the orphanage

[Cool Revolutionary]

Well to me, as much as i enjoyed it, it just seemed to coincidental, and even though it came completly unexpected, it's not like it changed anything afterwards, except thier connection with Edea, but even if only one or two of them came from the orphanage it would have made the same effect, and be abit less farfetched

it doesnt matter if it didnt particuarly change anything afterwards...it was a nice thing to see that they were all friends years ago...it was a beautiful moment!!!!!!!!

[DiggyPup]

Well to me, as much as i enjoyed it, it just seemed to coincidental, and even though it came completly unexpected, it's not like it changed anything afterwards, except thier connection with Edea, but even if only one or two of them came from the orphanage it would have made the same effect, and be abit less farfetched

I agree that having all of the main characters together during their childhood was farfetched. But then again, they were the Children of Fate - the chosen ones - according to "Liberi Fatali". A lot of the quotes in the game revolve around the theme of fate and whether or not it exists.

Headmaster Cid: "Squall, our fate lies in your hands now."
Squall: "Don't talk about this like it's been decided since my birth!"
Dr. Kadowaki: "You said it yourself. There's no way you can run from him...It's kind of like your destiny to face him."
Irvine: "It's not like I drifted here on the tides of fate. I'm here because I chose to be here."

Just some food for thought.

[f f freak]

There are two major problems that I have with the scene. From what I’ve seen, these points tend to be along similar lines to how most others who dislike the scene feel about it:

1. It’s incredibly cliché. I understand what the writers were trying to do here (since character connections and the past are of great importance to the plot of FFVIII) but there really is no excuse for choosing such a prevalent literary staple to achieve their ends. It wouldn’t be the first time the series pulled something like this though (I’m looking at you FFIV) and this problem is no where near as detrimental as the next one.

2. There is no foreshadowing. At all. Up until the plot twist, there is absolutely nothing within the game to indicate any relationship between the protagonists. The whole thing comes out of right field and ends up seeming rather disjointed from everything that came before it. What’s worse is that in order to explain the obviously ridiculous nature of the situation, the writers introduce yet another deus ex machine plot twist (“The GFs made us forget”) which does its bit to try and salvage things (while leaving behind a head-ache’s worth of questions) then completely disappears from the game, never to be referenced by anyone ever again.

There really isn’t anything good about the whole thing. Conceptually, it was already pretty weak and it is made infinitely worse by being lazily integrated into the plot. The fact that it was snowing or whatever doesn’t really do much to help.

I agree 100%. Rinoa sucks too.

[rubah]

You know. . .

As much as people say it's cliched and stuff, what plots from other stories really have that happen?

[Bolivar]

I thought it was a very good scene, but I'm not gonna act like it wasn't a little random and possibly a little cheap. It was a easy way out for the writers to connect the characters and add a level of depth to their plight.

But you can't hate on the whole "wait...who was the matron?" part of it, the music stops, visec lithos whatever-the-hell comes on and it's Edea. That was some crazy stuff. Storytelling elements like that is why the PSX generation is my favorite.

[blackmage_nuke]

Well to me, as much as i enjoyed it, it just seemed to coincidental, and even though it came completly unexpected, it's not like it changed anything afterwards, except thier connection with Edea, but even if only one or two of them came from the orphanage it would have made the same effect, and be abit less farfetched

it doesnt matter if it didnt particuarly change anything afterwards...it was a nice thing to see that they were all friends years ago...it was a beautiful moment!!!!!!!!

True, but to me a better way to have it done would be to have them all known each other through different means, not all of them just at the one orphanage

[Cool Revolutionary]

Well to me, as much as i enjoyed it, it just seemed to coincidental, and even though it came completly unexpected, it's not like it changed anything afterwards, except thier connection with Edea, but even if only one or two of them came from the orphanage it would have made the same effect, and be abit less farfetched

I agree that having all of the main characters together during their childhood was farfetched.

farfetched? it is a fantasy story.

Well to me, as much as i enjoyed it, it just seemed to coincidental, and even though it came completly unexpected, it's not like it changed anything afterwards, except thier connection with Edea, but even if only one or two of them came from the orphanage it would have made the same effect, and be abit less farfetched

it doesnt matter if it didnt particuarly change anything afterwards...it was a nice thing to see that they were all friends years ago...it was a beautiful moment!!!!!!!!

