Final Fantasy Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The body dies... but the spirit lives on.

Zemus, shortly before transforming

Zemus is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy IV. He is a Lunarian who wants his brethren to come out of their long slumber and populate the Earth. Zemus has formidable mind-control powers that he uses to manipulate various individuals, especially those with Lunarian blood. He is faced in a cinematic battle that only serves a storyline purpose.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

Zemus appears as a blue-skinned bald humanoid in a floor-length black cloak with white stripes in the tall collar. In his Yoshitaka Amano artwork, the white stylings on the hood of his cloak resemble fangs. His lower body is indistinct, being covered by the cloak.

Personality[]

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

Zemus considers Lunarians the superior race in comparison to the Earthlings, and thus any coexistence between the two is impossible. He wants to take over the planet for his people by eradicating mankind. He views even his fellow Lunarians as mere tools for him to use to force his utopia into a reality. In his megalomania, Zemus stops at nothing to enforce his plan, using whatever he deems necessary to make it happen. His will is so strong that it can exist independent of him and forge a new existence even without Zemus's original body.

Abilities[]

Zemus (SNES).

Zemus is a psychic who can control the minds of others remotely, particularly Golbez and Kain Highwind (indirectly). Strong feelings can interrupt this power, as seen when Kain is stopped by Rosa from killing Cecil. Fusoya can break Zemus's control over Golbez and make him remember his true identity. Zemus's psychic powers make him nigh invincible to attacks even from the most powerful of mages.

Story[]

Zemus appears to have been the only voice among the Lunarians advocating world domination. The rest wanted to wait for the people of Earth to evolve to the point where the two races could coexist. Zemus was forced to sleep, and the Red Moon's crystals sealed him within the moon, but due to his immense psychic powers, his mind remained awake and searched for ways to realize his plan. He manipulated the Lunarian Kluya's son, Theodore (Golbez), and uses him to achieve his goals.

FFIV iOS Zemus Defeated

Zemus after being defeated by Golbez and Fusoya.

Zemus manipulates Golbez into summoning the Giant of Babil, a massive android capable of eliminating life from the planet to make way for the Lunarians. When the crystals are gathered and the Giant roams the Earth, the Lunarian Fusoya, Kluya's other son Cecil, and their allies infiltrate the giant and destroy its central processing unit. Fusoya breaks Zemus's mind control over Golbez. Furious at having been puppeteered to commit atrocities, Golbez swears to kill Zemus and leaves with Fusoya for the Lunar Core.

In the ensuing battle, Zemus resists Golbez's and Fusoya's spells, and taunts them into killing him by casting Meteor. Despite Zemus's death, his hatred lives on as Zeromus. Cecil and his allies, with the help of the prayers of their supporters on Earth, vanquish Zeromus, ending his threat for good.

Gameplay[]

Zemus is a cutscene battle where Fusoya and Golbez join forces to fight him. The battle is purely cinematic. Golbez's HP in this battle (2,943) can alternatively be read in Japanese as nikushimi (憎しみ?), which means "hatred", while his starting HP in The After Years (2,971) can be read as tsugunai (償い?), meaning "atonement".

Spoilers end here.

Other appearances[]

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

FFI PSP Black Mage MapThis section about a character in Pictlogica Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Zemus appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Dark-elemental Backup cards and as a Lightning-elemental Forward.

Behind the scenes[]

One piece of unused dialog for Zemus exists: "You are entering into my realm, the Zemus-Zone. No one can ever escape from my minions! Perish in the Darkness before you reach me." This speech is given by Zemus, taunting the party telepathically. This was probably intended to be displayed upon entering the Lunar Subterrane or the Lunar Core. The "Zemus-Zone" is possibly a reference to Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone and also an unused location name, but may have been the working name for the Lunar Core during the English localization.

Etymology[]

Zemus is the Amharic word for "prayer".

Advertisement