History NightmareFuel / FinalFantasyVIII

* Doomtrain. Forgetting how it's possibly the coolest summon of the game and that it's insanely useful, the whole concept behind it is terrifying: a limitless wheeled living piece of machinery with a skull latched to the front that inflicts anything it hits with every horrible status effect you can think of. Its summoning sequence is pretty chilling too, starting off with an eerie train crossing siren and then the train wheels clanking on an invisible track with the background all trippy.

* "Rinoa was lost in space... '''forever'''."

* The Training Area of Balamb Garden definitely qualifies. The music for starters is very eerie (especially considering the tune for the Garden itself is so cheerful and beautiful), and there are sentient plants which look like those pitcher fly-trapper plants have the ability to put your characters to sleep and then there's the freaking T-Rexuar whos battle cry literally roars in your face, has soulless white eyes and has freakishly large attack power, and is by far impossible to defeat at early levels.
** This raises a few questions: [[ParanoiaFuel just how is the garden so sure the training area will always be able to keep gigantic Tyrannosauruses from escaping]] and can we assume the students that dorm possibly wake up at night hearing those roars they make? Oh, and judging by the fact there is no other way that a Granaldo (a giant reptilian/insect creature that looks like Scyther from Pokemon ) and three Raldos (sentient rock creatures) could have come from anywhere else and you [[FridgeHorror never fight anymore in the area after they attack Ellone]] , just what the hell else is the Garden keeping in the Training Area?
** It gets better: the Training Center is open to students at all hours without supervision. The infirmary, meanwhile, closes at curfew. Go in for some after-hours training and end up mauled by a T-Rex or gassed by a carnivorous plant, and you're on your own until morning.

* A special mention should go to Edea's "official" introduction to the story, where you take control of Rinoa and go to meet her in an attempt to stop her using this vaguely touched upon item that supposedly drains her of her power [[spoiler: it doesn't work]]. Everything that happens after this is downright unsettling [[spoiler: the way Edea's mask somehow burns off her face and she sit's up from her chair whilst that..."thing" on her back sprouts out with those curtain tails, how she [[HypnotizeThePrincess has Rinoa follow her to the balcony]] where she gives a creepy (yet pretty [[LargeHam over-the-top]] speech of how she's going to do all these nasty things and then '''kills Vinzer Deling right in front of the audience and they all simply cheer like it's no big deal''']]. Granted, the crowd's enthusiastic reception was a result of large-scale MindControl, but that just means that Edea can control the minds of an entire city's worth of people and still have enough power left over to kill someone by thinking about it.
** During this event, Rinoa is under Edea's total control and she placidly follows her to the balcony, stands by as Edea gives her speech, Rinoa swaying with her head slightly slumped to the side and appearing like she's lazily trying to stop herself from falling asleep with heavy eyes and a dreamily smile. And then Edea sics monsters on her after the speech is over]].

** Not to mention the way she keeps twitching before you battle Seifer in Galbadia Garden: and animation error, or [[spoiler:she's trying to wrestle control of her body back from Ultimecia]]?

* Garden Master NORG also has the potential to unsettle. He looks creepy as hell (yellow skin, gaping pitch-black mouth, tiny empty eyes, jumbo-sized hands with arthropod-esque fingers he uses to gestures oh-so-emphatically, etc.), and has unusual speech patterns (he TALKS IN ALL CAPS and constantly interjects burbly "BUJURURU" laughter), and his music track "Heresy" made it sound like something terrible would happen at any moment. NORG entered the story virtually out of nowhere, and so caught one completely by surprise: "(Cid) Oh, BTW, Squall, there's this Garden Master guy you have to go into the basement to defeat." "(Squall/Player) Whatev--HOLYSHITWHATISTHATTHING." The final touch is that attentive gamers are taunted with the prospects of Norg's "rebirth" or "evolution" -- he enters a chrysalis after his defeat, which is shown as having hatched if you return to the area later... but the character is never seen again! The lack of closure was torturous. Surely NORG would evolve into something even more grotesque and seek his revenge! Surely a huge yellow butterfly thing would attack at any time...!

