Growing up made me like squall a lot more. As a kid I was seeing squall as an adult that was kind of a jerk. But now that I'm 10 years older than squall I see a child soldier forced into responsibilities he should never have to deal with. This changes so much of how I read the character.
@@robertforster8984 ... yes he is? 17 is a kid and like, he was raised in a paramilitary organization for a good chunk of his childhood. He is certainly not an adult and I can't imagine how I would have reacted being in his situation at 17, but I can't fault him for acting like a teen when that's what he is.
17 is hardly what I'd call a child soldier. Young soldier yes, but I find it funny how both a 10 year old soldier and 17 both get called "child soldiers" - you can see they're worlds apart. Also, keep in mind the other students never acted that way and they were in the exact same position. Let's not pretend that's what their intention was, you can see the original translation he wasn't even like that. Even if youthink that sort of character is good and that it makes sense for him to be that way, he's still being selfish by bringing his other friends down who are in the exact same situation he is in, they're being strong and positive while he's being a whiny brat. He wants to play as a selfish protagonist? They screwed him over hard in the translation. As a kid, I saw him as a jerk. Now at 35, I see his Translated version as a jerk. He seems not too bad in the japanese version.
I was surprised you didn’t mention Squall is Laguna’s son and Rinoa is Julia’s daughter. Laguna and Julia were star crossed lovers that never wound up together due to circumstances beyond their control. Both moved on with their lives but their children ultimately fulfilled the fate they were not able to make happen. Edit 09/05/2024. OMG. Can’t believe this got 1000 likes. 🤯
they were not star crossed lovers. He was a soldier and she was an entertainer. His commanding officer had a thing for the julia and when he noticed Laguna get close.. he sent him out on a suicide mission and made it so he would never return.
The game was supposed to be about Laguna, but due to FF7’s popularity they were pushed to make the protagonist an edgy teen loser (like Cloud). So they made Laguna’s story a side story.
Regarding Laguna being Squall’s father, the game never actually comes out and says it. Though, it is strongly implied in some scenes for those that are lore savvy.
@@DallasUnchained The game tells you in an indirect way,when you finally meet Laguna there are LOTS of references about it,even if it is not directly stated,it is made pretty obvious so the player would know while Squall would not,almost everyone catched that
Edea and Cid knew Squall was fated to defeat Ultimecia but they didn't knew the path he needed to take to reach his destiny so they make him the leader of the garden during the invasion, a 17 yo kid, not knowing how he could win, but only knowing that he would save them in the end
they only knew that because squall had already defeated ultimecia and traveled back to the point of power transfer to matron and told her. when the game started seed was already created which meant that squall already told matron about it before the game started. so the game is actually where we beat ultimecia for the second time at least. there could have been more loops before and after the game.
My understanding of the scene was that there was no guarantee that _he_ would have to be the leader. He was that only one that was known to be involved since it was he that appeared before Edea, and was thus the only known factor.
I DEEPLY resonated with Squall as a teen. My mother abandoned me when I was 6, I knew EXACTLY what he was going through, had exactly the same kind of walls up and playing Squall was like playing an insert of myself. I was introverted, aloof, and distant to many people, but especially my family. Everything Squall did made perfect sense to me and his deep relationship with his friends echoed in myself as I learned to reach out to people outside of my family and form close bonds with them. Many of whom have told me I was the best friend they ever had. The "Whatever" line comes down to tone. As a teen I mimicked it but I did so the same as how I interpreted it, which was as a despondent tone rather than sarcastic one. The tone shifts how others react to it, a sarcastic tone is blatant disregard said explicitly to trivialize and belittle a persons thoughts or feelings often followed by an eyeroll, a despondent tone is a passive dismissal of interest or affect accompanied by a shrug. Squall shrugs.
This is a really cool comment. It's awesome how a game or game character can resonate with someone and even help them grow as a person. That's definitely a win for the type of storytelling you can only find in video games. I'm also glad you were able to overcome those difficult and uncommon challenges in your life!
That's how I always read his "whatevers." Not sarcastically, but despondent, trying to get involved as little as possible with everyone bc as far as he knew, they'd suddenly be gone like everyone else in his life. I also often wonder about the decision to translate it this way based on the Japanese. Ppl point out he actually said a lot of different stuff in the original Japanese, HOWEVER, things get translated differently sometimes into other languages bc of the WAY it was said in Japanese and there's no other way to convey that other than choosing a different word(s) in the translated language. So like, for all I know, the phrases he was saying in Japanese might, in Japanese, be considered anti-social or rude or detached responses or said in a way that conveys that, but those same phrases translated directly into English wouldn't have given that same feeling, so instead of going for a direct translation they went for something different that would convey a similar feel in English. I'd be interested to know. I personally enjoy the jokes and memes over all of Squall's "whatevers" lol
Squall is the hedgehog wrapped up in a ball of spines trying not to hurt or be hurt. Whatever is a way to brush aside the subject so that he doesn't have to come out of that ball and become vulnerable to another person. Whatever is a sort of the swiss army knife of responces; it achieves it's function in ending the conversation even if it doesn't alway illicit the same responce.
Same here. As a teen I was very distant and aloof, still working on it to this day. Squall quickly became my favorite character, and FF8 possibly my favorite in the series. I get why people hate Squall or the game, but it felt like it was written for me. And yes, there is no way I would have hugged Rinoa at that time period of my life lol. I haven't played it in a long time now. Maybe at this point in my life, I'd end up identifying more with Laguna? Only one way to find out...
@@SquallWulfhartI played 8 on release, and my story is similar to several folks' here. I was at the end of high school, dealing with a bunch of fresh trauma, and suicidally depressed. To me, Squall was one of the most relatable characters I'd seen in any media at that point. Abandonment is probably still my deepest fear. Things are a lot better 20+ years later; but, I don't know if I would have made it here without what I got from that game. Learning that others dealt with those kinds of extreme feelings, and could eventually find some degree of peace and happiness, was something that kept me going for longer than I care to admit.
Yes. Ellenay? That better be the official pronunciation because after nearly 25 years, I can’t lol (Off topic but why is it pro-noun-ce but also it’s pro-nun-ciation?)
I always liked Squall as a character. He came across as an introvert who preferred to do things on his own, but over the course of the story, he learns to accept others into his life and rely on them as comrades, rather than burdens. That's called character growth, and we love to see it.
It's annoying how often people reduce Cloud and Squall down to being "emo". It's like a game of telephone where people just repeat these things instead of actually trying to understand the characters. Besides, neither character is overly whiney/pouty. At worst, Squall is mildly depressed and insecure.
Edea, by the way, comes from the name of a Muse from Greek mythology - Aoede (Italian spelling - Aedea, Spanish - Aede). Aedea with her two sisters: Melete and Mneme represent steps in creation of a stageplay, Melete - composition/writing, Mneme - rehersal, and Aoede - performance. So Edea is the Muse which leads actors - her children on stage through their "lives" predetermined by the script, which she is handed by Squall at the end of the game.
Honestly, I was never put off by Squall’s “whatever”s. And as I’ve gotten older, I’m totally more amused by it haha. The refusal of Zell’s handshake and all. Especially since I think one of the Timber resistance guys also won’t shake his hand. Poor guy😂. I always found it funny.
There's one thing I feel like you missed in regards to the team's lack of reluctance to kill Edea. Yeah, it's not expressed very well by most of the party, but think back to the assassination attempt scene. Where Irvine is allegedly freezing up because he "always chokes before a shot". Maybe he isn't hesitating because it's too much pressure. Maybe he just really doesn't want to kill his Matron, whom he 100% remembers, unlike the others.
I've always felt that part of the reason Irvine waits so long to tell the others is because he didn't want to let them know it was their Matron they were about to assassinate. After that there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for him to spill the beans until the party reunites in FH. They're captured, need to escape, then immediately split up to take care of the missiles and warn Balamb Garden. It's not until they get to Trabia Garden that Irvine finally works up the courage and decides to tell everyone what they were really doing. Or perhaps he just wanted to wait until Selphie cheered up and felt better before giving her more bad news.
Yeah that was always my take on it too, or at the least, it's a combination of both of those things. He's not a cold hearted killer and has trouble taking any shot, no the person he's supposed to kill is his former carer, someone he has an emotional attachment to, well it's too much.
@@GoeTeeksthe clues for this were barely in the game. If the game is ever remade the devs would have to improve on these elements because they're barely there at all...
The whatever line made Squall so much more relatable to me. His character type is one that cant arsed to really push himself or to worry about other peoples feelings, until later in the game ofc. The constant "whatevers" (in his head, never spoken out much) is very realistic and relatable to an outcast teenager.
I've never clicked on a video so fast after finding it. FF8 was pivotal for my teen years. This game was so overlooked but the plot was so ahead of its time.
I haven't play FF8 in probably 15-20 years but I gotta tell you, man, that music and the end plus the dedication for your wife got me right in the gut. Literally one of the most beautiful soundtracks of any FF game, and just such a wonderful story. I think you nailed the video here, well done. I remembered the majority of what you went over but there's always some things that get lost in the memory banks over time, so it was a lovely refresher.
The story makes infinitely more sense on repeat playthroughs, when you realise that even upon the start of their lives, they are chess pieces being used by Ultimecia, not fate. So they set out to free their timeline from her time sorceress' grasp
I just looked it up and its true Kitase retracts his original answer saying a direct no to the theory but he does admit that he was unaware of the theory. He also says that theres a chance that Nojima or Nomira could have added it in kind of like Shinra in FFX… Either way, I personally think the story is much better if she was Ultimecia
I was 23 when I beat the game. Never before and never since have I cried after finishing any song movie or book..... my heart burst into tears not only because of the depth and beauty, but because my adventure was also over. It is the most beautiful and profound works of art I have ever enjoyed. A master piece
I remember when the trailer first came out. We only had dial up internet. So me and my friend ( I was 15 he was 13) started watching it piece by piece as it slowly loaded throughout the day. Probably took 4-5 hours if I'm not mistaken. Then once it was fully loaded, we watched it like 50 times lol. Coming off of FF7 and playing that to death, this was all we could think about. We were obsessed. Overall it was a great game. Didn't hit the same way FF7 did, but we played the game nonstop for a year or more, and still loved it.
I remember I had dial up as well, and one day I FINALLY found a MP3 of One Winged Angel online. I started downloading it and, after 6 hours, it was almost finished - but the internet failed and I lost the download. You have no idea how frustrating it was, lol. After a while, a friend who had a better internet connection managed to download it for me, and he zipped/splitted it on four floppy disks that I could take to my house. The moment when I finally was able to listen to that mp3, dude, it was magical.
"I've known people who've suffered past emotional trauma of a similar ilk and were closed off, but didn't act as offensively as Squall did." It is important to remember that everyone processes trauma differently, and with varying degrees of "success" (I use quotations because success can be subjective with trauma, and the goalposts can shift constantly in terms of healing); the important message to take away is that we all are human and that we ought to strive to give each other grace and the benefit of the doubt, because we don't have the full context of each others' lives.
Good take, only 1 thing: That love expresses itself at "inappropriate times" makes it that much more real and relatable. It's touches on a deeper dimension.
Thank you very much for covering my favorite game of the entire series. When I first played it I was in the middle of dealing with a traumatic childhood and there was a clear resonance. I understood where Squall was coming from even with the overly simplified translations. I think it helped me get through some of my own stuff going on Squall's journey.
I think the harder your childhood, the more you close yourself, then the more sense squall behaviour makes. I didn't was like squall, I wished I was like him. I lived a lot of bullying so I wished I was strong and that I didn't have to rely on anyone and that I didn't keep searching for friends on bad places and that I could stop wanting friendship from people that was bad to me. I instantly looked at that guy and wanted to have a sword and to fight at the same level as the bully (Seifer) and to say to everyone: I am doing what is expected from me, so leave me alone if you don't want trouble.
I could relate with Squall so much. Having undiagnosed Autism, feeling lost, a loner, building a Wall around me not to get hurt by this complex Social World. Rionoa did not get a Hug because it did not feel "true" maybe she does that to everybody and you do not get something "real" or "true". So what does she want? Reject! There is that continous overthinking of his.. he definitely shared a lot of traits of Asbergers Symdrome. His Arc made the exposure to friendship, being valuable quite visible. It is so helpful to your understanding of humanity to have people around you... At start, these people teased him a bit being in a group, and quickly realized how much of his misteryousness~ is just fassade for "seeking" and what dependable and most loyal and grounded person lurked beneath that shell. I did understand him very much being a teenager.
@@claudijatzandrapova3347 Oh, now that I searched them, I was actually looking for FF VIII Ultemecia Boss Batlle The Extreme (according to youtube). But once again, thank you so much for taking your time to reply to my original comment!
I don't think the truer translation adds to his character. The whole "whatever" thing is suppose to show his introverted side and how is he bad at communication. You see the big monologues he has in his head, but all that comes out is "whatever".
I never considered saying "whatever" as being jerkish or offensive, just that Squall seemed to feel like it wasn't worth trying to explain his thoughts to people. He always came off to me as a good person that just can't emotionally connect to others openly. I also identify the most with Squall out of any final fantasy character, maybe any fictional character.
16:45 it's not completely off the radar because Irvine, who still remembers the past, did not struggle to snipe Edea because of his fear of missing but he knew who Edea was. Irvine was aware that he is about to kill their matron and was flooded by so many thoughts and worries if it's the right thing to do or not. As for Seifer he still remembers Edea and not only had the chance to protect her for who she was but he got to live his childhood dream of becoming a sorceress' knight, an idea he got from the movie where Laguna fights the dragon in the mountains, plus his Gunblade stances mimic that of Laguna
This was my first FF game and I honestly loved it. I did think that the orphanage scene was pretty stupid but I enjoyed the growing relationship between Squall and Rinoa. lol I had a lot in common with Squall so he spoke to me as a character.
VIII is important to me. I always sent in those registration cards that were in old instruction manuals. One day, Squaresoft sent an email saying I could get Final Fantasy VIII's soundtrack for free, that all I had to do was reply to the email with my address. I did so, and the four-disc soundtrack showed up about two weeks later. That was my first video game soundtrack and what stared my collection.
