All you need to know about the Square Enix's (formerly Squaresoft) classic: Final Fantasy 8

Like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII consists of three main modes of play: the world map, the field map, and the battle screen. The world map is a 3D display in which the player may navigate freely across a small-scale rendering of the game world. Characters travel across the world map in a variety of ways, including by foot, car, Chocobo, train, and airship. The field map consists of controllable 3D characters overlaid on one or more 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, which represent environmental locations such as towns or forests. The battle screen is a 3D model of a location such as a street or room, where turn-based fights between playable characters and CPU-controlled enemies take place. The interface is menu-driven, as in previous titles, but with the typical weapon and armor systems removed and new features present, such as the Junction system. Also featured is a collectible card-based minigame called "Triple Triad".

Junction system

This new system designed by battle designer Hiroyuki Ito revolves around "summonable" monsters, called "Guardian Forces" (GFs). A character must have a GF assigned ("junctioned") to them before he or she can do anything in battle besides "Attack" with their weapon, such as "Magic", "GF" (summoning), and "Item". While previous Final Fantasy titles provided each character with a limited pool of Magic Points (MP) that were consumed by each spell, in Final Fantasy VIII, spells are "drawn" (obtained) from enemies, Draw Points distributed throughout the game's environments, and usable items. Spells are then stocked on characters as quantified inventory (up to 100 at a time) and are consumed one by one when used. GFs allow characters to "junction" these spells to their own statistics-such as Strength, Vitality, Evade, and Luck-for various bonuses.
A battle with an early boss; to summon Shiva, Zell's ATB gauge is replaced by a blue bar which triggers the summon when it is depleted.
A battle with an early boss; to summon Shiva, Zell's ATB gauge is replaced by a blue bar which triggers the summon when it is depleted.

The flexibility of this system makes it possible to build a powerful party early in the game. This alternative use of GFs was a significant departure for the Final Fantasy series, as summoned creatures were previously used almost exclusively to deliver a single devastating attack during battles. Furthermore, the system replaced the equipment system of previous games with a permanent, specialized weapon for each character; each weapon can be upgraded several times, which increases its power and alters its appearance. For example, Squall begins with a gunblade called the Revolver, but after fully upgrading it, it becomes the Lion Heart.

Limit Breaks

As in Final Fantasy VII, each character has unique special attacks called "Limit Breaks" ("Special Arts" in the original Japanese version). Whereas Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII are triggered by filling the Limit meter through taking damage, in Final Fantasy VIII, they are randomly available every turn when the character's health (Hit Points, or HP) is below 32% of its current maximum, and influenced also by the negative status effects the character is afflicted with. This system is similar to the Desperation Attacks from Final Fantasy VI, which are triggered on rare occasions when a character is near death. The magic spell Aura increases the probability of Limit Breaks appearing, regardless of a character's remaining Hit Points.

Another change is that most of the main characters' special techniques feature interactive elements, ranging from a slot machine design to fighting game-style button inputs. These elements, which are dependent on the character and the nature of the Limit Break, can be used to increase the potency of the attack.

Experience Levels

Experience points are awarded following successful battles against randomly encountered enemies. When a character accumulates a certain amount of experience points, he or she gains a "level", which increases that character's base statistics. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, however, randomly encountered enemies have no set level - their levels increase alongside those of the playable characters. Higher-level enemies are capable of inflicting and withstanding significantly more damage, and may have additional special attacks. Statistic increases from "leveling up" are minuscule compared with those that are available through the Junction system.

In addition to gaining levels, Guardian Forces earn Ability Points (AP) after battles, which are allocated to special abilities that Guardian Forces can learn. When a GF has learned an ability, that ability becomes available for any character - and, in some cases, the entire character party - to use. Through learned abilities, GFs can receive attack enhancements in battle, refine magical spells from items, provide bonuses to characters when leveling up, provide access to shops, and add battle commands.

Setting

Most of Final Fantasy VIII is set on an unnamed fantasy world with one moon. The planet comprises five major landmasses, with Esthar, the largest, covering most of the eastern portion of the map. Galbadia, the second largest continent, lies to the west, and contains many of the game's locations. The northernmost landmass is Trabia, an Arctic region. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies Balamb, the smallest continent, the island on which the game begins. The remaining two landmasses are smaller and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain caused by the impact of a "Lunar Cry", an event where monsters from the moon fall to the planet. The southernmost landmass includes an archipelago of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. Islands and marine structures flesh out the rest of the game world, and a handful of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas.

As part of a theme desired by director Yoshinori Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere, various designs were given to its locations using the style of internationally familiar places, while also maintaining a fantasy atmosphere. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society.

