Locke Cole

Locke Cole is a playable character from Final Fantasy VI. He is a Thief, but he prefers to be called a "Treasure Hunter." In fact, a running gag is that people call Locke a thief and in response he insists (sometimes with a threat) that he's a treasure hunter. His Japanese name is Lock.

Development Information
Locke's design was originally that of a slightly-older, dark and mysterious partner of the male protagonist that became Terra Branford. He was supposed to be a rival of sorts to the other. He was the one that had the Runic command. As development proceeded his personality was tweaked and eventually became the more "regular" character he is now.

Character and Appearance
Locke is a treasure hunter in his mid-twenties. He wears a blue vest and matching pants, though concept art shows his attire being black, all worn over a white shirt. He also has light brown hair. His most notable feature is his multi-colored bandanna which is shown in his Amano artwork, though his sprite shows it as a solid-blue headband. However, some people would argue that the blue part covering the top of his head is also part of the bandanna, and that the yellowish band is merely the underside's color, having been rolled up and folded to form a sweatband-esque line at his brow.

Locke is first introduced as something of a ladies man (though not to the degree of Edgar), and he puts his life on the line to save Terra, a girl he barely knows. It’s revealed, however, that he has vowed himself to protect any woman after the loss of his love, Rachel. Locke continues to feel guilty over Rachel's death, believing her amnesia and death both to be his fault, sparking his continual search for a way to revive her to right his wrongs. Though he doesn't directly tell her, Celes reminds him of Rachel, which is one of the primary motivations for Locke falling for her during the course of the game. Locke is also shown to be a brave and caring man, and somewhat enjoy jokes, making many of them throughout the game about Edgar's flirtatious nature.

Story
In his youth, Locke used to travel with his father, who was a treasure hunter. Eventually his father died and people in Kohlingen started treating Locke like a common thief. Rachel was the only person who didn't consider him as such, and they fell in love, but her father didn't like him still. In an attempt at proving himself to Rachel's father, Locke went exploring a dangerous cave with Rachel.

However, a bridge was crumbling under Locke, and Rachel, out of love and devotion, rushed to save him. As a result, Rachel fell to her near death. Locke rescued her and took her home. He succeeded in nursing Rachel back to health, but she developed a case of amnesia, which forced her father to throw him out of their house, and the village of Kohlingen. Rachel agreed, because she lost her memory. Locke felt guilty for Rachel's loss of memory, and he tried to redeem himself by protecting every female he came across. One day, Kohlingen was destroyed in an Imperial attack, and Rachel died. As a result, Locke joined the Returners and began to help the resistance against the Empire.

At the dawn of the adventure, Arvis called Locke to Narshe to ask for assistance in helping Terra Branford. Locke was initially reluctant, due to her former affiliation with the Empire, but later agreed. He succeeded in rescuing Terra from the Empire's soldiers with the help of ten Moogles and took her to Figaro Castle as seen that Narshe was no longer safe. In Figaro, the king, Edgar Roni Figaro, offers her shelter. However, Kefka Palazzo was hot on Terra's tail, and asked Edgar of her whereabouts. Edgar lied, and this forced Kefka to burn the castle down. However, Locke, along with Edgar and Terra, managed to escape, and the castle burrowed underground. The trio then went to the Returner Hideout in the Sabre Mountains, and met up with Banon, the leader of the Returners.

During this time, the city of South Figaro was put under Imperial siege. Locke was asked to investigate, and he did so. During his time there, he learned that the Empire was planning another raid on Narshe, and he felt that he had to go to Narshe and warn the Elder. However, he could not get out of South Figaro alone. He had to sneak around houses and into the basement of the largest house in town, where an Imperial general, Celes Chere, was being interrogated. Locke rescued her, and vowed to protect her because she reminded him of Rachel, although Celes didn't know that at the time.

Locke and Celes headed to Narshe to warn the Elder. When they got there, Cyan Garamonde and Celes got into a small tussle, which Locke had to break up. Later, everyone gathered together to defend Narshe against Kefka and his troops, and they succeeded. However, after the battle, Terra reacted with the frozen Esper for the second time, and turned into an Esper and flew away. A search party had to be made for Terra's rescue. Terra was found in the city of Zozo, on top of the tallest tower. She was being cared for by Ramuh, who asked the party to go to Vector, the Imperial capital, and rescue the other imprisoned Espers, one of which, Maduin, was Terra's father. Celes agreed to lead the team, and Locke agreed to accompany her.

In order to get to Vector, the party needed an airship. In the town of Jidoor, Celes learned of a man named Setzer Gabbiani, who owned the only airship in the world: the Blackjack. She learned Setzer was in love with Maria, the star of the opera Aria di Mezzo Carattere, and that he would kidnap her. Locke had the idea of dressing up Celes as Maria in order to get Setzer's attention. The plan worked, despite Ultros's plans to ruin the opera. Setzer agreed, as the result of a coin toss, to take the party to Vector.

