Garland (Final Fantasy)/Dissidia (PSP)

Garland is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy. He wields a large sword that can freely transform into various weapons, from destructive axes to twin blades. In the original title, he is the knight that stands between the Warriors of Light and their destiny. There was a time where he was a renowned hero, but one day he kidnaps Princess Sarah and locks himself in the Chaos Shrine.

Garland is one of the highest ranked villains in the game, mostly due to his connection with Chaos, whose relation can be seen as analogous to the one his rival, Warrior of Light, and Cosmos have.

Attire
Garlands's original outfit is based on his in-game sprite artwork from Final Fantasy, while his alternate outfit is a gold and red pallette swap, making him look similar to his GBA artwork. Garland's crystalized version is colored blue.

Garland's sword appears to be entirely original. It is a crushing weapon that is actually four different blades connected to one another. The complete sword can be split into two separate swords, each of which can break in half yet again, connected by a long chain with varying length.

Destiny Odyssey I
After the Warrior of Light promised Cosmos that he and the others would find the Crystals, Garland arrives suddenly and challenges him. After Garland was defeated, he tells the Warrior that the fight was pointless and fades away, leaving the Warrior confused. Beleiving that Garland was dead, the Warrior journeys on, then after a fight with The Emperor, Garland appears before the startled Warrior, alive and well, and tells the Warrior to follow him. At the Chaos Shrine of Time, Garland told the Warrior that the reason he came back to life was because of Chaos, and as long as Cosmos and Chaos are alive, the never-ending struggle with good and evil will be endless. Though the Warrior of Light bested Garland again, Garland laughed at the victor, claiming once again that the battle was worthless, and soon vanishes, saying that even after the Warrior's victory, the war will rage on.

Destiny Odyssey VIII
Ultimecia convinces Garland to ally with her against Squall, and the two eventually corner Squall and plan to attack him at once. However, Zidane appears and tackles Garland aside, leaving Squall to face Ultimecia.

Destiny Odyssey IX
Zidane's story follows the above scene from his perspective. After tackling Garland, the two do battle, after which Garland departs. Garland also relays to Kuja that the two of them, and all of them, are trapped within a cruel fate, spurring on Kuja's goal to prove himself superior to the other villains.

Shade Impulse
After Cosmos's death at the hands of Chaos, Garland apears once again to face the Warrior of Light, but was quickly dispatched. He then proceeded to brag at the triumphant Warrior by repeating what he said about the endless battle between Chaos and Cosmos before fading away into nothingness.

Battle
In battle, Garland is described as a "Power Attacker", and uses his huge sword for heavy blows. His HP attacks are spells based on the four elemental fiends of Final Fantasy, specifically the moves Chaos uses in the final battle with the Light Warriors. Garland's most notable downside is his impressively slow movement. Some of his attacks vary depending on the timing of the button inputs, allowing Garland to chain his attacks together depending on when the button is pressed during his attack.

Boss
Garland is fought in Destiny Odyssey I and IX, Shade Impulse, and Distant Glory: Villains.

EX Mode
Garland's EX Mode consists of a color swap into silver armor with a white cape, and new helmet details. The overall appearance is meant to symbolize Garland's appearance as a heroic knight before he turned to evil. When in EX Mode, Garland's health will regenerate over time and he won't be knocked back by enemy attacks while he's in the middle of executing attacks of his own.

His EX Burst, Soul of Chaos, causes Garland to empower himself with evil power, and to execute it perfectly, the player must mash the button repeatedly to charge a gauge up to its max within a time limit, allowing Garland to heavily flay the opponent with brutal attacks.

Equipment
Garland is able to equip Katanas, Great Swords, Axes, Spears, Shields, Gloves, Helmets, Light Armor, and Heavy Armor.

Allusions

 * At the start of Destiny Odyssey I-5, Garland's line is the same as the line spoken before the final battle in Final Fantasy: "So even as you die again and again, I shall return! Born again into this endless circle I have created!".
 * In his battle dialogue with Kuja, the two make reference to Kuja's antagonistic relationship with the Garland of Final Fantasy IX. Garland even states he "feels a strong bond between them".
 * Garland's EX Burst is named after the Soul of Chaos dungeons in the Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary editions of Final Fantasy. His three exclusive weapons are all weapons found in the Whisperwind Cove, another bonus dungeon in the aforementioned releases.
 * Garland is the only villain fought twice in the same storyline - he is fought as a boss both at the beginning of Destiny Odyssey I, and at the end, reflecting his role as the first and, in essence, final boss of Final Fantasy.''
 * When fighting Ultimecia, Garland references his crossing 2000 years into the past: “I will transcend even time!”.
 * In Garland's conversation with Chaos in Shade Impulse 3-4, he references their shared identity with the line: “You are me.”. If fighting against Chaos, he will utter: “You and I share the same fate…”.

Trivia

 * Tetsuya Nomura has stated that, because there were only in-game sprites to draw from, he had trouble designing Garland as a character, as in essence it was designing a new character rather than redesigning an old one. However, Nomura is still pleased with the result and is fond of Garland.
 * While Garland's movement is very slow when grounded, oddly he moves quicker on walls and other obstacles.
 * In the opening FMV, Garland fights more heroes than any other villain.