Rinoa Heartilly/Gameplay

Rinoa is a playable party member in Final Fantasy VIII. She wields Blaster Edges in battle, and has two Limit Breaks: Angel Wing and Combine. Rinoa also appears as a boss and a Triple Triad card.

Weapons
Rinoa uses a Blaster Edge in battle. Through upgrades via junk shop she can come to wield one of five other variant models. The Blaster Edge, which should be attached to her left forearm, does not appear in cutscenes. When in trouble she receives the aid of her dog, Angelo.

While it is possible to acquire Rinoa's ultimate weapon, Shooting Star, before disc 3, it is difficult due to the player requiring a Force Armlet to upgrade.


 * Pinwheel – Initial model. Described in Weapons Monthly, April Issue.
 * Valkyrie – Described in Weapons Monthly, May Issue.
 * Rising Sun – Described in Weapons Monthly, July Issue.
 * Cardinal – Described in Weapons Monthly, August Issue.
 * Shooting Star – Described in Weapons Monthly, 1st Issue.

Rinoa's Blaster Edge might have been inspired by similar weapons found in  on the Super Famicom, a game that was release by Square in 1996. In that game, these weapons are mounted on the arm and shoots a crescent-shaped scythe at the enemy.

Limit Breaks
Rinoa is the only character in Final Fantasy VIII to have two Limit Breaks. The first one she starts with, while the second is obtained through story progression.

Combine


Combine is Rinoa's primary Limit Break, in which Rinoa teams up with Angelo to perform a variety of attacks. To gain access to Combine moves the player has to read Pet Pals magazines and walk around with Rinoa in the party so Angelo can learn it. Learning all of Angelo's Combine skills in the Steam version earns the player the achievement Dog Trainer.

Angel Wing
Angel Wing is Rinoa's second Limit Break obtained late in the story. 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.

Stats
Despite being the character with the least combat experience, of the main party Rinoa has some of the highest base stats at Level 100, surpassing all others in Strength, Magic and Spirit.

Boss
During the battle with Adel, Rinoa is junctioned to her, immobile, because Adel is absorbing her powers. If she dies, it is Game Over.