Weapon: Blaster Edge - a bladed projectile she shoots toward the enemy from a firing mechanism on her left arm. After hitting the target, the projectile returns to Rinoa like a boomerang
Abilities: - Combine - Combine is Rinoa's primary Limit Break, in which Rinoa teams up with Angelo to perform a variety of attacks. Woof woof!
- Angel wing - Angel Wing is Rinoa's second Limit Break, appearing in her Limit Break list after she obtains sorceress powers. 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.
- Angelo - When in trouble, Rinoa can seek the aid of her faithful stee-...er, puppy dog Angelo, who will COMPLETELY OBLITERATE ANYONE...or take a grenade for her. Or you know...something like that.
- Guardian Force: Rinoa has the powers of a sorceress that she obtained during the events of her own world. Because of this she can Junction different summons, though she never has more than one junctioned at one time.
Personality: Rinoa is compassionate, warm, and friendly. She often goes out of her way to try and help others, especially those that are less fortunate. Because of this, she can get caught up, unfortunately, in some pretty big projects that involve that help. Rinoa also makes friends easily and seems to have a knack with the social life. Which is good, because someone has to look out for Squall's social life...it sure isn't him.
Despite that, or maybe because of that, she can act stubborn and naive. Rinoa often will make up her mind and once it's set, there's no changing it. Even when someone tries to reason with her, she'll at least try to stick to her own thoughts and values. This can lead to trouble because she, being somewhat naive, often thinks that she can handle certain things on her own, and unfortunately lacks understanding of her own weakness at times.
Despite being born to a well-to-do family and her father being an important figure in Galbadian 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 abandons her privileged lifestyle and family.
Rinoa's brave persona is evidenced in how she fights beside Squall and his group despite being the only one without military training. She isn't simply putting on or faking, Rinoa is genuinely willing to lay down her life for the good of others, and will go into situations even knowing that she probably isn't the best fighter there. Still, as time progresses, especially with being surrounded by Garden students, Rinoa is getting better in the military training she lacked growing up.
History: Rinoa Heartilly 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 after Julia's death, Rinoa and her father grew steadily apart. 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 and its military.
A year before the game's events Rinoa began a romantic relationship with a SeeD cadet named Seifer Almasy from whom she learned more of the mercenary-for-hire service SeeD provides. Rinoa first 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 her cause. With Seifer's help she is introduced to Cid and, hearing her plight, Cid 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.
Under contract, Squall serves as Rinoa's soldier.
The three SeeD chosen are Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and Squall Leonhart. While disappointed that Seifer is not part of the squad, Rinoa is nonetheless elated that SeeD has come to the Owls' aid. The SeeD at first willingly assist in Rinoa's plans to kidnap Vinzer Deling, the president of Galbadia, by hijacking his train. Although the plan is successfully deployed, the president they kidnap is a fake and the SeeDs' confidence in the Timber group begins to wane.
They learn the real president is going to be in the Timber TV Station to make an announcement. The Forest Owls hatch a new plan, with their SeeD mercenaries watching skeptically from a distance. Squall requests to see the contract that bounds the SeeD group to the Timber Owls, only to discover they are under Rinoa's command as long as Timber remains under Galbadian oppression. While on their way to infiltrate the TV Station, new intelligence indicates 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. The argument ends with her leaving.
During the TV broadcast a renegade Seifer takes the president hostage over the air and Squall, Selphie and Zell rush to the station to aid Quistis, who had been pursuing Seifer. Seifer is spirited away by Sorceress Edea, saving the president's life. Having seen the incident on the Timber TV Station screen, and discovering the Forest Owls' base destroyed, Rinoa returns in pursuit of Seifer.
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 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, whom they presume dead from execution, Rinoa reveals her past relationship 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, rushing to Quistis to tell her of another plan to stop the sorceress by tricking her to wear the Odine Bangle said to suppress a sorceress's powers. Quistis berates her thinking that Rinoa's plan is only contrived to oppose her father. Left to her own devices, Rinoa proceeds to carry out her plan alone, 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 balcony where she is designated as a sacrifice for Edea's coronation ceremony.
Edea summons two Iguion statues to attack Rinoa, but Squall and Irvine infiltrate the Presidential Residence in time to save her. In return she stays and fights beside Squall when he attacks Edea. The attack proves unsuccessful and 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 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 is to sabotage the missiles aimed at Balamb, and Squall proceeds to warn Balamb Garden of the missiles. It is up to the player's decision to place Rinoa in either group. The party is reunited in Fishermans 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 invade the town, and Dobe heads off to discuss peacefully with the soldiers. 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. During this the participants of Selphie's group reunite with Squall and for a moment Squall is almost elated, something that does not go unnoticed by Rinoa.
With the mobile Balamb Garden Squall is appointed commander of the Garden and SeeD, and to celebrate his friends organize a concert for his honor. During the concert Squall and Rinoa have a moment together, the dialogue depending on which instruments the player assigns to the band. In the bad dialogue option Rinoa and Squall argue and Rinoa runs away. In the better dialogue option Rinoa convinces Squall to trust in his friends more.
As his first command Squall liberates Balamb from Galbadian occupation. The next order is to head to Trabia Garden, Selphie's home Garden, and the target for the missile attacks. He offers the Trabia students Balamb Garden's support and while waiting for Selphie to regroup, Rinoa voices her worries about being a burden within the group and what would happen in the future. The rest of the group recollects their pasts and discover they were raised in the same orphanage and that Edea is the Matron of the orphanage who used to look after them. The Garden embarks to the old orphanage in search of clues, but is intercepted by a similarly mobile Galbadia Garden. The Battle of the Gardens ensues, which results in Sorceress Edea's defeat and Rinoa becoming comatose. It is revealed that during the whole time Edea had been possessed by another sorceress, sorceress from the future known as Ultimecia, but being defeated by SeeD snaps Edea out of it and she becomes the SeeDs' ally.
Rinoa's condition is of great concern to Squall, driving him to great lengths to find a cure. He knows Ellone has the power to send people's consciousnesses back in time and searches for her to ask her to send him in Rinoa's past in order to find out what happened to her. Being lead to Esthar, Squall is sent to the Lunar Base space station with Rinoa to meet Ellone.
Onboard the space station Rinoa awakens under the control of Ultimecia, as after being defeated Edea unknowingly passed on her sorceress power to Rinoa. Ultimecia uses Rinoa to unlock Adel's Tomb and leaves Rinoa to die in space. Squall ditches his escape pod from the Lunar Base that is being destroyed by the Lunar Cry and intercepts Rinoa as she floats away. By sheer fortune, the two discover and board 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. During the trip, Squall confesses many things to Rinoa about himself and Rinoa tells him that 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, Esthar officials arrive to take Rinoa to contain her sorceress powers in a new tomb on Sorceress Memorial. She reasons that because she does not want to be hated and feared or hurt anyone else, she will allow 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, breaking the seal of the tomb and taking Rinoa away with him to Edea's Orphanage.
On the flower field behind the orphanage Rinoa voices her concerns about being possessed and turning evil and 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. Rinoa tells Squall of 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 by the orphanage should they be separated.
Joining forces with Esthar the SeeDs come up with a plan to defeat Ultimecia. They use the Ragnarok to 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 defeat Adel, who is forced to pass on her sorceress power to Rinoa. Ultimecia possesses Rinoa and Ellone uses her powers to send Ultimecia and Rinoa back in time so that Ultimecia can cast time compression, a magic 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. Upon Ultimecia's demise the time compression unravels leaving the combatants stranded in time. Each member gets 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 finds Squall in a Void, trapped between time. Close to death she saves him by bringing him back to the flower field.
Rinoa and Squall kiss.
During a party at Balamb Garden to celebrate SeeD's victory over Ultimecia, 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.
[Credit to Wiki for history]
