Final Fantasy VIII
It's been a long time, almost fifteen years now, since Squall Leonhart and his fellow SeeDs defeated the evil Sorceress Ultimecia. Their journey resulted in an epic war through space and time.Ultimecia, a wicked Sorceress from the future, sought to dominate our time by using my wife, Edea, as a host for her powers, tearing apart any opposition that existed. Garden set out to assassinate Edea, but the sniper, Irvine Kinneas, failed at his task, sparking a fierce conflict between Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden, the latter at the mercy of Edea, who had killed the Galbadian president and taken over power.
After a fierce battle between the flying Galbadia and Balamb Gardens, the six warriors, led by Squall, were able to board Galbadia Garden and defeat Edea and her "general" Seifer Almasy, a failed student at Balamb Garden and rival of Squall. However, once Ultimecia's shell had been defeated, she had to transfer her powers into the nearest candidate who, in this case, happened to be Rinoa Heartilly. This overwhelming shift left Rinoa in a coma for which many people blamed Squall. Hearing that Edea had returned to her previous, kindly self, Squall turned to her for advice as to where to find Ellone, a mysterious woman who had been making Squall and co. experience vivid dreams, all of a man named Laguna Loire and his two fellow Galbadian soldier friends, Kiros and Ward. Squall seeked to go back in time to change Rinoa's fate, but he did not succeed. However, Squall also heard that a man named Dr. Odine may be able to help Rinoa, so Squall walked to Esthar, along the railway across the ocean, where Odine was said to be found, carrying Rinoa on his back. This journey changed Squall from a cold, aloof man, to discover the feelings of love and regret.
Once the troupe arrived in Esthar, Odine told the party that Rinoa's condition could be treated in space, where there was a high-tech space station with doctors who could help, so Squall escorted the unsconscious Rinoa into space. When Rinoa woke, she was posessed by Ultimecia's spirit and unknowingly released the former tyrant of Esthar, the sorceress Adel, from captivity so Ultimecia could possess a more formidable sorceress to do her bidding.
Meanwhile, on earth, Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas and Quistis Trepe - four of Squall's fellow travellers - were having troubles as Seifer had gained control of the Lunatic Pandora, an ancient, mobile stronghold that could invoke a Lunar Cry, a ritual to summon millions of monsters from the moon to Earth - a phenomenon that had previously wiped out the entire Centran civilization. The Cry was successfully called, causing fiercer monsters than before to ravage the world, particularly in Esthar.
In space, Ultimecia's discarding of Rinoa left her floating, slowly dying as her oxygen depleted. Squall, unable to suppress the grief he felt of being separated from Rinoa, went into deep space to be with her, with the glimmer of hope to rescue her, or at least to be with her as she died. By sheer luck, they were fortunate enough to find an abandoned space-ship, the Ragnarok, in which they could travel back to Earth.
Back on earth, the threat of Sorceress Adel remained, so the party, aided by their new ally, Estharian president Laguna Loire, launched an attack on Lunatic Pandora, using the Ragnarok to crash into it. They proceeded on foot to take out Seifer, who fled after defeat, kidnapping Rinoa as he escaped, to offer her to Adel to keep as a hostage. Eventually, the party faced Adel in battle, defeating her and rleasing Ultimecia's spirit. At this immediate moment, Ellone was able to propel the party into the future by compressing time, to face the sorceress Ultimecia.
Fighting through her castle to reach Ultimecia, they finally defeated her and her GF "Griever", destroying this threat from the future. Once she was destroyed, along with the reality she had created, the six had to find their way back to their own time. Squall lost his way and nearly died but was saved by Rinoa.
Ever since their triumph, the party and all the Gardens have enjoyed a period of what can be called an uneasy peace. But now the world faces new, unfound dangers and it's up to the likes of you, SeeDs, to steer this world through these turbulent times. Good luck!
Cid Kramer, founder of Balamb Garden and former headmaster
This is a simple summary of the events of Final Fantasy VIII and does not go into much detail. For a more thorough though precise summary of the story, try the Final Fantasy Compendium.
Final Fantasy VIII Video Summary
Check out Gametrailers.com for part VI of the Final Fantasy Retrospective video series, summarizing the franchise in chronological order. Part VI takes a look at Final Fantasy VIII (up to the 8-minute point) and Final Fantasy IX (there onwards). Click here to go to Gametrailers.com to watch the video.topsites
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