Final Fantasy 8 Had Such a SICK Intro

I decided to start my exploration of every Final Fantasy Intro with one of my absolute favorites: Final Fantasy 8. There is something so Dark, so serious, so mature about this. It really feels like in this intro we deviate from the science fiction/Fantasy tropes and dive head first into this teen melodrama - I love the essence of this.

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Chapters:
00:00 Picking a Favorite Final Fantasy is Impossible
01:10 Opening
02:45 Build up
04:46 Musical Tension
07:17 Stillness and Violence
08:14 Intertwined Destinies
09:27 The Fight
10:21 Flame Dance
11:07 Delayed Gratification
11:38 Wait and See

Credits:
Writer: Kazushige Nojima
Mode: Single-player video game
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Sources:

Background music:
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"Purrple Cat - Windy" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) license.
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[MarcoMeatball]

I say fithos twice. My bad. Instead of saying wecos sorry.

[dewaeryadi]

Hearing liberi fatali as a kid is one of the best thing ever happen to me, still one of the best game ost ever, japanese always treat game ost seriously, from silly katamari damachi ost to epic final fantasy ost the diversity is mindblowing

[Xeiyaya]

I'm a FF8 speedrunner and i watched this intro over 100 times now and the first words still give goosebumps (especially when you know that you'll be there for at least 7.5hrs now). I never really went into detail with this 3m14s long sequence, so a breakdown like this was really cool and it was actually the first time i noticed that during the Edea/Rinoa part that their images change with the rhythm of the choir doing word-pause-word-pause while watching this video. Obviously FF8 is my favorite Final Fantasy and for me the Disc 4 Soundtrack is even one step above. Time Compression-The Castle-the Final Boss Phases-Eyes On me-FF Main Theme during credits, everything fits so well. But my favorite Track plays during the 2nd credits (after the camera stops working until the end screen), there is so much in it.

[zackang]

The "Fithos Lusec" chanting is so gripping and gives this ominous energy and mysterious that I really like. It's not an evil kind of sound, more like.. unholy. There's a certain sort of reverance but yet it's not good

[Tolly]

Liberi Fatali has such MEMORIES for me. Being in high school, just finished Final Fantasy VII, the waves rolling on the sand leading into the beautiful latin vocals, the way the instruments come in and the energetic strings, oh man. So many feels tied into the single piece of music.

[Aerynlia]

I'll never forget renting this game from Blockbuster and booting it up on my PSX for the first time and hearing this. It definitely blew my mind. And I was a choir kid obsessed with the Mozart Requiem so I just kept singing this around my house all the time.

VIII isn't my favorite FF, but I think this still holds up as one of the most epic FF intros.

[NotTheWheel]

For the longest time, FF8 cinematic was something that stood as a piece of beauty. The cinematography and musical accompaniment and composition of Liberi Fatali still deliver an impactful experience.

[Brito]

I had on repeat "Eyes on Me" for the longest time back then when I heard it for the first time. It was a rather impactful moment when they play the song after the sense of relief making it back to the ship and the possibility that Rinoa might have been lost floating into the emptiness of space. This coming after FF7 and loosing a beloved character...

[rule]

The music is always a highlight in Final Fantasy. The one franchise that I have never strayed from in my gaming career.

[fireaza]

At first, I was thinking "Final Fantasy X! It's got 'To Zanarkand!'" But then I remembered how absolutely incredible "Liberi Fatali" is. No contest!

[kris.........]

FFVIII was and always will be my favourite. Life changing. Edea was so amazing ss a villain and the music just elevated everything.

[jellan]

Man I still remember hanging out at my friend's house watching this for the first time and the emotional Rollercoaster it gave me when I was 11. 23 years later I still get that fluttering feel when the choir drops

[kingjamos]

The FF8 intro was by far my favorite one in the series. It was beautiful, intense, and ominous. You could feel that all of the people shown are linked in some way. One link is clearly a more happy one, but the others leave with a feeling of unease. It was masterfully done.

[lionsheart]

I think 8 has the best romance among all the ffs I played. Eyes on Me and all it's variations work so well in enhancing the story. The song of Laguna and Julia echoing through the love of Squall and Rinoa.

[simeonwashington]

I think something I love most about Final Fantasy VIII is the world and it's atmosphere. The style of the Gardens, coming to Fisherman's Horizon, Squall engaging with Quistis and Seifer and other characters. Seeing how the various countries interact. The Lunar Tear, Time Compression. The origin of sorceresses. So much cool stuff and the music of the introduction really sets that up!

[NiiRubra]

Omg yes Marco! This series of videos is a fantastic idea. I love Final Fantasy 8, it changed my life, I played it when I was going into my teenage years, needless to say that it played a (positive!) role in that, I met some of my most enduring friends in life because of it, and those friendships changed my world. Squall himself was a very important character for me, with how I could relate with his self-isolating nature and his feelings of social anxiety.

This was an excellent analysis, I love this, this intro already is the best for me, but I am looking forward to the rest because they are all worth talking about!

[shinigamimiroku]

7:09 It's funny you mention destiny/fate, because Liberi Fatali translates to "Fated Children, " which when you consider the overarching story of the game and the motivation of the villain, is a PERFECT summation of the party, and of Squall and Rinoa especially. Trust me, I could speak for over an hour on JUST Liberi Fatali and how it ties together everything in the game, but this might not be the best place for it...? ^_^;

I'm so glad you're leading off this series, though, with FFVIII and Liberi Fatali because, IMO, it's the best opening any FF has ever had. I'm not one often moved to tears, but Liberi Fatali *always* brings them to my eyes.

My favorite moment in FFVIII... hoo boy, what to choose... there are so many moments that stand out that it's so hard to choose... I guess that, for me, it's when Squall decided that he was going to fight for something higher than a mere contract, that he was going to protect Rinoa and confront Ultimecia. You can still feel the old hurts trying to stop him, but with the help of his friends he takes that final step - which leads into that final moment of the intro before it switches to the logo.

[Taikaru]

FF8 not only had the best opening, but one of the best endings as well. Right up there with Xenosaga 1 and 3!

[maelstrom]

FF8 was my first final fantasy game, I was only 5 years old when I saw my older sbilings play it. It was what got me into RPG games in general and now that I think about it, ultimately developed my music taste for years to come. It's astounding as to what the people who made these games accomplished, managing to touch and speak to people miles and years apart.

[anlize]

VIII was my first FF, and even though IX is my favorite, I would love to hear you explore other pieces of the soundtrack of these games.

This might be a bit odd, but my favorite moment of was the rush we had to go to make Balamb Garden move to avoid the missiles. The cinematic with the missiles hitting and kicking up smoke and then we see the Garden floating and safe... man that was a rush that carved the game in my memory.