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Final Fantasy VIII (view source)

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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 -Level Run|without earning a single experience point]]. Instead of equipping armour, characters "[[Powers As Programs|junction]]" [[Summon Magic|summon creatures]], and can increase their effectiveness by draining and stockpiling magic spells from enemies. It also foregoes a [[Mana Meter]] for [[Vancian Magic]].
 
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}}
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=== This game provides examples of: ===
 
== A-I ==
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* [[The Aloner]]: Squall {{spoiler|in the end sequence}}.
* [[All in A Row]]: Earlier games only showed one character at a time. This was the first title to show the entire party walking around together.
* [[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.
<!-- %% AngstDissonance was moved to YMMV tab. Please don't add it back here. -->
* [[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.
* [[Artsy Moon]]: Foreshadowing for later in the game.
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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 -Hit Kill]] spells in her [[Limit Break]]: "Rapture," which kills every non-boss enemy, and "The End," which can one-shot anything up to the [[Final Boss]] if you're lucky enough to roll it up.
* [[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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** [[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 -Hit Kill]] any boss in the game except the [[Final Boss]] (and then it's only because it's a four-stage fight; The End will still knock out one of the stages for you instantly). However, it's played straight with other attacks, such as Quistis's "Degenerator" limit break or the Level 5 death spell.
*** There's actually a notable example with Odin, who will randomly appear during non-boss battles and use a [[One -Hit Kill]] attack to destroy whoever you're fighting. When fighting Seifer for the fourth time, {{spoiler|Odin will appear and use his [[One -Hit Kill]] attack, but Seifer blocks it and destroys Odin. However, this causes Gilgamesh to appear later in the battle and use his [[One -Hit Kill]] attack to defeat Seifer}}.
** [[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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** [[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 -Winged Angel]]: {{spoiler|Ultimecia}} goes through several of these. Also, the {{spoiler|Fake President Deling}} has this when he transforms into Gerogero.
** [[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.
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* [[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 -Blooded Torture]]: Seifer does this to Squall in D-District Prison.
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]:
** Squall wears [[Dark Is Not Evil|black]], Seifer wears [[Light Is Not Good|white]].
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* [[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.
* [[DancesandDances and Balls]]/[[Dance of Romance]]: Squall and Rinoa at the [[DancesandDances and Balls|SeeD graduation ball]].
* [[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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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.
* [[Diesel Punk]]: Though a bit brighter than ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''.
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* [[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 -in -Chief]]: Edea. After {{spoiler|killing Vinzer Deling she takes over as leader of Galbadia}}.
* [[Dream Sequence]]: Squall has several of these showing him as a child talking about his missing "Sis."
* [[Dressing As the Enemy]]: Done in the Galdbadia Missile Base mission. Also, Watts is seen in Timber dressed as a Galbadian soldier.
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* [[Dub Induced Plot Hole]]: A minor example -- in the beginning of the game, Zell continually tries (and [[Failure Is the Only Option|fails]]) to get his [[Trademark Favorite Food]] from the Balamb Garden cafeteria. What his favorite food actually ''is'', however, depends on what translation of the game you're playing (in English, it's hot dogs; in French, it's pretzels; etc). Much later, during the [[Dance Party Ending]], Zell is seen stuffing his face with a pile of what looks like dinner rolls. This is actually the punchline to a [[Brick Joke]] -- in the original Japanese script, Zell's favorite food is a particular kind of bread. He ''finally'' got his hands on some!
** 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| '''Squall''': Were we hired to run errands? Well?<br />
'''Zone''': A-Are you angry?<br />
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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 -Skinned Brunette]]: Edea.
* [[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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** 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 [[I ProductIProduct|iMac]], complete with transparent colored plastic.
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Princesses]]: Rinoa is not a princess, but the resistance calls her that as a nickname, most likely because she's {{spoiler|the daughter of the military commander of the occupying state}} and because she acts like she thinks she's one in the early parts of the game.
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Spinning]]: Zell's final limit break causes the enemy to spin.
* [[Evil Sorcerer|Evil Sorceress]]: Ultimecia and Adel, plus Edea {{spoiler|while she's possessed}}.
* [[Evil Tower of Ominousness]]: Lunatic Pandora.
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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 -Fitting Wardrobe]]: Edea.
* [[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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* [[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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* [[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 Plus One+1 Sword]]: As with the other games in the series, every character has an ultimate weapon.
* [[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.
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* [[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.
* [[ItsIt's All My Fault]]: Zell has a moment in Disc 1, after he inadventertly said that Seifer belongs to the Garden of Balamb [[What an Idiot!|right in front of the President, who were threatened by Seifer himself, during a live TV program]]. Fortunately, Quistis later reassures him that his recklessness didn't cause repercussions at all for their Garden.
* [[Its Raining Men]]: Galbadia Garden uses this technique during both of their offensives during the Battle of the Gardens.
 
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* [[Kick the Son of A Bitch]]: Edea's {{spoiler|murder of President Deling}}.
* [[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 -Sentence]]: {{spoiler|Ultimecia.}} in her final [[One -Winged Angel]] form.
{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Ultimecia}}''': Reflect on your... Childhood... Your sensation... Your words... Your emotions... Time... It will not wait... No matter... How hard you hold on... It escapes you... And...}}
* [[Killer Bunny]]: One beach-dwelling monster is a sand-swimming, flying piranha-toothed ''goldfish''.
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* [[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 On Each Arm]]: Irvine does this with Rinoa and Selphie if you follow his suggested party split at Galbadia Garden. It's possible to swap one of them out for Quistis, but for some reason, Irvine isn't as happy about it.
* [[Laser -Guided Amnesia]]: {{spoiler|Guardian Forces inhibit memories}}, which is a fundamental plot point that defines most of the game.
* [[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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* [[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]]).
* [[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 -Reveal|Nobody in the game ever confirms this]], but plenty of clues direct the player to that conclusion: {{spoiler|Comparison of the timeline to Ellone and Laguna's account of events, moombas identifying Squall as connected to Laguna based on his blood, Laguna's comments about needing to talk to Squall after the war is over, and Kiros and Ward's remarks that Squall looks like his mother and it's a good thing he doesn't look like his father.}}
* [[Macross Missile Massacre]]: Galbadia's missile attack on Balamb Garden.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: Odine.
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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 ItsIt's Not Awesome?|doesn't it look awesome?]]
** The idea of "Time Compression" is based on the concept of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime Spacetime], which considers the concept of "time" as like a "fourth dimension" in a 3D area.
* [[Mini Dress of Power]]: Selphie, and the female SeeD uniforms.
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** [[Anti Mutiny]]: The students and staff loyal to Cid are attempting one.
* [[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 -Man Army]] soldiers and their [[Summon Magic|summoned demigods]] can't stop? Break out the .50 cal machineguns.
* [[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.
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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 -Action Guy]]: Cid.
* [[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]].
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* [[Off With His Head]]: NORG wants to offer the heads of the party members to Edea on a silver platter to calm her after the assassination attempt.
* [[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 -Sama]]: {{spoiler|Ellone}} to Squall.
* [[Opening the Sandbox]]: Disc 2, {{spoiler|when Balamb Garden lifts off.}} And of course {{spoiler|getting the Ragnarok in disc 3}}
* [[One -Time Dungeon]]: There's Dollet Communications Tower, Galbadia D-District Prison, Missile Base, Galbadia Garden (during the attack), Great Salt Lake and Lunatic Pandora (only visited twice) leading to almost all locations inaccessible due to Time Compression. Not to mention the Laguna dream sequences.
* [[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 -Long Fighting Animation]]: The Guardian Force summon animations are some of the longest in the series, leading to the most powerful summons (and not coincidentally, the ones with the longest summon time) being rarely used at all. The backlash is likely what led to Square offering the option to shorten them in future titles. Ironically, this was also the first game to make those movies interactive: there's a "Boost" function which lets you [[Button Mash]] your way to higher damage.
* [[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 A Row]], but on the world map, only the leader will be shown.
