Explanation for the ending of Final Fantasy 8

[Serapy]

Squall was not some freak vision of Rinoa in the ending, he was perfectly alive and kicking.

Well, Rinoa was a sorceress. So was Ultimecia. Ultimecia was insanely mad, wasn`t she? Right, so if Rinoa and Ultimecia were in the same family, there`s a chance that Rinoa can be crazy at certain times too.

Wasn`t Hyne crazy too? I mean, it must have taken him the guts to cut himself, tearing his parts off ... sacrificing himself.

As for Squall being alive at the end, well that`s an assumption.

I mean, if he were dead, why were all his friends celebrating so joyously? Ok, they beat Ultimecia, but Squall was also the leader of the SeeD's at that point so they would have certainly been a bit more sombre about it, not partying without a care in the world.

Which is a valid point. But consider this: if time gets skipped occasionally during the FMV. I.e. we didn`t get to view what happened to Squall after the flower field scene and he somehow appeared at the end = so we assume that time gets skipped. There are other things that get skipped as well.

So, how much time did it take from the flower field scene to the Seifer`s scene in reality? Approximately 1 minute? 1 day? 1 week? 1 month?

And how much time did it take from the previous scenes to the party scene?

My point is that if a friend of yours died for something he loved doing, then perhaps ... let`s say 1 month later since his death, you would be feeling better, not exactly sombre but better. It`s not like the co party went partying after the day of Ultimecia`s defeat, right?

If I recall correctly, Seifer was injured not too long before the entrance of Ultimecia`s, so how long did he get better? Who took him to a doctor? That must have taken some time.

The reason Square withhold showing Squall until the very last possible moment is for dramatic tension. They know that the player will be wondering what happened in the flower field, so they keep you on your toes about whether or not her survived. Then in the very end they reveal him to you, showing that he is alive.

Yes, the same thing happened with Edea-Ultimecia. At first, players were introduced to Edea, we all thought that Edea was the main villain of the game, right? Until later in the game, we just found out that it wasn`t actually Edea who made certain things happen, it was after all Ultimecia. And that Edea was Matron who raised the co party.

Same thing could be applied to Squall at the end, which I agreed. However, consider:

1) This game contains quite many MacGuffins, Squall at the end could be one because not enough information were given (his health and the time differences of each scene in the FMV.)
2) There are indications that something will happen in the future timelines. So, that`s another thing Square wanted us to think about. Asking for evidence is meaningless.

This is an incredibly common device in films and tv etc. and something Square have done several times before and since in the exact same way.

If Square has done something like this before, then why are the other FFs more clear? There`s a good chance that FF8 was just an experiment by Square.

The camcorder running out of batteries before Selphie moves into position to show Squall is just another added bit of teasing here. The finger movement by Rinoa we see in the very end is the same one we saw on the camcorder, just from another angle.

The flat battery indicator and the casting time of Rinoa`s finger sign symbolism exactly appeared at the same time. I think it`s something to do with symbolism (I made a thread about it back then.) You see her finger sign so many times in the game = too many coincidences = likely to have some meaning.

The teeth being shown was just a tiny muckup on Square's side. Square is human too you know, every tiny mistake is not necessarily a deep clue.

How can it be a mistake? Why didn`t they just ... like ... copy the animation of Rinoa from the camcorder scene and then paste it into the final scene?

The idea that Rinoa used a clone device is utterly absurd. There's absolutely nothing in the game indicating that such a device even exists (the Cid 'clone' was not shown to be able to physically interact as has been pointed out)

But this clone device does exist, sure, it didn`t tell us whether does it have the ability to physically interact or not. Being said that, it doesn`t outright the fact that it can`t physically interact due to lack of information.

If only Square told us more information about what happened to Squall and R=U. These information are very crucial, even Square knows this.

nor is there anything indicating that she used one. Everything, including the music and general atmosphere indicate Squall was real.

Well, we don`t exactly know what happened in the FMV`s timeline. Anything can happen, no evidence required.

The fact of the matter is that you can't even give one single piece of evidence towards your 'theory' which doesn't amount to "we don't have enough information".

Um, I`ve just posted events from the game (which are evidence), and I`ve made a interpretation/speculation of those events. If I had evidence for my interpretation/speculation, then it becomes entirely fact. This is why it`s a theory.