Setting

The game features a series of cities and landscapes that set the stage for a battle between the resistance movement and the Empire of Palemecia. The resistance was born in the kingdom of Fynn, far away from Palemecia. South of Fynn are the towns of Altair and Gatrea, the former being the base of the resistance movement as of the start of the game. To the east is the magical town of Mysidia, and to the west are a series of small waterside villages, including Paloom and Poft. To the north are the mountain towns of Salamand and Bafsk; the former is an outpost for rebel activity, and the latter is an Imperial work colony building the Dreadnought airship. Several islands, including the dragon-infested, Imperial purged island of Deist, and the land featuring the large Mysidia Tower, dot the oceans. The Imperial capital of Palemecia and its ultimate headquarters, Castle Pandemonium, round out the regions.

Characters

(Clockwise from top) Guy, Maria, Firion, and Leon. Artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.

Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy II features four playable characters as well as several secondary characters who are only briefly controlled by the player. Primary characters include Firion, a resident of the country of Fynn and one of the top commanders of the Rebels; Maria, a soft-spoken archer and dedicated enemy of the Empire; Guy, another soft-spoken attacker who communicates with animals; and Leon, the missing friend of Firion and brother of Maria.^[5]

Five playable characters temporarily join the party to assist Firion, Maria, and Guy in their missions for the rebellion before Leon appears, each offering special services to the team, including Gordon, the prince of Kashuan who has been a member of the Wild Rose rebellion since the Emperor of Palamecia attacked Flynn; Josef, a kind soul who lives with his wife and daughter in the snow mountain village of Salamand; Leila, an adventurous girl who speaks in pirate-like jargon and first encounters the party by offering them transportation to the island of Deist; Minwu, or Mindu in the enhanced remake, who is a white mage for the Wild Rose rebellion; and Richard Highwind, or Gareth in the remake, who is the first dragoon to appear in the series. As non-playable characters, Hilda, the former princess of Fynn and leader of the Rebels, issues commands to the party, and Cid, the staple airship pilot of the series, makes his first appearance.

They all oppose the Emperor of Palamecia, who is startlingly handsome but hides a personality of total evil. Throughout the game, there are characters and names that are referenced in later titles of the Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy IX, Josef's story is told by the eidolon Ramuh to Zidane and his party. Leon is most likely the namesake of the more-popular Final Fantasy VIII character Squall Leonhart. The name Leonhart is both Squall's last name and also is very close to the name of Squall's strongest gunblade, the Lion Heart. Squall also uses the name Leon in Kingdom Hearts. In the Japan-exclusive novelization of the game Final Fantasy II Nightmare's Labyrinth (ファイナルファンタジーII 夢魔の迷宮, Fainaru Fantajī Tsū Muma no Meikyū^?), the Emperor is given the name Mateus (マティウス, Matiusu^?). This name would be used in reference to him in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as the Totema of the Hume race as well as in Final Fantasy XII as the ice-based Esper. Hilda is the namesake of the Final Fantasy IX non-player character, Hilda, the wife of Cid Fabool IX, and the owner of the Steaming Sheep Tavern in Final Fantasy XI, Hilda, whom Cid shares a close relationship with.

[edit] Story

This section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to both contextualise the fictional nature of the work and focus on discussing the work rather than simply reiterating the plot. You may also discuss changes on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. This section has been tagged since July 2007.

Final Fantasy II begins with Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon being attacked by imperial soldiers and left for dead. Firion, Maria, and Guy are rescued by Princess Hilda of Fynn, who has established a rebel base in the nearby town of Altair after the Emperor's capture of Fynn. Hilda denies a request by Firion that he, Maria and Guy join the rebel army on the grounds that they are too young and inexperienced. Eager to prove their value to the resistance movement, the three set off for the besieged Fynn, where the four find an ailing Prince Scott of Kashuan, Princess Hilda's fiancé, in the basement of the rebel-friendly local pub. Scott dies of his wounds from the battle of Fynn against the Emperor, but not before giving the party his ring, which reveals the world map. He also informs them that Borghen betrayed the rebellion and became a General in the Imperial army. He tells the party to tell Hilda that he loves her, but retracts the request, and dies shortly afterward. The three adventurers return to Altair and present Hilda the ring, who after an emotional reminiscence of Scott, allows them to join the rebel movement.

Having proved their worth, the party is charged with journeying to the mountainous northern parts of the world to find Mythril that the rebels need to make weapons that can measure up to that of the Empire's. Before leaving, the party is joined by the White Mage Minwu, who healed the party at the beginning of the game. The party sail across the ocean to the eastern continent and make it north to the mountain village of Salamand, which is under siege by the Empire and are forced to mine Mythril for the Imperial army. There they meet Josef, the hero of the town, who informs them that the men of the village are being forced to mine Mythril in the Semmit Falls. Josef, however, can do nothing, as his daughter, Nelly, is being held captive.

Emperor Palamecia (Playstation remake)

The party enters the mine and saves the captives, including Nelly and Paul, who is supposedly the world's best thief. The party defeats an Imperial soldier and returns to Altair with the mithril. The party is then told to go to Bafsk, which is under General Borghen's command and is easier to infiltrate. However, the party is too late to stop the Dreadnought from being completed. A plan is formed to use the Sunfire from Kasuhan Keep, but to enter, either the Goddess Bell or the voice of a Kashuan is needed to open the keep. Josef helps the party enter the snow caves with a snowcraft, and the party retrieves the bell. On the way out, Borghen attacks the party, and although he is defeated, he sends a boulder after the party. Josef holds back the boulder to allow the party to escape, but is crushed to death.

The party reaches Kashuan Keep, where they find Gordon has already entered. Although they retrieve Egil's Torch, and use it to capture the Sunfire, the Airship - with Cid and Hilda on board - is captured by the Dreadnought's crane arm. The party enters the airship and saves Hilda, before throwing the Sunfire into the engine. Immediately after doing so, the Dark Knight appears, and Maria recognizes his voice before she escapes.

The King of Fynn, now close to death, summons Gordon, Minwu and Firion's group into his bedroom and gives them assignments. Gordon is given command of the rebel army, Minwu is told to find the Ultima Tome, and Firion's group is given the task of finding the seemingly extinct dragoons of Deist. The king then dies of his wounds. Firion's group realizes that no captain will take them to Deist save one- Leila. Leila, however, turns out to be a pirate, and orders her crew to attack Firion's party. The party fights them off, and although Leila expects that Firion will kill her, he instead asks for her help in taking them to Deist, a request with which she complies. In Deist, the party finds only a mother with her son, learning that the all but one of the Dragoons and all but one of the Wyverns are dead, partly as a result of Imperial poison. The party obtains a pendant to speak with the last Wyvern, who tells the party to take its egg to a pool deep in the cave before it dies. The party plants the egg in the cave, and fights off some monsters that come after it.

The party returns to Altair, where they learn that Hilda has been acting oddly, eating mice and acting seductively. She summons Firion to her room and tries to seduce him, revealing her true form as the Lamia Queen. The party defeats the Lamia Queen, and learns that they had rescued a decoy on the Dreadnought; the real Princess is in the Arena; Gordon goes to save her while leaving Leila to run the rebellion. The party defeats a Behemoth to win the Princess, but the Emperor tricks them and has the Dark Knight and his soldiers capture and detain them. Paul, however, breaks them out, and the party saves the real Princess.

Upon their return, the party learns that Hilda and Gordon are launching an attack on Fynn, and infiltrate the castle to kill the commander of the enemy forces. Hilda then tells the party that Minwu has not been heard from for some time, and tells them to search for him. The party acquires a Crystal Rod to enter the tower after acquiring other relics, but Leviathan swallows their ship and separates them from Leila. They meet Ricard (his name is based on the Game Boy Advance translation, and varies significantly with the translation), the last surviving Dragoon, who had set out to find the Ultima Tome, and they join forces. After gaining another ship, they sail to the Magicians' Tower. At the top, Minwu explains that he was waiting for the party, and then casts a powerful spell to shatter the Ultima Tome's seal, at the cost of his own life.

The party returns to Fynn and sees that many towns have been destroyed by the Emperor's Cyclone. The party calls upon the newly born last Wyvern to take them to a castle inside the Cyclone, where they confront and kill the Emperor. Everyone celebrates the Empire's defeat, but a mortally wounded soldier arrives and reveals that the Dark Knight has taken the throne and plans to destroy the Rebels with the Imperial army. He then makes a more shocking revelation- that the Dark Knight is Leon, Maria's long-lost brother. The party realizes that they will have to infiltrate the castle of Palamecia from the air after talking with Paul, and receive the airship from a dying Cid, who was mortally wounded by the Cyclone.

The party enters the castle and confronts Leon. Then, the Emperor returns in a new demonic form, and reveals that he does not seek to regain the Empire, but to destroy the entire world. As he summons magical fire against the party, the Wyvern arrives, and takes the party to safety as Ricard holds off the Emperor and dies. Princess Hilda is shocked to see Leon on their side, but Maria convinces her to trust him, and Leon agrees to help his friends and sister once again.

The then enters the Jade Passage, an underground cavern near a lake, and find a portal to Pandemonium. The party fights its way through the fortress, and reaches the Emperor at the top, defeating him for a second time. The party then receives congratulations for their efforts, and learns of Hilda and Gordon's plan to unite Fynn and Kashuan, which may indicate that they plan to marry. Paul is upset that he will no longer have the Empire to steal from, and suggests that he will steal from the former rebels. Leila invites Firion to become a pirate, but Maria objects, and Leila suggests that Firion will have to deal with her in the future. Maria hopes that they will live together as they once did, but Leon says that they cannot live together again- some translations have him indicating that they know too much about each other, which may refer to his lust for power. Maria begs Firion to stop him, but Firion believes that Leon must follow his own path, but tells him that they will be waiting for him, as though he hopes that Leon will return someday.