The Final Fantasy Logo above was created by ysf@pacific.net.sg.
Copyright Protected. Pls do not use this logo above without the
author's permission. All right reserved. No part of the Logo can be
modified, copied or re-edited without the prior's author's permission.
Thank You. The logo was created using number '9', in chinese means
'everlasting'. Let's hope we will see more and more Final Fantasies
besides Final Fantasy 8.
_______________________________________________________________________
=======================================================================
FINAL FANTASY VIII VERSION DIFFERENCES
=======================================================================
Final Fantasy VIII Version Differences Version 2.0
For Sony PlayStation Only
By YEE SENG FU
E-Mail : ysf@pacific.net.sg
Date : 5th March 2000
ICQ : 25076522
HomePage: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/
Country : Singapore
Copyright Protected. 1999-2000. No part of the content is allowed to
be reedited or published without the permission of the writer. It can
only be used as a personal guide, but not for any commercial purposes.
Anyone who has violated this agreement will be severely dealt with.
Anyone who wants to link the faq to a particular site must seek
permission from the author. Thanks for your cooperation.
All the contents that are inside this faq cannot be reproduced in any
way, shape, or form (Whether it is physical, electronic or otherwise)
aside from being placed on a freely-accessible, non-commerical webpage,
provided that it is original, unedited and altered format as well as
seeking my permission. This faq cannot be used for any profitable
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or given away as some sort of bonus, gift, present etc. Giving away
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This faq cannot be used by any publishers, editors, employees or any
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any way, shape, form (that includes reprinting, reference, inclusion)
without the express written permission of the author, myself. This
faq is owned and created by me, Yee Seng Fu.
I have spent a lot of time typing this faq and the only way to show
your appreciation is not to use this faq for profitable means and
hopefully, this faq will be of some help to you.
If you feel that, reading the faq like this is a bit tedious,
especially when you have to look at the computer and play your
game, you are allowed to print the part or whole of this
document out, but the printed copies can only be for personal use.
This faq is best viewed using wordpad wrapped to ruler.
Introduction
============
This faq is a supplementary guide for those who are interested in
knowing what are the differences between the US/Jap version and
the demo version. Basically, i made this faq out of boredom. The
translation is definitely one great difference but it is not the main
focus of this faq. And, as a reminder, please note that i do not know
Japanese. I am a Singaporean Chinese. Rather, in this faq, i will like
to focus on the differences in control, presentation. Of course, i
will list some common names that are being changed. The faq is divided
into three different sections. One is the differences between the US
and Japanese version and the second is the differences between the
actual version and the demo version, mainly the part at Dollet Mission.
The third part is of course, the miscellaneous section, including
song lyrics and so on. I know that Yuzu-chan and
Musashi have written a faq on
US/Japanese differences and Matt Hobbs has
written a faq on demo/actual version differences. I didn't take
any part of the content from anyone of them. Please refer to theirs
as well if you want to know more differences. I know that this faq
is very long-winded at certain parts. [I purposely made it this way!]
When i first started writing this faq, i asked myself what I would
like to focus on. It's not going to be any walkthrough or any tips to
help you on Final Fantasy VIII, mainly just my personal experience
with both versions. Anyway, just enjoy reading and feel free to
send me your comments!
Update
============
Version 1.0
-All the differences you have seen here such as differences
between the US and Japanse version, and the difference between the
actual and demo version.
-Added in a frequently-asked-question section.
-Added a Gilgamesh section dedicated to his attacks.
-Added in new information about Balamb food.
-Added a bit of difference about Gergero, the fake President.
-Added lyrics.
-Added Ragnarok Specifications in the exclusive features section.
-Added Balamb Train Specifications in the exclusive features section.
-Added Final Fantasy VIII OST List.
-Added in my own Final Fantasy VIII logo.
-Based on the US/Japanese/Demo version.
Version 2.0
-Added information about Report Cards.
-Added information about Obel Lake Mystery.
-Added some more new translations.
-Corrected some spelling errors.
-Corrected the names of Gilgamesh's attacks.
-Updated the frequently-asked-question section.
-Based on the US/Japanese/Demo version.
Next Update
Probably not anymore. Everything that you need to know are in, except
that the translations are not completed yet. Note that the translations
are not 100% accurate.
Content -Differences Between US and Japanese Version
============
i)Personal Comment
ii)Presentation
iii)Control
iv)Bugs
v)Mod Chip Protection
vi)Draw
vii)Gergero
viii)Food in Balamb Garden
ix)Translation
-Monster
-Boss
-Guardian Force
-Magic Spell
-Item
-Limit Break
-Specific Term
-Attack
-Ability
=======================================================================
I)Personal Comment
=======================================================================
Square really deserves a clap for sticking to as pure a translation as
humanly possible. The translation is indeed excellent. Names like
Squall's Limit Break, Renzokuken, Odin's attack, Zantetsuken have
shown us that this is a direct translation. And then, we have creative
monster names like Malboro. [Reminds me of Cigarette!] Biggs and Wedge
were correctly translated, unlike Final Fantasy III for the SNES.
[FFVI for Japan] Expect countless grammatical errors during the
dialogues. Cast translation aside, a few enhancements have been made
to the US version, particularly an improved presentation with better
tutorial options and fixing a few bugs that we encountered in the
Japanese version. Another noticeable change is the new controller
configuration which i will explain it later on. Ultima and Omega
weapons that are found in the Japanese version can also be found in
the US version. Other than that, the game stays true to its Japanese
counterpart without any censorships, in fact actually more than the
Japanese version because of some new features added to it. For
example, when Sony announced that the PocketStation will not be
released until the year 2000 later, everyone thought that our hope
of playing 'Choco World' will be dashed. But Square didn't remove
this mini-game at all for the US version, which is in fact a good
thing.
In my opinion, Final Fantasy VIII breaks out of traditional RPG
elements and introduces some never-before-seen concepts. Let me
ask you. Which RPGs you have played so far do not have MP system,
armour? Perhaps, only Final Fantasy VIII so far. Almost, or all
standard RPGs you have seen or played so far, allowed you to get money
by defeating monsters and boss. The SeeD ranking used in Final Fantasy
VIII is something fresh. Initially, like most of you, i don't really
like the draw system. It takes quite a long time to draw and i prefer
the traditional MP system or learning magics from Espers. But, after
some serious thinking! Let me ask you! If the MP system is not being
replaced, do you think the Junction system will work well? How are you
going to customise your character using magics, if magic is not
determined by the amount of 'quantity', meaning how much magics are
being stocked. By MP? Certainly not possible! From Guardian Forces,
you have the 'compatibility', 'boost', 'Ability' concepts. Perhaps,
the greatest disappointment is the removal of mime. Revolving around
the love theme, Final Fantasy VIII creates a new level of maturity
rather than the usual fanciful settings found in most RPGs.
Fair enough! If you have read my Final Fantasy VIII review at gamefaqs,
you will know that i give it a 7 instead of 10. Reason? It's just
personal preference. The new concepts are good, but i have to admit
there are flaws too. The bad points seem to outweight the good point
more and that pulled the average score down. Anyway, enjoy your Final
Fantasy VIII. And, don't forget about Final Fantasy Anthology. [It's
definitely the greatest RPG compilation.]
Disappointment!!!
=================
After beating Omega Weapon in the Japanese version, i still found
myself unsatisfied with a lack of worthy opponent. Basically, i
have beaten Omega weapon countless times. Back in 1997, when Square
releases Final Fantasy VII, two new weapons, specifically Emerald
and Ruby weapons were added exclusively for the US version. [Excluding
International version.] I was hoping for history to repeat itself
again for Final Fantasy VIII. Unfortuately, nope! Nevetheless, we
have to thanks Square for translating Final Fantasy VIII. Am i too
demanding?
=======================================================================
II)Presentation
=======================================================================
The presentation has been changed as well for the US version,
particularly in the menu screen. One major problem that i had with
the Japanese version was sorting out my magic stocks. Imagine it!
Being someone who has no knowledge of Japanese, i need to sort out
all my magic stocks such that i can easily find the magic i want to
use. All i could rely on was my experience with past Japanese RPG
games and being a Chinese, i could figure out some of the meanings
of the words by reading the 'Kranji'. Ignore it if you don't know
what 'Kranji' words are. Luckily, for US audiences, Square added
an auto-arrange magic stock option. Magic stocks can be easily sorted
now into cure, attack and so on, with the help of just pressing a
few button. Then, there's an online tutorial as well. The information
section is in, just like the Japanese version. Most noticeable change
is probably the introduction of new icons to represent every elemental,
status, Guardian Force's ability. In the Japanese version, for all
Junction abilities, it was represented by a 'J'. As seen in the US
version, it is now replaced by 'an arrow that points up'. All these
changes have been made to make the US audiences more easier to
understand and simplified things. As for me, it takes me quite a
while to get used to new icons. I suppose this applies to all of
you who are playing Final Fantasy VIII for the first time. Of course,
you do not need to know what the icons look like for the Japanese
version. It's just for your additional information.
=======================================================================
III)Control
=======================================================================
I got several mails, saying that my controller configurations in my
Final Fantasy VIII Basic Guide was wrong. How could this be? Reason:
Square changes the default control.
To my knowledge, I heard that a group of people send petitions to
Square, requesting that Square should adjust the controls. Could
this be a rumor? I don't know. That's what i heard. [I wonder who
did it? What a lousy suggestion! Pardon me, if you don't agree with
me.]
I bought Final Fantasy VIII on the first week of September. [I forgot
which date, but just before 9th. The US version arrives much earlier
in Singapore.] At the title screen, i keep on pressing Circle. To my
horror, my controller doesn't work. What! My controller doesn't
work. This is my new dual shock controller. [I bought a dual shock
controller somewhere in August'99] How can this be? I even thought
of going to the shop to ask for a refund. Luckily, i never did.
Okay! Enough of my humor now! It was then that i discovered i needed
to press X instead of Circle.
Being used to the usual controls, i found it annoying to adapt to the
new configuration. Guess what i did? I customise my own controls to
that used in the Japanese version.
The X button has been changed to the talk/confirm button. Naturally,
i found it hard to accept this change. The latest 'victim' is of
course Final Fantasy Anthology. I am not sure about Final Fantasy
Collection, the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Anthology. The
Circle and the X button functions have been swopped. X become the
confirmation button and Circle become the cancel button. Luckily,
that's all and i managed to adapt to this change. [Luckily, the menu
button and the switch party member button during battle is still
Triangle.] But for Final Fantasy VIII...,
Circle button become the menu button and the switch party member
button. Triangle button become the walk and cancel button. Even the
controls for the vehicles like Ragnarok have been changed. In the
Japanese version, to control a vehicle like Ragnarok, you press
Square to move the vehicle forward and X to move backward. If you
have noticed, this configuration looks similar to Square's
Xenogears-type. Basically, i prefer the normal way, using a directional
pad to control. However, that's fine with me. For the US version, you
press Square to move the vehicle forward and Triangle to move backward.
Other than that, most, specifically the four buttons at the top of
the controller, [L1, L2, R1, R2] remains the same function.
Just in case you are confused, i'll make a short list of the default
controller configuration.
Field Screen
============
Japanese English
X - Walk/Cancel X - Talk/Confirm
Triangle - Menu Triangle - Walk/Cancel
Square - Talk [Play Cards] Square - Talk [Play Cards]
Circle - Talk/Confirm Circle - Menu
L1 - N/A L1 - N/A
R1 - N/A R1 - N/A
L2 - N/A L2 - N/A
R2 - N/A R2 - N/A
Battle Screen
=============
Japanese English
X - Cancel X - Confirm
Triangle - Change Character Triangle - Cancel
Square - View Status Square - View Status
Circle - Confirm Circle - Change Character
L1 - Change Select Window L1 - Change Select Window
R1 - Trigger R1 - Trigger
L2 - Escape (With R2) L2 - Escape (With R2)
R2 - Escape (With L2) R2 - Escape (With L2)
World Map Controls [Vehicle]
==================
Japanese English
X - Move Back X - On.Off/Examine
Triangle - Menu Triangle - Move Back
Square - Move Fwd Square - Move Fwd
Circle - On.Off/Examine Circle - Menu
L1 - Look Left L1 - Look Left
R1 - Look Right R1 - Look Right
L2 - N/A L2 - N/A
R2 - Switch POV R2 - Switch POV
Refer to the control section in the demo/actual differences for
more comparisons.
Comment
=======
Please do not send tons of e-mails and feedback to me saying this or
that configuration is better or worse. After all, this is just my
personal opinion. It's a matter of adaptation, after all.
Tips
=======
Just in case you are like me, who can't get used to the new controls,
if you want to change your controller configurations, go to the
config option in the main menu, and you should see something like
default or customise. Choose customise if you want to change. Press
Select to change back to the default configurations and Start to end
while customising your configurations.
=======================================================================
IV)Bugs
=======================================================================
The Japanese version has several bugs as well and luckily, it has been
fixed in the US version. Do you know that in disc 2 for the Japanese
version, when you tried to enter Shumi Tribe, the game will freeze
and turn pitch-black. That happens to me as well, and some of my
friends too. Initially, i thought my disc has some scratches and
that's why it does not work. So, what does that mean? That means for
the Japanese version, you can only get Phoenix Pinion by finding
the stones in disc 3 only. Another bug is in the Centra region
as well. If you fail to get Odin within the time limit, the game
will freeze up. I never tried it in the Japanese version but it
has been proven by quite a few people. Luckily, all these bugs
have been fixed.
Do you know?
In the japanese version, there is a bug which everyone names it as
Junction bug. With that cheat, you can junction ONE SPELL to more
than one character attributes. Try junctioning 100x Ultimas to all
attributes like HP, Str, Mag and so on and you will have a very
powerful character. Of course, this is cheating but it's quite fun
in my personal opinion.
=======================================================================
V)Mod Chip Protection
=======================================================================
In order to curb importers during the time when the Japanese version
was released, Square installs a mod chip protection system, meaning
you cannot play the Japanese version without a Japanese PlayStation.
Not even a modified PlayStation. Despite Square's efforts to curb
importers, the mod chip protection system can be easily 'beaten'
with the help of a gameshark. Luckily, the US version does not
have any mod chip protection.
Do you know?
============
Just share a little information. In Asia, where piracy is rampant,
with a mod PlayStation, you can still play Final Fantasy VIII Japanese
version and that's of course the game is pirated.
The Bad!
============
According to my friend who has bought pirated Final Fantasy VIII CDs,
the SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII Introduction was taken
away from the game. It's the same thing you see in the introduction
film you see in the US version. But, you would probably agree with
me that this introduction film doesn't mean much at all.
Note:Please do not e-mail me and ask me about pirated games. Piracy
is rather a sensitive issue so i will refrain from talking about
it.
Wonder why?
============
The SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII Introduction was taken out
because that's where the Mod Chip Protection is being found. Once
that's being taken out, you can play Final Fantasy VIII on a modified
PlayStation. Since the Mod Chip Protection code is found in all
SquareSoft Staff of Final Fantasy VIII, all the SquareSoft Staff
of Final Fantasy VIII was taken out from all discs, meaning those
who bought the pirated games would miss it.
Credit:This is contributed by han-pan. Thanks
for telling me that via ICQ. Sorry for losing your e-mail
because there's something wrong with me internet connection
at that time and thanks for contacting me again so that i
can clarify your identity.
=======================================================================
VI)Draw
=======================================================================
Square is pretty smart this time. For the US version, if you have
forgotten to draw a Guardian Force this time, there is another
alternative way of getting it, that is redraw it from the bosses or
monsters in Ultimecia Castle.
The Good!
=========
Since Final Fantasy VIII is an easy game, you don't really need
a gameshark to help you to gain level 100, all the limit breaks
and so on etc. The only two reasons i could think why people use a
gameshark are because they want to unlock all the Guardian Forces
thye have missed previously and bypass the mod chip protection.
Now, for the US version, there's really not enough good reasons
to use a gameshark for Final Fantasy VIII. Back to the main topic.
When i first played the Japanese version, i had forgotten to draw
Guardian Force, Siren from Elvoret. Also, i didn't take Quezacotl
and Shiva from the laptop in Balamb Garden. Well, that's because
i didn't know Japanese so i didn't know Quistis ask Squall to
check his desk. As a result, i have to restart the whole game again
from the start. At least, for the US version, you still have a second
chance to get it again.
The Bad!
=========
The idea of getting back your missing Guardian Force in disc four
and have to train them from the start. It also means that you will
miss the opportunity to use the useful ability that the Guardian
Force has in the earlier part of the game. For example, if you
miss Siren, naturally you can't use Siren's Make Tool ability.
Also, if you miss Alexander, you don't have the med level up ability
to get remedy +, which is very essential for getting DoomTrain.
Of course, you can use an Amnesia Green and then forget an ability
to gain new one but why going through all the trouble?
Note:This method has been confirmed by many people. The exact way
of doing it, meaning which enemy or boss to draw, i am still
not sure yet because by the time i reached disc 4, i had
gotten all the 16 Guardian Forces already. Obviously, i
wouldn't risk and purposely forget to draw a Guardian Force.
Note:If you want to know more information about redrawing of Guardian
Force, i suggest you refer to Scott Ong's faqs. It is very
unlikely that i will replay Final Fantasy VIII again just to
test if this redrawing is true or just a rumor.
Note:You can also find the list of which sub-bosses to draw to get
a particular Guardian Force in my Basic Guide faq or Boost/
Compatibility faq.
Note:The redrawing of Guardian Force only applies to Guardian Forces
like Siren, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Cerberus, Alexander
and Eden only.
Okay, just in case you still have any questions regarding this
redrawing of Guardian Force in Ultimecia Castle in disc four, i
have listed down the names of sub-bosses which you can draw from.
The lists below are taken from Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough. I have
not tried it yet. For more details about the locations of these
sub-bosses, please refer to any other walkthrough/faq.
___________________________________________________________________
|Guardian Force(s) |Name of the Sub-Boss |Location |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Siren |Tri-Point |Found hovering over- |
| | |head in the Wine |
| | |Cellar. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Carbuncle |Krysta |Found in the Terrace. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Leviathan |Trauma |Solve the puzzle in |
| | |the art gallery room |
| | |to encounter a fight |
| | |with Trauma. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Pandemona |Red Giant |Take the Prison Key |
| | |in the statue in the |
| | |Prison Cell to fight |
| | |Red Giant. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Cerberus |Gargantua |Get the armoury key, |
| | |then open the armoury |
| | |room to encounter a |
| | |fight with Gargantua. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Alexander |Catoblepas |Use the Treasure Vault |
| | |Key to enter the Trea- |
| | |sure Vault room and |
| | |examine all the four |
| | |coffins until all are |
| | |opened to have a fight |
| | |with Catoblepas. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Eden |Tiamat |Head up the spiral |
| | |staircase to the Clock |
| | |Tower. Continue heading|
| | |to the top, while ig- |
| | |noring the bell. Enter |
| | |the door at the top to |
| | |find Tiamat. |
|____________________|______________________|_______________________|
Do you know?
============
The spells you draw from some areas have been changed as well. As
Scott Ong has pointed out in his faq, in the Japanese version, you can
draw Life from the drawpoint inside Centra Ruins. It is the area where
you fight with Tonberry. For the US version, it has been changed to
Drain instead.
Credit:Thanks to Scott Ong for being
observant and notices this change about the drawpoints.
=======================================================================
VII)Gergero
=======================================================================
Scott Ong made a very good observation. I didn't even notice that!
Remember in Timber when Rinoa asks the SeeD to help her kill the
President of Galbadia. And, inside the train, you notice that this is
a trap! The President is fake and has turned into a monster. Anyway,
just a little bit of difference. In the Japanese version, his skin
colour is red but for the US version, his skin colour is blue. This
applies to the cards as well. I wonder why Square made the change.
Anyway, it doesn't mean much!
Hint :Try using a Phoenix Down or cast life on Gergero. Observe
what will happen later on.
Credit:Thanks to Scott Ong for being
observant and notices this change about the fake President.
=======================================================================
VIII)Food in Balamb Garden
=======================================================================
Credit:The information below is taken from Yuzu-chan
and Musashi's changes faq and
the content remains unaltered.
At Balamb Garden, there is a really popular food that always sells
really fast at the cafeteria. In English, it's hot dogs, but in
Japanese, it's bread...I can understand the bread thing [Bread is
really expensive in Japan and they make all different kinds, like
Curry Bread or Apple Bread, etc.] but hot dogs? OK, enough of my
rambling.
=======================================================================
IX)Translation
=======================================================================
Here are some names changes. Note that i do not know Japanese and i
only list those that are more commons. Note that the list is not in
alphabetical order and that not all translations are 100% ACCURATE.
That's all i know. If you want to know more about the Translation,
you may want to refer to Yuzu-chan and
Musashis' US/Japanese difference
faq. They have more translations. For me, i think this should be
more than enough.
_______________________________________________________________________
Content -Differences Between Actual and Demo Version
============
x)Differences
-Game
-Music
-CG
-Meter
-Control
=======================================================================
X)Game/Music/CG Differences
=======================================================================
Well, i am going to list the differences between the actual game and
the demo game that was packed together with Square's Brave Fencer
Musashi. I was also the one who has written a Final Fantasy VIII
Demo faq. You can also find the differences in my FFVIII demo
faq. Also, special thanks to Matt Hobbs who
has also written a list of demo changes with the actual version.
Note:I am not sure about the PC Final Fantasy VIII demo as i have
not played before. From what i know, Square recently released
PC version of Final Fantasy VIII demo in the internet. You can
download it if you want from certain sites, but it's going to
take a long time to finish unless you have a fast connection.
Game
=====
1)Rinoa is not in the actual game at this point unlike the demo.
=>Squall hasn't met Rinoa until at the ball. It thus makes sense
why Rinoa is not in the actual game.
2)The party for the demo is Squall, Zell and Rinoa. In the actual
version, the main party is Squall, Zell, Seifer/Selphie. You
can control Seifer for the first half of the mission until you
reach the bottom of the communication tower, and then, it will
be taken over by Selphie. Just like Squall, Seifer can also
trigger the R1 button function.
3)The only Guardian Force in the game is Leviathan whereas in the
actual game, if you have not missed any Guardian Forces, you
should have four Guardian Forces at the end of the Dollet Mission,
naming Quezacotl, Shiva, Ifrit and Siren. You won't get Leviathan
during Dollet Mission in the actual version.
4)You will be given 30 minutes to reach the beach in the actual game,
instead of 15 minutes in the demo. This is good as it is twice
the time now.
5)There is no save point at the entrance of Dollet as well as inside
the communciation tower for the demo game. Well, like what Matt
Hobbs say, it does makes sense.
6)There are no draw points along the way during the demo version.
Example, there is one draw point in the communication tower,
at the save point.
7)There is no menu screen for the demo, meaning you cannot view
your characters' status screen and so on.
8)Characters cannot gain exp, AP unlike the actual version. In my
personal opinion, the characters in demo are weaker as you have
only one Guardian Force, instead of four at the end. Futhermore,
you can't gain levels and the quantity of spells you draw seems
to be very little.
9)Rinoa is the only one in the demo who can summon Guardian Forces,
but cannot use limit breaks and draw. On the other hand, Squall and
Zell cannot summon but can do limit breaks. In the actual version,
you can select the commands you want, whether it is Guardian
Force, Item, Magic, Draw and so on.
10)In the demo version, limit breaks can be used several times for
Squall and Zell and this can be achieved by pressing the switch
member button even if your HP are high. However, this has been
changed for the actual version as there is now an internal
parameter called Crisis level which affects your chances of
using a limit break.
11)Squall's and Zell's limit break are Fated Circle and Meteo Barret
respectively in the demo game. In the actual version, Squall's
and Zell's limit breaks are Renzokuken and Duel respectively.
12)The demo is not actually the beginning of the actual game. In the
actual version, it starts off with a CG starring a fight between
Squall and Seifer.
13)The uniforms Squall and Zell are wearing are different in the demo
version. It applies during battle and CG as well.
14)The enemies in the hills have changed as you do not fight
Anaconduars in the actual game.
15)Enemies leave behind items like Phoenix Downs and Potions only in
the demo version whereas in the actual version, the items that the
enemies drop are varied.
16)You can't take a shortcut by jumping down a hill in the demo
version unlike the actual version.
17)The type of draw spells and the type of enemies you encountered
show some variations.
18)The dialogues are different since the characters you used are
different between the demo and the actual version.
19)The demo did not have an option of hiding inside the cafe unlike
the actual version.
20)The demo version did not show any traces of any Squad members
present unlike the actual version.
21)The meter for Squall's limit break is different in the actual
version. Refer to the next section for better illustrations.
Music
=====
1)The introduction CG music is different from the actual version for
the demo version. [I prefer the introduction CG music in the demo
slighly more than the actual version.]
2)The background music on your way to Dollet seems to be different.
CG
=====
1)Final Fantasy VIII logo don't appears in the actual version unlike
the demo version.
2)The uniforms in the CG are different. This applies to battle scenes
as well.
3)Rinoa is not seen in the CG in the actual version unlike the demo
version.
4)There is no FMV of Selphie at the hill in the demo unlike the
actual version. This makes sense because Selphie is not included
in the demo game.
5)Quistis is seen at the beach firing at X-ATM082 in the actual
version unlike the demo version. In the demo version, it is replaced
by a soldier. This is the scene when the group escapes to the beach.
That's all i have found. If you have more, feel free to contact me
at . I welcome any contributions.
Meter
=====
The Renzokuken indicator is somehow different from the actual version
in the demo version. In the demo version, the indicator is rather
small but in the actual version, it is larger. Below shows an ASCII
arts for comparisions.
Actual Version
==============
Press R1 when light hits here. If Renzokuken Indicator is switched
_______/_______________________ ON, you should see the meter as
| | | | | | | | | | | | shown in the left like this. (1),
| | |<| | |<| |<| |<| | (2) and (3) indicates the various
|_\_|__|_|__|___|_|___|_|___|_|_| sections. And, |<| indicates the
\Miss the direction flow from right to
|<1>|<--2-->|<--------3-------->| left.
If the light lands on section 1, this means that you will miss the
attack. Press R1 on the second section to do a critical hit. The
number of such slashes vary from 4 to 8, depending on your crisis
level. Follow that, Squall may or may not execute a finishing blow.
The chances of him using a finishing blow depends on the crisis level
and the finishing blow is selected randomly.
Demo Version
==============
_______________________
| /| /| /| /| /| /| This is the meter shown in the demo
| / | / | / | / | / | / | version.
|/__|/__|/__|/__|/__|/__|
Control
=======
I'll list the configurations for the demo version. Basically, the
configuration for the demo version is almost the same as the Japanese
version, except that there are a few options which can't be accessible
like the menu screen.
Refer to the control differences in the US/Japanese differences
section for more comparisons.
_______________________________________________________________________
Content-Miscellaneous
=======
xi)PocketStation
xii)Gilgamesh
xiii)Report Cards
xiv)Obel Lake Mystery
xv)Song Lyrics
-Eyes On Me
-Liberi Fatali
xvi)Final Fantasy VIII OST List
xvii)Exclusive Features
xviii)Frequently-Asked-Question
xix)Credit
xx)Copyright Protected
=======================================================================
XI)PocketStation
=======================================================================
What can i say here in this section? Okay! I suppose everyone knows
that the PocketStation will not arrived in US until 2000 later. The
PocketStation is currently not sold outside of Japan and the only
way is to import it directly from Japan.
When Sony announced that the PocketStation will not be here, the first
thing i immediately think of is whether Final Fantasy VIII will have
PocketStation compatibility when it reaches the US shores.
Surprisingly, Final Fantasy VIII (US) supports PocketStation. Square
has not let us, loyal fans down. It's not just the PSX Final Fantasy
VIII version only, but also the upcoming PC version as well. From what
i have heard, the PC Final Fantasy VIII will also have 'Choco World'
as well and the PC version will arrive next year early in March 2000.
Square has also released the PC Final Fantasy VIII Demo on the internet
as well. If you have a fast internet connection, you might want to
download it.
Honestly, i don't have a PocketStation. According to Kaze Yagami who has one, he told me that it's very hard
to buy a PocketStation now. In Singapore, one PocketStation costs
around Sing $70 dollars, which is in fact quite expensive. The actual
price is about Sing $45 but because of importing from Japan to
Singapore and that it's very rare to find one, the price almost
doubled by the original. Of course, i wouldn't be so stupid to
buy one now as the price is so expensive even though there are
quite a few games that support it like Final Fantasy VIII.
According to what he told me, the PocketStation that he has, can play
both the US and the Japanese Final Fantasy VIII's 'Choco World'.
There are quite a number of games that have support for PocketStation
like Metal Gear Solid Integral, Monster Rancher 2 and so on.
Already, there are quite a number of PocketStation faqs based on the
US version, about three, i suppose. If you want more informations
about PocketStation, you might want to ask them.
=======================================================================
XII)Gilgamesh
=======================================================================
I notice that other faqs do not have much details about Gilgamesh's
attacks so this will be an exclusive section dedicated to Gilgamesh.
_______________________________________________________________
|History/Overview |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|Gilgamesh made his first appearance in Final Fantasy V. For |
|those who has played and familiar with Final Fantasy V, you |
|should know that Gilgamesh was banished to the 'Cleft of |
|Dimension.' Gilgamesh was the righthand man of Exdeath, an evil|
|black mage in Final Fantasy V. How or why he appears again in |
|Final Fantasy VIII remains a mystery to me. Can anyone explain |
|why to me? Anyway, it's great to see Gilgamesh making a |
|comeback in Final Fantasy VIII, don't you think so? Anyway, |
|Omega weapon is back now, so why not Gilgamesh too as well? |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|Location |You must have gotten Odin first before fighting |
| |against Seifer at the end of disc 3 in Lunatic |
| |Pandora. Now, wait for a while, and enjoy the event! |
|_________|_____________________________________________________|
|Tips |Don't attack Seifer as Gilgamesh will appear soon. |
| |Instead, keep drawing Aura spells from Seifer. |
|_________|_____________________________________________________|
|Attack |Zantetsuken, Excalibur, Excalipoor and Masamune |
|_________|_____________________________________________________|
|General Information about Gilgamesh |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|Like Odin, Gilgamesh cannot be junction to a character, neither|
|does he have any ability for you to learn. However, like Odin, |
|he will appear randomly during battle. Unlike Odin, it can |
|appear in the beginning, middle of the fight, whereas Odin can |
|only appear in the beginning of the fight, if not, Odin will |
|not appear for the remaining half of the battle. As Gilgamesh |
|is summoned, you will notice that there are four swords descend|
|-ing down together with Gilgamesh. Each of these four swords |
|represents an attack-Zantetsuken, Excalibur, Excalipoor and |
|Masamune. He will choose any of the four swords randomly and |
|that sword choosen will use that particular attack. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|Name Of Attack |Effect and Special Note |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Zantetsuken |This attack is inherited from Guardian Force, |
| |Odin. It will slice all enemies apart, causing |
| |instant victory. However, Zantetsuken does not |
| |work against bosses. |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Excalibur |Strong damage against all enemies. [Refer to |
| |the table below for more details.] |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Excalipoor |It is a fake version of the sword, Excalibur as|
| |it does only 1 HP damage to all enemies. |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Masamune |Strong damage against all enemies and is more |
| |stronger than Excalibur. [Refer to the table |
| |below for more details.] |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Credit |Special thanks to for |
| |the names of Gilgamesh's attacks as used in |
| |English version. |
|_______________|_______________________________________________|
|Below shows a table, listing out the attacks, damage, levels |
|of the swords, Excalibur and Masamune. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|Listing-Contributed By Kaze Yagami |
|_______________________________________________________________|
|The attack level of Guardian Force, Gilgamesh depends on the |
|average level of the party member, similarly to Guardian Force,|
|Phoenix. The higher your luck is, the chances of Odin/Gilgamesh|
|appearing will be higher. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| Attack Level | Masamune | Excalibur |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 1 | 2625 | 1000 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 10 | 3750 | 1562 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 20 | 5000 | 2187 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 30 | 6250 | 2812 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 40 | 7500 | 3437 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 50 | 8750 | 4062 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 60 | 9999 | 4687 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 70 | 9999 | 5312 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 80 | 9999 | 5937 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 90 | 9999 | 6562 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
| 100 | 9999 | 7187 |
|___________________|____________________|______________________|
|Note|The values are subjected to variables as different enemies|
| |have different defenses. However, the variations are very |
| |neligible. |
|____|__________________________________________________________|
=======================================================================
XIII)Report Cards
=======================================================================
So, what's a report card? Well, it just a summary of your current
progress in the game. There are a total of 3 battle reports, naming
Battle, Character and Guardian Force reports. You can view these
reports via the tutorial menu. So, how do you get it?
Battle Report
=====================
When Squall has promoted to a SeeD in disc 1, talk to Cid Krammer in
the Headmaster Office in 3F of Balamb Garden to receive Battle
Report. Note that this can be done only in disc one.
Character Report
=====================
When you are in Desert Prison in disc 2, head to floor 10, enter the
door and you should see a card player and a save point. [And a hidden
draw point as well.] Challenge the player there and when you win,
he will give you the Character Report. This can be done only in disc
two. Note that each card game you play with him costs 300 Gil.
Guardian Force Report
=====================
After returning back to Balamb Garden from Desert Prison and has
beaten Master Norg, go to the Training Center [Training Centre]
and CC Joker will occasionally appear there. Note that chances
of CC Joker appearing there are random. He appears as a merchant,
selling items. Talk to CC Joker and play cards with him. Once
you defeat him, you will get the Guardian Force Report.
Qns:So, what is the use of these Report cards?
Ans:Well, nothing much actually! Remember the "The Man Who Knows
ALL" in Final Fantasy V? Oh, never mind, if you can't remember
or don't know. Each report card summarises different things.
[Refer below for more details.]
Battle Report
=====================
It tells you the number of times you have:
a)Walked
b)Battles
c)Won
d)Escape
Character Report
=====================
It tells you the number of times each character has:
a)Killed [No of monster killed under your hand!]
b)KO'd [No of times your character has died!]
Guardian Force Report
=====================
It tells you the number of times each Guardian Force has:
a)Killed [No of monster killed under your hand!]
b)KO'd [No of times your Guardian Force has died!]
It also lists down:
c)Abilities
d)Menu Refinements
That's all that these report cards will tell you!
=======================================================================
XIV)Obel Lake Mystery
=======================================================================
At first, i didn't really want to add in this section because Scott
Ong has already covered it in his faq. Secondly, i was quite lazy.
Well, i got several mails, asking me about Obel Lake mystery. I have
solved the mystery quite long ago but...... judging from the amount
of mails i got, perhaps i should..... You might also want to refer
to Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough Part II for Obel Lake mystery.
Note that the mystery to Obel Lake can only be solved in disc three.
The most important thing to do now is to locate where the Obel Lake
is. You are now in disc three and have the Ragnarok airship. Take
the Ragnarok and fly to Galbadia continent near Timber. You should
notice a very small spit that curves into a lake. Land your Ragnarok
somewhere nearby and walk to the edge. Press X for the American
version and Circle for the Japanese version to search and you
should notice a message that pops up something like this:
This must be Obel Lake.
Throw a rock.
>Try humming.
Choose the second option and hum. A message pops up again like this:
A black shadow rose to the surface.
Throw a rock.
>Try humming again.
When the Black Shadow appears, keep talking to him until he asks you
to find his friend, Mr. Monkey. He hints that his friend, Mr. Monkey
is somewhere in the forest. So, search the forest just to the west
of Dollet near the train station on the Hasberry Plains. But before
that, choose to throw a rock until it says 'The rock skipped
many many times.'
"It's my friend, Mr. Monkey...
Can you find him for me?"
Walk around the forest and a message will pop out, giving you two
choices to choose. Choose the first option to throw a rock.
If you get a message saying, 'The rock skipped many many times,'
you should see this message:
"...OUCH!
...D-Darn it!
...You're gonna pay for that!"
Enraged, Mr. Monkey will throw a stone carved with some writing
on it at you. The letters on the carving are "URHAEO."
If you throw a stone and the message says that it skip between 1 to
5 times, you will always get a message like this:
"Ahh Darn it!" Y-You're just a big loser. I can make the rock skip
as many times as I want! So there! Ha-ha! Loser! Dork! Idiot! Your
mom wears combat boots."
There's the monkey!
>Throw a rock.
Sing.
Return to Obel Lake and talk to the Black Shadow. Keep on talking
to him until he gives you four useful hints. Each hints tell you
where the location of a special stone with words carved on it is.
Here's the hints:
Second Rock
===========
Hint:"Mr. Monkey had a rock like this i think..."
Yes...The rock which Mr. Monkey throws it to you is the second stone.
However, if you didn't manage to get the stone just now, Shadow
will tell that,
"If he's not around, perhaps he took a train towards Dollet."
=>Only when Mr. Monkey escapes.
=>You can find Mr. Monkey again in Hasberry Plains located near
Dollet.
Third Rock
===========
Hint:"This long narrow stretch of island is located east of Timber
and next to the railroad bridge that leads to Fisherman's
Horizon and Esthar.
Go to Mandy Beach east of Timber. It's an isolated island and it
is rather hard to find. Search along the island and a message
will pop out somethibng like this:
Fourth Rock
===========
Hint:"There's also something on top of a mountain with a lake and
cavern."
Your next destination is Monterosa Plateau. Follow where the
river flows and it will lead to a waterfall. Land your Ragnarok
on top of the mountain and search the edge of the waterfall
and a message will pop out something like:
A bird is warming an egg.
>Check it out.
Leave it alone.
Choose the first option, 'Check it out.' You will encounter a
fight against 2x Thrustaevis. They are quite easy to defeat.
Once they are defeated, you will find the last rock.
Now, return back to Obel Lake.
_________________________________________
|No. |Location of the Rock |Letters |
|____|_______________________|____________|
| 1. |Rinaul Coast |S T S L R M |
| 2. |From Mr Monkey |U R H A E O |
| 3. |Mandy Beach |R E A I D R |
| 4. |Monterosa Plateau |E A S N P D |
|____|_______________________|____________|
Now, can you begin out the mystery?
Okay, If you read from right to left starting from top to bottom,
the hint is, "MORDRED PLAINS HAS TREASURE."
Okay, time to head to Modred Plains. Modred Plain is located north
from the Great Plains of Esthar. The treasure is rather hard to
find. So, if you want an ASCII diagram of the exact location of
where the treasure is, refer to Scott Ong's walkthrough/faq
Part II.
Ignore what the other coloured rock says. Search for a red-faced
rock and the rock will tell you to move in opposite direction.
Follow what the red-faced rock tells you and the location of
the treasure, Three Star is located in the centre of the star
[From Scott Ong's ASCII art.]
There's another item which you can also get from the clues that
the other coloured rock gives you. But, i am not going to list
out every single clues.
Simply go to Minde Island at the lower left part of the Esthar
Continent. Search around and you will find another item, Luck-J
Scroll.
So far, these are the only treasures that i know. You can only
solve Obel Lake's mystery in disc three. Don't worry if you
can't solve the mystery or you are already in disc 4 and have
not solved it yet. The treasures, in my opinion, aren't quite
worthwhile. Firstly, solving this Obel Lake takes quite a long
time. Secondly, though i agree with everyone that Three Stars
is a valuable item, but don't forget that you can convert
Squall's card to 3x Three Stars. This is just my personal
opinion and you can choose to accept it or not!
=======================================================================
XV)Song Lyrics
=======================================================================
Below are the lyrics for Eyes On Me and Liberi Fatali.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eyes On Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Composer:Nobuo Uematsu
Vocalist:Faye Wong
Whenever sang my songs
On the stage, on my own
Whenever said my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Oh, did you ever know?
That I had mine on you
*Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
So let me come to you
Close as I wanna be
Close enough for me
To feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know
That I had mine on you
Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you're not dreaming
*Repeat
Credit:Thanks to Heero Yuy for allowing me to publish the lyrics
in my faq.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Liberi Fatali
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei.
Cunae non sunt.
Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali.
Somnus non eat.
Surgite.
Invenite hortum veritatis.
Ardente veritate
Urite mala mundi.
Ardente veritate
Incendite tenebras mundi.
Valete, liberi,
Diebus fatalibus.
Children of Fate
----------------
Wake up, my children,
The cradles are gone.
Wake up, Children of Fate,
The peaceful sleep is over.
Rise up
Search for the Garden of Truth
With fiery truth
Burn off all the deceit of the world
With fiery truth
Light up the dark world.
Goodbye, children,
The next moment of meeting is the moment of fate.
Credit:Thanks to kaze Yagami for correcting the mistakes in the
lyrics, as well as doing the translation for Liberi Fatali.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================================
XVI)Final Fantasy VIII OST List
=======================================================================
Are you a fan of Nobuo Uematsu? Final Fantasy VIII Original Sound
Track has been released. With a total of 74 tracks that are spread
across four CDs, fans of Nobuo Uematsu shouldn't miss it. I will
now list the name of the tracks below.
Disc 1
======
01.Liberi Fatali
02.Balamb Garden
03.Blue Fields
04.Don't Be Afraid
05.The Winner
06.Find Your Way
07.SeeD
08.The Landing
09.Starting Up
10.Force Your Way
11.The Loser
12.Never Look Back
13.Dead End
14.Breezy
15.Shuffie or Boogie
16.Waltz for the Moon
17.Tell Me
18.Fear
19.The Man with the Machine Gun
20.Julia
21.Roses and Wine
22.Junction
23.Timber Owls
Disc 2
======
01.My Mind
02.The Mission
03.Martial Law
04.Cactus Jack (Galbadian Anthem)
05.Only a Plank Between One and Perdition
06.Succession of Witches
07.Galbadia Garden
08.Unrest
09.Under Her Control
10.The Stage is Set
11.A sacrifice
12.Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
13.Intruders
14.Premonition
15.Wounded
16.Fragments of Memories
17.Jailed
18.Rivals
19.Ami
Disc 3
======
01.The Spy
02.Retaliation
03.Movin'
04.Blue Sky
05.Drifting
06.Heresy
07.Fisherman's Horizon
08.Odeka Ke Chocobo
09.Where I Belong
10.The Oath
11.Slide Show Part1
12.Slide Show Part2
13.Love Grows
14.The Salt Flats
15.Trust Me
16.Silence and Motion
17.Dance with the Balamb-fish
18.Tears of the moon
19.Residents
20.Eyes On Me
Disc 4
======
01.Mods de Chocobo
02.Ride On
03.Truth
04.Lunatic Pandora
05.Compression of Time
06.The Castle
07.The Legendary Beast
08.Maybe I'm a Lion
09.The Extreme
10.The Successor
11.Ending Theme
12.Overture
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================================
XVII)Exclusive Features
=======================================================================
To show my thanks to everyone who has been reading this faq, i thought
it will be nice of me to share some informations with you and these
information are exclusive and can only be found in my faq(s) only.
A special thanks to Kaze Yagami for the contributions again. So,
wonder what's the information about? Well, it isn't going to be of
much help to you in the game but... Are you excited by the idea of
riding a train, seeing various train stations that are scattered
throughout the Balamb and Galbadia continent? How fast can the train
move? Wow, Ragnarok is back. It was once an esper/sword in Final
Fantasy VI. How did it become an airship? With such a cool name,
are you dying for a ride? Back to the main topic. This section
will feature all specifications of Balamb Train and Ragnarok. I
will start with Balamb Train first.
~~~Balamb Train Specifications Exclusive Information!!!~~~
----------------------------------------------------------
Trains are used to move from city to city. It is a gray train with
curvaceousness. You can see railways in Balamb and Galbadia Continent
One of the trains is double-decked while another one looks very old
shaped like a steam locomotive. There is even a special train for SeeD
cadet's exclusive use.
DATA
-----
Name :TEMPEST (TTS-II with turbo shaft engine)
Length :144 metres (Estimated the length of 6 cars)
Width :4.3 metres
Height :6.1 metres
Maximum speed:260 kilometres per hour (Km/h)
Weight :313 tonnes
Capacity :360 passenger
~~~Ragnarok Specifications Exclusive Information!!!~~~
------------------------------------------------------
~Super High Mobility Flying Ship "RAGNAROK"~
Made of red body, with the word 'ESTHAR' visible on the body,
Ragnarok was made more than twenty years ago. It was highly regarded
as one of the strongest flying ships. It was reportedly made secretly
in an unknown country. There are at least 2 or more such flying ships
of the same kind, with different markings.
DATA
----
Highest Output:3450t
Lowest Output:2850t
Total Length:108m
Total Height:54m (Landing)
65m (Cruising)
Total Weight:2,850 ton (Without Propellant, Charge and Occupants)
3,134 ton (1/3 Propellant, Full Charge and Occupant)
3,450 ton (Full Propellant, Full Charge and Occupant)
Total Wingspan:77m
Main Weapon :609mm Electron Particle Beam x 1
Sub Weapon :152mm multi-barrel Laser x 2
Main Engine :Reaction-Type 12-Level Compressor Turbine
(Power output 22500kg) x 2
Sub Engine :Reaction-Type 6-Level Compressor Turbine
(Power output 24800kg) x 4
Occupant :4 crews
(Navigator, wireless operator, cannoneer, and a cox)
=>Able to carry more than 10 occupants.
Top Speed :11.8km/s, 708km/min, 42480km/h
=>Second cosmic velocity;can launch a rocket into space.
How? Do you like it? Are you interested about the specifications of
these vehicles? Hopefully, you don't think it as a waste of time.
I spent the time to type everything out. Hey, come on! Show some
appreciation, please? Thanks! The specifications look really cool, in
my personal opinion but is that true in the game or in real life, i
honestly don't know. What do you think?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================================
XVIII)Frequently-Asked-Question
=======================================================================
If you have any question that you would like to ask me, please read
below. You may find your answer to your problems here. More questions
will be added to the frequently-asked-question section with each new
update of the faq.
In future, if you wish to ask any questions, please read through this
frequently-asked-question section at least once. From now onwards, i
won't entertain anymore questions that can be found here in this
section. However, if the question you want to ask can be found here
and you still cannot solve, feel free to e-mail me and tell me
what your problems are. If you don't describe the problems, then
i will not entertain. I hope you can understand as this is to
reduce the number of junk mails i get almost everyday.
One Final Note:
===============
If you have any questions, please write an e-mail and send it to my
mailbox. Don't take the bother and try to ask me via ICQ because it
is likely that i will avoid answering. Of course, chatting is another
different matter but that also depends on whether i have the time
because i may be occupied with replying e-mails and so on. I found it
quite fustrating to answer questions via the ICQ so to make things
easier for me, please send an e-mail instead.
1)Why is there a mod chip protection installed in the Japanese
version of Final Fantasy VIII?
The mod chip protection is something which prevents modified
PlayStation from playing Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. A modified
PlayStation breaks the codes and allows the system to play both
the US and Japanese games. However, with this mod chip
protection, you can't play Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. Note
that the US version do not have any mod chip protection.
2)Why is there a mod chip protection? What's the purpose for?
Square wants to curb importers from buying Japanese version of
Final Fantasy VIII. As for the real reason why, i don't know.
Perhaps, Square wants to discourage importers so that they know
the exact sales of Final Fantasy VIII in Japan.
The only way is to use a gameshark. You can refer to the
gameshark codes in the gameshark code section. There is another
way also but i strongly discourage it. In Asia, where piracy is
rampant, they have figured out a way to bypass the mod chip
protection. Refer to below for more informations.
According to my friend who has bought pirated Final Fantasy VIII
CDs, the SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII Introduction was
taken away from the game. It's the same thing you see in the
introduction film you see in the US version. But, you would
probably agree with me that this introduction film doesn't mean
much at all. The SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII
Introduction was taken out because that's where the Mod Chip
Protection is being found. Once that's being taken out, you can
play Final Fantasy VIII on a modified PlayStation. Since the Mod
Chip Protection code is found in all SquareSoft Staff of Final
Fantasy VIII, all the SquareSoft Staff of Final Fantasy VIII was
taken out from all discs, meaning those who bought the pirated
games would miss it.
6)What is the technological advancement Final Fantasy VIII has
over Final Fantasy VII?
Final Fantasy VII runs in 15 frames per second but Final Fantasy
VIII runs in 30 frames per second. As seen from the games, the
characters are no longer deformed as before in Final Fantasy VII.
This is a silly question. She's the most popular singing in Hong
Kong and is agruably the best Asia Singer, and well-known as the
Heavenly Queen in Asia. If you don't know her, then you are...
Faye Wong was hired by Square to sing the song entitled 'Eyes
On Me'. Nobuo Uematsu was told to write a love vocal song for
Final Fantasy VIII to suit for the love theme. The song, as
expected was 'Eyes On Me.' According to what i know, Square
paid a reasonably high amount of money to hire her to sing.
9)Why did they choose Faye Wong to sing 'Eyes On Me'?
At first, they were thinking of who would be suited to sing
'Eyes On Me.' They listened to many albums and they could not
find a suitable one until they heard one of Faye Wong's songs.
The Pocketstation is a memory card with a screen, control pad,
2 buttons,and battery powered. It allows you to save your game,
as well as play mini games (outside of PS). There is apparently
an extra mini-game called 'Choco World' or 'Odekate Chocobo RPG.'
Final Fantasy VIII is one of the few games that support a
PocketStation. Other few games that support PocketStation
includes Metal Gear Solid Integral, Monster Rancher 2 etc. The
US Final Fantasy VIII supports PocketStation as well but you
need to import a PocketStation directly from Japan, which is
quite expensive.
12)How much does a PocketStation cost? And, how or where do i import
a PocketStation?
Honestly, i don't know how or where you can import one. According
to Kaze Yagami, a PocketStation is very
rare and hard to find and is currently out of stock in Japan.
In Singapore, it costs around Sing $70 but the actual price
is around Sing $45. This is rather expensive. I don't have
a PocketStation so i really don't know much about it.
From what i have heard in Final Fantasy:World Apart, the CG for
Final Fantasy IX has been completed. Square has also announced
that Final Fantasy IX will be released in Japan, right after
the release of Dragon Quest VII, meaning we won't see Final
Fantasy IX before Dragon Quest VII. Square said that they can't
imagine how the whole market will be like when two great
RPG franchise, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy is released
together. So, they decided to postpone the release date. As for
the US release of Final Fantasy IX, the earliest we can wait
is until 2001. [Refer to Question #75 for more details!]
Final Fantasy VIII has been released in the US on 9-9-99. For
those impatient fans, you can preorder a copy first. The
European release date is somewhere on late October 1999.
So, have you started playing it yet?
16)Is Edea the final boss? I heard you can use her in the party.
No. Edea is not the final boss. Yes. But, she's a temporary
character and can only be used in disc 3 for a certain
duration. As for her real identity and why she appears as
a villain first, i won't comment too much. You find out on
your own.
17)Is there a way to make Seifer into your party again after the
Dollet mission?
Sorry, no for the time being! And, i am not pretty sure about it.
Perhaps, use a gameshark, i suppose. That may applies to getting
Edea permanently also. But, that's cheating so i won't consider
that this is the proper way to get both Seifer and Edea.
18)When is PC version of Final Fantasy VIII released? Will the PC
version of Final Fantasy VIII has 'Choco World' or 'Odekate
Chocobo RPG.'?
The PC release has been confirmed and will be released in late
January next year in 2000. It has been reported that with the
advanced capabilities of the PC, the graphics are far more
superior to the PSX version. Of course, you can expect very
high requirements to play Final Fantasy VIII on your PC. And,
from what i have heard, Final Fantasy VIII for the PC should
be out now.
19)How many discs does Final Fantasy VIII [For the PC] have?
A total of five discs. That's what i heard from my friends. The
extra fifth disc is the installation disc. The same goes to
Final Fantasy VII for the PC, which has four discs, with the
fourth disc as the installation disc.
20)What's the minimum requirement to play Final Fantasy VIII in the
PC?
You can find more information about Final Fantasy VIII PC
version at Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart. The minimum PC
requirments to play PC Final Fantasy VIII are:
Window 95/98 Compatible System
Intel or 100% Compatible CPU
Pentium 200 [Pentium II 266 recommended]
32MB RAM [64MB recommended]
8MB 3D Accelerator Graphics Card [16MB recommended]
[Highly recommended]
8x CD-ROM
Direct 6.1 [Included]
DirectSound and DirectMusic compatible sound card
The information above is taken from Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart
at
21)Do you think i should buy the PC Final Fantasy VIII even though
i already have the PSX version?
Of course, if you are a Final Fantasy franchise, go ahead and
purchase it to support Square but please buy original game. It's
no use buying pirated games. Of course, if you think you have
enough of Final Fantasy VIII [like me after playing through it
so many times], the PSX version is more than enough. It's
advisable if you have a good PC with at least 266 MMX, 3-D
accelerator, AWE64 sound card and so on, if not, i suggest you
don't buy it or it will look even more terrible than the PSX
version. Furthermore, if you are buying a PC version, make sure
you have a controller at home. The control will really be
sucked if you play it on a keyboard. Besides, a keyboard and a
dual shock controller with vibrational function. Which one do
you prefer more? The answer is obvious. Dual shock controller,
right? Of course, if you do not have a PocketStation, you may
consider buying Final Fantasy VIII PC version to play Choco
World.
22)How do i tune up weapon? What is Weapon Monthly Magazine for?
Please refer to the advanced tutorial for more details. You can
tune up your weapons by finding certain junk items and then
tune up at any Junk shops. Also, the Weapon Monthly Magazine
tells you what type and the quantity of items needed for you
to tune up.
23)I heard there is a bug in the Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. Is
it true?
Yes. In disc three, if you don't get Odin within the given time,
the disc will freeze. However, this is not a crucial bug since
you can collect the Odin at disc 2, or just make a save before
entering. Also, there are some rumors that the game will also
get jammed if you enter Shumi Tribe in disc 2. Also, there's a
bug called Junction bug which allows you to junction one spell
to various attributes. Note that all the bugs are applicable to
the Japanese version only. The bugs have been fixed in the US
version. For more information on Junction Bug, refer to the
secret section. Square, however deny that the bugs exist in
the Japanese version.
24)I saw a demo version in the internet of Final Fantasy VIII
(Ball Dance) for the PlayStation 2. Is Square going to
re-developed Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 2.
Well, that's a tough question. The ball dance demo is just
part of the demo for PlayStation 2. I don't think Square will
re-developed Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 2. I guess
the demo is there to show the capabilities of the PlayStation
2 and tell people how many times advanced it is over PlayStation.
25)Is PlayStation 2 backwardly compatible true? Will all PlayStation
games be enhanced when it is played in PlayStation 2?
Yes. PlayStation 2 will be backwardly compatible, meaning all
PlayStation games can be played on PlayStation 2. However,
Sony has announced that there won't be any enhancements. From
what i have heard, PlayStation 2 ultises an emotion engine and
it's indeed really very powerful. Talk about realistic
facial expressions. The screenshots in Final Fantasy Movie
are perfect example. Since PlayStation 2 is backwardly
compatible, you can expect to use PlayStation Peripherals
like dual shock controller, and even PocketStation too etc
on PlayStation 2.
26)I heard that there are some PlayStation games that PlayStation 2
can't play it. Is that true?
I heard about it too. This may sound a rather bad news but don't
forget that majority of the Japanese PlayStation games still work
on the PlayStation 2. Sony has listed about 15 PlayStation games
that aren't compatible with PlayStation 2. But, thanksfully, most
of the games are old games that aren't really very good. This is
more on techical problems. PlayStation 2 is the first console to be
able to support backward compatibility. But i believe that in the
future PlayStation 2 models, more PlayStation games will be able to
be played on the PlayStation 2. The chip works like an emulator for
the PlayStation. And, don't forget that there is no emulator yet
that can emulate a console successfully, meaning with ALL games on
that particular console being compatible and without suffering any
slowdowns, common gitches and so on. Therefore, i don't think it's
rather surprising. Anyway, Sony is currently testing out thousands
of PlayStation games on the PlayStation 2 and we can expect a list
of non-compatible PlayStation games on the PlayStation 2 to be
released very soon. I sincerely hope that all the technical problems
on the PlayStation 2 will be fixed soon and that all PlayStation
games can run smoothly on the PlayStation.
