Final Fantasy VIII: Difference between revisions
delete the artsy moon trope due to the trope merge, the "foreshadowing for later in the game" description, is NOT merged into Weird Moon because this description is very vague and I don't know how to make it work with the rest of the trope.
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(delete the artsy moon trope due to the trope merge, the "foreshadowing for later in the game" description, is NOT merged into Weird Moon because this description is very vague and I don't know how to make it work with the rest of the trope.) |
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[[File:finalfantasyviii.png|frame]]
{{quote|
''"Why...?"''
''"I'll be 'waiting' here..."''
''"For what?"''
''"I'll be waiting... for you, so... if you come here... you'll find me. [[The Promise|I promise]]."'' }}
The eighth entry into the [[Running Gag|finger-flayingly popular]] ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series. Originally released on [[
Squall Leonhart is a student at an [[Elaborate University High]] for mercenaries named Balamb Garden. The organisation that runs Balamb Garden, SeeD, takes in prepubescent orphans and [[Child Soldiers|trains them to become soldiers]], requiring them to graduate before their twentieth birthday.
Squall is the epitome of a professional soldier: he's powerful, efficient, and unflappable. He is also an emotionally-stunted [[Jerkass]] and introvert who shuns the friendship of others. During his first mission as a SeeD, he is sent to aid a [[La Résistance|resistance movement]] against the occupying [[The Empire|Galbadian Army]] and meets his opposite: Rinoa Heartilly, an outgoing, positive young woman naive to the realities of battle. The fight against Galbadia quickly escalates to a war against the mysterious Sorceress Edea, a battle that soon transcends time and space.
The fandom either [[Love It or Hate It|loved it or hated it]]. The hyper-success of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' meant that ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' had incredible expectations to live up to. The two opposing fan camps over the game's quality are just as vocal today as they were when the game was first released.
''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' has many things that set it apart from ''[[Final Fantasy]] VII''. It is set in a more modern setting compared to ''VII'''s late-'80s [[Cyberpunk]] vibe, a sleek and futuristic world without [[Fantasy Gun Control]]. Monsters use [[Level Scaling]] to level up compared to the party average, making it entirely possible to [[One Man Party|level one character up to Lv.100]] without even starting the plot, or beat the game [[Low
Finally, ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' includes an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] [[Card Battle Game]] called Triple Triad, a surprisingly in-depth minigame featuring a variety of rules and game mechanics. Though optional, Triple Triad offers some substantial in-game benefits by allowing you to transform rare cards into [[Disc One Nuke|equally rare items and components]]. It was so popular that a (less well-received) [[Spiritual Successor]] called Tetra Master was included in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]''.
Also notable is the game's localization process. Prior to ''Final Fantasy VIII'', localizations were carried out after the game's completion, which usually resulted in either a [[Blind Idiot Translation]] or one replete with [[Woolseyism|Woolseyisms]]. Starting with this game, Squaresoft hired translators to work alongside the Japanese development team as the game was being created, which started what is now pretty much the standard procedure for ''Final Fantasy'' translations.
{{tropelist}}
== A-I ==
* [[Absolute Cleavage]]: Ultimecia.
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* [[Academy of Adventure]]: Balamb Garden.
* [[Academy of Evil]]: Edea turns Galbadia Garden into one.
* [[Action Girl]]: Selphie and Quistis. Rinoa tries, but is undermined by a series of [[
* [[Action Prologue]] / [[Fake Action Prologue]]: The opening scene in which Squall and Seifer are dueling could qualify as either one. To a new player, it may look like an epic fight between the hero and villain or an [[In Medias Res]] of an epic fight that will occur later, but then it turns out that it was a sparring match gone out of hand.
* [[The Alcatraz]]: D-District Prison
* [[The Aloner]]: Squall {{spoiler|in the end sequence}}.
* [[All in
* [[All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game"]]: It is quite impossible to not know that {{spoiler|Rinoa is a Sorceress}} due to the sheer amount of references available ''everywhere''. On a similar note, Edea being Ultimecia due to [[Late Arrival Spoiler]] is another outcome, but this has notably shown how omnipresent Ultimecia really is throughout the game.
* [[Always Save the Girl]]: "Rinoa... Even if you become the world's enemy, I'll be your knight."
* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: Raijin
* [[Animal Motifs]]: Squall's omnipresent (winged) lion motif.
* [[Anti
▲* [[Anti Hero]]: Squall, Type 3 ([[Good Is Not Nice]]) on the [[Sliding Scale of Anti Heroes]]. He doesn't believe in good or evil and rarely if ever seems concerned with "right" or "wrong," instead staying involved in the game's plot because he is hired to do so and, later in the game, to protect Rinoa and because he is made to believe that [[You Can't Fight Fate|it's his fate]].
▲* [[Anti Villain|Anti Villains]]: Fujin and Raijin.
* [[Arbitrary Gun Power]]: Irvine's gun, the damage of which is based on his Strength stat like any other physical attack.
* [[Arbitrary Headcount Limit]]: This is an RPG. Only three people in your party during battle.
* [[The Archmage]]: Ultimecia.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Right before the Battle of the Gardens, Squall is given a choice of orders to issue to the students in Balamb Garden involving their battle strategy and defense, but there's also an order of what to do with the hot dogs.
* [[Artificial Gravity]]: Esthar Lunar Base and the Ragnarok. The latter has a scene where it's turned off, causing Rinoa to float.
* [[Ascended Fanboy]]: The Ultimania guide reveals that Seifer's dream of becoming a sorceress's knight was influenced by seeing the movie in which Laguna played a knight, and that he based his gunblade stance on the one Laguna used during the film.
* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: Cid steps down as Headmaster and promotes Squall to Commander of SeeD specifically in order to change Garden from a school to an active fighting force against the sorceress. {{spoiler|The decision is undoubtedly helped along by the fact that Cid already knows, courtesy of Edea, that Squall is going to defeat Ultimecia in the future.}}
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** [[Badass Normal]]: Laguna, Ward, and Kiros, under most circumstances.
*** [[Badass Abnormal]]: When Connected to the main characters, the trio become [[Person of Mass Destruction|Persons Of Mass Destruction]] on account of being SeeD-class, GF-empowered fighters seventeen years before there were any SeeDs.
** [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Selphie and Laguna.
** [[Badass Teacher]]: Quistis, at least at first. She probably qualifies for Bookworm as well, as becoming a Seed by age 15 requires some hardcore studying.
** [[Little Miss Badass]]: Selphie
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* [[Beneath the Mask]]: Squall, whose [[Jerkass Facade]] is a mask he developed as a child to {{spoiler|deal with the pain of losing his "sister" Ellone}}. If you look at his entire persona, it's very much like how a child would think a "tough adult" would act, and beneath it he's insecure and emotionally immature, as well as more caring than he likes to let on.
* [[Beta Couple]]: Selphie and Irvine.
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Selphie. As {{spoiler|revenge for launching missiles at her old Garden, she decides to blow up Galbadia's weapon base while on a mission ''with a smile''.}} Even before that, her casual suggestions for dealing with various situations will inevitably gravitate towards the most violent options imaginable, to the shock of her teammates. In particular, on her ''very first mission'', she suggests blowing up the President's train [[Stuff Blowing Up|with a rocket launcher]]. While in D-District Prison, she suggests skinning a [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|moomba]] to wear its fur as a disguise. Mechanics wise, she has not one but two [[One
* [[BFG]]: The gun on the vessel that Quistis uses at Dollet.
* [[BFS]]: They're not the Buster Sword, but the Gunblades are pretty large, particularly the Twin Lance, Punishment, and Lionheart models. There is also Odin's Zantetsuken.
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* [[Black Best Friend]]: Kiros to Laguna and Raijin to Seifer.
* [[The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In]]: In the opening sequence, Squall's gunblade falls end over end and ends up impaled in the ground.
