General Leo

General Leo Chritophe
Final Fantasy character
Concept artwork of Leo by Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI
First game	Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Designed by	Yoshitaka Amano[1] Kazuko Shibuya (sprites)[2]
Voiced by	Masashi Sugawara[3]

Leo Cristophe (Japanese: レオ・クリストフ, Hepburn: Reo Kurisutofu) more commonly referred to as General Leo, is a character introduced in the 1994 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VI by Square Enix. An honorable soldier in the game's Gestahlian Empire that refused the magical energy infusion given to his compatriots, he appears in the first half of the game helping to ensure his Emperor's expansionist goals and is betrayed in the end. He has since appeared in other games related to the Final Fantasy franchise, including Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, where he is voiced by Masashi Sugawara.

Despite being a temporarily playable character, Leo was well received for his characterization and charisma, with players trying to find ways to revive him or make him a fully playable character. He was additionally seen as a contrasting element to the game's final villain, Kefka, representing hope for a better world in light of the latter's representation of despair. His role as a catalyst for the story's progression has also been analyzed, and how it shaped both how Kefka was perceived but also the resolve of the protagonists to oppose the Empire. His appearance meanwhile has been read by the former staff of 1UP.com as racially coded as a black person, and they considered him one of the first examples of a black character in the Final Fantasy franchise.