writing for Goomba Stomp, said the character lacks realism in comparison to Rinoa. On a more positive view, the website called Squall and Rinoa the best couple created by Square Enix, noting the differences between them and that their relationship is the first in the series to drive the plot of a game. The couple were on The Inquirers list of most-memorable video-game love teams; comments again focused on the differences between them. Christopher Michael Baker of Allgame his romance changes the main character for the better as he originallly hated him. There was commentary over Squall's Leon persona. RPGInformer was shocked by his introduction not only due to the crossover element provided in the first game but also because Squall was voiced for the first time. Despite being initially confused with Leon's appearance and weaponry in the first Kingdom Hearts boss fight, Polygon enjoyed his character. In a retrospect, the writer found the idea of the crossover ridiculous. Arnold Katayev of PSXextreme praised Squall's redesign in Kingdom Hearts as the game's best character design. Comic Book Resources lamented how Squall and the rest of the Final Fantasy characters became cameos in Kingdom Hearts III and the player never gets the chance to fight against them. VentureBeat said that while Kingdom Hearts offered Squall a more passable backstory, he still lacked development to the point he is often overshadowed by Laguna not only in his original appearance but also Dissdia. Also, talking about Disidia, RPGamer called Squall said although he tries to distance himself from others, "he can't help but draw people to him, be it sorceresses or gun-slinging ladies' men". Kotaku commented that voice actor David Boreanaz made "stilted and odd" and, among other Kingdom Hearts actors, he was overshadowed by Billy Zane's portrayal of Xehanort, also referred as Ansem. However, GamesRadar praised Boreanaz. GameRant believes David Boreanaz was chosen for Squall's role due to voicing a similar brooding anti-hero, Angel, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Doug Erholtz providing a nearly identical performance in following games. Hideo Ishikawa's performance as Squall was highlighted as popular within even if he never got the chance to properly voice him in his original game as said by fans in Animate Times. See also Characters of Final Fantasy VIII References External links Characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura Fictional bodyguards in video games Fictional child soldiers Fictional knights in video games Fictional mercenaries