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Revision as of 03:36, 29 March 2014

Template:FFVIII character

Right and wrong are not what separate us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints, our perspectives that separate us.

Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. A young and aloof SeeD mercenary, others view Squall as cold and focused until he begins to question the way he has chosen to live his life. Squall's weapon, the gunblade, is one of the iconic weapons of the Final Fantasy series. Squall is later given the title Commander (委員長, Iinchō?, lit. Chairman).

Appearance and Personality

Uses a sword called a gunblade. Special skill is Renzokuken, using the gunblade. Silent, and a bit cold.

Scan description
Squall's portrait.

A teenager with unruly brown hair and light blue eyes, Squall most often wears a black leather bomber jacket with a fur trim collar and a v-neck white shirt, black leather pants with three interconnecting belts, and black boots and gloves. He has a silver stud in his left ear, and wears a silver chain necklace with a Griever pendant and a matching ring. The only times he isn't wearing this particular outfit is when he's wearing his SeeD uniform or SeeD cadet uniform, which he only does if required to, and in flashbacks to his childhood days where he wears an orange shirt with several horizontal stripes and dark pants. Squall's gunblade of choice is the Revolver, of which he owns a customized version with Griever engraved on both sides. In a duel with his rival, Seifer Almasy, both end up giving each other mirroring scars across the face.

In Dissidia Final Fantasy Squall looks much as he did in Final Fantasy VIII, but is given additional fur ruffles on his jeans, a sash partially covering his right leg, and a lion's head belt buckle, as well as a new shirt with a plunging v-neck collar.

Even though in Squall's eyes are light blue in Final Fantasy VIII and Dissidia Final Fantasy, in a select few FMVs in Final Fantasy VIII Squall's eyes appear green, and both his Final Fantasy Mini Arts figure and Dragon Quest & Itadaki Street portable artwork have brown eyes.

Squall starts an introverted, brooding, cold and taciturn teenager who pushes away those who would otherwise be considered his friends. Though withdrawn, Squall does not shrink from what he considers his duty. As much as he resents assuming leadership he is the first to ensure that what is necessary gets done. Squall's clear mind and sense of responsibility lead others to trust and follow him. Even though everyone agrees Squall can be difficult, staff and students alike admire him, and he is eventually appointed Commander of Balamb Garden, much to his dismay. Squall becomes the de facto leader of the party, though at first he dislikes his comrades looking to him for orders and advice.

FF8SquallAlone

Squall's Solitude.

During the game Squall narrates his thoughts and feelings in silent voice-overs, during which he reveals he acts the way he does for fear of getting close to people. Squall cannot remember his parents, and his sister was taken away when he was young, making him afraid of losing the feelings of comfort loved-ones provide. Squall does not believe in relying on others, as friends and family are inevitably lost and in the end he will be alone.

Squall comes to rethink his choices in life when he falls in love with Rinoa Heartilly and comes to accept the support and friendship of his comrades, becoming more social. This more open version of Squall is more or less how he is characterized in the Kingdom Hearts series. Dissidia Final Fantasy mirrors Squall's evolution from a loner to the man he is in Final Fantasy VIII's ending. Squall fights alone, but finds himself worrying about fellow heroes Bartz and Zidane, and accompanies them and helps them on their quests once he has completed his own.

Story

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

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Rinoa... Even if you end up as the world's enemy, I'll... I'll be your knight...

Squall's thoughts on Rinoa's situation

Squall was born to Raine Loire in the village of Winhill, but she died shortly after his birth. His father, Laguna Loire, never knew Raine was pregnant as he was in Esthar saving his and Raine's adopted daughter, Ellone, from Sorceress Adel's clutches. After Raine passed away both Squall and Ellone, whom Laguna had sent back to Winhill, were sent to an orphanage on the Centra continent.

Squall grew up in the orphanage and, despite the presence of other kids his age, Ellone was his closest friend and he referred to her as his "Big Sis", although it is unknown whether he knew about their familial bond. Due to Ellone's unique ability to send a person's consciousness back in time she was in constant danger from those who would want to exploit her, and was moved away from the orphanage. No one told Squall why Ellone left and he assumed she had abandoned him. Squall developed a defense mechanism that eventually made him an emotionally detached, cynical and introverted boy who wished to go through life without emotional links and dependencies.

