Final Fantasy VIII
| Microsoft Windows version | |
|---|---|
| North American Windows version coverEuropean Windows version cover | |
| Publisher(s) |  Eidos Interactive
|
| Release date(s) | 25 January, 2000 (North America) 18 February, 2000 (Europe) 23 March, 2000 (Japan) |
| Media | 5 CD-ROMs |
| System requirements | Windows 95, Pentium-class CPU, 32 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 6.1 |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse, or joystick |
Final Fantasy VIII (ファイナルファンタジーVIII, Fainaru Fantajī Eito) is a computer role-playing game created by Square Co., Ltd. for the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Windows-based PCs. It is the eighth installment of the main Final Fantasy series, and the second installment in the series to be released for the PlayStation, as well as the second to be ported to Windows. Thirteen weeks after its release in 1999, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more than $50 million USD in sales,[1][2] making it the fastest selling Final Fantasy title. To date, Final Fantasy VIII has sold 7.86 million units worldwide, placing it as the third best-selling title of the series at present — Final Fantasy X being second and Final Fantasy VII being first[3] — and was voted as the twenty-second best game of all time by readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu.[4]
The game is significant in the Final Fantasy series in that it was the first to feature realistically proportioned characters, as opposed to the more chibi-style character renderings seen in all previous games of the series. It is also one of the few Final Fantasy games to depart from the series' traditional means of increasing the quantity and strength of its playable characters' statistic-based parameters and abilities. Furthermore, it was the first game in the series to feature a vocal piece as its theme song.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy VIII is a further development of the RPG engine seen in its series predecessor Final Fantasy VII, and comprises three main modes of play: the world map screen, a fully 3D visual display in which the player may navigate freely across a scaled-down rendering of the game world; the field map screen, consisting of one or more 2D pre-rendered backgrounds that serve to represent environmental locations such as towns and some forests, with overlaid 3D characters under the player's control; and the battle map screen, a fully 3D visual of a discrete location such as a street or room, where a fight between the player and CPU-controlled enemy parties takes place. A menu-driven interface drives the mechanics of the game, where the various departures from previous Final Fantasy games — the exclusion of a weapon and armor system and the inclusion of the Junction system — become apparent. Final Fantasy VIII was also the first game in the series to introduce a collectible card-based minigame, known as "Triple Triad."
Junction system
This new system revolves around summonable monsters, called "Guardian Forces" (GFs). A character must have a GF assigned to them ("junctioned") before he or she can use several standard Final Fantasy battle command abilities, such as "Magic," "GF" (summoning), and "Item." Only "Attack" can be performed without a GF. While previous Final Fantasy titles used a limited pool of Magic Points (MP) that were consumed by each spell to restrict unlimited magic use, in Final Fantasy VIII, spells are "drawn" from enemies and special Draw Points distributed throughout the game's environments. Additionally, certain GF abilities allow players to "refine" magical spells from items. Spells are then stocked on characters as quantified inventory (restricted to stocking one hundred units of a spell at a time) and are consumed one at a time when used. GFs also allow characters to "junction" these spells to their own statistics — such as "Strength" and "Vitality" — for various bonuses.
Because of the flexibility and depth of this system, it is possible to build one's playable party up to significant levels of power fairly early into the game. This alternative use of GFs was a significant departure for the Final Fantasy series, as summoned creatures were previously used almost exclusively to deliver a single devastating attack during battles, rather than serving as the means for statistic growth and accessing special abilities. Other notable changes were present, as well, in that "stat junctioning" fully replaced the equippable weapons, armor, and accessories of previous games, with each character instead featuring a specialized weapon that cannot be unequipped. However, a limited number of upgrades can be performed on each character's weapon throughout the game, increasing its power and efficiency, as well as altering its appearance.
