An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Walkthrough
Version 0.3
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Author's Notes:
Hello, and welcome to version 0.3 of 'A Final Fantasy VIII' Walkthrough.
Before i begin, i'll like to state that this guide is based on the Japanese
version of ff 8 that was released recently; as such, some parts of the story
-line may be mistranslated (i'm not THAT fluent in Japanese, and ff 8 is a
huge game), so please correct me if i'm wrong. Another issue i'll like to
address is that this FAQ gives away some of the storyline, so for those
waiting for the U.S release, you'd better not scroll down too much ^_^
E-mail me at cephiroth@yahoo.com.
Even More (!) Notes from the Author:
I know this update is waaaaaaay behind schedule, and it's kinda lame it only
covers Disc One. However, IMHO, it's comprehensive enough to offer all you
can know about the entire of Disc One. I think. Also, i tend to ramble a lot
about the plot, but rest assured major spoilers in the storyline won't pop
up in this guide without a huge warning sign. I'll be back with another
update ASAP.
Revision History:
24/7/98 Wrote a mini-walkthrough for the trial edition of ff 8 (v 0.1)
31/7/98 Corrected some mistranslations thanks to Jon Chang (v 0.2)
16/4/99 Updated the walkthrough up to the end of Disc One (v 0.3)
Table of Contents:
1. Basic Stuff
2. Battle Tutorial
3. Menu Tutorial
4. Walkthrough
5. Credits
BASIC STUFF
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CONTROLS: (On the field)
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party around and highlights choices
X: Cancel. Press together with the d-pad to WALK
Circle: Activates switches, opens up conversations and accepts choices
Square: Starts a card battle game - more on that later
Triangle: Displays the menu screen
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off
(On World Map)
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party around and highlights choices
Right Analog-Stick: Moves vehicle foward or backward
X: Reverses vehicle
Circle: Search locations, mount/dismount vehicle
Square: Accelerates vehicle
Triangle: Displays the menu screen
R1: Moves the camera 45 degrees to the right (World Map Screen)
L1: Moves the camera 45 degrees to the left (World Map Screen)
R2: Switches between view points (World Map Screen)
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off (World Map Screen)
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off
(In Battle)
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Highlights commands
X: Cancels and closes windows
Circle: Confirms selected command
Square: When a G.F has learnt 'Assist' ability, hold down Select during the
summoning sequence; tap repeatedly when the finger icon appears, and
stop when a red cross appears over the finger. You can double your
G.F's power if you do it right
Triangle: Hit to switch to another character who has a full time bar
R1: Trigger. When timed in conjunction with Squall's Gunblade, this will
allow for double damage/ Press repeatedly during Irvine's desperation
sequence to fire his gun
L1: Toggles the target window on/off
R2 and L2: Press together to escape. Does not work on bosses
Select: Hides all windows when held down
Start: Pauses the game and brings up the help window, along with the rumble
feature window
(In the Menu Screen)
D-pad/Analog-pad: Moves the cursor
X: Cancels the selected command and closes the menu screen
Circle: Confirms the selected command
Square: Displays character's desperation or G.F's acquired abilities/ Removes
junctioned magic spell
R1: Moves the scroll bar right when selecting items or magic/Switches between
party members
L1: Moves the scroll bar left when selecting items or magic/Switches between
party members
The 2 choices that appear when you start up the game are 'New Game' and
'Continue' respectively.
I'll start by giving a translation of the battle command window:
Attack/Capture --> Desperation
Magic (or any other command)
Draw/G.F (or any other command)
Item (or any other command)
The first command lets you attack (duh) and when a party member takes a set
amount of damage, they will have an alternate way of attacking. This is
indicated by a tiny arrow by the side of the 'Attack' command. To access it,
hit right on the d-pad, and following that, their respective desperation
move will appear. Note that the chances for this occurrence seem to be higher
if their HPs are kept low (meaning, heal them only when their condition gets
really bad). Also, by switching to another character, the desperation icon is
lost. New or improved desperations are learnt via magazines. These can be
found in pet stores or on book shelves. Not all characters require such a
method though; Squall's finishing blow to his Renzokuken is determined by the
type of Gunblade he's carrying.
The R1 button is used to activate double damage for Squall's Gunblade. The
best time to do this is when Squall lifts his sword, and you hear the swish
of his blade. Press R1 immediately and Squall should connect for 2x damage.
Apart from this, Squall's desperation move also causes a window to appear,
hit R1 when the moving yellow light fills the 2nd to left bracket for double
damage. His finishing blow appears at RANDOM, so don't worry too much about
it. R1 also comes into play during Irvine's desperation: press it to fire
his shotgun.
Magic is a simple click-and-use procedure, and the amount of a particular
magic you can cast is limited by the number appearing beside it. Press left
or right on the d-pad to scroll if the character has additional spells.
The 'Draw' command is available to certain characters. Clicking on it, then
an enemy will produce a sub-window showing the enemy's magic list. Select the
magic you want, and another sub-window appears. The 1st is 'Stock', whereby
the member absorbs that particular spell from the enemy for later use. The
2nd option is 'Use' which allows you to cast the chosen spell on anyone. The
The magnitude of the spell, and the amount you get when you try to stock a
spell is determined by your character's 'Magic' parameter as well as 'Luck'.
Both options may sometimes result in failure; you can try as many times as
you wish, though. The absorbed magic, if any, will then be usable in the
character's magic list.
'Guardian Force' is an ability that summons Espers under your command.
Surprisingly enough, there is no limit to its usage; just note that whenever
this command is used, the caster's HP will be converted to that of the summon
monster, and any attacks on him or her during this period will be absorbed by
the Esper. When this number falls to zero, the character loses the ability to
summon that Esper for that particular fight. G.Fs regain lost HP via walking
around or items.
Items are pretty basic, and are pretty much a simple click-and-use procedure.
Nothing too complicated here. In addition to the above battle commands,
others are made available as you level up more Guardian Forces.
When you want to waste a group of enemies via a spell or G.F, you should use
Triangle to switch to that particular character instead of having the members
before him or her attack; that way, the remaining characters can finish off
any survivors from the hit.
A hit in the back results in double damage; this applies to both your party
members and enemies for physical attacks.
