Final Fantasy: Who Is The Best Character From Each Game?

14. I - Garland

Few could've predicted the success that was to come when they booted up the original Final Fantasy cartridge back in 1987. It has been reworked and re-released on numerous occasions since, but never has there been any addressing of its nonexistent character development.

Players take control of four 'Warriors Of Light', choosing names and character classes for them. From that point until the end of the game they serve no purpose to the plot (despite being the ones driving it) and their personalities and motivations are left open to interpretation.

As a result, there are slim pickings when it comes to choosing the 'best' character from the game. Series favourite Bahamut makes his first appearance but is only there to upgrade the aforementioned character classes, whilst the likes of Matoya function almost solely as quest givers.

That leaves the villain of the piece, Garland, who is swiftly dispatched when he pops up as the game's first boss, but re-appears as the master of the four fiends that occupy much of the rest of the story. His convoluted yet surprisingly sophisticated (for a game from 1987 at least) grand plan makes him stand out from a number of his successors, and besting him feels like a real accomplishment.