Changes: Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy III)

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We shall devour your light, and use it to return this world to the Void!
Cloud of Darkness

The Cloud of Darkness is the primary antagonist and final boss of Final Fantasy III. Although it is the final boss, it does not appear until the very end. Its goal is to cause a flood of darkness to reduce the world to nothingness.

Profile

Appearance

FFIII Cloud of Darkness Amano Sketch 1 — Yoshitaka Amano sketch of the Cloud of Darkness.

In Final Fantasy III, the Cloud of Darkness appears as a green-skinned female humanoid that emerges from a portal of darkness at its waist, though its form appears ghostly and ethereal. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, and several mouthed tentacles around it. Its field sprite is a glowing green orb, and in the 3D remakes, several multiple green orbs exit and enter the main orb in an arc.

In Yoshitaka Amano's illustration and Dissidia Final Fantasy, the Cloud of Darkness takes the form of a shapely woman wearing a red and black cape with the rest of its body covered in red and black markings. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, long silver hair and two tentacles emerging from its waist. The Cloud of Darkness is the tallest non-giant character in the Dissidia series.

Though the Cloud of Darkness universally takes on a feminine form, it is officially considered a genderless being that merely chooses to appear as such. The Cloud of Darkness refers to itself in the plural, using "We" instead of "I". Dissidia Final Fantasy explains this as its two tentacles having minds of their own, and the humanoid body speaking for the three of them. For purposes of gameplay, however, the Cloud of Darkness is treated as female in its spin-off series appearances, and is therefore able to equip female-exclusive equipment.

Personality

The Cloud of Darkness's personality is not explored in Final Fantasy III, as it is more of a monster rather than a character. Dissidia Final Fantasy characterizes it as cruel and condescending, having a disregard for human life. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy it dislikes the arrival of the manikins in the cycle, feeling they are a foreign presence that disrupts the order of the cycle. It tells Laguna where the manikins are coming from to see how he handles the information, and is intrigued when he and his allies choose to track it down and close the portal knowing it will cost them their lives.

Though the Cloud of Darkness is aware of the other antagonists' schemes to end the cycle and seize power for themselves, it does not care, as it is an emissary of The Void and thus believes all will be consumed regardless of their actions. Both Final Fantasy III and Dissidia Final Fantasy present the Cloud of Darkness as a timeless, eternal entity who will always exist to consume the world; defeating it merely sends it into sleep to recover its power and awaken at a later date.

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Cloud of Darkness iOS — Model of Cloud of Darkness.

The Cloud of Darkness manipulates Xande to destroy the world's Crystals. Xande believes this will stop time and allow him to prolong his mortal life, but in reality this is the catalyst needed for the Cloud of Darkness to manifest.

The Cloud of Darkness reveals itself after Xande's death, due to the imbalance between light and dark caused by him, and reveals its intention of returning the world to a state of nothingness. A battle ensues in which the Cloud of Darkness defeats the Warriors of Light, seemingly ending any resistance to its plan.

The Warriors of the Light are revived by their former allies and return to the World of Darkness to confront the Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Darkness sends out its Guardians of the Dark Crystals to guard the Dark Crystal and kill the Warriors of Light. One by one the guardians fall and the Warriors of the Dark appear to help Warriors of the Light to weaken it. In the 3D remake, one of the Warriors of Darkness reveals that Xande was being used by the Cloud of Darkness the entire time, and that the Cloud of Darkness was the one responsible for the earthquake that almost drew the floating continent to the surface world.

At first the Cloud of Darkness is too powerful for the Warriors of the Light, but the Warriors of the Dark sacrifice themselves to weaken it, making it vulnerable. The Cloud of Darkness unleashes its full power onto the Warriors of the Light, but in the end, it is defeated and its plan to extinguish all life goes unfulfilled.

Gameplay

Main article: Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy III boss)

Cloud of Darkness's unbeatable encounter sprite (NES).

The Cloud of Darkness is fought twice. The first time it is invincible and, after a few turns, it will use Particle Beam and defeat the party. The player must rescue the four Warriors of the Dark in the World of Darkness located in each of the four corners of the dungeon before facing it again in the center area. This time the Cloud of Darkness uses a wider range of attacks, including its signature Particle Beam, but since the Warriors of the Dark have weakened it, this battle can be won.

In the Nintendo Entertainment System version, the serpentine tentacles nearby the Cloud of Darkness are simply for decoration. In the 3D remake versions the tentacles' numbers were reduced to two and were given attacks. The one to the right of the Cloud of Darkness has abilities such as Haste and Esuna, while the one to the left uses Lightning whenever possible.

Spoilers end here.

Musical themes

"Battle to the Death"

The original battle theme for the Cloud of Darkness is called "Saigo no shitou" ("Final Battle to the Death"). The track is split into three parts, each successive part faster than the last. The Black Mages included a rearrangement of the theme in their third studio album. The theme was retitled "Kurayaminokumo" ("The Cloud of Darkness"). The theme also appears in a slightly different version in the Fantasia stage of Chocobo Racing, where Bahamut is the opponent.

Other appearances

Cloud of Darkness Dissidia NT — Appearance in *Dissidia Final Fantasy NT*.

Main article: Cloud of Darkness other appearances

Cloud of Darkness has made appearances in the following games in the Final Fantasy series:

Final Fantasy XI as a boss.
Final Fantasy XIV as a boss.
Final Fantasy Dimensions II as a summon.
Dissidia Final Fantasy as a playable character.
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as a playable character.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT as a playable character.
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a playable character and boss.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call as a boss.
Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as a summonable Legend.
Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
Final Fantasy All the Bravest as a boss.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a summonable vision.
Mobius Final Fantasy as an ability card.
Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.

Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances

Main article: Cloud of Darkness guest appearances

Cloud of Darkness has made guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy games:

Puzzle & Dragons.

Other media

Games

DynamiTracer CoDSpoof — Cloud of Darkness parody in *DynamiTracer*.

The Totema Famfrit from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and the Esper Famfrit in Final Fantasy XII, are loosely based on the Cloud of Darkness. Famfrit's title is "The Darkening Clouds".

A spoof of the final battle of Final Fantasy III appears in the credits roll for DynamiTracer, a Japan-exclusive Squaresoft game for the Super Famicom SatellaView add-on. Four characters from the cast substitute for the Warriors of Light while another parodies the Cloud of Darkness.

The Destroyer (破壊するもの, Hakaisuru mono?) from Romancing Saga 3 is an entity born of destructive energy from the star of death. Its purpose is to destroy anything, effectively returning everything to the void. It shares many attributes with the Cloud of Darkness: a female appearance but being genderless, referring itself in the plural form, and has a similar method in weakening it by defeating the four noble Devil Lords.

Gallery

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]A dark cloud or dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from the background emission or reflection nebula or background stars.

