Leon (Final Fantasy II)

Leon, or Leonhart, is one of the playable characters in Final Fantasy II. He is an ally but he also serves as the secondary antagonist throughout the game as the Emperor's Dark Knight.

Appearance
Leon is a young man with tanned skin, purple eyes, and spiked dark purple hair that is swept back. In his normal appearance, he carries a curved sword and wears dark purple armor trimmed with bronze with spiked pauldrons and bronze knee pads. He also wears leather boots and has a large red jewel on his belt. As the Emperor's Dark Knight, he wears an ornate set of black armor trimmed with gold, a helmet with curved gold horns, and a red cape. Leon's NES sprite is a modification of the Warrior sprite from the original Final Fantasy, colored blue and bronze instead and having a slightly different blue hairstyle, while his field sprite shows him with blue armor and red hair.

Personality
Leon's personality before becoming the Dark Knight is unknown, but he seems to have cared for his sister Maria deeply. As the Dark Knight, he is power-hungry and authoritative, often rude and harsh to Firion and his party. His dreams end up being dashed and he comes to regret his decisions, hoping that someday he will be forgiven.

In Bafsk, the citizens under his control appear mute and afterwards can't remember what it was like when he was in control, so he may have used dark powers like mind control.

Story
Leon is separated from his allies, including his sister Maria, during an attack by Palamecian Knights. He becomes the Emperor's Dark Knight, and fights against his former allies. It is never stated why Leon joins forces with the empire and the Emperor. He was once the leader of the building of Dreadnought but was later replaced by Borghen, forced to work behind the scenes to put on the finishing touches.

When Firion and his party go to Bafsk to stop the construction of the Dreadnought, Leon informs them they are too late and the Dreadnought is complete. When Firion and the others drop the Sunfire in the engine, Leon comes to see what happened to the engine and Maria recognizes his voice. He later appears to capture Firion and the others who try to rescue Hilda. After the Emperor is destroyed in the Cyclone, Leon attempts to crown himself Emperor, but is forced to flee with Firion and Maria after the Emperor returns from the dead in demonic form.

Leon joins forces with Firion, Maria, and Guy to defeat the Emperor at the Pandaemonium. After the Dark Emperor's death, Leon states that "too much has gone on between us" (referring to Firion's party). He implies he and Firion will meet again one day and leaves. Firion comments that when he is ready to return, Leon will be welcomed with open arms.

Gameplay
Since Leon is removed from the party following the initial battle, it is impossible to see his equipped armor or stats other than his starting 30 HP and 5 MP. He wields a Broadsword and a Buckler; they can be unequipped from him in the remake versions, and they will not be lost after the battle.

Leon's stats are higher than most of the characters when the player regains him, unless the player has done a lot of grinding. Leon starts off with no spells and very little MP, but has high Intelligence so he can be effective with Black Magic. His Stamina and Magic are high so his HP and MP will grow quickly. He has high Strength and is proficient to some degree with all weapon types. His initial equipment is a Flame Sword and a Poison Axe as weapons, and a set of diamond equipment for armor. Leon's ultimate weapon in the Arcane Labyrinth is the Longinus, making spears the weapon to focus him in if the player wishes to use it well.

Initial stats

 * Stats


 * Proficiencies

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Leon appears as a Legend.

Ability Cards=


 * -|Legend Cards=

Final Fantasy Record Keeper


Leon is a playable character, automatically recruited to the party as the First-Time Reward for completing the Record of the Jade Passage on Classic difficulty. He has also appeared in the Challenge Event Seer of Destiny, where he was the First-Time Reward for completing Leviathan on the Classic difficulty track.

Leon is a Dark Knight whose combat role is Physical Attack.
 * Assessment

Much like his adoptive brother Firion, Leon is proficient in several types of weapons. Like his sister Maria, he can use Black Magic, although to a lesser extent and with much less power than she can. On his own, Leon is a solid Knight whose combat skills are sharp and whose physical stats develop quickly as he levels up; in later levels, he is a slightly better tank than Firion. Particularly striking is that his Resistance is also quite high compared to others in the same type of role, though low on the game's 5-point scale. As with Maria, the path to Leon is difficult, but the reward is worth its price.


 * Stats

Leon can use Black Magic up to rarity rank 3, Physical/Combat up to rarity rank 5, and Other/Knight up to rarity rank 5.
 * Abilities

His initial Soul Break is Hypnotize, which, at the expense on one Soul Gauge segment, confuses all targets. The armor Golden Armor (II) allows Leon to use Hand of the Emperor, which, at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment, raises Attack and Defense of all targets.

Leon can equip the following weapon types: daggers, sword, axes, spears, and bows.
 * Equipment

He can equip the following armor types: shields, Hats, light armor, armor, and bangles. The armor Golden Armor (II) allows Leon to use Hand of the Emperor.

He can equip accessories.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Leon appears with his Yoshitaka Amano and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls artwork. His card is ice-elemental.

Triple Triad (Portal App)
Leon appears on a Triple Triad card.

Trivia

 * Leon is the first Dark Knight in the series.
 * Leon is the first antagonist who later becomes an ally for the party.
 * Leon is the first antagonist in the series that is related to a playable character.
 * Leon's Japanese name, Leonhart, is also the last name of Squall, the main character from Final Fantasy VIII. In the Kingdom Hearts series, Squall changed his name to Leon after failing to save Hollow Bastion from the Heartless.
 * In Final Fantasy IV, the King of Fabul gives Cecil Harvey the Deathbringer and says a Dark Knight left it there years ago. In the Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen guide, the name of this Dark Knight was Leonheart. The guide mentions he lived approximately 100 years before the events of the game, and was said to have renounced the Dark Sword to become a priest, somewhat echoing Cecil's journey to become a Paladin a century later. His sword remained a centerpiece in the Temple of Fabul until it was given to Cecil by the king.
 * Leon's design by Yoshitaka Amano influenced Caius's design from Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * Leon is nineteen years old in the Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū novelization.