Let's Play the 3RD BEST GAME EVER!!! (FFVIII)

[Pumpkin]

Hai everyone, I am Pumpkin, and this is my LP of FFVIII. I hope you enjoy and stuff~

BUT FIRST

Have some awesome music to enjoy!


xUa2kL8kOk4


Alrighty, on with the show

We start off on the beach with some strange music playing and the words that flash by magically


http://i.imgur.com/aEXen0C.png
http://i.imgur.com/ezHECYO.png


And so we are introduced to one of the prettiest FF characters ever

http://i.imgur.com/CqGtjHX.png


She takes a flower petal in her hand


http://i.imgur.com/bII5R8L.png



And when she opens it

http://i.imgur.com/VWsAsdx.png


WITCHCRAFT!!!

So the feather floats up to to the sky, which becomes darker, and a sword falls to the ground while a weirdo witch lady appears in the background

http://i.imgur.com/xeJbepz.png


Some more scenes flash before us including the super pretty lady and the witch lady


http://i.imgur.com/86PVUVi.png


Two teenagers are sword fighting

http://i.imgur.com/5OatNJH.png


The blonde one is an arrogant prick

http://i.imgur.com/lk5HUiB.png


Who slashes a scar on to the excessively handsome one's face


http://i.imgur.com/Igoeu79.png
http://i.imgur.com/sdkc9Ef.png
http://i.imgur.com/o6plslF.png


That young man returns the favour as some black feathers appear and a bunch of scenes from the game flash before our eyes before we arrive to the girl again


http://i.imgur.com/qrbft4T.png


Ash she tries to fall in to our protagonists arms


http://i.imgur.com/FVKiT9v.png


But before she makes it, the screen fades to the title


http://i.imgur.com/1Nm0uVa.png


Final Fantasy VIII: A Love Story~

Anyways, the main dude, Squall, wakes up in the infirmary after being slashed in the face to find himself being scolded by the doctor

http://i.imgur.com/Kd9sGJn.png
http://i.imgur.com/2QBtrub.png
http://i.imgur.com/rxKe6rp.png


The doc, who, by the way, has no style, says she's going to call my instructor to come and get me


http://i.imgur.com/0K88sxQ.png


As we lay in bed waiting, a strange girl appears


http://i.imgur.com/Dz2VsxH.png


Who is she? Eh, I'm sure it doesn't matter and she will have no impact on the plot whatsoever

Moving on, Instructor Quistis arrives and she does not look impressed

http://i.imgur.com/BHfVZUv.png
http://i.imgur.com/Tjw5A36.png


After saying she knew it would be me or Seifer, we head back and Quistis attempts to make conversation, which gets shot down. She knew it would happen though and openly mocks Squall for it


http://i.imgur.com/ShHD9Qk.png


After chuckling, Squall asks her what's so funny


http://i.imgur.com/LzfJPdL.png


Squall fusses, saying he's more complex than she thinks, so when she asks him to tell her more about himself, she predicts his answer perfectly

http://i.imgur.com/7SeQKyR.png


Which causes her to laugh at Squall even more as the camera pans out to reveal out location, Balamb Garden


http://i.imgur.com/jmCuw6c.png


We head to class and do some class things and get a plot point


http://i.imgur.com/LpXHQFR.png


She also fusses at Seifer for injuring his training partner, and the dismisses class. The class was two minutes long, she's not very good at this

http://i.imgur.com/5zZMkjT.png


I think this is how pornos start

But before we go see the instructor, make sure to check your desk for some nifty info and two Guardian Forces (summon monsters)

http://i.imgur.com/f75z4Sm.png


How exciting!

You also get some info about the world

http://i.imgur.com/vO9PBSk.png
http://i.imgur.com/3ByzvQa.png


We learn about what SeeD is (the thing Squall is training to be)


http://i.imgur.com/UnW5fUM.png


And learn that Quistis has her own fan club

http://i.imgur.com/byKs8jQ.png


We also see a student with the initials Z.D. who is obsessed with hot dogs...


http://i.imgur.com/z94rQ1E.png


After checking everything, we go see Quistis


http://i.imgur.com/uR5QWYO.png


The prereq is fighting a giant fire demon in the Fire Cavern. I feel like maybe I shouldn't have waited until the day of the exam to take the prereq. Just sayin

We head outside where we are bumped in to by a cute girl, anime style


http://i.imgur.com/slx9fYY.png
http://i.imgur.com/gdAtirM.png


We learn that she is a transfer student and offer to show her around the Garden. We learn she will be joining the Garden Festival Committee and asks Squall if he wants to join, which he answers noncommittally


http://i.imgur.com/AkIMBik.png


We head to the cafeteria where we see Seifer and his minions, Raijin and Fujin. Fujin yells one word sentences (RAGE) and Raijin is the original Wakka

http://i.imgur.com/roGDHXH.png


Another student comes bursting in


http://i.imgur.com/Z10btTH.png


After being told no, he leaves feeling dejected

http://i.imgur.com/SLg3aTW.png


After he leaves, Seifer and his posse (aka the disciplinary committee) chases after him for speeding

We go around the Garden exploring and learning things that I'm sure are not relevant to the plot AT ALL and will not come back AT ANY POINT


http://i.imgur.com/mgrxzAa.png


We head to the front gate to meet up with Quistis and do some stuff on the world map. Get some magic, strengthen our GFs, the usual. When ready, we head to the Fire Cavern, where we choose a time limit to complete the trial

The less time you have remaining by the end, the better your SeeD score. I don't particularly care about my SeeD score though and screenshots take more time, so I went with 20 minutes which was more than enough. I could have probably done it in 10 but better safe than sorry.

Inside the Fire Cavern, Quistis tries to ease the tension by bragging on herself


http://i.imgur.com/NPjVdh7.png


We get further in without melting or dying of a heat stroke somehow


http://i.imgur.com/llSRrRD.png


And this dude shows up


http://i.imgur.com/bB7o6E6.png


Which series fans will recognize as Ifrit, the fire summon

He is very weak to ice, so go ahead and summon Shiva. This is my fave iteration of her btw


http://i.imgur.com/g3RgtUT.png


Which will get a reaction from Ifrit



http://i.imgur.com/Cn8N3QA.png


I believe Ifrit also has Cure on him so you can cast cure on your party when you need to. Overall not a tough boss if you keep using Shiva

As you continue to do damage, he will praise you..ish


http://i.imgur.com/SWfD3uE.png


So question. It says the prereq test is to obtain a low level GF. So does everyone get Ifrit? Is there more than one Ifrit? If they don't get Ifrit, who do they get? Because this is like... a tiny island, where are they finding these other GFs?

Anyways, keep damaging Ifrit until eventually

http://i.imgur.com/ngtE5Qk.png


Yay~

After that, we head back to the Garden to prepare for our final SeeD exam


http://i.imgur.com/O7f5lbp.png


Stay tuned to see if we pass our exam next time~

[Darth Ganon]

Can I expect three pages worth of DRAW DRAW DRAW or Triple Triad rule manipulation? :p

[maybee]

We head to the cafeteria where we see Seifer and his minions, Raijin and Fujin]

* Gets horror flashbacks from that minions movie * :lol:

[Skyblade]

FFVIII had my favorite incarnation of Shiva as well.

[Bubba]

Best thread Ciddies 2017. I am SUPER excited about this!

You are a winner, Ashton. You WILL pass the SeeD exam.

[Lyndis Highwind]

Aww man, I love this game! So much nostalgia and awesomeness. :)

[Pumpkin]

Hey guys, sorry its been a while. I was having trouble with my imgur. It would say 20 images uploaded but there would only be 17 and of those 17 only some would work yada yada, but it seems to be working now so hopefully I can update more regularly!

Now then, when we left off we were told to go change and go meet Instructor Quistis for our SeeD exam. The first order of business is getting our team assignments. And the first member of our team is

http://i.imgur.com/RQ3tCQt.png


As if to prove her right, here comes Zell, flipping his way down the hall


http://i.imgur.com/XhxA5C6.png
http://i.imgur.com/ySpe53r.png


If he looks familiar, its because he was the kid trying to get the hot dogs earlier

He introduces himself and tries to get a handshake from Squall, which doesn't go well


http://i.imgur.com/JKeux5K.png


He talks about how he knows about Squall's feud with Seifer and all dat


http://i.imgur.com/mFTs0xX.png
http://i.imgur.com/Jxxx3Xu.png


And Quistis chimes in with some excellent news

http://i.imgur.com/5XaGwh4.png


Yay~

Why he's the squad leader when he's already failed the SeeD exam a few times is beyond me, but whatever. Seifer and his posse show up and Quistis wishes us luck on our exam

http://i.imgur.com/GIA0NeM.png
http://i.imgur.com/C4gZ5gF.png
http://i.imgur.com/9psoMx1.png


And that was probably the best comeback for the situation, you tell 'em Quistis


http://i.imgur.com/5CNsG1L.png
http://i.imgur.com/uvUkPuv.png
http://i.imgur.com/W740tTV.png


Sure, that checks out

Anyways, the headmaster himself, Cid Kramer, a.k.a Robin Williams (RIP) comes to give us a speech about not screwing up or whatever


http://i.imgur.com/Y18j4pQ.png


It's long and pretty dull. Seifer and Squall are ~special~ because they're gunblade specialists. Again, why put your only two gunblade specialists on the same team? But whatever

Off we go on our exam in this hideous green and yellow car


http://i.imgur.com/nYmNnui.png


I know this is a fantasy game but that's just more fantasy than I can handle

On the way, Zell tries to make friends with Squall by asking to touch his gunblade. Squall stays silent


http://i.imgur.com/GbLfzuT.png


So Zell, feeling impatient, gets up and starts shadow boxing


http://i.imgur.com/aqnmNes.png
http://i.imgur.com/jHiaCZo.png
http://i.imgur.com/ofHsxEg.png


The older I get the less clever that nickname seems. Chicken and wuss are both basically ways of saying coward so its like he's calling him coward coward. That's not clever. That's just dumb.

Quistis gets up and fusses at them to settle down and Squall changes the subject to the mysterious girl in the infirmary


http://i.imgur.com/Qsv10lF.png


Unfortunately, Quistis has no idea who he's talking about as she didn't notice anyone

GHOST CONFIRMED

http://i.imgur.com/bieFKnJ.png


We get out of the car and get on to a boat to head to our destination.

Xu, another SeeD member, arrives to give us our mission details while also poking fun at how many times Seifer has had to retake the exam

http://i.imgur.com/FzSrdiq.png


Anyways the mission info


http://i.imgur.com/tGUt7Ff.png
http://i.imgur.com/1dczAhD.png


It goes on for longer but that's the gist of it. Then we get cool boat FMVs


http://i.imgur.com/YmV4udl.png


And we get to see some explosions because nothing says battle like explosions


http://i.imgur.com/gTvaqqb.png


And then they do a thing that was actually pretty neat for the time where there's an FMV of the ships arriving and then the characters come out


http://i.imgur.com/9LdqsTj.png


Also, as tempting as it is to talk to everyone in an RPG and to talk back to Seifer, those things will affect your exam results so be careful.

We head to the central square, which is the area we are to secure

http://i.imgur.com/7ZuLj62.png


After fighting off some baddies in the central square and meeting a doggy friend, Seifer starts to get impatient until the dog alerts us to some more soldiers. We hide to see what they're up to


http://i.imgur.com/FMXNPSc.png


It seems that they're all headed for the com tower in a large group. Seifer decides we should go after them and Zell pitches a fit because it's not their assignment. As for Squall


http://i.imgur.com/HGFIfxC.png


This upsets Zell who doesn't understand why he's agreeing with his rival, but we end up going because captain's orders

We see a Dollet soldier on the way


http://i.imgur.com/KMN4sj8.png


But before he can tell us much more


http://i.imgur.com/FVUFrrm.png


He gets attacked by a giant snake and dies


http://i.imgur.com/xSyqpxF.png


We fight the ugly snake, which isn't super challenging, and we do so with the help of our new summon, Ifrit!


http://i.imgur.com/Sj960UG.png


And Quezacotl


http://i.imgur.com/bPG1l51.png


The murderous snake is defeated and we head further in where Seifer is just raring to go


http://i.imgur.com/7bbyrTA.png
http://i.imgur.com/hJaH2cz.png


And so off he runs by himself and Selphie, the girl we showed around the Garden earlier, shows up to deliver a message

http://i.imgur.com/THbCm3c.png


After falling off a cliff


http://i.imgur.com/43QyEz6.png


She's resilient though so it's fine


http://i.imgur.com/qviyWZ1.png


It may look like she's making a silly face but that's actually the brain damage


http://i.imgur.com/l38ykXL.png


She needs to speak to our squad leader because she has new orders for him so she asks where he is

http://i.imgur.com/CcEmHQb.png


And so we chase after Seifer.

Meanwhile, on top of the com tower


http://i.imgur.com/31Tu62y.png


Wedge tries to tell Biggs that a monster shaped shadow has been appearing above them, but Biggs is not concerned


http://i.imgur.com/ep9jPPg.png


Yeah, it's probably nothing

Selphie, Squall, and Zell arrive on op of the tower just in time to see that Major Biggs finished the necessary repairs


http://i.imgur.com/INcgiw1.png


The tower starts shaking and a wrench falls off, which allows the game to show us how high up we are


http://i.imgur.com/Ssc4QMu.png


Too high up

We also see a satellite activate and start sending out laser beams, as they do


http://i.imgur.com/cM5EEd5.png
http://i.imgur.com/GLaXGGI.png


Biggs is satisfied with a job well done until he turns around and sees us


http://i.imgur.com/5hmdcDT.png
http://i.imgur.com/tjs8Nxx.png


But Seifer, who has decided to make a appearance, prevents him from leaving.

BOSS FIGHT TIME

http://i.imgur.com/z9ODMfm.png
http://i.imgur.com/5NBlSq6.png
http://i.imgur.com/RMsMllO.png
http://i.imgur.com/v3SDNiF.png


After beating on them a little bit, something else decides to finish the job. Although note that Wedge has cure if you need it to cast without going in to your stock of magic


http://i.imgur.com/jBkNZuP.png


Which leads to our next boss fight!


http://i.imgur.com/BgkJbI1.png


Before you beat on this thing though, make sure you draw the next summon from it!


http://i.imgur.com/lkX0VZx.png


Once you do beat it, it weirdly explodes and disappears from existence


http://i.imgur.com/CwrjbwY.png


Er... yeah

Anyways, now that Seifer is back, Selphie can deliver her message


http://i.imgur.com/3KzMvmX.png
http://i.imgur.com/kFuNHeF.png


And then he ditches us again.

We head back down to escape but it seems Biggs has another plan up his sleeves

http://i.imgur.com/cvok73F.png
http://i.imgur.com/0oOd9cL.png


And so we get attacked by this thing


http://i.imgur.com/GQybpUG.png


If you've played this game enough, done enough grinding, or have access to cheats, go ahead and beat it like I did for some points. If not, just keep running away. Not worth game overing for it

And what happens if you don't defeat it? Well, that's something I'd like to keep as a surprise for those who haven't played it yet but SURELY WILL SOME DAY but it's cool and it involves this


http://i.imgur.com/0Tcr8z4.png


After escaping and withdrawing, we return to Balamb with our SeeD exam concluded


http://i.imgur.com/uqU3pUA.png


Did we pass our exam?

Find out next time~

[ham]

I love this game. I just recently beat it. :D

[Bubba]

I remember playing through the SeeD exam the first time round and thinking "This is gonna be better than FFVII!" It didn't quite live up to it in the end but this is still an excellent entry in my opinion.

Fun fact: I have never defeated X-ATM092

[Lyndis Highwind]

Zell has always had my favorite entrance cutscene! This is reaallly making want to play this game again.

[Pumpkin]

On our way back from our exam, we stop by Zell's house, which is in Balamb


http://i.imgur.com/RDvE1cY.png


You can play cards with her if you want

You can also get this bit of info

http://i.imgur.com/fPOY8Re.png


Man, all this Galbadia stuff going on. Hopefully it's no big deal!

So we head back to the Garden and everyone goes their separate ways


http://i.imgur.com/zkCNVcb.png


On the way back we overhear a conversation between two people discussing how the Galbadian Army was after the Radio Tower, which is odd because


http://i.imgur.com/XrXPupC.png


The student asks me if I know why that is, and because I'm a super good student, I have the answer


http://i.imgur.com/ERSiRML.png
http://i.imgur.com/DAne3R7.png


Hey, wow. And Squall is 17. WHAT A COINCIDENCE

We also overhear Xu, Quistis, and Headmaster Williams talking about the mission


http://i.imgur.com/hp9F8dW.png
http://i.imgur.com/I5hF9BU.png


WE GET IT, THE TOWER

It's almost like this is an important plot point or something, geez

Then we head down to hall to find Seifer sulking


http://i.imgur.com/mVhQIY6.png


Xu and Quistis arrive and Quistis tells him that he didn't care about doing the right thing, he was just looking for a fight

http://i.imgur.com/pwnDTK6.png


Xu doesn't like Seifer insulting her fellow instructor and lays in to him


http://i.imgur.com/BwQUVPA.png


This visibly upsets him and Xu and Quistis leave as Cid comes to comfort him


http://i.imgur.com/wKy3iIp.png


Unfortunately, Cid can't properly comfort him before he's pulled aside from the faculty


http://i.imgur.com/L3a6yrf.png


After Cid leaves, the faculty member has a few things to say about how the Garden is not a non-profit


http://i.imgur.com/mpMPt4T.png
http://i.imgur.com/pRWuaEN.png


After that lovely talk, the announcement we had been waiting for finally arrives


http://i.imgur.com/DetFwUx.png


Raijin, the female Seifer groupie, is not pleased

http://i.imgur.com/70Qzfus.png


Then again, she rarely is

A faculty member (yes they all have the stupid yellow hats) arrives to tell us who passed. First up is our buddy Zell


http://i.imgur.com/HVQ68YC.png


We also get called forward

http://i.imgur.com/u5Gposv.png


And we head upstairs for our graduation thingy


http://i.imgur.com/n3zTkQz.png


That's a pretty sad number. The four are Squall, Zell, Selphie, and some rando

Cid starts making a speech about how we are mercenaries but one day we will fulfill the true purpose of SeeD but before he can tell us what it is, Faculty Member interrupts him again

Also, turns out the rando is a bit weird

http://i.imgur.com/q9zc21I.png


.....