Escaping is done by holding down R2 and L2. In ff 8, you actually gain exp
when you flee from battle, depending on the amount of damage you did to your
opponents. Any character that finishes off an enemy gets more EXP as well, so
be sure to let Squall give up his easier kills to a weaker member.
Gil is obtained depending on your SeeD ranking. This can be raised via taking
tests or special game events. It can also be lowered depending on how you
fight and failure at certain events. Basically, you gain Gil the more you
walk.
Towards the end of the game, you'll come to rely heavily on Squall's Renzo
-kuken to dish out the heavy damage. I've included a way to exploit this
to your maximum advantage:
1. Junction Ultima x 100 to Strength, and learn Strength +60%. This should
raise Squall's offense to 255. Learn Auto Haste from Cerebrus.
2. Obtain Aura magic (drawable from Heaven/Hell Islands and Seifer at the
end), or Aura Stones via Siren's Item Refinement Menu Ability (each Power
Wrist gives you 10 Aura Stones; they're purchasable from the Pet Store in
Esthar). Also draw Merton magic from high level Geiras (white flying
creatures with black stripes on the Trabia continent) and Bombs (in a
forest near to Sabotender Desert, or in the Fire Caverns). You might
want to have a few Haste spells on hand too.
3. During confrontation, cast Haste on Squall (optional, especially if he
has Auto Haste on already). Follow this up with Merton on the enemy; this
reduces their defense to zero. Finally, use Aura (Stones) on Squall.
4. Repeatedly tap Triangle for Squall's desperation to appear. Each cut,
coupled with the R1 Trigger, should do over 9000 damage. If Squall
finishes with 'End of Heart' (equip Lionheart first), you should be able
to do damage amounting to something like 254000 in one Renzokuken.
Well, that's all for the battle tutorial.
MENU TUTORIAL (under construction)
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I'll only go through the Junction System which might befuddle some of ff 8's
players; more to come later.
The Junction system combines both the Materia and Job system together,
enabling you to build the kind of character you want. I'll give a brief trans
-lation of how the Junction Screen looks like:
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Notice JUNCTION REMOVE OPTIMIZE ABILITIES | JUNCTION |
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HELP WINDOW
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(Potrait) (Magic/G.F List) (Equipped Command/G.F)
(Current EXP/Required EXP for Next Level)
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HP Attached Spell (CHANGE) S Attack S Def. E Attack E Def.
Attack -- Speed --
Defense -- Evasion --
Magic -- Accuracy --
Magic Def. -- Luck --
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*S Attack and S Def.: Status Attack and Status Defense
E Attack and E Def.: Elemental Attack and Elemental Defense
In a nutshell, here's how the whole thing works (to the best of my knowledge
anyway):
1. Gain G.Fs through drawing from enemies, receiving as gifts or defeating
them.
2. Junction a G.F (a character can have multiple G.Fs junctioned) to a party
member.
3. Choose to optimize your character, either based on 'Offense', 'Magic' or
'Defense'.
4. Select the abilities you want available to your character.
5. If you're not happy with the junctioned magic spells, choose 'Junction'
again, and then magic. Change the spells if you want, or remove them
with 'Square'.
6. From the Menu Screen, select G.F. Tap 'Circle' at a G.F's status window,
and select the ability you want it to learn.
G.Fs learn abilities through AP or items. They can also raise their HP and
power via levelling up or certain abilities. However, unlike AP, junctioned
G.Fs in battle SHARE the EXP the character receives, so you might want to
dis-equip the stronger G.Fs for a while if you want to build up weaker ones.
And mind you, new G.Fs often start off pathetically weak. G.Fs also have
different mindsets towards each character (the red bar along with the numbers
indicate how much they like each member). The higher the value, the lesser
time it takes to summon them. This value is increased by summoning them, or
using spells of the same elemental as the G.F, i.e Fire spells raise Ifrit's
opinion of the character.
WALKTHROUGH
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Editor's Note: As I was rushing to get this out, this walkthrough may appear
haphazard at times, so again, please do forgive any errors on my part ^_^
DISC ONE
[Balamb Garden]
Final Fantasy VIII opens with a nice FMV of Squall and Seifer squaring off
against each other in a training match. However, Squall is scarred in this
battle, having taken a direct hit in his face.
Squall awakens from his coma in the infirmary, where the doctor there, Dr.
Kadowaki will ask Squall if he feels alright:
- Um... *
- My head hurts...
Dr. Kadowaki then leaves to inform Quistis of Squall's recovery. After a FMV
showing her arrival, both student and mentor will walk to the class-room,
with the latter commenting that the entrance examination for SeeD is today.
After class is over, Quistis reminds Squall that he has yet to visit the
Fire Caverns. Before going off, you might want to check out the Study Panel
at Squall's seat. There you'll find the following options:
1. Tutorial
2. The Basics
3. About Garden
4. A message from Garden
5. Garden Square
6. The School Festival Committee (not available yet)
You'll be best advised to read through all of them. In addition, Squall will
receive 2 G.Fs, Shiva and Quetzalcoatl upon selecting the Tutorial. Once done,
leave the classroom. Along the way, Squall'll bump into Selphie, the newly
transferred student from Trabia Garden:
- Are you okay? *
- ......
Squall confirms that she just missed her class, upon which Selphie asks Squall
for a little tour around Balamb Garden:
- I know how it feels. *
- I'm not that free...
Head on over to the elevator, but before you do that, talk to the guy hanging
around the lift; he'll grant Squall his first set of cards, and tell him to
use 'Square' to initiate 'Card Battle'. Bring Selphie to the Garden Directory,
which is the huge board right to the south of the 1st floor. Here's a rough
lay-out of the place:
Students' Dormitory
Cafeteria Parking Lots
Campus Garden Elevators Training Center
Infirmary Library
Main Gates
Feel free to explore the place: you can rest and save at the Dorms, meet
Seifer and company (Raijin, Fuujin) at the Cafeteria, and watch Zell miss the
last piece of bread ^_^. Dr. Kadowaki will play cards with you, and the
Library offers an 'Esuna' draw point, plus the 1st volume of Occult Fans.
