Enthrallment, also known as mind control, possession, or brainwashing, appears in several Final Fantasy series games. Enthrallment means one being, usually antagonistic, controls or enslaves another being's mind. Even player characters can be enthralled, though this is often hidden from the player until a dramatic reveal. Enthrallment differs from both willing service and physical coercion, often using magic, advanced technology, or both.
Appearances[]
Final Fantasy II[]
If the player visits Bafsk before they are sent to destroy the Dreadnought, the Dark Knight will be present and none of the townspeople will respond to Firion's party. When Firion's party is sent to destroy the Dreadnought, Borghen will have been put in charge of overseeing the construction of the Dreadnought and the townspeople will talk to Firion's party, along with several characters mentioning that they cannot recall anything from when the Dark Knight was present.
After the Emperor is slain by Firion's party, the Wild Rose Rebellion learns that the Dark Knight is in fact Leon, Maria's missing brother. Believing him to be under a spell of the Emperor, the party travels to Castle Palamecia to confront Leon. There, the Emperor returns from Hell, mocking Leon's attempt to take the throne. After the party escapes with Leon to Fynn, Maria convinces Leon to join the party, and he aids them in slaying the Emperor once and for all.
Whether Leon was truly brainwashed into serving the Emperor or he joined of his own accord has not been stated.
Final Fantasy IV[]
An enthralled Kain attacks Cecil.
Multiple times in the story, Kain betrays the party in order to serve his new master, Golbez, whom after the incident at Mist Village had apparently placed him under a spell to enthrall him.
Golbez is revealed to have been enthralled all along, having been a pawn of Zemus in order to activate the Giant of Babil.
Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-[]
Bahamut is the last eidolon summoned by Rydia? after the first four eidolons are defeated. She tries to finish off the party with Bahamut, but the real Rydia appears and summons the Mist Dragon to knock some sense into Bahamut who dismisses himself from battle.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years[]
Both Cecil and the eidolons are being controlled by the Mysterious Girls. If the player is not careful, the eidolons can be killed off during battle so the player must make them regain their senses.
Final Fantasy V[]
Exdeath is able to possess people after the crystals sealing him have weakened enough; even if his physical body remains trapped, Exdeath's mind is able to control the King of Tycoon and Queen Karnak. Based on a Walse warrior's comments when a Garula attempted to shatter the Water Crystal about it being controlled, Exdeath was also implied to have possessed the Garula as well.
Final Fantasy VII series[]
Cloud hands the Black Materia to Sephiroth, unwillingly.
All Sephiroth-clones, including Cloud Strife, are subject to the will of Sephiroth and Jenova, especially with regard to the Reunion. Cloud is temporarily subjected to servitude to Sephiroth twice—once at the Temple of the Ancients, and again at the North Crater, in both cases being made to hand over the Black Materia.
In the remake project, Cloud comes under Sephiroth's influence more often: Sephiroth takes control of him at the Gongaga Reactor in chapter 9, "The Planet Stirs" to kill numerous Shinra Electric Power Company soldiers, and to push Tifa Lockhart into the pool of mako below the mako reactor. Cloud begins to repeat Sephiroth's thought patterns in the temple, culminating in obeying his every order.
Final Fantasy VIII[]
A possessed Rinoa.
In Part 2, it becomes evident that Edea's malevolent actions are not willful, nor do they comport with her kindly demeanor back when Squall and his friends were in her care as children. She reveals that as a sorceress, her powers and mind were subjected to the will of Ultimecia, who used Junction Machine Ellone to junction herself with sorceresses from the past. When aboard the Lunar Base, Rinoa comes out of a comatose state, only to be possessed by Ultimecia and free Adel from her tomb.
Later, as part of Laguna Loire's plan to assassinate Ultimecia, Adel and Rinoa are once again possessed by Ultimecia in order to accomplish time compression.
Final Fantasy X[]
Any new high summoner must nominate a guardian to become the new Sin upon defeating the old one. Jecht, having volunteered to be the next Sin upon Braska's completion of the pilgrimage, is shown to be steadily losing touch with his humanity as he becomes Sin, a gargantuan beast who goes around destroying civilization under the command of Yu Yevon.
Final Fantasy X-2[]
Shuyin, a wandering spirit, is able to possess people and take over their minds. This is seen in Den of Woe where Shuyin possesses the Crimson Squad candidates to kill each other, and later tries to do the same to the Gullwings who enter the cave. Shuyin possesses Nooj, a Crimson Squad survivor, to shoot his friends, and later possesses Baralai and uses him as a host to control Vegnagun.
