Following upFinal Fantasy VII, which many consider the greatestRPGof all time, is no easy feat.Final Fantasy VIIIdid the best it could, and managed to accumulate its own legion of fans in the process with a story focusing more on the relationships between characters and a unique battle system.
Related:10 Secret Side Quests Everyone Missed In Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
The fandom is still going strong more than twenty years after release, as evidenced by the ten funny memes showcased below. Some of them point out logical fallacies within the game, but fans only know these because they spent years lovingly combing over every detail of this 1999PlayStationclassic.
10Together Through Thick And Thin
While this meme has comedic value, one shouldn’t be too hard on modern gamers who found the originalFinal Fantasy VIIIunplayable. The genre has evolved in the years since its release, making the experience slow and tedious in hindsight. Grinding, the Draw system, and the ludicrously longsummonanimations are things many younger players simply cannot bear. At the same time, veteran fans have the luxury of better appreciating all the quality-of-life improvements added to the remaster.
9Final Fantasy VIII In A Nutshell
No meme on the internet better explains Squall’s character arc inFinal Fantasy VIII. He starts off abhorringRinoaand upsetting her with his inconsiderate words. Suddenly, he starts to have feelings for her and the two fall in love. No one chooses for whom they develop feelings, and Squall would have gone on forever in loneliness had he been given a choice.
8Drake Meme 2.0
Internet culture has reached a point where memes are becoming self-referential. They used to comment on happenings within shows, games, and movies, but now memes themselves have become a cultural staple, leading to comedic moments like this.
Related:10 Classic RPGs You Didn’t Know Already Got A Remake
Not everybody is infatuated with Drake, so they can really get behind the replacement meme that uses Squall instead. The blood might be a small put-off for some, however.
7Some People Just Don’t Understand
It is fine to not likeFinal Fantasy VIII. However, stating it sucks because someone misunderstands the mechanics is a whole different story. The game goes out of its way to explain the Junction system almost immediately to avoid any confusion regarding the new method of progression. Still, some people quickly skip tutorials, thinking it is just like every other game in the series, and end up having a miserable time in a game which goes out of its way todifferentiate itself from the rest of the series.
6Always The Knight In Shining Armor
“Whatever” might as well be Squall’s catchphrase. He says it more than anything else in the game. It reflects his cantankerous personality and resistance to letting people, even friends, get close. Only towards the end does he loosen up and show his feelings for Rinoa. But up until this point, he is about as emotionally available as a robot.
5How To Wake People Up
Music fans should get a chuckle out of this one. It quotes three different songs which start lines with the words “wake me up” to showcase the differing personalities of the PS1Final Fantasyprotagonists. They got it right on the money, too. Zidane is cheery just like the Wham! song, while Squall is reminiscent of the angsty teenager whose life soundtrack isAmerican Idiot.And only the sweet nu-metal sounds of Evanescence could convey Cloud’s melodramatic darkness.
4And So The Battle Begins
This battle has been raging since 1999. Both games are great, but fans still insist on proclaiming one’s objective superiority over the other.
Related:10 Most Powerful Weapons In Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered, Ranked
Why can’t the fandom just unite and rejoice over their shared admiration of the whole series? The difference in tastes amongFinal Fantasyfans is what makes the community so interesting. Like anything potentially peaceful and harmonious, humans have to start a war over it.
3But It’s The Same Guy!
As funny as this meme is, it doesn’t really make sense. After all, it is the same character in both pictures. The only difference is the one on the right is taken from the remaster. The guy on the left shouldn’t be too worried, either. Pristine graphics are not everything. Some appreciate a more retro feel and would gladly hook a PlayStation up to a CRT any day for the authenticFinal Fantasy VIIIexperience.
2A Pretty Solid Reason To Hate Witches
To be fair, it was not a witch who did this to Squall, but a Sorceress. But corrections over semantics are just about the last thing someone wants to hear after they have been impaled by magic. Squall makes a surprisingly speedy recovery, something that cannot be said about other characters inFinal Fantasywho are impaled at the end of their respective game’s first disc.
1We All Have Our Ways Of Communicating
For someone so anti-social, Squall certainly loves playing card games with random strangers. At least he does if the player chooses to engage withTriple Triadduring theirFinal Fantasy VIIIplaythrough. Playing games is way different than actually having a conversation or opening up to someone, so it would be hard to say Squall’s infatuation with Triple Triad is uncharacteristic.
