_______________________________________________________________________ 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 to 2000 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 Guardian Force Boost/Compatibility ======================================================================= Final Fantasy VIII Guardian Force Boast/Compatibility Version 5.0 For Sony PlayStation Only By YEE SENG FU E-Mail : ysf@pacific.net.sg Date : 11th March 2000 ICQ : 25076522 HomePage: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/ Country : Singapore Copyright Protected. 1999-2000. No part of the content is allowed to be reedited or published without the permission of the writer. It can only be used as a personal guide, but not for any commercial purposes. Anyone who has violated this agreement will be severely dealt with. Anyone who wants to link the faq to a particular site must seek permission from the author. Thanks for your cooperation. All the contents that are inside this faq cannot be reproduced in any way, shape, or form (Whether it is physical, electronic or otherwise) aside from being placed on a freely-accessible, non-commerical webpage, provided that it is original, unedited and altered format as well as seeking my permission. This faq cannot be used for any profitable purposes, even if no money is involved in it or for promotional purposes. Neither can it be used as any sort of commercial transaction or given away as some sort of bonus, gift, present etc. Giving away this faq as an incentive to attract buyers is prohibited or forbidden. This faq cannot be used by any publishers, editors, employees or any associates etc of any company, group, organisation, business or any other associations. It cannot be used in any game magazines, guides, books etc or in any other form of printed or electronic media in any way, shape, form (that includes reprinting, reference, inclusion) without the express written permission of the author, myself. This faq is owned and created by me, Yee Seng Fu. I have spent a lot of time typing this faq and the only way to show your appreciation is not to use this faq for profitable means and hopefully, this faq will be of some help to you. If you feel that, reading the faq like this is a bit tedious, especially when you have to look at the computer and play your game, you are allowed to print the part or whole of this document out, but the printed copies can only be for personal use. This faq is best viewed using wordpad wrapped to ruler. Introduction ============ I know there are many Guardian Force faqs which covers about boost and compatibility of G.F. I made this faq because i had something to add on, which i didn't see it in any other faqs. I hope you will show me your support and hopefully, this guide will be of some use to you. Also, refer to Dan Orner 's item guide faq. There are quite a couples of good guardian force faq, one of which is the japanese faq written by StevenBruck. I have also written quite a couples of Final Fantasy VIII faq like the weapon guide on how to beat Ultima/Omega weapon, a card list guide and a limit break guide. Be sure to look at it and feel free to give me comments. Update ============ Version 1.0 -Added new information about Boost -Added new information about Compatibility -Added in a list of compatibility items. -Added a short list of how to obtain all the Guardian Force, including the 16 main G.Fs, non-junctionable Guardian Forces like Odin, Phoenix, and even some informations about the PocketStation Guardian Force. -Added new information about the redrawing of Guardian Force in the final castle. -Added in song lyrics. -Added a Credit section. -Added copyright section. -Corrected some spelling and grammatical mistakes. -Based on the US version. Version 2.0 -Added a Gilgamesh section dedicated to his attacks. -Corrected some minor mistakes. -Changes some of the japanese translation to the US version. -Based on the US version. Version 3.0 -Added some information on Guardian Force's ability. -Based on the US version. Version 4.0 -Added in a frequently-asked-question section. -Added a few more tips in the Boost and compatibility section. -Added new information about the location of the four Occult Fan Magazines. -Added history and overview in Gilgamesh section. -Added Final Fantasy VIII OST List -Added Ragnarok Specifications in the exclusive features section. -Added Balamb Train Specifications in the exclusive features section. -Added in my own Final Fantasy VIII logo. -Based on the US version. Version 5.0 -Added information about Report Cards. -Added information about Obel Lake Mystery. -Added more information about which sub-bosses you can draw in Ultimecia Castle to draw your missing Guardian Force(s). -Corrected the names of Gilgamesh's attacks. -Updated the frequently-asked-question section. -Based on the US version. Next Update: Basically, these are all that i want to cover in this faq. All the informations that are about Boost and Compatibility are found in this faq. I don't think i have anything more to add. Also, i have added in some information about Gilgamesh attacks, which i don't see it in other faqs, particularly the table list. Special thanks to Kaze Yagami for most of the information and Dan Orner for the compatibility item list. This faq will not be made possible without the help of these two people. Content ============ i)Guardian Force ii)Ability iii)Boost iv)Compatibility v)List of Guardian Force vi)List of Compatibility Item vii)Redrawing of Guardian Force viii)Occult Fan Magazines ix)Gilgamesh x)Report Cards xi)Obel Lake Mystery xii)Song Lyrics xiii)Final Fantasy VIII OST List xiv)Exclusive Features xv)Frequently-Asked-Question xvi)Credit xvii)Copyright Protected ======================================================================= I)Guardian Force ======================================================================= In the past, you simply summon a creature and shortly after, it would appear on the battlefield and create a havoc. Now, there's a chance that the creature might not appear. In Final Fantasy VIII, guardian force are actually the creatures that you summoned to aid you in battlefield. If you have played the previous Final Fantasties before, you should remember of the Esper systems in Final Fantasy VI, the summon materia in Final Fantasy VII. However, there are obviously some noticeable differences. Guardian Forces are now more involved in battlefield than before. Each Guardian Force has HP and can gain experience to increase their levels. The noticeable changes are the Guardian Force's Active Time Bar and the newly-innovative feature call Boost. I will explain the two in great in-depth in the later sections. Also, unlike Espers in Final Fantasy VI, Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy VIII let the characters gain AP, known as Ability Point, but they do not let characters learn magics, instead characters can learn new commands like Revive, or new abilities that can strengthen a Guardian Force or characters like sumMag + 20%, Str + 20%, HP + 20%, and so on. ======================================================================= II)Ability ======================================================================= I don't intend to go too much details into this section. Guardian Force's ability can be divided into Command, Junction, Guardian Force, Character, Menu and Party. Command ability includes things like 'Recover', 'Revive' and each command ability requires one command ability slot. Junction ability allows you to junction magics to the respectives attributes. For example, HPJ allows you to junction a magic to HP. Junction abilities do not need any ability slot. Guardian Force abilities enhance a Guardian Force's power like boost, GF HP + 20%. Note that GF HP + 10%, and GF HP + 20% are cumulative, meaning it will add up to GF HP + 30%. Character abilities allow your character to equip special commands like mug or boost your characters' statistics like HP + 20%. Note that HP + 10% and HP + 20% are cumulative. Menu ability are mainly special commands which allow mainly for refining purposes like Card Mod, Make Bullet ability. It also includes Call Shop ability too. Note that Menu ability do not require any junction slot. Party abilities include Encounter None, Move/Find and so on. To learn an ability, simply point the cursor at that ability. For every battle you fought, you will gain AP, which means Ability Point. For example, Boost ability requires 10AP. Note that certain ability will not appear immediately. You need to meet certain requirements to learn it. For example, you need to learn HP + 10% first before you can learn HP + 20%. Each Guardian Force can learn up to a maximum of 22 abilities. If you want to learn a new ability, you must use Amnesia Grass to make a Guardian Force 'forget' an ability. For example, i want my Guardian Force to learn Revive command and i do not want the Encounter None ability anymore. So, i use an Amnesia Grass on Encounter None first to make one empty ability slot for Revive command. Understand or do i make you more confuse? Note that you can buy Amnesia Grass from certain shops like in Esthar and Timber shops. Note:Before you can junction any magics or commands and so on, you need to junction a Guardian Force first. The Guardian Forces are the ones who give you new abilities. ======================================================================= III)Boost ======================================================================= Boost is actually a Guardian Force's ability to increase its destructive effect. It was known as "Ouen" in the japanese version, which meant either "assistance, support, help or aid" but was changed to "boost" in the US version. As the name implies, boost can be used to increase your Guardian Force's power. But before you can do that, you need to learn the ability first, which cost 10AP. However, note that not all Guardian Force has this ability. I will now explain everything more detail with the help of some diagrams. When the Guardian Force animation begins, hold select and you should notice this: Legend ====== __ |__| Represents the Square button 75-255 Represents the number. F Represents the pointer/cursor. X F Represents when the cross appears and overlaps the cursor. Step 1: Step 2: In step two, tap Square as fast as __ __ you can go, and the number will rise |__| 75 F |__| 100 F by 1 for every Square button you press. Note that you have to hold Select all the time. Step 3: In step three, a cross will appear and __ overlap the cursor sometimes. When this |__| 200 X F happens, you must stop tapping Square button because should you do so, the number will revert to 75 again and you will have to start all over again. Step 4: In step four, you have reach the maximum __ number. No matter how you tap Square, it |__| 250 F will not exceed 250. This indicates the strongest strength. The number actually represents the percentage of the power of the G.F. You begin as 75% of the power. 75 is at the minimum strength and 250 is at the maximum strength. Some pointers you should take note of: ====================================== a)Note that when the cross appears, keep on holding Select and when the cross disappears again, this is the time to tap Square again. b)The time taken for you tap Square button varies differently with other Guardian Force. For example, G.F Eden gives you a lot of time (since the G.F animation is incredible long), and you can easily tap up to 250 while some probably allows you to tap up to 180 to 220. c)Not all Guardian Forces have the boost ability. Examples are Carbunle, Cactuar, Diablos, Cerberus and all non-junctionable Guardian Forces like Odin, Gilgamesh, Chicobo, Phoenix, Moomba and Mini-Mog. Turbo Cheat-Contributed By Jimmy Khoo, FreedSoul =========== As you know, it's impossible for you to reach 250 when summoning G.Fs ike Brothers, Shiva, Siren and so on. There's actually a very easy way for you to reach 250 in less than 10 seconds. The only way is to use a turbo controller, with the Square button set to turbo. In this way, all you need is to hold Square and the number will rise rapidly. Each Square button you press when set to turbo, will probably rise about 4 to 9. so, can you imagine how fast it is when you hold Square? Also, be sure to know when the cross will appear. Even if you have a turbo controller, if you press Square when the cross appears, the number will revert to 75. Ifrit may cause up to 5000HP when you tap up to 140, for example. But, with a Turbo Controller, you can tap up to 255, and can easily cause up to 9999HP. Comment ======= Of course, you may think that using a Turbo Controller to boost your Guardian Force is considered cheating. At first, i thought the 'boost' or 'Ouen' concept is pretty cool! But, that's only for the beginning. The super-long Guardian Forces sequence [Especially Eden] make the combat more boring as you keep on summoning the same old Guardian Forces. The Guardian Force sequence is impressive to say the least but i will rather endure looking at my party casting 50x Ultimas than watching one super long Guardian Force cinematic scene. Of course, it's just my personal opinion. You can agree or disagree with