Rinoa Heartilly Rinoa Heartilly is a playable character in " Final Fantasy VIII " . In battle , Rinoa wields a unique weapon called the Blaster Edge , a bladed projectile she launches from a firing mechanism on her left arm . After hitting the target , the projectile returns to Rinoa like a boomerang . Rinoa ' s faithful dog Angelo accompanies her in battle by attacking the enemy or aiding the party . Rinoa is 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 is Squall Leonhart ' s love interest , and is featured in the game ' s logo with him . Apart from the angel wings symbol and her ring , shooting stars have a significance to Rinoa . She points at a shooting star during her introductory scene , her strongest weapon is Shooting Star and one of her most powerful Limit Breaks is called Wishing Star . Profile . Appearance . Rinoa ' s shoulder - length black hair has three caramel highlights on both sides of her face . Her eyes are dark brown . When first met at the SeeD ball Rinoa wears an off - white halter dress , her signature necklace , a bracelet on her right wrist , and white shoes . She wears the ballroom outfit again at the Garden Festival event in Fishermans Horizon . Her signature outfit is a long , sleeveless , blue rib - knit duster sweater with a pair of white wing designs on the back . She wears matching rib - knit arm warmers , a black tank top , a denim button - up skirt , a black ribbon on her left arm , and black cycling shorts with zippers going down the front and a pair of silver buckled black boots . Her necklace features a ring . Just before the Battle of the Gardens she receives Squall ' s Griever ring from Zell , who borrowed it to make Rinoa a replica . Rinoa adds the Griever ring to her necklace and wears it along with her own . In the Adel boss battle , Rinoa is not wearing her duster sweater , even if she has it in the scenes right before and after . In the original North American release , Rinoa ' s height was listed as 161 cm ( 5 ' 3 . 5 " ) , but the " Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania " , the latest edition released seven years after the game , has her height as 163cm ( 5 ' 4 " ) . This is because all the character heights were converted incorrectly from the metric to imperial for the North American version of " Final Fantasy VIII " . Personality . Rinoa is compassionate , warm , and friendly , although she can act stubborn and naive . She was born to a well - to - do family , her father heading the Galbadia n military , but she is concerned by the state of the world . Rinoa joins a resistance movement fighting Galbadia to achieve Timber ' s independence in a mixture of genuine desire to fight for Timber and rebellion against her father . The Owls are amateurish and she has little experience with the realities of combat , and is anxious at the prospect of fighting solo . She can be impulsive and act without thinking , which gets her into trouble . She is loyal to her friends and committed to doing what she thinks is right . Rinoa clashes with Squall and Quistis for what she perceives as a cold and mechanical attitude and their impatience with her inexperience . Rinoa serves as a foil to Squall as a person who can freely express emotion . Although she initially dislikes him for his coldness , she grows fond of him and encourages him to open up and talk about his feelings , as well as teasing him playfully to try and break through his shell . Although Rinoa puts up a brave front , her isolation is hinted at , having lost her mother at a young age and having a strained relationship with her father . Rinoa has many followers but not many close friends save for her dog , Angelo , leading her to bond with Squall over what they ' re both missing from their lives . Story . Rinoa is the daughter of Galbadia ' s military commander Fury Caraway and idol singer Julia Heartilly . When Rinoa was almost five , Julia died in a car accident and afterwards , Rinoa and her father grew steadily apart . At 16 , Rinoa dated a SeeD cadet named Seifer Almasy from whom she learned more of the mercenary - for - hire service SeeD provides . By the time she is seventeen , Rinoa has moved away from home and presumably changed her surname to her mother ' s maiden name . To compound their problems , Rinoa joined the Forest Owls , a group of freedom fighters rebelling against the Galbadian government . Rinoa meets Squall during the SeeD inauguration party at Balamb Garden where she gets him to dance . Rinoa is on an errand on behalf of the Timber Owls to convince Headmaster Cid Kramer to employ SeeD mercenaries to aid their cause . With Seifer ' s help she is introduced to Cid and , hearing her plight , he allows her the use of a group of three SeeDs despite the meager payment she offers in return and the complaints of the Garden Faculty . The three SeeDs chosen are Zell Dincht , Selphie Tilmitt , and Squall Leonhart . While disappointed Seifer is not part of the