FF8 - Squall Is Dead? (Spoiler Maybe)

FYI: The thread title is not a spoiler because as far as the player is aware, it doesn't happen. However, this thread is going to be riddled with spoilers so it would be redundant to have everyone mark their posts as SPOILER, so read on if you don't care about being spoiled.

I haven't played FFVIII in many years, but I was remembering back to when I did play it, thinking "what the Christ happened" after seeing the ending. I still enjoyed the game, maybe not as much as some of the others, but overall I had fun which is pretty much all that counts.

That being said, when reading through some other FF threads on other sites, I found a link to Squallsdead which made me think, "my GOD if that was the case then FF8 is probably the best one". Its hard to prove/disprove, but I'd like to see what you guys think about it. Also, what you think the story/ending is actually about, because it seems like there was no concrete explanation.

He didn't die he just fainted, a phoenix down sorted him right out

I don't think he died, the theory is reaching too much. It's not apparent really, and doesn't seem like something that Square would of done back then.

I haven't played through ff8 in like.... 5 years, at least. I don't remember too much about the game, especially the ending because I spent all my time pre-ultimicia perfecting the game. I'll have to go kill her tomorrow and check out the ending again before I can really say.

If anything, I'd say they all died at the end of the game. I wouldn't think Squall died when he got pierced, though.

Come to think of it, I never was able to finish the end because I had a crappy burned version of the game that froze~

I think I'll youtube it now thought!

spence do you want a copy? psx or pc?

I have a copy of all of the, but thanks. I just find the endings usually make me sad because the reinforce an unrealistic notion of romance/love for me.

I'm sorry, but it's 5:49 AM, and this particular shot on that page made the hairs on my arms stand upright.

Spoiler'd more for my own good than anyone elses XD

I think I remember that picture.

But yes, it is *really* unsettling.

I just realised the Website's icon is that picture too x_x


On the subject though, I personally think this is a bit much to take away from FF8 as an experience. As far as I'm concerned his injury was healed for the sake of gameplay, and nothing else. The actual scene was most likely there so you would rush to pop the second disk in.

haha hes been face hoolowfied! I watch way too much Bleach >_>

I always thought it was a really cool theory, and every time I read it I want to play the game again... thanks a lot, lol!

lol this is amusing because i just walked in on my friend receiving *** from his woman.

Yeah interesting theory, very old though but entertaining.

did anyone watch the video during the credits? i assumed that was after everything happened.

it clearly shows

I thought it looked like he died and the rest was rinoas day dream of what could of been.

synopsis of the last FMV

Ya I finished FFVIII like 2-3 weeks ago and I remember this. Where the hell are you guys getting the idea that anyone died at the end?

I think that it's not only possible, but probable that Squall is dead in the story - spoilered.

I blame Snape.

From the website http://squallsdead.com/. It's basically saying that Squall could have died when the big ice shard impaled him through his chest and that the rest of the game is him having some death dream or life flashing before his eyes.

I read somewhere else that time compression was Squalls fault. But I've not played it in a while so I can't remember.

IDK how to do spoiler alert buttons so just don't read this if you don't want them :P

I personally think everyone lived in the end. Laguna, after daydreaming about Raine, looks up and sees the Garden fly by after he is brought back to reality by Ellone, Piros and Ward. I think the video is just the next step in a string of events.

I could see this all in the sense of, say, the Titanic's ending where they all greet that lady on the ship's stairs and she meets that dude she loved or something. Only in this way they are all at a party together with Rinoa and Squall having their kiss AFTER the "dead battery" symbol flashes as a form of symbolism.

SE probably left the interpretation up to the player on purpose to give everyone some closure at any level of thinking the player was on.

Ever since I played that game and beat it i've always wondered this same thing, did squall die? did he live? There has definitly been alot of theories and explanations to either prove or disprove them.

It's been ages since I have played FF8 (I've been meaning to pick up my disks and pop them into my PS, but i've not really had the time to do so lately) but from what I remember there is a lot of dialogue that I read through that seems to support this theory but on the other hand, it could be just reflections back onto his childhood and have nothing to do with the event of him dying (theoretically)

I don't believe there has been any say from the creators of what they intended it to be perceived as (reason to why there are many theories on this subject) I think they intentionally left it to the player to decide to be honest.

Now I have to find my disks :x

about that phoenix down stuff: if a character died in a sequence and not a battle they died in the game. no exception here. think back to other FF-Games and you notice that every character being killed in a Sequence won't come back with a phoenix down.

While it's certainly an interesting theory, I think its complete ***. To assume THAT much is going overboard, considering the ice spear went through the right side of his chest, it wouldn't exactly be a fatal wound, at least not right away, and because the sequence ends right there, theres plenty that happened between then and his awakening in the District Prison, such as the collecting of his body, the apprehending of the other party members, and the clean up of the parade and so on and so forth. To just assume he died right there and everything else was imagined is seeking a simpler conclusion. While I do agree that its odd that they would want to question Squall of all others is rather odd, you do need to think about how Cid instantly entrusts Squall with a great many responsibilities after becoming a SeeD, thus possibly leading to the specific interest in what knowledge he may hold. Not to mention the fact that he and Seifer were always rivals, what if Seifer himself, or he had someone else heal Squall because he felt it was wrong for him to be killed by Edea instead of him, his rival? That's a situation I've seen time and time again in many stories. I only make this argument because FFVIII was the first FF I ever played, it taught me to read, and do so quickly as I watched my sister and dad play it, so its by far my favorite, and I play through it again probably twice a month. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and heres mine.

Actually, to be fair, something like magical ice would probably be *extremely* clean.

And seeing as if it would have pierced through him rather cleanly and not through any extremities, and being ice, after going through him any residual would ultimately melt.

So really, it probably was a very clean pierce, and that's survivable enough.

Showed my friend this, he pointed out near the start it states GF's cause memory loss, its no wonder rinoa is all blurry right?

Edit: this also explains the orphanage and why no one remembers being childhood friends and that its not just out of the blue.

Go to the 2:00 point in the credits, he's alive.

Who cares? That entire game was such a trainwreck :\

Se loves to kill their characters at disc 1 end D: clichè!