Me being a Final Fantasy VIII fan I found a few interesting writings about FFVIII and it's symbolicism (or something ^^') Only read this if you really want to.
There are three writings and they are seperated by "==="
The following is written by Lady Riddel and has no title. For those who haven't played FFVIII but are planning to do so, this writing contains lot's of SPOILERS!!
*SPOILERS*
The Writing
Rinoa is a character bombarded with a lot of controversy from many fronts. Some have called her "ditzy" others have called her a flirt and some call her a saint. There is no real "right" interpretation for Rinoa's character and I'm not going to sit here and tell you which way you should think. However, in the end, I do believe that Rinoa has been misunderstood.
Rinoa is young as I see it. Yes, she didn't act too upset when Seifer was supposedly "executed" however, she is a terrorist. However a better point would be to ask ourselves what Square was trying to achieve. Rinoa is the opposite of Squall and for her to be the complete opposite, she had to be cheerful and naive in the beginning to contrast with Squall's brooding cynicism. She could not mourn long and hard for Seifer's death because that would go against the extremes that Square was trying to convey. To me, Rinoa is not a person but a symbol just as Squall is one. To talk about Rinoa as though she was a ordinary teenager who forgot about her summer flame because she was just too immature to fall in love, is a very serious misunderstanding of the point Square was trying to make.
True, Rinoa is seventeen, she's about the age of the kids on Dawson's Creek. She's probably the age of someone would be reading YM or listening to the Backstreet Boys however, it would be wrong of us to think of her that way. Rinoa lives in a fantasy world. This is a place where the people are ageless. There is no such thing as being too young to fall in love because this is fantasy. In a world of fantasy there is True Love. In this world, the one whom you meet across the ballroom during the night of the falling stars, could really be the one that was meant for you. In reality we would scuff at such matters however this is not Final Reality, this is Final Fantasy. This is myth. I don't think any of us would take out the Greek myths and ask questions as to how the Gods could live on a mountain or why Thetis would be so stupid as to forget to dunk Achilles' heel in the river of immortality. Those questions cannot be asked because these things are symbolic and not to be realistic. For Rinoa to dance with Squall across the ballroom and to leave him is not realism as in look Joey and Dawson are dancing, how cute. No, this is not a soap opera. This is myth, the modern myth.
As the game progressed, Rinoa became more dark and down to earth as Squall became lighter and more teenager like. This is the symmetry of the game displayed once again. When one studies art, the symmetry of the piece often denotes the fact that the object was used as a symbol or an object of worship. In Final Fantasy 8, the symmetry of Rinoa and Squall's relationship in its exchange of darkness and light in of itself is enough to prove to the viewer that Square meant for this to be True Love and not a Saturday night movie on teen angst. If you would like to argue that Square did not mean for Rinoa and Squall to be in eternal love, how can you explain this undeniable symmetry? Perhaps as we look at Rinoa and Squall from a realistic eye, they cannot remain together. Rinoa is rather childish and uncultivated in the military arts as Squall is. Squall on the other hand appears to be morbid and masochistic. A pair like that cannot remain together in the modern world. However, symbolically, we see this all the time in the modern world.
In reality there is a call for moderation. One cannot be too dark or too light. One needs to find a balance in the middle. Perhaps that's the reason why SeeD's logo is so much like the ying yang. When Squall and Rinoa fell in love that was not meant to denote that they fell in love as two organisms would to reproduce and pass on genes. What we see here is a marriage of darkness and light. Perhaps what Square was really trying to convey was the idea that one cannot be too much in either end of the spectrum, that in order to be happy one must be a little of both. Rinoa gave Squall his lightness and Squall to Rinoa his darkness. That exchange is the beauty of this love story because it is not a story about the merging of two people, but the unification of two qualities.
Just like Squall and Seifer, Rinoa and Squall represent the two different sides of one person. For you to separate Rinoa and Squall would be to advocate schizophrenia. Only when the two sides are in love do you have a healthy organism who is in balance. Rinoa and Squall are eternal and symbolic that's why they were always in love, even in the presence of Seifer and in the presence of Quistis.