Lenne's spirit is also shown to take possession of Yuna's at times, although much lesser extent to what Shuyin is doing.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII[]
The God of Light Bhunivelze possessed Hope Estheim some time prior to the events of the game, literally reducing his body into a puppet, after the latter journeyed into Cocoon after Lightning crystallized herself. His motives for doing so varied between the English and Japanese versions. In the Japanese version, he did so in order to attempt to gain a better understanding for how humans functioned so he could empathize with them better when he recreates the world. In the English version, he instead used Hope as a puppet so he'd literally rule over humanity among them and have them inhabit his collective soul. However, because he could not see, much less understand or create hearts, he was unaware that in the process of possessing Hope, he unintentionally also absorbed Hope's heart. This also resulted in his ultimate downfall largely due to Hope's influence forcing him to start experiencing emotions, which Lightning exploited to free Hope (the English version largely downplays this plot point).
On a similar note, the Japanese version had Hope and Bhunivelze sharing the same voice actor, due to Bhunivelze using Hope as a conduit for his own voice while possessing him to directly communicate with Lightning (as gods lacked the ability to speak in a manner humans understood). This was not made apparent in the English version due to Hope and Bhunivelze having two differing voice actors.
Final Fantasy XIV[]
Primals, powerful magical constructs crafted to resemble revered or divine figures, can enthrall sapient beings. Some primals have unique terms for their particular method of enthrallment, but most do not. Ifrit, fiery deity of the Amalj'aa, enthralls eagerly and frequently, so although "tempering" originally referred to being enthralled by Ifrit, it has become the general term for primal enthrallment. Exposure to a primal's aether erodes the victim's will and independent thought, initially creating fanatical loyalty and eventually erasing the victim's mind. This empowers and sustains the primal, as it requires a constant input of new aether. The Ascians intentionally included this defect in the summoning process to create primals that desire to convert all other beings to their worship, starting with the summoner. Many tempered, regardless of the primal who enthralled them, will display glowing eyes while expressing their devotion.
Per recordings left by Allagan scientist Owen, this process, termed "eikonic corruption", warps the victim's soul toward that primal's elemental bias. They gain increased aptitude with magic of that element and potentially other benefits, but their soul's aether stagnates, reducing their sense of self and creating involuntary, single-minded devotion. Intense or prolonged exposure results in physical alterations. Individuals possessing the Echo are immune to enthrallment, in part due to receiving Hydaelyn's Blessing. A primal of sufficient power is even able to temper other primals.
Initially, tempering was thought irreversible and incurable. Victims were euthanized to weaken primals and prevent their revival. Some primals, such as Bahamut, also seem able to release a victim from tempering. Regardless of the method of being un-tempered, the former servant will have little to no memory of their time while tempered.
- Ifrit: Uses a blue flame for "tempering" prisoners, and prone to such intense exposure that prisoners are left outright catatonic with single-minded focus.
- Leviathan: Leviathan's enthralled are known as the "drowned", usually Sahuagin or Serpent Reaver pirates. Prolonged or intense exposure produces sea-creature traits, e.g. scales or cephalopod heads.
- Odin: Only one person is tempered, or "sundered", at a time. As Odin's true form is the sword Zantetsuken, he uses the sundered victim as a "host" to carry him.
- Anima: Screams, which a radio will receive as Varis zos Galvus's voice, to enthrall anyone nearby it or its towers.
- Necron: Enthralls users of neo-regulator registered with Everkeep's systems, sustained by their fear of death.
Some primals are not as prone to enthralling. For Titan and Ramuh, tempering is mostly a defense, while Ravana and Garuda prefer personally enacting their will, using tempered simply as labor.
The elder primal, Bahamut, had enthralled Nael van Darnus while she used Meteor to call down Dalamud, and Louisoix Leveilleur, whom he made into a protector within the Binding Coils of Bahamut. He relinquished his claim on both after their respective defeats in the Binding Coils.
Separately, Ascians can also enthrall using a "dark crystal" to suppress the will of a living host. They themselves were also tempered when summoning Zodiark to avert the Calamity besieging their world. As Ascians possess the Echo, their degree of tempering is unknown, though their personalities seem largely unchanged compared to their prior behavior.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers demonstrates another type of enthrallment: the sin eaters in the First resemble the tempered, as anyone infected by their excessive Light slowly loses their sense of self before eventually mutating into a new eater. Lightwardens can control sin eaters, much like primals can control their tempered. Vauthry, as a hume-sin eater hybrid, can enthrall Eulmorans based on how much meol they have eaten. Alisaie Leveilleur, after finding a cure for sin eater corruption, is inspired to find a cure for tempering, aided by Garlond Ironworks, G'raha Tia, and Alphinaud Leveilleur. After testing the cure on Ga Bu, they create a mass-produced version to aid the Eorzean Alliance and its new Tribal allies.