Trivia

A feedback survey issued by the Final Fantasy Record Keeper team referred to the Cloud of Darkness as female, and so grouped it with other female characters asking which was the "coolest" among the group.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{sideicon|FFIII}}
+{{sideicon|prime=FFIII}}
+{{infobox character
-{{Character
 |name=Cloud of Darkness
 |release=FFIII
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |image=Amano cod.jpg
 |sprite=[[File:CloudOfDarknessOverworldSprite.gif‎|50px|Map sprite (NES).]]
-|gender=None
+|gender=None (Female manifestation)
 |type=boss
 |designer=[[Yoshitaka Amano]]
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 |other appearances=true
 |dissidia=true
+|dffnt=true
+|dffoo=true
 |ffrk=true
+|ffbe=true
 }}
 {{Q|We shall devour your light, and use it to return this world to the Void!|Cloud of Darkness}}
@@ Line 25: / Line 28: @@
 ===Appearance===
 [[File:FFIII Cloud of Darkness Amano Sketch 1.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Yoshitaka Amano]] sketch of the Cloud of Darkness.]]
-In ''Final Fantasy III'', the Cloud of Darkness appears as a green-skinned female humanoid emerging from a portal of darkness at its waist. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, and several mouthed tentacles around it.
+In ''Final Fantasy III'', the Cloud of Darkness appears as a green-skinned female humanoid that emerges from a portal of darkness at its waist, though its form appears ghostly and ethereal. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, and several mouthed tentacles around it. Its field sprite is a glowing green orb, and in the 3D remakes, several multiple green orbs exit and enter the main orb in an arc.
-In [[Yoshitaka Amano]]'s concept art of it and in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)|Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', the Cloud of Darkness takes the form of a shapely woman wearing a red and black cape with the rest of its body covered in red and black markings. It has the red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, and has long silver hair. It has only two tentacles, emerging from its waist. The Cloud of Darkness is the tallest non-giant character in the ''Dissidia'' series.
+In [[Yoshitaka Amano]]'s illustration and ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', the Cloud of Darkness takes the form of a shapely woman wearing a red and black cape with the rest of its body covered in red and black markings. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, long silver hair and two tentacles emerging from its waist. The Cloud of Darkness is the tallest non-giant character in the ''Dissidia'' series.
-Though the Cloud of Darkness universally takes on a feminine form, it is officially considered a genderless being that merely chooses to appear as such. The Cloud of Darkness refers to itself in the plural, using "We" instead of "I". ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' explains this as its two tentacles having minds of their own, and the humanoid body speaking for the three of them.
+Though the Cloud of Darkness universally takes on a feminine form, it is officially considered a genderless being that merely chooses to appear as such. The Cloud of Darkness refers to itself in the plural, using "We" instead of "I". ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' explains this as its two tentacles having minds of their own, and the humanoid body speaking for the three of them. For purposes of gameplay, however, the Cloud of Darkness is treated as female in its spin-off series appearances, and is therefore able to equip [[female-exclusive equipment]].
 ===Personality===
 The Cloud of Darkness's personality is not explored in ''Final Fantasy III'', as it is more of a monster rather than a character. ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' characterizes it as cruel and condescending, having a disregard for human life. In ''[[Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'' it dislikes the arrival of the [[manikin]]s in the [[Cycle (term)|cycle]], feeling they are a foreign presence that disrupts the order of the cycle. It tells [[Laguna Loire/Dissidia|Laguna]] where the manikins are coming from to see how he handles the information, and is intrigued when he and his allies choose to track it down and close the portal knowing it will cost them their lives.
-Though Cloud of Darkness is aware of the other antagonists' schemes to end the cycle and seize power for themselves, it does not care, as it is an emissary of [[The Void (term)|The Void]] and thus believes all will be consumed regardless of their actions. Both ''Final Fantasy III'' and ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' present the Cloud of Darkness as a timeless, eternal entity—it will always exist to consume the world, defeating it merely sends it into sleep to recover its power and awaken at a later date.
+Though the Cloud of Darkness is aware of the other antagonists' schemes to end the cycle and seize power for themselves, it does not care, as it is an emissary of [[The Void (term)|The Void]] and thus believes all will be consumed regardless of their actions. Both ''Final Fantasy III'' and ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' present the Cloud of Darkness as a timeless, eternal entity who will always exist to consume the world; defeating it merely sends it into sleep to recover its power and awaken at a later date.
 ==Story==
@@ Line 41: / Line 44: @@
 The Cloud of Darkness manipulates [[Xande]] to destroy the world's [[Crystal (term)#Final Fantasy III|Crystals]]. Xande believes this will stop time and allow him to prolong his mortal life, but in reality this is the catalyst needed for the Cloud of Darkness to manifest.
-The Cloud of Darkness reveals itself after Xande's death, due to the imbalance between light and dark caused by him, and reveals its intention of returning the world to a state of nothingness. A battle ensues in which the Cloud of Darkness defeats the [[Warriors of Light#Final Fantasy III|Warriors of Light]], seemingly ending any resistance to its plan.
+The Cloud of Darkness reveals itself after Xande's death, due to the [[dualism|imbalance between light and dark]] caused by him, and reveals its intention of returning the world to a state of nothingness. A battle ensues in which the Cloud of Darkness defeats the [[Warriors of Light#Final Fantasy III|Warriors of Light]], seemingly ending any resistance to its plan.
-The Warriors of the Light are revived by their former allies and return to the [[World of Darkness (Final Fantasy III)|World of Darkness]] to confront the Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Darkness sends out its [[Guardians of the Dark Crystals]] to guard the [[Dark Crystal (term)#Final Fantasy III|Dark Crystal]] and kill the Warriors of Light. One by one the guardians fall and the Warriors of the Dark appear to help Warriors of the Light to weaken it. <!--In the 3D remake-->It is revealed by one of the [[Warriors of Darkness]] that Xande was being used by the Cloud of Darkness the entire time, and that the Cloud of Darkness was the one responsible for the earthquake that almost drew the [[List of Final Fantasy III locations#Floating Continent|floating continent]] to the surface world.
+The Warriors of the Light are revived by their former allies and return to the [[World of Darkness (Final Fantasy III)|World of Darkness]] to confront the Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Darkness sends out its [[Guardians of the Dark Crystals]] to guard the [[Dark Crystal (term)#Final Fantasy III|Dark Crystal]] and kill the Warriors of Light. One by one the guardians fall and the Warriors of the Dark appear to help Warriors of the Light to weaken it. In the 3D remake, one of the [[Warriors of Darkness]] reveals that Xande was being used by the Cloud of Darkness the entire time, and that the Cloud of Darkness was the one responsible for the earthquake that almost drew the [[Final Fantasy III locations#Floating Continent|floating continent]] to the surface world.
 At first the Cloud of Darkness is too powerful for the Warriors of the Light, but the Warriors of the Dark sacrifice themselves to weaken it, making it vulnerable. The Cloud of Darkness unleashes its full power onto the Warriors of the Light, but in the end, it is defeated and its plan to extinguish all life goes unfulfilled.
@@ Line 51: / Line 54: @@
 {{main|Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy III boss)}}
 [[File:FF3NES-CloudOfDarkness1a.gif|right|120px|Cloud of Darkness's unbeatable encounter sprite (NES).]]
-The Cloud of Darkness is fought twice in ''Final Fantasy III''. The first time it is invincible and, after a few turns, it will use Particle Beam and defeat the party. The player must rescue the four Warriors of the Dark in the World of Darkness located in each of the four corners of the [[dungeon]] before facing it again in the center area. This time Cloud of Darkness uses a wider range of attacks including its signature Particle Beam, but since the Warriors of the Dark have weakened it, this battle can be won.
+The Cloud of Darkness is fought twice. The first time [[Unwinnable battle|it is invincible]] and, after a few turns, it will use Particle Beam and defeat the party. The player must rescue the four Warriors of the Dark in the World of Darkness located in each of the four corners of the [[dungeon]] before facing it again in the center area. This time the Cloud of Darkness uses a wider range of attacks, including its signature [[Particle Beam]], but since the Warriors of the Dark have weakened it, this battle can be won.
 In the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] version, the serpentine tentacles nearby the Cloud of Darkness are simply for decoration. In the 3D remake versions the tentacles' numbers were reduced to two and were given attacks. The one to the right of the Cloud of Darkness has abilities such as [[Haste (ability)|Haste]] and [[Esuna (ability)|Esuna]], while the one to the left uses [[Lightning (ability)|Lightning]] whenever possible.
@@ Line 57: / Line 60: @@
 ==Musical themes==
-{{Listen|filename=Kurayaminokumo (FF3).ogg|songname="Battle to the Death"|align=right}}
+{{audio|filename=Kurayaminokumo (FF3).ogg|title="Battle to the Death"|align=right}}
-The original [[Final boss theme|battle theme]] for the Cloud of Darkness is called [[Battle to the Death (Final Fantasy III)|"Saigo no shitou"]] ("Final Battle to the Death"). The track is split into three parts, each successive part faster than the last. [[The Black Mages (band)|The Black Mages]] included a rearrangement of the theme in their [[The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight|third studio album]]. The theme was retitled "Kurayaminokumo" ("The Cloud of Darkness"). The song also appears, albeit in a slightly different version, in the Fantasia stage of ''[[Chocobo Racing]]'', where [[Bahamut]] is the opponent.
+The original [[Final boss theme|battle theme]] for the Cloud of Darkness is called [[Battle to the Death (Final Fantasy III)|"Saigo no shitou"]] ("Final Battle to the Death"). The track is split into three parts, each successive part faster than the last. [[The Black Mages (band)|The Black Mages]] included a rearrangement of the theme in their [[The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight|third studio album]]. The theme was retitled "Kurayaminokumo" ("The Cloud of Darkness"). The theme also appears in a slightly different version in the Fantasia stage of ''[[Chocobo Racing]]'', where [[Bahamut]] is the opponent.
