Final Fantasy VIII/Unused Text

Despite an extra disc, there's much less cut, hidden and different text of actual substance than in Final Fantasy VII. To make up for this, the US->UK localisation team went totally daft.

Legend:

Text in a box is either hidden, unused, or present in one version but not another

Global
The "Retry" rule was abolished from this region. The "Retry" rule has spread throughout this region. This text referring to an unused Triple Triad rule exists (albeit hidden) in every location where a card game is possible.

Queen "This region is getting boring. I'm going to travel to a new region." Generic leaving text for the Card Queen from every location she's at. It is never used, specific texts mentioning where she is going are preferred instead.

Dummy Test Almost every location in the game contains one of these two placeholders

Battle Battle This placeholder text occurs everywhere there's a forced battle

Library Bookshelf
Library Girl with a Pigtail "Yes." The girl in love with Zell does remember his answers to her questionaire. This interjection goes unused as the Library Commitee Member just continues with her speech.

Library Study Area
"I won't be able to cooperate with my peers, if you know what I mean."

"I have no choice but study really hard, oh-ho-ho." The lazy student further laments being the only one taking his upcoming test

Grounds
Headmaster Cid "Any questions?"

-> How long is this mission supposed to last? -> What was the password again? -> ...Not really

Headmaster Cid "That would depend on the other party."

Headmaster Cid "They will say, ‘The forests of Timber sure have changed.'"

"You must answer, ‘But the owls are still around.'"

Headmaster Cid "Hahaha... You're beginning to worry me..." After telling you to go to Timber, Cid was to give you the opportunity to ask questions. It and their responses remain hidden though.

Hall - Directory
"Bye!" Grouped with Selphie's text after being shown the directory. Most likely this was her original ending line (given her sprite waves) before being replace with "Thanks a lot!"

"Well, that's it for classes today, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why don't we go to the cafeteria before we head back to the dorm?"

"Sure thing."

"Oh yeah, I also wanted to do some research at the library. Can we go there first?"

"Alrighty." An unused conversation between two or three people.

Zell "Nice to meetcha, Squall" Zell was to introduce himself after the FMV.

Hall - Rear
Rinoa "What's over here?"

Squall "The cafeteria."

Rinoa "What about over there?"

Squall "The parking lot."

Rinoa "Squall... I really appreciate you showing me around."

"But can you try to make it a little more fun? You know, like a normal tour?" Rinoa's tour around the back of the garden was to have a little more dialog

Infirmary
Dr. Kadowaki "Just rest until Instructor Trepe gets here." An extra bit of text before Quistis sidles into the game

"I was against dispatching SeeDs around the world."

"But considering our goal, NORG was right to point out that training wouldn't be enough."

"We also had to think about students who decided not to become SeeDs. ......We needed money." Cid's speech about NORG and the real purpose of Garden had an extra bit.

Training Centre
"Thank you." One of the White SeeDs showed some gratitude after saving Ellone. Instead he just bows and leaves silently.

"It's my fault." One of the two kids with the SeeD uttered this when they're cornered by the Garden Faculty during the fight for the garden.

Squall "Are you guys all right?" Squall, compassionate? No wonder it was cut. Would have come after defeating the Garden Faculty's monster.

Quistis "Squall, I was just wondering... Have you fought T-Rexaur in the training center?"

Squall "I'm not sure..."

Quistis "You can defeat it quite easily by using [Status-J]."

"Let's go over Status changes in the Tutorial!"

Quistis "Well?"

"Use a Sleep attack against T-Rexaur. Just junction ‘Sleep' onto your ST Atk-J and attack." The scene going to the secret area is different in the JP version to other versions. International versions add this text and the interstitial Status junction tutorial.

Quistis "Shall We?" This being removed was a casualty of the above change. It kicks off the conversation in the JP version.

Classroom Terminal
Test Nothing to write. Oh, good job with the fight against Galbadia Garden. That's all.

