Characters of Final Fantasy II
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- This article is about characters from the Famicom title. For characters from the SNES title, see List of Final Fantasy IV characters.
This is a list of characters in the role-playing game Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy II was the first of the Final Fantasy series to feature player characters with names and stories, as opposed to the original Final Fantasy's Light Warriors, whose identities were left entirely to the player. The names in the Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls remake are used in this article.
[edit] Main player characters
While there are nine player characters in the game, only three of them remain in the party for the entire course of the journey.
[edit] Firion
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Firion (in Japanese Frioniel (フリオニール Furionīru?)) serves as the primary protagonist of Final Fantasy II. Orphaned at a young age, Firion was adopted by the parents of Maria and Leon, and now considers himself part of their family. After the Empire's attack on Fynn, Firion assumes the role of "leader" of the party made up of Maria and their childhood friend Guy. In assisting the Wild Rose rebellion against the Empire, Firion and the rest are constantly on search for Leon, who was separated from the team. Judging from his swordsmanship skills, Firion is assumed to belong to the Fighter or Warrior character class (his Famicom sprite is nearly identical to that of the Fighter's Famicom sprite). His sprite in newer versions of the game, however, more closely resembles that of a typical Thief class sprite. Firion starts with a sword but has equal skill with all weapons and very basic starting stats. This makes him the most customizable playable character and technically means that he can be any class the player desires.
[edit] Maria
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Maria (マリア?) is the beautiful heroine of Final Fantasy II. Sister to Leon and adoptive sister to Firion, Maria is a kind-hearted and strong-willed individual. After the Emperor's attack on Fynn, Maria greatly suffers inside from the disappearance of her brother, and thus becomes very determined to find him. Though female protagonists of the Final Fantasy series often develop a romantic relationship with a male hero, Maria seems to be void of a love interest, but she does dance with Firion at the Waltz part of the game, and she does have a good relationship with him. Skilled in archery, Maria is likely the origin of the Archer, Hunter, and Ranger character classes of later games in the series. While her sprite on the original release resembles what might be a female Fighter, her high intelligence and weak attack makes her more ideal for the Black Mage character class.
[edit] Guy
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Guy (ガイ Gai?) (Gus in the enhanced remake of the game as part of Final Fantasy Origins) is a tough childhood friend of Firion, Maria, and Leon and escapes Fynn with them, when the town is under attack by the Emperor of Palamecia. The origin of his name may come from the fact that he is an overly-stereotypical male - with extraordinary amounts of physical strength, but lacking in the department of intelligence. (This not only applies to the game story-wise, but is also true of Guy's gameplay status at the beginning of the game.) Despite the fact that somewhat unintelligent Guy can hardly speak properly, he has the uncanny ability to communicate with beavers. It is a possibility that Guy may not be mentally challenged at all, however, and that he may have been raised in the wild, allowing him to communicate with animals and bear super-human strength at the expense of having poor language skills (It should be noted that the name 'Guy' is very similar to 'Gau' of Final Fantasy VI; a boy raised in the wild who can speak to animals and suffers in language skills, though their appearances are almost the exact opposite of each other). Though his sprite for the original release of the game slightly resembles that of Thief's (of Final Fantasy) sprite, Guy begins with an axe but can be trained with any weapon.
[edit] Supporting player characters
Six player characters temporarily join the party to assist Firion, Maria, and Guy in their missions for the rebellion, each offering special services to the team.
[edit] Gordon
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Gordon (ゴードン Gōdon?) is the Prince of Kashuan who has been a member of the Wild Rose rebellion since the Emperor of Palamecia's attack on Fynn. During the attack, Gordon retreated, while his brother Scott stood his ground in the battle, losing his life as a result. Unable to forgive himself for abandoning his own brother, Gordon is determined to gain courage through his further assistance to the rebellion. With certain knowledge of the Sunfire and Egil's Torch, Gordon is recruited into the party in Castle Kashuan. He also assists the party in their attack on the Emperor's airship, the Dreadnought, but leaves the party to command the rebellion's army, as part of the King of Fynn's dying wishes. Gordon does, however, return to the party one last time to help rescue Princess Hilda from the Emperor's Coliseum, before leaving the party once again. Though he wields a spear instead of a sword, the story of the game suggests that Gordon is part of the Knight character class.