The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on his duty to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for martial arts and hot dogs; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves vehicles and flies the spacecraft Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man. Playable supporting characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.

Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart is the primary protagonist and a young student at Balamb Garden, identifiable by the scar on his face that a fellow student, Seifer, inflicted. He rarely speaks and has the reputation of being a lone wolf. As Squall's story unfolds, he becomes fascinated with and falls in love with Rinoa, despite never outwardly expressing such until the ending. Squall is characterized by forlorn memories of standing out in the rain at the orphanage where he grew up, wondering where "Sis" (Ellone, an older girl he saw as a sister-figure) went. Squall's weapon is a gunblade, a sword that uses components of a revolver to send vibrations through the blade when triggered. His Limit Break is a series of sword strikes called Renzokuken.

Rinoa Heartilly

Rinoa Heartilly is the primary female protagonist. She is the seventeen year old daughter of General Caraway, a high-ranking officer in the Galbadian army, and Julia Heartilly, a successful pianist and singer. Rinoa is a member of the Forest Owls, a small resistance faction seeking to liberate the small nation of Timber from Galbadian occupation. When the party helps the resistance movement fight Galbadia, Rinoa decides to stay with them. She falls in love with Squall, despite never physically displaying so until the final cutscene. In battle, she uses a weapon called a Blaster Edge, which consists of an arm holster and a projectile that returns like a boomerang. In her Combine Limit Break, she attacks in unison with her dog, Angelo. When Rinoa gains Sorceress powers, she acquires a second Limit Break, Angel Wing, which increases her spell-casting ability.

Zell Dincht

Zell Dincht is a student at Balamb Garden with Squall and Seifer. Seventeen years old, Zell is a martial artist; his weapons are gloves, and his Limit Break, Duel, requires the player to input button combinations on the controller to deal damage. Zell is slightly impulsive and overconfident in his own skill; however, he is loyal to his friends. Zell is often used as comic relief; Seifer gives him the nickname "chicken-wuss" and other characters begin using it as well. He also has a passion for hot dogs; a recurring gag is that they are always sold out by the time he reaches the cafeteria.

Zell lived at the same orphanage as many of the other protagonists; this is where Seifer first began to bully him. He was later adopted by the Dincht family in the town of Balamb. His motivation for enrolling at Garden is to live up to the memory of his grandfather, a famous soldier.

Zell was designed to look and act like the main character of a sh%u014Dnen manga (Japanese comic books intended primarily for boys); his neighbors in Balamb describe him as a "'comic-bookish' type of hero". The inspiration for the tattoo on his face came from an MTV music video that featured a man with a full body tattoo.

Irvine Kinneas

Irvine Kinneas is a student at Galbadia Garden, one of the three mercenary academies in the game. He is one of the Garden's elite sharpshooters, always carrying his rifle. His Limit Break is Shot, which deals damage and inflicts status effects depending on the type of ammunition. Irvine is depicted as a cowboy, tall and fair-skinned with long brown hair that he wears pulled back in a ponytail. He also enjoys flirting with the female characters, being known as well for his marksmanship as his charm. He acts like a carefree, but misunderstood loner; however, this is merely a façade to charm women and hide his lack of confidence.

When Sorceress Edea becomes the Galbadian ambassador, Balamb and Galbadia Gardens order Squall's team to assassinate her; Irvine is introduced as the sniper for the mission. Moments before the assassination attempt, he explains to Squall that he always chokes under pressure. At Trabia Garden, Irvine reveals that he and most of the other party members had lived in the same orphanage, run by Cid and Edea Kramer. However, the others could not remember this because of their use of Guardian Forces (GF), magical beings who cause severe long-term memory loss as a side effect. Because Irvine had not used a GF until he joined the party, he is able to remember his past. During the game, Irvine gradually draws closer to Selphie, acting on the feeling he has had since living with her at the orphanage.

With Irvine, Nomura tried to strike a balance between not overshadowing Squall and not becoming too unattractive. He gave Irvine a handsome appearance, but a casual personality, hoping that this would make him less attractive than Squall. Keeping with this idea, Nomura gave him goggles; however, this idea was abandoned in favor of an American cowboy-like appearance to set him apart from other goggle-wearing characters in the Final Fantasy series.

Selphie Tilmitt

is a student at Balamb Garden who recently transferred from Trabia Garden. She is active and energetic, although slightly clumsy. She participates in many extracurricular activities, such as planning the Garden Festival and running the school's website. She wields nunchaku in battle, and her Limit Break is Slot, which allows the player to cast a random spell numerous times. In addition to battle, she pilots the Ragnarok starship.

Selphie first appears when running into Squall while late for class. She asks Squall to show her around because she recently transferred. During the Dollet exam, Selphie joins Squall's team after Seifer abandons them. She becomes a SeeD with Squall and Zell, and the three are assigned to the same team. When Galbadia launches missiles at Trabia Garden, she reacts with outrage and helps destroy the missile base. Throughout the game, she revisits her childhood closeness with Irvine, who serves as her copilot on the Ragnarok.

Selphie was the second character that Nomura drew, after Squall, intentionally giving her an impractical hairstyle. When he first designed Selphie, Nomura drew her in overalls; however, he realized that none of the characters would be wearing a skirt. In the end, he gave Selphie a mini-skirt and let Quistis have pants. In the Kingdom Hearts series, Nomura included a younger version of Selphie as a resident of Destiny Islands. In the English versions, she is voiced by Molly Keck.

Quistis Trepe

is an eighteen year old instructor at Balamb Garden, where Squall, Zell, and Seifer are students. She uses a chain whip in battle, and her Limit Break, Blue Magic, allows her to imitate monsters' attacks. Emotionally, Quistis is insecure and prone to depression, although she tries to maintain a calm persona. Early in the game, Quistis is discharged as an instructor because she "lacks leadership qualities". Afterwards, she maintains a more informal relationship with the other characters as a fellow member of SeeD.

As a child, Quistis stayed at an orphanage with most of the main characters. She then lived with foster parents, with whom she never developed any intimacy, before moving to Balamb Garden at age ten. She became a SeeD at fifteen and an instructor two years later. Quistis initially joins Squall to prepare him for his upcoming field exam. She later takes Squall into her confidence and tells him personally about her demotion. When Irvine refreshes the main characters' memories about the orphanage, they remember that Squall's antisocial behavior began when Ellone, an older sister figure to Squall, left the orphanage unexpectedly. As a result of these revelations, Quistis recognizes that her feelings for Squall are more sisterly than romantic. Later, she criticizes Squall when he nearly abandons Rinoa, his romantic interest.

When designing the characters, Nomura had wanted at least one female character to wear a skirt. Quistis was originally supposed to fill this part, but Nomura decided a long skirt worn over pants would look better. The role was eventually passed to Selphie. Nomura was surprised when the writers cast her as a teacher, despite being around the same age as the rest of the group.

Seifer Almasy

Seifer Almasy is a classmate and rival of Squall, and can only be controlled by the player during the Dollet sequence. He reappears as a boss later in the game. He acts as a mirror to Squall in many respects, having dated Rinoa before she met Squall, and assuming a leadership position among his friends. Like Squall, Seifer wields a gunblade which he calls "Hyperion". His Limit Break, Fire Cross, allows him to use an attack called No Mercy. He later uses the more powerful techniques Demon Slice and Bloodfest against the player. Seifer has a short temper and is often depicted as a bully who desires attention. He is also fiercely independent and is often punished for his recklessness. He is the leader of Balamb Garden's disciplinary committee with his friends Fujin and Raijin. After joining Ultimecia, he becomes the leader of the Galbadian army.

During the introduction sequence, Seifer cuts Squall across the left side of his face with his gunblade, leaving a scar. Squall retaliates with a backhand slash that leaves Seifer with a mirrored scar. At the following field exam in Dollet, Seifer acts independently from his teammates Squall and Zell, abandoning them; consequently, he fails and is not promoted to SeeD. Spurred by dreams of a brighter future, he defects to Sorceress Edea so he could be her "knight". From his point of view, Squall and the others are "evil" and he recognizes himself as the hero. As Seifer is brainwashed by the sorceress, he alienates himself from his friends. Eventually, Fujin and Raijin abandon him and he is defeated shortly afterward.] At the end of the game, Seifer is seen fishing and having fun with Fujin and Raijin again.

Nomura had originally intended Seifer not only as Squall's rival, but also as part of the love triangle between him, Squall and Rinoa. Although this concept was not thoroughly explored in the final script, Seifer remains Squall's rival and his appearance was designed to contrast with Squall's. They have equivalent but mirrored scars on their faces and their jackets are of opposing color and length. Both characters use gunblades; Squall's gunblade is larger and requires two hands, while Seifer's gunblade is lighter and can be wielded with one hand.

A younger version of Seifer makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II as a member of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee with Fujin and Raijin. Seifer in the Virtual Twilight Town is a rival of Roxas and at one point mentions that he does not wish to cooperate with destiny (or anyone according to Roxas). In the English version, he is voiced by Will Friedle.

