Squall (Final Fantasy VIII party member)

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Squall is the main playable party member in Final Fantasy VIII. He is the most powerful party member due to his Renzokuken Limit Break's sheer strength and his gunblades, which have a 255% accuracy and never miss. Like other playable characters, there is also a Triple Triad card based on Squall. He is also playable in demos for Final Fantasy VIII.

For playable appearances outside Final Fantasy VIII, see Squall Leonhart/Other appearances

Party member

Squall is the default party member the player starts with, and will be the player character for most of the game. He is powerful and versatile. In his intro pose Squall stands with his gunblade resting on his shoulder before slashing the air. In his victory pose he will slash the air twice, then turn his back on the camera with his gunblade resting on his shoulder.

Weapons

Squall's gunblade in its case.

Main article: Final Fantasy VIII weapons § Gunblades

Squall uses the hybrid weapon known as the gunblade in battle. Through upgrades via junk shops he can come to wield variant models, although in cutscenes he always wields the Revolver. Gunblades provide 255% accuracy, making Squall the most proficient melee fighter as he never misses, even when afflicted by the Blind status. When pressing the trigger immediately as the weapon hits an enemy, he can boost the damage dealt by 50%.

Squall's own model gunblade is unique, featuring a stenciled Griever on both sides of the blade, as well as having a chained pendant of Griever's head attached to the handle's base. The gunblade's casing is also custom, featuring an enlarged image of Squall's Griever pendant on the lid.

There are seven gunblade models available for Squall to use:

• Revolver – Initial model. Described in Weapons Monthly, March Issue.
• Shear Trigger – Described in Weapons Monthly, April Issue.
• Cutting Trigger – Described in Weapons Monthly, May Issue.
• Flame Saber – Described in Weapons Monthly, June Issue.
• Twin Lance – Described in Weapons Monthly, July Issue.
• Punishment – Described in Weapons Monthly, August Issue.
• Lion Heart – Described in Weapons Monthly, 1st Issue.

Limit Break

Main article: Renzokuken

Squall performing the Lion Heart.

Squall's Limit Break is Renzokuken. The player is prompted to tap the trigger button at the correct time, indicated by a moving bar on the bottom of the screen. Squall will slash the targeted enemy four to eight times before beginning one of his four finishing moves.

The finishing move is chosen randomly, but Squall learns finishing moves in accordance to his acquiring of new gunblade models, and can only do a certain finishing move if he is wielding the gunblade model necessary to perform that technique. For instance, Squall cannot use the Lion Heart if he is not equipped with the Lion Heart gunblade.

Finishers

• Rough Divide - Obtain Revolver or higher to execute.
• Fated Circle - Obtain Shear Trigger or higher to execute.
• Blasting Zone - Obtain Flame Saber or higher to execute.
• Lion Heart - Obtain Lion Heart to execute.

Stats

Squall always starts at level 7 with his EXP bar half-way filled, similar to how Cloud always levels up in his first battle in Final Fantasy VII. Squall's first level up being from level 7 to level 8 may thus be an allusion to the number 8. Natural stat growth is a minor influence in Final Fantasy VIII because of the junction system, but Squall has generally high stats compared to other party members. His Hit% is always 255% because of his weapon. Because he already has perfect hit rate, and his critical hits are manually triggered, the player may be better off prioritizing the other party members with Luck junctions.

LV	HP	Str	Vit	Mag	Spr	Spd	Luck
1	223	1	1	2	1	20	15
10	616	8	8	8	7	22	16
20	1044	15	14	15	13	24	16
30	1464	21	19	21	18	25	17
40	1877	27	24	27	22	27	18
50	2281	32	28	31	26	29	19
60	2678	36	32	35	29	30	19
70	3067	40	35	39	32	32	20
80	3449	43	37	42	33	34	21
90	3822	46	39	44	35	35	21
100	4187	47	41	45	36	37	22

Compatibility

The below values are the base compatibility values at the start of the game.

GF	Compatibility
Quezacotl	Template:Var
Shiva	Template:Var
Ifrit	Template:Var
Siren	Template:Var
Brothers	Template:Var
Diablos	Template:Var
Carbuncle	Template:Var
Leviathan	Template:Var
Pandemona	Template:Var
Cerberus	Template:Var
Alexander	Template:Var
Doomtrain	Template:Var
Bahamut	Template:Var
Cactuar	Template:Var
Tonberry	Template:Var
Eden	Template:Var

Triple Triad

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