Also, Zell and Selphie are skipping around happily over there. Good for them

We head back to the hallway where everyone is waiting, including Seifer, and it's awkward for a minute. But then Seifer decides to be a big man and start applauding. Everyone else follows suit


http://i.imgur.com/tx18HWI.png


And we get our report card!


http://i.imgur.com/hOHUFke.png


In case you're wondering, the 5 pts is because I had bunches of time left in the Fire Cavern, I think. But a rank of 8 is actually pretty good. 6+ is where you want to be! Not too shabby~

Afterwards, its time for a celebration

http://i.imgur.com/rmxJHlI.png


We get on our nifty new SeeD uniform and


http://i.imgur.com/nP5ByaK.png


Yeah

At the party Squall acts like his typical wallflower self and Zell comes over to congratulate him


http://i.imgur.com/d1IpDid.png
http://i.imgur.com/YyvSEmp.png


Zell leaves and gets pestered by Selphie to join the Garden Festival Committee


http://i.imgur.com/kZjCH9S.png
http://i.imgur.com/AzkP7Cv.png


Afterwards she comes to ask us to join and I say sure because you don't really have to do anything anyway and I prefer playing as nice Squall


http://i.imgur.com/OTWpwLA.png


She walks away happy and then Squall spots a pretty lady in the crowd

http://i.imgur.com/GJTB08B.png


Who spots Squall back


http://i.imgur.com/q8ta4e7.png
http://i.imgur.com/0idNgHT.png


And then comes over


http://i.imgur.com/fddoc20.png


Squall gives her the silent treatment, as he does, but she doesn't give up, instead trying her hand at hypnotism


http://i.imgur.com/aIp6BT2.png
http://i.imgur.com/JyR6vMc.png


When that fails, she just drags him on to the dance floor

http://i.imgur.com/E0XJJpC.png


Sure enough, Squall awkwardly fumbles about at first, almost falling on her at one point


http://i.imgur.com/8SwwsSD.png


He tries to leave but she drags him back

http://i.imgur.com/IXPw8r3.png


The poor dancing continues as they bump in to another couple

http://i.imgur.com/dM1Y9ln.png


But the girl has no apologies


http://i.imgur.com/JJO7Ziv.png


After that, Squall miraculously starts dancing better just because and the dance ends with magical fireworks because video game


http://i.imgur.com/s6ZbH4x.png
http://i.imgur.com/4U3djKP.png


When she give you dat look

Seriously though, they would have the prettiest babies

Unfortunately, the romantic night ends when the girl notices the person she'd been looking for and takes off

http://i.imgur.com/sLWwEpm.png


Squall gets off the dance floor and gets some fresh air

http://i.imgur.com/VNWJ6zz.png


This is something a girlfriend says to her boyfriend when they're going to break up soon, not something an instructor should say to her student

Go home Quistis, you're drunk

http://i.imgur.com/K57Px6j.png


SEE?!


http://i.imgur.com/rxXarZU.png


THIS ISN'T HELPING

Anyways, she tells us that's her last order and marches us through the dangerous T-Rex filled training center to go to this secret area


http://i.imgur.com/JKvcUXe.png
http://i.imgur.com/jRWyoBS.png
http://i.imgur.com/TEtEQ1L.png


(She's 18 now)

Squall, however, gives zero craps about her story

http://i.imgur.com/7X0skTP.png
http://i.imgur.com/6hh5RKj.png
http://i.imgur.com/EN8dgVt.png


Daaaaaaang


http://i.imgur.com/37gSJID.png


Look at her droppy eye. She is 100% drunk, let's be honest here

So we head back to the entrance, probably with some awkwardness, when we see the girl from the infirmary in distress


http://i.imgur.com/0FpAlsM.png


She's being attacked by a giant wasp thing so we step in for a BOSS FIGHT


http://i.imgur.com/OSWkRMf.png


If I were you I would focus on offing two of the round dudes on the ground and draw some Protects and whatever else you need from the last one. The wasp will just occasionally do things like drop him on you

http://i.imgur.com/ysk3k3Z.png


Or roll him in to you


http://i.imgur.com/uua3WSI.png


When you have what you need, take out the round dude and focus on the wasp. The round dudes are much more harmful on their own. And if you stat Junction sleep to your attack you can keep the wasp dude asleep for the fight if you cast his own magic at him

Once that's done, two dudes in white suits show up for the girl


http://i.imgur.com/6BUsQaV.png


WHERE WERE YOU GUYS FIVE MINUTES AGO!?

And so they take off and we leave, and Quistis leaves us with some parting words

http://i.imgur.com/nJUwiIZ.png


On our way back to bed Zell has some news for us

http://i.imgur.com/anGUIRA.png


We got new rooms, yay!

We head to bed and are woken up the next morning by Selphie


http://i.imgur.com/Fm8c7Wl.png
http://i.imgur.com/fATgstm.png


There's also a new weapon magazine on the desk!

Tune in next time for our first official SeeD mission~

[Darth Ganon]

"Go home, Quistis. You're drunk."

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-11-2015/ToZOEM.gif

[Bubba]

Quistis is clearly one of those weird people that have raw onion in their salad.

Oh man, that "Go talk to a wall" line is brutal and really put me off Squall. I don't care if you're naturally quiet and introverted. That is just really unpleasant.

Xu is hot.

[Lyndis Highwind]

Yeah that talk Squall and Quistis had made me finally decide that Squall is a total jerk. Also "Waltz for the Moon" is one of my fav FF tracks ever! I love that scene.

[Pumpkin]

It's time to get ready for our first official mission as SeeD!

But first, if you head back to your desk, you can see that Selphie has already gotten started with the Garden Festival Committee!


http://i.imgur.com/hUz1fD4.png


She even hosts a public diary there that you can check whenever you come back to Balamb


http://i.imgur.com/nZNxUVb.png
http://i.imgur.com/FMbov6i.png


She also shares her worries about her first mission

http://i.imgur.com/zgQUwP6.png


She also worries if her teammates are going to be nice

So we head to the front gate to receiver our mission. Selphie is already there and Zell shows up on a hoverboard


http://i.imgur.com/TKvIUyw.png


...Which is quickly confiscated for violating Garden rules


http://i.imgur.com/Bm2eFwh.png


Also, I like how three of the recent graduates are going on this mission, but that one rando dude is just nowhere to be found. Poor guy. It's not easy being a random NPC in video games

So Cid gives us our mission. We will be heading to a place called Timber


http://i.imgur.com/VLYSA7z.png


When we ask if it's only the three of us...


http://i.imgur.com/61dWtKp.png


It seems they wouldn't normally even take this job

Anyways, our mission is set, but first, we talk to Cid again to get a special item


http://i.imgur.com/cwQnxrU.png


The magic lamp he gives you contains the GF Diablos. By defeating him you gain him as a summon. It's been my experience that he starts off near useless but his growth is great. He also gets harder to fight the longer you put it off I think, so might as well get it over with. Just head to the world map, save, and use the item


http://i.imgur.com/OYK7QC0.png


This is a tough fight. He likes to Demi your party to get them weak


http://i.imgur.com/JkmDnm2.png


And then he pulls crap like this

http://i.imgur.com/rnsBt9Y.png


Thankfully, Selphie's limit break is pretty good and I landed on Full-Heal quickly


http://i.imgur.com/MS9hAlY.png


(Don't worry, I revived Zell)

After you defeat him, he joins you


http://i.imgur.com/ueORJDw.png


So we head to Balamb to catch a train and see how the folks are doing in town

http://i.imgur.com/KUpHpzf.png


Yes, we stop by to say hi to Ma Dincht. Afterwards, we head to the train station


http://i.imgur.com/aOHGSKd.png


You will need 3000G to board the train but since you're SeeD now, you receive a regular salary, so it shouldn't be a problem. You can also improve your SeeD rank by taking tests under the Tutorial section of the menu

We get on the train which Zell and Selphie are mega hype about


http://i.imgur.com/G5jq4Tl.png
http://i.imgur.com/urxEtyN.png


Selphie even makes up a cute train song since she loves trains

http://i.imgur.com/yp88aR2.png
http://i.imgur.com/h8t62FI.png
http://i.imgur.com/NGiNWRA.png


Inside the cabin, Zell gives us a history lesson on Timber


http://i.imgur.com/Ask4KVP.png


Gee, a lot of stuff sure did happen 17-18 years ago


http://i.imgur.com/hevzRuw.png
http://i.imgur.com/YkOqIrL.png


After the history lesson, Selphie comes stumbling in


http://i.imgur.com/Q4ioOCX.png


But what seems like harmless drowsiness soon starts to affect all three of our heroes, accompanied by a horrible high pitched sound


http://i.imgur.com/926p8M6.png


After the group passes out, we find ourselves playing as three Galbadian Soldiers named Laguna, Kiros, and Ward


http://i.imgur.com/RgwHyDE.png


The greyed out text is our main group wondering what's going on

http://i.imgur.com/pd1y85L.png


As it turns out, Laguna got his group lost. Again.

No worries, a little while later they find their vehicle and head back to their home of Delling City


http://i.imgur.com/Fl4LaNA.png
http://i.imgur.com/l4y1C6l.png


After they disembark, Laguna suggests they hit the bar for some drinks. He isn't fooling his friends though, who know he's not going to the bar to drink


http://i.imgur.com/Az4CLit.png
http://i.imgur.com/ts5ygnm.png
http://i.imgur.com/s5Jd0Xn.png


This is probably the best representation of real world friendship in any Final Fantasy game

Also, Laguna's parking caused a jam

http://i.imgur.com/hV0B7p2.png


So despite what he said, they do indeed head for the bar. We also get some helpful commentary from Selphie

http://i.imgur.com/QMDzAR9.png


Kiros and Ward tell Laguna to go wave at his crush, which he goes to do when suddenly


http://i.imgur.com/J77MhlY.png


And so Laguna limps around the piano like a moron before finally waving at the pretty lady and going back to his seat


http://i.imgur.com/66j4qQg.png


Where he receives support from his friends


http://i.imgur.com/n6BUj5h.png


Julia, the pretty piano lady, arrives to talk to Laguna, so his friends scurry away to give them some privacy. She asks him if his leg is doing okay

http://i.imgur.com/3y1oums.png


And then she makes the first move

http://i.imgur.com/BMpZD7Q.png


Remember how I said his friends gave him some privacy? Yeah, well, the camera pans out to show the entire bar crowded around their booth listening in. So Laguna agrees to meet Julia in her room

When he arrives, Julia tells him to take a seat. So he awkwardly tries out a few. Julia doesn't seem bothered


http://i.imgur.com/H7OQk21.png


After making her move, she offers Laguna some wine, and Laguna starts blabbing on like a moron for who knows how long

http://i.imgur.com/P2X6mZC.png


Apparently at some point he passes out drunk


http://i.imgur.com/afPLnzh.png


We will assume Julia was a perfect lady and did not touch his peepee while he was passed out. After he wakes up, he finally starts letting Julia talk

Here is some nice atmospheric music for you!


