Leo Cristophe

General Leo Cristophe is a temporary playable character in Final Fantasy VI. He is a noble and honorable man who fights for what he believes in. General Leo is the finest swordsman in the Gestahlian Empire, and one of Emperor Gestahl's most trusted men. He always preferred negotiation over combat, in contrast to Kefka Palazzo.

Story
General Leo was born in Vector, capital of the Empire. He was raised as a soldier and rose quickly through the ranks. He was highly respected by all in the Empire for his honor and courage, much unlike Kefka. He was one of the few soldiers who refused to get a Magitek infusion, presumably due to what happened to Kefka when he received one.

Leo is first seen in a flashback at the beginning of the game, where he is listening to Gestahl giving a speech to his soldiers, however, the player does not meet him until Sabin Rene Figaro and Shadow arrive at the Imperial Camp near Doma Castle. Here, Leo's honorable qualities are quickly brought to light when he tells an Imperial Trooper they must delay their attack to minimize casualties, as he is reluctant to tell the Trooper's family of his death. Kefka Palazzo is also at the camp, and plans to poison Doma. Although Leo directly orders him not to follow through with the plan, he is called away by Gestahl, and in his absence Kefka dumps the poison.

Leo's next appearance is in Vector when the Returners are having a banquet with Gestahl. Gestahl asks Leo to accompany Terra Branford and Locke Cole on a mission of goodwill to the Espers. Leo does so and on the boat, he has a heart to heart talk with Terra, who does not know what it is like to feel love. While she is desperate to find out, she has severe doubts that she will ever succeed. Leo convinces her otherwise and reveals his guilt over his knowledge of the Empire's manipulations of her, and not acting to stop it. He then dispatches Locke, Terra and Shadow to search for the Espers, while he and Celes Chere search on their own.

After Locke and Terra locate the Espers led by Yura, they return to Thamasa and meet with Leo. Although peace negotiations are quickly reached, Kefka intervenes and incapacitates Leo's soldiers, including Celes, Terra and Locke. Telling Leo this was ordered by Gestahl, Kefka kills the Espers and takes their Magicite, then orders his bodyguards to burn the village. Leo attacks and apparently defeats Kefka, only for a shade of Gestahl conjured by Kefka confirmed that Gestahl did indeed order the attack and manipulated Leo, as well as learn that the "Kefka" he defeated was actually a shade of his - the real Kefka emerges from the shadows and slays Leo shortly after, with Kefka telling Leo that he'll excuse his murder of him by claiming to Gestahl that he disposed of a traitor. The Returners lay Leo to rest at a grave in Thamasa.

Besides Celes, Leo is the only Imperial Soldier to show any true sense of honor and decency, and many of the Returners hold him in high regard. Sabin remarks "he could be my friend, if he weren't my enemy". When meeting with Cyan Garamonde in Vector, he apologizes for failing to stop Kefka from poisoning the citizens in Doma, Cyan's kingdom. Cyan in turn, when he hears Leo was slain, considers it a waste of a fine soldier. The rest of the Returners show no suspicion or hostility towards him, as evidenced by the respectful burial they give to him.

Battle
Leo's stats are good all around. His equipment, however, is set, due to the fact he is a temporary character. He equips the Crystal Sword, the Aegis Shield, and the Golden Helmet and Armor. He also comes with a Master's Scroll and a Gigas Glove. Leo's special ability is Shock, which deals non-elemental magic damage to all opponents. Gau can access this ability by using the Yojimbo Rage. As well, due to the Master's Scroll, Leo attacks four times when given the Fight command.

When you first gain control of Leo, the game moves him to the back row. If manually moved to the front row, Leo's regular (four-part) attack will do significantly more damage than Shock. When kept in the back row, it still does this, though to a much less noticeable degree.

Trivia

 * Although his given job is General, Leo has many characteristics of a Paladin. He possesses a strong sense of honor and justice despite his servitude to the Empire, and equips heavy weapons and armor. Additionally, he has the Mystic Knight skill, Shock, which Beowulf knows in Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * General Leo was the focus of many rumors during the game's initial release. Much like Aerith Gainsborough after him, many rumors persisted as to how to resurrect Leo in the World of Ruin. There is no method by which he can be resurrected other than modifying the game's code.
 * In the Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary remakes of the original Final Fantasy, Leo is one of the automatic names the player can choose for the Warrior job.
 * Leo shares many traits with Final Fantasy IX ' s Beatrix; both are Generals, have characteristics of a paladin in battle, and are renowned as the finest swordsmen.
 * Leo is the first black character to appear in the series, though his in-game sprite depicts him with white skin.

Gallery
Leo Cristophe