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==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==
Reception to Squall as a character has been mixed. [[IGN]] stated that "the problem [with ''Final Fantasy VIII''] is that the character at the heart of everything, Squall, is basically a pouty jerk", adding "when your story is character centered, you'd better center it on a character the audience can care about. Squall... just doesn't fit the bill".<ref name="ignreview">{{cite web | author=Lundigran, Jeff | date=1999 | title=IGN: Final Fantasy VIII Review | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/153/153847p1.html | publisher=[[IGN]] | accessdate=2007-03-15}}</ref> [[1UP.com]] ranked Squall second on their list of the "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists", stating that while Squall was an attempt to "cater to the fedora-wearing, trench-coat clad folks", his lack of social skills tends to alienate players towards the character.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3172038 |title=The Top 5 Most Irriating RPG Protagonists |work=[[1UP.com]] |publisher=[[UGO Networks]] |author=Mackey, Bob |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' compared his character with the ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' protagonist [[Cloud Strife]] criticizing that Squall's anger "didn't seem to have any context" unlike Cloud's angst which was developed by one of the central events from ''Final Fantasy VII''. His relation with Rinoa also received negative comments, as ''Edge'' states "he [Squall] suddenly falls in "love" with [Rinoa] at the end [of ''Final Fantasy VIII'']."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/this-week-japan-final-fantasy-special?page=0%2C2 |title=This Week in Japan: Final Fantasy VII |publisher=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=2006-03-10 |author=Staff |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> A more comical comparison was made by [[GamesRadar]] in their "RPG [[Emo]]-Off", in which Squall was defeated by Cloud due to their reasons for their angst.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/rpg-emo-off/a-2008101510952255037|title=RPG Emo-Off |accessdate=2010-03-07 |author=Glasser, AJ |work=GamesRadar |publisher=Future US. }}</ref> [[GameSpy]] featured him in their comical feature "Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life" in which they stated Squall would not be a terrible soldier in real life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/106/1060627p2.html|title=Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life|accessdate=2010-12-01 |author=Drucker, Michael |publisher=[[GameSpy]] }}</ref>
Reception to Squall as a character has been mixed. [[IGN]] stated that "the problem [with ''Final Fantasy VIII''] is that the character at the heart of everything, Squall, is basically a pouty jerk", adding "when your story is character centered, you'd better center it on a character the audience can care about. Squall... just doesn't fit the bill".<ref name="ignreview">{{cite web | author=Lundigran, Jeff | date=1999 | title=IGN: Final Fantasy VIII Review | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/153/153847p1.html | publisher=[[IGN]] | accessdate=2007-03-15}}</ref> [[1UP.com]] ranked Squall second on their list of the "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists", stating that while Squall was an attempt to "cater to the fedora-wearing, trench-coat clad folks", his lack of social skills tends to alienate players towards the character.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3172038 |title=The Top 5 Most Irriating RPG Protagonists |work=[[1UP.com]] |publisher=[[UGO Networks]] |author=Mackey, Bob |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' compared his character with the ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' protagonist [[Cloud Strife]] criticizing that Squall's anger "didn't seem to have any context" unlike Cloud's angst which was developed by one of the central events from ''Final Fantasy VII''. His relation with Rinoa also received negative comments, as ''Edge'' states "he [Squall] suddenly falls in "love" with [Rinoa] at the end [of ''Final Fantasy VIII'']."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/this-week-japan-final-fantasy-special?page=0%2C2 |title=This Week in Japan: Final Fantasy VII |publisher=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=2006-03-10 |author=Staff |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> A more comical comparison was made by [[GamesRadar]] in their "RPG [[Emo]]-Off", in which Squall was defeated by Cloud due to their reasons for their angst.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/rpg-emo-off/a-2008101510952255037|title=RPG Emo-Off |accessdate=2010-03-07 |author=Glasser, AJ |work=GamesRadar |publisher=Future US. }}</ref> [[GameSpy]] featured him in their comical feature "Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life" in which they stated Squall would be a terrible soldier in real life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/106/1060627p2.html|title=Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life|accessdate=2010-12-01 |author=Drucker, Michael |publisher=[[GameSpy]] }}</ref>


