Firion

Firion is a playable character in Final Fantasy II, and is the main protagonist and leader of the party. Firion and his adopted siblings Maria, Guy, and Leon, lived in the village of Fynn until it was attacked by the Palamecian Empire. Firion subsequently joined the Wild Rose Rebellion and became one of their key warriors in the war against the Emperor.
Firion is the first main character in the series with a default name and a narrative driven storyline, unlike the playable characters of the original Final Fantasy.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Firion was designed by Yoshitaka Amano, whose artworks of Firion vary, but his appearance has been refined through ports of the original game and his appearance in spin-offs. His original Famicom sprite is similar to the Warrior's sprite from the first Final Fantasy. Later ports of the game depict Firion with long silver hair tied in a ponytail and covered by a blue, orange, and yellow bandana, and he has brown eyes. He wears lightweight red, orange, and yellow armor with blue bracers and shinguards. Concept art depicts Firion with a cape of various colors, and his Dawn of Souls art gives him a red-orange cape. Prototype screenshots for the WonderSwan Color version of Final Fantasy II show Firion with a cape, but he did not have one in-game until the Playstation Portable 20th Anniversary port.
The details of Firion's appearance vary across different concept arts of him, with the major constants being long silver hair with a bandana, light armor, and a cape. For his appearance in Dissidia, Firion was redesigned by Tetsuya Nomura. Firion retails his silver hair and tri-colored bandana, but his outfit is primarily light blue with darker blue or black details, and he has a blue cape. This design has become the basis for Firion's design in most spin-off appearances, though some appearances instead base him on his sprite designs with red and orange armor, and on other occasions his cape may be red or orange instead of blue.
Firion's signature weapon is the Crimson Sword, which appeared in his original concept arts. It is a bright red blade with a curved tip and a red tassel. A variant of the weapon has appeared under the name Blood Sword; this originates from Dissidia where Firion's weapons became Blood weapons and turned a deeper hue of red in his EX Mode.
===Personality===
Firion tries to behave heroically and strives to protect his country and the people he holds dear. In his Japanese Famicom profile, it is stated Firion has a weakness for women, which could explain why he was so easily seduced by the Lamia Queen.
===Abilities===
As with all characters in Final Fantasy II, Firion's abilities and stats can be freely customized to use him as the player wishes.
Dissidia Final Fantasy depicts Firion as a master of multiple different weapons who carries an arsenal with him - a sword; an axe that is able to be thrown and rebound like a boomerang; a lance; a pair of daggers that can be attached to ropes; a bow; a wand for spellcasting; and a shield that can project an energy barrier. Firion is characterized as a close-to-midrange character with slow movement speed, but high power. He attacks with combos of his different weapons and can telekinetically control them to attack his opponent from multiple angles. Firion's EX Mode turns his weapons into Blood weapons, which drain HP from enemies to heal Firion when he deals HP damage.
Spin-offs focus Firion as a frontline fighter with support skills, and he often has Blood weapons as either equipment or ability to drain HP. In Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, Firion's attacks all drain HP to heal himself and allies, and he is able to inflict a debuff on enemies to automatically counter-attack after they take a turn. In Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Firion is able to debuff an enemy's defense and raise his own attack, and can drain HP and MP. He also has many support abilities that interact with multiple different weapon types and elemental affinities, and boost his damage when fighting enemies of specific types. Final Fantasy Record Keeper specializes Firion in the holy, fire, and ice elements, and his Soul Breaks grant him status buffs that speed up his attacks and allow him to use follow-up attacks.
==Story==
After his home is burned down and his adoptive parents murdered by the Imperial army, he is critically wounded by several black knights while fleeing Fynn. Upon awakening, he finds himself in the remote rebel stronghold of Altair where he reunites with his close friends Maria and Guy. Upon realizing that Leon has been separated from them, Firion, Maria and Guy ask Princess Hilda if they could join the rebel army since they have nothing left to return to.
Hilda refuses to let them in due to their young age, but allows them refuge from the empire so they can wait for Maria's brother, Leon, to find them if he survived. Instead of waiting, Firion, Maria and Guy go to Fynn to find Leon themselves. They find Scott, Hilda's groom to be, mortally wounded in the secret room of Fynn's tavern. He gives a ring to Firion to give to Hilda. Scott tells Firion to tell Hilda of his love for her and his regret to not see her again, then rethinks the request. Impressed by their accomplished infiltration of Fynn, Hilda lets Firion and his friends join the Wild Rose Rebellion against the empire.
Hilda gives the party their first mission: to locate mythril, a powerful metal needed to create weapons. The White Wizard, Minwu, accompanies the party to Salamand. The town of Salamand is currently under the Empire's the control, and the men of town are forced to mine mythril. A native named Josef informs them of the townspeople's plight, but is unwilling to help, as his daughter Nelly is a captive. The party heads to the mines where they rescue the prisoners, along with Nelly, after defeating the Imperial Officer. They return to Altair soon after with mythril.
Firion leads a team to the town of Bafsk to stop the large airship, Dreadnought, from being completed. The party is too late and the Dreadnought is finished and attacks several towns. Firion's party retrieves the Goddess's Bell needed to open the gates of Kashuan Keep, where Sunfire needed to stop the Dreadnought is located. Josef helps get the bell by lending his snowcraft and defeating the Adamantoise that guards it. After fighting Borghen Josef sacrifices himself to rescue the party from a large boulder. After collecting the Sunfire, the party, along with Prince Gordon, witness Cid's airship being captured, where Hilda and Cid traveled to Kashuan. They rescue her from the Dreadnought and destroy the engine.