Normal Dorm
Selphie "Tee-hee!" Selphie shows off her SeeD uniform. Was replaced with "Tee-hee! So, what do you think?" in the game.

Squall (Get changed? Training centre? What's this all about?) The used version of this text was slightly different, and wasn't displayed in the dorm.

Squall "Meet at the main hall after you change..." Unused line

SeeD Dorm
Squall "Face the bed... [Action-button icon] to rest [Card-button icon] to change clothes" Actioning the bed led to a more involved menu at one point

(I'll take a break...)

(Forget it...) Redacted responses echoing menu choices.

Squall "Maybe I'll wear my uniform." -> Get changed -> Don't get changed Unused menu to change back into SeeD uniform

Squall "Sorry, I'm not in the mood." Response to Zell asking if Squall 'wants to kick some monster butt at the training centre'.

Secret Area
Quistis "......?" Squall's rebuke of Quistis pouring her heart out was met with a puzzled silence before it was removed.

Misc
This is a temporary screen. Please report on the 4 parameters displayed below for debugging purposes.

Remaining Time: {Var00} min. {var01} sec. Number Shot Down {Var02} Number Escaped {var03} Subtracted {Var04} Grouped with the SeeD score dialog is this debugging aid text box.

Longshot
Quistis Do you have a GF? -> (Yes I have) -> (No)

Quistis GFs allow us to junction and set abilities. Setting an ability lets us use it

Quistis If you forget to set an ability it cannot be used in battle

Either [GF] + [Draw] + [Item] or [Magic] + [Draw] + [Item] is recommened

Junctioning a GF also enables magic to boost your abilities

The more of the magic stocked the higher the ability boost

Quistis To revisit the information Check the tutorial

Use [Triangle] to open the menu and select tutorial. Choose Junction to get the correct description A quick GF junction tutorial that occurs in the Japanese game. It was removed for the US & UK versions.

Entrance
"Objective: To obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member will support. You have {Var0} mins left." It's likely that in a previous incarnation, the time to complete the Fire Cavern kept counting down when leaving before defeating Ifrit. Upon re-entering the Garden faculty would've told you how long was left on the clock. In the final, the clock resets to the chosen time limit.

"Very good. You will receive your credits at Garden." The Garden Faculty say this after exiting the Fire Cavern in the Japanese version. It goes unused in others.

Ifrit's Hole
Defeat Ifrit Raise flag Most likely a reminder for the devs

Corridor
Squall "Ok, Ok..." Giving in to Selphie's girlish glee at going through the door

Selphie "How much longer 'til Galbadia?" -> (We should be there soon) -> (A little while longer)

Squall "A little while longer." An alternate end to the Deling City train ride. Selphie calls it Galbadia, and selecting "We should be there soon" option ends the ride.

Vestibule
Zell "This transcontinental train goes all over the world."

Squall "Is that so...?"

Zell "If we really wanted to, we could even take a trip around the world on this luxury train."

Zell "I guess you don't appreciate it." Zell likes trains almost as much as Selphie does. Most likely dropped because the trains don't actually go all around the world, or to try and lessen Zell's insufferability.

"Let's GO to the WM!" Extreme fourth wall breakage. May be unused character speech but most likely a developer note.

Train Announcement "There was no damage..." After Zell punches the train floor, this last part of the announcement is unused. The first part of the announcement "Err, there was no damage to the train from that, err, minor vibration..." repeats in its place

(Not a player... ...I guess not, huh.) Squall reacting to Irvine doubting his luck with the ladies.

SeeD Room
Zell "C'mon, let me tell you what I know about Timber!"

Zell "........." The game gives you three rebukes to Zell's pestering, but this isn't one of his retorts. After the last knockback, Selphie interrupts the conversation. Zell doesn't get a chance to deliver the silent treatment.

Outside Pub
Zell ”Yo, what are you doin'!? We shouldn't be going back!“ In the Dollet mission, you presumably weren't to be allowed to run back to the beach. As you can, this stays hidden.