According to what i have heard, PlayStation 2 will be released
next year early March in Japan only. As for whether PlayStation
2 will hit United States, it will probably be in 2001. As
for the actual specifications of the system, you can find
it in a lot of sites like www.videogames.com and so on.
I don't know. Nintendo hasn't made any official announcement
about Dolphin. But, you can expect it to be a great system,
just like PlayStation 2 with many advanced chips.
As for Sega, it's very unlikely and i honestly don't wish that
to happen. The market in Japan is quite small for Dreamcast yet.
There's still a possibility that Square might join Nintendo in
future.
According to a report, this is what it says:
Before the PlayStation came along, Square had a long history of
being a very Nintendo-system-centric publisher. It looks like
that could soon change as a recent comment made by Square's
President, Tomoyuki Takechi, makes it sound like the company
might once again be in Nintendo's corner. Square held an event in
mid-July to allow the American press to meet with members of
design teams behind future US titles like Final Fantasy VIII,
Saga Frontier 2 and Vagrant Story. The event was headlined by a
speech from Takechi, who started his address with one main note-
something we were not expected at all. Square is interested in
Nintendo's Dolphin.
"The gaming industry is becoming more and more exciting judging
from the recent announcement of the next-generation Dolphin
machine from Nintendo at E3," he said.
The quote by itself could carry little more meaning than Square's
surprise to hear of Nintendo's next platform, but when, how and
to whom this information was presented makes it all the more
curious. As previously stated, this was his first main comment-
and it definitely was not prompted by any line of questioning.
Takechi clearly wanted to deliver the message of the company's
excitement over the system;it was quite unexpected, and frankly
a bit surreal. A large reason it was such a surprise was that
he delivered this message to the American media, who for the
most part tend to read into information far more than the
Japanese media. Takechi had to have known that this statement
would be construed as something more.
When we questioned the Final Fantasy VIII team on whether or not
they could see the Final Fantasy series ever returning to a
Nintendo platform, they responded saying that while the
Dolphin is intriguing, they wouldn't make a decision until they
had seen its final specs. Even so, it's extremely interesting
to hear Square's excitment over the Dolphin system-that they
would go on record in the system's support makes one wonder
just how strong their loyalty for Sony is.
This report is found in Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue #122
30)What is Final Fantasy the Movie? Is it a game? Will Final Fantasy
the Movie has some story connections with the past Final
Fantasies?
No. It's just a movie made by Square using computer-generated
graphics. Final Fantasy the Movie will hit the world's theaters
in 2001. From what i have heard, Final Fantasy the Movie will
star a whole new cast of characters. See the old man in one of
the screenshots? It's computer-generated graphics but it's hard
to tell the difference between him and a real man. The list of
actors who will be providing voices for the movie were recently
announced, and include such heavyweights as Alec Baldwin (The
Hunt for Red October) and Ving Rhames (Mission:Impossible). Other
cast members include Ming-na Wen (Mulan), James Woods (Contact),
Donald Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Steve Buscemi
(Armageddon) and Peri Gilpn (Frasier). Quite a lot of big names
for a movie based around a video game world, eh? This $70
million project is currently under way at Square's Hawaii-based
studios. [Hopefully, we can to see our famous favourite bird,
chocobo in the movie as well.]
31)I heard about the Final Fantasies Collection and Final
Fantasy Anthology? Can you explain to me what is it all
about?
Final Fantasy Collection is a compilation that contains the
Japanese Final Fantasy IV [II in US], Final Fantasy V [Never
released in the United States before] and Final Fantasy VI
[III in US]. Due to time constraint, Final Fantasy Collection
will be released in the United States as Final Fantasy
Anthology without Final Fantasy IV and it will contain only
Final Fantasy V [Never released in the US] and Final Fantasy
VI. To make up for the loss of Final Fantasy IV, Square added
a music CD containing favourite scores from Final Fantasy V
and Final Fantasy VI. Both Final Fantasy Anthology and
Collection are available now. A few enhancments have been
made to the game such as CG, a bonus option for Final
Fantasy VI etc.
32)Why isn't Final Fantasy IV released as one of the package in
Final Fantasy Anthology?
Honestly, i am not sure why. It can be because that there is
time constraints. Don't forget that Square needs to translate
Final Fantasy VIII at the same time so that Final Fantasy
VIII can be released to the market in September. Some say that
Square has to cancel off the plans to release Final Fantasy
IV in the package, is due to the lengthy text and therefore,
more time have to be spent on translating. However, it doesn't
make any sense since Final Fantasy IV has been released as
Final Fantasy II before. Thirdly, it can be because that there
are two versions of Final Fantasy IV, the easy and the hard
versions. Final Fantasy Collection had the easy version instead.
As for the actual reason why, i am not pretty sure. [But, that
goes my chance of having to try Final Fantasy IV.]
You can draw Apocalypse magics from Ultimecia: Her Final Form.
Besides that, other than using a gameshark to get it, i don't
think you can draw it from anywhere else. If anyone knows it,
feel free to inform me and i will give you credits. Apocalypse
magic is by far the strongest spell, if not slighly more lethal
than Ultima magic. But the bad thing is you can only draw it
from Ultimecia and that means you cannot junction Apocalypse
to your character statistics.
34)Someone told me about Seifer's R1 gunblade that worked like Squall.
Is it true?
Yes it is, but timing is a little bit faster, and more difficult.
However, his limit break, Fire Cross: No Mercy does not have this
R1 feature help like Squall's Renzokuken.
35)I have problems finding Grasharaboras/Doomtrain. Can you help me?
Refer to the G.F list and strategy. You can refer to other
faqs or walkthroughs. You need to have 6x Remedy Plus, 6x
Steel Pipe, 6x Malboro Tentacle and 1x Solomon's Ring.
36)Will Square release sequel to games like Chrono Trigger,
Secret of Mana?
Yes. Chrono Cross, the sequel to Chrono Trigger and Legend of
Mana has been released in Japan. The US version will probably
arrive next year. Other games that Square is making includes
Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, Dew Prism and so on. You can
expect all to be a great game. However, sadly, the team from
Dragon Quest will not be helping Square to develop Chrono
Cross. As you know, Akira Toriyama (fame for Dragonball) is
responsible for the character design in Chrono Trigger. One
look at Crono, and you will notice that his hair, appearance
resembles Goku, a character from Dragonball. As Akira
Toriyama has to help Enix for Dragon Quest VII, he is unable to
help Square in the Chrono Cross project. Anyway, you can
expect all games to be great!
37)Do you know there is a comic based on Final Fantasy VIII?
Indeed, this is true. The comic is being released in Hong kong,
and will follow every plot in Final Fantasy VIII. Thanks to
Kaze Yagami who told me about the existence of the comics. If
anyone wants to know more about Final Fantasy VIII, this is
a good chance now, provided that you know how to read chinese
word characters. Also, the comic can also be found in Singapore.
However, you must be warned that the comic can be misleading
in certain plots. And, it's not officially licensed by Square
and from what i have heard, due to copyrights, the comics
have been banned, even in Hong Kong. Right now, i don't think
i can find any more Final Fantasy VIII comics in Singapore.
The new issues aren't coming anymore...
39)I heard that the loading times are extremely long for Final
Fantasy Anthology/Final Fantasy Collection.
Yes. The load times are extremely long, even longer than Final
Fantasy VII and VIII. I have Final Fantasy Anthology and i think
Final Fantasy VI has the longest load times. Many people were
very displeased with the long loadings. Both Final Fantasy V and
Final Fantasy VI suffer serious slowdowns.
40)Where can i find Card Queen in disc four? You mention that it is
in Abandon Plains. I have searched almost everywhere but to no
avail and Abandon Plains is just too big.
The Queen is found in the escape retrieval pod in Abandon Plains
just at the southern most tip of Esthar Continent. It's invisible
in the world map. Simply land your Ragnarok nearby and make your
way to the southern tip. The world map screen will change to the
field screen and you should see card queen.
I got several mails, asking me about the exact location of Card
Queen. The location is rather tricky. Notice that the major region
of Esthar Continent is being surrounded by huge wire frames or
walls. It's located just outside this major region in the south.
Try going into the main menu and check if you are in Abandon Plains.
[Assuming if you are outside this 'major region'!] Then, just land
your Ragnarok and walk south.
I have to admit i do have problems finding the Card Queen at first.
Just be patient! If you simply just walk along the southern tips,
you will definitely encounter Card Queen.
The location is the same as where you discover Piet in in disc
three.
41)I can't seem to figure out the riddles or puzzles in a particular
Chocobo Forest?
Refer to Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough. He has typed out a very
precise and detailed solution to solve the riddles in each Chocobo
Forest. Therefore, i won't be going through this.
42)What's wrong with your Crisis level theory? At Dollet city, when
Seifer is at 100% of his HP with the two other remaining party
members dead, i can use Seifer's limit breaks all the time. You
don't really need to have 84% of his total HP?
Bingo! The theory is correct but it's just that you have forgotten
something. You did mention that two other members are dead, did
you? If you look at the negative status bonus table in the limit
break section, you should notice that it will increase your crisis
level up by 16%. So, 84% + 16%= 100%. Doesn't that prove the theory?
If you still don't believe, try reviving your two other members
alive and check if you still can use limit break when Seifer is
at 100% of his max HP. Of course, the same concepts applies to
everybody, without using any Aura spell.
43)I can't defeat Omega Weapon! He's too strong! I can't believe it.
You can actually beat Omega Weapon without using any Hero Drink
or Holy Wars Drink or summon a Guardian Force, Phoenix.
Refer to the secret section in my basic guide or my weapon
faqs if you really need help. If you want to find out how to get
Hero Drink or Holy Wars Drink, you can find it in my weapon faqs
too or at the additional section. The process of refining is
rather tedious and take quite a lot of time. Anyway, good luck!
Lastly, i can't believe it! People are too relying on Hero
Drinks or Holy Wars Drink. Even game guides written from
certain game magazines said that you need to use Hero Drinks.
The fact is i have beaten Omega Weapon several times without
using any of these items.
44)I have forgotten to draw a particular Guardian Force? How do i
get the Guardian Force back? [Very Frequently-Asked]
If you are playing the Japanese version, you can't redraw it again,
meaning you can only use a gameshark. But, if you are playing the
US version, you can redraw it from the enemies in Ultimecia Castle
in disc 4. This method applies only to the US version. The list
of Guardian Forces that can be redraw at disc 4 are Siren,
Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Cerberus, Alexander and Eden.
only. Refer to my US/Japanese/Demo version differences faq if
you want to know more about the good and bad points of this
redrawing. Also, i have added in the names of sub-bosses which
you can draw Guardian Forces from in my Basic Guide faq, as well
as my Boost/Compatibility faq.
45)Hey, you are wrong for saying that once you have forgotten to draw
a Guardian Force, as you can draw them in disc 4 at Ultimecia
Castle. You can draw these Guardian Forces from the respective
sub-bosses in Ultimecia Castle...blah...blah...blah... [Hmm... it
seems endless to me!!!]
Hmm... i know your good intentions. Thanks for describing everything
so detail. This is just an example of a junk mail. Sorry, i am not
criticising you but.........
Did i ever say i don't know that? I am saying that for the Japanese
version, if you miss drawing a Guardian Force, the Guardian Force
will be gone forever unless you use a gameshark. Only the US
version [and perhaps the PC version as well] has this feature that
allows you to draw your Guardian Forces in disc 4 at Ultimecia
Castle. Get that?
Very unlikely! It could just be a rumor. Anyway, don't worry about
this! However, Griever has an attack called Shockwave Pulsar. It's
her strongest attack. Quistis can learn Shockwave Pulsar if you
can find one Dark Matter. Shockwave Pulsar is Quistis's strongest
limit break, which can deal past 9999HP.
Basically, all the 16 Guardian Forces can learn only up to a
maximum of 22 abilities. Now, in case you think that one of the
ability is useless and wants the Guardian Force to learn another
useful ability, for example Revive. First, use Amnesia Greens to
make the Guardian Force forget that ability. Then, use Phoenix
Spirit and your Guardian Force will learn the Revive command.
49)How do i get Proof of Friendship and Mog's Amulet?
I don't know. Please don't ask me anything that has to do with
PocketStation. I have already stated everything i know about
PocketStation in my faqs. I don't have a PocketStation so you
have come to the wrong person. I strongly advise you to ask
other people around, especially for those who has written a
PocketStation faq. If you don't have a PocketStation and wants
to play the Choco World, buy the PC version instead.
50)How or where can i find all the four Occult Fans and what is the
use of them?
You can find information on the four Occult fan in my Basic
guide faq or my Boost/Compatibility faq. The four Occult fans
tell you hints about certain Guardian Forces, particularly
Doomtrain.
51)I am now in disc four and i discovered that i have missed the
last two Occult Fan, which are Occult III and IV. What should
i do? Can i get them again?
Sorry, no! Once you miss these two Occult Fans, III and IV, you
can't get them again in disc 4. Anyway, don't worry! You don't
really need these four Occult Fans to get all the Guardian
Forces. You can really do without them.
52)What's the use of collecting Combat King Magazines, Pet
Pal Magazines and Timber Magazines?
It lets you learn new limit breaks for Zell and Rinoa. Refer
to my limit break section in basic guide faq or my limit
breaks faq for more details. Timber Magazines tell you more
informations about Laguna. Remember he's a journalist and has
been to many places. The timber magazines are basically a record
of his journey, nothing much! You can view it by going to the
Balamb network in the classroom of Balamb Garden.
53)You idiot! What kind of final Fantasy expert are you? Do you
know how to solve Obel Lake mystery? Why do you ask me to
refer to Scott Ong's walkthrough/faq Part II? Is it that you
don't know?