The King of Fynn orders from his death bed that Firion's group contacts the Dragoons of Deist. Firion heads to Poft in search of a ship, along with Maria and Guy, and recruits a pirate named Leila, who offers to aid the party by bringing them to Deist so that she and her crew could rob them. Once at sea, her crew attacks the party and loses. Leila gives herself up and Firion allows her to join them.
At Deist, the party only find a mother and son in Deist, as everyone else has been wiped out, save for one wyvern. The party places the last wyvern's egg in a pool in the depths of Deist Cavern. After returning to Altair, they discover Hilda has been acting oddly and is eating mice. Firion enters her room alone, where she attempts to seduce him. The rest of the party bursts in just as she reveals her true form as a Lamia Queen.
After defeating the Lamia, Firion and his group head to the Palamecian Coliseum where the real Hilda is being held captive. After rescuing her, Firion, Maria, Leila and Guy participate in an attack upon Fynn where they infiltrate Fynn Castle and kill Gottos, the Imperial Commander, restoring the kingdom of Fynn.
Firion travels to Mysidia to locate Minwu. After finding he traveled to the Mysidian Tower, the resting place of the mighty Ultima Tome, Firion and his friends search for the Crystal Rod, a relic used as the key to the tower, which lies in the Mysidia Cave. To explore deep into the cavern he needs a White and a Black Mask. After finding these artifacts on Fynn Castle and the distant Tropical Island, respectively, Firion heads to the Mysidia Cave and obtains the key to the Mysidian Tower.
When approaching the island where the Tower is located, Firion, Maria and Guy are swallowed by Leviathan. The party escape from its bowels with the help of the last remaining Dragoon, Ricard Highwind. Atop the Mysidian Tower they witness Minwu sacrificing himself to acquire the Ultima Tome for the party.
After retuning to Fynn they discover a Cyclone that has been summoned by the Emperor is destroying towns. Firion leads his team into the Cyclone with the help of the newborn wyvern and defeats the Emperor. A celebration held for the empire's defeat is halted by the announcement that the Dark Knight Leon has taken the throne after the Emperor's defeat. The party enters the castle using the recently deceased Cid's airship and confronts the power-hungry Leon.
Amid a confrontation with Leon, the Emperor returns from the dead, revealing his plan to destroy the world. Ricard holds him off while Firion, Leon, and the rest of the party escape. Upon arriving in Fynn Hilda agrees to let Leon join the Rebel Army and tells Firion to keep an eye on him.
The last battle takes place in Pandaemonium at the end of the Jade Passage. When the Emperor is killed the second time Leon leaves the party because of what he did with the empire, but Firion tells him that when he is ready to come back, he will be happily welcomed.
==Gameplay==
Firion's starting equipment is a Broadsword, a Buckler and Leather Armor. He begins as the most balanced member of the team as his attacks are on par with his magical ability, and his stats are almost perfectly balanced between Guy and Maria, who have stats specializing in physical/magical abilities while lacking in the other.
It is up to the player to decide what kind of warrior Firion becomes. In the battle with the Emperor shown in the Soul of Rebirth cutscene before the final battle, Firion is the party member who knows Ultima, but as with any spell, the player may teach it to whomever they wish. His ultimate weapon in the Arcane Labyrinth is the Ragnarok sword. Most of the Key Terms that are optimal for Firion are not learnable until the player has reached the Cyclone, and the best Key Terms are only available after returning from Palamecia, making the Ragnarok obtainable only near the end of the game.
===Initial stats===
Stat 	Level
HP 	30
MP 	10
Strength 	10
Spirit 	10
Intelligence	10
Stamina 	10
Agility 	10
Magic 	5
===Optimal Key Terms for Arcane Labyrinth===
Good Fortune 	Promising 	Quite Well 	Auspicious 	Superb
AuthorityChroniclesDreadnoughtPalameciaMiasmaSorcery	GiantsGreedIron BarsOasis	CycloneJade PassageOblivionUtopia	DestructionGuardian	Hope
==Other appearances==
===Games===
Firion has made appearances in the following media in the Final Fantasy series:
*Final Fantasy XIV as a Triple Triad card and cosmetic rewards.
*Dissidia Final Fantasy as a playable character.
*Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as a playable character.
*Dissidia Final Fantasy NT as a playable character.
*Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a playable character.
*Theatrhythm Final Fantasy as a playable character.
*Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call as a playable character.
*Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival as a playable character.
*Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.
*Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as a summonable Legend.
*Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
*Final Fantasy All the Bravest as a playable character.
*Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
*Final Fantasy World Wide Words.
*Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a summonable vision.
*World of Final Fantasy Maxima as a non-player character and Champion Jewel.
*Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.
*Triple Triad as a card.
===Novels===
Firion is the main character of the first novelization of the game, Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū. He is stated to be 18 years old in the novel. While the game does not mention Firion's past, the novelization mentions Firion was born in Salamand and was taken in by his adopted family in Fynn after his parents' death. However, this backstory has never been supported in official companion guidebooks, with Firion's hometown being labeled as unknown. 
In addition, the ending of the novelization has Firion and Maria become a couple, but this is never mentioned within the game itself.
===Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances===
Firion has made key guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy games:
*, as a costume.
*Monster Strike as a playable character.
*Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble as a playable character.
== Musical themes ==
"Main Theme" is Firion's overworld theme in Dissidia Final Fantasy and is the theme representing him in the "5th Anniversary Special Medley" from Final Fantasy Record Keeper.
==Merchandise==
In May 2018 Square Enix releases a silver Firion pendant with an aquamarine gem as part of the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary campaign. The reverse side of the pendant simply reads "Final Fantasy" with a carving of a crystal. Firion appears in his Dissidia Final Fantasy version, and is released alongside pendants of the other Final Fantasy protagonists.
==Gallery==
==Citations==
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ja:フリオニール
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ru:Фирион
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy II
Category:Main characters