squad , Rinoa is nonetheless elated SeeD has come to the Owls ' aid . The SeeDs at first willingly assist in Rinoa ' s plans to kidnap Vinzer Deling , the president of Galbadia , by hijacking his train . When the president they kidnap turns out to be a fake the SeeDs ' confidence in the Timber group begins to wane . They learn the real president will make an announcement at the Timber TV Station and the Forest Owls hatch a new plan with their SeeD mercenaries watching skeptically from a distance . Squall requests to see the contract that bounds his group to the Timber Owls , only to discover they are under Rinoa ' s command as long as Timber remains under Galbadian oppression . Rinoa wants them to take over the newly - activated TV Station to broadcast a message of sedition , but while on their way to infiltrate the station new intelligence indicates that , due to the military presence , the plan would have to be abandoned . Squall expresses the SeeD group ' s misgivings of being part of such a casual organization and questions Rinoa ' s commitment . The argument ends with her leaving . During the president ' s TV broadcast a renegade Seifer takes him hostage over the air . Squall , Selphie and Zell rush to the studio to aid Squall ' s former teacher Quistis who had been pursuing Seifer . Seifer is spirited away by Sorceress Edea , the president ' s new ally he was supposed to announce as the nation ' s new ambassador . Having seen the incident on the Timber TV Station screen , and discovering the Forest Owls ' base destroyed , Rinoa returns looking for Seifer and the rest . Arriving too late to find him , 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 it is clear to leave town . Unable to return to Balamb Garden , the group heads to the Galbadia Garden instead . En route the two argue again , this time about Squall ' s cold attitude towards his teammates . Squall , Selphie , and Quistis mysteriously fall unconscious , and when they awaken , Rinoa , feeling guilty for being so hard on him , apologizes . The group makes it to the Garden and learns Seifer has been announced executed . Rinoa reveals her past with him and the SeeDs 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 in another room and informs the SeeDs of his plan to assassinate the sorceress , Edea Kramer . After the briefing Rinoa escapes the room , having discovered a rare Odine Bangle in a drawer . She rushes to Quistis to tell her of her plan to stop the sorceress by tricking her to wear the bangle said to suppress a sorceress ' s powers . Quistis berates her , thinking Rinoa ' s plan is only contrived to oppose her father . Left to her own devices , Rinoa carries out her plan alone . She infiltrates the Presidential Residence , and offers the bangle to Edea as a gift . Edea renders Rinoa under her control like a puppet , and Rinoa placidly follows Edea out onto the balcony where she is designated as a sacrifice for Edea ' s coronation ceremony . Edea summons two Iguions to attack Rinoa , but Squall and Irvine , a G - Garden sharpshooter who is to aid them assassinate the sorceress , save her . Squall has discovered Seifer is alive and has become Edea ' s Sorceress Knight , meaning he may have to kill him , but Rinoa appears indifferent . After Squall fights Seifer Rinoa and Irvine join him against Edea who renders Squall unconscious with an ice javelin . As he falls off the parade float Rinoa fruitlessly reaches out to him . The group is captured and imprisoned in the D - District Prison , barred by Irvine who escaped . Irvine returns , acting on orders from presumably Rinoa ' s father , to retrieve Rinoa from imprisonment and , with tenacious convincing from Rinoa , the pair assists the rest of the group ' s escape from the compound . During their capture , the group learned that in retaliation for the attack on Sorceress Edea , Galbadia has targeted Balamb and Trabia Garden s in a missile attack . Splitting into two the party attempts to prevent the attack : Selphie ' s plan is to sabotage the missiles aimed at Balamb Garden , while Squall rushes to warn Balamb Garden of the impending attack . It is up to Squall to place Rinoa in either group . If Rinoa is sent to the Missile Base she assists the group in the base ' s destruction , but ultimately the mission fails and the missiles are launched . If Squall takes Rinoa to Balamb Garden , she helps him find the headmaster during a riot and activate the Garden ' s mobile functions to move the Garden away from the spot the missiles were programmed to target . After everything calms down Rinoa asks Squall to give her a tour of the Garden . The party is reunited in Fishermans Horizon where the mobile Balamb Garden crashes . Squall acts as an ambassador and enacts a formal apology , but Mayor Dobe , the leader of the pacifist city , tells them to leave as their presence can only cause destruction . Galbadian soldiers invade the town and Dobe heads off to discuss peacefully