* [[The Blank]]: A [[Freeze
* [[Blow You Away]]: Fujin. Also, the Pandemona GF (which is drawn from Fujin).
* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]: Mentally, Seifer. Definitely Raijin and Zell.
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** [[Boss in Mook Clothing]]: T-Rexaur. Tonberry. Malboro. Elnoyle looks like the second boss in the game, but it's much MUCH worse. Ruby Dragon.
*** The game actually has two areas filled with nothing but bosses in mook's clothing called the Island Closest to Heaven and the Island Closest to Hell.
** [[Contractual Boss Immunity]]: A rare subversion with Selphie's "The End" limit break, which if pulled off successfully, can [[One
*** There's actually a notable example with Odin, who will randomly appear during non-boss battles and use a [[One
** [[Cowardly Boss]] / [[Get Back Here Boss]]: Sacred in the Tomb of the Unknown King, who runs away after your first optional fight with him. The player then has another optional fight with him again along with his brother, Minotaur.
*** Jumbo Cactuar can run away while the player is fighting it, requiring the player to have to fight it all over again, which is not fun. It will do so if it's brought down to less than 2% of its hit points.
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** [[Dual Boss]]: The Iguions, Fujin and Raijin, Biggs and Wedge, Sacred and Minotaur, Vysage with Lefty and Righty.
** [[Duel Boss]]: In the first boss fight against Seifer, Squall fights him alone.
** [[Final Boss, New Dimension]]: The climactic battle against Ultimecia begins in her throne room, but grows increasingly chaotic as [[Time Compression]] proceeds; the last stage occurs in a nearly-featureless void.
** [[King Mook]]: Tonberry King.
** [[One
** [[Puzzle Boss]]: The Propagators on the Ragnarok. Also, Odin. Before you fight him, you have to complete the Centra Ruins puzzle quickly enough to get to him and beat him.
** [[Recurring Boss]]: Several. Biggs and Wedge have to be fought twice. Seifer has to be fought four times. Edea has to be fought twice. Raijin has to be fought three times. Fujin has to be fought twice. Sacred had two optional fights. BGH251F2 has to be fought twice.
** [[Sequential Boss]]: Numerous.
*** The fight against Biggs and Wedge goes straight into the fight against Elvoret without the battle sequence ending.
*** The first fight against Seifer in Deling City goes straight into the first fight against Edea, but with a scene in between.
*** The first fight against Raijin in Balamb goes straight into the next boss fight against both Fujin and Raijin, but with a scene in between.
*** The third fight against Seifer goes straight into the second fight against Edea without the battle sequence ending.
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* [[Burn the Witch|Burn The Sorceress]]: {{spoiler|Rinoa on Disc 3.}}
* [[Canine Companion]]: Angelo, to Rinoa.
* [[Can't Drop the Hero]]: Except for several plot-specific instances in which [[Let's Split Up, Gang!|the party splits up to accomplish separate objectives]], such as the disc 1 assassination mission and the disc 2 missile base mission, Squall must remain in the active party at all times.
* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]:
** Irvine pretends to be a cool loner, then a nervous flake, in an awkward attempt to hide the fact that {{spoiler|he remembers his childhood at the orphanage and recognizes all his old friends (and their "Matron", Edea), while none of them remember him. When they finally remember,}} he reveals that he didn't say anything because he was embarrassed about {{spoiler|being so utterly forgotten.}}
** The same goes for Squall's feelings towards Rinoa. This is because for the majority of the game, he's simply not emotionally mature enough to [[What Is This Feeling?|understand his feelings]] towards her, or how to reciprocate.
*** Rinoa addresses this when the team is at Trabia Garden. She tells Squall that he has to voice his feeling or she won't understand.
* [[
* [[Catch Phrase]]: Selphie ''tries'' to get "Booyaka!" to catch on among the students. It doesn't work. Squall's may as well be "Whatever", especially in the English version which altered some of his dialogue to add this as much as possible.
* [[Celebrity Resemblance]] / [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]:
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** It may just be the late 90's graphics, but it is just plain creepy how much Vinzer Deling looks like George W. Bush (completely by accident, after all, Bush wasn't President yet, but creepy nonetheless).
* [[The Chanteuse]]: Julia Heartilly, from the flashback sequences.
* [[Character Level]]
* [[The Charmer]]: Irvine.
* [[Charm Person]]: Visiting Deling City during the second disc and talking to the citizens will reveal that when they saw Edea speaking to them {{spoiler|before she killed the president}}, they all felt incredibly loyal to her and are willing to do whatever she wants them to. It's never addressed why her magic didn't work on the protagonists.
* [[Cheerful Child]]: Ellone
* [[Chekhov's Armoury]]: The Information menu, as well as numerous little things mentioned at the start of the game. Hints as to the {{spoiler|Guardian Forces causing memory loss}} come as early as the terminals accessible at the very beginning of the game.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The Dollet satellite dish.
** A little (not-so-)honorable mention was used by the [[Big Bad]] against the player: {{spoiler|Squall's ring, named by the player partway the game, is Ultimecia's inspiration for her sort-of [[The Dragon|dragon]], Griever}}.
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: The girl who appears at the beginning of the game in the infirmary and later appears again in the Training Center.
* [[Child Soldiers]]: SeeD is made up almost entirely of them. The oldest member of the the party proper is Quistis, who's ''18''. The whole game is a savage [[Deconstruction]] of the concept, showing just how screwed-up soldiers of such a young age should be.
** [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Seifer and Squall]] seem to suffer the most due to this in game, probably justified by the fact they've possibly been training to kill whoever they're paid to since the ages of 6 and 5, respectively.
* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: Irvine.
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Laguna Loire is an utterly bizarre human being.
* [[Cold
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]:
** Squall wears [[Dark Is Not Evil|black]], Seifer wears [[Light Is Not Good|white]].
** The propagators on the Ragnarok appear in color-matched pairs, and if both of a given colored pair aren't killed one immediately after the other, the remaining one will revive the defeated one. It's ''eventually'' possible to simply wear them down and kill them normally - and is a good way to grind AP for a low-level game - but only after killing them ''thirty-six times''.
* [[Coming of Age Story]]: A theme of the story is how the main characters ''think'' they're mature and adult, but quickly prove otherwise; Squall and Rinoa mature visibly over the course of the story.
* [[Commercial Break Cliffhanger]]: Done with ''disc changes'' throughout the game.
** Disc 1-2: Just as our heroes think they've beaten Sorceress Edea the first time, she {{spoiler|busts out her [[Limit Break]], [[Impaled
** Disc 2-3: Just as our heroes think they've beaten Sorceress Edea ''another time'', she {{spoiler|snaps out of it, reverting to Matron Edea Kramer... but Rinoa has inexplicably gone into a coma...}}
** Disc 3-4: Just as our heroes think they've beaten [[Something Completely Different|Seifer for the last time,]] {{spoiler|he kidnaps Rinoa and hands her to Adel on a silver platter.}}
* [[Competence Zone]]: Completely torn to shreds. At first, the game seems to fall in line with most [[Eastern RPG|Eastern RPGs]] by setting the [[Competence Zone]] under the age of eighteen. Unfortunately, most of the non-global conflict is ''caused'' by the young average age of the main characters, as they are too emotionally immature to deal with the events of the story in a sensible, adult way.
* [[Conspicuously Public Assassination]]: Edea's {{spoiler|killing of Vinzer Deling in front of a huge crowd who continues to cheer as if nothing odd is going on}}. Justified as she had cast a charm spell on the crowd.
* [[Continuity Cameo]]: Gilgamesh's appearance is the first instance in the series of a character from [[Final Fantasy V
* [[Converse
* [[Cool Airship]] / [[Cool Starship]]: The Ragnarok
* [[Cool Boat]]: Balamb Garden's landing vessels and later, {{spoiler|Balamb Garden itself}}.