Search the 2nd bookshelf from right in the background; sometimes a student
may be blocking the way, so try re-entering the Library. This volume is an
account of a mysterious monster which attacked a miner in Timber; the victim
speaks of a Steel Pipe in the possession of the monster. Avoid the Training
Center for now. To the Main Gates once you're done.
[Balamb Region] (reminder: Junction G.Fs, and NEVER escape from battles. Keep
Squall's level within 8)
Quistis will bring Squall to the Fire Caverns, which is east of Garden behind
the forest. Squall is asked how long he would take to defeat the boss within
and come back out (10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes). I chose 30, but if you're good
enough, you'll probably finish it within 20, barring any mishaps on the way.
[Fire Caverns]
The Fire Caverns aren't particularly hard, but since random enemy encounters
count towards the timer, you'd better finish them quickly, and keep heading
straight into the inner regions of the cave (you can always re-visit the
place to earn EXP, draw spells and gain Cards later, without the silly timer).
There'll only be 2 times when the route splits; take the 1st one right for a
draw point, and right again the 2nd time. You'll meet Ifrit at the end.
BOSS: Ifrit HP: 1068 Weak: Ice Strong vs.: Fire
Draw List: Fire(2), Cure, Libra
Being a fire-based creature, you'll naturally want to avoid casting any
fire spells on him. Simply cast Shiva repeatedly to make short work of him.
You'll receive Ifrit as a G.F, and have to make your way back out again.
Side event: Defeating Bombs sometimes net you Bomb Fragments or Cards. Get
one of these.
Once you're done, i suggest you hang around in the Overworld a bit longer to
build a level or 2. Return to Balamb Garden once you think Squall is powerful
enough to handle the next mission.
[Balamb Garden and City]
Squall is invited to try for a place in SeeD upon his return. You can wander
around Garden if you wish, and whenever you feel you're ready, head back to
Squall's room to change into his school uniform. Make your way back to the
Lobby with the Garden directory board. There, Squall'll be assigned to his
party, comprising of Seifer and Zell. Go for a spin or 2 in the car before
moving on to Balamb City in the south-west (and hear Seifer's unflattering
remarks about Zell). There isn't much you can do right now, so go on and
board the ship (if you've got cash to spare, you can run off to the south,
explore Balamb City and purchase a few healing items).
Sue briefs the group on their mission objective, saying they are to liberate
the city of Dollet that's under siege by Galbadia. Squad B (that's you)
is to secure the area right up to the town square. Seifer then orders Squall
to check the situation outside:
- ... Understood. *
- No way.
[Dollet] (reminder: don't converse with Squad A or C members, except for
Selphie)
After the ships crash onto the shore, the loading doors open and Seifer leads
Squall's party out. Quistis reminds you to equip your G.Fs before proceeding;
divide your G.Fs among the 3 before following Seifer.
Seifer then points out 2 oncoming guards and the party encounters their 1st
battle. Have the members attack normally (you may wish to stock up on 'Cure'
spells at this point) and make full use of the Gunblade's critical hit feature.
Note that Seifer's Cross Sword also has this feature, only that his timing is
a bit faster.
As the party goes deeper into the town, Seifer will stop and ask Squall whether
he's having fun ^_^ before another duo of Galbadia troops jump down to
confront the party.
At the town square, Seifer orders the party to eliminate any remaining guards;
proceed to the upper-right alley and do so. Following that, the characters
wait it out as the rest of their troops storm the enemies' headquarters.
Finally, Seifer loses his patience (no thanks to the dog) and decides to check
things out ahead. Zell questions this act as he thinks it's out of the mission
parameter, but is dismissed by Seifer and Squall. The latter especially, seems
quite eager to prove himself.
After the party crosses the bridge, they chance upon the injured Dollet troops.
Seifer spots another injured soldier, who is promptly dragged away by a
serpent monster before Squall can reach him. A battle occurs. Seifer remarks
that things are starting to get interesting now... Btw, the Hedge Viper is
weak against Ice, so cast Shiva on it.
Follow the path to the satellite station, defeating enemies along the way.
Seifer will run off on his own (probably too eager already) and Selphie
arrives to convey a message, conveniently replacing Seifer in the process.
Jump off the cliff:
- That's what i'm gonna do.
- I'm not planning on doing that. * (don't ever take this shortcut)
Once inside, run around a bit to encounter enemy troops, and make use of this
opportunity to heal your characters as well as stock up on curative items
and spells. Once you're ready, step onto the elevator and take it to the top
(1st option).
Side event: Haurizaados here (strange greyish creatures with a pink under
-belly) give you Screws. These are useful in upgrading your weapons.
The scene switches to Wedge (the blue guy) and Biggs (the guy in red). Biggs
is trying to repair the satellite when Wedge comments on the cause of the
fault, saying a monster is rumoured to have damaged the satellite. The former
pays no attention, much to the chagrin of Wedge, who decides to look around
first.
Before long, Squall arrives, and in the commotion, Biggs starts the satellite
up. He is elated, but not after the party engages him in battle.
SUB-BOSSES: Biggs and Wedge HPs: Variable
Draw List: Fire, Bolt, Ice, Esuna
Have the party use G.F if you wish, but it'll be better to keep drawing magic
out of these 2 guys first, especially Esuna. After defeating them, Elviole
will make his appearence; save your items and spells for him.
BOSS: Elviole HP: 3523 Weak: None Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Bolt(2), Cure(2), Double, Siren
Unleash everything (well, maybe not EVERYTHING; save a few Bolt spells and
items) you've got on this creature. If your G.Fs are at a decent level, he
should go down easily. Just make sure to pop in the occasional heal spells,
and use any desperation attacks when they're made available. He also has
Siren, a G.F among his list of magics, so be sure to draw it from him. Watch
out for his Storm Breath too, which takes off 70 plus damage from everyone.
Selphie relays new information to Squad B: they are to assemble at the shore
at 1900 hours. Seifer notes the 30 minute deadline given before he leaves.
Zell then curses, seemingly irritated by Seifer's selfishness. When you
regain control, quickly board the lift and descend. The scene then cuts to
Biggs, who activates a last ditch defense mechanism before gloating and
falling over.
Outside, the X-ATM092 makes its untimely appearence, and the party has to
fend it off.
