Editing Final Fantasy VIII (section)

==Plot==
===Setting and characters===
{{Main|Characters of Final Fantasy VIII}}
Most of ''Final Fantasy VIII'' is set on an unnamed fantasy world. The setting is highly European in design and features a blend of modern and futuristic locales. The planet contains five major landmasses, with Esthar, the largest, covering most of the eastern portion of the map.<ref name="FF8World">{{cite web|url=http://na.square-enix.com/games/ff8/world.html |title=Final Fantasy VIII&nbsp;– World |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |access-date=2007-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308142226/http://na.square-enix.com/games/ff8/world.html |archive-date=March 8, 2007}}</ref> Galbadia, the second-largest continent, lies to the west,<ref name="FF8World"/> and contains many of the game's locations. The northernmost landmass is Trabia, an Arctic region. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies Balamb, the smallest continent,<ref name="FF8World"/> the island on which the game begins. The remaining landmass is small and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain caused by the impact of a "Lunar Cry", an event where monsters from the moon fall to the planet.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Centra Civilization''' - A civilization in Centra 4000 years ago. These Centra people emigrated to other continents and founded the Dollet Empire to the west and Esthar to the east. Centra was destroyed 80 years ago by the Lunar Cry.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | year=1999 | editor=Studio BentStuff | title=Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania | page=40 | publisher=DigiCube/Square Enix | language=ja | isbn=4-925075-49-7}}</ref> The southernmost landmass includes an [[archipelago]] of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. Islands and marine structures flesh out the game world, and a handful of off-world locations round out the playable areas.

The six main protagonists of ''Final Fantasy VIII'' are: [[Squall Leonhart]], a loner who avoids vulnerability by focusing on his duty; [[Rinoa Heartilly]], an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart; [[Quistis Trepe]], an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; [[Zell Dincht]], an energetic [[martial arts|martial artist]] with a fondness for hot dogs;<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Scan description: Zell Dincht''' - Loves the hot dogs sold in the Garden cafeteria. Uses close combat fighting skills to defeat enemies with punches and kicks.}}</ref> [[Selphie Tilmitt]], a cheerful girl who loves trains and pilots the airship ''Ragnarok''; and [[Irvine Kinneas]], a charismatic and promiscuous marksman.<ref name="guidecite"/><ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Scan description: Ivrine Kinneas''' - An expert marksman. Can use specialized bullets to attack enemies. Doesn't perform very well under pressure.}}</ref> All but Rinoa are members of "SeeD", an elite military force based out of futuristic installations called Gardens. Temporarily playable characters include [[Laguna Loire]], [[Kiros Seagill]], and [[Ward Zabac]], who appear in "flashback" sequences; SeeD cadet-turned-antagonist [[Seifer Almasy]]; and sorceress [[Edea Kramer]]. The main antagonist is [[Ultimecia]], a sorceress from the future who wishes to compress time.

===Story===
Squall and Seifer spar with each other while training outside Balamb Garden, giving each other scars in the process. Meanwhile, the Republic of Galbadia invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire SeeD. The school uses the mission as a [[final exam]] for its cadets;<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Xu:''' Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago.}}</ref> with the help of his instructor, Quistis, Squall passes the mission's prerequisite and is grouped with Seifer and Zell. Selphie replaces Seifer mid-mission when the latter disobeys orders and abandons his team. SeeD halts the Galbadian advance; Squall, Zell, and Selphie graduate to SeeD status, but Seifer is disciplined for his disobedience.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Headmaster Cid:''' Seifer. You will be disciplined for your irresponsible behavior. You must follow orders exactly during combat. But I'm not entirely without sympathy for you. I don't want you all to become machines[;] I want you all to be able to think and act for yourselves.}}</ref> During the graduation party, Squall meets Rinoa, whose personality is the opposite of his.<ref name="Manual6">{{cite book | year=1999 | editor=Square Electronic Arts | title=Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual | pages=6–9 | publisher=Square Electronic Arts | id=SLUS-00892GH}}</ref> When assigned with Zell and Selphie to help Rinoa's [[Characters of Final Fantasy VIII#Forest Owls|resistance]] in Galbadian-occupied Timber, Squall learns that Sorceress Edea is behind Galbadia's recent hostilities.<ref name="autogenerated1999">{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Under orders from Garden, Squall and his comrades—joined by Rinoa, Quistis, and Irvine—attempt to assassinate Edea.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall:''' Our next mission... This is no ordinary mission. It's a direct order from both Balamb and Galbadia Garden. We're to [...] assassinate the sorceress.}}</ref> During the effort, Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's second-in-command.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall:''' So, you've become the sorceress' lap dog? / '''Seifer:''' I preferred to be called her knight. This has always been my dream.}}</ref> Edea survives the attempt, stabs Squall in the shoulder with an ice shard, and detains the party.<ref name="autogenerated1999"/>

After Squall's party escapes the prison they were sent to, Edea destroys Trabia Garden in a retaliatory missile strike and prepares to attack Balamb Garden.<ref name="autogenerated1999"/> Selphie delays the launch while Squall's team returns to Balamb Garden and activates its mobile functions to evade the missiles. Garden cannot be controlled, however, and it crashes into the docks at Fishermans' Horizon.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|level=Fishermans' Horizon|quote='''Squall''': I'm terribly sorry. It was inevitable... We lost control of the Garden.}}</ref> While Garden is being repaired, Galbadia invades the town in search of a girl named [[Ellone]],<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall''': Oh, and one more thing... It appeared that the Galbadians were searching for Ellone. That seemed to be their main objective in [Fisherman's Horizon].}}</ref> who had been staying at Balamb Garden. Before leaving, Ellone reveals that she has been "sending" Squall and his team into flashbacks set 17 years earlier in a vain effort to alter history.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Ellone''': People say you can't change the past. But even still, if there's a possibility, it's worth a try, right?}}</ref> The scenes center on Laguna and his friends as he evolves from Galbadian soldier (where he shared a crush with Rinoa's future mother Julia) to village protector (where he served as caretaker to Ellone alongside a bartender named Raine) to leader of an Estharian resistance against [[Sorceress Adel]].<ref name="autogenerated1999"/> Ellone eventually escapes to Esthar, the world's technological superpower.

