________________________________________________________________________ 99999999 99999 999999 999 9 999 999 999 999 999999 99 9 9 999 999 99 999 999999 99 999 999 999 9 999 999 999 99 99 99 999 999 999 999 999 99 999 999 999 999999 999 999 99999 99 99 999 999 99 999 999 99999 9999999 999 999 9 999 999 9999 999 999 999 999 999 999 9999 9999 9999 999 9 999 999 999 999 9999 9999 999 999 999 99999 99999 999 999999 999999 99999999999 99999999 9 99999 999 999 999 999 9 9999 9 9 999 999 9 9 999999 99 99 999 99 9 9 999 999 9 9 999 999 999999 99 9 999 9 99999 999 999 99 99 999 99 99 999 999 99 99 99 999 9 99 99 999999 999 999 999 999 99 999 99 99 999 999 99 99 99 9999 99999 99 99 999 999 999 9 9999999 999 99999 999 999999999 999 999 999 999 999 999 9999 999 999 999 9 999 999 999 9999 9999 999 9999 9999 9999 99 99 999 999 9999 9999 999 999 999 9999 9999 999 999 999 999 999999 99999 999 999 999 999999 999999 99999 999 999 99999999999999999999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999999 999 999 999 999999 999 999 999 9999 999 999 999 9999 99999999999999999 Presented By SquareSoft 1999 CopyRight The Final Fantasy Logo above was created by ysf@pacific.net.sg. Copyright Protected.Pls do not use this logo above without the author's permission.All right reserved.No part of the Logo can be modified,copied or re- edited without the prior's author's permission.Thank You.The logo was created using number '9',in chinese means 'everlasting'.Let's hope we will see more and more Final Fantasies besides Final Fantasy 8. ________________________________________________________________________ Final Fantasy VIII Actual Japanese Version Basics Tutorial Guides Yee Seng Fu(Yu Shenfu) Singapore http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/ Dragonball and Final Fantasy 7 page ICQ:25076522 ysf@pacific.net.sg Version 7.5 Please check for the latest update everytime at www.gameFAQ.com. 5th July'99 ________________________________________________________________________ Note:This FAQ is best viewed using wordpad,wrapped to window. ________________________________________________________________________ Hello,welcome to my third FAq.I wrote a FAq on Brave Fencer Musashi and Final Fantasy 8 demo and this time, i am doing a basic guide for the actual FF8,based on the Japanese version.Maybe,check out my other two FAQ.So,enjoy reading. ________________________________________________________________________ Please bear clearly in mind that this FAQ is written to provide all the basics things like G.F,Special Arts,Draw etc that you should know and not the walkthrough.I don't have time for walkthroughs but there are already some walkthroughs,half-complete at www.gameFAQ.com,so check it out.If you want a decent walkthrough,i suggest you refer to Heero Yuy or Scott Ong's FAq.This FAQ is specially written to help people who has difficulty in understanding the Japanese language.However,I myself don't really know much about Japanese so I won't bear any changes made to the US version,but i hope everyone will give me support.And if you really need help on Japanese language,you are gonna need some of the info here.This FAQ will be a great help to those who are new to Final Fantasies.And even if you are very experienced in FF, you might need some help on the Japanese translation.Though the complicated materia system has been replaced by the Draw system,it does not sound as easy as you think,in fact there are much more complex options available. ________________________________________________________________________ This Faq is best viewed using wordpad and with text wrapped to ruler. ________________________________________________________________________ After recieving several e-mails,Kaze Yagami and I have decided to use Steel Breaker as the attack for Odin,instead of Iron Cutting Sword. ________________________________________________________________________ Updates Version 1.0 -Added characters bestiary -Added Miscellanous Tips -Added control Buttons -Added main menu -Added battle combat -Added miscellanous battle tips Version 2.0 -Added GameShark Codes -Added information on Kiros Seagill,Ward Zabac,Fuujin and Raijin in the character's section. -Added vehicles configuration -Added frequently-asked-questions -Added Balamb Garden -Added some information on Special Arts -Added fighting ability. Version 3.0 -Added information about cards,as well as basic rules of playing. -Change my presentation of content,similar to my Brave Fencer Musashi FAQ. -Added Special Arts for the advanced tutorial guide. -Added some general tip. -Added Acknowledgement section. Version 4.0 -Added information on tune up weapon shop. -Added control configuration for Ragnarok. -Added some more informations on cards. -Added more info on gameshark. -Added more info on characters. -Added 'Eyes On Me' lyrics. Version 5.0 -Added some more info on Special Arts. -Added a list of G.F. -Added secret section. -Added info on Rinoa's Special Arts. -Added G.F Strategy,except Edea and the others like Odin. Version 6.0 -Added more informations on the characters' section,including Raine Loire. -Added in a complete menu diagram,and new junction info.More new diagrams to illustrate understandings. -Corrected the wrong info of Sabotender.The damage caused depends on the LV of the G.F,not the character. -Corrected wrong informations from the tutorial.Thank to Kaze Yagami. -Remove the story section. -Corrected mistakes,plus spellings and grammars. -Change 'desperation move' to 'special arts'. -Added a whole lot of informations for special arts,G.Fs etc. -Added the lyrics + translation of Liberi Fatali,taken from extreme. -Added exclusive specifications of ragnarok,provided by Kaze Yagami. -Added chart list for warship island for those who need help to fight ultimate,provided by Kaze Yagami. -Added new informations on PocketStation,including G.F,provided by Kaze Yagami. -Corrected the place of the name for Balamb Map. Version 7.0 -Added information on Omega Weapon,plus STRATEGIES. -Added ways to get LionHeart,Squall's Ultimate Weapon. -Added new secrets like infinite Phoenix Summon,Gisal Greens,Junction Bug cheat,list of timber magazines,finding Ragnarok in disc 4,UFO sighting,Max Gil cheat,and fragments of the pot. -Added ways of getting crusade drink and hero drink. -Added more informations on Zell's special arts and so on. -Added in more diagrams on the basic tutorial guide.Design a table form layout for elemental,status list,abilities,thus making reading more easier. -Added new information on Gilgamesh's attack in the G.F strategy. -Added new information on tutorial in the main menu. -Shifted test answer to the additional guide. -Added more gameshark codes. -Added more informations on Ragnarok Specifications. -Added Balamb Train Specifications. -Added more general tips. -Added a list of positive status change-by Kaze Yagami -Added some informations on Special Arts section. -Added configurations on chocobos,Balamb Garden. -Added new informations,plus diagrams to enhance basic tutorial section. -Redo the G.F and Omega strategy section.(About 70% reedited). -Re-organise my FAQ and present it in a more friendly-user manner.Change the fonts of my entire document and wrapped it to ruler,instead of window,so there should be no more complaints about viewing. Version 7.5 -Reedited the strategy section. -Enhanced Tutorial. -Added informations on the fake water stone. -Added more informations,and a few descriptions on the special arts. [The descriptions are not spoilers!!!] Next Update I finally have some time to update some secrets.Take a look.Also,look at my newly-designed presentation.That should make reading more easier. Comments are welcomed. ________________________________________________________________________ Version 7.5 has updated strategies and several changes has been made and corrected.And special thanks to Kaze Yagami,who all this while has been helping me,providing me with the informations and doing all the translation.Without him,this Faq would still be a mess.I have already changed the fonts and wrapped the entire text by ruler measurement.There shouldn't be no more displaying of text problem. ________________________________________________________________________ ======================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENT ======================================================================== 1)Introduction 2)Character i)Squall's Party ii)Laguna's Party iii)Other Character 3)Basic Tutorial Guide i)Miscellanous Information ii)Main Button Configuration iii)Vehicle Configuration iv)Chocobo Configuration v)Balamb Garden Configuration vi)Ragnarok Configuration 4)Main Menu Presentation i)Junction ii)Item iii)Magic iv)Status v)G.F vi)Ability vii)Switch viii)Card ix)Configuration x)Tutorial xi)Save 5)Battle Combat i)Active Time Battle ii)Encounter iii)Guardian Force iv)Draw and Magic Command v)Battle Help Tip vi)Secret R1 Gunblade Button 6)Advanced Tutorial Guide i)Special Art ii)Weapon Upgrading iii)List of G.F iv)G.F Strategy 7)General Tips i)Field ii)World Map iii)Item iv)Magic v)Draw vi)Battle vii)Junction viii)Guardian Force vix)Card vx)Other 8)Additional Guide i)Balamb Garden(Map) ii)Test Answer iii)Chart of Underground WarShip Island iv)Getting LionHeart v)Toughest Boss:Omega Weapon vi)Way to make Hero/Crusade Drink 9)Secret i)Easy AP ii)Soft Reset iii)Easy Special Art iv)Easy Gil v)250 Ouen vi)Gilgamesh vii)Island Closest to Hell/Heaven viii)Finding Omega Weapon ix)Infinite Phoenix Summon x)Infinite Gisal Green xi)Max Gil xii)Junction Bug-Both magic together xiii)Auto-Pilot Ragnarok xiv)Timber Magazine xv)Finding Ragnarok In Disc 4 xvi)UFO Sighting xvii)Fragments Of the Pot xviii)GameShark Code 10)Song Lyrics i)Eyes On Me(Lyrics) ii)Liberi Fatali(Lyrics + Translation) 11)Frequently Asked Question -Acknowledgement -Feedback -About the Author -CopyRight Protected ======================================================================== 1)INTRODUCTION:FINAL FANTASY VIII ======================================================================== The long,awaited,most anticipated RPGs of 1999 is almost here-the best and latest masterpiece from the most,respected companies in the gaming industry, that is Square.No other companies can ever come as close as Square,it's RPG set track records in the Japanese market,and established Sony as the King of the console market leader,putting all the other consoles to a shame.Dreamcast will never be able to take over Play- Station,especially with Final Fantasy 8 coming along this year,and known to be another rumor,FF9 will come next year early in Japan and is somehow to be believed to be related to 8.After releasing so many quality RPG games like Xenogears(a very cool sprite-based anime,cool combats and one of the best storyline that an RPG could have.), Brave Fencer Musashiden(Square's answer to N64's Zelda,though unfair to say this,BFM has got some really cool idea that Zelda don't have.),Parasite Eve (the horror RPG game to show Capcom what Square could do.),Final Fantasy Tactics(the first Square's strategy-RPG game like the Ogre Battle format,yet more impressive and some cool features like Jobs.), Saga Frontier(Square's second flapship after Final Fantasy 7).Besides, Square is getting more and more ambitious,creating mega non-RPG hits, specifically 3-D fighting like Tobal No.2, Bushido Blade 2,and the recent fighting game called Ehrgeiz,that even the best 3-D fighting game maker behind the Tekken and Soul Calibur, Namco keeps praising Square.To one's knowledge,Square's only rival for RPG in the Japanese Market was only Enix's DragonQuest series,but surprisingly,Enix has been keeping quiet for long and Enix hasn't been releasing an US DQ for almost five years.What happened to Enix's DragonQuest 7?Nobody knows much about this game and let's just hope Enix will release more info about DQ7.Enix,take up the challenge and rival Square.Let the Japanese market booms!Square has managed to sell over 2 millions copies of Final Fantasy 8 during the first few days of release in Japan.The question is will Final Fantasy 8 set a new height for all RPGs and will Final Fantasy 8 able to defeat Final Fantasy 7? Recent release of sales target that Final Fantasy 8 has sold over 3.1 millions in Japan,about 0.1 million more than Final Fantasy 7 in Japan.With such overwhelming response in Japan,I am sure Final Fantasy 8 will be another mega-hit game just like Final Fantasy 7.SquareSoft,what happened to Chrono Trigger 2 and a new Seiken Densetsu - Secret of Mana?And what about sequels to Brave Fencer Musashi and Xenogears?Hope Square will continue producing top-quality games. ======================================================================== 2)CHARACTER:Friend or Foe? ======================================================================== These are the list of the characters that you will encounter during your adventure,plus a general informations about them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.I)Squall's Party ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name :Squall Leonhart Age :17 Sex :Male Height :177cm Blood Type :AB Birth :23th August Weapon :GunBlade Description:Candidate of the special elite force SeeD, belonging to Balamb Garden.A top student who has overcame all the training and exercises with ease,possessing great battle ability potentials,with a special weapon called the GunBlade.A very unsociable and often depressed student. Still, he possesses a very great charm,and often attracts attention from others though he tries to be alone. Name :Rinoa Heartilly Age :17 Sex :Female Height :163cm Blood Type : ? Birth :3rd March Weapon :Blaster Edge Description:A very cheerful energetic girl belonging to a resistance organisation,"Forest Owl".A girl that does everything with enthusiasm.She has a straightforward character, and sensitive to others. She is not someone who restricts herself.She's honest about her feelings and speaks up her mind, in contrast to Squall. Name :Quistis Trepe Age :18 Sex :Female Height :172cm Blood Type :A Birth :4th'October Weapon :Chain Whip Description:A SeeD member of Balamb Garden,and an instructor of Squall. Entering Garden at the age of 10 and getting into SeeD at the age of 15,she became the youngest SeeD, and qualified as an instructor at the age of 17. An elite of elites.Having both talent and beauty,she even has a fan club established by her fans,mainly from students.Still, there are also some instructors,also her colleague who thinks that she lacks of experiences because of her age and has not experience many setbacks. Name :Zell Dincht Age :17 Sex :Male Height :168cm Blood Type :B Birth :17th March Weapon :Gloves Description:Another SeeD candidate in Balamb Garden like Squall.Known as 'Wild Zell' in his town Balamb,he is kind and righeous. However,he speaks without thinking,often giving others a bad impression.He knows how to adapt to changes.As a frequent rule-breaker,he is often marked by the discipline committee. Name :Selphie Tilmitt Age :17 Sex :Female Height :157cm Blood Type :B Birth :16th July Weapon :Nunchaku Description:A SeeD canditate transferred from Trabia to Balamb garden. Carefree and energetic,she took over the position of Garden Feast Comittee when she arrived at Balamb. Her mobility often drags others into action,without a chance for them to protest.Her slow talking is actually a cover to many sharp opinions inside, and this can show in urgent situations. Because of her personalities,she may appear to be a natural simpleton,but is a type of girl that does things very carefully. Name :Irvine Kinneas Age :18 Sex :Male Height :185cm Blood Type :A Birth :24th'November Weapon :Gun Description:A sniper belonging to Galbadia Garden,joins the party on a mission order.While he has great markmanship,his self- confidence allows him to flirt with other girls,often dislikes by other guys,out of jealousy.But the truth is,this is just his way of overcoming pressure on his delicate,glass -brittle sense.Totally opposite of what he appears to be, a deep lonely sniper...This is the true man who protects himself with a false loose front.In addition, he hides a big secret in his heart. The key to Squall and gangs' long- forgotten past... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.II)Laguna Party ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name :Laguna Loire Age :27 Sex :Male Height :181cm Blood Type :B Birth :3rd'Jan Weapon :Machine Gun Description:A soldier belonging to Galbadia army. A very careless guy who often lost his way in missions, brings the wrong maps etc...totally not cut out to be a soldier.His dream is to be a journalist,so he travels around the world with his partners.A very determinded character.Connected to Squall in a weird dream... Name :Kiros Seagill Age :23 Sex :Male Height :191cm Blood Type :O Birth :6th'July Weapon :Cutter Description:Laguna's comrade Galbadia soldier.An advisor for Laguna. His slim figure and brown skin gives him exotic atmosphere, but he has a private dress sense that others often cannot understand. Name :Ward Zabac Age :25 Sex :Male Height :217cm Blood Type :25th'Feb Birth :A Weapon :Harpoon Description:He's also one of Laguna's pal and comrade, just like Kiros. Beneath that rough appearance he is a very nice person. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.III)Other Character ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name :Seifer Almasy Age :18 Sex :Male Height :188cm Blood Type :A Birth :22nd'December Weapon :GunBlade Description:Another candidate of SeeD in Balamb Garden who is one year older than Squall.Possesses great potentials and high fighting abilities with an automatic GunBlade.Having a personalities with a passion to fight,he sometimes disobeyed his orders.A very self-centred person,and the urge to defeat Squall. Name :Edea Age :??? Sex :Female Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :None(Astral Punch) Description:In ancient times, witches has been regarded as the object of fear and terror.The world was at peace since the last witch disappeared....But as the next witch,Edea,breaking the silence,appeared in Galbadia,and declared war on the world... Name :Raijin Age :18 Sex :Male Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :??? Description:A very faithful loyal follower and friend of Seifer...Often bullied by Seifer and Fuujin. Despite his rough and tough appearance, he is one who is more of a weakling and coward. Name :Fuujin Age :17 Sex :Female Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :??? Description:A beautiful silvery-haired girl who is an unbelievable fanatic follower of Seifer.Quiet person.Perhaps she have been secretly in love with Seifer...?Who knows? Name :Cid Kramer Age :40 Sex :Male Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :None Description:Cid,founder of SeeD and Garden,aimed to cultivate the best soldiers in the world.But what is the real intention of establishing SeeD?.... Name :Raine Loire Age :??? Sex :Female Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :None Description:The owner of a pub in winhill village.She takes care of Laguna,who was heavily injure then,for half a year.Laguna, Ellione and her stayed together like a family,but knowing that Laguna is a wanderer,and because of her shyness,she does not express her affections for Laguna. Name :Ellione Age :??? Sex :Female Height :??? Blood Type :??? Birth :??? Weapon :None Description:A girl staying in the village of Winhill and have lost her parents since young when a group of soldiers attacked the village.She was then taken care of by her neighbour,Raine since then. Name :Sant' Angelo de Roma Age :2 Sex :Female Height :55cm Birth :13th'Dec Blood Type :???What type of blood type do dogs have? Weapon :None Favourite :White Chocolate, Sushi, Apple, Yogurt, Peanut Butter Dislike :Dog Food, Spicy Food Description:Rinoa's pet dog.being very protective towards her master. Name :Chocobo Age :??? Sex :??? Height :??? Blood Type :???Do chocobos like dogs have blood type? Birth :??? Weapon :None Favourite :Green Dislike :Fighting Description:You should know what a chocobo is... ======================================================================== ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3)BASIC TUTORIAL GUIDE:FINAL FANTASY VIII ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ======================================================================== Welcome to the basic tutorial section.You will find many valuable tips and hints that you are going to need to master Final Fantasy VIII.Enjoy Reading! ======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.I)Miscellanous Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~~Playing the Game~~~ ---------------------- Point the cursor at the first Option [NEW GAME] and enter your decision with the Circle button.By clicking on the option below the [New Game], you will be able to reload your save data.Each slot of the game allows you to save up to 15 game saves.Press the directional buttons to view different saves data. Note:Saving your game on different memory locations will show different icons in your PlayStation memory card menu. ~~~Changing of Disc Warning~~~ ------------------------------ Do NOT turn off your Playstation Console. Just open the Playstation cover and pop in the next disc when the screen shows up and the game will automatically resumes itself. Note:Each time before the changing of Disc,you will be prompted to save. Note:If your PlayStation has a mod chip, when you change disc, a sign will show up saying that your machine has been modified, and further playing will be stopped. ~~~Saving the game~~~ --------------------- You can only save the game when you are at the world map, or at a save point or during the changing of discs.To save when you are at the world map or at the save point,just click the last option,which is save.Some save points might be hidden, and can only be revealed with the Find Hidden Spot command. ~~~Draw Point~~~ ---------------- Don't bother looking for treasure chests since you won't be able to find one.But do lookout for magazines lying around the place, for most of them are of importance.There are only three ways to collect magics,draw from enemies,use G.F abilities to make magics and the last one is of course, collect from draw points.Now,i shall explain what draw point means.You will be able to collect magic along the way in the form of pink colour clouds,known as Draw Points. Like the Save Point, some of these Draw Points might be hidden too.Draw Points can exist in certain parts of the world map also.To draw the magic,the character must have a G.F and the Draw command equipped.Press circle and you will be able to choose the character to draw the magic.The magic picked up will be stocked by the character.Draw Points have fixed positions and turns white when the magic has been picked up.Wait for some time and you will be able to draw up the magic from the same spot again,mainly a few times after fighting some enemies or clearing some events, or simply moving around to another place.Some Draw Points recover faster,whereas some are more slower.On the other hand,there are some draw points that never seems to recover. Note:If a character is not junctioned with the Draw command, he or she cannot pick up the magic. ~~~Money~~~ ----------- Firstly,you won't be able to earn money,even from defeating bosses or enemies.The only ways are to sit for tests,earn your ranks to get your salary.You get your 'salary' after a certain length of walking and how much you get each time depends on your SeeD ranking.The higher the ranking,you get a higher 'salary'.You can also earn your ranks through special events, such as performing well in a mission etc.Taking tests are a quick way to raise your SeeD levels,but note that if you degraded your performance,your SeeD ranking can also drop.Under certain important events,depending on what you do,it can also adjusts your SeeD ranking up or down. ~~~Exp,AP~~~ ------------ The next thing about Exp is that no matter how,you won't be able to earn your exp through fighting bosses,only through enemies.Each time you earned a new Lv,you will need another 1000 exp to advance through the next level.AP is the exp needed for a Guardian Force to learn a new ability.For example,if an ability needs 40AP,then you will need 40AP to complete the ability. Note:If you escape during a battle,you can gain a portion of exp, provided you have done some damage to your enemies.However,no AP will be gain. Note:The character (or G.F.) who delivers the finishing attack will get an exp bonus. Note:For more info,please read the test. Note:For more info,please read the Guardian Force and the Junction. Note:Unlike FF7,if your character is not inside the main party,he or she will not be able to earn any experiences. ~~~Boarding a bus,train,or even rent a car!~~~ ---------------------------------------------- Riding a car requires 3500Gil.Though expensive and quite worthless as the car might run out of fuel and stop moving,it is sometimes useful for long trips, especially if you want to avoid enemies.If you drive a car into the town,it is considered returning back.And remember,you are renting the car,it may run out of fuel anytime and won't be able to move,end up more slower than walking.Though the renting of cars may be a cool feature,it may end up as a wastage of gils. There are lots of train stations stationed around the world map. Sometimes,you will see trains coming in and out of these railways.To board a train,it will stop at one of these stations.Immediately, press circle and you will be asked if you would like to board the train for 3500gil to these destinations,if yes,you will sit on the train.Cool, isn't it. While in Deling City,Galbadia,you will see buses driving in and out.When the bus stops,simply talk to the guy near the station and you will be able to board the bus for free to tour round the place.And besides, boarding the bus is free,so you don't have to spent a single gil.The buses will stop at different bus stations in the city.Press X if you want to get off the bus. And what's even more cooler is that the buses are two-way. Note:A train can be ride only in the Balamb and the Galbadia continent only. Note:Buses is only availiable in Deling City,Galbadia. Note:Cars can be rented in almost all towns,except for a few. ~~~Balamb Train Specifications Exclusive Information!!!