So I got an ad right before the 'death spiral' cutscene ended. Turns out Takis: Hot Nuts were the key binding this whole theory together.

Not first but that faceless photo scarred me as a child

faceless squall haunted me for ages, and i had never even played FF8

I wonder what else that cutscene would be implying. It looks like a dying person's life flashing before their eyes to me.

almost as scary as the final fantasy 7 house

I’m already loving this year’s Traumathon

I never played this game, but I always thought the theory and picture was pretty sick. Nice to give it attention again!

When I was a kid I thought final fantasy was a horror game because of the faceless squall

Maybe it's related to time and space disappearing, and so these memories are disappearing. A similar concept happens in final fantasy crisis core, where the main character is being shot to death by a never ending militia. The game starts to show you that his memories are disappearing as he slowly starts dying, until a cutscene showing you his death comes up. That game caused me distress. You rarely see the main character of a game slowly dying, and the game showing you distortion as the end draws near. The point is that there is final fantasy 8 and final fantasy crisis core using similar concepts.

that picture of squall without a face used to freak me out so bad

>doesn't put the image of jeff the killer in the thumbnail as it could scare people >puts faceless squall in the thumbnail nice

Wow, it’s been a long while since I’ve heard the Final fantasy 8 theory. When I saw the thumbnail I remembered the first time I had seen faceless squall and it scared the shit out of me. Although it doesn’t scare me as much now it still does have a Erie feel to it.

And he acted like a raging douchenozzle before he got impaled, and treated rinoa like dogshit. Then all of a sudden she started hanging all over him (literally) and immediately fell in love with him after they break outta the prison (which came right after said impalage). Plus that whole godawful "we all actually lived in an orphanage together and somehow reunited randomly 15 odd years later we just forgot cause guardian forces, ect., ect.". Theres a whole site dedicated to this theory and is totally worth a read. The theory is actually *far* more intricate and believable than this vid would have you believe, it's crazy. This vid barely scratches the surface and this theory is by far the best VG fan theory imo.

There's also the theory that Ultimecia is Rinoa in the far future, in her twisted way trying to get back what she lost but the director did debunk this theory, which kinda bums me out

Your face reflects in the black empty faceless void of Squall's head.

So if Squall isn't dead... Then what does the faceless Squall represent? Him entering the 4th dimension? Him becoming the new scp?

Holy hell, I hated that cutscene in VIII. It really freaked me out, and in general I find that VIII was pretty dark as far as FF goes.

What video game theory really scared me as a child was the one where the kid in Animal Crossing was actually kidnapped and all the animals are just adults wearing costumes

I am LOVING traumathon this year. Glad I was able to catch it on time, unlike last year

Honestly this theory made me want to play ff8, the cutscene near the end is just so surreal it made me think the theory was true for the longest time, and when i saw that interview with the producer saying that it was an interesting theory and that maybe he would add it, i got chills. It would be amazing if it made it as a secret ending somehow

Spooky season is here at last and I am not disappointed

I hate that thumbnail, which means this is a great Traumathon episode.

It always frustrates me when people talk about storytelling throughout gaming history, yet they always seem to forget about Final Fantasy. The themes of human nature and emotion, (both positive and negative) throughout the series shows you how far ahead Final Fantasy was. How it was represented, both in and out of gameplay, how the musical backdrop always creates the perfect atmosphere and how everything blends together. It really creates something most of the games these days just dont have, and Final Fantasy did this with weaker technology. A very special franchise for gaming and media in general.

Never played the game but damn i saw that photo on like a game theory video thumbnail, and man i couldn't turn those lights on faster

Oh, I don't like this Theory, I prefer the other FFVIII Theory: Rinoa actually is *********!!

I beat this game when I was a freshman (14) and I always thought that time loop scene ment he was dead. I got it right. Whoot. (And I know he who made it says I’m wrong lol and I accept his words as it’s his world... but man, I rlly thought it was so all my life 😝 and him saying he liked it and could us it in a remaster that would be so amazing!)

I’ve always loved final fantasy but this video almost unlocked a memory for me, that photo was so terrifying for younger me I buried the memory deep inside my brain.

I think that the only bad video game theory is the “Sans is Ness” theory. At first it’s a very interesting theory. However as time went on I realized that the main points of the theory are purposely made very vague to fit the narrative.

Situations like this one are really interesting to apply the concept of “death of the author“ to. You’ve got the literary triangle of meaning, including the work, the reader, and the author, and we can choose to listen to Kitase and consider the theory well and truly debunked. Or, we can decide to ignore the author altogether, because as soon as the reader is isolated with the work, it doesn’t really matter what the author intended. The reading becomes just as valid as a literal interpretation of the sequence of events the game presents. Really cool of Kitase too, to actually express interest in the theory. He has his reading of it as an author, but he’s also open to the ideas presented by the audience itself.

Okay so I have a different theory. Basically there is a running discussion about becoming past tense. Squall having abandonment issues because Ellone left him when he was young so he's less afraid of death and more being forgotten. So to emphasize this there is a focus on symbols referring to people. Squall is the lion jewellery, rinoa the wings. The ring being something shs held close to keep Squall in her memory. Symbols being something that can exist after we die but when we're alone or isolated our symbols, the objects we preserve that define us fade and ultimately the only thing that can truly kill us, that can erase our symbols is time. The main villain is litterlary time its a time travelling ghost that aims to turn time into a weapon you don't get more blunt with the theme than that and when time compresses youre reduced completely to a single now, the now squall fears as he hates being alone but also fears connection with others. So what saves squall? That sometimes even you gotta be saved, that even if you forget when you share your memory with someone then they will remember you and save you instead. So Squalls fear of being forgotten, to have his symbol, his meme erased is shattered when someone cares enough to keep looking for him, Rinoa is erasing his fear of being abandoned as the clouds part around them. See he also pushes people away so his island where he floats alone is also his spiritual island, the place he put himself his whole life, he never let people in and because he never opened up he almost never made attachments, he would have been forgotten if not for Rinoa. But underneath it all, although silent he had a big heart, he tried to help others but didn't want them to leave him or forget him. It's another reason why memory is destroyed as they use their powers, they all forgot each other when they used the GF, memory and symbols basically keep alive the things we might forget. When you look at something that belonged to someone even if you forget their face you remember vaguely who they were but time does not stand still and if you remain isolated in your desert island in time you will forget who they are. Bare in mind, squall remembered her wings easily, but she was becoming a past tense, her face it was vanishing so her symbols aren't enough because eventually time kills everything and the connection is always more powerful than the object. So it's saying, keep close to the ones you care about, laguna even says this, keep those you care about close by, a ring, a set of wings they aren't enough, if Rinoa had only the rings shed be a corpse in space Honestly ff8 at its core is a love story that dissects the beauty of love, it says that love isn't timeless, it's a burst of emotion that fades, so hold on to it and sometimes let yourself be saved, the ones that love you will come for you even when you forget, your only a past tense if you choose to stay alone. After that squall smiles for the first time in the game. It's just kind of touching and very existential look at the greatest monster that humanity has to face everyday, time through what people maybe didn't pick up on. I think ff8s story is one of the best but it's not to be taken literal, I feel its an aligory for what we do to preserve ourself. Replay the game with these themes in and you'll see it repeats over and over. A true masterpiece in subtle storytelling that appears bombastic but it's actually saying something very true relatable. Anyone with depression can relate, being forgotten can leave you isolated from the universe, it's urging you to make connections.

I can’t believe the creator killed this theory. It’s literally a *Final Fantasy*

Hey Goose, id especially like to know what makes the SCP-wiki so attractive. It just keeps you coming back and there never seems to be anything super cheesy that isnt meant to be a joke.

I remember first seeing this theory years ago, and it popped back into my head in the past year and I thought I dreamt it or was going crazy because for whatever reason I thought it was Cloud instead of Squall. Thanks to this video, I can rest easy and hear the fan theory again

Allow me to suggest my own theory: Squall without his face is literally just the term "losing face" in the presence of danger. Think about it. Wouldn't you be thrown off being stuck in a timeloop? That would make whatever character you build just dissipate. Just some food for thought

If I had to choose between being slain by a time guard, and being an eco terrorist... I'd take the 2nd option, yup, most definitely.

I should not be watching this with the lights off but here I am

Man, that Squall is dead theory was awesome. Stinks that it got debunked :/

I really enjoyed this theory. Can't wait to play it

that faceless squall thing haunted me for years, I never saw people talking about it regardless of how many videos I watched about video game theories and creepy things, so finally finding it again and seeing I’m not the only one that was terrified by this makes me happy lol

Also for me, ff8 is two games, the north American half, which had a straightforward plot about stopping Edea, and the Japanese half where the first thing uou do is go to space, then start the apocalypse, then time travel

4:52 Rinoa was not The Impostor.

Bruh I remember watching this on my man mullet mike’s video about this back in the day on creepy gaming

I'll be honest, I watched that ending cutscene and I actually had to catch my breath after it was done, it is a massive trip.

FF8 gets real weird. Reality just kind of breaks at the end regardless. I don't think having it all be a dream would enhance the game. The big payoff at the end of the weirdness and the game is the theme of "love conquers all." Without the successful romance ark the romantic themes and beats would feel cheap.

Love this video!! I got here pretty fast, and already excited~

I know for a fact that every October night watching a goose boose is gonna be such a vibe when we are deep into October

But Squall isn't kill. He had Shiva junctioned Elemental-Def J.

I've never played ff8, and I've never watched this cutscene... But even with your commentary on top of it the imagery was so haunting I was genuinely feeling chills and have a very heavy creepypasta vibe. The whole distorted faces and creepy implications were REALLY effective. Truly a masterpiece of somewhat unintended horror.

gonna watch this video now so faceless squall doesn't follow me every video i go :(

Going off the thumbnail, I’m guessing this is about *that* FFVIII theory

there's something very eerie about this theory and that goddamned "hole-faced" Squall too.

I remember playing this game for 30 hours without getting out of the first area

FF7: funny big sword man goes on an adventure FF8: *_terrifying exploration of existentialism and meaninglessness_*

I LOVE YOU GOOSE BOOSE YOUR VIDEOS R LEGIT MY FAVE

eventually rinoa stopped thinking

Damn. I wish Kitase tried horror, at least based on that cutscene, It's really effective.

Hate knowing I could have easily grabbed my copy of FF8 before they cleaned my dad's house out.

I know nothing about Final Fantasy, in fact I didn't know the image was from FF8, but that image had somehow come in contact with younger me and it haunted me for months lol

That Intro Gets Me So Hyped Up!

I really liked this theory goose! :)

At the ending of that creepy cutscene i got a tik tok ad. Trully terrifyng

That Squall image traumatized me for some reason as a little kid so when I saw the thumbnail last night for the first time in years I had a panic attack lmao

Got a creepy-eye toy ad before the video. Pinnacle of spookiness.

So KZfaq Algorithom just brough me here, love the video! Subbed earned.

Don't worry, if you die in space, you wouldn't just be a pale corpse. It'd probably be a fun & festive purple or something.

This video reminds me of an image of a girl dressed as areith from ff7 with a super scary face. I'm not scared by much but that's one image that scares me

When FF8 came out, I was so disappointed with it that I actually stopped after disc one. I hated Squall so much that I decided that okay, he died there, the end and never bothered with the rest of the game. A little sorry I didn't slog through it now JUST for how disturbingly amazing that cut scene is. Might have been the one thing I liked.

Bad theory's that are offensive are the funniest. The theory where all the Rugrats are dead or something, with the best line of it all being "Chucky was a Crack Baby."

Traumathon is really good this year

Traumathon The Intro: *Boogie* The Context: *Spook*

Of course it didn't kill him, didn't even hit his HEART or LUNGS.

Oh, this is interesting. Also, they got a solid move with including a way for the theory to be right if a FF8 remake comes out.

The best video game theory is the silent hill circumcision theory 😳😳

A couple of months ago I made a huge post with my personal theory. The gist of it is: Squall is both dead and alive, due to the Temporal Paradox that is the Time Compression. He is traveling through different scenarios, one featuring the death of Rinoa, one in which he never met her at all, one in which he died and so on. You can actually see the fragments of timelines in the final sequence of the game. Rinoa, however, manages to “fish” him out of this paradox thanks to her Witch power, thus saving him. However this does not change the fact that these scenarios may exist in several separate universes. For the same reason I also thought about Rinoa: there might be a paradox in which she becomes a witch like Utimecia. Why do I think Rinoa could be a potential Ultimecia? Well, only Ultimecia had the power to alter space and time, the same power Rinoa used to Fish Squall out of the utter Chaos of Time Compression. She is NOT Ultimecia herself, but if you think about her story and imagine her never meeting Squall and Friends to begin with, you can figure out a scenario in which her powers lead her to a future of solitude and despair. For the same reason, you can see Ultimecia overlay Rinoa’s face: she and her are not so different after all. Was she also a naive girl? Did she lost a friend, a lover? One thing is for sure: in the Ragnarok sequence, Rinoa expressed a desire, which was: “ I Wish things would stay like this forever”, which increases her affinity with Ultimecia! Iiiiiiiit’s pretty complicated, I know. Plus English is not my native language so I find hard to explain it better!

Really do have a love/hate relationship with this theory. Not cause it’s bad or anything, but more so because it seems to be the one thing that gets talked about in relation to FF8 more than anything else. But I’m more than a little biased for 8, so take whatever I say with grain of salt.

goose i love how your videos are evolving!! the intro gets me so pumped 😌😌

Wow you don’t really gotta carry an entire a holiday like that because we can’t trick or treat outside

As always, the intro slaps hard

I never even played FF8, but I saw that blackvoid face Squall picture on a forum or something and it haunted me as a child for years.

yo the intro go hard is it original or a song from something else?

Honestly the thought of messing up the universe so bad that you never even existed is kind of more terrifying but you need to think about it more.

*He did have enough Phoenix Down*

Me : *about to comment about the Silent Hill circumcision theory* Also me : *called out by Goose immediately*

One of the creepiest photos ever concocted

LIVING for the Halloween spirit 😭 so happy you doing this series fr. Plus I use to see that Mexican show you covered

really excited for this!! thanks goose!

doesn't the image of faceless squal appear at other points too, like i remember hearing that like it appeared for a brief moment when you put in disc 2, but i could be wrong, i swear like i remember there being a story of the game glitching out and this being the screen that appears.

I have one thing to say that intro is sooo FUCKING good

bro i love these so much. i've never even played final fantasy nor had any interest to but now that i've watched this i kinda want to. sux bc games cost Money but maybe one day. i'm already frothing at the mouth at strange/creepy rpgs because i watched some videos you did on yume nikki and giygas from earthbound. keep up ur amazing work dude i love your channel

When i first played this fucking game a few years ago, that scene with faceless squall absolutely traumatized me, i still can't really look at the image, it creeps me the fuck out. And that may be why FFVIII is my favorite FF game (also the gameplay being the best of the ps1 era imo). That cutscene is just so...strange and creepy for such a franchise, i've never seen anything like it, but it's also horrifyingly beautiful.

I feel bad for people with Trypophobia when they see the thumbnail.

THIS. CREEPED. ME OUT WHEN I WAS LITTLE

4:51 found faceless

I didn't play that specific FF game as a kid. but I found out about this theory when I was very young. It scared me so fucking bad. I would start crying when I saw faceless Squall. It doesn't help that in Japanese horror movies, they'll show pictures of dead people but the pictures will be distorted (usually blacked out eyes, but sometimes the whole face) such as in The Grudge movies. The thought of being Squall having such an existential crisis over living this dream like lie, when in reality you're already gone, terrified me. As a kid, in my head, that was what my idea of hell was like.

If I had a thing to put on traumathon it would be that episode of PowerPuff girls where Him curses Bubbles stuffed animal, cause I had so many stuffed animals at the time (I still do) and I had nightmares for YEARS of either the octopus from the show or my own stuffed animals coming alive and killing me

I’ve played FF8 and it is really weird how Squall really gets over being impaled by Edea. One scene it’s like “oh shit” and the next Squall is like “yeah, I’m fine. 100%”

The fucking faceless photo always gets me

If that cutscene is what we see when we die, then uh... I'll stick to infinite continues please

Goose, ben Drowned isn't just a creepy pasta, it's an ARG, and it is still on going.

Hey guys, don't worry. Squall is in Radiant Garden with the other FF characters.