In the Magitek Research Facility, the party found the espers they needed. However, freeing them turned them into magicite, a secret which was immediately discovered by the head Magitek engineer, Cid Del Norte Marquez. Kefka found out, too, and ordered Celes to come with him. This caused Locke to question Celes' loyalty, but Celes saved Locke and his friends from death by Kefka's troops right before Kefka kidnapped her again. Cid then helped Locke and his friends escape via a mine cart. They met up with Setzer later, who took them back to Zozo to save Terra.

Afterwards, the party headed to Narshe for a strategy meeting with the Elder, Arvis, and Banon. The strategy would be for Terra to contact the espers and have them attack Vector from the east, while a coalition of Returners and Narshe guards struck from the north. Terra then led a party through the Cave to the Sealed Gate to reach the Land of Espers. However, they were ambushed by Kefka, and had to escape. The espers attacked and destroyed the airship, and the party was forced to go to Vector, where Gestahl seemed to have surrendered. Gestahl asked if Terra would help negotiate peace with the espers, and she agreed. Locke agreed to accompany her to Crescent Island.

In the port of Albrook, Terra and Locke met up with General Leo Cristophe, who would be leading the expedition, the mercenary Shadow, and Celes. Locke jumped in surprise, and did not know what to say to Celes. The night before departure, Locke tried to talk to and apologize to Celes outside the inn, but she ran away. On the boat to Crescent Island, Locke got seasick and embarrassed himself in front of Shadow. Shortly before landing, Celes tried to say something to him, but he turned and walked away.

Locke, accompanied by Terra and Shadow, went to the town of Thamasa, where they met up with Strago Magus, the elder of the town. That night, Strago asked Terra and Locke to help him rescue his granddaughter, Relm Arrowny. They agreed and succeeded. Strago then agreed to help Terra and Locke look for the espers, so they headed for the Espers' Gathering Place. Relm followed them, and caught up with them during a fight with Ultros. The foursome continued on to the area where the espers were hiding. Terra and Locke spoke to their leader, Yura, and took him to Thamasa for negotiations with Leo. At Thamasa, Locke and Celes reconciled. However, Kefka interrupted the negotiations and wounded everyone but Leo, who tried to fight Kefka and was murdered by him. Kefka told everyone that this was all a set up to get more magicite, and as a result, he killed Yura and the other espers and collected their magicite. He then headed for the Sealed Gate to collect more, and as a result, the Statues were revived and the Land of Espers became the Floating Continent. Terra, Locke, Strago, Relm, and Celes then met up with everybody else, and attacked the Floating Continent, but failed, as Kefka moved the Statues out of place and the Apocalypse took place.

One year later, Locke heard a legend of the legendary esper Phoenix, which was said to revive the dead. He wanted to use it to revive Rachel, so he headed for the Phoenix Cave to find it. The rest of the party eventually found him there, and invited him to Kohlingen. Locke then used the esper on Rachel, who was revived, and told Locke to stop feeling his guilt. She then died again. Locke, rejuvenated, joined Celes and the others to fight Kefka. In the ending, Celes, who had possession of Locke's bandana at the time, dropped it and went to get it, forcing Locke to save her. This event prompted Locke to utter the line, "I won't let go, I promise".

Equipment and Stats
Being a Thief, Locke has high speed, evasion, and physical stats, but low magic stats. His equipment draw includes most daggers and swords, as well as several boomerangs. He can use all shields except the Gold Shield, lightweight vests and hats, and most heavy armor. If customized properly, Locke can be the strongest party member that can kill superbosses in a matter of seconds.

Starting equipment

 * Dirk
 * Leather Hat
 * Leather Armor

Abilities
Locke's special ability is Steal, which he can use to steal items from his opponents. The success rate of Steal is proportional to his level and the enemy's level. If Locke is equipped with a Sneak Ring, the success rate is doubled. There is a 7/8 chance that a common item will be stolen, and a 1/8 chance that a rare item will be stolen. If Locke equips the Thief Glove, Steal is upgraded into Capture, which allows Locke to steal and deal damage in the same turn. (Note in the GBA remake, Sneak Ring is called Thief's Bracelet, Thief Glove is Brigand's Gloves and Capture is Mug)

The player needs Locke in the party in order to unlock buildings in Narshe (World of Ruin). This allows the player to access both the Ragnarok and the Cursed Shield, both of which lead to powerful items and abilities for the party.

Musical Themes
Locke has a theme song. The theme is also found in the songs "Forever Rachel" and the ending theme.

Other Appearances

 * Locke has appeared in Final Fantasy VI: The Interactive CG Game as a playable character.
 * Namesakes of his have appeared in Secret of Evermore, in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest as a playable character (see Tristam), and in Final Fantasy IX as an NPC.
 * Locke was considered as a candidate for Dissidia Final Fantasy but was left out in favour of Terra, who has a closer link to Kefka than Locke. However, he makes a small cameo appearance as a tutor from the in-game manual.
 * In Order of the Stick, Elan dresses up as Locke when he tries to board an airship (presumably the Blackjack or the Falcon) with Thog dressed up as Mog. The wig and bandanna were discarded when he was discovered to be a fake, although he retains all other parts of Locke's clothing style.

Trivia

 * Locke's Desperation Attack, Mirage Dive, is a Band ability in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. It is used by Edge and Kain.