the greatest Final Fantasy characters. In a NHK poll from 2020, Squall was voted as the 13th best Final Fantasy character. However, IGN said that "the problem [with Final Fantasy VIII] is that the character at the heart of everything, Squall, is basically a pouty jerk ... When your story is character-centered, you'd better center it on a character the audience can care about. Squall ... just doesn't fit the bill". 1UP.com ranked Squall second on its list of the "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists" and stated that although he was an attempt to "cater to the fedora-wearing, trench-coat-clad folks", his lack of social skills alienated players. Edge compared Squall unfavorably with Final Fantasy VII protagonist Cloud Strife, saying that Squall's angst "didn't seem to have any context" (unlike Cloud's, which developed from one of the pivotal events in Final Fantasy VII). His relationship with Rinoa was criticized by Edge: "He [Squall] suddenly falls in "love" with [Rinoa] at the end [of Final Fantasy VIII]." In GamesRadar's humorous "RPG Emo-Off", Squall was defeated in heartbreak by Cloud. Squall was featured in the 1UP.com article "Top 5 Final Fantasy Character Types" in the second category, "The Sullen Asshole", with Cloud and Cecil from Final Fantasy IV. GameSpy featured him in its comical "Videogame Characters Who Would Suck in Real Life", saying that in reality he would be a terrible soldier. While listing him as one of the most overpowered characters in the franchise, The Gamer noted that Squall's antisocial personality might divide gamers. See also Characters of Final Fantasy VIII References Category:Characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura Category:Fictional bodyguards in video games Category:Fictional child soldiers Category:Fictional knights in video games Category:Fictional mercenaries in video games Category:Fictional private military members Category:Fictional swordsmen in video games Category:Final Fantasy characters Category:Kingdom Hearts characters Category:Male characters in video games Category:Orphan characters in video games Category:Science fantasy video game characters Category:Square Enix protagonists Category:Video game characters introduced in 1999