============================================================
This second writing is by FFF San and was originally posted on the SquareGamer.com board. It is titled: "My interpretation of Final Fantasy VIII's symbolicism" and contains lot's of SPOILERS!!
*SPOILERS*
The Writing
People who used to frequent The GIA forums may remember a post I made quite a while ago regarding a few of FFVIII's symbolic elements, where I offered a few possibilities of what the petal, white feather and black feather represented in the game. Well, since then, I've been thinking long and hard about all the other symbols in FFVIII, and just yesterday I realised some pretty startling things about it. This post will probably be the longest I've ever made, but that's because it's very hard to explain my interpretation of it. Oh, and remember - it's just that: my interpretation. I don't want people to start arguing with me over whether I'm right or wrong, as I'm just presenting what I think. Anyway...
The first thing you have to do, before I explain all the symbols and their importance, is realise the significance of Final Fantasy VIII's opening sequence. Why? Because in a very disguised way, and using various narrative devices, it explains FFVIII's story in its entirety. And I'm not just talking about what you can see, but also what you can hear - there are many things I've come to realise about Liberi Fatali's lyrics and its stong ties to the story (I'll explain this further along). Another area that is very important is Edea's Orphange; as this worn, withered house is central to the entire story.
So, firstly, why is FFVIII's intro so important? Well, for one, there's the locations displayed: (in the first part) an ocean, a barren desert and the flower field. All three of these very disparate landscapes surround Edea's Orphanage. The flower field is by of by far the most significant important, though, so let's focus on this. The flower field, from what I can tell, is a metaphor for Garden and SeeD. SeeD is very significant to the theme of love, believe it or not, because it represents Edea's kindness and warm heart (bear in mind that all forms of love are expressed in FFVIII, it's not just about Squall and Rinoa). She took in young children who didn't have parents to look after them, and she brought them up in as peaceful an environment as possible. If you want, you could think of the seeds in the flower field to be the future SeeDs waiting to bloom. Edea cared for her children (seeds), and she made them bloom into SeeDs (flowers). (Am I wording this right?). And what could a flower field be referred to as...? A garden, of course. The flower field was Edea's garden full of blooming flowers, and Edea's orphanage is Edea's future [Balamb Garden] full of blooming [SeeDs]. I hope I'm explaining this well. ^_^
And the what about Rinoa, 'waiting' in the flower field? Remember, Rinoa isn't a SeeD and she feels left out for part of the game. In the flower field, there she is, surrounded by all these petals (SeeDs), and she catches a particular petal (a particular SeeD), and turns it into a feather. A while ago, someone asked what this meant, and I think BioCrimson really got it spot on when he said it symbolised how Rinoa changed Squall (at least, I think Bio said that), and I completely agree with this, because it's too coincidental not to be right. In case you've forgotten, the main character symbols are as follows:
Rinoa Heartilly - Wing Heart - Petal
Squall Leonhart - Sleeping Lionheart - White Feather
Seifer Almasy - Cross Sword - Black Feather
Rinoa's symbol, the 'Wing Heart', is very angelic, and angels have wings made of... yep, white feathers. The unison of the petal and the feather is perfectly symbolic of Squall and Rinoa's relationship - Squall is Rinoa's wings, and Rinoa is Squall's inner self (because she changed the 'petal'). Griever is yet another symbol of their love. Think about what he looks like: he's a lion with wings. He is Squall (lion) and Rinoa (wings), then there's the rings that Squall and Rinoa have... there are so many references to this that I'm surprised nobody mentioned this before. But moving away from that... what about Seifer?
