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The one thing I always found funny. Everyone loved the globe world map. What does Square do? Never used it again 😂

This was the first game I bought with my own money. It holds a special place in my heart.

Squall Is Dead: maybe more of an 'infamous' theory than a 'popular' theory. "it was all a dream" is the worst possible trope you could try to insert into a story.

FF8 is my favorite FF game alongside FF5.

The beach landing Was the first time i saw a game translate from fmv straight into gameplay it was amazing at the time.

Ff8 was my first game as a kid. The music still gives me chills so good

One of the most underrated games I know. Been playing since 1999 yet I started to truly like VIII as an adult.

With how invested Squall is supposed to be in Zell's love life you think they'd give Library girl a name??

I've always kept squall in yellow health. Worked a charm.

Dude I loved this game so much, especially after finally understanding the combat system. One of my fave FF games especially because of the engaging story and great ending/ conclusion. No cliffhangers, great lovestory, happy ending. It will forever have a special place in my heart .

I remember renting this game from blockbuster when I was a kid and absolutely falling in love with it. Everything about it captivated me and I felt like I was playing a true work of art that I wasn't quite ready for.

My very first introduction to the FF series and RPGs in general. Not the best entry but I hold it very dear to me and it changed my perspective of what game narratives could be.

For all its flaws, FFVIII will always be my favorite game in the series. Squall resonates with me so much and encapsulated the type of person I was at the time and, in some ways, still am. "Eyes on Me" plays for the first time after clearing the Ragnarok and beginning your descent back to Esthar. Unless you count the piano version she plays when first meeting her as Laguna in Deling City. Still one of my most loved scenes in all of Final Fantasy. Touching that Julia wrote the song about Laguna and it plays when Squall and Rinoa share that moment. It's the small details.

Just a small correction: Final Fantasy 8 universe is, and is not a loop at the same time. After Ultimecia defeat, Squal and the party where cast into a limbo like state of existance, becoming a living paradox and schrodinger like beings, that can only exist as long as they belived in one another (like schrodinger cat, they where dead and alove at the same time, but in this case, they existed and vanished togheter whit existance all the same) Altought Ultimecia was defeated and did not actually consumed existance as she wanted to, she did completly detroyed all sapace and time continuum on the battle agaisnt the party, even before that, existance was being obliterated rapedly due to time compression. And during this state, as Doctor Odine and Laguna explained during the end of the tird disc, Squal could be anuwhere and anytime he wanted to simply by thinking, and the place he seeked confort in, was on his old orphanage house, and due to fate Ultimecia, having survived literally being obliterated togheter whit all existance (Yes she is that dahm powerfull) passes on her powers to Edea before FINALLY dying in peace, as Edea explained, a wich cannot die until her powers are passed on, even if her entire being is wiped out, thats some SCP level bullshit. This creates an eternal circle that contitutes multiple, maybe infinit, universes where the battle beggan again and again eternally. BUT at the same time, we see on the end credits that OUR Squall and his party did returned to the present and reformed the universe, it was probably Rinoa who did that seein as she literally terraforms the heavens and the universe back togheter in order to stay whit Squall and because she is now the last Sorceress in the world and somehow could navigate the time compressed state of existance, yes, this game lore is f* ucking convoluted. Sumary: Squall and company did saved the world, now living in peace and continuing their graduation at the now floating Balamb Garden, all the while, in another paralel universe created by Squall himself, the jorney is literally beggining anew, and just for the record, I think this is why Ultimecia wants to destroy all timelines once and for all, she is probably tired of dying again and again on this circle, although we do not know any details further than that.

Ellone isn't Raine's daughter, Ellone is an orphan that Raine looks over

If I remember correctly the dollet beach is left unscathed if you defeat the spider and go back to it later. But it’s been a while since I’ve played through. FF8 was my first game ever on my first console ever. Special place in my heart.

"FF6 featured a song in Italian" The "song" was a single "ahh" sample set to the intended melody. A recording in Italian does exist, but it wasn't voiced in the game until the Pixel Remaster.

If you look where the ice hits on squall, it’s a traditional spot an arrow can be used to incapacitate an enemy which is what I think they were going for imo

Squall’s hair is styled forward, and Seifer’s hair is styled backward.

