Maria (Final Fantasy II)

Maria is the main deuteragonist of Final Fantasy II. She is one of Firion's permanent allies, and Leon's sister, but the two are separated at the beginning of the game. Maria's vocal sounds in the PlayStation remake Final Fantasy Origins were provided by Noriko Shitaya, who later on provided the voice of Rydia in the Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy IV.

Story
Maria's parents are killed during the Palamecian empire's strike against Fynn and she is taken in by the princess of Altair, Hilda. Firion asks if the three of them (Firion, Maria and Guy) could join the rebel army. After they are refused, Maria makes the statement they could not go home because Fynn has been taken over by the empire and that their parents have been killed. Hilda gives them the rebel password, Wild Rose, and allows them to stay in Altair. Maria, throughout the game, wants to defeat the empire, but also find her lost brother, Leon, who has been separated from her because of the empire's attack against Fynn.

Maria is later shocked to learn that one of the Emperor's servants, the Dark Knight, is actually Leon. When Leon attempts to crown himself Emperor after the original Emperor's first death, Maria accompanies Firion to confront him. The original Emperor returns from the dead, and Leon is forced to give up all dreams of ruling. After the Dark Emperor's return, Maria, Firion, Guy, and now Leon, head to Pandaemonium, the fortress of the Lord of Hell that has come to surface from Hell thanks to the Dark Emperor's powers. When the party faces the Dark Emperor, he is finally defeated. Leon separates from the party, but Maria does not want to separate from him again and tries to stop him from leaving. Firion stops her, saying that when Leon is ready to come back he will be welcome.

In the novelization Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū, Firion and Maria become a romantic couple at the end.

Stats and Traits
Maria's starting equipment is a Bow and her clothes. Out of the three starting characters Maria has the most Intelligence, making her suited to be made into a Black Mage by teaching her many offensive spells. She has the least Attack and HP among the three starting characters, and as her Stamina is lower than Firion's or Guy's, her HP will grow slower than theirs. On the up side her Agility is the highest, so she will often get first attack in battle early in the game. Her ultimate weapon in the Arcane Labyrinth is the Artemis Bow. Because the Key Terms that are optimal Maria are received after retaking Castle Fynn, she has the option to obtain her ultimate weapon the earliest of the three core party members.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy
Maria appears in Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Maria appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game with her Yoshitaka Amano artwork and artwork from Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls.

Trivia

 * Maria is the first obviously female playable character in the series since the playable characters from the first Final Fantasy had no designated genders unless the player named them as such.
 * Maria is seventeen years old in the Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū novelization.

Maria María (Final Fantasy II) Maria