True, but to me a better way to have it done would be to have them all known each other through different means, not all of them just at the one orphanage

didnt you think it was fun though...knowing they all ran around together as little kids havin fun!

[Zeromus_X]

What’s worse is that in order to explain the obviously ridiculous nature of the situation, the writers introduce yet another deus ex machine plot twist (“The GFs made us forget”)

Actually, if you investigate the control panel in Squall's classroom at the beginning of the game, it does mention that 'there are theories indicating that GF use causes memory loss" or something along those lines.

[Ryushikaze]

It was a nice idea, and the actual flashbacks were nice, but it was executed HORRIBLY. No lead up, no real follow up. If even Irvine had made a "just like always" comment that no one got, it might have been better.

That and a better explanation as to why they didn't remember might have helped. Or, again, more of a lead up to the fact that GFs do in fact occasionally interfere with memory issues. Hell, make a point of it. Make it so any SeeD training with GFs were mandated to keep a recorded journal to refresh their memories and other precautions taken to make sure the GFs did not permanently damage their memories.

[Cool Revolutionary]

What’s worse is that in order to explain the obviously ridiculous nature of the situation, the writers introduce yet another deus ex machine plot twist (“The GFs made us forget”)

Actually, if you investigate the control panel in Squall's classroom at the beginning of the game, it does mention that 'there are theories indicating that GF use causes memory loss" or something along those lines.

THANK YOU! i was gonna saythat myself. some folks really dont pay attention do they?

[Karellen]

What’s worse is that in order to explain the obviously ridiculous nature of the situation, the writers introduce yet another deus ex machine plot twist (“The GFs made us forget”)

Actually, if you investigate the control panel in Squall's classroom at the beginning of the game, it does mention that 'there are theories indicating that GF use causes memory loss" or something along those lines.

Yeah, I read that at the beginning as well. While it is in there, information that can only be found by searching through a database isn't exactly what I would call foreshadowing. It really needed to be mentioned in the main plot, or for us to see its effects sometime before the orphanage scene, for it to properly integrate itself within the story.

[Zeromus_X]

I'm not going to say that FFVIII's storyline was perfectly thrown together (although very rarely does anyone praise an RPG for such a thing) or anything, but it is referenced, nonetheless. It isn't like it's one of those things the player will pass by either, you have to access the control panel to obtain Shiva and Quetzacotl.

[Takara]

The scene isn't as cliché as it's force-fed to the players. There was no foreshadowing besides the theories about GF causing memory loss in the control panel. I wouldn't even count Irvine hesitating to shoot Edea as foreshadowing either, because it's never explained if it was because he knew Edea is Matron, or if it was really because he never shot a human being before. As Ryushikaze said, just Irvine dropping a random line once in a while about "the past" would have been better, even if it was confusing to the players and the rest of the cast prior to the flashback. Heck, even Cid could have dropped hints once in a while, whether it was intentional or accidental.

And again, as Ryushikaze said, no follow-up. They all just... kinda accept it and are the bestest buddies ever? Huh, yeah. I'm sure if I discovered four of my co-workers and I were childhood friends and we all forgot each other, I doubt we'd all become such close friends so fast. What's with growing up in different environments, defining our personalities over the years, etc... It could be possible, yes, but that wouldn't happen after two minutes.

[Cool Revolutionary]

i think the control panel info was enough. does everything need to be shoved in front of you?
its interesting aswell, you know to see the hint of whats gonna occur later.

[MJN SEIFER]

2. There is no foreshadowing. At all. Up until the plot twist, there is absolutely nothing within the game to indicate any relationship between the protagonists. The whole thing comes out of right field and ends up seeming rather disjointed from everything that came before it. What’s worse is that in order to explain the obviously ridiculous nature of the situation, the writers introduce yet another deus ex machine plot twist (“The GFs made us forget”) which does its bit to try and salvage things (while leaving behind a head-ache’s worth of questions) then completely disappears from the game, never to be referenced by anyone ever again.

There is tons of foreshadowing, you just need to know where to look.

That's what I love about most FFs but aspecially VIII is that things are aimed at perceptive people.