Final Fantasy VIII - Walkthrough

Leave the classroom and head down then right and you will encounter a student running late for class. She is a transfer student and, if you reply with "Are you OK?" she will ask if you can show her around. If you choose to do so, head to the elevator (from where she came from).

If you are looking to play Triple Triad, you can get a starter deck from the person outside the elevator.

Head into the elevator and when you get off, head down. Squall will say "That is the directory" and take the student to it. After a short guide to where things are (useful if you are new to the game) you can now explore.

After you have finished exploring, head back to the directory and then head down, leave Garden through the reception and outside into the courtyard.

Once you have defeated Ifrit, you will get another tutorial about Elemental Junctions and then you can leave the Cavern and head back to Garden.

When you arrive back, you will have one more tutorial regarding GF's and their abilities.

Head back into Garden through the reception and head around the central elevator to the Dorms in the back. Inside Squall's room, head to his bed and change into your uniform. If you select the bed again, you can rest here and there is a save point in the room if you need it.

Once done, leave the room and head back to the lobby where you are assigned to a group with another student, [Zell] and Seifer as the group leader.

After the briefing by Headmaster Cid, follow Seifer and you will enter the Garage and leave for the mission. Drive the vehicle to the town by following the road and enter.

After a short scene, you will enter the ship to head to the mission.

Before we go on, there are some things to know about the SeeD Field Exam; like with the Fire Cavern, you are graded but this time in several ways. If you are looking to get the highest SeeD Rank (Rank 10) you must:

• Have completed Fire Cavern with less than 7 seconds left (See above)
• Not speak to anyone (Except Seifer if he stops moving).
• Defeat > 75 enemies (Includes boss battles).
• Not go towards the communication tower until Seifer tells you to.
• Not use the shortcut on the cliff (Follow Seifer's route to the Communications Tower, not Selphie's).
• Save the Dog in the town square (During evacuation).
• Not run into the cafe to escape X-ATM092.
• Only escape from X-ATM092 once (The mandatory one under Comms Tower)

Then defeat X-ATM092 and get to the evacuation point with at least 10 minutes left.

If you do not defeat X-ATM092, the best SeeD Rank you can achieve is 9; this is due to the way the score and rank are worked out; see the SeeD Exam section for details.

There is a "glitch" where if you defeat X-ATM092 the "Attitude" score is re-named to "Point(s) Deducted" but this does not mean you have had deductions.

Back in your room, Selphie will be there waiting for you, get changed into your new SeeD uniform and then talk to her to attend the Graduation Party.

After a cut-scene, Quistis will come outside to tell you to meet her outside the Training Center after curfew. Once back in your room, get changed back into your normal clothes and then head to the Training Center.

Quistis will be waiting for you, and give you another tutorial...

Inside the Training Center, head to the back where you will find a Save Point and a door, head inside the door and a scene will play.

Head back towards the entrance and you will hear a scream, near the entrance is a woman being attacked, you will fight the monsters off. They are not too hard and you can Draw Protect and Shell from them which will be useful.

Afterwards, leave the Training Center and head back to your room and sleep.

The next morning, Selphie will wake you saying you have a mission; there is a copy of Weapons Monthly April on the desk next to the Save Point. Head to the Front Gate where you will be briefed by Headmaster Cid along with receiving the code phrase to use with your contact.

After the briefing, talk to Cid again to obtain the Magical Lamp, an item that can be used to obtain a GF. Head back into Garden and use the elevator to go up to 3F, Headmaster Cid's Office. Talk to him again to get the Battle Meter.

You will now start getting your SeeD salary, this is based on your SeeD Rank and you can take tests to improve it as well as it improving with experience.

Save then use the Magical Lamp, if you want to. It is best to do it early as it is a useful GF to have and will only get stronger as the game goes on.

Follow everyone into the Strategy Room where you will be briefed on the plan.

The plan is made up of several elements:

• Board the Train
• Sneak across the roof of the Escort Car
• Enter the codes to release the first lock
• Enter the codes to release the second lock

When you are ready; talk to Watts outside the Strategy Room. Approach Rinoa, you now have 5 minutes to complete the mission. Jump over to the other train and just run (The guards sensors aren't working).

On the next car, use [Down] to get to the panel but keep an eye out for the Guards on the car, Zell and Selphie will tell you when they are coming, you must press [Up] to avoid being seen but you can't do it while doing the code. Enter the 3 codes correctly to continue.

Follow Rinoa to the right side of the car to enter the next codes; this time there are 5 codes to enter, guards to dodge and no support from Zell and Selphie. You should still have plenty of time left, so after each code, move up to avoid the guards. You may try to get 2 done at once but the risk is higher. If you are seen, you can reset the scene. Completing the mission without being caught will raise your SeeD rank 1 level.

After this, a cut scene will play and you will make off with your prize.

Make sure you are prepared for battle, when you are ready, speak to Rinoa.

At the bottom of the Stairs is a Shop on the left, a Cure Draw Point on the right as well as a train platform to the "Desert" and the pub itself; enter the pub.

Inside, you will see a man sitting in front of a door, talk to him and you will have a few options; Buy him a drink, tell him about card and do nothing. If you buy him a drink, you have to guess what he is drinking (See Below) and you will get a Forbidden Card, Tell him about the Buel card and he will give you a Tonberry Card and a Funguar Card if you don't have a Buel card in your inventory.

Exit through the back door once he is out of the way.

In the alley out the back is a save point and a Draw Point for Scan. Head west through the alley and you will arrive at the back of the TV Station, run to the end and up the stairs.

Keep climbing the stairs until you come to a stop and a brief conversation; no matter what you say, Rinoa will run off and Selphie will arrive.

After a short scene, proceed along the route to the TV station. Inside, another scene will play out and introduce a new character, known as "The Sorceress".

Head back down the stairs into the alley, follow Rinoa and Quistis back to the pub. The owner will give you a place to stay, follow them outside, up the stairs and west to the house next door to Timber Maniacs.

Inside, after a brief conversation, you will retreat upstairs to avoid Galbadian Soldiers and you can now talk to Quistis a couple of times to talk about what just happened.

Follow everyone downstairs and go to leave, you will decide to head to the nearest Garden; Galbadia Garden. Select your party, receive a Potion, Phoenix Down, Soft, Antidote & Remedy from the "Chief" and leave.

Head east and speak with Zone to get the tickets for the train. Follow the rest back down to the station platform under the bridge and onto the platform to the left, up the small stairs. Cross the bridge with the children on it and then head down (Use the save point if needed).

On the train, after letting Selphie into the other section of the car, talk to Rinoa and say "It's not important, but..." then speak to everyone else and finally speak to Zell ("Leave him alone" option). 

After the scene of the train journey, get off the train at East Academy Station and head to your right and make your way to the forest in front of you.

Continue on the path, and up the stairs to the north of the switch. Follow the path up the stairs and around to the next part of the cave.

In this part, there is a boulder in the wall, examine it and Laguna will move it revealing a Draw Point for Cure. Continue north on the path. In the next part there is a Save Point if you need it, then head north to the Cliff.

There is now a scripted battle that you can't escape from with 2 Esthar Soldiers, they have an ability called "Soul Crush" that can take you down to 1HP instantly, they are a bit tougher than the normal ones but still quite easy to beat.

After the battle, a short scene will play out and you will leave the dream and go back to Squall and his team.

Inside the room, speak to Zell; Quistis will come in and inform everyone of the situation.

Speak to Zell, Quistis, Rinoa and Selphie then walk towards the door, Squall will leave the room. Head down the stairs and south towards the entrance hall. You will be called out to by Raijin, one of Seifer's friends.

After they explain they were sent with new orders from Headmaster Cid, they will leave to find Seifer. An announcement will be made requiring you to meet at the front gate.

Head outside the way you came in and Quistis will be waiting for you at the gate, follow her to the rest of your party.

You can talk to everyone, but once you speak to Rinoa, the Galbadia Garden Headmaster, Martine, arrives and Rinoa will pretend to be SeeD to blend in.

You will be given a new mission and a new addition to the team, an elite sniper from Galbaia Garden named [Irvine].

After speaking to Irvine, you can speak to anyone else to give a mission briefing to the others.

After the briefing, Irvine will say we need to make a party for the trip and decides on himself, Selphie and Rinoa with Squall, Zell and Quistis as a team. You can either choose to go with it or make the choice yourself. Make your team and make sure GFs, Magic, etc. are Junctioned ready to go. There will be a brief tutorial on how to switch party members.

If there is anything you want to do in Galbadia Garden, do it now. You can earn Level 6 Boss cards from the female student in the classroom with the 3 students.

Heading west from where you exit from Galbadia Garden is a train waiting to take you to Deling City.

Head up the stairs to the platform and speak to the train guard to pay 3000 Gil to travel.

If you need supplies, exit the Hotel and head west, across the street is the shop (glass door) and junk shop (wood door). 

Follow the road south. Outside the gates, head east then follow the path up. Speak to the guard outside and he will give you an assignment from General Caraway. If you get lost, you can ride the bus to the Mansion; just talk to the guys in green next to the road.

When you have been briefed, have him escort you out of town, here you can rent a car if you have fuel but you don't really need it for this as it is not far; if you do want to, however, you can speak to the man behind you. Head west to leave town.

The Tomb of the Unknown King is not shown on the map in game, but it is east of Deling City (Check our Map).

Hint: The area between Dealing City and Tomb of the Unknown King has enemies called Thrustaevises; depending on its level it may have Tornado magic to draw and Windmills to steal which can be refined into Tornado magic. This magic Junctions to stats really well and can be used to give a major boost to your HP.

After defeating Sacred, he will run away. There will be a Save Point here if you need it.

You now need to get to the main room in the middle, but to get there you have to complete a couple of tasks.

Leave the Sacred Room and head right and follow the corridor. Head right again and follow the corridor then right again and then go forward (If you came here before defeating Sacred, there is a tablet here with a message from the lost Galbadian Garden student with directions on how to leave).

In the next room is a Draw Point for Float and the Floodgate, interact with the chain to open the gate.

Now, head back and at the first crossroad, head right and follow the corridor. Then head right, follow the path then right again. This corridor is also blocked off before defeating Sacred and has another note on how to leave; in the room beyond this is a Draw Point for Cura, a Save Point and the controls for the Drawbridge. Interact with the controls to lower the Drawbridge.

You need to enter the middle room via the Drawbridge which is located on the side nearest the entrance, to get there from your current location, exit the room, head straight, then go right and follow the corridor. Next go forward, then left and you will be at the Drawbridge. Prepare yourself for another fight.

After defeating the Brothers, they will join you as a GF; named [Brothers]. The coffin in the middle will then open and the spirit of the occupant will talk to you then give you the Minotaur Card.

Once you are done, you can leave the Tomb by just heading down out of the room and across the bridge, then just head forward to leave.

Leave the area and head back to Dealing City.

Follow the General again, along the path is a Draw Point for Thundara. Under the arch, talk to the General and the Gateway team will enter the control room.

Follow the General again to the Sniper Team's start point. When the General leaves, Quistis will tell the others that she is going to apologise to Rinoa then follow the General back. Enter the Mansion and, after the scene, they will get locked in.

Now, as Rinoa, there is a Save Point, some crates and a manhole, enter the manhole and keep heading left to find Weapons Monthly May. Head back and climb back up to the surface where you entered.

Now, interact with the crates to climb up, climb to the top and, after jumping across, head left. Continue left and then climb the ladder on the left then climb onto the roof.

Walk towards the Sorceress and interact with her, after the scene with Edea, you will be back as Quistis's team in the Mansion. You have to escape, talking to Zell and Selphie will give some clues. For those who wish to work it out by yourselves, give it a go but if you wish to know how to escape, see the spolier below.

From here on, you will be switching between parties, make sure to switch Junctions as well so you are not caught short. Best practice is to switch Junctions every time you change between Squall's and Quistis' party.

After solving the puzzle a secret passage will open. Head through the corridor and down the stairs to the ladder; go down the ladder into the sewers.

At the bottom of the ladder, head left and stand on the bridge; look at the water wheel and interact with it to ride it up to the platform. Interact with the gate here to open it and head north.

Keep going up and a scene will play showing the parade has started. As Squall, follow Irvine to the Presidential Palace and take the same route up to the top as you did with Rinoa then continue to the top. At the top head up the stairs and into the palace.

Prepare for battle and make sure you have Draw ability Junctioned. Head along the corridor and into the Sorceress' chamber.

After the battle, Irvine's team will call and get you to operate the arm.

After, head back outside and head across the bridge; after the brief scene, continue along the bridge. It will start to collapse and Squall will be left hanging on the edge of the bridge.

Head along the side of the bridge; north-east direction.

After leaving the prison, a conversation will take place. You will arrive in a desert location, there is a Draw Point for Aero here; talk to Selphie and then choose a party to head to the Missile Base while the other heads to Balamb Garden. Squall's team is heading for Balamb and Selphie's team goes to the Missile Base.

If you put Zell on Squall's team, you will be able to do another part of the Love Quest.

After deciding teams, Squall's team will arrive at a train station; head west along the side of the train. When you reach the engine, a soldier will get off, enter the engine and the train will start and a funny scene of the soldier running along-side the train.

Following this, you will switch to Selphie's team; make sure to switch your Junctions if needed (You will have to get out of the vehicle to do this).

From the prison, head towards the train station in front of you and then take a left. Follow the road until you see Deling City, turn left and you will see the road leads to a building; this is the Missile Base.

Now, head to the Training Area, choose to help the SeeD and another battle; this one is against a T-Rexaur so be careful (Keep trying to turn it into a Card as it will cut the fight time down; use Blind on it as well to make it miss its attacks). Speak to the SeeD afterwards to receive a Remedy.

Now, head to the Garage for another fight then continue into the Garage and talk to the SeeD to receive a Tent.

Head to the Dormitory for another fight; if you go into your room, you can save and rest if you need.

Head to the Cafeteria and fight the Faculty; inside the Cafeteria, there is a Hidden Draw Point for Demi and if you talk to the SeeD middle-left there is a funny conversation but if you talk to her again you will get Gyshal Greens.

Next up is the Quad, head down the steps and then head left, the Faculty will run past saying they need backup. Enter the Quad and choose "Headmaster faction"; talk to the middle SeeD to get an X-Potion.

Next is the Infirmary, Choose to help them and then battle the monster. After informing Dr. Kadowaki of the missiles, talk to her again to receive an Elixir. As you leave the Infirmary, you can talk to the SeeD here; the one at the bottom is the SeeD who graduated with you, Zell and Selphie.

Our next objective is to find Xu; Quistis' friend from the Field Exam so head to the elevator. As you approach the elevator, you will see Xu go up; follow her to the 2nd Floor.

Head towards the classroom, but continue past it to the hallway beyond where you will find Xu.

Follow her to see Headmaster Cid in his office; enter the elevator and then enter Headmaster Cid's office.

After a brief conversation, Cid will fall down, talk to him again and he will give you a key.

Leave the office and enter the elevator; after unlocking the controls you will have access to the MD level.

At the bottom of the ladder, head right and down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a Draw Point for Full-Life; head to the middle of the room where you will have a conversation about the ladder here, choose "I'll go check it out" (If you choose "We have no choice, let's go" then they will say they don't trust the ladder and you end up going.)

As you climb the ladder, it will fall; in this room examine the computer then climb back down the ladder. At the bottom, after a brief conversation, examine the fence at the bottom of the screen with the flashing green light.

At the bottom of the ladder is a Save Point and a Lever to the right of it. Examine the lever to open the gate in the upper left. Prepare for a battle then head to the bridge by the doors that just opened.

After the battle, head through the doors at the end of the bridge and then head down the ladder.

At the bottom of the ladder, head left. In this room, walk towards the controls; examine the control in the middle twice, this will activate the system.

After activating the machine, there is a cut-scene and you will be back in Headmaster Cid's office. Talk to Cid then use the elevator in the bottom left to leave.