FF8ScreenshotUltimecia3

Teenage Squall and Ultimecia appear from the future.

One day, during one of Squall's attempts to find Ellone, a dying sorceress and a teenage version of Squall appeared from the future. The sorceress passed on her sorceress power to Edea Kramer, the owner of the orphanage who was a sorceress herself, and passed away. The teenage Squall told Edea he was a SeeD from Garden and that the notions were originally her idea. Edea tells the teenage Squall he is in the wrong time and he disappears back into the time portal.

Edea presumes that some day Squall, a boy from her orphanage, will grow up to become a SeeD and kill an evil sorceress. Thus Edea and her husband, Cid Kramer, start the SeeD organization to train an anti-sorceress force. As Edea is a sorceress herself, Cid and Edea decide they can no longer stay together and Edea must go into hiding with the orphans who are not admitted to the Garden or adopted.

As Squall himself theorizes, he was never adopted due to his already difficult personality, so sometime around the age of six Squall was admitted into the newly constructed Balamb Garden to train as a SeeD. He chose to train with the gunblade, a difficult weapon to master that takes years of training. He found a rival in Seifer, who mirrored him in many ways including the use of a gunblade and a remarkable aptitude for combat.

Squall Scar

Squall injured in a duel against Seifer.

Eleven years later Squall is known as a "lone wolf" among his peers. His superiors, such as his teacher Quistis Trepe, regard him as difficult to deal with, but respect his talents. The rivalry between him and Seifer has become common knowledge among the Balamb students. Due to Squall's use of Guardian Forces his memory has weakened, remembering only the feelings of abandonment he felt when Ellone left, but no longer remembering Ellone herself. In the morning of his field exam Squall duels Seifer and they scar each other's faces. While recuperating in the infirmary a girl Squall doesn't remember having seen around Garden recognizes him, but leaves before giving Squall the chance to answer. Quistis accompanies him to the Fire Cavern where he obtains a new Guardian Force, and afterward they depart for the exam in Dollet. Squall is assigned in Seifer's squad but he abandons the team and defies direct orders, leaving Squall to lead his team mates as they evacuate Dollet while escaping the rogue X-ATM092 robot. After returning to the Garden Squall graduates along with Selphie, Zell and Nida.

During the inauguration ball Squall meets Rinoa who forces him to dance with her. He learns she is his first employer, and works as part of a hired group with Selphie and Zell to assist the Forest Owls, freedom fighters devoted to freeing Timber from Galbadia's control. During the train ride to Timber the trio fall asleep and dream of the adventures of Laguna Loire and his friends from the past.

FF8ScreenshotRinoa6

Rinoa mocks the way SeeDs live.

Squall and his friends' first mission with the Forest Owls fails when, in an attempt to kidnap the Galbadian President Vinzer Deling, they end up capturing a body double posing as the president instead. Having issues with the level of professionalism in the Forest Owls Squall asks to see the terms of employment the SeeD group is under and discovers they are under the Owls' employment until Timber gains independence. Far from satisfied, the group nonetheless follows with the Forest Owls' plans to intercept the president's Timber-based television broadcast, the first world-wide broadcast in 17 years. Just short of invading the studio Rinoa lets slip her views of the way SeeD live, and Squall remarks about her group's incompetence in turn. After the two exchange words, Rinoa abandons the plan and leaves.

A few minutes after the president begins broadcasting, Seifer, with Quistis in hot pursuit, takes the president hostage over the air. Under Quistis's request Squall, Zell and Selphie rush to the studio to find Seifer backing away with the president into another room. The president's new ally, whom he was meant to announce on live TV, a sorceress, appears and convinces Seifer to come away with her. Seifer is later announced executed.

With the Forest Owls' base destroyed, Squall and the others lie low for a while. Contemplating Seifer's fate leads Squall and Rinoa into another argument over their views on life before they are given word it is clear to leave town. On their way to Galbadia Garden the two argue about Squall's cold attitude towards his team mates. During the argument Squall passes out, experiencing another mysterious dream with Laguna.

The group makes it to the Garden and receives new orders to assassinate the sorceress during her inauguration ceremony as the ambassador of Galbadia. A new team member, Irvine Kinneas, is assigned to help them. With Squall as their leader the group makes their way to Deling City to meet with their contact, General Caraway, and run into the middle of a father-daughter feud between Caraway and Rinoa.

