Explanation for the ending of Final Fantasy 8

[Serapy]

That's not all though. In order to raise your theory from the absurdity of Rinoa=Irvine (glad you agree that's absurd btw, was honestly expecting you to defend it) you can't just use your imagination and speculation to connect some dots (patience is hardly relevant: I could wait for years and Rinoa=Irvine would be just as silly). You need to provide some evidence that the game is suggesting your theory to be true! You say that FF8 is "a world of unanswered questions", but that doesn't mean that any answer you conceive of is going to be less than worthless. There's gotta be something in the game which supports your theory.

Well, that`s why it`s a theory. Of course, the game doesn`t provide explicitly evidence that Squall is dead, or R is U. There are so many hints, though.
But consider this, if FF8 actually was more straightforward, giving as much detailed information as possible, would that make the whole game more boring? Maybe that`s why SquareSoft didn`t want to make that happen, instead, they made the plot more complex and whack Ultimecia a good ol bag of very small information. That`s why FF8 was one of the greatest hits in the previous generation.

If they actually wanted FF8 to be a straightforward game, chances are that they will say that they made a mistake for not showing enuff information and instead add these missed info to the Ultimania book. But they didn`t ...

You're the only one who thinks that scene's subtle you know, so until you find some evidence for your theory (see my last post) you finding it too subtle to be teasing is not a valid argument. As for the symbolism, "battery flat = someone's dead" is far from obvious and is something you read into it so as to support your idea. Anyone can read symbolism into the smallest things if they try hard enough.

There`s no evidence that it was a teasing scene, either.

I thought I have the “Subtle” word right.

Subtle = Not loud, bright, noticeable or obvious in any way

Is the battery indicator hard to notice? In my first playthrough, I didn`t notice the battery indicator because it was very small and the camera FMV didn`t last long. So I thought that was quite subtle (note: not the whole scene, just the battery indicator.)

Obviously battery dead doesn`t necessarily mean that Squall is dead, but it`s interesting to think about.

There were no scenes showing exactly what happened to Zidane after that scene either. Besides that the only difference is that Zidane had dialogue, but that's hardly a massive difference. Certainly doesn't make for anything significantly subtle.

It does make a difference! When you see Zidance at the ending, his dialogues and so on = crucial information. You feel 100% confident that he`s well alive at that time. But as for Squall, it`s not like that. Anybody like me have the right to feel suspicious!

How do any of these indicate that Squall was dead in the final FMV? I can see your (flawed) reasoning here but these points could only feasibly be used to argue that Squall died some time after the game ends, which is obvious anyway. He's not immortal after all.

We fully acknowledge that Mausolus died and Artemisia honoring him (his castle, lions, pride, etc.)

We fully acknowledge that Squall went “motionless” onto the ground, Rinoa comes to the rescue. Squall`s lions, pride and strength, etc. And everything what we saw from the game.

But we do not fully acknowledge what has happened after the game. Zell may have died in a car crash, or whatever = infinite possibilities.

I mean, using the examples from what we saw / heard. We heard that Mausolus died, and we saw that Squall went motionless. Maybe there`s a connection in that part. It could be a coincidence but consider the connection of lions, stars, pride and strength between Squall/Rinoa and Mausolus/Artemisia. Not infinite . . .

Circular reasoning. You can't use Squall's apparent ultra-subtle death as proof that Square are subtle about character deaths sometimes.

No, I meant that SquareSoft simply put him there, and that`s it. Any thing that may question the existence of Squall at that time cannot be proved / disproved. Unless SquareSoft tells us, but I doubt they will.

Or there ISN'T anything ultrasubtle hidden in the game. You certainly can't prove that Square's omission of crucial revelations in the Ultimania indicates that there ARE crucial revelations still to be found.

If that`s the case, then consider why are there so many theories regarding FF8. Where did such theories come from, then?
A straightforward game with very detailed backgrounds wouldn`t have that many theories, if at all, none. I`m sure SquareSoft knows this. If all of the theories are widely known, do you think that will annoy the hell out of SquareSoft? Should they have added better information in the Ultimania book? Nope, they didn`t. So that leads us to the reason; let our imaginations do the job.

I agree that they had to move on , but I think they would show some sign of sadness when they saw Rinoa standing alone on the balcony ,or that she so desperate to use a clone device in Squall's place ; But when Selphie points to Rinoa she is clearly smiling , that shows Squall can't be dead.

