Rinoa Heartilly (Linoa in the French version) is a female protagonist and playable character from Final Fantasy VIII. She is best known for her trademark “angel wings” printed on the back of her duster sweater and, as such, her “character symbol” is a white feather that signifies the wings. She serves as Squall Leonhart’s love interest and awakens as a Sorceress halfway through the game.
Appearance and Personality
“A member of the Timber resistance group “Forest Owls”. Uses her dog to make special attacks.“
- —Scan description
Artwork by Tetsuya Nomura.
Rinoa is first seen wearing an off-white sheer fabric halter dress, her signature necklace, a bracelet on her right arm, and white shoes at the SeeD ball. She appears in the ballroom outfit again at the Garden Festival event in Fisherman’s Horizon. Her signature outfit is a long, sleeveless, blue-hued, rib-knit duster sweater that has a pair of white wing designs on the back, which become actual feathered wings when she enters her Angel Wing Limit Break. She also wears matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black halter top, a denim button up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, as well as black bike shorts that have zippers going down the front with a pair of silver buckled black boots. Her previously noted signature necklace features a ring. Just before the Battle of the Gardens starts, she receives Squall’s Griever ring from Zell, who borrowed it in order to make Rinoa a replica of it. Rinoa adds the Griever ring to her necklace and wears it along with her own for the remaining part of the game.
Rinoa’s trademark symbol seems to be that of a white feather or wing, resembling the angel motif of Sorceresses throughout the game as well as the “angel wings” on the back of her blue duster. Another trademark that she is seen to use is the raising of her index finger as she did to Squall at the ball.
Rinoa’s personality is everything that Squall’s is not: feisty, compassionate, warm, and friendly, and these traits initially annoy Squall to no end. However, Rinoa slowly wins over the irritated Squall, and eventually he realizes he returns Rinoa’s feelings and in the later part of the game the two become a couple.
Despite Rinoa’s compassionate personality and her cute appearance, she is actually a brave person. Despite being born to a well-to-do rich family and her father being an important figure in Galbadia’s military, she is not spoiled and is in fact greatly concerned by the world situation. Rinoa goes as far as joining a resistance movement that fought against Galbadia in order to achieve Timber’s independence, and in doing so she abandons her privileged lifestyle, family, and everything she once knew. Rinoa’s brave persona is also evidenced by the fact that she fought beside Squall and his group throughout the game despite being the only one without military training.
Story
- “I like it like this. I liked having my mom hold me. My dad, too, back when we got along. But now…Squall, you’re the one who gives me the most comfort. Comfort and happiness…and annoyance and disappointment, too!“
- —Rinoa Heartilly
Squall and Rinoa dancing to the Waltz for the Moon.
<:figure><:figcaption>Rinoa Heartilly is the daughter of Galbadia’s military commander Fury Caraway and idol singer Julia Heartilly. When Rinoa was five, Julia died in a car accident. After Julia’s death, Rinoa and her father grew steadily apart. By the time she was seventeen, Rinoa had moved away from home and changed her surname to her mother’s maiden name to further sever herself from her father. To compound their problems, Rinoa joined the Forest Owls, a group of freedom fighters rebelling against the Galbadian government and its military. Engaging in covert operations to liberate territories overrun by Galbadia, Rinoa’s chosen lifestyle was an insult to everything Caraway stood for.
A year before the game’s events Rinoa began a romantic relationship with a SeeD cadet named Seifer Almasy. It is from Seifer that she learned of the mercenary-for-hire service SeeD provided. Rinoa first met Squall during the SeeD inauguration party at Balamb Garden, where she got him to dance, much to Quistis’s shock. Rinoa was on an errand on behalf of the Timber Owls to convince Headmaster Cid Kramer to employ SeeD mercenaries to aid her cause. With Seifer’s help she was introduced to Cid. Hearing her plight, Cid relented, allowing her the use of a group of three SeeDs despite the meager payment she offered in return and the complaints of the Garden Faculty.
The three SeeD chosen were Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and perhaps by fate, Squall Leonhart. While disappointed that Seifer was not part of the squad, she was nonetheless elated that SeeD had come. The SeeD at first willingly assisted in Rinoa’s plans to kidnap Vinzer Deling, the President of Galbadia, by hijacking his train. Although the plan was successfully deployed, the President aboard was a fake. Rendering the operation a failure, the SeeDs’ confidence in the Timber group began to wane.
