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This is the best video i've ever watched <3 FF8 is soooo fantastic <3 thanks for highlighting the Omega weapon thing as well. i am one of the many who asked this :)

I'm still a firm believer of the Rinoa is Ultimecia. It's too perfect.

46:20 this I support the name Artemissia rather than Ultimecia

To me Rinoa is sort of unlikeable for example she is bossy and selfish. Her being Ultmecia makes sense to me.

I always believe in this theory even before it's on the internet. I always have thought of this theory since the first time I played it. And you made it sooooo match every plot and every scene and every dialog. Especially that ring part really hit me HARD. Never notice that Rinoa in the opening is wearing ONE ring. One question though: what do you mean by "Rinoa returned to her original form from Ultimecia."? How can she did that?

Square confirmed this theory is not true, BUT everything points that it is

It's probably something to do with using GF as a medium to cast magic. Though it doesn't explain why random soldiers can cast magic.

I interpret this just as a simple aesthetic choice.

What the hell, why are people still talking about this? Kitase came out and he himself said it was a interesting take but was fake, same as squall is dead bullshit theory

wow this thing still going on even though the director of the game itself confirmed that its not true?

Ellone always made sense as being ultimacia also. Since she has the time traveling ability built in, the old scientist can just be lying about his machine in progress in order to hide the truth from everyone. He clearly sent rinoa to the space station in order for her to release the other witch

Are people still harping on about this, when the original creator said no, Rinoa is Not Ultimecia, yet people will just go full denial mode to validate their theories?

This is a very strange game, with a very...interesting theory to go along with it.

Not to derail the main point of the video, but man I hate the resolution to Mid's arc (well I don't like her character in general). Game tries hard to present it like a positive thing, but to me it both contradicts her character and undermines the message of the story as a whole. I was gonna write a longer comment, but thinking about Mid just makes me want to scream lmao, let's leave it at that.

I had some fond memories of playing ff8. It was my first FF, and I remember it being magical, sparkly, and romantic. But I'm not gonna lie. This Rinoa=Ultimecia theory is really intriguing, perplexing, and surprisingly dark. I've never really thought of the story as being that rich and deep. Even if it turns out that it's not real, I feel like it has already captured a lot of fans' attention and imagination, it might as well replace the official story.

Wasnt it already confirmed Rinoa and Ultimecia arent the same person? I know if there was a remake square might play w the idea of Squall is dead but i remember seeing how it was a hard no for Rinoa and Ultimecia

Your videos are way more interesting and insightful than 2-hour long video essays that just summarise the game. Thanks for the hard work!! 🤍🤍🤍

Ultimecia is Future Rinoa, proves: 1. Use The same weapon, shooting star 2. She used GF which had the same name as Squalls Ring he lent to Rinoa during Galbadian attack arc. You will be asked by the game to give that ring name. And that will be the name of the GF that ultimecia used to fight you in final battle 3. In Dissidia, when ultimecia meets squall, she said "shall we dance?" Referring to the first memory of how they met. 4. Rinoa & ultimecia both are sorcerers 5. Her castle is located in the flower field behind the orphans house. Which the place where Squall and Rinoa promised to meet again.

Your work and research has been so convincing, I am now a believer. I first played ffviii back at it's original EU release, I am amazed it is still giving me so much to think about nearly 25 years later!

First time I encounter someone who shares this theory with me! As someone who loves maps, comparing the ones of these games is something that stood out to me immediately, paired with the presence of Hain, it just fits so well together. This is one of those headcanons I've been obsessed with for so many years that Nojima could come to my house to tell me it's fake and I'd still run with it anyway. I will forever believe these two games are set in the same world thousands of years apart. Nojima who is btw the same guy who wanted to subtly connect 10 to 7 as well, so it wouldn't be out of character for him.

FFVIII and FFIII are connected, very interesting. 😍 There are similar point to connected the two world.😊

You should also know that in FF14 Shadowbringers the theme was FF3 with the crystal tower, and the raid patch introduced a raid that used FF8 as the theme

Square only said they are not the same "person". They never clearly denied the identity in character of these two. So, this hypothesis still holds ground.

There are also a few spin off games that adds more lore to these games, There are a few connections in some of the spin off titles that give more depth on there lore of these games… Dragon Quest Monsters 1 and 2 focus on an era before Dragon Quest VI: with a younger version of Terry on a quest to save his sister Milly in the world of GreatTree/GreatLog and two kids unrelated to Terry search for a plug to prevent the kingdom of Great Log from sinking to the bottom of the ocean Monsters the Dark Prince has evidence that expands the lore of 4 and gives a more clear placement of 5. (If you haven’t play the game: there are a few spoilers that I want to point out) 1. Professor Toilen Trubble, who appears as an NPC in Dragon Quest V but as an elderly man… meanwhile, The Dark Prince shows that same NPC as a younger man (possibly confirming that DQ4 and DQ5 are set decades apart from each other rather than centuries). 2. Estark, one of the antagonists from 4 is revealed to be one of three separate entities known as the Unholy Trinity (the one we see referred to as Estark Dumajurah/Dumah, with the other two titled Estark Izmajurah/Izmah and Estark Venjurah/Venjah respectively) created by a rouge Zenithian called Azabel 3. Finally, the Dark Prince focuses on Psaro’s perspective of Dragon Quest 4 while also giving more details on his heritage as a half-human/half-demon (sort of like an antithesis to the Hero’s half-human/half-zenithian heritage). It goes in depth on how he was cursed by his own father, Randolfo the Tyrant, preventing him from killing any monsters (thus swearing retribution against him); shows how he first met Rose for the first time being harassed by humans for her ruby tears right up to her death (which was conspired by Aamon); finally, there is a plot twist involving a device known as the Sands of Time (due to Toilen’s interference in you choose to defend a false Rose) which prevents Rose from dying at the hands of the humans and gives Psaro a redemption arc as a character. And then (after that extremely long summary on the Monsters series) there’s the famous Torneko Trilogy… which focus on the future adventures of Torneko Taloon after the events of DQ 4 where he exploring mysterious dungeons which also provide support for his wife and son… I know it’s a lot to take in by reading this comment, but the side games like to add some interesting new lore… All in all, this video represents a good summary and some possible theories that give off major or hard to miss connection that tie these three main games together. Thank you.

My favourite Square BGM is "Shore of Dreams (Another World)" (Chrono Cross) and my favourite Enix BGM is "Dark Side Field" (Tenchi Sōzō/Terranigma). Yasunori Mitsuda is my favourite game composer, but I also love Nobuo Uematsu & Koichi Sugiyama, who makes some of the best Battle themes. My favourite Uematsu songs are "Release the Seal" (Blue Dragon) and "Howl of the Departed" (Lost Odyssey). Sugiyama's Zoma battle is so amazing (I also love his BGM for Space Runaway Ideon). Other RPG composers I want to mention are Yuki Kajiura (Xenosaga), Yuzo Koshiro (ActRaiser), Hiroki Kikuta (Koudelka), Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts), Keiichi Suzuki & Hirokazu Tanaka (MOTHER), Hidehito Aoki (Megami Ibunroku Persona) and Noriyuki Iwadare (Grandia). There are so many more, but these are the ones I listen to the most.

I like the CMs directed by Yoshihiko Dai. The were shot in various European countries and the actors speak their native language. The CM for DQ4 (DS) & DQ8 (3DS) was filmed in the Czech Republic. DQ5 (DS) was filmed near England and the actors speak Dutch. DQ6 (DS) & DQ7 (3DS) was filmed in Spain.

Wow this is extreme detailing!

Squall die in Disk 1 being stabbed by Edea ice spear. Disk 2 and Disk 3 basically Squall "last couple of sec" before totally died, life flashing before his eyes on his dream and hope, being Rinoa boyfriend, best seeD, etc. Basically being the hero. Thats why when you see Squall again on disc 2, he's an unwounded prisoner despite those massive ice spear from Edea. On top of that, disc 2 onwards are starting to become more and more imaginary. They'll encounter red talking lion creatures, a bizarre race of alien-like humanoids and a variety of other odd plot points that just seem to fall into place. It's an almost ethereal realization.

I love FF8 but Ultemecia being Rinoa who didn't get therapy makes the story way more interesting.

Well just give y'all reminder. When ultimecia have beaten, she comes to the past (where Squall also there) and meet matron. Matron take her power (worry that one of children got instead) to let her died Matron, in the end turn as edea. When she got beaten, the power move to rinoa accidentally. Another you need to remember, This FF series is about "time-loop" concept. 1) Adult Squall from future tell matron about SEEDs and meet young Squall, after matron take ultimecia's power 2) matron ask cid to establish SEEDs 3) young Squall and the children join SEEDs when they grow up 4) matron turn as edea and got beaten 5) ultimecia got beaten 6) Squall failing to back to his current time and come to past and meet matron 7) back to: 1) So yeah, that "power" never disappear. it just circles around to the same people in different time So the plot hole is: There is possibility that after Rinoa, there was an event that caused her power to transfer to another person until it reached Ultimecia?

I don't think it proves Ultimecia is Rinoa but it may hint that Ultimecia didn't want to be enemies or felt hostility to the party members. At least at the beginning. Then in her final form she feels hostile towards the party members.

