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==Non-''Final Fantasy'' Appearances==
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==Non-''Final Fantasy'' Gust Appearances==
 
===''[[Kingdom Hearts]]''===
{{See Also|Final Fantasy in Popular Culture}}
 
===''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series===
 
 
{{SeeKHWiki|Leon}}
 
{{SeeKHWiki|Leon}}
 
[[File:Kh-leon.png|right|130px|Artwork from ''Kingdom Hearts''.]]
 
[[File:Kh-leon.png|right|130px|Artwork from ''Kingdom Hearts''.]]
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===''Itadaki Street'' series===
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===''Itadaki Street''===
 
[[File:Itadaki-Squall.png|right|80px|Squall in ''Itadaki Street''.]]
 
[[File:Itadaki-Squall.png|right|80px|Squall in ''Itadaki Street''.]]
 
Squall is a playable character in this [[Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special|special]] edition of the Monopoly-like video game available only in Japan.
 
Squall is a playable character in this [[Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special|special]] edition of the Monopoly-like video game available only in Japan.
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|File:Itadaki-SquallPortrait.png|''Itadaki Street Portable'' portrait.
 
|File:Itadaki-SquallPortrait.png|''Itadaki Street Portable'' portrait.
 
}}
 
}}
{{-}}
 
 
===''Star Ocean Till the End of Time''===
 
[[File:SOCliffSquall.jpg|150px|right]]
 
A costume themed around Squall's outfit is available as the 3P costume for Cliff Fittir in the game ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time''.
 
 
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==Other Media==
 
==Other Media==
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===Games===
 
[[File:Zidane ref Cloud and Squall.jpg|thumb|right|Marcus, referring to Cloud and Squall in the play of "I want to be your Canary"; ''Final Fantasy IX''.]]
 
[[File:Zidane ref Cloud and Squall.jpg|thumb|right|Marcus, referring to Cloud and Squall in the play of "I want to be your Canary"; ''Final Fantasy IX''.]]
 
A [[Final Fantasy IX/Allusions|reference]] to Squall in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' is made when [[Zidane Tribal|Zidane]] utters, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us" while he performs on stage in disguise before revealing his identity to [[Garnet Til Alexandros XVII|Garnet]]. This is also a reference to the protagonist of ''Final Fantasy VII'', Cloud Strife.
 
A [[Final Fantasy IX/Allusions|reference]] to Squall in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' is made when [[Zidane Tribal|Zidane]] utters, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us" while he performs on stage in disguise before revealing his identity to [[Garnet Til Alexandros XVII|Garnet]]. This is also a reference to the protagonist of ''Final Fantasy VII'', Cloud Strife.
   
 
In the fighting series, ''{{wikia|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, [[Renzokuken#Blasting Zone|Blasting Zone]], in the final blow.
A cosplaying pianist known as "[[Piano Squall]]" cosplays as Squall during his charity concerts.
 
   
 
In the video game ''{{wikia|borderlands|Borderlands 2}}'' there is a challenge named "A Squall of Violence" attained by killing enemies using a bladed weapon. This is a reference to Squall and his gunblade.
In the fighting series, ''{{w|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, [[Renzokuken#Blasting Zone|Blasting Zone]], in the final blow.
 
   
 
In ''{{wikia|starocean|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." Additionally, a costume themed around Squall's outfit is available as the 3P costume for Cliff Fittir in the game.
In the video game ''{{w|Borderlands 2}}'' there is a challenge named "A Squall of Violence" attained by killing enemies using a bladed weapon. This is a reference to Squall and his gunblade.
 
   
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{{gallery
In ''{{w|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."
 
 
|File:SOCliffSquall.jpg|''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' costume.
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}}
  +
  +
===Fandom===
 
A cosplaying pianist known as "[[Piano Squall]]" cosplays as Squall during his charity concerts.
   
 
==Gallery==
 
==Gallery==
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|File:FFVIII Squall Ending.png|Squall smiling in the ending.
 
|File:FFVIII Squall Ending.png|Squall smiling in the ending.
 
}}
 
}}
{{Gallery|title=Miscellaneous|collapse=hide|class=series
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{{Gallery|title=Other|collapse=hide|class=series
 
|File:Squall-ffviii-battle.png|In-game battle model from ''Final Fantasy VIII''.
 
|File:Squall-ffviii-battle.png|In-game battle model from ''Final Fantasy VIII''.
 
|File:Squall-ffviii-battle-SeeD.png|In-game Balamb Garden Uniform battle model from ''Final Fantasy VIII''.
 
|File:Squall-ffviii-battle-SeeD.png|In-game Balamb Garden Uniform battle model from ''Final Fantasy VIII''.

Revision as of 23:35, 16 November 2015

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 him 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).

Squall idolizes the mythical winged lion Griever, holding it as an ideal of courage and strength, traits he wishes to possess himself. The lion has come to be his symbol, the same way Rinoa is associated with angel wings.

Profile

Appearance

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 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. His Griever necklace has a different design in the ending FMV.

Even though 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.

In the game's North American manual, Squall's height was listed as 173 cm (5'8"). The Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania released seven years later, shows his height as 177 cm (5' 10"). 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. The game's official websites for the original and the Steam versions list Squall's height as 5'9" (175 cm).

Personality

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

Scan description

Squall starts an introverted, cold and taciturn teenager who pushes away those who would otherwise be considered his friends. Though withdrawn, Squall does not shirk 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 pragmatism 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 the ending of Final Fantasy VIII. 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.

Squall's "catchphrase" in the English version is "whatever", which he usually uses for want of the current topic to be dropped, often following with changing the subject. In the Japanese version, Squall's trademark phrase can be taken to be 「……悪かったな」 (...sorry), as this is the phrase he repeats most often and is what Rinoa uses when mimicking his mannerisms while on the Ragnarok. It is more akin to colloquial use of "my bad" in English, and Squall says it more often than he says "whatever" in the English version. In both versions, Squall is supposed to be stand-offish, and the choice of "whatever" for the English version was likely done due to the cultural differences of what constitutes as being stand-offish, as Japanese Squall's use of "sorry" is less apologetic and more a social obligation.

Story

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

Template:Sideicon

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. Her husband, Laguna, never knew Raine was pregnant as he was in Esthar saving his and Raine's adopted daughter, Ellone, from Sorceress Adel's clutches. Both Squall and Ellone, whom Laguna had sent back to Winhill ahead of him, were sent to Edea's 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 whom he referred to as "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 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 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 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 told the teenage Squall he is in the wrong time and he disappeared back into the time portal.

Edea presumed that one day the orphan child Squall would grow up to become a SeeD and kill an evil sorceress. Thus Edea and her husband, Cid Kramer, started the SeeD organization as an anti-sorceress force. As Edea is a sorceress herself, Cid and Edea decided they can no longer stay together and Edea went into hiding with the orphans who were 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 Ellone, who has come to the Garden from the White SeeD Ship to inform Cid of Edea's disappearance, happens upon him and recognizes him, but leaves before giving Squall the chance to get a closer look at her. Quistis accompanies him to the Fire Cavern where he obtains a new Guardian Force, Ifrit, and afterward they depart for the field exam in the Siege of Dollet. Squall is assigned to Seifer's squad who abandons the team and defies direct orders, leaving Squall to lead his team mates as they evacuate while escaping the X-ATM092 robot. After returning to the Garden Squall graduates along with Selphie, Zell and Nida.

During the inauguration ball Squall meets Rinoa Heartilly who forces him to dance with her. Quistis orders Squall to accompany her to the training center where she reveals she has been dismissed from her position as instructor and seeks his emotional support, but Squall rebuffs her. They run into Ellone being attacked by a Granaldo who calls out to them. Squall and Quistis save her, but she is led away by two White SeeDs before she has a chance to explain herself, leaving Squall pondering how she knows him.

