History Trivia / FinalFantasyVIII

** Part of the game's dummied content states that a sorceress's powers weaken whenever they're passed on. It's unknown if this is canon or not.

** Another example is the ''Chocobo World'' minigame for the [=PocketStation=], which never made it out of Japan. Said minigame is still referenced in the English version and manual, probably because the decision not to release the hardware hadn't been made yet. It is possible to play with an imported [=PocketStation=] from Japan. ''Chocobo World'' can be used to get many useful items, Guardian Forces, and of course, HundredPercentCompletion. However, the PC version has ''Chocobo World'' as a separate program.

** A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fuMvMJYAc popular remix of "Eyes On Me"]] was supposed to appear in ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'', but never appeared.

** Originally, Selphie was supposed to have two more Limit Break spells which apparently were never programmed in. The spells were Percent, which cuts all enemies' current HP by 93.75% and, Catastrophe, which is more powerful than the ultimate spell, Apocalypse. They both can be accessed with a [=GameShark=], and use the Fire spell animation.

* NoExportForYou: Unless you import a Japanese [=PocketStation=] or have the PC version, there is no way to play the ''Chocobo World'' minigame in the original game's international releases.

* ApprovalOfGod: Kitase finds the "Squall is dead" theory interesting, and said it might be incorporated if the game ever gets a remake.

** Originally, Selphie was supposed to have two more Limit Break spells which apparently were never programmed in. The spells were ''Percent'' which cuts all enemies' current HP by 93.75% and ''Catastrophe'' which is more powerful than the ultimate spell, Apocalypse. They both can be accessed with a Gameshark, and use the Fire spell animation.
** Another example is an entire mini-game mode for the Pocketstation, which never made it out of Japan. Said mode is still referenced in the English release and manual, probably because the decision not to release the hardware hadn't been made yet. It is possible to play with an imported Pocket Station from Japan. The mini-game could be used to get many useful items, guardian forces, and of course, HundredPercentCompletion. However, the PC version had this mini-game as a separate program.

* NoExportForYou: Unless you have the PC version or import a Japanese [=PocketStation=], there is no way to play the ''[=ChocoboWorld=]'' game in international releases.

** Adel was meant to be the final boss of Disc 3, following the tradition of finishing every Disc with a sorceress battle. Game data also shows that the player is supposed to be awarded 40 AP for the battle, as well as receiving the Samantha Soul item. As there is no results screen after the battle is over, the player never gets either (though the Samantha Soul can be mugged from Adel during the battle).

** Originally, Selphie was supposed to have two more Limit Break spells which apparently were never programmed in. The spells were ''Percent'' which cuts all enemies' current HP by 93.75% and ''Catastrophe'' which is more powerful than the ultimate spell, Apocalypse. They both can be accessed with a Gameshark.

** Selphie had two additional Limit Breaks in her Slot command: Percentage, a gravity-based attack - that cuts all enemies by 15/16 of their current HP. And Catastrophe - a spell even more powerful than Apocalypse. These can be accessed with a [=GameShark=] - and are seen with the Fire spell animation.

** Large amounts of data exists for more Laguna sequences that were deleted from the game. Background graphics exist for the Great Salt Lake [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/e/e9/Saltlake.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100614015641 before it dried up]], [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Dummied-Winhill-Scene.png Close-ups]] of [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Winhill_unused.png Ellone's parents' old house]] in Winhill, a [[https://tcrf.net/images/5/57/FF8Room643.gif moving green truck]] also for Winhill (and an [[https://tcrf.net/images/thumb/1/17/FF8Room672.png/320px-FF8Room672.png overhead shot of some buildings]], and for [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ragnarok_2.jpg Ragnarok in the Air Station]] before the Lunar Cry (since the sky is blue). There also unused battle formations for Esthar soldiers within the city.

* ImageSource:
** OfficialCouple
** SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains

* QuoteSource:
** GreyAndGrayMorality

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The outfits in the game, particularly Squall's, just scream turn-of-the-millennium. The end credits cutscene also evokes a pre-Internet home video and Selphie runs a text blog. If the game was made two decades later, she would more likely be a video streamer.

* MilestoneCelebration: ''Final Fantasy VIII Remastered'' is releasing in 2019, the original's 20th anniversary.

* FanNickname:
** "[[UsefulNotes/CubanMissileCrisis Galbadia Missile Crisis]]" for a certain Disc 2 event.
** "Esthar Death Corps" for the black-and-green Esthar soldiers, so named because you have a chance of rolling soldiers that do nothing but cast Death on your party one by one.
** [[spoiler:"Grievermecia" for the [[FusionDance Ultimecia-junctioned-to-Griever creature]] in the FinalBattle; and "Finalmecia" for the one that comes ''after that one.'' Also "Edeamecia" for Edea during the periods in which she's possessed by Ultimecia, and, along similar lines, "Rinoamecia" or "Rinultimecia" for the ({{Jossed}}) EpilepticTrees theory that Rinoa will become Ultimecia in the future.]]
** "Armageddon Fist" for a popular SimpleYetAwesome strategy regarding Zell's LimitBreak. (Alternate between Punch Rush, Circle X, and Booya, Right Left. Though scarcely flashy, it's the best DPS you can get out of his Limit Break.)
** "Meteor Wing" for the Angel Wing/Meteor trick you can have Rinoa use. Basically it involves removing all offensive magic (Scan included) from her inventory and putting her into Angel Wing status. She will cast Meteor every time. When combined with high Speed and Magic stats she can defeat most bosses in a few turns, even Ultimecia.
* {{Jossed}}:
** The ''Ultimania'' josses the theory that Ultimecia is a future version of Rinoa simply by not mentioning it at all. Due to Ultimecia's line about "[=SeeD=] swarming across generations", the only way it would work is if sorceresses have extended lifespans. Square points out that if that were true, Ultimecia would have no reason to cast Time Compression, as she's afraid of dying.
** The "Squall is dead" theory was shot down, this time by [[WordOfGod Yasunori Kitase]] in [[http://kotaku.com/is-squall-really-dead-final-fantasy-producer-addresses-1800007113 an interview]] (where he shots down the previous theory yet again, too). He did, however, note that he found the idea interesting and suggested that if they ever remake the game, they might "go along with that story in mind", although he didn't elaborate on what he meant by that.

** "Armageddon Fist" for a popular SimpleYetAwesome strategy regarding Zell's LimitBreak.

* NoPortForYou: Square Enix chose to skip over ''VIII'' when they re-released a large number of their older ''Final Fantasy'' 3D titles for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and UsefulNotes/XboxOne. ''VIII'' is also notably absent from their mobile store and the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4. Though Square Enix has never spoken on record about the lack of ''VIII'', many executives including the [[https://www.vg247.com/2018/09/14/isnt-ps4-xbox-switch-port-final-fantasy-8-preservation-may-answer/ president of Eidos]] ([[https://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7 who oversaw]] the original PC versions of it and ''VII'') and [[https://www.vg247.com/2018/09/14/isnt-ps4-xbox-switch-port-final-fantasy-8-preservation-may-answer/ Tetsuya Nomura himself]] have talked openly about source code being lost during this era of gaming, including ''Final Fantasy VII'', ''VIII'', and ''Kingdom Hearts'': it'd be unsurprising if this was a large part of it. This was finally averted with the E3 2019 announcement of ''Final Fantasy VIII Remastered'', which is coming to Steam, [=PlayStation=] 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in 2019. It turns out part of the reason it took longer for a re-release was that Square Enix chose to upgrade the character models, making them closer to [=PS2=] quality, as the game was going to be played on HD monitors instead of [=CRTs=].