My jaw was on the floor for this entire sequence back when I first played FF8 in 1999. At the time the CG cutscenes in this game were just so far beyond anything that had come before it in all aspects.
mischitary I agree! I especially remember being amazed at the parts where you could play as the characters during FMV sequences (e.g. the part where Irvine and Squall run across the road while the FMV parade is in the background). That was jawdropping in 1999.
FFVIII's disc 1 climax is still one of my favourite moments in the series. The music, switching playable characters, meeting the main antagonist (kinda) and the Seifer duel. It's great.
Despite his aloofness/ introvert-ness, Squall is really good in leadership and very reliable. Look at how he calms Irvine down, look at how he decides and act without hesitation, and look at how he command the team and care for them. A respectable character.
I always thought he was a pragmatic character, but also a considerate one "Just take the shot even if you miss, we got you buddy, we'll work a way" and was willing to put on that front even if he didn't want too, says a lot about him.
I remember reading that his percieved aloofness is actually the translators' fault, as they changed many of the original japanese "..." to "... whatever."
@@pipopoke I always saw him and extremely shy and socially awkward, but has a strong will and even stronger leadership skills when it counts. Poor dude can't hold a conversation, but he cares, even though he can't always put it to words. and saying "... whatever" probably because he felt like he should say SOMETHING, but couldn't say anything else. Almost like he said the word and thought "Why'd I say whatever? What'd that mean? uuugh." sort of like being trapped in your own head.
I never really noticed this as a kid, but after a recent playthrough It finally occurred to me why everyone kept pushing him to make all the decisions throughout the whole game. He's a natural leader, a prodigy really.
This scene was simply unforgettable as a 12 year old kid, I was in Awe as my big sister played cause I couldn't get past the hard parts (so I'd steal her progress and save in a new slot lol).
This is truly impressive for 1999. FFVIII, was my favorite all along, as a teen i always wanted my friends to realize how good it actually was, now as an adult i don’t care what others think, but for me, FFVIII was special. It’s a JRPG, but still one of a kind.
Morten Bjøntegård it holds a special place in my heart as I loved this more than 7 as the scenes in this was breath taking and I’m thinking back the 10 year old me being in shock seeing this on PlayStation . I thought it was life like for the time
The mission fails. Squall does not complain, jumps off a building slashing a soldier in the process, steals a car and charges the sorceress alone. Doesn't really fit the "Emo" description
The reason why people call Squall "emo" is because he is reserved, "brooding" with emotion and because of his fashion sense. He and Paine (FF X-2) are pretty similar, except, I'd say Paine has a sense of humor. You could make a more compelling case for Cloud to be interpreted as "emo" but since he lacks the fashion people give him a pass.
Natasha Bellasario No, no, NO!!!!! This gem doesn´t need a fuckin remake, it´s perfect like this. FFVI is the one that needs a remake, not FFVII nor FFVIII.
I know it seems so primitive by today's standards, but back when this game was released, that scene where your sprites run past the CG parade was mind blowing.
tfw you realize that the reason Irvine chokes is because he's the only one that remembers Edea from their childhood since he hadn't been using Guardian Forces for long yet
Phil Phucs He does much later when he reveals that they all lived at the same orphanage in the ruins of the other Garden on the basketball court, remember?
@@ReneAensland There's a lot of cool subtleties :) I pick up something new every playthrough. If you return to Winhill there are guards patrolling for monsters paid for by a "wealthy benefactor" (Laguna, who also has a painting of Winhil above the presidential office in Esthar). The creepy static words on the television broadcasting station are Adel's thoughts (cutscene casually explains this onboard the space station), and somehow I didn't realize all the "moon" foreshadowing like Waltz for the Moon and the moon in the background of the bridge when the robot is chasing you out of Dollet until last playthrough. Love this game.
Final Fantasy has set a high trend for the competitors, to be honest this was so amazing back in the day, every gamer has jaw dropping when the CGI played, until today Final Fantasy still set a high trend for what a video game should be like, I remember Final Fantasy 12 pushed PS2 to its limit too, it was already like playing MMORPG
Why the heck do the call them FINAL fantasy if there are over 10 lol Regardless I love all the ones I played for different reasons. I remember playing the first one on NES when I was almost to young to remember. Love FF7 and so happy this one they actually have hands not like Clouds box hands ;)
After ending cd 1 and having watched this last sequence, I was TOTALLY CRAZY about this game, I don't remember I was that much excited about continuing playing any game , WISH THERE IS HD VIDEO OF THIS SCENE...
I love this scene, but it's pretty insonsistent. First of all, Irvine can't take this shot, since Edea has a big wall behind her. You can that in the other scenes. The other one is, that the street is completely empty when Squall drives to her but after she strikes him down, it's full of people. That's things which always bothered me a bit, but it was still insane to play back then. :)
You know, I just realized today how much this whole bit feels like the JFK assassination. It's a great part of the story, but you have to wonder if they intentionally took inspiration...
