LogFAQs > #926991316

I like how, when Xu shows up, even Squall goes through the motions of formalities to give her the SeeD salute and show respect, but Seifer just stays seated with his feet propped up on the table. For all the talk of Squall being antisocial, by the textbook definition, Seifer is the antisocial one. I do love his back and forths with Zell though. He recognizes that Zell gets easily riled up and so he trolls him every chance he gets. I also like, in a game that's all about your party members sticking together and mimicking the leader's every movement, Seifer acts independently of Squall and company. It's a nice design touch.

"The Landing" is one of the best FFVIII tracks. The FMV that accompanies it at the beginning is pretty great, too. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the SeeD exam because I played the demo a million times before the game came out (Brave Fencer Musashi was a pretty nice consolation prize for getting the demo, too...!). It's just kind of old hat at this point. There were quite a few differences between the demo and the final product. The only GF your party had access to was Leviathan, for instance. Also, Rinoa was the third party member instead of Selphie, but she never spoke since she wasn't here in the final game (Some people might say this is the best version of Rinoa...!). The language was also noticeably more vulgar, like in FFVII, but they cleaned a lot of that up in the final game, for whatever the reason.

As an enthusiast of dialogue of all sorts in video games, it makes me sad that the SeeD exam actually punishes you for talking to people. Seriously, they dock you points if you talk to someone you're not supposed to. I choose to be a good student and obey the rules, but it still makes me sad.

You get an interesting glimpse into Squall's character when they're on standby during the SeeD exam. Seifer wants to deliberately disobey orders, and as Zell protests and asks Squall for backup, he simply states that he supports the captain's decision. It just goes to show that he views himself as a good soldier who just takes orders without question, and that's what he wants it to be. That's why he never wanted to be the SeeD Commander because that burden of responsibility for others besides himself is squarely on his shoulders. He doesn't want to have to rely on others or have them rely on him. He just wants to be a soldier who mindlessly does his duty and nothing more.

I also like it when Seifer tries to put his hand on Squall's shoulder and he just swats it away. Seifer views Squall's willingness to go along with his disobedience as a desire to wreak havoc, which is basically Seifer projecting his own desires onto him. The irony is that, despite being the head of a Disciplinary Committee, Seifer is very much anti-authority and anti-rules, at least when it comes to himself. He loves the power of being in charge and getting to do what he wants, especially if it means he gets to boss other people around, but he always thinks the rules shouldn't apply to him. In his mind, Seifer is a law unto himself. He is the one who determines what is right and what is wrong, no one else.

Squall calls it a good opportunity to test out his training, and he even expresses gratitude to Seifer in a backhanded compliment sort of way by saying that training with him prepared him to fight anyone, even those who fight dirty. Even though they're rivals who challenge each other relentlessly, beneath the surface, they do share a mutual respect of sorts. Zell even picks up on it and thinks the whole thing is strange, though I can't exactly blame him...!
---

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/080/145/638.png
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq