Rinoa Heartilly (リノア・ハーティリー Rinoa Hātirī?) is the primary female protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. She is the seventeen-year-old daughter of General Caraway, a high-ranking officer in the Galbadian army, and Julia Heartilly, a successful pianist and singer. Rinoa is a member of the Forest Owls, a resistance faction seeking to liberate the small nation of Timber from Galbadian occupation. When Squall and his party of SeeD help the resistance movement fight Galbadia, Rinoa decides to stay with them; as a result she ends up falling in love with Squall. In battle, she uses a weapon called a "Blaster Edge", which consists of an arm holster and a projectile that returns like a boomerang. In her Combine Limit Break, she attacks in unison with her dog, Angelo. When Rinoa gains Sorceress powers, she acquires a second Limit Break, Angel Wing, which increases her spell-casting ability, along with rendering her in a state of "magic" berserk for the remainder of the battle.
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 is the game's protagonist, Squall Leonhart's love interest, and is featured in the game's logo with him.
Rinoa is first seen at the SeeD ball wearing an off-white sheer fabric halter dress, her signature necklace, a bracelet on her right arm, and white shoes. She appears in the ballroom outfit again at the Garden Festival event in Fishermans Horizon. Her signature outfit is a long, sleeveless, blue rib-knit duster sweater that has a pair of white wing designs on the back. She wears matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black halter top, a denim button-up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, and black bike shorts that have 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 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.
Apart from the angel wings symbol and her ring, shooting stars also seem to have a significance to Rinoa. She is seen pointing at one when first seen and also in the final moments of the game's ending. Her strongest weapon is named Shooting Star and one of her most powerful Limit Breaks is called Wishing Star. Rinoa is compassionate, warm, and friendly, although she can also act stubborn and naive. Despite being born to a well-to-do family and her father being an important figure in Galbadia's military, she is not spoiled and is greatly concerned by the world situation. Rinoa joins a resistance movement fighting 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 fights beside Squall and his group throughout the game despite being the only one without military training.