That moment when you realize that the parade float had to be facing at where Irvine was sniping from to deflect the bullet (6:54) but was turned the other way around when Squall approached it in the car (7:44).... so either Squall drove right around to the other side of the gate or the float made a 180 degree turn in a confided space for zero reason.
Hold down the left button when you first enter Balamb town in the car. It's obvious that in their world, cars can suddenly turn 90° and drive that way.
It's a terrible plan, to be honest. Dropping the portcullis just alerts her that something is amiss. If Irvine just shot during the parade maybe they wouldn't have failed.
+Daveclap What he's talking about is he should have shot first and if he missed, then drop the portcullis. Doing it otherwise gives warning to the target. It's fine to drop it, but a better order would have increased success.
Everything its terrible lol, just the escene when Quistis, Zell and Selphie got caught at the Caraway's Mansion, just, dude, all of them can destroy robots, monsters, and that stuff, but not a simple door.
I was so scared of her then. I was 4 and was watching my brother play. She was elegant, careful with her movements, her named was mysterious, that thing on her back was the most amazing piece of clothing I have ever seen. She even stopped a bullet!
When this game launched, this was truly the most mind-blowing experience to a 10 year old me. I remember how enthralled I was as if it happened yesterday. This game is criminally underrated.
There’s no way it would’ve killed her anyways. She phased through a door because that was easier to her than opening it, and then charmed a crowd of thousands of people like it was nothing.
The game is great, this video is awesome, but, BUT, there is some illogical errors in the CGI... Irvine's bullet fly over facing Edea's throne was if she was facing their position. When squall took the car, he drove directly towards her and arrived behind the Edea's throne, SO... HOW Irvine's bullet would hit her in that direction/position she was before casting the magic shield?
Love this game but after rewatching the scene how did Irvine have a shot? Surely he had no line of sight. The back of the cart was in the way as it was facing the wrong way. Am I wrong ?
a friend told me that the devs motion-cap the dance in this cutscene and that they were doing the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance (0:34). I'm surprised I didn't notice it before.
Edea > Ultimecia Edea was so evil, sexy and had a commanding presence. Ultimecia was just goofy looking with a funny mouth. I really lost interest in VIII when Edea is no longer possessed and instead the plot focuses on Ultimecia, Adel and possessing Rinoa. FF always does this: they introduce a really cool villain and then reveal that there's actually a bigger bad who turns out to be bland and underwhelming in comparison. Golbez was awesome, Zeromus? Not so much. Trance Kuja blew up a planet and cast ultima but you fight Necron as the "real" last boss. Seymour was evil and menacing buuut the last boss is really a floating tick with Yu Yevon.
ajbahus i think you forget that Edea was being possessed by Ultimecia, everything you saw Edea doing, was not her, she was unconscious while all that happened, it was Ultimecia who was being a bad ass. AND I SO FUCKING AGREE WITH YOU ON SEYMOUR AND KUJA!!!! Kuja was insanely powerful and beat the shit out of you and your party TWICE, and Seymour was a lunatic that had the entire planet in his odd, but sexy, hands. Golbez was such a good character too, everything he did was for his brother, and all we saw was an evil guy with bad plans being told what to do by some breast feeding background villain. and wtf is with Yevon.....like i was ready to end the game after watching Tidus murder his own dad, and then i fought.....a tick......nice one ff team....
Warrant Officer Schrödinger I think ajbahus means that Edea was a cool villain before we knew she was being controlled. Which is true, I guess. Edea has a really awesome (and sexy) villain design, and it really did seem like she was going to be the main antagonist. Then half-way through the game its revealed that she is just a good guy being controlled by some bizarrely vague villain from the future....it was an odd twist. I think it would have been cooler if Edea was the main villain who had somehow been corrupted by her power since she was no longer running the orphanage, and the heroes had to face their old 'matron' at the end of the game. They had more of a plot connection to Edea than Ultimecia, so battling against her would have been more meaningful.
Amy Santiago Yeah, that about sums it up. There was actual weight to the story with having to do battle with your surrogate mother. FF8 was a very introspective, character driven game in general so it would've made sense for Squall and the others to debate as to whether or not they could kill her. From what I've seen on forums and message boards, fans of FF8 regard Disk 3 and Disk 4 as weaker than the first 2 disks. I don't disagree with them as I was never a fan of Time Kompression, monsters from the moon or a goofy looking final villain that remains in the shadows the whole game (an issue that has plagued many FF titles.) I think that had they kept Edea as the main villain and trimmed out Time Kompression and Adel/Ultimecia and they beefed up Seifer's role, then the second half of FF8 would've run more smoothly.
I can't help but wonder if Square DID originally intend Edea to be the main villain, only to change their minds at some point during production because they thought it might be 'too dark' to have the main characters kill the woman who raised them. It would have been a much more personal and meaningful story to have it slowly revealed throughout the game what turned the caring woman who raised them into such a warped, cruel sorceress intent on taking over Galbadia (and eventually the world?).
