![]() She is either in a coma, possessed by an evil sorceress, or both at the same time. However, Rinoa also finds herself in situations where she has to be rescued by Squall, and she does not have the same amount of agency in the back half of the game as she did in the front half. As the story progresses, she falls in love with Squall. When the mission fails, Rinoa joins Squall’s crew permanently. She hires Squall and his friends as mercenaries, and together they work together to defeat one of the game’s main antagonists, Sorceress Edea. Rinoa is a member of the Forest Owls, a resistance group working towards that goal. Instead, they meet her on a mission to free Rinoa’s hometown from the oppressive Galbadian empire. Rinoa does not attend Balamb Garden, the mercenary school that Squall and the rest of the characters attend. Despite that, she has moments throughout the narrative where she exists independently of him. Rinoa, the main female character, is caught in the middle of this whirlwind romance with the broody, introverted Squall. Even the game’s logo, which always depicts a theme of major importance to the story, is of Squall and Rinoa in an embrace. Sung beautifully by Faye Wong, Eyes On Me was a hit amongst gamers upon release. The song covers the themes and characters of the story very well. Long-time series composer Nobuo Uematsu wrote a pop ballad called Eyes On Me as a romantic theme for Squall and Rinoa. In all aspects of the game save for the mechanics, the romance is prioritized. However, no game commits to its romantic storyline the way Final Fantasy VIII does. ![]() Romance is no stranger to Final Fantasy with a couple of exceptions, there have been romance subplots woven into every game since Final Fantasy IV. The game’s narrative also introduces some firsts to the franchise from a story standpoint, most notably being the presence of a love story between main characters Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly, which drives the plot in a major way. The gameplay has a steep learning curve, the visuals lean harder into the steampunk, sci-fi aesthetic than ever, and the overall feeling is much more realistic compared to the stylized counterparts of the previous installments. It has its ardent supporters, but it also has its equally ardent naysayers.įinal Fantasy VIII is an odd game. Final Fantasy VIII is the most polarizing title in the history of the franchise, second only to Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy VIII tore apart everything fans thought they knew about the series in a way that reflected the jump between Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II in the late ‘80s. And what did they do? They broke everything. What was it? Create a game better than the biggest roleplaying game of the late 1990s, a game so iconic that it helped usher in a new era of heights to reach for in game development. Squaresoft had unlimited resources and the unadulterated goodwill of the gaming community. Written by Hayley Garden edited by Kathryn Cooperman. Check out our artist interview with Hayley! Written by guest contributor Hayley Garden, this post is the fifth in a series that discusses the role of female characters in the Final Fantasy franchise.
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