Final Fantasy VIII demo " Final Fantasy VIII " had several demos released ; for both the PlayStation and PC versions . The first PlayStation demo is known for playing slightly different from the finalized version , with Selphie and Quistis absent and the scene ' s original music , which ended up being replaced , still intact . PlayStation demo . The PlayStation demo is included along with the Japanese and North American releases of " Brave Fencer Musashi " . In North America it was released October 31 , 1998 , and the disc the demo is on is called SquareSoft ' 98 Collector ' s CD Vol 2 - Final Fantasy VIII . At the time , the fast food chain Pizza Hut also had a deal where they gave out PlayStation demo discs with their pizzas , and " Final Fantasy VIII " was in this offer as well . In Europe , a slightly more polished version of the " Final Fantasy VIII " demo came with a special issue of the " Official PlayStation Magazine " , and a second demo disc featuring early cuts of the " Liberi Fatali " and ballroom scene FMV ' s respectively was packaged along with the Platinum Edition ( re - release ) of " Final Fantasy VII " . A demo version without Rinoa also exists that is closer to the final game . Differences from the final game . The demo takes place at the Siege of Dollet , with Rinoa in the party replacing Seifer and Selphie for the bits they are playable in the finalized game . The characters wear their normal clothes instead of the SeeD cadet uniforms they don in the final game , and the demo ' s FMVs are altered to show Rinoa in place of Selphie , and the different wardrobe ; the characters ' facial structures also differ slightly from the final game ' s FMVs . The dialogue is completely different from the final game with some terms translated differently . The demo ' s storyline implies that the player party is the SeeD rather than the mission being a SeeD exam . At the beginning of the demo the scene at the beach is longer with Seifer explaining the party ' s objective , as the demo lacks the scene present in the final game where Xu explains the mission within the vessel . On the Central Square , Zell comments on the dog licking Seifer , Rinoa laughs and Seifer shoos the dog away , annoyed . Seifer doesn ' t call Zell a " chicken - wuss " , but instead comments on how taking the dog along instead of Zell would prove more worthwhile , sending Zell into a rage . The communications tower ( called " antenna facility " in the demo ) doesn ' t have the Blind draw point the final game has , and instead of Selphie , a Dollet soldier delivers the withdrawal order ; unlike in the final game , the demo only has 15 minutes to reach the shore . At the demo ' s end , Squall and the others rush back to the vessel and the X - ATM092 is destroyed by a Dollet soldier instead of Quistis . Production credits appear overlaying the FMV and the scene cuts off as the vessel leaves the shore , ending with a message stating " Winter 1999 " . Gameplay . The party has Leviathan , which is the only Guardian Force the party can summon as the menu is disabled . The most spells that can be drawn at once is only three . Squall has Fated Circle instead of Rough Divide for his C . Sword finisher and the player cannot enter Zell ' s Fight commands ; instead , Zell performs a scripted Limit Break . The demo is more difficult than the actual scene in the final game due to the disabled menu , which prevents the player from customizing the party , and the characters can ' t level up . Certain sound effects and animations are slightly different in the demo than in the final game and the X - ATM092 is considered impossible to destroy . Even though Rinoa is in the demo , she has no spoken lines and nobody refers to her during gameplay . She also has no Limit Break and cannot use the Draw command , but she can summon Leviathan into battle . The demo has two extra dummied command abilities that were removed for the second , non - Rinoa demo : Fortify and W - Item . W - Item works the same its equivalent in " Final Fantasy VII " and uses two items per turn , and Fortify casts Cure , even if its description suggests it would heal a Guardian Force . Despite Rinoa not speaking in the demo , she has an unused line : " I wonder how many enemy reinforcements are coming . " The demo also has a limited debug room , with half the options being jumps to non - existent maps , and the other half of the options simply being broken . Music . During the demo the track " Raid on Dollet " plays , which was replaced by " The Landing " in the final game , and " Raid on Dollet " never appeared on the game ' s . Although no official reasoning has been given , it is presumed that " Raid on Dollet " was taken out due to sounding too similar to the theme of the film " " composed by Nick Glennie - Smith and Hans Zimmer . A version of " Prelude " plays in the PlayStation demo ' s menu that isn ' t included in the full game . PC version demo . The PC version demo was available for download shortly before the game was out and included the the ballroom scene and Squall and Quistis ' s trip to the Balamb Garden training center , ending with the boss battle against Granaldo . All the dialogue plays the same as in the finalized game , but notably , the party has Leviathan , a Guardian Force not available at that point . Due to limited junction magic available , the PC demo is also harder than the final game , especially if the player ends up encountering the T - Rexaur . Guardian Forces :