Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire is a temporary playable character in Final Fantasy VIII.

For the main part of the game the player experiences Laguna through playable flashbacks, explained as dreams of the main characters. In these flashbacks Laguna is a Galbadian soldier, although later on he becomes a journalist. Laguna is a lovable, passionate, yet notoriously clumsy man who has played a significant role in the development of the Final Fantasy VIII world. His weapon of choice is the machine gun.

The Flashbacks
Laguna is 27 in the first of the flashbacks the viewers sees. It is revealed later in the game that Laguna's "niece," Ellone has the ability to make people relive the past. She makes Squall and his companions relive Laguna's exploits in an attempt to change the past but learns this is futile. Laguna and his two companions, Kiros and Ward, are Galbadian soldiers who frequently fall victim to Laguna's clumsy nature but always seem to complete their mission. He falls in love with a lounge pianist (later-turned singer/songwriter) in Deling City named Julia. She feels the same way but all of their interactions end awkwardly. She confesses her love for him, writing the song "Eyes on Me" for him. Their romance was cut short, however, when after their first night together he was called to fight in Centra. After that he left the military and split up from Kiros and Ward.

He eventually becomes seriously injured and ends up in the town of Winhill. Here, a woman named Raine nurses him back to health and he develops a close relationship with Raine's adopted child, Ellone (after her parents were killed in an Esthar attack led by Sorceress Adel) who refers to him as "Uncle Laguna".. To repay Raine's hospitality, he stays to protect the town from monsters that have inhabited the quiet village, though he is not looked upon favorably among Winhill's residents as they don't take kindly to outsiders. The two of them fall in love, though are never given the chance to marry (partly due to Raine's own uncertainty.) While there he also encounters Raine's adopted daughter, Ellone, whom he refers to as his "niece". While away, Ellone is kidnapped and Laguna is forced to leave Winhill to go find her, and gets caught up in an ill-lived acting career in order to raise money for his travels. Some time during his search, he became injured, then found himself in Shumi Village, spending some time there in retaliation for their kindness, befriending the Moombas and tries to teach them to speak. Eventually he finds that she has been brought to Esthar and in the process of freeing her also becomes imprisoned in the Lunatic Pandora and joins the Esthar resistance against the sorceress Adel. He becomes instrumental in freeing the nation from her grips. Because of this the people of Esthar elect him their leader.

While gone Raine gives birth to their child. She supposedly cried out Laguna's name during child birth but later died, making this child an orphan. Ellone and Raine's child are sent to an orphanage together, although Laguna cannot get away from his duties to see them.

Towards the very end of the game Laguna meets up with Squall's party. Laguna is still the leader of Esthar and has been upholding a policy of seclusion and neutrality for the nation. He meets up with the party in the present to save Ellone from the Galbadians. He also gives them advice for entering the Lunatic Pandora and for defeating Ultimecia.

In the ending FMV he visits Raine's grave and fondly remembers the night he proposed to her.

It is never stated explicitly, however it is hinted heavily that Laguna is Squall's father. In every flashback Laguna always shares Squall's junctioning and level where Kiros and Ward can share different character's aspects. The Moombas, who Laguna bonded with, mistake Squall for Laguna (as stated in the game's Tutorial, Moombas remember people by licking their blood/DNA) while held captive in a Galbadian prison. Laguna carries Squall's Triple Triad card. Towards the end of the game, while aboard the Ragnarok, Kiros, Ward, and Laguna all strongly hint at this fact as well. Also, there is a likeliness in personalities, especially considering Laguna promised Julia Heartilly that he would come back, and for her to wait, and in the beginning of the game Squall tells Rinoa Heartilly to wait because he'll be there. Also, Squall's Kingdom Hearts incarnation resembles Laguna, due to Squall having longer hair in this other incarnation.

Romantic Symbolism
Going with the theory that Laguna Loire is indeed Squall's father, there's an interesting parallel between the romances of Laguna and Julia and that of Squall and Rinoa. That interesting parallel happens to be that Squall and Rinoa are completing what many fans call "Unfinished Business". Laguna and Julia could never be together, so symbolically, by the child of Laguna and the child of Julia falling in love, it's as if their offspring finished what they never could. It's a romantic idea that many Final Fantasy fans enjoy thinking about because it heightens the romantic tension that is already apparent in the game.

Limit Break
Desperado gkO2sjmC0jw Laguna's limit break skill is Desperado, which he uses to damage all of his enemies. He first pulls out a hand-grenade and ignites it. Then he shoots a grapple up onto something above him, and as he swings around on his grapple, he fires multiple rounds with his machine gun at the enemies. He then jumps off the rope, landing with his back towards the foes as the grenade explodes, dealing massive damage to all enemies.

Triple Triad

 * A Level 10 Card, notable for one of its highest point A.
 * Carries no elemental attribute.
 * 1 Card can be refined into 100 Heroes.
 * To obtain:
 * Win a card game against Ellone in the Lunar Base.
 * Win a card game against the CC Group in the Ragnarok Airship in Disc 4.