I liked the dancers and the singing, it made Edea seem really strong, I can't get over she was their Nanny when they were young, if I remember correctly they save Edea from the darkness in her later on and she tells them she never wanted to hurt them, but she was powerless.
just imagine how much of a game-changing twist it would have been if squall was actually killed there, and you had to continue the game as a different main character like Rinoa or Seifer or something
+AkaiAzul there is a game theory that Squall did die here and all the events leading to the end of the game were hallucinations brought on by his dying synapses, a la the Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge. It's a heartbreaking theory but it makes a lot of sense!
JingizuPlains Kinda, and it probably would've been all true, except Laguna dream oddities outside of just Squall happened in the train before it all happened. I feel like that alone makes it that Squall did NOT die. Unfortunately, none of this explains how Squall survived considering the circumstances they were in at the time. Edea and Seifer sealed in with Squall, Irvine, and Rinoa, and while Seifer was incapacitated, so was Squall, and the fight ends there. It might take both Rinoa and Irvine (he doesn't seem strong enough to carry Squall himself) to get him out. By then, with an angry sorceress at their back and a whole army mobilizing, I don't see how they could have escaped back to Balamb Garden. If they all got caught and imprisoned, sure, and he could have been treated medically, fine, but that's not what happened. His injury was severe enough to have potentially gotten a pierced lung, internal bleeding, and/or hypothermia.
but remember that Rinoa makes that deal with them to keep her friends alive. we just never see the deal go down because the game is mostly from squall's perspective
First of when I am an evil emperor I want a parade like that! Secondly when they decided on Draco Malfoy's look did they start with Ceifer and tried to make him more of a D? And thirdly, it always bothered me but Irvine takes the shot from BEHIND the wagon but the bullet hits Eden from the front?! I still own the PS original but when they remake it for android I will buy it again damnit
Shooting from the back always bothered me too, also the fact that Squall arrives from behind and then has to walk all the way to the front and then climb up
This scene and the whole sorceress thing must have been inspired by the writings of the usurping Sumerian/Akkadian goddess of love Inanna/Ishtar, they hated her and wrote many negative hymns and literature about her, perhaps as a reflection of their overly-positive regard towards wisdom which is said to have been the cause of Babylon’s demise
Probably one of the best climaxes to any Final Fantasy CD, but I feel like the game went quite a bit downhill from here though. Also, Seifer's dream was to become her bodyguard? Was there any explanation or backstory into that?
@@theinsp3ctor368 Yes, that's because he saw the movie Laguna did years ago about protecting a witch, you can see how Seifer in battle holds the gunblade the same way as Laguna's
this the most stupidest plan ever there is no need to drop the gates if your going to snipe her. If anything drop the gate as a plan b but w/e its just a game
7:29 I can hear Squall shouting "Eat this Squeeeenix!" I miss the good old days. RIP SquareSoft. Btw the upcoming FFVIII remaster looks awful. Does not make Squall's original hair justice.
I have a different interpretation of the "Ultimacea=Rinoa" and "Squall is dead" theories. I think the first sorceress possessing Edea (when she's wearing that visor and her long hair is lose) isn't Ultimacea, but Adel from a timeline in which she was never released while Ultimacea rules the world below her. Because of this, at the parade, she actually executes Squall (who, in an instinctive moment, puts himself in front of Rinoa to take that icicle to his chest in her place), leaving a traumatized Rinoa's spirit broken, but with a drive to become stronger, a drive that evolves into obessession, creating the very thing Adel sought to destroy, except this time (because I think that timeline had a loop of its own too that changed a little bit every time Adel tried something different in the past), Ultimacea had a goal that went beyond mere revenge against the world that condemmed her once she got her sorceress powers. She now wished to save the only person who never went after her. The only one who didn't lock her in a room for her safety, but instead gave her actual criticism on how she could improve herself. So, in the future (in which most her memory is either gone or twisted by the GF she acquired for herself) using that machine, she took control of Edea away from Adel, resulting in the wardrobe change we witnessed, and in a misguided attempt of both securing her own existance and putting Squall away from harm's way, he aims the attack at Squall himself, creating a new timeline and a new loop. The question now however is: -Was the final scene of her and Squall in the Garden real ? Or was it a fantasy she had, because Squall actually died on her arms at that field, since without most of his memories, he had no real identity to sustain himself ? Needing to see Rinoa one final time simply to be erased in peace ?
Played this game for the first time about a year ago. I absolutely adored the way this whole sequence is put together. It's so cinematic and smooth. Pacing is a bit sketchy with the whole 'Cmon just shoot her Irvine' stuff though. Shame the plot just totally starts to unravel not long after this scene.
I wish, the game got a little more gothic, because look how cool it can just pull everything together, and the feeling of helplessness against edea it just so cool
The moment the camera transitted from the underground upward to the parade is epic. I know this was kinda revolution of gaming CGs even when I was a little kid back then.
