List of Final Fantasy VIII locations The world of " Final Fantasy VIII " has no known name . It is as diverse as it is large , composed of four large continents and one small continent along with several islands of varying sizes . The overall architecture was designed with western European themes in mind , and as such many structures can be linked back to modern real - world buildings and locations that are both real and theoretical . Travel across the world is facilitated mainly by trains and cars . Because of the worldwide radio interference , communications across the world are suppressed , and no worldwide information network exists , there instead being local networks like the Balamb Garden intranet and the HD cable used by Galbadia . A derelict radio tower from a time before the radio interference engulfed the world remains near Dollet . The world ' s favorite pastime is the trading card game Triple Triad . The various locales include : the laid - back seaside town s of Balamb and Dollet , the bustling metropoli of Deling City and Esthar City , the remote and mysterious retreats of Shumi Village and the Deep Sea Research Center , the quiet sanctuaries of Winhill and Edea ' s Orphanage , as well as the composed environments of the scorching Kashkabald Desert , the lush Rosfall Forest , the enigmatic Centra Ruins , and the dark , foreboding soul of Ultimecia Castle . Economy . The world uses gil as currency . People work in schools and universities , shops , bars , and travel agencies . They are recruited in armies , raise chocobos , sail boats and conduct research . One assumes some " Final Fantasy VIII " residents fish and grow produce to supply their fellow countrymen with consumable goods and that there are markets in every city / village . One job explored in detail is the profession of being a SeeD mercenary . Because of the on - going cold war between Esthar and Galbadia , and the Horizon Bridge between the two being abandoned ( apart from the Fishermans Horizon built around the former central station ) , it can be assumed the two countries do not do trade . Geography . The world is largely covered with water . There are three large continents and several islands of varying sizes . The world has two main superpowers : Galbadia , a military dictatorship , and Esthar , a scientifically advanced nation . There are also many other countries . Those mentioned are Balamb , Dollet and Trabia . Timber and Winhill were once independent states , but were annexed by Galbadia . It can be assumed that other countries exist — Centra , once home to the Centran Empire ( which was destroyed by the Lunar Cry ) , appears to be empty , aside from some ruins and Edea ' s Orphanage . Climate . The climates reflect that of some of Earth ' s primary western countries ( Europe , America , Africa ) . In the north is a snow - covered , northern arctic climate in Trabia that gradually turns into barren lands and plains further south in Esthar , which were altered by Esthar ' s experiments . In Galbadia and Balamb , as solitary lands girted by ocean , the landscapes are primarily filled with mountain ranges , forests and green fields . Galbadia also has a desert known as the Dingo Desert . Further south in the country of Centra the lands are barren due to the events that lead to the Centra Crater , although there are tentative fields in the southern - most island . The world ' s largest desert , Kashkabald Desert , is also located on this land . Flora / fauna . There are two types of fauna : native and alien . Most common animals , such as chocobos , cats and dogs ( a deer also appears during an FMV , and a UFO is seen capturing a cow ) are considered native fauna , while some other species ( namely the monsters ) are considered foreign because they originate from the moon , having been brought to the planet via the Lunar Cry . Flora resemble that of the real - world Earth with the exception of plant - like monsters , such as the Ochu and Malboro . Cultural aspects . Politics . The world is in a constant state of strife . The dictatorship of Galbadia is in a cold war with Esthar , and there are numerous freedom - fighter rebellions in Timber . SeeD is a public mercenary force available for hire from any side . Mythology . Sorceresses are women able to naturally cast magic , whose powers are said to be of divine origin . Hyne is said to be the god who created mankind and the sorceress power is said to originate from him . Some people also believe in ghosts and spirits , and some even in aliens , the supernatural being explored in the Occult Fan series of magazine s . Guardian Force s are powerful magical beings found in numerous remote areas of the world , but there doesn ' t appear to be much mythology based around their existence . Technology . Though mostly relative to real - world late 1990 ' s — particularly 1999 — there are some instances in the world of " Final Fantasy VIII " where the extent of technology dips into the realm of science fiction . Estharian technology . The most advanced civilization is Esthar that prioritizes in space travel , the study of the Lunar Cry , as well as magic and sorceresses . The secretive country possesses flying cars and camouflage shielding that renders Esthar City hidden from the rest of the world . Estharian technology created the Lunatic Pandora and enabled it to become mobile . It was also Estharian technology that enabled the common person to be able to manipulate Para - Magic , a trait long