FF8ScreenshotRinoa6

Rinoa mocks the way SeeD live.

Squall, Selphie and Zell are assigned a mission in Timber and during the train ride the trio falls asleep and dreams of the adventures of Laguna Loire and his friends from the past. Squall learns Rinoa is his first employer, and they are to assist the Forest Owls, freedom fighters devoted to freeing Timber from Galbadian control. 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 him instead.

Displeased with the Owls' level of professionalism Squall asks to see the terms of employment the SeeD group is under and discovers they are under the Timber 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. 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.

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, spirits Seifer away.

With the Forest Owls' base destroyed, Squall and the others lie low for a while. Contemplating Seifer's fate leads Squall and Rinoa into argument over their views on life before they are given word it is clear to leave town. As returning to Balamb Garden is made impossible due to the train services having halted, they head to the nearest Garden, Galbadia Garden, taking Rinoa with them. On their way Rinoa and Squall argue over his cold attitude towards his team mates when he fails to support Zell who despairs over Balamb Garden's safety in lieu of Seifer's attack on the president. During the argument Squall passes out, experiencing another mysterious dream with Laguna. When he awakens, Rinoa apologizes.

In Galbadia Garden the group learns of Seifer's supposed execution and Rinoa reveals he is her ex-boyfriend. The team receives new orders to assassinate the sorceress during her inauguration ceremony as the ambassador of Galbadia. A Galbadian student, 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 amid 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 Squall discovers a renegade Seifer, rather than been executed, has become Edea's Sorceress Knight. After Squall and Irvine save Rinoa from a pair of Iguions, Irvine chokes when he is signaled to shoot Edea. Squall reasons with him, and Irvine fires, but she deflects the bullet. Squall faces Seifer and Edea head on but she pierces Squall's right shoulder with an ice javelin 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 the interrogation Squall learns Edea has ordered a missile strike against both Balamb and Trabia Gardens. The group escapes and splits into two: The team led by Squall heads to warn Balamb Garden of the missile strike, and the other, led by Selphie, aims to sabotage the Missile Base and stop the launch.

As Squall arrives he finds the Garden in chaos as a faction with allegiance to Garden Master NORG, Balamb Garden's financier, has staged a revolt against Headmaster Cid. 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.

Squall's team is called to the basement level where they meet NORG himself. NORG wants to give up those associated with the assassination attempt to Edea to quell her wrath and save the Garden, but Squall and his friends defeat him. During the confrontation, NORG reveals Sorceress Edea and Headmaster Cid are married. Squall talks with Cid who admits this is the truth, and explains the SeeD's true purpose was always to fight a sorceress.

The seaborne Garden is left adrift in the ocean currents and is met by the White SeeD Ship whose crew requests they hand Ellone (who is still hiding in the Garden) over into their protection. Squall remembers a young Ellone from one of his dreams, and finds she is the same girl he met in the infirmary and whom he saved from a Granaldo. Ellone reveals she has been sending Squall's consciousness back in time to inhabit Laguna, although she doesn't tell him why. Ellone departs with the White SeeD, leaving a confused Squall behind.

When the Garden crashes into Fishermans Horizon due to a broken steering device, Squall and his group enact a formal apology. Mayor Dobe, the leader of the pacifist city, asks them to leave as their presence can only cause destruction. Galbadia invades the town and Dobe heads off to discuss peacefully with the soldiers. They do not listen and Squall fights the soldiers to save Dobe's life, being reunited 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 presents his resignation 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 junctioning Guardian Forces: memory loss. Remembering their childhood, the team recognizes Sorceress Edea as their Matron, the woman who used to care for them in the orphanage, and decides to defeat her in spite of the past. 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 SeeDs and cadets, encouraging them to fight on. Squall and his team infiltrate Galbadia Garden and defeat Seifer and Edea, but Rinoa becomes comatose. It turns out Edea had been possessed by a sorceress from the future, Ultimecia, the whole time and did not act of her own free will. Ultimecia's goal is time compression to make herself a god-like being, but she needs to find Ellone to perform the spell and thus took over Edea to conquer Galbadia and use their manpower to find her. The SeeD's defeat over Edea snapped her out of the possession, and she divulges all she knows of Ultimecia to help them.