Meanwhile, Squall confronts his personal anxieties fueled by ongoing developments,<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall:''' (I hate having nothing to do. It gets me thinking too much.) (I hope Selphie and the others are all right. Was it wrong for me to let them go? I wonder how Quistis and Irvine felt about it.) (That sorceress... Who is she? Why fire missiles at the Garden? Is Seifer ever coming back? I'll get even with him next time.)}}</ref> such as [[Cid Kramer|Headmaster Cid]] appointing him as SeeD's new leader<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Cid:''' This journey will involve many battles. A well-qualified leader is needed for this. Therefore, I am appointing Squall as your new leader. ''[...]'' He will decide our destination and battle plan.}}</ref> and his increasing attraction to Rinoa. Squall and his comrades learn that they, along with Seifer and Ellone but minus Rinoa, were all raised in an orphanage run by Edea;<ref name="autogenerated1999"/> after eventual separation, they later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces, except Irvine, who did not use them.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall''': ...Why is it that we forgot? We grew up together as kids... How's that possible...? / '''Irvine''': How about this? The price we pay for using the GF. The GF provides us its power. But the GF makes its own place inside our brain... / '''Quistis''': So you're saying that the area is where our memories are stored? No...! That's just a rumor the GF critics are spreading. / '''Zell''': [You mean], if we keep relying on the GF, we won't be able to remember a lot of things?}}</ref> Cid and Edea had established Garden and SeeD primarily to defeat corrupt sorceresses.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Cid''': [Edea] had been a sorceress since childhood. I married her, knowing that. We were happy. We worked together, the two of us. We were very happy. One day, Edea began talking about building the Garden and training SeeD. I became obsessed with that plan. But I was very concerned with SeeD's goal, that one day SeeD might fight Edea...}}</ref> After these revelations, the forces of Balamb Garden defeat the Galbadian Army, led by Seifer, aboard Galbadia Garden. Edea is also defeated by SeeD, but the party learns that Edea is merely an unwilling host for Ultimecia,<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Edea''': ...I have been possessed all this time. I was at the mercy of Sorceress Ultimecia. Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future. A sorceress many generations ahead of our time. Ultimecia's objective is to find Ellone.}}</ref> who planned to use Ellone to help achieve time compression.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Rinoa:''' There was a sorceress inside me. Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future. She's trying to achieve Time Compression.}}</ref> Ultimecia transfers her powers to Rinoa; Edea survives, but Rinoa enters a coma. Squall travels to Esthar to find Ellone, as he believes that she can help save Rinoa.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co. |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Squall''': Let's go, Rinoa. Let's go meet Ellone. Ellone will bring us together.}}</ref>

While Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Adel from an orbital prison. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate the Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a Lunar Cry that sends Adel's containment device to the planet.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Controller''': The lunar world is a world of monsters. Didn't you learn that in school? As you can see, the monsters are gathering at one point. History's starting to repeat itself. The Lunar Cry is starting.}}</ref><ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Rinoa''': But Edea's still...I can't guarantee anything, either, if Ultimecia possesses me again... You saw me. She controlled me in outer space and made me break Adel's seal.}}</ref> Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in outer space. Squall rescues her, and they return to the planet on a derelict starship and share a romantic moment; Ellone is captured by Galbadia shortly thereafter. After landing, the party encounters Laguna, now President of Esthar;<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Laguna''': A fierce debate ensued about who should govern this country after [Sorceress Adel] was gone. I wasn't paying close attention while they made me up to be this hero of the revolution, and I ended up being president.}}</ref> he reveals Dr. Odine's plan to allow Ultimecia to cast time compression on their terms so that Ellone can send SeeD into Ultimecia's time period.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Doc Odine:''' There iz only one way to defeat Ultimecia. You must kill her in ze future. ''[...]'' Ultimecia probably needs to go back further in time to achieve time compression. Only Ellone can take her back further into ze past. ''[...]'' You will keep moving through ze time compression toward ze future. Once you're out of ze time compression, zat will be Ultimecia's world. It's all up to you after zat.}}</ref> At Lunatic Pandora, Squall's team defeats Seifer, rescues Ellone, and kills Adel; Ultimecia possesses Rinoa and begins casting time compression.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=Square Co |publisher=Square Electronic Arts |date=1999-09-09 |platform=PlayStation|quote='''Laguna:''' Adel will need to pass on her powers before being defeated. Rinoa, will you be willing to accept them?}}</ref> Ellone sends Squall's team into Ultimecia's era, where she is defeated in a fierce battle before time compression can be fully achieved.

Squall, lost in time and space, witnesses the dying Ultimecia traveling back in time to pass her powers to Edea. Rinoa finds him unconscious, and they return together to their restored world and time. Seifer is reunited with his companions, Laguna and Ellone visit Raine's grave, and the SeeD celebrate their victory at Balamb Garden. Squall and Rinoa share a kiss under the moonlight.<ref name="autogenerated1999"/>