@29:30 i think the reason rinoa has higher base stats is because she ends up like 8-10 levels lower than everybody else when she's unavailable to be chosen as a party member, when she's knocked out and stuff. Also, i guess it kind of makes sense a sorceress is stronger, but who knows

This was the first RPG I played at the age of 13 and the thrill of it gave me chills. This is my favorite FF game and it's grossly underrated. I wish this game was given at least half the attention VII gets.

In the Japanese version you can actually "look" at the TV screen in Timber, and it displays the three phrases in a normal text window (in English).

Zone likes Rinoa. Zone likes "Girl Next Door" Mags. Rinoa is designed to be "the girl next door". Zone really wanted his magazine back. Zone's mags are essentially Rule34-Rinoa

Aw man, the nostalgia... I still have the game guide for this game... how time has flown.

I can't believe Zell got the 'jelly donut' treatment with his flavored bread lol. Then again, it was the 90s and that kinda westernization was a lot more common

51:20 cut content include things like a cow 56:10 a UFO carrying a cow

Yooo, I just watched all your ff iceberg vids last night and here you are with a new one today. Perfect timing

To be fair, Seifer didn't use magic in the opening FMV against Squall, though it looks just like a fire spell. It's actually his Limit Break. During the Dollet Mission sequence, you get to play as Seifer. When you use his limit break, he does the fire ball with an attack, just like the FMV. He will do this even without magic, so it's safe to say it's not a spell in the FMV. I think in the French version of the game (I might be wrong), if translated, Ultimecia has a much more fleshed out monologue before you fight her. The ending FMV is moments that led to "squall is dead" has a lot more context to it with her French speech. The faceless Squall photo is a representation of Squall completely forgetting himself and giving in to Ultimecia's pocket dimension, accepting eternal solitude because the dimension won't let him die from hunger or age. We see all him memories fade away into obscurity, until all that is left is Ultimecia's will. I'd wager that he spent a very long time in that dimension for this to happen. However, his one saving grace was that he remembered his promise. That's what allowed Rinoa to find him. He could no longer remember her face, but their promise was strong enough to lead Rinoa to him. And with timey whimey being all wibbly wobbly, coupled with the fact that Rinoa is a sorceress who was touched by Ultemicia, she may have some ability to manipulate space-time as well. She may have searched for a couple hours to her, but it would've been years to Squall. That's just my take though. Still a fun theory... The finger point that Ultimecia does is from a seperate game... Dissidia I think? They play a lot with the R = U theory in that game. A lot of Ultimecia's diologue, especially when against Squall, really hints towards this theory. We can't take that game into consideration as it's basically just fan fiction as far as I know. That said, my head cannon 100% states that, if not Rinoa, then Ellone becomes Ultimecia... Considering Sorceress lore and time loops, plus all the connections already present like the fact that Rinoa inherits the powers of Adel and Edea who, potentially, inherited Ultimecia'si powers already, that gives her 3 stacks of sorceress powers, and one of them is already from the main villain... There is no way in my head cannon that Rinoa isn't Ultimecia. Won't know for sure unless they give us a remake and flesh Ultimecia's back story out more... Or, I guess just actually give her a back story. Because if it's not Rinoa, then I think it has to be Ellone, and there is a little bit of evidence to support her...She tells us her motivations in game. The main thing the wants to use her time abilities for is to change the past so that Laguna can be there with Raine and be a father to Squall, and have their family be together growing up. It would explain why when time gets compressed, that it only seems to go back far enough to include the creation of SeeD. She was compressing her entire life, and the world with it, into one moment.... In the original timeline that created the time loop, Adel could've figured out how to manipulate the radio signals in space and eventually manipulate or possess Edea into kicking off the events similar to in the game. Edea would've still started SeeD because she would've recognized that Adel was trying to reach out slowly, but there would be no future Ultimecia. Ellone could've received Adel's powers instead of Rinoa and sent Squall back to the in-game timeline to tell our Edea about SeeD and Garden. After Squall dies, Rinoa, who still had Edea's powers, probably would've wanted to die as well at some point so she could be with Squall and pass on her powers. Ellone would've accepted her powers as well as Squalls ring, eventually obtaining the GF Griever and junctioning him out of grief. She would eventually forget herself and her original motivations due to the effects of the GF, and only remembering her grief. Considering the GF's name is Griever, and Ellone seems to be the one female that seems to struggle the most with grief in-game (Selphie was right back to her cheerful self after the destruction of Trabia Garden pretty quick I personally think), it does draw a connection in my mind. She would eventually use her time and magic abilities to put her consciousness into the past where Squall already warned Edea, and use Edea to kick of the game itself. When defeated, Ellone returns to the orphanage because it was her childhood home. It might be the only thing she remembers, as it was the one place that held most of her grief. Squall had to grow up there instead of with a family. This would explain why the castle is located over top of it, or at least connected directly to it and is the only way to get into the castle until you unlock the warp points. in my opinion, Ellone suffers the most from grief, while Ultimecia enjoys causing grief. More connections... So even though she sends Squall to a pocket dimension, he is pulled to the point of the time loop with her. What's left of Ellone, if anything, would pass them to Edea to ensure the sorceress line ends with her... And the Ultimecia part of her would pass them to Edea to ensure her next time line incarnation will be more powerful. Squall can once again warn the past of the impending crisis, and then gets pulled back into the pocket dimension until Rinoa finds him. But once Squall eventually dies, Rinoa will still want to pass on as well... Ellone will once again take on her powers, and the cycle will continue. If Ellone is Ultimecia, then it kinda makes sense to me that, at least once she has received sorceress powers, she would be able to communicate with her past and/or future self. This could explain why the white SeeDs are protecting her, to ensure that something worse and out of their control doesn't happen. She always seems like she is pushing you towards this fate, almost like she already knows what is supposed to happen to ensure events play out the way the do in game. She has to orchestrate everything while never hinting at the fact that she is the very threat everyone is trying to fight. But if she diverts from this course, then there is no telling how much worse the situation could get... Her outfit is very similar to what we see sorceresses wear in game as well, just throwing that in there... That's all the stuff I got for Ellone being Ultimecia... The only connection I have with Quistis is that only she, and Griever, can use the Shockwave Pulsar attack... Can't even begin to speculate what that means.

