Final Fantasy 8

ไฟนอล แฟนตาซี 8

(as "Final Fantasy VIII")

Platform:

Laguna Loire

Laguna Loire (ラグナ・レウァール, Raguna Rewāru) is a man whose past and relation to the main characters are revealed slowly throughout the game. Most of the sequences involving Laguna appear in the form of "dreams" experienced by the primary protagonists. Squall always experiences these dreams from Laguna's point of view, although he does not think too highly of Laguna. Laguna attacks with a Machine gun and his Limit Break is Desperado,which involves a swinging rope, a grenade, and a barrage of bullets. During the dream segments, he is 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 singer Julia Heartilly, Laguna's romantic interest, performs. After a scouting mission at Centra, the three soldiers are separated and Laguna is injured. A young woman named Raine nurses him back to health after he is brought to Winhill. He falls in love with and marries her. However, he is drawn away from his new home when a young girl in their care, 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. After Raine dies, her child (whom Ward and Kiros imply to be Squall in a conversation aboard the Ragnarok) and Ellone are sent to an orphanage. Laguna is unable to leave his post to visit her and remains president of Esthar to the present day. Ellone and Laguna are reunited in space, and Laguna helps the party prepare for their fight against Ultimecia.

The concept of two main characters was planned since the beginning of the game's development. Nomura tried to create a contrast between Laguna's and Squall's occupations; thus, Laguna became a soldier with a 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. Laguna is ranked seventh in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top ten video game politicians.

Laguna Loire appears in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, where he is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata in the Japanese version and Armando Valdes-Kennedy in the English version. He is featured in his youthful Final Fantasy VIII appearance while his older and his Galbadian soldier forms. His costume of a knight is also available as downloadable content. Laguna was also planned to appear in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as the head of Mirage Arena.