SUB-BOSS: X-ATM092 HP: 5872 Weak: Lightning Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Fire(2), Ice(2), Cure(2), Protect
Hit it with your Bolt spells, then attack normally. If you pull it off fast
enough, the spider should collapse before getting a chance to use its
'Raybomb'. Escape using R2 and L2. And while using Quetzalcoatl may seem
like a good idea, it eats up the timer, so don't summon it. You'll just have
to do about 1500 points of damage to make it go down. You can defeat it, but
you'll need to have Squall and Zell at critical status (easier desperation
moves) and Selphie having maximum affilation with Quetzacoatl.
Retrace your steps through the city, and during this period, you'll have to
avoid the X-ATM092 another 3 times. The 1st is when you cross the cliff
where you met Selphie; keep the d-pad pressed all the way to the left. On the
next screen, WALK slowly or you'll have to do battle again. Upon reaching the
bridge, run to the 4th lamp post; the X-ATM092 should leap over you at this
point. Run to the lamp post to your left, and this should cause the Black
Widow to leap over you again. Head right all the way from here. At the next
screen, dash towards the dog and tap 'Circle' repeatedly to make it run
away. In the event that you have to fight again, use the same strategy, and
try to keep your HPs above 90 as the Raybomb tends to hit for around 80 plus.
After the last alleyway, the game switches to a CG movie, showing Squall's
breathtaking escape from the X-ATM092 as Quitis dispatches it. Strangely
enough, if you choose, you can enter the cafe Squad C comes out of; the
X-ATM092 should miss you completely, and you're free to run at your own pace
and save on the way. The downside? You'll miss the cool FMV and lower your
rank.
[Balamb City]
You're free to explore Balamb City now and take in the sights of this scenic
port town. Gain a few levels, then proceed back to Balamb Garden.
Side events: Higher level Batio Bagus (blue flies) should give you Magic
Stones, and Kedachikus (caterpillars in Balamb's forests) give you Spider
Strings. Both of them are essential items in weapon upgrading; Spider Strings
also net you Quistis' enemy skill, the Hyper Vibration. You'll also come
across you first edition of 'Timber Maniacs' at the Balamb Hotel. These
detail the adventures of Laguna Loire, a man you'll certainly be hearing
more about in times to come.
[Balamb Garden]
Cid will ask how the battle went:
- I felt fine. *
- Put my legs to good use.
- ... nothing special.
Head on over to the right, where Seifer is reprimanded for ignoring orders.
The intercom relays a message, saying that all the participants are to
gather at the 2nd floor. Talk to everyone there, and when Squall tries to
leave, the results are announced.
Squall, Zell, Selphie and another person are proclaimed official members of
SeeD. Change into your slick military garb after the inauguration ceremony,
and prepare yourself for the inauguration party (be sure to talk to Cid again
before you leave; he'll grant you your 'Battle Records', which shows the no.
of fights you fought, and times you escaped).
SeeD Ranking System:
Movement: Fight the X-ATM092 once, and reach the shore within 5 minutes.
Judgement: Complete the Fire Caverns within 30 minutes with Squall at level
8 to 9.
Offense: Kill 60 enemies total. (i didn't tell you to do that... ^_^>)
Character: Never escape (except for Black Widow fights).
Attitude: Don't converse with Squad A or C, no short-cut at the ravine, save
the dog from the X-ATM092.
You should get a decent score of level 8 if you followed my guide. Level 10
is attained by defeating the X-ATM092.
At the dinner and dance party that nite, Squall will meet Rinoa for the 1st
time. But not before Selphie asks Squall to join the School Festival
Committee:
- Fine. *
- ......
After the dance scene, Quistis asks of Squall to meet her at the training
center; Squall wonders what she's up to. Change into your normal attire.
[Training Center]
The Training Center is a relatively short dungeon, but contains some of the
more powerful enemies you've met so far. While the mutated plants are easy
enough to dispose of, you'd better run when a T-Rex appears. Defeating it
nets you 'Dinosaur Bones' (Quake magic is refinable from it). Anyway, save
when you reach a Save Point, then head on towards the nearby door. Quistis
will pour out her feelings, and confesses she was dismissed for not being
strict enough with her students. Squall however, takes no interest and leaves
her alone. Once done, save, then retrace your steps to the exit. The two will
chance upon a mysterious lady being attacked by a flying creature.
BOSS: Granaldo HP: 1538 Weak: Wind Draw List: Sleepel, Shield, Blind
This critter is accompanied by 3 flunkies, so just use a G.F to take them
out first right at the start of the fight. After that, draw 'Shield' magic
from Granaldo before offing it at your own leisure. It's pathetically weak
once you get rid of its flunkies.
Side events: The T-rex is defeatable, but you'll need the 'Blind' spell you
picked up at a Draw Point in Dollet. Cast it on the dinosaur, followed by
Ice spells or Shiva. Dinosaur Bones are required for weapon upgrading. The
plant-like Grasts here offer a plethora of status ailments spells, which are
useful later when you get to junction status defense or attack.
[Balamb Garden and City]
Go back to the dormitary, where Zell informs Squall that he's been given a
private room. Rest up, and when Selphie tells Squall to meet at the Main
Entrance in the morning, pick up the April issue of Weapon Magazine from
Squall's desk.
Cid and a Garden Faculty will brief you on your 1st SeeD mission, saying an
organization has sought the assitance of SeeD. Squall and co. are to leave
immediately for Timber where they should meet up with the organization. Cid
gives Squall a 'Magic Lantern' as well.
You're supposed to head on over to Balamb City, but since you've got the
Lantern already, i'll suggest you save 1st, then use the item to collect an
-other G.F.
ENEMY G.F: DIABLOS HP: Variable Weak: Wind
If you aren't careful, he'll mess up your party pretty bad, so be sure to
have stock-piled curative items and spells. Once the battle begins, keep
drawing Gravite from him (the last spell on his list) and casting it on him.
