Kuja (???, Kuja?) is the antagonist of Final Fantasy IX. Obsessed with power and its application, he is ambitious, cruel, narcissistic and ruthless. Well versed in the arts, Kuja has a great fondness for classical works such as Lord Avon's play "I Want To Be Your Canary". Kuja emulates the role of a traditional villain, including such elements as monologuing. However, his ego shatters upon the realization that he is not, as he had always thought, immortal, and the resulting panic and rage leads him to destroy his homeworld of Terra (in a Trance state already induced by the many souls the Invincible had collected over the course of the game and his observations of the phenomenon when Mog became Madeen earlier in the game). In this trance state, Kuja not only destroys his homeworld, but attempts the destruction of all existence by entering Memoria and shattering the Crystal in the games last battle with him. As Garland stated, he is Zidane and Mikoto's "older brother". He is ultimately defeated by the party in the Crystal World.

Chaos (???, Kaosu?) is the final boss in the first Final Fantasy game. He is a relatively large, winged demonic figure. His other form, Garland, is also a common recurring character. Chaos first exists as Garland, an evil knight who kidnaps the princess of Cornelia. His plot is foiled by the Warriors of Light, who supposedly kill him while rescuing the princess. Garland is resurrected by the power of the four Orbs, siphoned by the Four Elemental Fiends and is sent 2,000 years back in time, turning him into Chaos. From the past, they are sent into the present by Garland to cause mass destruction and will eventually be responsible for his resurrection. This pact creates a time-loop and allows Garland to live forever. The Warriors of Light return to the Chaos Shrine ruins to travel two thousand years into the past, where they meet a Garland who remembers them, and seeks revenge, having defeated them in previous/alternate time-lines. After the Warriors of Light somehow defeat Chaos, they return to their own time with the Garland of a new reality waiting for them .

Exdeath (?????, Ekusudesu?) (X-Death in the Anthology version) is a powerful warlock, would-be ruler of a parallel world, and the antagonist in Final Fantasy V.

Exdeath was originally a single tree deep in the Moore Forest, which the people of that world had used to seal countless demons and evil spirits in for centuries, until about 30 years ago, when the tree developed its own sentience from all the evil it had contained and assumed a human-like form. After being defeated by the four Dawn Warriors (Galuf, Xezat, Dorgann, and Kelger), Exdeath was imprisoned within the first world, sealed by the power of the crystals, some 30 years before the events in the game. At this time, he shatters the four crystals one by one, just before the heroes are able to save them. After the fourth crystal is destroyed, Exdeath is released and returns to his (and Galuf's) home world.

Here, he returns to his castle. Bartz, Lenna, and Faris are captured shortly after warping to his world. They are used as hostages to keep Galuf and his army from attacking. It is protected by a powerful barrier that is generated by four towers surrounding the castle; Exdeath activates the barrier while the four are on the Big Bridge, which catapults them to Gloceana and would have killed any of Galuf's soldiers on the bridge. To attack the castle and defeat Exdeath, the heroes must destroy one of the towers to disable the barrier. In Exdeath's world, the four crystals are contained in the Elder Tree in Moore Forest. Exdeath destroys these crystals, because they are holding the two worlds apart, as they were once a single world, but were separated. He kills Galuf, who tries to defend the crystals and his friends. By doing so, the two worlds recombine, and Exdeath gains access to the power that was sealed by the separation of the worlds, the Void (?, Mu?).

He utilizes this power to great destruction, effectively annihilating Tycoon Castle, Lix, and other locations. When the Warriors of Dawn challenged him, he attempted to use the Void on them. However, in the ensuing fight, in which Exdeath reveals his true form as a tree, Exdeath became a victim of his own instrument. He emerged as Neo Exdeath, a chaotic vessel of the Void itself composed of the various evils that gave Exdeath life protruding from its body. Now nothing more than a host to the very power he sought, Neo Exdeath desired to turn all to nothingness, presumably so that it, too, could disappear. But the warriors destroyed Neo Exdeath, recreating the four crystals that restored all the damage caused by the Void.

Gilgamesh (???????, Girugamesshu?) is one of Exdeath's generals, and a recurring boss in the storyline. He is perhaps most noteworthy for being the first recurring miniboss in the Final Fantasy series. Although high on determination, he tends to be incompetent and short on courage. He fights the party a total of five times, and the Genji equipment can be stolen from him. He has a winged underling named Enkidu, who only fights alongside him once, supporting Gilgamesh with the White Wind ability. One of the most famous moments with Gilgamesh is when he finds a sword he thinks is the Excalibur, but is in fact a fake known as Excalipoor. Over the course of the game, he develops from an enemy into a friendly rival, respecting the party's power and enjoying their battles. After being cast into the Void by Exdeath, he is encountered by the party when they too enter the Void. Bartz directs him to the exit and Gilgamesh nearly refers to them as "friends" even suggesting that when they leave the Void, they should go on some "spectacular adventures, just the five of [them]." Shortly after this, Gilgamesh optionally returns (if the player touches the light and fights Necrophobe) and aids the party in their battle against Necrophobe, refusing to be remembered as a weak coward. He gives kind words and advice to each party member, then sacrifices himself to defeat Necrophobe (although it is possible for a powerful party to defeat Necrophobe before Gilgamesh appears, effectively making Gilgamesh survive).