Written and performed by Faye Wong? "Eyes on Me" was just performed by Faye Wong. She qualified late within the game's development to perform the song. Kako Someya was the credited writer for the song.

This video isn't updated with newest information about the Rhinoa is Ultimecia theory. Kitase retracted his statement about it being false, mentioning how the game had three different authors and he wasn't entirely sure about the intentions of the other two. Even though he didn't see it in the original script he found the idea very interesting.

I was today years old when I found out squall and rinoa were a one night stand away from never existing or being brother and sister.

I remember when the demo of this came out, I played through it at least 50x. When the game came out, I’m pretty sure I clocked around 500 hours in a year during jr high. Learned to play the music on piano, eap Balamb garden. Man I need to play this again.

40:01 I loved the part where he said "The Tonberrys" while having a very clear and obvious picture of Carbuncle right there. Also the Ellone being Raine's daughter instead of an orphan that grew up with Squall and the gang, very interesting, although narrative breaking, change.

First Final Fantasy game I played as a kid. I’ll never forget popping in the disc and being blown away by the opening cutscene.

I still have my black label FF8! Wish I still had my book for it though. Finally figuring out the junction system and grinding for draws, good times!

It's Funny To Me That Kitase Says No Rinoa Is Not Ultimecia, & We Say Yes She Is. LOL

49:40 I love experimental music, and Demo Prelude is definitely that. Ty so much for bringing this to my attention.

Rinoa being Linoa in French is not misspelled. As the R sound is relatively unique in french language, especially when it is the first letter of a name, it is widely considered that the L sound is more closer to the original pronounciation. In matter of translation the R is mostly switched with a L. That is why Karen in Code Geass is Kallen in french too etc... Nowadays, the switch happens more scarcely and not at all mandatory.

Brave Fencer.... Mushashi! I played the FF8 demo like crazy back in the day.

FF8 was my first final fantasy. It released around the time when I finally got a playstation. Watching this made me miss the days I spent playing it.

FF8 is crazy deep... So many years later there's still this much new tricks and info.

