Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII is the eighth game in the Final Fantasy series by Square-Enix.
== Overview ==
Final Fantasy VIII involves the members of a group of military academies for young children, who train teenagers to become first-class mercenaries. Squall Leonhart, the main character, is dealing with his new status as a SeeD mercenary, his rivalry with fellow student Seifer Almasy, and his new employer, Rinoa Heartilly, a young woman who challenges his individualistic philosophy. During Squall's first job as a mercenary, the nation that he is fighting sees the rise of a woman carrying an ancient power, and he finds himself in the middle of a conflict manipulated by a being outside of time, who wishes to destroy all existence. In the meantime, he and his friends discover secrets about themselves that they had all been forced to forget, and find out that they are closer than they had once received.
FFVIII was written about the theme of love - not necessarily romantic love, but romance does play a large part in the game's narrative"An epic story based on the theme of love, set in a massive new world." Copy from PSX game packaging. Found on Let's Break FFVIII at Talking Time. Accessed Sept. 4th, 2015.. 
===Characters===
Main Playable Characters: 
:* Squall Leonhart: 
:* Rinoa Heartilly: A young woman fighting for the independence of an occupied city, who turns out to be the daughter of one of the leaders of the nation occupying it. She is idealistic and determined, but also inexperienced. Some fans criticize her as being clingy and weak, and call the relationship between her and Squall poorly-developed.
:* Zell Dincht:
:* Quistis Trepe:
:* Selphie Tilmitt:
:* Irvine Kinneas:
Antagonists
:*Seifer Almasy:
:* Raijin:
:* Fujin: 
:* Sorceress Edea: 
:* Sorceress Adel: 
:* Ultimecia: The main villain of the game, who is only mentioned very late in the game. Parts of the fandom criticize her sudden appearance, which was given little foreshadowing. Later appeared in Final Fantasy Dissidia.
Other Characters: 
:* Cid Kramer:
:* Laguna Loire:
:* Kiros Seagill:
:* Ward Zabac: 
:* Raine Leonhart:
:* Ellone: 
== Pairings ==
Fans of FFVIII enjoy a very wide variety of pairings. The relationships listed below is not all-inclusive, which gives a good idea of just how much variety the fandom contains.
===Canon or canon-implied pairings===
* Squall/Rinoa
* Irvine/Selphie
* Cid/Edea
* Laguna/Raine
===Non-canon pairings===
* Irvine/Quistis
* Irvine/Squall
* Laguna/Kiros
* Quistis/Fujin
* Quistis/Rinoa
* Quistis/Selphie
* Seifer/Fujin
* Seifer/Quistis
* Seifer/Rinoa
* Seifer/Zell
* Seifer/Ultimecia
* Squall/Laguna
* Squall/Quistis
* Squall/Seifer
* Irvine/Selphie/Zell
* Squall/Rinoa/Quistis
==Conflicts==
One of the major sources of debate in FFVIII fandom revolves around Rinoa. Some fans have complained about her character in the game, sometimes even expressing wishes that she could be excised from the game in some manner. These fans tend not to favor a Squall/Rinoa relationship; some of them support Squall/Quistis as an alternative, while others prefer Squall with Seifer, Zell and/or Irvine. Similar conflicts have risen about Squall, by people who say that he is an emotionless and badly-developed character whose feelings - particularly for Rinoa - seemed to arise from nowhere. Others argue that both of these interpretations ignore the fact that Squall and Rinoa are both teenagers who are dealing with their own emotional issues at the same time as a world-threatening danger, and that they also conveniently ignore choices or moments in the game where it is possible for both characters to display more emotional range than the writers are given credit for. 
=== The Katana Killer ===
In April 2000 in Murcia (Spain), a teenager killed his parents and his little sister while they slept using a katana.https://evangelicalfocus.com/life-tech/3051/jose-rabadan-past-and-present-of-the-one-who-was-the-murderer-of-the-katana The Spanish media quickly associated the triple murder with the murderer's fixation on Final Fantasy 8. It was reported that José Rabadán, the killer, admired Squall Leonhart, even going as far as emulating his appearance by dressing similarly and styling his hair.https://www.tiemposur.com.ar/uploads/ckfinder/userfiles/images/rabadan%20.jpg Many news outlets at the time attributed the incident to the game, leading to significant misinformation. Some reports erroneously claimed that Squall commits patricide in the game, suggesting that José Rabadán sought to imitate him. Others conflated details from Final Fantasy 7 and 8, incorrectly stating that Squall wields a katana, when in fact, he employs a gunsword. The sensational coverage surrounding the crime tainted the game's reputation, particularly among certain parents who viewed it as potentially harmful or capable of distorting players' minds. https://vandal.elespanol.com/noticia/1350764225/los-mayores-escandalos-polemicas-y-meteduras-de-pata-que-ha-sufrido-final-fantasy/ However, subsequent investigations revealed that José Rabadán was not influenced by the game to commit the crime and had not even completed it prior to the incident.https://www.cracked.com/article_34958_4-true-crimes-that-somehow-involved-the-final-fantasy-games.html
==Fan Theories==
* The Rinoa-is-Ultimecia theory:
== Fanworks ==
=== Fanfiction ===
* Penultima by magistrate (2004) (gen, horror)
=== Fanart ===
=== Fanvids ===
=== Challenges ===
The Scarlet Seduction Squall and Irvine Contest
== External Links ==
* Final Fantasy VIII at the Final Fantasy newbieguide
* Final Fantasy VIII at Archive of Our Own
* Final Fantasy VIII at FanFiction.Net
== References ==
Category:Final Fantasy
Category:Final Fantasy VIII