Squall3

Squall during the assassination mission.

As the ceremony begins, Sorceress Edea kills the president and claims Galbadia as her own and a renegade Seifer has become Edea's Sorceress Knight. Irvine chokes when he is signalled to shoot Edea, forcing Squall to reason with him, and Irvine fires, but the sorceress deflects the bullet. Squall faces Seifer and Edea head on but Edea casts Ice Strike, piercing Squall's right shoulder and rendering him unconscious, and the teams are arrested.

After another Laguna dream Squall wakes up to find himself imprisoned. He is tortured by Seifer in the D-District Prison and during Seifer's interrogation Squall learns Edea has ordered a missile strike against both Balamb and Trabia Gardens. The SeeDs escape and split into two groups: One, led by Squall, to warn Balamb of the missile strike, and the other, led by Selphie, to sabotage the missile base and stop the launch.

As Squall arrives in Balamb Garden he finds it in chaos as a faction with allegiance to Garden Master NORG has staged a revolt against Headmaster Cid. While helping those he can, Squall searches for the Headmaster to warn him of the missiles, finding him bunkered in his office. Cid reveals the Garden's past status as a mobile bunker of Centra make and, upon activating the ancient system, the Garden transforms into a mobile fortress and avoids destruction by moving away from the spot the missiles were programmed to target.

The seaborne Garden is met by the White SeeD Ship who request they hand Ellone (who was hiding in the Garden) over into their protection. Squall remembers Ellone from one of his dreams and confronts her about it. Ellone reveals she has been sending Squall's consciousness back in time to inhabit Laguna, although she doesn't tell him why. Ellone leaves with the White SeeD, leaving a confused Squall behind.

When the Garden crashes into Fishermans Horizon due to a lack of a steering device, Squall and his group act as ambassadors and enact a formal apology. Mayor Dobe, the leader of the pacifist city, tells them to leave as their presence can only cause destruction. Galbadian soldiers invade the town and Dobe heads off to discuss peacefully with them. The soldiers do not listen and Squall fights the soldiers to save Dobe's life. During the fight Squall and his team reunite with the Missile Base team, of which they had no word until then. In a rare display Squall is happy they are alive and well, something Rinoa does not fail to notice. Dobe grudgingly accepts the team's apology, and orders the city's technicians to restore Balamb Garden to full functionality.

Cid reveals he is Sorceress Edea's husband and presents his resignation as Director of Balamb Garden, appointing Squall as the Garden's Commander, a decision Squall is not at all pleased with. To show him their support Selphie and Irvine organize a concert in Squall's honor, and Rinoa has an eventful chat with him, encouraging him to trust in them as they trust in him. After the Garden is fixed Squall sets course to the town of Balamb, only to discover it is occupied by the G-Army. Squall and his team free the town after defeating Fujin and Raijin, Seifer's friends who now work for him.

TwoSqualls

Squall recalls his younger self at Edea's Orphanage.

They head to the destroyed Trabia Garden, Selphie's home Garden, where Irvine tells everyone about their past together in the orphanage, which they had all forgotten (except for Irvine, of course) due to a side effect attributed to using Guardian Forces; memory loss. Remembering their childhood, the team recognize Sorceress Edea as their Matron, the woman who used to care for them in the orphanage. The team decides to defeat Edea in spite of the past, and the Garden embarks to the old orphanage in search for clues.

Balamb Garden is intercepted by the similarly mobile Galbadia Garden and the Battle of the Gardens ensues. Squall leads Balamb's defense, at one point giving a heartfelt speech to Balamb's SeeD and cadets, encouraging them to fight on. Squall and his team infiltrate Galbadia Garden and defeat Seifer and Edea, but Rinoa ends up becoming comatose. It turns out Edea had been possessed the whole time and did not act of her own free will.

Concerned over Rinoa's state Squall decides to search for Ellone. Squall wants Ellone to send him back in time to see what happened to Rinoa, so he can find a way to stop her from becoming comatose. Edea reveals the sorceress they had been fighting was not her, but Ultimecia, a sorceress from the far future who wants to merge time into a singularity through time compression using Edea as a puppet. Being from the future, Ultimecia had no way of accomplishing her goals without a vessel to exist within and she used Edea's body to house her mind and spirit.