Final Fantasy VIII holds a special place in my gaming heart as it was the first installment I experienced in the series. I adore the soundtrack, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, for its ability to enhance the storytelling experience. Eyes on Me, in particular, stands out as my favorite game theme, a poignant ode that elevates the emotional depth of the narrative. Visually, Final Fantasy VIII is a masterpiece, seamlessly blending fantasy and futuristic elements. The graphical prowess of its time is still appreciated today, showcasing the timeless artistry that defines the Final Fantasy series. The innovative Junction system adds layers of strategy to the gameplay, intertwining seamlessly with the narrative. It's not just a game mechanic; it's a dynamic element that adapts to your choices and shapes the journey uniquely for each player. And if-like me-you just go through the game normally, and slowly learn how it works, you don't break anything until much later when it's more appropriate. The narrative delves into the complexities of its characters, offering a rich and layered storytelling experience. The plot twists, character arcs, and overarching themes leave a lasting impact, making the game more than just a momentary escape. Eyes on Me may hold the title of my favorite game theme, but the haunting allure of One Winged Angel, Sephiroth's character theme, captures a different essence. It's a symphony of darkness, an embodiment of the antagonist's enigmatic nature that lingers in the mind long after the game is put down. And then there's Triple Triad, a mini-game that transcends its label. Its simple yet addictive mechanics and the thrill of collecting and refining a deck create a microcosm of strategic gameplay within the larger narrative. In essence, Final Fantasy VIII is not just a game for me; it's a profound journey that intertwines storytelling, visuals, gameplay mechanics, and musical composition into a seamless, immersive experience that I still go back to every time and enjoy.

Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite game ever it had my favorite game play of all the turn based Final Fantasy's and the best written characters that the player can relate to.

Ultimicia also has Squalls lion as a summon, which I always wondered about. Which changes its name depending on when you change it in game.

Really amazing interpretation of the sphere grid, very impressive that you figured this out snd related it so well to the story and its characters.

@ 1:02:37 if you defeat/destroy X-atm092 before you reach the beach area cutscene, there will be NO X-atm092 remains on the beach.

I got such a rush every time I encountered weapon in ff7. It's such a big part of my childhood. I'm stuck between which one I like better, 7 or 8.

The " rinoa is ultimacia" theory was also backed by the line she would say to squall in FF duodecim.

Also with rinoa in addition to everything mentioned one of ultimecias forms is called griever, and looks like a lion. Squalls mentions his necklace, when asked by rinoa what it’s name was, is named griever and is a lion.

FF8 will forever be the best FF. So many good memories as a kid...

I had the FF8 demo as a kid. And I just looked up the Raid on Dollet music, and it ALL came flooding back to me!

That was my first Final Fantasy. It's the best FF in my heart, I love it so much

Fun fact: Gackt’s imitation claim also comes from the fact that his 1998-1999 era performance costume with the band Malice Mizer looks nearly identical to Squall’s costume in-game, with the exception that Gackt’s version is somewhat sheer and shines a bit. I remember pegging the similarity immediately as a Malice Mizer fan when FF8 released. :)

VIII is, and will always be my all time fave of the franchise. VII and Tactics right behind.

My first final fantasy! This game was my gateway into the wonder genre that is jrpg makes me so happy

This was the first Final Fantasy game i've ever played!! Great memories, great video!! Many things i didn't know!! ❤❤❤👍👍👍

1:01:52 The x-atm092 will not be in the beach when you defeat it in your first seed mission. also, you can enter the cafe in dollet when being chased by the x-atm092. The outcome will be x-atm092 chasing other seeds. Then you can proceed with the escape and Quistis will be waiting outside the vessel. Same ending when you defeat the x-atm092.

Rinoa is ultimecia. That's my headcanon.

Kitase didn't deny the R=U theory, he later said there were three ppl writing the script, himself and the original idea didn't implement the R=U theory, but he wasn't sure if the other two writers implemented the idea or not, and especially one of them is Nomura, the story of Kingdom Hearts writer 😂

Thanks for the informative video really enjoyed it 👍

I had played games as a kid, but this was the 1st RPG I got into. It was a gift for my older brother for Christmas but I ended up playing it more than him. It was the game that made me love video games. It shaped me. Had a huge crush on Squall... probably why I married a guy that is a lot like him. 😆 My husband just has more confidence.

“My mind” and “Eyes on Me” made me cry playing this game as a kid. Now I’m 32 and the two songs still have the same effect. No complaints here.

