Bartz Klauser

Bartz Klauser (known as Butz Klauser in the RPGe fan translation of the Super Famicom version, and Batz in Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals) is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy V. He is the son of one of the original Warriors of Dawn, Dorgann Klauser, and a woman named Stella. His mother died when he was young, and his father died three years before the game begins. On advice from his father, Bartz decided to explore the world.

Before the player names him, he is known as ?, or ??? in the Advance version.

Personality and Appearance
Bartz has a slim muscular build. He has white hair in Yoshitaka Amano's artworks, with a tight-fitting shirt and trousers with various beads and sashes. His sprite art depicts him with brown hair, wearing a simple blue tunic, white shirt and trousers, and sometimes a red cape. Bartz's eyes are grayish or brown depending on the source. In sprite form, his eyes are blue. Officially, he is the tallest of the playable party.

Bartz is described as "a simple wanderer." He starts his adventure without many ambitions other than exploration as that is what his father wanted, and so he initially rejects Lenna's invitation to join her. However, his conscience (along with Boko's intervention) makes him change his mind, and shortly thereafter he is chosen to be a Light Warrior by the Crystals. This forces Bartz to mature and form a greater sense of responsibility to the world, much like his father had. Despite the gravity of the situation, Bartz retains his easygoing and friendly nature, and remains levelheaded to the point of being facetious about how the others are always "going overboard". Bartz cares for his friends and is still affected by his parents' deaths, even though he struggles verbalizing his feelings. Bartz has a fear of heights dating back to a childhood incident of playing "hide-and-go-seek" and almost falling from a roof of a two-story house.

Dissidia Final Fantasy focuses on the playful and carefree part of his personality, which gets him into trouble. Bartz still shows his "serious" side that reveals his real strength, fitting Golbez's statement that "One must find for one self, the true power that dwells within."

Story
Bartz was born in the village of Lix where he lived with his mother Stella and his father Dorgann. Bartz's mother died while he was still young, and his father fell ill and died when Bartz was seventeen. Following his dying wish, Bartz travelled the world and found a chocobo separated from its flock whom he named Boko who became Bartz's steadfast companion.

Three years after Dorgann's death, Bartz is in the Tycoon area when a meteorite falls from the sky. On the impact site he finds a young woman, Lenna, being attacked by goblins. He helps her out, and they find an amnesiac old man named Galuf in the meteor's wreckage. Lenna explains she must go to the Wind Shrine and Galuf joins her when he realizes he is going there too.

Bartz chooses to continue his wanderings, but Boko convinces him to help Galuf and Lenna. After an earthquake Bartz again rescues the pair from goblins and joins them on their journey to the Wind Shrine, deciding his father would have wanted him to find out what was happening to the Crystals, though Galuf teases he's only there because of the beautiful Lenna.

The party finds a cave opened by the earthquake and as they venture through they spot a ship sailing without the wind. They reach a pirate hideout where Bartz tries to commandeer the pirate ship owned by the pirate captain Faris. The group is caught and during their capture Bartz and Galuf discover Lenna's true identity as a princess of Tycoon. Faris lets them take the ship to the Wind Crystal anyway and while they stop at Tule the pirates book an inn and Bartz and Galuf are confused by Faris's beauty while asleep. At the Wind Shrine they see the King of Tycoon just before the Crystal shatters who entrusts the four of them with a quest to save the Crystals from an unknown evil, and names Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, and Faris the Warriors of Light.

They meet Zok, Lenna's old friend, and ask for the key to the Torna Canal, but Zok claims to have lost it. That night, Bartz awakens wondering if his father would have wanted him to be on such a quest. Zok speaks with him and entrusts him the key, believing Lenna would be safe with him. If the party visits the Pirate Hideout again, they will find chocobo tracks. Bartz discovers Boko tried to follow them and became injured, finding his way into the care of the pirates' doctor. Bartz is anxious over him even though the doctor assures Boko will be fine.

In the Torna Canal the pirate ship is attacked by Karlabos and Syldra (Faris's sea dragon "pet" that can move the ship even when there is no wind) is sucked into a whirlpool; Bartz and Galuf must hold Faris back from trying to follow. The ship drifts to the Ship Graveyard where Bartz and Galuf discover Faris is a woman in disguise, but Bartz shrugs at the discovery and doesn't think of her any differently. When they reach the coastline Siren hypnotizes Bartz with the figure of his mother, but Galuf saves them because he cannot remember the girl the Siren used to try and ensnare him. They reach the North Mountain and save Hiryuu, Lenna's wind drake. Bartz is afraid of heights but Galuf forces him onto the dragon anyway.

When Bartz and the party arrive in Walse, they warn the King of the Crystal's destruction, but the King refuses their counsel. Another meteorite falls nearby and a soldier warns the King that the monster Garula has gone insane. The party leaves for the Walse Tower and defeats Garula, but the Crystal shatters and the tower sinks into the sea. Bartz, Lenna, Galuf and Faris are rescued by Syldra, but the sea dragon is spent and drifts away on the current. The party returns to Walse Meteor where Bartz discovers a warp point to another continent. They arrive in Karnak only to be imprisoned by the town guard. In prison Bartz and company meet Cid Previa when he accidentally "escapes" into their cell. He introduces himself as the inventor of the Crystal amplification machines, locked up by Queen Karnak when he realized his mistake and tried to stop its use. The Chancellor releases the party so they can save the Queen who is trapped on the Fire-Powered Ship that holds the Fire Crystal. The party saves the Queen, but the Crystal is destroyed by a possessed soldier and they narrowly escape the ensuing explosion.

Cid is frustrated by his mistakes and unable to help Bartz and his friends, so they look for Mid Previa, Cid's grandson, who resides in the Library of the Ancients. They explain everything to him and Mid departs to talk to his grandfather. With Mid and Cid working together they rebuild the Fire-Powered Ship and Bartz's party leaves to search for the last Crystal. Galuf, having regained some of his memory after seeing Cid and Mid's relationship, knows the reason the Crystals are being destroyed: Exdeath, a 1,000-year-old warlock who was sealed by the Warriors of Dawn and the Crystals' power, is possessing various people around the world to destroy the Crystals to break free.

With the wind drake, Bartz returns to his hometown of Lix where the townspeople are happy to see him, and the bard who has taken up residence in his old house tells him to look around. The old music box reminds Bartz of his mother's death and that night he visits her grave. He explains to Faris that Dorgann would have been buried alongside his wife and carves his name on the stone. After the party searches for the Earth Crystal on Crescent, the Fire-Powered Ship sinks. When the party explores the nearby woods Bartz and Faris find a black chocobo and return to the Library of the Ancients to explore the Ronka Ruins where they encounter a possessed King Tycoon. They reach a hidden facility and find an airship under Crescent Island when the Ronka Ruins turns into a gigantic floating battle station. The party flies there with the newly-restored airship and unwittingly destroy the Crystal's guardian. King Tycoon prepares to destroy the Crystal; while Bartz and Galuf ready themselves to fight him, Lenna and Faris stand between them. Krile arrives and hits the King with a spell to break Exdeath's hold on him. The ensuing reunion is cut short when Exdeath arrives, forcing the King to sacrifice his life to save them. As he dies, he asks that Bartz protect his daughters, Lenna and Faris.

Galuf, his memory fully restored, leaves for his world with Krile and forbids the others to follow. Bartz, Lenna, and Faris are left behind, but soon decide they're not going to leave their friend to fight on his own even if it means never returning to their homeworld. They decide to go after Galuf by collecting Adamantite at Cid and Mid's suggestions from the four meteorites to use their remaining power to teleport to Galuf's World.

Bartz, Lenna, and Faris arrive on a deserted island and during the night are attacked by Abductors sent by Exdeath. The three are taken to Castle Exdeath to be used as hostages and when Bartz tries to confront Exdeath, Exdeath knocks him back with a powerful spell. Galuf has his army fall back, saves the heroes from the castle, and the four battle Gilgamesh.

After the battle on the Big Bridge, the castle's force field throws the party to the continent of Gloceana. Bartz apologizes for failing to help, but Galuf brushes it off. Spending the night in Regole, Galuf reassures him that their actions saved his army from the barrier (albeit accidentally) and asks why they followed him. Bartz is unable to articulate his reasons and tells Galuf not to worry about it. They reach Moogle Forest and are picked up by Krile and her wind drake who take them to the Castle of Bal. Bartz is shocked to discover Galuf is a king.

Krile's wind drake is dying after the battle and its long flight, and the only place Dragon Grass grows in is Drakenvale, a place where none are said to have ever survived. Although the others are disheartened, Bartz proclaims they'll be the first. While searching for Dragon Grass the party crosses the town of Quelb and meet Kelger Vlondett who questions their loyalties and challenges Bartz to a fight. Bartz repels Kelger's Lupine Attack and explains his father, Dorgann, trained him. Galuf and Kelger are shocked and reveal that Dorgann, along with themselves and Xezat, were the Warriors of Dawn who sealed Exdeath in the first place, and that Dorgann had refused to return after forcing such an evil onto another world. Although Dorgann and Stella never told Bartz so as not to burden him, Bartz wound up following in his footsteps anyway.

