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FFIII KO Status
Onion Kid KO.
Bartz KO.
FFVIII Death Symbol
Various portrayals attributed to KO: Final Fantasy (top left), Onion Knight from Final Fantasy III (top right), Bartz Klauser (bottom left) and Final Fantasy VIII KO status icon (bottom right)

The character has lost consciousness and cannot move or act. Remove with a tuft of Phoenix Down.

Final Fantasy XII Description

Knocked Out (せんとうふのう, Sentofunou?, lit. unable to fight), also known as Dead, Death, Disabled, Swoon, Wound, Wounded, Fatal, Fell, Killed Out, Killed Off, Stun, Down, KO, KO'd or KOed, is the condition a unit is in when they have run out of HP. Whenever this occurs, the unit "faints" and is no longer able to aid in battle. Other status effects generally wear off upon being KO'd, though some can still persist. In older games, the condition was called "Death", but this is not to be confused with Instant Death.

Being knocked out in battle is not to be confused with when a character actually dies in the game's story, where use of such aforementioned items and spells won't revive the character; they are beyond the point of no return and cannot be saved.

Attributes[]

When a character is knocked out, they collapse and lie down on the ground, presumably in a state of total unconsciousness. This trend, starting in the original Final Fantasy continues on to Final Fantasy XI. Starting with Final Fantasy XII, knocked out characters would kneel down instead.

In almost all Final Fantasy games, KO would only result in a Game Over when all party members on screen are wiped out. This can also happen when the player has exhausted all available party members in titles where the characters can be switched in and out of battle. In Final Fantasy XII, when a party member is knocked out they are removed from the field and players have to navigate to the main menu to select a new party member; when a party leader dies, the gameplay freezes and prompts the player to designate a new party leader.

However, in Final Fantasy XIII, the game is over whenever the designated party leader is knocked out even when other party members are still alive. In The Final Fantasy Legend series, the player may restart from the beginning of the fight after this loss, but in Final Fantasy Legend II, this power is explicitly granted by Odin, and is lost after he is defeated by the player on his request.

In Final Fantasy Tactics, when a character is knocked out, a counter starts counting down from 3 to 0. When the counter is set to 0, the character will transform into a Crystal or a Treasure Chest, and the character can no longer be revived. If Ramza Beoulve becomes a crystal, the game is over even though the other party members are still alive. Knocked out Guest units are protected from Permanent Death with stars floating above their heads.

This particular feature was not continued in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift; instead, Judges revive knocked out units at the end of a battle, and those characters gain no AP for that engagement. The exception to this occurs when a character is knocked out without a Judge present (in a Jagd or certain instances in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift); in this case, the character will actually die and be lost from the player's clan if not revived before the end of the battle. Interesting side note: because Dead cancels Blood Suck, and Dead is a lot easier to remove than Blood Suck is, killing a Blood Sucked unit is often the best way to deal with it if one doesn't have any Holy Water handy.

In Final Fantasy V, a playable character is always in their Freelancer outfit when knocked out.

In Final Fantasy VI, some enemies can be defeated by bringing down their MP to 0. If Gau is using these monster's Rages, he too can be knocked out through his MP.

Healing and prevention[]

Defeated and Unable to Battle. Restore with Item 'Phoenix Down', or White Magic 'Life' or 'Full-Life'.

Final Fantasy Tactics description

White Mage abilities, such as Raise and Arise, the summon Phoenix, the Blue Magic Angel Whisper and the item Phoenix Down, can revive a knocked out unit. Other job classes may have skills that revive units, like the Sage's Raise or the White Monk's Revive.

KO can be prevented by the use of items such as Potions and White Mage skills such as Cure and Cura that restore HP. Also, bestowing a unit with Auto-Life will automatically revive them in the case of a KO.

Games with inns allow the party to fully heal all characters, including Final Fantasy X save spheres. However, this does not occur in the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, as Sanctuaries are used to revive fallen characters. In the original Final Fantasy, a clergyman takes a fee for his services, though in Final Fantasy II the party prays directly and therefore it is free of charge.

In The Final Fantasy Legend, characters must be revived at a House of Life for 100GP, but can only be revived three times unless they are the party leader. After their third death, the party member can only be brought back with a Revive (15 000 GP) or must be replaced entirely at a Guild.

After Battle[]

In most games, a character will remain incapacitated after the battle's end. However, in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, the character is brought back to life after battle with 1 HP remaining, and in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Tactics all characters are fully healed after battle, although characters who are not lost forever are always fully healed after a battle in Final Fantasy Tactics.

Application[]

Some skills inflict Instant Death regardless of current HP. Such moves include the Alchemist's Death or the Assassin's Last Breath. Bosses are usually immune to Instant Death, and the Undead may fully restore health if inflicted with it (seeing as it is a Dark ability).

The only way to prevent Instant Death is with equipment or support abilities that offer protection for it. This kind of KO is often called a status effect, since an Instant Death attack does not actually inflict damage on the character.

On Enemies[]

Knock Outs usually result in the award of EXP/AP to increase the power of units, which is why it is critical to keep units alive to score KOs to increase their abilities. In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, KOing a unit results in the awarding of one Judge Point.

In Final Fantasy Type-0, enemies are given unique death animations, most particularly when magic is used, since they cannot be brought back to life like the player. Fire spells immolate the enemy before they die to trauma, Ice spells instantaneously freezes them in place, Thunder spells electrocute them, and Holy petrifies them on the spot.

Gallery[]

Relm-ffvi-snes-battleThis gallery is incomplete and requires Final Fantasy X-2 (PS3), Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, The Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade and Final Fantasy All the Bravest added. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by uploading images.

Etymology[]

A knockout (also referred to as a K.O.) is a strike that renders an opponent unable to continue fighting in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and other sports involving striking.

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