Final Fantasy VIII Remastered

[@heorotlinea]

Detailed description: 0:00 - Game Load 0:04 - Balamb Garden The party resumes in Squall's Dormitory Single in Balamb Garden, which is near Edea's House. The current lineup is Zell, Squall, and Selphie. Zell has the GFs Brothers, Carbuncle, Leviathan, and Tonberry junctioned; Squall has Quezacotl, Ifrit, Cerberus, and Alexander; and Selphie has Shiva, Siren, Diablos, and Pandemona. In prep for the upcoming sequence, Selphie gives all her Break and Zombie spells to Irvine and takes all his Protect spells. Zell, Squall, and Selphie have at least one slot available for spells. The party heads to the Infirmary in the western part of the Hall (1:51). A cutscene takes place as Squall approaches Rinoa's Infirmary bed (2:09). The lad's got it bad. It is time for another episode (2:58). We can now set who to junction to Laguna's companions, but Squall will always be junctioned to Laguna himself. I junction Zell to Kiros and Selphie to Ward. Note: Ward will not be available if the party took the Timber Maniacs issue in Shumi Village. Leave this issue of Timber Maniacs for later. 3:07 - Timber Canyon (Laguna) A cutscene takes place as we join Laguna's group in the frigid Timber Canyon. Of all the ways for Laguna to make money. Another scene takes place (4:11). Laguna meets his Co-star and the Director. Nice getup, Laguna. Hm, Seifer might have been more menacing as the Sorceress' Knight with some cool dark armor. Anyway, the Director also has a role for Kiros and Ward. I wonder how Kiros would manage it by himself. I hear cause for alarm... Another scene takes place when Laguna, his Co-star, and the Director reach the filming location (5:19). Unfortunately, the stand-in for Laguna's opponent is all too real! I don't blame the Co-star and the Director. We get a brief tutorial (7:42). This is the tutorial that we should have gotten when Squall was fighting that paratrooper on the jetpack. Then, it is time for a minigame battle against the Ruby Dragon (7:52). Frankly, this is simpler than Squall's battle because the camera angle is fixed. All Laguna has to do is defend against the Ruby Dragon's attacks and attack it with his gunblade. A scene takes place after the battle (8:43). The hardened soldier takes the better part of valor. Another event takes place at the canyon's lower exit (8:55). The way out is blocked, but Laguna's buddies show up just in time. The player can proceed directly to the real battle with "(Here we go!!)". However, it is far preferable to choose "(H-Hold on a sec...)" and prepare! We gain control of Laguna's squad at the bottom part of the Timber Canyon path (9:38). Though Kiros and Ward "inherited" Zell and Selphie's levels and spell list, their GFs were unjunctioned oh-so-inconveniently, so preparation is needed. Kiros junctions the GFs Brothers, Carbuncle, Tonberry, and later Leviathan. He junctions Regen to HP, Triple to Strength, Meltdown to Vitality, Holy to Magic, and Reflect to Spirit. He junctions Firaga and later Tornado to Elem-Def. He junctions Slow to ST-Atk and Pain and Confuse to ST-Def. He equips the commands LV Up, Draw, and LV Down and the abilities HP+80%, Vit+40%, and Vit Bonus. Ward junctions the GFs Shiva, Siren, Diablos, and Pandemona. He junctions Regen to HP, Triple to Strength, Meltdown to Vitality, Holy to Magic, Reflect to Spirit, Haste to Speed, and Blind to Hit. He junctions Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and Tornado to Elem-Def. He junctions Sleep to ST-Atk and Pain and Confuse to ST-Def. He equips the commands Magic, Draw, and Item and the abilities HP+80%, Move-Find, and Enc-None. Laguna junctions Firaga and Tornado to Elem-Def. The squad starts by climbing the Trabia Canyon path. However, they cannot go out through the upper pass. They will have to suck it up and take care of that dragon. At the bottom of the Timber Canyon path, the squad rests with a Tent at the save point and saves. The squad takes the path east from the save point to the canyon's lower exit (15:41). Ward equips the abilities Vit+40% and Mug in the place of Move-Find and Enc-None. Laguna equips the command Item in the place of Card. Laguna's squad enters battle against the Ruby Dragon (16:20). The Ruby Dragon is not a huge threat at a low level. Its draw list at Level 1-34 is Aero and Fira. At Level 35-44, its draw list is Aero, Firaga, and Demi. At Level 45+, its draw list is Firaga, Reflect, Flare, and Meteor. The squad can raise the Ruby Dragon's level to draw its Meteor spells. However, this makes it much more threatening. At high levels, it can use Meteor, Firaga, and Breath. Breath deals heavy non-elemental physical damage to the entire squad. Fortunately, the Ruby Dragon is susceptible to the Slow and Sleep status ailments. It is also weak to ice- and holy-elemental attacks. Despite the risks, a Ruby Dragon is the fastest way to obtain Meteor spells. To mitigate Breath, the squad can summon the GF Cerberus to set up Double and Triple, and a squad member can triple-cast Protect on the squad. Protect will mitigate the terrifying Breath attack. Slow- and sleep-inducing attacks can be used to afflict these status ailments on the Ruby Dragon. While the Ruby Dragon is asleep, LV Up can be used to raise its level to make Meteor available. Then, the squad can draw Meteor spells while the Ruby Dragon is asleep. The higher their Magic stat, the more Meteor spells they can draw at a time. By the way, Squall's party can encounter Ruby Dragons, though much later in Disc 3. If you want to wait to get Meteor spells, feel free to do so. Once the squad has sucked out as many Meteor spells as they can hold, they can use LV Down to reduce the Ruby Dragon's level and then finish it off easily. An event takes place after the battle (27:35). Our bros see something off in the distance. 28:01 - Edea's House (Laguna) A little interlude takes place with Ellone and Squall (28:01). Afterwards, an event with Laguna and Matron takes place at Edea's House (28:38). Another interlude with Ellone and Squall takes place (29:52). So, that explains Ellone's actions. 30:53 - Balamb Garden The sequence concludes with Squall in Balamb Garden's Infirmary. Now, Squall has to visit Edea to ask the whereabouts of the White SeeD Ship. We regain control of Squall after the sequence (31:50). He is now solo, but at least Zell and Selphie are still junctioned. Zell equips the abilities Spr Bonus and HP Bonus in place of Vit+40% and HP+80%. He equips the commands GF and Item in place of LV Up and LV Down. Selphie equips the abilities Move-Find, Enc-None, and Mag Bonus in place of HP+80%, Vit+40%, and Mug. Everyone junctions Meteor to Magic. Squall sets out to reexplore the Garden, starting with floor 1F (33:19). The party earns a SeeD Level 10 salary of 8,000 gil. In the Cafeteria's dining room, Squall approaches the Novice SeeD Candidates for the final stage of their quest (35:08). This only takes place if Squall has endured all their events throughout the game up to now. Good for them. Squall rests in his Dormitory Single. The party earns a SeeD Level 10 salary of 8,000 gil. After exploring 1F, Squall takes the elevator up to the 2F Hallway (40:24). He checks out the Hallway and the Classroom. Squall takes the elevator up to floor 3F (42:52). On the bridge, Squall talks to Nida to set out. He adds Irvine and Quistis to his lineup. Irvine and Quistis respectively exchange junctions with Zell and Selphie. 43:35 - Centra Region The party disembarks Balamb Garden and enters Edea's House. 44:01 - Edea's House In the Backyard, the party talks to Edea for an event (44:19). She tells them the White SeeD Ship may be by an inlet somewhere on the Centra continent. She also gives them the Sorceress' Letter to give to the White SeeDs. The party can talk to Edea and Cid for further information. They leave Edea's House. 46:06 - Centra Region The party boards Balamb Garden and goes to the bridge. 46:12 - Balamb Garden On the bridge, Squall chats with Quistis and Xu to see if their dialogue has changed. The party takes the elevator down to the 1F Lobby (46:35). They talk to Zell in the eastern Hall to see if Zell has new dialogue. The party takes the elevator back up to floor 3F (47:15). They talk to Nida to set out. The lineup remains the same. 47:35 - Centra Region The party will now go hunt some more Cactuars. After saving, they board Balamb Garden and go east across the southern landmass. They disembark when they reach the Talle Mountains in the south of the Esthar Region. The description is continued in a reply.

