Final Fantasy VIII, a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square, is the eighth mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series. Director Yoshinori Kitase and artist Tetsuya Nomura created the world and cast—Nomura contributed the visual design of both the characters and summoned monsters. Yusuke Naora handled the game world's art design and Kazushige Nojima wrote the scenario. The core staff had all previously worked on Final Fantasy VII, incorporating feedback from that title into their work.
Set in an unnamed fantasy world, the plot focuses on the students of Balamb Garden, a private military academy that trains mercenaries. This mercenary force, SeeD, is employed by multiple nations to fight the expansionist republic of Galbadia. The main protagonist is Squall Leonhart, a SeeD cadet seen as an introspective loner. His main companion and love interest is Rinoa Heartilly, the outspoken leader of a resistance movement against Galbadia. Other companions include Squall's classmates Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht; Quistis Trepe, a Balamb instructor; Irvine Kinneas, a mercenary from another SeeD facility; and Laguna Loire, a soldier who primarily appears in flashbacks. A recurring antagonist for Squall is Seifer Almasy, a rival SeeD cadet. The main antagonists are Edea Kramer, a possessed sorceress controlling Galbadia; and Ultimecia, a powerful sorceress from the future with a vendetta against SeeD.
The world and cast of Final Fantasy VIII were designed with an international audience and bright tone in mind, with the story drawing inspiration from Kitase and Nomura's school days. The two keywords for the narrative were "love" and "academy school". Improvements in technology produced more realistic designs and graphics than Final Fantasy VII, with natural proportions that avoided aesthetic clashes with the full-motion video cutscenes. Nojima wrote the scenario based on Kitase and Nomura's plan for a more personal romantic narrative compared to earlier Final Fantasy entries. Squall and Laguna's narratives initially had an equal presence in the game, but most of Laguna's content was cut. The cast of Final Fantasy VIII has seen praise from reviewers, with many highlighting the more realistic character designs and Squall and Rinoa's romance. Some criticism was given to Laguna's small presence in the game and Squall's antisocial attitude.
Concept and design
The initial world and story concept for Final Fantasy VIII was created by director Yoshinori Kitase, and character designer Tetsuya Nomura from Final Fantasy series developer and publisher Square. Following the worldwide success of Final Fantasy VII (1997), they decided that the next mainline entry would both have a lighter story and atmosphere, and be aimed at a worldwide market. Kitase and Nomura created the initial concept inspired by their student days. They identified "love" and "academy school" as central themes of the story, and wrote the core plot and main setting. Kitase desired to give the game a foreign atmosphere, with "foreign" being in relation to Japan, ultimately deciding on a European setting. Translation: The team wanted to "mix future, real life and fantasy". As part of the goal to create a foreign atmosphere, locations were based on familiar places while maintaining fantasy elements. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society. Flags were also given to some factions, with designs based on the group's history and culture.
Kitase wanted a more personal story for Final Fantasy VIII compared to earlier entries. He focused the game on the relationship between Squall and Rinoa, with the remaining ensemble cast acting as props for the two central characters' arc. Kazushige Nojima wrote the scenario, after his previous work on Final Fantasy VII. Reflecting on fan reception to plot elements from VII, Nojima decided to write a story where none of the cast would die and limited his use of flashbacks. He found Squall and Quistis the hardest to write, and Rinoa became his favorite out of the cast. As with Cloud Strife from VII, the protagonist of VIII was quiet and reserved. To differentiate the two, Nojima had Squall's thoughts displayed during cutscenes, giving players insight into his mind denied to other characters. The cast were originally all going to be students in the same class, but this concept was dropped as the team wanted to introduce new party members as the game went on. Nomura came up with the opening scene, with Squall and rival Seifer in a mock duel. The character Laguna originally had a much larger presence in the plot, but many of his scenes were dropped; Kitase remembered the initial plan was for Squall and Laguna to have equal screen time. A "neat" conclusion to their stories drafted by Nomura was also dropped.
Nomura handled designs for both the characters and their weapons, and the Guardian Force summoned monsters. To maintain a foreign atmosphere, the characters of the game were designed to have predominantly European appearances, with Squall as the first character created. Nomura described his designs for VIII as his preferred technique, compared to those in VII which featured characters that "weren't really his style". Based on their experience with the PlayStation's computer graphics technology while developing the previous game, the developers were able to deliver a unified art style and realistic proportions for the characters across the game, whereas characters in VII had multiple in-game models with varying styles across field maps, battle screens, and full-motion video cutscenes. Rather than attempting photorealism, the movie team tried to bring Nomura's stylized designs "into a realistic world". Nojima expected that the higher fidelity animation could cut down on the amount of dialogue but later realized that would not be the case. In contrast to the main cast's grounded designs, Nomura made the antagonist Edea as a "full-on, high-fantasy sorceress". He pushed the Guardian Force designs away from human-like, toward the monstrous or strange. The traditional lightning elemental summoned monster Ramuh, depicted as an old wizard, was replaced by Quetzalcoatl, a mythical bird. This design choice was encouraged by the game's battle designer Hiroyuki Ito. Ito also asked for some of the summoned monsters to be "comical".