After learning from the White SeeD that Ellone is in Esthar, Squall and his party, along with Edea, make their way into the mysterious nation that has had no contact with the outside world for 17 years. After learning Ellone has gone to the Lunar Base Squall and Rinoa are sent to the Esthar space-station. Squall meets up with Ellone and begs her to send him back in time so he can save Rinoa, but Ellone tells Squall she has learned it's impossible to change the past.

She still promises to try, but as Squall takes Ellone to see Rinoa, Ultimecia possesses Rinoa and uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her space-bound tomb and leaves Rinoa to die in space. The station is evacuated as the Lunar Cry begins. Squall decides to save Rinoa and, ignoring everyone's warnings, jumps into space to catch her.

Squall catches Rinoa in space and the two come across an abandoned spaceship Ragnarok, which they use to return to the planet. During their journey back Squall learns Rinoa has inherited Edea's sorceress power and has become a sorceress. The land base informs them Rinoa is to be seized upon returning to Esthar.

Rinoa Squall Reunion

Squall saves Rinoa from the Sorceress Memorial.

Squall lets Esthar take her into custody, but after being talked into reason by his friends, he breaks into the Sorceress Memorial where Rinoa is being held. He frees her and the team heads back to Edea's Orphanage. Rinoa is pessimistic about the future, but Squall silently vows to be her Knight even if all the world is her enemy. Squall and Rinoa promise to meet at the field behind the orphanage in case they should be parted.

They get called back to Esthar and find Laguna is Esthar's president and that Ellone has been taken captive inside the Lunatic Pandora. Laguna, together with Dr. Odine, has developed a plan to stop Ultimecia once and for all. Laguna follows Squall and his friends to the mission and during optional conversations within Ragnarok, Laguna's friends talk about Squall's parents, and Laguna tells Squall they will have a lot to talk about later.

Using Ragnarok, they invade the Lunatic Pandora and save Ellone. After Fujin and Raijin unsuccessfully try to convince Seifer to stop serving Ultimecia, Squall and his friends fight through Seifer and shortly after, Adel. With no other body to possess Ultimecia takes over Rinoa, which gives Ellone the opportunity to send Ultimecia's mind further back in time. Ultimecia begins the time compression allowing Squall and his friends to travel to the future and confront her.

FFVIII Lost Squall in the ending

Squall lost in time.

After a final battle that traverses time and space, Ultimecia meets her demise. Time compression is stopped at Ultimecia's defeat and time begins to revert back to its original form. A dying Ultimecia and Squall go back in time and appear at Edea's Orphanage where Squall meets Edea and implants the ideas of SeeD and Garden. After Ultimecia passes on her sorceress power to Edea, Squall falls back into the compressed time and tries to find his way back to the field where he and Rinoa promised to meet, but is trapped in the Void. Rinoa uses her sorceress powers to find him and brings him back home.

During a party at Balamb Garden to celebrate SeeD's victory over Ultimecia, Squall and Rinoa stand outside on a balcony overlooking the ocean. Under a shooting star Squall smiles at Rinoa and kisses her as the Garden flies under the moonlight.

Spoilers end here.

Battle

Squall uses the hybrid weapon known as the gunblade in battle. Through upgrades via Junk Shops he can come to wield variant models, although in cutscenes he always wields the Revolver.

Weapons

Case

Squall's gunblade in its case.

Squall's own model gunblade is unique in its appearance, featuring a stenciled image of Griever on both sides of the blade, as well as having a chained pendant of Griever's head attached to the handle's base. The gunblade's casing is also custom, featuring an enlarged image of Squall's Griever pendant on the lid. All models of the gunblade provide 255% accuracy, making Squall the most proficient melee fighter due to his inability to miss, even when afflicted by the Blind status.

There are seven gunblade models available for Squall to use throughout the game:

  • Revolver – Initial model. Described in Weapons Monthly, March Issue.
  • Shear Trigger – Described in Weapons Monthly, April Issue.
  • Cutting Trigger – Described in Weapons Monthly, May Issue.
  • Flame Saber – Described in Weapons Monthly, June Issue.
  • Twin Lance – Described in Weapons Monthly, July Issue.
  • Punishment – Described in Weapons Monthly, August Issue.
  • Lion Heart – Described in Weapons Monthly, 1st Issue.


Limit Break

Lionheart 2

Squall performing the Lion Heart.

In Final Fantasy VIII Squall's Limit Break is Renzokuken. The player is prompted to tap the Template:PS R1 button trigger button at the correct time, indicated by a moving bar on the bottom of the screen. Squall will slash the targeted enemy four to eight times before beginning one of his four finishing moves.

The finishing move is chosen randomly, but Squall learns finishing moves in accordance to his acquiring of new gunblade models, and can only utilize a certain finishing move if he is already acquired the gunblade model necessary to perform that technique. For instance, Squall cannot use the Lion Heart if he is not equipped with the Lion Heart gunblade.

Finishers
  • Rough Divide - Obtain Revolver or higher to execute.
  • Fated Circle - Obtain Shear Trigger or higher to execute.
  • Blasting Zone - Obtain Flame Saber or higher to execute.
  • Lion Heart - Obtain Lion Heart to execute.

Stats

LV HP Str Vit Mag Spr Spd Luck
1 223 1 1 2 1 20 15
10 616 8 8 8 7 22 16
20 1044 15 14 15 13 24 16
30 1464 21 19 21 18 25 17
40 1877 27 24 27 22 27 18
50 2281 32 28 31 26 29 19
60 2678 36 32 35 29 30 19
70 3067 40 35 39 32 32 20
80 3449 43 37 42 33 34 21
90 3822 46 39 44 35 35 21
100 4187 47 41 45 36 37 22

Triple Triad

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Creation and Development

Early concept art by Tetsuya Nomura.

Squall was the first character Tetsuya Nomura designed specifically for Final Fantasy VIII. Initially, Squall was given longer hair and a more effeminate appearance, but Yoshinori Kitase felt this design did not work, asking Nomura to shorten his hair and make him more masculine. Aspects of Nomura's first design can be seen in Squall's Kingdom Hearts appearances.

Nomura doesn't remember why he created the scar across Squall's face, saying it was just "a spur of the moment". Like Cloud Strife's distinguishable hair, he wanted something to set Squall apart and make him recognizable. The scar was there before establishing the character's history, and Nomura left it to Kazushige Nojima to work out how he obtained it, leading to the duel between Squall and Seifer in the game's intro. Squall's design was completed with a fur ruff along the collar of his jacket, included by Nomura to challenge the game's FMV designers. In an interview at the Square Media Tour in 2000, Nomura admitted to basing a lot of Squall's appearance on the late actor River Phoenix.[1]

Concept art of Squall poses.

Gackt Camui has claimed in a television program that Squall was modeled after him, and referred to Squall as "Gackt #2."[2] During the period of 1998 Gackt was seen wearing clothes similar to what Squall wears in Final Fantasy VIII; Gackt was first seen wearing this costume in the CD booklet that came with the Merveilles album, which was first released March 18, 1998. Gackt also wore this costume in Malice Mizer's "Illuminati" music video and during parts of Malice Mizer's "merveilles ~Shuuen to Kisu~" 1998 live tour.[2] The first images of Squall were released by Squaresoft in late (roughly fourth quarter) 1998. No one from Square's Final Fantasy VIII development team has verified Gackt's claim, however, and the fact that Squall's appearance was based on then-current teen pop-culture, the similarities might be a coincidence.

Final Fantasy VIII is unique in the sense the player is able to "hear" the main character's thoughts, displayed in transparent text boxes. This idea came about because the scenario writer Kazushige Nojima wanted to give players insight into what Squall is thinking; a contrast with his handling of Final Fantasy VII, which encouraged the player to speculate.[3]

Squall's gunblade was also designed by Nomura who was into silver accessories at the time and felt he wanted Squall to have a silver weapon. Nomura wanted some new way for the player to control the weapon in battle, and with both ideas combined, he came up with the gunblade. Nomura says it has a rather odd appearance in retrospect.[4]

There is a dummied piece of dialogue in the scene where Squall and Rinoa were onboard Ragnarok where Rinoa tried to dissuade a potential jealousy in Squall for her having dated Seifer in the past. When Squall did not catch on Rinoa commented that Squall does not care about other people's pasts.[5]

Musical Themes

Officially Final Fantasy VIII does not feature character themes the same way previous Final Fantasy games did, thus Squall has no official theme to his character. The musical theme "The Oath" is often associated with him however, playing at various important stages of the game, such as when Squall addresses the students during the Battle of the Gardens, or during his rescue by the others in the D-District Prison. The boss battle theme, "Maybe I'm a Lion", has become associated with Squall given the song's title. "Maybe I'm a Lion" is played in the final battle's third phase, when Ultimecia and Griever merge.