A bit of a stretch, but would you have any ideas as to what happens to Norg? If you return to his pod in Balamb's basement, it looks like he broke out of it

the developer said Chrono Cross is not sequel to Trigger which clearly is, so i dont trust the developer about this theory too...

for me Rinoa animate when she cast a spell one hand and Ultimecia animate when she cast a spell with two hands and 2 animate when casting is similar

I hope you can make one about the Centeran civilization next. That always fascinated me. I pieced together clues that Hyne was far from divine. I think instead he was some kind of military or science figure that ended up blowing up a huge chunk of the world by accident. Or on purpose. The gist is that there are few old people in FF8 because 80 years prior civilization was destroyed. At the last second children were shoved into mobile shelters while the adults perished. No one is alive to remember how the old world used to be. 80 years is not a whole lot of time to forget... Everything. I also pieced together how the fateful Doomsday Cry went down. That platform in the ocean? I think that was an observation bunker for a 'test' that went way wrong. I think Centeran scientists were trying to 'weaponize' the lunar cry in a Manhattan Project of sorts. Except they screwed way up and what they unleashed had a payload an order of magnitude higher than they expected. Hence that giant crater.

It’s amazing to me how much FF8 doesn’t outright tell you unless you go looking for it. Hyne, Witches/Sorceresses and Crystal Pillar are so interesting. The way you summed up exactly what is happening during the Tears’ Point cutscene is perfect! As a kid I just thought Lunatic Pandora had to be over Tears’ Point in order to trigger the Lunar Cry. I had no idea that Esthar had actually built Tears’ Point in order to try and prevent it; hence why Ultimecia has Seifer move Lunatic Pandora directly over it (in turn releasing Adel). Excellent video! Edit: You’re also right about Deep Sea Research Facility instilling a sense of fear; when I got to the bottom of that place as a kid it was late at night and it gave me the creeps lol.

We need to bully SE into remaking FFVIII and turning this theory true

I’m hooked on your vids, this was the first FF I played and I didn’t realize that the lore was this deep😂

It will play the same texture animation in different ways for mobs, bosses, and allies.

These are just my thoughts and not specifically saying anything in regards to this video. But- Rinoa is Rinoa and Ultimecia is Ultimecia. It's as simple as that. This was even debunked by Kitase and when he gave some credence to the idea that it could be possible by saying he doesn't know what Nomura and Nojima had in mind when they plotted her character, even that doesn't actually work. If you read any Nomura and Nojima interview, you know they'd be rolling with it if only to mess around. If they were intending people to make that connection, they would absolutely be saying something about it in a "yeah, we definitely want people to think that" sort of way, even if they never confirm it. Or hell, if it was something intended it would have absolutely been in the Ultimanias. Squall being Laguna's son is confirmed in one of the Ultimanias. And they even go further into things that they wanted to do with the game. All the "evidence" over the years has largely been evidence that tends to ignore what actually is shown in the game and in the lore and what the themes of the game are actually intended to be, as well as ignoring that a lot of subtext was cut from the English version because they translated directly from the game text and not from a script. As one person I was read put it, the R = U theory was always about putting in a tragic story element just add more pathos, no matter how much it doesn't fit with the lore. How does Rinoa live for many generations after the events of the game? Because. Why does Rinoa decide to do these things knowing she was there and saw what the outcome of those actions were. "Well maybe she forgot". Why would Ultimecia risk leaving Rinoa to die in space when she needs Rinoa to live so that she can become Ultimecia. And she knows that it's inevitable that she will be saved but somehow doesn't know that she will be defeated once she does Time Compression. When the answer is just "well she knows because of x but still can't change her fate" it just becomes circular reasoning that doesn't fit because it just raises more questions. That's what I despise about the R = U theory, it doesn't solve the puzzle because it's a piece that doesn't fit. And the mental gymnastics I've seen over the years to justify it just makes me really annoyed.

I sincerely hope that this video can reach million views as your channel is truly outstanding

I love how there is absolutely nothing in the game that debunks this theory. If they need external sources to deny it, I couldnt care less.

I really like your timeline breakdown. My interpretation was always that Ultimecia was Rinoa in her past, but that OUR Rinoa will not become that same Ultimecia. She might become a different Ultimecia, or she might avoid that fate altogether, because each loop is its own world, and so the future is always unknowable. Bravo, great videos, friend!

I've never understood why everyone is confused by how Squall survived Edea's Ice Strike attack. Ice Strike is just a Limit Break. It's like saying, "I don't understand how everyone didn't drown when they summoned Leviathan." That's just not how the logic of the magic in the game works. Squall is confused because he probably doesn't know that Edea used her Limit Break. But as people evaluating the game after the fact, we do know this.

Boo, this is just reaching. A lot of enemies also use the 'ally casting effect' like Wedge.

You are doing the Lord's Work 🙏🙏