Fandaniel orchestrates a new, artificial tempering. It induces fanatical devotion to the Garlean Empire through strange spires. This empowers Anima, a primal summoned using the Garleans' faith in their Emperor. For reasons unknown, the "lunar" primals produced by these towers cannot temper others—only the tower itself can.
Final Fantasy XV[]
The Fierce enslaved by the Starscourge.
Those who become infected by Starscourge become twisted and bloodthirsty, but also lose their humanity. Ardyn Izunia can turn others into daemons, and after he revives Ravus Nox Fleuret as a daemon, the latter begins to turn into a mindless monster and begs Noctis and his retinue to kill him. Ardyn has also turned Ifrit to serve the forces of the dark, leading to Shiva to ask Noctis to release him. Ardyn brainwashes three rulers of yore to submit to his darkness and pits them as obstacles on Noctis Lucis Caelum's path to the throne room (Windows and Royal Editions only).
Final Fantasy XVI[]
A human turning Akashic.
Those who become Akashic are stripped of their humanity and will, becoming a mindless slave to Ultima. Ultima attempted to enthrall Clive to use him as a vessel to raise his kin, but resisted him every time. Barnabas Tharmr, King of Waloed and Dominant of Odin, willingly cast away his humanity to become Ultima's key player in ridding mankind of their free will. In a similar vein, Hugo Kupka became enthralled by the Drake's Fang Mothercrystal, seeing a hallucination of Benedikta Harman being killed by Clive. Olivier Lesage was later revealed to have been enthralled by Ultima at birth.
Final Fantasy Tactics[]
Possession is a main plot element in Final Fantasy Tactics, with the Lucavi using the auracite to possess humans with corrupt minds and use them as vessels as their only method of entering Ivalice. These individuals included Ajora Glabados, Folmarv Tengille, Alphonse Delacroix, Wiegraf Folles, Messam Elmdore, Dycedarg Beoulve, and Elidibus. Their plan is to resurrect their leader, Ultima, allowing them to come and go as they please. Alma Beoulve was briefly possessed by Ajora to resurrect Ultima due to her compatibility with the Virgo stone, despite not being corrupt of mind, though due to this she was able to resist the possession and separate herself from him.
In the original and War of the Lions version of Tactics, it was implied that some Knights Templar, such as Loffrey Wodring, may be possessed by lesser demons, but no such implication exists in The Ivalice Chronicles, and Loffrey is explicitly not being possessed, merely misguided in his faction's goals.
Marach Galthena possessed a frog to seek out Ramza Beoulve and Rapha Galthena to taunt them.
Zalbaag Beoulve, after he is destroyed by his brother Dycedarg in the form of Adrammelech, was resurrected as an undead and was quickly being brainwashed by the Lucavi before being struck down by Ramza as an act of mercy.
Final Fantasy Legend III[]
Lara was taken by Dogra to the Southeast Cave, and Granny came to rescue her. Arthur persuades Granny to let them take care of Dogra. Arthur eventually find Lara within the cave, but she's been brainwashed and engages the party into a battle. Once she has been defeated, she returns to normal and joins the party.
Shar's research proves that the Purelanders have been cursed to serve the Masters.
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]
In Act 2, Ch. 9, the Cloud of Darkness persuades Ace to reconstruct a ravaged Orience by restoring his sequestered memories unto him, also invoking the name of his Mother. They then use Ace in an effort to disrupt the balance of light and dark (which was already off-kilter due to the Light World's crystal being shattered) and bring themselves to full power. Though Ace does indeed lead his friends astray to serve the Cloud's purpose, he is pulled from their grasp and joins his allies once more to bring down his tormentor.
In Act 3, Ch. 9, Pt. 1, Lunafreya has her memories stripped by Ultimecia, who then exploits Luna's amnesia-like state to suggest that she turn against the party. Although Ultimecia succeeds in her endeavors to acquire memories as fuel for her destructive magic, her hold on Luna is broken with the efforts of three parties.
Etymology[]
Mind control (also known as brainwashing, reeducation, coercive persuasion, thought control, or thought reform) is a theoretical indoctrination process which results in "an impairment of autonomy, an inability to think independently, and a disruption of beliefs and affiliations. In this context, brainwashing refers to the involuntary reeducation of basic beliefs and values".