Font files

FF8 character are part of a font file. A font file define what are the characters that the game understand, and which hexa correspond.

There is several different font files for FF8, depending on the language. Mainly known there is:

The FF8GameData repository contains lots of data from the game and should be up-to-date with all new knowledge.

Char

There is 4 types of char

TextChar

Correspondant to a letter, number or special character in the alphabet

Hex value Char Size
0x03 \n 1
0x21 0 1
0x22 1 1
0x23 2 1
0x24 3 1
0x25 4 1
0x26 5 1
0x27 6 1
0x28 7 1
0x29 8 1
0x2a 9 1
0x2b % 1
0x2c / 1
0x2d : 1
0x2e ! 1
0x2f ? 1
0x30 … 1
0x31 + 1
0x32 - 1
0x33 = 1
0x34 * 1
0x35 & 1
0x36 「 1
0x37 」 1
0x38 ( 1
0x39 ) 1
0x3a · 1
0x3b . 1
0x3c , 1
0x3d ~ 1
0x3e ” 1
0x3f “ 1
0x40 ‘ 1
0x41 # 1
0x42 $ 1
0x43 ’ 1
0x44 _ 1
0x45 A 1
0x46 B 1
0x47 C 1
0x48 D 1
0x49 E 1
0x4a F 1
0x4b G 1
0x4c H 1
0x4d I 1
0x4e J 1
0x4f K 1
0x50 L 1
0x51 M 1
0x52 N 1
0x53 O 1
0x54 P 1
0x55 Q 1
0x56 R 1
0x57 S 1
0x58 T 1
0x59 U 1
0x5a V 1
0x5b W 1
0x5c X 1
0x5d Y 1
0x5e Z 1
0x5f a 1
0x60 b 1
0x61 c 1
0x62 d 1
0x63 e 1
0x64 f 1
0x65 g 1
0x66 h 1
0x67 i 1
0x68 j 1
0x69 k 1
0x6a l 1
0x6b m 1
0x6c n 1
0x6d o 1
0x6e p 1
0x6f q 1
0x70 r 1
0x71 s 1
0x72 t 1
0x73 u 1
0x74 v 1
0x75 w 1
0x76 x 1
0x77 y 1
0x78 z 1
0x79 À 1
0x7a Á 1
0x7b  1
0x7c Ä 1
0x7d Ç 1
0x7e È 1
0x7f É 1
0x80 Ê 1
0x81 Ë 1
0x82 Ì 1
0x83 Í 1
0x84 Î 1
0x85 Ï 1
0x86 Ñ 1
0x87 Ò 1
0x88 Ó 1
0x89 Ô 1
0x8a Ö 1
0x8b Ù 1
0x8c Ú 1
0x8d Û 1
0x8e Ü 1
0x8f Π1
0x90 ß 1
0x91 à 1
0x92 á 1
0x93 â 1
0x94 ä 1
0x95 ç 1
0x96 è 1
0x97 é 1
0x98 ê 1
0x99 ë 1
0x9a ì 1
0x9b í 1
0x9c î 1
0x9d ï 1
0x9e ñ 1
0x9f ò 1
0xa0 ó 1
0xa1 ô 1
0xa2 ö 1
0xa3 ù 1
0xa4 ú 1
0xa5 û 1
0xa6 ü 1
0xa7 œ 1
0xa9 [ 1
0xaa ] 1
0xab ■ 1
0xac ○ 1
0xad ♦ 1
0xae 【 1
0xaf 】 1
0xb0 □ 1
0xb2 『 1
0xb3 』 1
0xb5 ; 1
0xb7 ¯ 1
0xb8 × 1
0xbb ↓ 1
0xbc ° 1
0xbd ¡ 1
0xbe ¿ 1
0xbf ─ 1
0xc0 « 1
0xc1 » 1
0xc2 ± 1
0xc3 ♫ 1
0xc5 ↑ 1
0xc9 ™ 1
0xca < 1
0xcb > 1
0xe2 ® 1

CompressedTextChar:

To limit the space, some “char” are actually 2 chars. It means that for one hexa value, the corresponding char is 2 chars. To differentiate those one from the previous one, {} are put around

Hex value Char Size
0xe8 {in} 2
0xe9 {e } 2
0xea {ne} 2
0xeb {to} 2
0xec {re} 2
0xed {HP} 2
0xee {l } 2
0xef {ll} 2
0xf0 {GF} 2
0xf1 {nt} 2
0xf2 {il} 2
0xf3 {o } 2
0xf4 {ef} 2
0xf5 {on} 2
0xf6 { w} 2
0xf7 { r} 2
0xf8 {wi} 2
0xf9 {fi} 2
0xfa {EC} 2
0xfb {s } 2
0xfc {ar} 2
0xfd {FE} 2
0xfe { S} 2
0xff {ag} 2

SpecialCommand:

Correspond to 2 hex values that are replaced by a long string. For example, 0x0c60 correspond to “Quezacotl”. We also surround the string in {}. The list can be found in FF8GameData sysfnt info In this sub category, there is several subsection (with some not yet discovered)

