Final Fantasy II/Characters

This is a trope sheet for the cast of Final Fantasy II.

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The Main Party

Firion

The hero of the game. Firion is a youth from Fynn, who flees it as the Empire lays siege to and occupies it. Together with his adopted family Maria and Guy, they manage to make it to Altair, the base of the Wild Rose Rebellion, headed by the princess of Fynn. They convince her to allow them to join, and together work to defeat the Empire, take back Fynn, and save the world. Firion appears along with the Emperor in the Dissidia Final Fantasy series and will be appearing in the Spin-Off Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

• Ambiguously Brown: Together with Minwu, the first such characters in the series.
• Bishonen: He's a Final Fantasy hero. What did you expect?
• Brown Eyes: Firion fits the down-to-earth and humble meanings of the trope--besides, this is simply rare for Squeenix..
• Conveniently an Orphan: Even before his adoptive parents died in the siege of Fynn, he was already orphaned. Precisely why this is convenient is explained in Maria's section (see Not Blood Siblings).
• Covert Pervert: Old manuals reveal that he apparently has a weakness for "feminine charms". No kidding.
• Dark-Skinned Blond: Silvery hair, not blond, but the overall effect is much the same.
• Depending on the Artist: Interesting, in that this is a one-artist variation on the trope — Yoshitaka Amano drew Firion quite differently from picture to picture, to the point where a lot of official art of the character has to be labeled as such in order to be recognizable as Firion. His face and his armor would remain the same but he frequently changed his headgear and color scheme.
  • Put it this way — in Dissidia Firion's three costumes all have different hair accessories, different hairstyles, and differently styled and colored armor, and all three are based on different Amano arts.
• Dub Name Change: His Japanese name, フリオニール, Furioniiru, is officially transliterated as Frioniel. This became Firion in English due to character limits, and has remained such likely due to a combination of inertia and euphony.
• Every Bishounen Is Prettier With Hair Decs: Oh so very many pretty pretty beads in his hair.
• Happily Adopted: Until his new parents died as well.
• The Hero
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Though he can be trained in the use of all weapons in the game, his initial equip and Infinity+1 Sword are... well, swords.
• Hikaru Midorikawa: His voice for the Origins opening FMV, which carried over to Dissidia.
• Jack of All Stats: Of your initial party, his stats are the most evenly balanced.
• Magnetic Hero
• A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted, because he almost certainly is. Heck one of his Fan Nicknames literally means "virgin".
• Nice Guy: But you'd better Beware the Nice Ones if you plan on attacking his village and killing his friends.
• Nice Hat AND Scarf of Asskicking: Two different styles of doo rags, courtesy of Yoshitaka Amano.
• Official Couple: With Maria in the Japan-only novelisation.
• Rummage Sale Reject
• Ship Tease: He seemed pretty willing to oblige Hilda before he realized it was actually the Lamia Queen...
• Short Hair with Tail
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: Subverted, in that he's the hero and a very nice guy.

Maria

Firion's adopted sister, who fled Fynn with him when the Empire took it. She too joined up with the Wild Rose Rebellion, despite her angst and worry over what has happened to her older brother Leon, as last they knew he was with them, and then he disappeared.

• Action Girl: Eager to join La Résistance and fight for her freedom, she can also be made one gameplay-wise due to the infinite customizability of the Stat Grinding system. Though she does have her moment to the contrary in the PS1/PSP opening video.
• The Archer: Her initial equip and Infinity Plus One Weapon are both bows.
• Black Eyes: Exactly like her brother's, likely functioning as an indicator of her grief and sorrow at both the state of the world and the state of her family.
• Black Magician Girl: Of the main party, she has the best initial stats for black magic.
  • In the Soul of Rebirth cutscene where it shows the alive party vs the Emperor of Hell this is somewhat played straight. She uses Holy which is white magic not black, and it even out-damages Firion's physical attacks and even his Ultima, despite this she isn't shown using healing white magic.
• Brother-Sister Incest: According to the novelizations of the game, she has an unrequited secret crush on Firion.
  • Not Blood Siblings: But at least they're not related, so it's not as bad as it could be.
• The Chick: Only one of the main party, and, with a lot of her focus on her caring about her family, fits as the emotional center.
• Distressed Damsel: Has her moment in the PS1/PSP opening movie where she falls and needs to be saved by both Firion and Leon.
• Fan Service: In the novels, she has bathing scenes. Illustrated bathing scenes.
• Fragile Speedster: Maria starts off with more speed and less HP than her male allies, while this could be averted due to the progression system it is enforced in the Soul of Rebirth cutscene where it shows the alive party fighting the Emperor of Hell before the dead party faces the Light Emperor where Maria is shown with 1800 HP and the men have 3000+.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Initially Maria has a bow while Firion and Guy have close range weapons. This can be averted or even gender flipped due to the stats progression however though it is worth noting the PSP version has ultimate weapons for each character and Maria's is a bow.
• The Heart
• Noriko Shitaya: Her voice in the Origins opening FMV.
• Plucky Girl: No matter what, she will not give up hope.
  • Though the common deaths of her allies does start to get to her near the end even saying she can't take it anymore needing to be brought to her senses by Firion and Leon.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
• Ship Tease: With Firion. The novel has them eventually graduate to Official Couple.
  • This is teased in the post Famicom versions during the waltz, in the original only Hilda/Gordon alongside a bunch of NPC's participate. In the Dawn of Souls and above versions Firion and Maria join in dancing with each other.
• Squishy Wizard: Her HP is the worst of the initial party, putting her in the back row by default. Fortunately, especially in later remakes, Stat Grinding means she can become more durable, making her last longer.
• Stripperiffic: Very tight clothing, bare back, and there is nothing covering one breast except for half a golden cup.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes: The jury's out on whether or not it's "cool" but it's definitely impossible. How any of the fabric or metal covering her upper body stays on is beyond human ken.
• Sexy Backless Outfit
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Maria is the girly girl to Leila's tomboy.
• Twisted Ankle: The FMV of the PS1/PSP version implies she suffers one while she alongside Firion and Leon were running from Palamecia soldiers, she had trouble getting back on her feet until Firion helped her.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Indigo to be exact. It varies between versions.

Guy

Firion's best friend and, according to various Japan-only materials, also an adopted brother. Guy was abandoned in the wild as a baby, only being raised by humans from age ten onwards, and as a result is very... well, slow, and quiet. Nonetheless, he has a close bond with Firion, Maria, and Leon, and joins them in their quest to save the world from oppression.

• An Axe to Grind: Initial equip and Infinity Plus One Weapon are both axes.
• Barbarian Hero: If he wore animal hides instead of armor, he'd be a perfect fit.
• Bare Your Midriff: In his Yoshitaka Amano art.
• The Big Guy: Fits it to a tee.
• The Ditz: A bit harsher and sadder than typical Ditzes, as his lack of mental prowess is due to neglect, not any fault of his own.
• Chainmail Bikini: Wears only a midriff-baring breastplate, a pair of briefs, and a cape. Possibly pioneered the style for SNES-era heroines.
• Dub Name Change: Has sometimes been called "Gus" in English translations.
• Dumb Is Good
• Dumb Muscle
• Friend to All Living Things: It enables him to speak Beaver, apparently.
• Gonk
• Hair Colors: Brown, and subsequently quite simple.
• Hulk Speak: How he communicates with human beings. Presumably, he's more fluent in the various animal languages.
• Kenta Miyake: His voice for the Origins opening FMV.
• The Medic: Bizarrely, for his being a huge hulk with an axe, his stats for white magic are quite good.
• Raised by Wolves: Specifically, a beast named Mauza. Not that many Anglophones can figure that out.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps
• Underwear of Power: In his original art and PSP sprite.
• Wild Child: Was one until kind people in Fynn took him in.
• Younger Than They Look: He's around Firion's age, but is quite large and... well, craggy.