~~~ ---------------------------------------------------------- Trains are used to move from city to city.It is a gray train with curvaceousness.You can see railways in Balamb and Galbadia Continent One of the trains is double-decked while another one looks very old shaped like a steam locomotive.There is even a special train for SeeD cadet's exclusive use. DATA ----- Name :TEMPEST(TTS-II with turbo shaft engine) Length :144 metres(Estimated the length of 6 cars) Width :4.3 metres Height :6.1 metres Maximum speed:260 kilometers per hour Weight :313 tonnes Capacity :360 passenger ~~~Dual Shock Support~~~ ------------------------ All Dual shock owners will be very pleased to here that Final Fantasy 8 supports Dual Shock.You will be able to feel every single blow that your inflict on your enemies,even the summoning of Guardian Force or using Squall's R1 add-on extra hit during normal attacks. ~~~PocketStation(PDA)~~~ ------------------------ Final Fantasy 8 will be the first game in Japan to support Sony's latest portable PDA,PocketStation. You can play the "Odekake Chocobo RPG" on the PDA, finding items that you cannot find in the game itself. Sorry!I hasn't seen nor played the PDA before,but i have seen an image of this portable system in the internet.Looks cool!. For more infomation on PDA,please read the frequently-asked-question. A bad New! I heard that Sony might release PDA to the states.What does that mean? That means that there must be a possibity that the US version of Final Fantasy VIII might not have "Odekate Chocobo RPG",and that means that compare to the Japanese version,the US version will have one less mini-game.Will Square will do something to replace the PDA?Please pray for the release of PDA in the United States.We want "Odekate Chocobo RPG"! ~~~Shop~~~ ---------- Unlike the tradition FFs,there won't be anymore magic shop.In FF8,you can only find item and weapon shops (known as Junk Shops), a few other shops such as Pet Shop,Gift Shop, Book Shop etc.I don't need to talk more about item shop.Okay, Junk Shop allows you to tune up your weapon. Also note that there aren't any armour shop.Please refer to the advanced tutorial section. ~~~Parallel Level~~~ -------------------- In FF VIII, like Romancing SaGa and SaGa Frontier, all enemies and bosses rises in levels as your party's average level rises. Higher levels for enemies doesn't just affect their physical fighting abilities, but it also affects the magic you can draw from them, the items you can steal from them, the items they would drop after a battle etc. So, by using the Level Up/Down command from Master Tonberry carefully... Because of this Parallel Level system, it is possible to clear the game even at low levels,if you can effectively make use of your junctioning.In fact, it provides more challenging gameplay in a sense, if you go for low-level clearing. Dengeki PlayStation (a Japanese PlayStation magazine) shows this stats at the end of disc 3:Squall at level 7, Zell level 8, Irvine level 13, Quistis level 8, Rinoa level 11, Selphie level 8. It might look unbelievable, but anyone will be able to do it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.II)Main Button Configuration ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Directional Button Field Screen 1)Moves around the Field. World Map Screen 2)Moves around the world map. Menu Screen 3)Moves the cursor and select the options in the menu. Battle Screen 4)Moves the cursor to select the commands during battle. -Start Button Field Screen 1)Pause the game and provides the Help Function to turn on/off the vibration World Map Screen 2)Pause the game and provides the Help Function to turn on/off the vibration Menu Screen 3)No uses Battle Screen 4)Pause the game and provides the Help Function to turn on/off the vibration -Select Button Field Screen 1)No uses World Map Screen 2)Turn ON/OFF and changes the view of the world map. (Globe View,Flat Map,Enlarged Full Screen Map) Menu Screen 3)No uses Battle Screen 4)When hold,make the window disappear. -Circle Button Field Screen 1)Talk to people. 2)Draw magic from Draw Point. 3)Use to examine items, examine a ladder etc. (When in Shop) 4)Confirm the selected commands. 5)Confirm the selected items to buy,sell. World Map Screen 6)No uses. Main Menu Screen 7)Confirm selected command. Battle Screen 8)Confirm selected command. -X Button Field Screen 1)No uses. World Map 2)No uses. Menu Screen 3)Cancel the commands. Battle Screen 4)Cancel the commands. -Square Button Field Screen 1)Challenge opponents to play the Card Game. Available after receiving the cards from the man near the elevator of 2nd Floor of Garden Accademy. World Map Screen 2)Lock your screen rotation in the world map. Menu Screen 3)Discard Magic. Battle Screen 4)To do extra damage for the G.F while holding select and tap Square rapidly.Available once the 'Ouen' ability is learn for that particular G.F. -Triangle Button Field Screen 1)Activates the Menu Screen. World Map Screen 2)Activates the Menu Screen. Menu Screen 3)No uses Battle Screen 4)Switch parties members. -L1 Button Field Screen 1)No uses. World Map Screen 2)Rotates the camera view. Menu Screen 3)Switches target character/G.F. (right direction) 4)Switches language from Katakana, Hiragana, English during input your character's name. (toward left) Battle Screen 5)Uses to turn on/off the help target command. -L2 Button Field Screen 1)No uses. World map Screen 2)Rotates the camera view. Menu Screen 3)No uses. Battle Screen 4)Escape from battles. (Hold together with R2 button) -R1 Button Field Screen 1)No uses. World Map Screen 2)Rotates the camera view. Menu Screen 3)Switches target character/G.F. (left direction) 4)Switches language from Katakana, Hiragana, English during input your character's name. (Toward right) Battle Screen 5)Triggers Squall's and Seifer's gunblade power. -R2 Button Field Screen 1)No uses. World map Screen 2)Rotates the camera view. Menu Screen 3)No uses. Battle Screen 4)Escape from battles. (Hold together with L2 button) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.III)Vehicle Configuration ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cars are your basic vehicle in FFVIII and these are the configurations. Square :Moves your vehicle forward. X :Moves your vehicle backward. Circle :Get in/ Get Out of vehicle. R1 :Changes the camera view. Select :Turn ON/OFF and changes the view of the world map. (Globe View,Flat Map,Enlarged Full Screen Map) Note:Rented cars have limited fuel and fuels will run out after travelling for sometime,and your car will be unable to move once fuel is run out. Note:Cars are able to go through forests,deserts,but not rivers or seas. Going through uneven terrain like forests,deserts will cause your car to go more slower than when on usual flat land. Note:You won't encounter any enemies while in a car. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.IV)Chocobo Configuration ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Finally,our main star is back.In FFVIII,you can also ride on this tiny yellow bird. L-Analog:Moves the chocobo. R-Analog:No uses. D-pad :Moves the chocobo. Circle :Unboard the Chocobo. R1 :Changes the camera view. Select :Turn ON/OFF and changes the view of the world map. (Globe View,Flat Map,Enlarged Full Screen Map) Note:Unlike special chocobos in FFVII,there is no chocobo breeding in FFVIII,and the chocobos you catch on the chocobo forest only allows you to run on land and cross shallow waters.There's no gold chocobos so don't expect a chocobo that can climb hill,cross oceans. Note:Everytime,you ride on the mother chocobo,a small chocobo will be there behind you. Note:Once you unboard your chocobo,your chocobo will run away. Note:You won't encounter any enemies while riding a chocobo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.V)Balamb Garden Configuration ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It looks really strange that the whole Balamb Garden could fly,but... never mind.Here's the configuration. L-Analog:Turn the direction(in full 360 degrees). R-Analog:Moves forward/backward on land/sea. Square :Moves forward on land/sea. X :Moves backward on land/sea. Circle :Board/Unboard on land/shore only. Triangle:Go inside Balamb Garden.Talking to the driver in the control room and select the first option to reorganize your party. R1 :Changes camera view. Select :Turn ON/OFF and changes the view of the world map. (Globe View,Flat Map,Enlarged Full Screen Map) Note:As Balamb Garden has very poor mobility,it is impossible to cross high terrains like cliffs,hills.Neither can it cross the oceans, except on shallow water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.VI)Ragnarok Configuration ------------------------------------------------------------------------ L-Analog :Raise/Descend(Altitude). R-Analog :Move foward/backward. Up/Down :Raise/Descend(Altitude). Right/Left :Changes the direction of the Ragnarok is facing. R2 :Changes camera view. Square :Move Forward X :Move Backward Circle :Get In/Out the Ragnarok. Select :Opens World Map (Globe View,Flat View,Full View) Triangle :Enter Ragnarok. Auto-Pilot :When you are flying a Ragnarok,press select to go to the full view of the world map,then select any destination,for example,point the cursor over to Galbadia,you will see two options available.Choose the first option by pressing circle and Ragnarok will travel automatically without any manual control. Note:Auto-Pilot only work to areas that are labelled in the world map. Examples of area that does not work are WarShip Island,Centra Ruin ,Cave of Fire,Timber Lake and all Chocobo Forests etc. Note:Ragnarok will stop when it reach the desired destination. Tips:To regain control of Ragnarok,press X. ~~~Ragnarok Specifications Exclusive Information!!!~~~ ------------------------------------------------------ ~Super High Mobility Flying Ship "RAGNAROK"~ Made of red body,with the word 'ESTHAR' visible on the body,Ragnarok was made more than twenty years ago.Highly regarded as one of the strongest flying ships.It was reportedly made secretly in an unknown country. There are at least 2 or more such flying ships of the same kind,with different markings. DATA ---- Highest Output:3450t Lowest Output:2850t Total Length:108m Total Height:54m(Landing) 65m(Cruising) Total Weight:2,850 ton(Without propellant,charge and occupants) 3,134 ton(With 1/3 propellant,full charge and occupants) 3,450 ton(With full propellant,full charge and occupants) Total Wingspan:77m Main Weapon :609mm Electron Particle Beam x 1 Sub Weapon :152mm multi-barrel Laser x 2 Main Engine :Reaction-Type 12-Level Compressor Turbine (Power output 22500kg) x 2 Sub Engine :Reaction-Type 6-Level Compressor Turbine (Power output 24800kg) x 4 Occupant :4 crews(navigator,wireless operator,cannoneer,and a cox) =>Able to carry more than 10 occupants. Top Speed :11.8km/s,708km/min,42480km/h =>Second cosmic velocity;can launch a rocket into space. ======================================================================== 4)MAIN MENU PRESENTATION:FINAL FANTASY VIII ======================================================================== These options are arranged according to the main menu. ______________________________________________________________________ |Junction: |Allows you to junction G.Fs.,magics,commands,and | | |abilities. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Magic |Allows you to view your stocked magics,arranged magics | | |for your characters. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Item |Allows you to view,use,arrange items. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Status |Allows you to view your characters' statistics,Special | | |arts,affection rating etc. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |G.F. |Allows you to view your G.F statistics,choose and learn | | |new abilities,affection rating etc. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Ability |Allows you to use G.F menu abilities like make magics, | | |change card etc. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Switch |Allows you to change your party members. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Card |Allows you to view the statistics of your card library. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Configuration|Allows you to adjust the game setting. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Tutorial |Allows you to sit for tests and has a very precise guide| | |that talks about the basic rules of FFVIII. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Save |Allows you to save your game. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| Once noticeably look of FF8 is the overall presentation of the main menu.And I have to say it is much more presentable than FF7.Not only are the battle window smaller and the magic trading,more user-friendly,but the main menu has undergone some changes, giving you a new look.I will talk about the main menu.Have you ever getting tired of using the PHS too often in FF7 and switching party all the time, just to give the type of materia you want for your character?Are you fustrated by having to rearrange all the materia again,specifically when Yuffie returns you all your materia? _________________________________________________________________ |HELP | | |Item window | Junction | |__________________________________________________| | ______________________________________________ |>Item | |STATUS | | | | Zell LV 100 HP:9999 / 9999 | | Magic | |----------------------------------------------| | | |STATUS | | Status | | Squall LV 100 HP:9999 / 9999 | | | |----------------------------------------------| | G.F. | |STATUS | | | | Rinoa LV 100 HP:9999 / 9999 | | Ability | |----------------------------------------------| | | | Irvine Quistis | | Switch | | LV 43 HP1863 LV 45 HP 1941 | | | | | | Card | | | | | | Selphie | | Configuration| | LV 48 HP1954 | | | | | | Tutorial | | | | | | | | Save | |______________________________________________| |______________| ______________ _________________________________________________ |PLay71:12 | | ||S.LV. 23 | | Island Closest to Hell || 303107 G | |_________________________________________________||______________| You have seen the main menu.So,what do you think?Is it more easier or complex than the other Final Fantasies?Now,you can arrange your equipments,without using the switch menu,even if the other three members are not in the main party.Confused??? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.I)Junction Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ____________ __________________________________________________| Junction | |Notice >Junction Remove Priority Ability | Window | |__________________________________________________|____________| |Help Junction Option | |_____________________________________________________________| _________ __________ | PHOTO | SQUALL |Command | | OF | |Attack | | SQUALL | Lv 100 |Magic | | | |Draw | |_________| HP 9999/9999 |G.F. | |__________| Total EXP: 99000P Next Level: 0P ___________________________________________________________________ | HP Ultima 9999 S ATK S DEF E ATK E DEF | | Strength Aura 255 Dexterity Triple 57 | | Stamina Life 2 121 Evasion Water 13% | | Magic Gravity 136 Hit Rate Double 225% | | Spirit Cure 3 92 Luck --------------- 22 | |___________________________________________________________________| List of Abbreviation _______________________ |S ATK:Status Attack | Does the screen 'stun' you? |S DEF:Status Defense | Is it complex? |E ATK:Elemental Attack | Never mind! |E Def:Elemental Defense| I will explain everything very detailed |_______________________| below. ______________________________________________________________________ |Name | What it mean? | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |HP |It shows the max HP of your character. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Strength |It shows the strength of your physical attack. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Stamina |It shows the defense power against physical attacks. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Magic |It shows the magic power of the character.The higher | | |it is,you will cause more damage when using a magic, | | |as well as drawing more magic from an enemy at one | | |time. Also determines recovery magic. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Spirit |It shows the defense power against status attacks | | |and magic attacks. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Dexterity |The higher your speed value, the faster the | | |character's ATB charges. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Evasion |The % chance of dodging physical attacks. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Hit Rate |The chance of hitting your enemy using physical | | |attacks.The type of weapon you carried also affect | | |the hit rate.Refer to advanced tutorial on weapon | | |upgrading.Also known as accuracy in some guides. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Luck |The luck of your character.Affect the chances of | | |enemies dropping an item,as well as the chances of | | |stealing an item. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Status Attack |Ability to cause status disorder to your enemy, | | |depending on the type of magic junctioned. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Status Defense |Ability to be protected from a certain status dis- | | |order,depending on the type of magic junctioned. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Elemental ATK |Add certain elemental,like fire to your attack. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| |Elemental DEF |Add certain elemental,like fire to your defence. | | |Recieve as min damage from such elemental attacks | | |from your enemy,regardless it is physical or magics. | | |Able to nulify the elemental attack to gain some HP, | | |if elemental def is very high. | |________________|_____________________________________________________| Credit:Refer to junction FAQ.His faq has a table value of all junction magics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.I.I)Junction Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By clicking on these options will lead to another sub-menu. ~~Junction~~ ------------- G.F. :Allows junctioning/dejunctioning of your character with G.F.s. Magic:Allows junctioning/dejunctioning of your character magics to boast your character stats. Pressing the Square button while you junction your GF will allow you to view the abilities of what the G.F. has completed. Here is what you will see when you are selecting G.Fs. ______________________________ |G.F Page 1 |G.F Page 2 | Here's the layout of the G.Fs.Press |______________|_______________| Circle to select the G.Fs and X to |Queztalcoatl |Brothers | return.If the character has been |Shiva |Diablo | equipped,you will see a symbol next |Ifrit |Carbunkle | to the name of the G.F,indicating |Siren |Leviathan | that you cannot equip the G.F another |______________|_______________| time.Each G.F can only be equipped to |G.F Page 3 |G.F Page 4 | a single person only,not more than one. |______________|_______________| Make full use of the direction pad, |Pandamonium |Bahamut | left and right to switch pages.Once |Cerberos |Sabotender | a G.F is being equipped,you can now |Alexander |Master Tonberry| junction magics,equipped commands.For |Grasharboras |Eden | more informations,please read below. |______________|_______________| ~~Remove~~ ----------- Magic:Remove all the magics that are junctioned. All :Remove all G.Fs,junctioned abilities, and magics. Note:In both cases,your character stats will decrease and revert back to the characters' current base value. ~~Priority~~ ------------ Note:This option is almost identical to the in the first option, except instead of choosing your own magic,the CPU will arrange for you,according to the three types of priority you want.Use these settings wisely. Attack:Maximises Strength,Dexterity,and Evasion. Magic :Maximises Magic,Dexterity,and HP. HP :Maximises HP,Stamina,and Spirit. Note:To select the character you want,press L1 or R1. Note:The three options after G.F won't be accessible unless your character is equipped with at least 1 G.F. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.I.II)Junction Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~~Junctioning Status or Elemental ATK/DEF~~~ --------------------------------------------- When you are in the junction menu,click on magic option.You will see the screen below. ____________ __________________________________________________| Junction | |Notice >Junction| G.F >Magic | Window | |________________|_________________________________|____________| |Help Choose the type of magic you want to junction | |_____________________________________________________________| _________ _______________ __________ | PHOTO ||Magic P1 Num| |Command | | OF ||Cure 100| |Attack | | SQUALL ||Cure 2 100| |Magic | | ||Cure 3 100| |Draw | |_________||Ultima 100| |G.F. | __________|_______________| |__________| |<HP Ultima 9999 S ATK S DEF E ATK E DEF | | Strength Aura 255 Speed Triple 57 | | Stamina Life 2 121 Evasion Water 13% | | Magic Gravity 136 Hit Rate Double 225% | | Spirit Cure 3 92 Luck --------------- 22 | |__________________________________________________________________| By selecting any junction option from the left,eg.HP and all the way down to Spirit,press Left once.To return back,press right.You will see a small portion of the screen like this on the bottom left. ___________________________ |Value | |___________________________|______________________ | E ATK Earth |ELEMENTAL DEFENSE | |>E DEF Fire 3 | Fire *---50 % Poison --- 0 % | | E DEF Ice | Ice ---50 % Wind --- 0 % | | | Bolt --- 0 % Water --- 0 % | | | Earth --- 0 % Holy --- 0% | |_______________|__________________________________| ______________________________________________________________________ |Question|What if i want to view my elemental attack? | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Answer |Click on the first option,E ATK.You will see the same screen,| | |except the title is now changed to elemental attack.The % | | |tells you the strength of E ATK/DEF. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| ______________________________________________________________________ |Note|By clicking on the second and third option,you will see the % | | |defense against a particular elemental attack.If a green star,as | | |indicated * appears,this means you have the reach the ability to | | |absorb the elemenatl attack,in this case,fire. | |____|_________________________________________________________________| ___________________________ |>E ATK/DEF >>Value | |___________________________|____________________________________ |>S ATK Silence |Status Attack | | S DEF -------- | Instant Death --- 0% Zombie --- 0% | | S DEF -------- | Poison --- 0% Sleep --- 0% | | | Petrify --- 0% Slow --- 0% | | | Blind --- 0% Stop --- 0% | | | Silence 55% Confusion --- 0% | | | Berserk --- 0% Absorption --- 0% | |________________|_______________________________________________| As for status def,the right-hand side screen is a bit different. _______________________________________________ | Zombie --- 0% | | Instant Death --- 0% Sleep --- 0% | | Poison --- 0% Slow --- 0% | | Petrify --- 0% Stop --- 0% | | Blind --- 0% Curse --- 0% | | Silent --- 0% Confusion --- 0% | | Berserk --- 0% Absorption --- 0% | |_______________________________________________| Tips:Notice the small arrow beside the E/S ATK/DEF.By pressing the direction,you will go the screen.Two arrows mean two times. Tips:Some magics give you one elemental attack/def,whereas non-elemental magics like Ultima, Flare give you an all-rounded ATK/DEF to various elemental attacks. Tips:You can unjunction a slot by pressing the Square button. Note:How many slots yof E/S ATK/DEF have,depends on what type of G.F you equip,to be specific,your G.F ability.For example,if you equip a G.F with the ability,elemental defense Jx4 will give you four slots to junction any more magics to your elemental defense.The same rule applies to status ATK/DEF as well. For all elemental/status,pls read below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.I.III)Junction Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~~Ability~~~ ------------- Abilities are essential for your battles and it's best to make full use of your abilities.There are various types of abilities: Junction, Command, Character, Party, G.F., Menu.You can junction up to three Command abilities (upper), and 2- 4 Character/Party abilities(lower), depending on your GF.I will explain them one by one here. ______________________________________________________________________ |Name Of Abilities| Symbol | Description | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Command | (!) |It allows the character to use special | | | |commands during battle.For example, | | | |"Recover", "Revive", etc.Each command | | | |ability requires one command ability slot.