On the other hand, journalist Jack Patrick Rodgers argued in favor of Squall's character in a retrospective of ''Final Fantasy VIII'', noting that his cynicism and frustration with those around him made Squall a strong character, though also "coldly inhuman".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/70336-remembering-the-orphan-final-fantasy-viii/ |title=Remembering the Orphan: Final Fantasy VIII |publisher=[[PopMatters]] |date=2009-05-27 |author=Rodgers, Jack Patrick |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> GamesRadar listed Squall as the 5th best ''Final Fantasy'' hero of all the time with praise on his personality's development and his interactions with the other characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-five-best-final-fantasy-heroes/a-2010030211523859031|title=The five best Final Fantasy heroes |accessdate=2010-03-07 |coauthors=Christian Nutt, |work=GamesRadar |publisher=Future US. }}</ref> [[GameSpot]] noted that while the character could be regarded as simply a jerk, he could alternatively be viewed as "standoffish because of some repressed [[Wagner]]ian broodiness, in which case he was kind of interesting".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/6118460/index.html?type=tech&page=2 |title=The Most Romantic Moments in Gaming |accessdate=2009-06-24 |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |author=Rorie, Matthew}}</ref> [[Allgame]] noted that while initially hating his character for coming across as "cold and uncaring", the character's romance caused him to change in a positive manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19202&tab=review |title=Final fantasy VIII Review |work=[[Allgame]] |publisher=[[All Media Group]] |author=Baker, Christopher Michael |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> [[GameDaily]] ranked him sixth on their list of the "Top 25 Gaming Hunks", stating that while critics described the character as a "jerk", his character design, notably his scar, made him visually appealing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-gaming-hunks/?icid=aimDBDL1_image-a&page=20&cp=4 |title=Top 25 Gaming Hunks |work=[[GameDaily]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |accessdate=2009-06-24 |author=Buffa, Chris}}</ref> Arnold Katayev from PSXextreme praised Squall's redesign from ''Kingdom Hearts'' as the best one from the game.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kingdom Hearts Review|url=http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/reviews2/review.asp?revID=178|publisher=PSXextreme |date=2002-03-20 |author=Katayev, Arnold|accessdate=2009-12-29}}</ref> In an [[Oricon]] poll from 2008, Squall was voted as the 10th most popular video game character.<ref>{{cite web |title=And Japan's Favorite Video Game Characters Are...?|url=http://kotaku.com/5035884/and-japans-favorite-video-game-characters-are|publisher=[[Kotaku]] |accessdate=2009-09-12 |author=Ashcraft, Brian|date=2009-10-04}}</ref>
On the other hand, journalist Jack Patrick Rodgers argued in favor of Squall's character in a retrospective of ''Final Fantasy VIII'', noting that his cynicism and frustration with those around him made Squall a strong character, though also "coldly inhuman".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/70336-remembering-the-orphan-final-fantasy-viii/ |title=Remembering the Orphan: Final Fantasy VIII |publisher=[[PopMatters]] |date=2009-05-27 |author=Rodgers, Jack Patrick |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> GamesRadar listed Squall as the 5th best ''Final Fantasy'' hero of all the time with praise on his personality's development and his interactions with the other characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-five-best-final-fantasy-heroes/a-2010030211523859031|title=The five best Final Fantasy heroes |accessdate=2010-03-07 |coauthors=Christian Nutt, |work=GamesRadar |publisher=Future US. }}</ref> [[GameSpot]] noted that while the character could be regarded as simply a jerk, he could alternatively be viewed as "standoffish because of some repressed [[Wagner]]ian broodiness, in which case he was kind of interesting".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/6118460/index.html?type=tech&page=2 |title=The Most Romantic Moments in Gaming |accessdate=2009-06-24 |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |author=Rorie, Matthew}}</ref> [[Allgame]] noted that while initially hating his character for coming across as "cold and uncaring", the character's romance caused him to change in a positive manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19202&tab=review |title=Final fantasy VIII Review |work=[[Allgame]] |publisher=[[All Media Group]] |author=Baker, Christopher Michael |accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> [[GameDaily]] ranked him sixth on their list of the "Top 25 Gaming Hunks", stating that while critics described the character as a "jerk", his character design, notably his scar, made him visually appealing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-gaming-hunks/?icid=aimDBDL1_image-a&page=20&cp=4 |title=Top 25 Gaming Hunks |work=[[GameDaily]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |accessdate=2009-06-24 |author=Buffa, Chris}}</ref> Arnold Katayev from PSXextreme praised Squall's redesign from ''Kingdom Hearts'' as the best one from the game.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kingdom Hearts Review|url=http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/reviews2/review.asp?revID=178|publisher=PSXextreme |date=2002-03-20 |author=Katayev, Arnold|accessdate=2009-12-29}}</ref> In an [[Oricon]] poll from 2008, Squall was voted as the 10th most popular video game character.<ref>{{cite web |title=And Japan's Favorite Video Game Characters Are...?|url=http://kotaku.com/5035884/and-japans-favorite-video-game-characters-are|publisher=[[Kotaku]] |accessdate=2009-09-12 |author=Ashcraft, Brian|date=2009-10-04}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:54, 8 March 2010

