Shadow ( Final Fantasy VI ) Shadow is a playable character in " Final Fantasy VI " . He is a loner , an assassin and a mercenary , as his only friend is his dog , Interceptor . According to Edgar he is so cold he would " kill his best friend for the right price . " Shadow comes and goes as he pleases , as throughout the World of Balance he leaves the player ' s party at various points after battle without warning . Profile . Appearance . Shadow wears black ninja attire with his hood up and dons a mask , hiding his facial characteristics . In the flashbacks he is sandy - haired , wearing a brown scarf and cloak over black clothes . Personality . Shadow typically only shows tenderness to his dog , and is described by others as a ruthless assassin . When he joins the party , he rarely talks and shows little interest in the others ' exploits , often staying only until he can collect his fee , then leaving at the most inopportune moments . Shadow has a troubled past , later warns Terra about " people who have killed their emotions " , and encourages her not to do the same . In Thamasa , Shadow rescues the party from a burning house , though he claims it was only to retrieve Interceptor . Despite his cold and taciturn exterior , Shadow does develop a kinship with the party . Story . Shadow used to go by the name Clyde , a thief who worked with his partner , Baram . Together they became known as Shadow , and referred to themselves as " The Great Train Robbers of the Century . " They found a treasure worth a million gil , but the authorities were on their tail . Baram was wounded and begged Clyde to kill him to avoid capture . Clyde was unable to kill his friend and fled . He found himself in the small town of Thamasa where he married a woman and fathered a baby girl . He could not hide from his past , so some years later he left his wife and daughter and changed his identity . He would wear the attire of a dark assassin , and would never show his face . His dog , Interceptor , followed him out of Thamasa . From then on he would only be known as " Shadow , " borrowing from the group name he and his partner collectively used as thieves . The party first meets up with Shadow in South Figaro . He is found later outside of Gau ' s father ' s house , where he offers to take Sabin to Narshe . On the way , they pass through an Imperial Camp set up to manage the Siege of Doma . Shadow and Sabin overhear Kefka Palazzo ' s plan to dump poison in the river that flows through Doma Castle and try to stop him , but fail . Cyan Garamonde , a knight of Doma , comes to the camp to exact his revenge on the Imperials . Sabin and Shadow help out , and together they escape the camp on Magitek Armor . The three travel south through the Phantom Forest , and accidentally board the Phantom Train . To get off they make their way to the engine and stop the train . They head south towards Baren Falls , where Shadow leaves Sabin and Cyan if he has not left already . Shadow pops up next in Kohlingen during the search for Terra , but he refuses to join the party unless they are willing to pay him 3 , 000 gil . Still , he would only help them as far as Zozo at most . Alternatively , the party can hire him after Zozo , but he will leave during the opera . Shadow is hired by the Gestahlian Empire to assist in the mission to Crescent Island . On the way , he overhears an intimate conversation between Terra and General Leo , after which he assures Terra he does not care , as his emotions are dead . He joins Terra and Locke Cole on a trip to Thamasa , where he meets Strago Magus and Relm Arrowny . Interceptor is friendly to Relm , which confuses Shadow . That night Relm is trapped in a burning building , and Terra , Locke , and Strago venture inside to save her . Shadow does not come until Interceptor tries to rescue Relm . Shadow arrives just as everyone is about to get burned to death , and helps them by using a smoke bomb to escape . After these events , he takes Interceptor and leaves Thamasa . After Kefka ' s attack on Thamasa , Interceptor returns without Shadow , casting doubt to his master ' s whereabouts . Shadow is found wounded on the Floating Continent . He helps the party navigate it and defeat Ultima Weapon , after which he leaves because he is ashamed he ever served the empire and feels unworthy of fighting alongside the party . Kefka kills Emperor Gestahl over the control of the Warring Triad and begins to move the statues out of their delicate balance , which causes the face of the world to change . Shadow tries to move the statues back in balance and stop Kefka so the party could escape the Floating Continent , but the party can choose to wait for him . If the party waits until the last five seconds , Shadow will jump onto the " Blackjack " . If the party waited for him , Shadow appears in the World of Ruin ; otherwise , he presumably dies . One year later , if the party waited for Shadow , he can be found , wounded , in the Cave on the Veldt ( otherwise , Relm appears in his stead ) . To rescue him , the party defeats the Behemoth King and takes him to Thamasa to recover . Shadow heads for the Dragon ' s Neck Coliseum in search of the legendary dagger , the Ichigeki . If the party wagers it , they fight Shadow . If they win , Shadow rejoins permanently . After the party has killed Kefka and is escaping his crumbling tower , Shadow says " " Baram . . . It looks like I can finally stop running . . . Come and find me all right ? " " ( the Japanese version of this translates back into English as " " Billy ! I don ' t need to flee anymore . Embrace me warmly . " " ) . Shadow remains in Kefka ' s Tower as