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Ultimecia Castle (アルティミシア城, Arutimishia-jō^?) is the final dungeon of Final Fantasy VIII. The main antagonist and final boss, Ultimecia, resides deep within the castle. The monsters fought within the castle have random levels. Transport to and from Ultimecia's world and the normal world can be done via four portals outside the castle, which lead to various locations on the world map.

StoryEdit

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Squall and his friends travel to Ultimecia Castle in the future when Ultimecia compresses time into a world where only she can live. Time compression never fully occurs — it is temporarily halted by Ellone — and the party counteracts it by believing each others' existence.

Upon confronting Ultimecia in the clock tower Ultimecia doesn't act surprised, as if she has been waiting for them to show up. She only comments laconically that the party must be the "Legendary SeeD" she must face. Ultimecia reaches into Squall's mind to find out the strongest force he can visualize and creates Griever from Squall's impression of an ultimate Guardian Force, summoning it against him and his friends. The party perseveres and Ultimecia eventually begins to absorb all of time and space into her body to become a living god. The SeeDs destroy her and Ultimecia evaporates in a large explosion, sending her body along with Squall's forward in time. The others find their way back to their world by believing in each other's existence and focusing their thoughts of a place they want to return to.

Spoilers end here.

QuestsEdit

Unlocking Sealed AbilitiesEdit

The castle is a maze-like structure. Ultimecia's Chamber, where the final battle is staged, can be accessed right from the beginning but when the party first enters they can only select the Attack command, as all their other commands have been sealed. To get the abilities back the player must locate and defeat Ultimecia's minions. After each defeat, the player can select one ability to unlock.

The following powers are sealed until the player unlocks them:

Draw (If the player wishes to draw missed GFs, this command should be unlocked first).
Save (Though save points will provide the normal dialogue, the Save command will be grayed out in the menu).
Resurrect (If a character is KOed, they will remain so until the Resurrect command is unlocked. Even Phoenix will miss).
GF (All GF abilities accessible in battle and from the menu, such as Card Mod, are sealed until this is unlocked).
Item (Disabled in both battle and from the field menu).
Command (in-battle commands such as Devour).
Magic
Limit Break

If the player exits the castle, a message will say the seal has been temporarily broken. The seal is only in effect inside the castle.

There are eight minions in total, including the oft-recurring boss Tiamat. From each of the minions a Guardian Force, which may have been missed previously, can be drawn. Tiamat, for instance, holds Eden, and is an easier way to get it than from the Ultima Weapon. This feature is not included in the original Japanese version of the game.

See the bosses' individual articles for how to get to and defeat each of them. See layout section of this article to see where in the castle the bosses are.

Rosetta StoneEdit

The castle's waterway is flooded, but the player can drain the waters to reveal a box containing a Rosetta Stone. The player can find the Floodgate Key from a bridge on the way to the top of the castle, but the key will fall if the player runs on the bridge; if the player walks they can pick it up from the bridge. If the player lets the key fall it can still be picked up from the canal in the dungeon where water runs from the waterway. In the dungeon the player must use the lever to open the Floodgate and drain the waterway.

There is a way to the waterway through the Courtyard but fence bars deny access. Each of the fence bars corresponds to a key in the organ in the Chapel, and if all keys are pressed exactly the same time the bars will disappear; the player must do this perfectly -- if even one bar remains they can't get through.

Entering the waterway from the Courtyard when the water has been drained finds the player a box with the Rosetta Stone inside. There is a door the player can open nearby to get to the dungeon.

Omega WeaponEdit

Main article: Omega Weapon (Final Fantasy VIII)

The optional superboss, Omega Weapon, is found within this castle and is labeled the strongest monster in the game. Final Fantasy VIII's Omega Weapon is among the strongest of its kind in all of the Final Fantasy series. To reveal Omega Weapon the player must ring the bell in the room right outside the Art Gallery and hurry to the Chapel where Omega Weapon has appeared out of the black cloud within a time limit.

LayoutEdit

Front Gate: On the outside of castle the party can find a save point and a hidden draw point.