Seifer's symbol, the Cross Sword is shaped exactly like a crucifix. Now, we all know Square likes to make religious references in its games, and perhaps to avoid controversy after Xenogears, they disguised it in FFVIII. But it's still obvious if you think carefully about it. But what can the Cross Sword represent about Seifer's personality? I personally see it as Seifer being a 'Judas' figure, due to his betrayal of Garden and SeeD (and all because he wanted to prove he was better than Squall... but more about their rivalry later). And then there's his other symbol - the black feather. My interpretation of this is that the black feather shows Seifer's move to 'the dark side' (if you want to call it that ), after Ultimecia has manipulated him. Think about it: if Seifer hadn't turned 'bad', who would Rinoa be with? She would be with Seifer, of course. Seifer would have been the petal in the flower field that Rinoa caught and turned into a feather, but instead it was Squall, because Seifer had been manipulated. Anyone remember the 'Destiny' poster that Square used to advertise FFVIII in Japan? This was a perfect display of what I've just said:
Seifer's white feather had been blackened by Ultimecia's evilness and her hunger for power. And there's more of this black/white, good/evil stuff...
White SeeD. Why was Edea's SeeD called 'White SeeD'? I never really understood why before (or cared), but now I think about it, it's very significant to the whole story. Squall and Seifer are both leaders in two sides of the war: SeeD vs. Galbadia. Squall's symbol is a white feather, while Seifer's symbol is a black feather. SeeD is the good side, Galbadia is the bad side. Have you guessed it yet? While Galbadia was never referred to as the 'Black SeeD', I can see clearly that this is what they were. On one hand, you have Ultimecia the evil sorceress, Seifer as her knight and their platoon of 'Black SeeDs' (Galbadians), and on the other hand you have Rinoa the good sorceress, Squall as her knight and White SeeDs:
Ultimecia vs. Rinoa
Squall vs. Seifer
White SeeD vs. Black SeeD
And to represent all of them...
White Feather vs. Black Feather
Anyway, let's go back to the intro. At the start I explained that Liberi Fatali's lyrics were very important to the story, and just like the intro itself, actually explains the story in its entirety:
Wake from your sleep, my children,
The childhood cradles are gone.
Wake from your sleep, fated children,
The peace is gone.
Rise!
Search!
Go to the true garden,
The garden of vernal truth.
Fiery truth
Burn the evil world.
Fiery truth
Light the dark world.
Goodbye, children,
The day has died.
The translation of the words 'Liberi Fatali' - 'Fated Children' - says it all. All the SeeDs who grew up in the orphanage were destined to fight the sorceress. This is why Edea's Orphanage is so heavily focused upon in the intro, as it is the home of the 'fated children'. And after what I've been explaining, can you now see the connection in the lyrics? Edea is talking to her SeeDs, telling them to 'go to the true garden' (hmm, I wonder what that could be )) and to 'burn the evil world' (i.e., the future, where Ultimecia resides). Back to the intro itself, in particular, the fight between Squall and Seifer. This, I feel, is a perfect representation of Squall and Seifer's rivalry throughout the game. At the point where Squall is really beating the crap out of Seifer, he decides to cheat by using magic, at which point Squall retaliates. Seifer realised that he won't be able to beat Squall fairly, and that the only way he can beat him is by resorting to cheating. This is exactly the same as their relationship throughout the game. After the fight, Seifer knew - deep down (i.e., he won't admit it to himself, but he knows) - that he was weaker than Squall, and to give himself more confidence, he sides with the sorceress and becomes her knight. Seifer's frail ego and the sorceress' empty promises are enough to convince him to do such a thing. And that's very significant to their relationship. But remember, just like in the fight, Squall eventually wins without resorting to cheating, which is why Seifer's story is so tragic (and it made it all the more heart-warming to see him smile in the end).
Another element of Liberi Fatali's lyrics that is of significant importance is the infamous 'FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC', or 'SUCCESSION OF WITCHES' and 'LOVE'. This basically tells you how the love theme is weaved into the story of the Succession of Witches (or sorceresses, as in the US version). Remember what the Succession of Witches consist of: Adel, Edea, Rinoa and Ultimecia. Adel, Edea and Rinoa are all the surroundings of Ultimecia's cruel intentions, and she uses each sorceress for different purposes. And this is where the love connection arises. Edea and Rinoa are both very caring people at heart; Edea brings up Squall to be a hardened mercenary, and Rinoa then brings him out of his shell and ends up falling in love with him in the process. They both 'perfected' his persona into someone we can all relate to. And this is what understand now. Not only was Squall fighting in the end because of his love for Rinoa, but also for Edea, his 'matron' (this was the main reason that the rest of the team were fighting).
