Rinoa Heartilly
Rinoaheartily.jpg
Rinoa Heartilly is the main female character in Final Fantasy VIII. Rinoa is the seventeen year old daughter of General Caraway, a high-ranking officer in the Galbadian army, and Julia Heartilly, a famous singer and former lover of Laguna Loire.
Biography
Rinoa is leader of the Forest Owls, a small resistance faction seeking to liberate the small nation of Timber from Galbadian occupation. Rinoa first meets Squall Leonhart, the male protagonist of the game, at a ball at Balamb Garden, where she manages to charm the usually taciturn and unfriendly Squall into dancing with her. Her purpose for visiting the Garden is revealed when the Forest Owls hire Squall, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt as mercenaries. Later, Rinoa meets the party again when General Caraway hires them for a mission, and she accompanies them for some time thereafter.
Outspoken, emotional and compassionate, Rinoa is in many ways the polar opposite of the cold and antisocial Squall; in fact, she was at one time romantically involved with his long-standing rival Seifer Almasy. Although their personalities do clash at first, Squall and Rinoa gradually fall in love, and their relationship is a major focus of the game's storyline.
Rinoa's weapon of a choice is a curious projectile device called the Blaster Edge. It appears to be a bladed ring, mounted to her wrist, that acts much like a boomerang. She is frequently accompanied by her faithful dog, Angelo, who figures prominently in her limit breaks. Due to events later in the game, she also acquires a secondary limit break called Angelwing, in which she goes berserk and begins randomly casting any spell she has on the enemy with greatly increased power.
Fan Reaction
Rinoa is a relatively controversial character among Final Fantasy fans. Many considered her an example of the stereotypical "princess" character - kindhearted, but also immature, weak in battle, overly dependent on others, and prone to being kidnapped. However, other gamers found that Rinoa's character flaws made her a more realistic and interesting character, and enjoyed the game's portrayal of her growing relationship with Squall, who required someone as intense as Rinoa to bring him out of his shell.
A further criticism – and highly controversial one – comes along racial lines. Many players thought Rinoa's facial features seemed Asian. However, Squall looks more Caucasian. Because of this, some fans (especially Japanese ones) have claimed that their relationship is a stereotypical interracial pairing of an Asian female with the (again stereotypical) larger, taller, and more virile white male. Other fans have denied that the characters should be associated with any real-world racial groupings, suggesting that Rinoa looks too pale to be Asian and that Squall has some features that look Asian himself (although he has brown hair and blue eyes).
Future Self?
One controversial theory suggested by some gamers is that Rinoa Heartilly and Ultimecia - the game's ultimate villain, a sorceress from the future - are in fact one and the same. For further discussion of this theory, see the article on Ultimecia.