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 than 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.

The Ragnarok contains two Save Points and three Draw Points, and near the end of the game -- after Time Compression -- the Card Club group will be available to challenge aboard the ship if the player completed the CC sidequest earlier.

The Sorceress War
One of three known models of similar design, the Ragnarok was created by Esthar and was utilized during the Sorceress War as Esthar's flagship. Seventeen years prior to the start of Final Fantasy VIII, the ship, along with its two counterparts, was 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, Ragnarok has been infested by monsters known as Propagators. It can be assumed that the crew, if there were any at the time, were killed by these monsters. There are, however, notes left behind regarding these beasts, hinting at a history of 'Propagator Infection'.

Rediscovery
Floating motionless in space, the Ragnarok's trajectory happens upon the entwined couple of Squall and Rinoa who become stranded in space due to the Lunar Base's destruction. The teenagers board the craft through the top airlock and upon exploration, they discover the ship overrun with Propagators. They must defeat the Propagators of matching colors (yellow, purple, green and red) to kill them -- if they kill the wrong colored Propagator, the Propagators will re-spawn throughout the ship.

Eventually, Squall and Rinoa clear the ship of the monsters and enter the control cabin. They establish communications with Esthar Airbase and, with the Airbase's help, pilot the ship back to the planet.

The ship then becomes the property of Squall's group. In later events, the ship is instrumental in Rinoa's rescue from the Sorceress Memorial and in penetrating Lunatic Pandora's defenses. During the Time Compression events the Ragnarok mysteriously manages to survive appearing ready to fly in the Kashkabald Desert.

Layout
The cockpit is the airship's control center and is located directly above the passenger room. It contains four crew positions; the pilot, co-pilot, comms station and the navigation systems. It 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. The passenger room has a yellow Propagator. Squall and Rinoa can also find a note left by the ship's crew telling how to get rid of the Propagators.
 * Passenger Room:

The elevator to the cockpit has a green Propagator guarding it. On disc 4 the player can find CC Joker here, who plays cards and operates a shop and a junk shop. He will appear even if the player didn't complete the CC quest.
 * Elevator:

An access portal through the 'roof' of the vehicle for space travel. It is presumably accessed through a decompression chamber; it is advised one wears a spacesuit before attempting to decompress and open the portal, particularly when in space. There is a yellow Propagator in the area and a save point in the area where Squall and Rinoa first board the Ragnarok. Quistis can be challenged at a card game here on disc 4 if she is in Squall's party.
 * 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. A purple Propagator is fought at the bottom level of this room. The CC Diamond can be challenged here on disc 4.
 * Hangar:

The bottom level of the hangar leads to a room with a save point, a draw point and a green Propagator. CC Spade can be played here on disc 4.
 * Storage Room:
 * Draw points: Full-Life (hidden, never refills)

The upper level of the hangar leads to the airlock chamber and the door to the passenger room is initially closed from this side. There is a red Propagator in this area. CC Club can be played here on disc 4.
 * Hangar Upper Level:
 * Draw points: Life (hidden)

The big door at the bottom of the hangar leads to an area with a red Propagator. There is a hidden draw point at the back of the room. CC Jack can be played here on disc 4.
 * Lower Level:
 * Draw points: Cura (hidden, never refills)

The boarding ramp is the main access way for the ship's crew onto the vessel. It has a purple Propagator. On disc 4 Xu can be challenged here.
 * Boarding Ramp:

Stats
In order to be able to perform its agile maneuvers, the Ragnarok's fuselage is equipped with an array of jet propulsion nozzles. Sudden acceleration and turns are facilitated by eruptions in the large output mechanism of the rear fuselage, while the finer adjustments of direction and altitude control are moderated via the upper fuselage. A full crew includes the four positions of ship master, pilot, co-pilot (doubles as radio operator), and gunner, though it is possible to transport up to 10 additional personnel. Via coordination of data input with the Esthar Airbase, fully automated navigation is possible. Ragnarok also bears weapons. Squall's group uses them to attack Lunatic Pandora's shields and eventually penetrate them.



Shop
On disc 4, if the player completed the Card Club side quest, CC Joker will be onboard Ragnarok to sell items and offer weapon remodeling.

Triple Triad
The player can win Squall's card from Laguna when he is onboard the Ragnarok, if the player didn't already win the card earlier. On disc 4, if the player salvages the ship from Kashkabald Desert and has completed the Card Club quest, the CC members will appear onboard Ragnarok and will hold every rare card the player doesn't currently have in their card inventory (apart from PuPu), in addition to the card levels they normally play.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
A Ragnarok-themed laser cannon appears as part of Laguna Loire's artillery. His EX Burst, Ultimate Ragnarok Cannon, fires a large laser blast from the cannon, using his other weapons as a focus to charge up energy.

One of Laguna's best exclusive weapons, Ragnarok Pistol, is also an allusion of the Ragnarok airship.

Musical 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, called "Ride On". The tune is vaguely reminiscent of "Spreading Grand Wings", the music played while riding a Wind Drake in Final Fantasy V, to which the ship itself bears a slight resemblance (it also shares similarities with the airship theme of the same game).

"Ride On" is the airship theme to Ragnarok and is played whenever the player launches the airship on the World Map and will continue to play as the player explores the interior of the airship. Composed by a Nobuo Uematsu, it is the second track on Disc 4 of the original soundtrack. An arrangement of "Ride On" appears in Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales as the song that accompanies the final credits. The theme also appears in its original form in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy as downloadable content.

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 assembled. 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. The link is referred to even in the English translation when Laguna says, "I always wanted to ride that thing. Plus the name sounds so cool!".
 * Ragnarok is always piloted by Selphie whenever she isn't in the player party. If Selphie is unavailable, Ragnarok is piloted by Zell, and if both are in the player party, Quistis takes the reins.

Ragnarok (FFVIII) Lagunamov