Limit Breaks
As in Final Fantasy VII, every character has a unique special attack called a Limit Break. Where the system differs from the previous game's use of Limit Breaks, however, is that they randomly become available every time a command is issued during battle, provided that character's current health (Hit Points, or HP) is below 32% of their current maximum health (only 84% in Seifer Almasy's case). Alternatively, the magic spell Aura increases the probability of Limit Breaks appearing regardless of a character's remaining Hit Points. In the original Japanese version of the game, these moves were called "Special Arts" — shortened to "Special" in the Status Menu — and were renamed "Limit Breaks" in the North American, European and Australian versions.[5]
Experience levels
As in most role-playing games — and in most previous installments of the Final Fantasy series — experience points are awarded following successful battles. If 1000 experience points are accumulated by a character, that character gains a "level", which increases that character's base statistics. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, however, the levels of randomly encountered enemies are calculated based on the current levels of the player's characters. In other words, the higher the levels of the player's characters, the higher the levels of the randomly encountered enemies the player battles. Higher level enemies are capable of dealing out — and receiving — significantly more damage, and may have newer and stronger attacks available as well. Furthermore, increases in a character's stats as a result of "leveling up" are minuscule in comparison to the stat boosts available through exploitation of the Junction system.
The Guardian Forces themselves also gain levels and win Ability Points (AP) after battles. AP is allocated to allow Guardian Forces to learn special abilities. When a GF has gained the required amount of AP to learn a specific ability, that ability becomes available for any character — and, in some cases, the character party as a whole — to use. Additionally, when GFs that have learned the Boost ability are summoned, the player will be given the opportunity to increase the potency of the GF's attack. Other abilities provided by GFs include refining magical spells from items, providing extra bonuses to character stats when leveling up, and a variety of new battle commands.
Story
The story of Final Fantasy VIII begins as the ever-growing hostilities of the Galbadian nation begin being felt by the rest of the world. Galbadia's president, Vinzer Deling, is expanding Galbadia's territories, and — some seventeen years after a previous war shattered peace between the nations — the balance of power begins shifting once again, and the world is soon consumed in an even greater conflict than before.
In response to a plea calling for mercenaries to help in fending off a Galbadian invasion of the Dollet dukedom, the only territory on the Galbadian continent not already under Deling's control, the Balamb Garden branch of the elite mercenary force known as "SeeD" is dispatched along with several graduation-eligible SeeD cadets, including Squall Leonhart.[6] SeeD temporarily succeeds in halting the Galbadian advance, negotiating a brief cease-fire, and Squall — recognized for his exemplary discipline, strength and leadership skills — graduates to SeeD status.
Shortly after graduating, Squall meets a young woman named "Rinoa Heartilly," whose attitude and approach to life are apparently the opposite of his own. Assigned to help her Galbadian-resistance on his first mission, along with fellow graduates Zell Dincht and Selphie Tilmitt, Squall learns that a sorceress named "Edea" is the mastermind behind Galbadia's rising violence. Edea soon kills Deling and takes direct control of Galbadia, turning it into an imperial dictatorship.[7] Squall and his comrades, along with his former instructor, Quistis Trepe, and sharpshooter Irvine Kinneas, attempt to assassinate the sorceress, but are defeated and imprisoned.
During their failed attempt to assassinate the sorceress, Squall's party learns that his longtime rival from his cadet days, Seifer Almasy, has defected from Garden and joined with Edea as the leader of the Galbadian army and her personal second-in-command. [8] After escaping from their imprisonment, Squall's group must work to save Garden — and the world — from Edea's wrath, as well as unravel the mysteries surrounding a man named "Laguna" and his charge Ellone, whom Edea is seeking. Meanwhile, Squall himself must come to terms with his rival, his ever-growing feelings for Rinoa, and his own isolation-based philosophy on life.[9]
As time passes, Squall begins to abandon his shell to become the leader of SeeD [10] and protect the woman he loves. Soon, the full forces of the Galbadian army and Balamb Garden — SeeDs and cadets alike — meet to engage in a devastating conflict, and it is revealed that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined: Edea is merely a tool for a greater sorceress known as "Ultimecia," who resides in the future and wishes to achieve Time Compression. This spell would grant her dominion over all time and space, and it is for this reason she has sought Ellone, the key to her goal. [11] [12]
The subsequent battle with Edea forces Ultimecia to transfer Edea's powers to Rinoa, allowing Edea to cling to life but leaving Rinoa frozen in a deep coma. Squall — his hard exterior finally shattered by Rinoa's condition — becomes obsessed with waking her. However, Ultimecia now possesses Rinoa and uses her to free Adel, the imprisoned sorceress responsible for the war of seventeen years past, while also ordering Seifer to incite the Lunar Cry, a rain of monsters from the moon. This simultaneously brings Adel's containment device from space to the planet's surface, and leaves Esthar — the world's most powerful nation — swarming with monsters and unable to prevent Ultimecia's plot to use Adel as her host for the final stage of her plan. [13]
Rinoa, now herself once more, is abandoned to die alone in space by Ultimecia, and Squall, determined to save her, dives into the voide of space after her. Rescued by a derelict spaceship floating in the planet's orbit, Squall and Rinoa return from space, only for Esthar to lock Rinoa away, fearing her new sorceress powers. [14] Squall then risks the safety of the entire universe to free Rinoa, kill Adel, and travel through an ever more time-compressed universe to confront Ultimecia in her own era. With their friendship serving as their bond to reality, Squall and his friends manage to immunize themselves to the effects of Time Compression, defeat Ultimecia, and put an end to her schemes. [15] As Ultimecia dies, the universe begins returning to normal, and Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time. Unable to find his own way back to the present, he is rescued by Rinoa, and SeeD organizes a banquet to celebrate his squad's victory.
