Ragnarok (Final Fantasy VIII)



The primary airship of Final Fantasy VIII, the "Super-High-Mobility-Flying-Ship" Ragnarok (飛空艇ラグナロク, Hikuutei Ragunaroku) is far faster then any other vehicle controllable by the party and is capable of autopilot flight, in which the player can choose a location and the ship will automatically fly there without any assistance. The ship contains at least two save points, and near the end of the game - after Time Compression - the Card Club Group will be available to challenge aboard the ship.

The Sorceress War
One of three known models of similar design, the Ragnarok was created by Esthar and first seen utilized during the Sorceress War as Esthar's flagship. Seventeen years prior to the start of Final Fantasy VIII, it - along with its two counterparts - were commissioned to move Adel's Tomb to deep space where Adel could be watched over in stasis.

It is unknown what happened between then and its rediscovery in space, nor is it known what happened to its two counterparts, but upon discovery, it is found that the ship had been infested by various monsters known as Propagators. It can be assumed that the crew, if there were any at the time, were killed by these monsters. There is, however, notes left behind regarding these beasts, hinting at a history of 'Propagator Infection'.

Rediscovery
Floating motionless in space, the Ragnarok's trajectory happened upon the entwined couple of Squall and Rinoa who had become stranded in space due to the Lunar Base's destruction. Immediately the teenagers scrambled toward the craft and boarded it through the top airlock. Upon exploration, they discovered the ship overrun with the Propagators. They had to defeat the Propagators of matching colors (yellow, purple, green and red) to kill them, if they killed the wrong colored Propagator, the Propagators would respawn.

Eventually Squall and Rinoa cleared the ship of the monsters and entered the control cabin, established communications with Esthar Airbase and, with their help, piloted the ship back to the planet.

The ship became the property of Squall's group. In later events, the ship was instrumental in Rinoa's rescue from the Sorceress Memorial and in penetrating the defenses of the Lunatic Pandora. During the Time Compression, the Ragnarok had managed to survive the experience, appearing ready to fly in the Kashkabald Desert.

Layout
The cockpit is the control center of the vehicle and is located directly above the Passenger Room. It contains four crew positions; the pilot, co-pilot, the comms station and the navigation systems and is accessed via a lift from the Passenger Room.
 * Cockpit:

Accessed from the top deck directly below the Control Cabin the Passenger Room can seat eight people and features a transparent canopy.
 * Passenger Room:

An access portal through the 'roof' of the vehicle for space travel. It is presumptively accessed through a decompression chamber and it is advised one wears a spacesuit before attempting to decompress and open the portal, particularly when in space.
 * Airlock Chamber:

The Aisle spans the top deck leading between the lift to the Control Cabin, over the Hangar, and into the Airlock chamber
 * Aisle:

The Hangar is the largest room shown in the Ragnarok. It houses a platform fixed into the floor that may be lowered for the cargo to be boarded. The Top Deck Aisle travels over the Hangar deck to the Airlock Chamber near the rear of the ship.
 * Hangar:

The main accessway for the ship's crew.
 * Boarding Ramp:

Music Themes
When the Ragnarok is first boarded and the player must clear out the ship's 'current tenants' the musical score, titled Residents, is played. As is common with most airships in the Final Fantasy series the Ragnarok has its own theme when flying across the map. It is called "Ride On". The tune is vaguely reminiscent of the music played while riding a Wind Drake in Final Fantasy V, to which the ship itself bears a slight resemblance (also shares similarities with the airship theme of the same game).

Merchandise

 * In the Japanese Guardian Force series of Final Fantasy VIII Action Figures, a piece of the Ragnarok is included with each figure of the series. When all eight are collected, a full model figure of the ship can be created. In the English release of these figures, the Ragnarok pieces were excluded.

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy VIII, Ragnarok is a pun on Laguna Loire's name as the first three characters of his full name and that of the airship are the same in Japanese (ラ・グ・ナ, Ra-gu-na). In fact, it's called "Lagunamov" and "Lagunarock" in the Spanish and Italian versions respectively.

Ragnarok (FFVIII) Lagunamov