Leon

Maria's older brother (this time, not adopted), who fled Fynn with them when it fell, but vanished along the way. When next he turned up, he was working for The Empire, but all may not be as it seems...

• Aloof Big Brother: To Maria.
• An Axe to Grind: Wields an Axe and sword when he rejoins the party.
• The Atoner: After the game, Leon leaves his family behind to go try and find a way to redeem himself for all the evil acts he did in the Empire's service as a dark knight.
• Big Brother Bully: Had traits of this as the Dark Knight as he openly called Maria weak while not doing similar to Guy nor Firion.
• Big Brother Instinct: It is shown he had this for Maria full stop before the party lost to Palamecia soldiers initially, as when Maria falls during the PS1/PSP opening movie Leon is the first to act to save her straight up killing the soldier who was about to kill his sister which is notable as the party was running from them beforehand.
• Black Eyes: Has them, just like Maria, but his probably serve as an indicator of his wavery moral compass as well as familial relation.
• Black Knight: First Dark Knight in the series.
• Blade on a Stick: On of his initial equips is a spear, as is his Infinity Plus One Weapon.
• Cain and Abel: The Cain of this relationship, at least at first... though interestingly, in this case, while Firion and Guy would also qualify as Abels, Maria is the best Abel candidate.
• The Dragon: To the Emperor, at least at first.
• Dragon Ascendant: Subverted. After the Emperor is killed in the Cyclone, Leon crowns himself Emperor, and it falls to the party to confront him and take him out, so clearly, he's the real villain, right? And this was all an elaborate scheme to grab the throne? Maybe so, but sadly, the Emperor's not put paid for yet, and trumps Leon quite soundly.
• Dual-Wielding: Yes, everyone can dual wield anything in this game, but Leon gets special mention because he dual-wields a sword and a axe upon joining the party.
• Dub Name Change: His Japanese name is レオンハルト, Reonharuto, but he has always been called Leon in English releases due to character limits.
• Easily Forgiven: Firion and Maria are willing to welcome him back, no conditions and no questions asked. Unfortunately, he can't forgive himself nearly as easily.
• Face Heel Turn: In the beginning of the game, joining up with the Empire offscreen after the siege of Fynn.
• Heel Face Turn: Near the end of the game, after the Emperor shows that he will not go down nearly as easily as they'd hoped.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Played straight. Leon, the mysterious Dark Knight, wears one during his stint as a Heel, but ditches it upon joining the party.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: While his Infinity+1 Sword is, in fact, a spear, the other weapon he dual-wields when joining the party is a sword, and he is usually depicted as wielding one in artwork and FMVs.
• A Sinister Clue AND The Southpaw: One of many lefties in this game.
• Spell My Name with an "S": Leon's not his original name (see Dub Name Change above), but lack of an "official" transliteration has led to people calling him Leonhart, Leonhardt, Lionheart, etc.
• The Unfought: A boss fight with him is foreshadowed, but never happens, being interrupted by the Emperor's resurrection and Leon deciding it'd be a good idea to join up with the people against the Emperor now.

Other Playable Characters

Josef

A former soldier of the Palamecian Empire (according to the manual). He lives in the icy mountain town of Salamand, and aids the party after they save the men of his town from being forced into slavery. Sadly, though, he dies after heroically saving the rest of the party from a Death Trap.

• All-Encompassing Mantle: Though it is sometimes drawn as a slightly-less-badass poncho.
• Badass Mustache: He has a nice one.
• Bald of Awesome: You better believe it.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: So much so that equipping weapons on him at first will actually lower the damage he does.
• Defector From Decadence: Considering that he left the Empire long ago and nowadays has nothing nice to say about it...
• Guest Star Party Member:
• Heroic Sacrifice: Saves the party from a giant rolling boulder trap.
• No Pronunciation Guide: It's actually pronounced like "Yosef", not "Joseph."
• Papa Wolf: It's not smart to threaten Nelly's safety.
• Wolverine Claws: Despite using nothing but his bare hands most of the story, he does have an Infinity Plus One Weapon in the Dragon Claws.