One cannot make a video about FVIII without mentioning the amazing score by Nobuo Uematsu. I think especially in this game and in relation to what was said in the video the music plays a very significant role to support the game.
@@nathank2289Uematsu claims that he doesn’t love/favor any of the collections more than others but I think 7 is his magnum opus. I love 8 don’t get me wrong. Lunatic Pandora, Laguna’s theme & the regular boss music are premium tracks
Being very introverted as a kid, I really was able to associate myself with Squall. Much of his dialogue isn't spoken and as the game progresses, you really see how much Squall cares for his party members, while having difficulty expressing it. Growing up, people would often consider my silence to be rude or me being cruel to them, when I actually felt no ill will or antagonism against them at all, much like how NPCs would interpret Squall's responses. His "Whatever" line, translated or not, works just fine, because that's actually how someone who is introverted will act. They will seemingly be rude, despite it not being their intention. "Who would refuse to shake Zell's hand or hug Rinoa? What kind of weird person acts this way?!" type line of thinking is basically just you not understanding introverts at all. We don't like interacting with other people we aren't close with, especially at younger ages. Even today, if I were to go to a club with friends and they asked me to dance, I would immediately shut down. Introverts have VERY strong boundaries to their comfort zones and in the game, you can clearly see when Squall's comfort zones are being breached; he shuts down and refuses to interact. Meanwhile other FF protags either don't even have their own personality or copy someone else's...
This is one of the absolute best introspective videos about FF8. I had no idea about the infamous "Whatever" noy being so prevalent with a Japanese equivalent. Also lovely art from your wife! FF8 is still my favorite and was my very first FF in the series. I LOVE the junction system.
Totally agree with you on this video being top-notch in its introspection of FF8. It's fascinating to learn about the nuances lost in translation, like the "Whatever" phrase. And yes, the art is fantastic! FF8 was also my first in the series and remains my favorite. The junction system is just brilliant, so innovative and engaging.
@@Ares9999 really??? xD been forced to use the same command in battle over and over and over and over again... sooo innnovative xDD .. prob the worst ff ..
@@romusz The amusing thing is, with the exception of the exotic spells (though later on this will make it a bit more of a breeze) you can side step the drawing grind but that means you have to do a lot of AP grind to enable the GF abilities that will refine magic from items. I abused it a lot for my subsequent playthroughs and it works really well. But again, AP grind, so your mileage may vary.
I got a griever tattoo that gave me the strength to get through some tough life circumstances. It gave “What would Squall do?” during the tough times and “live like Rinoa” during happy times. This game will live forever in me.
Regarding the translation: the Italian version was translated directly and more literally from Japanese, so there are very few instances of the infamous "Whatever...". So when the Japanese translation appeared I could instantly recognize its Italian equivalent, and was surprised of how close they were. Another thing where the Italian translators did better, imo: the English version translated "Arutimishia"'s name as Ultimecia, deriving it from the "ultimate spell" Ultima, but I think the correct translation of the name is the Italian one, Artemisia.
The French version has a lot of this too. If I can help it, I no longer play this game in English. The French translation is just straight up better than the English.
FFVIII's english translation is infamous for being made possible with a GameShark due to the jap. team never sharing the full scripts and possibly never helping out. They (the US team) did a good enough job, and it's always easier to find mistakes in hindsight.
Wow, yeah that makes sense! That’s not the only time the name was in the franchise either, Artemicion the fastest moogle in the world in IX, his Japanese name was Arutemishion.
this is interesting. I always felt the name Ultimecia was... kind of dumb. It's interesting how these small translation/localization issues can do so much damage to the original intent of the story.
Squall is definitely rude at the beginning of the game but throughout the game, he becomes more and more "human" or "normal", as far as social behaviours are concerned.
How would you expect a war orphan trained as a demon magic wielding super soldier whose mind is suffering from the effects of time compression supposed to react?
@@Peaches-i2i 1st of all, Squall doesn't experience time compression before the game. Besides, all the main protagonists in FF 8 are war orphans : Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie are orphans as well and they are quite polite and sociable.
Dude, you have been consistently been making videos about some of the most influential things in my life. Things like Silent Hill, Neir, Metal Gear, lately you did the Enter the Void video which I haven't herd anyone talk about in like 10 years and now your doing FF8? Dude keep it coming, I'm always interested hearing your take on these things.
What a synchronicity! I'd echo your sentiments exactly. FF8 was my first game on the PlayStation and remains my favorite. I'd also agree that his videos cover some of the most influential things in my life, like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. I'd count these among my top 5 games, they're etched into my soul. I watched Enter the Void about 10 years ago and it lingered in my thoughts for days. Then suddenly he made a video about it. Amazing
Same here dude, funny story about FF8. My first rpg experience was at the cousins house during a family get together and he let me try out FF7 and I was immediately sucked into the turn based combat and the rpg mechanics. I wanted to buy it but I ended up getting the wrong one which was FF8 probably the best mistake I ever made. I had a turbulent childhood and was often sent to live with other people and I never really stayed in one place for more than 2 years, this game was like the calm in the storm. Squall became a character I could relate to so heavy and gave me hope that despite how I felt at the time, I could grow out of it with the help of people I could trust and that continuing to push people away would just extend my problems. @@Ares9999
Huge thanks for your videos, Max. I truly appreciate what you're doing. I can't recall exactly when I started following you, but I've enjoyed every single one of your videos and the way you explain things so deeply, making them understandable. Your videos always resonate with me and they come as a perfect synchronicity. FF8 was my first game, and I don't even remember why I bought it, but it's my absolute favorite. It feels like I find all my answers in your videos. Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Carl Jung, the movie 'The Network', 'Enter the Void', and everything else seems like synchronicity because whenever I'm pondering one of these topics, it's not long before you upload a video discussing exactly what's on my mind. Please keep doing what you're doing; it's unique, and I'm deeply impressed by how you interweave gaming, philosophy, and esoteric themes so insightfully. Considering your interest in philosophy and the occult, I'd like to recommend two other channels that I believe you and your viewers would appreciate: Agrippa's Diary and Eternalised. Agrippa's Diary offers a fascinating insight into the world of Alchemy, Esotericism, and the secretive history of ancient societies. Eternalised, meanwhile, focuses on infusing life with meaning and value, exploring deep philosophical and spiritual topics. ❤
5:15 - Squall wasn't meant to be likeable in the begginings. But his visual is the absolute best from any other game, be another Final Fantasy, JRPG or game at all. Of all medias, he really is the "best looking guy here". Black on white, a pair of red belts. I wear two belts when I dress up to go somewhere to this day!
@@ltb1345 Same, I never understood why everyone hated him and was so head over the hills for ff7. Just personal opinion I guess. He's the best looking one and cool one.
@@cherrym6262 Because if ou play 6 before any other, you love 6. if ou play 7 before any other, you love 7. if you play 8 before any other, you love 8. Very very few escape this rule. Of those i knew in my life, no one.
Squall was so similar to me in personality as a kid that it felt like I wrote my own self-insert. I've never viewed FF8 as about fate, though I see that reading, but as dealing with your internal struggles in light of existential conflict. And people like Squall because he's genuine.
Awesome insight for this game! Your essay also got me thinking about Laguna's fate which paved the path for Squalls fate. I've always felt a sense of tragedy for Laguna because fate intervened in his two possible loves - Julia and Raine. With your attention on acceptance of fate, it helps me feel better about Laguna since he exemplifies the acceptance of fate in order to end the revolution - and how that acceptance was a necessary precursor for Squall and Rinoa's fate. Man... what a great game lol
Squall is emotionally damaged because Ellona (sp) more or less abandoned him that was his older sister. I have 4 sisters and I can relate to him to squall, being emotionally unavalable or seeing people as NPC's. its Rinoa that gets him to open up. love this game. thank you Max
It's a closed time loop. It's also a time paradox. It is also a death dream. Every time I play it I will use these three theories and let my thoughts go in their directions. It gets very dreamy and screwy like that. The music and some of the settings and graphics also lend a surrealistic feel to this game too.
Yes the time loop closes when squall sees ulti transfers to edea in the end. But! I think also that he breaks the time loop. Bc the end credits show that their love does flurish in the end and i think that in the original time loop squall might have failed to accept Rionas love and then she remained frozen for centuries in the cryo prison whilst being conscious and that drove her mad over the centuries. Thus Ultimecia is born who wants to deny existence to all beings but herself as massive fuck you to those who imprisoned her. In the new time line this is broken by squall when cuts her free. Thats why that moment is encapsulated in the title picture them hugging is the pinacle moment in breaking the chain of events. Its that important. This is how it becomes a happy ending in the end. Thought i can accept the other theory as well inorder to complete the same time loop Squall dies naturally from old age and Rinoa is driven mad from the loss and the inability to die. It is never said how long in the future they jump to. Bc this is necessary for ultimecia to want to do the time compression. To undo the moment when squall dies. But it doesnt make sense bc she has squalls soul essentially saved as griever. But this might not enough. We do anything to reconnect with lost loved ones. Ohh well. I want to believe theory 1 rather then the second one. Beautiful story nevertheless.
I've always hoped you would talk about this game in a part of me, this was the first game I ever played that created an interest in something deeper than just a game to complete, with the characters, the way the world had so much intrigue and mystery, the politics you were swept up in, even the complexity of how deep you could get into the item refinement system, this created the "Wonder" inside me that I carry into every game I play, thank Max
Beautiful video. I genuinely believe one of the reasons FF8 remains so controversial to this day is the fairly lackluster English translation. Squall's "Whatever" is only one example of how much they dumbed down the original Japanese script. Another example, which I find equally egregious, is Ultimecia herself, who had much of her dialogue reduced to maniacal laughter in the English translation, robbing her of some of the depth given to her by the original text. The role fate plays in FF8's narrative also deeply affects Ultimecia's story. Everything she does is motivated by her obsession to defy her fate of being killed by a "legendary" SeeD. By the time Ultimecia was born in the distant future, she was already known across generations as the evil, time-traveling sorceress who would one day plunge the world into chaos. Perhaps that knowledge and the hardship she had to endure as a consequence of it was the thing that drove Ultimecia to villainy in the first place. It is very possible that Ultimecia wasn't even her real name, but after many years of persecution by SeeDs, one sorceress proclaimed that, if they wanted Ultimecia, she would give them Ultimecia. Time compression was the way she attempted to defy fate, by taking control over time itself, which, of course, backfired massively and ironically led to the exact downfall fate had in store for her. I really love FF8. A big chunk of the story's richness is buried deep in the game's themes and subtext, which doesn't work for everyone and I totally get that, but for some reason, it really resonates with me.
We need a remake of this with updated dialogues, and since it involved time travel, can change up the events like they're doing with FFVII, and possibly bring on the twist at the end that it was actually a sequel and not a remake. It's simply one of the many time loops all the characters had to go thru once again.
Edit: That banner at the end is very cool! The major barrier to FFVII's greatness is the simple fact that half of its story was never implemented. Laguna's segments were meant to occupy a much larger percentage of the story, and would have shown how Laguna and Squall effectively took the same journey to the same destination. That's why his reveal as the president of Esther kinda just comes out of nowhere. But... well... they ran out of time, so large swathe of the narrative just end up not connecting the way they were meant to. I've come to appreciate more about FF8 as I've gone older, but I'll always wish that we'd gotten that more complete version of the story.
That’s pretty much the same for 12. Sucks that so much ppl try to shit on it when it’s one of the best in the series. The director left 3/4th’s in for health reasons so the story isn’t fleshed out as it could’ve been.
Had they finished Laguna's section, maybe it would have cleared up the very morally dubious outcome of him seemingly ending up as Esther's President for Life. Tbh, I thought the plot would be far more interesting if him and Cid turned out to be antagonists.
Honestly, I also have the same thought about how Squall acted and his behaviours toward his friends. I might not understand when I was a kid. But now I truly understand the way he acted when going through his journey and the soulmate love between Rinoa and Squall, which make the story it self even more meaningful to me over time. Thanks you for wondeful explaination.
Squall is super underrated as a main character. He grows and rises to the occasion, something a classically romantic hero character like Laguna and Seifer would never have been capable of. Most of the Final Fantasy lead characters of the other titles are just weirdos and hard to imagine saving the world.
You don't have to draw magic if you know the system deeply enough. *point to head meme* The trick is actually to refine items to magic. You can fight monsters for them, but level beyond that is playing the card game Triple Triad to get the items. The less you understand the system, the harder it is because you grind more, whether levels or drawing magic, or fighting enemies for items. The more you know, the less you grind, and subsequently the easier the game becomes. So it ends up breaking down like this: Grinding levels Drawing magic from enemies Taking advantage of draw points Refining magic from items from monsters Refining magic from items from cards The more you understand, the lower down the list you go.
Yes and no. Yes refining items/cards are the fastest and easiest way to get magic in bulk...... if you only count the refining process. But to say that it takes less grinding is just wrong. You have to grind to level up the GF's refine skills, and some of the most important refine skills are only available to GFs you obtain past halfway through the game. Then you have to either grind Triple Triad to get the cards you need, or grind carding the enemy you need over and over to get multiple of the items you need to turn into magic. Unless you use rare cards that you can only have one of in any given time, and which you could only reacquire near the endgame.
@@pizhhhout The thing about that is unless you want certain refine abilities ASAP, you'll acquire them as you fight enemies and gain ap, which you should try to never kill and instead turn into cards, which will be collected over time until you get said refine ability and have 5 of an enemy's card that'll give you 10 of whatever magic it holds. Also the "need" to grind for certain magic makes it seem that FFVIII is harder than it actually is; aside from superbosses--even then Omega is the only tough fight in the game imo--the game isn't that difficult . . . unless you've been killing enemies and leveled up too much.
I absolutely hated the goddamned card game and that it was mandatory, it also killed a lot of the immersion in the game for me. Although I haven't tried it yet, I'm so glad the remastered version that came out a few years ago got rid of it being mandatory.
The fact that you mostly have to draw magic early on, but have more refinement abilities and items to burn on later discs, also means the grind is more varied. Early on, you drag out fights with the draw command. Then you can plow through enemies for AP. Then finally, some mix of searching out different enemies for drops/cards or playing the card game. For such a long game, it's smart that the junction mechanic pushes you in different directions as you progress.
@@XofHopeFirst off it's not and never was mandatory. Second, triple triad is the greatest card minigame in gaming history. Even people who hate ff8 will acknowledge this. They even brought it to FFXIV
Loved FF8 as a kid and it still holds a special place in my heart. Squall really resonated with me. I always just saw him saying whatever as a defense to not wanting to open up. As an adult, I'm glad to know that the responses were a mistranslation, because it does seem a lot colder, replaying it years later.
FF8 was my very first FF i played back in 1999 and i love it since then! For me, Squall was always more relatable then Cloud, Zidane or Tidus. I also loved the combat system and especially his Renzokuken :) :D
8 is my favorite final fantasy game. Still have my original copy that I got for Christmas that year it came out🙏 *you're right about the junction system it's amazing. If you take the time to master it it can be unbelievably satisfying. Also shoutout to Triple Triad, that is such a cool mini game
Final fantasy 8 is one of the first video games I ever played. The Ps2 was already out a few years at this point I was very young and barely could read and I Fell in love with it immediately I will always love this game. (I didn't beat it for years because I was a dumb kid) Everytime I play it I like it a little more.
Max, this is your best video yet. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it. Pointing the bad translation and giving us the guide to understand Squall better literally makes me rethink about myself, because FF VII and VIII had a *huge* impact in my growing up. This video made me cry tears of joy and laugh at some bits. I'm at a loss of words here. So *much* respect, and please come to Brazil.
@Fenrisson oh of course, I don't mean to say your favorite is wrong. I was pretty much just agreeing it is very good, and also saying which is my favorite
So glad to see you cover FFVIII in a video. I always had a soft spot for this game, and love the world and story they built, even if it wasn't always perfect. I also really enjoyed the unique gameplay decisions they made in this game. I honestly always thought this game was beautiful, and brilliant in its own way.
Final Fantasy 8 was my favorite from the first moment I finished the game for the first time...the first game I 100%. Thank you for making this video...this game needs and DESERVES so much more Love!!
One of the major aspects of the story I was enlightened to in my own personal life also includes a western perspective vs an Eastern in regards to love, surrender, faith and yin/yang Sorceresses represent the Yin/Feminine. Their Knight is the Yang/Masculine. As we oppose the truth about who we are, faith in our partner, we become more distorted like the sorceresses. Especially in terms of the Yin/Feminine. Which I why sorceresses like Adel took on male features - she didn't want to give into the truth of her femininity and thus manifested male parts in her distortion. The Yin/Feminine role is faith in the unknown/outside of the self. Being represented by the Yin is a scary journey and one many within the Yin dynamic often lose faith with because of how the world continues to change. The way others treat you, influences the Yins journey toward distortion, until Yin is willing to see the truth. In regards to Ultimecia, she wanted to be the only one to exist. She's designed to oppose Rinoa in extreme form. When we shut ourselves out from love out of trauma and fear - this is the ultimate result, to create a world where only we can exist. Ultimecias evil I'd argue is strongly based in trauma, living in a world that fears her where a knight can't even come to balance her out because he's so terrified of her. She's consumed by those emotions because at the end of time, the dichotomy between someone like Rinoa (the peak example of someone who embraces her femininity and her trust in the unknown) has grown so great - she desires to ruin the ultimate example of the knight in time - Squall because deep down, it's what she wants but can't have because she refuses to let go and trust the process, the pain... The cultural understanding is a bit lost because of how integrated so much of these concepts of Yin and Yang are so interwoven into their culture. It's something that I'm sure people don't think to contextualize to the outside. My own spiritual understanding of love helped me to understand this game, and every major character. Love isn't something we always understand. And rarely does it ever look like Squall and Rinoa. But, like you said, when you embrace fate - that's how you get there. The truth about who you are, accepting your own flaws.... letting go and trusting.
I really loved how Squall would say one thing but think the other especially when dealing with adults. It really felt like he acted like his age. Most 90s-2000s video game heroes fully embrace the weight of the world, Squall was refreshingly reluctant. He didn't want to deal more than he had to, yet adults thrust all these responsibilities upon him just because they sees his potential. Sure he appreciates their trust, but he also resents the weight of their expectations. His introspection was also a thing of his time, with voice acted games nowadays, too much internal monologues would get annoying. He was also aloof and cold not because he sees his colleagues as beneath him, but because he was actually insecure and cared too much of how he was perceived that he pretty much gave up and acted negatively to be seen negatively. Because it's harder to act positively, yet be seen negatively, like the whole you can't please everyone mantra. It's very juvenile yes, but he's 17. When I was an 11 year old kid, I thought 17 was adult-ish, now in my 30s.. yeah that's pretty much checks out. The story overall gets a little muddled in the end, but I still like Squall as a character.
Played this game for the first time back in 1999 when it first came out. I was ten. It was my first FF game, and will always remain my favourite no matter what. Funny thing is I've always made it to the end but never finished it.
I remember seeing FF8 in a playstation magazine after obsessing with FF7 and when i played it, i had such a good time. It really was such a great game, I was confused at the time that it wasnt a sequel, or attached in any way. But i have always had this game in my heart even though it was so confusing to me at the time
One thing I find fascinating about FF8's development is how every other FF before had the design philosophy of 'light within darkness', as in theres always hope against unbeatable odds. FF8 chose the inverse of 'darkness within light', and I always found it fascinating to view FF8 through that lens. Theres a lot of themes of lost innocence, subtle manipulation and the overall conceit that things are not as they seem. The world isnt at peace, Edea isnt the final boss, Cid isnt the real leader of SeeD, etc.
Nice job summing up the game's genius. The fact is that you nees to play this game multiple times to get everything out of the story: I actually love that. It's like an orange that never loses the satisfaction of the SQUEEZE
Not really, but you do need to play it thoughtfully, not just worry about the junctions and combat and barely paying attention to the dialogues and little details. I played it only once, soon after it came out. It's been how long now, at least a quarter of a century? It still baffles me how many times throughout these years I've been having to explain things like "yep, Laguna is Squall father", because só many players never cared to look at the details and make the connection. Well, in my defense, FF8 was the 1st FF game I played and fell completely in love.
@XofHope I would always miss things like Selphie's journal/blog, Irvine's solo scenes in FH, etc. These things are 'small' but truly make the characters very endearing. The 4 party members besides Squall and Rinoa get little spotlight so searching for those extras makes new playthroughs extra fun for me.
@@stevenrohttis5158 I don't play games more than once, probably because I try to do all those little things the 1st time. I'm the kind of player who tries to read every journal, search every corner, look at every item, etc. I know that's not how everyone plays, but really, some people I wonder if they even played the game at all, at best they just moved from combat to combat.
Same here. This was my first rpg game. And I also played it with the renamed characters as me and my late wife. I dedicated my gameplay and recorded it to 2 VHS tapes, made my own fan art for the cover, to my, my late wife. We both enjoyed the game and used to watch it over and over again. This was before digital game capture and TH-cam. Thank you for this. This is a very moving video.
Kinda ironic that the Final Fantasy series leans so heavily into fate when it it was FF8 that changed the course of my life (fate?). FF8 that got me back into, of all things, Chinese Mandarin. Sounds weird that a Japanese game would get someone into Mandarin, but since the ending song Eyes on Me was sung by Asian megastar Faye Wong, the game led me to get into her music, and by extension Mandarin (and Cantonese, but I focussed on Mandarin). From there I met a Chinese lady, fell for her and went to live in China. It didn't work out in the end, but the experience of living there has also changed how I view Western culture and its value system as well. By extension, the game stopped me being an NPC, accepting things at face value and led me to ask more questions...and to be honest that's more difficult and dangerous in Western society than you might expect.
I felt very connected with Squall when I was younger. Now being middle-aged, he’s still my favorite character. FFX is my favorite in the series…but I tend to watch play-throughs and play FFVIII more than I do my “favorite”. There’s just something about this game and it’s a masterpiece to me.
love this game and I love your analysis! its always been one of if not my favorite games and I notice something different every time I start a new run. like you I find that I identify with Squall so much more than it seems other people do. I suppose it makes sense that more gregarious and outspoken protagonists are more approachable as characters. hard to pull off someone who is closed off. but thats why I love it so much. the mirroring of Squall and Laguna's journeys makes me think of all the coincidences that connect Rinoa and Squall. through Laguna's actions and love the connections to people tie everyone together so they can meet. If Squall had chosen to continue cutting everyone out, closing himself off he's be lost to time, fade out and never survive. He calls Laguna an idiot after witnessing him fumble and gush to Julia, showing his love courageously and unashamedly. to put himself out there. to Squall he was a fool but as the Laguna's story continues he is indelibly drawn to others and he never wavers in his commitment to those he cares about. crossing half the world doing all sorts of odd jobs, favors, and writing to save Ellone. His loss of Raine did not stop him or deter him from saving love. Squall looks to the image of Griever, a Lion as a symbol of great strength and courage but he doesn't truly attain these qualities until he learns to embrace the fear of losing the things he cares about. he has to be like Laguna and let people in. to truly care and love with his whole chest. real strength does not come from self-reliance but from passion. love and loss and hurt can scare us into a hole that we sometimes never come out from. but Rinoa found her way into his heart. 2 people who born from a twist of fate from Laguna, Raine, Julia, and Caraway's connection. not to mention Edea and Cid and the rest of the gang. Squall defeating Griever in his battle against Ultimecia shows us which Lion is truly stronger. one of severance and self reliance, avoidance of pain, and one of love. true courage that binds us all through time and makes us real.
The japanese script is sooo good translated.... edea has cooler lines too Anyway, so this is Ultimecia's speech in Deling City: "It reeks. Filthy rabble. Since time immemorial, we sorceresses have existed within a fantasy world, a world you so foolishly made up in your heads. Sorceresses in black dresses, sacrificing pious citizens in dark rituals. The merciless sorceress who uses dark magic to burn your fertile land and to chill your homes at night. Such drivel. And now, that the sorceress from your fantasies appears in front of you as a friend to Galbadia, are you lulled into a false sense of security? Which one of us is living in a fantasy now? Reality isn't so sweet, not sweet at all, and all that remains for you fools is this: *kills the president* So, run back to your fantasies. Hide, and I shall continue to dance for you in that illusionary world. I shall dance for eternity as the sorceress who brings ruin. You and I, together we shall create the final fantasy, and within it, life and death will be nothing but mere dreams. Eternal shall be the sorceress, and also Galbadia, her loyal servant. A sorceress needs dark rituals, a sacrifice has to be made."
Look, for me it's as simple as this. FF8 is the best FF game ever, based on that opening cinematic alone. I can still remember the first time I saw it, with my best friend, we were rendered speechless. Even now, 25 years later, just THINKING of it can sometimes give me goosebumps. And if I rewatch it, I get goosebumps every time. There are VERY few things I've experienced in my life that hit me like that cinematic did.
This particular "FF" felt like a fairy tale, especially in this scene. It's beautiful. Squall is very different from the other "FF" protagonists, even Cloud. Like you said, obscure, and actually cold. It may have began as a protection mechanism, but it became what he really was through out the years. And I don't think he ever quite copes with the world, not truly. Because he's actually satisfied with what he experienced so far. He kinda reminds me of Shinji from "Evangelion".
@@jgrif7891 I disagree. Zell learns the hard way that his big mouth can and will get him trouble by revealing a member of his garden attacked a galbadian official and later by spearheading the attack on the enemy garden. Quistis accepts Squall isn't gonna show her the love she wants and moves on, she also accepts a role of leadership isnt for her and lets Squall take the lead. Rinoa learns that war is a nasty business when even when daddy finds a way to get her out of jail, and she learns some Sorceresses can be (and have been) good, and she stops running away from who and what she is. Irvine shows care and compassion to his friends, showing a huge jump from the "women and guns" ego he so forcibly tried to show every one. And that hits different if you consider he is the only one who hasn't lost his memory and actually remembers their origins, all his friends forgot him and i dont imagine that's a good feeling for a teenager. Selphie: I'll admit stays the same for the most part, just alternating between "love and peace" and "blow it to smithereens" personalities, but even Fujin and Raijin show growth by the end of disc 3, acknowledging he is no longer just following his dreams. Even Laguna, being the moron that he is finds a way to put his own personal aspirations aside and fills in the power vacuum Adel left behind(still a terrible father in my opinion). I'm not gonna claim everyone had the character growth of a lifetime, but its there. maybe i notice it more since i been playing this game since i was 10.
As someone with Aspergers who had difficulty learning social etiquette growing up, and was therefore very awkward, I liked Squall as he felt like someone who was good at what he did. Being only 17, he was already very career-focused as a mercenary of Balamb, and that was his world, it's what he was comfortable with, and outside of his spectrum, he struggled to cope with social situations, especially the hyper-energetic people, like Zell and Selphie, physically attractive people, like Rinoa and Quistis, or people who'd go out of their way to aggravate him, like Seifer. He placed his ideal persona in the Griever ring, the symbol of the Lion, to represent something he wanted to work towards, that being strength, bravery and pride, only needing to depend on himself. The events of the game taught him that teamwork can get him a long way further than just by his stubborn self, and that hit home for me in my younger years.
My first FF game and I love it to this day!!! Yeah, it was drawn out in parts and the story was kind convoluted, but something just appealed to my teenage brain about it. I think the fact that the characters themselves were also teenagers can account to some of the behaviors, especially Squall's. I soooo remember trying to shut people out or being embarrassed to show my feelings, and hot him it was compounded so much by his trauma as well. I also LOVED the art, the portraits, the video, it was amazing!
Thank you for this, FF8 is my personal favorite in the series...and I always related to Squall because like him, I also deal with abandonment trauma...and you by far gave the best interpretation of that ending by far. So, again...thank you.