Other Appearances

Final Fantasy VI

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Squall, designed as a sprite in Final Fantasy Anthology.

A 16-bit sprite of Squall occasionally appears in the loading section of the Final Fantasy Anthology port of Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy VIII Technical Demo

FFVIII-Tech-Demo

Squall and Rinoa in the tech demo.

Squall and Rinoa appear in a technical demo for the PlayStation 2 where they re-enact the waltz scene from Final Fantasy VIII to showcase the console's graphical capability.

Pocket Station Memorycard Icons

Squall.

An icon sprite of Squall appears in the Pocket Station memorycard file manager.

Dissidia Final Fantasy

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Dissidia Squall

Chaos has summoned all of the main series' Final Fantasy villains in an attempt to change the tides of an endless war. Cosmos summons various Final Fantasy heroes to oppose Chaos's forces, Squall being the one representing Final Fantasy VIII, against Ultimecia.

To claim his crystal, Squall travels alone, rejecting Zidane and Bartz's offer to join up. Ultimecia manipulates Squall's chosen path and declares him an apathetic warrior who believes in none but himself. Squall comes to believe in the support of his friends, even if they do not fight alongside him, giving him the strength to fight towards Ultimecia on his own and ultimately defeat her.

In his alternate outfit, he wears his SeeD uniform.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

Template:Sideicon Squall makes a return as a Warrior of Cosmos in the prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy. During the 12th cycle he, along with Bartz and Zidane, meet up with Kuja when he promises to lead them to Chaos, but the other Warriors of Chaos catch Kuja. Kuja defeats the three and allows them to escape.

Squall also interacts with Laguna in flashbacks seen in the Reports, where he is put off by Laguna's friendly and carefree nature, and Laguna encourages Squall to enjoy the now and not worry about the future. The two remain ignorant of their connection to each other in their original world.

Squall's second alternate outfit is based on his artwork by Yoshitaka Amano, removing his jacket and giving him a sleeveless black shirt. As a bonus fourth outfit he appears as "Leon" from the Kingdom Hearts series, with longer hair and a jacket with shorter sleeves and no fur ruffle. This outfit can be obtained in Japan by purchasing the April 2011 issue of V-Jump magazine, or in Europe by buying the Legacy Edition of Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

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Theatrhythm Squall

A talented SeeD and a member of the select organization which was formed for the purpose of subjugating sorceresses. While carrying out his duty, Squall is afflicted by mysterious dreams which show him a story from the past and the life of a warm and candid man who seems so like and yet unlike himself. These dreams of the past, which seem at first glance to be without significance, soon are revealed to have intimate ties to the tale of Squall's present.

Online description

Squall's Dissidia Final Fantasy incarnation is a playable character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Implored by Cosmos, Squall, along other Final Fantasy heroes, must reinforce a music wave called "Rhythmia" by correctly performing a series of melodies to ensure a powerful Crystal that gives birth to music is not destroyed during Chaos's destruction of the balance between himself and Cosmos.

One of the initial thirteen characters to choose from, Squall, when chosen as the Party Leader, runs through the field maps during Field Music Sequences. When leveling up, Squall will exclaim one of his characteristic quotes from Final Fantasy VIII and, if in the party, will join with the rest of the player-chosen party as they make a poem on the intro of each gaming level.

Squall, in his Final Fantasy VIII incarnation, is part of the background movie in the Event Music Sequence, "Waltz for the Moon", dancing with Rinoa.

Squall has the second worst Speed of the first thirteen playable heroes, but makes up for it with his balanced Magic, Strength and Luck. He doesn't excel in any particular department, but Squall's abilities revolve around boosting his strength depending on the situation with every "Miss" with Counter, and his attack power is increased with Sacrifice and Strength Up, though this saps his HP. This set of abilities is similar to the classic Dark Knight job. Notably, he has the smallest list of abilities in the entire game, a total of 18, and since they are all primarily offensive, it makes him easier to use.

