02.02.99
There are two big dates that everyone has circled on their calendars this year. The first is May 21st, when some major movie of some kind or another is coming out. The second is February 11th -- the release date of Final Fantasy VIII in Japan.

We're all ravenous for any info we can get on FF VIII. Be extremely rapacious no longer! With a big nod going to Retokto.com , I’m proud to bring you this gigantic Final Fantasy report.

The Cast of Characters

Squall Leonhart - Our hero! This 17 year old possesses an expert ability to learn and improve his fighting skills. This gift has earned him the enmity of Seifer, an older student, who gave Squall the scar on his forehead.
Rinoa Heartilly - The emotional interest! This mean mama is apt to speak her mind. 17 years old, she is a skilled fighter who uses projectile weapons to inflict damage on multiple targets.

Seifer Almasy - The bad guy with a personal grudge! Fixated on winning, this curmudgeony 18 year old is jealous of Squall's abilities.

Laguna Loire - Our hero's alter ego! A Galbaldia soldier with dreams of being a journalist. Compassionate and loyal, the 27 year old often uses words incorrectly, despite his journalistic aspirations. How he interacts with Squall is one of the key elements in the story.

Ward Zabak - The strong, silent type! Twenty-five years old and one mean mutha, he is the second member of Laguna's trio. His weapon of choice is a harpoon, his snack of choice is 'Nilla Wafers.

Kieroth Siegel - The overconfident pup! The third member of the trio is the youngest at 23. Slim and sinuously strong, he uses a dagger for fighting up close and personal.

Zell Dincht - The quick one! This 17 year old is all gung-ho! No time for logic with this all around hand-to-hand expert.

Quistis Trepe - The smart one! An exemplary student who entered mercenary school at the age of 10. At only 18, she is an instructor at Ballam Garden (Squall's school).

Irvine Kinneas - The sharpshooter! A student of Galbaldia Garden, this 17 year old is the self-proclaimed best sniper of all Garden.

Selphie Tilmitt - The bit part! Spontaneous, naive, and vacant, this 17 year old has no further detail. Voted "Most Likely to be Killed First" by her Garden class.

The Plot

Squall Leonhart is a student of Garden, a private school that trains mercenaries. After completing training, he is inducted to SeeD, an elite mercenary force. At a swingin' party for new SeeD recruits, Squall meets Rinoa Heartilly. The pair go their separate ways without ever revealing their identities. The two later meet each other unexpectedly. Squall discovers that Rinoa is the leader of Forest Owls, a rebel group (with a wimp name) fighting against the powerful nation of Galbaldia. Squall is slowly but surely drawn to Rinoa. After meeting Rinoa, Squall starts having a bizarre series of dreams. He dreams he is Laguna Loire, the soldier who wants to be a journalist (foolishly not realizing that being in journalism is more hellish than being shot at day after day). Laguna appears to be on a military mission with his two buddies, Ward and Kieroth.

While Squall leads a double life, the winds of war build. Powerful Galbaldia, having annexed the neighboring Dole (for its luscious canned pineapples), declares war on all other countries. The president is assisted in his global domination goals by the witch, Idea. Squall is given an order to join a team to assassinate the witch.

Will Squall succeed? Who is his dreamy alter ego, Laguna Loire? This is where you come in and the story begins.

Game Play and Features

The battle system will remain almost unchanged from FF VII. The Active Time Battle System uses waiting time gauges to determine the sequence of attack among all fighting characters. Battle graphics have been improved upon by simplifying the status bar design and by using the entire screen.

Magic, on the other hand, has received a major overhaul. It cannot be learned and used whenever desired. Instead, the world of FF VIII has magic existing in all things. To use it, characters must first draw magical power in battle from enemies. Magic can be stocked up for later battles, or released immediately.

Summon beasts has been redefined as Guardian Forces (GF). Characters can summon GF during battles, at which point the Hit Points of the summoning character is exchanged with the GF. During this time, the GF absorbs all the damage, not the character. GF can also level up and gain special abilities that can be used by their guarded characters.

New to FF VIII is the Junction System. Junction...junction...what's its function? Elemental attributes of magic or GF can be added to weapons and armor to make customized equipment. If stocked fire spells were junctioned with a sword, for example, the sword would do extra fire damage in battles.

Vehicles, Sidekicks, Places, and Weapons

Flying ships are standard in the Final Fantasy series. This time around, the crew will be flying Ragnarok, a futuristic hot-rod designed for maximum mobility. Ragnarok is armed with a 609mm charged particle beam cannon and two 152 mm multi-barrel laser cannons (i.e. some big-ass guns). It was developed secretly by an unnamed country, but with a name like that, credit those crazy Swedish. Other types of transportation will include trains, rental cars, and naturally, Chocobo.

With your GF going up levels and becoming a character in their own right, they of course need somewhere to buy stuff. Pet Shops will offer GF-only items like Amnesia Herb, Pet Houses, and Pet Name Tags. Unlike past titles in the Final Fantasy series, player characters use the same weapon throughout the game. The only way weapons become more powerful is through customization. Junk Shops cater to that crucial need to upgrade. As weapons become more powerful, their appearance will change.

FF VIII and PocketStation

Final Fantasy VIII will include Odekake Cochocobo RPG, a mini game to download into your PocketStation. A GF beast, Cochocobo, is the hero. The flightless bird looks for adventure, fighting monsters and meeting friends, much like emus do on Earth.

The battle system for Odekake Cochocobo is automatic. When an enemy is met, they square off, striking as indicated by a timer The first to lose all of their Hit Points is eliminated.

A cactus monster (why not?) with the moniker Sabotender appears once in a while and gives Cochocobo a gift, then runs away. Gifts, as well as Cochocobo level ups, can be uploaded and used for your Final Fantasy VIII game.

By now, you've wet your pants. Never fear, by the time Final Fantasy VIII gets to the States this fall, you'll have washed the urine smell out. In the meantime, you can dream that you're Laguna Loire or that one light sword guy that does acrobatics and mind tricks. What's his name?