Edea Kramer

is initially presented as a power-hungry sorceress who seizes control of Galbadia from President Deling. Her motives are unknown, but SeeD is dispatched to assassinate her. Edea is also the wife of Headmaster Cid, and was known as "Matron" to Squall and his friends during the time when they lived with her at the orphanage. It is eventually revealed that Edea was possessed by a sorceress from the future named Ultimecia. When Ultimecia's control is broken, Edea takes the side of the SeeDs in the struggle and joins the party for a short time. However, she accidentally gives her powers to Rinoa, making her a sorceress. Being a sorceress, Edea attacks with magical bursts of energy and her Limit Break, Ice Strike, consists of a magically conjured icicle, hurled like a javelin. This Limit Break is depicted in a cutscene during her coronation as head of Galbadia when Ultimecia commands Edea's body to pierce Squall with it. She is playable only during a sequence in Disk Three.

Edea is one of three character concepts, along with Fujin and Raijin, to have been created before Final Fantasy VIII. Nomura had designed Edea before the development of Final Fantasy VII, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano.

Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire is a man whose past and relation to the main characters are revealed slowly throughout the game. Most of the sequences involving Laguna appear in the form of "dreams" experienced by the protagonists. Squall always experiences these dreams from Laguna's point of view, although he does not think too highly of Laguna. Laguna attacks with a machine gun and his Limit Break, Desperado, involves a swinging rope, a grenade and a lot of bullets. During the dream segments, he is a twenty-seven year old soldier in the Galbadian army who travels with his companions, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac. He is also an aspiring journalist whose weapon of choice is writing.

During the first two dream segments, he and his team are shown getting lost and visiting the hotel where singer Julia Heartilly, Laguna's romantic interest, performs. After a scouting mission at Centra, the three soldiers are separated and Laguna is injured. A young woman named Raine takes him to Winhill where he is nursed back to health. He falls in love with and marries her. However, he is drawn away from his new home when a young girl in their care, Ellone, is kidnapped. Laguna tracks her down in Esthar, where he helps liberate the people of Esthar from the despotic rule of Sorceress Adel. The people of Esthar elect Laguna as their president and Ellone is sent back to Winhill without him. After Raine dies, her child (who Ward and Kiros imply to be Squall in a conversation aboard the Ragnarok) and Ellone are sent to an orphanage. Laguna is unable to leave his post to visit her and remains president of Esthar to present day. Ellone and Laguna are reunited in space, and Laguna helps the party prepare for their fight against Ultimecia.

The concept of two main characters was planned since the beginning of the game's development. Nomura tried to create a contrast between Laguna's and Squall's occupations; thus, Laguna became a soldier and Squall became a mercenary student. The designers intended Laguna to be more similar to the previous protagonists in the series to complement Squall, who is different from previous main characters.

Kiros Seagill

Kiros Seagill is one of Laguna's comrades in the Galbadian Army. He fights with katars, dual blades attached to his arms, with which he repeatedly slices his enemies in his Limit Break, Blood Pain. His weapons' name is given as "katal" in the English localization of the game. Following the failed mission in Centra, Kiros is separated from Laguna and Ward. He heals quickly and decides to leave the Galbadian army, but soon finds that life without Laguna lacks excitement. His subsequent search for Laguna brings him to Winhill after nearly a year. When Laguna is forced to leave Winhill to find Ellone, Kiros accompanies him, helping him earn money as an amateur actor to fund the expedition. Kiros remains by Laguna's side throughout his adventures in Esthar, earning a place as Laguna's advisor when he becomes president. Like Ward, Kiros' interactions with Laguna are based on the staff's interactions during development.

Ward Zabac

Ward Zabac is Laguna's other comrade. An imposing man, he wields a large harpoon in battle; in his Limit Break, Massive Anchor, he uses it to crush his opponents from above. During the incident at Centra, he loses his voice in a battle with Esthar soldiers. After being separated from Laguna and Kiros, he becomes a janitor at the D-District Prison. When Laguna becomes president of Esthar, Ward joins Kiros as an advisor, directing affairs with gestures and ellipses. Laguna and Kiros can understand what he is saying by his reactions. Like Kiros, Ward's interactions with Laguna are based on the staff's interactions during development.

Diabetes Care

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Diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin (in type 1) or resistance to its

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Acne Care

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Acne vulgaris (commonly called acne) is a common skin condition, caused by changes in

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Pregnancy and childbirth care

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Weight loss, in the context of medicine, healthor physical fitness, is a reduction of the total

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Teeth whitening that works

The most important tip is to brush your teeth regularly andavoid excess tobacco,smoking

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Facial care blog

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Hair care blog

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Proper Health Care

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