Realizing he is in love with Rinoa, Squall searches for Ellone to have her send him back in time to prevent Rinoa becoming comatose. After learning from the White SeeD she has gone to Esthar, Squall decides to abandon the Garden and to take Rinoa to Esthar in secret. While crossing the Horizon Bridge Squall opens up to the unresponsive Rinoa on his deepest fears. When reaching the Seaside Station on the other side his party and Edea catch up with him, admonishing him for leaving them behind. The party makes their way into the mysterious nation of Esthar 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 Estharian space-station where reunites with Ellone who is happy to learn Squall has recovered his childhood memories. He 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 using her ability, as her numerous attempts with Squall and his friends resulted in naught but reliving the past.

She still promises to try, but as Squall takes Ellone to the medical room Ultimecia possesses Rinoa and uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her space-bound tomb where she was kept to prevent her from passing on her sorceress power, and leaves Rinoa to die in space. The station is evacuated as the Lunar Cry begins and within the escape pod Squall asks Ellone to try again. Ellone sends Squall to Rinoa's consciousness where he tells her to activate the extra oxygen supply in her space suit. Ignoring everyone's warnings, Squall jumps into space to catch her.

Squall and a cured Rinoa come across a derelict spaceship Ragnarok, which they use to return to the planet. Squall learns Rinoa has inherited Edea's sorceress power and become a sorceress and 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 and frees her. 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 are recalled to Esthar and find Laguna is Esthar's president and that Ellone has been taken captive inside the Estharian weapon Lunatic Pandora by the G-Army that now controls it. Laguna and the Estharian scientist Dr. Odine have concocted a plan to stop Ultimecia once and for all. Laguna follows Squall and his friends to the mission and within the Ragnarok Laguna's friends talk about Squall's parents, and Laguna, who has learned the whole story from Ellone—as the reason she had gone to Lunar Base was to meet with him—tells Squall they will have a lot to talk about later.

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, whose had been was swept up in the Lunar Cry and fallen to the Lunatic Pandora. 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 halts at Ultimecia's defeat and time begins to revert 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 a 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 stay 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.

Gameplay

Weapons

Case

Squall's gunblade in its case.

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. All models of the gunblade provide 255% accuracy, making Squall the most proficient melee fighter as he never misses, even when afflicted by the Blind status.

Squall's own model gunblade is unique, featuring a stenciled 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.

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.

Squall's Limit Break is Renzokuken. The player is prompted to tap the R1 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

Template:FFVIII Card

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 scenario writer 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 because 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 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, 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 are onboard Ragnarok where Rinoa tried to dissuade an assumed 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]

Voice

Squall was first voiced in Kingdom Hearts. In the Japanese version, Leon is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa and in the English release, he is voiced by David Boreanaz. He shares his Japanese voice actor with Auron, Cait Sith, and Qator Bashtar.

In the English version of Kingdom Hearts II, Dissidia Final Fantasy, and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, he is voiced by Doug Erholtz.

Musical Themes

Officially Final Fantasy VIII does not feature character themes the same way Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII did, and thus Squall has no official character theme. 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 based on the 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.

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.

PocketStation Memorycard Icons

Squall.

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

Final Fantasy XIV

Template:Sideicon Squall appears as a legendary (5-stars) Triple Triad card. The numbers on the card are not the same as the card in Final Fantasy VIII.

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Dissidia Final Fantasy

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Dissidia Squall

Squall appears as a Warrior of Cosmos 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.

Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015)

Dissidia 2015 Squall

Squall in Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015).

