Leon (Final Fantasy II)
Leon is a pioneer in the Final Fantasy franchise as he appears in the second game who serves both as an ally and antagonist. He is one of the four protagonists that managed to escape the clutches of the Empire when they invaded Flynn. However, he was soon separated from the party and became the Emperor’s Dark Knight, eventually fighting against his former friends. Nevertheless, Leon did end up rejoining Firion and the party to defeat the Emperor at the Pandaemonium.
Leon is the first Dark Knight in the series and is also the first party member in the series to betray the party. This trope is later expanded on by Kain in Final Fantasy IV who was included in Duodecim. The Dark Knight had powerful stats that focused mainly on Intelligence and Strength. Since Firion’s play style revolved around the many weapons he could use, Leon could focus mainly on dealing spells with a few melee attacks mixed in. Including Leon in Dissidia NT would pay a great homage to the early Final Fantasy titles while expanding the second game’s roster.
