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Squall or Leon?



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Do you like Squall or Leon better?

  • Squall, they should have left his name alone.

    Votes: 3 33.3%
  • Leon, the name change is fine.

    Votes: 6 66.7%

  • Total voters
    9
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gamerobber7

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So I was just curious about this topic. Do you prefer Squall Leonhart or just Leon? What is your guys' opinion on the name change for Squall in Kingdom Hearts? For me I don't mind the change but then again I didn't even know it had been changed when I first played KH because the only FF game I had played at the time was X. I actually still haven't played VIII yet (don't hurt me) but I can see why some people wouldn't like the name change since he is the only FF character who has had his name changed from the original game. I can see with the in game explanation why he changed it but it is still an odd decision. Anyone know the reason?
But anyways my question is do you like the change to Leon or do you think they should have stuck with Squall?
 

Ruran

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The name change had something to do with his personal feelings about Radiant Garden and him wanting to separate from his past self because he couldn't save it or something or other.

Since I've never played FFVIII either it's something that never bothered me. It's not much of a difference either, he's just using a shortened version of his last name. Since I was introduced to this character in KH, I'm accustomed to calling him "Leon".
 

Zettaflare

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In addition to losing his home to the heartless I think another reason he changed his name was because he lost Rinoa. If they reunite in KH3, I think I could see Lean going by Squall again.


On the topic of which name I prefer, Leon is fine with me. As Ruran mentioned it's just a shortened version of his surname. He does have a reason for his name change after all.
 

gamerobber7

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Woops I guess I didn't phrase my words too well. I know the reason he gives in game of why he changed his name, I was asking if it was known why Nomura and Square decided to have him be the one to have a name change.

In addition to losing his home to the heartless I think another reason he changed his name was because he lost Rinoa. If they reunite in KH3, I think I could see Lean going by Squall again.

There's an idea. If Rinoa does appear I could see that being the reason he goes back to being Squall (though Sora would probably still call him Leon).
 

Oracle Spockanort

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---I digress, but Squall called himself Leon when he appeared... Squall Leonhart’s “heartless”... in other words, does Leon come from taking out “hart”, or “heart”, from Leonhart?

Nomura: Ah, that’s a deep reading into it, but that’s not what I meant. (laugh). In Disney Castle, if people saw in the beginning that “Meet Squall” was written in the letter, people would have an image of Squall in their head and the impact of the first meeting would be weak. Then Akiyama (Event Planning Director: Jun Akiyama) told me that he wanted to change only Squall’s name. We decided that we would take the last part of his name.

---The red wing pattern in Squall’s back is based off of Rinoa’s image, isn’t it?

Nomura: That’s right. Well, there is a reason why Leon rejects being called Squall. I added Rinoa’s wings to imply something definitely happened in the past.

---You did not plan to have Rinoa to appear?

Nomura: Rinoa didn’t appear, huh. (strained laugh) I thought personally, Rinoa was different from the other characters that I imagined in FFVIII and her personality was hard to grasp.

Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Main Nomura Interview translated by Rasenth~

Now, as to if I prefer Squall or Leon? I don't really care! I like both names and it is a nice way to distinguish between sourface!17!Squall in FFVIII and mentor!25!Leon.
 

Gram

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Personally I prefer it Leon. I've never played FF8 but I like the reasoning for his name change in KH, it adds to his character and it also is Nomura's way of showing FF characters he's designed in a "new light" which was his intention with the cameos.
 

Max

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I prefer the name Squall. While I don't hate that they call him Leon, FF8 was my first exposure to Square and it kind of holds a special place.

Now, I do remember in KH1 they gave his reason for changing his name in Jiminy's journal. I believe it said something about losing his homeworld, but then that kind of made me upset when he didn't say anything about it when they reclaimed Radiant Garden.

I think the worst part (for me) though, is when I talk to people about Kingdom Hearts and refer to him as Squall, and several people have no clue who I'm referring to. I also watched a friend as he started playing FF8 for the first time, and he changed Squall's name to Leon because of KH. It ended up looking really stupid when people called him Leon Leonhart.
 

Elysium

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I prefer Squall, even though I played KH a long time before FFVIII. I don't mind that they call him Leon though, since they actually give a story reason for it (however vague). I always assumed it had something to do with Rinoa, too, but since she didn't show up in KH2, I guess not. No loss though, I hate Rinoa.
 

gamerobber7

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Now, as to if I prefer Squall or Leon? I don't really care! I like both names and it is a nice way to distinguish between sourface!17!Squall in FFVIII and mentor!25!Leon.

Thanks for that interview. I can understand his reasoning for changing it.

I prefer the name Squall. While I don't hate that they call him Leon, FF8 was my first exposure to Square and it kind of holds a special place.

Now, I do remember in KH1 they gave his reason for changing his name in Jiminy's journal. I believe it said something about losing his homeworld, but then that kind of made me upset when he didn't say anything about it when they reclaimed Radiant Garden.

I think the worst part (for me) though, is when I talk to people about Kingdom Hearts and refer to him as Squall, and several people have no clue who I'm referring to. I also watched a friend as he started playing FF8 for the first time, and he changed Squall's name to Leon because of KH. It ended up looking really stupid when people called him Leon Leonhart.

Maybe he'll go back to being Squall in KH3 but considering Nomura wants him to be a little different from the FF version he might not. Nomura's own reasoning may have backed him into a corner. xD

I can understand how that would bug you. Especially if they named him Leon. Leon Leonhart doesn't sound too good.
 

JustSnilloc

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Everyone else has already explained the reason behind the name change... As for me personally? I don't prefer either, "Squall", "Leon", they both mean the same thing to me. I like them the same and therefore don't have a favorite, they're both kind of cool ^_^
 

gamerobber7

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Everyone else has already explained the reason behind the name change... As for me personally? I don't prefer either, "Squall", "Leon", they both mean the same thing to me. I like them the same and therefore don't have a favorite, they're both kind of cool ^_^

Yeah my bad. I've realized I should have added a third option for those who liked both names. :redface:
 

kuraudoVII

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I actually don't hate the name Leon, but for whatever reason I just prefer Squall.

For me, Kingdom Hearts was my first proper exposure to the character; I had seen him and Cloud before in gaming magazines such as Game Informer when Final Fantasies VII and VIII were released, but I didn't really get to know who the character even remotely was until I played Kingdom Hearts. As a result, I tend to interchange the names, but I still found myself leaning a bit more toward Squall.
 
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