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Laguna Loire

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Laguna Loire
Final Fantasy character
Laguna Loire as drawn by Tetsuya Nomura
First gameFinal Fantasy VIII (1999)
Created byKazushige Nojima
Designed byTetsuya Nomura
Voiced byEN:Armando Valdes-Kennedy
JA: Hiroaki Hirata
In-universe information
WeaponMachine gun
HomeGalbadia

Laguna Loire (Japanese: ラグナ・レウァール, Hepburn: Raguna Rewāru) is a fictional character from Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. He is a man whose past and relation to the main characters are revealed throughout the game. Most sequences involving Laguna appear in the form of "dreams" experienced by the primary protagonists. Squall Leonhart always experiences these dreams from Laguna's point of view which shows his life as a Galbadian soldier teaming up with his two best friends, Kiros and Ward. He also appears in the crossover fighting game Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as playable character as a soldier chosen by Cosmos alongside other Final Fantasy characters.

Kazushige Nojima created his character based on negative feedback from Final Fantasy VII involving several dark flashbacks. The concept of two main characters, Squall and Laguna, was planned since the beginning of the game's development. Artist Tetsuya Nomura tried to create a contrast between Laguna's and Squall's occupations; thus, Laguna became a soldier with light-hearted charisma, and Squall became a reserved mercenary student. The designers intended Laguna to be more similar to the previous protagonists in the series to complement Squall, who is different from the previous main characters.

Critical response to Laguna's character has been positive with several writers praising his upbeat and cheerful personality which contrasts the moody Squall. The connection these two characters have has also been the subject of discussion in regards to theories involving how the two appear to be father and son but the narrative never confirms it leading it to lack of potential in developing Squall while seeing his father's days.

Creation

[edit]

While previous games in the Final Fantasy franchise involved an ensemble cast, for Final Fantasy VIII the Square staff decided to create a story centered around a hero and the heroine according to director Yoshinori Kitase. The rest of the characters were created to support the relationship between the duo.[1] Kazushige Nojima created Laguna and his scenario in response to negative feedback about Final Fantasy VII being too sad and having too many flashbacks. Laguna's scenes first appear to the audience as taking place in the same time frame as protagonist Squall Leonhart's story, before revealing that Laguna's stories happened in the past when the pair meet. Kitase later regretted this setup, as it meant that Laguna's scenes could not be set in a different setting than Squall's. In contrast to the characters in Squall's group who have problems understanding his personality, the characters of Kairos and Wald were written to understand Laguna and be friendly throughout all their interactions, even before Laguna could speak. This was based on the "love" theme Square wanted Final Fantasy VIII to explore.[2] During the development of Final Fantasy VIII, character designer Tetsuya Nomura conceptualized several stories that would connect Laguna and Squall's paths, but they were dropped from the overall story.

Laguna's characterization was designed for him to do things that Squall was unable to, resulting in their opposite personalities with Laguna being friendly and Squall unsociable, though the developers made Squall's personality change over course the game as they feared player reactions if he remained cold.[1] It is implied in the game that Laguna is Squall's father, but Square Enix has never confirmed this idea.[3]

Nomura drew Laguna and Squall at the same time, intending the former to be written in the same fashion as previous Final Fantasy leads to contrast Squall. While the Nomura had no problems with his face, the artist had problems deciding what kind of outfit should he wear. He eventually proposed Laguna to stay by default as a soldier to contrast the protagonist who wore a high school uniform, setting different tones for their role in the series. The Laguna party members were designed to be very different individuals, so that they woudn't be overpowered by the main characters. Laguna and their friends' dynamic weas inspired by how developers from Squaresoft spoke. The difference also affected the groups that Laguna and Squall belong to; As Laguna and their friends are in their 20s, they remain as friendly fire forged soldiers and already start their stories as experienced. In contrast, Squall was a rookie who did not want to form friendships.[4] Several scenes of Laguna's story were cut by Square.[5] As a result, Kazushige Nojima expressed desire to make a new Final Fantasy VIII that would explore Laguna's life more.[6]

Laguna Loire appears in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, where he is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata in Japanese and Armando Valdes-Kennedy in English. He is featured in his youthful Final Fantasy VIII appearance, as well as his older and Galbadian soldier forms. His knight costume is also available as downloadable content.[7] Director Mitsunori Takahashi asked the developers to make the strongest weapon in "EX mode" a weapon that fires a wave motion gun. Hirata was chosen by Nomura to give him a "light" feel as he is older than Squall's even in his regular persona after working with him in The 3rd Birthday.[8] He was also planned to appear in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as the head of Mirage Arena.[9]

Appearances

[edit]

In the 1999 role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna is a Galbadian soldier who wields machine gun,[10] to perform attacks a alongside a swinging rope, a grenade, and a barrage of bullets. In the "dream segments" the protagonists suffer, he is shown to be a twenty-seven-year-old soldier in the Galbadian army who travels with his companions, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac. He is also an aspiring journalist. During the first two dream segments, Laguna and his team are shown getting lost and visiting the hotel where Julia Heartilly, Laguna's romantic interest, performs. Julia appears to respond to Laguna's feelings but war makes the two split.[11][12]

After a scouting mission at Centra, Laguna and his friends are separated and Laguna is injured. A young woman named Raine nurses him back to health after he is brought to Winhill.[13] During his time in Winhill, Laguna starts working as a monster hunter while taking after the young girl Ellone. It is eventually revealed Julia got married with another man but Laguna is interested into Raine. He falls in love with and marries her, but is drawn away from his new home when Ellone is kidnapped. Laguna tracks her down in Esthar, where he helps liberate the nation from the despotic rule of Sorceress Adel. The people of Esthar elect Laguna as their president and Ellone is sent back to Winhill without him.[14] After Raine dies, her child, whom Ward and Kiros imply to be Squall in a conversation aboard the Ragnarok ship, and Ellone are sent to an orphanage.[15] Laguna is unable to leave his post to visit her and remains president of Esthar to the present day.[16] Ellone and Laguna are later reunited in space,[17] and Laguna helps the Squall's part which Ellone took after prepare for their fight against Ultimecia. Following Ultimecia's defeat, Laguna visits his wife's grave, and reunites with his friends and Ellone again.

Outside Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna appears in fighting game Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. In the story, Laguna is involved in the twelfth cycle of the eternal conflict between the gods Cosmos and Chaos, who have both summoned several warriors from different worlds [18] Laguna and other Final Fantasy characters fight creatures known as Manikins.[19] Though they succeed, Cosmos is reduced to a weakened state after using much of her power to diminish the Manikin army when they attempt to kill her and the Warrior of Light,[20] They are successful, but the group disappears from Cosmos' side in the process.[21]

Reception

[edit]

Laguna has been well-received by gamers and journalists from video game publications. He is ranked seventh in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top ten video game politicians.[22] Ryan Clements and Colin Moriarty of IGN regarded Laguna as one of the best Final Fantasy characters as well as a standout character in Final Fantasy VIII due to his parallels to Squall's group,[23] while in another article, writer Phil Pirello praised how his personality contrasts with that of the more stoic Squall.[24] The same site also noticed that while Squall has more screentime than other characters for being protagonist, Laguna stands out thanks to "lovable goofball" persona as well as his career in politics.[25] GameRant found him as a "charming" character who does not get the recognition he gets by players as across Final Fantasy VIII, he accomplishes several things and obtains peace thanks to becoming Esthar's president and noting how Julia's romance with him was never fully explored.[26] Dengeki Online noted that Julia's romance scene can be improved by making Laguna more tolerant to alcohol which makes the original scene more enjoyable to watch.[27] In another article, the website enjoyed Laguna's flashback for how he contrasts his nervousness over Julia with the cooler Squall and praised his own theme song that plays during his fight scenes.[28]

