Summary
TheFinal Fantasyseries has been captivating audiences since 1987, amassing mainline entries now well into double figures. Given that so many games have been released over the decades, not to mention the vast number of spin-offs and crossovers, it’s fair to say that the series has gathered a large roster of characters.
Naturally, when dealing with so many different figures, they won’t always be completely fleshed out, leaving the player wondering about the character’s backstory and motivations for their actions. Of course, in some cases, like withthese mysterious NPCs,the writers have purposely left these details deliberately vague, maintaining a certain level of mystique around a character, shrouding them in mystery.
Originally intended to have a much more prominent role,Enuois only mentioned in the originalFinal Fantasy 5release. A powerful wizard who traded his immortality in order to wield the power of the Void, he isa secret superbossin the Game Boy Advance port of the game.
Much of his backstory is lost to history within the game, with the books written about him being ineligible and spread across different worlds. Enuo’s power was so great 1,000 years prior to the events of the game that the world split in two when he was defeated, trapping him in the Void.
Despite appearing to be a female humanoid,Cloud of Darknessis genderless and also not human. It is the main antagonist inFinal Fantasy 3, but does not appear until the end and its backstory is never really revealed beyond possessing a desire to turneverything into nothingness.
Like some other characters on this list, Cloud of Darkness is playable in some spin-off games, most notably in theDissidiaseries, but few details are given away in any of its in-game appearances. Nothing seems to kill it either, even when defeated, merely sending it into a sleep state to recover power and return stronger.
When entering the Girl’s Tearoom, a peculiar place within a pocket dimension, players will find theGirl Who Forgot Her Name. Appearing inWorld of Final Fantasy, and resembling a character from the Japan-exclusive game involving time manipulationSigma Harmonics, she is said to be the Time Guardian.
Many players have hotly debated her background and tried to interpret every snippet of detail from the Tearoom, with some even suggesting that several Square Enix game series could share a common universe or multiverse. Not much can be clearly determined from cutscenes and dialogue, and she remains a great mystery toFinal Fantasyfans.
The origins ofMinerva, and what exactly she is, are rather unclear inCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, aspin-off of the classicPlayStation 1 game. She is interpreted to be the Goddess mentioned in the poem “LOVELESS” by the game’s main antagonist, Genesis Rhapsodos, and there are certainly many clues to suggest that she is a Goddess.
She is implied to be related to the sentient being Gaia, the planet where the variousFinal Fantasy 7games take place. Briefly appearing at the end of the game, she can be fought as a superboss, and disappears without explanation once she is defeated.
A bizarre and otherworldly being,Necronaims to reduce all life to nothingness and believes itself to be benevolent when carrying out these actions. Despite this seemingly ignoble goal, Necron is neutral, believing that all life yearns for death, and believes it will always exist as long as life does.
Acting as the final boss inFinal Fantasy 9, Necron is shocked to be defeated and especially surprised byhumanity’s will to live. Necron’s appearance and history have left many players puzzled, with little to no information given about its background apart from its representation of death and existential dread.
Never speaking and never shown in human form,Yu Yevonis the final boss inFinal Fantasy 10.Fragments of information about him exist in the game; however, it’s clear that he was the leader of Zanarkand prior to its destruction, and could do nothing to stop its demise.
It seems that his true physical form has been lost, becoming a strange floating creature, although this may have been intentional in order to possess more aeons. Like many characters on this list, there were more plans for Yu Yevon, but they never materialized, rendering him an enigmatic figure.
4Ozma - Final Fantasy 9
A Giant Sphere Monster
A large sphere made up of swirling patterns resembling a gas giant planet,Ozmais a rather perplexingmonster and superbossfound in Chocobo’s Air Garden inFinal Fantasy 9. It has two distinct halves, with one hemisphere clearly lighter than the other, seemingly representing light and dark energy.
While it is never specified what Ozma is, Mene describes it as “not of this world” and it is located in an “eidolon cave,” suggesting it is an eidolon. The fact that it drops a Pumice when defeated also suggests that Ozma must have some connection with Terra, a different planet.
Of the many interesting bosses inFinal Fantasy 6,Siegfriedis perhaps one of the most interesting and most confusing. First met on the Phantom Train while seeking treasure, he is not much of a challenge, and during a later encounter in Dragon’s Neck Colisseum, his name is suddenly spelled Ziegfried, and he is much tougher to beat.
Ziegfried does claim that an impostor is masquerading as him, which may explain the differences, but it’s still a rather curious situation. Once again, it is unclear whether more was planned to flesh out this side plot, and many fans have pondered these weird encounters for years.
Only mentioned inFinal Fantasy 13, but appearing in the sequels,Paddra Nsu-Yeulis rather cryptic. Being a seeress, she has visions about the future, but each vision shortens her lifespan and Yeul seems todie many times, always reappearing as a reincarnated version of herself.
Her age ranges from 14 to 17 years, and her personality alters slightly with each rebirth, but she is always resigned to her deadly fate. Some Yeuls in the Void Beyond are quite hostile too, and players are always left with many questions about these forseers.
A rather unsettling character,Jenovais an extraterrestrial life-form who has endured many experiments that led to the creation of some ofFinal Fantasy 7’stoughest adversaries, perhaps most notably Sephiroth. Traveling from planet to planet, she infects organic life with cells, destroying them from within, until all life is dead and she can move on.
The origins of Jenova are unknown, and her purpose is also unclear. She seemingly exists only to destroy life, turning infected life-forms into violent monsters and eventually ending their existence. Not only is Jenova mysterious, but she is also utterly terrifying.