Going back to the religious references, and in particular, Rinoa: why does Rinoa have angel wings? I think this is very much to do with her personality, with regards to how open and expressive she is of her feelings, and also her compassion for others. Anyone else wouldn't have been so persistant at changing Squall's introverted nature, but Rinoa felt so sorry for Squall and his situation (unlike most people, she didn't see him as just a 'pissed off teenager' and she knew that it went deeper). Rinoa's initial intentions were not for Squall to fall in love with her, but to get him to be more open about his feelings, and not to bottle things up. But as explained before, she ended up falling in love with him in the process... likewise for Squall. And this is why Rinoa has this symbol. She is an angelic figure: she is a 'good' sorceress.
Squall's symbol, the Sleeping Lionheart, is actually something I've discussed before on this forum. Some people may remember my post regarding Richard I, an English king who was commonly referred to as the 'Lionheart', due to his expert skills as a soldier. My theory for Squall being called the 'Sleeping Lionheart' was that Squall was initially 'sleeping', but it was Rinoa who awoke him. Rinoa's love for Squall gave his life more meaning, and it inspired him to become a better leader. It was a nice historical reference, and it added yet more depth to Squall's personality.
Final Fantasy VIII's ending. Commonly regarded as the greatest game ending ever (even by people who don't like FFVIII), it expresses so much with just imagery and symbolism to go on. The first part where Squall 'dies' just goes to show how important the feather is. Squall catches the feather and it takes him to the flower field on Rinoa's wings. But because Squall can't envisage Rinoa's face, he 'dies' (only to be 'revived' by Rinoa's love). The power of love is expressed right there. Need I say more?
And finally (I think ), something I just want to address regarding the Trabia scene, where the team remember that they grew up together. This is something that has been bugging me for SO long, as people always seem to complain about it. Firstly, let me say that all of the SeeD members growing up together wasn't something Square just thought up on a whim (as many people have accused), because it is integeral to the theme being expressed. Think back to the the scene where they were in Edea's house - wasn't it beautiful? Not only did it clearly define the different characters' personalities (as if they weren't defined enough), but it also displayed (and beautifully at that) how your personality traits as a child don't necessarily change, but your worries over how other people percieve you, do change (Squall openly talks about this on disc 3 - train tracks scene). Look at how exaggerated they all were. First, there was Seifer, who was even more arrogant than he usually was - and you see that he was the classic 'bully' in the orphanage. Then there's Zell, the crybaby who tells on everyone if they do something wrong. Selphie, acting bubbly and silly; Quistis, being characteristically quiet and subdued... I could go on and on. You know what this shows? It shows Square's perfect understanding of character interaction, and how different types of people react to different things. All these children were innocent and oblivious to what was yet to come in their lives (remember Irvine's speech about 'destiny'? Another incredibly well-expressed theme in FFVIII), and they're just being typical kids. Fast-forward by 15-or-so years, and now they're all responisble adults having been thrusted into the turmoil of war, and this was worse for Squall, because he was still emotionally ruined. This is why it's so important that they all grew up together - because it displays the destiny of the 'fated children' talked about earlier. It's not there because Square were too 'lazy' to give everyone their own little stories like in FFVI & VII (aren't we all getting tired of the cliched 'each character has their own sub-quest' nonsense?) - it was just pure, unadulterated realism in character representation.
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Finally the third writing I found:
visit otakucentral.tripod.com/ff8-1.htm for this one 'cause it's way to big to post here. This thread is long enough already![]()
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"...My last night here with you? Maybe yes, maybe no..."