Leave Cid's office and use the elevator to get back to 2F; head to the second corridor where you found Xu and head through the door at the end of the corridor (with the red light)

After the scene, head back inside and you will be taken to the Bridge in the Headmaster's office. Another scene will play then it fades to Squall, alone in his room thinking.

Rinoa will come in and wake you up and ask to be shown around. You can visit each area and there are little conversations to be had. If you want to do this, avoid the foyer where the elevator is until you have done all you want to do.

Head to the foyer and a Faculty member will tell you to go to B1 and visit the Garden Master. Head to the elevator and head down.

At the bottom of the elevator, walk down the stairs and your other party member will arrive. You will hear a conversation between Cid and someone else.

Speak to Cid then you will be told to go talk to the Garden Master, NORG. Prepare for a fight then head left.

After the Boss Fight, there is a short conversation. After this, there is a Hidden Draw Point for Bio inside the NORG Pod; if you stand in the right place in front of the pod, you can draw from it.

Head back and enter the elevator; you will find Cid in the Infirmary. Enter and talk to Dr. Kadowaki and choose to see Cid. Enter the room behind the Doctor and talk to Cid. You have a number of options that will give you some backstory. Once you have exhausted the options, leave and head to the foyer and approach the Directory.

Xu will arrive and ask where Cid is, she will then tell you to go the 2F. Enter the elevator and head to 2F; head to the observation platform at the end of the corridor. You will meet with the White SeeD's who will ask to see Cid.

Your next task is to find Ellone; the little girl from the "Dream World". You can find her in the Library, sitting at the desks in the back. She may look familiar to you.

After finding her, a scene will play and you will be back in your room. Rinoa will turn up again and ask you to walk with her; you can if you want to.

Leave the Dormitory and, as you do, Cid will call for you over the PA and a scene will play.

When you are done, head back towards Garden and take the lift back up. At the top you will encounter Irvine; after a brief conversation, take a detour back to the Master Fisherman, down the hidden ladder. 

After speaking to him, you are invited to the Inn, head back into town and back to the Inn and head up to the room. After the first conversation, choose "Why not...?" then follow the Master Fisherman outside.

Talking to the people after each short conversation shows they respect him and if you talk to the Junk Shop owner, he will explain more about  FH. After all is done, speak to the Master Fisherman again and he will ask if you need help getting back; select "I think so" and he will give you a Magalixir.

You will be back on the lift heading back to Garden. You can also head back to where you fought BGH251F2 and enter Grease Monkey's house (the blue door at the top of the tracks). Inside is a Galbadian soldier, talk to him and after inviting him outside, leave and re-enter; he is gone and you can talk to Grease Monkey to get a Mega Phoenix.

Head back to Garden; Irvine will tell you Selphie is feeling down.

Talk to Irvine who will tell you he has a "Special" place near the stage for you and Rinoa and he has "Left a magazine" there for you...

Talk to Irvine again for a short conversation then head down to the Mayor's House. The band made up of Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Quistis will play the song you composed and then you can head right to the "Secret" spot.

After a conversation, which changes depending on the music playing (Irish Jig gives the best conversation), you will leave the concert.

Back in Garden; head to the Bridge for a conversation and, when you are ready, talk to Nida (The student in the middle) and then choose a party of 3. Control the Garden and head North towards Balamb.

Continue left to the basketball court where you will wait for Selphie. You can talk to the others but if you head right to leave, Selphie will arrive and a conversation will play giving some background.

In the flashback, follow the kids outside and talk to the little boy in front of you then head left and down the road north of you down to the beach. After the next scene, follow Irvine out of the room for the last part of the conversation.

On the beach, talk to everyone if you want, but talking to Irvine moves the conversation along; when Quistis moves away, talk to her then talk to Selphie.

Finally, after the conversation, walk towards Rinoa for a final, brief conversation and then you need to make a party for the journey to Edea's House.

Before you go though, you can go back in to Trabia Garden and challenge Selphie's friend by the statue to a Triple Triad game for the Selphie Card.

There is also a Chocobo Forest just north of Trabia Garden, see the Chocobo Forest guide for details.

Choose your new team and head to the 2nd Floor classroom. After the scene, defeat the Galbadian Soldiers then talk to the SeeD protecting the children.