Development
Characters
The main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, who uses a gunblade (a fictional revolver-sword hybrid that functions primarily as a sword, with an added damaging vibration feature activated by use of its gun mechanism);[16] Rinoa Heartilly, who fights using an arm-bound crossbow that fires projectiles with a boomerang-like effect; Quistis Trepe, who uses a whip in battle; Zell Dincht, a martial artist; Selphie Tilmitt, who uses nunchaku; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman. Playable supporting characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill, Ward Zabac (playable characters in "flashback" sequences), and antagonists Seifer and Edea.
Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima has expressed that the dynamic of players' relationships with the main character in Final Fantasy games is something of importance to him. Both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII feature reserved, quiet protagonists in the form of Cloud Strife and Squall, but with Final Fantasy VIII, Nojima explains that he wanted to give players actual insight into what the character was thinking — a direct contrast with his handling of Final Fantasy VII's script, which encouraged the player to speculate.[17] This approach to Final Fantasy VIII is reflected by the frequent use of dialogue that takes place solely within Squall's mind, allowing the player to read his thoughts and understand what he is thinking or feeling even when he keeps those thoughts to himself.[18]
During the game's pre-production, character designer Tetsuya Nomura suggested that the game bear a "school days" feel. As Kazushige Nojiima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same ages, the ideas meshed, taking form as the Garden military academies. Nojima also planned for the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna Loire's group from the past) to highly contrast with one another. This idea was conveyed through the age and experience of Laguna's group, versus the youth and inexperience of Squall's group.[19]
As part of a theme desired by director Yoshinori Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere ("foreign" being in relation to Japan), the objective with the character designs was to give them largely European appearances. The first Final Fantasy VIII character Nomura designed with this theme in mind was Squall. Desiring to add a unique angle to Squall's appearance to emphasise his role as the central character, Nomura gave him a gunblade scar across his brow and the bridge of his nose. As there was not yet a detailed history conceived for the character at this time, Nomura left the explanation for Squall's scar to Nojima. Squall's design was completed by a feather motif along the collar of his jacket, included by Nomura for the purpose of challenging the game's FMV designers to get the most out of the technology implemented in the game's creation.[19]
Nomura ended up altering each character's appearance before they reached their final designs, forcing him to scrap his original intentions. For instance, Nomura had originally wanted Seifer Almasy to be involved in a love triangle between himself, Rinoa and Squall. As another example, Quistis was to originally be designed with a skirt, but in the end, was given a long skirt worn over pants. With Rinoa wearing a mini-skirt over shorts, this led to a conflict with the intended notion that one of the main female characters would wear a skirt. A compromise was made in this regard with Selphie's design. She was originally intended to be wearing overalls, but Nomura decided that her outfit should be something of a combination of the two.[19] Finally, when designing Rinoa, Nomura decided to avoid the temptation of FMV technology by making her "cute" and full of personality, instead of "too beautiful".[19]
With Final Fantasy VIII also came the inclusion of three designs Nomura had previously drawn, but had not yet used in a Final Fantasy game. These included the designs of Edea, Fujin and Raijin. The latter two had originally been designed for use in Final Fantasy VII, but with the inclusion of that games Turks characters, it was felt that Fujin and Raijin were unnecessary. Edea had been a design that Nomura created prior to even Final Fantasy VII's development, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.[19]
In addition to designing all the game's characters, Tetsuya Nomura also designed all of its Guardian Forces. Aware that there was a type of "training" involved with their role in the game, Nomura decided to give them all features that distanced them from human beings and gave them more the appearance of mystical creatures, even in the rare cases of the game's humanoid GFs.[19]
Locations
Final Fantasy VIII takes place primarily on a large, unnamed world with one moon. The planet comprises five major landmasses, with the largest (Esther) covering most of the eastern and northeastern portions of the map. The second largest continent (Galbadia) lies to the west, and contains many of the game's locations. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies the smallest continent (Balamb), the large island on which the game begins. The remaining two landmasses are smaller and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain, having suffered from the impact of a Lunar Cry.[20][21] The southernmost landmass is long and thin, while the other, a short distance north, is an archipelago of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. A number of islands and marine structures flesh out the rest of the game world, and a smattering of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas.
In designing the world of Final Fantasy VIII, Director Yoshinori Kitase expressed the desire to go with an international theme, giving attractive foreign designs to not just the game's characters, but also to its various locations, using the style of internationally familiar places, while maintaining a fantasy atmosphere. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society.[19]
Musical score
Nobuo Uematsu composed and directed the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VIII, which was released on four compact discs by DigiCube in Japan, and by Square EA in North America. Additionally, a special orchestral arrangement of selected tracks from the game — performed by Shiro Hamaguchi — was released under the title FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC.
The score is best known for two songs: "Liberi Fatali", a Latin choral piece that is played during the introduction to the game, and "Eyes On Me", a pop song serving as the game's theme performed by Chinese singer Faye Wong. The latter song was released as a CD single in Japan and sold over 400,000 copies,[22] making it the best-selling video game music disc ever released in that country until the release of "Hikari" by Utada Hikaru for Kingdom Hearts. "Liberi Fatali" and "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec," another choral piece, were even played during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the swimming events.
Reception and criticism
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
Within two days of its North American release on September 9, 1999, Final Fantasy VIII became the top-selling video game in the United States, a position it held for more than three weeks.[23] Aside from grossing a total of more than $50 million within the first 13 weeks to follow,[1][2] in Japan, it sold roughly 2.5 million units within the first four days of release[24], and during 2006 was voted by readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu as the twenty-second best game of all time.[4]
Reviews of Final Fantasy VIII's gameplay have been mixed. Multimedia news website IGN.com felt that it was the weakest aspect of the game, citing its Guardian Force attack sequences as "incredibly cinematic" but tedious. They also regarded the battle system as intensely complicated but refreshingly innovative, and something that "RPG fanatics love to obssess over."[25] Other comments have included Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine's claims that the game's Junction system is a major flaw due to repetitive stocking of spells,[26] and the UK-based Edge magazine's comments that the battle system consists of a "bewildering" number of intricate options and techniques that "most gamers will... relish."[27] The website GameSpot praised the game's battle system, claiming that the "possibilities for customization [with the Junction system] are immense." GameSpot also felt that the game's removal of a large variety of equipment allowed it to give "the focus to the story, characters, and battle strategies."[28]
Critics have also addressed various other aspects of the game, as well as their standing in comparison to previous installments. Gaming Age cited the storyline and graphics as two major improvements over Final Fantasy VII, while considering the game's music "hardly a step up...."[29]. Game Revolution questioned the game's lack of voice overs for its characters, but praised its storyline and ending.[30] On the other hand, Edge felt that the game's length left its story unable to "offer consistently strong dialogue and sub-plots over a 60-to-80 hour duration." Furthermore, the magazine felt that some of the story's plot twists were not "suitabliy manipulated and prepared," making it "hard not to greet such... moments with anything but indifference." As a whole, however, Edge considered Final Fantasy VIII to be "yet another outstanding edition of SquareSoft's far-from-final fantasies... Aesthetically astonishing, rarely less than compelling, and near peerless in scope and execution...."[27]
As with other games in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VIII has been the basis for many works of fan fiction. The details of the game's world and characters are not fully explored within the game or by official materials such as the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, leaving much room for interpretation and expansion by fans.
