Winhill

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A small town outside of Galbadia. It is actually a small village. Sorceress Adel of Esthar ordered attacks on this village several times.
FFVIII Info Corner

Winhill is a town in Final Fantasy VIII. It is a quaint, pastoral village on the southwest end of the Galbadian continent, west of the town of Timber. Somewhat isolated in comparison to other towns, Winhill has no direct road or rail connections and is cut off from the rest of the continent by mountains, making it accessible only by sea or air. The village is surrounded by open plains and rolling fields.

Story

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

Winhill was founded by a group of peaceful people who embraced small-town life and scorned the presence of outsiders. Many of Winhill's young people found the quiet village life boring and left to seek excitement in Deling City.

During the Sorceress War, most of the working men in town were sent off to join the war. The ones left in the village, according to Laguna, were women with children, old people, chocobos, dogs, and cats. As a result, monsters made their way into town and overran its streets, making it dangerous for children to play outside. At some point during this time, Estharian troops raided Winhill capturing young girls to bring to their leader, Sorceress Adel, as candidates for succession.

Although the townspeople fought back, the troops succeeded in capturing several children. One child in particular, however, avoided their grasp: Ellone, a girl of two or three with the unique ability to send another person's consciousness back in time. When her parents refused to turn her over to Esthar, they were killed, but the girl escaped and was taken in by her next-door-neighbor, Raine. Following the Esthar raid, a team of Galbadian soldiers were appointed to stand guard at the town's entrance and keep a lookout for Esthar soldiers, but the team did little to address the town's growing monster problem.

Little Ellone — Laguna, Ellone and Raine at the pub.

Soon after, a Galbadian soldier named Laguna Loire appeared in town, critically injured from a battle with Estharian troops in Centra Excavation Site. Like Ellone, Laguna is also taken in by Raine and was nursed back to health. To repay Raine and Winhill for its hospitality, Laguna served the town as a protector, running daily patrols to rid the area of monsters, mostly made up of Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars.

Some time later, Estharian troops raided Winhill again, specifically in search of Ellone. This time, they succeeded in capturing her and whisked her away to Esthar. Laguna, now married to Raine, left for Esthar to rescue Ellone, leaving behind his pregnant wife. While he was gone, Raine gave birth to Laguna's son, Squall, but died soon after, and was buried on a hill just outside of town. Laguna found Ellone and sent her back to Winhill while he stayed behind in Esthar, but after Raine died both Ellone and Squall were sent to an orphan home and Laguna never learns of his son.

Following the war's end, Winhill began to fall into disrepair. Most of its young people were lost in the war, while its orphaned children were sent to orphanages. Seventeen years later, the village is as peaceful and remote as ever. Two Balamb Garden drop outs who pose as SeeD members were hired to protect the town by a secret benefactor, implied to be Laguna. Raine's pub has a new owner, but Ellone's parents' old house was never repaired and lies abandoned.

Spoilers end here.

Layout

Ellone's House

This house used to be Ellone's family home, until her parents were gunned-down by Esthar troops; bullet holes still riddle in the walls. Laguna stayed in the house between monster patrols and looking after Ellone.

Draw point: Curaga (upstairs, hidden, never refills)

Town Square

The town square is a place where children are often seen playing. There's a way out of town in this screen.

Draw points: Dispel

Raine's Pub

Located next to the Winhill mansion, the pub was owned and ran by Raine before she died. She resided with Ellone, whom she had adopted after her parents' death; she also nursed a wounded Laguna Loire, who was then a stranger, back to health. Years after her death the premises is run by a woman, but some say Raine's spirit can still be felt within the pub, kept alive by her white flowers.

Winhill Mansion

The mansion dominates Winhill's main district. Home to many different occupants over the years, a mysterious force is rearranging items within its walls. Could it be a ghost or something else? The mansion is only accessible with Squall's party; Laguna cannot enter. The party can start the vase quest here.

Road

The road leads south from the town square and splits into two paths.

Draw points: Drain

Flower Shop

The flower shop is a solitary store on the road through Winhill. It charters many types of flowers; Raine had even given some of her well-admired white flowers for the shop to sell.

Hillside

The hillside offers a view on the town's flower fields, but locals down below warn passersby not to miss their step.