Squall Leonhart
'Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts' character
Squall Leonhart artwork from Final Fantasy VIII
First gameFinal Fantasy VIII

Squall Leonhart (スコール・レオンハート) is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, a role-playing game by Square (now Square Enix). He was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, with heavy influences coming from game director Yoshinori Kitase. Squall has appeared in several other games, such as the Kingdom Hearts series, where he appears under the name "Leon"; Chocobo Racing; and Itadaki Street Special. His weapon, the gunblade, also appears in other works.

In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall is a 17-year old student at Balamb Garden, a prestigious military academy for elite mercenaries known as "SeeDs".[1] As the story progresses, Squall befriends Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt and Irvine Kinneas, and falls in love with Rinoa Heartilly. These relationships, combined with developments in the game's plot, gradually turn him from a loner to an open and caring person.[1] Squall's Limit Break (special move) is Renzokuken, consisting of a series of gunblade slashes preceding a powerful finishing attack.[2]

Development and appearance

The first character Nomura designed for Final Fantasy VIII, Squall was inspired by actor River Phoenix, though Nomura noted "nobody understood it".[3] Squall stands roughly 5 feet 9 inches (177 cm) tall,[4] and was initially given longer hair and a more feminine appearance. Due to game director Yoshinori Kitase's objections, Nomura modified the design to be more masculine. Nomura added the scar across Squall's brow and bridge of his nose in a spur of the moment manner, intended to make the character more recognizable and left it up to scenario writer Kazushige Nojima to describe its origin.[5] Squall's design was complemented by a fur lining along the collar of his jacket, which Nomura included as a challenge for the game's full motion video designers.[6] With Final Fantasy VIII, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima worked to give players actual insight into what Squall was thinking; a direct contrast with his handling of Final Fantasy VII, which encouraged the player to speculate.[7]

While developing Squall's weapon, the "gunblade", Nomura wanted to include silver accessories, and created it with this in mind.[8] The gunblade is a sword that uses components of a revolver, sending vibrations through the blade when triggered.[9] This manifests in additional damage being dealt if the player presses the R1 trigger on the controller as Squall strikes an enemy.[9] This weapon was intended to offer a new way for players to control weapons in battle. When looking back at the game, Nomura noted he feels that the weapon has an odd appearance.[5]

Appearances

Final Fantasy VIII

At the beginning of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall is known as a "lone wolf" by his peers because he never shows his feelings[1][10] and even comes off as cold to his allies.[11] His superiors, such as his teacher, Quistis Trepe, consider him difficult to deal with but greatly respect his natural talents.[12][13] He is also known to be stoic in many situations.[14] His taciturn attitude is also used for comic relief. In the cutscene where he first meets Rinoa, she coerces him into dancing with her at the SeeD graduation ball.[15] He awkwardly bumps into other party-goers while staring constantly at his feet with a look of confusion. Rinoa, however, perseveres in partnering him, and Squall eventually reveals that he's quite capable of dancing, as it is a mandatory aspect of his training.[16]