[edit] Josef
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Josef (ヨーゼフ Yōsefu?) is a kind soul living with his wife and daughter in the snow mountain village of Salamand. Though not necessarily a member of the rebellion, Josef is a true asset to those opposing the Emperor of Palamecia. With great knowledge of the land, Josef first leads Firion, Maria, Guy, and Minwu to obtain the silver material in Semmit Falls, hoping that it can be used to create sturdy armor for the rebellion. Firion is later informed by Princess Hilda that the Sunfire can be used to destroy the Empire's airship — Dreadnought — but must obtain the Goddess's Bell in order to retrieve the mystical flames. The Bell is located in the Snow Cavern, an area only familiar to Josef. Josef joins Firion, Maria, and Guy to retrieve the Bell, and they do so. After killing the Emperor's evil henchman Borghen, a giant boulder emerges as a trap to kill the heroes. Josef uses all his strength to stop the boulder, ultimately sacrificing his life by doing so. Though there are no "set" character classes in the game, Josef strongly resembles the Monk or Black Belt class from Final Fantasy, trained in the martial arts and fighting best without any weapons.
In Final Fantasy IX, Josef's story is told by the eidolon Ramuh to Zidane and his party.
[edit] Leila
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Leila (in Japanese Reila (レイラ Reira?)) is an adventurous girl who speaks in pirate-like jargon and who first encounters the party when she offers Firion, Maria, and Guy transportation to the island of Deist, where the party is hoping to recruit Dragoons into the rebellion's army. However, the offer turns out to have been merely a ruse to lure the party onto her ship to rob them, as Leila is really a pirate, and as soon as the ship leaves the harbor, the party is ambushed by Leila's swashbuckling crew. However, the pirates are defeated, but instead of taking Leila's life, Firion chooses to recruit the pirates into the rebellion army, and Leila joins the party. However, she leaves when Gordon rejoins the party to rescue Princess Hilda. She soon, though, rejoins the party to help the rebellion retake Castle Fynn. Later, when sailing to the Mysidian Tower, the party is swallowed by Leviathan. With Leila missing, Firion takes her for dead, only to find her alive and well later in Castle Fynn with Hilda and Gordon. For the rest of the game, she is always standing by their thrones, presumably advising them and offering the services of her pirate crew to the Rebellion (she even takes temporary control of the entire rebel army when Gordon leaves to rescue Hilda). Like Guy, Leila's sprite for the Famicom version of the game resembles that of a Black Belt's. However, as a pirate, and for having high skill in daggers and swords, she can be associated with the Thief class. Also, as the only character who already knows black magic when joing the party, she can be classified as a Black Mage.
[edit] Leon
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Leon (in Japanese Leonhart (レオンハルト Reonharuto?)) is Maria's brother, Firion's adoptive brother, and Guy's childhood friend. He is left handed. Though initially he sides with the three previously-mentioned characters, he soon follows a different path than the others. After the Emperor's attack on Fynn, Leon mysteriously disappears. Though Firion, Maria, and Guy wish to search for Leon, they soon begin to focus more on their duties as members of the Wild Rose rebellion. Soon enough, however, Maria recognizes the voice of the Emperor's newly appointed right-hand man, the Dark Knight as that of her brother. After Firion, Maria, Guy, and Ricard kill the Emperor, the Dark Knight reveals himself to be Leon and declares himself the new Emperor of Palamecia. Maria believes Leon is under a spell but the party finds out Leon simply desires power over friendship and confronts them. Unhappy with Leon's self-promotion, the true Emperor returns from Hell to unleash his anger on Leon and destroy the world. Leon then joins the party in hopes of truly ridding the world of the Emperor. After killing the Emperor, Leon tells Firion, Maria, and Guy that he will not return to live together in peace with them after they've all been through. Leon is most likely the namesake of the more-popular Final Fantasy VIII character Squall Leonhart. The name Leonhart is both Squall's last name and also is very close to the name of Squall's strongest gunblade — the Lion Heart. Squall also uses the name Leon in Kingdom Hearts.
[edit] Minwu
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Minwu (Ming-Wu (ミンウ Minnu?) in the original Japanese release and Mindu in the enhanced remake for the PlayStation) is skilled in the arts of white magic and serves as a White mage for the Wild Rose rebellion. When Princess Hilda tells Firion, Maria, and Guy to seek Cid for more information on airships, Minwu joins the party to accomany them to Poft and then to Josef's home town of Salamand to retrieve Mythril. When the party returns to the rebel base in Altair, they are given orders to destroy the Dreadnought in Fynn, but fail in doing so. Once again the party returns to Altair, only to discover that the King of Fynn has fallen even further ill. Minwu leaves the party to provide his healing services to the king. Later, when the king is beyond help, he gives his dying wishes to the party. Gordon is to lead the army, Firion is to recruit Dragoons into the army, and Minwu is to go in search for the Ultima scroll. Minwu then remains absent until the end of the game, when Firion, Maria, Guy, and Ricard reach the top of the Mysidian tower to find Minwu. To break the seal on the spell, Minwu uses all his power, and by doing so, kills himself. Minwu has a complete set of white magic at the time of his recruitment, making him an ideal White Mage. His style of dress is similar to that of the Mystic Knight job of Final Fantasy V.
