Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart is the main protagonist of the role playing game Final Fantasy VIII. At 17 years old, Squall is a student at Balamb Garden, a prestigious military academy for elite mercenaries.

Related Topics:
Protagonist - Role playing game - Final Fantasy VIII - Balamb Garden

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Squall is a young man with medium-length, brown hair and grey eyes (he is rumoured to be visually based on Japanese singer Gackt, but character designer Tetsuya Nomura has also stated that actor River Phoenix was also an influence on the character). A small scar runs diagonally across the bridge of his nose; he received it at the beginning of the game in a training duel against his rival Seifer Almasy, and left Seifer with a similar (mirror-image) scar in return.

Related Topics:
Japanese - Gackt - Tetsuya Nomura - River Phoenix - Duel - Seifer Almasy

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Squall usually wears a distinctive jacket with its collar trimmed in white/silver fur. He also wears a silver pendant in the shape of a stylized lion's head as well as a ring bearing a similar lion's head image. Squall calls the lion "Griever" and it seems to be symbolic of his angst and takes on significance as the plot of the game progresses.

Related Topics:
Lion - Angst

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He wields an unusual weapon called a gunblade, a combination of sword and pistol. The gunblade is an extremely difficult weapon to master; as such, it is rarely used. Squall and Seifer are the only gunblade specialists who appear in the game, although Laguna Loire also uses one very briefly.

Related Topics:
Gunblade - Sword - Pistol - Laguna Loire

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His ultimate limit break, Lionheart, does 18 hits on one enemy and with the right amount of strength, can do as much as 160,000 damage points on one single enemy. Additionally, the Lionheart virtually ignores special defense. The Lionheart limit break is the most devastating limit break in Final Fantasy VIII.

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Final Fantasy VIIIs storyline is unusually character-driven for a video game; the story is arguably more about Squall's emotional growth than about defeating the final boss. At the beginning of the game, Squall is taciturn, moody and withdrawn, and harshly pushes away those who attempt to get close to him. Over the course of the game, the causes of Squall's angst are explored. It is gradually revealed that although he tries to maintain a cold, antisocial attitude, he is actually a natural leader, and can be extremely rash and impulsive when his emotions overwhelm his control. As a result of his friendships with Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt and Irvine Kinneas, and especially his growing romance with Rinoa Heartilly, he gradually becomes more open and caring.

Related Topics:
Video game - Quistis Trepe - Zell Dincht - Selphie Tilmitt - Irvine Kinneas - Rinoa Heartilly

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