10 Video Game Weapons You Cheated To Get

6. Lion Heart - Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy viii final fantasy 8 Ultima Weapon
Square Enix

There’s a great many systems in FF8 that were proof of Square experimenting with the formula and one of these is the weapon upgrade system. Unlike other games in the series, better weapons can’t be found in the wild and instead players must craft them - predating the wave of similar systems in modern games.

And, like many other systems in Final Fantasy VIII, it’s easy enough to exploit.

Now, this isn’t cheating by everyone’s measure, it’s just taking advantage of loopholes, right? Although it’s fair to say SquareSoft weren’t intending you to have the main character Squall Leonhart’s most powerful weapon, the Lion Heart, about a quarter of the way into the story.

The enemies in Final Fantasy VIII level as the player does so with careful minded battling it’s possible to abuse this. The creature Grendel strangely has the chance of dropping Dragon Fang, one of three required items, but only if it matches the player’s level of 20 or below. From here, it’s a matter of winning a bunch of the in-world trading card game to get a certain card that can be refined into energy crystals and then pulse ammo. And finally, hunting down an Adamantoise to grab some Adamantium.

Doing all this means you can have Lion Heart well before you ever finish the first disc of FF8’s four, which is certainly not what the developers intended.

Contributor

Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite