Rikku is a spirited fifteen-year-old Al Bhed. The Al Bhed are a sort of "untouched" race of people, who are often shunned because they dare to use Machina (ancient machines, supposedly one of the downfalls of Zanarkand). The use of machines has been forbidden by Yevon, the main religion of Spira (Spira is the world in which the game takes place). The Al Bhed do not follow Yevon, however, and they frequently use Machina, much to the outrage of many Yevonites.
The Al Bhed tribe lives in a place called Home, which is located in the desert. They are easily recognized from other humans by their rather eccentric outfits and hair styles, and their green eyes with swirly patterns. (Auron used Rikku's eyes to identify her as an Al Bhed.) They also have their own language, which you can learn by finding Al Bhed Primers throughout the game. Rikku can speak both languages fluently.
Rikku's father, Cid, is the leader of the Al Bhed tribe, and she has one older brother, who is simply called "Brother" in the game (or "Aniki" in Japanese, which means "Older Brother"). Rikku is also the blood cousin of Yuna, the heroine of the game (Yuna's mother, an Al Bhed, was Cid's sister).
Rikku is very fond of Yuna, whom she calls "Yunie" in the English version of the game; she knows what Yuna's pilgrimage means, and she doesn't want to see anything bad happen to Yuna. Probably, Rikku identifies most with Tidus since they have very similar personalities. Rikku admires Lulu's maturity and wants to be like her; Kimahri, when Rikku mentions this about Lulu, says he thinks Rikku is best the way she is <3 And Rikku's relationship with Wakka is the most complicated - they start off as friends, until Wakka, a fierce Yevon follower, discovers she's an Al Bhed. Then he gets pissy, but after learning more about Yevon and Rikku, they become friends again. Rikku is fiercely loyal to all of her friends, a quality I admire about her.
She is very cheerful, bouncy, and somewhat hyper, always trying to look at the positive side. Although she does not like Yevon, she's not vocal about it until forced to defend herself against Wakka. Unlike Yevon followers who seem to believe that Yevon is right about everything, Rikku thinks people should form their own beliefs instead of blindly following and never questioning. Rikku likes to cheer people up; she is deathly afraid of thunder (from a bad childhood experience), and some of her mannerisms include saying "ya know?" (in the English version of the game) and bouncing around in place.
Gamewise, she starts off as a Thief. Using the Sphere grid, you can make her learn other class skills, also. Her Overdrive skill is Mix (Compound in Japanese), which involves mixing two ingredients together to come up with some sort of concoction, whatever it may be - an elemental item, non-elemental item, healing item, etc. The end product depends on the ingredients used.
Rikku returns as a main character in Final Fantasy X-2, the first Final Fantasy sequel game in the franchise's history. Teaming up with Yuna and new arrival Paine, Rikku sports a skimpier outfit and new skills. Using the game's new Dress Sphere system, the player can change her class at will, from the Mage classes to the Gunner class to the Thief class, and several others.
Rikku is my favorite character from FFX, and one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters ever. I personally think she's adorable beyond belief, and I love her to bits. While there have been FF characters similar to her in previous games, I think she's way cooler and more fun. She's not annoying like Yuffie (whom I haven't forgiven for stealing my Materia), and while I like Selphie, Rikku strikes me as more independent and mature than Selphie, since she knows what she wants to do and how to do it.
