History Fridge / FinalFantasyVIII

* Tying in with the World War II overtones of the game, Winhill is a dead-ringer for a quaint little mid-20th century Merrie Olde England town ravaged by war such as Coventry, which was famously toured after its devastation by Prime Minister '''Win'''ston Church'''hill'''.

* Some people concluded that in ''FinalFantasyVIII'', there's a BadFuture where Ultimecia has wiped out [=SeeD=] and rules the world, and [[EsotericHappyEnding this is guaranteed]] by a StableTimeLoop. However, look closer; the dead [=SeeDs=] are within line of sight of Ultimecia's castle. Ultimecia's castle is devoid of soldiers or real security measures. Hell, some parts of the castle appear to have been hit by artillery fire. And Ultimecia is ''desperately'' trying to engage Time Compression. Heck, the first thing she does when she takes over Galbadia in the past is to ''attempt to destroy Garden'' and thus wipe out the [=SeeDs=] before they even really exist. Looking at this evidence, there is an alternate conclusion as to the "bad" future: ''[=SeeD=] was winning the war'' and Ultimecia's use of the Junction Machine Ellone was a [[{{Terminator}} Skynet]]-esque desperation tactic to stave off defeat - in which case, ''the happy ending is reinforced'', not ruined.

* The Stable Time Loop is functionally Squall's fault as much as Ultimecia's. Squall gave Edea the idea for [=SeeD=] and the Gardens by telling her "Garden trains [=SeeDs=], and [=SeeDs=] are trained to defeat the Sorceress," which prompts Cid and Edea to build them and start building their teenage mercenary army. Which means, for however many generations between the end of FFVIII and Ultimecia's rise to power, they've been encouraging hatred against Ultimecia ''before she even did anything wrong''.
* Probably borders on WMG, but [[spoiler: through Time Compression, it seems that Ultimecia has locked herself in a GroundhogDayLoop. Her dialogue throughout the game shows that she is aware that Squall is supposed to defeat her...knowledge she's not supposed to have until it passes, even with concessions made for Time Compression itself. So it seems to be that you kill her, she's absorbed into time, and put back somewhere, where she begins the cycle anew, trying and failing to kill Squall and co. to prevent her own death.]]

* The Stable Time Loop is functionally Squall's fault as much as Ultimecia's. Squall gave Edea the idea for [=SeeD=] and the Gardens by telling her "Garden trains [=SeeDs=], and [=SeeDs=] are trained to defeat the Sorceress," which prompts Cid and Edea to build them and start building their teenage mercenary army. Which means, for however many generations between the end of FFVIII and Ultimecia's rise to power, they've been encouraging hatred against Ultimecia ''before she even did anything wrong''.

* Laguna's history with Julia are seldom mentioned after the first flashback, and she appears to be the one that got away.[[spoiler: She later goes on to marry Rinoa's father and obviously bear Rinoa as a child. Assuming the above entry is canon, then Julia and Laguna's feelings for each other are finally given a chance to be lived out by their children, Squall and Rinoa.]]

** This is further confounded by the fact that she actually points towards this in the opening monologue of the final battle: that [=SeeD=] were "swarming like locusts across generations." On its own, this little statement implies that [=SeeD=] hasn't quit pestering her for quite some time ("across generations") and she never truly got over that particular obstacle. She does seem to view [=SeeD=] as a persistent nuisance in her little speech, but the abovementioned attempts prove that [=SeeD=] is a serious threat to her at the very least.

