During the release of the game and some time afterward, Bandai produced a full set of collectible Triple Triad cards to further promote the game in Japan.

Several of Zell's Limit Break "Duel" attacks are the same as that of Tifa from Final Fantasy VII such as Dolphin Blow, Punch Rush, Meteor Strike and her ultimate limit, My Final Heaven.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the United States synchronized swimming team of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova performed to the songs "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" and "Liberi Fatali" from the Final Fantasy 8 soundtrack. Their performance won them the bronze medal.

Among Japanese RPG fans, there is a group of female characters that are generally disliked by the audience, being referred to as "The Three Great She-Devils of Square". The reasons why these characters are disliked varies, but largely revolve around them betraying the main hero(es) in some way. The two generally agreed-upon members are:

• Princess Yoyo from Bahamut Lagoon, the childhood friend of protagonist Byuu and set up as his love interest, only to instead get together with another character, General Palpeleos.
• Alethea from Live a Live, who due to the machinations of the chapter's villain Streibough, came to believe the protagonist Oersted (who she was meant to marry) had abandoned her, and commits suicide after witnessing him murder Streibough. This leads to Oersted becoming the game's overall antagonist, Odio.

There is some debate as to who the third member of the group is, but the list of candidates include:

• Mileille from The Final Fantasy Legend, who was introduced as the leader of a resistance group alongside her twin sister Jeanne, only for it to be revealed that she had been working for Byak-ko the whole time.
• Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII, largely due to her personality and lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend Seifer, though she ends up with protagonist Squall in the end. Note that this pick might be due in part because of how divisive the game is in general.
• Catholine from the PS2 Hanjuku Hero games, due to her ugly and obnoxious nature, as well as constantly forcing herself onto the hero.

The group term would later be referenced in SaGa: Scarlet Grace - Ambitions, which featured an enemy team named "Lady Power", that consisted of three female demons with names that reference Yoyo, Alethea, and Milielle (though the former two were known as "Jojo" and "Alicia", respectively).