| |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Junction | (J) |It allows you to junction magics to the | | | |respective attributes.For example,"HPJ", | | | |"Str J", etc.Junction abilities do not | | | |require any ability slots. | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Guardian Force | (G.F) |It enhances a G.F.s prower.For example, | | | |"GF HP+20%", "Support".Note that such | | | |abilites are cumalative, i.e. if you have | | | |GF HP+20% and GF HP+40% you will get the | | | |effect of GF HP+60%.G.F. abilities do not | | | |require any ability slots. | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Character | (C) |It allows your character to use special | | | |commands such as Steal, or boast your | | | |characters statistics.For example, "Steal"| | | |, "HP+20%", "HP Bonus".Each character | | | |ability requires one Character/Party | | | |ability slot.Note that such abilites are | | | |cumalative,eg.If you junction HP+20% and | | | |HP+40% you will get the effect of HP+60%. | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Menu | (M) |It appears with a "P" beside the ability | | | |name.It can allow you to perform various | | | |commands from the main menu,just below the| | | |G.F menu in the main menu.For example, | | | |"Create Fire Magic", "Call Junk Shop", | | | |"Card Change".Menu Abilities does not need| | | |any ability slots. | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| |Party | (P) |It allows special conditions to work for | | | |the entire party.For example, "Find Hidden| | | |Spots", "Encounter Nothing".Each party | | | |ability requires one Character/Party | | | |ability slot. | |_________________|_________|__________________________________________| I will cover the junctioning of abilities below. Command Selection Attack |Magic By clicking the cursor on the right window,you > |Draw able to equip the commands over to the left window. > |G.F For your informations,all G.Fs will always have > |Item these four basic commands,magic,draw,item,and G.Fs > |Recover when you first get them. > | > | Table 1. Here's a brief description for the basic commands: Attack:Do physical attacks.This is a compulsory command. Magic :Allows you to use your stocked magics. Draw :Allows you to draw magics from enemies,draw points. G.Fs :Allows you to summon Guardian Force to battle. Item :Allows you to use items. Now,look at the character(C) ability.You may wonder what are the options below the commands.These are called character(C) ability from the G.F.These do not give new commands during the battle,but instead aid you and improve your stats.For example,when your G.F learns abilities like HP+20%,Magic+20%,you will be able to equip it. Commands Choice Attack |Magic+20% >Magic |Status Defense+20% >Draw | >G.F | By clicking on the cursor to the right,you will >HP+20% | be able to equip to the left window. > | Notice that the user equip HP+20%.What do you > | think will happened to his HP? Table 2. Note:The number of character(C) abilities depend on your G.F.Most G.Fs can only offer two character(C) ability,while some has Ability x3 or Ability x4.For example,Bahamut has 4x ability. Hint:You can actually use Amnesia Grass,and then use 4x ability on your G.F. Tips:Use your creativity to make ability combos, such as Drain at ST Attack with Dark Attack, or Cover with Parry,for example,Zombie to ST Attack and Recover/Revive is a deadly combo,too. For more info,pls read battle,draw,G.Fs section etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.II.I)Item Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ______ ___________________________________________________________ | | |Notice Use Arrange Auto-Arrange Battle Arrangement ||Item | |___________________________________________________________||______| Use :Allows the using of items. Arrange :Arrange your item yourself. Auto-Arrange :Auto arrange of items by your CPU. Battle Arrangement:Allows you to arrange your item inventory of what it is going to appear during battle. If you click on auto-arrange,the items will be arranged as follows: (Medicine)-(G.F)-(Battle)-(Field)-(Bullet)-(Junk)-(Magazine) For more info on the various groups of items,pls read below. Here is what is going to be like if you click on Battle Arrangement. ______ ___________________________________________________________| | |Notice Use Arrange Auto-Arrange >Battle Arrangement |Item | |___________________________________________________________|______| |Help HP recover by 200 | |______________________________________________________________| ____________________ Show |ITEM P1 Num | the | Potion 61 | selected=>|>Hero's Drink 2 | item, | Elixir 10 | Eg item A ||<=Press Left or Right to view pages. |____________________| ____________________ |ITEM P1 Num | By clicking on Potion,Eg call it =>|>Potion 61 | item B.Item A will the switched | Hero's Drink 2 | position with item B.In this case, | Elixir 10 | hero's drink will switched position || with Potion. |____________________| This arrangement shows what the item menu will be liked during battle. The item pages will look similar to your magic pages. ________________________ |ITEM P1 NUM. | To arrange the items,simply point the |Elixir 10 | cursor on the top-left screen to the |Phoenix Down 100 | bottom-right screen.This will switch the |Hero's Drink 2 | positions of the items. |Potion 100 | Like magic page,there are a total of 8 |________________________| pages,each page containing only four items. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.II.II)Classification Of Item ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Final Fantasy VIII,there are a whole,wide range of items for you to buy,find etc and all these items can be classified into six different groups,depending on their uses.Here are the six groups. ______________________________________________________________________ |Medicine|Recovery items like Phoenix Downs,Potions,Elixirs etc. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |G.F |G.F recovery items and items that allows G.Fs to learn new | | |abilities. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Battle |Items that are used in the battlefield.Example,Phoenix Tail. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Field |Items that are used in the field,and can only be used at a | | |save point like tents. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Bullet |Bullets are only used by Irvine's special arts. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Junk |These items cannot be used during battles,but they are a | | |good source of raw materials for weapon tuning up,source of | | |using G.Fs ability to make magics,or some even provides a | | |source of blue magics for Quistis to learn special arts. | | |Examples of such items are magic stones like Sage's stone,or | | |items like screws. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| |Magazine|Useful martial arts guides for Zell,teaching Rinoa and Angelo| | |new special arts moves,and a guidebook for the list of items | | |needed for tuning up weapons. | |________|_____________________________________________________________| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.III)Magic Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ______ ______________________________________________| | |Notice Use Exchange Get Arrange |Magic | |______________________________________________|______| Note:To switch characters,press L1 or R1. :Use your stocked magic. ~~Exchange~~ Allows you to exchange and trade magics between your characters. Hand All :Hand all the magics for that particular type from the top row character to the bottom row character. Get All :Receive all the magics for that particular type from the bottom row to the top row. Distribute :Distribute the number of magics you want to give or get for that particular type of magic. Below is a diagram to help you out. ______ ______________________________________________| | |Notice Use >Exchange Get Arrange |Magic | |______________________________________________|______| |Help Use Magic | |__________________________________________________| _______ _______________ | Photo | SQUALL |MAGIC P1 NUM| | of | Lv. 100 | Cure 100| |Squall | HP 9999/9999 | Cure 2 100| |_______| ___________ | Ice 55| | Hand All | |>Fire 89| | Get All | |_______________| _______ |>Distribute| _______________ >| Photo | Rinoa |___________| | MAGIC P1 NUM| | of | Lv. 100 | Cure 2 50| |Rinoa | HP 9999/9999 | Cure 3 100| |_______| |>Fire 70| | Ice 2 80| |_______________| If you choose Distribute,another sub-menu will appear.Sorry,i couldn't display too many things at one go together. This is the sub-menu. Pressing these directions will do the following distributions: _____________ |CHOICE | |Fire | UP :Upper Row Character gets 10 magic. | Squall 89 | Down :Bottom Row Character gets 10 magic. | Rinoa 70 | Left :Upper Row Character gets 1 magic. |_____________| Right:Bottom Row Character gets 1 magic. Notice any differences between hand and get???Are you able to see? Note:While choosing magic,you can press the directional button left or right to view the next page.Each page can contain only four magics, up to 100 units of each type. ______________ |MAGIC P1 NUM| |Cure 100| P1 indicates the page number,1.There are a total of 8 |Cure 2 100| pages,each page can contain 4 magics,which means to say |Ice 50| each character can carry only 24 magics. |Lightning 69| |______________| ~~Recieve~~ ------------ Recieve:Allows the above character in the top row to recieve all the magics from the bottom row. Note:If the top row character has a magic of 100,he won't be able to carry any more from the bottom row. ~~Arrange~~ ------------ Arrange:Allows the arranging of the magics for that character and not trade. Tips:You can discard your magic by pressing the Square button. Hint:The arranging of magic works similarly to battle arrangement of items.So,if you know that,i guess you don't know a diagram for this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.IV)Status Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It allows you to view your character stats. Note:You can switch your characters with L1 or R1 buttons By pressing circle,you will open sub-menu. View your character's name,level,HP,experience etc. View your character's % elemental defense,as well as status defense.The elemental attack is at the top,and the status defense is at the bottom. View junctioned G.Fs,as well as the affection rating. View your character's Special Art. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.IV.I)Status Menu:Elemental List ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is a table of a list of description of different elemental attacks. __________________________________________________ |Fire |Resistance against Fire-type attacks. | |Ice |Resistance against Ice-type attacks. | |Thunder |Resistance against Thunder-type attacks.| |Earth |Resistance against Earth-type attacks. | |Poison |Resistance against Poison-type attacks. | |Wind |Resistance against Wind-type attacks. | |Water |Resistance against Water-type attacks. | |Holy |Resistance against Holy-type attacks. | |_________|________________________________________| Note:Flying enemies are usually weak against Wind attacks and strong against Earth attacks(usually unable to harm them),while Undeads are weak against Fire/Holy/Cure/Revive and strong against Poison/Death. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.IV.II)Status Menu:Status Disorder List ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is a brief descriptions for each status disorder.You might want to read it as a reference. ______________________________________________________________________ |Instant Death|Your character will be killed instantly,HP drops to | | |zero. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Poison |A green cloud appears above your head.HP drops each | | |turn. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Petrify |Turns into a statue,and ATB stops moving.No difference | | |from death.It is a permanent disorder,unless you use a | | |remedy or heal. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Blind |A black cloud surrounds the forehead of your character. | | |Hit rate drop signifiantly,often misses the attack.A | | |permanent disorder. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Silence |A tiny bubble speech that says "..." Your character | | |cannot use the Magic, GF, or Draw commands.A permanment | | |status disorder. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Berserk |Steam rushes out from the fury-hot character. You will | | |lose control of the affected character as the character | | |just performed the attack command randomly on any enemy.| | |Attack strength is increased. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Zombie |Character turns green in colour.Attacking power is | | |slighly increased,but attempts to recover HP would cause| | |damage instead on the character itself. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Sleep |The character's ATB will stop and "zzzz" appears from | | |the character.The character will only awake when under | | |attack or a Remedy/Heal is used on him/her.It is a | | |temporary status disorder,which means the character will| | |still wake up,after some time. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Slow |The Active Time Bar moves slower,turning purple in | | |colour. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Stop |The ATB guage freezes as the effected character stopped | | |moving. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Curse |The character will not be able to activate his/her | | |Special Art. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Confusion |Your character turns around in circles and will attack | | |enemies,or your party or himself/herself!A huge chocobo | | |appears above the character,confusing the character.It | | |is again a temporary disorder,and can be recover either | | |by recieving an attack or using heal/remedy. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Absorption |Affect how much HP you will absorb using the HP absorb | | |and also reduce your HP absorb by the enemies on you to | | |the minimum.Note that trying to absorb/drain from a | | |undead will result in HP lost instead. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Defense 0 |It is not shown on the Junction menu,but defense 0 is | | |extremely lethal,in a way such that it reduces your | | |characters' defense against both physical and magics | | |attack.Melten is the only spell that has this effect. | | |It is best that you immediately use heal/remedy. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| Note:In Zombie state,the character/enemy will be immune to death,but will be weak against any holy attacks. ________________________________________________________________________ The elemental and status list is taken from Scott Ong's FAQ walkthrough Part 1.Sorry,Scott Ong,i cut some portions just to save space,and add a few info.Hope you don't blame me.Anyway,the original meaning is remained intact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.IV.III)Status Menu:Positive Status Condition List-By Kaze Yagami ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Besides the negative status conditions above,there are other positive status conditions that you might encounter in a battle. ______________________________________________________________________ |Haste |ATB moves faster. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Protection |Physical damage reduced by half. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Shell |Magical damage reduced by half. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Reflect |Turns magic casted onto subject onto another target on | | |the other side. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Levitate |Nullify earth-based attacks. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Regen |Regenerates HP every turn. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Double |Cast two magics in one turn. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Triple |Cast three magics in one turn. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Aura |Affects your crisis levels and increases your chance of | | |activating special arts. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Defend |Reduces magical damage by half and physical damage to 0.| |_____________|________________________________________________________| |Invincible |Making you temporary invulnerable to all attacks,magics,| | |status changes etc.To get this status,use Hero/Crusade | | |drink or when Rinoa performs her special art,Angelo | | |Invisible Moon. | |_____________|________________________________________________________| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.V.I)Guardian Force Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guardian Force (G.F. in short) are like your character's second persona. You get all your abilities, stats boost etc from the GFs.GFs themselves also works like summons in the past FF series.There are a total of 16 G.F.s that you need to find.However,finding G.F is not as easy as you will have think. Some of the G.F. requires you to fight with them, whereas some requires you to draw them out from bosses.Be careful when you are fighting bosses. Always start the combat by drawing.Once you draw the G.F and defeat the boss,you will be able to enter name for your G.F.However, if you forget to draw the G.F and defeat the boss,then say goodbye to them.You won't be able to get them anymore through other ways,besides using a cheat hacker like gameshark. There are another group of special G.F.s which you cannot junction, and you can summon them under special conditions such as the use of an item. Note:For more informations,please read Guardian Force FAQ that can be found at www.gameFAQ.com By clicking on the G.F. you want, you will see a whole list of abilities that your G.F can learn.Just like your characters,your G.F can earn LVs,have HP and even AP for learning new abilities.The first menu gives you your G.F experience and other stats.The left lower corner shows the current ability under training.And to the right shows your affection rating for every character. Here is a diagram to show you. _________ _______________________________________________________| | |NOTICE >Ability List |G.F. | |_______________________________________________________|_________| |HELP View your G.F ability list | |_______________________________________________________________| _______ | Photo | BAHAMUT Affection Rating ________ | For | Lv. 64 SQUALL |________| | G.F | HP 9999/9999 ZELL |________| |_______| IRVINE |________| QUISTIS |________| Total EXP: 31770p RINOA |________| Next Level: 230p SELPHIE |________| Present Training Skill (C)Steal 150/250AP Sorry,i couldn't mapped out the whole affection rating bar as it looked very small.You will notice a red bar a number below.If the bar is filled with red,that means the affection rating has reached the maximum, and the numbers below indicate the affection rating,with 1000,as the maximum rating.The higher the rating,it takes shorter time for the G.Fs to summon.Well,this is the a small diagram to illustrate affection rating.Also,this is what the bar will look like in one of the sub-menu of status screen too.If there is a symbol on the left of the name,that means the G.F is equipped to the character in the G.F menu,or vice versa in on of the sub-menu for the status screen. __________________ The bar gauge when =>|___________|______| completely red,shows the 658<=the affection max affection rating. rating number. For more info,pls read the Guardian Force section on affection rating. When you press circle,another new sub-menu will appear,giving you a whole chunk of abilities that you can learn or have learnt. From there, you can choose the next ability you wish to train.New abilites that can be learnt sometimes appears upon completing of certain abilities.Note that each G.F. can only complete up to 22 abilities, so sometimes you need to "forget" certain abilities which you don't need, with the help of Amnesia Grass, so as to make space for other abilities. Here is a diagram to show you. _________ _______________________________________________________| | |NOTICE >Ability List |G.F. | |_______________________________________________________|_________| |HELP Enables you to use Draw command | |_______________________________________________________________| _______ ________________________________________ | Photo | BAHAMUT |ABILITY P1 | | for | Lv. 64 | (J)Ability x4 Complete! | | G.F | HP 9999/9999 | (!)Magic Command Complete! | |_______| | (!)G.F. Complete! | | >(!)Draw Command Complete! | Total EXP: 31770p | (!)Item Command Complete! | Next Level: 230p | (C)Strength + 60% Complete! | | (C)Magic Strength +60% Complete! | ||>(C)Steal 150/200AP | | (C)Walk and Recover 0/250AP | Present Training Skill | (C)Auto Protection 0/250AP | (C)Steal Command | (C)Double Consumption 0/250AP > | 150/250 AP |________________________________________| The arrow on the bottom right,indicate the next page.Like the magic,item page,G.F. ability is divided into two pages,each page containing 11 abilities ,making a total of 22 abilities that you can learn.The middle-left arrow points to the ability that you are learning now,for example,in the picture shown above,it is steal.In this case,steal has only gained 150AP,and you need to earn an additional 100AP to fully master Steal.The bottom-right hand side also tells you the skill and AP. For skills that you have learnt,you will see a complete! there.to gain AP,you need to battle monsters/bosses.Any AP you gained will only go to the selected ability,in this case,only steal.The smaller arrow,that is pointing to the draw command,enables you to view other abilities,and an explanation is shown above at the HELP.The smaller arrow also allows you to choose other selected ability that you want to learn.For example,you are now learning steal ability,if you point the smaller arrow to,let say,auto protection,and press circle,the bigger arrow,that is point to the steal right now,will then switch over to auto protection. Things to take note of: 1)Stats change will automatically take effect like the adjustment of HP etc. 2)When command abilities like Death Sentence above is learned,you can junction it in the first option of the menu. 3)If your G.F learns elemental def,let's say Ifrit,when you junction fire to your elemental defense,you will be more protected from fire attacks. 4)Different G.F have different abilities.Some arise to new abilities like cure,status recovery, barrier and so on. For more information,please read the G.F on the battle section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.V.II)Guardian Force Diagram ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here's a diagram of what your the menu will be like. _______________________________ | | | | | | | | | No. Name of G.F | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1. Queztalcoatl |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| 2. Shiva | | | | | | | | | 3. Ifrit | 9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 | 4. Siren |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| 5. Brothers 6. Diablo By clicking circle,you will be able to 7. Carbunkle view the G.F's ability list,as well as the 8. Leviathan G.F's experience,HP and affection rating. 9. Pandamonium Pressing X will return you back to the 10. Cerberos initial screen as shown in the above.While 11. Alexander viewing the G.F status screen,press 12. Grasharaboras L1 and R1,to switch to other G.Fs. 13. Sabotender Also,the ability list also allows you to 14. Bahamut select the ability you want to learn,as 15. Master Tonberry well showing you the AP needed. 16. Eden ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.VI)Ability ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some Menu Abilities are of very much use, like converting items to certain magics,items to bullets,and cards to rare items etc.Each G.F has different set of new ability and will help you a lot during the game.More information will be provided in the next update. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.VII.I)Switch Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This option allows you to change your active party members.Please remember that member switching can only be done only on the world map or at a save point,or special occasions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.VII.II)Switch Menu:Laguna ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Laguna Scenarios ---------------- In Final Fantasy VIII,there are two main characters,Squall and Laguna. Occasionally,the scene will switch to Laguna's party.You will see an arrow.For example,an arrow is point from Laguna to squall.That means Laguna will take all the magics from Squall,and follow Squall's levels, equipments.Once the scene ends,everything will return back to Squall. For example,if Laguna earns a level,Squall will also earn a level. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.VIII)Card Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It allows you to view the cards that you have in your hand.Cards can be won by defeating GFs, changing monsters or by defeating other card players in towns across the world, or after winning a battle.Try to hang onto these cards, as they are difficult to win back if you should lose some of your powerful cards.Also,to play with other players,remember to talk to them by pressing Square,and not circle. Each card has four numbers representing four directions: up, down, left and right.The game is played on a board of nine squares or 3 X 3 square. Though the game may seem simple to you,it is a very addictive,yet involving a lot of strategy thinking. So,what's the advantage of collecting cards? By using Quetzalcoatl ability (Card change),you can change your cards into items,including rare items that are hard to get from certain enemies. Basic Rule:First,Each card has four numbers,let's say Up,Down,Left, Right.By putting on a grid,you can actually gain one point if your number facing to his card number is greater than his.He, in turn will lose one point.However,the same can applies to the CPU.He can also gain one point too, and makes you lose a point.If you PUT a card next to it,with your card number face-to-face,lesser than him,you nor CPU will neither gain nor lose a point.The same is true for the CPU as well. The battle will first began by throwing a dice.Depending on the dice,the player or you may start first or randomly. Players will be able to put his card one at a turn.The (left) shows the CPU card and the(Right)shows your card.You will first began with five points.Your cards will be blue while your opponent's colour cards will be pink By winning,you will be able to choose a card you like from the deck of card he has.Similarly,if you lose,the CPU will be able to choose a card from you,and you in turn will lose the card.If it's a draw,neither of you will lose a card. Eg1. You His Eg2. You His 5 4 3 6 3 4> <5 3 2 7> <9 5 1 1 5 3 You Lose! You Win! Notice the pattern for both examples! Eg3. 6 It may not neccessary be side-side.It can also be His 2 4 top-to-bottom.Can you tell who is the winner? 9 You 5 Answer:You because 9 is greater than 5. 