* A small one, but... what ''did'' happen to that student who went to the Tomb of the Unknown King and never returned? Sure, two girls run out in a panic, but it's specifically mentioned that only ''one'' student went to the Tomb, and that the student was male. And then you find an abandoned sword/gunblade on the floor. Nowhere in the tomb do you find a body, or anything to indicate what might have happened to the student -- which could be considered a good thing, [[NothingIsScarier or not]]. He might have escaped the Tomb, perhaps dropping his weapon in a panic on the way out, but [[EverythingTryingToKillYou considering what's waiting for him outside]], it's unlikely he would have survived the long trip back unarmed and alone. And for that matter, if the student hadn't been heard from since leaving the city, [[EpilepticTrees how did Caraway know for certain that there would be anything to find at all]]...?
** Fridge Brilliance or WMG; there never ''was'' a student entering the tomb and it's all just a ploy so not anyone can enter Caraway's mansion (i.e. if someone is supossedly sent there from Garden, thay can just ring up Martine and ask the ID of the student who didn't return from the Tomb, Martine recognizes it as a secret password and passes it on; otherwise it was just to see if Squall and co. were strong enough to face Edea, since Caraway knew that was the mission, and maybe give them a pretty little GF, too).
** There was an actual student; while exploring the tomb, you can find a message he carved into a wall saying basically "I've decided I'm not cut out for [=SeeD=], so I'm quitting, and if you're lost, here are the directions for how to get back to the entrance."
** Also, you talk to his ghost straight after defeating and obtaining the Brothers.
*** Wasn't that the unknown king? It was his tomb...
** Maybe Caraway was the student. [=SeeD=] is a special forces organization, so when Caraway realizes he's not cut out for SeeD, he quits and joins the Army, eventually working his way up to General.
*** Impossible, [=SeeD=] hasn't been around long enough for Caraway to have been a student at Garden. Remember, Garden was only built a little over a decade ago and [=SeeD=] would have started after that, Caraway would have been far too old.
** Caraway was a general before Squall was even born. Garden didn't get started until Squall was about five years old.

** Maybe Caraway was the student. SeeD is a special forces organization, so when Caraway realizes he's not cut out for SeeD, he quits and joins the Army, eventually working his way up to General.
*** Impossible, SeeD hasn't been around long enough for Caraway to have been a student at Garden. Remember, Garden was only built a little over a decade ago and SeeD would have started after that, Caraway would have been far too old.

* The Stable Time Loop is functionally Squall's fault as much as Ultimecia's. Squall gave Edea the idea for SeeD and the Gardens by telling her "Garden trains SeeDs, and SeeDs are trained to defeat the Sorceress," which prompts Cid and Edea to build them and start building their teenage mercenary army. Which means, for however many generations between the end of FFVIII and Ultimecia's rise to power, they've been encouraging hatred against Ultimecia ''before she even did anything wrong''.

* Throughout the game, Squall sometimes forgets people he meets quickly. He forgets about "familiar looking guy" in Fisherman's Horizon and he even forgets Nida, who became a SeeD with him. This can be seen as a running joke in the game, OR it could be alluding to how terribly the GF induced memory loss is affecting Squall.

** That scene pretty much changes Irvine's entire character when you know about [[spoiler: Edea being Matron.]] He knows he can't blow the secret and tell Squall the real reason he's nervous, and there's a very good chance that his excuse, that he always gets nervous and screws up, was a complete lie; if he couldn't perform under pressure, Galbadia would have sent some other sniper, and he wouldn't be able to hold his trigger finger still enough to let a butterfly land on it. There's nothing to indicate he ever screwed up any other time, before or after that event.

* The very subtle hints dropped throughout the game that [[spoiler: Squall is Laguna's son]]. For one thing, the characters selected for mind-travel tend to be random so long as [[spoiler: Ellone knew them at the orphanage]]. Squall is always selected--which is a given since he's the hero--but he ''always'' mind-travels to Laguna. All of the other characters are paired with Kiros and Ward randomly, but Squall is the only one consistent with one person. Then there's the D-District Prison, where after Squall's torture the Moombas start randomly shouting for Laguna, mistaking Squall for Laguna. Later on in the game it's revealed that Laguna interacted with Moombas and [[spoiler: Moombas identify humans by the taste of their blood]]. The fact that [[spoiler: Squall's blood tastes like Laguna's]] indicates some familial relation. Then there's the incredibly telling dialogue Kiros, Ward, and Laguna give to Squall on the Ragnarock before the final battle.

** That scene pretty much changes Irvine's entire character when you know about [[spoiler: Edea being Matron.]] He knows he can't blow the secret and tell Squall the real reason he's nervous, and there's a very good chance that his excuse, that he always gets nervous and screws up, was a complete lie; if he couldn't perform under pressure, Galbadia would have sent some other sniper, and he wouldn't be able to hold his trigger finger still enough to let a butterfly land on it. There's nothing to indicate he ever screwed up any other time, before or after that event.
* The Balamb Garden Training Center, in which carnivorous, sleep-gas-exuding plants and ''Tyrannosaurs'' run loose, is open to students at all hours with no supervision. The infirmary closes at curfew.

* The very subtle hints dropped throughout the game that [[spoiler: Squall is Laguna's son]]. For one thing, the characters selected for mind-travel tend to be random so long as [[spoiler: Ellone knew them at the orphanage]]. Squall is always selected--which is a given since he's the hero--but he ''always'' mind-travels to Laguna. All of the other characters are paired with Kiros and Ward randomly, but Squall is the only one consistent with one person. Then there's the D-District Prison, where after Squall's torture the Moombas start randomly shouting for Laguna, mistaking Squall for Laguna. Later on in the game it's revealed that Laguna interacted with Moombas and [[spoiler: Moombas identify humans by the taste of their blood]]. The fact that [[spoiler: Squall's blood tastes like Laguna's]] indicates some familial relation.

** That scene pretty much changes Irvine's entire character when you know about [[spoiler: Edea being Matron.]] He knows he can't blow the secret and tell Squall the real reason he's nervous, and there's a very good chance that his excuse, that he always gets nervous and screws up, was a complete lie; if he couldn't perform under pressure, Galbadia would have sent some other sniper, and he wouldn't be able to hold his trigger finger still enough to let a butterfly land on it. There's nothing to indicate he ever screwed up any other time, before or after that event.

* There was a scene for Irvine that hit a lot harder in retrospect when I realized something. When Irvine is nervous and preparing [[spoiler: to assassinate the Sorceress Edea]] he's probably hiding the real reason he's troubled. Later in the game, you find out that [[spoiler: All of the principle characters were raised in the same orphanage, with Cid and Edea as caretakers, and everyone but Irvine forgot due to the influence GFs. So Irvine remembers the woman he's preparing to assassinate as a loving caretaker and mother figure. No wonder he's nervous]]

* Some people concluded that in ''FinalFantasyVIII'', there's a BadFuture where Ultimecia has wiped out [=SeeD=] and rules the world, and [[EsotericHappyEnding this is guaranteed]] by a StableTimeLoop. However, look closer; the dead [=SeeDs=] are within line of sight of Ultimecia's castle. Ultimecia's castle is devoid of soldiers or real security measures. Hell, some parts of the castle appear to have been hit by artillery fire. And Ultimecia is ''desperately'' trying to engage Time Compression. Heck, the first thing she does when she takes over Galbadia in the past is to ''attempt to destroy Garden'' and thus wipe out the [=SeeDs=] before they even really exist. Looking at this evidence, there is an alternate conclusion as to the "bad" future: ''[=SeeD=] was winning the war'' and Ultimecia's use of the Junction Machine Ellone was a Skynet-esque desperation tactic to stave off defeat - in which case, ''the happy ending is reinforced'', not ruined.

* Extremely minor case (don't know where to put this in). You know, when I checked the names of the main player characters (both first and last), I saw this minor difference. Here's their names for reference: Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Rinoa Heartilly, Irvine Kinneas. Check the last one. His first name's first letter is not only in the first half of the alphabet (A-M), but it's also a vowel. Don't any of you think this is a subtle hint of his (initial) 'outcast' status (and his ranged fighting style)?