me and agrue that the animation is long to give you time to tap. Occasionally, i will summon Guardian Forces. Tired of tapping the Square button, come on, just use a Turbo controller! Challenge the Max without Turbo-Contributed By Kaze Yagami =============================== The table below shows the max % and max time given that you have for every Guardian Force. The list also shows the name of Guardian Force who has this ability and for those which do not have are ignored in the list. Note that these are only approximate values and subjected to some variations. __________________________________________________________ |Name of Guardian Force |Time (Seconds) |Boost (%) | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Quezacotl |13.3s |180% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Shiva |12.9s |180% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Ifrit |13.0s |180% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Siren |17.6s |200% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Brothers |19.3s |220% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Leviathan |21.4s |230% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Pandemona |22.8s |240% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Alexander |22.1s |230% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Doomtrain |22.9s |240% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Bahamut |22.1s |230% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Tonberry |14.0s |190% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| |Eden |72.6s |250% | |__________________________|_______________|_______________| __________________________ |Name of Guardian Force | The table on the left shows the |__________________________| list of Guardian Force who do |Diablo | not have any boost ability, |__________________________| meaning you cannnot tap Square |Carbuncle | when summoning them to increase |__________________________| their strength. |Cerberus | |__________________________| |Cactuar | |__________________________| ======================================================================= IV)Compatibility ======================================================================= Unlike the past, when a summoner summons a creature, his or her HP and active time bar are being replaced by that of the summoned creature. Only when the Guardian Force's Active Time Bar ends, the Guardian Force will then appear and create havoc. Before i go into the details, there are some points that i think you should take note of: a)While summoning a Guardian Force, the summoners' HP and ATB are being replaced by that of the creature's. The creature will only appear until the Guardian Force's Active Time Bar countdown ends. b)While summoning a Guardian Force, the summoners' HP and ATB are being replaced by that of the creature's. Any attack on the summoner will go to the summoned creature, meaning that the summoned creature will recieve the damage, not the summoner. In simply, during the course of summoning, the summoned creature acts as a shield for the summoner. c)Status attacks go to the summoner, not the Guardian Force during the course of summoning. For example, while summoning, when the summoner is being attacked by a silence spell or being silenced, the cancelling of summon will automatically be in effect. d)During the time while summoning, when the Guardian Force's HP reaches zero, the cancelling of summon will automatically be in effect as your Guardian Force is now dead. e)During the course of summoning, if you use a cure spell on the summoner, the cure spell will heal only the summoner, not the Guardian Force. f)There are certain items that heal a Guardian Force outside battle. Examples are Pet House, G-Potion, G-Hi-Potion, G-Mega-Potion, G-Returner and so on. Items like Pet-House, G-Potion can be easily bought from most shops. g)If you have a PocketStation, you can play the mini-game and use Mog's Amulet to learn Mini-Mog command. It is a Guardian Force command, meaning you need to use Amnesia Greens to make a Guardian Force forget an ability. Just equip Mini-Mog command and use it during battle to summon Mini-Mog, which will fully recover all of your Guardian Forces' HP. Note that Mog's Amulet can only be obtained from the PocketStation and thus Mini-Mog summon is exclusive to only those who has PocketStation. However, the draw back is that it will take you (100 x Party's Average level)gils per summon. h)The maximum amount of HP damage all Guardian Force can cause is up to 9999HP, with the exception of Guardian Force, Eden, which can exceed the 9999HP limit and up to 20,000 to 50,000HP damage. i)The damage caused by Cactuar depends on the Guardian Force, Cactuar's level. The higher the level Guardian Force, Cactuar is, the more damage it will cause. For example, if Guardian Force, Cactuar is at level between 50 to 59, it will cost 5000 HP of damage. If between 90 to 99, it will cost 9000 HP of damage. Max damage occurs at level 100. This is a sure-cause damage, regardless of how good your enemies' defense may be. You must train your Cactuar well to take advantage of it, if not it will be wasteful. Note that Cactuar doesn't have any Boost. j)Doomtrain attacks enemies with status ailments like poison, berserk and so on. If you have played Final Fantasy VI before, you may realise that Doomtrain is indeed a resemblance to a boss in FFVI and that boss is of course, the Phantom Train. k)There are certain special Guardian Forces which do not have HP, levels and experiences. Examples are Odin, Gilgamesh, Phoenix, Chocobo, Mini-Mog, and Moomba. l)There are certain Guardian Forces which appear randomly. Examples are Odin, Gilgamesh and Phoenix. [Only when you have used Phoenix Pinion at least once] m)There are certain Guardian Forces which you need items to summon. Examples are Chicobo [Gysahl Greens], Phoenix [Phoenix Pinion] and Moomba [Proof Of Friendship]. n)Moomba, Mini-Mog and chicobo's new attacks can only be obtained if you have PocketStation and you must play the chocobo world mini-game. o)Mini-Mog summon can be learned if you have the Mini-Mog command by using Mog's Amulet. p)It's better to equip a Guardian Force with a higher compatibility than one with a lower compatibility. You wouldn't want to take your time to summon a Guardian Force. q)One way to let your Guardian Forces recover your HP outside battle is to walk around. It works like Regen and as you walk, the Guardian Forces' HP starts to recover. However, this doesn't apply to characters. r)My advice to you is learn 'boost' ability first if that Guardian Force has it. It takes only 10AP and can be learned very fast. Once learned, you can do more damage with the 'boost' ability for every time you summon that creature. [Refer to the 'boost' section for more information.] Basically, these are the main pointers that you should take note of. Compatibility ============= How fast or slow Guardian Force's Active Time Bar countdown ends depends on the compatibility. Compatibility is known as affection rating for the Japanese version. Honestly speaking, i prefer the name, 'affection rating' more than the name, 'compatibility.' 'Affection rating' has the effect of how the Guardian Force feels and reacts to a particular character. Anyway, the name, 'Compatibility' works pretty well as well. Q1)What is Compatibility? Compatibility ranges from 0 to 1000. The higher the number, the fastest the Guardian Force's Active Time Bar countdown will be. 1000, being the fastest and 0, being the slowest. It is meaningless to summon a Guardian Force with very low compatibility and you have to wait for a long time for it to appear. By the time, it appears, it may have been dead or recieved any damage. Who knows? Q2)How do i know the characters' compatibility with other Guardian Force? You can view it in your status screen. You should see something like this below: Red |---------------| The bar gauge ________________________ when completely =>|_______________|________| red, shows the 658<=The compatibility maximum compatibility. number. Q3)How do i raise compatibility? You can either use compatibility items or keep on summoning the Guardian Forces you want. Note that there are side effects too sometimes. Refer to the tables below for a clearer picture. Difference in Compatibility-Contributed By Kaze Yagami =========================== Below shows a table for the approximate values of time taken for different compatibility. __________________________________________ |Compatibility (0 to 1000) |Time (Seconds) | |__________________________|_______________| |Compatibility 0 |About 16.8s | |__________________________|_______________| |Compatibility 500 |About 10.2s | |__________________________|_______________| |Compatibility 1000 |About 2.8s | |__________________________|_______________| Raising Compatibility and Demerits-Contributed By Kaze Yagami ================================== Below shows the table of how to increase and decrease your compatibility. ___________________________________________________________________ |Method |Compatibility Up |Amount|Demerit | |____________|__________________|______|____________________________| |Summoning |The Guardian | |Other Guardian Forces' | |a Guardian |Force that is | |compatibility drop by 1~2. | |Force |summoned raises | |____________________________| |____________|compatibility | |Guardian Force of opposing | |Refer to |with the summoner.| 20 |nature drops by 10. | |a) for a | | |____________________________| |special | | |Refer to b) for a special | |condition. | | |condition. | |____________|__________________|______|____________________________| |Using |The respective | |Guardian Force of opposing | |specific |Guardian Force's | |nature drops by 1~2. | |magic. |compatibility | 1~3 |____________________________| |Mainly |raises with the | |Refer to c) for more details| |elemental. |spell caster. | |about it. | |____________|__________________|______|____________________________| |Using |The respective | |Other Guardian Forces' | |specific |Guardian Force's | |compatibility drop by 1~2. | |items. |compatibility | 1~3 |____________________________| |Mainly com- |raises. | |Refer to the list of | |patibility | | |compatibility items for more| |items. | | |details. | |____________|__________________|______|____________________________| |Using |All Guardian | | | |LuvLuvG |Force's | | | | |compatibility | 20 |------------NIL-------------| | |raises. | | | |____________|__________________|______|____________________________| a)If battle ends before Guardian Force is summoned or when a character is silenced while summoning, resulting the cancelling of summon to automatically be in effect, there will be no change in the compatibility for all Guardian Force. b)Eden is a special case because when Guardian Force, Eden is summoned, compatibility with Eden raises by 2, while the remaining Guardian Force will be raise by 1. This is the only special case when there is no side effects, other than using LuvLuvG items. c)If you use a fire spell, Ifrit, being a fire elemental Guardian Force will increase its compatibility, while on the other hand, Guardian Force are opposing nature like Shiva will decrease its compatibility. Note that the same concept applies to summoning Guardian Force as well. For example, if you summoned Ifrit, then Shiva's compatibility will drop by 10. The same concept is reverse if you summon Guardian Force, Shiva instead of Ifrit. ======================================================================= V)List Of Guardian Force ======================================================================= Below shows some tables, listing all the Guardian Forces and how you can obtain them. I will only briefly describe the methods in obtaining these Guardian Forces. If you want more informations, you can read other faqs. Guardian Force Menu =================== Here's a diagram of what the Guardian Force menu will be liked. _______________________________ | | | | | | | | | No. Name of G.F | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 01. Quezacotl |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| 02. Shiva | | | | | | | | | 03. Ifrit | 9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 | 04. Siren |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| 05. Brothers 06. Diablos By clicking X, you will be able to view 07. Carbuncle the G.F's ability list, as well as the 08. Leviathan G.F's experience, compatibility and HP. 09. Pandemona Pressing Triangle will return you back 10. Cerberus to the previous screen. When viewing the 11. Alexander Guardian Force status screen, press 12. Doomtrain L1 and R1, to switch to other G.Fs. 13. Cactuar Also, the ability list allows you to 14. Bahamut select the ability you want to learn,as 15. Tonberry well showing you the AP needed. 16. Eden Note:For the Japanese version, press Circle to confirm instead of X and Triangle to cancel instead of X. Guardian Force (Junctionable) ============== _____________________________________________________________________ |Name Of Guardian Force |Location of Guardian Force |Disc| |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Quezacotl |In the lecture room. Examine the laptop | | | |in Squall's seat and read the Guardian |1~3 | | |Force tutorial with the beside it.| | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Shiva |In the lecture room. Examine the laptop | | | |in Squall's seat and read the Guardian |1~3 | | |Force tutorial with the beside it.| | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Ifrit |Defeat Guardian Force, Ifrit at the Fire| | | |Cavern. | 1 | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Siren |Draw from Elvoret during the Dollet | | | |Mission. Elvoret will appear and fight | 1 | | |you after defeating Biggs and Wedge. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Brothers |Defeat Guardian Force, Brothers at Tomb | | | |Unknown King. The two brothers are | 1 | | |Sacred and Minotaur. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Diablos |Use the magical lamp given by Headmaster| | | |Cid and click on it at the item | | | |inventory to have a fight with Diablos. |1~4 | | |Defeat Guardian Force, Diablos. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Carbuncle |Draw from Iguion, one of the two lizards| | | |summoned by Sorceress Edea in Deling | | | |City, Presidential Residence. Deling | 1 | | |City is the capital of Galbadia. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Leviathan |Draw from Norg in the basement of | | | |Balamb Garden. | 2 | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Pandemona |Draw from Fujin at Balamb Hotel. You | | | |will first fight Rajin outside the | | | |Balamb Hotel, followed by a combined | 2 | | |team of Rajin and Fujin inside the | | | |Balamb Hotel. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Cerberus |Defeat Guardian Force, Cerberus at the | | | |main hall of Galbadia Garden. Cerberus | 2 | | |is the monster whom has triple heads. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Alexander |Draw from Sorceress Edea at Galbadia | | | |Garden, immediately after you fought | 2 | | |with Seifer the second time. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Doomtrain |Have 1x Solomon's Ring, 6x Steel Pipe, | | | |6x Remedy +, 6x Malboro Tentacles, then | | | |in the item inventory, click on the | | | |Solomon's Ring. Note that you must get |2~4 | | |solomon's Ring at Tear Point before | | | |going to the Lunar Base. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Bahamut |Defeat Guardian Force, Bahamut in Deep | | | |Sea Research Center. [Deep Sea Research | | | |Centre] It can be found in the southwest| | | |of the World Map and can only be access | | | |by Ragnarok. Choose the first option, |3~4 | | |the second option to fight Ruby Dragons | | | |respectively. Next, choose the third | | | |option, which is hidden to fight | | | |Bahamut. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Cactuar |Defeat Guardian Force, Cactuar at | | | |Cactuar Island near Centra Region. You | | | |should notice a tiny cactus sticking | | | |out of a small island. It can only be |3~4 | | |access by the Ragnarok. Go near it to | | | |enter a fight. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Tonberry |Defeat 20 Tonberries inside Centra Ruin.| | | |Once you have defeated the 20th Tonberry| | | |, Tonberry King will appear and fight |2~4 | | |you. Note that the fight is continuous. | | | |Defeat Guardian Force, Tonberry King. | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| |Eden |Draw from Ultima Weapon at Deep Sea | | | |Deposit, which is the underground base- | | | |ment of Deep Sea Research Center. [Deep | | | |Sea Research Centre] You must first | | | |obtain Guardian Force, Bahamut before |3~4 | | |you can enter the basement to fight | | | |Ultima weapon to draw Eden. [Refer to my| | | |weapon guide faq for ways to beat Ultima| | | |weapon.] | | |_______________________|________________________________________|____| Note:Should you miss any Guardian Force, especially those which need to be draw, the only way is to get them by redrawing them in disc four at the final castle. Refer to the [Redrawing of Guardian Force] section for more details. Note that this is only applicable to the US version. Guardian Force (Non-Junctionable) ============== Below shows the list of guardian force which cannot be junction and has no ability for you to learn. Note that these Guardian Forces, as listed below do not have any compatibility or Guardian Force's Active Time Bar and will appear immediately once summon. _____________________________________________________________________ |Name of Guardian Force |Location |Miscellaneous Info | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Phoenix |Collect all 5 stones|Use the item, Phoenix | |[Disc Two to Three] |, naming Blue, Wind,|Pinion once during a | | |Life, Shadow, Water |battle, and Guardian | | |in Shumi Tribe. You |Force, Phoenix will | | |will get Phoenix |appear when your party | | |Pinion. [Refer to |gets wiped out randomly.| | |other faqs for more |________________________| | |information.] |Phoenix will cast life | | | |on your party, reviving | | | |all dead allies to 12.5%| | | |of their total HP. | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Chicobo |Catch a chocobo in |Use Gysahl Greens to | |[Disc Two to Four] |any chocobo forest, |summon Boko, the chocobo| | |and you will get to |to battle. | | |choose a name for |________________________| | |the chocobo. From |Play chocobo mini-game | | |then on, you will |on PocketStation to | | |get to play the |learn new attacks for | | |chocobo minigame in |Boko, the chocobo. | | |PocketStation. |________________________| | | |The initial attack is | | | |ChocoFire. These three | | | |attacks can only be | | | |learnt, if you play the | | | |'Odekake chocobo' in the| | | |PocketStation. The three| | | |attacks are ChocoFlare, | | | |ChocoMeteor and Choco- | | | |Buckle. | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Odin |In Centra Ruin and |Odin will appear random-| |[Disc Two to Four] |you have to solve |at the beginning of the | | |the puzzle under 20 |battle and using Zante- | | |minutes. [Refer to |suken, slicing all | | |other faqs for more |enemies apart, causing | | |information.] |instant victory. | | | |________________________| | | |If he does not appear at| | | |the beginning of the | | | |battle, it means that he| | | |will not appear for the | | | |remaining half of the | | | |battle. | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Gilgamesh |Appears only if you |Gilgamesh will appear | |[Disc Three] |have Odin already |randomly anytime, even | |[Must have Odin first] |when fighting |at the beginning or | | |against Seifer at |middle of the fight. He | | |end of disc three at|will choose one sword | | |Lunatic Pandora. |out of four and uses an | | | |attack randomly. His | | | |four attacks are Zantet-| | | |suken, Excalibur, Exca- | | | |lipoor and Masamune. | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Mini-Mog |Can be obtained from|Use Mog's Amulet to | |[PocketStation |PocketStation only. |learn Mini-Mog ability. | | Exclusive] | |You must use Amnesia | | | |Grass on a Guardian | | | |Force to make it forget | | | |one ability. Then, use | | | |Mog's Amulet on that | | | |Guardian Force and equip| | | |the Mini-Mog command. | | | |When using Mini-Mog | | | |command, it summons a | | | |Mini-Mog to battle, and | | | |it will fully recover | | | |all of your Guardian | | | |Forces' HP. However, the| | | |drawback is that it cost| | | |you (100 x Party's | | | |average level)gils per | | | |summon. [It reminds me | | | |of Setzer's GP Toss | | | |command from Final | | | |Fantasy VI as well as | | | |Sumurai job system in | | | |Final Fantasy V.] | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| |Moomba |Can be obtained from|Use Proof of Friendship | |[PocketStation |PocketStation only. |to summon Moomba during | | Exclusive] | |battle. | |_______________________|____________________|________________________| Note:Special thanks to for telling me the translaton of Gilgamesh's attacks. There's only one attack which needs to be changed. The US version uses 'Excalipoor' instead of 'Excalipur, which the japanese uses. Note:For all PocketStation Guardian Forces like Mini-Mog, Moomba etc, i strongly recommend that you read other PocketStation faq. Till today, i still don't have a PocketStation. So, if you have any questions regarding PocketStation, i may not be able to answer and i may not reply your questions. ======================================================================= VI)List of Compatibility Item ======================================================================= Compatibility List-Contributed by Dan Orner ================== Please refer to Dan Orner's item list faq for more informations on other items. The list is obtained from him, and organised by me. The original content is not altered. Without Dan Orner's permission, the list will probably be incomplete. ____________________________________________________________________ |Guardian Force |Name of Item |Effect |Source | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Quezacotl |Dynamo Stone | + 3 |Mug/Defeat Blitz/Elastoid. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Defeat Creeps/Cockatrice. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Blitz (L4 card) is | | | | |converted into 1x Dynamo | | | | |Stone. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Quezacotl (L8 card) is | | | | |converted to 100x Dynamo | | | | |Stones. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Shiva |Arctic Wind | + 1 |1x Glacial Eye (L2 card) is | | | | |converted into 1x Arctic Wind.| | |_____________|_______|______________________________| | |North Wind | + 3 |1x Snow Lion (L3 card) is con-| | | | |verted into 1x North Wind. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Shiva (L8 card) is convert-| | | | |into 100x North Winds. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Ifrit |Bomb Fragment| + 1 |Mug/Defeat Bomb. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Bomb (L4 card) is converted| | | | |into 1x Bomb Fragment. | | |_____________|_______|______________________________| | |Red Fang | + 3 |Defeat Hexadragon. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Defeat Chimera (rare) | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Siren |Silence | + 3 |Defeat/Steal Grat/Funguar. | | |Powder | | | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Brothers |Dino Bone | + 3 |Mug/Defeat T-Rexaur. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Defeat Armadodo. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Armadodo (L3 card) is con- | | | | |verted into 1x Dino Bone. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |2x T-Rexaurs (L4 card) is con-| | | | |verted into 1x Dino Bone. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Sacred (L8 card) is convert| | | | |-verted into 100x Dino Bone. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Diablos |Steel Orb | + 3 |Defeat Wendigo. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Mug GIM47N. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Wendigo (L4 card) is con- | | | | |verted into 1x Steel Orb. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Carbuncle |Dragon Skin | + 3 |Defeat Anacondaur. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Mug Anacondaur. (Rare) | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Defeat Blue Dragon at Island | | | | |of Hell. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Leviathan |Fish Fin | + 2 |Defeat/Mug Fastitocalon-F. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Pandemona |Shear Feather| + 1 |Mug/Defeat Thrustaevus. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Thrustaevus (L2 card) is | | | | |converted into 1x Shear | | | | |Feather. | | |_____________|_______|______________________________| | |Windmill | + 3 |Defeat Abyss Worm. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Mug/Defeat Thrustaevus at a | | | | |higher level. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Abyss Worm (L3 card) is con| | | | |-verted into 1x Windmill. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Pandemona card (L9 card) is| | | | |converted into 100x Windmill. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Cerberus |Dragon Fin | + 3 |Defeat Grendel. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Grendel (L2 card) is con- | | | | |verted into 1x Dragon Fin. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Alexander |Moon Stone | + 3 |Defeat Imp. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Mug/Defeat Elnoyle. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Doomtrain |Poison Powder| + 1 |Defeat Grat. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Mug/Defeat Imp. | | |_____________|_______|______________________________| | |Venom Fang | + 3 |Mug/Defeat Anacondaur. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Anacondaur (L2 card) is con| | | | |-verted into 1x Venom Fang. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Bahamut |Shaman Stone | + 3 |Refine 1x Dark Matter/Hungry | | | | |Cookpot/Rosetta Stone/Mog | | | | |Amulet into 1x Shaman Stone | | | | |each using Siren's Tool-RF. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Cactuar |Cactus Thorn | + 3 |Mug/Defeat Cactuar. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Cactuar (L3 card) is con- | | | | |verted into 1x Cactus Thorn. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Jumbo Cactuar (L7 card) is | | | | |converted into 1x Cactus | | | | |Thorn. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Tonberry |Chef's Knife | + 3 |Mug/Defeat Tonberry. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Tonberry (L3 card) is con- | | | | |verted into 1x Chef's Knife. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |1x Tonberry King (L5 card) is | | | | |converted into 1x Chef's | | | | |Knife. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |Eden |----NIL------|--NIL--|-------------NIL--------------| |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| |ALL Guardian |LuvLuvG | |1x Chubby Chocobo (L8 card) is| | Force | | +20 |converted into 100x LuvLuvGs. | | | | |______________________________| | | | |Refine 1x Shaman Stone into 1x| | | | |LuvLuvG. | |_______________|_____________|_______|______________________________| ======================================================================= VII)Redrawing Of Guardian Force ======================================================================= This method does not apply to the japanese version. Square knew that there will definitely be some who has forgotten to draw the Guardian Force. Now, luckily to US gamers, for those who has forgotten, you can redraw the Guardian Force that you miss at the final castle in Ultimesia Castle. You can draw the missing Guardian Force from the enemies inside Ultimecia Castle, especially those mini sub-bosses. However, i am not pretty sure and i have not tried it before as by the time i have reached disc 4, i have already gotten all the Guardian Forces. This method has been confirmed by many people. Try it at your own risk!!! Of course, it is more preferred if you can get all the Guardian Force, without going through this redrawing. This is because when you redraw, you will have to retrain your new Guardian Force's level, abilities from the start, which is simply a waste of time since you can get it and train it earlier. It will be even nicer if more people can tell me about this redrawing of Guardian Force. Proper credits will be given to the contributors. Note :If you want more information about this redrawing of Guardian Force, i suggest you refer to Scott Ong's faq. It's highly impossible that i will replay Final Fantasy VIII just to test if this redrawing of Guardian Force is true or not. Note :The redrawing of Guardian Force only applies to Guardian Forces like Siren, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Cerberus, Alexander and Eden only. Credit:??? for telling me about the redrawing of Guardian Force. Sorry, i have lost your e-mail. I got a shock when he told me about this redrawing. Later on, i confirmed it with Kaze Yagami and he told me that this is just a newly-added feature to the US version. Credit:Thanks to Kaze Yagami for confirming this information. Okay, just in case you still have any questions regarding this redrawing of Guardian Force in Ultimecia Castle in disc four, i have listed down the names of sub-bosses which you can draw from. The lists below are taken from Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough. I have not tried it yet. For more details about the locations of these sub-bosses, please refer to any other walkthrough/faq. ___________________________________________________________________ |Guardian Force(s) |Name of the Sub-Boss |Location | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Siren |Tri-Point |Found hovering over- | | | |head in the Wine | | | |Cellar. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Carbuncle |Krysta |Found in the Terrace. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Leviathan |Trauma |Solve the puzzle in | | | |the art gallery room | | | |to encounter a fight | | | |with Trauma. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Pandemona |Red Giant |Take the Prison Key | | | |in the statue in the | | | |Prison Cell to fight | | | |Red Giant. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Cerberus |Gargantua |Get the armoury key, | | | |then open the armoury | | | |room to encounter a | | | |fight with Gargantua. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Alexander |Catoblepas |Use the Treasure Vault | | | |Key to enter the Trea- | | | |sure Vault room and | | | |examine all the four | | | |coffins until all are | | | |opened to have a fight | | | |with Catoblepas. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| |Eden |Tiamat |Head up the spiral | | | |staircase to the Clock | | | |Tower. Continue heading| | | |to the top, while ig- | | | |noring the bell. Enter | | | |the door at the top to | | | |find Tiamat. | |____________________|______________________|_______________________| ======================================================================= VIII)Occult Fan Magazines ======================================================================= Wonder what Occult Fans are for? Well, doesn't much! You can skip getting it if you don't wish to. The four Occult Fans provide you hints and informations about some Guardian Forces, to be specific, mainly Guardian Force, Doomtrain. If you have missed the first two Occult Fan, you can still buy it from one of the Esthar shops. However, Occult Fan III and IV cannot be bought and once you miss it, you will lose it forever. Again, i will stress that these four Occult Fans magazines are totally OPTIONAL! So, don't panic if you have missed one. _____________________________________________________________________ |Name Of Magazine |Location |Information |Disc | |_________________|_____________________________|______________|______| |Occult Fan I |It is found in a bookshelf |You can get it| | | |inside the library in Balamb |once you have | | | |Garden. Simply search there |defeated | | | |and you will find it. |Guardian Force| 1~3 | | | |, Ifrit in | | | | |Fire Cavern. | | |_________________|_____________________________|______________|______| |Occult Fan II |Search the documents in Card |You need to | | | |Master's room in Dollet City.|defeat Card | | | |Go to pub in 2F and take the |Master once to| | | |upper right door to cross a |enter the | | | |bridge to enter the room. |room. [Note | 1~3 | | | |that you can | | | | |also get G.F | | | | |Siren Card | | | | |from him.] | | |_________________|_____________________________|______________|______| |Occult Fan III |After Balamb Garden has |You can only | | | |collided with Fisherman |get Occult | | | |Horizon, FH. Apologise to |Fan III in | | | |Master Fisherman and he will |disc 2 and | 2 | | |give you the magazine. |there is no | | | | |other alter- | | | | |native ways. | | |_________________|_____________________________|______________|______| |Occult Fan IV |Talk to the President Aide |You can get | | | |near Air-Station. Then talk |Occult Fan IV | | | |to the Secretary at the |only in disc 3| | | |entrance of the Presidential |, either | 3 | | |Palace who is complaining |before or | | | |about Professor Odine to get |after going to| | | |it. |Lunar Gate. | | |_________________|_____________________________|______________|______| ======================================================================= IX)Gilgamesh ======================================================================= I notice that other faqs do not have much details about Gilgamesh's attacks so this will be an exclusive section dedicated to Gilgamesh. _______________________________________________________________ |History/Overview | |_______________________________________________________________| |Gilgamesh made his first appearance in Final Fantasy V. For | |those who has played and familiar with Final Fantasy V, you | |should know that Gilgamesh was banished to the 'Cleft of | |Dimension.' Gilgamesh was the righthand man of Exdeath, an evil| |black mage in Final Fantasy V. How or why he appears again in | |Final Fantasy VIII remains a mystery to me. Can anyone explain | |why to me? Anyway, it's great to see Gilgamesh making a | |comeback in Final Fantasy VIII, don't you think so? Anyway, | |Omega weapon is back now, so why not Gilgamesh too as well? | |_______________________________________________________________| |Location |You must have gotten Odin first before fighting | | |against Seifer at the end of disc 3 in Lunatic | | |Pandora. Now, wait for a while, and enjoy the event! | |_________|_____________________________________________________| |Tips |Don't attack Seifer as Gilgamesh will appear soon. | | |Instead, keep drawing Aura spells from Seifer. | |_________|_____________________________________________________| |Attack |Zantetsuken, Excalibur, Excalipoor and Masamune | |_________|_____________________________________________________| |General Information about Gilgamesh | |_______________________________________________________________| |Like Odin, Gilgamesh cannot be junction to a character, neither| |does he have any ability for you to learn. However, like Odin, | |he will appear randomly during battle. Unlike Odin, it can | |appear in the beginning, middle of the fight, whereas Odin can | |only appear in the beginning of the fight, if not, Odin will | |not appear for the remaining half of the battle. As Gilgamesh | |is summoned, you will notice that there are four swords descend| |-ing down together with Gilgamesh. Each of these four swords | |represents an attack- Zantetsuken, Excalibur, Excalipoor and | |Masamune. He will choose any of the four swords randomly and | |that sword choosen will use that particular attack. | |_______________________________________________________________| |Do you know? | |_______________________________________________________________| |According to , he says that after all the | |four swords had descended and stopped rotating, Gilgamesh will | |pick the sword that is at the back of him. Good observation | |from !!! While so, you still cannot | |determine the attack that Gilgamesh will use because you don't | |know which sword will land at the back of him. In general, | |Gilgamesh's attacks are still random. Does that make sense to | |you??? I hope so!!! | |_______________________________________________________________| |Credit |The information listed above is contributed by | | |. | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Name Of Attack |Effect and Special Note | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Zantetsuken |This attack is inherited from Guardian Force, | | |Odin. It will slice all enemies apart, causing | | |instant victory. However, Zantetsuken does not | | |work against bosses. | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Excalibur |Strong damage against all enemies. [Refer to | | |the table below for more details.] | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Excalipoor |It is a fake version of the sword, Excalibur as| | |it does only 1 HP damage to all enemies. | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Masamune |Strong damage against all enemies and is more | | |stronger than Excalibur. [Refer to the table | | |below for more details.] | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Credit |Special thanks to for | | |the names of Gilgamesh's attacks as used in | | |English version. | |_______________|_______________________________________________| |Below shows a table, listing out the attacks, damage, levels | |of the swords, Excalibur and Masamune. | |_______________________________________________________________| |Listing-Contributed By Kaze Yagami | |_______________________________________________________________| |The attack level of Guardian Force, Gilgamesh depends on the | |average level of the party member, similarly to Guardian Force,| |Phoenix. The higher your luck is, the chances of Odin/Gilgamesh| |appearing will be higher. | |_______________________________________________________________| | Attack Level | Masamune | Excalibur | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 1 | 2625 | 1000 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 10 | 3750 | 1562 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 20 | 5000 | 2187 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 30 | 6250 | 2812 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 40 | 7500 | 3437 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 50 | 8750 | 4062 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 60 | 9999 | 4687 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 70 | 9999 | 5312 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 80 | 9999 | 5937 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 90 | 9999 | 6562 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| | 100 | 9999 | 7187 | |___________________|____________________|______________________| |Note|The values are subjected to variables as different enemies| | |have different defenses. However, the variations are very | | |neligible. | |____|__________________________________________________________| ======================================================================= X)Report Cards ======================================================================= So, what's a report card? Well, it just a