Original artwork, not a still
I, Garland, will knock you all down!
— Final Fantasy · 1987
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the first boss challenge of the whole franchise, delivered in the blunt, slightly stilted English of the NES era: a villain who introduces himself by name, as if the Light Warriors might otherwise mistake him for someone else. That stiff grandeur is why fans remember him. Later Final Fantasy titles keep alluding to Garland, and other characters named Garland turn up with parallel designs or backstories.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Final FantasyShow the scene
In Final Fantasy (Square, Famicom, 18 December 1987), the four Light Warriors start out in the kingdom of Cornelia, where Princess Sarah has been kidnapped by Garland, a knight who has fallen from grace. The party tracks him to the shrine where he hides (the Temple of Fiends in the NES release, the Chaos Shrine in later ones) and reaches the room where he waits. Garland greets them with this boast before the fight, and he is the first boss of the first Final Fantasy: defeat him and the princess is freed, and the real quest begins. Fans later learn that Garland has a far bigger place in the story as his alter ego, Chaos.
Sources (3)
- Garland (Final Fantasy) - Final Fantasy WikiLead and opening quoteReference checked
- Garland (Final Fantasy boss) - Final Fantasy WikiLead and statsReference checked
- Final Fantasy (video game) - WikipediaInfoboxReference checked
Context reviewed