Black Knight

Black Knights are enemies that appear in the earlier installments of the Final Fantasy series, starting with the first Final Fantasy. They are swordsmen who wear dark armor and a flowing cape.

Final Fantasy
In Final Fantasy, Black Knights are enemies encountered at Mirage Tower (1F and 2F), Flying Fortress (1F), and Chaos Shrine (3F) during the past. In the original Nintendo Entertainment System release, they are named BADMAN.

In all releases, Black Knights wear a cape, but their armor and pose has changed in some of the releases. Starting with the WonderSwan Color release, Black Knights wear lighter armor. Both their arms and legs are exposed, revealing a dark tan skin. In the Game Boy Advance version, like the other enemy sprites, Black Knights' sprite was brightened, so they wear blue armor and were given an orange tan. In the PlayStation Portable release, Black Knights' pose was changed again, and its entire body is protected by dark gray armor.

Final Fantasy II
In Final Fantasy II, Black Knights appear as a boss and as an enemy, depending on the circumstance and area. They are more notable as they play a role during parts of the story, and serve as soldiers under the Palamecian Empire. Their battle sprite shows them riding a horse while carrying a spear.

At the very start of the game, the Black Knights invade Fynn. During this, the party gets caught into an unwinnable boss fight against four Black Knights. Because the party is vastly underpowered, all of them are quickly defeated by the Black Knights. Later on, the party encounters Black Knights as enemies in Castle Palamecia.

In remakes starting with Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, shortly after starting the Soul of Rebirth quest, a Black Knight is fought as a boss alongside two Sergeants in Raqia (floor B1). Just before the battle begins, Minwu quickly joins in to help Scott fight them. The Black Knight whom they fight has slightly different stats, including lower Attack and Defense and a slightly wider Accuracy percentage range.

In remakes starting with the PlayStation Portable release, Black Knights are also encountered as enemies in the Arcane Labyrinth's Dragoons and Utopia areas.

For this game, Black Knights have a different Japanese name, くろきし (kurokishi), but it still translates back to Black Knight. In the unreleased Nintendo Entertainment System prototype, they are named DarkNite.

Final Fantasy IV
In Final Fantasy IV, Black Knights are undead enemies who are only encountered in the Tower of Zot. Their highest stat is their Strength. Black Knights are vulnerable to Fire and, because they are undead, Holy.

In the 3D remake, Black Knights were made even stronger, as indicated by their stats, and reward just over four times more experience points than in the original releases.

Bestiary navigation
Starting with Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, the Black Knight fought in Raqia was also given a bestiary entry: