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The villain of the original Final Fantasy, Garland has appeared in various forms in numerous titles, culminating in the upcoming Stranger of Paradise.
While he might not be as well-known as the other villains in the Final fantasy franchise, Garland is still a particularly iconic figure in Square Enix games. The villain of the original Final fantasy, Garland has appeared in various forms in unrelated titles, and that may include the upcoming Stranger From Heaven: Final Fantasy Origin. This terrifying knight clad in black armor has become almost as iconic as the series’ Dark Mages and Light Crystals.
Foreigner of origin takes place in the world of the first Final fantasy, and apparently some kind of prequel. Most recently, a trailer ended with the main character posing as Jack Garland, supporting a popular fan theory that the game put players in the shoes of the fallen knight. Not much is known about Garland’s life before his fall Final fantasy, although the game gives it a fairly definitive end.
Garland, the knight of Cornelia
Haughty and conceited, Garland is the sometimes cackling and exaggerated villain of Final fantasy 1. This mentality is reinforced by his experience, Garland having once been the greatest knight in all of Cornelia’s kingdom. This corrupted his mind and made him greedy for power, seeing him kidnap the kingdom princess Sarah as a ransom for the king to hand over power to him.
Garland’s demand is met by the power of the Four Heroes of the Light, who defeated him and seemingly ended his plans. This is only the beginning of the adventure, however, as Garland causes a time loop through Four Fiends that attacks the Four Heroes of the Light. Through them and this time loop, Garland designs a way to live forever and potentially be free from the heroes, though that shot doesn’t quite go as planned.
Followed in the past by the heroes, Garland absorbs the power of the four demons and turns into chaos. Upon his defeat, the time loop is broken, with the heroes potentially being encountered by a Reformed Garland upon their return to the present. While he appears to have been a somewhat one-note villain, other games would establish Garland as still having some level of compassion, as well as remorse for seemingly being stuck in an endless loop in order to survive.
Garland’s Legacy in Final Fantasy
After the end of the original Final fantasy, Garland and the four heroes are no longer seen. Their story would be told somewhat in other games, namely spinoffs such as Dissidia Final Fantasy. The name Garland as well as the identity of the Chaos Demon would appear again in other games in the series. Much like Sid’s recurring character, however, these variations are usually unrelated other than name.
Garland is most recognizable by his armor, which is usually silver in color with a purple cape. We also notice his horned helmet, as well as his swords several times massive. This weapon and its bulky appearance influence his fighting style, which is heavy with tank hits and does horrific damage through physical attacks.
The action-based RPG Stranger heaven is confirmed by the game’s development team to be a prequel to the original Final fantasy game, but it will not be based on the four heroes of light. Instead, the protagonist is none other than a man named Jack Garland, who at the end of the game’s final trailer wears the iconic horned armor. The game’s plot involves Garland determined to defeat evil Chaos, with events unfolding to show how Chaos becomes his alter-ego. Becoming a playable “hero” with probably more storyline will definitely help flesh out Garland, hopefully putting him in the same realm as iconic. Final fantasy villains like Kafka and Sephiroth.
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