They learn that the real President was going to be in the Timber TV Station to make an announcement. The Forest Owls attempt to hatch a new plan, with their SeeD mercenaries watching skeptically from a distance. Squall requests to see the contract that bound the SeeD group to the Timber Owls, only to discover they were under Rinoa’s command as long as Timber remained under Galbadian oppression. While on their way to infiltrate the TV Station, new intelligence indicated that, due to the large numbers of Galbadian soldiers, the agreed plan would have to be ditched. Squall expresses the SeeD group’s misgivings about being part of such a casual organization and questions Rinoa’s commitment to her goals. The argument ends with her leaving. Later, having seen the whole incident on the Timber TV Station screen, and discovering the Forest Owls’ base destroyed, she returns and enters the station in pursuit of Seifer.
Rinoa and Squall become reacquainted
Arriving too late to find Seifer, she orders the SeeDs to help her lie low while the Galbadian forces search the town. Contemplating Seifer’s fate leads Squall and Rinoa into another argument over their views on life before they are given word that it is clear to leave town. On their way to Galbadia Garden, the two argue again, this time about Squall’s cold attitude towards his teammates. The group makes it to the Garden and after some reminiscing about Seifer, who they presume dead from execution, Rinoa ends up revealing her past relationship with him, and they receive new orders. Rinoa pretends to be a SeeD to avoid conflict and joins Squall’s group in heading to Deling City to meet their contact, Rinoa’s father, General Caraway. After meeting with the SeeDs, General Caraway locks Rinoa away in another room and then turns to inform the SeeDs of his plan to assassinate the Sorceress, Edea Kramer.
After the briefing Rinoa finally manages to escape the room, rushing to Quistis to tell her of another plan to stop the Sorceress by getting her to wear the Odine Bangle. Quistis, however, berated her; thinking that Rinoa’s plan was only contrived to oppose her father, Quistis walks off. Left to her own devices, Rinoa proceeds to carry out her plan, infiltrating the Presidential Residence, and offers the bangle to Edea as a gift. Edea casts a spell that renders Rinoa under her control and like a puppet, Rinoa placidly follows Edea out onto the pedestal where she is designated as a sacrifice for the ceremony. Edea summons two Iguion statues and they attack Rinoa.
Squall and Irvine manage to infiltrate the Presidential Residence in time to save her and in return she stays and fights beside Squall when he attacks Edea. However, the attack proves unsuccessful and the group is captured and imprisoned in the D-District Prison. They were barred by Irvine who managed to escape. Irvine would eventually return, acting on orders from presumably Rinoa’s father, to retrieve Rinoa from imprisonment and, with tenacious convincing from Rinoa, the pair would assist the rest of the group’s escape from the compound.
During their capture, the group collectively learns that in retaliation for the attack on Sorceress Edea, Galbadia has targeted Balamb and Trabia Gardens in a missile attack. Splitting into two groups the party attempts to prevent the attack. Selphie’s plan was to sabotage the missiles aimed at Trabia, and Squall proceeded to warn Balamb of the missiles. It is up to the player’s decision to place Rinoa in either group. The party is once again reunited in Fisherman’s Horizon where the unharmed but now mobile Balamb Garden crashes. Squall is ordered to act as an ambassador and enact a formal apology, but Mayor Dobe, the leader of the pacifist city, tells them to leave immediately, as their presence can only cause destruction. Galbadian soldiers eventually invade the town, and Dobe heads off to discuss peacefully with the soldiers. However, the soldiers do not listen, and he is eventually rescued by Squall. Grudgingly, the mayor accepts their apology, and orders the city’s technicians to restore Balamb Garden to full functionality. During this the participants of Selphie’s group reunite with Squall and for a moment Squall is seen to be almost elated. Of course, this does not go unnoticed by Rinoa.
Rinoa and Squall sit down and talk
With the mobile Balamb Garden Squall was appointed Commander of the Garden and SeeD, and to celebrate his friends held a concert for the sole purpose of lightening the load on Squall’s shoulders, with Rinoa personally informing him of this. As his first command Squall liberated Balamb from Galbadian occupation. The next order was to head to Trabia Garden, Selphie’s home Garden, and the first target for the missile attacks. He offered the Trabia students Balamb Garden’s support. While waiting for Selphie to regroup with them, Rinoa begins voicing her worries about being a burden within the group and what would happen in the future. This causes the rest of the group to recollect their pasts and discover they all were raised at the same time in an orphanage. Decisions were made and the Garden embarked to the old orphanage, but is intercepted by a similarly mobile Galbadia Garden. The Battle of the Gardens ensues, which resulted in Sorceress Edea’s defeat and Rinoa mysteriously becoming comatose.
Rinoa’s condition is of great concern to Squall, driving him to great lengths to find a reason behind the coma and how to wake her from it. Eventually being lead to Esthar, Squall is sent to space with Rinoa, where onboard the Lunar Base she awakens under the control of the sorceress who had been possessing Edea, Ultimecia. After being defeated twice, Ultimecia had left Edea’s body to enter Rinoa’s. Sorceress Ultimecia uses Rinoa as a means to unlock Adel’s Tomb. The evil sorceress leaves Rinoa to die in space. However, Squall had ditched his escape pod from the exploding Lunar Base, and was able to intercept her and the two board the derelict Ragnarok.