There are three writings and they are seperated by "==="
The following is written by Lady Riddel and has no title. For those who haven't played FFVIII but are planning to do so, this writing contains lot's of SPOILERS!!
*SPOILERS*
The Writing
Rinoa is a character bombarded with a lot of controversy from many fronts. Some have called her "ditzy" others have called her a flirt and some call her a saint. There is no real "right" interpretation for Rinoa's character and I'm not going to sit here and tell you which way you should think. However, in the end, I do believe that Rinoa has been misunderstood.
Rinoa is young as I see it. Yes, she didn't act too upset when Seifer was supposedly "executed" however, she is a terrorist. However a better point would be to ask ourselves what Square was trying to achieve. Rinoa is the opposite of Squall and for her to be the complete opposite, she had to be cheerful and naive in the beginning to contrast with Squall's brooding cynicism. She could not mourn long and hard for Seifer's death because that would go against the extremes that Square was trying to convey. To me, Rinoa is not a person but a symbol just as Squall is one. To talk about Rinoa as though she was a ordinary teenager who forgot about her summer flame because she was just too immature to fall in love, is a very serious misunderstanding of the point Square was trying to make.
True, Rinoa is seventeen, she's about the age of the kids on Dawson's Creek. She's probably the age of someone would be reading YM or listening to the Backstreet Boys however, it would be wrong of us to think of her that way. Rinoa lives in a fantasy world. This is a place where the people are ageless. There is no such thing as being too young to fall in love because this is fantasy. In a world of fantasy there is True Love. In this world, the one whom you meet across the ballroom during the night of the falling stars, could really be the one that was meant for you. In reality we would scuff at such matters however this is not Final Reality, this is Final Fantasy. This is myth. I don't think any of us would take out the Greek myths and ask questions as to how the Gods could live on a mountain or why Thetis would be so stupid as to forget to dunk Achilles' heel in the river of immortality. Those questions cannot be asked because these things are symbolic and not to be realistic. For Rinoa to dance with Squall across the ballroom and to leave him is not realism as in look Joey and Dawson are dancing, how cute. No, this is not a soap opera. This is myth, the modern myth.
As the game progressed, Rinoa became more dark and down to earth as Squall became lighter and more teenager like. This is the symmetry of the game displayed once again. When one studies art, the symmetry of the piece often denotes the fact that the object was used as a symbol or an object of worship. In Final Fantasy 8, the symmetry of Rinoa and Squall's relationship in its exchange of darkness and light in of itself is enough to prove to the viewer that Square meant for this to be True Love and not a Saturday night movie on teen angst. If you would like to argue that Square did not mean for Rinoa and Squall to be in eternal love, how can you explain this undeniable symmetry? Perhaps as we look at Rinoa and Squall from a realistic eye, they cannot remain together. Rinoa is rather childish and uncultivated in the military arts as Squall is. Squall on the other hand appears to be morbid and masochistic. A pair like that cannot remain together in the modern world. However, symbolically, we see this all the time in the modern world.
In reality there is a call for moderation. One cannot be too dark or too light. One needs to find a balance in the middle. Perhaps that's the reason why SeeD's logo is so much like the ying yang. When Squall and Rinoa fell in love that was not meant to denote that they fell in love as two organisms would to reproduce and pass on genes. What we see here is a marriage of darkness and light. Perhaps what Square was really trying to convey was the idea that one cannot be too much in either end of the spectrum, that in order to be happy one must be a little of both. Rinoa gave Squall his lightness and Squall to Rinoa his darkness. That exchange is the beauty of this love story because it is not a story about the merging of two people, but the unification of two qualities.
Just like Squall and Seifer, Rinoa and Squall represent the two different sides of one person. For you to separate Rinoa and Squall would be to advocate schizophrenia. Only when the two sides are in love do you have a healthy organism who is in balance. Rinoa and Squall are eternal and symbolic that's why they were always in love, even in the presence of Seifer and in the presence of Quistis.
