Squalls' change of heart?

[Human Devil]

Yea, did u notice he didnt really care that much for Rinoa at the begining. Then all of a sudden after Ultimicia posseses' her he starts balling just so he could hear her voice and see her alive. Kinda wierd after he was sorta mean to her in Timber.

[Thorn]

Heh yes. I haven't played FF8 for about a year, but i'm sure there are some minor details which allow it to happen.

[Lilliputian Hitcher]

Yeah, I presume it got to the point where the game developers realised that they were actually going to have to advance the SquallxRinoa relationship somehow if they were ever going to pass the game off as a 'love story'. So they knocked her out and had him suddenly realise how much he meant to her.

Pacing ftw.

[*~Angel Wing~*]

But that kinda stuff happens in reality too. You don't realize how much something/someone means to you until it's too late, or they're gone...

Squall cared for Rinoa sooo much that he wanted to do everything in his power to help her. He risked his own life to save hers. That is the greatest gift you can give someone, and it only makes my LOVE for Squall and FFVIII grow even more!!!

I hope someday I can have a boyfriend that cares about me that much...

[Darkwing Bahamut]

I think it's too sudden how he changed. At the end of Disc 2 when Rinoa was about to fall off Balamb Garden, Squall didn't seem to care or even have the desire to go save her. Then at the start of Disc 3 when Rinoa fell unconscious due to being possessed by Ultimecia, it suddenly seemed like Rinoa is everything to Squall.

[Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer]

A forced relation for sure, but i don´t think that´s the only final fantasy where that happens...to me the concept of "boy meets girl,boy as to safe the world and the girl, and boy eventually falls in love with girl" is boring and destroys a bit of the story in my opinion...

Almost every FF is like that i would imagine they could give a litle twist in the plot.

[Aralith]

Okay. So Rinoa wasn't precious to him until she was almost gone. How precious is life to most people until it's gone? How many people honestly live their lives to the fullest that they possibly can? Many people who have near death experiences have sudden personality changes because they realize that they weren't living life, they were dealing with it.

This is true of many things. You don't know how much you love something until it's gone. To me, his care seemed to be that of a friend at the beginning of the third disc. He realized just how much of a friend Rinoa was to him, and I think that this is what allowed him to later realize his love for her.

[Raebus]

I agree with angel wings, it's sometimes like that in real life.

[boys from the dwarf]

I think it's too sudden how he changed. At the end of Disc 2 when Rinoa was about to fall off Balamb Garden, Squall didn't seem to care or even have the desire to go save her. Then at the start of Disc 3 when Rinoa fell unconscious due to being possessed by Ultimecia, it suddenly seemed like Rinoa is everything to Squall.

i disagree with you saying he didnt care when rinoa could have died. if you have played that part recently i think youll notice that he couldnt save her because there were things that required his immediate attention and im pretty sure when he realizes that he cant save her he says something like "dammit!" but he sends zell to do it and it all works out in the end. and it is true. you often never realize how important someone (or something.) is until their taken away from you. i dont think squalls sudden change of heart is perticularly unrealistic. and also at the start of disk three. he isnt instantlyall "noooo! rinoa. curse you sorceresses!" he seems to slowly realize how much he really cares for her.

[Slade]

I think the whole change was a case of 'You don't know how much you appreciate something till it's gone'.

[Lilliputian Hitcher]

This thread is a Big Yellow Taxi away from becoming a musical number.

[Shadow Masamune]

I think the whole change was a case of 'You don't know how much you appreciate something till it's gone'.

Agreed. Someone mentioned that the relationship was forced? No way, she took Squall out of his confort zone, and he didn't want to go on without her. I thought FF8's romance was the most developed out of the ones I have played (FF6, FF7, FF8, and working on FF9).

IN Final Fantasy 6, the relationship between Celes and Locke was forced, it barely was there, not much dialogue between them. This is how it went:

Celes: Locke...
Locke: Celes I'm sorry
Celes:...I have to go
Final Fantasy 8's central theme was love.

[Sefie1999AD]

I think the whole change was a case of 'You don't know how much you appreciate something till it's gone'.

Agreed. However, I do think Squall was starting to soften up to Rinoa and others during Disc 2. Squall and Rinoa have their moments on Disc 2 as well, such as the Garden Tour, FH concert (if you make proper choices there) and the War of the Gardens.

[chrisfffan]

its a realistic way of falling in love.

[PerpetualBurn]

I don't think it was sudden at all.

Squall is simply desperate to not let his emotions take a hold of him from the start of the story. This is simply because he doesn't want the pain that he believes is inevitable with any human relationship. As such, he is obviously confused by the strong feelings shown to him by Rinoa. He clearly does not know how to handle it.

I don't think it's as cliche as he doesn't know what he's got until it's gone. I think that it is just that up until this point in the game he does not have the motivation for action. He can't stand the idea that Rinoa would be incarcerated forever in Esthar and is pretty much forced to do something. After this, he still doesn't completely open up. There's no remarkable transformation into a happy loving Squall. He just had to something to free Rinoa.