The art design, led by graphic designer Yusuke Naora, aimed at having a much lighter aesthetic than Final Fantasy VII; Naora described the game as a "bright, fresh Final Fantasy". Motion capture technology was used for the full-motion video (FMV) sequences to add realism to the characters—Nojima recalled Rinoa's movements during a dance party scene needed adjustments after complaints from women on the game's staff about how she moved in her dress. For FMV, the motion capture data was imported and later refined by hand, whereas the non-FMV animations were created from scratch using motion capture footage as a reference. The game's logo was designed by Yoshitaka Amano. Kitase explained that the logo—showing Squall and Rinoa embracing—was inspired by the team's efforts to express emotion through body language.
Playable characters
Squall Leonhart
is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. He is a young student at Balamb Garden who is identifiable by the scar on his face that a fellow student, Seifer, inflicted. He rarely speaks and has the reputation of being a lone wolf. As Squall's story unfolds, he becomes fascinated with and falls in love with Rinoa, despite never outwardly expressing his love until the ending. Squall frequently reflects on forlorn memories of standing out in the rain at the orphanage where he grew up, wondering where "Sis" went. Squall wields a gunblade, a sword that uses components of a revolver to send vibrations through the blade when triggered. His Limit Break is Renzokuken, a series of sword strikes. It is later explained that the "Guardian Forces" (GF) which the SeeDs use in battle, cause memory loss, which is why Squall does not remember his past in the orphanage.
Rinoa Heartilly
is the primary female protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. She has black hair with brown highlights. She is the estranged 17-year-old daughter of General Fury Caraway, a high-ranking officer in the Galbadian army, and Julia Heartilly, a successful pianist and singer. She is a member of the Forest Owls, a resistance faction seeking to liberate the small nation of Timber from Galbadian occupation. When Squall and his party of SeeD help the resistance movement fight Galbadia, Rinoa decides to stay with them; as a result, she ends up falling in love with Squall. She is outspoken, spirited, emotional, and honest with her feelings, speaking her mind without reservation. Because of her ambition, she can often be stubborn. The contrast between her and Squall's personality positions her as Squall's other foil.
Phil Salvador, library director of the Video Game History Foundation, highlights Rinoa's maturation across the game, coming from an emotionally distant family, to opening herself up to be vulnerable with Squall. Nojima estimated that Rinoa and Squall made it "a third of the way towards true love" during the course of the game, and highlighted the scene aboard the Ragnarok in which Eyes on Me plays. Whereas Final Fantasy VII had hidden affection values that changed Cloud's relationship with the other members of his party, these were removed for VIII because of Rinoa's "special significance" to the story and the "fated meeting" between her and Squall at the SeeD graduation ball. Furthermore, unlike previous games, only Squall and Rinoa may be renamed by the player to preserve the primacy of their relationship.
Laguna Loire
is a man whose past and relation to the main characters are revealed throughout the game. Most sequences involving Laguna appear in the form of "dreams" experienced by the primary protagonists. Squall always experiences these dreams from Laguna's point of view, although he does not think too highly of Laguna. Laguna wields a machine gun and his Limit Break is Desperado, which involves a swinging rope, a grenade, and a barrage of bullets. In the dream segments, he is shown to be a twenty-seven-year-old soldier in the Galbadian army who travels with his companions, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac. He is also an aspiring journalist.
Seifer Almasy is a classmate and rival of Squall, who is a playable character during the Dollet sequence. He reappears as a boss later in the game. He acts as a foil to Squall in many aspects, having dated Rinoa before she met Squall, Like Squall, Seifer wields a gunblade which he calls "Hyperion". His Limit Break, Fire Cross, allows him to use the attack No Mercy. He later uses the more powerful techniques Demon Slice and Bloodfest against the player. Seifer has a short temper and is often depicted as a bully who desires attention. He is also fiercely independent and is often punished for his recklessness.Headmaster Cid: "Seifer. You will be disciplined for your irresponsible behavior. You must follow orders exactly during combat. But I'm not entirely without sympathy for you." (Final Fantasy VIII) He is the leader of Balamb Garden's disciplinary committee alongside his friends Fujin and Raijin.