============================================================
This second writing is by FFF San and was originally posted on the SquareGamer.com board. It is titled: "My interpretation of Final Fantasy VIII's symbolicism" and contains lot's of SPOILERS!!
*SPOILERS*
The Writing
People who used to frequent The GIA forums may remember a post I made quite a while ago regarding a few of FFVIII's symbolic elements, where I offered a few possibilities of what the petal, white feather and black feather represented in the game. Well, since then, I've been thinking long and hard about all the other symbols in FFVIII, and just yesterday I realised some pretty startling things about it. This post will probably be the longest I've ever made, but that's because it's very hard to explain my interpretation of it. Oh, and remember - it's just that: my interpretation. I don't want people to start arguing with me over whether I'm right or wrong, as I'm just presenting what I think. Anyway...
The first thing you have to do, before I explain all the symbols and their importance, is realise the significance of Final Fantasy VIII's opening sequence. Why? Because in a very disguised way, and using various narrative devices, it explains FFVIII's story in its entirety. And I'm not just talking about what you can see, but also what you can hear - there are many things I've come to realise about Liberi Fatali's lyrics and its stong ties to the story (I'll explain this further along). Another area that is very important is Edea's Orphange; as this worn, withered house is central to the entire story.
So, firstly, why is FFVIII's intro so important? Well, for one, there's the locations displayed: (in the first part) an ocean, a barren desert and the flower field. All three of these very disparate landscapes surround Edea's Orphanage. The flower field is by of by far the most significant important, though, so let's focus on this. The flower field, from what I can tell, is a metaphor for Garden and SeeD. SeeD is very significant to the theme of love, believe it or not, because it represents Edea's kindness and warm heart (bear in mind that all forms of love are expressed in FFVIII, it's not just about Squall and Rinoa). She took in young children who didn't have parents to look after them, and she brought them up in as peaceful an environment as possible. If you want, you could think of the seeds in the flower field to be the future SeeDs waiting to bloom. Edea cared for her children (seeds), and she made them bloom into SeeDs (flowers). (Am I wording this right?). And what could a flower field be referred to as...? A garden, of course. The flower field was Edea's garden full of blooming flowers, and Edea's orphanage is Edea's future [Balamb Garden] full of blooming [SeeDs]. I hope I'm explaining this well. ^_^
And the what about Rinoa, 'waiting' in the flower field? Remember, Rinoa isn't a SeeD and she feels left out for part of the game. In the flower field, there she is, surrounded by all these petals (SeeDs), and she catches a particular petal (a particular SeeD), and turns it into a feather. A while ago, someone asked what this meant, and I think BioCrimson really got it spot on when he said it symbolised how Rinoa changed Squall (at least, I think Bio said that), and I completely agree with this, because it's too coincidental not to be right. In case you've forgotten, the main character symbols are as follows:
Rinoa Heartilly - Wing Heart - Petal
Squall Leonhart - Sleeping Lionheart - White Feather
Seifer Almasy - Cross Sword - Black Feather
Rinoa's symbol, the 'Wing Heart', is very angelic, and angels have wings made of... yep, white feathers. The unison of the petal and the feather is perfectly symbolic of Squall and Rinoa's relationship - Squall is Rinoa's wings, and Rinoa is Squall's inner self (because she changed the 'petal'). Griever is yet another symbol of their love. Think about what he looks like: he's a lion with wings. He is Squall (lion) and Rinoa (wings), then there's the rings that Squall and Rinoa have... there are so many references to this that I'm surprised nobody mentioned this before. But moving away from that... what about Seifer?