everyone else , including Interceptor , returns to the " Falcon " . It is suggested he did not intend to survive the tower ' s collapse , and his fate is left unknown , as he does not appear on the " Falcon " with the others . Shadow ' s dreams . Shadow has nightmares during the night that reveal Shadow is Relm ' s father , and tell the story of him as a train robber named Clyde who robbed a train of a million gil with his partner Baram , and together they took the name " Shadow " as a duo . Baram was killed when fleeing the authorities , but Shadow escaped to Thamasa , where he fell in love with a woman and fathered a child before leaving the village to keep his past from catching up with him . The village dog , Interceptor , followed him . This is why Interceptor is so friendly towards Relm , and why both Shadow and Relm can use the Memento Ring , said to be empowered by the love of a departed mother — in this case , Relm ' s mother and Shadow ' s wife . If the party allows Shadow to die on the Floating Continent , the flashback sequence viewed when rescuing Relm shows Strago speaking to Relm who cries out for " Daddy " and asks where he went and if he will come back , before Interceptor leaves the house . This fits with the flashback viewed if the party rescues Shadow instead of Relm , which shows him , as Clyde , walking away from Strago ' s home when Interceptor runs up from behind him . In the original North American Super NES release , he tells Interceptor to stay with " the girl , " but the word used for " girl " in the Japanese release could also be used as a humble form of " daughter . " In the Game Boy Advance release the word " daughter " is used instead , making it clear Shadow fathered a child in Thamasa before fleeing the village . Shadow and Relm ' s relationship was officially confirmed in developers ' interviews in 1995 . The developers considered having a scene in a bar ( presumably in Thamasa ) where Strago asks Shadow to reveal his identity . The dialogue was supposed to be as follows : Witnessing all dreams in the mobile / Steam version earns the Road to Carnage achievement . Gameplay . Shadow is a party member who is available in certain parts of the story . When he first joins , he has a 1 / 16 chance to depart from the party before reaching the Phantom Train after a battle , unless he ' s the only character alive , KO ' d , petrified , or has the Zombie status . As a party member , Shadow is an Assassin . His main ability is Throw , which allows him to throw weapons . This can be used to throw weapons no longer required , but is primarily used to throw specific offensive throwing items ( either shurikens for pure physical damage or scroll s for elemental damage ) to deal heavy damage . Due to being relatively affordable , Shadow later on can purchase 99 Fuma Shurikens and forego physical attacks . His stats are average all around , but his Speed and Strength are particularly high . Shadow ' s dog Interceptor also joins the fray randomly , intercepting attacks on the party and retaliating with Wild Fang , a powerful physical attack on one target . Additional , Shadow is fought as a boss in the Dragon ' s Neck Coliseum . When at an inn with Shadow in the party , there is a 50 % chance of a dream sequence cutscene involving Shadow ' s past being triggered . Creation and development . After it was decided " Final Fantasy VI " would feature an ensemble cast with no clear main protagonist , everyone in the development team was encouraged to provide ideas for characters and their episodes . Shadow ' s character and story were colored by influence from Tetsuya Nomura . Shadow is based on an idea Nomura has for " Final Fantasy V " . He had had jobs in mind , such as a ninja with a dog , a gambler who fought with dice and cards , among others . These ideas were not used for " Final Fantasy V " , but when work started on " Final Fantasy VI " , they were used for Shadow and Setzer . In the " Advance " version , the famous quote " " He ' d slit his momma ' s throat for a nickel " " was toned down to " " He ' d kill his best friend for the right price , " " — as it had been in the SNES version ' s original Japanese release — to give his persona the style of a ruthless mercenary working for money , rather than that of a mindless killer working for the kill . It is also more fitting since nickels are not used for currency in the game ; ironically , it is later revealed that Shadow actually refused to kill his best friend . The game data contains dialogue lines for Shadow when spoken to on the " Blackjack " , however , the player never gets to board the airship with Shadow , so these lines can never be viewed . It is also possible to ignore Shadow until the mission to Thamasa , yet he always acts as if he ' s already made the player ' s acquaintance . This dialogue for the " never - before - met " Shadow would occur during the scene where Locke and Terra are introduce by Leo to Celes and Shadow before boarding the ship to Thamasa exists within the game data , but apparently the developers forgot to include it . Musical themes . Shadow ' s theme has a style reminiscent of spaghetti western soundtracks , such as ones by . When the player enters a location where Shadow is present , such as the South Figaro and Kohlingen pubs , the background music abruptly switches to his leitmotif , indicating his presence . His theme has an orchestral reprise in the " Ending Theme " between 09 : 16 and 10 : 04 . Other appearances . Shadow has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Etymology . A fitting name for an assassin . His real name may refer to the famous thief .