You first see Julia when you play the mysterious, new character, Laguna Loire. As he and his fellow soliders race through the fields of Timber, they arrive to Deling City to the Galbadia Hotel where Laguna and Gang assume their usual seats and their usual order. A woman appears and walks toward the piano to perform. As she performs her well-known song, Laguna's partners encourage him to talk to her, as he has been awaiting for the moment where he would meet her face to face. As the goes to approach her at his piano, an embarassing moment occurs . . . his leg cramps and he hobbles around and tries to say something, but in the end returns to his table as friends playfully tease him. As they do, they suddenly leave Laguna at the table and he wonders why. A voice suddenly asks, "May I?" and he turns to see the face of the woman pianist. A burst of nervousness washes over him as he tries to speak. They start a conversation and then she tells him that it would be beter if they talk in her room because they would have privacy. He agrees and she tells him to go to the front desk and ask for her room.

The next scene is in Julia's room, as they talk about anything happening. Laguna begins to talk about his life as a soldier and his aspiration to be a journalist. He then asks about herself. Julia talks about the times she has seen him when she performs and how he is during those moments. She aspires to be a singer, but says that she is not good at writing lyrics. She then says that because of this moment, she thinks she can come up with something. Eventually, a knock comes to the door and Laguna is told to assemble to the front because of a mission. Julia asks him if they can meet again and Laguna tells her yes so he can hear her sing.

Just what is Julia's purpose in the entire game? Is she just there for an extra character? In fact, Julia may be one of the most important characters in the story. In the beginning, it is evident that Julia is in love with Laguna. Where does it go from there? Unfortunately, nowhere. Laguna was injured during a mission and was in care for several days, leading to months. Julia waited, but there was no Laguna. So she married the Galbadian General Caraway, who comforted her during that traumatic event. When Laguna was better, he asked about Julia and heard that she was a famous singer for her song, "Eyes on Me" and that she was married to General Caraway. The news took Laguna by surprise that Raine, the person who took care of him, wondered if he known her.

During the marriage of Caraway and Julia, they had a child, who the general says looks like her mother, which he is thankful for. Unfortunately, when that child was nearly five, Julia suffered a tragic event . . . a car crash that caused her death at a young age of 28, with Caraway and their daughter, Rinoa, as her survivors.

Throughout the entire game, one is told who Rinoa's father is, but is never told directly who her mother is. Rinoa talks to Squall about how she enjoyed being with her mother, always comforting her, but never technically mintions her name. That, in fact, is Julia, whose last name is Heartilly, which is Rinoa's last name. One wonders why Rinoa's last name is not Caraway, which is the last name of her father, but many reasons may be that cause of that, such as the fact that Rinoa did not get along with her father very well because she is a resistance leader while he is a government official or perhaps it was the last name that was chosen for her at birth. Who knows?

Overall, Julia is an important character in the story. Without her, there would be no Rinoa and the song to Laguna, "Eyes on Me" would have never occured. If there was no Rinoa, Squall would probably stay the same as he was in the beginning of the game. Each character has their importance in the game and Julia Heartilly was one of them.