References
- ^ a b Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (December 14, 1999). "FFVIII Sells Six Million Copies Worldwide". gamespot.com. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b IGN staff (December 9, 1999). "FF8 Breaks Sales Records". ign.com. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Broshnat and Tadj (2006). "Videogame Sales Charts". VGCHARTS.ORG. Retrieved 4 July.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Colin Campbell (2006). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Next Generation. Retrieved 11 March.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. p. 64. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
- ^ Xu: Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago. 49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the inner city. Currently, they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops. That's the current status. Now onto the mission objective. According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Edea: ...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. HAHAHAHAHA. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Squall: So, you've become the sorceress' lap dog? / Seifer: I preferred to be called her knight. This has always been my dream. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Squall: (How long has it been since we started moving?) (There's not much more to do now. We've taken care of all the monsters in the Garden.) (Oh yeah... I still have to report to the headmaster. There's a lot of things I want to ask about, too.) (He's probably still busy, trying to reestablish order in the Garden.) (...We're in the middle of nowhere.) (Man, I'm bored...) (I hate having nothing to do. It gets me thinking too much.) (I hope Selphie and the others are all right. Was it wrong for me to let them go? I wonder how Quistis and Irvine felt about it.) (That sorceress... Who is she? Why fire missiles at the Garden? Is Seifer ever coming back? I'll get even with him next time.) (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Cid: This journey will involve many battles. A well qualified leader is needed for this. Therefore, I am appointing Squall as your new leader. From now on, Squall will be the leader. He will decide our destination and battle plan. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Edea: ...I have been possessed all this time. I was at the mercy of Sorceress Ultimecia. Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future. A sorceress many generations ahead of our time. Ultimecia's objective is to find Ellone. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Rinoa: There was a sorceress inside me. Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future. She's trying to achieve time compression. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ 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. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Descendant 1: Sorceress Rinoa. Hyne's descendant. / Descendant 2: Come with us. We must seal your power for the sake of the world. (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Laguna: Ok, this is the showdown folks! Time compression is about to begin. 'Love, friendship, and courage'! Show'em what you got! (Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. p. 43. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
- ^ Square-Enix North America Site Staff (2001). "Behind The Game The Creators". Square-Enix North America. Retrieved 12 April.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Squall: (Caraway is the head of the Galbadian army... Could this be a coup d'etat?) (No... I don't think he's out to overthrow the president...)(Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ a b c d e f g Shella (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. Retrieved 13 April.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ (In-game tutorial) Centra Civilisation: "A civilisation in Centra 4000 years ago. These Centra people immigrated to other continents and founded the Dollet Empire to the west and Esthar to the east. Centra was destroyed 80 years ago by the Lunar Cry."(Final Fantasy VIII)
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. p. 40. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
- ^ "Nobuo Uematsu's Profile". Square Enix USA. Unknown. Retrieved 2006-03-17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ IGN staff (October 5, 1999). "Final Fantasy VIII Tops Videogame Charts". ign.com. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ IGN staff (September 7, 1999). "Final Fantasy VIII Is Out!". ign.com. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Jeff Lundigran (1999). "IGN: Final Fantasy VIII Review". IGN. Retrieved July 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Editors of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (2004). "Final Fantasy VIII PS Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved July 13.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Editors of EDGE magazine, ed. (1999). EDGE Autumn 1999. Future Publishing. p. 87.
{{cite book}}:|editor=has generic name (help) - ^ Andrew Vestal (1999). "Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Bob McTague (1999). "Gaming Age Review - Final Fantasy VIII". Gaming Age. Retrieved July 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Johnny Liu (1999). "Game Revolution Review Page - Final Fantasy VIII". Game Revolution. Retrieved July 16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
External links
- Final Fantasy Wiki category list for Final Fantasy VIII
- Square Enix's Official Final Fantasy VIII website
- Final Fantasy VIII at MobyGames
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