summary of your current progress in the game. There are a total of 3 battle reports, naming Battle, Character and Guardian Force reports. You can view these reports via the tutorial menu. So, how do you get it? Battle Report ===================== When Squall has promoted to a SeeD in disc 1, talk to Cid Krammer in the Headmaster Office in 3F of Balamb Garden to receive Battle Report. Note that this can be done only in disc one. Character Report ===================== When you are in Desert Prison in disc 2, head to floor 10, enter the door and you should see a card player and a save point. [And a hidden draw point as well.] Challenge the player there and when you win, he will give you the Character Report. This can be done only in disc two. Note that each card game you play with him costs 300 Gil. Guardian Force Report ===================== After returning back to Balamb Garden from Desert Prison and has beaten Master Norg, go to the Training Center [Training Centre] and CC Joker will occasionally appear there. Note that chances of CC Joker appearing there are random. He appears as a merchant, selling items. Talk to CC Joker and play cards with him. Once you defeat him, you will get the Guardian Force Report. Qns:So, what is the use of these Report cards? Ans:Well, nothing much actually! Remember the "The Man Who Knows ALL" in Final Fantasy V? Oh, never mind, if you can't remember or don't know. Each report card summarises different things. [Refer below for more details.] Battle Report ===================== It tells you the number of times you have: a)Walked b)Battles c)Won d)Escape Character Report ===================== It tells you the number of times each character has: a)Killed [No of monster killed under your hand!] b)KO'd [No of times your character has died!] Guardian Force Report ===================== It tells you the number of times each Guardian Force has: a)Killed [No of monster killed under your hand!] b)KO'd [No of times your Guardian Force has died!] It also lists down: c)Abilities d)Menu Refinements That's all that these report cards will tell you! ======================================================================= XI)Obel Lake Mystery ======================================================================= At first, i didn't really want to add in this section because Scott Ong has already covered it in his faq. Secondly, i was quite lazy. Well, i got several mails, asking me about Obel Lake mystery. I have solved the mystery quite long ago but...... judging from the amount of mails i got, perhaps i should..... You might also want to refer to Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough Part II for Obel Lake mystery. Note that the mystery to Obel Lake can only be solved in disc three. The most important thing to do now is to locate where the Obel Lake is. You are now in disc three and have the Ragnarok airship. Take the Ragnarok and fly to Galbadia continent near Timber. You should notice a very small spit that curves into a lake. Land your Ragnarok somewhere nearby and walk to the edge. Press X for the American version and Circle for the Japanese version to search and you should notice a message that pops up something like this: This must be Obel Lake. Throw a rock. >Try humming. Choose the second option and hum. A message pops up again like this: A black shadow rose to the surface. Throw a rock. >Try humming again. When the Black Shadow appears, keep talking to him until he asks you to find his friend, Mr. Monkey. He hints that his friend, Mr. Monkey is somewhere in the forest. So, search the forest just to the west of Dollet near the train station on the Hasberry Plains. But before that, choose to throw a rock until it says 'The rock skipped many many times.' "It's my friend, Mr. Monkey... Can you find him for me?" Walk around the forest and a message will pop out, giving you two choices to choose. Choose the first option to throw a rock. If you get a message saying, 'The rock skipped many many times,' you should see this message: "...OUCH! ...D-Darn it! ...You're gonna pay for that!" Enraged, Mr. Monkey will throw a stone carved with some writing on it at you. The letters on the carving are "URHAEO." If you throw a stone and the message says that it skip between 1 to 5 times, you will always get a message like this: "Ahh Darn it!" Y-You're just a big loser. I can make the rock skip as many times as I want! So there! Ha-ha! Loser! Dork! Idiot! Your mom wears combat boots." There's the monkey! >Throw a rock. Sing. Return to Obel Lake and talk to the Black Shadow. Keep on talking to him until he gives you four useful hints. Each hints tell you where the location of a special stone with words carved on it is. Here's the hints: ======================================================================= First Rock ========== Hint:"At the beach in Balamb, something special washes a shore all times." Go to Rinaul Coast located east of Balamb Town. Walk around there and you will find a message pops up: It looks man-made, and has some carving on it... You have found the first stone already, now search for the other stones now. The letters on the carving are "STSLRM." ======================================================================= Second Rock =========== Hint:"Mr. Monkey had a rock like this i think..." Yes...The rock which Mr. Monkey throws it to you is the second stone. However, if you didn't manage to get the stone just now, Shadow will tell that, "If he's not around, perhaps he took a train towards Dollet." =>Only when Mr. Monkey escapes. =>You can find Mr. Monkey again in Hasberry Plains located near Dollet. The letters on the carving are "URHAEO." ======================================================================= Third Rock =========== Hint:"This long narrow stretch of island is located east of Timber and next to the railroad bridge that leads to Fisherman's Horizon and Esthar. Go to Mandy Beach east of Timber. It's an isolated island and it is rather hard to find. Search along the island and a message will pop out somethibng like this: You found a piece of rock by your foot... Now, only left with one more stone. The letters on the carving are "REAIDR." ======================================================================= Fourth Rock =========== Hint:"There's also something on top of a mountain with a lake and cavern." Your next destination is Monterosa Plateau. Follow where the river flows and it will lead to a waterfall. Land your Ragnarok on top of the mountain and search the edge of the waterfall and a message will pop out something like: A bird is warming an egg. >Check it out. Leave it alone. Choose the first option, 'Check it out.' You will encounter a fight against 2x Thrustaevis. They are quite easy to defeat. Once they are defeated, you will find the last rock. The letters on the carving are "EASNPD." ======================================================================= Now, return back to Obel Lake. _________________________________________ |No. |Location of the Rock |Letters | |____|_______________________|____________| | 1. |Rinaul Coast |S T S L R M | | 2. |From Mr Monkey |U R H A E O | | 3. |Mandy Beach |R E A I D R | | 4. |Monterosa Plateau |E A S N P D | |____|_______________________|____________| Now, can you begin out the mystery? Okay, If you read from right to left starting from top to bottom, the hint is, "MORDRED PLAINS HAS TREASURE." Okay, time to head to Modred Plains. Modred Plain is located north from the Great Plains of Esthar. The treasure is rather hard to find. So, if you want an ASCII diagram of the exact location of where the treasure is, refer to Scott Ong's walkthrough/faq Part II. Ignore what the other coloured rock says. Search for a red-faced rock and the rock will tell you to move in opposite direction. Follow what the red-faced rock tells you and the location of the treasure, Three Star is located in the centre of the star [From Scott Ong's ASCII art.] There's another item which you can also get from the clues that the other coloured rock gives you. But, i am not going to list out every single clues. Simply go to Minde Island at the lower left part of the Esthar Continent. Search around and you will find another item, Luck-J Scroll. So far, these are the only treasures that i know. You can only solve Obel Lake's mystery in disc three. Don't worry if you can't solve the mystery or you are already in disc 4 and have not solved it yet. The treasures, in my opinion, aren't quite worthwhile. Firstly, solving this Obel Lake takes quite a long time. Secondly, though i agree with everyone that Three Stars is a valuable item, but don't forget that you can convert Squall's card to 3x Three Stars. This is just my personal opinion and you can choose to accept it or not! ======================================================================= XII)Song Lyrics ======================================================================= Below are the lyrics for Eyes On Me and Liberi Fatali. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Eyes On Me ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Composer:Nobuo Uematsu Vocalist:Faye Wong Whenever sang my songs On the stage, on my own Whenever said my words Wishing they would be heard I saw you smiling at me Was it real or just my fantasy You'd always be there in the corner Of this tiny little bar My last night here for you Same old songs, just once more My last night here with you? Maybe yes, maybe no I kind of liked it your way How you shyly placed your eyes on me Oh, did you ever know? That I had mine on you *Darling, so there you are With that look on your face As if you're never hurt As if you're never down Shall I be the one for you Who pinches you softly but sure If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer So let me come to you Close as I wanna be Close enough for me To feel your heart beating fast And stay there as I whisper How I loved your peaceful eyes on me Did you ever know That I had mine on you Darling, so share with me Your love if you have enough Your tears if you're holding back Or pain if that's what it is How can I let you know I'm more than the dress and the voice Just reach me out then You will know that you're not dreaming *Repeat Credit:Thanks to Heero Yuy for allowing me to publish the lyrics in my faq. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Liberi Fatali ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei. Cunae non sunt. Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali. Somnus non eat. Surgite. Invenite hortum veritatis. Ardente veritate Urite mala mundi. Ardente veritate Incendite tenebras mundi. Valete, liberi, Diebus fatalibus. Children of Fate ---------------- Wake up, my children, The cradles are gone. Wake up, Children of Fate, The peaceful sleep is over. Rise up Search for the Garden of Truth With fiery truth Burn off all the deceit of the world With fiery truth Light up the dark world. Goodbye, children, The next moment of meeting is the moment of fate. Credit:Thanks to kaze Yagami for correcting the mistakes in the lyrics, as well as doing the translation for Liberi Fatali. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================= XIII)Final Fantasy VIII OST List ======================================================================= Are you a fan of Nobuo Uematsu? Final Fantasy VIII Original Sound Track has been released. With a total of 74 tracks that are spread across four CDs, fans of Nobuo Uematsu shouldn't miss it. I will now list the name of the tracks below. Disc 1 ====== 01.Liberi Fatali 02.Balamb Garden 03.Blue Fields 04.Don't Be Afraid 05.The Winner 06.Find Your Way 07.SeeD 08.The Landing 09.Starting Up 10.Force Your Way 11.The Loser 12.Never Look Back 13.Dead End 14.Breezy 15.Shuffie or Boogie 16.Waltz for the Moon 17.Tell Me 18.Fear 19.The Man with the Machine Gun 20.Julia 21.Roses and Wine 22.Junction 23.Timber Owls Disc 2 ====== 01.My Mind 02.The Mission 03.Martial Law 04.Cactus Jack (Galbadian Anthem) 05.Only a Plank Between One and Perdition 06.Succession of Witches 07.Galbadia Garden 08.Unrest 09.Under Her Control 10.The Stage is Set 11.A sacrifice 12.Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec 13.Intruders 14.Premonition 15.Wounded 16.Fragments of Memories 17.Jailed 18.Rivals 19.Ami Disc 3 ====== 01.The Spy 02.Retaliation 03.Movin' 04.Blue Sky 05.Drifting 06.Heresy 07.Fisherman's Horizon 08.Odeka Ke Chocobo 09.Where I Belong 10.The Oath 11.Slide Show Part1 12.Slide Show Part2 13.Love Grows 14.The Salt Flats 15.Trust Me 16.Silence and Motion 17.Dance with the Balamb-fish 18.Tears of the moon 19.Residents 20.Eyes On Me Disc 4 ====== 01.Mods de Chocobo 02.Ride On 03.Truth 04.Lunatic Pandora 05.Compression of Time 06.The Castle 07.The Legendary Beast 08.Maybe I'm a Lion 09.The Extreme 10.The Successor 11.Ending Theme 12.Overture ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================= XIV)Exclusive Features ======================================================================= To show my thanks to everyone who has been reading this faq, i thought it will be nice of me to share some informations with you and these information are exclusive and can only be found in my faq(s) only. A special thanks to Kaze Yagami for the contributions again. So, wonder what's the information about? Well, it isn't going to be of much help to you in the game but... Are you excited by the idea of riding a train, seeing various train stations that are scattered throughout the Balamb and Galbadia continent? How fast can the train move? Wow, Ragnarok is back. It was once an esper/sword in Final Fantasy VI. How did it become an airship? With such a cool name, are you dying for a ride? Back to the main topic. This section will feature all specifications of Balamb Train and Ragnarok. I will start with Balamb Train first. ~~~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 kilometres per hour (Km/h) Weight :313 tonnes Capacity :360 passenger ~~~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. It was 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 (1/3 Propellant, Full Charge and Occupant) 3,450 ton (Full Propellant, Full Charge and Occupant) 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. How? Do you like it? Are you interested about the specifications of these vehicles? Hopefully, you don't think it as a waste of time. I spent the time to type everything out. Hey, come on! Show some appreciation, please? Thanks! The specifications look really cool, in my personal opinion but is that true in the game or in real life, i honestly don't know. What do you think? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================= XV)Frequently-Asked-Question ======================================================================= If you have any question that you would like to ask me, please read below. You may find your answers to your problems here. More questions will be added to the frequently-asked-question section with each new update of the faq. In future, if you wish to ask any question, please read through this frequently-asked-question section at least once. From now onwards, i won't entertain anymore question that can be found here in this section. However, if the question you want to ask can be found here and you still cannot solve, feel free to e-mail me and tell me what your problems are. If you don't describe the problems, then i will not entertain. I hope you can understand that as i want to reduce the number of junk mails that i get almost everyday. One Final Note: =============== If you have any question, please write an e-mail and send it to my mailbox. Don't take the bother and try to ask me via ICQ because it is likely that i will avoid answering. Of course, chatting is another different matter but that also depends on whether i have the time because i may be occupied with replying e-mails and so on. I found it quite fustrating to answer questions via the ICQ. So to make things easier for me, please send an e-mail instead. Last Updated:11th March 2000 ======================================================================= 1)Why is there a mod chip protection installed in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII? The mod chip protection is something which prevents modified PlayStation from playing Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. A modified PlayStation breaks the codes and allows the system to play both the US and Japanese games. However, with this mod chip protection, you can't play Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. Note that the US version do not have any mod chip protection. ======================================================================= 2)Why is there a mod chip protection? What's the purpose for? Square wants to curb importers from buying Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII. As for the real reason why, i don't know. Perhaps, Square wants to discourage importers so that they know the exact sales of Final Fantasy VIII in Japan. ======================================================================= 3)How do i overcome mod chip protection? The only way is to use a gameshark. You can refer to the gameshark codes in the gameshark code section. There is another way also but i strongly discourage it. In Asia, where piracy is rampant, they have figured out a way to bypass the mod chip protection. Refer to below for more informations. ======================================================================= 4)How do these people do it? According to my friend who has bought pirated Final Fantasy VIII CDs, the SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII Introduction was taken away from the game. It's the same thing you see in the introduction film you see in the US version. But, you would probably agree with me that this introduction film doesn't mean much at all. The SquareSoft Staff Of Final Fantasy VIII Introduction was taken out because that's where the Mod Chip Protection is being found. Once that's being taken out, you can play Final Fantasy VIII on a modified PlayStation. Since the Mod Chip Protection code is found in all SquareSoft Staff of Final Fantasy VIII, all the SquareSoft Staff of Final Fantasy VIII was taken out from all discs, meaning those who bought the pirated games would miss it. ======================================================================= 5)How many discs does Final Fantasy VIII [PSX] have? Four discs. It's one more disc extra than Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation. ======================================================================= 6)What is the technological advancement Final Fantasy VIII has over Final Fantasy VII? Final Fantasy VII runs in 15 frames per second but Final Fantasy VIII runs in 30 frames per second. As seen from the games, the characters are no longer deformed as before in Final Fantasy VII. ======================================================================= 7)Who is Faye Wong? This is a silly question. She's the most popular singing in Hong Kong and is agruably the best Asia Singer, and well-known as the Heavenly Queen in Asia. If you don't know her, then you are... ======================================================================= 8)What song did Faye Wong sing? Faye Wong was hired by Square to sing the song entitled 'Eyes On Me'. Nobuo Uematsu was told to write a love vocal song for Final Fantasy VIII to suit for the love theme. The song, as expected was 'Eyes On Me.' According to what i know, Square paid a reasonably high amount of money to hire her to sing. ======================================================================= 9)Why did they choose Faye Wong to sing 'Eyes On Me'? At first, they were thinking of who would be suited to sing 'Eyes On Me.' They listened to many albums and they could not find a suitable one until they heard one of Faye Wong's songs. ======================================================================= 10)What is the PocketStation? The Pocketstation is a memory card with a screen, control pad, 2 buttons,and battery powered. It allows you to save your game, as well as play mini games (outside of PS). There is apparently an extra mini-game called 'Choco World' or 'Odekate Chocobo RPG.' Final Fantasy VIII is one of the few games that support a PocketStation. Other few games that support PocketStation includes Metal Gear Solid Integral, Monster Rancher 2 etc. The US Final Fantasy VIII supports PocketStation as well but you need to import a PocketStation directly from Japan, which is quite expensive. ======================================================================= 11)Do you mean that the PocketStation we imported from Japan can play US games? I suppose so! According to Kaze Yagami , he told me that his PocketStation can play both the Choco World for the Japanese and US version. ======================================================================= 12)How much does a PocketStation cost? And, how or where do i import a PocketStation? Honestly, i don't know how or where you can import one. According to Kaze Yagami, a PocketStation is very rare and hard to find and is currently out of stock in Japan. In Singapore, it costs around Sing $70 but the actual price is around Sing $45. This is rather expensive. I don't have a PocketStation so i really don't know much about it. ======================================================================= 13)When is Final Fantasy IX being released? From what i have heard in Final Fantasy:World Apart, the CG for Final Fantasy IX has been completed. Square has also announced that Final Fantasy IX will be released in Japan, right after the release of Dragon Quest VII, meaning we won't see Final Fantasy IX before Dragon Quest VII. Square said that they can't imagine how the whole market will be like when two great RPG franchise, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy is released together. So, they decided to postpone the release date. As for the US release of Final Fantasy IX, the earliest we can wait is until 2001. [Refer to Question #77 for more details!] ======================================================================= 14)Is Final Fantasy VIII a continuation of Final Fantasy VII? Definitely not! Just like tradition, each Final Fantasy has no story connections with the previous incarnations. The same goes to combat system. ======================================================================= 15)When is Final Fantasy VIII released in the US? Final Fantasy VIII has been released in the US on 9-9-99. For those impatient fans, you can preorder a copy first. The European release date is somewhere on late October 1999. So, have you started playing it yet? ======================================================================= 16)Is Edea the final boss? I heard you can use her in the party. No. Edea is not the final boss. Yes. But, she's a temporary character and can only be used in disc 3 for a certain duration. As for her real identity and why she appears as a villain first, i won't comment too much. You find out on your own. ======================================================================= 17)Is there a way to make Seifer into your party again after the Dollet mission? Sorry, no for the time being! And, i am not pretty sure about it. Perhaps, use a gameshark, i suppose. That may applies to getting Edea permanently also. But, that's cheating so i won't consider that this is the proper way to get both Seifer and Edea. ======================================================================= 18)When is PC version of Final Fantasy VIII released? Will the PC version of Final Fantasy VIII has 'Choco World' or 'Odekate Chocobo RPG.'? The PC release has been confirmed and will be released in late January next year in 2000. It has been reported that with the advanced capabilities of the PC, the graphics are far more superior to the PSX version. Of course, you can expect very high requirements to play Final Fantasy VIII on your PC. And, from what i have heard, Final Fantasy VIII for the PC should be out now. ======================================================================= 19)How many discs does Final Fantasy VIII [For the PC] have? A total of five discs. That's what i heard from my friends. The extra fifth disc is the installation disc. The same goes to Final Fantasy VII for the PC, which has four discs, with the fourth disc as the installation disc. ======================================================================= 20)What's the minimum requirement to play Final Fantasy VIII in the PC? You can find more information about Final Fantasy VIII PC version at Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart. The minimum PC requirments to play PC Final Fantasy VIII are: Window 95/98 Compatible System Intel or 100% Compatible CPU Pentium 200 [Pentium II 266 recommended] 32MB RAM [64MB recommended] 8MB 3D Accelerator Graphics Card [16MB recommended] [Highly recommended] 8x CD-ROM Direct 6.1 [Included] DirectSound and DirectMusic compatible sound card The information above is taken from Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart at ======================================================================= 21)Do you think i should buy the PC Final Fantasy VIII even though i already have the PSX version? Of course, if you are a Final Fantasy franchise, go ahead and purchase it to support Square but please buy original game. It's no use buying pirated games. Of course, if you think you have enough of Final Fantasy VIII [like me after playing through it so many times], the PSX version is more than enough. It's advisable if you have a good PC with at least 266 MMX, 3-D accelerator, AWE64 sound card and so on, if not, i suggest you don't buy it or it will look even more terrible than the PSX version. Furthermore, if you are buying a PC version, make sure you have a controller at home. The control will really be sucked if you play it on a keyboard. Besides, a keyboard and a dual shock controller with vibrational function. Which one do you prefer more? The answer is obvious. Dual shock controller, right? Of course, if you do not have a PocketStation, you may consider buying Final Fantasy VIII PC version to play Choco World. ======================================================================= 22)How do i tune up weapon? What is Weapon Monthly Magazine for? Please refer to the advanced tutorial for more details. You can tune up your weapons by finding certain junk items