ZTz5bZcaM5I

http://i.imgur.com/jLAmI9n.png
http://i.imgur.com/OwDfwKq.png


She shares with him that she isn't a great lyricist, but thanks to him, she thinks she can finally write a song thanks to him. Aww

Just as they start to get close though, Kiros shows up to keep the game T-rated


http://i.imgur.com/Hm0JfWj.png


After that, we end up back with Squall, Selphie, and Zell, who are understandably confused about what happened. Some take it a bit better than others


http://i.imgur.com/4xrPsPd.png
http://i.imgur.com/XpyDOMr.png


They then realize that they all had the same dream

http://i.imgur.com/3xinQpB.png


Realizing this is super odd, Selphie suggests they focus on the mission for now

http://i.imgur.com/ssIGwCm.png


They agree and shortly thereafter, we arrive in Timber. We are quickly greeted by the person we're supposed to meet and, after giving the password, he asks us to follow him


http://i.imgur.com/p3OvnNs.png


You can stop by the souvenir shop though


http://i.imgur.com/xDkwW5H.png


We follow the man, named Watts, to a rickety little train, where we meet a resistance group, lead by a man named Zone. Before the meeting starts though, we get asked by Zone to wake up their 'Princess' which upsets Squall because they weren't hired to run errands. Zone also rejects Zell's handshake. Poor guy

http://i.imgur.com/KQtj6lQ.png


That's it for now, next time we will go meet this Princess and find out what we have to do to help the resistance!

Stay tuned~

[Lyndis Highwind]

Poor Zell, his handshakes are always being rejected haha.

[Bubba]

Squall doing his best Barry Burton impression...

72773

[ham]

I know how Zell feels first hand because my handshakes are often ignored as well T-T

[Formalhaut]

Just caught up with this! Loving it so far. Keep up the wit, Pumpkin!

[Lyndis Highwind]

Just caught up with this! Loving it so far. Keep up the wit, Pumpkin!

Agreed! :)

[Pumpkin]

And we are back! Time to meet the 'Princess' of the Forest Owls resistance group!


http://i.imgur.com/eGVptwS.png


It's the girl from the party! Bet you didn't see that coming!

Also I swear I've seen that exact bed as a furniture option for a Barbie Dollhouse

Anyways, she leaps in to Squall's arms in excitement


http://i.imgur.com/FpfRLfL.png


Eventually she decided to as Cid himself for help


http://i.imgur.com/FBgoFlU.png


Not quite


http://i.imgur.com/pJiqVEV.png


Turns out she was actually at the dance looking for Seifer, who introduced her to Cid

http://i.imgur.com/vNeDswE.png


So that's the situation. We also get an official introduction to the pretty girl, who is named Rinoa!

http://i.imgur.com/8xh4mVx.png


We also meet her puppy partner Angelo!

http://i.imgur.com/yBoqUvj.png


So cute~

Now with Rinoa awake, we can get the details on our mission

http://i.imgur.com/WNyxz9q.png
http://i.imgur.com/EzEK4ji.png


And since his train is going to show up soon, the Forest Owls came up with a nifty plan of how to deal with his train


http://i.imgur.com/gJIVFh1.png


Er... not quite

So we go in to the long, complicated plan

http://i.imgur.com/Rwu6IsL.png
http://i.imgur.com/h4rXoFE.png


The mission takes less time than the explanation.

The group also takes the time to poke fun at the one model train Rinoa made, which she defends by saying she made it ugly on purpose to represent her hatred for the president


http://i.imgur.com/qlKqeWG.png


With that, we head out on the mission by sneaky sneaking around. Turns out the baddies re having some troubles of their own as the President is not a kind, patient man, who doesn't like having security check up on him. This leads to one soldier losing his salary for the month


http://i.imgur.com/rn3qFG5.png


Anyways, it's time to start inputting codes


http://i.imgur.com/iykYbJF.png
http://i.imgur.com/YsQbI3N.png


Which I've always found nervewracking, even though it's relatively easy.

We see the plan start to work as the train cars uncouple and then we sneak our dummy train in


http://i.imgur.com/URG4I92.png
http://i.imgur.com/6N2Ywk6.png


The dummy train also contains a dummy president, which seems to be working


http://i.imgur.com/RmykMQv.png


Well, somewhat

http://i.imgur.com/kDp6BaT.png


After some more code entering shenanigans, we take off with the President and his train car!

http://i.imgur.com/y60xkmj.png


Hooray!

With that mission accomplished, Rinoa and her mercenaries go interrogate the President, who doesn't seem too concerned

http://i.imgur.com/zON0sFs.png


Well, it turns out we've been duped


http://i.imgur.com/T5K8s39.png
http://i.imgur.com/DOFnhUA.png


Dang it, I was sure that this group of six that had strategy meetings by huddling up on the floor would succeed without fail when it came to kidnapping the President!

http://i.imgur.com/BOmP0dx.png


Oh dear

So the President attacks us


http://i.imgur.com/Ov4fOOe.png


He goes down pretty easily and then this... happens...


http://i.imgur.com/XYFK7Nx.png


Well that doesn't look good


http://i.imgur.com/zWBtYIc.png


That doesn't look good at all...

So I would show you some of the fight but it was boring because the game decided to unjunction Zell and Selphie for NO REASON so all they could do was attack. Wah wah waaahh

After the fake President is disposed of, we head back to base to discuss what's going on. Watts has some new intel for us


http://i.imgur.com/wWGIkTF.png
http://i.imgur.com/od75DMu.png


We explain to them what happened in Dollet


http://i.imgur.com/kYMtIKV.png
http://i.imgur.com/avVRvUA.png


Rinoa spots opportunity in the middle of this


http://i.imgur.com/3cKTikB.png


And so she, Watts, and Zone huddle around the floor to discuss their next plan. Squall starts to become concerned about going beyond the scope of the contract and so he asks Rinoa to see it

http://i.imgur.com/T4lt4IL.png


Greeeeaaaatt~

Timber is in a state of chaos with everything going on, and the soldiers catch on to a certain someone who has been sneaking around


http://i.imgur.com/tygRIKd.png


And some of the soldiers decide to start cracking down on the citizens of Timber


http://i.imgur.com/uwlpPDx.png


Despite what their boss tries to tell them

So the group gets dropped off to try and steal the broadcast while Zone takes off with Watts trailing behind him


http://i.imgur.com/s9YSdYo.png


We also find this dude who has an obvious crush on Rinoa


http://i.imgur.com/mSvvjzu.png


You can also find a copy of Girl Next Door for a certain someone in the Timber Maniacs office, and you meet a dude who talks your ear off.

