Final Fantasy VIII/Trivia


 * Creator Backlash: The Gunblade was originally treated as one of the most effective weapons of the time, Cid being thrilled at having a Gunblade master in the ranks of SeeD, and it being often said that only the best can use them. However, since this game it's reputation has died down a lot. Squall's Dissidia profile says the Gunblade is an antiquated weapon and was notoriously difficult to use properly, and Squall's choice to use one is more a show of stubbornness than strength. Tetsuya Nomura meanwhile has admitted the weapon has an odd design, and looking at other games, Gunblades usually now appear as literal gun and sword combinations rather than the vibrating weapon Squall uses.
 * Cultural Cross Reference:
 * The French translation, full of gratuitous English that does not match the original English, has an item called a 9 inch nail... described as "the claw of an industrial monster." Guess the French translator must've been a fan then.
 * Same translation also has an NPC remarking that Galbadia Garden's ice hockey team watches the Friday the 13 th movies while they train. Then when you fight them on disc 2 they're not called "Slapper" but are instead named "Jason."
 * Shout Out: Great Salt Lake.
 * Another shout-out occurs in music form: the final boss music, "The Extreme", contains a call-back to the original Final Fantasy battle music.
 * On the music example, the beginnning of the final dungeon theme is very similar to the third segment of Dancing Mad from Final Fantasy VI.
 * Doomtrain isn't terribly different from the GhostTrain / Phantom Train either. And by that, it has a freakin' ghost face and looks undead enough.
 * Triple Triad may be a reference to the Warring Triad in Final Fantasy VI.
 * Ultemecia's design was actually a Shout Out to Yoshitaka Amano's artstyle. You can definitely see the features - white hair, lipstick, eyeliner...
 * Lunatic Pandora likewise has sequences very similar to music from the Moon in Final Fantasy IV. Appropriate, considering that it was designed to call down monsters from the moon. Likewise, when the monster's are ready to drop the moon grows red. This same feature is shared by the corrupted moon of IV.
 * The blue Galbadian uniforms resemble the SOLDIER uniform from Final Fantasy VII. They're even issued with Buster Swords.
 * Zell's final weapon is quite appropriately named for a Fighting Game, Ehrgeiz.
 * The jaunty polka tune from peacetime-Dollet is reused for the Esthar moonbase.