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                           FINAL FANTASY VIII

                          CARD MOD CHEAT GUIDE

                              Version 1.0



                Josh "Doctor Gamma" Davis (aka "Josh XLII")

                          [ josh_xlii@yahoo.com ]



                             25 October 1999

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\-------------------/

|     CONTENTS      |

/-------------------\

  A.  Disclaimer

  B.  Revision Information

  C.  Summary

  D.  The Cheat

      (1) Conditions Necessary For The Cheat To Work

      (2) How The Cheat Works

      (3) Some General Information About This Cheat

  E.  The Cards And What They Mod Into

      (1) Level 8 Cards

      (2) Level 9 Cards

      (3) Level 10 Cards

  F.  The CC Group Side Quest

  G.  Finding The Ragnarok During Disc 4

  H.  Finding The Queen Of Cards During Disc 4

  I.  The End





\-------------------/

|    DISCLAIMER     |

/-------------------\

   This document is for non-commercial use only.  Reproduction of this document 

(in part or in whole) in any form is not permitted except with explicit 

permission of the author. 





\-------------------/

|   REVISION INFO   |

/-------------------\

   Version 1.0 (25 October 1999):  initial release.



   For the next version, I hope to add information regarding different ways to 

(possibly) get the items received by Card Mod-ing the Chubby Chocobo, Irvine, 

Kiros, Phoenix, and Doomtrain cards--these particular cards can take forever to 

win back!!!  There may be an easier way to get the items they bestow.  I also 

hope to clarify information regarding the exact position of the Queen Of Cards 

on Disc 4.





\-------------------/

|      SUMMARY      |

/-------------------\

   In Final Fantasy 8 (FF8), there is a way to get an infinite number of a 

bunch of rare items by Card Mod-ing Level 8, 9, and 10 cards; winning them 

back; and repeating the process.





\-------------------/

|     THE CHEAT     |

/-------------------\

(1)  CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE CHEAT TO WORK

   As far as I know, the only condition that needs to be met for this trick to 

work is completion of the CC Group Side Quest before Disc 4.  For more 

information on this, see "The CC Group Side Quest" later in this guide.



(2)  HOW THE CHEAT WORKS

   The Card Mod cheat is very simple.  If you have completed The CC Group Side 

Quest, then after you find the Ragnarok on Disc 4 (see the section, "Finding The 

Ragnarok During Disc 4" later in this guide), the CC Members will be on the 

Ragnarok to play cards with you.  The Queen Of Cards will also be available to 

play cards with you (see the section, "Finding The Queen Of Cards During Disc 4" 

later in this guide).  You can Card Mod any of your Level 8, 9, or 10 cards and 

win them back from either the CC Members or the Queen Of Cards; after you've won 

them back, you can Card Mod them again.  And again... and again... and so on.



(3)  SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CHEAT

   While working with this cheat, I discovered there were five cards that my 

opponents did not play often.  Coincidently, these were the five cards gained by 

completing the Queen Of Cards Side Quest:  Chubby Chocobo, Doomtrain, Irvine, 

Kiros, and Phoenix.  On a hunch, I Card Mod-ed the two remaining cards which I 

had not confirmed were "cheatable" (Irvine and Kiros) and found the Queen Of 

Cards.  Sure enough, she put Irvine and Kiros on the table during the first hand 

(an easier way to find them, I thought).  However, I should point out that after 

I actually *prepared* to battle the Queen (she uses Random, Same, Same Wall, 

Plus, and Elemental--a tough mix), I didn't see those cards again for a long 

time (go figure!); however, it's still easier to see those five cards pop up 

when playing the Queen than playing the CC Members on the Ragnarok--just be 

prepared for a wait either way.

   When playing cards on the Ragnarok, save at the Save Point and play cards 

with the guy in the same room as the Save Point; he doesn't walk around (so you 

don't have to chase him around), he uses fairly simple rules (Same, Same Wall, 

Elemental) so it's easy to beat him if you don't combine rules, and the Save 

Point is right there when you need it.  The only reason I ever played another CC 

Member is if I got tired of waiting for him to play the card I was looking for 

(such as the five cards mentioned above).

   To avoid combining rules, simply repeatedly answer "No" when asked if you 

want to play until your opponent doesn't ask to combine rules anymore (i.e., 

your opponent doesn't say something like "Let's play with Esthar's rules, too." 

before the "Yes/No" dialog).





\-----------------------------------------------/

|       THE CARDS AND WHAT THEY MOD INTO        |

/-----------------------------------------------\

(1) LEVEL 8 CARDS

  Chubby Chocobo -> 100 LuvLuvG

  Angelo         -> 100 Elixir

  Gilgamesh      ->  10 Holy War

  MiniMog        -> 100 Pet House

  Chicobo        -> 100 Gysahl Green

  Quezacotl      -> 100 Dynamo Stone

  Shiva          -> 100 North Wind

  Ifrit          ->   3 Elem Atk

  Siren          ->   3 Status Atk

  Sacred         -> 100 Dino Bone

  Minotaur       ->  10 Adamantine



(2) LEVEL 9 CARDS

  Carbuncle      ->   3 Glow Curtain

  Diablos        -> 100 Black Hole

  Leviathan      ->   3 Doc's Code

  Odin           -> 100 Dead Spirit

  Pandemona      -> 100 Windmill

  Cerberus       -> 100 Lightweight

  Alexander      ->   3 Moon Curtain

  Phoenix        ->   3 Phoenix Spirit

  Bahamut        -> 100 Megalixir

  Doomtrain      ->   3 Status Guard

  Eden           ->   3 Monk's Code



(3) LEVEL 10 CARDS

  Ward           ->   3 Gaea's Ring

  Kiros          ->   3 Accelerator

  Laguna         -> 100 Hero

  Selphie        ->   3 Elem Guard

  Quistis        ->   3 Samantha Soul

  Irvine         ->   3 Rocket Engine

  Zell           ->   3 Hyper Wrist

  Rinoa          ->   3 Magic Armlet

  Edea           ->   3 Royal Crown

  Seifer         ->   3 Diamond Armor

  Squall         ->   3 Three Stars





\-----------------------------------------------/

|            THE CC GROUP SIDE QUEST            |

/-----------------------------------------------\

   The CC Group Side Quest can only be attempted on Disc 3; it takes place in 

Balamb Garden (if you already have the Ragnarok, you can reach Balamb Garden by 

flying the Ragnarok over Fisherman's Horizon and pressing X to land; you will 

appear by the Mayor's house--you'll find Balamb Garden where you left it).  

There are seven members in the CC Group; you must defeat them in order.



   (1) Jack.  Jack can be found in the Garden hallway near the Directory; he'll 

usually appear from the bottom of the screen.  He has no rare cards.

   (2) Club.  Club can be found in the Garden hallway leading to the Cafeteria.  

He appears at random, so you may need to exit and re-enter the screen a few 

times; he can be tricky to find.  He has no rare cards.

   (3) Diamond.  Diamond is a pair of female students who can be found near the 

Directory.  They have no rare cards.

   (4) Spade.  Spade will randomly appear with a friend near the second floor 

elevator entrance.  He has no rare cards.

   (5) Heart.  This is Xu.  She can be found on the Bridge of the Garden and has 

the Carbuncle Card.

   (6) Joker.  Joker appears randomly in the Training Center on the Screen with 

the Thunder Draw Point (one screen to the right of the Save Point).  He has the 

Leviathan card.

   (7) King.  First, speak with Nina on the Bridge of the Garden.  Next, go to 

the Infirmary and challenge Dr. Kadowaki to a game; she'll tell you that you 

will soon meet the King.  Return to your dorm room and repeatedly sleep until 

the King appears.  The King has the Gilgamesh card.



   If the CC Members won't challenge you, then you need to win a few more games 

playing people at Balamb Garden.  You need to win about 15 games total (during 

the course of the game) for them to challenge you.





\-----------------------------------------------/

|      FINDING THE RAGNAROK DURING DISC 4       |

/-----------------------------------------------\

   When you first arrive at Edea's House during Disc 4, go towards the 

lighthouse/beach area and watch a FMV of Ultimecia's Castle.  Head north; you 

will be walking on a large metal chain.  There will be three portals on the west 

side of the screen; each takes you to a different location on the world map.  

Take the middle one (face it and press X to jump over to it).  Enter the portal; 

it will take you to Centra's Serengetti Plains just a bit north of the Centra 

Ruins.  Check the World Map; you will see two red dots--the red dot which is 

_not_ at Fisherman's Horizon is the Ragnarok (the red dot at Fisherman's Horizon 

is Balamb Garden).  There is a bay of water to the north.  Go to the west and 

swing around the bay; then continue east (and slightly north) until you reach 

The Tricky Chocobo Forest, which is nestled in a semi-circle of mountains on the 

Nectar Peninsula, almost due south of Fisherman's Horizon.  Ride a Chocobo out 

of the Forest (if you haven't completed the Forest before this point, you can 

either complete it now or "buy" a Chocobo from the ChocoKid--I recommend the 

latter), and go to the beach south and slightly west of the Centra Ruins.  Cross 

the shallow water, going generally to the west, till you reach a beach north of 

Edea's House.  Proceed to the east, then north (you can stay on the Chocobo the 

whole way--there's a small gap in the mountains to go through), until you reach 

the Ragnarok, which is in the Kashkabald Desert.  Near the Ragnarok is another 

portal.  If you enter it, a fourth portal will appear by the chain at 

Ultimecia's Castle (go back through to get back to the Ragnarok).  You can now 

fly the Ragnarok around wherever you like, although there are certain places you 

cannot enter because of time compression--most towns are non-enterable, most 

dungeons are enterable.  Enter any of the four portals on the world map to 

return to Ultimecia's Castle.





\-----------------------------------------------/

|   FINDING THE QUEEN OF CARDS DURING DISC 4    |

/-----------------------------------------------\

  After you find the Ragnarok during Disc 4, you can find the Queen Of Cards.  

She is in the Abadan Plains, south of Tear's Point, outside Esthar's "cloak", on 

the mainland immediately west of an island in the vicinity; it is the same 

location where you can find Piet's escape pod crash site during Disc 3.  There 

is no visible sign of the Queen Of Cards on the map; simply walk around the 

southern part of the plains until you find her.





\-------------------/

|      THE END      |

/-------------------\

   Well, this concludes the Card Mod Cheat Guide.  I hope that you have found it 

useful.  Any questions, comments, clarifications, or other offerings can be sent 

to me at [ josh_xlii@yahoo.com ].



"Yeah, payin' the bills with my mad programmin' skills..."

   -- "Weird Al" Yankovic

      From "It's All About The Pentiums" (1999)



Copyright (c) 1999, Josh Davis -- All Rights Reserved.