It’s probably no surprise that the most romantic Final Fantasy game was inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, isn’t it? Final Fantasy 8 has the daunting task of rewriting the franchise’s DNA following one of the most successful role-playing games of all time. It couldn’t simply refurbish the grounds of Midgar and conjure up some replica of Cloud and Sephiroth’s story. No, it had to fundamentally pull the series up and start developing something entirely new.
This article contains spoilers for the events of Final Fantasy 8 (and Romeo and Juliet, but come on, we all know what to expect).
Well, our story begins in the garden. That’s the name of the school and mercenary academy where the main character, Squall, begins his journey. In an operatic, cinematic, and didactic opening cutscene, we see Squall engage in a shootout with his erstwhile rival and rival, Seifer Almasy. At this point, the stage is set: our young, shaggy-haired weirdo is t he hero, and his handsome blonde friend the villain. They wear black and white, but not in the way you’d expect. Because in the world of Final Fantasy VIII, there is nothing more binary than that.
Ten years ago, in a June 2013 interview with IGN, longtime Final Fantasy director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that, yes, he prefers movies to games, and yes, Baz Luhrmann is his all-time favorite director. Check out the opening scenes of both projects; in R+J, the shaggy-haired eccentric twink Montague Boys beat the suave, devious Capulet Boys. In the gas station forecourt.
It’s not exactly a stormy shootout (though, in R+J, guns are called blades — think about that), but the atmosphere is right and the allusions are clear. Nomura has been outspoken in previous interviews that Baz Luhrmann is one of his biggest cinematic inspirations, and if Final Fantasy 8’s opening scene bears that out, the rest of the game is a list of footnotes to illustrate reason.
During the opening hours, the international political stage is set, as is your more intimate bet: Years ago, there was a witch who ruled the world with an iron fist. She was conquered and sent to a space prison where her powers were sealed away, where she was no longer a threat. Now, a new witch has risen and once again seems hell-bent on world domination – and she’s using the political influence of a country that’s definitely not Germany to achieve her goals. Definitely not France by invasion.
Squall is a recent SeeD graduate (read: mercenary) who has grown from his garden and taken leadership positions at his paramilitary school. His first proper mission is to support Rinoa, a resistance leader in a recently invaded small city. He was cold, distant, and rude. She is energetic, compassionate, and enthusiastic. It was love at first sight; the perfect start to one of Final Fantasy’s most believable relationships.
Squall has severe abandonment issues, a whole host of complicated PTSD, and a neurotic need to be able to take care of herself – no matter how hard things get. He is a porcupine. He won’t let anyone in for fear he’ll hurt them (and end up being dumped again). Rinoa, on the other hand, is privileged: the daughter of a general, keen to shed her own status and stand with the people her country helped conquer. If it’s emotionally tricky, politically it’s a downright complicated tapestry.
Final Fantasy 8 is very much like the moody teenager in the Square Enix catalog. It wants to distance itself from what made the series an international hit by being edgy, grim, and weird, but it also has all this emotion — all this heart to show the world — and is pretty unsure how to do it. Watching Squall’s blunt trauma meet Rinoa’s unshakable optimism is sometimes tough, and often downright cringe…but isn’t it all teenage romance? Awkward moments, selfish lapses, unabashed carnality in the face of all-out world war – the tone of the game is very odd, but when you consider you’re seeing it through the eyes of a teenage boy, his The scar on his forehead just reflects the damned tissue scratched in his cerebral cortex, which makes sense.
That’s why Final Fantasy 8 is such an intense love story. Watching Squall soften and understand his fatal flaw — and actually take action to save the woman he realizes he loves…is unlike many other heroes we’ve seen in the game. Over four records in Final Fantasy 8, Squall actually enjoyed a full redemption arc—he experienced self-reflection, self-growth, and even some self-love as he opened up to others and gave (not that) back to In them, he has been accepting something.
Even if you don’t like the emotional shit, there are some incredible moments that sum up the romantic heart on the leather jacket this game wears. Drifting through space – almost certainly on a suicide mission just to catch Rinoa one last time – Squall will give her her last breath, just to say goodbye. What a stupid idea! What a doomed romantic idea! Realizing that the only way to save Rinoa (and, I think, the world itself) is to travel through time and defeat an interstellar eternal witch who hosts his girlfriend is ridiculous. But it fits his character perfectly. Squall gave his all to what he cared about — only before the game happened, all he cared about was himself.
Whereas Romeo and Juliet ended tragically—you know, both kids died, and the apothecary was somehow untouched—Final Fantasy 8 ended joyously. Everyone survives, Squall saves the world, and Rinoa falls into his submissive, willing arms. It’s not very realistic (and, let’s be honest, the relationship falls apart pretty quickly — like teenage love), but damn if it’s not a healthy ending to a tumultuous story.
Final Fantasy 8 may not be the iconic, Disney-approved love story one might want to curl up with on Valentine’s Day, but I think it encapsulates all the realities of falling in love better than any other game. It covers uncertainty, denial, and depression. It covers acts of selflessness, compassion, and loyalty. This is love, in all its forms, and not being embarrassed about it — a must-have drama for any down-to-earth romantic.