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* [[Cool Old Guy]]: Cid
* [[Cool Sword]]: Squall and Seifer use gunblade swords as their weapon of choice.
* [[Cool Train]]: Trains are the primary way of getting around cross-country for most of the average citizens of the game world, and they're usually pretty neat, but Doomtrain takes the grand prize - not only for design (which is an obvious throwback to the Phantom Train in ''[[
* [[Cowardly Lion]]: Watts and Zone know how to avoid doing work. However, Watts is '''very''' good at gathering information very quickly, and Zone saves the day by giving Quistis his own train ticket out of Timber.
* [[Crash Into Hello]]: How Squall meets Selphie.
* [[Crucified Hero Shot]]: Squall, when he's being tortured by Seifer in D-District Prison.
* [[Crystal Spires and Togas]]: Esthar, pretty much literally.
* [[Cultural Cross-Reference]]:
** The French translation, full of [[Artistic License|gratuitous English that does not match the original English]], has an item called a [[Nine Inch Nails|9 inch nail]]... described as "the claw of an [[Industrial Metal|industrial monster]]." Guess the French translator must've been a fan then.The same translation also has an NPC remarking that Galbadia Garden's ice hockey team watches the [[Friday the 13th (film)|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".
** In the English version, Zell is obsessed with obtaining hot dogs from Balamb Garden's cafeteria. In the original Japanese script, it was 'pan' i.e. sweet bread. It is considered an exotic treat in Japan (introduced when they began trading with Portugal in the 16th century) and comes in flavors such as apple, curry, and melon. It was changed to hot dogs in the English version simply because the pan shown in the ending FMV vaguely resembles hot dog buns.
* [[Curtains Match the Window]]: Ellone
* [[Cutscene Incompetence]]: This is an RPG, so of course the characters are unable to do things during the story that they can easily do in battle, such as summoning GFs.
* [[
* [[Dark Chick]]: Fujin
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: Squall wears black. Also, {{spoiler|Edea, who dresses in black even before and after she's possessed.}}
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* [[Death From Above]]: The Lunar Cry.
** Numerous GFs.
* [[Deconstruction]]: Oh so much. Consider for example, how Squall is so utterly broken compared to your typical teenage-orphan [[Eastern RPG]] protagonist, precisely because he's a teenage-orphan [[Eastern RPG]] protagonist.
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: {{spoiler|Edea}}
** The GFs; Ifrit, Diablos, Brothers,Cerberus, Bahamut, Cactuar, Tonberry, and Odin, who offer you their powers after defeating them.
* [[Determinator]]: Squall gradually develops into one of these, and by the third disc of the game, he engages in what nearly turns out to be a suicidal determination to bring {{spoiler|Rinoa back after she goes comatose}}.
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Squall.
* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: The writing dips into this at times:
{{quote|
(later)
Squall: "Thanks to you, I feel like I can take on anyone, even if they fight dirty like you."
Seifer: "You'll thank me when the time comes." }}
* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: The Ragnarok conveniently floats by as Squall and Rinoa are drifting in space. It's revealed later that it was used to launch Adel's tomb and thus was abandoned in the same area of space. However, its timing and placement is still incredibly convenient.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Odin again.
* [[Didn't Think This Through]]: Squall gets into a space suit and leaves the [[Escape Pod]] to {{spoiler|rescue Rinoa, who's floating out in space}}. Even though he succeeds, they're both stuck out in the middle of space, low on oxygen, and with no way to get back to the Planet. Fortunately [[Deus Ex Machina]] saves the day.
* [[
* [[Disc One Final Boss]]: {{spoiler|Edea}}, literally. Twice.
* [[
* [[Divide
* [[Do Not Touch the Funnel Cloud]]: The Pandemona GF.
* [[Doomy Dooms of Doom]]: Doomtrain, natch.
* [[The Dragon]]: Seifer, first to Edea and then to {{spoiler|Ultimecia}}. Also, Edea is at first, briefly to Vinzer Deling, but she then becomes;
* [[Dragon
* [[Dream Sequence]]: Squall has several of these showing him as a child talking about his missing "Sis."
* [[Dressing
* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: One can be seen briefly in a hallway in Galbadia Garden making students do push ups, one of whom is Zell if he's not in your party.
* [[Dub
** It still sort of works in the English version, as the dinner rolls look like hotdog rolls which would, presumably, contain hotdogs therein.
* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: This is an RPG, so of course, you're not too important to run people's errands like finding pieces of a vase or gathering rocks to make a statue. Squall [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this during the Timber Mission when the Forest Owls ask him to go wake up Rinoa.
{{quote|
'''Zone''': A-Are you angry?
'''Selphie''': You tell 'em, Squall. They can't treat us that way. }}
* [[The Dulcinea Effect]]: Inverted. Irvine appears to be invoking this on the train to Deling City when he's telling Selphie they're destined to be together when they just met a few minutes earlier at Galbadia Garden. However, {{spoiler|the orphanage flashback reveals that he has known her a lot longer}}.
* [[Dummied Out]]: Originally, Selphie was supposed to have two more Limit Break spells which apparently were never programmed in. The spells were ''Percent'' which cuts all enemies' current HP by 93.75% and ''Catastrophe'' which is more powerful than the ultimate spell, Apocalypse. They both can be accessed with a Gameshark.
** Another example is an entire mini-game mode for the [[Pocket Station]], which [[No Export for You|never made it out of Japan]]. Said mode is still referenced in the English release and manual, probably because the decision not to release the hardware hadn't been made yet. It is possible to play with an imported [[Pocket Station]] from Japan. The mini-game could be used to get many useful items, guardian forces, and of course, [[
* [[Dungeon Crawling]]
** [[Bonus Dungeon]]: The [[Underwater Base|Deep Sea Research Facility]] and the Centra Ruins.
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* [[Dynamic Entry]]: In the D-District Prison, {{spoiler|Squall saves Zell by leaping a half a dozen stories onto a prison guard about to shoot him.}}
* [[Easing Into the Adventure]]: Before taking the Fire Cavern Exam and the Dollet Field Exam, Squall is shown in class, and the player has the option of giving Selphie a tour and/or wandering around Garden on their own for a while.
* [[Eerie Pale
* [[An Economy Is You]]: This is an RPG, so pretty every shop sells stuff the player needs and can upgrade your weaponry.
* [[Egopolis]]: Deling City.
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* [[Enthusiasm Versus Stoicism]]: Epitomized in Rinoa and Squall and a source of conflict between them.
* [[Equipment Spoiler]]: a Weapons Monthly issue describing Rinoa and Irvine's weapons can be found before either of them is introduced (Rinoa does appear, but you don't learn who she is at that point).
** You could also buy ammo for Irvine's gun before you met him. Rather annoying, considering that Squall's weapon was a [[Gun Blade]], which contrary to what one would assume, didn't use any ammo at all.
* [[Escape Sequence]] / [[Indy Escape]]: Dollet, with Squall, Zell, and Selphie running away from X-ATMO92, and in D-District Prison, with Squall running away from the shifting panels on the bridge.
* [[Escape Pod]]: On the Lunar Base.
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** Not only that, but Laguna {{spoiler|was in love with Rinoa's mother before he disappeared to Winhill and before she married General Caraway, adding a further connection between them.}}
** In the film sequence, Laguna plays a sorceress's knight and uses his gunblade the way Seifer does as an adult. Seifer saw the film as a kid and copied Laguna's fighting style, while the film itself inspired his dream to be a sorceress knight.
* [[Everything Is an iPod In The Future]]: The entire city of Esthar looks like the first and second generation [[
* [[
* [[
* [[Evil Sorcerer|Evil Sorceress]]: Ultimecia and Adel, plus Edea {{spoiler|while she's possessed}}.
* [[Evil Tower of Ominousness]]: Lunatic Pandora.
