FF8 Demo Disc Translation
by Zhou Tai An (kain@pacific.net.sg)

Standard Disclaimers of just being a student, no real claims to Japanese 
proficiency and the rest apply - however, after my Xenogears FAQ, I can
safely say that I'm not too bad at the language. ^_^

As always, this FAQ and all contents are copyright Zhou Tai An. Please notify
before use anywhere - use of this for commerical purposes is strictly prohibited.

It's gonna be short, anyway. ^_^

Comments are corrections will be appreciated. BTW, even though this is short,
I fully expect an error or two to show up, so you've been warned.

******

The bunch of text in the opening is simply stuff about this kingdom which
controls something called SeeD. More will be explained later.

The story begins with Squall (a dumb name if there ever was one), Zell and 
Rinoa landing on a beach, where they are promptly given orders by Seifer, 
their commander, to cut off and surround their enemies, the military group
know as SeeD, in the centre of the city. Off you go, then...oh, I suppose
you want some battle help.

The commands are as follows, in order :

Attack - Ye Olde Attack Command

- pressing right or left when the cursor is here will allow you, sometimes,
to access the "Limit Break" attacks for each character. Squall has Rapid Slash
(the attack name is Photon Slash) as his default, and Zell has Hand-to-Hand.
(forgot his attack) Rinoa does not appear to have a Limit Break.

I think you activate the Limits when your HP is low, but since I don't have 
the manual and played it for a total of only half-an-hour or so, at a friend's
house, I can't be sure.

Magic - Ye Even Older Magic Command

In FF8, you apparently don't have MP. What you do have is the number of times
you can use a certain spell, like in Suikoden. Magic, displayed in order, is

Squall (One measly Cure)
Zell (nothing)
Rinoa (Fire, Ice, Thunder, Cure, Fire2, Ice2, Thunder2)

Draw or GX for Rinoa 

For Squall and Zell, they have a command known as Draw. (Why Draw? Why not
Sketch, or even Color?)  Anyway, using it involves selecting either a 
teammate or an enemy. A choice of magic will appear. (Usually Fire, Cure and 
something else) You'll then get to choose between Releasing it or Storing it. 

Note : This is REALLY important in the demo as this command will allow you
to renew your life indefinitely!

For Rinoa, her GX (or Guardian Force) will summon Leviathan. (why is it 
ALWAYS Leviathan?) It can apparently be used multiple times and has the side 
effect of restoring her HP to full.

The last option is Item. There are two items in the demo - the one with the
shorter name is a Potion and the other one Phoenix Down.

Back to the story, Upon reaching the town square, Seifer will ask Squall is 
he's worried about enemies. (Answer yes or no : first option is yes) After 
beating the three soldiers in the area, Seifer will say there's nothing to
worry about, and then order Squall to hunt down and kill the soldiers that 
are escaping. (He also has a little trouble with a certain dog that seems to 
have an attraction for him. ^_^) Squall will refuse, saying that Seifer has 
not trained him to use his skills to kill already retreating foes. Seifer 
reiterates, with Zell chipping in, that this is a real fight, and he doesn't
want to come along fine. (The dog seems to want to fight alongside 
Mr. White-Coated, though. ^_^) After Seifer declares angrily that he will
kill the scum himself, (as Zell remarks that he's a bit overzealous) Squall 
will be dispatched to the Tower instead.

On their way to the top, two soldiers gasp out as they die that the electric 
pulse generator is about to become operational. This is confirmed by some other 
soldiers when the party reaches the summit - Seifer, having rejoined them,
asks Squall whether he is afraid. Without waiting for him to reply, Seifer
goes on to say that he (Seifer) loves battle; he's can't be afraid. And there
was this dream...both Squall and Zell ask about it, but Seifer brushes their 
questions off and heads into the building. Zell wonders what's with the 
commander talking about dreams right now.

The scene will switch to - guess who - Vicks and Wedge, who are trying to
repair the generator. Vicks finishes just as the party ambushes him. Later
in the battle, (Vicks having activated the pulse) Wedge will join him, only 
to be swept away alongside his partner as a flying monster descends from 
above. Once destroyed, a soldier will come along to inform you that the men
are gathering on the beach in 15 minutes to move out. Seifer leaves, warning
you not to be late. As Squall and Co. take the lift back now, Vicks manages
to activate a last defense mechanism...

You'll have to fight the spider-like robot about three times in order to get
to the beach. Fight until Zell tells you to run away by pressing the L1 and
2 buttons - by the time you reach the stores, you'll be able to escape without
fighting it any more. Get to the beach and the demo ends.

That was short.

Hmmm. Ah, I know. Here's a bit more info :

Squall - Speaks like Ye Olde RPG hero. Nothing special.
Zell - Speaks like Ye Not So Olde Hot-Headed RPG Hero Sidekick Punk Type. 
Think a less foul-mouthed Barrett.
Seifer - Curt and kinda rude. Then again, he IS your commander. Oh, and does
he remind you of anyone? Sword, coat, hair, attitude - can we say...(No, NOT
Superman. The other guy.)
Rinoa - Speaks ONE LINE of text in the whole demo. My guess is that she's a
Square-type Ayanami Rei, but I could be wrong.

Oh yeah, and a last note. Since it's barely three lines, the text in the demo
of Another Mind that comes with the same CD reads as :

"Who are you?"
"Why am I here?"
"Who am I?" (I'm not sure of the last one.)

That's really it, then.