It should do decent damage, and do cast Libra to check his HP in the duration
of the fight. Once you've reduced his HP to a few hundred, finish him off
with your most powerful G.F. This guy has 3 forms of attacking, which is
casting Gravite (just heal), casting a souped-up version of Gravite on your
entire party (cast Cure magic immediately) or a lunge (heal). If he's feeling
nice, he wouldn't cast the more powerful spell twice in a row (pretty high
agility rate, Diablos), meaning you should scrape through. If he does, just
try again.
After buying a ticket for 3000 Gil at the train station, board the train.
Bypass the ticket machine, then follow Zell into the room. He'll find issue
one of 'Pet Magazine', and tell Squall a little more about Timber, a small
country invaded and captured by Galbadia 18 years ago.
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part One: Western Forest]
These 3 (Ward, Kiros and Laguna) inhereit the status of whoever fainted, so
bear this in mind. Well, the run through the jungle is fairly straight for
-ward. Use the fallen tree to walk over the small stream when you reach it,
and then mount the vehicle.
[Galbadia: Deling City]
Just as Laguna parks the vehicle, 2 more appear, conveniently blocking your
way to the other parts of Deling City. Ignore them for now, and run to the
lower-right (the upper right street leads to an arch, which is of no value
right now). Tranverse the city streets until you reach Galbadia Hotel. Save,
then head off to the right staircase. Converse with the waitress, who'll
ask you to take a seat:
- I'm just hanging around here.
- Thanks. *
- (What's this?)
The 2nd option lets you hear a nice little piano piece by Julia, an aspiring
musician and actress. Laguna himself gets all nervous when she asks of him
to meet her in her room upstairs. Return upstairs to the reception counter:
- I'm looking for Julia's room. *
- Don't need anything.
The 2 will share a conversation, in which they confide in each other of their
dreams. However, they are interrupted halfway through when Laguna is ordered
to assemble in front of the President's House for a new mission.
[Timber]
Squall, Selphie and Zell wake up at this point, and are surprised to find they
all shared the same dream. Squall makes a note to report this to Principal
Cid as they disembark from the train. Speak to the man waiting on the steps:
- There're still moogles.
- There're still chocobos.
- There're still owls. *
The 3rd option is the password.
[Resistance Train]
Once on board the train, Zaun and Watts will formally introduce themselves
as the leaders of the 'Forest Owls' (yeah right...), and ask Squall to wake
'her highness' up. Squall complies, but not without a few threatening remarks
first. Head into the other sections of the train, into the nice flowerly
pink room. Rinoa will recall meeting Squall at the dance party, and asks of
him to proceed to the briefing room. Her dog, Angelo will also make an
appearance here.
It seems that President Deling of Galbadia will be passing through Timber on
a train. The trio hatch a plan to capture him, and just for your reference,
i've included a little diagram to show the entire procedure.
[Fake Car]-[Resistance/Getaway Car (that's us!)]
[Front Car]-[Sentry Car 1]-[Prez's Car]-[Sentry Car 2]
Basically, you'll have to leap from the Getaway onto the Sentry Car 2, run
to detach Sentry Car 1 from the Prez's Car, thus allowing the Fake Car and
the Getaway Car to slip in between Sentry Car 1 and the Prez's Car , then
detach Sentry Car 2, leaving the Fake Car in place of the Prez's Car. Once
the explaination is over, do yourselves a favour by returning to Rinoa's
room and picking up Pet Magazine issue 2. Save, then talk to Watts. (Squall
will come to comment on the poorly made models...)
[Kidnap Operation]
Your 1st action is to leap across to Sentry Car 2. Do this by hitting the
'Jump' button (circle) when the 2 cars are relatively close together.
Next, Squall will have to make his way across the car. Occasionally, guards
will open up blinds to monitor the situation outside; if you happen to be
directly above when the blinds are open, here's how you should react:
Blue guards: Halt.
Red guards: Move.
Actually, you can simply dash across the carriage without a hoot for the
amusingly short-sighted guards (kinda like MGS). Still, if you wanna play it
safe, time your movements accordingly.
3rd involves detachment of Sentry Car 1. Zell and Selphie will watch out for
the guards, so whenever they call out, just rappel up. Here's the sequence:
1. Rappel down with 'down' (duh.)
2. Rinoa will give you a password.
Triangle=1
Square=3 Circle=2
Cross=4
L1=Scroll screen to the left
So if it's 1 4 2 3, you would enter T, X, O, S (in the space of 5 seconds,
mind you).
3. Basically, you should attempt to enter 2 passwords, then rappel up. Wait
for the guards to pass by and return before going down again.
4. You'll have to do this 3 times.
The 4th step is the detachment of the 2nd Sentry Car. You'll have to repeat
the above procedure 5 times; this time you'll have to look out for guards
yourself with R1. Step 3 above still works though, so the guards shouldn't
be a problem. Do this right the 1st time and your SeeD ranking will be
raised. Well, after all that talk, save, then converse with Watts again when
you're ready. Rinoa and company will finally meet up with Deling, but he
turns out to be a fake one.
BOSS: Fake Deling HP: 778 Draw List: Cure
Easy enough.
BOSS: Namutaru Utoku HP: 3650 Weak: Holy, Fire, Earth Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Esuna, Double, Berserk, Zombie
This guy likes to cast various status ailment spells on you, so come well
-stocked with various curative items. The funny thing is, however hard this
guy may seem, one Phoenix Down is all it takes to kill him. Now that you
know that, you might still want to spend some time drawing Esuna and Double
from him though.
After the fight, the party'll discuss the next course of action. Supposedly,
Deling is scheduled to make a speech at Timber TV Station soon, so your
next plan would then be to snoop around for info into getting to the broad
-cast station. Make a party of 3.
[Timber]
There'll be Galbadian guards around, so take time off to draw a few spells
from them. You might want to purchase Pet Magazine Issue 3 and 4 from the
Pet Shop near the station which runs towards Balamb. All trains are non
-operational at this time. There'll be a few instances when you need to com
-bat the Galbadian soldiers, and resting is accomplished by heading to 'Owls'
Tears', which is right at the outskirts of town. It's this little cabin with
3 persons living inside. You might also want to check out Timber Maniacs,
which Laguna worked as a journalist for. The house next door has a lady who
will speak of an alleyway behind the Pub which leads to the TV Station.
Once you're done, head on over to the Pub.