* The first main mission the group gets after becoming true SeeDs is to help a resistance group intercept a train car the Galbadian President, Vinzer Deling, is riding in order to kidnap him. Well, upon successful completion of the mission, it's revealed that [[spoiler:it's not the real president on the train and instead a body double who acts very strangely, with an incredibly odd and almost inhuman manner of speech.]] Not helped by the fact that after a short, easy fight, he [[spoiler:turns into an undead monstrosity called Gerogero, who looks like a horrible mutated zombie with a bloated right half and a visible clump of organs.]] Still not an incredibly difficult fight, but not very fun to look at.

* A particular incident during the conflict at Balamb Garden between Headmaster Cid's faction and Garden Master NORG's faction: Squall encounters SeeD members defending positions against the Faculty's trained monsters. Each time you are given the choice to help them or ignore it. If you ignore it, most of them die. That's horrible enough, but in the Training Center, a young SeeD woman is leading a junior classman away from danger, only to be cornered by a faculty member and a freakin' T-Rexaur. If you decide to be a heartless bastard and don't help them, it's implied the T-Rexaur kills both the girl and the kid she was protecting.

* Early in the game Headmaster Cid gives you an item called a Magical Lamp, warning that "one should be careful before using it". You might assume that it's just some sort of in-battle item and select it, only to find yourself thrust into a pitch-black dimension to battle with the GF Diablos, a huge bat demon that will quickly wreck your party with gravity based attacks.

* A particular incident during the conflict at Balamb Garden between Headmaster Cid's faction and Garden Master NORG's faction: Squall encounters SeeD members defending positions against the Faculty's trained monsters. Each time you are given the choice to help them or ignore it. If you ignore it, most of they die. That's horrible enough, but in the Training Center, a young SeeD woman is leading a junior classman away from danger, only to be cornered by a faculty member and a freakin' T-Rexaur. If you decide to be a heartless bastard and don't help them, it's implied the T-Rexaur kills both the girl and the kid she was protecting.

* Ooooh cool, Headmaster Cid gave me a Magical Lamp! Ooh this gonna be awesome, just gonna give this a rub and WHOA why's the battle screen coming up and why am I in a black darkened dimension and-HOLYFUCKINGSHITWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT!!! THE SATAN!!!![[note]]Headmaster Cid gives you an item called a Magical Lamp, and little warning besides "one should be careful before using". You might assume that it's just some sort of in-battle item and select it, only to find yourself thrust into a battle with the GF Diablos. If one isn't prepared, then he'll make short work of you with Gravijia and then finish you off with a headbutt.[[/note]]

* Ooooh cool, Headmaster Cid gave me a Magical Lamp! Ooh this gonna be awesome, just gonna give this a rub and WHOA why's the battle screen coming up and why am I in a black darkened dimension and-HOLYFUCKINGSHITWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT!!! THE SATAN!!!![[note]]Headmaster Cid gives you an item called a Magical Lamp which he gives you little warning besides "one should be careful before using" before you may go ahead and select it only to find yourself thrusted into a battle with the GF Diablos. If one isn't prepared then he'll make short work of you with Gravijia and then finish you off with a headbutt.[[/note]]

** Alternatively, you can wait on getting Odin until after getting the Ragnarok. The very first battle once you escape the Centra Ruins will be interrupted by Odin. Then and there is your chance to fly to the Island Closest to Heaven, SAVE, and try your luck finding a Malboro so Odin can dice him up good and proper. If your party's average level is over 30, you have a good chance at getting exactly 8 tentacles, which is just enough to get Doomtrain and Quistis' ultimate weapon ;)

[[caption-width-right:300:'''[[TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen GIVE ME YOUR FACE!]]''']]