Squall is unwillingly dragged into the role of the hero when Cid, headmaster of Balamb Garden, appoints him as leader of the academy midway through the game.[17] He is often thrown into a leadership role, as is evident in the Timber and Galbadia missions. During a late battle against Galbadia Garden, Squall demonstrates some leadership difficulties, which are tied to his lingering isolationism.[18][19] Likewise, other characters make efforts to pull him out of his isolation and Rinoa expends a lot of energy to pursue a relationship with him. It takes considerable time for him to accept the others' offered friendship and fall in love with Rinoa and care for her.[20] As time progresses, he grows more comfortable with the leadership role, especially when it comes time to defeat Ultimecia, the antagonist.[21]

Throughout the game, he has a distinct rivalry with Seifer Almasy. The opening sequence depicts the duel in which Squall obtains his characteristic facial scar (and subsequently gives a mirrored one to Seifer) and scenes in which Squall and Seifer are supposed to be cooperating are characterized by squabbles between the two cadets.[22] Later, Seifer allies himself with the Sorceress, requiring Squall to battle him several times. Nevertheless, despite their conflict, Squall still feels an underlying camaraderie for Seifer, and mourns him in his own way when he believes Seifer to have been executed after an attempted kidnapping of Galbadian President Vinzer Deling.[23]

According to flashbacks in the game, Squall grew up in an orphanage, along with the other playable characters excepting Rinoa. They were looked after by Edea. Though he remembers little of this past, it causes him to develop into an emotionally detached, highly cynical and introverted boy; his original goal is to go through life without any emotional links or dependencies.[24] However, Squall gradually warms as the game progresses, and it is later revealed that his deliberate detachment from his companions is a defensive mechanism to protect himself from emotional pain, like he experienced when his older sister figure at the orphanage, one of the sole emotional supports in his early life, was forcibly separated from him.[25][26]

Upon defeating Ultimecia, as his comrades are pulled back from time compression into their own respective places in the timeline, Squall takes a detour back to the orphanage, where he encounters a younger Edea. Since she does not want to involve any of the children, Edea absorbs the dying Ultimecia's powers as part of the cycle of sorceresses (a sorceress must pass on her powers to a successor before she is allowed to die peacefully).[27] Squall plants the ideas for Garden and SeeD in her mind, creating an origin paradox in which he must become the leader of Balamb Garden so that he can make it to this point again.[28]

There are strong indications in the game that Laguna Loire is Squall's father.[29] If Squall travels to Winhill after Garden is activated, he will encounter inexplicable visions of Raine, a woman whom Laguna eventually married, throughout the town. Ellone also mentions that Raine died—apparently in childbirth—and that she had a baby boy. When Squall is captured, all the Moomba refer to Squall as Laguna—Moomba recognize people by their blood, suggesting a blood tie between Squall and Laguna. Toward the end of the game, aboard the Ragnarok, Kiros and Ward comment on Squall's resemblance to his mother and his dissimilarity to his father;[30] Nomura designed Squall to intentionally contrast with Laguna.[5]

Other appearances

File:Leon KH.png
Squall (Leon) holding his gunblade, as he appears in Kingdom Hearts artwork

Squall appears as a non-playable character in Kingdom Hearts. He wears a short leather jacket with red wings on the back, resembling the decorations on Rinoa's duster, but he still wears his Griever necklace and has the scar on his forehead. He assumes the name Leon because "Squall" was shamed for being unable to protect those he cared about from the Heartless when his home world, the Radiant Garden, was consumed by darkness. Leon is voiced by David Boreanaz in the English language version of the game and Hideo Ishikawa in the Japanese version. Squall's role in Kingdom Hearts is to help guide Sora in his battle with the Heartless, alongside various other Final Fantasy characters. While his appearance and age change (in Kingdom Hearts, he is 25,[31] whereas in Final Fantasy VIII, he is 17[1]), his personality remains the same.[31] A memory-based version of Leon appears in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He returns in Kingdom Hearts II and is voiced by Doug Erholtz for the English version. Leon's outfit gains the fur lining along the collar of his jacket that did not appear in the first Kingdom Hearts game. He appears as an opponent in various tournaments in Olympus Coliseum, often paired with other Final Fantasy characters, including Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie.