2 conversing Galbadian soldiers will mention about having obtained a 'Card';
kick their butts to receive a lame monster card. There's an item shop to the
left, so go ahead and purchase any goods before entering Aflora Pub. There's
a drunk blocking the exit to the backlane:
- Look around 1st.
- Converse with him. *
Squall will have to respond to his demands for a drink:
- Oblige him.
- Talk about the Card. *
- Do nothing.
He'll move out of the way when you select the 2nd option. Outside, save, and
follow the path to the TV Station. Rinoa, upon seeing the tight security
around the place, decides to switch to a less subtle way of getting into the
TV Station... much to the displeasure of Squall, who's annoyed by the way
she changes her mind so quickly.
Binzer Deling, President of Galbadia will commence his speech. He starts to
introduce his ambassador, a witch, but before he announces her name, Seifer
and Quistis crash his broadcast session. Zell, in the midst of the commotion,
unknowingly lets slip Garden has dispatched them to deal with the situation
in Timber.
The party has to get out of Timber after things have gotten ugly. Upon
leaving the 'Foxes of the Forest' (the house next to Timber Maniacs), Watts,
disguised as a Galbadian soldier, tells them that a train is due for Dollet
at the station. So retrace your steps, meet up with Zaun (dressed as an old
man), who'll pass you your tickets.
Actually, while the story requires you to drop off at the Campus East Station,
i suggest you give that a miss and alight further on at Dollet.
[Dollet]
While pretty much a scenic port town, Dollet has a number of interesting
events and items. First of, check out the hotel rooms for an issue of 'Timber
Maniacs'. Further down the streets, at the bar, a man on the 2nd floor (he's
the one to the left) will play cards with Squall. If you manage to defeat
him (the 'Random' rule in Dollet makes it kinda hard...), he'll lead you to
his special room. Check out the magazine on the floor (make sure you look at
it from every angle, sometimes you'll find different stuff for each of the 4
sides of each stack) for 'Occult Fans Volume II'. This one hints at the
existence of Ghoulish, a G.F you won't get quite a while later. And if you're
really eager to complete your card collection, Siren is winnable from the
same guy.
One of the houses has a painting hanging in the center... Squall has to look
for a mutt around Dollet (each painting has a bone which gives the location
of the dog outside the house).
Side events, Timber and Dollet: You'll find 2 issues of 'Timber Maniacs'
at the Timber Hotel and Timber Maniacs itself. Dollet Bar also has yet
another issue of 'Timber Maniacs'.
[Timber, Lake Obeil and Roswall Forest]
Lake Obeil on the world map has a strange fellow in the water who'll chat
with you about trains and forests... and as for Roswall Forest, it's on the
opposite bank of where the water-dweller lives, that huge patch of forest.
Wendingo (a headless freak which resembles a wild gorilla) roams in this
area, and gives up 'Iron Pipe' upon its defeat. Get at least 6 of them, or
more if you're planning on upgrading your weapons. Incidentally, if your
levels are too high, it'll drop Iron Spheres instead. Both items can
however, be obtained from 'Card Refinement' Menu Ability, so don't fret.
The cards you'll need are the Wendingo's and the Invincible's (a lv 5 card,
which looks like a (blue) cap with 4 legs trailing downwards). You can obtain
Squall's 'Keer Straight' now: it requires an Iron Pipe and 4 screws. You can
get the latter from the Haurizaados that roam near the cliffs around Dollet.
Also, Cocotrices (birds with yellow chests and a green belly) are present
in the forests. You can receive Coral Fragments (lets Quistis learn another
enemy skill) or Cocotrice Feathers from them. The latter will come in useful
later if you can get them. Or come back here later when you've built up some
levels.
[Campus East Station and Eastern Forest]
The eastern forest lies between 2 cliffs, east of the train station. Rinoa
will come to comment on the way Squall treats his compatriates so coldly.
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part Two: Unknown Mines]
In typical Laguna fashion, he insists to Kiros and Ward that they are not
lost... only to admit it to himself that he read the map wrongly. Still, he
has a bad feeling about this:
- It's only my imagination *
- Maybe it's true...
The run through the mines can be very straight-foward, depending on how you
tackle it... i'll give you the quickest way through.
1. At the 1st fork, take the right path
2. 2nd fork, follow nearest path leading upwards
3. At the 3rd junction, head right
4. Follow the forest path
5. Save, then move upwards
The only things you'll miss, apart from an anti-climax scene involving a fake
bomb scare, are Laguna dropping a key, and 3 draw points: Cure, Sleepel and
Confu. Now the trio have to combat a whole slew of miners; the last one's
'Soul Crush' will drain Kiros and Ward's HP completely, so remember to cure
your injured members when you regain control of Squall. Laguna makes a
valiant attempt to save his friends' lives...
Side events: Gesupaas (over-sized blue headed creatures) and Invincibles
make their appearences here, but they're extremely rare. If you're lucky
enough to encounter them, the former will net you a Black Hole (lets Quistis
learn 'Detonator') and the latter's card, when refined gives you Iron Pipes.
[Eastern Forest]
Squall decides to press on... no point thinking about the events that just
transpired. Galbadia Garden is right ahead.
[Galbadia Garden]
Side Events: While in this area, you might want to encounter
Beruherumerumerus, spiky masked creatures dangling in mid-air. Use Diablos'
'Capture' command ability to steal Nokugiri Blades from them, which are one
of the items required to upgrade Rinoa's weapon to a 'Rising Sun'. Couple
one of these blades with 8 screws.
Upon your arrival, Quistis makes a move first to contact the Headmaster of
this Garden. The PA system soon announces the party's next destination: the
Guests' Room, which is accessed by hitting the northern exit in the Main
Lobby, then climbing the stairs. Before you do that, i suggest you explore
around a bit first, and familarize yourself with the surroundings; you'll
be back here later. The glowing center of the Main Lobby hides a 'Haste'
draw point; as does the changing rooms of the skating rink (right exit from
Lobby), which holds a 'Raise' D.P. The Grand Lecture Hall on the 2nd floor
also offers a D.P. Apart from those, you'll find an assortment of nice (but
not rare) cards from the Galbadian Garden students.