This is an example of a junk mail i got and the critics i
received. I do know about the Obel Lake mystery and i have
solved it quite long ago. To my surprise, there are quite
a number of people asking me about Obel Lake mystery. To
make things short, the process of finding the rocks and
treasures are quite long and i am LAZY to describe
everything in detail so i ask you to refer to Scott Ong
faq. This is because he has written quite a detail explanation
on how to solve Obel Lake mystery. Yes, if there is 1 person
asking, i don't mind typing but how about four to five or
even ten persons? All right, the way to solve Obel Lake
mystery can be found in my basic guide faq in the secret
section. You might want to refer to Scott Ong's faq for
more information. So, enough of agruments?
54)I know of a good way to beat Ultima weapon. Use hero drink on your
characters and Ultima weapon will not be able to hurt you.
Hey, come on! Isn't that obvious? Why waste the trouble and use a
precious Hero drink on just a 'little troublesome' weapon when you
can finish it off with just a few hits of Renzokuken and Armageddon
Fist? [Hey, i didn't even use one single hero drink or holy wars
drink when i beat Omega weapon, so why use these items when beating
against Ultima weapon?]
This is a question which i always refuse to answer because i got
the same questions everyday from my mailbox. Just look around and
scan through other faqs.
There isn't really any rewards. However, through Quezacotl's
card mod ability, you can convert certain rare cards to some
rare items. For example, one is converting 1x Laguna card to
100x Hero drinks, and another one is converting 1x Gilgamesh
card to 10x Holy Wars. Both Hero drinks and Holy Wars drinks
are a valuable assets, especially when you are fighting against
tough bosses like Omega Weapon. Of course, if you are good, you
can don't use it. But, don't skip playing the card games just
because it does not have any rewards. In my opinion, it's far
more rewarding than the lame mini-games in Final Fantasy VII,
[Other than Chocobo breeding which i really love it!] in terms
of strategic thinking. And, if you really want to enjoy Final
Fantasy VIII to the fullest, you can't miss the card game.
59)What's the use of the organ found in Ultimecia Castle?
Go to the organ and choose to play the organ. Press L1, R1,
L2, R2, Circle, Square, X, Triangle simulaneously. Now, exit
to return back to the courtyard and take the passage to the
right. You will notice that the hole in the wall to the right
is now opened. Enter and it will lead you to another new area.
Walk through the passage and at the next screen, search the
top-right corner of the screen for a Rosetta Stone.
60)Hey, can you tell me where are all the locations of the bosses
found in Ultimecia Castle so that i can unlock all my abilities,
save option and so on, as well as telling me how to beat those
bosses?
It seems like i got more than one such mails. I will not be so
STUPID to list down all the locations of the bosses and tell you
HOW to beat them. If you are in need of help in finding or beating
a boss, tell me the name of the boss and be more specific why you
can't find it or can't beat it and i will help you. Several of the
bosses are pretty obvious to find and easy to beat and it will be
a waste of time typing. I will rather do other work, such as doing
my school homework or revision, spent my time updating faqs or
writing reviews etc. Get that? Should you need help in Ultimecia
Castle, refer to walkthroughs or other faqs such as those written
by Scott Ong.
61)Can you tell me the passwords? I enter an art gallery at Ultimecia
Castle and there are many paintings around. I am at a loss and
don't know what to do.
Press the confirmation button to view all the paintings if you
wish, but most importantly, these three paintings must be viewed.
They are Vivdarium, Intervigilium and Viator.
Wonder how do you derive at the password? It's pretty obvious! Take
a look at the clock and take note of the messages found in the
paintings. You should be able to figure out the passwords, if not,
see below.
Next, go to left wall on the first floor and input all these
passwords in order: Vivdarium, Intervigilium and Viator. You will
then encounter a boss fight with Trauma.
62)Have you ever heard of the Battle/Character/GF Report? If yes,
why didn't you mention it in your faqs?
Yes. I did know it very long ago. But, it is just that i am too
lazy to mention these things in my faqs. Anyway, those report
cards aren't really much important, in my opinion. These
reports simply give you summary of what you have done such
as how many steps you have taken, how many battles you have
encountered and so on. You can really do without them and i
mean it! If you want more information on these reports, please
refer to Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough part II. And, just to let
you know, i have just added some information regarding these
Report cards recently. So, don't argue anymore!
63)Why isn't Ward present in Laguna scenario at the Trabia Canyon?
That depends on the Timber Maniacs. Refer to below for more
details.
There are two Timber Maniacs you can find in Balamb but you can
only pick one up (the other one will disappear). One is as above
in the hotel, and the other is in the train station. Reading the
one at the hotel will cause Laguna to get drunk in the later event,
while choosing the one at the station will not. Dialogues between
Laguna and his friends will also be slightly changed. If you read
the TimberManiac in Shumi Village before you cleared the Laguna
Trabia Canyon event, Ward will not be in the party in the Trabia
Canyon event. You can view his saga at the Balamb Garden Network
homepage hosted by Selphie.
Hmm...i am not pretty sure why some people find Sorceress Adel hard
to beat. Perhaps, that has to do with the method of junctioning.
In fact, i find Sorceress Adel to be one of the easiest bosses in
Final Fantasy VIII.
Anyway, your aim is to kill Sorceress Adel without letting Rinoa
hurt. Sorceress Adel will drain Rinoa's HP. So, it's advisable that
you don't use spells like Ultimas, Meteors, or summon any Guardian
Forces as this will hurt Rinoa too and that you use cure spells to
heal Rinoa's HP periodically. Should Rinoa get kill, it will be
"Game Over" for you.
My advise is use physical attacks on Sorceress Adel. It is best
that Squall has 100x Ultimas junctioned to his strength and have
Lion Heart equipped so that he can have the maximum strength. Let
the other characters use their physical attacks on Adel too and
perhaps, one should use cure spell on Rinoa periodically. Remember
the secret to win this fight lies on physical strength and the
ability to protect your comrade. It is best to have all the
priorities given to strength. So, if you can achieve that, this
fight is a piece of cake.
65)Can you tell me where i can find Island closest to Hell and Island
Closest to Heaven?
Or
Can you recommend me a place where i can easily stock powerful
magics?
First, it was the Japanese version, then the US version and finally,
the PC version. How many times do i need to repeat? My hand is
almost numbed as i typing. Anyway, i am just trying to vent out my
fustration. I am going to repeat this ONE LAST TIME.
To get to Island Closest to Hell and Island Cloest to Heaven, you
need the Ragnarok airship, therefore you can only go there from
disc three onwards after the Lunar Base incident.
Island Closest to Hell is a long stretch of island located in the
most eastern part of the world. It is directly east of Galbadia
Continent, or be more specific, Deling City.
Island Closest to Heaven is north of the Lunar Gate and east of
Trabia Garden. It is a rather small island found in the north-
eastern part of the world. Also, it is north of the Grandidi
Forest, that huge patch of forest north of Esthar Continent.
Notice that there are quite a few islands there? Yes, one of them
is Island Closest to Heaven.
Both Island Closest to Hell and Island Of Heaven have countless
hidden draw points but also populated with tough monsters ripe
for spell drawing. The monsters there give a lot of experiences
and AP and are some good places for levelling up. The monsters
that can be found there include Ruby Dragon, Blue Dragon, Malboro
and so on.
Just in case, you do not wish to fight and want to stock up good
spells, equip Encounter-None and perhaps also Siren's Move/Find
ability. Then simply walk around the island and rapidly press the
confirmation button to draw magics from drawpoints. Of course, the
most basic thing that you need to do before you can draw magics,
is to let your character equip the draw command, right?
Blue Dragon can be found in Island Closest to Hell. [Refer to above
for more details.] To get Admantine, one of the ways is to defeat
Admantoise in Long Horn Island. [Remember the huge turtles in
Final Fantasy VII?] Did you see an island place horizontally north
of Galbadia Continent? That's the place. Long Horn Island is
located northwest of Dollet City. And, take note that it can only
be accessed by Ragnarok alone. Simply walk along the coast and
you will encounter huge turtles, Admantine.
Remember to steal Whisper from Adamantine, which is one of the
blue magic item for Quistis's limit break. Whisper allows Quistis
to learn White Wind.
67)Why can't i enter the towns or cities at disc four? Now, i can't
play anymore card games.
Remember that Squall and the party is undergoing some sort of time
compression? The place maybe the same but the era is different.
Take some time to think about it!
68)Hey, i took your advice and i had been stealing or defeating a
certain monster, yet i still can't get the item i want? [Often
ask, especially when that person is finding certain item(s) to
remodel his weapon or learn Quistis's blue magic.]
Depending on your average party's level, the level of the monsters
is variable. This is due to parallel levels. At different levels,
the monsters drop different items. Get it? And, because of this,
you may consider using Tonberry's Level Up or Level Down ability
to adjust the monster(s)' levels so as to get the item(s) that you
want.
71)I am playing the Final Fantasy VIII PC version. Your faqs covers
the PlayStation version. Can you list down the configuration for
the PC version?
Hmm... i am sorry! First of all, i do not have the PC version. I
have gone to my one of my friends' house who has a copy of Final
Fantasy VIII PC version. He simply shows me the game for about a
few minutes. As for the PC version configuration, i am not
really sure. Unless i have a copy of PC version and that many
people have requested me to list down the configuration, if not,
i don't think i will do it. Till then, i didn't get that many
requests. Other than confguration differences, the rest should
more or less be the same. Try reading the instruction manual.
This might help you.
72)I know of a good way to defeat the fake president of Deling,
Gergero. Use phoenix Down to end the fight as soon as possible.
And, if you have already known this, what's your excuse for not
putting this in your faq? Please give me credits for that.
I already know this beforehand. The reason why i didn't add this
information to my faq is because it's not related to what i want
to put in my faqs. I am not writing a walkthrough faq and neither
do i write a boss faq. So, do you think this is neccessary??? This
is an example of another junk mail that i do not wish to get. I
am not criticising you or whatever. I appreciate that for telling
me but...... I hope i didn't offend anyone. Even if you don't use
Phoenix Down, the fight with Gerogero is pretty easy. Besides, you
can take your time to draw some good spells from him. Get that???
73)I can't seem to get Guardian Force, Cactuar. That's because he ran
away when i wanted to fight him. Can you explain why and tell me
what i should do?
To get Guardian Force, Cactuar, you need to defeat Jumbo Cactuar in
the desert area at Cactuar Island. You should see a small green
Cactuar that juts out of the island. Go into contact with it to
encounter a fight with Jumbo Cactuar. The reason why Jumbo Cactuar
runs away is because you take too long to defeat him. When a message
flashes across the screen and says something like, "Jumbo Cactuar
is hesitating..." it indicates that Jumbo Cactuar is about to run
away. When this message pops up, keep attacking him, preferably
using water attacks or summon Guardian Force, Leviathan as Jumbo
Cactuar is weak against water. This will prevent Jumbo Cactuar from
running away. So, should he run away, too bad for you because you
have to fight all over again. Is that clear enough for you???
74)Can you make a Final Fantasy VIII faq based on the PC version???
Sorry, no!!! As mentioned in the above question, i don't have a
copy of Final Fantasy VIII for the PC and it's very unlikely that
i will buy one. If you want a faq for the PC, try asking other
faq writers. Perhaps, Scott Ong, Aya Brea...??? I am not sure if
they have Final Fantasy VIII for the PC but it's worth a try
asking them.
75)What is/are your opinion(s) of Square's release of screenshots of
Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy XI in the
Square Millennium Show?
Hmm...recently, i got quite a lot of mails from people asking me
for information about Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X and Final
Fantasy XI. When i took a look at the message boards found in
gamefaqs, i was rather surprised to see people discussing about
Square and the future Final Fantasies. I didn't know what happen
then, until i surfed the net and knew about the Square Millennium
Show. I expected Square to release information about Final Fantasy
IX but......... Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI- indeed a real
surprise!
What can i say? Do you think it is possible for Square to work on
all three Final Fantasies at the same time? Definitely, impossible.
But think about it, Square has a respectable reputation for making
RPG games. I am sure many talented developers are waiting in a long
queue for a chance to join Square. That's what Square normally does.
Luring talented developers and make games like Tobal No. 1, Final
Fantasy Tactics etc for them. I am not criticising Square. But,
with a large number of staff, there may be a possibility. I don't
know.
Final Fantasy IX will be released for the PlayStation in Japan this
summer, followed by both Final Fantasy X and XI for PlayStation 2
in subsequent years. Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI are said
to have online support. [Compete with Dreamcast, huh?] How this
online will be liked, i am not pretty sure. Perhaps, some sort of
downloading certain datas from the internet.
Perhaps, the greatest excitement is about Final Fantasy IX. Why?
First of all, i heard a rumour saying that Yoshitaka Amano will
be back to design the artworks for Final Fantasy IX. I also heard
that Final Fantasy IX will feature deformed characters. But, don't
worry! It's not something like the deformed polygonal characters
in Final Fantasy VII. I suppose it's going to be animated using
some textures or shading. I am not pretty sure. It could be wrong
too! Anyway, with Yoshitaka Amano, the legendary artist that makes
Final Fantasy dream possible, you can expect the artworks to be
great, right?
Secondly, according to certain sources, i heard that Final Fantasy
IX will have CRYSTALS and the plot will be more like tradition
instead of having a futuristic setting. [Did anyone mention Final
Fantasy V?] And, there's also black wizards in this fantasy world
of IX. [Does that give a hint that the widely successful Job
system or Ability Point system will be back?] Obviously, these
could be just a rumour. I can't confirm it either. So, don't blame
me. Perhaps, only when the final version comes, then the mystery
can unfold. If not, at least a demo game, please?
Now, here comes the sad news. I am not sure if i am right! So,
don't blame me. I heard that Nobuo Uematsu will be retiring. What
does that mean? Does that mean that Nobuo Uematsu will not compose
any tunes for the upcoming Final Fantasy IX or even future Final
Fantasies? Nobuo Uematsu is by far my second favourite composer,
with Yasunori Mitsuda ranking top. It's sad to hear that and let's
hope that this is not true and that Nobuo Uematsu is just taking a
break!