I first played FF8 back when I was a kid that barely understood English, liked the card game but soon dropped the game because I can't immerse myself in the story. Played it again when I was 21 and could appreciate the weight of story aspect in games. Totally relate to Squall's character and ended up 100%ing the game, twice (both original and Steam remastered version). As someone who experienced being left by people I cared about, I developed the same defense mechanism as Squall and had this idea that "If I don't invest my emotions in any kind of situation or relationship, I won't be hurt whatever the outcome would be". Squall's growth to finally be able to open his heart to others is inspiration to me (of course I know he's fictional, but still), for that reason he will forever be one of my most favorite character and FF8 will also always have a place in my heart.
FFVIII was the RPG that got me into the genre and, in my opinion, stomps on the story of FFVII. FFVII was my first, but the story and characters of FFVIII resonated with me so much more. Squall has an infinitely better character development compared to Cloud, and while I understand the nostalgia around VII, VIII will always be THE Final Fantasy game for me. Next to VIII, IX is probably my favorite, with VI being the probably the best in the series overall.
You have your opinion. In the end it doesn't matter. I like VII for the ambiance (and nostalgia), VI and XI for the depths and emotions, X for the end game grind, XII for the Environment and Art direction. VIII I have nothing, except small things like the aliens, the small award you received when you kill monarch. Yes my count stopped there, after XII I gave up, a bromance and decapitation, blood and sexual abus has no place in an FF for me.
@@KabodankiVII is my least favorite FF game and I think it’s overhyped because of nostalgia goggles. I appreciate aspects of it - I agree with you on the atmosphere. But Cloud is an awful character to me and Sephiroth is a less-believable attempt at Kefka to me. VIII to me, has incredible lore, character development, story, best mini-game (cards), and arguably the best soundtrack of the series. Not to mention that the gunblade is one of the coolest weapons ever. IX has, again my opinion, the best main character/best characters in general. X’s sphere grid was awesome and I loved certain aspects of it, albeit a convoluted story. I felt like the combat system was rough, mostly because certain characters felt forced or totally useless. XII I will also agree with you that the art direction was superb and I was a huge fan of the change of pace to a dungeon crawler style game, but if I played it when it first came out without the quality of life fast forward options, I probably would have lost my mind with how slow it was.
@@abryant9166. Your opinion, a terrible one, but yours in any case. Especially I laughed with What you said about the FF9 lame characters. And Sephiroth and attempt of Kekfa? Both are very different characters, you have no idea what you are talking about.
@@SeventhheavenDKKefka did what Sephiroth tried but couldn’t, which is destroy the world. They both have similar goals, but only one of them is successful and consistent. I agree they are different characters, in that Sephiroth is unbelievable in his arc and ridiculous. Again, I think nostalgia goggles masks how convoluted the FF games have been for quite awhile. But I think people that claim VIII is convoluted in its story gloss over VII.
At it's core Final Fantasy VIII was a multi-generational love story that started with their parents ill fated romance and ended with them becoming hero's and lovers. I resonated quite a bit with squall, those feelings of loss and abandonment broke me as a person and playing the game was very therapeutic for me, i began to open up and allowed others into my life and heart simply because i realized that no one can go it alone and we all need people in our lives be they friends or lovers. in my youth i was squall, pushing everyone away in my declining years i am Cid searching for his edea.
I unironically love 8, so you've made my day today. Do you plan to do any dragons dogma videos? I don't know what you could cover, but im sure the comments section could have plenty of ideas
My most fav FF ever ..still …life kept going and we all grew up, lived real live and played tons of video games…now I’m 37 yo and this game yet has the deepest touch on me ❤️
I commented on another topic, but now I have a new gripe with the video, you disliking squall because he says whatever too much and claiming he's a jerk. This argument bothers the hell out of me because it tells me that the player is not invested enough into the story to understand the character, or they simply lack the awareness of what it might feel like to be in that characters shoes. Why doesn't squall shake zells hand? Why doesn't he give rinoa a hug when asked? Why does he completely blow off his teacher when she's flirting with him and wants to know why he won't reciprocate? Is it because he's a jerk? No. Why SHOULD he have to do those things? All of these scenarios are instances where people are forcing themselves on him when he just wants to be left alone and do his job. Zell is a hyper class clown that squall probably thinks it's not only a liability, but likely to get himself killed. Why be friendly with someone who may very well end up dead soon? Why risk building a bond with someone who's a liability in war? With Rinoa, she's not only a complete stranger, but a client of the company he works for. It's strange for her to ask him for a hug. For his teacher, she lies to him just to corner him in a place where teenagers sneak off in the middle of the night to make out, just to unload her feelings and problems on him as if she's entitled to do so and he has no choice, but to mention that at that point on the game, she's still his teacher, making it all the more inappropriate for her to do that. Take into consideration that these characters are just teenagers, 17 and 18 years old, coupled with the fact that the main character is literal conscripted into what is essentially the army from childhood, and it's no wonder why he A) is incredibly serious all the time, B) distant and disassociated, and C) lacking social skills. If you pay attention to the ending, he is bred to be an assassin. From childhood his one job is to learn how to kill people, namely, the sorceress. Squall is my favorite character in gaming because he is a fantastically written introvert, and his character arc of finally accepting how to care about people is executed perfectly. He's a very relatable character for introverted people. He is not a jerk in the game, he's not edgy, he's not broody, he's just very serious because he was taught to be since he was a child, and he doesn't understand how to be social, he didn't understand much of anything other than being a soldier, all at the age of 17.
@miguelcastro2164 Probably didn't address him, because he doesn't say that in the video. He goes over how he and some of the player base has a hard time understanding Squall but in the end likes and empathizes with Squall. Op clearly didn't get passed minute 7
I wonder if Squall's discomfort and distant attitude isn't just from being an orphan, since they all were, but because he had some subconscious understanding of this responsibility his whole life.
it was december 1999 near christmas time when i saw the "trailer" on TV about this game, i was really young and ive never played any FF before. after i asked my parents as a christmas gift (i remember was almost near 60 or 70 dollars at the time in my nation). i started the game, and found out really boring, closed forever, until i decided to play it again i think 2 or 3 years later only to find out the most sweet, romantic full of action true masterpiece that sat forever the foundations of the best memories in gaming for me. The music, every single character with powerful behavior and feelings. FFV and FFIX defined me not only as player, but as a person.
so many people grew up in happy homes and had no idea who Squall was. it's honestly insane how ignorant some people have been. i immediately knew exactly who he was and how he felt. i was never confused about what he was.
Much like Max, I am an adult (31M) with autism. I'm a later diagnosis (and knowing it now Illuminates a lot that I wish I knew when I was younger). When I was a kid with FF8 as my first FF I was really drawn to Squall in the same way I was drawn to Raven from Teen Titans. They're loners who self-isolate both to protect themselves and because they feel isolation on a deep emotional level. It's hard for them to reach out, it's hard for them to connect, it's hard for them to overcome their need for isolation to process the world not because they feel no one understands them but because (in my reading) they sincerely wanted connection. When Squall says "whatever..." I knew it was abrasive and others saw it as rude, but I also internalized that that abrasiveness as protective masking - Squall is Squall, warts and all. He wants to be seen And accepted, but he knows it will take someone needing a lot of patience to let him process, and he knows that's a huge ask. That, granted, was my reading of him at the time and I can't fault others for having a different, more annoyed read of him. To me, that is part of Squall's masking. It's a form of masking I envied (and informs a lot of why I really got into Sex Pistols and British Punk), because my masking is the opposite. I fawn and chameleon and worry my identity is too open, and seeing a closed-off, cold, abrasive, and, yes, rude character like Squall gave weird power fantasy; one where I could be in control of how others saw me instead of feeling the other way. As an adult i understand it's a "the grass is greener on the other side" situation because it's essentially the same form of intimacy issues but far more lonely. At 12/13 I looked up to Squall, at 31 I wanna give him a hug and tell him "I gotchu, fam" even if he'd shrug it off and say "whatever..." because it hurts to hurt like that.
Ahhhh so many feels watching this video. Having grown up with this game it brings me alot of joy to see such an indepth reading of it. Abd being almost 40 years old now, it still warms my heart seeing Renoa and Squalls relationship. Truly my favorite game story of the franchise. Not counting the FF MMOs ofc. Thanks so much for this video. Earned my sub.
Thanks Max, I think I finally found the answer to the ending, thanks to you I can finally and basically time compressed this chapter of my life, and more, perhaps if faith cannot be broken then we should reach the end and compress that time into an unending loop, locking it away and well, pretty much live anew ever after by repeating the process all over again, even if it has to be stacked up, thanks to this I believe I could even understand myself better as a whole, I’m glad faith got us here, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to come to an end with this hellish loop of mine, ty!
Beautiful interpretation of one of my favourite childhood games. As someone who was completely unaware they were very neurospicy at the time, I related a lot to Squall and even learnt a lot from the relationships everyone had. This will always be my favourite in the series as it got me through some hard times.
Alternative playstyle: you dont have to use draw adnauseum to stock up on magic. Use Queztacoatl, have them learn 'card' 1st, then 'card refine' 2nd. Have every GF that has a 'refine' ability learn that 1st. Then just refine items into magic. Carding enemies makes it so you dont gain exp, but you do gain AP, so GFs still learn abilities. Item refine gets you a lot stronger magic earlier than normal. IE: tents can refine into Curaga. Then junction the higher magic to your stats and it doesnt matter what your lvl is.
Personally, I think the reason why Squall didn't hug Rinoa in Ragnarok is because she probably didn't get a bath when she was in a coma. Likewise he didn't shake hands with Zell because he had to wipe his hand before presenting it to Squall which implied that his hand was dirty and not properly clean.
Always great to see my favorite FF and protagonist get some love (and deserved credit)! Thanks Max. I'm glad you included a segment abou the "Whatever" translation problem. It perverted Squall's perception in English-speaking communities, though I think It's starting to become common knowledge thanks to videos like this one.
This game hits home so much. The soundtrack, the story, everything was truly amazing. I listen to the soundtrack all the time, and im currently 3d printing my favorite ship in the game The Ragnarok.
Ah yes, the very first Final Fantasy game my mom brought me when i was 17 while we was at Wal-Mart. I still cherish that day, and I'm proud to still own the origina copy that my mom got for me and the remaster.
Growing up made me like squall a lot more. As a kid I was seeing squall as an adult that was kind of a jerk. But now that I'm 10 years older than squall I see a child soldier forced into responsibilities he should never have to deal with. This changes so much of how I read the character.
Lol its like that meme of how we relate to SpongeBob growing up but as we get older, we start to relate to squidward.
Squall is 17. He is not a child soldier.
@@robertforster8984 ... yes he is? 17 is a kid and like, he was raised in a paramilitary organization for a good chunk of his childhood.
He is certainly not an adult and I can't imagine how I would have reacted being in his situation at 17, but I can't fault him for acting like a teen when that's what he is.
We just saw them as cool teens. I still want a Gunblade and I don't care the weapon is very cumbersome but ir must look amazing
17 is hardly what I'd call a child soldier. Young soldier yes, but I find it funny how both a 10 year old soldier and 17 both get called "child soldiers" - you can see they're worlds apart.
Also, keep in mind the other students never acted that way and they were in the exact same position. Let's not pretend that's what their intention was, you can see the original translation he wasn't even like that. Even if youthink that sort of character is good and that it makes sense for him to be that way, he's still being selfish by bringing his other friends down who are in the exact same situation he is in, they're being strong and positive while he's being a whiny brat. He wants to play as a selfish protagonist? They screwed him over hard in the translation.
As a kid, I saw him as a jerk. Now at 35, I see his Translated version as a jerk. He seems not too bad in the japanese version.
I was surprised you didn’t mention Squall is Laguna’s son and Rinoa is Julia’s daughter. Laguna and Julia were star crossed lovers that never wound up together due to circumstances beyond their control. Both moved on with their lives but their children ultimately fulfilled the fate they were not able to make happen.
Edit 09/05/2024. OMG. Can’t believe this got 1000 likes. 🤯
they were not star crossed lovers. He was a soldier and she was an entertainer. His commanding officer had a thing for the julia and when he noticed Laguna get close.. he sent him out on a suicide mission and made it so he would never return.
@@azadalamiq if you are referring to Carraway I don’t believe that is true.
The game was supposed to be about Laguna, but due to FF7’s popularity they were pushed to make the protagonist an edgy teen loser (like Cloud).
So they made Laguna’s story a side story.
Regarding Laguna being Squall’s father, the game never actually comes out and says it. Though, it is strongly implied in some scenes for those that are lore savvy.
@@DallasUnchained The game tells you in an indirect way,when you finally meet Laguna there are LOTS of references about it,even if it is not directly stated,it is made pretty obvious so the player would know while Squall would not,almost everyone catched that
Edea and Cid knew Squall was fated to defeat Ultimecia but they didn't knew the path he needed to take to reach his destiny so they make him the leader of the garden during the invasion, a 17 yo kid, not knowing how he could win, but only knowing that he would save them in the end
such an amazing fate
they only knew that because squall had already defeated ultimecia and traveled back to the point of power transfer to matron and told her. when the game started seed was already created which meant that squall already told matron about it before the game started. so the game is actually where we beat ultimecia for the second time at least. there could have been more loops before and after the game.
@@s0hlless Even an infinite loop where time is getting compressed and decompressed endlessly without us being able to perceive it
My understanding of the scene was that there was no guarantee that _he_ would have to be the leader. He was that only one that was known to be involved since it was he that appeared before Edea, and was thus the only known factor.
I DEEPLY resonated with Squall as a teen. My mother abandoned me when I was 6, I knew EXACTLY what he was going through, had exactly the same kind of walls up and playing Squall was like playing an insert of myself. I was introverted, aloof, and distant to many people, but especially my family.
Everything Squall did made perfect sense to me and his deep relationship with his friends echoed in myself as I learned to reach out to people outside of my family and form close bonds with them. Many of whom have told me I was the best friend they ever had.
