• Yoshinori Kitase shuts down "Squall is Dead", other fan theories

    In a recent interview with Kotaku, Final Fantasy Producer Yoshinori Kitase responded to popular fan theories while promoting Mobius Final Fantasy at PAX West. Among the most popular topics discussed in video game forums and the internet at large over the years, two of the biggest fan theories have revolved around Final Fantasy VIII.


    On the theory that Final Fantasy VIII’s Squall dies at the end of Disc 1 when he’s stabbed by Edea’s ice spear and that the rest of the game is his dream:

    “No, that is not true,” Kitase said, laughing. “I think he was actually stabbed around the shoulder area, so he was not dead. But that is a very interesting idea, so if we ever do make a remake of Final Fantasy VIII, I might go along with that story in mind.”
    It's worth noting that Squall woke up from this iconic cutscene questioning how he had no wound in the aftermath, so even if you factor in that characters in video games get shot and stabbed by enemies and monsters all the time, it was enough of a plot point to warrant questioning from the protagonist. It looks like you'll have to write it off as being healed by a heavy dose of curaga before his interrogation.


    On the theory that Final Fantasy VIII’s Rinoa is really Ultimecia:

    “No, that is not true,” Kitase said. “I don’t think I’ll incorporate that even if we do remake the game. But that being said, both Rinoa and Ultimecia are witches, so in that sense they are similar, but they’re not the same person.”
    Given the influence of mind control and time paradoxes in the story, it was only natural that the thoughts of fans would come to consider the implications these would have on the characters. In Dissidia Final Fantasy, the weapons Ultimecia uses have the same name as Rinoa's weapons in the original game. Perhaps this is a developer wink to the fans?

    There you have it, everybody. It's worth noting that in both questions, Kitase framed his answers with hypothetical "if we do a remake" scenarios. Never say never, especially if the Final Fantasy VII Remake does well. This gives me a few theories of my own about what the future may hold for Final Fantasy, none of which include being stabbed in the shoulder with an ice spear for wanting a remake of Final Fantasy VIII.

    For answers to more theories about other games in the Final Fantasy series, please check out the full article at Kotaku.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Yoshinori Kitase shuts down "Squall is Dead", other fan theories started by Lone Wolf Leonhart View original post
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