[[caption-width-right:300:Is Squall faceless for [[RuleOfScary any reason at all?]]]]

** Oh, the animals are actually trained to stay there and attack the students at random. We know they can be trained quite well because of the scene in which you return to warn everybody about the missiles incoming. The Garden Faculty members sic them on you like well-trained K9 units.

[[quoteright:300:[[FinalFantasyVIII http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nofacesquall_2133.jpg]]]]

* Ooooh cool, Headmaster Cid gave me a Magical Lamp!!! Ooh this gonna be awesome, just gonna give this a rub and WHOA why's the battle screen coming up and why am I in a black darkened dimension and-HOLYFUCKINGSHITWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT!!! THE SATAN!!!![[note]]Headmaster Cid gives you an item called a Magical Lamp which he gives you little warning besides "one should be careful before using" before you may go ahead and select it only to find yourself thrusted into a battle with the GF Diablos. If one isn't prepared then he'll make short work of you with Gravijia and then finish you off with a headbutt. [[/note]]

* Adel. The fact that she's a giant man-woman who has the face of and moves like a monster is creepy enough, but it gets worse when the lifeless body of Rinoa is attached to her chest and [[FanDisservice she thrusts it upward to suck Rinoa's life away]]. And if all that wasn't enough, when you defeat her, the ending cinematic displays her face getting blown off before she falls on her knees to dissolve.

* Malboros were by far at their peak of terror in this game. Unless you drew just about every status-effect magic and had [=GFs=] with the ST-DEF-Junction or the blessing of Odin, the moment you entered battle with one of them you were more than likely screwed. They'd hit you with Bad Breath and then you'd be tapping the escape buttons on constant end while they were unresponsive or struggling to escape the beast. Sure they're encounter rate was low and you may be blessed with Odin's appearance from time to time, but if you wanted the Doomtrain Summon (and of course you did) then you knew the day would come when you had to hunt these down to even attempt to steal a Malboro Tentacle or even stand a chance to win one after a fight with one. (Or you could spend [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer hours upon hours playing Triple Triad]], but that provides its [[JustOneMoreLevel own kinds]] of [[ThatOneRule nightmares]]).

** Speaking of your encounter of her at Galbadia Garden, after you beat Seifer and she rises from her chair in that creepy manner, she disappears through the floor and you have to follow her to the lower levels. When you finally arrive at the arena you have to confront her in, some creepy demonic chanting "Fithos Bruthesic" plays and then Edea DROPS IN FROM THE FUCKING CEILING AND CRASHING THROUGH A PANE GLASS CEILING.

* A special mention should go to Edea's "official" introduction to the story, where you take control of Rinoa and go to meet her in an attempt to stop her using this vaguely touched upon item that supposedly drain her of her power [[spoiler: it doesn't work]]. Everything that happens after this is downright unsettling [[spoiler: the way Edea's mask somehow burns off her face and she sit's up from her chair whilst that..."thing" on her back sprouts out with those curtain tails, how she [[HypnotizeThePrincess has Rinoa follow her to the balcony]] where she gives a creepy (yet pretty [[LargeHam over-the-top]] speech of how she's going to do all these nasty things and then '''kills Vinzer Deling right in front of the audience and they all simply cheer like it's no big deal''']]. Granted, the crowd's enthusiastic reception was a result of large-scale MindControl, but that just means that Edea can control the minds of an entire city's worth of people and still have enough power left over to kill someone by thinking about it.

* The Training Area of Balamb Garden definately qualifies. The music for starters is very eerie (especially considering the tune for the Garden itself is so cheerful and beautiful), and there are sentient plants which look like those pitcher fly-trapper plants have the ability to put your characters to sleep and then there's the freaking T-Rexuar whos battle cry literally roars in your face, has soulless white eyes and has freakishly large attack power, and is by far impossible to defeat at early levels.