(Minor spoiler here; skip this paragraph if you wish)
The party finds out that Seifer is sentenced to die for an attempt on the
President's (Deling) life... Rinoa speaks of her former relationship with
Seifer, and our Squall goes batty when he starts wondering about his own
death. Head on over to the Main Lobby, where the ever lovable duo of Raijin
and Fuujin shows up; they've come to deliver a message, and to find Seifer.
At the main entrance, Dodonna, Headmaster of Galbadia Garden, briefs the
party on their new orders; both Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden will work
together on a plan to assassinate the witch Edea, as requested by a certain
Colonel of the Galbadia army. Irvine is the assigned sniper for the mission.
And of course, he isn't gonna miss his opportunites to get close with the
females:
- Fine by me.
- I'll do the selecting. *
I suggest you take Irvine into your main party, especially if he's way too
low in levels compared to yours. And if you've got an Iron Pipe, a Bomb Frag
-ment (impossible to obtain now... use Menu Ability 'Refine Card' to get it)
and 2 screws, you can upgrade Irvine's shotgun. Either way, head on over to
the Garden Train Station, making sure you've got at least 3000 gil to spare.
[Galbadia: Deling City]
Wait for a bus at the very first station you see, board it, then drop off
by hitting 'X' at the next stop. Talk to the guard to the right: Squall and
co. will have to prove themselves first by obtaining a password from a nearby
dungeon:
- Say the password.
- I'll pay you 3000 gil for tips. (MIGHT lower SeeD ranking)
- 5000 gil for an mark to indicate my current position in the dungeon.
- Exit conversation.
- Get me outta Deling City.
Well, you really need that indicator, so go on and pay him 5000 gil. Once
you're done with that, it's time to explore Deling City.
President's House
-----------------------------|----BUS >------------------------
| < BUS | BUS\/ |
| | |
| | |
BUS /\| BUS /\ | BUS /\|BUS \/
Colonel| \/BUS | Shops |
Carling|----------------------------| |
Estate | Arch of Triumph |
| | |
| BUS /\ | |BUS \/
| | BUS \/ BUS /\|
| | |Gal
| | |-badia
| BUS /\ | BUS > |Hotel
---|-------------------------|--------------------------------|
| < BUS Deling Train Station
|
Car Rental|
|
World Map
*the arrow signs next to the 'BUS' icon tells the direction of travel
3 types of buses serve the streets: one circles around the perimeter clock
-wise, and 2 anti-clockwise in the interior.
Draw a few 'Levitate' spells from Surasutoeibisus (flying blue eagle-like
creatures) before heading over to the Tomb of the Nameless King, which is
located to the north-east of Deling. Look for a forest with a rock opening.
[Tomb of the Nameless King]
Hitting 'Select' here brings up the map, and pressing 'X' warps you out of
here. The latter will bring your SeeD ranking down though. Anyways, head up,
and look for a light blue Gun Blade on the floor. Examine it and record
down the password. You can leave if you want to now.
Side Events: You'll want to get G.F 'Brothers' here. From where you found
that Gun Blade, follow the map to get to the Eastern Chamber:
SUB-BOSS: Sacred HP: 8408 Weak: Poison, Wind Strong vs.: Earth
Junction 'Aero' or 'Tornado' to Elemental Attack, then pummel away at him.
You can also junction 'Quake' to Elemental Defense. Heal when needed.
Moving on, head to the Northern Water Gate, and dis-engage the dam to allow
the water to flow through via a switch on the right. Make your way to the
Western Chamber; examine the water-wheel to change its direction of revolu
-tion. You might want to get out and save after this. Once you're ready,
approach the center of the Tomb from a South to North direction; a bridge
would've been laid out, granting you access to the boss.
BOSS: Sacred HP: 9128 Weak: Poison, Wind Strong vs.: Earth
BOSS: Minotaur HP: 7095 Status: as above
Actually i have no idea what they'll do to you if you don't cast Levitate
at the start, but i did it anyway. As always, junction 'Aero' to Elemental
Attack, and off the big guy first (Sacred), followed by Minotaur. They're
capable of dealing out moderate sums of damage, and have auto-Regen at the
start of the battle, but shouldn't pose too much of a threat.
The spirit departs for the nether world, and you'll get G.F Brothers plus
2 pretty good cards. Don't lose them... they'll come in handy later on.
Purinuras (blue blobs) offer Reflect as a drawable spell at higher levels;
they're excellent when junctioned to Magic Defense. Another rare enemy here
which only appears in parts where the path curves is the Raifuuobidon
(skeleton with 2 swords). He's capable of casting Death, but you might want
to turn him into a card, upon which 'Refine Card' nets you an 'Ally Dispatch
Blade'. Keep one of these. Another enemy, the shelled Esansuushi, offers
Turtle Shells, which you'll have to steal. You'll want to obtain Squall's
'Flame Tan' now: it's requires an 'Ally Dispatch Blade', a 'Turtle Shell'
and 4 screws.
[Deling City]
Tell the guard the password, then meet up with Colonel Carlway (Rinoa's dad).
He'll request Squall to keep Rinoa out of this mission before he starts the
briefing. Basically, you'll have to divide yourselves into 2 groups:
Sniper Team: Squall & Irvine
Arch Team: Quistis, Zell and Selphie
Carlway then outlines the mission steps:
1. Sniper Team to wait outside Presidential House before the parade.
2. Arch Team to wait inside Arch of Triumph.
3. Parade commences, Edea leaves; Sniper Team to sneak into Presidential
House, and lie in ambush from atop.
4. Edea's float passes underneath Arch; Arch Team to activate gates, cutting
parade movement off.
5. Commence assassination. Hand-to-hand combat if assassination fails.
You can hang around Deling City if you like, before proceeding to Carlway's
Estate. On a side note, you should have 4 decent cards at hand now: Ifrit's,
Diablos' and the Brothers'. Try playing some of the locals to win Granderu
(lv 2 cards depicting a beaked yellow monster with a blue behind) and
Mesmerize(pink horned horse-like creatures) cards. They can be refined to
obtain 'Dragon Uroku' and 'Mesmerize Blade'. Match a 'Dragon Utoku' and a
'Spider String' to upgrade Zell's weapon.
