Rinoa is a one-of-a-kind Triple Triad card in Final Fantasy VIII used to play the minigame and for turning into items with Quezacotl's Card Mod. Rinoa is the hundred and seventh card in the inventory and the eighth Level 10 card. It depicts Rinoa Heartilly who is playable in the main party. The card is called "Rinoa" even if the player renames the character.
As a Level 10 Player Card, Rinoa has excellent values with two As, which represents the value 10 for the minigame and is unbeatable without special rules. It is one of only three cards with two As, the other two being Edea and Doomtrain. Rinoa's value placement is a bit less useful than Edea and Doomtrain's corner formation, but it is good for a middle position between two other cards and may also be useful for games that use Same and/or Plus, and for capturing cards with an A with Same Wall.
Obtain[]
General Caraway holds Rinoa's card. The earliest he can be challenged is after the events at the D-District Prison when the player is in control of Selphie Tilmitt's party on their way to the Missile Base. He is at his manor in Deling City and plays with Galbadia region rules. Asking him for a game of cards has him declare that he has Rinoa's card but will not play it unless he gets Ifrit. The Ifrit card is one of only two cards in the course of the game the player must get to progress (the other is a Buel from the G-Soldiers outside the Timber pub), and thus makes sense to be the card he asks for. The player needs to play a game with him with Ifrit in their hand and to purposefully lose so Caraway will take it (or if the Direct rule is in place, just make sure he captures the card during the match).
Ifrit cannot be won back from him, as the card has moved to Master Martine's hand whom the party can play later in Fishermans Horizon. Caraway will now use Rinoa and the player can win it off him. Caraway stays available to challenge in his manor until the point the player can no longer return to the normal world map late into the game.
If the player completed the Card Club quest before the point of no return (fighting the boss atop the Lunatic Pandora), the club members will appear aboard the Ragnarok in the endgame, from whom the player can win all Level 8–10 cards they do not currently hold in their deck, even the cards they had modified before. This also allows the player to modify the Rinoa card and then win it back.
Card Mod[]
The Rinoa card refines into 3 Magic Armlets, which teach the Spr+60% ability to a Guardian Force. This is a very good ability, which no GF learns natively. Having Spr+60% is also beneficial early on before the party has the best spells and perhaps some stat boosting with Bonus abilities under their belt and the best weapons, when they will likely hit the cap with Spr+40% already. However, Rinoa is a good card for the minigame itself, as it will be a moment until the player can get more Player Cards with double As.
Physical version[]
In 1999, following the release of Final Fantasy VIII in Japan, Bandai produced a full set of collectible Triple Triad cards in Final Fantasy VIII Carddass Masters Perfect Visuals. The set was made up of the 110 cards as seen in the game along with 72 artwork cards and a collector's edition playing mat. The cards have a blue side and a red side. The cards have become a rare collector's item.