On board of the Ragnarok, Squall communicates their current situation to Esthar, and then enables the ship’s autopilot to return to the planet. During the trip, Rinoa and Squall embrace and share a tender conversation, with Squall confessing many things to Rinoa about himself and Rinoa telling him that now he is the one to give her the most comfort and happiness. The land base tells the two that Rinoa will be seized by the Esthar government upon landing.
Upon landing back in Esthar, Rinoa is taken by Esthar officials to contain her sorceress powers in a new tomb on Sorceress Memorial. Squall intervenes after being pushed into action by his friends, especially Quistis, breaking the seal of the Tomb and taking Rinoa away with him to Edea’s orphanage where Rinoa voices her concerns about being possessed again and turning evil. Squall makes a silent vow to become Rinoa’s Sorceress Knight. Rinoa asks Squall to kill her should her worst fear of becoming evil come to reality, but Squall reassures her that his enemy is Ultimecia alone and asks Rinoa to stay close to him. Rinoa then tells Squall about a nightmare she had in which she wanted to see him, but could not find him. The couple make a promise to meet at the flower field in Edea’s orphanage should they be separated. This is a defining moment in the couple’s relationship.
Rinoa spontaneously revives Squall
The group heads back to Esthar, and using the Ragnarok, invade the Lunatic Pandora and fight through Seifer and Sorceress Adel (now Ultimecia’s vessel). Ultimecia orders Seifer to capture Rinoa, who is junctioned to the physical body of Adel through Ultimecia’s powers. Squall and the others must fight Adel/Ultimecia without harming Rinoa. They are successful in defeating Adel, who is forced to pass on her Sorceress Power to Rinoa before she can die in peace.
Because of Adel’s demise, Ultimecia enters Rinoa once again, just as Ellone uses her powers to send Ultimecia and Rinoa back in time so that Ultimecia can cast Time Compression, which is a magic only possible to cast if the Sorceress’ consciousness exists in the past, present, and future. The process of Time Compression is long however, and the allotted time allows for Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie to enter Ultimecia Castle in the future, where Ultimecia awaits. Upon Ultimecia’s demise the Time Compression unravels back to normal, leaving the combatants stranded in time. Each member managed to get back by remembering who they were and where they wanted to be. Rinoa reappeared in the flower field, where she and Squall had made their promise, but Squall was nowhere to be found.
Using her Sorceress powers, she managed to locate Squall at the end of time. He was near death but because of her arrival and her belief that he would survive, Squall was saved from non-existence. The two were sent back to the flower field, alive and well. In the game’s ending, Rinoa is seen with Squall on the Balamb Garden balcony, contemplating the stars. Rinoa then points up toward a shooting star. Squall smiles at her and the two embrace and kiss.
In Battle
Rinoa uses Blaster Edges in battle. Through upgrades via Junk Shops, she can come to wield other variant models. Noticeably the Blaster Edge, which should be attached to her left forearm, does not appear in cut scenes. When in trouble she also receives the aid of her dog, Angelo, and later on in the game acquires the use of the Sorceress Power.
Sorceress Power
Rinoa and her trademark “angel wings”.
Due to her having just received her powers, and her own reservations about them, it is unknown whether Rinoa’s sorceress powers manifest to full power. Rinoa’s strength lies in primal magic with no known alignment, evidence of this is shown by the effects of her Angel Wing Limit Break. During the game Rinoa receives her Sorceress Power from Edea Kramer and Adel.
Weapons
Rinoa’s weapon of choice is the Blaster Edge, a boomerang-like weapon that can be propelled from a device on the back of the wielder’s wrist to cause injury to any opponent and return to its holster. There are five Blaster Edge types/models available for Rinoa to use throughout the game: the Pinwheel, the Valkyrie, the Rising Sun, the Cardinal, and the Shooting Star.
Limit Breaks
Combine
Combine is Rinoa’s primary Limit Break, in which Rinoa teams up with Angelo to perform a variety of attacks, as well as certain effects. To gain access to Combine moves the player has to read Pet Pal magazines, and then walk around so Angelo can learn it.
Angel Wing
Angel Wing (ヴァリー, Varī) is Rinoa’s second Limit Break in which two white angel wings appear briefly on Rinoa’s back before disappearing. While in the Angel Wing state Rinoa’s magic damage is boosted five times more powerful than usual, and puts her into a Berserk spell-casting state in which she uses only magic.
As a Boss
During the battle with Adel, Rinoa is junctioned to her, immobile, because Adel is absorbing her powers. If she dies, it is Game Over.
²º¹¹ Final Fantasy Legend's ²º¹¹ 