Ricard Highwind, also known as Gareth in the Final Fantasy Origins translation, and Edward in the Dark Shadow Over Palakia translation, is a playable guest character in Final Fantasy II. Ricard was cut from the novel Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū.

He is the last surviving dragoon from Deist and the first Dragoon in the Final Fantasy series. Dragoons went on to become one of the staple jobs in the series, with many taking the name "Highwind" either as their surname or as the name of an ability.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

Ricard wears a dark suit of spiked armor. He carries a long spear or staff in different pieces of artwork. His helmet is decorated with dragon wings and has red eye slits in the PS/GBA versions. Ricard wears bronze and blue armor in his NES battle sprite and his portrait shows him with a visored helmet. A modified version of Ricard's battle sprite was used for the Dragoon class in Final Fantasy III. His sprites in the PlayStation Portable version resemble Kain Highwind from Final Fantasy IV.

Personality[]

Ricard initially does not believe that the dragoons are extinct since he is a dragoon himself, struggling to accept that he could be the last of his kind. After learning the truth, he becomes determined to fight against the Empire. Being a dragoon, he is able to form a fast bond with a wyvern. He later protects the party by creating a diversion to let them escape by wyvern.

Story[]

Ricard was ordered to find the Ultima Tome, but his ship was swallowed up by the Leviathan. He meets Firion inside the sea monster, where he protests to the idea of dragoons being extinct since he's a dragoon himself. He then joins forces with Firion, Maria, and Guy after they show him a Crystal Rod. A Roundworm blocks their way to the ship and, after they defeat the worm, they get out of the Leviathan and sail to the Mysidian Tower. At the top, they reach the sealed door leading to the tome. Minwu is already there and tells them to stand back while he focuses his remaining energy on opening the door and dies as a result of over-exertion.

The group travels to Fynn, where they are informed of the Emperor's Cyclone. They use a pendant that Firion had earlier found on another dragoon's corpse on a large mirror in Fynn Castle to summon the wyvern whose egg they had protected by dropping it to Deist's cavern's spring. Ricard and the wyvern then form a connection.

If the party travels to Deist after escaping the Leviathan, 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 that 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 Elina and Kain, Elina will tell him that they are leaving Deist due to the many painful memories there. Before leaving, she gives Firion the Excalibur as thanks for saving the last wyvern and allowing her to see Kain one last time.

In the Dawn of Souls and later remakes, Ricard is seen in Raqia fighting a Roundworm similar to the one he fought in Leviathan when Minwu, Scott, and Josef join him. After defeating it, they try to figure out where they are. They later confront the Light Emperor, who asks for their forgiveness, but images of Elina and Kain tell Ricard not to be fooled by him, because the Light Emperor is as evil as his dark side. Ricard and the others summon the will to fight the Light Emperor and defeat him. Afterwards, Ricard finally rests in peace, knowing that 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, 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, which is found in the Unknown Palace, is the Wyvern Lance.

The player may wish to equip Ricard with the Blood Sword if they are 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. However, this means that the Blood Sword will be unavailable in the main game for the final dungeons and bosses.

Initial abilities[]

Stats Stats Level HP 549 MP 5 Strength 60 Spirit 26 Intelligence 16 Stamina 32 Agility 26 Magic 5

Proficiencies Category Level Unarmed 1 Knives 1 Swords 8 Staves 1 Axes 1 Spears 8 Bows 1 Shields 5

Optimal Key Terms for Arcane Labyrinth[]

Good Fortune	Promising	Quite Well	Auspicious	Superb
Ekmet Teloess Candelabra Oasis Sunfire Ultima Tome Wind	Dense Fog Desert Woodlands Goddess's Bell	Cauldron Thundercloud Fire Darkness	Wyverns Soul	Dragoons

Other appearances[]

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

This section about a character in Pictlogica Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

Ricard is a playable character. He is a Dragoon whose combat role is Physical Attack.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

This section about a character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Ricard appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Lightning-elemental Forward cards.

Final Fantasy Portal App[]

Ricard appears as a Triple Triad card.

Other media[]

In Dissidia Final Fantasy, his Player Icons give his name as "Richard".

Ricard appears in Final Fantasy I * II * III: Memory of Heroes during the Final Fantasy II adaptation, in a role similar to the original game. As Ricard is present with Firion's party when they enter the Mysidian Tower, he is blessed by the crystals and becomes one of the Warriors of Light. Later, when Ricard holds off the Emperor, he transfers his blessing to Leon.

Etymology[]

Ricard is the Catalan spelling of the name Richard. [view · edit · purge]Richard was originally derived from the Proto-Germanic words rīkô ("ruler") and harduz ("hard"), which is often translated to English as "powerful leader".

[view · edit · purge]"High wind" is typical of wind speeds that place a seven on the Beaufort scale. When wind travels this fast (approximately 32 to 38 miles per hour), the sea heaps up. Streaks of foam from breaking waves are blown in the direction the wind is traveling, and there are moderate amounts of airborne spray. On land, high wind moves entire trees, and effort is required to walk against it.

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 is 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 in reference to Final Fantasy IV's Kain Highwind. In turn, the 3D remake of Final Fantasy IV alludes to this Easter egg, as Kain states that his father died while fighting an empire and mentions that 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". [view · edit · purge]"Edward" is a common English given name that means "rich" and "prosperous"; several kings and nobles have shared this name.

Citations[]