The "Whatever" line comes down to tone. As a teen I mimicked it but I did so the same as how I interpreted it, which was as a despondent tone rather than sarcastic one. The tone shifts how others react to it, a sarcastic tone is blatant disregard said explicitly to trivialize and belittle a persons thoughts or feelings often followed by an eyeroll, a despondent tone is a passive dismissal of interest or affect accompanied by a shrug. Squall shrugs.
This is a really cool comment. It's awesome how a game or game character can resonate with someone and even help them grow as a person. That's definitely a win for the type of storytelling you can only find in video games.
I'm also glad you were able to overcome those difficult and uncommon challenges in your life!
That's how I always read his "whatevers." Not sarcastically, but despondent, trying to get involved as little as possible with everyone bc as far as he knew, they'd suddenly be gone like everyone else in his life.
I also often wonder about the decision to translate it this way based on the Japanese. Ppl point out he actually said a lot of different stuff in the original Japanese, HOWEVER, things get translated differently sometimes into other languages bc of the WAY it was said in Japanese and there's no other way to convey that other than choosing a different word(s) in the translated language.
So like, for all I know, the phrases he was saying in Japanese might, in Japanese, be considered anti-social or rude or detached responses or said in a way that conveys that, but those same phrases translated directly into English wouldn't have given that same feeling, so instead of going for a direct translation they went for something different that would convey a similar feel in English. I'd be interested to know. I personally enjoy the jokes and memes over all of Squall's "whatevers" lol
Squall is the hedgehog wrapped up in a ball of spines trying not to hurt or be hurt. Whatever is a way to brush aside the subject so that he doesn't have to come out of that ball and become vulnerable to another person. Whatever is a sort of the swiss army knife of responces; it achieves it's function in ending the conversation even if it doesn't alway illicit the same responce.
Same here. As a teen I was very distant and aloof, still working on it to this day. Squall quickly became my favorite character, and FF8 possibly my favorite in the series. I get why people hate Squall or the game, but it felt like it was written for me.
And yes, there is no way I would have hugged Rinoa at that time period of my life lol.
I haven't played it in a long time now. Maybe at this point in my life, I'd end up identifying more with Laguna? Only one way to find out...
@@SquallWulfhartI played 8 on release, and my story is similar to several folks' here.
I was at the end of high school, dealing with a bunch of fresh trauma, and suicidally depressed. To me, Squall was one of the most relatable characters I'd seen in any media at that point.
Abandonment is probably still my deepest fear. Things are a lot better 20+ years later; but, I don't know if I would have made it here without what I got from that game. Learning that others dealt with those kinds of extreme feelings, and could eventually find some degree of peace and happiness, was something that kept me going for longer than I care to admit.
Mat: (The whole video)
Me: Yes. Absolutely.
Mat: (pronounciation of characters names that differ from my own)
Me: (Clutches pearls in shock)
In my head I always pronounced SeeD as See-Dee (like CD ROM).
Squall is clearly pronounce *CAW-CAWW!*
@seeigecannon I totally get that. I still do that in my head despite the fact they are seeds from a garden. Always CDs to me.
6:49 is how I pronounce Quistis too. Kwis-tis or Kwist-tis. You can pronounce anyway you want but I'm sure you're in the vast minority.
Yes. Ellenay? That better be the official pronunciation because after nearly 25 years, I can’t lol
(Off topic but why is it pro-noun-ce but also it’s pro-nun-ciation?)
I always liked Squall as a character. He came across as an introvert who preferred to do things on his own, but over the course of the story, he learns to accept others into his life and rely on them as comrades, rather than burdens.
That's called character growth, and we love to see it.
Hundred percent agree !
It's annoying how often people reduce Cloud and Squall down to being "emo". It's like a game of telephone where people just repeat these things instead of actually trying to understand the characters. Besides, neither character is overly whiney/pouty. At worst, Squall is mildly depressed and insecure.
Basically introversion is a character flaw and needs to be corrected
@@Y-two-K Insecure,yes. And many people are,even those who are not Introvert. But depressed? Nope.
@@safersyrup562 Since when? Read the definition of being introvert. I think you mistake it with asperger or somethin
Edea, by the way, comes from the name of a Muse from Greek mythology - Aoede (Italian spelling - Aedea, Spanish - Aede). Aedea with her two sisters: Melete and Mneme represent steps in creation of a stageplay, Melete - composition/writing, Mneme - rehersal, and Aoede - performance. So Edea is the Muse which leads actors - her children on stage through their "lives" predetermined by the script, which she is handed by Squall at the end of the game.
WOW! THAT'S COOL!
Ultimecia is Aritsumisha in Japan derived from Artemisia or Greece's Artemis; who you should know right?
mind blown
kind of explains why they went with a greek theme in the design of the orphanage
Honestly, I was never put off by Squall’s “whatever”s. And as I’ve gotten older, I’m totally more amused by it haha. The refusal of Zell’s handshake and all. Especially since I think one of the Timber resistance guys also won’t shake his hand. Poor guy😂. I always found it funny.
Poor Zell, his shadowboxing away frustration was a favourote running joke for me too.
There's one thing I feel like you missed in regards to the team's lack of reluctance to kill Edea. Yeah, it's not expressed very well by most of the party, but think back to the assassination attempt scene. Where Irvine is allegedly freezing up because he "always chokes before a shot".
Maybe he isn't hesitating because it's too much pressure. Maybe he just really doesn't want to kill his Matron, whom he 100% remembers, unlike the others.
I've always felt that part of the reason Irvine waits so long to tell the others is because he didn't want to let them know it was their Matron they were about to assassinate. After that there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for him to spill the beans until the party reunites in FH. They're captured, need to escape, then immediately split up to take care of the missiles and warn Balamb Garden. It's not until they get to Trabia Garden that Irvine finally works up the courage and decides to tell everyone what they were really doing. Or perhaps he just wanted to wait until Selphie cheered up and felt better before giving her more bad news.
Yeah that was always my take on it too, or at the least, it's a combination of both of those things. He's not a cold hearted killer and has trouble taking any shot, no the person he's supposed to kill is his former carer, someone he has an emotional attachment to, well it's too much.
Yes, you’re right. I should have made that caveat when I was talking about the team’s reluctance to kill. Thank you for pointing that out. ❤
Wow this dude missed that point yet makes this video. Sheesh
@@GoeTeeksthe clues for this were barely in the game. If the game is ever remade the devs would have to improve on these elements because they're barely there at all...
The whatever line made Squall so much more relatable to me. His character type is one that cant arsed to really push himself or to worry about other peoples feelings, until later in the game ofc. The constant "whatevers" (in his head, never spoken out much) is very realistic and relatable to an outcast teenager.
I've never clicked on a video so fast after finding it.
FF8 was pivotal for my teen years.
This game was so overlooked but the plot was so ahead of its time.
Way ahead.
Same. I didn't go outside much that summer. Lol
I haven't play FF8 in probably 15-20 years but I gotta tell you, man, that music and the end plus the dedication for your wife got me right in the gut. Literally one of the most beautiful soundtracks of any FF game, and just such a wonderful story. I think you nailed the video here, well done. I remembered the majority of what you went over but there's always some things that get lost in the memory banks over time, so it was a lovely refresher.
Stop using GFs bro. It'll help your memory
The story makes infinitely more sense on repeat playthroughs, when you realise that even upon the start of their lives, they are chess pieces being used by Ultimecia, not fate. So they set out to free their timeline from her time sorceress' grasp
Plus Rinoa is Ultimecia… 😢
@@Starch1b2c3d4aNo she's not. That's a fan theory that's been officially debunked.
@@PaleHorseShabuShabu nope. The writer that said that took that back. Look up the vid
@@Starch1b2c3d4aWe're both on TH-cam. You've clearly seen this video. Link me.
I just looked it up and its true Kitase retracts his original answer saying a direct no to the theory but he does admit that he was unaware of the theory. He also says that theres a chance that Nojima or Nomira could have added it in kind of like Shinra in FFX…
Either way, I personally think the story is much better if she was Ultimecia
I was 23 when I beat the game. Never before and never since have I cried after finishing any song movie or book..... my heart burst into tears not only because of the depth and beauty, but because my adventure was also over. It is the most beautiful and profound works of art I have ever enjoyed. A master piece
Same here....
I remember when the trailer first came out. We only had dial up internet. So me and my friend ( I was 15 he was 13) started watching it piece by piece as it slowly loaded throughout the day. Probably took 4-5 hours if I'm not mistaken. Then once it was fully loaded, we watched it like 50 times lol. Coming off of FF7 and playing that to death, this was all we could think about. We were obsessed. Overall it was a great game. Didn't hit the same way FF7 did, but we played the game nonstop for a year or more, and still loved it.
I remember I had dial up as well, and one day I FINALLY found a MP3 of One Winged Angel online. I started downloading it and, after 6 hours, it was almost finished - but the internet failed and I lost the download. You have no idea how frustrating it was, lol. After a while, a friend who had a better internet connection managed to download it for me, and he zipped/splitted it on four floppy disks that I could take to my house. The moment when I finally was able to listen to that mp3, dude, it was magical.
"I've known people who've suffered past emotional trauma of a similar ilk and were closed off, but didn't act as offensively as Squall did." It is important to remember that everyone processes trauma differently, and with varying degrees of "success" (I use quotations because success can be subjective with trauma, and the goalposts can shift constantly in terms of healing); the important message to take away is that we all are human and that we ought to strive to give each other grace and the benefit of the doubt, because we don't have the full context of each others' lives.
Good take, only 1 thing: That love expresses itself at "inappropriate times" makes it that much more real and relatable. It's touches on a deeper dimension.
Thank you very much for covering my favorite game of the entire series. When I first played it I was in the middle of dealing with a traumatic childhood and there was a clear resonance. I understood where Squall was coming from even with the overly simplified translations. I think it helped me get through some of my own stuff going on Squall's journey.
I think the harder your childhood, the more you close yourself, then the more sense squall behaviour makes. I didn't was like squall, I wished I was like him. I lived a lot of bullying so I wished I was strong and that I didn't have to rely on anyone and that I didn't keep searching for friends on bad places and that I could stop wanting friendship from people that was bad to me. I instantly looked at that guy and wanted to have a sword and to fight at the same level as the bully (Seifer) and to say to everyone: I am doing what is expected from me, so leave me alone if you don't want trouble.
My favorite too. Though I was in high school.
❤❤ Enjoyed this game.
16:55 They climbed inside the robot boss they were fighting. Thats why they were reunited after Squall's group destroys it later.
I could relate with Squall so much. Having undiagnosed Autism, feeling lost, a loner, building a Wall around me not to get hurt by this complex Social World. Rionoa did not get a Hug because it did not feel "true" maybe she does that to everybody and you do not get something "real" or "true". So what does she want? Reject! There is that continous overthinking of his.. he definitely shared a lot of traits of Asbergers Symdrome. His Arc made the exposure to friendship, being valuable quite visible. It is so helpful to your understanding of humanity to have people around you... At start, these people teased him a bit being in a group, and quickly realized how much of his misteryousness~ is just fassade for "seeking" and what dependable and most loyal and grounded person lurked beneath that shell. I did understand him very much being a teenager.
12:30 - The last battle music is *wondrous* . I saved it in a CASSETE TAPE back then! I *treasured* that tape *so much*
it's called Dance of the Witches. Ultimecia also has Liberi Fatali; Fated/ Destined Freedom and both are in the original Dissidia games on PSP
@@claudijatzandrapova3347THANK YOU SO MUCH! I own you, Miss or Mister!
@@claudijatzandrapova3347 Oh, now that I searched them, I was actually looking for FF VIII Ultemecia Boss Batlle The Extreme (according to youtube). But once again, thank you so much for taking your time to reply to my original comment!
specially when she turns into a ball. that was rad. like yo. lets gooooo
@@Fenrisson The Extreme is fantastic, Nobuo really hit that out of the park. You are most welcome though my friend.
I don't think the truer translation adds to his character. The whole "whatever" thing is suppose to show his introverted side and how is he bad at communication. You see the big monologues he has in his head, but all that comes out is "whatever".
I never considered saying "whatever" as being jerkish or offensive, just that Squall seemed to feel like it wasn't worth trying to explain his thoughts to people. He always came off to me as a good person that just can't emotionally connect to others openly. I also identify the most with Squall out of any final fantasy character, maybe any fictional character.
16:45 it's not completely off the radar because Irvine, who still remembers the past, did not struggle to snipe Edea because of his fear of missing but he knew who Edea was. Irvine was aware that he is about to kill their matron and was flooded by so many thoughts and worries if it's the right thing to do or not. As for Seifer he still remembers Edea and not only had the chance to protect her for who she was but he got to live his childhood dream of becoming a sorceress' knight, an idea he got from the movie where Laguna fights the dragon in the mountains, plus his Gunblade stances mimic that of Laguna
This was my first FF game and I honestly loved it. I did think that the orphanage scene was pretty stupid but I enjoyed the growing relationship between Squall and Rinoa. lol I had a lot in common with Squall so he spoke to me as a character.
VIII is important to me. I always sent in those registration cards that were in old instruction manuals. One day, Squaresoft sent an email saying I could get Final Fantasy VIII's soundtrack for free, that all I had to do was reply to the email with my address. I did so, and the four-disc soundtrack showed up about two weeks later. That was my first video game soundtrack and what stared my collection.
One cannot make a video about FVIII without mentioning the amazing score by Nobuo Uematsu. I think especially in this game and in relation to what was said in the video the music plays a very significant role to support the game.
Fisherman Horizon is bringing back all the feels
so good that it was used in the Olympics haha
8 has the best soundtrack of the whole series
@@nathank2289 certainly one of the best in the series
@@nathank2289Uematsu claims that he doesn’t love/favor any of the collections more than others but I think 7 is his magnum opus. I love 8 don’t get me wrong. Lunatic Pandora, Laguna’s theme & the regular boss music are premium tracks
Being very introverted as a kid, I really was able to associate myself with Squall. Much of his dialogue isn't spoken and as the game progresses, you really see how much Squall cares for his party members, while having difficulty expressing it.