And this dude


http://i.imgur.com/XkwjvKk.png


What an... interesting uh subject for photography

We stop by a house to ask how we can get to the TV station


http://i.imgur.com/oflMMJF.png


She lets us peek from her second story window while her child tries to charge us for the privilege. He gets a spanking

Also, relationship goals

http://i.imgur.com/LZuYe04.png


You can also go visit an old man who offers you his magical healing water for free, since the Inn isn't available for use. Don't steal his money though or he won't let you use it anymore


http://i.imgur.com/JTOEsfn.png


We head to the bar which we need to pass through to get to the TV station, but the door is blocked by a drunk who is angry that the Forest Owls tried to kidnap the president and screwed everything up


http://i.imgur.com/66HXBDO.png


Timber's a messed up place

Anyways, you can get him to move by buying him a drink or by giving him the card he lost that you get by defeating some baddies outside of the bar. If you give him the card he lets you keep it and gives you another one

With that we finally get a path cleared to our destination

Unfortunately, Rinoa is having second thoughts about what she should do since there's a lot of security guarding the President (who would have thought)


http://i.imgur.com/oT1azVC.png


This leads to a comment from Rinoa about how sad we are and how easy it must be to just go through life following orders

This leads to a retort from Squall, who questions the seriousness of the whole business


http://i.imgur.com/vFmjf85.png


As it turns out, he's not much impressed with the group

http://i.imgur.com/Z4dxDqe.png


Selphie calls out Squall for being too harsh so he backs off. Rinoa is a bit put off though


http://i.imgur.com/aLyHpIE.png


She tells us she is serious and then takes off. The broadcast starts right after she leaves

http://i.imgur.com/gXbzEi6.png


The announcer introduces President Deling, who talks about how people currently have the means for peace


http://i.imgur.com/Ae074U6.png


So he says he will hold a conference with world leaders to discuss it

http://i.imgur.com/8b3EmEd.png


As he is about to introduce a Sorceress, Seifer storms on set and starts causing a ruckus


http://i.imgur.com/un6HOkL.png


He takes the President hostage and Quistis tries to calm him down. Selphie and Zell ask if they should do something

Quistis then speaks to the camera, giving us permission to help


http://i.imgur.com/RH9B4HD.png


So we rush up where we find Seifer holding the President hostage, saying he knows what are plan was

http://i.imgur.com/E4N0Fly.png
http://i.imgur.com/Fz1KIxo.png


It seems maybe Seifer was going to do it for Rinoa

Unfortunately, Zell lets it slip that they're from Garden while he's taking a fit, which basically makes everyone angry

http://i.imgur.com/VyWagaT.png


After fussing at Zell, Seifer grabs the president and heads to the next room, where he is met with

http://i.imgur.com/xOBccac.png


The ambassador sorceress herself!


http://i.imgur.com/JKt7J0e.png


She stops Quistis from interfering and riles Seifer up by calling him a boy when he insists that he's a MAN or whatever


http://i.imgur.com/ASktXkN.png


Seifer releases the President and agrees to go with the Sorceress

The others arrive just in time to watch him leave with her


http://i.imgur.com/UPLo67e.png


Rinoa shows up, asking where Seifer went. We tell her we don't know and she hope he will be okay. She also has some more bad news


http://i.imgur.com/jcH2PGU.png


Thankfully, everyone escaped


http://i.imgur.com/T6DbMkQ.png


As we head back to the bar, Balcony Lady offers us to rest at her place while we plan our next move

Find out what happens next time!

Stay tuned~

[Karifean]

Somehow reading this the whole story feels so much more dramatic because you don't have all that pretty lighthearted OST playing in the background =P

[Lyndis Highwind]

I don't know why, but the train mission is one of my least favorite parts. Maybe it's because they take so long to explain it..

It's starting to get intense now!

[Fox]

Also it was a really clunky puzzle!

I loved the music though.

AnD thE fAkE pReSiDenT DelInG!

Quality stuff.

[Pumpkin]

Welcome back~ Being searched for by the Galbadian Soldiers, we take refuge in a lady's home

Turns out the lady is a member of another resistance group fighting for Timber's freedom


http://i.imgur.com/r1IDi8l.png


Selphie asks the all important question about what the heck happened last time


http://i.imgur.com/w3PAJuM.png


And Rinoa explains that she told Seifer all about the Forest Owls and she thinks he showed up to help


http://i.imgur.com/EX5xaj0.png


Meanwhile, soldiers show up at the house


http://i.imgur.com/YF8wWr6.png


The lady's daughter ushers us upstairs and assures us that her mother will be alright


http://i.imgur.com/1Fsqwj9.png


Selphie says that the beauty part really makes it sound like a legend because she just can't help herself.

