Final Fantasy VIII by Tojju, Muttski and Luzbelheim in 9:10:18 - AGDQ2020

Runner introduction starts at 0:16
Run starts at 0:34
Couch commentary is provided by J2Champ
Chris From Florida and YoBGS are the hosts

[gamesdonequick]

Runner introduction starts at 0:16
Run starts at 0:34
Couch commentary is provided by J2Champ
Chris From Florida and YoBGS are the hosts

[Cyballistic]

Anyone else here in 2024? Such a great comfort vid

[bunniey]

2.5 years later, still routinely watch this when I'm doing pretty much anything. Definitely a good comfort video for my favorite game of all time

[emcp]

I really love that they explain the story as they speedrun the game

[greygale]

There's something really, really funny to me about how the run relies on them being incredibly overpowered and able to blast through all the battles in seconds, but they didn't abuse a glitch to pump up their stats, or sequence break their way to endgame gear, or figure out some complicated strategy to exploit the weaknesses of the AI. This just IS what the game is like, if you know what you're doing. They mess with the RNG a bit to play cards more reliably, but other than that, it's a pretty normal game of FF8, played very, very efficiently.

[thomasdelaney]

You guys are the most engaging speedrunners I've ever came across. Your commentary is not only extremely knowledgeable - you're all funny and entertaining to boot. These marathons are exquisite.

[luckyfox]

7:08:22 Special blindfolded menuing swag for the Lunatic Pandora boarding part
7:57:21 Eyes on Me is sung as tradition since it's unskippable, enjoy c:
8:56:25 -Omega Weapon- Omae wa mou shindeiru

[RickySteels]

The music in this game is beyond amazing... the memories!

[thanabobana]

The ff9 speedrun last year has been my bedtime movie for weeks. So excited to have 8 on the list now too :)

[SleepyPitou]

Is nobody going to talk about how amazing it was that someone actually went to McDonalds for them to get them their McGriddles? Cuz that was freaking wholesome

[ealDealOfficial]

LOVE these long FF8 runs! This couch is probably the best there is for this sort of thing. I highly enjoy getting lore mixed in with the explanations and jokes.

[OriginalMicycle]

For anyone wondering what it is Adel is broadcasting at 2:11:00, it's "I AM ALIVE HERE", "BRING ME BACK THERE" and "I WILL NEVER LET YOU FORGET ABOUT ME"

[ayparillo]

Me 9 hours ago: Ah, I love FF8! I'll just watch a little bit of this run for some nostalgia.

Me now: I watched it all... What have I become...

[rashkavar]

I have a theory about how Rinoa is "alive" after her life support runs out:
*Sorceresses don't die when they have their powers.* This is a fact revealed at the very end of the game, when Ultimecia gives her powers to Edea in the time loop. (Don't ask me to solve how that works in terms of power accumulation, that's another issue and there's a big chunk of a big theory writeup on GameFAQs that covers that in exhaustive detail.) Consider what happens to Ultimecia over the course of the final battle - she should be super dead after that. But she's not, because, despite all logic, sorceresses don't die until they give up their powers, they come back in a half-alive state and are compelled to give up their powers.
Rinoa got her sorceress powers from Edea. Given Edea doesn't remember this, and Ultimecia suddenly switches to controlling Rinoa at the end of disk 2, it seems reasonable to assume that this is when Rinoa got her sorceress powers. So Rinoa's a sorceress in space. Runs out of air. Dies. But she's a sorceress, she can't die fully. She wakes up into that weird half alive state, and hears Squall's voice. Because *Power of Love* is a trope, that gives her the will to do something other than seek out someone to give her powers to (which is a good thing considering she's in orbit). She turns on the reserve oxygen tank. (Why this needs manual activation when Esthar's tech level is so far beyond our real world tech, I'm not sure, but it does make things more dramatic.)
But she's not really dead - not quite. She's got enough left in her to make her body function so she can transfer her sorceress powers. Her magic is making her heart pump, her lungs breathe, and all the rest, despite the lack of breathable air. So when she turns on the oxygen supply, she removes the thing that has her on the brink of death. So she comes back to life.
Also supporting this is a line that doesn't appear in a speedrun, though the commentators did mention it. (note that this might be nightmare inducing): the message you get if you fail to catch Rinoa when Squall goes out to find her. It's not "Rinoa and Squall died in space" It's not even "Rinoa and Squall were lost in space." It's "Rinoa was lost in space...forever." Because she's in that quasi-living state where she's looking for someone to give her powers to, but she's also trapped in space with no way to reach anyone, no way to communicate, nothing. She's stuck as a not-quite dead sorceress-zombie floating in space. Forever.

[Postumeartist]

I had no idea zell’s limit break combo options were just suggestions! That’s nuts.

[aaroneastep]

I really appreciate J2's commentary on FF games. I really enjoyed his and Davesterio's commentary on ajneb's FF7 run a few years back. He has fun with it but you can tell he knows the game and does a nice job explaining the lore and storyline. It makes the watching experience more enjoyable

[kelsanggyudzhin]

When I saw this run, I hadn't played FFVIII in LITERALLY 15 years, maybe more. Seeing this reignited my love for this game and got me playing it again, and I have to say it may have become my favorite in the series. Thank you to GDQ and the runners for bringing back such great memories, along with a fantastic and SUPER entertaining run! NINE hours and it was a delight!

[KoploperMau]

I watched the entire thing. Big shoutouts to the entire team for playing this long run and for the awesome explanations. Its really fun to see a run where there's almost no glitches and it comes down to routing and skills.

[kendalldrury]

Just finished the game for the first time in years, and watching a 9 hour speedrun of it seems to be a good way to wind down.

[MDXDMusic]

ya boi dave on the end just jamming out to all these ffviii bangers dude