This is just my speculation. The screenshots of Final Fantasy IX to
Final Fantasy XI aren't many so we can't really judge and conclude
anything from it. But, one thing we can conclude is that. Square
has already planned for the future. What do i mean? Perhaps, they
have already developed a plot for both Final Fantasy X and XI but
have not started on making them yet. Possible, right? All they
show was the FMV or CG, not even a single combat scene or whatever.
[Surely, before you start making an RPG game, you need to write out
the plot first and plan everything, right? Perhaps, there are
exceptions. A talented game developer who can plan the story and
design the game at the same time. Yuji Hori? I don't know.] Anyway,
it's a good thing that Square has planned everything beforehand,
right? So, when Final Fantasy IX is finished, they can immediately
start work on Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI without wasting
any unneccessary time on planning, right?
Lastly, i have to stress that this is just sheer guessing. It could
be right or wrong. I don't know. Indeed, the Square Millennium Show
is full of surprises. Yeah, a surprise from Square to start the
millennium. [Does that indicate anything?]
76)Why is there a word, 'Final' in the series yet the series never
seem to end?
This is actually history. I can guarantee that almost 8 out of
10 who has played at least one Final Fantasy out of these eight
gams don't know why it is called 'Final.' For more information,
you can refer to other sites like www.videogames.com. There
is a feature there, covering on the history of Role Playing
Games. Okay, just in case, you are interested. I will briefly
describe it.
Many years back, Square was on the verge of closing down. They
needed a game that would really sell. They saw Enix's Dragon
Quest and the sales were a big phenomenon in Japan. For your
information, Yuji Hori did the script for Dragon Quest and
Akira Toriyama [Fame and Creator of Dragon Ball!] did all the
artworks. Creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi had an
intuition. Why not create something like Enix's Dragon Quest
and improve the basic formula of the game? "Will the game
sell?" his boss asked. Hironobu Sakaguchi replied, "Yes!"
Together with Yoshitaka Amano, responsible for Final Fantasy
artworks, and Nobuo Uematsu, the famous composer, began work
on this so-called 'Final' game and if this 'Final' game wasn't
a hit, Square is finished. The 'final' game was then known as
'Final Fantasy.' Luckily, the first Final Fantasy managed to
sell quite well, though sales in Japan didn't exceed that of
Dragon Quest but it managed to keep Square alive.
So, do you think there is a need to change the series to 'Immortal
Fantasy?' I suppose no. As long as there is Final Fantasy fanchise
and Square maintains the quality, Final Fantasy series will never
end. However, Yoshitaka Amano wasn't involved in creating artworks
for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII. I really hope that
Yoshitaka Amano will be back again. [Hmm...i heard a rumour saying
that Yoshitaka Amano will be designing the artworks for Final
Fantasy IX. Hopefully, this is true!!!]
77)What is the difference between Square and SquareSoft?
Square is the main developer of this mega RPG franchise in Japan.
They are responsible for developing games and that includes
hiring a programmer, graphic designer and so on. Square publish
the games they made in Japan.
SquareSoft is the main headquarter of Square in the United States,
responsible for translating Square games. In 1998, Square and
Electronic Arts merged to form a new company called Square
Electronic Art or SquareEA for short, which is responsible
for publishing Square titles in the United States, as well
as in European countries. [Thanks to SquareEA as we will able
to see Square's masterpiece, Xenogears in 1998 to reach the
United States.] Games that have been published by SquareEA
includes Parasite Eve, Brave Fencer Musashi, Final Fantasy
Anthology, Final Fantasy VIII and so on.
There is also another headquarter in Honolulu Hawaii called
Square U.S.A. And, note that since 1992, Square of Japan
has been changed to SquareSoft of Japan.
78)I heard that there is a program which allows you to view
PlayStation CGs in your PC. Is it true?
The URL is http://www.phoenix.net/~feldon/psxvideo.shtmll
Indeed, you can. Go to the above URL to download the programs
and read the explanations there to understand how to use it.
CGs or FMVs are created in .Str files and what the program
does is to read these .Str files. Both PSXVideo and PSXPlay
allows you to view any PlayStation CGs that are in .Str
format on your PC. PSXVideo allows you to take screenshots.
However, you must bear in mind that you will need a CDFind
file to extract .Str files into your hard drive. And, note
that .Str files very huge and it's all about hundreds of
megabytes.
79)Where or how can i find older Final Fantasy games?
You can try and download a Nes or a SNES emulator, as well as
the roms from the internet. A Nes/SNES emulator is a program
which allows you to play Nes/SNES games on your PC. But, you
need the rom to play the games. Rom is actually the game itself.
There are quite a number of emulators available that are designed
to play various console games such as ZSNES emulator to play
SNES games, Bleem to play PS games and so on. Simply type in
either emulator or rom in any search engine and you will have
a whole list of sites which you can refer to.
It was actually more than a year in November'1998. I was reading
Henry Chan's faq on Tactics Orge and an idea suddenly struck me!
At that time, i had just passed my 15th birthday. [Right now, i
am 16.] I was playing the US version of Brave Fencer Musashi at
that time. Somehow, there wasn't any strategy guides available
for the US Brave Fencer Musashi so i decided to give it a try.
Though it wasn't a school project, writing a faq is a pretty
challenging task for me. My second faq was of course Final
Fantasy VIII demo. Since i have the demo disc packed with Brave
Fencer Musashi, i decided to start off with my second faq. My
third faq will be Final Fantasy VIII, followed by Metal Gear
Solid Integral and Thousand Arms. I am a huge Final Fantasy fan
and i imported the Japanese version as well and decided to write
a Basic Guide on it. However, there were many errors in my faq
since the game was Japanese and special thanks to Kaze Yagami for clearing up my doubts. Between
September'1999 and November'1999, i was having a major exam so
i stopped writing faqs for several months until December'1999.
Right now, i have written quite a few faqs on Brave Fencer Musashi,
Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy VIII Demo and Metal Gear Solid
Integral, as well as several reviews on my favourite games at
www.gamefaqs.com. Feel free to give me any comments!
81)Which game do you think have taken the PlayStation technology to
extreme limits?
It's either Gran Turismo 2 or Metal Gear Solid. Gran Turismo 2's
graphic is truly awesome, with a more advanced Al than its
original. But, in terms of graphics, Al, ram memory, creativity,
sound effects, music, voices, i will nominate Metal Gear Solid.
It's truly an original game. It's not Resident Evil or Parasite Eve
style. The setting of the game is quite similar to most Hollywood
films and that's what i like about it. [Reminds me of Bond and
Jackie Chan.] And then, the ability to view in first person mode,
take photos, view in the scope mode are incredible. Metal Gear
Solid took around two years to be completed, but sadly, the game
can be completed in less than 7 hours. According to Hideo Kojima,
he wanted to make a short game for Metal Gear Solid. Hideo Kojima
probably felt that there were things left unfinished, therefore
returned with the essential "director's cut" called Metal Gear
Solid Integral. I suppose you will agree with me that Metal Gear
Solid has a lot of potential. Just look at the wish list. It's
interesting to see what Konami can do to Metal Gear as technology
improves, especially with superconsoles looming over the horizon
like PlayStation 2 and Dolphin.
82)Which Final Fantasies have you played before? Do you plan to
write any faqs for other Final Fantasies?
I have played only Final Fantasy V to VIII. Final Fantasy V was
my first Final Fantasy and i loved it. Final Fantasy VI was
even better. My favourite Final Fantasy series is of course,
Final Fantasy VI. I do hope to write a faq on Final Fantasy VI
in future but considering that there are quite a number of
faqs already, i guess it's really unneccessary for me to write
a Final Fantasy VI faq.
83)Why do you think that Final Fantasy VI is the best?
I think all the four Final Fantasies i have played are great.
Each game has a different emphasise. The combat systems,
storylines are different in each incarnation and it's hard
to compare. Anyway, i just share with you some of my opinions.
Hmm..i didn't have a chance to play FFIj to FFIVj. Anyway,
never mind! Note that i only count the 8 Final Fantasy games
so i will exclude Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest and Final Fantasy
Tactics.
Here's my ranking of all the Final Fantasy i have played:
1.Final Fantasy VI
2.Final Fantasy V
3.Final Fantasy VII
4.Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy V has a very deep storyline. The Job system is
definitely one of the best combat systems. Square took the
concepts from the past Final Fantasies and further modified
it. There are at least 100+ of abilities, giving more than
enough flexibility for strategies. Countless strategies, even
more than Final Fantasy VI. Countless sidequests just like
most other Final Fantasies. Even the highly strategy-RPG
game, Final Fantasy Tactics took the job system from Final
Fantasy V. The music is really good and the crystal tune is
definitely one of my favourites. The graphic, overall is quite
good, considering that it's a game made in 1992. And then,
there are flying black chocobo, dragons and so on.
Final Fantasy VI has one of the best storylines. It's the first
RPG that i played that really handles relationships that well.
Well, not love relationship. But, kins [Cyan lost his family],
friendship and so on. The story unfolds in a very mature way and
each character's destiny is very well described in the game. Each
character has his or her own music themes and it's hard to decide
who is the main lead character as everyone seems to be so. The
games that really come close to Final Fantasy VI in terms of
story are Chrono Trigger and Xenogears. The graphic has improved
tenfolds over its previous incarnations. Just look at Final
Fantasy V and VI and the graphics are asolutely a vast difference.
The mode 7 effects in the Phantom Train, Opera scene and so on are
very well, making it one of the most memorable game i have ever
played. I like kefka's humor too. I think there's no villains that
come really close to him, not even Sephiroth or Ultimecia. The
combat system, in my opinion is very innovative with abilities
like Blitz, Tools. Just like Final Fantasy V, there are certain
strategies that you need to use to beat certain bosses and enemies.
The combat system, particularly Esper system, is simple enough to
understand compared to complex combat system like Materia and
Junction.
Final Fantasy VII's prerendered background was beautiful but it
lacked exploration. The characters were too deformed and the
designers weren't able to portray the characters' expressions,
feelings, emotions quite well when compared to games like
Final Fantasy VIII. The Materia system, limit break system were
something very innovative. The highly-successful Materia provides
more than enough flexibility to create materia combinations and
come out with many different strategies. The integration of
CG was something cool and it makes Final Fantasy VII play more
like a cinematic RPG than a traditional RPG. Honestly, i didn't
really like the prerendered backgrounds. In some areas, because
of the camera view, the character really looks very tiny. [Mainly
Cloud!] Combat system moved from 2-D to polygons and Square had
to reduce the party from four to three so that more details
can be paid to the individual characters during combat system.
Nevertheless, Final Fantasy VII has a decent storyline, though
it is way too much on the futuristic side. There are quite a lot
of sidequests and mini-games like Chocobo breeding, Gold Saucer
and so on which i found it really cool!
Final Fantasy VIII continues the direction that Final Fantasy VII
is. The story focuses around a love theme. The characters are no
longer deformed and polygons and are nicely-textured. This allows
the designers to portray the characters' feelings, emotions etc
through their behaviours, actions, facial expressions and so on.
The setting is unlike most other traditional RPGs and creates a
new level of maturity. There are more CGs than Final Fantasy VII
and it really looks very awesome than Final Fantasy VII. The
details on the prerendered backgrounds have been raised. Still,
the prerendered backgrounds lack the exploration that 2-D and
3-D polygonal RPGs have. To replace the lame mini-games found
in Final Fantasy VII, Square has created a mini-card game in
Final Fantasy VIII. Honestly, i didn't think much about the card
game until i really got serious in it. You can easily tell that
it isn't going to be a simple card game designed for three years
old kids, especially with complex rules like Plus, Same and so on.
In my opinion, Final Fantasy VIII has a major breakthrough over
traditional RPGs. It keeps some of the traditional elements like
chocobos, vehicles etc while introducing new concepts like
SeeD Ranking, Draw, Junction and modifying existing concepts
like Guardian Forces by introducing concepts like compatibility,
Boost and so on. Which RPGs you have played so far do not have
the MP system, armour and so on? Perhaps, only Final Fantasy
VIII. Sadly, Final Fantasy VIII is still not flawless. The Junction
system allows you to customise your characters using magics, the
first of any RPGs but because of that, the Draw system has to be
introduced. The draw system is mainly what most people complaint
about and a reason why most people prefers the traditional MP
system. Tired of drawing magic spells. Me too sometimes! But, think
about it, if magic is not measured in 'quantity', meaning how many
magic spells are stocked, how are you going to introduce the
Junction system. The music, in my opinion, is quite good,
especially with 'Eyes On Me' around. Somehow, the tunes weren't
that catchy as the past Final Fantasies and not everyone can
appreciate it. Liberi Fatali is an example. It has a lot of
meanings in it but... And, let me just give you a piece of
advice. If you really want to enjoy Final Fantasy VIII to the
fullest, then you really must play the card games. I know that
a lot of people didn't play the card game because they thought
it was useless but in my opinion, the best moments that i got
from the game, was when i was playing the card game.
These are just personal opinions. Feel free to comment.
84)What do you think of the strategy guides written by other game
magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, PSM and so
on?
One word, "Sucks!" I seldom read strategy guides written by
those game magazines for a few reasons. Of course, the official
game guides written by Bradygames, and other publishers are
another case. First of all, these strategy guides are not detailed
enough and always missing a few important points. That's because
they have to squeeze every single information into a limited
space. Secondly, these strategy guides are often quite
disorganised, specifically RPG games, but i am not referring to
every single ones as that will make me look as if i am biased
against them. The only good thing in their strategy guides are
the numerous screenshots and that you don't need to waste time
printing out strategy guide, unlike when referring to a faq.
[but, don't forget that faqs are free of charge!!!] A picture
tells a thousand words. This is a great advantage that these
strategy guides have over faqs. Faq writers have to visual
what is happening on in the game and then using his words to
express, which is quite tough actually. However, the screenshots
can be of a spoiler too! I am not saying that all the strategy
guides written by all these game magazines are no good but...
And talk about plagiarism... Oh, forget about that!
85)I have read many reviews written by you. So, how do you write
a review and when writing a review what should i look out for?
Your personal feelings toward the game. Just write whatever you
think about this game in your review. Don't worry about what
others said in their review. Just provide enough evidences to
support your reasonings. Of course, you can read a few other
reviews on a particular game as some samples for you before you
write one on it. But, please write an original review. It's
best to minimise any grammatical or spelling error and write
in clear, concise English, if possible. Gamefaqs really need a
review editor. Basically, most of the reviews i have read in
gamefaqs have some grammatical errors and spelling errors. The
same applies to mine as well.