But we don`t know when exactly did the ending party take place. As well as the FMV jumping from specific events to other specific events. E.g. we saw Rinoa touch Squall on the field, and then after that we get to see Seifer. I understand that if the ending party took place after 3 months or so, and Rinoa using a clone device at that time would strange. Saying a good bye after 3 months? Maybe it`s not the clone device that appeared Squall, but came from Rinoa`s mind. Maybe it`s just for players` sakes; happy ending. I had hallucinations in the past, the strange things I saw looked real. That could be the case here.

I think the ending of FF8 is about Squalls hallucinations while traveling through time compression. It's kind of like he and Rinoa meet in their dreams in the place that they promised. I think alot of it is really symbolic, for the most part, which is why i like the idea of Squall being in a dream like state the whole time.

Yeah, a lot of things in this game are symbolic. Symbolic things with lack of crucial background information are very hard to disprove / prove.

Okay, as someone who works and studies in the industry and specifically that kind of stuff, you are almost completely wrong. There are many factors to consider in terms of how things actually work in the industry with project management and the like, but I'll go more specific.

You obviously haven`t seen the difference between the models of Rinoa used at the beginning party and the ending party, have you?

They could re-use the model, they could re-use the rig, depending on certain factors they might not be able to just "copy and paste" the animation (it's actually absurd that you use the terms copy and paste in this situation). Chances are they refined the animation. Also consider things like rendering and compositing. There's so many factors involved and you should really refrain from trying to state a theory if you have no idea about the subject.

There are factors involved, that`s for sure. But I was talking in simple terms as you may be aware that not every person knows such technical terms. Anyway, it`s entirely possible to “copy” a model and “paste” it into a new set and sync its frames with the other frames. In other words; load the specific model and re-use it without doing any heavy modifications to it.
I have done 2d animations and 3d animations, so yes I do know about the subject.

SquareSoft actually did this but the point is that they have modified the way how Rinoa smilies. It seems that they want to make the ending a bit more unique.

[solidsnake420]

the ending of ff8 was in my opinion one of the more confusing endings but u tend to get into that situation when u get involved in time traviling and strang things like that so the best thing i caan wish for is that thay make some more games like thay did with ff7 or atleast give me an ff8 movie to sum up and answer some of those lingering questions fans have about the story of ff8 i mean come on sqare after 7 theres no ff game more deserving then ff8

[DarkBahamut]

I believe it might have to do with Time Compression and the final stage of Ultimecia when she says, "Welcome to the Time Compression" or "This is Time Compression" and so when she explodes maybe only Squall gets stuck in Time Compression and everyone else the Time Compression portal closes for everyone else.

[thePSgamer]

All I have to say is the following;

Rinoa kissing a hologram.

ROFLMFAO

Really? Cmon...Seriously? How can this even be considered a theory.

My advice: Take it for what it is. Squalls alive, they kiss, happy ending, goodnight.

[champagne supernova]

All I have to say is the following;

Rinoa kissing a hologram.

ROFLMFAO

Really? Cmon...Seriously? How can this even be considered a theory.

My advice: Take it for what it is. Squalls alive, they kiss, happy ending, goodnight.

I concur, but as you can see, I would have more success if I tried to move a wall by bashing my head against it. But maybe you can succeed where we've all failed.

[Serapy]

All I have to say is the following;

Rinoa kissing a hologram.

ROFLMFAO

Really? Cmon...Seriously? How can this even be considered a theory.

My advice: Take it for what it is. Squalls alive, they kiss, happy ending, goodnight.

Read my theory carefully, you may understand what I`m getting at. This theory does not wholly rely on the Rinoa-Kissing-fake-Squall thing, by the way.

I concur, but as you can see, I would have more success if I tried to move a wall by bashing my head against it. But maybe you can succeed where we've all failed.

Wow, there goes the fun discussing about Final Fantasy VIII in terms of interest. Now, you are making the whole thing look like "I win, har har, you lose har har!" battles because that does 'really' nully void the ethical goal of discussions of FFVIII. It`s pathetic, really. But if I were to be in your interest, I`d say keep agruing so that you can feed your nasty habit of banging your own head to a wall ... :rolleyes2