5 3 2 Creating chain Assume that you start off first. Let Y be your card and C be the CPU C-Y shows the score. Yn or Cn shows which card is placed first. _______________________ Procedure: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1)6-4,when C1 put beside Y1. |2 Y1 5 |7 C1 8|9 Y2 3 | 2)5-5,when Y2 put beside C1. | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3)6-4,when C2 put below Y2. |_______|_______|_______| 4)5-5,when Y3 put below C2. | 3 | | 4 | 5)6-4,when C3 put beside Y3. |8 C4 5 | |8 C2 1 | 6)5-5,when Y4 put beside C3. | 2 | | 3 | 7)6-4,when C4 put above Y4. |_______|_______|_______| | 1 | 8 | 5 | Guess what will the result be if i place... |8 Y4 4 |2 C3 4 |5 Y3 2 | in the middle? | 1 | 5 | 3 | a) 7 b) 9 C) 9 |_______|______ |______ | 8 Y5 5 5 Y5 9 7 Y5 9 9 5 9 Can you figure it out? Ans:a)6-4,lose Part C is a good example of chains.This is the type b)5-5,Draw of strategy that will turn the situation over. c)2-8,Win Notice that you increase by four points.This is because all your numbers is greater than the numbers facing you.Of course, it may not neccessary be the centre.It's up to you.But beware that,such situations happen all the time,may win or lose 2-4 points at one go.If both numbers are equal,then no change in score. More Information: 1)There are rare cards that only have 1 existing in the world, such as Boss cards, GF Cards, and Character Cards. 2)Card strength ranges from 1,being the weakest and A,being the strongest. 3)It's possible to earn four points at one go,only if you put your card properly in the middle.The above is an example. 4)If you have less than 5 cards,you will not be able to play cards anymore.You have to find more cards. 5)Different areas have different rules, so be sure to check out what rules before you play. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.IX)Configuration Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is the section down the list: 1. Sound :Switch between Stereo or Monaural. 2. Controller :Set the settings on Normal (Default) or Customize (Assign the buttons by yourself) 3. Cursor :Cursor,automatically place at the last command. 4. ATB :Switch between (ACTIVE),when ATB flows normally or (WAIT),when the time stops automatically while selecting a command. 5. Labeller :Choose the second option, the labeller will appear for those monsters/enemies that have been labelled once. 6. Camera :Allow you to set from 0 % to 100 %. 7. Battle Speed :Adjust the speed during the battle. 8. Battle Message :Adjust the speed of messages during battle. 9. Field Message :Adjust the speed of messages during the field. 10. Analog Input :Adjust the reaction speed of the stick input. 11. Vibration :Turn vibration ON/OFF(for only Dual Shock controller). You can now change your settings during the game, but NOT during battles, except for ON/OFF the vibration if you have a Dual Shock controller. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.X)Tutorial ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The basics things that you need to know,whether it is G.F,draw etc.Besides,there is a test.Please try and figure out something,though you may not understand the Japanese words. Note:Please refer to TUTORIAL section.A very highly recommended option you should go whenever you are stuck with the game's new features. Note:For test answers,please refer to the additional guide. Here is a brief description of each and every option in the tutorial: ______________________________________________________________________ |Function |Description | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Configuration |It refers to the configuration for your controller. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Battle |A tutorial guide with 8 pages that teaches you basic | | |battling like the draw,magic,and active time battle, | | |Guardian Force etc. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Junction |A mini-tutorial to illustrate what is junctioning and | | |how to junction. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Guardian Force|A mini-tutorial that explains about AP,ability in the | | |G.F menu. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Card |A 14 pages tutorial that explains the basic rules of | | |playing a card game. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Test |Sit for 30 tests to advance your ranks. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Revision |Do all the previous tests that you have done before; | | |available only when the 1st test has been all correctly| | |answered. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| |Information |A brief summary of magics,places,battle combat,G.Fs, | | |ability,affection rating,elementals,special arts etc. | |______________|_______________________________________________________| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.XI)Save ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To save,make sure you are at the world map,or using the save point,if not,this option will be unuseable.The PocketStation save option will only be available if you have caught a chocobo at the chocobo forest from disc 2 onwards.When you have successfully catch a chocobo and have entered a name for your new chocobo,the choco boy will prompt you to play the 'Odekake Chocobo' or Chocobo RPG in PocketStation.From here onward,you can play the PDA. ======================================================================== 5)BATTLE COMBAT:FINAL FANTASY VIII ======================================================================== The main basic commands are attack,magic,draw,G.F and item that every character will have in the beginning.But what makes Final Fantasies combats different from other RPGs?It is the Active Time Battle,which makes combat far more interesting and exciting than other RPGs.Coming out with innovative, authentic ideas,we have been seeing new combats coming out from Square.Innovative team-up techniques,agruably the next best RPG besides FF3 in SNES,Xenogears's gear and party combat,along with sophisticated buttons,Final Fantasy 7's Materia and Limit Break are some of the best examples;though there are more to list like Secret of Mana and even more.The active time bar is so highly successful that this feature appeared in all Final Fantasies after it makes its debut in FF IV.Now,immediately after the most grand release of FF7 for the Playstation and amazed by the Materia and Limit systems,gamers have been wondering along-what new things can Square offer the next time in FF8?And Square has indeed has proven not to let everyone down, introducing the new Draw and Junction system but it is better than 7? What do you think? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.I)Active Time Battle ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Like the past Final Fantasy series,who goes first to attack depends on this ATB.The faster the character,the faster the ATB move.People who has played Final Fantasy IV and above before will be familiar with this.Battles are still fought in real-time like the past.It seems the concept of ATB will always remain in every Final Fantasy for now. Note:Don't alway leave the game when you are in battle because the ATB will continue to move. Note:If you want a more challenging gameplay, you can change the ATB from "WAIT" to "ACTIVE" in the Configurations. Tips:You might not want the fastest character to move.Simply press triangle to switch over to the next character with the ATB full. Tips:If your battle is put on "Wait", you can select the Magic command, and then try to escape, without the monsters bothering you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.II)Encounter ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Encounters in FF VIII is variable in different areas. For example, The encounter rate on plains and grassslands are much lower than that of forests and deserts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.III.I)Guardian Force ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the past,you simply summon a creature and shortly after,it would appear on the battlefield.Now there's actually a chance that the creature might not appear.Each Guardian Force now has HP and G.F in Final Fantasy 8 is actually the summoned monsters in other previous Final Fantasies.The difference is that in the past,the summoned creature would come out immediately,however as in this 8 series,each time,the summoner summons a G.F,the summoner's HP will be replaced with the Guardian Force's HP. All attacks on the character will go onto the GF. Note that the damage amount will be as if it is on the summoner.Also, status attacks goes on the summoner,not the GF. So, if the character is silenced during the course of summoning, the summoning would be cancelled.The ATB of the summoner will also be replaced by the G.F ATB. You will have to wait for the G.F ATB to finish counting down,then the G.F will appear.However,during this period of time before the countdown is over,any attacks on the summoner will go on the G.F. When the G.F's HP reaches zero,you cannot summon the G.F. again until the next battle. This is critical especially in long bosses fights where you may need to summon a Guardian Force several times. There are items that can heal G.F or revive G.F. outside battle. Note:You can't heal G.F in a battle.If you cast a cure magic on the summoner while waiting for the G.F ATB to full,the magic will heal the summoner and not the G.F even though the summoner's HP bar has been replaced by G.F's HP bar.However..... How fast the G.F's ATB countdown will be depending on the affection the character has with the G.F.For example,if your character have a strong affection for the particular G.F.,when equipped,will have faster G.F's ATB.You can increase the affection by summoning the GF more often, casting magic of the same nature as the G.F., or using special items on the character.Likewise, the affection can also be decreased when you cast magics of an opposite nature. Difference in affection/summoning Affection 0 = About 16.8 sec Affection 500 = About 10.2 sec Affection 1000 = About 2.8 sec Raising affection and demerits Way Affection Up Amount Demerit Summoning Summoned GF 20 Other GF aff drop by 1-2, GF of opposing nature drop 10(*2) GF (*1) Using Respective GF 1-3 Opposing GF drop 1-2 Specific Magic Using Respective GF 1-3 Other GFs drop 1-2 Specific Items Using Love- All GF up 20 Nil Love G *1 - If battle ends before GF is summoned then there is no change. *2 - When Eden is summoned, Eden will increase by 2 and the rest will increase by 1. All GF takes 500exp to level up, except for Siren/Carbunkle/Cerberos, which takes 400,and Eden, which requires 1000. Changes that occur when GF level up a) Max HP up b) Summoning attack up c) New abilities availiable to train(some GF) d) Item Fabrication ability increases(Some GF) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.III.II)Illustration on GF ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When summoning a G.F,Select G.F and then, COMMAND G.F P1 HP Attack IFRIT 5678 ________ Magic SHIVA 4567 RINOA 8327 |________|Direction of ATB Draw DIABLO 7896 SQUALL 7913 |____|___|--------> >G.F CARBUNKLE 8923 ZELL 5789 |___|____| Yellow When it's Rinoa's turn,click on the G.F,you will see... COMMAND Attack ________ Magic IFRIT 5678|______|_| Directions of ATB Draw SQUALL 7913|____|___| <------- >G.F ZELL 5789|___|____| Blue(For Rinoa Only) The number,next to the G.F's name shows the amount of HP the G.F has got.During any time,any damage on the character will goes to the G.F.When the blue bar finishes countdown,the G.F will then appear. Tips:You can press start for an explanation while choosing your G.F for their elemental attacks etc.Refer to the draw and magic section below. ~~~Doing extra damage for the G.F(Ouen)~~~ ------------------------------------------ Your G.F must learn this ability in order to do extra damage.It's called the 'Ouen' ability but when translate,is called assitance/support/help/ aid.I will call it the Support ability. When the G.F. animation begins,hold select,and you will see... Step 1: Step 2: __ __ |__| 75 F |__| 100 F Where F represents cursor By pressing square,the number will goes up Sometimes, By pressing square rapidly, the number will rise. __ The higher the number,the more damage it will |__| X F cause on your enemy.If a cross sign appears,over- A cross appears riding the cursor,this means you cannot press Square button anymore. If you tap the button at time,the figure will drop back to the initial value,75%. The figures actually shows a percentage of what your G.F. can normally deal. Tips:Note that after the cross appears, hold on to the Select button until the cross disappears, and you can start tapping away again. Info:It varies with the type of G.F you use.For some G.F, there are more time for you to increase the numbers,while some are shorter. Info:When set to turbo,if you tap rapidly,the numbers will go up several times per press.If you hold Square when in turbo,the numbers will go up continously without stopping until you release the button. A true example:My friend uses Ifrit on an enemy,which costs about 2000HP,with numbers of up to 140,but when he uses a turbo feature,he raises it to 210 and guess what the damage is to the same enemy.It's 4500+,more than half the original value.Great! Credit:Thanks to Jimmy Khoo for telling me the turbo controller for Ouen. Note:The max numbers you can tap is only up to 250.75 is the min strength and 250 is the max strength of the G.F. Credit:Thanks to kanketsu@usa.net and Stevenbruck@bigfoot.com for telling me about the Japanese name of 