Garland (Final Fantasy)



Garland (ガーランド Gārando) is the primary antagonist in the original Final Fantasy. A knight who has fallen from grace, the Warriors of Light must fight him near the beginning of the game. Although easily dispatched, it is discovered that Garland has enacted a plan to create a time loop, allowing him to exist forever.

Story
Once the greatest knight in the kingdom of Cornelia, he is corrupted by evil and kidnaps Princess Sarah. He wanted the king to give him his kingdom in exchange for Sarah's life. He is defeated by the four Warriors of Light. However, he is also part of a time loop created by himself and the four elemental Fiends. When the Warriors of Light travel to the past, they find him again, discovering that he engineered the majority of the game's events, and he transforms into Chaos to do battle with the heroes.

The exact backstory of Garland seems to be unexplored. One man in Castle Cornelia mentions that Garland "Didn't used to be bad...", as Garland was once one of the king's top knights. His horned helmet, while human, is a subtle hint to the monster he becomes.

Following the destruction of Chaos in the past, the time loop that sustained the troubles of the evil was broken. Since Chaos and the Four Fiends never existed, the present-day Garland could never have been corrupted. So when the Warriors of Light return to their time, he is a knight for Cornelia, untouched by evil.

Battle
Being the first boss, Garland has only physical attacks. Physical attackers counter him blow-by-blow, with the player's White/Red Mage healing when needed. The player's Black Mage should be frying him with the Fire spell that should have been obtained by now.

Dissidia Final Fantasy


Chaos has summoned a combined force of Final Fantasy's ultimate villains in an attempt to gain control of a number of Crystals, resulting in total control of the Final Fantasy worlds. Garland is one of these villains. He is the villain opposing Warrior of Light. Garland's design is influenced by his sprite form from Final Fantasy but is seemingly original, as no known artwork of him from Final Fantasy exists. He ultimately appears slightly similar to Golbez, but with a different color scheme and a massive two-handed sword. His distinctive horned helmet is also present.

In trailers, he is seen fighting the Warrior of Light. He has also been seen discussing the nature of Chaos and Cosmos in a cutscene. In a screenshot, Garland is also seen fighting with Kuja. It is unknown what the conflict between them is, although it may be a reference to Kuja's antagonistic relationship with Garland's namesake in Final Fantasy IX. Garland is also shown to be at the head of the villain line-up when they march to battle the heroes, which in tandem with his lair being used as the seeming meeting place of the villains and his connection to Chaos, seems to indicate he is one of the higher-ranked villains. What connection he has to the game's incarnation of Chaos is unknown. Garland has been described as a "standard" fighter. In battle, Garland wields an enormous sword that can segment itself, as well as extend on a chain for ranged attacks. He possesses four separate elemental magic attacks which correlate with the Four Fiends - Earthquake (Lich), Flame (Marilith), Tsunami (Kraken), and Tornado (Tiamat). Garland's attacks are powerful and well-rounded between melee and ranged, but he moves and attacks slowly. Garland's EX Mode involves his armor and cape becoming white and covered in runic patterns, meant to symbolize how he looked before he "fell" as a knight. In his EX Burst, Soul of Chaos, the player must rapidly tap the Circle button - the more times they press it, the stronger Garland's attack becomes, and the attack animation and transformation of his sword changes accordingly.

Garland will be voiced by, well known for his role as Alex Louis Armstrong of Square Enix's .

8-Bit Theater
Garland is a primary villain in the webcomic 8-Bit Theater, where he is actually a good person, and serves the Light Warriors refreshments when they attack his lair. As the leader of the Dark Warriors, Garland is the longest-running enemy the Light Warriors have faced, although what few evil deeds he attempts usually don't pan out.

Gallery
Garland (FFI) Gárland (Final Fantasy)