Growing up, people would often consider my silence to be rude or me being cruel to them, when I actually felt no ill will or antagonism against them at all, much like how NPCs would interpret Squall's responses. His "Whatever" line, translated or not, works just fine, because that's actually how someone who is introverted will act. They will seemingly be rude, despite it not being their intention.
"Who would refuse to shake Zell's hand or hug Rinoa? What kind of weird person acts this way?!" type line of thinking is basically just you not understanding introverts at all. We don't like interacting with other people we aren't close with, especially at younger ages. Even today, if I were to go to a club with friends and they asked me to dance, I would immediately shut down. Introverts have VERY strong boundaries to their comfort zones and in the game, you can clearly see when Squall's comfort zones are being breached; he shuts down and refuses to interact.
Meanwhile other FF protags either don't even have their own personality or copy someone else's...
This is one of the absolute best introspective videos about FF8. I had no idea about the infamous "Whatever" noy being so prevalent with a Japanese equivalent.
Also lovely art from your wife! FF8 is still my favorite and was my very first FF in the series. I LOVE the junction system.
Totally agree with you on this video being top-notch in its introspection of FF8. It's fascinating to learn about the nuances lost in translation, like the "Whatever" phrase. And yes, the art is fantastic! FF8 was also my first in the series and remains my favorite. The junction system is just brilliant, so innovative and engaging.
You can check out the state of the arc analysis of FF8 on youtube, if you love deepdives. It is like 5 hours multiple episodes content ❤
@@Ares9999 really??? xD been forced to use the same command in battle over and over and over and over again... sooo innnovative xDD .. prob the worst ff ..
@@romusz The amusing thing is, with the exception of the exotic spells (though later on this will make it a bit more of a breeze) you can side step the drawing grind but that means you have to do a lot of AP grind to enable the GF abilities that will refine magic from items. I abused it a lot for my subsequent playthroughs and it works really well.
But again, AP grind, so your mileage may vary.
Same here i didn't know about the "whatever" issue & Played this game over 20 years ago.
I got a griever tattoo that gave me the strength to get through some tough life circumstances. It gave “What would Squall do?” during the tough times and “live like Rinoa” during happy times. This game will live forever in me.
That is a very nice concept to live by.
Regarding the translation: the Italian version was translated directly and more literally from Japanese, so there are very few instances of the infamous "Whatever...". So when the Japanese translation appeared I could instantly recognize its Italian equivalent, and was surprised of how close they were.
Another thing where the Italian translators did better, imo: the English version translated "Arutimishia"'s name as Ultimecia, deriving it from the "ultimate spell" Ultima, but I think the correct translation of the name is the Italian one, Artemisia.
The French version has a lot of this too. If I can help it, I no longer play this game in English. The French translation is just straight up better than the English.
FFVIII's english translation is infamous for being made possible with a GameShark due to the jap. team never sharing the full scripts and possibly never helping out. They (the US team) did a good enough job, and it's always easier to find mistakes in hindsight.
Wow, yeah that makes sense! That’s not the only time the name was in the franchise either, Artemicion the fastest moogle in the world in IX, his Japanese name was Arutemishion.
in the german version her name is actually artemesia
this is interesting. I always felt the name Ultimecia was... kind of dumb. It's interesting how these small translation/localization issues can do so much damage to the original intent of the story.
Squall is definitely rude at the beginning of the game but throughout the game, he becomes more and more "human" or "normal", as far as social behaviours are concerned.
How would you expect a war orphan trained as a demon magic wielding super soldier whose mind is suffering from the effects of time compression supposed to react?
@@Peaches-i2i 1st of all, Squall doesn't experience time compression before the game. Besides, all the main protagonists in FF 8 are war orphans : Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie are orphans as well and they are quite polite and sociable.
Dude, you have been consistently been making videos about some of the most influential things in my life. Things like Silent Hill, Neir, Metal Gear, lately you did the Enter the Void video which I haven't herd anyone talk about in like 10 years and now your doing FF8? Dude keep it coming, I'm always interested hearing your take on these things.
second.
third@@papperogue
What a synchronicity! I'd echo your sentiments exactly. FF8 was my first game on the PlayStation and remains my favorite. I'd also agree that his videos cover some of the most influential things in my life, like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. I'd count these among my top 5 games, they're etched into my soul. I watched Enter the Void about 10 years ago and it lingered in my thoughts for days. Then suddenly he made a video about it. Amazing
Same here dude, funny story about FF8. My first rpg experience was at the cousins house during a family get together and he let me try out FF7 and I was immediately sucked into the turn based combat and the rpg mechanics. I wanted to buy it but I ended up getting the wrong one which was FF8 probably the best mistake I ever made. I had a turbulent childhood and was often sent to live with other people and I never really stayed in one place for more than 2 years, this game was like the calm in the storm. Squall became a character I could relate to so heavy and gave me hope that despite how I felt at the time, I could grow out of it with the help of people I could trust and that continuing to push people away would just extend my problems. @@Ares9999
@@Ares9999 FF8 was my first final fantasy then i played 7 then 9, was honestly mind blowing back when it came out
Huge thanks for your videos, Max. I truly appreciate what you're doing. I can't recall exactly when I started following you, but I've enjoyed every single one of your videos and the way you explain things so deeply, making them understandable. Your videos always resonate with me and they come as a perfect synchronicity. FF8 was my first game, and I don't even remember why I bought it, but it's my absolute favorite. It feels like I find all my answers in your videos. Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Carl Jung, the movie 'The Network', 'Enter the Void', and everything else seems like synchronicity because whenever I'm pondering one of these topics, it's not long before you upload a video discussing exactly what's on my mind. Please keep doing what you're doing; it's unique, and I'm deeply impressed by how you interweave gaming, philosophy, and esoteric themes so insightfully.
Considering your interest in philosophy and the occult, I'd like to recommend two other channels that I believe you and your viewers would appreciate: Agrippa's Diary and Eternalised.
Agrippa's Diary offers a fascinating insight into the world of Alchemy, Esotericism, and the secretive history of ancient societies. Eternalised, meanwhile, focuses on infusing life with meaning and value, exploring deep philosophical and spiritual topics. ❤
5:15 - Squall wasn't meant to be likeable in the begginings. But his visual is the absolute best from any other game, be another Final Fantasy, JRPG or game at all. Of all medias, he really is the "best looking guy here". Black on white, a pair of red belts. I wear two belts when I dress up to go somewhere to this day!
lol i tried to do his hair duo when i was in highschool, i remeber an article in PSM magazine stating he was a bad boy character
I liked him from the start.
@@ltb1345 Same, I never understood why everyone hated him and was so head over the hills for ff7. Just personal opinion I guess. He's the best looking one and cool one.
@@cherrym6262 Because if ou play 6 before any other, you love 6. if ou play 7 before any other, you love 7. if you play 8 before any other, you love 8.
Very very few escape this rule. Of those i knew in my life, no one.
@@cherrym6262 Cloud is a real weirdo compared to Squall. He's a habitual liar and delusional trying to adopt the persona of his own friend.
Squall was so similar to me in personality as a kid that it felt like I wrote my own self-insert. I've never viewed FF8 as about fate, though I see that reading, but as dealing with your internal struggles in light of existential conflict.
And people like Squall because he's genuine.
Awesome insight for this game! Your essay also got me thinking about Laguna's fate which paved the path for Squalls fate. I've always felt a sense of tragedy for Laguna because fate intervened in his two possible loves - Julia and Raine. With your attention on acceptance of fate, it helps me feel better about Laguna since he exemplifies the acceptance of fate in order to end the revolution - and how that acceptance was a necessary precursor for Squall and Rinoa's fate. Man... what a great game lol
Squall is emotionally damaged because Ellona (sp) more or less abandoned him that was his older sister. I have 4 sisters and I can relate to him to squall, being emotionally unavalable or seeing people as NPC's. its Rinoa that gets him to open up. love this game. thank you Max
It's a closed time loop. It's also a time paradox. It is also a death dream. Every time I play it I will use these three theories and let my thoughts go in their directions. It gets very dreamy and screwy like that. The music and some of the settings and graphics also lend a surrealistic feel to this game too.
Yes the time loop closes when squall sees ulti transfers to edea in the end. But! I think also that he breaks the time loop. Bc the end credits show that their love does flurish in the end and i think that in the original time loop squall might have failed to accept Rionas love and then she remained frozen for centuries in the cryo prison whilst being conscious and that drove her mad over the centuries. Thus Ultimecia is born who wants to deny existence to all beings but herself as massive fuck you to those who imprisoned her. In the new time line this is broken by squall when cuts her free. Thats why that moment is encapsulated in the title picture them hugging is the pinacle moment in breaking the chain of events. Its that important. This is how it becomes a happy ending in the end. Thought i can accept the other theory as well inorder to complete the same time loop Squall dies naturally from old age and Rinoa is driven mad from the loss and the inability to die. It is never said how long in the future they jump to. Bc this is necessary for ultimecia to want to do the time compression. To undo the moment when squall dies. But it doesnt make sense bc she has squalls soul essentially saved as griever. But this might not enough. We do anything to reconnect with lost loved ones. Ohh well. I want to believe theory 1 rather then the second one. Beautiful story nevertheless.
agreed
@@zenaasura1769the rinoa-ultimicia theory was denied by square.
I've always hoped you would talk about this game in a part of me, this was the first game I ever played that created an interest in something deeper than just a game to complete, with the characters, the way the world had so much intrigue and mystery, the politics you were swept up in, even the complexity of how deep you could get into the item refinement system, this created the "Wonder" inside me that I carry into every game I play, thank Max
Beautiful video. I genuinely believe one of the reasons FF8 remains so controversial to this day is the fairly lackluster English translation. Squall's "Whatever" is only one example of how much they dumbed down the original Japanese script. Another example, which I find equally egregious, is Ultimecia herself, who had much of her dialogue reduced to maniacal laughter in the English translation, robbing her of some of the depth given to her by the original text.
The role fate plays in FF8's narrative also deeply affects Ultimecia's story. Everything she does is motivated by her obsession to defy her fate of being killed by a "legendary" SeeD.
By the time Ultimecia was born in the distant future, she was already known across generations as the evil, time-traveling sorceress who would one day plunge the world into chaos. Perhaps that knowledge and the hardship she had to endure as a consequence of it was the thing that drove Ultimecia to villainy in the first place. It is very possible that Ultimecia wasn't even her real name, but after many years of persecution by SeeDs, one sorceress proclaimed that, if they wanted Ultimecia, she would give them Ultimecia. Time compression was the way she attempted to defy fate, by taking control over time itself, which, of course, backfired massively and ironically led to the exact downfall fate had in store for her.
I really love FF8. A big chunk of the story's richness is buried deep in the game's themes and subtext, which doesn't work for everyone and I totally get that, but for some reason, it really resonates with me.
NO it's just BAD. Stop trying to give a broken game more credit than it deserves. It's bad.
@r_nelly1180 lmfao don't be an idiot. A fucking parrot could understand the 'themes' of this game. It sucks and you're too butthurt to admit it
@@SuperDragonYoshi1989 ff8 is bad you lose
@@StewNWT lol, nice NO U.
We need a remake of this with updated dialogues, and since it involved time travel, can change up the events like they're doing with FFVII, and possibly bring on the twist at the end that it was actually a sequel and not a remake. It's simply one of the many time loops all the characters had to go thru once again.
I'll always remember as one of my personal TOP videogame moments, Angelo randomly dealing the final blow to Ultimecia 😂
Edit: That banner at the end is very cool!
The major barrier to FFVII's greatness is the simple fact that half of its story was never implemented. Laguna's segments were meant to occupy a much larger percentage of the story, and would have shown how Laguna and Squall effectively took the same journey to the same destination.
That's why his reveal as the president of Esther kinda just comes out of nowhere. But... well... they ran out of time, so large swathe of the narrative just end up not connecting the way they were meant to.
I've come to appreciate more about FF8 as I've gone older, but I'll always wish that we'd gotten that more complete version of the story.
That’s pretty much the same for 12.
Sucks that so much ppl try to shit on it when it’s one of the best in the series.
The director left 3/4th’s in for health reasons so the story isn’t fleshed out as it could’ve been.
Really only came out of nowhere if you weren't paying attention durring the part where you ran around Lunatic Pandora as Laguna.
@@Emperor-Soul Nope. 12 is objective trash.
Had they finished Laguna's section, maybe it would have cleared up the very morally dubious outcome of him seemingly ending up as Esther's President for Life. Tbh, I thought the plot would be far more interesting if him and Cid turned out to be antagonists.
FFVIII
Honestly, I also have the same thought about how Squall acted and his behaviours toward his friends. I might not understand when I was a kid. But now I truly understand the way he acted when going through his journey and the soulmate love between Rinoa and Squall, which make the story it self even more meaningful to me over time. Thanks you for wondeful explaination.
How Saejima once have said: "You gotta go balls deep, Kido"
so true
Facts
Google translate
Checks out
Lol. Saejima is the man
I love how you saying "but" at 2:13 coincides perfectly with Shiva's butt. Well-played, sir.
20:35 - Max, this *MUST* become a thing in your videos. I love it, I absolutedly *adored* those bits.
Squall is super underrated as a main character. He grows and rises to the occasion, something a classically romantic hero character like Laguna and Seifer would never have been capable of. Most of the Final Fantasy lead characters of the other titles are just weirdos and hard to imagine saving the world.
You don't have to draw magic if you know the system deeply enough. *point to head meme*
The trick is actually to refine items to magic. You can fight monsters for them, but level beyond that is playing the card game Triple Triad to get the items.
The less you understand the system, the harder it is because you grind more, whether levels or drawing magic, or fighting enemies for items. The more you know, the less you grind, and subsequently the easier the game becomes.
So it ends up breaking down like this:
Grinding levels
Drawing magic from enemies
Taking advantage of draw points
Refining magic from items from monsters
Refining magic from items from cards
The more you understand, the lower down the list you go.
