Squall Leonhart Dissidia artwork by Tetsuya Nomura wielding his gunblade.
First game
Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
Created by
Kazushige Nojima
Designed by
Tetsuya Nomura
Voiced by
David Boreanaz (Kingdom Hearts) Doug Erholtz (Kingdom Hearts II – present) Hideo Ishikawa (Japanese)
In-universe information
Alias
Leon (Kingdom Hearts series)
Race
Human
Weapon
Gunblade[1]
Limit Break
Renzokuken[2]
Squall Leonhart (Japanese: スコール・レオンハート, Hepburn: Sukōru Reonhāto) is a character and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, a role-playing video game that was produced by Square (now Square Enix). Within the game's plot, Squall is a 17-year-old student at Balamb Garden, a prestigious military academy for elite mercenaries (known as "SeeDs"). Forced into becoming the Commander (委員長, Iinchō, lit. "Chairman") due to his outstanding skills, Squall befriends his underlings, and falls in love with Rinoa Heartilly. These relationships, combined with the game's plot, gradually change him from being a loner to an open, caring person. Squall has appeared in several other games, including Chocobo Racing, Itadaki Street Special, and the Kingdom Hearts series as the older mentor-like figure named Leon (レオン, Reon).
Squall was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with input from game director Yoshinori Kitase. He was modeled after the actor River Phoenix. Squall's weapon, the gunblade, was made so it would be difficult to master. To ensure players understand Squall's silent attitude, Kazushige Nojima made the character's thoughts open to them. Squall's first voiced appearance is in the first Kingdom Hearts game, in which he is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa in Japanese and by David Boreanaz in English; Doug Erholtz has since assumed the role for later English-speaking appearances.
Squall had a mixed reaction from critics, some of whom judging him poorly in comparison with other Final Fantasy heroes due to his coldness and angst, and others praised his character development. The character has been popular, and his relationship with Rinoa has been praised.
^"Final Fantasy VIII Characters Squall". Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
^Square Electronic Arts, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII North American instruction manual. Square Electronic Arts. p. 21. SLUS-00892GH.
SquallLeonhart (Japanese: スコール・レオンハート, Hepburn: Sukōru Reonhāto) is a character and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, a role-playing video...
websites. The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are SquallLeonhart, a loner who avoids vulnerability by focusing on his duty; Rinoa Heartilly...
Ukitake in Bleach, Auron in Final Fantasy X, Itachi Uchiha in Naruto, SquallLeonhart in Final Fantasy VIII and Kingdom Hearts, Pierre de Chaltier in Tales...
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fiction elements, the game follows a group of young mercenaries, led by SquallLeonhart, as they are drawn into a conflict sparked by a sorceress named Edea...
she recruits protagonist SquallLeonhart and his friends, she decides to stay with his group and falls in love with Squall in the process. During their...
Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Griever could refer to A mourner SquallLeonhart, the lead character in Final Fantasy VIII Griever de Hocus, the lead...
related to magic. Nomura did not want Noctis to have a personality like SquallLeonhart or Cloud Strife, the respective protagonists of Final Fantasy VIII...
Fantasy VIII artist Tetsuya Nomura after the game's lead protagonist SquallLeonhart. The development team originally intended to program Selphie with some...
Fantasy VII Cloud Strife Sephiroth Tifa Lockhart Final Fantasy VIII SquallLeonhart Ultimecia Rinoa Heartilly Final Fantasy IX Zidane Tribal Kuja Final...
of Final Fantasy X, Tifa from Final Fantasy VII, and the return of SquallLeonhart, Cloud, and Sephiroth. It was stated that although the first game strictly...
Terra Branford, Cactuar, and Maduin, among others. Cloud Strife and SquallLeonhart were added to the roster in Season 1 as a prize pass unlockable and...
to cry". Other popular couples from the Final Fantasy games include SquallLeonhart and Rinoa Heartilly (from Final Fantasy VIII), Zidane Tribal and Princess...
fictional characters like Griffith from Berserk, Cloud Strife and SquallLeonhart from Final Fantasy, as well as having been an inspiration for manga...
with a katana, proclaiming that he was on an "avenging mission" for SquallLeonhart, the main character of the video game Final Fantasy VIII. On 27 February...
characterization of main characters. Following Final Fantasy VII, Nomura designed SquallLeonhart, the lead of Final Fantasy VIII giving him a similar anti-hero persona...
Final Fantasy VIII (1999), Raine died giving birth to the protagonist SquallLeonhart. In SNK's King of Fighters video game series, the Yagami bloodline...
Arts figures in early 2009 with Series 1 containing Cloud Strife, SquallLeonhart, Zidane Tribal, Tidus, and the Warrior of Light. A second series was...
imitation Excalipoor instead. Gunblade: a distinctive weapon used by SquallLeonhart of Final Fantasy VIII, and in many games since. The Gunblade is a sword...
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