Thankfully, Galbadian Soldiers apparently don't know how to go up stairs so we're safe to converse about what's going on

Quistis says Seifer was talking about going to Timber but she didn't think he was serious


http://i.imgur.com/j7nbIU0.png


Reason #1 Quistis was fired: Lacks Leadership skills
Reason #2: Apparently doesn't know anything about her own students
Reason #3: Acts like crazy girlfriend towards her student when he dances with a pretty lady at his graduation party

Don't you worry, there will be more

They ask what happened to Seifer and Squall says he may already be dead. Because of the whole assassination attempt on the President thing


http://i.imgur.com/JPNmXiQ.png
http://i.imgur.com/pCNWG2G.png
http://i.imgur.com/unCd50w.png


Rinoa does not take kindly to his considering the possibility of his death and says she hopes he's okay. Squall says what she wishes for is her business


http://i.imgur.com/InGOKzD.png


At this point, it seems the Galbadian Soldiers have withdrawn


http://i.imgur.com/OWwbaju.png


So we head back downstairs to consider our next move


http://i.imgur.com/4RQ2Z0k.png


Quistis points out some Garden SeeD rule number


http://i.imgur.com/UCI49sN.png


And because Squall is a surprisingly good student, he knows what she's talking about

http://i.imgur.com/oh2yXUz.png


With our destination in mind, we head over to the train station where we run in to our old friend Zone who is disguised as an old man. He informs us that all of the train tickets are sold out buuuuut


http://i.imgur.com/pqOEFBQ.png


Unfortunately, he didn't know Quistis would be showing up, so he kindly offers her the ticket he had planned to use to escape. She tries to reject it but

http://i.imgur.com/jIqfBCF.png


He fakes one of his stomach aches and shoos us away

http://i.imgur.com/Pdr5PXg.png


So we hop on the train for a short time. Selphie interrupts Squall's motivational speech a few times to ask for the pass to be let in to the train hallway to gaze out the window. Shortly afterwards, we arrive at our stop and head through a forest to get to our destination


http://i.imgur.com/YSWBwhi.png


Unfortunately morale is low and Selphie worries about them getting arrested while Zell worries about Balamb Garden being attacked because of his earlier slip up

http://i.imgur.com/I4ztcJ4.png


He's so worried that his speech bubble is way on the other end of the screen

He asks Squall is they would really attack Garden and Squall says maybe


http://i.imgur.com/uuQRCyk.png


Squall says that they might

http://i.imgur.com/fDoJENq.png
http://i.imgur.com/RHFvJ1R.png


Rinoa once again doesn't approve of the military student giving a realistic rundown of possibilities instead of telling them what they want to hear. She says that he needs to give words of support and encouragement to Zell instead


http://i.imgur.com/tUY84jH.png


But before Rinoa can fuss at him more (I'll give you a rundown of their early game relationship: Rinoa fusses at Squall and Squall gets confused and exasperated) the high pitched noise starts up again


http://i.imgur.com/bvRFwO2.png


And while it may seem like he faked a headache to get out of an argument, Selphie and Quistis soon pass out as well


http://i.imgur.com/A3Vu6F2.png
http://i.imgur.com/kMEmGus.png


"Oh, okay, that explains it"

Sure enough we do end up back with Laguna and co.

http://i.imgur.com/9OPqSee.png
http://i.imgur.com/BHAEJFS.png


Anyway, we head down to the weird place where weird mining is being done and find ourselves surrounded by Esthar Soldiers. One can only assume these are soldiers from a place called Esthar


http://i.imgur.com/yHUWT8d.png


They're weird lookin

So we head deeper in to this weird, unattractive, and somewhat maze like area


http://i.imgur.com/VWDKSsg.png


You can also find two Old Keys which Laguna will promptly drop


http://i.imgur.com/5JkQGjJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/euc8c2t.png


This may seem pointless but all of the extra little things you do here that seem to have no effect do end up having an effect later on

Here's a quick note in case you play the game!
*Pick up the Old Key near both entrances
*Remove a lever from a floor panel
*Find the detonator and flip the red switch followed by the blue switch
*Move the boulder away from the tunnel to reveal the Cure Draw Point

After doing all of that we find an exit. Unfortunately some Esthar Soldiers find us and the exit led to a cliff. Roc and hard place


http://i.imgur.com/pm7VdsD.png


So this leads to a battle with some creepy Esthar Soldiers

http://i.imgur.com/05vmfnH.png


When you defeat the last one, he will render two party members to 1 HP before he finally kicks the bucket

http://i.imgur.com/zxJbxm2.png


Unfortunately, Ward sustained a heavy injury

http://i.imgur.com/b8c9yeK.png


"I can tell magically without properly examining him because this is a dramatic moment"

Ward manages a few last words before becoming mute


http://i.imgur.com/bKO91PW.png
http://i.imgur.com/qe9Oy9r.png
http://i.imgur.com/YprbsBq.png


................................

Moving on

Laguna spots some boats in the ocean and decides to throw the others off the cliff to safety

As you do

http://i.imgur.com/VaGvH0U.png
http://i.imgur.com/DRHn4Ru.png
http://i.imgur.com/nv6U4BJ.png


Laguna then tries to gingerly ease himself off the cliff before he falls off


http://i.imgur.com/v34gEw0.png


With their fate undetermined, we return to Squall and his companions who have finally woken up


http://i.imgur.com/Q8hZVdZ.png


Quistis is confused about what the heck just happened but we all decide its best to put it out of our minds for now and keep going to Galbadia Garden. But not before Rinoa apologizes to Squall


http://i.imgur.com/FWrhOGn.png


Stay tuned for next time when we get another party member!

[Karifean]

Don't forget to mention setting the lever on the other two trap doors. If you do, the fuse explosions will end up breaking them and open those two doors as well, revealing some more goodies later on.

[Darth Ganon]

Don't the Laguna flashbacks screw with your junction system? I would expect that being why Zell and Selphie were unequipped during the boss fight maybe.

[Bubba]

I do love Laguna. He's such a loveable douche. I can take or leave Kiros but Ward was also pretty great.

I thought the junctioning in the dream sequences was a direct correlation? Squall/Laguna Zell/Ward Selphie/Kiros? I could be wrong.

FF8 is another FF game where I get heavily distracted by mini-games because Triple Triad is life. HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING? WHAT CARDS DO YOU HAVE? I DEMAND TRIPLE TRIAD PICTURES.

[Pumpkin]

Yeah it depends on the scenario who becomes which character

Also nope I dun play TT :jess:

[Bubba]

I dun play TT :jess:

72808

[Lyndis Highwind]

FF8 is another FF game where I get heavily distracted by mini-games because Triple Triad is life. HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING? WHAT CARDS DO YOU HAVE? I DEMAND TRIPLE TRIAD PICTURES.

SAME