Gordon

A prince of the fallen kingdom of Kashuan. Gordon is anxious and has no self-confidence at first, constantly comparing himself to his deceased brother and coming up short. Later, though, he finds strength within himself and grows into a respected leader of the Wild Rose Rebellion.

• Bishounen
• Blade on a Stick: His initial equip and Infinity Plus One Weapon are spears.
• Blue Eyes: Warm and friendly, and go very well with his hair.
• Character Development: Goes from being a pathetic coward to a competent leader of the Rebellion.
• Cowardly Lion: Sure, he's afraid, but he ends up doing remarkably gutsy things despite that.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Hair of Gold: Indicates how he is noble and true despite his self-doubt.
• Joke Character/Magikarp Power: His initial stats are utterly pathetic... But if you stick with him, you can have a quite good character.
• Non-Action Guy: Yes, he is a party member for some time, but he fits the personality type, and does better in a leadership position than actually doing the fighting.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: They brave Kashuan Keep and lead rebellions, for two.
• Ship Tease: With Hilda, most notably in the dancing scene.
• Spare to the Throne: The source of most of his angst.
• Wise Prince: He becomes this at the end after his Character Development

Leila

A pirate captain. She's hired by the party to transport them to an island nation, but she betrays them--however, after the party kicks her and her crew's ass, they wisely change sides and join with the Wild Rose Rebellion.

• Action Girl: Comes with the whole "pirate captain" territory; also she's initially geared as a fighter when she joins your party.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Firion's bacon from the Lamia Queen.
• Bottle Fairy: Her favourite food is "ale".
• Defeat Means Friendship: After she gets beaten, she happily joins up with the party and is quite friendly.
• Fragile Speedster: Geared towards speed for her initial stats.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be a gruff pirate, but she's far from a bad person.
• Knife Nut: Initial equip and Infinity Plus One Weapon are daggers.
• Loveable Rogue
• Pirate: Duh.
  • Pirate Girl
• Scarf of Asskicking: Has quite a few of them.
• Shock and Awe: Joins the party with a Thunder spell, which is more than one can say for any other character besides Minwu.
• The Southpaw: One of many lefties.
• Spell My Name with an "S": Leila, Layla, Reila...
• Stripperiffic: Not as much so as Maria, but miniskirts are hardly ideal pirating clothes.
• Talk Like a Pirate: Yarr, matey.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: How did she escape and survive when the ship was swallowed by Leviathan...?
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Blue or purple, depending on sprite.

Minwu

White Wizard of Mysidia, and apparent advisor to the Fynn royal court. He is the one who saves Firion and his party, and later fights alongside them in their quest to stop the Empire. He is tragically killed by the magic necessary to undo the seal on Ultima. He will be appearing as a playable sub-character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

• Ambiguously Brown: Fits in with his design being clearly Arabic-influenced.
• Badass Long Robe: Real men wear robes with skirts and kick ass while doing so.
• Bare Your Midriff: In his character art.
• Because Destiny Says So: He uses up all his life energy to break the seal on Ultima, but is surprisingly nonchalant about his own death, saying that it's his destiny.
• Bishounen: Probably, and even if he's not, in the hands of his fans, he is made into one.
  • However in the Novel he's a Cool Old Guy.
• Blue Eyes: Fit his goodness and idealism very well, and look striking when combined with his skin tone.
• Breakout Character: Square Enix noticed his popularity in Japan, and has since been made the protagonist for the Soul of Rebirth sidequest.
• Court Mage
• Crutch Character: When he joins your party, he is amazingly powerful--true, a powerful healer more than a fighter, but still enough to ensure your survival.
• Face Death with Dignity: He believes it is the fate of all who live to someday die, and when his own death comes, he accepts it.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Heroic Sacrifice: To let the party at the legendary white magic, Ultima.
• Magic Wand: One of his Infinity Plus One Weapons is the Stardust Rod.
• Man in White: Again, striking against the dark skin, and visual shorthand for his purity, and fitting for a White Wizard to, you know, wear white.
• The Medic: Hands down.
• Nice Hat: Nice turban, Minwu.
• Simple Staff: His initial equip and one of his Infinity Plus One Weapons.
• Spell My Name with an "S": Minwu, Minh, Ming-du, Ming-wu...
• White Mage: He is, as of yet, the only male healer in the franchise. The rest have been female.

Ricard/Richard

The last dragoon of Deist. Ricard (technically Richard, but no English version of the game has yet called him that) finds the party when they are swallowed by Leviathan, and together they break free and he joins their quest to stop the Empire. Dies nobly while covering the party's escape from the newly revived and powered-up Emperor.

• Badass: Started the trend of Final Fantasy dragoons/lancers being very, very Badass.
• Blade on a Stick: Would you expect anything less from a FF-style dragoon?
• Demoted to Extra: He does not appear in the continuity of the novel.
• Dragon Rider: Dragoons wouldn't start Jumping until the next game; here, they are knights who ride wyverns into battle.
• Dub Name Change: Has been renamed Edward and Gareth, and...
  • Spell My Name with an "S": His name in Japanese, リチャード, Richaado, is quite clearly meant to be Richard, but character limits mean that in English, he's usually Ricard.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Subverted, he always wears his helmet and is no less heroic for it.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Killed by the Emperor when he raises Pandaemonium, he dies so that the rest of the party can flee.
• Last of His Kind: Sort of, he's the only surviving dragoon warrior of Deist, and apparently one of few people left alive in the place.
• Nice Hat: His helmet is shaped like a dragon's head, and is all kinds of awesome.
• No Last Name Given: Averted, he's one of the few characters in this game to have a last name--Highwind, which would become a recurring surname in the series.
• The Promise: Promises to return to Elina (his best friend's widow) and her son Kain when the war ends so that they can be a family. Unfortunately, he doesn't manage to keep it.
• The Southpaw: Yet another lefty.
• You Shall Not Pass

Scott

A prince of Kashuan, and Gordon's older brother. He dies of injuries sustained during the failed defense of Fynn, very early in the game... but in the Bonus Level of Heaven, he is playable, and is key to investigating the mystery behind why the afterlife is suddenly such a hostile place.

• Aborted Declaration of Love: In his dying moments, is about to relay his love to Hilda, but orders the heroes not to tell her that so that she will not suffer.
• Ascended Extra: In the original version of the game, Scott had a bit part--but come Dawn Of Souls onwards, he's vital in the optional areas.
• Bishounen: Just like his brother.
• Blue Eyes
• Continuity Nod: Asking Gordon about mythril will have him note that Scott had a prized sword made of the material. Guess what Scott's default weapon in Soul of Rebirth is.
• Hair of Gold: Noble, brave, and true, yep.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Initial equip and Infinity+1 Sword are both swords.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In his dying moments, forgoes a final chance to tell his beloved his feelings so that she can move on.
• Jack of All Stats: Is this initially, having both black and white magic as well as skill with a sword.
• Magikarp Power: Because he was never playable (and thus level-up-able) in the main story, his initial stats are... depressing. But once you start raising him, he turns into a powerhouse.
  • Crutch Character: On the other hand, having a character with set stats is very useful if you neglected the three characters that can be improved beforehand.
• Posthumous Character: Has a handful of lines prior to his own death... then becomes a major character afterwards.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: The reason he dies is because he was fighting on the front lines in the defense of Fynn.
• The Southpaw: Yet another lefty.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Brave, noble, a powerful warrior, and in love with the beautiful princess. Yeah, he's doomed.
• The Wise Prince: Was this in life, by all accounts.

