Golbez

Golbez is a non-player character from the game Final Fantasy IV. He is the main antagonist for most of the game.

Golbez was born to the Lunerian KluYa and a human mother, and was the twin brother of Cecil Harvey. However, unlike Cecil, who was born out of the light, Golbez was born out of darkness. As a result, he was very corruptable, and fell under the influence of the Lunerian Zemus, who wanted to gather the Crystals in order to destroy the world using the Giant of Bab-il. He staged an elaborate plan to acquire the Crystals. He gathered four generals, which were the Four Fiends of Elements, and had them perform various evil tasks. One of the Fiends, Caignazzo, seized control of the kingdom of Baron, and thus he gained control of the powerful airship fleet, the Red Wings. The eventual plan was to put Golbez in charge of the Red Wings, so he exploited the weaknesses of Cecil, who was captain of the Red Wings at the time, in order to discharge him. Golbez was soon appointed head of the Red Wings at this time, and he corrupted Kain Highwind, the head of the Dragoons in Baron, to be his second in command.

Golbez's first act was to attack the nation of Damcyan, home of the Crystal of Fire. In the attack, he killed a girl named Anna. This made Tellah, her father, very angry, and he swore to avenge Anna by defeating Golbez. Golbez's second act was to invade the nation of Fabul, home of the Crystal of Air. However, thanks to a warning from Cecil, the Monks were prepared, and fought off the Red Wings with help from Cecil, Edward Chris von Muir, and Yang Fang Leiden. The Baronian army was able to corner Cecil, Edward, and Yang in the Crystal Room, and Kain was able to defeat Cecil. Golbez then came in, and this was the first time that Cecil and he crossed paths. He wounded Edward and Yang, and took Rosa Farrell as a hostage in order to make Cecil keep a promise that they would meet again.

Golbez became worried when he found out that Cecil was climbing Mt. Ordeals in order to become a Paladin. He called for Milon, the Fiend of Earth, who commanded a large army of undead monsters which Cecil's Dark Sword could not harm, and ordered him to stop Cecil before he could become a Paladin. However, this was not enough, and Cecil not only became a Paladin, but defeated Milon and Caignazzo as well. During this time, Golbez began to think of a way to obtain the Crystal of Earth in Toroia. Kain came up with the idea of offering Rosa's safe return as a reward for the Crystal, and Golbez decided that he could use this to lure Cecil into a trap, and kill him after he hands over the Crystal. In order to make the plan work, however, Cecil had to work his way to the top of the Tower of Zot where Golbez set up his base. Golbez put some of his most powerful monsters in the way in order to try to have Cecil die preemptively. However, Cecil and his party survived, and met Golbez. They handed him the Crystal, but when Golbez refused to hand over Rosa, Tellah got angry, and attacked him. His magic, however, had no effect on Golbez. As a result, he cast the legendary spell of Meteo. This spell weakened Golbez severely, however, it also killed Tellah, as he was too old to cast Meteo and survive. Although Golbez did not die, his control over Kain was also broken. Golbez then promised Cecil they would meet again, and escaped.

It is assumed that Golbez takes two of the four Dark Crystals in the Underworld. However, he is next seen trying to steal the Crystal in the Dwarves' Castle. Here, he manipulates Luca's dolls, the Calbrena, and tries to have them steal the Crystal. However, Cecil's party defeats them. Golbez then makes an appearance and attacks Cecil's party. He paralyzes them, and then summons a monster, the Dark Summon, the Shadow Dragon. The Shadow Dragon is able to defeat all party members except Cecil. However, the Mist Dragon appears and blows the Shadow Dragon away before he can defeat Cecil. Rydia then appears, and removes Cecil's paralysis. Together, they defeat Golbez. However, Golbez is still able to crawl, and he thus steals the Crystal.

Although Golbez does not have physical form after this incident, he is still able to use magic to corrupt the party. When the party escapes the Tower of Bab-il the first time, he causes the bridge they are walking across to collapse. Luckily, Cid Pollendina is able to save the party. After the party obtains the last Crystal, he corrupts Kain again, and has him bring the last Crystal to the Tower of Bab-il.

Now that Golbez has all eight Crystals, he is able to activate the Giant of Bab-il, which then begins to destroy the world. However, Cecil's party is able to destroy the Giant. Golbez then appears, and is very angry. However FuSoYa breaks Zemus' control over Golbez, and he reveals that his father is KluYa. Cecil then realizes that he and Golbez are brothers, and Golbez decides to join FuSoYa in an attempt to defeat Zemus on the moon.

FuSoYa and Golbez attack Zemus, and are able to defeat him by casting Meteo together. However, Zemus' hatred, Zeromus, rises from Zemus' corpse. Golbez and FuSoYa then attack Zeromus, but cannot defeat him (Meteo has no effect on him). Golbez then uses the Crystal on Zeromus. However, since Golbez is born of Darkness, he cannot use the Crystal. Zeromus then casts Meteo himself and defeats Golbez and FuSoYa. Cecil's party is then forced to defeat Zeromus, with some help from many, including Golbez.

In the ending, Golbez asks FuSoYa if he can join him in the Lunar Sleep. FuSoYa tells Golbez that it will be a long sleep, however, Golbez cannot return to Earth as he has caused so much trouble there. The two then go to sleep, and Cecil thought he could hear Golbez before he and Rosa get married.