Combat King (Final Fantasy VIII)

Combat King (格闘王, Kakutō-Ō?) is a magazine in Final Fantasy VIII that teaches Zell new Duel skills. The abilities can be used before being unlocked by inputting the correct button combination, but they will not appear as an option.

See also: Pet Pals, Occult Fan, Weapons Monthly, or The Girl Next Door

List of issues

Issue	Limit Break	Location
Combat King 001	Dolphin Blow	The bottom floor of the D-District Prison; must be acquired before rescuing Squall from the Interrogation Room.
Combat King 002	Meteor Strike	Battle against Fujin and Raijin at Balamb Hotel.
Combat King 003	Meteor Barret	Zell's Love Quest (see below).
Combat King 004	Different Beat	The player must speak to a lone Esthar soldier on a bridge near the Airstation before heading to Lunar Gate, then again during Lunatic Pandora's attack on Esthar City, while controlling Zell.
Combat King 005	My Final Heaven	Inside Lunatic Pandora, on the path leading left from Elevator 03's basement. Can only be found if the player chose to trigger the red detonator during Laguna's second dream sequence.

• The player can also buy the magazines from Esthar's Book Store. The fourth and fifth magazines can only be bought once GF Tonberry has learned the shop ability Familiar.

Combat King 003 sidequest

The player can witness numerous optional scenes between Zell and the Library Girl, who works in the Library Committee in Balamb Garden. None of the scenes are required to get the Combat King 003 magazine, but the more scenes the player witnesses, the more complete the dialogue will be at the end; to display all of the dialogue at the end of the quest with no "..." replacing parts of it, the player needs to trigger all event scenes. Zell can also gain a spell from the "Love Compatibility Survey".

1. At the start of the game, before Squall meets with Quistis at the gate, the player can visit the library to learn about its rules from the Library Girl. After this, visiting the library can trigger a repeatable scene with a "Conceited SeeD" who talks to a Library Committee member at the desk (though talking to him does not matter for the quest).

   

   Zell asks about Pururun.

2. After hearing the briefing for the Timber mission, the party can return to Balamb Garden and enter the library, where Zell will ask the Pigtail Girl about a book he is looking for. If the player then leaves the Garden and returns, the Pigtail Girl will no longer appear.
3. If the player takes Zell back to the Garden to warn Headmaster Cid of the missiles, and visits the library, the Pigtail Girl will give Zell a Mega Phoenix. If Zell is not in the party, she gives a Remedy (this does not affect the completeness of the final scene dialogue).
4. When Zell is not in the player's current party, visiting the library can trigger a scene of the Library Committee members talking about boys they like.
5. When Irvine has to choose instruments for the characters to play during the concert, he can leave the scene and visit the library, where the Library Girl (found near the draw point) asks about Zell.
6. After the player gets free control of the Garden, they can put Zell in Squall's party without Rinoa to find her at the library. She may ask Zell if he has put in a request for a book to the library.

   

   The library committee's "survey" to Zell.

7. After leaving FH on the now controllable Garden, the player can enter the library with Zell in the party and the Library Girl's friends hold a questionnaire for him, asking him for his favorite food and color. After answering the questions, it is now not enough to simply progress the story to trigger the next scene: the player must first visit the library one more time (return to the library right after the survey-answering scene), then move the story forward (go to Trabia Garden), and only then will the girls deliver the results of the questionnaire.

   

   Survey results for "Fish" and "Blue".

8. After visiting Trabia Garden, the player can take Zell to the library (to the screen with the Esuna draw point) and overhear the girls talk about Zell and deliver the results of the previous "survey"; he can gain a spell if he has room in his Magic stock.
   • • The love meter is affected by the number of visits to the library rather than by the answers chosen; the player needs 50 visits for the highest score. The score does not count toward the spell reward (see next point) or the completeness of the dialogue at the end of the quest.
     • The Love Compatibility comments at the bottom of the results screen have 9 different variations; this likely depends on the answers Zell gave during the survey, since he can give 9 different combinations of answers.
     • During the results scene, when the girls say: "You began to understand her 'feelings'!", a "drawing a spell" sound effect will play and Zell will gain one of the following spells depending on the answers he had given in the survey, and whether he has space in his Magic inventory to receive it.
       • Beef & Red: Meteor
       • Beef & Blue: Scan
       • Beef & Pink: Demi
       • Fish & Red: Triple
       • Fish & Blue: Holy
       • Fish & Pink: Ultima
       • Hot dogs & Red: Shell
       • Hot dogs & Blue: Full-life
       • Hot dogs & Pink: Zombie
9. After the Battle of the Gardens event, the girls on the Library Committee will tell Zell that the Pigtail Girl is looking for him. A girl either at the Balamb Town gas station or train station (depending on whether the player entered the town on foot or via train) tells about a girl looking for Zell. Ma Dincht also mentions this. Spending the night at the Balamb Hotel triggers the scene with Zell and the Library Girl.

Zell receives Combat King 003 from the Pigtail Girl.

Combat King 003 can be obtained at any time after having liberated Balamb from Galbadian soldiers, but to get all the scenes involved in the quest, the player would need to wait until after the Battle of the Gardens. After talking to one of the girls of the Library Committee, the player can head to Balamb and a girl in a red skirt will tell Zell that a girl with a pig-tail stopped by his house.

At Zell's house, he will ask about the girl. The player must have Zell in the party and sleep at the Balamb Hotel. Upon waking up, the party notices that Zell is gone and finds him downstairs where he is having a conversation with the Pigtail Girl, who hands over the Combat King 003.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

Combat King makes an appearance.

Combat King Vol. 10.

Combat King Vol. 11.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Combat King does not appear as an item (Relic), but as a Super Soul Break for Zell. Drawn from the fist weapon Crystal Glove (VIII), Zell hits random enemies eight times, raising his own Defense and Resistance after finishing the combo attack.

Gallery

Combat King 004 location.

Combat King 005 location.

Combat King 001.

Combat King 002.

Combat King 003.

Combat King 004.

Combat King 005.