Squall is set to appear in the Arcade reboot of the Dissidia series.

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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 is a default playable character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

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

Squall is an offense-oriented character. Unless one teaches him abilities through Scrolls, Squall has the game's smallest ability list a total of 18. His Limit, Lion Heart, deals damage in proportion to his Strength, Agility and Luck.

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
99 5423 A C B B

Abilities

Reactive Abilities
Ability CP Level Learned
Brace (Lv1) 3 Initial
Focus (Lv1) 4 Initial
Weapon Break (Lv1) 3 Level 15
Counter (Lv1) 5 Level 20
Brace (Lv2) 5 Level 30
Weapon Break (Lv2) 6 Level 35
Lion Heart 18 Level 40
Focus (Lv2) 9 Level 45
Counter (Lv2) 10 Level 50
Weapon Break (Lv3) 10 Level 65
Focus (Lv3) 13 Level 70
Counter (Lv3) 16 Level 75
Brace (Lv3) 7 Level 80
Proactive Abilities
Ability CP Level Learned
Sacrifice (Lv1) 5 Level 5
Strength Up (Lv1) 5 Level 10
Sacrifice (Lv2) 10 Level 25
Sacrifice (Lv3) 16 Level 55
Strength Up (Lv2) 10 Level 60


Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call

Template:Sideicon Squall returns as a default playable character. If the player did not select him among their party of four, he can later be unlocked by collecting Green Crystal Shards.

He is now a defense-oriented character. His Limit, Lion Heart, functions the same as before, dealing damage in proportion to his Strength, Agility, and Luck.

Stats

Level CP HP Strength Magic Agility Luck Stamina Spirit
1 6 242 15 10 11 11 15 8
50 34 4173 117 80 90 89 118 62
99 50 6419 177 120 136 133 178 94

Abilities

Reactive Abilities
Ability CP Level Learned
Counter (Lv1) 5 Initial
Weapon Break (Lv1) 3 Initial
Armor Break (Lv1) 2 Level 15
Protect (Lv1) 10 Level 25
Weapon Break (Lv2) 6 Level 35
Lion Heart 18 Level 40
Counter (Lv2) 10 Level 45
Armor Break (Lv2) 7 Level 55
Protect (Lv2) 15 Level 65
Weapon Break (Lv3) 10 Level 70
Counter (Lv3) 16 Level 75
Armor Break (Lv3) 12 Level 85
Protect (Lv3) 20 Level 95
Proactive Abilities
Ability CP Level Learned
Forest Nocturne (Lv1) 5 Level 5
Stamina Up (Lv1) 4 Level 10
Sacrifice (Lv1) 5 Level 20
Forest Nocturne (Lv2) 10 Level 30
Stamina Up (Lv2) 8 Level 50
Sacrifice (Lv2) 10 Level 60
Stamina Up (Lv3) 14 Level 80
Sacrifice (Lv3) 16 Level 90


Pictlogica Final Fantasy

Template:Sideicon Squall appears in Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.

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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. As time passed one crystal was shattered and scattered across the world, while the other eventually lost its shine corrupting the land and monsters invaded the world.

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 other Final Fantasy games.

Squall appears as one such Legendary character. He can 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.

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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.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper

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Squall's sprite in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

A natural born warrior who wields a gunblade on the field of battle. Stubborn to a fault, Squall can come off as brusque and standoffish, but there's no doubting his skill.

Description.

Squall appears as an event-recruitable character in Final Fantasy Record Keeper. He could be unlocked in the Balamb Garden, the SeeDs of Conflict Challenge Event in the Master Room on Classic as the First Time Reward; or he could be obtained by completing the Normal trial in the fifth phase of Forbidden Treasure.

Squall's designated role in the game is SeeD.

Stats

After Squall reaches level 50, the player can break his level cap, increasing it to 65 by using a Squall Memory Crystal. One could be obtained in Balamb Garden - Secret Area on Elite during the Balamb Garden, The SeeDs of Conflict Challenge Event as the First Time Reward.