That number one thing on this iceberg is my Bain the last fight in the game actually took me over an hour and was only doable with hero wars and hero drinks so I was constantly invulnerable.

This was my first Final Fantasy Confused me initially . But coming back as an adult its a fun game

I love the draw system... fight me lol

Also another fun fact, you can see that someone requested the book from the library "The sorceress and her knight" which we can also assume to be Seifer.

the phrase "god save the queen (or king)" is in no way limited to england, it's a royalist exaltation used in many countries that have monarchies. i'm pretty sure it's just one of those weapons that's been in multiple games, like the masamune or excalibur, not sure why it was singled out here. also it's known by more than "some" that you can destroy the x-atm092, pretty much common knowledge at this point as you get bonuses for killing it. higher seed rank plus possibly some cash, and yeah as someone said elsewhere in the comments there's no cutscene on the beach, you just leave, and if you come back the wreckage isn't there. finally, something that never gets mentioned in ffviii iceberg vids is that in the intro of the song "premonition" (it's in this video during the spherical world map section) the first five notes of "main theme from final fantasy vii" can be heard, repeating twice. an odd decision to put such an instantly recognisable piece of music in there, i thought

great video! About Rinoa in demo game appears in final game is a perfect observation.

Can't wait to sit down and watch this one!!!

After all these years, I didn't know there was an alien named pupu in the game - I have to find it when I pick it up again in my 3rd play through. Also, I wish the Demon Slice animation in FFXIV was more like Seifer's tornado-like one.

Nice to find out about the messsge on the giant screen near the Timber tv station.

Maybe not the video the world needs and want, but I'd want to see either a Front Mission, Wild Arms, or Parasite Eve iceberg.

Thanks for including my email at the end! I really hope someone with the time can solve this mystery!

The rinoa ultamecia theory was later brought back becuase Kitase later said he wasn’t actually sure if the theory was true or not.

Great Video! I also believe that rinoa becomes ultimicia. The signs and all the similarities are too crazy to deny it. If they ever make a remake out of FF8 i hope they finaly be honest with us 😁

Kitasae retracted that "false" on R=U btw

Oh my god! The demo cut scene and the actual cut scene ARE different! I thought I was a crazy person as a kid!

Question at the end answered: Durring the "The SeeD Exam" part of the game. After the tower scene. X-ATM092 is killable any time after the first escape. The first enounter he is marked as unkillable in the code and is immortal. Let's say you kill X-ATM092 the second time you enounter him. At that point random enounters start. Also killing him allows the following to change. It saves the dog without talking to it iirc. It saves the dude's car from being wrecked for a dialog change. There is also nothing on the beach. I also don't remember any remains anywhere else. Since I defeated it on the second enounter.

Seifer must have a guardian force in the opening fight since he casts fire right? So Squall went in with a major handicap

Honestly I thought Ultemcia was Rinoa since her GF is called Griever and so is the necklace that Squall gives Rinoa. Maybe a an evil Rinoa from a different timeline where she is corrupted! But who know lol love this game so much and hope it gets a remake

Kitase has since walked back his ‘debunking’ of Rinoa is Ultimecia theory. In a recent interview he stated that one of the two other writers of FFVIII could of been leaning towards implying Rinoa is Ultimecia. They worked separately and he was not aware of what subtext they were going for at the time so it may have gone past him. There are simply too many coincidences at this point, Ultimecia’s weapons in Dissidia having the same name as Rinoa’s is another smoking gun. Interview: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oZ6RpraC1Ni3nps.html

Btw, about the Rinoa dog trick, if you get Odin early enough to get Gilgamesh, then when you get Gilgamesh, you can no longer do the trick. Why? Well, while Odin randomly appear at the start of a fight, Gilgamesh may randomly appear during a fight as well. In fact, it's very likely to be summoned and kill the enemies within a very short amount of time, and will fight against the mechanics of Angelo's Recover.