* [[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 -Hit Kill|Degenerator]] for rapid experience gain.
* [[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 -Out Dress]]: Edea's, with the [[Fluffy Fashion Feathers|feather collar]], and the cape with the arch on top. Accented by a bitchin' helmet with bird-beak visor and magical hair extensions, natch. Ultimecia also has one, [[Evil Is Sexy|only it's a lot sexier]].
* [[Player Headquarters]]: Balamb Garden.
* [[Player Party]]
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* [[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.
* [[PowerupPower-Up Letdown]]: Reflect is heavily [[Nerf|Nerfed]] in this game, only working on single-target spells the player characters can learn. Later on, all it does is block healing spells.
* [[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 Guided Boomerang]]: Fujin
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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 -O -Vision]]: The Devour ability cuts to a flower field, though you get crunching sound effects if you successfully eat the monster.
* [[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.
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** [[Hot Teacher]]
* [[Screw the War Were Partying|Screw The War, We're Partying]]: This seems to be Laguna's attitude in the first flashback sequence when he leaves Timber and goes to Deling City to see Julia peform.
* [[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 A Can]]: The entire reason for the radio interference on Earth is {{spoiler|that the sorceress Adel was sealed in a high-tech containment system and launched into orbit. This was necessary because nobody knew how to kill her permanently, and because of how powerful she was, just flinging her into deep space could have had long-lasting consequences.}}
** 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 ItsIt's Not Awesome?|you've also brought TV back into the world.]]
* [[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 -Fulfilling Prophecy]]: {{spoiler|Ultimecia's}} actions are fueled by a desire to avoid persecution for crimes she hasn't commited and stop history from coming to pass, which states she will be killed by SeeD. Thing is, her attempts to do this involve {{spoiler|1=possessing people of the past to try and wipe SeeD out, starting war in the process, and eventually causing SeeD to kill her in retaliation for it all by traveling to the future}}. To put it simply - she tries to stop the chain of events that results in her death, and in doing so causes said chain. See also [[Stable Time Loop]].
* [[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 All Grown Up|She's All Grown Up]]: Ellone.
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* [[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 Stroke Battle]]: If you have Odin, he randomly appears at the beginning of a battle and ends it quickly, {{spoiler|except against Seifer}}. In addition, {{spoiler|after Odin is killed, his replacement, Gilgamesh, will randomly appear during any part of a battle and attack with a weapon. If it's the Zantetsuken (Odin's recovered sword), then this happens as well.}}
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* [[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''.
* [[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]".
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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 -Student Romance]]:
** 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 [[Lampshades]] this in the Fire Cavern Test when she mentions to Squall how the boys often choke on the test when she comes with them.
** 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.
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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 -Teacher School]]: Aside from Quistis and a minor NPC named Mr. Aki, none of Balamb Garden's instructors ever actually make appearances. This may be justified by the fact that Squall graduates within the first stages of the game and no longer attends classes.
* [[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 -Reveal]]: {{spoiler|Laguna}} never comes out and says "[[Luke, I Am Your Father|Squall, I am your father]]," and in fact nobody ever mentions anything about it except for one oblique reference by Kiros. It's still heavily implied.
* [[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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* [[Welcome to Corneria]]: Say it with me. This is an RPG.
* [[Weird Moon]]: It's {{spoiler|covered with monsters.}}
* [[What Do You Mean ItsIt's Not Awesome?]]: Since Square's rendering abilities had progressed dramatically since ''VII'', they would often render almost anything in FMV if they had the chance. Which worked when it was a dramatic chase sequence featuring our heroes chased by a giant mechanical spider, but tended towards the absurd when an elevator was given the same loving treatment.
* [[Whatever]]: Practically Squall's [[Catch Phrase]], along with [[Visible Silence|"....."]]
* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]:
** 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 -Haired Pretty Girl]]: Ultimecia. Also, Fujin.
* [[Womanin Black]]: Edea.
* [[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]].)
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[[Category:Final Fantasy (Franchise)]]
[[Category:Final Fantasy VIII]]
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