The Final Fantasy series has long been touted as one of the most influential and popular gaming franchises of all time, and for good reason. After all, in the West, JRPGs broke into the mainstream through the incredibly successful launch of Final Fantasy VII on the original PlayStation. Ever since that rampant success, JRPGs became a staple of the fifth generation of gaming, leading to a slew of excellent titles that have etched their names into gaming history.
Unfortunately, most people don't consider Final Fantasy VIII to be a part of this upper echelon. However, once someone grows accustomed to the somewhat altered gameplay mechanics, they'll find an excellent JRPG through and through. One of the highlights of this game is definitely the party members, as Squall, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie are all memorable characters in their own right.
This is especially true for Rinoa Heartilly - a character with so much going for her that there are several aspects of her persona that most fans simply aren't familiar with. Here are 1o such hidden details about Rinoa you never noticed in Final Fantasy VIII.
10 The Meaning Of Her Name
Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Every character's name in Final Fantasy is meant to showcase something about their personality, and Rinoa's is no different.
Her first name could possibly be a variation of Riona, an Irish Gaelic name that means "queenly." While this might be slightly cryptic, there's no mistaking what her surname is supposed to imply. Heartilly is just a play on the world "heartily," which is a perfect way to show Rinoa's peppiness and enthusiasm, staples of her character.
9 Her Name Was Misspelt In Several Instances
During the time when Final Fantasy VIII was being released to the general public, Shonen Jump released the official names of the characters. However, before that point, many Western publications took it upon themselves to translate the names of the characters, with certain Western publications going with Lenore for Rinoa. Consequently, Rinoa's French name ended up being "Linoa," which generally means "Light."
The French translation of the game decided to go forth with this interpretation itself, officially naming her "Linoa." Despite the misspelling, the name is still rather fitting for the character.
8 Rinoa Is The Only Party Member With No Connection To SeeD Or Garden
Squall, Zell, and Selphie are students of Balamb Garden who get drafted to SeeD. Quistis, being a SeeD herself and their instructor (and doing a horrible job at it), ends up joining their party. Irvine, a student and renowned sharpshooter of Galbadia Garden, decides to join Squall's party later on.
The only person who has no connection to SeeD or Garden in the game's main party is Rinoa. She enlists the help of SeeD in order to aid her revolution, and a certain turn of events leads to her becoming a stalwart member of the party.
7 Rinoa Could've Ditched Her Iconic Cycling Shorts For A Skirt
Tetsuya Nomura handled the character designs of most Final Fantasy characters during the PS1 era, with Final Fantasy VIII being included in the mix. For this game, Nomura designed every character before changing his mind and deciding to draw a skirt for some of them.
Out of the three female characters, both Selphie and Quistis had some alterations made to their design to accommodate a skirt. The only person who came off scot-free was none other than Rinoa herself.
6 Rinoa & Ultimecia Can Use The Same Weapons
It seems that Rinoa and Ultimecia being sorceresses was something that Square Enix went to town with while deciding the kind of weapons Ultimecia would wield in Dissidia Final Fantasy.
This can be seen in the fact that Rinoa's Valkyrie, Cardinal, and Shooting Star weapons (the latter of which happens to be Rinoa's ultimate weapon) are Ultimecia's exclusive weapons in Dissidia Final Fantasy. In Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Rinoa was added as a new character, with the Valkyrie and Cardinal serving as two of her weapons.
5 The Contrasting Imagery Between Rinoa & Ultimecia
One might assume that Rinoa and Ultimecia are polar opposites, and that assumption would not be far off. After all, this contrast was communicated in the design of both sorceresses.
Rinoa has black hair, a blue outfit, white wings, and demonstrates a knack for healing abilities. Meanwhile, Ultimecia has silver-white hair, a red dress, black wings, and showcases a penchant of destruction.
It's almost like Rinoa is the angel to Ultimecia's devil — a sentiment that is further strengthened by the Time Sorceresses' hairstyle that looks like the devil's horns.
4 Could Ultimecia Be Rinoa From The Future?
There's a pretty legitimate reason as to why Rinoa and Ultimecia are shown to be two sides of the same coin — fans have surmised that Ultimecia is actually Rinoa from the future.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Rinoa became drunk with the power of a sorceress and decided to rewrite reality in her image in the future. While this fan theory can be convincing, it has been disproven by Yoshinori Kitase, Final Fantasy VIII's director. True or false, it would make for a killer sequel, that's for sure.
3 With A Good Setup, She Can Deal The Most Damage In The Game
Once Rinoa unlocks Angel Wing, the character becomes capable of dealing the highest magic damage in the entire game, permitting Rinoa's magic and junctions are properly set up. This will ensure that hard enemies (especially the absolute pain that is Omega Weapon) will go down in no time.
Basically, ensure that the only offensive spells Rinoa has are Meteor and Ultima. With Ultima being categorized as the strongest offensive spell in the game, Angel Wing will automatically use the weakest spell in her arsenal, which is Meteor. This spell hits 10 times, and — taking into account that Rinoa's junctions are near-perfect — she can potentially hit for 99,990 damage every turn!
2 She Assumed Squall Was Jealous About Her Dating Past
The scene between Squall and Rinoa on the Ragnarok when they open up about their feelings to each other for the first time — well, kinda — is one of the best moments in the entire game.
While not included in the game and left on the cutting room floor, there is some dialogue in Final Fantasy VIII's data relating to this sequence that shows Rinoa trying to subtly figure out if Squall is jealous of the fact that she's dated Seifer in the past. However, Squall — being Squall — remains oblivious to Rinoa's intentions.
1 Is Rinoa A Figment Of Squall's Imagination?
The "Squall's Dead" theory is one of the biggest and most well-thought-out theories in gaming history. After getting impaled by Edea's ice shards at the end of Disc One, it's surmised that Squall passes away and the rest of the game is just a dream.
This definitely explains how Rinoa ends up taking a keener interest in Squall over the course of the story. Perhaps Squall was just having his wildest dreams come true at that point. Yoshinori Kitase has also disproven this fan theory.
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