You can now watch the full near 4-hour video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-szkKut4mew

Goodness, I didn’t realize there was so much lore behind a guy only mentioned like once or twice in the entire game

The final fantasy game that got me INTO final fantasy. This is awesome. Thank you

I'm starting to wonder if I was paying attention the couple times I've played and beaten FF8, because a lot of this historical lore feels like new information to me.

Genuinely think this is one of the best videos you’ve ever created. Loved it and cannot wait to see more! I like the idea of the Squall/Laguna deep dive. Really enjoying this kind of lore style video.

I like the Laguna and Squall idea

This was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played and it holds a special place in my heart. Watching Shiva pop out of an ice crystal and blast the enemy with a blizzard awoke the nerd in me and I was never the same.

45 minute FF8 video: 🙂
45 minute individual parts: 🤤

GIVE ME MORE VIII HISTORY!!! Fantastic piece of work.

FF8 is so beautifully crafted, and yet so incomplete according to Nojima, due to everything that was cut off. Yet, it's an outstanding game. I really love this game.

Speaking of lore and symbolism in FF8, one major motif I previously never noticed is the prevalence of "The Moon". It is EVERYWHERE in FF8. It features predominantly in the sky of almost every pre-rendered background, even during the daytime, just ominously staring down on the party with exaggerated size. The very first visual in the demo disk is of the Balamb Garden ships moving over a reflection of the moon. All of which foreshadow the Lunar Cry in Disk 3.

I'm not sure if it is intentional, but I love the interpretation of Ultemecia's name being roughly translated from "Artemisia" - as in "Artemis, Goddess of the Moon". And the moon we see in the background symbolizes her looming presence throughout the game.

Or alternatively, if Hyne controls Ultemecia, perhaps Hyne IS the moon? Periodically sending disaster to Earth to weed out the humans. That is my headcanon at least.

Looking forward to parts 2 and 3 of this series!

I'm actually glad that the game didn't jam this lore down our throats. It makes it feel more interesting and enchanted when you actually do look for the historical details, but also, it's just refreshing to play something with a story that's told through its characters. The history and politics are the backdrop, but life happens between people.

This is one my favorite final fantasy games so I am so happy to hear this

FF8 Fan Story
A couple of months ago, I was hesitant to play FF8 for a long time. After beating FF7 & 9, I decided to give FF8 another shot. Earlier that day, I was at my local flea market and I just so happened to find the official guide for the game (which is a really good guide btw). I followed the guide, beat the game, and eventually got the platinum. Even though it’s a very different Final Fantasy compared the previous entries, FF8 is a good game!

I have always loved the lore of Final Fantasy VIII, and it is great to see it done justice here. Very much looking forward to Parts 2 and 3.

We got lazy gods, we got magic, we got moon monsters, we got Spartans, we got Atheneans, we got it all bro

I love when you publish videos regarding FF VIII

With all this history and lore in FF8.. it still baffles me that we haven’t gotten a FF8-2 yet

This is my favorite FF to replay over and over and I never knew most of this lore. What a great deep dive. Thank you for all your hard work. I love how relaxing your videos are too.

Thank you so much for doing a deep dive on my first and favorite RPG of all time. I've replayed FFVIII so many times since '99 and still picked up new lore pieces in your video. Looking forward to watching this whole series!