Non-Playable Characters

Hilda

Princess of Fynn and leader of the Wild Rose Rebellion. Hilda is the brains behind the operation, and sends the party on most of their missions, eventually retaking her throne in Fynn. Although her father the king dies halfway through the game, she is curiously never upgraded to "Queen."

• Big Good: The leader of the good rebels, by far the most important (as in irreplaceable) character on the side of good in the game.
• Blue Eyes: Beautiful good princess, eyup.
• Distressed Damsel: Minimally invoked: she's kidnapped only once, and there are indicators that the Emperor had no idea she was even on the airship when he captured it. Pretty good for The Eighties.
• Everything's Better with Princesses: Likely why she's never called a queen despite becoming one halfway through the story.
• Expy: Of Princess Sara from the previous game.
• Hair Decorations: Pretty, sparkly beads!
• Hair of Gold
• The High Queen: Has elements of it now, and is hinted to become this once the world is saved.
• Nice Hat: Just look at her artwork. Interestingly, it mirrors the Horned Hairdo of the evil Emperor.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Most obvious in the Amano rendition.
• Reasonable Authority Figure Is this to Firion's party.
• Rebel Leader: Her raison d'etre in the game.
• Rebellious Princess: In that she's the one doing all the leading.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: The strategist and brains behind the Wild Rose Rebellion. Gets bonus points for going and camping with her troops before the assault to retake Fynn, instead of staying in Altair where it was safe.
  • In the Soul of Rebirth cutscene just before the Light Emperor is faced it is shown she was also a major reason why the dead party didn't forgive said emperor despite his good exterior and defeated him in battle.
• Ship Tease: With Firion, Gordon, and even, in the novels, the Emperor.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gets angry with Gordon, saying that if he had opened the way to the Red Flame, Josef wouldn't have died on the way to the bell.

Nelly

Josef's young daughter, who adores her father and thoroughly supports him.

• Break the Cutie: She has a minor breakdown after being informed of her father's sacrifice.
• Cheerful Child
• Daddy's Girl: Josef would do anything for her, and she in return thinks the world of him.
• Plucky Girl: After she is orphaned she gets a job and is determined to make Josef proud.

Paul

A thief from Fynn who is friends with Firion and the gang. Claims to be the greatest in the world.

• Greater Need Than Mine: He gives Firion the Blood Sword along with all his treasure so they can defeat the Emperor.
• I Work Alone: Subverted, as he's perfectly capable on his own and has no qualms about hanging out with the party from time to time.
• Loveable Rogue: He's really very nice, and loyal to his village and friends.
• Ninja: Resembled one in his original sprite, but later looked more like a traditional thief.
• Sticky Fingers: At the end of the game, he even tells his friends they had better watch their pockets.

Borghen

A nobleman who betrays Fynn to the Empire and defects to save his own skin. He turns up to bother the heroes several times as a boss.

• Dirty Coward: Usually lets others do the fighting, since he's so pathetically weak.
• Elite Mook
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: Reappears as a Chest Monster inside Pandemonium.
• Evil Redhead
• Face Heel Turn: Sold out Fynn to the Empire when he realized they were losing.
• Fat Bastard
• Kick the Dog: Kidnapping Nelly and forcing her to do slave labor.
• The Quisling: See Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: He is given a position in the Emperor's army in return, but is quickly deemed worthless and isn't even mentioned after his death.
• See You in Hell: He does, actually.
• Taking You with Me: Causes the rock fall that kills Josef.

