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.

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.

In 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 Abilities
Stats Proficiencies

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Leon appears as a Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

Ability Cards =


 * -|Legend Cards =

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

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.