The party is summoned by the sage Ghido and try to visit him, but Exdeath sinks Ghido's island. The party is picked up by Xezat's fleet and join him in destroying the Barrier Tower. Xezat becomes trapped in the lowest level and tells the party to escape without him as the tower falls, and Bartz is forced to knock Galuf unconscious to get him out.

With the submarine used to infiltrate the tower, they find Ghido's lair in a now-underwater cavern. Finding a turtle inside, Bartz pokes it until it speaks up, revealing itself to be the sage. Bartz is shocked and apologizes but Ghido keeps mocking him. He tells the warriors to head for the Great Forest of Moore that Exdeath seems to be interested in.

As they enter the Guardian Tree, Exdeath forces the Crystal seals to attack the party so that they will destroy them for him. The Crystals released, Exdeath attacks the party with their power. Krile arrives and tries to stop him, but she falls to his magic as well. Galuf attacks Exdeath with the last of his strength, forcing the warlock to retreat. Although the party tries to heal him, Galuf dies and passes on his status as a Light Warrior and the skills he'd acquired from the Crystals to his granddaughter. The new party rushes to Castle Exdeath, but Exdeath taunts them for fighting without even knowing what his plans are. Although they seem to defeat him, Exdeath still shatters the Crystals.

The party blacks out and mysteriously find themselves back at Castle Tycoon. Faris is welcomed back as the long-lost Princess Sarisa and a grand ball is held to celebrate her and Lenna's return. During the festivities Krile ducks out and Bartz follows to check on her. When she tells him that Galuf's spirit is telling her to hurry, Bartz decides to investigate. They leave the princesses behind and Bartz seeks out Boko and finds him not just healed, but married to a chocobo named Koko with eggs on the way. Bartz gives Boko his hearty congratulations and the three of them continue, but they fall into a pit created by an Antlion and are rescued by Faris after promising they'll never leave her behind again. They find Ghido upended in his cave who tells them the two worlds have merged to one. The worlds were split to seal the Void a thousand years ago, and that is what Exdeath seeks. Exdeath appears before them and although Bartz and Faris try to fight him, only Ghido can match him, but it's not enough to stop Exdeath from using the power of the Void. He consumes Tycoon Castle with Lenna still inside.

On their way to seek the first tablet for the Sealed Weapons to gain the strength to face Exdeath, the party passes the Guardian Tree and pause to mourn the people they've lost. They resolve to defeat Exdeath and not allow any more sacrifices to be made. After retrieving the tablet from the Pyramid of Moore they find Lenna being possessed by Melusine, a demon of the rift that forces her to attack them. Turns out Lenna was saved from the Void by her wind drake, and after Hiryu frees her from possession Bartz, Faris, and Krile destroy the demon and Lenna joins them. As soon as they board their airship Exdeath attacks with the Void worldwide and consumes Lix and several other places. At the sight of his hometown's destruction Bartz flies into a rage and pushes the airship to its limits and nearly destroys it until the others calm him down.

After collecting the twelve Sealed Weapons Bartz, Lenna, Faris and Krile enter the Interdimensional Rift where the party reaches the last levels and fights Exdeath, aided by the spirits of King Tycoon and the Dawn Warriors. Though the Void transforms him into Neo Exdeath, the Light Warriors prevail. The Crystals reform and the places taken by the Void are restored. Bartz resumes his wandering lifestyle and a year later, he reunites with the others at the Guardian Tree where they resolve to continue protecting the Crystals as Light Warriors.

Battle
Bartz will be the most available playable character during the game, so the player may make him the "primary damage dealer" with physical jobs, such as Knight, Monk, or Gladiator.

In the Game Boy Advance and subsequent versions, Bartz has the innate element of Wind, and therefore the Gladiator's Finisher ability will take this element.

Stats
Each playable characters have slightly different base attributes and they are therefore slightly better suited for different task(s). Bartz has the highest raw Strength and lowest raw Magic, meaning he's more suitable to use a job that focuses on physical strength.

Musical Themes
Bartz's theme is generally considered to be "Home Sweet Home," which plays in Bartz's hometown of Lix.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Bartz is not seen, but Gilgamesh mentions his name after his defeat, and the party ponders who or what is Bartz.