Emperor Mateus Palamecia

The villain of the story. The Emperor of Palamecia (called "Palakia" in the unreleased NES translation) is so dedicated to taking over the world, he even sold his soul to gain control of the Legions of Hell to aid in the effort. He's also one of the least sympathetic and most evil Final Fantasy villains to date. How evil? When he dies, as the remakes reveal, part of his soul is (somehow) good enough to get into heaven... and then proceeds to conquer that too. In the Novelization, apparently the Emperor was able to actually kill Satan despite his powers coming directly from a deal with him. He has appeared in the Dissidia Final Fantasy series alongside Firion and is set to return as a boss character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

• Badass Boast:"You have braved the bowels of Hell to reach me. But the hand of man, which deals in false justice and forsaken love, can never hope to defeat the lord master of Hell!"
• Big Bad: Duh.
• Bishounen: The first in a long line of ever-so-lovely Final Fantasy villains.
• Blond Guys Are Evil: Oh so much.
• Captain Ersatz: Of Jareth from Labyrinth, released two years prior.
• Classic Villain: He starts out as one, siccing the Legions of Hell on the innocent people of the world, and then proceeds to top himself in bastardliness by taking Hell for himself as the game progresses. Even Crisis Crossover Dissidia ups his ill reputation as a manipulative chessmaster willing to play ally and foe alike for his own ends, including killing off both Cosmos and even his OWN boss, Chaos, and take the world for himself.
• Colony Drop: His signature attack, Starfall.
• Combat Stilettos
• Deal with the Devil: The novelization heavily implies that his powers came from a pact with Satan. Also subverted in that unlike most characters in this trope, Satan pretty much didn't expect how much of a monster Mateus would become.
  • Also inverted in the interquel "Dawn of Souls", where the Emperor's light half (who's also just as bad) attempts to beg those of the party who ended up dead in the main game to forgive him for the actions that his dark half committed, and in exchange will give them eternal life. Of course, they don't buy it.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: Prior to his first death, and to a certain extent in later incarnations of the character such as Dissidia, he adhered to this philosophy.
  • Dystopia Justifies the Means: After coming back from the dead, The Emperor, or at the very least his Dark Half, fully embraced this philosophy, as evidenced by his speech to Leon about no longer having any need for the Empire, or indeed the entire world.
• Eighties Hair: It's almost awe-inspiring.
• The Emperor: Hint: It's why he's called one.
  • Emperor Scientist: It's not readily apparent, but it is heavily implied that the Emperor had some scientific know-how with his creation of the Dreadnought.
• Every Bishounen Is Prettier With Hair Decs: Staggering amounts of doo-dads in his hair.
• Everyone Calls Him The Emperor: He has a first name and a surname — Mateus Palamecia — but it is only ever mentioned in the novelization, otherwise in all his other appearances he's simply "The Emperor."
• Evil Overlord: Almost a perfect archetypal example.
• Fan Nickname: "Emperor Bowie."
• Faux Affably Evil: Generally, he gives the veneer of being polite, but tends to insult them under his breath.
  • Affably Evil/First Name Basis: Probably the closest he's gotten to genuinely being affable to anyone was with Firion where he addressed him by his actual name. Even there, it was done just as he closed the lid on a trap.
• Femme Fatalons: In all depictions of him.
• Flat Character: Defied in the revised continuity — though not by much.
• Follow the Leader: Pun aside, some of his actions were later repeated by later Final Fantasy villains. For starters, his action of poisoning the water supply of the Dragoon fortress was later redone with Kefka, the latter of whom managed to take it to an even new low by poisoning a civilian kingdom (Doma), and most of Mateus' personality and traits (even his coming back from the dead) were reused with Seymour Guado. In addition his using a flying fortress capable of generating a cyclone and then being killed in it (not to mention having the title Emperor) is later repeated with Vayne in Final Fantasy XII and his use of the Sky Fortress Bahamut in the final battle before being killed, although unlike Mateus, Vayne doesn't come back from the dead.
• Freudian Excuse: Surprisingly enough, the official (Japanese-only) novelization attempted to give him one. Apparently, his unsatiable greed is caused by an even worse demon sealed in a stone taking him over to wreak vengeance against humanity. It's also hinted that every single Emperor before Mateus were this demon's human proxies. He also exiled his mother under the influence of this demon, and she was trying to get him back to the good side. In a way, he seems very tragic in that respect. Though its unclear if the novel is part of the game continuity as the game series (although it should be noted that the novel was written by the same guy who wrote the story of the first three games).
• Genius Bruiser: He's shown to be pretty scientifically adept, if his creation of the Dreadnought is of any indication. Aside from that, he also was pretty good at strategy, as evidenced by his not only leaving a decoy of Princess Hilda on the Dreadnought, but also using her as bait specifically to draw out the Wild Rose Rebellion. It's even implied that he may have manipulated the Wild Rose rebellion into killing him specifically to ensure he could take over all planes of existence as well.
• God-Emperor: By the end of the game, he pretty much is one.
• Greed: His most defining trait.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Not so much in the game, but definitely present in the novels with Hilda.
• Large Ham: His death scream.