Level HP Attack Defense Magic Resistance Mind Accuracy Evasion Speed
1 202 12 8 8 8 8 20 20 83
10 1,019 30 24 18 20 18 20 20 89
20 1,758 50 39 30 35 30 20 20 95
30 2,441 70 52 43 49 43 21 21 101
40 3,090 90 65 57 64 57 21 21 106
65 4,619 140 96 95 100 95 23 23 119
Abilities

Squall can use the Combat school of Physical skillset up to rarity rank 5, Black Magic abilities up to rarity rank 2, White Magic abilities up to rarity rank 2, Celerity skillset up to rarity rank 3 and the Spellblade school of Other skillset up to rarity rank 4.

His initial Soul Break is Blade Flurry, which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment deals three successive attacks to random targets. The sword Revolver (VIII) can grant Squall access to Rough Divide, which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment unleashes a powerful attack on one target.

After Squall's level cap is increased he automatically gains the Record Materia, Composure, which when equipped allows the user to deal more damage when using Attack but at the cost of filling the Soul Gauge at a slower pace. His second Record Materia, Gunblade and his third Record Materia, Lion's Soul are currently unreleased in the global release.

Equipment

Squall can equip the following weapon types: daggers and Swords.

He can equip the following armor types: hats, helmets, light armor, armor and bracers.

He can equip accessories.

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Final Fantasy World Wide Words

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FFWWW Squall
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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 many cards, all of which are of the Ice element, two of them being promotional cards.

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Final Fantasy Portal App

Squall appears as an opponent and on Triple Triad cards. They have different values than his card in Final Fantasy VIII. On Easy he uses rules All Open and Same. On Normal and Hard he uses Plus and Swap. On Hard the rare five star cards of himself and Rinoa can be won from him, among other cards. He uses the trading rule One. Template:Gallery

Final Fantasy Explorers

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Squall in Final Fantasy Explorers.

Squall appears as a playable character wearing the modified outfit he wore in Dissidia Final Fantasy.

Non-Final Fantasy Gust Appearances

Kingdom Hearts

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 alongside with. Along with Yuffie, Aerith and Cid, 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 the original game, a special gummi ship blueprint called Leon can be obtained by defeating 4000 Heartless and talking to Geppetto.

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 Coliseum cups, and shoots fireballs at Sora when not close enough to strike him with the gunblade.

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.

Leon makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts χ [chi] as one of the obtainable character cards.

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Itadaki Street

Squall in Itadaki Street.

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

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.

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Puzzle & Dragons

Squall is set to appear in Puzzle & Dragons as part of the Final Fantasy collaboration. The collaboration event will happen in the North American version of the game from 2 to 15 November, 2015.

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Other Media

Games

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.

In the fighting series, Template:Wikia, 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 Template:Wikia there is a challenge named "A Squall of Violence" attained by killing enemies using a bladed weapon. This is a reference to Squall and his gunblade.

In Template:Wikia, 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." Additionally, a costume themed around Squall's outfit is available as the 3P costume for Cliff Fittir in the game.

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Fandom

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

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". Lion Heart means to possess or display courage, being able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching. 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.

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.

Leon is a name of Greek origin. The Greek λέων (leōn), meaning "lion", has spawned the Latin leo, French lion, Irish leon, and Spanish león. During the Christian era Leon was merged with the Latin cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used interchangeably.

Trivia

Squallasleep

Irvine in Squall's room while he is asleep.

  • 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.
  • 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. In addition, the Ras Algethi gun resembles the Revolver, though it's a long range weapon.
  • Dueling scars have been seen as a "badge of honor" since as early as 1825 and were popular among upper-class Austrians and Germans involved in academic fencing at the start of the 20th century. Being a practice among university students, it was seen as a mark of their class and is an early example of scarification in European society.

References

External Links


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