 {{-}}
 ==Other appearances==
+[[File:Cloud of Darkness Dissidia NT.png|thumb|right|Appearance in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]''.]]
 {{main|/Other appearances#Series appearances|t1=Cloud of Darkness other appearances}}
 Cloud of Darkness has made appearances in the following games in the [[Final Fantasy series|''Final Fantasy'' series]]:
@@ Line 67: / Line 71: @@
 *''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy XIV|Final Fantasy XIV]]'' as a [[Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy XIV)|boss]].
 *''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Dimensions II|Final Fantasy Dimensions II]]'' as a summon.
-*''[[/Dissidia|Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' as a [[/Dissidia|playable character]].
+*''[[/Dissidia (PSP)|Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' as a playable character.
-*''[[/Dissidia|Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'' as a [[/Dissidia|playable character]].
+*''[[/Dissidia (PSP)|Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'' as a playable character.
-*''[[/Dissidia|Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]'' as a [[/Dissidia|playable character]].
+*''[[/Dissidia NT|Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]'' as a playable character.
+*''[[/Opera Omnia|Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia]]'' as a playable character and boss.
 *''[[/Other appearances#Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call|Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call]]'' as a boss.
 *''[[/Other appearances#Pictlogica Final Fantasy|Pictlogica Final Fantasy]]'' as a playable character.
 *''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade|Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade]]'' as a summonable [[Legend (Airborne Brigade)|Legend]].
-*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Artniks|Final Fantasy Artniks]]'' as a series of [[List of Final Fantasy Artniks cards|cards]].
+*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Artniks|Final Fantasy Artniks]]'' as a series of [[Final Fantasy Artniks cards|cards]].
 *''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy All the Bravest|Final Fantasy All the Bravest]]'' as a boss.
-*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Record Keeper|Final Fantasy Record Keeper]]'' as a playable character.
+*''[[/Record Keeper|Final Fantasy Record Keeper]]'' as a playable character.
-*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Brave Exvius|Final Fantasy Brave Exvius]]'' as a vision.
+*''[[/Brave Exvius|Final Fantasy Brave Exvius]]'' as a summonable vision.
 *''[[/Other appearances#Mobius Final Fantasy|Mobius Final Fantasy]]'' as an ability card.
-*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Trading Card Game|Final Fantasy Trading Card Game]]'' as a series of [[List of Final Fantasy Trading Card Game cards|cards]].
+*''[[/Other appearances#Final Fantasy Trading Card Game|Final Fantasy Trading Card Game]]'' as a series of [[Final Fantasy Trading Card Game cards|cards]].
 ===Non-''Final Fantasy'' guest appearances===
@@ Line 88: / Line 93: @@
 ===Games===
 [[File:DynamiTracer CoDSpoof.png|thumb|right|175px|Cloud of Darkness parody in ''DynamiTracer''.]]
-The [[Totema]] [[Famfrit (Tactics Advance)|Famfrit]] from ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' and the [[Esper (Final Fantasy XII)|Esper]] [[Famfrit#Final Fantasy XII|Famfrit]] in ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' are loosely based on the Cloud of Darkness. Famfrit's title is "The Darkening Clouds".
+The [[Totema]] [[Famfrit (Tactics Advance)|Famfrit]] from ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', and the [[Esper (Final Fantasy XII)|Esper]] [[Famfrit (Final Fantasy XII)|Famfrit]] in ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', are loosely based on the Cloud of Darkness. Famfrit's title is "The Darkening Clouds".
 A spoof of the final battle of ''Final Fantasy III'' appears in the credits roll for ''DynamiTracer'', a Japan-exclusive Squaresoft game for the Super Famicom SatellaView add-on. Four characters from the cast substitute for the Warriors of Light while another parodies the Cloud of Darkness.
-The Destroyer {{j|破壊するもの|Hakaisuru mono}} from ''Romancing Saga 3'' is an entity born of destructive energy from the star of death. Its purpose is to destroy anything, effectively returning everything to the void. It shares many attributes with the Cloud of Darkness: a female appearance, being genderless, referring itself in the plural form, and has a similar method in weakening it by defeating the four noble Devil Lords.
+The Destroyer {{j|破壊するもの|Hakaisuru mono}} from ''Romancing Saga 3'' is an entity born of destructive energy from the star of death. Its purpose is to destroy anything, effectively returning everything to the void. It shares many attributes with the Cloud of Darkness: a female appearance but being genderless, referring itself in the plural form, and has a similar method in weakening it by defeating the four noble Devil Lords.
 ==Gallery==
@@ Line 121: / Line 126: @@
 [[it:Nube oscura]]
 [[ru:Облако Тьмы]]
-[[Category:Final Fantasy III non-player characters]]
+[[Category:Non-player characters in Final Fantasy III]]
 [[Category:Deities]]
 [[Category:Antagonists]]
+[[Category:Recurring characters]]