Garland

Garland is the main villain of Final Fantasy and the first boss fought. He formerly served as a knight under Cornelia's monarchy. Early in the game, Garland kidnapped Princess Sarah, and the Warriors of Light set out to Chaos Shrine to battle Garland. Near the end of the game, the heroes travel two thousand years into the past to prevent Garland from gaining power. In that time, Garland absorbed the Four Fiends' elemental powers and transformed himself into Chaos, the final boss of the game.

Character design
Garland's in-game sprite depicts him in a set of gray armor with a horned helm and blue cloak. His eyes glow red. The Dawn of Souls artwork replaces the blue cloak with a violet one with gold trim, and the helm has two smaller spikes on the top. His battle model also has this appearance.

Garland was redesigned for Dissidia Final Fantasy with Tetsuya Nomura stating it was more like designing a new character because he could only refer to in-game sprites. Garland wears a more elaborate suit of armor with blue jeweled sections on the shoulders, wrists and groin. The horns on the helm extend out farther than they did in Final Fantasy, and his cloak is blue, held by a gold clasp.

Final Fantasy
See also: Chaos

Garland was the best knight of the kingdom of Cornelia who gained respect through his power and skill. He became corrupted by power and abducted Princess Sarah, fleeing to the Chaos Shrine. He demanded the King of Cornelia hand control of the kingdom to him in exchange for his daughter's life. The Warriors of Light travel to the Shrine where they defeat Garland and rescue Sarah. Afterwards, the warriors travel the world to fight the Four Fiends of Chaos that had drained the Crystals of their power. The power of the Crystals the Fiends had drained was funneled into a Dark Crystal in the Chaos Shrine, opening a portal to the past.

With the Crystals restored, the Warriors of Light are told the Fiends were sent from two thousand years in the past, and their master is in that time. Using the Dark Crystal the Warriors travel to the past and defeat the Fiends again, and find Garland alive. Garland tells the Warriors of Light that the power of the Four Fiends in the present sent him to the past when he was on the brink of death after his defeat, and Garland then sent the Four Fiends in the past to the present. By doing this, Garland has created a time loop that will allow him to live forever.

Garland absorbs the Fiends' power and transforms into Chaos to do battle with the heroes. He is defeated and the time loop is broken, restoring the land. The epilogue states that a restored Garland will await the Warriors of Light as they travel back to the present, though it is unclear if he has reformed into the honorable knight he once was.

In the novelization, Final Fantasy: Memory of Heroes, Garland plays a similar role to the original story, with his appearance in the finale having him merge with the Four Fiends in the middle of the confusion between them and the Warriors of Light, allowing him to transform into Chaos.

Battle
Being the first boss, Garland has only physical attacks and the battle is straightforward. The player's physical attackers, if any, should attack each round, with their healer using their spells only when needed and their offensive mage attacking each round with whatever spells they have.

Trivia

 * Garland is the first named character to appear in the series.
 * Garland's character profile listed on Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival's official website states he kidnapped Princess Sarah after she did not reciprocate his love for her . Garland's motive for abducting Sarah to seize control of Cornelia was introduced in later versions of Final Fantasy, as the original and MSX version don't mention this. According to the character volume of the series' 20th Anniversary Ultimania, Garland's hatred is a result of Sarah rejecting his feelings.