* [[Evolving Attack]]: GF compatibility. Using GFs raises their compatibility with the character using them and causes them to arrive faster when you summon them.
* [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Experience Points]]
* [[Expy]]: Arguably, Wakka from ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' is one of Raijin: a lovable oaf who is unquestioningly loyal, is paired up with an authoritative woman who keeps him in line, and has a [[Verbal Tic]] of asking for confirmation whenever he makes a statement. They're also both [[Ambiguously Brown]].
* [[Eye Beams]]: The first skill of Quistis's [[Limit Break]] is called "Laser Eye", which is [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: Fujin
* [[Eyes of Gold]]: Edea.
* [[The Faceless]]: The Balamb Garden staff, whose faces are always covered by their headgear.
* [[Face Palm]]: Squall does this, often.
* [[Facial Markings]]: Ultimecia. Also, Zell's tattoo.
* [[Fake Skill]]: Selphie's limit break scrolls through random skills including 'The End' which instantly destroys all creatures. It worked on bosses. An easy abuse of this skill was to open the top of the playstation which puts the game into a pause like loop where you can keep scrolling through her skills until you get 'The End'.
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* [[Femme Fatalons]]: Edea. Also, Ultimecia.
* [[Fetch Quest]]: The vase quest in Winhill and the rock gathering quest in Shumi Village.
* [[Fighting
* [[Finishing Move]]: Upgrading Squall's gunblade adds additional [[Finishing Move|Finishing Moves]] to his [[Limit Break]]. Zell gets a few as well if you can get your hands on fighting magazines for him to read.
** On the enemies' side, there's the Esthar "Death Corps"' Soul Crush and the Forbidden's Iai Blow.
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** [[Flashback Echo]]: Squall's flashback to himself talking about {{spoiler|his missing "Sis"}}, which explains his mentality in the present.
** [[Pensieve Flashback]]: The present day version of the team members who were there are shown in the past during the {{spoiler|orphanage revelation}}.
* [[Florence Nightingale Effect]]: Happens twice.
** First, in the past with Laguna and Raine. She falls in love with him while nursing him back to health.
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* [[Freudian Excuse]]: Just about all of Squall's mental issues stem from a mix of this and {{spoiler|amnesia.}}
* [[Friendly Sniper]]: Irvine.
* [[Form
* [[Funetik Aksent]]: Ultimecia replaces all C's with K's... {{spoiler|except for her final line as she dies. She never has it while possessing Edea, Adel, or Rinoa, either.}}
** She doesn't speak like this in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' either, where she suddenly gains a more coherent speaking style. This is likely because ''Dissidia'' used a different translator and was written ten years after the original game.
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* [[Gender Is No Object]]: Male and female Garden students and SeeDs live, train, and fight together, and no one mentions anything about it. Also, both Galbadia and Esthar are shown having both a male and a female leader. The only time in the whole game that any gender differences are brought up is in a blink-and-you'll-miss it-comment by Raijin during the boss fights against him in which he says [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|"I don't hit girls, ya know"]] and only if he KO's your male characters and there is a female character remaining standing.
* [[Generation Xerox]]: {{spoiler|Squall's father is implied to be Laguna. Laguna's first love, Julia Heartilly, later married General Carraway and became Rinoa's mother. Seventeen years later, Squall and Rinoa meet and fall in love.}}
* [[Get
* [[Giant Hands of Doom]]: Vysage, Lefty, and Righty. They also form the first stage of a boss (the rest of his body rises out of the ground once you defeat them) in Ultimecia's castle.
* [[Girlish Pigtails]]: The aptly named "Library Girl With a Pigtail" in Balamb Garden.
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* [[Going Through the Motions]]: Squall's [[Face Palm]] in particular is iconic enough that it was reproduced in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' games.
* [[Goldfish Poop Gang]]: Two of them. Fujin and Raijin. Biggs and Wedge.
* [[Good Morning, Crono]]: After the title sequence, the game proper begins with Squall awakening in Balamb Garden's infirmary.
* [[Good Wings, Evil Wings]]: The recurring Buel creature has ''both'' bird and bat wings. [[Rule of Three|In threes]]. And the bat wings are the bigger ones.
** {{spoiler|Rinoa (in her second Limit Break form) and Ultimecia both possess wings. Rinoa's? Pure white and angelic. Ultimecia's? Black.}}
* [[Good Old Fisticuffs]]: Zell uses his fists as his weapon of choice.
* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: Squall and Seifer have mirror-image diagonal facial scars. Ward has a typical "tough guy" scar running down the entire left side of his face.
* [[Grotesque Gallery]]: Gerogero, the various sorceresses.
* [[Grand Theft Me]]: {{spoiler|Ultimecia}}'s specialty.
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* [[Hates Being Touched]]: Squall, though doesn't actually hate it. He just says he's not used to it when Rinoa is sitting in his lap and has her arms wrapped around him.
* [[Haunted Castle]]: Although it's not haunted, Ultimecia's Castle definitely has this appearance from the outside.
* [[Heads I Win, Tails You Lose]]: The Edea battle at the end of Disc 1, which the party loses even though [[Lazy Backup|Squall is the only one incapacitated]] by Edea's Limit Break.
* [[Heel Face Turn]]: {{spoiler|Edea}}
** [[Face Heel Turn]]: Seifer
* [[Hello, Insert Name Here]]: Probably the first in the series where you are not allowed to name all of the player characters; you are allow to name all of your Guardian Forces and Rinoa's dog. The only two player characters you are allowed to name are Squall and Rinoa, just in the case the game didn't make it obvious enough who the two lead roles were.
* [[Heroes Prefer Swords]]: Squall, or rather heroes prefer gunblades.
* [[Herr Doktor]]: Dr. Odine.
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* [[Ice Queen]]: Fujin.
* [[Idiot Hero]]: Laguna
* [[If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...]]: Male warning male version. Before leaving Timber, Zone warns Squall that he'll kill him if he lets anything happen to Rinoa. Later on when they meet again Zone goes berserk when Squall reveals that {{spoiler|Rinoa is in a coma}}.
* [[I Know Madden Kombat]]: The Slappers in the Galbadia Garden skating rink who incorporate hockey techniques into their attacks.
** The recurring Wendigo creature does basketball moves [[Grievous Harm
* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: Amusingly, in one battle Rinoa can be eaten alive by a party member with the Devour command equipped, though [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment|this causes an immediate Game Over]]. She is, however, the only human who can be eaten in this way, so this was probably an oversight on the developers' part.
* [[Impaled
* [[Improbable Age]]: Despite being an elite squad of mercenaries tasked with highly dangerous wetwork (such as {{spoiler|political assassinations}}), none of the characters are old enough to drink. Both lampshaded and sort of justified: {{spoiler|1=Edea knows the man who will kill Ultimecia is a teenager, so she knows SeeDs will need to be below a certain age.}}
* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Although many characters do use fairly sensible weaponry, there are also quite a few examples of this trope:
** Squall and Seifer both use gunblades - that is, a sword with a pistol built into the base of the blade; perfect examples of [[Exotic Weapon Supremacy]], as they have 100% accuracy and can do additional damage with the press of a button. Exactly how gunblades function are a source of much [[Fan Wank]], though Square themselves basically explained them to be [[Vibroweapon|Vibroweapons]] in the [[All There in the Manual|Ultimania guide]]. In-universe, Cid mentions that gunblade specialists are rare as the weapons are rather difficult to use, hinting that even in the game's world, they're not necessarily practical.
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* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains]]: Biggs and Wedge
* [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]]: Mostly averted; there are no treasure chests. However, the party can still sometimes find useful items lying around.
* [[Infinity
* [[Info Dump]]: A ''huge'' one from Zell to Squall after he returns from the Esthar moonbase with ''the Ragnarok'', disc 3.
* [[Inner Monologue]]: Squall does more of this than he does actual talking. A source of humor with pretty much anyone who gets to know him.
