in the game? He's not that important after the whole plot about Ultimecia emerges, except being a pain-in-the-ass to Squall who had defeated him three times in a row. I understand that Seifer might have been integral to the story (since he's in the opening FMV after all), but I can't figure out why.

Hmmm... I think he just faded out when Ultimecia was brought up, right? Oh wait, no, he was there with the Adel-Rinoa monster thing. :puke: That part mightily freaked me out.

Usagi, I don't think Squall and Seifer were really friends, but your point is taken. For the game, I guess he was there to toughen up Squall, teasing him and insulting him when they were young. It made Squall change to who he is now, and I guess that's why he was important.

What about Zell and Selphie!? Theya r emy favorite ff8 characters, squall was an annoying emo kid, rinoa was...interesting,. irvine was kinda cool, quistis was...yeah, and seifer killed thigns and rajuin and fujin was his back up...I really liked Zell and Selphie though! Im working on a Zell cosplay costume! ^^

The part where Seifer's character starts to show some significance other than being an arrogant dude is when he teams up with Edea to become the Sorceress' Knight. That's right after he fails the SeeD exam. I think it was part of his campaign to prove himself and his dream. Failing to be a SeeD was a big blow to his ego and he just couldn't take it...he had to prove himself more than that. Like "If I can't be a SeeD, at least I can be something greater"
And then all through the game, Squall beat him again and again and prevented him from fulfilling his big ambitions. And then his most trusted cohorts, Fujin and Raijin, left him. His last desperate gesture was to toss Rinoa over to Adel. In the end, Seifer had nothing to lose, no matter what he did

My views exactly. Without knowing it, he was making Squall into a stronger person by his jeers and jibes. At the same time, he was also bolstering his ego from insulting Squall. I guess they both fed off each other.
Wait, ewww, that doesn't sound quite right...

::reads Kusari's last statement:: :wacko:


Oh yeah... that sounded weird, Kusari. :ermm: Kind of like... reminds you of parasites. Or vampires - choose what you want! ;)

I've recently started replaying FFVIII, it's been gathering dust on the shelf for a while. I think the last time I played it was a couple of years ago. :lol: As this might indicate, it's not my favourite FF in the series. I hated having to draw magic from monsters, I wasn't impressed with the GF amnesia thing, and I've never liked Squall. It's not that I don't understand his character, because I do. I just don't care for him.

This playthrough though, I found myself more tolerant of him. He's definitely not my favourite hero ever, but I'm never really drawn to characters like him. I prefer characters like Laguna, those with a heart of gold and a cocky streak who do and say stupid things sometimes. Or all the time, in Laguna's case. But I still <3 him.

I do like some aspects of the game. As you might have guessed, I adore Laguna. I thought he and Raine were sweet, and I loved how he got along with little Ellone. I'm addicted to Triple Triad. I love Seifer, and his snarky comments on the way to the SeeD exam in Dollet were priceless. Fuujin and Rajin amuse me, Selphie's brilliant, and the music is fantastic. Blue Fields, Balamb Garden, Fragments of Memories, Succession of Witches, The Castle, Drifting... I think Uematsu did a fantastic job with the soundtrack.

Triple Triad was definately better than Tetra Master. <_<

Triple Triad rocked. It was one part of the game that I really loved :)