Squall is the hero representing Final Fantasy VIII in Dissidia: Final Fantasy where, as in all his voiced appearances, he is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa in the Japanese version and by Doug Erholtz (his voice actor in Kingdom Hearts II) in the English version.[32] His personality in the game was designed to reflect his one from Final Fantasy VIII.[33] He also appears as a secret character in Chocobo Racing[34] and Itadaki Street Special, and a sprite version of Squall occasionally makes an appearance on the loading screen of the PlayStation version of Final Fantasy VI (part of Final Fantasy Anthology).

Critical reception

Reception to Squall as a character has been mixed. IGN stated that "the problem [with Final Fantasy VIII] is that the character at the heart of everything, Squall, is basically a pouty jerk", adding "when your story is character centered, you'd better center it on a character the audience can care about. Squall... just doesn't fit the bill".[35] 1UP.com ranked Squall second on their list of the "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists", stating that while Squall was an attempt to "cater to the fedora-wearing, trench-coat clad folks", his lack of social skills tends to alienate players towards the character.[36] Edge compared his character with the Final Fantasy VII protagonist Cloud Strife criticizing that Squall's anger "didn't seem to have any context" unlike Cloud's angst which was developed by one of the central events from Final Fantasy VII. His relation with Rinoa also received negative comments, as Edge states "he [Squall] suddenly falls in "love" with [Rinoa] at the end [of Final Fantasy VIII]."[37] A more comical comparison was made by GamesRadar in their "RPG Emo-Off", in which Squall was defeated by Cloud due to their reasons for their angst.[38] GameSpy featured him in their comical feature "Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life" in which they stated Squall would be a terrible soldier in real life.[39]

On the other hand, journalist Jack Patrick Rodgers argued in favor of Squall's character in a retrospective of Final Fantasy VIII, noting that his cynicism and frustration with those around him made Squall a strong character, though also "coldly inhuman".[40] GamesRadar listed Squall as the 5th best Final Fantasy hero of all the time with praise on his personality's development and his interactions with the other characters.[41] GameSpot noted that while the character could be regarded as simply a jerk, he could alternatively be viewed as "standoffish because of some repressed Wagnerian broodiness, in which case he was kind of interesting".[42] Allgame noted that while initially hating his character for coming across as "cold and uncaring", the character's romance caused him to change in a positive manner.[43] GameDaily ranked him sixth on their list of the "Top 25 Gaming Hunks", stating that while critics described the character as a "jerk", his character design, notably his scar, made him visually appealing.[44] Arnold Katayev from PSXextreme praised Squall's redesign from Kingdom Hearts as the best one from the game.[45] In an Oricon poll from 2008, Squall was voted as the 10th most popular video game character.[46]

Squall's appearance is homaged by pianist and composer Michael Gluck, who performs video game and anime music under the stage name "Piano Squall" while cosplaying as the character.[47] In an interview, Gluck noted the name and costume were homages to his love of the Final Fantasy series, and also a lack of craftsmanship skills, stating "Squall is the only costume I could make!"[48]