1. An unmentioned factoid: In one of the Charlie's Angels movies, Drew Barrymore's character (naked and hiding her body with an inflatable pool toy) knocks on a glass door asking for help. Two kids are in a living room playing Final Fantasy 8, but they both are holding controllers. The film makers clearly knew nothing about video games, because Final Fantasy 8 has no multiplayer mode. 2. I've killed the "spider robot" at the Dollet mission at the start of the game (there's a method of using Card mod and magic refining to junction powerful spells to the Attack stat to become overpowered early on and used that to kill the robot). I killed it on the long bridge, but I didn't check later in the game to see if the robot's body was on the beach. I would imagine regardless of who kills it, you or Quistis, the citizens could have had it's remains dragged to the beach and dumped it there.

In a more recent interview Kitase did retract his statement denying the rinoa is ultimecia theory due to the possibility of that being the intent of the other writers (Nomura and Nojima). I personally can see either writer adding enough evidence to suggest this theory and it elevates the game for me so much ngl. Something really romantic about a couple's dystopic future selves being their own final boss if you also subscribe to the squall is griever theory

The way to play the game is to go after Card ability (and Card mod ability) first, thereafter kill nothing the game does not force you to.

rinoa should be ultimecia, you can see the early art where she had white wings on her back, ultimecia had black ones, story is better that way the writers couldve just went with it

So word from the creators only debunks theories people don't like. Also, Villains having things in common with the protagonists is a very old writing technique, used to show what happens if the hero make the wrong choices, Ultimecia is not Rinoa, but she is something Rinoa could turn into.

If you were a kid on high school when this came out, it hit especially hard. Btw, Squall always reminded me of a mix between Gackt and Hyde from L'Arc-en-Ciel.

You can get Squall's ultimate weapon rlly early on in the game, right after laguna's 2nd dream sequence after timber and before galbadian garden which is before deling city. Pro tip, in the dollet mission you can 0hp squall and zell and lvl seifer to lvl 100 and stock fireaga, thunaga, blizzaga, cureaga ect. Basically at the start of the game lol. That prelude track? Mmm its nice too bad its unused

at the time, games with Graphics like this is considered AWESOME. it is the first time i was in love with Japanese games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, FF8 etc... the characters are very lifelike and you can really appreciate Rinoa .

Why would there be a sequel story involving Adel? The party defeats her before leaving for Time Compression

The R = U theory add so much deep into the plot. Almost a divine tragedy.

Hey, does anyone remember where you could softlock the game because not high enough level or fire magic or something? Like if you saved before, I think it was some oil monster bosses somewhere like in disc 2? I remember I had to restart the game lolol

I just realized none of these videos on ff8 ever mention that the first half of the first disk take place in a single day. In one single day: 1 Squall and Seifer train in the morning 2 Squall wakes up in the infirmary 3 Squall attends class 4 Squall defeats ifrit 5 Squall goes on his final mission to become SeeD 6 Squall, Zell, Selphie and an unnamed student pass their exam 7 Squall attends the ball at night for SeeD. Rinoa is also at attendance to speak to Cid, but seifer failed the test... All this happens in a single day... Definitely something that could be fixed in another version of the game...

In Spanish Squall doesn't keep saying "Whatever" either, I think it's only in the English translation. Also Selphie's weapon was translated as Nunchaku too. And I think the game is not completely a time paradox, the paradox is from point A to point B, because things happen before and after.

Kinda makes you think tho why they would make a "new gun blade model" that is heavier and harder to use lol

I love breaking a game and ff8 is the most fun to do that with since they gave you a stat system with the hood completely unlocked. Only rpg I know where a card game breaks the combat and grinding doesn’t help. I personally think it’s great!

Playing sooo much Final Fantasy as a kid most possibly led to My late teenage+ year interests plus further pursuit of Third Eye activation with & for entheogenic sorcery + psychical prowess, spiritual awareness a highly over-arching interconnectedly wholesomely creatively fun given. I shall also place good blame on Wild Arms, Legend of Legaia, Xenogears, Xenosaga plus Chrono Cross & Trigger.

ngl I didn't know about the leviathan exploit but I also didn't see it getting usage for speedruns either, unless it was an older strat at some point, in fact i don't even think any runs actually draw leviathan from NORG except for the hundo, without actively using it iirc. Also fun fact about omega weapon,there is an exploit that allows you to stun lock it with potions, so it will never attack you. Another good addition would've been that a couple modders created a cutscene remover mod for the pc version Still a nice iceberg video, didn't know a couple small details here, gotta respect the amount of effort on the research regardless :)