Location and generic text (changing depending of languages)

This values are full word that are shorted in just 2 bytes of data to compress. Location are variable that depends of the language. Hex value: 0x0e List of possible values:

Hex value Char Size
0x0e20 {Galbadia} 2
0x0e21 {Esthar} 2
0x0e22 {Balamb} 2
0x0e23 {Dollet} 2
0x0e24 {Timber} 2
0x0e25 {Trabia} 2
0x0e26 {Centra} 2
0x0e27 {Horizon} 2
0x0e28 {East Academy} 2
0x0e29 {Desert Prison} 2
0x0e2a {Trabia Garden} 2
0x0e2b {Lunar Base} 2
0x0e2c {Shumi Village} 2
0x0e2d {Deling City} 2
0x0e2e {Balamb Garden} 2
0x0e2f {East Academy Station} 2
0x0e30 {Dolet Station} 2
0x0e31 {Desert Prison Station} 2
0x0e32 {Lunar Gate} 2
0x0e33 {Restores} 2
0x0e34 {status} 2
0x0e35 {learns} 2
0x0e36 {ability} 2
0x0e37 {Magic} 2
0x0e38 {Refine} 2
0x0e39 {Junctions} 2
0x0e3a {Raises} 2
0x0e3b {command} 2
0x0e3c {Magazine} 2
0x0e3d {Ultimecia Castle} 2
0x0e3f {Deling} 2

Icons

Hex value: 0x0e List of possible values:

Hex value Char Size
0x0500 {Selector} 2
0x0501 {Selector} 2
0x0502 {Selector} 2
0x0503 {Selector} 2
0x0504 {Selector} 2
0x0505 {Selector} 2
0x0511 {Selector} 2
0x0512 {Selector} 2
0x0513 {Selector} 2
0x0514 {Selector} 2
0x0515 {Selector} 2
0x0516 {Selector} 2
0x0517 {Selector} 2
0x0518 {Selector} 2
0x0519 {Selector} 2
0x051a {Selector} 2
0x051b {Selector} 2
0x051c {Selector} 2
0x051d {Selector} 2
0x051e {Selector} 2
0x051f {Selector} 2
0x0520 {L2} 2
0x0521 {R2} 2
0x0522 {L1} 2
0x0523 {R1} 2
0x0524 {Circle} 2
0x0525 {Triangle} 2
0x0526 {X} 2
0x0527 {Square} 2
0x0528 {SELECT} 2
0x0529 {0x0529:None} 2
0x052a {0x052a:None} 2
0x052b {START} 2
0x052c {CrossTop} 2
0x052d {CrossRight} 2
0x052e {CrossDown} 2
0x052f {CrossLeft} 2
0x0530 {L2} 2
0x0531 {R2} 2
0x0532 {L1} 2
0x0533 {R1} 2
0x0534 {Circle} 2
0x0535 {Triangle} 2
0x0536 {X} 2
0x0537 {Square} 2
0x0538 {SELECT} 2
0x0539 {0x0539:None} 2
0x053a {0x053a:None} 2
0x053b {START} 2
0x053c {CrossTop} 2
0x053d {CrossRight} 2
0x053e {CrossDown} 2
0x053f {CrossLeft} 2
0x0540 {0x0540:None} 2
0x0541 {MagicJunctioned} 2
0x0542 {LimitBreakArrow} 2
0x0543 {GreenStar} 2
0x0544 {YellowStar(InMainTeam)} 2
0x0545 {JunctionAbility} 2
0x0546 {CommandAbility} 2
0x0547 {CharacterAbility} 2
0x0548 {CharacterAbility} 2
0x0549 {PartyAbility} 2
0x054a {GFAbility} 2
0x054b {MenuAbility} 2
0x054c {Potion} 2
0x054d {GFPotion} 2
0x054e {TentItem} 2
0x054f {MagicStoneItem} 2
0x0550 {PistolItem} 2
0x0551 {BookItem} 2
0x0552 {RockItem} 2
0x0553 {Dead} 2
0x0554 {PoisonStatus} 2
0x0555 {Petrify} 2
0x0556 {Darkness} 2
0x0557 {Silence} 2
0x0558 {Berserk} 2
0x0559 {Zombie} 2
0x055a {Death} 2
0x055b {Death} 2
0x055c {Death} 2
0x055d {Fire} 2
0x055e {Ice} 2
0x055f {Thunder} 2
0x0560 {Earth} 2
0x0561 {PoisonType} 2
0x0562 {Wind} 2
0x0563 {Water} 2
0x0564 {Holy} 2
0x0565 {Death} 2
0x0566 {PoisonStatus} 2
0x0567 {Petrify} 2
0x0568 {Darkness} 2
0x0569 {Silence} 2
0x056a {Berserk} 2
0x056b {Zombie} 2
0x056c {Sleep} 2
0x056d {Slow} 2
0x056e {Stop} 2
0x056f {Curse} 2
0x0570 {Confuse} 2
0x0571 {Drain} 2
0x0572 {StatusAttackYellow} 2
0x0573 {StatusDefenseYellow} 2
0x0574 {ElementalAttackYellow} 2
0x0575 {ElementalDefenseYellow} 2
0x0576 {HPYellow} 2
0x0577 {StrengthYellow} 2
0x0578 {VitalityYellow} 2
0x0579 {MagicYellow} 2
0x057a {SpiritYellow} 2
0x057b {SpeedYellow} 2
0x057c {EvadeYellow} 2
0x057d {HitYellow} 2
0x057e {LuckYellow} 2
0x057f {Selector} 2
0x0580 {LimitBreakArrow} 2

Colors

Hex value: 0x06 List of possible values:

Hex value Char Size
0x0620 {Darkgrey} 2
0x0621 {Grey} 2
0x0622 {Yellow} 2
0x0623 {Red} 2
0x0624 {Green} 2
0x0625 {Blue} 2
0x0626 {Purple} 2
0x0627 {White} 2
0x0628 {DarkgreyBlink} 2
0x0629 {GreyBlink} 2
0x062a {YellowBlink} 2
0x062b {RedBlink} 2
0x062c {GreenBlink} 2
0x062d {BlueBlink} 2
0x062e {PurpleBlink} 2
0x062f {WhiteBlink} 2

Characters

Hex value: 0x03 List of possible values:

Hex value Char Size
0x0330 {Squall} 2
0x0331 {Zell} 2
0x0332 {Irvine} 2
0x0333 {Quistis} 2
0x0334 {Rinoa} 2
0x0335 {Selphie} 2
0x0336 {Seifer} 2
0x0337 {Edea} 2
0x0338 {Laguna} 2
0x0339 {Kiros} 2
0x033a {Ward} 2
0x0340 {Angelo} 2
0x0350 {Griever} 2
0x0360 {Boko} 2

Guardian force

Hex value: 0x0c List of possible values:

Hex value Char Size
0x0c60 {Quezacotl} 2
0x0c61 {Shiva} 2
0x0c62 {Ifrit} 2
0x0c63 {Sire} 2
0x0c64 {Brothers} 2
0x0c65 {Diablos} 2
0x0c66 {Carbuncle} 2
0x0c67 {Leviathan} 2
0x0c68 {Pandemona} 2
0x0c69 {Cerberus} 2
0x0c6a {Alexander} 2
0x0c6b {Doomtrain} 2
0x0c6c {Bahamut} 2
0x0c6d {Cactuar} 2
0x0c6e {Tonberry} 2
0x0c6f {Eden} 2

GenericCommand

Correspond to 2 or 3 hexa values that activate a certain code from the game, so that does a specific action.

End of string, New page

The new page is a special one on himself, I don’t know for sure what it does exactly, but should create a “new page” The end of string is an empty character, but that is stored in hex as 0x00 to tell the game the string is over. See FF8 String for more info

Hex value Char Size
0x00   1
0x01 {NewPage} 1

Cursor location ID

In the game the cursor can be placed at many places. There is one ID per different text possibility, considering all game possibilities. So even though you can see only few in a single page, on each page the different possible position have a unique ID.

The hex value for a cursor location ID is 0x0b, followed by either 1 or 2 bytes depending on the complexity of the ID (there is one byte for the Yes No question, and 2 when multiples choices) If used with only 1 byte, the value is not unique (wouldn’t have enough value possible), it is used for example for Yes/No question in the test seed for example. For seed test, it is always id 0x20 and 0x21 for yes/no.

Hex value Char Size
0x0b {cursor_location_id:0x..(..)} 2 or 3

Generic var

The hex value for a generic var is 0x0a. It can be of size 2 or 3, we didn’t reference all values yet. Those value are specific to an environment, so the meaning change depending of when they are used.

Hex value Char Size
0x0a {0x0a..(..)} 2 or 3

List of known value:

Hex value Char/Signification Size
0x0a20 {CurrentSeedTestLevel-1/APReceived} 2
0x0a22 {NextSeedTestLevel-1} 2
0x0a23 {CardReceived} 2
0x0a26 {SeedRank} 2

Special characters

Some are mentionned earlier, here they are mentionned together as the start of image characters instead of normal characters | Hex value | Char/Signification | Size | |———–|——————–|——| | 0xc0 | {«} | 1 | | 0xc1 | {»} | 1 | | 0xc2 | {+-} | 1 | | 0xc3 | {MusicNote} | 1 | | 0xc4 | {0xc4:None} | 1 | | 0xc5 | {TopArrow} | 1 | | 0xc6 | {VI} | 1 | | 0xc7 | {II} | 1 | | 0xc8 | {!Inversed} | 1 | | 0xc9 | {TM} | 1 | | 0xca | {<} | 1 | | 0xcb | {>} | 1 | | 0xcc | {(GA)MEFOLDER} | 1 | | 0xcd | {GA(ME)FOLDER} | 1 | | 0xce | {GAME(FOL)DER} | 1 | | 0xcf | {GAMEFOL(DE)R} | 1 | | 0xd0 | {GAMEFOLD(ER)} | 1 | | 0xd1 | {(SLO)T} | 1 | | 0xd2 | {SL(OT)} | 1 |