Ricard Highwind Ricard Highwind , also known as Gareth in the " Final Fantasy Origins " translation , and Edward in the " Dark Shadow Over Palakia " translation , is a character from " Final Fantasy II " . He is the last surviving dragoon from Deist . He is the first Dragoon in the series . Profile . Appearance . Not much is known about Ricard ' s physical appearance besides his fair skin shown underneath his helmet . He wears dark blue and purple spiked armor and is seen carrying a long spear or staff in different pieces of artwork . His helmet is decorated with dragon wings on each side and has red eye slits in the PS / GBA versions . Ricard wears bronze and blue armor in NES battle sprite and his portrait shows him with a visored helmet . A modified version of Ricard ' s battle sprite would be used for the Dragoon class in " Final Fantasy III " . His sprites in the PlayStation Portable version resemble Kain Highwind from " Final Fantasy IV " . Story . Ricard was ordered to find the Ultima tome , but his ship was swallowed up by the Leviathan . He meets Firion inside the Leviathan where he protests to the idea of dragoons being extinct since he ' s a dragoon himself . He joins forces with Firion , Maria and Guy who use his ship to get out of the Leviathan and sail to the Mysidian Tower . After climbing to the top they reach the sealed door leading to the Ultima tome . Minwu is already there and tells them to stand back while he focuses his remaining energy on opening the door and dies afterward as a result of over - exertion . Finally , one member of Firion ' s party learns the Ultima spell . The group travels to Fynn where they are informed of the Emperor ' s Cyclone . They use a pendant found on another dragoon ' s corpse in front of a large mirror in Fynn Castle to summon the Wyvern whose egg they had protected by transporting it to Deist ' s cavern ' s spring . Ricard and the wyvern form a connection . If the party travels to Deist , Ricard learns from Elina , the widow of his dragoon friend Phillip , and her son , Kain , that the dragoons and their wyverns were massacred by the Palamecian army , leaving them as the only survivors . Ricard promises to return after defeating the Emperor and they will be a family . Ricard , accompanied by Firion and his party , flies on the wyvern into the Cyclone and together they defeat the Emperor . When Leon attempts to assume the throne of Palamecia , the heroes confront him . When the Emperor returns from the dead as the Dark Emperor , Ricard attacks him to create a diversion while the others , accompanied by Leon , are picked up by the wyvern and escape . Ricard is no match for the undead Emperor and is slain . If Firion returns to Deist to break the news to Ricard ' s adoptive family , they will tell him they are leaving Deist for the many painful memories there . In parting , they give Firion the Excalibur . In the " " and later remakes , Ricard is in Heaven fighting a worm - like creature ( similar to the one he fights with Firion ' s party inside the Leviathan ) when Minwu and the others join him . After defeating it , they try to figure out where they are . They confront the Light Emperor who asks for their forgiveness , but images of Elina and Kain tell Ricard not to be fooled by the Light Emperor , because he is as evil as his dark side . Ricard summons the will to fight the Light Emperor and defeats him and finally rests in peace knowing the future of the world is in good hands . Gameplay . Ricard is a Dragoon , and as such in the " Dawn of Souls " and later versions of the game , he starts with a high skill level with spears and swords and a moderate shield skill level . In the NES and " Origins " versions , he has no proficiency with spears . Ricard has high Strength and mediocre Stamina , Spirit and Agility . He is most suited as an attacker , as he has low MP when he joins and his low Magic stat means his MP will be slow to level up . His ultimate weapon in the Arcane Labyrinth is Abel ' s Lance , which helps his HP grow faster by boosting his Stamina . In Soul of Rebirth , his ultimate weapon found in the Unknown Palace is the Wyvern Lance . The player may wish to equip Ricard with the Blood Sword if planning to play through Soul of Rebirth , as he will retain it when recruited and the sword is powerful against Ultima Weapon and the Light Emperor . This means the Blood Sword will be unavailable in the main game for the final dungeons and bosses . Ricard is a Dragoon whose combat role is Physical Attack . Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . While every other named character has various distinct qualities that earn them a place in a party , Ricard is unfortunately outclassed by other characters in many ways . Other than his bad Resistance , his stats are generally above average for a dragoon , although his key stats , HP and Attack , are not as good as Kain ' s , and he can equip swords which are abundant and easy to get . However , he has a very limited ability set compared to most other characters , and , other than Freya , he is the only dragoon to not have full Combat access . However , Freya makes up for it with the ability to equip Rank 4 Support and Celerity skills , while Ricard can only equip Rank 4 Combat and Rank 2 Black Magic , the latter which is at best situational to inflict status effects . To add insult to injury , Ricard is the only named character in the global version that does not have a single Soul Break yet , effectively almost nullifying his access of Rank 4 Combat . Therefore , it is not recommended to use Ricard in a party challenging high level content , as what he can do , others can do better . Despite all this , players still level Ricard up for his first Record Materia , which is commonly regarded to be one of the best in the game . Ricard can use Black Magic abilities up to rarity rank 2 , Combat abilities up to rarity rank 4 , Dragoon abilities up to rarity rank 5 . His initial Soul Break is Spear Master , which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment deals physical damage to one target . After Ricard ' s level cap is increased he automatically gains the Record Materia , Dragoon ' s Determination , which when equipped increases Attack by 20 % , but starts the battle with Sap . His second Record Materia , Dragoon ' s Pride , can be gained at any given time after battle provided that Ricard is present in the battle party . When equipped with Dragoon ' s Pride , conventional attacks may become Jump . His third Record Materia , The Last Dragoon , requires his level cap to be broken at least twice , and can be gained at any given time after battle provided that Ricard is present in the battle party . When equipped with The Last Dragoon , dragoon abilities do 30 % more damage . Ricard can equip the following weapon types : daggers , swords , axes , and spears . He can equip the following armor types : shields , hats , helms , light armor , armor and bracers . He can equip accessories . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Ricard appears in " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . " Triple Triad " . Ricard appears on a Triple Triad card in the version available via " Final Fantasy Portal App " . Etymology . Ricard is the Catalan spelling of the name Richard . Ricard is the first Dragoon in the series , and the first character to have the surname Highwind in a " Final Fantasy " title ( and in fact is the first character to have a surname ) , followed by Kain Highwind in " Final Fantasy IV " ( another Dragoon ) and Cid Highwind in " Final Fantasy VII " ( who used similar abilities ) . Alexander Highwind Tycoon of " Final Fantasy V " also uses the name . " Final Fantasy Dimensions " has a dragoon called Richard , who is a friend of the deceased dragoon Abel . In the " Dawn of Souls " and later remakes , the son of a fellow dragoon was named Kain . When Ricard returns to Deist , the boy and his mother are the only survivors , and Ricard ' s death prompts Kain to follow in the Dragoon legacy . This is referred to in " Final Fantasy IV " with the Dragoon named Kain Highwind . The 3D remake of " Final Fantasy IV " alludes to this Easter egg , as Kain states his father died while fighting an empire , and mentions his father ' s name was Richard . Ricard ' s name in the Spanish version of " Final Fantasy II " is Arturo . However , the translation team did not change Kain ' s father ' s name in " Final Fantasy IV " . His name has also been translated as " Edward " .