This is my partner, Angelo. Angelo is really smart!
Rinoa Heartilly
Angelo (アンジェロ, Anjero?), full name Sant' Angelo di Roma[1], is Rinoa's pet dog in Final Fantasy VIII. Despite the masculine name, Angelo is female. The player can choose a different name for Angelo when meeting Rinoa with the Forest Owls, and the player may change Angelo's name any time with the Pet's Nametag item.
Angelo appears during Rinoa's Limit Breaks, or randomly during battle on her own. The player can gain new moves for her by reading the Pet Pals magazines found throughout the game and then setting the moves to be learned from Rinoa's Status screen in the menu.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Angelo's design is based on a tricolored Australian Shepherd that one of Tetsuya Nomura's co-workers owned during the game's production.[citation needed] Angelo is a mid-sized long-coated dog with dark brown fur with a white belly and tan accents. She has brown eyes, folded ears, and no tail.
Personality[]
Angelo is a brave dog always ready to protect her owner. She gets sad and whines when Rinoa leaves her behind. She barks excitedly when Rinoa calls her over, and Rinoa says she is very smart, able to pick up new tricks quickly.
Story[]
Angelo's profile in Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania reveals her full name and date of birth, as well as how Rinoa came to own her: Rinoa found Angelo at the Timber pet shop when she was just a puppy. Without telling her father, Rinoa bought Angelo on impulse.
Rinoa introducing Angelo to Squall.
Angelo is with Rinoa at the Forest Owls' base when Squall, Zell and Selphie are hired by the group to kidnap Vinzer Deling, the president of Galbadia. When Squall is asked to fetch Rinoa from her room, she introduces Squall to Angelo, explaining how the latter helps her in battle. Rinoa asks Angelo to wait while they discuss strategy with the others, and Angelo whines, dissatisfied of being left out.
Angelo accompanies Rinoa for most of her journey, helping her and the others in battle when the need arises. After Rinoa becomes comatose Squall takes her to Esthar to meet with Ellone whom he hopes could help her, but after discovering Ellone has gone to the Lunar Base, an Estharian space station, Squall and Rinoa are sent up there leaving Angelo behind. Zell's group finds her at the Lunar Gate where she howls in distress for having been separated from Rinoa.
Rinoa, Squall, and Angelo by the flower field.
Angelo returns to Rinoa's side after she returns from space, now recovered from her coma. After Squall saves Rinoa from the Sorceress Memorial, the group escapes to Edea's House where Angelo stays by Rinoa's side on the edge of the flower field. Angelo accompanies the party to the future where they fell the evil Sorceress Ultimecia. They return to their own time, and during the festivities at Balamb Garden Angelo roams about the party, perhaps looking for Rinoa. She is last seen at the balcony, observing Rinoa who is sharing a moment with Squall.
Gameplay[]
Name[]
Angelo can be renamed when Rinoa introduces her pet to Squall in the Forest Owls' Base. Afterward, she can still be renamed with a Pet Nametag item, used in the menu. If the player renames Angelo, her abilities that use the name are also renamed. For example, Angelo Rush would be called [Name] Rush. Angelo's Triple Triad card will not be renamed, and will be called "Angelo" regardless.
Limit Break: Combine[]
Rinoa and Angelo.
Although Angelo appears in particular scenes as an NPC, she functions primarily as Rinoa's first Limit Break. When Rinoa's Limit activates, the player may select "Combine" to summon Angelo into battle. Angelo rushes to the battlefield, performs one from her pool of four aggressive tricks, then flees. The trick performed depends upon the party's current Crisis Level; bigger the crisis the more advanced a move Angelo will perform.
Conversely, any of Angelo's four passive tricks may activate during battle without character input as long as Rinoa is in the active party: one as a counterattack against an enemy that has inflicted direct damage to Rinoa; two as recovery countermeasures of any party member in Critical or KO status; and, one to search the battlefield for random items. The chance of the three tricks other than Angelo Rush counterattack occurring depends upon the unseen "Dead Time" variable, in conjunction with whether the player has yet acquired the Gilgamesh Guardian Force.
Angelo starts with Angelo Rush and Angelo Cannon. To gain access to the remainder of her repertoire, the player must obtain six issues of the Pet Pals magazine.
Angelo is left behind with Zell before Rinoa and company are blasted into orbit. The commandeering of the Ragnarok from its Propagator threat marks the only point in the game where Rinoa cannot Combine with Angelo.
Pet Pals Magazine[]
Pet Pals is a dog magazine that informs Rinoa of new tricks to teach Angelo. Once the magazine has been read from the Item inventory, that issue's trick will be listed in Rinoa's Status screen, and the player may select from the list of tricks for Angelo to learn by having Rinoa in the active party and walking on the field. A distinct chime indicates a trick's mastery.
Triple Triad[]
Despite not being a Guardian Force, Angelo's Card is categorized as a Level 8 GF Card. Angelo's card is won from Watts who is only found in unrevisitable locations. All cards are still available in endgame if the player completes the Card Club quest before the boss battle at the top of Lunatic Pandora that marks the end of Disc 3. The card modifies into 100 Elixirs.
Other appearances[]
PocketStation memorycard icons[]
An icon sprite of Angelo appears in the PocketStation memorycard file manager.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT[]
Angelo with Rinoa.
Rinoa fights with Angelo. The maneuvers are based on the pair's Combine moves from Final Fantasy VIII. Angelo also appears as a player icon.
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]
Angelo appears in Rinoa's artwork and in battle when Rinoa uses Angelo Cannon, Wishing Star, Wings of the Heart, and the resulting Bravery and HP Attacks. She also appears as a character in select story scenes.
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]
Angelo's Combine moves appear as well as the Pet Pals magazines.
- Ability Cards
- Legend Cards
Final Fantasy All the Bravest[]
Rinoa's attack is Angelo Cannon. Rinoa launches Angelo off her wrist and into the enemy when performing her attack.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
Angelo appears in Rinoa's default Soul Break, Angelo Cannon.
Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances[]
The Bouncer[]
Angelo appears in the beat 'em up game The Bouncer as a mascot for the DOG STREET fashion brand, to which a reference would later appear on Pence's shirt in the Kingdom Hearts series. Sion Barzahd, the main protagonist of The Bouncer, wears a choker with an Angelo pendant and has the Angelo logo printed on the back of his trademark red hoodie.
Behind the scenes[]
Angelo shares some similarities with Interceptor of Final Fantasy VI. Like Angelo, Interceptor often appears in battle when his owner Shadow is in the party. When anyone in the party is attacked, there is a small chance he will counter with a tackle attack.
In the storyline of Patch 5.1 of Final Fantasy XIV, Alisaie Leveilleur names her newly-created familiar "Angelo." She later states in passive dialogue that she isn't sure why she felt compelled to name the porxie after her childhood dog.
Merchandise[]
An action figure of Angelo, manufactured by Bandai, was included in the Collectable Box Set of Final Fantasy VIII "Extra Soldiers" action figures released in 1999. It was never sold separately.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Angelo's full name, Sant' Angelo di Roma, means 'Holy Angel of Rome' in Italian. Angelo comes from the Latin word angelus meaning "angel". Angels are a recurring motif in Rinoa's design (e.g., the wing pattern on her duster, the Shooting Star blaster edge, her second Limit Break Angel Wing). Names ending in -o carry masculine connotation in Romance languages and the feminine equivalent would be Angela. However, Japanese is not a language of Latin origin, so no such trend exists in its lexicon. Sant'Angelo is also a rione, or administrative division, of Rome.
In the German and French localizations, she is called Angel.