Characters of Final Fantasy VIII | other characters |
Adel (アデル Aderu) is a sorceress from Esthar who initiated the Sorceress War some years ago before the start of the game. As the ruler of Esthar, she ordered her soldiers to abduct every girl to find a suitable successor for her powers, including the young Ellone.[47] During the Esthar revolution, Laguna and Dr. Odine devised an artifact to cancel the sorceress power, and placed her in
Cid Kramer (シド・クレイマー Shido Kureimā) is the headmaster of Balamb Garden. After the failed assassination attempt on Edea, the Garden Master, NORG, attempts to seize power from Cid and reconcile with Edea.[106] This sparks an internal conflict, in which the students and personnel side with either Cid or NORG.[107] However, Squall and Xu quell the conflict and return Cid to power. Afterward, Cid aggressively confronts NORG, who started the conflict over financial issues.[108] Cid is the husband of Sorceress Edea, with whom he ran an orphanage and founded the SeeD organization. They are estranged for most of the game, however, because they lead opposing factions until Ultimecia releases her magical possession of Edea.
Because most Final Fantasy titles include a character named "Cid", Nomura wanted to design someone with differences from the past Cids in the series. He gave this version of Cid the appearance and personality of an older, benevolent character who would watch over Squall's party and offer them advice and motivation. Nojima decided that this type of good-natured character would work best as the headmaster of Balamb Garden.[8]
Ellone (エルオーネ Eruōne) is a mysterious girl and the missing "Sis" of Squall's past.[20] She has the ability to send a person's
Ellone is an important character in the story, tying the relationships between some of the characters, and being the primary objective of Ultimecia. However, Ellone's importance is mostly told in the flashbacks, and explained gradually. After Ellone's parents were killed by Esthar soldiers, under orders of sorceress Adel, she lived with Raine in the small Winhill village, where she also developed a close relationship with her adoptive uncle, Laguna. These peaceful times lasted until she was finally captured by Esthar.[47] Then, Laguna travelled to Esthar to rescue her, at the same time he participated in Esthar's rebellion to overthrow Adel. After Adel's incarceration in space, Laguna having to remain in Esthar as president, and then Raine's death, Ellone moved to Cid and Edea's
Fujin (風神 Fūjin) is a young woman with pale skin, short silver hair and an eye patch. She is a member of Balamb Garden's disciplinary committee with Seifer and Raijin; the three of them form a close "posse",[53] even when Seifer leaves Garden. Fujin prefers to speak in terse sentences, often with only a single word, such as "RAGE!" and "LIES!" (in the Japanese version she only spoke in
Fujin and Raijin were to appear in Final Fantasy VII; however, the designers excluded them due to their similarity to the
Raijin (雷神) is a member of Balamb Garden's disciplinary committee with Seifer and Fujin;[111] the three form a close "posse", as he calls it.[53] He has a habit of ending his sentences with "ya know" (もんよ mon'yo, in the Japanese version). Like Fujin, he supports Seifer when he betrays SeeD and Garden to side with Edea. Near the end of the game, he stands by Fujin's plea to the party to help save Seifer from himself.[60] In the ending FMV, he celebrates catching a large fish until Fujin kicks him into the water. In battle, Raijin uses thunder-based magic and a
Raijin and Fujin were to appear in Final Fantasy VII; however, the designers decided against it due to their similarity to the
Ultimecia (アルティミシア Arutimishia) is the main
In fact, Squall and the heroes do help Ultimecia start Time Compression, but they do so to confront her in her own time.[116] After Squall and his party defeat Sorceress Adel, Adel transfers her power to Rinoa, then Ultimecia possesses Rinoa again, and Ellone uses her power to send their consciousness to the past, at which point Ultimecia starts Time Compression. At that moment, the heroes are able to travel to Ultimecia's distant future and defeat her.[116] After the final battle, the defeated Ultimecia transfers her powers to Edea.[117]
Ultimecia is the villainess representing Final Fantasy VIII in
Biggs and Wedge are members of the Galbadian Army. Biggs is a major and Wedge is a lieutenant.[118] After the main characters defeat the duo at Dollet, they are demoted in rank to lieutenant and private respectively.[119] The protagonists encounter them again at the D-District Prison. A third meeting at the Lunatic Pandora does not result in conflict; instead, they quit the Galbadian army.[120] They continue the Final Fantasy tradition of including two minor characters with the names "Biggs" and "Wedge."
