The destruction of Zanarkand inFinal Fantasy X , the Bombing Mission inFinal Fantasy VII , the Magitek mechs stamp through the snows towards Narshe , Final Fantasy XVI‘sGame of Thrones - ian slaughter . The beloved play series is have it away for sometruly wild set piecesto cabbage you into an dozens upon tons of hours of adventure . But one still hits , even if it consume a moment for you to in reality get it : Final Fantasy VIII‘s landing at Dollet .
FFVIII — which set in motion on the original PlayStation in the U.S. 25 eld ago today — does not open with the claptrap one might typically expect of aFinal Fantasythese days . for certain , the opening cutscene flood tide in couple teen mercenaries Squall and Seifer dueling it out in brand training , but theactualopening of the plot is in stark demarcation to its predecessorFFVII‘s shocking deed of ecoterrorism . No , rather , FFVIIIopens quietly as Squall , give suck a now - characteristic slash across his typeface , readjusts to life in his magical , high - technical school floating university , Balamb Garden . It ’s an unbelievable direct contrast thatFinal Fantasyhas become known for : the gamey school feelings of preparing for exam , but the test call for flinging a sword with a revolver grip around or leap into the nearby volcanic caverns to learn how to successfully domesticate and then summon a giant , furry god .
But even in that mix of the real and the fantastical , it’squiet . There ’s no actual driving drift forFFVIII‘s open other than that Squall and his classmates are preparing for their finals as SeeD student , a nebulous last test that , even as you quickly learn that SeeD is no average school body but an international mercantile organization , and Balamb its base of mathematical process . It ’s the traditions ofFinal Fantasy — warlike combat , conjuration , summoning massive being of abyssal world power — distance and extrapolated through the lens of not Warriors of Light or revolutionaries and Johnny Reb , but a gamy school drama . That is , until the reality of what Squall and the respite of Balamb ’s students are ready for kicks in an hour or two into the game : their final exam is to break the besieging of a nearby independent Duchy , Dollet , facing an invasion by the overpowering might of the Galbadian United States Army .
© Square Enix
Everything commence turning on a dime in the legendary pre - show cutscene that start playing when Squall , his mentor and instructor Quistis , cocky newcomer Zell , and , of course , his rival Seifer set out piling onto the gunboat that will take them to Dollet ’s beaches . Set to what remains one of Nobuo Uematsu’sfinest influence in the enfranchisement , “ The Landing , ” Squall poke his head out of the top of the boat as it pelt along across the ocean , overlaying a tactical diagram on a pic of Dollet … only to lower the photograph find the precise same persona of Dollet in real aliveness , only now it ’s doused in flame and explosions . Dollet ’s own forces , military - looking figures wrap up in bandoliers and toting assault rifle , are being tear apart only for the SeeD gunboats to make out smashing onto the beachhead , as scholar in school uniforms begin charging up the shoring and towards their final tryout , and potentially their demise .
Suddenly , the extrapolation that definedFinal Fantasy VIII‘s opening move becomes inverse . You ’re no longer sit in classrooms and range school hall discussing the concept of soldierly breeding or military strategy , you are thrust into the midsection of warfare where killing the enemy is literally worth points on your final exam . Everything the participant does as Squall and his party makes their way up to try and secure Dollet ’s comms relay race — the tactical informant of Galbadia ’s intrusion in the first shoes — is beingscored in the backgroundby the plot as part of that final mental testing . Are you killing enough soldier ? Are you following the right social club , are you staying on charge ? Do you recall from Dollet in fourth dimension , as you ’re being track back from the relay tower by a hulking , mechanical spider - tankful , unlike anything you ’ve faced in the game up to that item ? What Squall and his acquaintance have been training for becomes material in the flame of Dollet , and with it , and in some waysFinal Fantasy‘s extrapolated illusion start to evaporate before their oculus .
irrespective of grudge on the mental test , Squall and ( most ) of his friends allow for Dollet as full - fledged member of SeeD ( the score limit your initial salary , another little biting commentary ) . But players go out it with a starker understanding of whatFinal Fantasy VIIIwanted to say about the franchise , even beyond its sci - fantasy modernist aesthetic taking an even further step away from the series ’ traditions than its predecessor did . Plenty ofFinal Fantasiesbefore this put unseasoned people into the substance grinder of warfare , but few supervise to capture the futility of the industrial coordination compound behind warfare quite so compactly asFinal Fantasy VIIIdid in that slayer opening twist .
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