Draw points: Flare (hidden)

Hall: The lobby that welcomes the SeeDs stepping into the castle. This area branches into four separate paths. The first one is to the left leading to the Great Hall. Right of the staircase leads to the right Stairway Hall A. The door across it leads to the chandelier above the Great Hall leading to the Terrace. Left of the staircase leads to the left Stairway Hall A. At the staircase, one of Ultimecia's minions, the Sphinxaur, awaits. There is also a party switch point.

Great Hall: The Great Hall Has two staircases leading to the Terrace, but both are broken. The trapdoor leads to the Wine Cellar. There is also a party switch point.

Terrace: The area where Ultimecia's minion, Krysta, lingers. Ultimecia's Tower can be seen in the distance.

Draw points:Meteor
Guardian Forces: Carbuncle

Wine Cellar: The spiraling staircase downwards lead to a minion Tri-Point.

Draw points: Aura (hidden)
Guardian Forces: Siren

Courtyard: The path diverges to the Waterway on the right and the Chapel at the middle. A party switch point is found here.

Items: Key to the Treasury (in front of the fountain).
Draw points: Slow

Stairway Hall A (Left): Entered from the Hall, this path leads to the Treasure Room and the Elevator Hall.

Stairway Hall A (Right): Entered from the Hall, this path contains a party switch point. This path leads to the Art Gallery, and is where the player rings a bell to summon the Omega Weapon.

Treasure Room: Accessed from the left Stairway Hall A, in the path leading to the Elevator Hall. The player needs the Treasury Key to get in, found in front of the fountain on the Courtyard. Inside are four crates with a puzzle. Solving this puzzle summons Catoblepas, one of Ultimecia's eight minions.

Draw points: Holy (hidden)
Guardian Forces: Alexander

Art Gallery: Main article: Art Gallery (Final Fantasy VIII)

A picture gallery entered from the right Stairway Hall A, this path leads to the Stairway Hall B. The area contains a puzzle, that when solved, summons Trauma, one of Ultimecia's eight minions.

Draw points: Meltdown
Guardian Forces: Leviathan

Stairway Hall B: This area diverges to two: the Passage Way on the left, and the Armory in the middle.

Passage Way.

Added by Netherith

Passage Way: Contains a hidden save point. This path leads to the Elevator Hall and must be used if the player wants to reach the Storage Room.

Draw points: Cura

Elevator Hall: The elevators contain party switch points. Party A accessing this area from the left Stairway Hall A awaits Party B coming in from the Passageway. Party B will go on the elevator to lift the elevator up for Party A (party B must be heavier than party A). The path above leads to the Storage Room.

Storage Room: A dead-end.

Items: Floodgate Key (used to access a hidden area in the Waterway).
Draw points: Curaga

Floodgate: The path diverges to two; the right door leads to the Armory, while the left door leads to the Prison. The lever before the left door controls the drainage in the Waterway, but the player must use the Floodgate Key to activate the lever; if the lever is pulled, the water is drained, making the Waterway accessible.

Prison: A dead-end. The door will be locked once the player enters. This room contains a corpse holding the Prison Key. Once the player retrieves it, Ultimecia's minion Red Giant will appear to stop the party from escaping. The door to the left leads to a ledge overlooking the Waterway.

Items: Prison Key
Draw points: Full-Life (hidden)
Guardian Forces: Pandemona

Armory: A dead-end. Accessed from the Floodgate via the Armory Key retrieved at the Bridge. Here, the player enters a fight with a Vysage, Lefty, and Righty which is revealed to be Ultimecia's minion Gargantua.

Draw points: Ultima (hidden)
Guardian Force: Cerberus

Chapel: Accessed from the Courtyard, contains an organ and a strange, dark, purplish cloud that is actually the Omega Weapon that can be summoned out of the cloud using the bell in the right Stairway Hall A. The organ also has a function — striking all the keys on the organ will open the access to the Waterway from the Courtyard.

Draw points: Dispel

Waterway: Initially flooded, the waters can be drained using the lever in the Floodgate. Divided into the top level and the bottom level. The top accessed through the Bridge, the bottom through the Courtyard — a fence bars access until all the organ keys in the Chapel are struck.

Items: Rosetta Stone (after the waterway is drained of water).

Bridge: Accessed through the Chapel, a rickety wooden bridge connects the Clock Tower. There is an object, the Armory Key used to access the Armory, retrieved by walking slowly on the bridge. If the key falls, it can be found in the Floodgate room. Across the bridge, the path diverges: right goes to the Waterway, and left to the Clock Tower.

Items: Armory Key

Clock Tower: A spiraling staircase accessed from the Bridge. A hidden save point is at the base. Along the way, the player can reach the swinging pendulum, grab it and cross to the other side, where one of Ultimecia's eight minions, Tiamat, awaits. Incidentally, on the clockface on the Clock Tower, one of the hands points towards the number VIII.

Draw points: Triple (Tiamat's balcony, hidden), Stop (behind the clock's panel).
Guardian Forces: Eden

Master Room: Ultimecia awaits at the tower's Master Room. A save point can be found at the end of the path near the entrance to the Master Room.

EnemiesEdit

Main HallEdit

Grand HallEdit

BalconyEdit

Wine CellarEdit

Elevator HallEdit

Storage RoomEdit

Treasure RoomEdit

PassagewayEdit

Art GalleryEdit

CourtyardEdit

WaterwayEdit

PrisonEdit

ArmoryEdit

Turtapod
Raldo
Gargantua (Boss)
Lefty (Boss)
Righty (Boss)
Vysage (Boss)

ChapelEdit

Stairway HallEdit

Clock TowerEdit

Clock Tower BalconyEdit

Clock Tower's Gear RoomEdit

Master RoomEdit

Oilboyle
Tonberry
Ultimecia (Boss)
Griever (Boss)
Ultimecia-Griever (Boss)
Helix (Boss)
Ultimecia (Final Boss)

Musical ThemesEdit

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"The Castle"

Trouble with the audio sample?

"The Castle" is the theme of Ultimecia Castle. A piano arrangement is included on the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII album, and the theme is also downloadable for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

Other AppearancesEdit

Dissidia Final FantasyEdit

The Clock Tower arena is the representative arena of Final Fantasy VIII in Dissidia Final Fantasy under the name Ultimecia's Castle. It is here Squall and the Warrior of Light fight Ultimecia in their storylines, and Zidane battles Garland. It is also where the Warrior talks with Cosmos and where Cloud departs from Firion, Cecil, and Tidus.

The arena features a large open central area with four tall pillars in the corners and a spiral wooden platform with railings. The wooden platforms are destructible, and also break if a character stands on them too long. The side of the area has a long alcove lined with gears, and the top has a small balcony that can be destroyed if a character is knocked into it. This stage is notably the only one to have a Banish Trap set in the ceiling as well as in the ground.

In the stage's Ω version, at times during a battle the screen will blur as time compression magic takes effect: any destroyed platforms will reverse and reform, the gears will begin to spin, damaging any character that touches them, and the Bravery pool rapidly randomizes. After a period of time the effects end and the stage returns to normal.

The Time Warp is the battlegen item obtained through stage destruction in Ultimecia's Castle. After clearing Inward Chaos, the Mallet becomes available as a rare battlegen item obtained through stage destruction.

Dissidia 012 Final FantasyEdit

Ultimecia's Castle returns in this prequel to Dissidia. It is the location where Tifa battles Ultimecia.

Mallets become unavailable to obtain in this stage, becoming the battlegen item for the M. S. Prima Vista instead.

TriviaEdit

The Ultimecia Castle's armory originally had red blood on the wall, but in the English version it has turned green.
Ultimecia Castle has three clocks, but none of them move. One clock is in the entrance room, one in the art gallery's floor and the most notable of all, in the clock tower. Interestingly, while inside the clock tower, the player can observe the gears moving, yet, on the outside, the clock is stopped. It may be due to the Stop draw point inside the tower, or it could be due to the fact the castle exists in a state of compressing time.

v · e · dFinal Fantasy VIII

Characters

Player characters

Squall Leonhart - Quistis Trepe - Zell Dincht - Selphie Tilmitt - Rinoa Heartilly - Irvine Kinneas

Temporary characters

Seifer Almasy - Laguna Loire - Kiros Seagill - Ward Zabac - Edea Kramer

Non-player characters