There was also analysis about Laguna's role in the story and his hidden connection with Squall. In retrospect, Polygon said "Everything about Laguna is wildly endearing" citing one of his scenes where he attempts to flirt with his crush only to suffer from leg cramp and return to his friends ashamed. They came to regard him as Squall's opposite which comes across as hilarious since the protagonist thinks poorly of him before ever learning they are related. The fact that the game never reveals Laguna and Squall's connection confused the writer even though Laguna's adoptive daughter aims to connect these two. The game's ending reveals that Laguna marries another woman whom appears to further connects lineage between Laguna and Squall but the game does not confirm it.[29] Kotaku even had a deeper appreciation for Laguna's flashback as first time he wanted a deeper sconnection that expands the narrative. However, as he realized the Square wanted a subtle emotional impact, Laguna's soldier days and the latter scenes depicting how he and his friends give a sense of nostalgia when is recovering fromt the war and reunites with Kiros. The writer went on to how it juxtaposes with Squall's side, showing how fates change. The fact that Laguna could be Squall's father give meaning for the protagonist to experience his father's days throughout his flashback and learn more about him. The writer from Kotaku further lamented how Laguna's flashbacks could have had a bigger emotional impact had the relationship between him and Squall was revealed in the story as the former appreciates his friends far more than Squall and was the original user of the Gunblade weapon for a play which Squall and his rival Seifer wield.[30] Laguna's time as an actor was praised by Dengeki Online for how hilarious it was that he ends up accidentally facing a dragon while wielding a Gunblade in the same fashion as Seifer would be inspired by him.[31] VentureBeat Laguna said highly overeshadowed Squall due to coming across as more likable character despite the tragedy he faces in Final Fantasy VIII such as the death of his wife and thus feels like a more fitting main character.[32]