and then tune up at any Junk shops. Also, the Weapon Monthly Magazine tells you what type and the quantity of items needed for you to tune up. ======================================================================= 23)I heard there is a bug in the Japanese Final Fantasy VIII. Is it true? Yes. In disc three, if you don't get Odin within the given time, the disc will freeze. However, this is not a crucial bug since you can collect the Odin at disc 2, or just make a save before entering. Also, there are some rumors that the game will also get jammed if you enter Shumi Tribe in disc 2. Also, there's a bug called Junction bug which allows you to junction one spell to various attributes. Note that all the bugs are applicable to the Japanese version only. The bugs have been fixed in the US version. For more information on Junction Bug, refer to the secret section. Square, however deny that the bugs exist in the Japanese version. ======================================================================= 24)I saw a demo version in the internet of Final Fantasy VIII (Ball Dance) for the PlayStation 2. Is Square going to re-developed Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 2. Well, that's a tough question. The ball dance demo is just part of the demo for PlayStation 2. I don't think Square will re-developed Final Fantasy VIII for PlayStation 2. I guess the demo is there to show the capabilities of the PlayStation 2 and tell people how many times advanced it is over PlayStation. ======================================================================= 25)Is PlayStation 2 backwardly compatible true? Will all PlayStation games be enhanced when it is played in PlayStation 2? Yes. PlayStation 2 will be backwardly compatible, meaning all PlayStation games can be played on PlayStation 2. However, Sony has announced that there won't be any enhancements. From what i have heard, PlayStation 2 ultises an emotion engine and it's indeed really very powerful. Talk about realistic facial expressions. The screenshots in Final Fantasy Movie are perfect example. Since PlayStation 2 is backwardly compatible, you can expect to use PlayStation Peripherals like dual shock controller, and even PocketStation too etc on PlayStation 2. That includes even the PocketStation, PDA. ======================================================================= 26)Can PlayStation play PlayStation 2 games? Of course, not! The PlayStation 2 games are more technologically advanced than the PlayStation games. Obviously, the PlayStation can't play the PlayStation 2 games. And, i guess the answer is pretty obvious. If PlayStation can play PlayStation 2 games, what for do we need a PlayStation 2 system? The PlayStation 2, on the other hand, can play PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. Does that make sense to you? Logical, right? ======================================================================= 27)I heard that there are some PlayStation games that PlayStation 2 can't play it. Is that true? I heard about it too. This may sound a rather bad news but don't forget that majority of the Japanese PlayStation games still work on the PlayStation 2. Sony has listed about 15 PlayStation games that aren't compatible with PlayStation 2. But, thanksfully, most of the games are old games that aren't really very good. This is more on techical problems. PlayStation 2 is the first console to be able to support backward compatibility. But i believe that in the future PlayStation 2 models, more PlayStation games will be able to be played on the PlayStation 2. The chip works like an emulator for the PlayStation. And, don't forget that there is no emulator yet that can emulate a console successfully, meaning with ALL games on that particular console being compatible and without suffering any slowdowns, common gitches and so on. Therefore, i don't think it's rather surprising. Anyway, Sony is currently testing out thousands of PlayStation games on the PlayStation 2 and we can expect a list of non-compatible PlayStation games on the PlayStation 2 to be released very soon. I sincerely hope that all the technical problems on the PlayStation 2 will be fixed soon and that all PlayStation games can run smoothly on the PlayStation. ======================================================================= 28)When is PlayStation 2 going to be released? PlayStation 2 has already arrived in Japan in 4th March 2000. As for the US release of PlayStation 2, you probably have to wait until late 3rd quarter of the year or early 4th quarter of the year. As for me, i think i am not buying a PlayStation 2 this year, which is 2000. Perhaps, next year, 2001 until the price drops furthur and a modified PlayStation 2, that can play both Japanese and US games, is released. [Hope that a PlayStation 2 that can play all PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, whether it is English or Japanese games, will be released soon.] You can find related information regarding PlayStation 2 in related sites like IGNPS2, www.videogames.com etc. ======================================================================= 29)Now that PlayStation 2 has arrived in Japan, what's your view about it? Do you think that PlayStation 2 can beat Sega Dreamcast and be able to compete with the upcoming Nintendo's Dolphin? Basically, i think the system is awesome. I heard that within two days, more than a million PlayStation 2 has been sold in Japan. For the exact figures, i am not pretty sure. I heard that there was a long queue for people who was purchasing a PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 2 release is indeed a big phenomenon. I heard that import of PlayStation 2 in Japan is now illegal. Well, not really sure if that's true! So, will PlayStation 2 exceeds Sega Dreamcast in terms of sales? I personally believe that this is possible. While Sega is well known for sports and arcade games, Sega Dreamcast lacks RPG genre. As you know, the most popular game genre in Japan is RPG. Furthermore, Working Design will not be producing games for Sega Dreamcast. What does that mean! No lunar games for the Dreamcast. I expect Working Design to continue the lunar series in PlayStation 2, thus furthur expand the PlayStation 2 RPG saga. However, i can't deny the fact that Sega Dreamcast has RPG games like Phantasy Stars etc. However, don't forget about Final Fantasy and Draqon Quest. One Final Fantasy game alone can sell more than ten Sega Dreamcast games or perhaps even more. And, according to Sega, it seems like sales of Sega Dreamcast has started to decline in Japan. Perhaps, it's because that everyone is saving money to buy a PlayStation 2. [Did anyone mention about Square Millennium Show???] As for online gaming, i don't really care much. Of course, the ability to play online games with your friends is cool [Of course, money too.] I personally think that online support isn't that important when it comes to RPG. Of course, i may be wrong. That's just personal opinion. It just makes me wonder how RPGs like Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI are going to provide online support to compete with Sega Dreamcast. Perhaps, just download some datas, i suppose. In my opinion, online support appeals more to outside Japan like US. As for the PlayStation 2 launch games, i think they are incredible. Street Fighter Ex 3, a new Ridge Racer from Namco, Gran Turismo 2000 and so on... Overall, i still can't comment anything as i do not have a PlayStation 2 yet. Keep a look out at Tekken Tag Tournament for the PlayStation 2. I think it will beat Sega Dream- cast's Soul Calibur. And, i suppose Tekken 4 will be on the PlayStation 2. Will Namco make games for Sony PlayStation 2 or Sega Dreamcast? I don't think that Namco will make many games for Sega Dreamcast like Tekken 4 even though Namco's Soul Calibur is on the Dreamcast. That's because no other system can handle Soul Calibur perfectly, other than Sega Dreamcast in 1999, right? Get what i am trying to say? As for Nintendo's Dolphin, i can't comment anything. But, we can be sure that the Nintendo's Dolphin will be on par with the Play- Station 2 in terms of specifications. ======================================================================= 30)What about Nintendo's Dolphin? I don't know. Nintendo hasn't made any official announcement about Dolphin. But, you can expect it to be a great system, just like PlayStation 2 with many advanced chips. I personally believe that the next Nintendo system will be another name, definitely not Dolphin, which i think it sounds awesome. Dolphin is perhaps just a codename. The new Nintendo system will definitely be on par with PlayStation 2, if not perhaps better. This time, i expect Nintendo's new system to be CD/DVD-based, instead of sticking to the old cartridge format. [Refer to above questions for more details.] ======================================================================= 31)Will Square ever move to Nintendo or Sega? As for Sega, it's very unlikely and i honestly don't wish that to happen. The market in Japan is quite small for Dreamcast yet. There's still a possibility that Square might join Nintendo in future. According to a report, this is what it says: Before the PlayStation came along, Square had a long history of being a very Nintendo-system-centric publisher. It looks like that could soon change as a recent comment made by Square's President, Tomoyuki Takechi, makes it sound like the company might once again be in Nintendo's corner. Square held an event in mid-July to allow the American press to meet with members of design teams behind future US titles like Final Fantasy VIII, Saga Frontier 2 and Vagrant Story. The event was headlined by a speech from Takechi, who started his address with one main note- something we were not expected at all. Square is interested in Nintendo's Dolphin. "The gaming industry is becoming more and more exciting judging from the recent announcement of the next-generation Dolphin machine from Nintendo at E3," he said. The quote by itself could carry little more meaning than Square's surprise to hear of Nintendo's next platform, but when, how and to whom this information was presented makes it all the more curious. As previously stated, this was his first main comment- and it definitely was not prompted by any line of questioning. Takechi clearly wanted to deliver the message of the company's excitement over the system;it was quite unexpected, and frankly a bit surreal. A large reason it was such a surprise was that he delivered this message to the American media, who for the most part tend to read into information far more than the Japanese media. Takechi had to have known that this statement would be construed as something more. When we questioned the Final Fantasy VIII team on whether or not they could see the Final Fantasy series ever returning to a Nintendo platform, they responded saying that while the Dolphin is intriguing, they wouldn't make a decision until they had seen its final specs. Even so, it's extremely interesting to hear Square's excitment over the Dolphin system-that they would go on record in the system's support makes one wonder just how strong their loyalty for Sony is. This report is found in Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue #122 ======================================================================= 32)What is Final Fantasy the Movie? Is it a game? Will Final Fantasy the Movie has some story connections with the past Final Fantasies? No. It's just a movie made by Square using computer-generated graphics. Final Fantasy the Movie will hit the world's theaters in 2001. From what i have heard, Final Fantasy the Movie will star a whole new cast of characters. See the old man in one of the screenshots? It's computer-generated graphics but it's hard to tell the difference between him and a real man. The list of actors who will be providing voices for the movie were recently announced, and include such heavyweights as Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) and Ving Rhames (Mission:Impossible). Other cast members include Ming-na Wen (Mulan), James Woods (Contact), Donald Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Steve Buscemi (Armageddon) and Peri Gilpn (Frasier). Quite a lot of big names for a movie based around a video game world, eh? This $70 million project is currently under way at Square's Hawaii-based studios. [Hopefully, we can to see our famous favourite bird, chocobo in the movie as well.] ======================================================================= 33)I heard about the Final Fantasies Collection and Final Fantasy Anthology? Can you explain to me what is it all about? Final Fantasy Collection is a compilation that contains the Japanese Final Fantasy IV [II in US], Final Fantasy V [Never released in the United States before] and Final Fantasy VI [III in US]. Due to time constraint, Final Fantasy Collection will be released in the United States as Final Fantasy Anthology without Final Fantasy IV and it will contain only Final Fantasy V [Never released in the US] and Final Fantasy VI. To make up for the loss of Final Fantasy IV, Square added a music CD containing favourite scores from Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI. Both