[@heorotlinea]

Description continuation. 48:37 - Esthar Region The party goes through the mountain pass and turn northeast to the Kashkabald Desert. When the party reaches the southeastern part of Kashkabald Desert, labeled as Cactuar Island, Squall and Irvine exchange junctions. Squall equips the Initiative ability instead of HP Bonus. Quistis equips the Mug and Initiative abilities instead of Move-Find and Enc-None. She also junctions Flare to Strength and Triple to Hit. The party begins hunting Cactuars in southeastern Kashkabald Desert (50:02). GF Alexander learns Elem-Defx4. Alexander begins learning High Mag-RF. Irvine junctions Blizzaga and Thundaga to Elem-Def. GF Cerberus learns ST-Def-Jx2. Cerberus begins learning ST-Def-Jx4. Irvine junctions to ST-Def. GF Alexander learns High Mag-RF. Alexander begins learning Elem-Atk-J. GF Cerberus learns ST-Def-Jx4. GF Alexander learns Elem-Atk-J. Cerberus begins learning Alert. Alexander begins learning Revive. GF Leviathan reaches Level 19. Quistis equips the abilities Move-Find and Enc-None instead of Mug and Initiative. Squall equips the ability HP Bonus instead of Initiative. Squall and Irvine exchange junctions. The party backtracks through the pass in the Talle Mountains to the Centra Region. They board Balamb Garden. 57:29 - Centra Region The party navigates east to near Edea's House on the Cape of Good Hope. When they arrive, they disembark and save. Next time, the party will seek the White SeeD Ship in Squall's quest to find Ellone. Thanks for watching!

[@heorotlinea]

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLIZ8kn0xML24xxIC8AiKtZt6DeqZywHwj