Crab {Var00} Roof {Var01} A debugging dialog.

Elevator
”It requires a password.“ Unseen keycards unlock the different doors in the game, so they don't require a password at all.

Front Gate
”You've gotta have 5 or more cards to play.“ Some card players have custom messages if you challenge them with an insuffient number of cards. The challenger here had their removed in favour of the standard "You need 5 or more cards to play."

Hall
Cerberus Battle Development label

Reception Room
Quistis ”Rinoa, how did you know him? You two seemed really close.“ In case the previous four times weren't enough, Quistis asked this question again.

Front Gate
(I may need to switch party members often. Let me just confirm how to go about it...) This text and the subsequent party member switching tutorial aren't present in the Japanese version.

Bar Room
(...Pretty uncomfortable for me.)

(What the heck is up with this? ...What the...? What's going on?)

(If this is a dream... Wake up...) Reactions from the first dream sequence that don't see the light of day

Lobby
Receptionist ”Please excuse me.“

Receptionist ”Ms. Julia is waiting in her room.“ Proactionary text for the hotel busybody

Room
It's Julia and Laguna's event. Everything's temporary; the motion, the location, etc. More development text from the Japanese version, it was replaced with a copy of the opening line of the scene ("Thanks for coming") in the international versions.

Presidential Palace
(I may need to switch party members often. Let me just confirm how to go about it...) This text is used before the party switch tutorial at Galbadia Garden, but not before the Parade.

Irvine ”Ah...I'll just leave it up to you.“ This comes directly after the above text. As he initially picks the party at that switch tutorial, this may have been his response when you shoot down his selection.

President's death event Dev text at the top of the podium, only present in the Japanese version

City Square
General Caraway ”It's time for you all to split up into 2 teams.“

General Caraway ”{Squall} and Irvine are on the [sniper team]. The rest of you are on the [gateway team], correct?“ Instead of Squall deciding the teams in the warmth of the mansion, the General wanted to do it outside on the walk to the gateway. That usurper!

Rinoa's Proud pose

{Var0} Two separate bits of dev text upon arrival in Deling City proper

Where to? -> Gateway -> Residential Area -> Shopping Arcade An unused menu for buses. In the game you just get on and off of your own accord rather than choose when you get on.

To [Galbadia Hotel]. Get on? -> Yes -> No Outside the station, buses only go to the Presidential Residence and Caraway's Mansion so this stays hidden.

Error 1 Error 2 Error 3 Error 4 More dev text

Caraway's Guard ”I have no more maps.“

Caraway's Guard ”It's useless without a map.“ In an earlier version you presumably had to buy the map of the Tomb of the Unknown King.

Caraway's Guard ”Alright then, what is your answer?“

”Student ID Number {Var0}“ When you select to give the answer the guard doesn't speak, likewise when you've finished entering he only says the number and not that whole sentence so these remains hidden.

Sewers
{Var0} All that's unused in the sewers is this, a development dialog containing the value of something.

Train Station
Rule Motive Two labels for something or other

Station Staff ”This train is scheduled to go to Galbadia Garden, but it is currently out of service.“ This never happens in game

Caraway's Mansion
General Caraway ”1“ More probable development text

Quistis ”Well, let's get going.“ Quistis readies the gatehouse team for the off.

Zell ”Let me see.“

Quistis ”Hard glass...“ Maybe Zell tried breaking the window glass in order to escape the mansion. Or maybe it was too obvious a clue to the escape route. Either way, it got canned.

Gateway
”Please wait until the bus arrives.“ The bus stop attendents use more specific versions, but never this generic message.

Galbadian Soldier Galbadia and the sorceress. Hahahahah! No one can touch us now!

Galbadian Soldier ”(sigh...)“

I'll always be working for Sir Seifer. I'll never make it big... No Galbadian soldier is ever present on the fountain side of the gateway, so these bits of dialog are never seen.

Forest
(Anything's possible.) Squall's thoughts on being caught and paraded on Galbadian TV are ignored by the masses

This is temporary. Going back. More development text, this time from where the car is in the first dream sequence.