Final Fantasy Anthology and Collection are available now. A few enhancments have been made to the game such as CG, a bonus option for Final Fantasy VI etc. ======================================================================= 34)Why isn't Final Fantasy IV released as one of the package in Final Fantasy Anthology? Honestly, i am not sure why. It can be because that there is time constraints. Don't forget that Square needs to translate Final Fantasy VIII at the same time so that Final Fantasy VIII can be released to the market in September. Some say that Square has to cancel off the plans to release Final Fantasy IV in the package, is due to the lengthy text and therefore, more time have to be spent on translating. However, it doesn't make any sense since Final Fantasy IV has been released as Final Fantasy II before. Thirdly, it can be because that there are two versions of Final Fantasy IV, the easy and the hard versions. Final Fantasy Collection had the easy version instead. As for the actual reason why, i am not pretty sure. [But, that goes my chance of having to try Final Fantasy IV.] ======================================================================= 35)Where or how can i draw Apocalypse magics? You can draw Apocalypse magics from Ultimecia: Her Final Form. Besides that, other than using a gameshark to get it, i don't think you can draw it from anywhere else. If anyone knows it, feel free to inform me and i will give you credits. Apocalypse magic is by far the strongest spell, if not slighly more lethal than Ultima magic. But the bad thing is you can only draw it from Ultimecia and that means you cannot junction Apocalypse to your character statistics. ======================================================================= 36)Someone told me about Seifer's R1 gunblade that worked like Squall. Is it true? Yes it is, but timing is a little bit faster, and more difficult. However, his limit break, Fire Cross: No Mercy does not have this R1 feature help like Squall's Renzokuken. ======================================================================= 37)I have problems finding Grasharaboras/Doomtrain. Can you help me? Refer to the G.F list and strategy. You can refer to other faqs or walkthroughs. You need to have 6x Remedy Plus, 6x Steel Pipe, 6x Malboro Tentacle and 1x Solomon's Ring. ======================================================================= 38)Will Square release sequel to games like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana? Yes. Chrono Cross, the sequel to Chrono Trigger and Legend of Mana has been released in Japan. The US version will probably arrive next year. Other games that Square is making includes Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, Dew Prism and so on. You can expect all to be a great game. However, sadly, the team from Dragon Quest will not be helping Square to develop Chrono Cross. As you know, Akira Toriyama (fame for Dragonball) is responsible for the character design in Chrono Trigger. One look at Crono, and you will notice that his hair, appearance resembles Goku, a character from Dragonball. As Akira Toriyama has to help Enix for Dragon Quest VII, he is unable to help Square in the Chrono Cross project. Anyway, you can expect all games to be great! ======================================================================= 39)Do you know there is a comic based on Final Fantasy VIII? Indeed, this is true. The comic is being released in Hong kong, and will follow every plot in Final Fantasy VIII. Thanks to Kaze Yagami who told me about the existence of the comics. If anyone wants to know more about Final Fantasy VIII, this is a good chance now, provided that you know how to read chinese word characters. Also, the comic can also be found in Singapore. However, you must be warned that the comic can be misleading in certain plots. And, it's not officially licensed by Square and from what i have heard, due to copyrights, the comics have been banned, even in Hong Kong. Right now, i don't think i can find any more Final Fantasy VIII comics in Singapore. The new issues aren't coming anymore... ======================================================================= 40)When is PocketStation released in the United States? Probably 2000 or later. Sony hasn't made any announcement yet. You just have to wait and see. ======================================================================= 41)I heard that the loading times are extremely long for Final Fantasy Anthology/Final Fantasy Collection. Yes. The load times are extremely long, even longer than Final Fantasy VII and VIII. I have Final Fantasy Anthology and i think Final Fantasy VI has the longest load times. Many people were very displeased with the long loadings. Both Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI suffer serious slowdowns. ======================================================================= 42)Where can i find Card Queen in disc four? You mention that it is in Abandon Plains. I have searched almost everywhere but to no avail and Abandon Plains is just too big. The Queen is found in the escape retrieval pod in Abandon Plains just at the southern most tip of Esthar Continent. It's invisible in the world map. Simply land your Ragnarok nearby and make your way to the southern tip. The world map screen will change to the field screen and you should see card queen. I got several mails, asking me about the exact location of Card Queen. The location is rather tricky. Notice that the major region of Esthar Continent is being surrounded by huge wire frames or walls. It's located just outside this major region in the south. Try going into the main menu and check if you are in Abandon Plains. [Assuming if you are outside this 'major region'!] Then, just land your Ragnarok and walk south. I have to admit i do have problems finding the Card Queen at first. Just be patient! If you simply just walk along the southern tips, you will definitely encounter Card Queen. The location is the same as where you discover Piet in in disc three. Refer to my basic card guide for more details. ======================================================================= 43)I can't seem to figure out the riddles or puzzles in a particular Chocobo Forest? Refer to Scott Ong's faq/walkthrough. He has typed out a very precise and detailed solution to solve the riddles in each Chocobo Forest. Therefore, i won't be going through this. ======================================================================= 44)What's wrong with your Crisis level theory? At Dollet city, when Seifer is at 100% of his HP with the two other remaining party members dead, i can use Seifer's limit breaks all the time. You don't really need to have 84% of his total HP? Bingo! The theory is correct but it's just that you have forgotten something. You did mention that two other members are dead, did you? If you look at the negative status bonus table in the limit break section, you should notice that it will increase your crisis level up by 16%. So, 84% + 16%= 100%. Doesn't that prove the theory? If you still don't believe, try reviving your two other members alive and check if you still can use limit break when Seifer is at 100% of his max HP. Of course, the same concepts applies to everybody, without using any Aura spell. ======================================================================= 45)I can't defeat Omega Weapon! He's too strong! I can't believe it. You can actually beat Omega Weapon without using any Hero Drink or Holy Wars Drink or summon a Guardian Force, Phoenix. Refer to the secret section in my basic guide or my weapon faqs if you really need help. If you want to find out how to get Hero Drink or Holy Wars Drink, you can find it in my weapon faqs too or at the additional section. The process of refining is rather tedious and take quite a lot of time. Anyway, good luck! Lastly, i can't believe it! People are too relying on Hero Drinks or Holy Wars Drink. Even game guides written from certain game magazines said that you need to use Hero Drinks. The fact is i have beaten Omega Weapon several times without using any of these items. ======================================================================= 46)I have forgotten to draw a particular Guardian Force? How do i get the Guardian Force back? [Very Frequently-Asked] If you are playing the Japanese version, you can't redraw it again, meaning you can only use a gameshark. But, if you are playing the US version, you can redraw it from the enemies in Ultimecia Castle in disc 4. This method applies only to the US version. The list of Guardian Forces that can be redraw at disc 4 are Siren, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Cerberus, Alexander and Eden. only. Refer to my US/Japanese/Demo version differences faq if you want to know more about the good and bad points of this redrawing. Also, i have added in the names of sub-bosses which you can draw Guardian Forces from in my Basic Guide faq, as well as my Boost/Compatibility faq. ======================================================================= 47)Hey, you are wrong for saying that once you have forgotten to draw a Guardian Force, as you can draw them in disc 4 at Ultimecia Castle. You can draw these Guardian Forces from the respective sub-bosses in Ultimecia Castle...blah...blah...blah... [Hmm... it seems endless to me!!!] Hmm... i know your good intentions. Thanks for describing everything so detail. This is just an example of a junk mail. Sorry, i am not criticising you but......... Did i ever say i don't know that? I am saying that for the Japanese version, if you miss drawing a Guardian Force, the Guardian Force will be gone forever unless you use a gameshark. Only the US version [and perhaps the PC version as well] has this feature that allows you to draw your Guardian Forces in disc 4 at Ultimecia Castle. Get that? ======================================================================= 48)Is it possible to get Guardian Force, Griever? Very unlikely! It could just be a rumor. Anyway, don't worry about this! However, Griever has an attack called Shockwave Pulsar. It's her strongest attack. Quistis can learn Shockwave Pulsar if you can find one Dark Matter. Shockwave Pulsar is Quistis's strongest limit break, which can deal past 9999HP. ======================================================================= 49)What is the use of Amnesia Greens? Basically, all the 16 Guardian Forces can learn only up to a maximum of 22 abilities. Now, in case you think that one of the ability is useless and wants the Guardian Force to learn another useful ability, for example Revive. First, use Amnesia Greens to make the Guardian Force forget that ability. Then, use Phoenix Spirit and your Guardian Force will learn the Revive command. ======================================================================= 50)I have sold the Magical Lamp? What can i do? What about Diablos? Sorry, i really don't know. I haven't tried to sell it before. ======================================================================= 51)How do i get Proof of Friendship and Mog's Amulet? I don't know. Please don't ask me anything that has to do with PocketStation. I have already stated everything i know about PocketStation in my faqs. I don't have a PocketStation so you have come to the wrong person. I strongly advise you to ask other people around, especially for those who has written a PocketStation faq. If you don't have a PocketStation and wants to play the Choco World, buy the PC version instead. ======================================================================= 52)How or where can i find all the four Occult Fans and what is the use of them? You can find information on the four Occult fan in my Basic guide faq or my Boost/Compatibility faq. The four Occult fans tell you hints about certain Guardian Forces, particularly Doomtrain. ======================================================================= 53)I am now in disc four and i discovered that i have missed the last two Occult Fan, which are Occult III and IV. What should i do? Can i get them again? Sorry, no! Once you miss these two Occult Fans, III and IV, you can't get them again in disc 4. Anyway, don't worry! You don't really need these four Occult Fans to get all the Guardian Forces. You can really do without them. ======================================================================= 54)What's the use of collecting Combat King Magazines, Pet Pal Magazines and Timber Magazines? It lets you learn new limit breaks for Zell and Rinoa. Refer to my limit break section in basic guide faq or my limit breaks faq for more details. Timber Magazines tell you more informations about Laguna. Remember he's a journalist and has been to many places. The timber magazines are basically a record of his journey, nothing much! You can view it by going to the Balamb network in the classroom of Balamb Garden. ======================================================================= 55)You idiot! What kind of final Fantasy expert are you? Do you know how to solve Obel Lake mystery? Why do you ask me to refer to Scott Ong's walkthrough/faq Part II? Is it that you don't know? This is an example of a junk mail i got and