In Soul of Rebirth, Minwu finds himself in Raqia (which he believes to be Jade) after his death. Accompanied by Scott, Josef, and Ricard, Minwu tries to understand where they all are. In one area of this world, Minwu comes across a room identical to the one in Mysidian tower, the very room where he died to break the seal on Ultima. In this room Minwu breaks the seal and takes the Ultima spell, but not before he and his group are forced to face the spell's guardian, the Ultima Weapon.
[edit] Ricard Highwind
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Richard Highwind (Richard Highwind (リチャード Richādo?) in the original Japanese versions, Gareth in the PlayStation enhanced remake, and Edward Highwind in an unfinished prototype) is the first Dragoon to appear in the Final Fantasy series. Firion, Maria, and Guy first encounter Ricard when they are swallowed by Leviathan on their way to the Mysidian Tower, where they planned to search for the Ultima Scroll and Minwu. Ricard reveals that he is also in search of the Scroll, and joins the party. When visiting Castle Deist, Ricard learns that he is the sole survivor of the Dragoons, save Kain, the child of a Dragoon man, and a non-Dragoon woman named Elina. When the Emperor's Cyclone appears, wreaking havoc upon the world, Ricard calls forth the Wyvern's offspring from Castle Fynn, who takes them to the Tower, where they defeat the Emperor. Later, in Castle Palamecia, the Emperor reappears from Hell to destroy the party, as well as humankind. In an attempt to save his friends, Ricard calls forth his wyvern to save Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon, while he takes on the Emperor, losing his own life. Though the story classifies Ricard as a Dragoon, he is far more skilled with a sword than a spear (the typical Dragoon's weapon of choice in later games in the series) and is completely void of the class's signature ability: Jump. Also unlike the character archetype, Ricard is right-handed, not left. However, in the Dawn of Souls remake, Ricard is better with a spear, and his best weapon in Soul of Rebirth is the Wyvern Lance. Ricard's surname is shared by the Dragoon Kain Highwind of Final Fantasy IV, and many other wielders of spears, such as Cid Highwind of Final Fantasy VII.
[edit] Major non-player characters
Final Fantasy II also features many non-player characters, both good and evil.
[edit] Borghen
Borghen (in Japanese Borgen (ボーゲン Bōgen?) is a servant of the Emperor and subordinate to the Dark Knight; he was an ally of the King, but betrayed the rebels at Fynn to become a general. As a result, Fynn fell to the Empire and the King was mortally wounded during his flight. Borghen relishes his new power position and abuses all of the soldiers under him; his men have nothing but contempt for Borghen and describe him as a blowhard. He is ordered by the Dark Knight to oversee the construction of the Dreadnought, but fails to prevent the party from inflitrating its port. Believing his life to be in danger from the Emperor due to his failure, he ambushes the party in revenge as they are trying to take the Goddess Bell from the Mimett mines. Borghen is easily beaten, but decides to go down fighting. With his dying breath, he sets off a trap that releases a giant boulder after the party. Sacrificing his own life to save his friends, Josef temporarily halts the boulder. Borghen later returns as a Zombie inside Pandaemonium, which holds the gateway to hell.
In "Soul of Rebirth" in Final Fantasy I & 2: Dawn of Souls, Zombie Borghen is fighting with Josef when Minwu and Scott arrive.
[edit] Cid
Cid (シド Shido?) is a freelance airship pilot living in Poft. He has set up shop in the local pub and offers passage to various points around the globe, for a price. As the owner of one of the few airships not maintained by the forces of the Emperor, Cid's aid is sought by the rebel princess, Hilda. With Cid's help, the rebellion devises a method to disable the Emperor's powerful airborne warship, the Dreadnought. After the destruction of the warship, Cid continues to offer his assistance to the rebel cause, but is fatally wounded by the whirlwinds unleashed upon the world by the Emperor. Right before he passes on, he bequeaths his airship to the rebels. According to Soul of Rebirth, before he was an airship pilot, he was a white knight; his abandoning this post is why he believes that he arrived in Raqia, the realm of fallen angels, which he believes to be Jade.
[edit] The Dark Knight
See Leon.
[edit] Elina
Elina (Elena in Final Fantasy Origins) is the wife to one of the last Dragoons, and friend to Ricard, living in Deist Castle with her son, Kain. Protector of the Wyvern, Elina offers Firion the Dragoon sword Excalibur toward the end of the game.
[edit] Emperor of Palamecia
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The Emperor of Palamecia (パラメキア皇帝 Paramekia Kōtei?) is a tyrannical villain of whom little is known. The Emperor's exterior, that of a startlingly handsome young man, conceals a personality of evil incarnate. He appears to be a cold-eyed, vain creature, totally bent on world conquest. The era of peace is shattered when the Emperor summons fiends from Hell to invade the world; his forces then mercilessly begin invading one country after another, without end. Although his empire is mighty, his forces often meet their match during encounters with the Wild Rose rebellion.