Yes and no. Yes refining items/cards are the fastest and easiest way to get magic in bulk...... if you only count the refining process. But to say that it takes less grinding is just wrong. You have to grind to level up the GF's refine skills, and some of the most important refine skills are only available to GFs you obtain past halfway through the game. Then you have to either grind Triple Triad to get the cards you need, or grind carding the enemy you need over and over to get multiple of the items you need to turn into magic. Unless you use rare cards that you can only have one of in any given time, and which you could only reacquire near the endgame.
@@pizhhhout The thing about that is unless you want certain refine abilities ASAP, you'll acquire them as you fight enemies and gain ap, which you should try to never kill and instead turn into cards, which will be collected over time until you get said refine ability and have 5 of an enemy's card that'll give you 10 of whatever magic it holds. Also the "need" to grind for certain magic makes it seem that FFVIII is harder than it actually is; aside from superbosses--even then Omega is the only tough fight in the game imo--the game isn't that difficult . . . unless you've been killing enemies and leveled up too much.
I absolutely hated the goddamned card game and that it was mandatory, it also killed a lot of the immersion in the game for me. Although I haven't tried it yet, I'm so glad the remastered version that came out a few years ago got rid of it being mandatory.
The fact that you mostly have to draw magic early on, but have more refinement abilities and items to burn on later discs, also means the grind is more varied. Early on, you drag out fights with the draw command. Then you can plow through enemies for AP. Then finally, some mix of searching out different enemies for drops/cards or playing the card game. For such a long game, it's smart that the junction mechanic pushes you in different directions as you progress.
@@XofHopeFirst off it's not and never was mandatory. Second, triple triad is the greatest card minigame in gaming history. Even people who hate ff8 will acknowledge this. They even brought it to FFXIV
Loved FF8 as a kid and it still holds a special place in my heart. Squall really resonated with me. I always just saw him saying whatever as a defense to not wanting to open up. As an adult, I'm glad to know that the responses were a mistranslation, because it does seem a lot colder, replaying it years later.
i never clicked something so fast!!!
my first final fantasy was 7, and then i played 8 right away and i loved it!!
FF8 was my very first FF i played back in 1999 and i love it since then! For me, Squall was always more relatable then Cloud, Zidane or Tidus. I also loved the combat system and especially his Renzokuken :) :D
8 is my favorite final fantasy game. Still have my original copy that I got for Christmas that year it came out🙏
*you're right about the junction system it's amazing. If you take the time to master it it can be unbelievably satisfying. Also shoutout to Triple Triad, that is such a cool mini game
I still have my PS original game. When I saw 4 discs I got even more excited about it.
Junction system is too fun for me
@@chrisbohn1759 me too
Same! I got ff8 for Christmas and still have it too =D. All my original silent hill stuff is worth a crap ton of money now.
@@ooooswain greatest game of all time
Final fantasy 8 is one of the first video games I ever played. The Ps2 was already out a few years at this point I was very young and barely could read and I Fell in love with it immediately I will always love this game. (I didn't beat it for years because I was a dumb kid)
Everytime I play it I like it a little more.
Max, this is your best video yet. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it. Pointing the bad translation and giving us the guide to understand Squall better literally makes me rethink about myself, because FF VII and VIII had a *huge* impact in my growing up. This video made me cry tears of joy and laugh at some bits. I'm at a loss of words here. So *much* respect, and please come to Brazil.
Better than mgs2 video? Idk about that. But yeah, it is definitely up there among his best
@@SJNaka101 Well, it is very biased to my personal experience. I am totally partial when I say it's the best.
@Fenrisson oh of course, I don't mean to say your favorite is wrong. I was pretty much just agreeing it is very good, and also saying which is my favorite
@@SJNaka101 Sure, mate. No problem at all!
Rinoa and squall with eyes on me playing as the background always have the special spot in my heart
So glad to see you cover FFVIII in a video. I always had a soft spot for this game, and love the world and story they built, even if it wasn't always perfect. I also really enjoyed the unique gameplay decisions they made in this game. I honestly always thought this game was beautiful, and brilliant in its own way.
Final Fantasy 8 was my favorite from the first moment I finished the game for the first time...the first game I 100%. Thank you for making this video...this game needs and DESERVES so much more Love!!
One of the major aspects of the story I was enlightened to in my own personal life also includes a western perspective vs an Eastern in regards to love, surrender, faith and yin/yang
Sorceresses represent the Yin/Feminine. Their Knight is the Yang/Masculine.
As we oppose the truth about who we are, faith in our partner, we become more distorted like the sorceresses. Especially in terms of the Yin/Feminine. Which I why sorceresses like Adel took on male features - she didn't want to give into the truth of her femininity and thus manifested male parts in her distortion. The Yin/Feminine role is faith in the unknown/outside of the self. Being represented by the Yin is a scary journey and one many within the Yin dynamic often lose faith with because of how the world continues to change. The way others treat you, influences the Yins journey toward distortion, until Yin is willing to see the truth.
In regards to Ultimecia, she wanted to be the only one to exist. She's designed to oppose Rinoa in extreme form. When we shut ourselves out from love out of trauma and fear - this is the ultimate result, to create a world where only we can exist. Ultimecias evil I'd argue is strongly based in trauma, living in a world that fears her where a knight can't even come to balance her out because he's so terrified of her. She's consumed by those emotions because at the end of time, the dichotomy between someone like Rinoa (the peak example of someone who embraces her femininity and her trust in the unknown) has grown so great - she desires to ruin the ultimate example of the knight in time - Squall because deep down, it's what she wants but can't have because she refuses to let go and trust the process, the pain...
The cultural understanding is a bit lost because of how integrated so much of these concepts of Yin and Yang are so interwoven into their culture. It's something that I'm sure people don't think to contextualize to the outside. My own spiritual understanding of love helped me to understand this game, and every major character. Love isn't something we always understand. And rarely does it ever look like Squall and Rinoa. But, like you said, when you embrace fate - that's how you get there. The truth about who you are, accepting your own flaws.... letting go and trusting.
I really loved how Squall would say one thing but think the other especially when dealing with adults. It really felt like he acted like his age. Most 90s-2000s video game heroes fully embrace the weight of the world, Squall was refreshingly reluctant. He didn't want to deal more than he had to, yet adults thrust all these responsibilities upon him just because they sees his potential. Sure he appreciates their trust, but he also resents the weight of their expectations. His introspection was also a thing of his time, with voice acted games nowadays, too much internal monologues would get annoying. He was also aloof and cold not because he sees his colleagues as beneath him, but because he was actually insecure and cared too much of how he was perceived that he pretty much gave up and acted negatively to be seen negatively. Because it's harder to act positively, yet be seen negatively, like the whole you can't please everyone mantra. It's very juvenile yes, but he's 17. When I was an 11 year old kid, I thought 17 was adult-ish, now in my 30s.. yeah that's pretty much checks out. The story overall gets a little muddled in the end, but I still like Squall as a character.
Played this game for the first time back in 1999 when it first came out. I was ten. It was my first FF game, and will always remain my favourite no matter what. Funny thing is I've always made it to the end but never finished it.
Mere nostalgia then.
FF8 was the first FF and PS1 game I played back in the day. Would love to see a FF7 remake come to this one as well.
I remember seeing FF8 in a playstation magazine after obsessing with FF7 and when i played it, i had such a good time. It really was such a great game, I was confused at the time that it wasnt a sequel, or attached in any way. But i have always had this game in my heart even though it was so confusing to me at the time
One thing I find fascinating about FF8's development is how every other FF before had the design philosophy of 'light within darkness', as in theres always hope against unbeatable odds. FF8 chose the inverse of 'darkness within light', and I always found it fascinating to view FF8 through that lens. Theres a lot of themes of lost innocence, subtle manipulation and the overall conceit that things are not as they seem. The world isnt at peace, Edea isnt the final boss, Cid isnt the real leader of SeeD, etc.
Nice job summing up the game's genius. The fact is that you nees to play this game multiple times to get everything out of the story: I actually love that. It's like an orange that never loses the satisfaction of the SQUEEZE
Not really, but you do need to play it thoughtfully, not just worry about the junctions and combat and barely paying attention to the dialogues and little details.
I played it only once, soon after it came out. It's been how long now, at least a quarter of a century? It still baffles me how many times throughout these years I've been having to explain things like "yep, Laguna is Squall father", because só many players never cared to look at the details and make the connection.
Well, in my defense, FF8 was the 1st FF game I played and fell completely in love.
@XofHope I would always miss things like Selphie's journal/blog, Irvine's solo scenes in FH, etc. These things are 'small' but truly make the characters very endearing. The 4 party members besides Squall and Rinoa get little spotlight so searching for those extras makes new playthroughs extra fun for me.
@@stevenrohttis5158 I don't play games more than once, probably because I try to do all those little things the 1st time. I'm the kind of player who tries to read every journal, search every corner, look at every item, etc. I know that's not how everyone plays, but really, some people I wonder if they even played the game at all, at best they just moved from combat to combat.
Same here. This was my first rpg game. And I also played it with the renamed characters as me and my late wife. I dedicated my gameplay and recorded it to 2 VHS tapes, made my own fan art for the cover, to my, my late wife. We both enjoyed the game and used to watch it over and over again. This was before digital game capture and TH-cam. Thank you for this. This is a very moving video.
Kinda ironic that the Final Fantasy series leans so heavily into fate when it it was FF8 that changed the course of my life (fate?).
FF8 that got me back into, of all things, Chinese Mandarin. Sounds weird that a Japanese game would get someone into Mandarin, but since the ending song Eyes on Me was sung by Asian megastar Faye Wong, the game led me to get into her music, and by extension Mandarin (and Cantonese, but I focussed on Mandarin). From there I met a Chinese lady, fell for her and went to live in China. It didn't work out in the end, but the experience of living there has also changed how I view Western culture and its value system as well.
By extension, the game stopped me being an NPC, accepting things at face value and led me to ask more questions...and to be honest that's more difficult and dangerous in Western society than you might expect.
Fate, you say? FFate? FF8?
butterfly effect T_T
That’s an amazing story! The music in Final Fantasy truly is life-changing!
I felt very connected with Squall when I was younger. Now being middle-aged, he’s still my favorite character. FFX is my favorite in the series…but I tend to watch play-throughs and play FFVIII more than I do my “favorite”. There’s just something about this game and it’s a masterpiece to me.
love this game and I love your analysis!
its always been one of if not my favorite games and I notice something different every time I start a new run. like you I find that I identify with Squall so much more than it seems other people do. I suppose it makes sense that more gregarious and outspoken protagonists are more approachable as characters. hard to pull off someone who is closed off. but thats why I love it so much.
the mirroring of Squall and Laguna's journeys makes me think of all the coincidences that connect Rinoa and Squall. through Laguna's actions and love the connections to people tie everyone together so they can meet. If Squall had chosen to continue cutting everyone out, closing himself off he's be lost to time, fade out and never survive. He calls Laguna an idiot after witnessing him fumble and gush to Julia, showing his love courageously and unashamedly. to put himself out there. to Squall he was a fool but as the Laguna's story continues he is indelibly drawn to others and he never wavers in his commitment to those he cares about. crossing half the world doing all sorts of odd jobs, favors, and writing to save Ellone. His loss of Raine did not stop him or deter him from saving love.
Squall looks to the image of Griever, a Lion as a symbol of great strength and courage but he doesn't truly attain these qualities until he learns to embrace the fear of losing the things he cares about. he has to be like Laguna and let people in. to truly care and love with his whole chest. real strength does not come from self-reliance but from passion. love and loss and hurt can scare us into a hole that we sometimes never come out from. but Rinoa found her way into his heart. 2 people who born from a twist of fate from Laguna, Raine, Julia, and Caraway's connection. not to mention Edea and Cid and the rest of the gang.
Squall defeating Griever in his battle against Ultimecia shows us which Lion is truly stronger. one of severance and self reliance, avoidance of pain, and one of love. true courage that binds us all through time and makes us real.
"Whatever..." is iconic to me because it captures the teenage angst so well, regardless of whether or not it is mistranslated.
The japanese script is sooo good translated.... edea has cooler lines too
Anyway, so this is Ultimecia's speech in Deling City:
"It reeks. Filthy rabble.
Since time immemorial, we sorceresses have existed within a fantasy world, a world you so foolishly made up in your heads. Sorceresses in black dresses, sacrificing pious citizens in dark rituals. The merciless sorceress who uses dark magic to burn your fertile land and to chill your homes at night. Such drivel.
And now, that the sorceress from your fantasies appears in front of you as a friend to Galbadia, are you lulled into a false sense of security? Which one of us is living in a fantasy now?
Reality isn't so sweet, not sweet at all, and all that remains for you fools is this: *kills the president*
So, run back to your fantasies. Hide, and I shall continue to dance for you in that illusionary world. I shall dance for eternity as the sorceress who brings ruin. You and I, together we shall create the final fantasy, and within it, life and death will be nothing but mere dreams.
Eternal shall be the sorceress, and also Galbadia, her loyal servant.
A sorceress needs dark rituals, a sacrifice has to be made."
FF8 has the best looking characters. I love Squall and Rinoa and Seifer. Talking about the original PS1 version.
Look, for me it's as simple as this. FF8 is the best FF game ever, based on that opening cinematic alone.
I can still remember the first time I saw it, with my best friend, we were rendered speechless. Even now, 25 years later, just THINKING of it can sometimes give me goosebumps. And if I rewatch it, I get goosebumps every time.
There are VERY few things I've experienced in my life that hit me like that cinematic did.
??? FF8 remains the worst game aside from 13. It's utter garbage. THose are just the facts. You sound ridiculous.
@@StewNWT Feel good now? Feel validated now? Jeez, if you don't like it, it's fine. Many of us do!!
@StewNWT there is no fact you have given lmao. At least try and list your reason's why the game is garbage... I'll wait.
@@StewNWT LOL I pity you
@@Kuunpoika it's just bad, deal with it
This particular "FF" felt like a fairy tale, especially in this scene. It's beautiful.
Squall is very different from the other "FF" protagonists, even Cloud. Like you said, obscure, and actually cold. It may have began as a protection mechanism, but it became what he really was through out the years. And I don't think he ever quite copes with the world, not truly. Because he's actually satisfied with what he experienced so far.
He kinda reminds me of Shinji from "Evangelion".
FF8 is my fav game of all time. Nice to see someone else appreciate the depth and character growth.
this is your favorite game? that's sad. It's terrible
@@StewNWT 🤡
@@StewNWT To each their own.
What growth? Everyone who's not Squall stays static.
@@jgrif7891 I disagree. Zell learns the hard way that his big mouth can and will get him trouble by revealing a member of his garden attacked a galbadian official and later by spearheading the attack on the enemy garden.
Quistis accepts Squall isn't gonna show her the love she wants and moves on, she also accepts a role of leadership isnt for her and lets Squall take the lead.
Rinoa learns that war is a nasty business when even when daddy finds a way to get her out of jail, and she learns some Sorceresses can be (and have been) good, and she stops running away from who and what she is.
Irvine shows care and compassion to his friends, showing a huge jump from the "women and guns" ego he so forcibly tried to show every one. And that hits different if you consider he is the only one who hasn't lost his memory and actually remembers their origins, all his friends forgot him and i dont imagine that's a good feeling for a teenager.
Selphie: I'll admit stays the same for the most part, just alternating between "love and peace" and "blow it to smithereens" personalities, but even Fujin and Raijin show growth by the end of disc 3, acknowledging he is no longer just following his dreams. Even Laguna, being the moron that he is finds a way to put his own personal aspirations aside and fills in the power vacuum Adel left behind(still a terrible father in my opinion). I'm not gonna claim everyone had the character growth of a lifetime, but its there. maybe i notice it more since i been playing this game since i was 10.
As someone with Aspergers who had difficulty learning social etiquette growing up, and was therefore very awkward, I liked Squall as he felt like someone who was good at what he did. Being only 17, he was already very career-focused as a mercenary of Balamb, and that was his world, it's what he was comfortable with, and outside of his spectrum, he struggled to cope with social situations, especially the hyper-energetic people, like Zell and Selphie, physically attractive people, like Rinoa and Quistis, or people who'd go out of their way to aggravate him, like Seifer. He placed his ideal persona in the Griever ring, the symbol of the Lion, to represent something he wanted to work towards, that being strength, bravery and pride, only needing to depend on himself. The events of the game taught him that teamwork can get him a long way further than just by his stubborn self, and that hit home for me in my younger years.
My first FF game and I love it to this day!!! Yeah, it was drawn out in parts and the story was kind convoluted, but something just appealed to my teenage brain about it. I think the fact that the characters themselves were also teenagers can account to some of the behaviors, especially Squall's. I soooo remember trying to shut people out or being embarrassed to show my feelings, and hot him it was compounded so much by his trauma as well.
I also LOVED the art, the portraits, the video, it was amazing!
FF8 is my favorite and love everything about it. I wouldn’t change a thing. If it wasn’t for it I wouldn’t have gotten into FF at all.
Thank you for this, FF8 is my personal favorite in the series...and I always related to Squall because like him, I also deal with abandonment trauma...and you by far gave the best interpretation of that ending by far. So, again...thank you.
I first played FF8 back when I was a kid that barely understood English, liked the card game but soon dropped the game because I can't immerse myself in the story.
Played it again when I was 21 and could appreciate the weight of story aspect in games. Totally relate to Squall's character and ended up 100%ing the game, twice (both original and Steam remastered version).
As someone who experienced being left by people I cared about, I developed the same defense mechanism as Squall and had this idea that "If I don't invest my emotions in any kind of situation or relationship, I won't be hurt whatever the outcome would be". Squall's growth to finally be able to open his heart to others is inspiration to me (of course I know he's fictional, but still), for that reason he will forever be one of my most favorite character and FF8 will also always have a place in my heart.
FFVIII was the RPG that got me into the genre and, in my opinion, stomps on the story of FFVII. FFVII was my first, but the story and characters of FFVIII resonated with me so much more. Squall has an infinitely better character development compared to Cloud, and while I understand the nostalgia around VII, VIII will always be THE Final Fantasy game for me. Next to VIII, IX is probably my favorite, with VI being the probably the best in the series overall.
You have your opinion. In the end it doesn't matter. I like VII for the ambiance (and nostalgia), VI and XI for the depths and emotions, X for the end game grind, XII for the Environment and Art direction. VIII I have nothing, except small things like the aliens, the small award you received when you kill monarch. Yes my count stopped there, after XII I gave up, a bromance and decapitation, blood and sexual abus has no place in an FF for me.
@@KabodankiVII is my least favorite FF game and I think it’s overhyped because of nostalgia goggles. I appreciate aspects of it - I agree with you on the atmosphere. But Cloud is an awful character to me and Sephiroth is a less-believable attempt at Kefka to me. VIII to me, has incredible lore, character development, story, best mini-game (cards), and arguably the best soundtrack of the series. Not to mention that the gunblade is one of the coolest weapons ever. IX has, again my opinion, the best main character/best characters in general. X’s sphere grid was awesome and I loved certain aspects of it, albeit a convoluted story. I felt like the combat system was rough, mostly because certain characters felt forced or totally useless. XII I will also agree with you that the art direction was superb and I was a huge fan of the change of pace to a dungeon crawler style game, but if I played it when it first came out without the quality of life fast forward options, I probably would have lost my mind with how slow it was.
@@abryant9166. Your opinion, a terrible one, but yours in any case.
Especially I laughed with What you said about the FF9 lame characters.
And Sephiroth and attempt of Kekfa? Both are very different characters, you have no idea what you are talking about.
@@SeventhheavenDKKefka did what Sephiroth tried but couldn’t, which is destroy the world. They both have similar goals, but only one of them is successful and consistent. I agree they are different characters, in that Sephiroth is unbelievable in his arc and ridiculous. Again, I think nostalgia goggles masks how convoluted the FF games have been for quite awhile. But I think people that claim VIII is convoluted in its story gloss over VII.
At it's core Final Fantasy VIII was a multi-generational love story that started with their parents ill fated romance and ended with them becoming hero's and lovers.
I resonated quite a bit with squall, those feelings of loss and abandonment broke me as a person and playing the game was very therapeutic for me, i began to open up and allowed others into my life and heart simply because i realized that no one can go it alone and we all need people in our lives be they friends or lovers.
in my youth i was squall, pushing everyone away
in my declining years i am Cid searching for his edea.
I unironically love 8, so you've made my day today. Do you plan to do any dragons dogma videos? I don't know what you could cover, but im sure the comments section could have plenty of ideas
Dragon's Dogma is so damn good. Just started what must be my 50th playthrough in preparation for dd2
I'm just going to do this...
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My most fav FF ever ..still …life kept going and we all grew up, lived real live and played tons of video games…now I’m 37 yo and this game yet has the deepest touch on me ❤️
I commented on another topic, but now I have a new gripe with the video, you disliking squall because he says whatever too much and claiming he's a jerk. This argument bothers the hell out of me because it tells me that the player is not invested enough into the story to understand the character, or they simply lack the awareness of what it might feel like to be in that characters shoes. Why doesn't squall shake zells hand? Why doesn't he give rinoa a hug when asked? Why does he completely blow off his teacher when she's flirting with him and wants to know why he won't reciprocate? Is it because he's a jerk? No. Why SHOULD he have to do those things? All of these scenarios are instances where people are forcing themselves on him when he just wants to be left alone and do his job. Zell is a hyper class clown that squall probably thinks it's not only a liability, but likely to get himself killed. Why be friendly with someone who may very well end up dead soon? Why risk building a bond with someone who's a liability in war? With Rinoa, she's not only a complete stranger, but a client of the company he works for. It's strange for her to ask him for a hug. For his teacher, she lies to him just to corner him in a place where teenagers sneak off in the middle of the night to make out, just to unload her feelings and problems on him as if she's entitled to do so and he has no choice, but to mention that at that point on the game, she's still his teacher, making it all the more inappropriate for her to do that. Take into consideration that these characters are just teenagers, 17 and 18 years old, coupled with the fact that the main character is literal conscripted into what is essentially the army from childhood, and it's no wonder why he A) is incredibly serious all the time, B) distant and disassociated, and C) lacking social skills. If you pay attention to the ending, he is bred to be an assassin. From childhood his one job is to learn how to kill people, namely, the sorceress. Squall is my favorite character in gaming because he is a fantastically written introvert, and his character arc of finally accepting how to care about people is executed perfectly. He's a very relatable character for introverted people. He is not a jerk in the game, he's not edgy, he's not broody, he's just very serious because he was taught to be since he was a child, and he doesn't understand how to be social, he didn't understand much of anything other than being a soldier, all at the age of 17.
Read the whole comment and I’m not going to finish the video, he didn’t even bother addressing you. Good comment btw
@miguelcastro2164 Probably didn't address him, because he doesn't say that in the video. He goes over how he and some of the player base has a hard time understanding Squall but in the end likes and empathizes with Squall. Op clearly didn't get passed minute 7
@@SobutaiPlays he literally says both of those things wtf are you talking about?
I wonder if Squall's discomfort and distant attitude isn't just from being an orphan, since they all were, but because he had some subconscious understanding of this responsibility his whole life.
it was december 1999 near christmas time when i saw the "trailer" on TV about this game, i was really young and ive never played any FF before. after i asked my parents as a christmas gift (i remember was almost near 60 or 70 dollars at the time in my nation). i started the game, and found out really boring, closed forever, until i decided to play it again i think 2 or 3 years later only to find out the most sweet, romantic full of action true masterpiece that sat forever the foundations of the best memories in gaming for me. The music, every single character with powerful behavior and feelings. FFV and FFIX defined me not only as player, but as a person.
so many people grew up in happy homes and had no idea who Squall was. it's honestly insane how ignorant some people have been. i immediately knew exactly who he was and how he felt. i was never confused about what he was.
Much like Max, I am an adult (31M) with autism. I'm a later diagnosis (and knowing it now Illuminates a lot that I wish I knew when I was younger). When I was a kid with FF8 as my first FF I was really drawn to Squall in the same way I was drawn to Raven from Teen Titans. They're loners who self-isolate both to protect themselves and because they feel isolation on a deep emotional level. It's hard for them to reach out, it's hard for them to connect, it's hard for them to overcome their need for isolation to process the world not because they feel no one understands them but because (in my reading) they sincerely wanted connection. When Squall says "whatever..." I knew it was abrasive and others saw it as rude, but I also internalized that that abrasiveness as protective masking - Squall is Squall, warts and all. He wants to be seen And accepted, but he knows it will take someone needing a lot of patience to let him process, and he knows that's a huge ask. That, granted, was my reading of him at the time and I can't fault others for having a different, more annoyed read of him. To me, that is part of Squall's masking. It's a form of masking I envied (and informs a lot of why I really got into Sex Pistols and British Punk), because my masking is the opposite. I fawn and chameleon and worry my identity is too open, and seeing a closed-off, cold, abrasive, and, yes, rude character like Squall gave weird power fantasy; one where I could be in control of how others saw me instead of feeling the other way. As an adult i understand it's a "the grass is greener on the other side" situation because it's essentially the same form of intimacy issues but far more lonely. At 12/13 I looked up to Squall, at 31 I wanna give him a hug and tell him "I gotchu, fam" even if he'd shrug it off and say "whatever..." because it hurts to hurt like that.
Ahhhh so many feels watching this video. Having grown up with this game it brings me alot of joy to see such an indepth reading of it. Abd being almost 40 years old now, it still warms my heart seeing Renoa and Squalls relationship. Truly my favorite game story of the franchise. Not counting the FF MMOs ofc. Thanks so much for this video. Earned my sub.
Thanks Max, I think I finally found the answer to the ending, thanks to you I can finally and basically time compressed this chapter of my life, and more, perhaps if faith cannot be broken then we should reach the end and compress that time into an unending loop, locking it away and well, pretty much live anew ever after by repeating the process all over again, even if it has to be stacked up, thanks to this I believe I could even understand myself better as a whole, I’m glad faith got us here, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to come to an end with this hellish loop of mine, ty!
Beautiful interpretation of one of my favourite childhood games. As someone who was completely unaware they were very neurospicy at the time, I related a lot to Squall and even learnt a lot from the relationships everyone had. This will always be my favourite in the series as it got me through some hard times.
Alternative playstyle: you dont have to use draw adnauseum to stock up on magic. Use Queztacoatl, have them learn 'card' 1st, then 'card refine' 2nd. Have every GF that has a 'refine' ability learn that 1st. Then just refine items into magic. Carding enemies makes it so you dont gain exp, but you do gain AP, so GFs still learn abilities. Item refine gets you a lot stronger magic earlier than normal. IE: tents can refine into Curaga. Then junction the higher magic to your stats and it doesnt matter what your lvl is.
Personally, I think the reason why Squall didn't hug Rinoa in Ragnarok is because she probably didn't get a bath when she was in a coma. Likewise he didn't shake hands with Zell because he had to wipe his hand before presenting it to Squall which implied that his hand was dirty and not properly clean.
Always great to see my favorite FF and protagonist get some love (and deserved credit)! Thanks Max. I'm glad you included a segment abou the "Whatever" translation problem. It perverted Squall's perception in English-speaking communities, though I think It's starting to become common knowledge thanks to videos like this one.
Confession: Ultimecia was my first and only real video game crush.
Great video 👍🏽
This game hits home so much. The soundtrack, the story, everything was truly amazing. I listen to the soundtrack all the time, and im currently 3d printing my favorite ship in the game The Ragnarok.
The Rinoa being ultimecia theory is one of the most scariest and interesting theories that I've ever seen.
We need more of Squall's dialog spoken by Homer Simpson @7:50
Ah yes, the very first Final Fantasy game my mom brought me when i was 17 while we was at Wal-Mart.
I still cherish that day, and I'm proud to still own the origina copy that my mom got for me and the remaster.