* [[Instant Fanclub]]: Quistis Trepe; her fans call themselves ''[[Star Trek
* [[Insurmountable Waist
* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: Ellone with {{spoiler|her Uncle Laguna}}.
* [[Interrogated for Nothing]]: Squall not only doesn't have the information that Seifer tortures him for at the beginning of disc 2, he doesn't even understand the question.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Early in the game, Quistis turns to Squall for support and comfort; unfortunately for her, Squall believes that people shouldn't have to rely on others, and tells her bluntly to talk to a wall. At the beginning of Disc 3, when {{spoiler|Rinoa is in a coma and Squall, having realized his feelings for her, tries to talk to her}}, he comments that it's like talking to a wall.
* [[Item Crafting]]: The only way to improve your weapons in the game. There's also a fair bit of "Item Mutation" in the game, as almost every GF has the ability to "Refine" spells into different spells, items into different items, items into spells, or (in one case) Triple Triad cards into items/spells.
* [[
* [[
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* [[Jerkass Facade]]: Squall. He gets better.
* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: Seifer's [[Electric Torture]] on Squall in D-District Prison.
* [[Justified Tutorial]]: The Fire Caverns quest at the very beginning of the game.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Sure, he was under Ultimecia's influence, but Seifer, as a Sorceress Knight and while leading Galbadia, was responsible for a lot of death and destruction... and {{spoiler|yet he gets to live happily ever after with his buddies Raijin and Fujin}}. Well, unless you count the beat down the party delivered to him near the end (especially if [[Sidequest|you unlocked]] [[Memetic Badass|Gilgamesh]]).
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Seifer does it early on. Not just figuratively, either.
* [[Kick the Son of
* [[Kill the Ones You Love]]: Averted, more or less {{spoiler|with Cid. He's fully prepared to send his and Edea's ''children'' to kill her, because he knows he's not capable of it himself, but it all works out in the end}}.
* [[Killed Mid
{{quote|
* [[Killer Bunny]]: One beach-dwelling monster is a sand-swimming, flying piranha-toothed ''goldfish''.
* [[Kleptomaniac Hero]]: Not as bad an example as many RPGs, but there are some instances. There's also an aversion - rooting around in cupboards in a house in Timber finds the party some gil, but it also makes the house's resident refuse to let you rest there any more, and since the hotel is off-limits during your first visit...
* [[Klingon Promotion]]: Edea. {{spoiler|After killing Vinzer Deling.}}
* [[La Résistance]]: The people of Timber are doing this against their occupation by Galbadia. Also, the people of Esthar are shown doing one against their ruler, Adel, in the flashbacks.
* [[Lady in Red]]: Ultimecia's default form.
* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: The daydreaming guy carrying Quistis's card in the Balamb Garden cafeteria whose dialogue reveals he's smitten with her. The guy sitting next to him says he used to be the cream of the crop before her.
* [[A Lady
* [[Laser
* [[Last Stand]]: During the Battle of the Gardens, after Galbadia Garden's first two offensives the Balamb Garden leaders realize another offensive will probably result in this, so they decide to take the offensive.
* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: The PSN version of this game actually blows Ultimecia's identity right in the product description. Normally, this would be [[Trailers Always Spoil]], but as the game is ten years old and the PSN version came out well after ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' included her as the main villain representing ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', it ends up falling under this trope due to sheer age. But woe to the newer generations playing this for the first time...
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** "Eyes on Me" is more the Leitmotif for the concept of love itself. Every time something romantic between Squall and Rinoa, or their parents (it's complicated, but there's no incest) or Laguna and Raine, this music plays. In addition, most of the main cast ends up with ''someone'' by the end of the game, and the reason that SeeD exists in the first place is because Cid loved Edea too much to just outright kill her when he saw what a monster she was becoming (that and before being mind controlled Edea knew a teenager killed Ultimecia).
* [[Lethal Lava Land]]: The Fire Cavern
* [[Let's Split Up, Gang!]]: After breaking out of D-District Prison, the team splits up into two groups; one to head back to Balamb Garden to warn them out about the missile attack, the other to the missile base to try and stop the attack.
** The team also splits up when Squall and Rinoa are sent into space.
* [[Level Grinding]]: As mentioned, the game slims down this process as it is normally seen in [[RPG|RPGs]]. However, players often find themselves spending a while Drawing spells from monsters, either to keep for its own sake or the purposes of Refining. Triple Triad got a similar reputation, but at least it was more fun than spamming "Draw" for five minutes.
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** If you want to get down to brass tacks, {{spoiler|the only named characters who die are Vinzer Deling, Raine, Julia Heartily and Adel. Odin may die if you acquired him before fighting Seifer at Lunatic Pandora, while whether Ultimecia dies at the end is vague due to [[Stable Time Loop|time compression shenanigans]].}}
* [[Like Brother and Sister]]: Quistis and Squall. During the {{spoiler|orphanage revelations}} Quistis claims she thought her initial feelings for Squall were love, but later realized it was misplaced sisterly affection. How honest about this she's being is subject to some debate among fans, particularly considering her later comment that {{spoiler|she gave up once Rinoa entered the picture.}}
* [[Limit Break]]: one of the more easily-abused systems in the series. See the "[[Game Breaker]]" entry on the [[Final Fantasy VIII
* [[Literal Cliff Hanger]]: Rinoa, hanging off the side of Balamb Garden during the Battle of the Gardens.
* [[Little People Are Surreal]]: Dr. Odine.
* [[Lost Forever]]: Any item or sidequest that involves entering a town after getting to Disc 4.
** In the Japanese version, this happens with any of the GFs that have to be drawn from a boss, and with Cerberus. The US version, however, averts this by allowing the player to draw any of the missed GF's from the bosses in Ultimecia's castle.
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** Any item on the Esthar Lunar Base, one of which is a card that can only be gotten there.
* [[Lost in Translation]]: Although it's still possible to guess from Gilgamesh's comment about the Rift that he's the same Gilgamesh that appeared in ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', a single syllable confirming it was left out of the English translation:
{{quote|
'''Gilgamesh [English]:''' "Huh? Was it you...?" }}
* [[Love Confession]]: Notably [[Subverted Trope|Subverted.]] The IGN review notes that, for love basically being the main theme of the game, the word is not mentioned once (although this is incorrect; Rinoa does tell Squall "''we'' love you" during the concert at FH. Nevertheless, neither of the leads of what is primarily a love story ever makes an official [[Love Confession]]).
* [[Love Triangle]]: Subverted. Although we learn fairly early on that Rinoa used to hook up with Seifer, this ultimately doesn't really factor as much of a role into his and Squall's rivalry. {{spoiler|It does appear to deepen the rivalry somewhat at first, albeit due to a translation error in the English version, but ultimately does not factor into the plot.}} It is also ultimately subverted between Laguna, Julia and {{spoiler|General Caraway}}, since the two guys in question never directly meet and Laguna isn't the type to get that upset over the fact he didn't get the girl. {{spoiler|For added irony, this turns out to be a good thing for the plot, since Laguna ultimately hooks up with Squall's mother and Julia gives birth to Rinoa.}}
* [[Low Level Advantage]]: If you stay at the lowest level possible throughout the game, [[Dynamic Difficulty]] means enemies will never develop their stronger attacks and defenses. Plus, because of Refining and Triple Triad, you can still get access to top-tier spells which mobs aren't themselves carrying yet, leading to low-level characters with stats that are nonetheless maxed out. For bonus points, stay at a low level for most of the game, then start advancing when you finally get Abilityx4. The stat bonuses will practically make your characters demi-gods.
* [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]: {{spoiler|Squall}} turns out to be {{spoiler|Laguna's son}}. [[The Un
* [[Macross Missile Massacre]]: Galbadia's missile attack on Balamb Garden.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: Odine.