Stats

Level HP CP Strength Magic Agility Luck
1 249 6 17 17 13 14
10 994 11 38 38 30 33
20 1,822 17 61 62 48 53
30 2,650 22 85 86 67 73
40 3,477 28 108 110 86 93
50 4,305 34 132 134 104 114
60 5,133 39 156 157 123 134
70 5,960 45 179 181 141 154
80 6,189 45 186 188 147 160
90 6,417 50 193 195 152 166
99 6,623 50 199 201 157 172

iOS Stats

Level HP Strength Magic Agility Luck
1 249 A C B B

Abilities

Reactive Abilities
Ability Level Learned
Brace (Lv 1) Initial
Focus (Lv 1) Initial
Weapon Break (Lv 1) Level 15
Counter (Lv 1) Level 20
Brace (Lv 2) Level 30
Weapon Break (Lv 2) Level 35
Lion Heart Level 40
Focus (Lv 2) Level 45
Counter (Lv 2) Level 50
Weapon Break (Lv 3) Level 65
Focus (Lv 3) Level 70
Counter (Lv 3) Level 75
Brace (Lv 3) Level 80
Proactive Abilities
Ability Level Learned
Sacrifice (Lv 1) Level 5
Strength Up (Lv 1) Level 10
Sacrifice (Lv 2) Level 25
Sacrifice (Lv 3) Level 55
Strength Up (Lv 2) Level 60


Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

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Has outstanding capability in combat, wielding a peculiar weapon called a gunblade. His stubborn personality makes him almost entirely unapproachable, but he's not one to be ignored.

Character Description

Wields a peculiar weapon called a gunblade and exhibits outstanding prowess in combat. His stubborn personality makes him almost entirely unapproachable, but he's not one to be ignored.

Character Description

A long time ago the world in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade was protected by two crystals. However, as time passed one crystal was shattered and scattered across the world, while the other eventually lost its shine. This resulted in corruption and monsters being free to invade the country's lands.

With the knowledge that only through the combined powers of the ancient Espers could the crystals be made whole and shine again, the player party embarks on their airship to travel the world and prove themselves in front of the Espers with the assistance of Legendary characters from previous Final Fantasy games.

Squall appears as one such Legendary character. He is able to join the player party as a guest or to be "summoned" through a Summoning Stone. He uses his Renzokuken abilities from Final Fantasy VIII. Many of Squall's Gunblades from Final Fantasy VIII also appear as obtainable weapons in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

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Final Fantasy Artniks

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Final Fantasy All the Bravest

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Squall's sprite in All the Bravest.

This mercenary of Balamb Garden's SeeD loses his usual cool when playing cards.

Description

Squall is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content, he uses the Blasting Zone ability during battle.

Chocobo Racing

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Squall in Chocobo Racing.

Squall is a secret character using a version of the car he drove when attacking Edea in Final Fantasy VIII disc 1, the Tempest. To obtain him the player must beat the story mode twice, then beat Squall himself in a challenger race set in a Final Fantasy VIII themed circuit.

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Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Template:Sideicon Squall appears in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game and is represented by five cards: all of which are of the Ice element, two of them being promotional cards.

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Non-Final Fantasy Appearances

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Kingdom Hearts series

Artwork from Kingdom Hearts.

In the Kingdom Hearts series Squall is referred to as Leon, as he changed his name after failing to save Hollow Bastion from the Heartless. At 25 years old he is several years older than in Final Fantasy VIII to match the ages of the other Final Fantasy characters he appears with. Along with Yuffie and Aerith, Leon came from Hollow Bastion and fled to Traverse Town when Maleficent took over the castle. Leon helps Sora with advice and information in the first game, and in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories teaches the player many basic concepts for the card-based battle system.

In Kingdom Hearts II, Leon leads the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, and works towards restoring the ruins of Hollow Bastion to the home he and the others once knew. Despite his rival, Seifer, also appearing in the game, the two never interact or even exist in the same world, although both have their trademark scars. In the ending FMV Leon receives a letter, its contents unknown, and a pink pair of wings floats from it, indicating it may be from Rinoa.

In both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, Leon is a boss in several Colosseum cups, and shoots fireballs at Sora when not close enough to strike him with the gunblade.

In the Japanese version, Leon is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa, while in the English release, he is voiced by David Boreanaz. In the English version of Kingdom Hearts II, he is voiced by Doug Erholtz.

