Square Enix Squall aka Leon

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by BakaMattSu, Jan 27, 2004.

  1. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Anyone take the time to unravel the mysterious reason why Squall insists to be called Leon in Kingdom Hearts? One of those strange things I have yet to comprehend...

    That, and why Squaresoft had voice actors pronounce "Tide-us" in Final Fantasy and "Tee-dus" in KH...
     
    #1
    BakaMattSu, Jan 27, 2004
  2. Novus

    Novus Gone

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    Never mind why it became Aerith and You-fee.
    My current theory is that Squall is a little too hippy-surfer, and Leon's just a cool name. ;)
    Seriously, though, I think it's really because Leon means "like a Lion" (obviously derrived Latin, and it's even the French word for Lion), which implies some very serious things about his character. Symbolism, really.
     
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    Novus, Jan 27, 2004
  3. Izzy

    Izzy moo. moo. moo!
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    I just thought he was going by Leon because he didn't want to be called Squall until they took back Hollow Bastion. And that he didn't have Rinoa by his side.

    Wasn't Leonhart the ORIGINAL surname of Raine in FFVIII? I know it was spelled a bit differently from Squall's...
     
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    Izzy, Jan 27, 2004
  4. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    The Euro release of FFVII featured "Aerith" instead of "Aeris". I surmise it relates to how the Japanese pronunciation of the name works. When they read "Aeris", the "is" kind of sub-lisps to an "ith".

    And "You-fee" is how Yuffie is pronounced. Were you thinking "Yuff-ee"? ;)

    Forgetting Squall's surname for the moment. Wasn't it Leonhart as well, Iz?
     
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    BakaMattSu, Jan 27, 2004
  5. Novus

    Novus Gone

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    I am forced to go off-topic to say this:
    The double-ff in "Yuffie" would indicated a short u sound. Maybe even a schwa, I don't know. But the bottom line: if you read that name like an ordinary word, you are not going to say You-Fee.
     
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    Novus, Jan 28, 2004
  6. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Unless you're japanese, of course, who named her You-Fee... ;)
     
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    BakaMattSu, Jan 28, 2004
  7. Novus

    Novus Gone

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    But we're not, are we?
    And what do you expect the ratio of American gamers to Japanese gamers who played the US releases of FFVII and Kingdom Hearts was?
    Furthermore, if the name was intended to be Japanese, why would it end in "ie"?
    But anyway, I digress.
     
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    Novus, Jan 28, 2004
  8. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Yes, we've both certainly digressed, but it does relate. Tidus was chosen to be said with the japanese pronunciation (Tee-dus) in Kingdom Hearts, yet was given a more Americanized sound (Tide-us) in Final Fantasy. Curious as to why it was chosen differently for each game, and why exactly it was done that way...
     
    #8
    BakaMattSu, Jan 28, 2004
  9. Dr. Nick Rivera

    Dr. Nick Rivera New Member

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    Well, in Final Fantasy, you have the choice to rename Tidus at the beginning, so they never use the name, seeing as it could be anything. Note how in FF X-2, they always say "you", "him", or "you-know-who"?

    As for the Leon thing, I recall somewhere something saying that he didn't want to be associated with his old name(Squall) since he could do nothing when Hollow Bastion got taken over, so he wanted to change himself from the person he used to be.
     
    #9
    Dr. Nick Rivera, Jan 29, 2004
  10. Paranoid Trooper

    Paranoid Trooper Reanimator

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    Maybe

    Maybe Squall has been reading The Wizard Of The Earthsea too much. Then there could always be the solution that the creators of Kingdom Hearts thought of Squall as too weird of a name, so they placed it with Leon. Perhaps...
     
    #10
    Paranoid Trooper, Apr 26, 2004

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