History Awesome / FinalFantasyVIII

** Whiel it's easy to overlook due to all the other awesomeness going on, Rinoa [[ActionSurvivor managing to hang onto the edge of that cliff with just her bare hands for as long as she did]] is very impressive.

*** Another example of this in action: the only way into Esthar, which is Squall's only hope of saving Rinoa, is to cross the Horizon Bridge to get to Esthar on foot. The Horizon Bridge spans an ''ocean,'' and the trains that run on it are not working. So what does Squall do? He parks Garden at Fisherman's Horizon, waits until no one is looking, and then picks up Rinoa and carries her, on his back, on foot, across the entire bridge. That's a {{Determinator}} in action, right there.

* At the Edea's throne room in Galbadia Garden, Seifer attempts to coerce each of the party to effectively surrender due to Edea being their Matron or, in the case of Rinoa and Irvine, for different reasons, join his side. NONE of it takes, and each party member responds with a ShutUpHannibal, capped off with Squall giving off TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Seifer and his supposedly inherent moral superiority from being the Sorceress' Knight. This is the point Seifer as a person is completely deconstructed and while he seems to not be that fazed by it initially, the fact that he gets worse later on highlights this drove him into a VillainousBreakdown. Between realizing the shared childhood most of them had, and Squall's own CharacterDevelopment via RousingSpeech just moments earlier, the entire party (even if you'll only get to see half in any given playthrough) collectively took Seifer down several pegs and it broke him!

* Meta example: The first time a new player [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LIEf8zNH98 sees Squall perform ''Lion Heart''.]] Sure, they'll remodel whatever gunblade he had previously into his ultimate weapon. They'll take note of the fact it gives him a new finisher of the same name. But '''nothing''' they imagine can compare to the reality.
** Speaking of awesome Limit Breaks, Blasting Zone also qualifies. Nothing says "overkill" like a {{BFS}} so long that it reaches into space. (Though waiting through a relatively lengthy animation for a single-hit attack that doesn't do much more damage than your normal attack can get a bit old after all.)
** Laguna's Limit Break, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbxb4K67UNs ''Desperado'']], is also pretty awesome.

** Laguna's Limit Break, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKk1-h8BuBU ''Desperado'']], is also pretty awesome.

---> '''Squall:'''"......Everybody, this is Squall. How's everyone doing? You're all probably too tired to even stand up after all the fighting. But I want everyone to listen to me... We still have a chance to win, and I need your help. This is going to be our final battle. We're going to attack them before they come in again. To do that, we're going to head straight into their Garden. So I want everyone to prepare for a major collision. Take care of the junior classmen. Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and Selphie will lead the attack into their Garden. As for everyone else, please support them if you can. [=SeeD=] was formed to fight the sorceress: at least, that's what I heard. And Garden was created to train [=SeeDs=]. So this battle is Garden's destiny and also our destiny. It's a grueling battle, and I'm sure you guys are all exhausted. But I don't want to have any regrets. I don't want anyone to look back and regret this day. So just this once, I want you guys to give everything you got! For yourselves and for me!"

** Also, Seifer ''slicing Odin in half'' by ''pointing his weapon at him.'' If that's not badass....
*** ...then what [[spoiler: Gilgamesh]] does to ''him'' when he makes his big entrance toting Odin's sword ''is''.

--> '''Squall:'''"......Everybody, this is Squall. How's everyone doing? You're all probably too tired to even stand up after all the fighting. But I want everyone to listen to me... We still have a chance to win, and I need your help. This is going to be our final battle. We're going to attack them before they come in again. To do that, we're going to head straight into their Garden. So I want everyone to prepare for a major collision. Take care of the junior classmen. Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and Selphie will lead the attack into their Garden. As for everyone else, please support them if you can. [=SeeD=] was formed to fight the sorceress: at least, that's what I heard. And Garden was created to train [=SeeDs=]. So this battle is Garden's destiny and also our destiny. It's a grueling battle, and I'm sure you guys are all exhausted. But I don't want to have any regrets. I don't want anyone to look back and regret this day. So just this once, I want you guys to give everything you got! For yourselves and for me!"

** At the Edea's throne room in Galbadia Garden, Seifer attempts to coerce each of the party to effectively surrender due to Edea being their Matron or, in the case of Rinoa and Irvine, for different reasons, join his side. NONE of it takes, and each party member responds with a ShutUpHannibal, capped off with Squall giving off TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Seifer and his supposedly inherent moral superiority from being the Sorceress' Knight. This is the point Seifer as a person is completely deconstructed and while he seems to not be that fazed by it initially, the fact that he gets worse later on highlights this drove him into a VillainousBreakdown. Between realizing the shared childhood most of them had, and Squall's own CharacterDevelopment via RousingSpeech just moments earlier, the entire party (even if you'll only get to see half in any given playthrough) collectively took Seifer down several pegs and it broke him!