with them . The soldiers do not listen , and Dobe is rescued by Squall and his team . Grudgingly , the mayor accepts their apology , and orders the city ' s technicians to restore Balamb Garden to full functionality . Selphie ' s group reunites with Squall and for a moment Squall is almost elated , something that does not go unnoticed by Rinoa . Squall is appointed commander of SeeD and to celebrate his friends organize a concert for his honor . If Rinoa doesn ' t like the band ' s music Rinoa and Squall argue and she runs away . If Rinoa enjoys the music she convinces Squall to trust in his friends more . As his first command Squall liberates Balamb from Galbadian occupation . Next they head to the ruins of Trabia Garden , Selphie ' s home Garden , where he offers the students Balamb Garden ' s support . While waiting for Selphie , Rinoa voices her worries about being an interloper and a burden within the group and what would happen in the future . The others recollect their pasts and discover they were raised in the same orphanage and that Edea is the Matron who used to look after them . The Garden embarks to Edea ' s Orphanage in search of clues , but is intercepted by a similarly mobile Galbadia Garden . The Battle of the Gardens ensues , and Rinoa falls off the Garden ' s edge , but Squall rides a Galbadian jetpack to save her and regroup with the others inside the enemy Garden . Rinoa asks Squall about his lion ring , as she is holding it for him , having obtained it from Zell for safekeeping . Squall explains it symbolizes pride and courage , and Rinoa ponders if she can become a lion too . Sorceress Edea is defeated and Rinoa starts acting strange : she revives a defeated Seifer before collapsing . It is revealed that Edea had been possessed by another sorceress from the future known as Ultimecia , but being defeated by SeeD snapped her out of it and she becomes the SeeD ' s ally . Rinoa remains comatose and her condition concerns Squall who realizes he is in love with her , driving him to seek a cure . He knows Ellone , a girl he used to know from the orphanage he was raised in , can send people ' s consciousnesses back in time . Squall searches for her to ask her to send him in Rinoa ' s past to discover what happened to her . Being lead to Esthar , Squall and Rinoa are sent to the Lunar Base space station to meet Ellone . Aboard the space station Rinoa awakens under the control of Ultimecia , as after being defeated , Edea had unknowingly passed on her sorceress power to Rinoa . Ultimecia uses Rinoa to unlock Sorceress Adel ' s spacebound tomb and leaves Rinoa to die in space . Cured from her coma , Rinoa ponders her impending demise before Squall contacts her telepathically with Ellone ' s help , telling her to activate the emergency oxygen supply of her spacesuit . Squall ditches his escape pod from the Lunar Base that is being destroyed by the Lunar Cry and intercepts Rinoa in space . The two discover the derelict " Ragnarok " airship which was floating aimlessly in space near them . On board the " Ragnarok " Squall communicates their current situation to Esthar , and enables the ship ' s autopilot to return to the planet . Squall confesses many things to Rinoa about himself and Rinoa tells him he is the one who gives her the most comfort and happiness . The land base tells the two Rinoa will be seized by the Esthar government upon landing because she has become a sorceress . Upon landing Esthar officials take Rinoa to contain her sorceress powers in a new tomb in the Sorceress Memorial , like what they had done to Sorceress Adel before her . Fearing she would hurt anyone else or be hated by society , Rinoa allows her powers to be sealed . After being pushed into action by his friends , Squall breaks into the Sorceress Memorial as Rinoa is about to be cryogenically frozen , and takes her away with him to Edea ' s Orphanage . In the flower field behind the orphanage Rinoa voices her concerns about being possessed and turning evil , but Squall makes a silent vow to become Rinoa ' s Sorceress Knight . Rinoa asks Squall to kill her should her worst fears come to reality , but Squall assures his enemy is Ultimecia alone . Rinoa tells Squall of a nightmare she had in which she wanted to see him , but could not find him . The couple promises to meet at the flower field should they be separated . Joining forces with Esthar , the SeeDs devise a plan to defeat Ultimecia . They invade the Lunatic Pandora on the " Ragnarok " and fight through Seifer and an awakened Sorceress Adel ( now Ultimecia ' s vessel ) . Ultimecia orders Seifer to capture Rinoa , who is junctioned to Adel ' s body through Ultimecia ' s powers . Squall and the others defeat Adel who passes on her sorceress power to Rinoa . Ultimecia possesses Rinoa and Ellone sends Ultimecia and Rinoa back in time so Ultimecia can cast time compression , a magic spell only possible to cast if the sorceress ' s consciousness