"UBOAAAAAAAAAA"

• Let's You and Him Fight: Why do you think he's surrounded by all those mooks? To let him do the fighting? I don't think so.
• Light Is Not Good: His Light half is every bit as evil as his Dark half. Although he tries to hide it at first.
• Like a Badass Out of Hell: A Type 4 — he took it over and came back to Earth to finish what he started.
  • According to the Japanese-exclusive novelization, Mateus made a pact with Satan to summon demonic minions to help him conquer the world, and when Mateus dies and Satan tries to collect his soul, he defeats him to become the new ruler of Hell. Really drives home the Badass part of this trope.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Yep.
• The Man Behind the Monsters
• Mega Twintails: To the extent that he can hang ornaments on them (If Anthology's FMV can be considered canon).
• One-Winged Angel: Turns into the Hell Emperor for the final battle.
  • However in the novel, it's just a demon taking his form.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Arguably his plan all along.
• Nice Shoes: Nice stiletto heels.
• Nietzsche Wannabe: Granted, it was not enough to actually make him destroy the world (Dark Emperor aside), but he does mention in both his Dark Emperor form and Light Emperor form his belief that Humanity is good only at executing flawed justice, forsaken love, and having inherently violent tendencies.
• Purple Eyes: A special and magical character has special and magical eyes.
• Rapunzel Hair: Calf-length flowing glossy hair.
• Rummage Sale Reject: See picture. Holy crap.
• Shock and Awe: He favors offensive Thunder spells.
• Shout-Out: Let's just say that he bears an uncanny resemblance to Labyrinth's Jareth.
  • His appearance in the AMVs for the PSX version of Final Fantasy II also invokes the appearance of Maleficent.
• Showgirl Skirt: A translucent pink one, to boot.
• Sorcerous Overlord: Another perfect archetype.
• Take Over the World: It's what he does.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: His Dark half at least ends up becoming this, actually scoffing at the idea of continuing to rule Palamecia or even expand its influence.
• Tin Tyrant
• Tragic Monster: At least In the novel. For more see Freudian Excuse.
• The Villain Makes the Plot
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: In some Amano art of the character. Usually he's platinum blond.
• Would Hit a Girl: Obviously in gameplay but in the cutscene the Soul of Rebirth extra shows just before the dead party faces the Light Emperor a it is shown that the Emperor of Hell does the most damage to Maria.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He actually manages to pull this on his own empire after coming back from Hell.

Deumion

A new character added in the 20th Anniversary Edition. He is the immortal guardian of the ultimate magic and an extremely powerful mage.

• Bad Powers, Good People: He was born with the ability to cast Destroy, however he refuses to use it since he doesn't wish to kill anybody.
• Bare Your Midriff
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Seriously, that's a guy?!
• Magic Wand/Simple Staff
• Older Than They Look: Much much older. We're probably talking hundreds if not thousands of years.
• Summon Magic
• Threshold Guardian: Was turned into this due to his powerful magical abilities.