Top 30 Final Fantasy Villains - #24

#24 - Garland

(Final Fantasy I)

Yes, there was another Garland on this list. The name Garland has been used for multiple characters, across multiple Final Fantasy games, and for good reason- the original Garland was the very first villain in the entire series.

Garland was once a rogue knight of the kingdom of Cornelia, whose plan to kidnap Princess Sarah and take control of the kingdom was cut short by the Warriors of Light. However, just before his death, he was saved by the Four Fiends, who imbued him with great power and sent him 2000 years into the past where he became the demon Chaos. From there, he sent the Four Fiends of the past into the future, where they could wreak havoc on the world and eventually send Garland back in the first place. This creates a time loop that keeps Garland immortal, and allows him to achieve his ultimate goal of exacting revenge on the Light Warriors for all eternity.

You have to remember that Final Fantasy came out at a time when video game plots didn’t get much more complicated than “rescue princess and beat evil wizard.” Then along comes Garland, who does kidnap a princess, true, but this happens in the first hour of the game and he is immediately forgotten… until the end of the game reveals his survival and the plot twist of the time loop, which does actually still hold up pretty well today.

The combat against him is a mixed bag. The first fight against Garland is pathetically easy, which is to be expected. But the final fight against him after he transforms into Chaos pulls out all the stops, especially in the remakes where he gets a ton of extra HP. And while it doesn’t affect his place on the list, he is given extra depth with his characterization in Dissidia Final Fantasy, where he is obsessed with violence and war, and he uses the time loop as a means of being able to partake in it constantly, not just for revenge.

Garland started a lot of trends in the series, like screwing with the space-time continuum, villains who wear menacing armor, and final battles involving some sort of big scary transformation. He may not be the most complex villain out there, but he holds a special place in the hearts of fans of the series.