After beating the Leon/Cloud tag-team in the Hades cup in Kingdom Hearts, the player receives the Lionheart Keyblade. In Kingdom Hearts II, Leon gives the player the Sleeping Lion outside of Ansem's computer room before they fight the MCP. Both Keyblades are modeled after the Revolver version of the gunblade.

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Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special

Squall in Itadaki Street.

Squall is a playable character in this special edition of the Monopoly-like video game available only in Japan.

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Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Mobile

Itadaki-SquallPortrait

Squall reappears in this mobile-phone edition of Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable. While initially not part of the player roster, he was later added on July 12, 2010, following the game's release.

Other Media

Zidane ref Cloud and Squall

Marcus, referring to Cloud and Squall in the play of "I want to be your Canary"; Final Fantasy IX.

A reference to Squall in Final Fantasy IX is made when Zidane utters, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us", while he performs on stage in disguise before revealing his identity to Garnet. This is also a reference to the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife.

A cosplaying pianist known as "Piano Squall" cosplays as Squall during his charity concerts.

In the fighting series, BlazBlue, one of Hakumen's Distortion moves is named "Judgement: Squall" in reference to Squall. Judgement: Squall is carried in the same manner as Squall's Limit Break, Blasting Zone, in the final blow.

In the video game Borderlands 2, there is a challenge named "A Squall of Violence", which is attained by killing enemies using a bladed weapon. This is a reference to Squall and his gunblade.

In Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, another game published by Square Enix, the in-game dictionary contains an entry for "squall" which reads: "A sudden torrential rain shower, accompanied by powerful winds, mainly occurring in tropical regions. Speaking of Squalls... Oh, never mind".

Gallery

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Etymology

"Squall" is an English word for a small and intense storm. This may point to the conflicting and turbulent emotions within the character. Coincidentally, the car he uses in pursuit of Sorceress Edea in Deling City is called "The Tempest".

Leonhart is a variation of the English surname "Lionheart", derived from the Latin element leo meaning "lion", and 'heart'. The lion is a recurrent theme for his character. Squall regards lions as creatures of great strength and pride, and his personal favorite is the Griever, a Guardian Force engraved in his Revolver gunblade as well as his ring and necklace. "Lionheart" is also a title given to Richard I, an English medieval warrior-king who displayed immense courage and strength in battle, similar to Squall's traits.

The Japanese name for Leon from Final Fantasy II is Leonhart (レオンハルト, Reonharuto?), the same as Squall's last name. Squall would in turn change his name to Leon after failing to save Hollow Bastion from the Heartless in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Trivia

Squallasleep

Irvine in Squall's room while he is asleep.

  • Squall shares the same voice actor as Auron, Cait Sith, and Qator Bashtar, Hideo Ishikawa, in their Japanese media.
  • Squall's Student ID is No. 41269.
  • After Balamb Garden becomes mobile, when the party members are not assigned as player characters they can be seen wandering the Garden on their own. During the short time he is not in the party (during the scene the party is choosing the instruments to play at the FH concert), Squall can be found sleeping in his dorm.
  • Squall's Triple Triad card numbers are a mirror image of Seifer's.
  • In the formation menu Squall is placed in the middle by default.
  • In the original game's release, Squall's height was listed as 173 cm (5'8"), however, the game's Ultimania, the latest edition of which was released seven years later, revised the height to 177 cm (5'9"). This difference is due to a misconception of height conversion. 177 cm, Squall's original height is 69.68 inches. There are 12 inches in a foot and if 69.68 inches is divided by 12, the result is 5.80, leading to the false conclusion of 5'8, when in fact there are 12 inches in a foot not 10 (so .8 of a foot would equate 9.68 inches). The same error occurs with the other characters' proclaimed height as well.
  • Squall's birthday is in August, the eighth month of the year and appropriate for the eighth installment of the Final Fantasy main series. In the sidereal zodiac, Squall's star sign would be Leo, possibly referencing his association with lions; however, in the tropical zodiac, his date of birth is one day too late, making him a Virgo (though this depends on the year as the last day of the Leo and the first day of the Virgo tends to change).
  • Squall's character design was inspired by actor River Phoenix whose birthday is also August 23rd.
  • In Final Fantasy XII, a fake Revolver gunblade is one of Gilgamesh's weapons. It also is a dummied weapon in the database and can be used by the player via hacking.

References

External Links


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