believed only possible for a sorceress . Estharian tech is also used to battle , contain , and even mimic a sorceress power . Gunblades . The unique gunblade weapon is part sword blade and part gun mechanism . The firing of the gunblade ' s chambers induces a tremor in the blade , effectively making it similar to a vorpal or vibro blade , escalating its cutting capacity . In " Final Fantasy VIII " there are at least eight models of the weapon available , each with a unique design and required unique items to modify . Centran technology . The ancient Centra used mobile shelters . While comparatively outdated in most scientific aspects , the technology of the Centra seems to be embedded or fused with magic , and thus is of a type largely undiscovered in the rest of the world . Primary examples of working Centra technology are the mobile Garden installations , Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden , both rendered mobile over land and water thanks to mystical Centra technology . Population . Guardian Force s . Guardian Forces are beings of immense power that can offer their power to complement another ' s . It is unknown how they are formed , or even where they come from , however , it is known that once their trust has been earned , they remain loyal to their charge . It is possible they are immensely powerful spiritual manifestations that take on the form of deities and legendary heroes that ancient people worshiped and revered . Esthar developed a junction system that allows people to link with the Guardian Forces to enhance their powers and to summon them at will . Balamb Garden is the only known institution to use it , as there is a rumor that excessive use causes memory loss . Story . The civilization is fragmented into small city - states and other autonomous groups . The two big nation states , Galbadia and Esthar , went to war two decades ago in a bid for world domination , both wanting to unite the autonomous groups under their banners . The war became known as the Sorceress War , named after the leader of Esthar , Sorceress Adel , a member of the seclusive rank of sorceresses , women able to wield magic . Sorceresses are both renowned and feared for their powers , and legends state they inherited their magic from the god Hyne who is said to have created the world and the people . No one is born a sorceress , but when a sorceress dies they pass on their sorceress power to someone else , and thus the exact numbers and identities of sorceresses in the world are unknown . The Horizon Bridge connecting Galbadia and Esthar was abandoned when the hostilities began , apart from the middle station a group of engineers from Esthar made their home , and Galbadia conquered Timber . Before the war could escalate into full scale however , Esthar isolated itself and shut its borders with rumors circulating Adel had passed on her powers . Galbadia was left reigning the Galbadian continent , but the war had taken its toll on the populace and many children were left orphaned . The world is still reeling from the after - effects of the war with Esthar remaining closed , and the mysterious radio interference filling all frequencies with noise , rendering the technology useless . This new phenomenon , whose origin cannot be discerned , further isolates the different nations who can only transmit long - distance messages via physical cables which get frequently compromised by political strife and monsters . A new military power has risen to prominence : the Garden . Built 12 years ago , Balamb Garden trains paramilitary forces who can wield a power that imitates the power of a sorceress : Para - Magic via Guardian Forces . Based on technology developed in Esthar , Balamb Garden is the only organization in the world to use GFs whose use is rumored to have adverse side effects , although Garden insists otherwise . Those who graduate from the academy become SeeDs who are contracted around the world as mercenaries and take on various missions . Two " sister Gardens " were constricted in its wake , but although they co - operate and their students can often take classes in other Gardens or become transfer students , they do not train SeeDs , Trabia Garden serving as a military academy for the remote nation of Trabia , and Galbadia Garden focusing on weapon development — the only Garden to use guns — and training officers for the G - Army . The world is plunged into chaos when a new sorceress surfaces as President Vinzer Deling of Galbadia ' s ambassador . Sorceress Edea seizes power during her inauguration parade and takes over Galbadia Garden as her base of operations . Appointing her Sorceress Knight Seifer Almasy as the head of the G - Army , the G - Forces are mobilized to search out a woman called Ellone Edea wishes to capture , but with no clues on her identity or whereabouts the search yields little results . Opposing Edea and the G - Forces stands Balamb Garden and its SeeD army , now led by Squall Leonhart . SeeD is a paramilitary army whose operatives can wield magic who are contracted as mercenaries around the world , but their true mission is to enter a fated battle against a sorceress . When the G - Army occupies Balamb SeeD liberates it , and when the G - Forces attempt to burn down Fishermans Horizon SeeD is there to drive them away . The hostilities culminate when the Balamb Garden SeeDs , led by Squall , face the G - Forces led by Seifer in the Battle of the Gardens . Squall leads his team to infiltrate the enemy Garden where they defeat Seifer and Sorceress Edea , who passes on her sorceress power to one of Squall ' s party members : Rinoa Heartilly . Rinoa , acting as if possessed , revives Seifer and imparts new instructions on him before falling comatose . As Seifer and the G - Army depart to carry out the new mission , Edea addresses Squall ' s party with kindness . It is discovered she had been possessed by a sorceress from the future who wants to unmake the world via a magic known as time compression . Squall and his friends abandon the Garden to abscond to Esthar to find a way to cure Rinoa . The G - Army salvages the Lunatic Pandora , an Estharian weapon of mass destruction that had been sunk to the bottom of the ocean after Adel was usurped and Esthar isolated itself from the rest of the world . Lunatic Pandora houses a crystal pillar that has the power to interact with the moon and direct and amplify the Lunar Cry phenomenon which has monsters pour down on the planet from the moon . Directing it over Tears ' Point , a new Lunar Cry initiates , annihilating Esthar . The out - pour of monsters brings down Sorceress Adel ' s tomb from space , where Esthar had kept it on orbit with the still - alive Sorceress Adel held in stasis inside to prevent her from ever passing on her sorceress power . It was the powerful sealing mechanism on Adel ' s tomb that interfered with the radio signals back on the planet , and when the tomb falls radio begins working again . It is discovered Rinoa had been possessed by Ultimecia when she received Edea ' s sorceress power back in Galbadia Garden , and via her new host Ultimecia had directed Seifer to start the Lunar Cry and salvage Adel from space to be Ultimecia ' s new host body . The G - Army finally finds Ellone , and brings her to Seifer and she is held captive aboard the Lunatic Pandora , awaiting for Ultimecia to gain full control of her new host . While Adel slowly recovers from her long sleep , the G - Army begins to question its loyalty to Seifer until even his most trusted friends abandon him . Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in favor of possessing Adel , but now that it is known Rinoa has become a sorceress Esthar wants to contain her similar to what they had done with Adel . Squall rescues Rinoa from this predicament and they hide away at Edea ' s Orphanage until being called back to Esthar City for one final SeeD mission . The president of Esthar , Laguna Loire , along with the Estharian scientist and sorceress expert Dr . Odine , come up with a plan to defeat Ultimecia and hire Squall ' s SeeD party to carry out the mission . Squall leads the attack on the Lunatic Pandora on the Estharian spaceship , " Ragnarok " , and they fight through the remains of the G - Forces to confront Seifer . They defeat him , save Ellone , and kill Sorceress Adel who relinquishes her powers to Rinoa . Ultimecia possesses Rinoa , but Ellone uses her mystical powers to send Ultimecia back in time so she can initiate time compression . Squall ' s party passes through the compressing timeline to Ultimecia ' s era where they meet and defeat her . The time compression spell breaks upon her demise and the timeline reverts to normal , Squall and his friends finding their way back to their own era from the rifts of time . Balamb Garden celebrates SeeD ' s victory over Ultimecia , but what becomes of Galbadia is unknown with Seifer having returned to his old life , and the nation being left without a leader . Esthar remains wrecked by the Lunar Cry , but is assumed to rebuild as peace returns to the world . Rinoa , despite being a sorceress , remains with Squall at Balamb Garden . Real world influences . The nation of Centra echoes the real world Roman Empire , with a somewhat reminiscent architectural style . In the world of " Final Fantasy VIII " Dollet and Esthar were founded by emigrants from the Centra , the old Dollet being known as Holy Dollet Empire , as an allusion the Holy Roman Empire , a weak , fragmented empire of city states proclaimed as a successor to the Roman Empire . During the present time of " Final Fantasy VIII " most of the region that used to belong to the Holy Dollet Empire is claimed by Galbadia , and only the duchy of Dollet remains . The other empire with a claim to being the successor to the Roman Empire is the Byzantine Empire that was more technologically and culturally advanced than the Holy Roman Empire , but also intentionally cut - off and secretive . This reflects Esthar ' s role in the game . The archway in Deling City is made after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris . Similarly , the Tomb of the Unknown King alludes to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , one of them located beneath the Arc de Triomphe . " Monterosa Plateau " is the name of an area in Galbadia Continent . Monterosa Massif is the highest massif in the Alps , located in Switzerland and Italy . The Deep Sea Research Center may allude to the Battleship Island ( " Gunkanjima " in Japanese , alternately called " Hashima " ) , a small island near Nagasaki , Japan famous for the abandoned city of Hashima built around a coal mine that went into decline after Japanese power plants switched to using petroleum . Both the real Battleship Island and the one in " Final Fantasy VIII " house ruined structures . There is also a map in a hotel in Winhill in Laguna ' s time that is of the real world rather than the world of " Final Fantasy VIII " .