Josef
Sprite(s)
A.K.A	Joseph
Kana	ヨーゼフ
Romaji	Yōzefu
Hometown	Salamand
Zodiac Sign	Cancer
Blood Type	O
Laterality	Right-handed
Voice actor	None
Ultimate Weapon	Dragon Claws
Final Fantasy II character

Josef is a playable character from Final Fantasy II. He joins the party soon after they arrive at Salamand.

StoryEdit

Originally a soldier for the Palamecian Empire, he escaped during his youth to the town of Salamand with a nameless young woman who later became his wife. They had a daughter named Nelly. 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. 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. However, as he dies, Borghen triggers a trap mechanism, sending a boulder falling towards the party. Josef blocks the boulder 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 finally rest in peace.

In BattleEdit

Josef has high Strength 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.

Initial AbilitiesEdit

Optimal Key Terms for Arcane LabyrinthEdit

GalleryEdit

Artwork from the Dawn of Souls version.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game card.

EtymologyEdit

Josef is an alternate spelling of the biblical name Joseph, which is taken from the Hebrew name Yôsēph, meaning "(God) shall add". Josef's name comes from the eastern European version of the name, and is pronounced "Yo-sef".

TriviaEdit

• Josef's story is told to Garnet Til Alexandros XVII in Final Fantasy IX by the eidolon Ramuh.
• Josef is the first playable character to die in the Final Fantasy series.
• Josef was completely cut out in the Final Fantasy II novelization Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū.