Josef Josef is a playable character from " Final Fantasy II " . He joins the party soon after they arrive at Salamand . Profile . Appearance . Josef is a tall , physically imposing man who sports a brown mustache and a bald head . He wears a dark green poncho held on his shoulders by a metal neckpiece with red spikes on the back and purple clothing underneath . Josef also carries a large curved sword on his back in a scabbard despite fighting unarmed . His Famicom sprites show him with brown clothing and a blue cape and he is balding , rather than completely bald as he appears in every other portrayal . Personality . Josef is a wealth of knowledge for Firion and his party , though he is initially skeptical of them . When his daughter is saved , Josef offers the party what he knows . In Soul of Rebirth , Josef also displays his knowledge of the situation . Story . In his youth , Josef was a soldier for the Palamecian Empire who escaped to the town of Salamand with a nameless young woman who later became his wife and had a daughter named Nelly with her . Ever the explorer and the handyman , Josef built a snow craft to take advantage of the snowfields north of Salamand and retired his sled in the nearby Semitt Falls . Though the reasons for him fleeing the empire are unknown , his opinion of it and its citizens is sour . When Firion and his allies arrive , Josef is cold towards them . After Firion and the others rescue the men of Salamand and Nelly from slavery in the Semitt Falls , Josef becomes helpful , as he shares the party his vast knowledge . When Firion learns the Goddess ' s Bell is in the snow cave north of Salamand , Josef tells him of his old ice sled . He accompanies them to retrieve the sled from the ice cave , where they also recover the Goddess ' s Bell . They are attacked by Borghen , whom the heroes defeat . As he dies , Borghen triggers a trap sending a boulder falling towards the party . Josef blocks it , but cannot hold it for long . He tells Firion , Maria and Guy to get out of the way and , as they step away , Josef runs out of strength and is crushed by the boulder . Josef finds himself in the afterlife , confronted by a zombie version of Borghen . Scott and Minwu , who have also died , assist him in defeating the zombie . They find the spirit of Ricard , who joins them . At the end of their journey through the afterlife they believe to be Hell , they are confronted by the Emperor ' s light half , who explains that they are in Heaven . The Emperor ' s light side had brought them to him to ask for their forgiveness for his dark half ' s actions . The subconscious souls of the heroes ' still - living friends and family appear and warn them not to be fooled , for the Light Emperor is as evil as the Emperor ' s dark side . Josef , Minwu , Ricard and Scott , fight and defeat the Light Emperor . After his defeat , the fallen heroes can rest in peace . Gameplay . Josef has high Strength , Agility , and Stamina , as well as slightly higher skill fighting unarmed , which makes him the perfect person to turn into a Monk . His HP will grow quickly and his unarmed skills make him a powerful physical attacker . His magic stats are low . If the player plans to use Josef in Soul of Rebirth , giving him support spells like Protect and Shell is advisable , as they will not be affected by his low Spirit . His ultimate weapon in the Arcane Labyrinth is the Dragon Claws . Despite his proficiency with unarmed fighting , the Dragon Claws are classified as a dagger , so the player must train Josef with daggers to get proper use out of them . Josef is the only character to have a unique armor , the Bracers , which serves as an alternative to an ultimate weapon for him in Soul of Rebirth . Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Josef appears as a recruitable character unlocked in Snow Cavern on Classic in the storyline of " Final Fantasy II " as the First Time Reward . He was also available via the Seer of Destiny Challenge Event , where he is also found in the Snow Cavern on the Classic difficulty track . Josef is a Rebel Agent whose combat role is Physical Attack . Josef is , for all practical purposes , a Monk , and it is likely that he will be the party ' s first , barring an event with the more popular Sabin or Tifa ; other Monks are much harder to obtain . Josef possesses strong physical stats aside from his HP , which are more on a par with Tifa ' s than with some of the others in the class . Using Josef as a tank , therefore , is not recommended ; but when a battle calls for a brawler , Josef should be one to consider deploying . Josef can use Combat abilities up to rarity rank 5 , Support abilities up to rarity rank 4 , and Monk abilities up to rarity rank 5 . His initial Soul Break is Fists of Fury , which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment deals physical damage to one target . The fist Giant ' s Gloves ( II ) can grant Josef access to Noble Sacrifice , which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment kills himself to significantly raise remaining allies ' Attack . Josef can equip the following weapon types : axes , daggers , fists , and hammers . The fist Giant ' s Gloves ( II ) allows Josef access to Noble Sacrifice . He can equip the following armor types : bracers , hats , light armor , and robes . He can equip accessories . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Josef appears with his Yoshitaka Amano artwork and artwork from " Final Fantasy I & II : Dawn of Souls " . His cards are ice - elemental for his affinity with the snowfields in " Final Fantasy II " .