Rinoa suggests using a magical arifact which can supposedly curb Edea's
powers; Quistis dismisses the idea furiously, saying that 'it's not a game'.
The party then leaves, sans Rinoa. Follow Carlway.
Quistis wonders whether she was too harsh with Rinoa, and decides to apolo
-gise to the latter. Return to Carlway's Estate. (you don't have to junction
your G.Fs yet) Save as Rinoa, then climb the various crates to get to the top.
Follow the path (there's a ladder to the left) to the roof-top.
After that little twist, have Quistis examine the painting beside Selphie,
then pick up a glass cup from the shelves on the left. Head to the left
background, and set the cup on the statue.
[President's House]
You'll take control of Squall from here. Follow Irvine (junction your G.Fs
afterwards), save, then climb the crates in the same way you did with Rinoa.
Head straight for Edea's Room to find Rinoa.
BOSS: Shumelke x2 HP: 1747 Weak: Earth, Holy Strong vs.: Fire, Poison
Draw List: Esuna, Break, Carbunkle
Draw Carbunkle from these guys first (last option in draw menu), then
quickly dispatch one of them as they can hit you with Rennansu, a combination
attack. Other offensive moves include Megusu Breath (easily countered by
drawing Esuna from them) which slowly petrifies your members. Use G.F Brothers
against them.
Rinoa will confess how frightened she was, but Squall ignores her. Finally,
the former has a new order; that is never to leave her side again. Squall
has no choice but to oblige her. Retrace your steps to the corridor, and
open the hatch in the floor to the right. Go down and collect the rifle left
of you. Squall informs Rinoa of the possibility of a confrontation with
Seifer, perhaps even killing him. Rinoa acknowledges this, but it's all up
to Irvine now.
[Deling Sewers] (reminder: Junction G.Fs)
The sewers may seem long and intimidating, but what you really have to do
here is to simply follow the path (there's always only 1 or 2 routes open
to you at each point) until you loop around to get back to your original
starting point. Push the ladders down on the way, and use ONLY waterwheels
that spin clockwise to make your way through. Some gates you'll have to open
with the 'Circle' button. I'll give you the quickest way through:
1. Starting from the ladder, ride the waterwheel to the left. Follow the 1
way trail until you reach a ladder which you can collapse. You can cross
it to reach a Draw Point, but you'll have to retrace your steps back to
the 2nd ladder.
2. Moving on, the party will pass an unusable waterwheel, followed by a
ridable one. Head left first before riding it if you so wish for a DP.
There's also another DP south of the waterwheel.
3. The previous waterwheel will carry you over to the other side, to yet
another wheel. Jump onto this one. Follow the path south and cross the
upcoming 2 waterwheels.
4. Collapse the next ladder you see... and you're back where you started
from. Head right from where you felled the ladder to another wheel.
5. Ride it, follow the trail and loop around at the end to save.
Eventually you'll arrive at another ladder. Climb it to reach the upper
levels of the Arch of Triumph.
Side Events: Creeps (black shadows with 2 red eyes) offer 2 treasures: some
drop Cursed Claws (at higher levels) which net you Quistis' 'Level ? Death'
and weaker ones drop Coral Fragments, which earns you 'Bolt Strike', yet
another Enemy Skill. Those who find themselves missing the Coral Fragments
can obtain it via 'Refine Card' Menu Ability, from Creeps cards. Another
creature lurks only in the stairs leading to the sewers: Grandiaro, a huge
scorpion-like monster. You can steal Sharp Nails from it, opening access
to weapon upgrades for Quistis (the Sleeping Tear; 2 Magic Stones and 2
Sharp Nails) and Selphie (the Morning Star; 2 Iron Spheres from the Wendingo
or by refining its card and 1 Sharp Nail).
[The Galbadia Parade]
When Zell tells you to, control Quistis and hit the control panel to the
left to drop the gates. However, Irvine shows his weak side at this crucial
point, and finally Squall coaxes him into firing the decisive shot. Junction
G.Fs to your characters now.
BOSS: Seifer HP: 1150 Weak: Poison Draw List: Fire(2), Cure(2), Raise
Steal Hero's Medicine or Holy War Medicine (at higher levels) from him.
Other than that, you may want to junction Fire to elemental defense to
Squall before taking on Seifer. The latter also has Raise magic, which i
suggest you draw and stock. Other than that, hit him with G.Fs or the
Gunblade for a quick kill.
BOSS: Edea HP: 7000 Draw List: Cure 2, Dispell, Raise, Double
Edea's arsenal consists of various level 3 elemental spells, so minimise
damage with Shield magic. You can also cast Carbunkle G.F, thus resulting in
Edea using Dispell to break your 'Reflect' status. Take this opportunity to
attack her, or to draw Double magic from her. A bit on the difficult side,
but she has friendly drawable spells such as Cure 2 and Raise, which you can
exploit to your own advantage.
END OF DISC ONE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISC TWO
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part Three: Winhill]
John (kiros@ff8.org) for his translation guide. It's located at
oro.simplenet.com/ff8 (The Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Translation Homepage).
You should take a look at it.
Heero Yuy (kanketsu@usa.net) for his permission to use his Final Fantasy VIII
walkthrough. It's at www.gamefaqs.com, under Final Fantasy VIII.
GamePlayers Magazine from which most of the materials in this guide was
referred from. Buy this if you can read Chinese; they offer some of the most
comprehensive guides for games.
The trio of Jon Chang, Hodaka Tsyuchida and Mark Gilson for letting me use
their translation guide for reference purposes - thanks people! Btw, if you're
looking to find it, it's at www.gamefaqs.com, under Final Fantasy VIII.
(version 0.2, trial edition)
This FAQ is intended for private and personal use, and can only be posted
on your website if you contact me via e-mail and receive my permission to
do so. No parts of this FAQ may be altered in any way; please give credit
where it is due.
Comments, criticism, additions and any corrections are welcome. E-mail me at
cephiroth@yahoo.com. I will not be entertaining any questions pertaining to
actual gameplay at this point, this being an incomplete version and all, so
bear with me until i finish the game.
Final Fantasy VIII is (c) Squaresoft
'An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Walkthrough' (c) 1998-1999 Cephiroth