* The mission to encounter the Bahamut GF were actually fairly unsettling. You're in this abandoned research laboratory and you see this glowing tube with some sort of floating cubes that appeared from time to time. You would have to walk and if you ran even a step whenever the cubes were active and the tube was glowing, you'd have to fight a TOUGH Ruby Dragon (and even if you had Enc-Half or Enc-None, you still had to walk or else you'd be thrust into a battle). And then when you reach the tube, some demonic rumbling emerges as Bahamut asks you questions (after which even if you get a question right you STILL have to fight a Ruby Dragon). All this happens whilst the somber and rather chilling background music is playing.

** Allow me to [[BlatantLies ease]] [[FromBadToWorse your mind]]: Ultima Weapon is very clearly human, [[MixAndMaxCritters at least in part]]. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say: Ultima Weapon ''[[WasOnceAMan was]]'' very clearly human, at least in part.

* For this troper the Training Area of Balamb Garden definately qualifies. The music for starters is very eerie (especially considering the tune for the Garden itself is so cheerful and beautiful), and there are sentient plants which look like those pitcher fly-trapper plants have the ability to put your characters to sleep and then there's the freaking T-Rexuar whos battle cry literally roars in your face, has soulless white eyes and has freakishly large attack power, and is by far impossible to defeat at early levels.
** Along with all of this comes a few questions, [[ParanoiaFuel just how is the garden so sure the training area will always be able to keep gigantic Tyrannosauruses from escaping]] and can we assume the students that dorm possibly wake up at night hearing those roars they make? Oh, and judging by the fact there is no other way that a Granaldo (a giant reptilian/insect creature that looks like Scyther from Pokemon ) and three Raldos (sentient rock creatures) could have come from anywhere else and you [[FridgeHorror never fight anymore in the area after they attack Ellone]] , just what the hell else is the Garden keeping in the Training Area?

* Malboros were by far at their peak of terror in this game. Unless you drew just about every status-effect magic and had [=GFs=] with the ST-DEF-Junction or the blessing of Odin, the moment you entered battle with one of them you were more than likely screwed. They'd hit you with Bad Breath and then you'd be tapping the escape buttons on constant end while they were unresponsive or struggling to escape the beast. Sure they're encounter rate was low and you may be blessed with Odin's appearance from time to time, but if you wanted the Doomtrain Summon (and of course you did) then you knew the day would come when you had to hunt these down to even attempt to steal a Malboro Tentacle or even stand a chance to win one after a fight with one.
* A special mention should go to Edea's "official" introduction to the story, where you take control of Rinoa and go to meet her in an attempt to stop her using this vaguely touched upon item that supposedly drain her of her power [[spoiler: it doesn't work]]. Everything that happens after this is downright unsettling [[spoiler: the way Edea's mask somehow burns off her face and she sit's up from her chair whilst that..."thing" on her back sprouts out with those curtain tails, how she [[HypnotizeThePrincess has Rinoa follow her to the balcony]] where she gives a creepy (yet pretty [[LargeHam over-the-top]] speech of how she's going to do all these nasty things and then '''kills Vinzer Deling right in front of the audience and they all simply cheer like it's no big deal''']]
** Also, how bout [[spoiler: Rinoa during this whole event? She's under Edea's total control and she placidly follows her to the balcony, stands by as Edea gives her speech, Rinoa swaying with her head slightly slumped to the side and appearing like she's lazily trying to stop herself from falling asleep with heavy eyes and a dreamily smile. And then Edea sicks monsters on her after the speech is over]]. It's a good thing Squall and Irvine were there to save her though.

** Speaking of your encounter of her at Galbadia Garden, after you beat Seifer and she rises from her chair in that creepy manner, she disappears through the floor and you have to follow her to the lower levels. When you finally arrive at the arena you have to confront her in, some creepy demonic chanting "Fithos Bruthesic" plays and then Edea DROPS IN FROM THE FUCKING CEILING AND CRASHING THROUGH A PANE GLASS CEILING. That alone had this troper jumping from his seat.

** Allow me to [[BlatantLies ease]] [[FromBadToWorse your mind]]: Ultima Weapon is very clearly human, at least in part. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say: Ultima Weapon [[WasOnceAMan was]] clearly human, at least in part. ForScience, anyone?

* The whole time compression. ''Think about it''. Watch as our heroes have the floor dropped from under them, after fighting Adel, in a wormhole-type structure. Dropping into the ocean from what looks like the thermosphere (out of nowhere -- they '''were''' on the planet), sinking, then resurfacing through the "other side" and continuing back up through the air (where the hell did the ocean floor go?!) into a vortex of seagulls. ''Seagulls''. And that's just happening to Squall and company -- what did everyone else go through? Try wrapping your mind around what exactly is happening.
* How about being chased by that robotic spider? You're running for your life from a massive mechanical monster which could potentially kill you with panic-inducing music playing in the background. Not as major as some of the other examples, but it is still jarring.
** Speaking of that panic inducing music, I'm sure that sent a chill down a few players' spines while they played [=FF8=] in the dark.

* Garden Master NORG also has the potential to unsettle. In large part this was due to his creepy visual concept (yellow skin, gaping pitch-black mouth, tiny empty eyes, jumbo-sized hands with arthropod-esque fingers he uses to gestures oh-so-emphatically, etc.), unusual speech patterns (he TALKS IN ALL CAPS and constantly interjects burbly "BUJURURU" laughter), and music track "Heresy", which made it sound like something terrible would happen at any moment. NORG entered the story pretty much out of nowhere, and so caught one completely by surprise: "(Cid) Oh, BTW, Squall, there's this Garden Master guy you have to go into the basement to defeat." "(Squall/Player) Whatev--HOLYSHITWHATISTHATTHING." The final touch is that attentive gamers are taunted with the prospects of Norg's "rebirth" or "evolution" -- he enters a chrysalis after his defeat, which is shown as having hatched if you return to the area later... but the character is never seen again! The lack of closure was torturous. Surely NORG would evolve into something even more grotesque and seek his revenge! Surely a huge yellow butterfly thing would attack at any time...!

** Faceless Squall is frightening enough, but Rinoa in the ending sequence is no slouch either. At first, it may seem strange that Square places her in an ivory dress for the ballroom scene in which she first approaches Squall: it does little to set off [[RavenHairIvorySkin the rest of her appearance]], and a cynical player may wonder whether it was designed to make her look as though she were [[Fanservice wearing nothing at all]]. In the end, however, it becomes clear that the reason for this dress is much more sinister: with the help of video ([[HellIsThatNoise and audio]]) distortion, it makes her look like an ''[[StringyHairedGhostGirl onryo]]''. She's not approaching Squall, she's ''advancing on him''. [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou And the player]]. And the scene plays over... and over... and ''over''...

[[OverlyLongGag Ok, by now we know]] that ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' can be scary. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' may or may not be as fright-rife as its predecessors but when it does aim to make players scream, ''BOY'' does it live up to their standards. The same goes for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the sequel both in name [[{{NightmareFuel/FinalFantasyIX}} and scares.]]

** Faceless Squall is frightening enough, but Rinoa in the ending sequence is no slouch either. At first, it may seem strange that Square places her in an ivory dress for the ballroom scene in which she first approaches Squall: it does little to set off the rest of her appearance, and a cynical player may wonder whether it was designed to make her look as though she were wearing nothing at all. In the end, however, it becomes clear that the reason for this dress is much more sinister: with the help of video ([[HellIsThatNoise and audio]]) distortion, it makes her look like an ''[[StringyHairedGhostGirl onryo]]''. She's not approaching Squall, she's ''advancing on him''. [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou And the player]]. And the scenes plays over... and over... and over OH GOD MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKEITSTOP...