Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell

The Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell are two islands on opposite sides of the world in the world of Final Fantasy VIII. They are known for having the strongest monsters in the game roaming around the landscape. They are both only accessible with Ragnarok on Discs 3 & 4. They also have many different hidden drawpoints around the edges of the islands.

Although they play no part in the game's storyline, they are useful if one is looking for a lot of EXP, or magic.

Island Closest to Heaven
The Island Closest to Heaven is on the far northeastern side of the world near the heavily wooded area on the north side of the Esthar Continent. It is a small island in a short archipilago of islands, making it dificult to find without guidence. The types of monsters found on it specialize in using status-changing attacks and spells. These monsters include Malboro's, Ochu's, Tri-Faces, and Chimeras. Malboro's, and Ochu's are more common than Cimeras, and Tri-faces.

Island Closesst to Hell
The Island closest to Hell is the westernmost island on the southwestern side of the Galbadia Continent. It is much larger than the Island Closest to Heaven, and is easier to locate on a map. It is shaped somewhat like a mishapen 'X' (although, this is more noticable when one is walking on it than on a map). The island's monsters focus on dealing large amounts of damage and taking hits, however they are suceptable to status changes, unlike monsters on the Island Closest to Heaven. These monsters include Grendels, Ruby Dragons, T-Rexaurs, Hexadragons, Blue Dragons, and even a few Malboros, which are rare on this island.