Head to the bridge and, after the scene, head to the 2F. A student there will say that a boy has gone missing, head around to the classroom corridor to see him run away, follow him and then talk to him.

A Galbadian Soldier will come in and attack you, choose the option (Look around for another option), then (Press button on Emergency Exit).

Once outside, use Kick, Block and Punch to defeat the Galbadian Soldier. (Kick does minimal damage, but can stop continuous attacks. If you block a number of attacks in a row, you can use a special move called "Deathblow"). 

Once you have defeated the soldier and saved Rinoa, you will land on the ground; head left. Once at the entrance to the Galbadia Garden, you can find a Draw Point for Aura here. When you are ready, enter Galbadia Garden.

Leave this room and head south, you can open a shortcut back to the corridor, bypassing the Ice Rink. Head back to the stairs and up to the 3rd floor where the Card Key 2 will unlock the door.

This leads to a set of stairs that overlook the Training Court, approach the edge to jump down and head left (There is a Draw Point for Shell here).

Head inside and head south to the main hall. In the centre is an optional Boss/GF called Cerberus. Approach him to battle or head to the left of him to continue.

(If you decide not to fight Cerberus, you can draw Cerberus GF from Gargantua  in Ultimecia's Castle at the end of the game.)

Head left and enter the first room on the left to find the last student with Card Key 3. Return to the corridor and head south to open a quick return to the first set of stairs.

You want to head back to the main hall (Where Cerberus was) and head back the way you came in. There is a set of stairs here that leads to the Reception Room that you were in on your first visit; head up the stairs.

At the top, head left and open the elevator door.

You can save here, prepare for battle; then approach Seifer and Edea. 

After the battle, continue to head right around the cliff. On the next screen, examine the flickering to discover a hidden entrance.

Climb up and head along the corridor (You can examine the panel on the left) but continue along the corridor and enter the door.

Ride the elevator up and, when it stops, exit via the door in the back. Ride the platform to the end and, when you get off, you will enter the dream world again; choose your party.

In Dr. Odine's lab, you encounter a fight as soon as you arrive; there is a Save Point here and a Draw Point for Double.

Examine the device in the middle of the room and sit down on it. You will be taken to the next room where you will find a Draw Point for Flare and a door; enter the door and you will have another battle.

At the far end of the room is a window into Ellone's room, examine the cntrol panel to the right of the blinking light to unlock the door. Exit the room and use the elevator to go back down to the entrance.

Enter the room at the back.

Esthar:

When you wake up, you will be taken to the Palace. Inside, Dr. Odine will agree to let you see Ellone but wants to examine Rinoa.

You can explore the city, the easiest way is by using the lifts but there are things to find by walking. We have a rough map to the city here.

You can find Draw Points for: 

• Blizzard (Outside the Palace)
• Tornado (Shopping Mall)
• Curaga (Inner Skyway)
• Quake (Dr. Odine's Lab)

There are also Save Points (near Airstation) and another, hidden (Near elevator, right of Palace).

If you return to the palace, outside the room you arrived in, talk to the aide who will talk about magazines, when they leave you can get Occult Fan IV.

You can also challenge Dr. Odine to Triple Triad where you can win the Ward Card.

The shopping Mall has a number of shops, some are closed but there are some useful items you can buy (See Tables below. (*) denotes items requiring Tonberry's Familiar ability).

The shops carry all sorts from healing wares, to old magazines you may have missed (Weapons Monthly March - August for example) and Battle Items.

Some stores give free items; Cloud's Shop gives Hi-Potion & X-Potion, Johnny's Shop gives Hi-Potion & Mega-Potion, Karen's Shop gives Hi-Potions then a Mega-Phoenix but the best is Cheryl's Shop (Which is always closed) gives you a Rosetta Stone. You get these randomly when you visit the store.

During the explanation, choose "... I'll do whatever it takes" then choose to "... trust Zell" to look after Edea.

Choose your third party member (Rinoa and Squall are going by default) then enter the capsule.

After a brief scene, you will be in control of Zell, head outside and choose your party (remember to switch Junctions from your previous party).

Make your way back to Esthar City.