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals
Bartz along with Lenna, Galuf, Krile, Faris, Cid, and Mid, appears at the end of Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. Legend of the Crystals is a four-episode anime OVA released in Japan from March to July in 1994, and the United States from 1997 to 1998. The anime is set 200 years after the events of Final Fantasy V and follows Linaly, Bartz's descendant, and her friend Prettz.

Final Fantasy VIII
In the Japanese version, Gilgamesh's line, "Huh? Was it you...?" when he appears is "「ん？　オマエなのか・・・・？　バ・・・・？」" ("Huh? Was it you...? Ba...?"). The "Ba...?" in the end could mean he was talking about Bartz (バッツ Battsu), though he does not appear in the game. It is possible that Gilgamesh, at first glance, thought Squall Leonhart was Bartz due to their somewhat similar appearances.

Dissidia Final Fantasy


Chaos has summoned a combined force of Final Fantasy's ultimate masters of evil and Cosmos has summoned warriors to thwart their plans. Bartz is one of these warriors and stands as the hero representing Final Fantasy V, opposing Exdeath.

As a roaming adventurer traveling with Zidane, the two compete over finding a Crystal, but Bartz is captured and spends much of his storyline spying on Chaos's forces as he attempts to find his way back to Zidane. Bartz is pursued by his nemesis Exdeath, who acts with Kuja to trick him into endangering Zidane.

His alternate outfit is based on his conceptual artwork by Yoshitaka Amano, giving him white hair and a black, red and white outfit.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Bartz returns as a Warrior of Cosmos in the prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy alongside the other characters from the original. He is confronted by Gilgamesh who has wandered into World B by chance while traveling between worlds. Wishing to have their promised rematch Gilgamesh does not realize Bartz cannot remember him, but Bartz accepts the challenge anyway.

Bartz emerges victorious, and Gilgamesh fades back into the Void. Bartz later accompanies Zidane and Squall to meet with Kuja, who is planning to betray Chaos, but the three are forced to fight him when Kuja is caught by the other Warriors of Chaos and attacks the three to save face. Bartz is incapacitated by Kain as part of the latter's plan to save his comrades from the manikins.

Bartz's third outfit is based on his Freelancer appearance, giving him a plain blue tunic with white leggings and sleeves and green boots. As a bonus downloadable fourth outfit, Bartz takes on his Dancer appearance, wearing black pants with a green sash and a red shirt opened down the front to expose his chest.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Bartz is a playable character who excels in the speed department, being the third fastest character of the original heroes. His Strength is poor, which is why his other stats are best distributed in Luck and Magic, being somewhat high but not spectacular. His abilities involve boosting Speed and increasing Luck, albeit making him a better choice for Field Music Sequence and strictly a support character in Battle Music Sequence.

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

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Bartz is a summonable Legend who uses the Goblin Punch and Spark Burst abilities.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Bartz is an exclusive character available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content. He uses the Master Mime ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Bartz is depicted in numerous cards in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. His cards show him in different jobs as well as his Yoshitaka Amano artworks, and Dissidia Final Fantasy artwork and renders. Most of his cards are wind-elemental though some of the job cards have other elements as well.

Etymology
Bartz is the pet name for Bartolomäus, the German form of Bartholomew, which in turn comes from the Aramaic bar-Talmay, or "son of Talmay". Talmay itself is a Hebrew name meaning "he of many furrows", or one who owns large tracts of land.

Klauser is a German family name derived from the medieval given name Klaus, short for Niklaus or Nicholaus, which means "people's victory".

Though originally envisioned to be romanized as "Butz", Bartz's name has never been romanized as such in an official localization of Final Fantasy V, and in the past, it was only romanized for the 1992 official strategy guide in Japan. English localizations have changed the romanization to "Bartz", likely because Butz is a homophone of "butts". In the English version of Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals he is referred to as "Batz", another transliteration of his Japanese name.

Trivia

 * Bartz's Dragoon resembles Kain Highwind's armor in Final Fantasy IV.
 * Bartz's Mystic Knight costume resembles the attire of Minwu from Final Fantasy II.
 * Bartz is the only party member who is not royalty. Bartz later becomes the only male party member after Galuf is replaced by Krile.
 * Bartz is one of the few main protagonists in the series to have had a good relationship with his or her father.
 * Bartz is one of two named male main protagonists not to show romantic affection towards another party member (the other being Firion, although in the official Final Fantasy II novelization Firion gets together with Maria).
 * In the trailer for the iOS port of Final Fantasy V, both the Japanese and international names are shown for Bartz: "Bartz" is shown in the in-game cutscenes and battle shots, while "Butz" is shown in the part where the playable characters are presented.