'Ouen'. Challenge the max without turbo-From Kaze Yagami The table shows the max %,as well as max time given. Approximate Time available for Ouen 0--------------------------------0 Name Time Target Quetzacoatl 13.3 180% Shiva 12.9 180% Ifrit 13.0 180% Siren 17.6 200% Brothers 19.3 220% Leviathan 21.4 230% Pandemonium 22.8 240% Alexander 22.1 230% Grasharaboras 22.9 240% Bahamut 22.1 230% Master Tonberry 14.0 190% Eden 72.6 250% ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.IV)Draw and Magic Command ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Any one who has played Final Fantasy 7 will remember the innovative,but somehow complex Materia combination. Now,SquareSoft has come out with an yet more innovative way but much more easy and simple compared to the materia combinations.Instead of buying materia and put it into your weapon/armor slot,you will be able to 'steal' magic from your enemy.In Final Fantasy 8,there is no MP. Each magic is stocked in units. The Draw command is used for casting or stocking up on magics that an enemy uses. Select Draw and the then select an enemy,choose the magic you want to draw,select whether you want to cast or stock.Different enemies in different levels will have different targeted magics in their list.If you choose cast earlier,you will immediately cast the magic straight away. but if you choose stock, you will stock up the magic and this magic will be return to the magic command.The magic command is used for casting stocked up magic.When you select magic command,you will be shown with a list of selection magic magics that you have and besides each magic,there is a number to indicate how many magics of this type you have.For example the number 5 besides the cure magic will indicate that you can cast only 5 cure magic.Look below for an idea of how the Draw magic work. Example 1 | Example 2 | COMMAND TARGET CHOICE CHOICE | COMMAND MAGIC P1 NUM Attack Soldier1 Fire >Stock | Attack Lightning 1 25 Magic Soldier2 Life Cast | >Magic >Cure 1 100 >Draw >Soldier3 >Cure | Draw Double 50 Item | Item Aura 20 >indicates the choice you choose. In this case,it indicates that you draw the Cure magic and stock it.It's always better to stock up as many cure magic as possible.Having seen a simple illustration of the Draw command,what do you think?Is it better, simple than the materia combinations or more difficult?In Final Fantasy 7,you spent time arranging all your materia whereas in 8,you will have to spend time drawing out the magic, or by making them. Note:Not all the time you will be able to draw out your enemy's magic successfully.The number of magics you can draw at once depends on you Summary of Draw Command ----------------------- 1)First select Draw command. 2)Select your enemy. 3)Then,select the spells that you can draw. 4)Choose cast or stock. 5)If you choose cast,select your enemy/ally. Note:If stock cannot be choosen,this means that your magic inventory for this particular spell is full.For example,if you already have 100 cure spell in your inventory and tried to draw cure again,the only option available will be to cast. Difference Between MAGIC and DRAW->CAST ------------------------------------------ Using the Magic command to cast a magic will give you a stable result, where as Draw->Cast will give you a result that be very much higher or lower (usually lower).If you keep on drawing and casting the same spell, you may notice that the results fluctuate from time.Take the below comparison for example in the case of Cure 3 for a clearer picture: Cast Magic Max : 8118 5081 Min : 321 4500 Average: 4063 4813 =>The value marks how much HP is healed. Casting Double/Triple Spell --------------------------- If you cast double or triple spell,a new battle sub-menu will appear.It will look something like this. COMMAND MAGIC TRIPLE P1 NUM NAME If L1 extra text is on. Attack Single Lightning 1 25 >3 ZELL >Magic Double Cure 1 100 SQUALL Draw >Triple Double 50 Rinoa Item >Aura 20 The number 3 indicates that you can use the spells three times on any characters.The advantage over Final Fantasy VII's All materia system is that,instead of equipping all to cure,and recover the entire party,with the double and triple magics,you can give the same character more than one time the same spell in a turn,or even three. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.V)Battle Help Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tip No.1 -------- Well,what happened during battle,if there is some commands/items/magics that you are not sure of the uses. Well,do not fear.while selecting a command,item or a magic,press start to view the explanation.Here's the diagram. COMMAND ________________ Attack Upon selecting magic, |MAGIC P1 NUM| When you hold start, >Magic you will be able to | Aura 65| you will see a Draw select your magics. | Cure2 100| screen that looks G.F. | Cure3 95| like this below. |>Life2 98| |________________| __________________________________ |HELP |The trick works also for any | Revive dead ally in your party |commands/items/magics etc and |__________________________________|should come in handy anytime _____________________ ___ during battle. |Vibrational Function | |ON | If you have a dual shock controller, |_____________________| |___| you can turn on/off vibration by pressing left/right. Tip No.2 -------- Press L1 for extra text.By default,the L1 extra text is already on if you didn't notice it.By pressing L1,you can switch the text off.But my advice is please use the extra text.It makes your selection more easier with the text on and can be a life saver. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.VI)The Secret R1 Gunblade Button ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Squall's weapon,the Gunblade is unlike any other weapon in any Final Fantasy series.It looks like a half sword,half gun weapon.The trick about this gunblade is that it takes time to master the gunblade.With proper timing, you can get easy criticals that would not just deliver more damage, but reels your opponent back so that it takes more time to recover. Hit on R1 as Squall is about to strike the enemy. If the critical was successful you can see an explosion from the firing of the GunBlade. Normal critical hits for about double the normal damage, while Squall and Seifer's hits for 1.5 times the normal damage.In addition,if,in the status menu, "Blade Combo Auto-Handling" is set to "on", this R1 trigger will be activated automatically (but still with a chance of unsuccessful of 25%). Credit:Thanks to Seong Whang for telling me the Seifer's gunblade. ======================================================================== ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 6)ADVANCED TUTORIAL GUIDE:FINAL FANTASY VIII ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ======================================================================== Now,you have have gone through the basic drills.It's time to move into something more advanced and difficult.Everything listed below may be a spoiler for you,especially the G.F strategy,weapons and should not be read until you are very near to it.It's recommended that you read the special arts section and weapons upgrading sections to get a main idea what they are like but for the G.F strategy,descriptions,opinions,please don't read too much.Don't say i didn't warn you.Read it at your own risk. ======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.I)Special Arts ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Arts are special moves that characters can perform when they get weakened. Some can give big damage while some can boost the party's power etc. Basic Requirements:Remaining HP below 32% (84% for Seifer)OR Aura condition. When the condition is satified, a > mark will appear randomly on the right side of the"Attack" command. Hold right on the "Attack" command at this time and you can use the Special Art of the character.Note that under the Curse condition, the > mark will never appear. Crisis Level ------------ Different characters has a internal parameter known as Crisis Level, which affects their Special Arts in different ways. The below shows the conditions where the Crisis Level increases. As the Crisis Level increases, the chance of the > mark appearing is also increased. a) HP is lessen b) Negative status conditions c) Party members dead Negative Status Bonus: Slow : +6% Stone/Dark/Poison/Silence: +12% each Death Sentence : +18% 1 Party Member down : +8% 2 Party Members down : +16% So, in the example of character with Poison and Death Sentence, one party member down, and HP at 32%, the value is (32 (basic value) + 12 + 18 + 8 )= 70% chance of > appearing. Acquiring New Special Arts -------------------------- Different characters has different ways of acquiring special arts. This would be covered under the character individually. Easy Special Arts ----------------- 1) Reduce your HP in the menu 2) Tapping the Triangle button. When the > mark appears, there will be a clink sound and a brief moment of window switching inactivity. So if your reflex is fast enough you can tap until you hear the clink. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.I.I)Special Arts:Squall LeonHeart ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Squall's Special Art is by far an add-on to the R1 feature.Just like the normal attacks,R1 button can be pressed to do extra criticals in his Special Arts. Firstly,go to the main menu.Search for the status and press Circle and go to the last sub-menu to view your Special Arts for Squall.You will see something like this: If you choose meter auto-on,the meter bar will not appear during your Special Art. All attacks will be randomized on whether they get criticals or not. In the sub menu,you will see something like this: ______________________ | P | P stands for Squall's |______________________| portrait. |Auto On Yes No | |Meter On Yes No | |______________________| |Fated Circle | |______________________| Now,during battle,you will see something like this: R1 _____/_______________________ | | | | Direction of the meter flowing |3 |X 2 | 1 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<| |__|_____|____________________| <----------- \ \ Miss Number of hits The meter will flow to the left.Press R1 button when the flash reaches the second section and you will get a critical. Note:If you managed to press all R1 at the second section of the bar, you will see the word 'perfect'. If you are confident of turning off the meter, go ahead --- it is actually more fun this way. How to get? Squall's finishing moves will vary differently also,depending on the weapon he carry. You can upgrade his weapon at the Junk Shop. Statistics Name:Blade Combo Crisis Up :(A) No. of slashes increase (4-8). (B) Finishing Blow activation increase. (C) Increase chances of having more powerful finishing blow. Acquired by:(A) Upgrade GunBlade. (B) Learn new finishing blow. Listing: Weapon Special Art Effect GunBlade - Rough Divide Attack a single enemy. Castrate - Fated Circle Attack all enemy. Flame Tongue - Blasting Zone Attack all enemy. LionHeart - End of Heart Multiple attacks on a single enemy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.I.II)Special Arts:Rinoa Heartilly ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rinoa's Special Art might be nothing comparable to Squall or Zell's but does has it own uniqueness.Part of her Special Arts are actually activated under special random conditions during a battle.She combines with either her dog Angelo or Varly (which becomes available after the moon event in disc 3) to perform special attacks.Also under circumstances such as being hit, Angelo will retaliate automatically too, or recover Rinoa's HP or revive her life. Manually activating Combine with Angelo results in a random Angelo attack. To learn new Special Arts You need to look for the magazine "Pet Communications". By reading the magazines,Rinoa will be able to learn new moves. In the main menu,you will see something like: _________________________________________________________ | _______ ______________ | | | PHOTO | Angelo Rush |______________| | | | OF | Angelo Strike |______________| | | |ANGELO | |> Angelo Recover |______________| | | |_______| Angelo Cannon |______________| | | Invisible Moon |______________| | | Angelo Rebirth |______________| | | Angelo Search |______________| | | Wish Star |______________| | | | |_________________________________________________________| You choose the move that you wish to train by clicking on it. As you move around the bar will gradually increase, and when it gets full, you hear a clink, and the move is learnt.Theory behind this is...dogs loves strolls with their masters. Tips:To increase the chance of more powerful moves such as Invisible Moon or Wish Star appearing, you can choose not to train her lesser moves such as Angelo Strike, but you will not get to see the move, of course. Statistics Name :Combine Feature :Two form of different moves How to get:Reading "Pet Communications" magazine Listing: Angelo Rush - Beginning Angelo Cannon - Beginning Angelo Recover - PC issue 1 Angelo Strike - PC issue 2 Angelo Rebirth - PC issue 3 Angelo Search - PC issue 4 Invisible Moon - PC is