Laguna Loire/Dissidia

Unreleased

Laguna Loire has been confirmed as the third representative for Final Fantasy VIII in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. A secondary protagonist and Squall's father, he tricked and sealed Sorceress Adel many years prior to the game alongside his comrades Ward and Kiros, Squall and his allies witnessing Laguna's adventures through dream sequences. Laguna eventually became the president of Esthar after Adel's defeat and aided Squall and his friends in their battle against Ultimecia.

Attire
His costume in Dissidia 012 is identical to his original Final Fantasy VIII appearance. He wears a blue jacket with rolled sleeves over a white t-shirt with brown cargo-pants. He also wears black boots, fingerless gloves and a large black belt. He has long black hair, combed over to the right side of his face. His eyes are green.

His first alternate costume is his Galbadian soldier uniform; a dark blue bodysuit under torso armor covering his chest and hips.

Story
Not much is currently known about his role. In one screenshot from the story mode, he is seen alongside Vaan and Tifa. According to the Famitsu scan, he will act like a big brother to the Warriors of Cosmos, mediating them thanks to his cheerful and carefree nature. He is also seen talking Squall out of being a loner. In an unknown point of the story, he is seen talking to Kain and Lightning.

Battle
Laguna's fighting style is Tactical Gunner. He uses a variety of weapons to fight, including his trademark machine gun, a rocket launcher, a shotgun, grenades and a sniper rifle. His HP attacks use a miniature version of the Ragnarok airship, which he calls to fire various types of laser attacks, as well as using a satellite cannon to fire a laser from above. He can attack while moving and, like Ultimecia, can alter the effects of his attacks by holding the button. For example, holding the button when using his machine gun fires more shots, while holding it when using his shotgun concentrates the shot to break guards over a smaller range. When using his rocket launcher and sniper rifle, Laguna can aim freely using the analog stick, and fires when the player lets go of the button.

EX Mode
Laguna's EX Mode is The Faeries Have Come, where his weapons turn gold, a reference to the Aura spell in Final Fantasy VIII. In his EX Mode Laguna benefits from Regen, and gains the ability Faeries' Miracle. This lets him cancel out the lag from his Brave attacks by attacking again afterward, letting him assault opponents much faster.

Laguna's EX Burst is Desperado, his Limit Break in Final Fantasy VIII. He blasts his opponent with a rocket launcher, then throws a grenade at them and leaps into the air swinging on a rope while attacking with his machine gun. The player must rapidly tap R as a target flashes over the the opponent, landing hits as a damage meter fills up. Filling the meter will have Laguna end the EX Burst with Ultimate Ragnarok Cannon, where he calls all his weapons together to concentrate energy and fire a large laser blast at the opponent, the earlier grenade exploding to deal HP damage.

Allusions

 * The name of Laguna's EX Mode is a reference to the flashbacks of Final Fantasy VIII where he and his comrades believed the presence of Squall and his friends to be faeries giving them strength.
 * Laguna has a leg cramp when confronting the Cloud of Darkness, a reference to Final Fantasy VIII when he had a leg cramp and backed down when attempting to speak to Julia.

Trivia

 * Laguna and Squall are the second father-son pair in the Dissidia series along with Tidus and Jecht in the storyline.
 * Originally, Laguna was intended to be in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He was supposed to be the head of Mirage Arena, but Square Enix decided to use him in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
 * Laguna and Balthier share the same Japanese voice actor, Hiroaki Hirata.