Draw points: Reflect (never refill)

Flower Restaurant

The Flower Restaurant is also Winhill's hotel. Located in downtown Winhill the hotel features a quiet restaurant with a flower theme. The town's modern day monster hunters (two ex-Garden students) have board and keep here.

Downtown Winhill

Downtown Winhill harbors the Flower Restaurant and Winhill Store as well as a collection of houses and what seems to be a chapel. Most consider this to be the town's "front". A portrait of downtown Winhill can be found within the Presidential Palace in Esthar.

Location

Winhill Loc — Location denoted by crosshair.

Winhill is located to the west of Lallapalooza Canyon in the hard-to-reach south of Galbadia, and can only be reached once the player has control of the mobile Balamb Garden.

Quests

Vase quest

Winhill is home to a minor sidequest, which rewards the player little in material sense, but allows them to learn more about Raine and the town itself. The quest becomes available once Balamb Garden becomes mobile. The player may initiate the quest by visiting the Winhill mansion and speaking with the owner. He confides to the party that his precious vase has gone missing and he fears ghosts may be responsible. The vase has been broken into four pieces, and it is up to Squall and company to locate them.

A piece is found inside the suit of armor in the large mansion. Irvine or Quistis must be in the party to get the piece.
A vase piece is found in the flower shop among the white flowers in the bottom corner.
Chicobo crossing the road has it. The player must run into the chicobo to get the piece.
The player must speak to the lady upstairs of the pub till she mentions the flowers' aroma. The player must examine the flowers downstairs in the bottom right corner of the screen, and Raine's ghost will appear, but is replaced by a cat. The cat has the last piece.

The mansion owner rewards the party with a Holy Stone.

Chocobo crossing

Winhill mother chocobo — Chocobo Crossing.

The chocobo crossing has a chicobo running back and forth. If the player runs into it, they kick the chicobo in the air. This is needed for the vase quest, but if the player keeps running into the bird they can get more items: A Phoenix Pinion (although the screen will say it's a Phoenix Down), and a Gysahl Green. Once the player has harassed the chicobo enough, a mother chocobo will emerge and take the chicobo away.

Close encounters

Flying saucer encounter winhill — UFO encounter.

Winhill is also home to a strange event; if the player lingers in the area directly outside the town known as Winhill Bluffs, the party may encounter a UFO abducting an unsuspecting cow.

Triple Triad

Winhill uses the Centra region rules for the game, even if it is officially part of Galbadia. In Centra region the default rules are Same, Plus and Random. There are no rare cards to be won in Winhill.

Shops

The shop in Winhill can also be used as Laguna; in fact, Laguna's pool of gil is independent of the money the main party has, and thus the only use of Laguna's money is to use it in the shop, as the player can still get the items to the main inventory and use them as the main party.

Winhill Store

Recovery Items	Price (gil)	GF Items	Price (gil)
Potion	100	G-Potion	200
Hi-Potion	500	G-Hi-Potion	600
Phoenix Down	500	G-Returner	500
Antidote	100	Ammo	Price (gil)
Eye Drops	100	Normal Ammo	20
Soft	100	Shotgun Ammo	40
Echo Screen	100	Miscellaneous	Price (gil)
Holy Water	100	Fuel	3,000
Remedy	1,000

Musical themes

"Fragments of Memories"

"Fragments of Memories" plays during Laguna's stay in Winhill. The section with the chocobo crossing features an 8-bit version of the "Mods de Chocobo" theme. "Fisherman's Horizon" is used in all visits with the main party.

A live recording of "Fragments of Memories" is included on the A New World: intimate music from Final Fantasy album.

Gallery

Trivia

Dummied-Winhill-Scene — Dummied Winhill scene.

In the third Laguna dream, which takes place in Winhill, a map is visible on the back wall of the Flower Restaurant. The map is not of the world of Final Fantasy VIII, but of the real world. The map is no longer present if the player returns to Winhill with Squall later in the game.
Various unused backgrounds for Winhill are found dummied in the game data, including a scene of a green pick-up truck being driven and the garage door in Ellone's house opening and closing. If the dummied area is accessed as a playable area, a green truck is found parked inside, but only the text "Test" appears if the player tries to select it.
Vending machines in Insomnia in Final Fantasy XV bear the company name Winhill, a reference to the town.
There is a place in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, named Win Hill.