The Most Overlooked Final Fantasy Game Has My Favorite Fan Theory

Compared to the sequential games around it, Final Fantasy 8 doesn’t get the same level of attention and conversation as Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 9. However, FF8 is actually one of my favorite games in the series, and it has my favorite fan theory. This theory centers around a lot of shifts that you start seeing after the first disc of the game. This is true especially in the way that characters’ attitudes towards Squall change, which could also have been due to his friends having just witnessed him be impaled by ice. I don’t even believe this theory is true, but I love the idea of it and its implications.

It’s important to note before we go any further that Yoshinori Kitase, the director of FF8, has officially stated that this Squall theory isn’t accurate. I think it’s completely fair that the official story doesn’t follow this theory, but it’s a lot of fun to look through the theory and what it suggests, since there’s a reason that it became popular enough to have Kitase officially comment on it.

What Is the Squall Is Dead Theory for Final Fantasy 8?

The Final Fantasy 8 theory begins at the end of disc one, which is the point when Ultimecia, one of the strongest Final Fantasy characters, impales Squall with an ice spear. The angle makes it look like this spear could’ve gone through Squall’s chest, which could be a grievous injury depending on how the spear hits. Kitase clarifies that the spear hit Squall’s shoulder and was not a life-threatening hit. However, the Squall is dead theory was based on the idea that the spear hit Squall’s chest, and that the wound was a mortal one.

The detail that kicks off this theory is that Squall recovers from an ice shard impaling him with no scar or evidence that the wound was ever there in the first place, and nobody else mentions that it happened. Naturally, this is strange behavior, especially since Rinoa sees him get impaled, and she doesn’t mention it again either. From this point, the theory suggests that the remainder of the game is basically a fever dream that Squall is having as he dies, which even includes his life flashing before his eyes during the first third of the ending cutscenes. If you want to read the full theory, there’s a great website that you can check out here that gives a more extensive breakdown.

How This Theory Creates a More Intriguing Narrative

After disc one ends is when Final Fantasy 8 starts to get strange. Up to this point, things are pretty normal. Then, you start encountering creatures and pieces of information that feel like they come up unexpectedly and don’t always have any explanation or acknowledgement from the in-game world. You start encountering unusual creatures that look rather alien, and you also end up fighting NORG, an enemy that feels random, only for NORG to basically be treated like it never existed after you defeat it.

While there doesn’t necessarily need to be an explanation for everything that happens in a video game, especially one that blends sci-fi and fantasy elements, you’d think that something like NORG would earn a comment or two from the other people in the universe instead of being treated like it never actually existed. It doesn’t help that this isn’t the only unusual shift in the narrative that starts after Squall is impaled. Then, the narrative puts Squall in the center of events, as if everything starts falling into place for him based on his desires.

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You’ll also notice after the first disc that events start favoring Squall. He’s just a rookie, but he somehow saves the world and gets the girl. Additionally, Rinoa showed no interest in Squall prior to him being impaled, as she showed interest in Seifer instead. Suddenly, she’s interested in Squall and doesn’t seem to care about Seifer anymore, even though there’s not exactly an event that would explain the change in her feelings so suddenly, unless you say that seeing Squall get injured shifted her feelings. While that’s possible, it seems unusual that she’d be so cold towards her former interest, Seifer, as a result.

I love this theory, and I think it’s a fun spin on the usual “it was all a dream” trope by making the dream into the brain trying to process the main character’s impending death. It also makes the strange barrage of images that are part of the ending of the game make more sense, since it seems like an unusual part of those cutscenes without the explanation of it being Squall’s life flashing before his eyes. If FF8 ever received a remake in the style of FF7, I’d love to see it treated in a similar way that deviates from the original story and leans into some of the fan theories surrounding it. While I doubt that will ever happen, I’ll hold onto my hope anyway.