If you have read any game magazines like EGM, Gamepros, you will
notice some trends. First of all, the previews are usually
longer than the reviews and most, if not all, reviews are pretty
short and are usually less than 200 words. Secondly, the gameplay
is almost always about the same score as the graphics. Why?
Simple enough! Stiff competition! In order to remain competitive,
a game magazine must release as many latest news, reviews,
screenshots, previews on the latest game. Space and time are
two important factors. Reviews must be short so as to allow
more pages for other feature coverages. And, it's unfair if
one game review is extremely long and another one is too
short. And to release reviews on the latest games as soon
as possible, the reviewers can only judge on the graphics and
the few hours of time they have spent. Surely, you wouldn't
want to read a review about two or three months after the
game has come out, right? I understand that!
Like what Dingo Jellybean said in his Final Fantasy Anthology
faq, make the graphics the least important. I do understand
why Dingo Jellybean said in his Final Fantasy Anthology that
he hates reviews written by EGM, IGNPSX and so on BUT i do
understand why game magazines must have short reviews. And,
it doesn't mean that the reviewers at EGM aren't expert
reviewers. The choice of words, vocabulary used are
definitely better than most reviewers at gamefaqs.
And, when you review a very old game like Final Fantasy
Anthology or any other Nes, SNES system or even earlier
games, before you give a score on the graphics, think
whether which year the game was made. Why? Take Final
Fantasy Anthology as an example. Final Fantasy V was
made in 1992 and Final Fantasy VI was made in 1994.
Both games are pretty old and obviously turn paler in
comparison now than in those days. But do a serious
analysis! Both Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI
were made many years back. Were there any games that
could come close to these games in terms of graphics in
those days? If you think it this way, your review will
be rather fair and unbiased.
Just some words of advice. Whenever you review a RPG game,
do not complain about the high enemy encounter rate. I hate
fools saying this. This shows their ignorant and tells
people that they have never played an RPG game before. Yeah,
walk about three to five steps and you will encounter some
random enemies...very fustrating like this..makes the game
bored..blah..blah..blah. This is totally a load of craps.
If you think like this, then you are not fit to write a
review and NOT EVEN FIT to play any RPG. I mean, what's
wrong with high enemy encounter rate? Take a look at
traditional games like Final Fantasy V, VI or even other
game series like Breath of Fire, Lufia and so on. The
enemy encounter rates are much higher than most modern
games today like Final Fantasy VIII. People still play
those traditional RPGs in the past and even TODAY. Final
Fantasy Anthology is a perfect example. So, what's the
big deal here? Does that mean that RPGs in the past can
have high enemy encounter rate but not in modern games?
Do you mark the game down just because of that? This is
totally unbiased and unfair.
So, talk about style of reviewing a game. Before that,
make sure you have played at least five hours on a
particular game or have completed it. Make some analysis
on the game and be clear with what you are going to say.
Now, back to the style of writing a review. I used to
break the my reviews into several parts like graphics,
music, sound, storyline, gameplay and so on. Later on,
i found that writing in this style, it's quite hard to
put down everything i want to say. [I am not sure about
you.] If you read my latest reviews like Thousand Arms,
Final Fantasy VIII and so on, i decided to break my
reviews into paragraphs and then write the scores such
as graphics, music, sound, gameplay and so on at the
end of my review. Each paragraph will have one main
idea, perhaps one will describe about the combat system,
one about the storyline and so on. I strongly believe
it's more effective this way, at least for me. I don't
know about you because i am not you.
Of course, if you are really interested in writing one
review, you can consult some Master Reviewers like Dingo
Jellybean or almost everyone on the top 20 reviewer
contribution page. Don't get dishearted if your first
review isn't ^. As you keep on writing game reviews, you
will get better and better. Who knows? Maybe, someone
working in a game magazine is interested in hiring you!
Haha! Good luck, anyway!
86)What is/are your opinion(s) of what humaetorcH said in his
Thousand Arms? He gave Thousand Arms an overall score of
2 and criticised your Thousand Arms review.
Hmm...what can i say? It's rather strange that he didn't
mention the names of other reviewers who has also given
Thousand Arms a rather high average score but only me alone.
Anyway, never mind!
Honestly, there are some parts that i do agree with him and
some parts that i strongly disagree with. He was the only
reviewer who gave Thousand Arms such a ridiculously low score
of 2. And to defend my own opinion, i decided to rewrite
my Thousand Arms review. The score still remains me as 8.
And, if you read my Thousand Arms review, the portion
towards the end are what i have just added. That includes
the 8 points which i have given to defend my opinion. Feel
free to read it! I wonder if he has read it yet!
There is one important note which i want to stress to whoever
is planning to write a RPG review. Don't be like humaetorcH!
What's wrong with high enemy encounter rate? I am simply
sick of such stupid reasonings given by those lazy gamers.
It's rather common to see some people disagree with your reviews.
I remembered Dingo Jellybean who gave Soul Calibur a ridiculously
low score of 2 whereas all the rest of the reviewers gave it a 9
or 10. I can't comment anything about the Dreamcast version of
Soul Calibur since i do not own a Dreamcast. I am sure each
reviewer has his own reasons for giving that score. The same
goes to humaetorcH too. I am not saying that he is entirely
wrong but...i just happen to disagree. Take Xenogears as
another example. There are some reviewers who kept complaining
about the poor control and long texts, and thus give Xenogears
a very low score. On the other hand, for those who seriously
enjoyed the storyline and the music [like me], you will find
them giving Xenogears a very high score such as a 9 or 10.
As for Final Fantasy VI, most give it a 10 but there are some
who gave it a 7 as they complaint that Final Fantasy VI is
too big and enemies are too many. I remembered i gave the first
Suikoden a 6, and then, i got several mails from the fans of
the first game who disagreed with me. I have to admit that i do
enjoy the first Suikoden, as it plays more like a traditional
RPG than today's modern games like Final Fantasy VIII. But, it
ruins the novel. The game was not anything like a novel and did
you know that Suikoden is a popular classic chinese novel. And,
do you really need so many warriors, as huge as 108?
Of all the reviews i have written so far, the most hardest to
write is Final Fantasy VIII. Final Fantasy series has changed
tremendously over the last few years. People were complimenting
and criticising Final Fantasy VIII. Just go to any message
board in gamefaqs that has to do with RPGs, PlayStation, SNES etc
and almost 75% will have something to do with Square and Final
Fantasy series. Some preferred the way Final Fantasy is in the
past and some welcome the change. And, my review nearly got
influenced.
I really like Perdurabo's [Review by Recovered] Final Fantasy
VIII review. He is the only one so far who really convinced me
that Final Fantasy VIII is really good. After reading his
review, i did some serious thoughts. I ask myself. Why must
there be a draw system? What happens if the draw system is
being replaced by the traditional MP system? Will the Junction
system still work as well? He gave it a 10 for Final Fantasy
VIII. I didn't give that high. I have to admit Final Fantasy
VIII is good, but there seems to be more bad points than the
good points. So, i gave it a 7 instead but it doesn't mean that
Final Fantasy VIII is no good. And, if you read an interview
with Hironobu Sakaguchi, he mentions that the Final Fantasy
series must change.
Anyway, Thousand Arms is still a great game. The animation
and voices are really excellent, and the game is really
in-depth. As long as you have substantial reasons to back
up your opinions, this is a good review.
87)So, can you recommend me some good reviewers whom i should
look up to as a guideline?
Sure. I guess all the reviewers who manage to get into the
top 20 reviewer contributions are good reviewers though i
haven't gotten the time to read everyone's reviews. And, if
you really want me to recommend some of the best reviewers
in the top 20 reviewer contribution, they will be GlucoseJoe,
Dingo Jellybean and SmCFadden. These reviewers are well known
for writing in-depth and informative reviews. Other reviewers
worth looking up for includes J-dog, Celestial Avenger,
Sunshine, Sixto Limiac and so on. As for me, what do you think?
[Yeah, a person must be modest!]
88)Since you have contributed a lot of faqs and reviews to gamefaqs,
do you prefer writing a faq or a review?
Obviously, it will be a review. Why? You do not really need to
spend time researching on moves, secrets although you need to be
familiar with the game. Besides, a review takes shorter time than
writing a faq and you don't need to update that often unlike faqs.
Lastly, your mailbox won't be jammed with countless mails, right?
Hey, after writing a faq, you still need to respond to their
questions, right? But, definitely not reviews, although you do get
feedbacks too. Of course, i am not saying that i don't enjoy. In
fact, i enjoy writing faqs and reviews because i want to contribute
some of my ideas to the gaming community.
89)Can i post any of your faqs or reviews in my website?
Sure you can if you want to. But, please send me a e-mail,
giving me your website URL, what the website is all about
and so on. Of course, you must give me credits and promise
that the contents will not be unaltered and you will check
out www.gamefaqs.com every month to check for any new
updates. But, this applies only to non-commercial webpage.
As for any commerical webpages or any publisher working in
a game magazine, he or she has to send me the e-mail first,
asking for permission. And, before he or she can publish
the informations, he or she must send me the final 'product'
and if i am happy with it, i will agree to his or her
request. Of course if anyone wants to convert my faq into HTML,
he or she must show me the final 'product' first. I guess
that's fair because you do not want all your hard work to be
taken by someone else and let him or her gain the credits and
not you. I hope you can understand that. Most importantly, be
sure to check for new updates. It's no use if the faqs are
posted but not updated.
90)You mention that if anyone wants to put a faq in his site, he
must obtain your permission and give you credits, as well as
promise you to update everytime and not EDIT any of the content.
Why the heck do i see a similar Final Fantasy VIII Basic Guide
in Kaze Yagami's website?
His is a special case and i have given Kaze Yagami the right to
edit anything he wishes. Kaze Yagami has helped me a lot in my
Final Fantasy VIII Basic Guide. A lot of information or almost
80% of the information you see here, regarding whether it is
about Crisis level, Boost, Compatibility and so on are kindly
contributed by Kaze Yagami. You can consider him as half of
the author here and that's why he has this special privilege.
so, don't argue about it!
=======================================================================
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=======================================================================
XIX)Credit
=======================================================================
Myself
-For typing, and almost everything you see here.
Kaze Yagami
-For confirming with me about the redrawing of Guardian Force for
the US version.
-For helping me a lot in my Final Fantasy VIII Basic Guides.
Yuzu-chan
-For their US/Japanese differences faq. You can find his faq at
www.gamefaqs.com. [Together with Musashi.]
-For informations on Balamb food.
Musashi
-For their US/Japanese differences faq. You can find his faq at
www.gamefaqs.com. [Together with Yuzu-Chan.]
-For informations on Balamb food.
Matt Hobbs
-For his faq on demo and actual version differences. You can find
his faq at www.gamefaqs.com.
???
-For telling me first about the redrawing of Guardian Force though i
didn't really believe it until Kaze Yagami confirmed it with me.
-For losing your e-mail. Please contact me!
Scott Ong
-For being observant and notice the change about the fake President,
Gergero.
-For noticing that certain spells draw from drawpoints have been
changed.
-For the list of sub-boss in Ultimecia Castle which you can
draw any of the Guardian Forces you have missed from.
han-pan
-For telling me why the SquareSoft Staff Introduction was taken away
in all pirated Japanese Final Fantasy VIII copies.
-Sorry for losing your e-mails. Thanks for telling me your e-mail
again so that i clarify your identity.
Chris
-For informing me that the demo version does leave Potions and
Phoenix Downs behind. Sorry for the mistake!
-
-For the English names of Gilgamesh's attacks.
Jeff "CjayC" Veasey
-The webmaster of www.gamefaqs.com.
-For his dedication and hard work to www.gamefaqs.com.
-Thanks for hosting all my faqs and reviews.
-Thanks for making me a contributor page.
Final Fantasy:Worlds Apart
-For the PC requirments to play Final Fantasy VIII on the PC.
Everyone
-For reading this faq.
-For 'enduring' my 'long-windedness.'
SquareSoft
-For making an excellent Final Fantasy game.
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XX)Copyright Protected
=======================================================================
Copyright Protected. 1999-2000. All Right Reserved. This faq is
written by Yee Seng Fu. (Yu Shenfu) No Part of the content can be
reproduced without the prior writer's permission. This faq is only
allowed for individual use and can never be allowed for any commercial
purposes or be published in the form of magazines, articles. No part
of the this faq can be re-edit without the writer's permission. This
faq is original. Anyone who wants to link this faq to his or her own
site must seek permission from the author first. If you have any
enquires, feel free to contact me at ysf@pacific.net.sg or through
my ICQ number, 25076522. Please visit my site and sign my
guestbook at http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/
Anyone who has violated the agreement will be severely dealt with.
All the contents that are inside this faq cannot be reproduced in any
way, shape, or form (Whether it is physical, electronic or otherwise)
aside from being placed on a freely-accessible, non-commerical webpage,
provided that it is original, unedited and altered format as well as
seeking my permission. This faq cannot be used for any profitable
purposes, even if no money is involved in it or for promotional
purposes. Neither can it be used as any sort of commercial transaction
or given away as some sort of bonus, gift, present etc. Giving away
this faq as an incentive to attract buyers is prohibited or forbidden.
This faq cannot be used by any publishers, editors, employees or any
associates etc of any company, group, organisation, business or any
other associations. It cannot be used in any game magazines, guides,
books etc or in any other form of printed or electronic media in
any way, shape, form (that includes reprinting, reference, inclusion)
without the express written permission of the author, myself. This
faq is owned and created by me, Yee Seng Fu.
If you feel that, reading the faq like this is a bit tedious,
especially when you have to look at the computer and play your
game, you are allowed to print the part or whole of this
document out, but the printed copies can only be for personal use.
All Rights Reserved. SquareSoft is a registered trademarks of Square
Co.Ltd. Final Fantasy and SquareSoft are registered trademarks of
Square Co.Ltd. Licensed By Sony PlayStation. PlayStation and
PlayStation Logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.
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