Timber Maniacs
”Are you busy? I'm busy. Here's a word of advice.“

”Don't ever talk to the editor when he's busy. Trust me.“

”You have to sell to win in this business. If it sells, it's a winner. The editor just can't accept this fact.“

”As long as there are battles being fought in this world, battle series magazines like ‘Weapons Monthly' are gonna keep selling.“

”(In Timber, there are many people in the resistance, so it'd be great  if we can release a bunch of battle  series magazines and books.)“

”Do you want to become a journalist by any chance? If so, I don't know about your chances in this company. It's a career of the past, if you ask me.“

”I heard the sorceress showed up... (Time to do some business.)“ Copious bits of dialogue from the journalist wound up on the floor

”It was so fun back then. We didn't have all the stuff we have now...“

”But we kept ourselves busy by making toys and doing other stuff.“

”I tell ya, the kids and young people now are so spoiled and selfish...“ Likewise for the editor's extra expounding

”Go ahead. Have a look around.“ The receptionist also had a bit cut

Pub
”You don't have any money? Here, take it.“

Received [100 Gil]! If you somehow don't have enough money to buy the drifter a drink, the bartender will give it to you. This isn't unused but is unlikely to ever be seen.

Tantal (Green/Sweet) Mimett (Red/Sweet) Reagan (Green/Bitter) Full descriptions and/or menu choices for three of the six drinks the drifter describes.

Vestibule
(‘Serious negotiations'... Better make sure my GF's equipped...) The Japanese version doesn't have this reminder and automatic trip to the menu before fighting the fake president

Rinoa ”Hm?“

Rinoa ”D,Dispose...?“

Rinoa ”Ha?"

...Well...Umm... W...We have to discuss some stuff.

Rinoa Oh...you're ready... Well...let's go then...

Rinoa Squall!!! Wait a minute! You think I'm...scared, don't you?

...Well I'm not! I was just thinking...of what to say... That's all, really! Various bits of Rinoa dialogue goes unseen

(She doesn't know what to do...)

(Her voice is shaking. What's she gonna say?)

Selphie ”Do you really...wanna do this?“

Zell Showdown with the president... Sounds big... OHHH YEAHHH! As well as other characters dialogue before confronting the 'president'

Rinoa's Room
Rinoa ”Angelo is really smart! Here, let me tell you...“

Rinoa ”Smart, huh?“ These two pieces surround the Angelo limit break explanation. They aren't present in the Japanese version

Uncoupling Demo
Selphie ”That's way too much hassle.“

Selphie ”Heeey! How about this?“

Selphie ”Let's derail the president's car. Y'know, hit it with a big log or something.“

”Then we watch it crash and burn! Ooh... So what do you guys think!?“

Zell ”......“

Rinoa ”......“

Squall ”......“

Zell ”What's the point of killin' him before abducting him?“

This exchange at the end of the demonstration is not hidden, but with it requiring you to sit through the entire sequence twice, it's as good as.

Train Uncoupling
”Movie starting. Event starting. As is.“

Go to the movie only if the code entering event is a success.

After successfully entering the codes: Test/Go to the beginning immediately. Test/Go to the beginning after the movie. Actual event/Infiltration movie.

Game over procedure when you fail by being discovered by the guards.

Game over procedure when you fail by running out of time. Various bits of development/QA text

Zell”Yo, the blue guard is coming!“ (sic)

Selphie ”So's the red one!“ When entering the second bunch of codes, Zell and Selphie are otherwise disposed so never get to say these.

Excavation Site
Laguna ”Cuchi-cuchi! Cuchi-cuchi!“ Laguna tickles Ward before they jump of the cliff. The motion is silent in the game.

Battle1 (Hatch not working) Battle2(Small rock untouched) Battle3(Big rock untouched) Battle4(Not about to fall) Battle5(Last/Required Battle) Labels for use by the developers or QA