Seifer's symbol, the Cross Sword is shaped exactly like a crucifix. Now, we all know Square likes to make religious references in its games, and perhaps to avoid controversy after Xenogears, they disguised it in FFVIII. But it's still obvious if you think carefully about it. But what can the Cross Sword represent about Seifer's personality? I personally see it as Seifer being a 'Judas' figure, due to his betrayal of Garden and SeeD (and all because he wanted to prove he was better than Squall... but more about their rivalry later). And then there's his other symbol - the black feather. My interpretation of this is that the black feather shows Seifer's move to 'the dark side' (if you want to call it that ), after Ultimecia has manipulated him. Think about it: if Seifer hadn't turned 'bad', who would Rinoa be with? She would be with Seifer, of course. Seifer would have been the petal in the flower field that Rinoa caught and turned into a feather, but instead it was Squall, because Seifer had been manipulated. Anyone remember the 'Destiny' poster that Square used to advertise FFVIII in Japan? This was a perfect display of what I've just said:
Seifer's white feather had been blackened by Ultimecia's evilness and her hunger for power. And there's more of this black/white, good/evil stuff...
White SeeD. Why was Edea's SeeD called 'White SeeD'? I never really understood why before (or cared), but now I think about it, it's very significant to the whole story. Squall and Seifer are both leaders in two sides of the war: SeeD vs. Galbadia. Squall's symbol is a white feather, while Seifer's symbol is a black feather. SeeD is the good side, Galbadia is the bad side. Have you guessed it yet? While Galbadia was never referred to as the 'Black SeeD', I can see clearly that this is what they were. On one hand, you have Ultimecia the evil sorceress, Seifer as her knight and their platoon of 'Black SeeDs' (Galbadians), and on the other hand you have Rinoa the good sorceress, Squall as her knight and White SeeDs:
Ultimecia vs. Rinoa
Squall vs. Seifer
White SeeD vs. Black SeeD
And to represent all of them...
White Feather vs. Black Feather
Anyway, let's go back to the intro. At the start I explained that Liberi Fatali's lyrics were very important to the story, and just like the intro itself, actually explains the story in its entirety:
Wake from your sleep, my children,
The childhood cradles are gone.
Wake from your sleep, fated children,
The peace is gone.
Rise!
Search!
Go to the true garden,
The garden of vernal truth.
Fiery truth
Burn the evil world.
Fiery truth
Light the dark world.
Goodbye, children,
The day has died.
The translation of the words 'Liberi Fatali' - 'Fated Children' - says it all. All the SeeDs who grew up in the orphanage were destined to fight the sorceress. This is why Edea's Orphanage is so heavily focused upon in the intro, as it is the home of the 'fated children'. And after what I've been explaining, can you now see the connection in the lyrics? Edea is talking to her SeeDs, telling them to 'go to the true garden' (hmm, I wonder what that could be )) and to 'burn the evil world' (i.e., the future, where Ultimecia resides). Back to the intro itself, in particular, the fight between Squall and Seifer. This, I feel, is a perfect representation of Squall and Seifer's rivalry throughout the game. At the point where Squall is really beating the crap out of Seifer, he decides to cheat by using magic, at which point Squall retaliates. Seifer realised that he won't be able to beat Squall fairly, and that the only way he can beat him is by resorting to cheating. This is exactly the same as their relationship throughout the game. After the fight, Seifer knew - deep down (i.e., he won't admit it to himself, but he knows) - that he was weaker than Squall, and to give himself more confidence, he sides with the sorceress and becomes her knight. Seifer's frail ego and the sorceress' empty promises are enough to convince him to do such a thing. And that's very significant to their relationship. But remember, just like in the fight, Squall eventually wins without resorting to cheating, which is why Seifer's story is so tragic (and it made it all the more heart-warming to see him smile in the end).
Another element of Liberi Fatali's lyrics that is of significant importance is the infamous 'FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC', or 'SUCCESSION OF WITCHES' and 'LOVE'. This basically tells you how the love theme is weaved into the story of the Succession of Witches (or sorceresses, as in the US version). Remember what the Succession of Witches consist of: Adel, Edea, Rinoa and Ultimecia. Adel, Edea and Rinoa are all the surroundings of Ultimecia's cruel intentions, and she uses each sorceress for different purposes. And this is where the love connection arises. Edea and Rinoa are both very caring people at heart; Edea brings up Squall to be a hardened mercenary, and Rinoa then brings him out of his shell and ends up falling in love with him in the process. They both 'perfected' his persona into someone we can all relate to. And this is what understand now. Not only was Squall fighting in the end because of his love for Rinoa, but also for Edea, his 'matron' (this was the main reason that the rest of the team were fighting).
Going back to the religious references, and in particular, Rinoa: why does Rinoa have angel wings? I think this is very much to do with her personality, with regards to how open and expressive she is of her feelings, and also her compassion for others. Anyone else wouldn't have been so persistant at changing Squall's introverted nature, but Rinoa felt so sorry for Squall and his situation (unlike most people, she didn't see him as just a 'pissed off teenager' and she knew that it went deeper). Rinoa's initial intentions were not for Squall to fall in love with her, but to get him to be more open about his feelings, and not to bottle things up. But as explained before, she ended up falling in love with him in the process... likewise for Squall. And this is why Rinoa has this symbol. She is an angelic figure: she is a 'good' sorceress.
Squall's symbol, the Sleeping Lionheart, is actually something I've discussed before on this forum. Some people may remember my post regarding Richard I, an English king who was commonly referred to as the 'Lionheart', due to his expert skills as a soldier. My theory for Squall being called the 'Sleeping Lionheart' was that Squall was initially 'sleeping', but it was Rinoa who awoke him. Rinoa's love for Squall gave his life more meaning, and it inspired him to become a better leader. It was a nice historical reference, and it added yet more depth to Squall's personality.
Final Fantasy VIII's ending. Commonly regarded as the greatest game ending ever (even by people who don't like FFVIII), it expresses so much with just imagery and symbolism to go on. The first part where Squall 'dies' just goes to show how important the feather is. Squall catches the feather and it takes him to the flower field on Rinoa's wings. But because Squall can't envisage Rinoa's face, he 'dies' (only to be 'revived' by Rinoa's love). The power of love is expressed right there. Need I say more?
And finally (I think ), something I just want to address regarding the Trabia scene, where the team remember that they grew up together. This is something that has been bugging me for SO long, as people always seem to complain about it. Firstly, let me say that all of the SeeD members growing up together wasn't something Square just thought up on a whim (as many people have accused), because it is integeral to the theme being expressed. Think back to the the scene where they were in Edea's house - wasn't it beautiful? Not only did it clearly define the different characters' personalities (as if they weren't defined enough), but it also displayed (and beautifully at that) how your personality traits as a child don't necessarily change, but your worries over how other people percieve you, do change (Squall openly talks about this on disc 3 - train tracks scene). Look at how exaggerated they all were. First, there was Seifer, who was even more arrogant than he usually was - and you see that he was the classic 'bully' in the orphanage. Then there's Zell, the crybaby who tells on everyone if they do something wrong. Selphie, acting bubbly and silly; Quistis, being characteristically quiet and subdued... I could go on and on. You know what this shows? It shows Square's perfect understanding of character interaction, and how different types of people react to different things. All these children were innocent and oblivious to what was yet to come in their lives (remember Irvine's speech about 'destiny'? Another incredibly well-expressed theme in FFVIII), and they're just being typical kids. Fast-forward by 15-or-so years, and now they're all responisble adults having been thrusted into the turmoil of war, and this was worse for Squall, because he was still emotionally ruined. This is why it's so important that they all grew up together - because it displays the destiny of the 'fated children' talked about earlier. It's not there because Square were too 'lazy' to give everyone their own little stories like in FFVI & VII (aren't we all getting tired of the cliched 'each character has their own sub-quest' nonsense?) - it was just pure, unadulterated realism in character representation.
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Finally the third writing I found:
visit otakucentral.tripod.com/ff8-1.htm for this one 'cause it's way to big to post here. This thread is long enough already
"...My last night here with you? Maybe yes, maybe no..."
Do not I, who thanks to money am capable of all that the human heart longs for, possess all human capacities?Does not money, therefore, transform all my incapacities in to their contrary?(Marx, 1932/1964: 167)
Every action has the potential to fill or empty one's heart...587495...