* [[Make
* [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]]: Rinoa subverts this - she really only acts particularly quirky or footloose around the lead, then gets told off for it repeatedly before learning to take things more seriously. She shapes up on Disc 2 after nearly getting killed by Edea.
* [[Meganekko]]: Quistis. Unfortunately, only during FMVs.
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* [[Military Academy]]: The Gardens.
* [[Milking the Giant Cow]]: Most of the characters do this at some point.
* [[Mind Screw]]: It is not exactly clear what the GF Eden is, nor what exactly happens [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZbfDMzynwg during its attack] except that the universe appears to fold in on itself and back out again. But hey, [[What Do You Mean
** The idea of "Time Compression" is based on the concept of [
* [[Mini
* [[Model Planning]]: The Forest Owls use train models to explain the hijacking the railcar of an enemy president.
* [[Money Spider]]: The first [[Final Fantasy]] game to avert it, actually. Instead, Squall receives a regular stipend proportional to his rank, which itself rises and falls depending on your performance. Monsters still drop standard consumables / components for [[Item Crafting]].
* [[More Dakka]]: Once again, the gun on the landing vessel that Quistis uses in Dollet.
** Laguna's "Desperado" [[Limit Break]]. Irvine can hit this if he uses fast Ammo with his "Shot" Limit.
* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Squall.
* [[The Mutiny]]: The team returns to Balamb Garden after breaking out of D-District Prison to find the school undergoing one by students and staff loyal to NORG.
** [[Anti
* [[Mutually Exclusive Party Members]]: The pseudo-Guardian Forces Odin and Gilgamesh can't be possessed at the same time. Getting Odin before disc three results in him being killed during the events of Lunatic Pandora and replaced by Gilgamesh. You can keep Odin if you wait until disc four to get him, but then you lose your chance to get Gilgamesh.
* [[Muggles Do It Better]]: Faced with an unkillable robotic warmachine that your team of [[One
* [[Muscles Are Meaningless]]: At level 100, the playable character with the highest unmodified strength stat in the game isn't [[The Hero|Squall]], [[The Rival|Seifer]], or [[Gentle Giant|Ward]]. It's ''Rinoa.''
** Probably justified in that she's unavailable for most of disc 3 and will rejoin you at a level close to your average party level. If you're playing normally and had been using level up bonuses, she'd fall way behind if her growth rate had been average due to lost opportunities to to increase her stats through said bonuses.
* [[My Master, Right or Wrong|My Friend Right Or Wrong]]: Fujin and Raijin state that they're on whatever side Seifer is on, which they do for most of the game, {{spoiler|however, at the end of Disc 3 when they finally feel Seifer has gone too far they call him out on it}} but still tell him they will remain his friends.
* [[Mysterious Waif]]: Ellone.
* [[A Nazi
* [[Never Speak Ill of the Dead]]: Discussed in-universe, when the party thinks Seifer is dead. Everyone else starts talking about him positively, while Squall finds himself disgusted by the way they've changed their opinions about him as soon as they think he's croaked.
** Squall has a mini BSOD later on when he realizes that if HE dies, everyone will be talking that way about him. Needless to say, he gets moving and goes to kick some ass.
* [[New Era Speech]]: Edea's speech in Deling City.
* [[News Travels Fast]]: While typical for an RPG, in this case this it's notable because of the radio silence mentioned throughout the game.
* [[No Cutscene Inventory Inertia]]: Characters always use the base model weapons in cutscenes, regardless of what model they've been upgraded to.
* [[No Hero Discount]]: This is an RPG, of course. Though there is one exception in Timber, when saving some kids from being hit by a train gets you a free hotel stay. Played straight for everything else. ''How much'' for a train ticket?
** '''[[Up to Eleven|HOW MUCH]]''' for the Queen of Cards to spread a new rule?
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* [[Nominal Importance]]: Only plot relevant characters have names. Those who aren't important enough for them have names such as "Mean Guy" and "Library Girl With a Pigtail."
* [[No Social Skills]]: Squall is not the most socially apt individuals. At first glance, this is because of him being raised in Garden all his life, but as the story progresses it becomes more clear that his mental issues stem less from being in Garden and more from {{spoiler|Ellone's disappearance.}} Contrast with Seifer, who also joined at about the same time.
* [[Non
* [[Nonuniform Uniform]]: Squall and Zell wear their Balamb Garden cadet uniforms in nonstandard fashion, in ways that echo their civilian clothes - Squall leaves his jacket open, and Zell leaves his collar undone and rolls up his sleeves. Seifer forgoes the uniform entirely even during the field exam.
** Laguna, Kiros and Ward have Galbadian blue uniforms, but missing the helmets. Ward's bandana and Kiros' hairdo push this trope straight into [[Mildly Military]].
* [[Not a Game]]: Rinoa gets this lecture ''twice'' on Disc 1. The first time is from Squall, who doesn't say these exact words, but questions Rinoa's sincerity about resisting the government after witnessing the unprofessional way she and the Forest Owls come up with poorly-thought-out plans (also a notable moment of [[Character Development]] for Squall, marking the first time he clearly expresses his feelings to anyone). The second lecture comes from Quistis, who uses the exact words to shoot Rinoa down when she proposes another poorly-thought-out plan just as the SeeDs are preparing for their own mission.
** It's worth noting that Rinoa herself ''doesn't'' consider the situations a game either. She's dead serious about assisting Squall and liberating Timber, but she's simply not mature or experienced enough at planning things out to carry out the operations successfully on her own.
* [[Not What It Looks Like]]: Rinoa claims she doesn't want to ask Squall to see his ring (so Zell can make a replica of it) because people would get the wrong idea.
* [[Now Where Was I Going Again?]]: Doesn't happen so much after getting {{spoiler|the mobile Balamb Garden}} as the NPC's on the deck will tell you where you need to go, but it can happen before that, as there's no real reminders of where you're supposed to be going or what you're supposed to be doing.
* [[Numerological Motif]]: The number eight recurs throughout the game, presumably for the obvious reason. The Galbadian soldiers have 08 on their armour, the heroes have to catch a number 8 bus at one point, and there are eight playable characters (including the two [[Guest Star Party Member|Guest Star Party Members]]) in the present.
** There are 4 pairs of [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|color-coded]] propagators inside the Ragnarok.
* [[The Obi Wrong]]: Quistis is demoted from Instructor to normal SeeD early on, leaving her free to team up with Squall and join the party.
* [[Occupiers Out of Our Country!]]: What the Timber resistance wants.
* [[Official Couple]]: Squall and Rinoa.
* [[Off
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]: "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" is just supposed to ''sound'' vaguely like Latin; it's actually an anagram of the phrase "Succession of Witches" and the word "Love." Everything else in the opening theme is genuine Latin, though, and [[Bilingual Bonus|relevant to the plot]].
* [[Onee
* [[Opening the Sandbox]]: Disc 2, {{spoiler|when Balamb Garden lifts off.}} And of course {{spoiler|getting the Ragnarok in disc 3}}
* [[One
* [[Opposites Attract]]: Squall and Rinoa.
* [[Orchestral Bombing]]: Galbadia's attack on Dollet and the missile attack on Balamb Garden.
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* [[Our Presidents Are Different]]: The President Buffoon type, subverted with {{spoiler|Laguna}}. After the whole game portrays him as awkward, dimwitted, and reckless, he then becomes President of {{spoiler|Esthar}} and seems to be doing quite well at it. Still a pretty big dork when you met him with your party. His background also helps make him a President Personable and President Action.
** President Vinzer Deling of Galbadia, however, is [[President Evil]] played quite straight before {{spoiler|Edea makes him a President Target}}.
* [[Overly
* [[Pamphlet Shelf]]: Several places, this being an RPG, most notably in the Balamb Garden library.
* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Ellone. {{spoiler|All of the playable characters except Rinoa, though she have a [[Missing Mom]].}}
* [[Parental Substitute]]: Cid and {{spoiler|Edea to the orphanage kids.}}
* [[Party in My Pocket]]: The first game in the series to avert it. While in a town or dungeon, the party members will be shown [[All in
* [[Peninsula of Power Leveling]]: The Island Closest To Heaven and The Island Closest To Hell. Not only does it have (hidden) Draw Points stocking of some of the game's best spells, it's also the only place where [[Dynamic Difficulty]] is averted, instead providing Lv.100 versions of some pretty fierce monsters. While the EXP they provide doesn't go up, it does affect their item drops and the magic you can draw from them, and at a high encounter rate. Spam [[One
* [[Perfect Pacifist People]]: The people of Fisherman's Horizon, who refuse to fight even when their town is invaded by Galbadia,
* [[Piggyback Cute]]: Squall carries Rinoa to Esthar this way after she falls into a coma.
* [[Pimped
* [[Player Headquarters]]: Balamb Garden.
* [[Player Party]]
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* [[Police State]]: Galbadia, Galbadian occupied Timber, and briefly, Galbadian occupied Balamb.
* [[Power At a Price]]: The act of junctioning Guardian Forces to your characters is put forward as the reason for their {{spoiler|memory loss. The only one who doesn't suffer from this is Irvine, who didn't junction one until he joined your party}}. This is representative of the effects of war erasing their childhood.
* [[Powers
* [[The Power of Friendship]]: A theme of the game, as highlighted in a speech by Laguna towards the end of the third disc.
* [[The Power of Love]]: A major theme of the game's plot.
* [[
* [[Porn Stash]]: That copy of "The Girl Next Door" you pick up from the magazine publishers in Timber rewards you with a Triple Triad card later on. Also, Zell is ''very'' adamant about not letting ''anyone'' enter his room. [[Wild Mass Guessing|One can only guess what he's got hidden away up there.]] Of course, when you actually do get a chance to visit his room, (during the Balamb occupation sequence), there seems to be no evidence of it. Though, you can see a spare T-Board and a [[Wall of Weapons|collection of guns]].
* [[Precision
* [[Pre Meeting]]: Rinoa asks Squall to dance at the party, but doesn't think much of it. Squall's first mission as a SeeD is assisting her resistance group.
* [[Press X to Not Die|Press Right To Not Die]]: During the escape from D-District Prison, when Squall is hanging off the bridge connecting the towers, the player has to hold down the right directional button or else it's game over.
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* [[Rebellious Princess]]: Rinoa, although she's not an actual princess, the other Forest Owls nickname her "Princess", and she is {{spoiler|the daughter of a high ranking government official}}.
* [[Red Herring]]: Zell is shown playing with a [[Hover Board|T-Board]], claiming that it might be useful in Seed missions someday. It doesn't.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Squall (Blue) and Seifer (Red). Biggs and Wedge are an even more blatant pair, complete with color coding. Also, Raijin and Fujin, though Raijin only has a red scarf.
** The Brothers GF, who sport color-coded bucklers and Caps Locked dialog accordingly (Sacred/Red/all caps, Minotaur/Blue/no caps).
* [[Redemption Earns Life]]: {{spoiler|Raijin and Fuujin refuse to serve Seifer when they discover he is merely Ultimecia's pawn. The ending shows the three of them together, alive and well.}}
* [[Relax
* [[Religious and Mythological Theme Naming]]: Like the other games in the series, there are numerous examples, both characters and summons.
* [[Required Party Member]]: Squall for almost all of the game, except during the Galbadia Missile Base mission, during which it's Selphie. The two teams during the assassination mission. Rinoa when the team goes into space.
* [[Resigned to
* [[The Reveal]]: NORG revealing that Edea {{spoiler|is married to Cid}}.
** Irvine telling the team {{spoiler|about Edea's orphanage}}.
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== S-Z ==
* [[Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl]]: Squall and Rinoa early on, though they both move closer to center as the game progresses.
* [[Scars Are Forever]]: Apparently true for Ward's facial scar. It's not clear about Squall or Seifer's, however, since they both get their scars right at the start of the game, actually making it plausible for them to still have them considering the short period of time that passes.
* [[Scenery Porn]]: Background bitmap detail compared to ''VII'' was cranked [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Schizo
* [[School Nurse]]: Dr. Kadowaki.
* [[Schoolteachers]]: Quistis fits several sub-tropes.
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** [[Fired Teacher]]
** [[Hot Teacher]]
* [[Screw the
* [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|Screw This, We're Outta Here]]: Biggs and Wedge
* [[Scripted Battle]]: The first fight against Edea. Seifer vs. Odin/Gilgamesh. Also, the end of the battle with Ultimecia.
* [[Sealed Evil in
** This does, of course, mean that by the end of the game, you've not only traveled through time and saved the world...[[What Do You Mean
* [[Security Cling]]: Rinoa does this three times to Squall. First, after being rescued from the Iguions, she grabs onto him and doesn't want to let go. Later, while on the Ragnarok, after the intense sequence of events that's just occured, she takes advantage of the gravity being turned off to float down into Squall's lap and puts her arms around him, telling him that it makes her feel safe. The third time is when she hugs him after he rescues her from the sorceress memorial.
* [[Self
* [[Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains]]: Though in this case, it's really just Ultimecia. Though Edea pushes it for most of the game, {{spoiler|she's also possessed by Ultimecia the entire time she's your opponent, so this could be her influence.}}
* [[Serious Business]]: Triple Triad - though not in terms of the game's storyline, but because of its Gamebreaker status.
* [[
* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend]]: While in the infirmary when Squall gives Rinoa a tour of Balamb Garden, Dr. Kadowaki asks if Rinoa is Squall's girlfriend. The player is given the option several times of having Squall either confirm or deny it.
* [[Shifting Sand Land]]: Galbadia Desert, whereD-District Prison is located, which is why it's named D (For Desert) District Prison.
* [[Shipper
* [[Shock and Awe]]: Fujin
* [[Shout
** 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 beginning of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czn2_ngX6_k 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 [[Final Fantasy VI|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 [[2001: A Space Odyssey|the Esthar moonbase.]]
* [[Shout-Out Theme Naming]]: Biggs and Wedge
* [[Sidequest]] It is an RPG.
** [[Irrelevant Sidequest]]: So it has both.
* [["Silly Me" Gesture]]: She doesn't hit herself on the head, but Selphie's introductory FMV includes the wink and tongue-stickout parts of this after she trips her way down a hill.
* [[Simple Staff]]: Raijin uses a staff as his weapon of choice.
* [[Single
* [[Sinister Geometry]]: Lunatic Pandora's outer casing.
* [[Slow Clap]]: Initiated by Seifer after Squall, Zell and Selphie graduate as SeeD.
* [[Slow Motion Fall]]: Squall gets two of these. First, in the FMV at Dollet, with him jumping to reach the landing vessel before X-ATMO92 fires at him. The second occurs after the first boss fight with Edea when she impales him, and he falls off the parade float.
* [[Small Girl, Big Gun]]: The cutscene with Quistis at Dollet taking down [[Spider Tank|X-ATM092]]. Although not petite, she's still pretty trim and the gun she's using is ''freaking huge''.
* [[Skill Slot System]]: The GF system allows ability customization.
* [[Sole Entertainment Option]]: It doesn't really have a city that specializes in the Card Game of the Week, but each city has its own rules. Regardless of this fact, practically everyone plays. Not only that, but people carry all of their cards around with them as they aimlessly walk around.
* [[Solemn Ending Theme]]: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNefNLOHVYk Eyes On Me]".
* [[So Long and Thanks For All
* [[So Much for Stealth]]: Escaping from D-District Prison. Can also happen in the Galbadia Missile Base depending on your actions.
* [[Sorry I'm Late]]: Irvine and Rinoa join Squall during the battle sequence in the first fight against Edea.
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* [[Super Soldier]]: The SeeDs are trained as such, and for good reason: {{spoiler|they are intended to fight and defeat Sorceresses.}} Their status as such is played straight, with small numbers of SeeD soldiers being deployed and garnering a mixture of both fear and respect for their capabilities.
* [[Supervillain Lair]]: Ultimecia's Castle.
* [[Surrounded
** His team acts like this towards the Resistance, which is not unreasonable.
* [[Sword Fight]]: Squall and Seifer's duel at the beginning of the game. This fight includes;
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** The second time is on the Esthar Lunar Base which is about {{spoiler|to be swallowed by the Lunar Cry}}, but you can take as long as you want getting to the [[Escape Pod]]. To gain a particular card in the game's card game sidequest, you are required to play a secondary character, an opportunity that [[Lost Forever|comes only in this instance]]. The game does some [[Lampshade Hanging]] on this by having the character state, "You wanna to play cards now!?"
* [[Talking in Your Sleep]]: At one point Squall wakes up in his dorm room to find Rinoa standing over him, who reveals that he was talking in his sleep, and that "she isn't even going to tell him what he was saying". However, just before, he was shown having a [[Dream Sequence]] flashback to himself as a child. Also, earlier, during the Winhill flashaback, Raine is listing off Laguna's annoying traits and mentions that he [[Generation Xerox|also talks in his sleep]].
* [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]]: Laguna and Squall get two out of three; at 175cm and 177cm respectively they are shorter than any other male playable character in the game except for Zell.
* [[Teacher
** Hot for teacher variation: Many of Quistis's male students (and apparently [[Les Yay|quite a few female ones]], if the Trepies are any indication) are pining for one. She [[
** Hot for student variation: Quistis for Squall, though in her defense, they're only a year apart in age {{spoiler|and apparently grew up together, though neither of them remembers it anymore.}} Squall comments on the awkwardness of it fairly early in the game, and Quistis eventually says that her crush on him was actually misdirected sisterly affection, although how honest she's being about that is subject to interpretation.
* [[Technicolor Death]]: Following series tradition, the [[Final Boss]] goes out like this.
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* [[Time Master]]: {{spoiler|Ellone}}. Also, Ultimecia
* [[Title Drop]]: The Japanese version of Edea's speech in Galbadia plays out a little differently from the English translation, and includes a line referencing the series.
{{quote|
* [[Token Minority]]: Kiros, the only non-white playable character.
** Raijin, the only non-white human enemy, boss, and supporting NPC.
* [[Too Awesome to Use]]: Played straight and adverted all at once. Playing the game normally, you'll hang onto your best items and will never use them except for the final battle and any spells you've junctioned to your stats will never be cast unless you don't mind your stats dropping from it. If you take the time to abuse the hell out of the card and item refinement, you can have 100 of the best items and spells in the game without having the need to grind for them by other means.
* [[Took a Shortcut]]: To get Rinoa's card from General Caraway, you have to play him in Triple Triad and lose your Ifrit card to him in a game to get him to use Rinoa's card and then play him again and beat him. Immediately after the game screen fades out, if you talk to Caraway, he says he lost the Ifrit card to Martine in Fisherman's Horizon.
* [[Too Many Belts]]: Squall has one belt around his waist, two hanging around his hips, and three on his right leg.
* [[Torture Always Works]]: Subverted. Squall is subjected to [[Electric Torture]] in the D-District Prison, but since he doesn't have the information he's being tortured for in the first place, all that this accomplishes is to either provoke him into lying or just make him want to die.
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* [[Troubled but Cute]]: Squall.
* [[True Companions]]: The party, especially after they learn that {{spoiler|most of them grew up together in the same orphanage}}.
* [[Two
* [[Tyke Bomb]]: The SeeDs begin their training at a very young age and are brought up to be the [[Badass Army|best and most highly skilled soldiers]].
* [[Unbroken Vigil]]: Squall to Rinoa, after Rinoa falls into her coma. He takes the vigil on the move when he decides to take Rinoa to Esthar in search of Ellone.
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* [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]]: Other than the obvious Triple Triad turning it into a card game, there is also a pseudo-[[Fighting Game]] sequence near the end of Disc 2.
* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Quistis, though {{spoiler|in a subversion, she doesn't ''remember'' being Squall's friend, and when she does, she realizes her feelings for him weren't supposed to be romantic at all, leaving her embarrassed.}}
* [[The Un
* [[Urban Fantasy]]: One of the foremost examples in the series, complete with cars, modernized cities, and even space flight and the internet.
* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Somewhat averted. [[Standard Status Effects]] are still not worth casting, but the junctioning system removes the necessity of casting them: just assign them to your gunblade and hit the road!
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* [[Wallet of Holding]]
* [[Wall of Weapons]]: Zell has one in his room in Balamb.
* [[We Cannot Go
* [[We Have Ways of Making You Talk]]: Electric torture used on Squall in D-District Prison when he refuses to tell Seifer the true purpose of SeeD. Seifer also warns Squall that if he doesn't talk then the others will.
* [[Welcome to Corneria]]: Say it with me. This is an RPG.
* [[Weird Moon]]: It's {{spoiler|covered with monsters.}}
* [[What Do You Mean
* [[Whatever]]: Practically Squall's [[Catch Phrase]], along with [[Visible Silence|"....."]]
* [[What Happened to
** The Galbadian occupation of Timber is never officially resolved; although the city is apparently free of Galbadian soldiers if you return there later in the game, nothing is ever stated about what happened there after the party left in disc 1.
** After the party defeats NORG in disc 2, he's engulfed in a cocoon, and a boatman in Fisherman's Horizon asks if he's "evolved" yet. Although the party can later visit the Shumi Village and learn that evolving into another form is normal for the Shumi, the cocoon just sits there for the rest of the game and the player never gets to see what NORG evolves into.
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** Precisely what happens to the Lunatic Pandora is never answered. Squall's team manages to take control of the Pandora's control room, but what is done with it after time compression is not made clear.
** When Balamb Garden is about to be {{spoiler|carpet bombed by Galbadian missiles}}, the party instructs Xu, Raijin, and Fujin to tell everybody to evacuate. When they finally reach the underground control center and {{spoiler|get the Garden airborne}}, they end up {{spoiler|crashing into the sea}}. After that, they ''never return to Balamb to pick up all the SeeDs and other classmen who, supposedly, evacuated''. Since there was a fight going on between sympathizers of Cid and NORG at the time, the evacuees might have continued fighting amongst each other or even have died due to collateral damage from the missile strikes. (On the other hand, since Garden is not appreciably less populated afterwards, they may not have managed to evacuate many in the first place.)
* [[What Is Evil?]]: Ambiguity between good and evil is a prominent theme in the game. The fight against the primary antagonist is almost purely pragmatic, only loosely tied to any personal motivation against the antagonist proper. Arguably, the antagonist even has a defensible position (one of the heroes even considers this, albeit briefly).
* [[What Is This Feeling?]]: Squall has the love version of this a few times with Rinoa.
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: After {{spoiler|Squall rescues Rinoa from ''[[Beyond the Impossible|the freaking void of space]]'', only to see her into Esthar custody for becoming the next sorceress}}, Quistis ''tears him a new one''.
* [[Whip It Good]]: Quistis Trepe uses a whip as her weapon of choice.
* [[White
* [[
* [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]]: Raijin, during the three boss fights with him, will not attack your female characters. He even says ''"I don't hit girls, ya know"'' if he KOs all the male members of your party and only females are left. (Sadly it is not possible to take advantage of this by fighting him with an all-female party since you [[Can't Drop the Hero]], and during the first two fights, Zell is a [[Required Party Member]].)
* [[You Are in Command Now]]: Cid summarily hands command of Balamb Garden and SeeD as a whole over to Squall in disc 2 - to Squall's intense dismay. He proves quite good at it, but doesn't enjoy it.
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