パラメキア皇帝
from Final Fantasy II
Origin
Castle Palamecia
The Emperor of Palamecia is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy II. He rules the Palamecian Empire and aims to conquer the world through demonic forces. Though known simply as the Emperor in Final Fantasy II, he is named Mateus (マティウス, Matiusu) in the Japan-exclusive novelization: Final Fantasy II Nightmare's Labyrinth by Kenji Terada. "Mateus" referred to in Dissidia Final Fantasy with his best weapon, Mateus's Malice. He is known as Empire in the Dark Shadow Over Palakia translation. The Emperor of Palamecia is cunning, subtle, rude and arrogant. He calls Firion by name after he defeats the Emperor's Behemoth, but other times calls them insects or worms when Firion's party foils his plans. Owing to his arrogant nature, the Emperor never fights unless he has to, and has his minions do the work for him. His actions are tyrannical and he abhors humanity. He acts as mankind's judge, declaring humanity to have a flawed sense of justice and having forsaken love, and being inherently violent. As the Emperor views humans as interchangeable, he sees himself as superior to them and thus views himself as the only one capable of ruling. The Emperor is implied to be skilled with developing advanced weaponry, as the Dreadnought airship was developed by him. He is described as callous in his bio in Dissidia Final Fantasy. He is skilled in strategy, as evidenced by how he left a decoy of the then-captured Princess Hilda aboard the Dreadnought, and used the real deal for the coliseum to draw out the Wild Rose rebels. The Emperor's different incarnations have subtle personality differences in the mortal world and the afterlives. The Dark Half is arrogant and destructive to the point of no longer caring about merely ruling the Palamecian Empire, seeking to destroy the world with the powers he gained upon his return from Hell. The Light Half initially comes off as courteous and apologetic, but is revealed to be a hypocrite and a liar, containing the same misanthropic spirit as the Emperor. In the novel Muma no Meikyū it is stated Palamecia is cursed with demonic influences that corrupt its emperors. The demon, desiring to rule the world by human proxy, turns men into malicious masterminds by polluting their thoughts with its malice. This is the only insight into Emperor Mateus's backstory, though it's never been supported as canon in the game.
Final Fantasy II
The game centers on a conflict by the Palamecian Empire, whose Emperor Mateus is using hellspawn to try to conquer the world. The protagonist, Firion, along with his allies Maria and Guy, join the Wild Rose Rebellion to fight them, and meet many allies along the way to try to stop the Emperor and save the world.
