FF8 Triple Triad is one of the series' best mini-games, featuring rare cards, diverse mechanics, and main story relevance. Few of the mini-games integrated into a Final Fantasy's core experience have as significant an impact on gameplay as Triple Triad does - it can easily be manipulated from the beginning of the game to give players access to extremely powerful abilities, items, and cards that will make winning rarer ones later in the game much easier.
In fact, FF8 Triple Triad is so good it was resurrected before the game that spawned it. Square Enix brought the card game back in FFXIV as a mini-game there, and it has become an integral part of that title's ecosystem, weathering several years of play and remaining a beloved pastime for residents of Eorzea. Although the game was changed somewhat in its FFXIV iteration, it mostly remained intact, so players familiar with the FFXIV MMORPG offering - and that game comes highly recommended by modern JRPG fans at this point - will have a leg up if they're jumping back into FF8 now that it's been remastered on modern platforms.
FF8 Triple Triad is pretty simple to pick up, and the game has an excellent tutorial that explains everything players need to know about the way the game can change rules based on region and player. This guide won't be introducing players to the basics, but will instead help those who have fallen into the long spiral of Triple Triad addiction find the rarest cards in FF8 - and offer suggestions on how to get the less rare but useful cards that will make acquiring those rare cards, which look great in FF8 Remastered's drastically improved graphics, easier, too.
FF8 Triple Triad Rare Cards Explained
Rare cards are only available from select characters in the world of FF8 Triple Triad, and some of them can be missed if players aren't careful. They're character cards that represent powerful cast members, and they're by far the most powerful in the game. Once players acquire a decent number of them, winning at Triple Triad becomes much easier, which in turn makes acquiring the rare FF8 Triple Triad cards in the late game a lot more doable, too. Here's a rundown of each card, alongside where to find them.
- Quistis Card - Can be acquired from any Trepie; there are a few in the 2F Classroom of Balamb Garden, and one in the Cafeteria (challenge the two boys at the table and choose the one sitting in the back)
- MiniMog Card - Can be acquired from the young boy doing laps in the main hall of Balamb Garden; can be reacquired after losing it to the Queen of Cards from the boy in the painter's house in Dollet
- Zell Card - Can be acquired from Ma Dincht, Zell's mother, in Balamb, after completing the SeeD Exam
- Diablos Card - Obtained by defeating Diablos after acquiring the Magical Lamp from Cid after being given the mission in Timber but before leaving
- Seifer Card - Can be acquired from Cid; the best opportunity to do so is when he presents the player with the Magical Lamp
- Angelo Card - Can be acquired from Watts in the Forest Owls base
- Kiros Card - Acquired from a man in all black across the street from the Junk Shop in Deling City; only available if the player loses the MiniMog Card to the Queen of Cards in Disc 1
- Minotaur Card/Sacred Card - Acquired by completing the Tomb of the Unknown King and unlocking Brothers as a GF; Sacred can be won back from the boy in the painter's house in Dollet
- Rinoa Card - Acquired from Caraway in Disc 2 while on Selphie's team in Deling City by first losing the Ifrit Card
- Leviathan Card - Acquired from Card Magician Joker, who randomly appears on the bridge going right from the first screen of Balamb Garden's Training Center; if he doesn't show up, re-enter the screen until he does
- Quezacotl Card - Acquired from Dobe in the Mayor's House in Fisherman's Horizon
- Irvine Card - Acquired from Flo in the Mayor's House in Fisherman's Horizon, provided the player lost the Sacred Card to the Queen on Disc 1
- Carbuncle Card - Acquired from Card Queen Heart during the CC Group Quest; cannot be challenged until leaving Fisherman's Horizon; located in Balamb Garden's bridge and is a female SeeD member
- Gilgamesh Card - Acquired from the Card Master King, who can only be challenged after beating all other members of the CC Group. Keep resting in Squall's Dormitory in Balamb Garden until the King finds him and challenges him. After the initial challenge, he can be found in the bridge.
- Chicobo Card - Obtained by completing all the Chocobo Forests; can then be won back after being handed to the Queen of Cards from the boy in the painter's house in Dollet
- Odin Card - Obtained by defeating Odin in the Centra Ruins
- Pandemona Card - Obtained from the Balamb Hotel Owner after liberating the city (only available in Disc 2-3)
- Chubby Chocobo Card - Obtained from the guy on a bench near the Library in Balamb Garden, only available after losing the Chicobo Card to the Queen of Cards
- Selphie Card - Acquired from Selphie's friend near the fountain in Trabia Garden during Disc 2 after arriving
- Cerberus Card - Obtained after beating Cerberus in the main hall of Galbadia Garden in Disc 2; this is unavailable after the end of Disc 2
- Edea Card - Acquired from Edea in Edea's House at the beginning of Disc 3
- Shiva Card - Reward for giving Zone the Girl Next Door for free on the White SeeD Ship in Disc 3
- Ward Card - Acquired from Odine in Esthar as Squall in Disc 3
- Alexander Card - Acquired from Piet in Lunar in Disc 3
- Laguna Card - Acquired from Ellone in Lunar in Disc 3; must be won from Ellone before speaking to her normally
- PuPu Card - Obtained by feeding PuPu 5 Elixirs after his UFO crashes
- Doomtrain Card - Acquired from the Timber Pub Owner in Disc 3
- Phoenix Card - Acquired from Esthar's Presidential Aide in Disc 3
- Bahamut Card - Obtained by beating Bahamut in the Deep Sea Research Center
- Eden Card - Obtained by beating Ultima Weapon in the Deep Sea Research Center
- Squall Card - Acquired from Laguna in Ragnarok
FF8 Triple Triad Easy Wins & Tricks Explained
There are some opponents early on in FF8 Triple Triad that will offer up some powerful Level 5 cards. Cards are sorted by level in terms of their relative strength, so Level 5 cards are typically more powerful than 4 or lower - although the differences between ranks within one of each other is less pronounced, and some Level 4 cards can be contextually and strategically better than 5, and so on. With that said, though, Level 5 is definitely what players should be shooting for. Here's a quick rundown of Level 2, 3, 4, and 5 players who are accessible in Balamb Garden from the beginning of the game and can help build up a player's deck so they can win rare cards more easily when the time comes.
- Level 2: Trepe Groupie #2, girl in 2F Hallway, girl and male student in Library Hallway
- Level 3: Generally most people in Balamb Garden play Level 3 cards, so challenging anyone who isn't on this list is a safe bet
- Level 4: Trepe Groupie #3, Cafeteria Lady, girl in 2F Hallway, girls in Dormitory Hallway, all students in Library area except the girl behind the desk
- Level 5: All Trepe Groupies, Gatekeeper, Cafeteria Lady, male student in blue in Library, girl in Library reading area
There's obviously some overlap here, so plan accordingly. Completionists will want to play the girl who resides in the Library's reading room, as she plays all cards across levels 1-5 and can help build out a collection quite easily.
Best FF8 Triple Triad Rules
In general, All is the best rule to play under once a player is confident in their Triple Triad deck - winning with All means the defeated player gives up all of the cards they took into battle. It's a great way to amass cards. Eventually, rules degenerate into different ones, with All progressing into One, which is much less desirable. This can be reset with careful rules manipulation, but it's a lot of hassle, and it's only recommended for players who are adamant they will be collecting all cards in the most efficient way possible. Otherwise, just try to avoid Random as a Special Rule, which is a devastating one to allow to spread throughout a region, as it will often make a player's hands way worse in the late game while opponents will have predictably high card quality no matter what.