General Fury Caraway is a member of the Galbadian military who advises the main characters on their mission to assassinate Sorceress Edea.[121] When Laguna left Galbadia, Caraway comforted Julia; eventually, they married and had a child, Rinoa.[23] Caraway and Rinoa have a problematic relationship; he attempts to prevent her from participating in the assassination attempt.[122] However, he later arranges her freedom from the D-District Prison.
Vinzer Deling is the President of Galbadia. He appoints Sorceress Edea as a supposed "peace ambassador" to resolve Galbadia's political problems with other nations.[123] His body double is defeated by SeeD and the Forest Owls resistance group.[124] Edea kills him during her welcoming ceremony at Deling City and seizes power in Galbadia.[96]
Mayor Dobe is the leader of Fishermans Horizon, a town in the middle of a transoceanic highway between the continents of Galbadia and Esthar. He and his wife, Flo, detest violence and oppose the Garden's presence in their territory.[125] Squall and his party save the Mayor from certain death when the Galbadian army invades the town.
The Forest Owls are a small resistance faction that oppose the Galbadian occupation of Timber, a town in the eastern part of the continent. A man named Zone is the leader, and Rinoa and Watts are members. Most people of Timber are affiliated with a resistance group, although the Forest Owls are the only active ones.[126]
Julia Heartilly (ジュリア・ハーティリー Juria Hātirī) is a pianist at a Galbadian hotel frequented by Laguna during his days as a soldier. After being secretly admired by Laguna for some time, Julia introduces herself, as depicted in one of the flashback sequences.[127] Julia reveals to Laguna her dream of writing her own songs and becoming a singer. Laguna is shipped out on new orders the following day and the ensuing circumstances prevent him from returning. Julia eventually marries Galbadian military officer General Caraway and has a daughter, Rinoa.[23] She also finds success with her song "
Raine (レイン Rein), later Raine Loire (レイン・レウァール Rein Rewāru), is Laguna's second love depicted in the flashbacks. She finds him injured at the bottom of a cliff and brings him to her hometown of Winhill to recover. She is irked at first by Laguna's bad habits and reluctance to express himself outright,[130] but the two grow close and marry. After Laguna becomes President of Esthar, his duties thwart his efforts to return to Winhill. Raine dies after giving birth to a child, who, along with Ellone, is taken away to Edea's orphanage.[47] It is strongly implied by Ward and Kiros, as well as by gaming writers and fans, that Squall is their child.[131][132]
Martine is the head of Galbadia Garden. His superior, Balamb Garden's master NORG, orders him to use SeeD members to carry out the assassination plot against Sorceress Edea. When Squall and his team travel to Galbadia Garden after fleeing Timber, Martine orders them to carry out the mission. He hopes that using Balamb Garden's SeeDs would deflect responsibility for the plot onto NORG.[133] His actions trigger the conflict within Balamb Garden when Garden Master NORG tries to kill Headmaster Cid to appease Sorceress Edea after the mission fails.[106] Afterward, the Galbadian military seizes Galbadia Garden and Martine flees to the pacifist city of Fishermans Horizon.
NORG is an exiled Shumi who lent Cid the money to build and develop the Garden and took the position of Garden Master upon its completion.[134] NORG is more concerned about the revenue acquired by SeeD as a mercenary organization rather than its noble duty of opposing the Sorceress; he is considered a "black sheep" of the Shumi tribe.[134] After hearing about a failed assassination attempt on Sorceress Edea, NORG begins to distrust Headmaster Cid and tries to seize control of Balamb Garden, causing a conflict between factions loyal to NORG and Cid. Feigning loyalty to the Sorceress, he attempts to kill the SeeDs who carried out the failed assassination.[106] After he is defeated in battle, he enters a
Dr. Odine is a scientist and magic researcher from Esthar. He discovered the GFs and junctioning and engineered a machine that mimics Ellone's power.[112] Seventeen years before the game, he developed the necessary technology to allow Laguna to entomb Adel. As a researcher of the Lunatic Pandora,[135] he also helps to prevent it from reaching Tears' Point and initiating a Lunar Cry.[136] Odine also plays a role in the plot to destroy Ultimecia, explaining how to survive time compression.[116]
Several other SeeD members assist Squall's party. Dr. Kadowaki is the Balamb Garden doctor who tends to Squall's wounds after his fight with Seifer in the opening sequence. She also helps Headmaster Cid after his confrontation with NORG. Nida (another