* It's easily overshadowed by the insane battlefield accomplishments of the party, but consider Rinoa. She's ''seventeen''. She's grown up in comfort and privilege in a well-to-do military family in one of the world's most prosperous nations. And when her country's military forcibly occupies another nation, she has the political awareness and sense of integrity and justice to say 'no, that's not right,' and she picks up and travels to the occupied nation to join a resistance movement, risking her own life to make things better. When her group doesn't have the skills or manpower to accomplish anything, she doesn't give up - she looks to hire specialists who ''will'' have the skills to accomplish something, and when she doesn't get anywhere through normal channels she personally travels to their headquarters to make her case to their leader and persuade him to make an exception for her. She may be naive and inexperienced, but there's absolutely no questioning her drive and persistence. Just like Squall, once Rinoa sets her mind to something, she ''will not stop'' until she's accomplished it.

* The opening cinematic to the game, combined with [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Liberi Fatali.]] It really establishes that you're in for an epic experience.

* If you're lucky enough to get it (hint: get as many Pinions as you can), being saved from utter annihilation by Phoenix during the Omega Weapon battle is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

** We can't leave out Squall's act of insane heroic desperation on the Lunar Station. Rinoa is drifting away into space, running out of oxygen, with no hope left, and Squall, ''without the slightest hesitation'', throws on a space suit and ''leaps out after her.'' He has next to no chance of getting to her, he's not even sure if he can help her even if he reaches her, but he still doesn't even pause for an instant. He is going to save her or die trying. ''That is the definition of love and heroism.''

** The very definition of HotForTeacher.

** Also, Seifer ''slicing Odin in half'' by ''pointing his weapon at him.'' If that's not BadAss....

* The Lunatic Pandora storming. How do they get into the nigh-impregnable monstrosity? By ''charging'' at it, spamming machine fire, '''ramming''' its shields to get the front end of a BFG in, blast a ''massive'' hole in the side of the damned thing, then having the impractical landing gear ''claws'' grasp onto the side to make a landing. [[BadAss And then the party strolls on out without any mention of how insane it was.]]

*** Another example of this in action: the only way into Esthar, which is Squall's only hope of saving Rinoa, is to cross the Horizon Bridge to get to Esthar on foot. The Horizon Bridge spans an ''ocean,'' and the trains that run on it are not working. So what does Squall do? He parks Garden at Fisherman's Horizon, waits until no one is looking, and then picks up Rinoa and carries her, on his back, on foot, across the entire bridge. Let's repeat that to get the point across: ''he crossed an ocean on foot'' on an off-chance he might be able to save her. That's a {{Determinator}} in action, right there.

** Speaking of awesome Limit Breaks, Blasting Zone also qualifies. Nothing says "overkill" like a {{BFS}} so long that it reaches into space.

* Quistis gets her moment during the escape from Dollet, where she [[https://youtu.be/Zuc62lLk6kQ?t=7m26s blasts the hell out of the giant spider robot]] with a mounted [[MoreDakka 30mm autocannon]].

* Quistis gets her moment during the escape from Dollet, where she blasts the hell out of the giant spider robot with a mounted [[MoreDakka 30mm autocannon]].

* The first time Fujin utters more than a word in a row is to give her friend Seifer a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. An '''awesome''' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

* The opening cinematic to the game. It really establishes that you're in for an epic experience.

** During a [[http://youtu.be/DBjpL1PcY5M?t=4m2s cutscene]] with members of the Garden in a large pitched battle, a RedShirt clotheslines a Mook off of his motorcycle with the flat of his sword. Easily ranks in the top 10 Red Shirt CMOA's.

* How about Squall saving Zell during the prison escape? A rather shortsighted plan ended up stranding Zell near the top floor of the prison with the rest of the team at the very bottom floor. The team hears some action over the radio and realize they left Zell stranded, all alone, in the middle off a monster and armed guard infested prison that's out to kill them. Zell tries to flee but is caught and seconds away from getting shot point blank in the head when in swoops Squall, cutting the man with the gun to Zell's head down in one shot after running up about a dozen monster infested floors and leaving Quistis and Selphie in his dust. Never threaten one of Squall's friends, he will go to any legnth to save them.

* Meta example: The first time a new player sees Squall perform ''Lion Heart''. Sure, they'll remodel whatever gunblade he had previously into his ultimate weapon. They'll take note of the fact it gives him a new finisher of the same name. But '''nothing''' they imagine can compare to the reality.

** During a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXBZwlPuU-Y#t=57s cutscene]] with members of the Garden in a large pitched battle, a RedShirt clotheslines a Mook off of his motorcycle with the flat of his sword. Easily ranks in the top 10 Red Shirt CMOA's.