After designing serious, moody main characters for Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Tetsuya Nomura wanted to give Final Fantasy X lead Tidus a cheerful persona and appearance.[33][34] Nojima called Tidus's personality "lively", and compared him to Final Fantasy VIII's other cheerful characters including Laguna and Zell Dincht.[35] In "The Monomyth Of A Seed: A Literary Analysis Of A Jrpg Character’s Hero Journey", Laguna Loire comes across of the protagonist's opposite based on their personalities and his flashbacks help to further help Squall's growth.[36] Novelist Ben Hourigan mentioned in "You Need Love and Friendship For This Mission!" that while the Final Fantasy series struggles to deal with romantic plots to the audience appeal to concerned teenagers and especially hikikomori, Laguna's speech he gives to Squall's group about how to survive to Ultimecia's power that is directly addressed towards the consumers too which is further referenced by Director Yoshinori Kitase.[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Final Fantasy VIII – 1998 Developer Interviews". Shumplations. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Final Fantasy Scenarist Kazushige Nojima Explains How FFVIII Was Influenced by FFVII's Success". Dual Shockers. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Maciel, Joshua. "Rebuttal to FF8 FAQ Part 2". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  4. ^ "Tetsuya Nomura's 20s". Flaregamer. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Final Fantasy VIII director on the game's original reception, scrapped plans for Laguna, what he would change". NintendoEverything. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Final Fantasy Scenarist Kazushige Nojima Shares Thoughts On a Possible New FFVIII Game". DualShockers. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  7. ^ "Sephiroth and Laguna Costumes Hit Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Next Week". Andriasang. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  8. ^ "『ディシディア デュオデシム ファイナルファンタジー』のストーリーモードの内容に迫る独占インタビュー完全版！". Famitsu. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "Nomura and Takahashi on Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy". Andriasang. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  10. ^ "Final Fantasy VIII Characters – Laguna". SquareEnix.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  11. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Kiros: Don't tell me we're lost again. / Laguna: Anyway...we're goin' home. Deling City, here we come!
  12. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Ward: So, Laguna... Julia should be making her appearance soon. You goin' for it tonight?
  13. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Laguna: I was bedridden for over 6 months. It seemed like every bone in my body was in pieces. / Raine: I nursed him back to health.
  14. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation]). Square EA. Laguna: A fierce debate ensued about who should govern this country after Adel was gone. I wasn't paying close attention while they made me up to be this hero of the revolution, and I ended up being president.
  15. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Laguna: ...Ellone was raised by Raine who lived next door. And I came to know her. Then there was another massive hunt for a successor in Esthar again. Elle was taken away[...]so I rescued her and sent her off to Winhill. Shortly after that, Raine died. And Ellone was sent straight to an orphanage...
  16. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Laguna: My job kept me busy. I was left here thinking about this and that and before I knew it, all this time had passed.
  17. ^ Square Co., Ltd. (1999-09-09). Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation). Square EA. Laguna: Ellone followed me out to space. Little Elle was all grown up... Then she told me everything.
  18. ^ Square Enix (March 22, 2011). Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable). Square Enix. Lightning: Kain. Cosmos called us again. Why do you suppose that is? / Kain: Who knows? / Lightning: I want...I intend to win this fight. I win, and I get my memory back. I get to go back home. I keep telling myself that, just like everyone else. But you know...now that I've been here awhile... Sometimes I have to wonder if winning really means we'll get to go back home at all. If it might be that winning...won't change a thing. I just...I can't help but wonder.
  19. ^ Square Enix (March 22, 2011). Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable). Square Enix. Lightning: Say your 'next battle' were to start now. There wouldn't be any fewer enemies out there. And starting over fresh doesn't guarantee we'd get our crystals any faster either. At the very least, we might as well cut their numbers down first. It sure can't hurt, can it? And it might just give us a shot. / Laguna: Guess now's as good a time as any. Just happens I've got some intel that might change the whole game. You wanna even our odds? Try this on: I know where the manikins are coming from.
  20. ^ Square Enix (22 March 2011). Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable). Square Enix. Vaan: What about Cosmos? / Kain: It's too late. / Vaan: "Too late"?! / Laguna: Even if we did go back, we'd never make it in time. Only thing we can do is trust our last line of defence to hold.
  21. ^ Square Enix (March 22, 2011). Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable). Square Enix. Lightning: I'm sure you all understand our...situation. We came here to destroy the portal that connects this world to the Rift. It's the last thing left for us to do. But once we charge into the middle of those manikins, there's no coming back.
  22. ^ Sharkey, Scott (November 2008). "EGM's Top Ten Videogame Politicians: Election time puts us in a voting mood". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 234. p. 97.
  23. ^ Clements, Ryan; Moriarty, Colin (December 30, 2011). "The Best Characters of Final Fantasy". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Pirello, Phil (May 21, 2008). "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  25. ^ Smith, Dave (May 15, 2008). "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters - Day II". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Shoaib, Saad (August 14, 2020). "Final Fantasy: 10 Most Underrated Playable Characters". GameRant. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "【FFRK名場面】ティンバー・マニアックスを読む場所でラグナの酒の強さが変化!?". Dengeki Online. June 4, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  28. ^ "【FFRK名場面】好きな人の前で緊張して足がつっちゃうラグナに萌え". Dengeki Online. December 18, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  29. ^ Pirello, Phil (February 13, 2019). "Why I'm still thinking about Final Fantasy 8, 20 years later". Polygon. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  30. ^ Tieryas, Peter (November 29, 2019). "Final Fantasy VIII's Surprise Twist Nearly Ruined It For Me". Kotaku. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  31. ^ "【FFRK名場面】大人の魅力（みりき）あふれる『VIII』のラグナが映画俳優に!?". Dengeki Online. October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  32. ^ "All About Squall". VentureBeat. 30 October 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  33. ^ Knight, Sheila (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2006.
  34. ^ Sam Kennedy; Gary Steinman, eds. (2001). Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine August, 2001. Ziff Davis Media. p. 96.
  35. ^ Wanlin, Matthew. "Interview with Final Fantasy X Development Team". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  36. ^ "The Monomyth Of A Seed: A Literary Analysis Of A Jrpg Character's Hero Journey". International Journal of Art and Higher Education. 2023.
  37. ^ Hourigan, Ben (2004). ""You Need Love and Friendship For This Mission!": Final Fantasy VI, VII and VIII in generic and social context". Department of English with Cultural Studies The University of Melbourne. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
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