See also

Template:Wikipedia-Books

References

  1. ^ a b c d Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. pp. 28, 33–35. SLUS-00892GH.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference LimitBreak was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Staff (2000-09-21). "The Bouncer Team Talks About Its Mysterious Game". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ff8ult2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Khosla, Sheila (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. Retrieved 2006-04-13.
  6. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. pp. 46–47. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  7. ^ "Behind The Game The Creators". Square Enix North America. 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2006-04-12. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2007-09-28 suggested (help)
  8. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. p. 13. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  9. ^ a b Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square-Enix. p. 43. ISBN 4-925075-49-7.
  10. ^ Rinoa: That's it! Just let out anything! Anything... We want you to talk to us a little more. That's all. Y'know, if there's anything you want to tell us, or anything we can do, don't hesitate to let us know. I know it's not easy, but I wish you would trust us and rely on us a little more. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  11. ^ Rinoa: Don't you ever worry about or even think about the well-being of your comrades!? / Squall: (I don't believe in relying on others.) / Rinoa: Don't you understand!? / Squall:(...Whatever.) (Final Fantasy VIII)
  12. ^ Quistis: I guess I was right. You and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  13. ^ Quistis: Aren't there times when you want to share feelings with someone? / Squall: Everyone has to take care of themselves? I don't want to carry anyone's burden. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  14. ^ Quistis: You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them. I guess my charm makes them nervous. / Squall:(...Whatever.) (Final Fantasy VIII)
  15. ^ Rinoa: You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me? Let me guess... You'll only dance with someone you like. Ok then... Look into my eyes... You're-going-to-like-me... You're-going-to-like-me... Did it work? / Squall: ...I can't dance. / Rinoa: You'll be fine. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  16. ^ Squall: Approach your target inconspicuously at a dance party... There may be missions requiring this sort of subterfuge. It's expected of SeeD to learn various skills. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  17. ^ Headmaster Cid: Squall, we're under your command from now on. This is your fate. It is your destiny to lead the way in defeating the sorceress. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  18. ^ Squall: (I've had it up to here with this leader thing... Alright, alright... I'll choose.) (Final Fantasy VIII)
  19. ^ Headmaster Cid: Squall, I understand how you feel. But you are in a position of leadership. The other students at Garden have a right to know about the outcome of the battle and what's to come. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  20. ^ Squall: Pandora whatever and Sorceress Adel are out of my hands. I don't know where to look for Sis. The only thing I know is Rinoa. The only thing I want to do for sure right now is for Rinoa. We're going to get Rinoa back! (Final Fantasy VIII)
  21. ^ Squall: I don't know what's going on. But since we're still here, I think we still have some time to finish our job. / Quistis: What are we going to do, Squall? / Squall: We'll divide into two parties. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  22. ^ Seifer: Well then, Squall. Go see what's going on outside. / Squall: ......Ok. / Seifer: Good. Because it's MY order. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  23. ^ Squall: (I liked him... wasn't really a bad guy... He was one of us...) (Seifer... You've just become just a memory.) (Will they... Will they talk about me this way if I die, too?) (Squall was this and that. Using past tense, saying whatever they want?) (So this is what death is all about...) (...Not for me.) (I won't have it!!!) / ... / Squall: I'm not having anyone talk about me in the past tense! (Final Fantasy VIII)
  24. ^ Squall: (I don't believe in relying on others.) (Final Fantasy VIII)
  25. ^ Young Squall: ...Sis... I'm... all alone. But I'm doing my best... I'll be ok without you, Sis. I'll be able to take care of myself. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  26. ^ Squall: I worry too much about what others think of me. I hate that side of me... That's why I didn't want anyone to get to know me. I wanted to hide that side of myself. I hate it. Squall is an unfriendly, introverted guy. It made it easy for me when people perceived me that way. That's a secret between you and me. Got that? (Final Fantasy VIII)
  27. ^ Edea: It's ok. There's no need to fight. That sorceress is just looking for someone to pass her power on to. In order to die in peace, a sorceress must free of all her powers. I know... for I am one, too. I shall take over that sorceress' powers. I do not want one of the children to become one. (Final Fantasy VIII)
  28. ^ Edea: SeeD? Garden? / Squall: Both Garden and SeeD were your ideas. Garden trains SeeDs. SeeDs are trained to defeat the sorceress. / Edea: What are you saying? You're... that boy from the future? (Final Fantasy VIII)
  29. ^ Maciel, Joshua. "Rebuttal to FF8 FAQ Part 2". RPGamer.com. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  30. ^ Kiros: You look a lot like your mother. / Ward: ..... / Kiros: Ward says its a good thing you don't look like your father.
  31. ^ a b ""Kingdom Hearts (at Square-Enix.com)". Square Enix. 2002. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  32. ^ Yoon, Andrew (2007). "Squall joins Final Fantasy Dissidia line-up". Joystiq. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  33. ^ Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania (in Japanese). Square-Enix. 2009. p. 580. ISBN 978-4757524880.
  34. ^ "Chocobo Racing Hints & Cheats". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  35. ^ Lundigran, Jeff (1999). "IGN: Final Fantasy VIII Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  36. ^ Mackey, Bob. "The Top 5 Most Irriating RPG Protagonists". 1UP.com. UGO Networks. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  37. ^ Staff (2006-03-10). "This Week in Japan: Final Fantasy VII". Edge. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  38. ^ Glasser, AJ. "RPG Emo-Off". GamesRadar. Future US. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  39. ^ Drucker, Michael. "Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life". GameSpy. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  40. ^ Rodgers, Jack Patrick (2009-05-27). "Remembering the Orphan: Final Fantasy VIII". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
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