of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall is impaled by the Edea in battle. This created a theory that Squall dies in battle. When asked about this, Kitase laughed at this and denied this theory. However, he found it interesting if a remake of the game was ever proposed and the staff would think of changing elements from the story. While Final Fantasy VIII did not use voice acting, Squall obtained a voice in the Square Enix series Kingdom Hearts, where he is known as "Leon". There, he is voiced by David Boreanaz in the English version of the game and Hideo Ishikawa in the Japanese version. He returns in Kingdom Hearts II, voiced in the English version by Doug Erholtz. Erholtz said in an interview that he had a "fun journey" voicing Leon and it was a "really fun role to play". Appearances Final Fantasy VIII At the beginning of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall is known as a "lone wolf" because he never shows his feelings and seems cold to his associates. His superiors (such as teacher Quistis Trepe) consider him challenging to deal with, but respect his talents. Squall is stoic, with his taciturn nature used for comic relief. He is dragged into a heroic role when Cid, headmaster of Balamb Garden, appoints him the leader of the academy midway through the game. During a late battle against Galbadia Garden, Squall has difficulty exhibiting leadership because of his lingering isolation. Although other characters try to pull him out of his shell and Rinoa Heartilly expends considerable energy pursuing him, it takes time for him to accept the others' friendship, fall in love with Rinoa and care for her. Squall is more comfortable later in a leadership role, especially when he must fight Ultimecia. Throughout the game, he has a rivalry with Seifer Almasy who scar each other in the beginning, but then the two are supposed to cooperate are characterized by quarrels between the cadets. Although Seifer later allies with the Sorceress (requiring Squall to fight him several times), Squall still feels a camaraderie with him. According to flashbacks during the game, Squall grew up in an orphanage with the other playable characters (except Rinoa). The orphans were cared for by Edea; although Squall remembers little about his past, he becomes an emotionally detached, cynical and introverted boy whose original goal is to go through life without any emotional ties or dependence. He gradually warms, and it is later revealed that his detachment from his companions is a defensive mechanism to protect himself from the emotional pain he suffered when he and his older sister were separated. After Ultimecia is defeated, the time and space that she had absorbed begin to return to normal, pulling Squall's comrades back into their places in the timeline, while Squall returns to the orphanage and meets a younger Edea. Since she does not want to involve the children, she absorbs the dying Ultimecia's powers as part of the cycle of sorceresses (a sorceress must pass her powers to a successor before she can die peacefully). Squall plants the ideas for Garden and SeeD in her mind, creating an origin paradox: Squall must become the leader of Balamb Garden so he can pass its version of SeeD tradition to Edea, who teaches them to her husband Cid (who co-founds Balamb Garden, which admits Edea's orphans—including Squall). Other appearances Squall appears as a non-playable character in Kingdom Hearts. He wears a short leather jacket with red wings on the back (resembling the decorations on Rinoa's duster) and his Griever necklace. Squall takes the name Leon as