simultaneously exists in the past , present , and future . The process of time compression is long , and allows for Squall , Rinoa , Zell , Quistis , Irvine , and Selphie to enter Ultimecia Castle in the future and defeat Ultimecia . The time compression unravels leaving the combatants stranded in time and they make their way back by remembering who they are and where they want to be . Rinoa reappears in the flower field where she and Squall had made their promise , but Squall is nowhere to be found . Using her sorceress powers , Rinoa transforms a flower petal into a feather that finds Squall in a void , trapped between time . She follows him to the void and brings him back to the flower field . Balamb Garden celebrates SeeD ' s victory over Ultimecia and Squall and Rinoa stay outside on a balcony overlooking the ocean . Noticing a shooting star , much as the one he had seen on the night the pair first met , Squall smiles at Rinoa and kisses her as the Garden flies under the moonlight . Gameplay . Rinoa wields Blaster Edges in battle and has two Limit Break s : Combine and Angel Wing . Combine allows her to work with Angelo to perform an ability learnt in a Pet Pals magazine , while Angel Wing enters her into a berserk - like status in which she can cast spells at five times the normal power , but cannot be controlled and is unreliable . Her ultimate weapon is Shooting Star . As with other player characters , a Triple Triad card based on Rinoa can be obtained . Creation and development . Tetsuya Nomura , the main character designer for " Final Fantasy VIII " , struggled drawing Rinoa . He wanted to create a character who would leave an impression on the viewer ; instead of a beauty , he wanted something cute . He feels some of his personal preferences were included in the design . For Rinoa he also created a " cute " vocabulary list and some ideas for her habits which were sent off to the scenario writer Kazushige Nojima . For his part Nojima wanted to have Rinoa like books and reading ; this is why she is found in the Balamb Garden library when not in the active party . One detail that did not make the Japanese - to - English translation was Rinoa ' s habit of forming cutesy words ( much like Selphie ) . One such word was " oHARO ~ " ( " ohayo " ( good morning ) and " HELLO " put together ) . Mayuko Aoki acted out most of the motion capture needed for Rinoa ' s FMV sequences , although acted as her motion actress for the waltz scene and performed Rinoa ' s stunt scenes , such as when she falls down the side of Balamb Garden . During the game Rinoa does not have a voice , but in some FMVs , she is heard breathing . Foley artists in the USA recorded and mixed all the sounds featured in the FMV movies . There is a dummied piece of dialogue in the scene where Squall and Rinoa are onboard " Ragnarok " where Rinoa tried to dissuade an assumed jealousy in Squall for her having dated Seifer in the past . When Squall did not catch on , Rinoa commented that Squall does not care about other people ' s pasts . Musical themes . The romance between Squall and Rinoa is accompanied by a variation of Julia Heartilly ' s " Eyes on Me " . Rinoa ' s introduction in Balamb Garden ' s dance hall is accompanied by the " Eyes on Me " variation " Waltz for the Moon " , and her second introduction on the Timber Owls train is accompanied by another variant , titled " My Mind " , which often is considered to be her theme . This would continue as a pattern over the next two games , as the character themes of Garnet and Yuna would likewise be variations of " Melodies of Life " and " Suteki da ne " , the themes of their respective romances with Zidane and Tidus . Other appearances . Rinoa has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Rinoa has made key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Other media . Games . During the ending of " Dissidia Final Fantasy " , when everyone is disappearing , a feather ( possibly a reference to Rinoa ) falls down towards Squall . He grabs hold of it and disappears with the other Warriors of Cosmos . In Shade Impulse , Squall mentions to Ultimecia and Onion Knight he made a promise to return to someone in his world , referring to Rinoa . In " " , an outfit based on Rinoa appears as a costume for Ryn Rakando in the third - person shooter arcade game . Announced during a Tokyo Game Show , the costume was released as part of a " Final Fantasy " - themed collaboration event for the game in November , 2014 . In " " , a costume themed around Rinoa ' s outfit is available as the 3P costume for Maria Traydor . The player can unlock the costume by collecting 120 Battle Trophies . In , a minor reference to Rinoa appears in the where visits and interrogates if he knows the " Transient Princess " . The Transient Princess is in fact the name of a Rinoa CG that Monty Oum created and the image ' s name references the way that " Final Fantasy VIII " manikin s are named in the " Dissidia " series . " Dead Fantasy " . Rinoa appears in the second segment of the fanmade " Dead Fantasy " series . She uses a fanmade gunblade called the for melee combat , and a fanmade Blaster Edge called the for long - ranged attacks . She has angel wings that enable her to fly , and can be used to protect herself and her allies . This is Monty Oum ' s favorite character in the series . Rinoa retains her appearance from " Final Fantasy VIII " , but the black ribbon on her left bicep is missing . She wears a gun holster where she wields her Vanishing Star . In the latest screenshots for " Dead Fantasy VII " , Rinoa gains the black ribbon and her black tank top is replaced with a matching tube top . Rinoa ' s Transient Princess form is not seen in the movie , but has her wear a combination of her white ballroom dress from " Final Fantasy VIII " and her primary outfit . She wears a white strapless short dress whose skirt at the back extends to her feet . Her dress is designed after an angel wing motif and the materials appear similar to a wedding veil . Her silver - buckled black boots are replaced with a black knee - high heeled boots . Her hair becomes longer and is styled in layered curls at the edge and the caramel highlights change to white silver . In this form , she doesn ' t permanently have her angel wings like in the battle footage . Rinoa uses the sorceress power to conjure portals , use telekinesis and augments her magic . She debuts in " Dead Fantasy II " with to aid Yuna , Rikku , and Tifa against their " Dead or Alive " rivals . The fight ends with Rinoa conjuring portals from the moon that transport each " Final Fantasy " girl with their rival to another location . The white feather symbolizing Rinoa appears within " Dead Fantasy IV " until the preview of " Dead Fantasy VIII " . The last screenshot of Rinoa shows her fighting several jets with her magic . Rinoa was set appear in a future installment " Dead Fantasy VII " to fight her rival , Rachel , but since Monty ' s death , the series ended up in a permanent hiatus . Rinoa ' s fighting style is based on a Chinese style Straight Sword , and the way she wields her gunblade is based on a Dao Sword . Her grunts in " Dead Fantasy II " are from Sion Eltnam Atlasia from " Melty Blood " , voiced by Rio Natsuki . Rinoa ' s last appearance is in " Dead Fantasy Gee " along with the other " Final Fantasy " girls dancing the song " Gee " by Girls Generation . Rinoa wears her white ballroom dress and doesn ' t permanently have her angel wings like in the battle footage , but they briefly appear when the lights are off . Rinoa plays the role of one of the Girls Generation member , Kwon Yuri . Dion Rogers ' Rinoa . Rinoa has a fanmade design known as the " Dion Rogers ' Rinoa " that was popular among cosplayers . Late 2004 to early 2005 Square held a competition to see who would make the best fanart following the theme " FFanything - 2 " . The winner would get their design turned into a pixel rendition . Artnia . In one of the windows outside the Square Enix Artnia café is a display containing a crystal chandelier , a suspended wall mirror and a candle lit dresser in front of a red curtain . Besides the dresser is a silhouetted figure of Rinoa in her " request pose " that she performed when asking for a dance with Squall . Merchandise . Being one of the central characters of " Final Fantasy VIII " , Rinoa has featured in numerous merchandise , such as in the Final Fantasy Play Arts Action Figures , Final Fantasy Trading Arts , Final Fantasy Trading Arts Mini and other " Final Fantasy VIII " action figures . Rinoa has been part of the Coca - Cola marketing campaigns where she has had several different bottle - cap figurines : chibi and regular versions , red crystal versions of each and the color of the figurine ' s base either yellow or red . The statue features Rinoa with the Guardian Force Siren . The Rinoa Zippo lighter is perhaps the rarest piece of merchandise ; only a few hundred were ever produced . Other very rare pieces of merchandise are the ballroom scene Final Fantasy Cold Cast Collection statue and the Rinoa chrome statue , both limited at 3 , 000 pieces . Etymology . Before the magazine " Shonen Jump " revealed the name " Rinoa Heartilly " many publications translated the name as " Lenore " , which means " light " ( romaji transcription of " Lenore " is Rinoa ) . The French translation of the game comes closer to this , calling her " Linoa " ( also a Haitian / Tahitian female name meaning " light of the earth " ) . The name Rinoa may be a variation of Riona , a Gaelic Irish name meaning both " pure " and " royal " . Both meanings could be attributed to Rinoa , in the angelic appearance and in the Forest Owls members referring to her as " princess " . Rinoa ' s surname , Heartilly , is derived from the English word " heartily " . Heartily is an adverb meaning in a cordial manner , with warmth and sincerity , with zest or enthusiasm .