The most powerful of the Emperor's destructive devices is the Dreadnought airship, which threatens to turn the tide of the war. The party invades the Dreadnought while it is in port and use the Sunfire to destroy its reactor. The Emperor retaliates by summoning an even more deadly weapon, the devastating Cyclone, and takes refuge in a castle in the storm's eye. Inside, the Emperor's power fuels it and destroys several cities, but whilst channeling his energy into the Cyclone, he is vulnerable. The party flies into the Cyclone, riding on a Wind Drake, and slays the Emperor within its core.
The Emperor dies, but his evil spirit returns from Hell to resume the destruction of Earth. The once-beautiful ruler is distorted into a hideous monster. Once back on Earth, his dark energies cause the imperial palace to rise from the jagged mountaintops from where it sits and transform into the demonic fortress, Pandemonium. The party uses the same portal the Emperor opened to allow fiends into their dimension to reach Pandemonium and annihilate the Emperor for good.
In Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, a "light" version of the Emperor in heaven serves as a foil to the "dark" Emperor (who serves as the last boss of the game). He supposedly wishes for the forgiveness of the Soul of Rebirth heroes, but they realize that he is deceiving them. Minwu, Scott, Josef, and Ricard defeat the "light" Emperor in the "Soul of Rebirth" bonus quest.
In the Japan-exclusive novelization of the game Final Fantasy II Nightmare's Labyrinth (ファイナルファンタジーII 夢魔の迷宮 Fainaru Fantajī Tsū Muma no Meikyū?), the Emperor is given the name Mateus (マティウス?). This name would be used in reference to him in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as the Totema of the Hume race as well as in Final Fantasy XII as the ice-based Esper.
[edit] Hilda
Princess Hilda (ヒルダ Hiruda?) of Fynn took over the role of leader of the Wild Rose rebellion, after her father became mortally wounded in the Emperor's attack on Fynn. Though she is young, she has great leadership abilities and places much trust in Firion. At one point, a Queen Lamia impersonates Hilda and tries to seduce Firion, but is promptly defeated. Hilda is in fact captured by the Empire and is held at the Emperor's Colliseum, but the party manages to rescue her. She is the namesake of the Final Fantasy IX non-player character, Hilda, the wife of Cid Fabool IX, and the owner of the Steaming Sheep Tavern in Final Fantasy XI, Hilda, whom Cid shares a close relationship with.
[edit] Kain
Kain (who remains nameless in all versions of the game except for Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls) is the son of Elina and the last person with Dragoon blood after the death of Ricard. Though Kain's father is dead, Ricard says he will be Kain's new father, perhaps leading Kain to adopt the surname Highwind, and promises that he will become a dragoon. This suggests, but does not prove, that he is the same Dragoon of Final Fantasy IV fame: Kain Highwind.
[edit] The King of Fynn
The King of Fynn became mortally injured when struck by an arrow in the attack on Fynn. His dying wishes were for Minwu to find the Ultima Scroll, Gordon to take over the rebellion's military forces, and Firion to recruit Dragoons into the army.
[edit] Nelly
Nelly (Molly in Final Fantasy Origins) is Josef's daughter. She is devastated when she learns that he will never come back.
[edit] Paul
Paul (ポール Pōru?) (Pavel in Final Fantasy Origins) is an expert thief (he considers himself the very best, in fact) who gives Firion many tips throughout the game to help him on his quest, as he is part of the rebellion. His home is in Fynn. A little like Robin Hood, he steals only from the Empire, and gives to the Rebels. In the end he jokes that now the Empire is gone, he will have to steal from Firion and Co. now.
Paul's sprite originally looked like a ninja in the NES and Origins versions of Final Fantasy II, though the sprite was changed to be more consistent with his Amano artwork in Dawn of Souls. This was maybe because the portraits were all based off Amano's drawings.
[edit] Scott
Scott (スコット Sukotto?) is Gordon's brother and the other Prince of Kashuan. Engaged to marry Hilda, Scott meets his doom shortly after the siege on Fynn. Scott gives the party the Ring — a key item that allows the party to view the world map.
He also appears as a player character in Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls's "Soul of Rebirth" quest. Unlike the other playable characters in this game, whose stats are preserved from the main game when they die, Scott has to build his stats completely from the ground up. However, as he comes to the party with some skill in both white and black magic and wielding a sword, he could be considered a Red Mage.
[edit] Tobul
Tobul is the master smith of the rebellion, who creates powerful weapons once Firion returns to Altair with Mythril. He apparently dies when Altair is destroyed by the Cyclone; he appears in the afterlife of "Soul of Rebirth."
[edit] See also
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Final Fantasy characters • Final Fantasy II characters • Final Fantasy II locations I-II • Origins • Dawn of Souls |
