Squall Leonhart

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 "SeeD". Forced into becoming the Commander (委員長, Iinchō; lit. "Chairman") due to his outstanding skills, Squall befriends his peers, who he eventually leads in battle against Ultimecia, 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 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 has received mixed reaction from critics, with some judging him poorly in comparison with other Final Fantasy heroes due to his coldness and angst, and others praising his character development. The character's relationship with Rinoa has been notably praised and has often been given parallels to fellow character Laguna Loire who comes across as his opposite due to their contrasting personalities.