Sephiroth (?????, Sefirosu?): Sephiroth is the main antagonist, he's known to be the most powerful member of SOLDIER ever, and rose to a prominent rank at an early age. After a traumatic incident in which he learned of what he assumed to be his true origins, he left SOLDIER and indeed civilization altogether with plans to become a god-like power by wounding the Planet with Meteor and absorbing the entirety of the Lifestream sent to heal the damage. He manipulates Cloud (and the party, by extension) over the course of the game, as well as killing Aeris.

Sephiroth is also a member of the party for a very short period (during a flashback sequence), however he is totally controlled by the computer during combat and the player cannot change his equipment and materia. He is personified by his primary weapon; the powerful Masamune sword which he uses to inflict large amounts of damage.

Cloud destroys Sephiroth at the end of the game; however, he returns for a short time in the sequel Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children where he is reborn through the body of Kadaj and subsequently defeated once again by Cloud. He warns Cloud that he will "Never be a memory".

Sephiroth was injected with Jenova cells a short time after his conception, making him arguably her direct offspring, though he was originally the unborn son of Lucrecia and Hojo. He believes that his mother is Jenova because that is what Hojo told him; it is doubtful he knows that Lucrecia even exists.

Golbez (????? Gorub?za), real name Theodor Harvey (?????????? Seod?ru H?vi), was born to Kluya and Cecilia. While growing up, he always wondered why his father was fascinated by the moon and was unaware of his father's origins as a Lunarian. His father would not tell him until he had mastered the arts of magic. Theodor boasted that he can cast magic, but when his father asked if he's even mastered the Cure spell, he admitted he can't. When Theodor returned home afterwards, he saw his mother collapsed on the floor. She told him she was alright, and that she's just tired from carrying her next child. Excited about having a brother, Theodor went to bed.

Kluya was attacked by the very magic he had taught to humans. When Kluya wondered if it was right to teach the people of Earth magic, Theodor assured his father it was, comforting his father in his final moments. As Kluya passed on, Theodor tried to cast Cure on him, but was unable to. The villagers of the town took care of Theodor and Cecilia afterwards, and when Cecilia finally gave birth, she died in labor. Unsure what to do, Theodor took the child and ran away. As he fled, he heard a voice telling him that the baby was the one responsible for taking his mother and father away from him, and that he was worthless for letting it happen. The voice then told him that he was "an insect born from a dragon's corpse", and declared that his new name was Golbez. The infant grew to become Golbez's brother Cecil Harvey.

In reality, the voice was Zemus. Taunted by Zemus' voice and ashamed of his actions, Golbez fled civilization. Eventually, combined with Golbez's Lunarian blood and his hatred of his younger brother, Zemus was able to influence his mind and take control of him. Golbez subsequently lost many of his memories and began to gather the Crystals to summon the Giant of Babil. The Giant would then depopulate the planet so that the Lunarians, presumably under Zemus' control or command, could live there rather than stay in stasis inside the moon.

Kefka Palazzo (?????????, Kefuka Parattso?, Cefca Palazzo in Japanese materials).[39] is a misanthropic madman and the game's central antagonist, dressed as a flamboyantly colorful Pedrolino and with a personality resembles that of a mad clown who enjoys destruction. Kefka serves as Emperor Gestahl's Court Mage and was the first volunteer for an experimental Magitek infusion, under the supervision of Cid. The process was still flawed, and although Kefka gained the ability to wield magic, it warped his mind and made him into the nihilistic psychopath he is during the course of the game.[40] He is also a rank coward, running from almost all in-game fights involving him, or employing Imperial Soldiers or illusions to fight for him.

It was Kefka who forced the Slave Crown upon Terra and used her to lead an attack on Narshe to claim the frozen Esper. Kefka also appears at the Magitek Research Facility, where the party observes his physical abuse of weakened Espers whose power he had drained. During a siege battle, Kefka grows impatient with General Leo and poisons Doma's drinking water behind his back, resulting in mass casualties and a swift victory for the Empire. Citing the poisoning of Doma, Gestahl eventually has Kefka imprisoned, but a plot twist later revealed this to be a ploy to gain the Returners' trust; Kefka later goes to Thamasa to seize Magicite from the Espers congregated there under the orders of Emperor Gestahl. When the honorable General Leo tries to intervene, Kefka deceives him by employing a shadow of himself, and then he backstabs and kills Leo while posing as Gestahl.

Using the power of the Espers, Kefka helps Gestahl revive the Floating Continent. When the party confront Kefka and Gestahl on the continent, Kefka freezes them (except Celes) with the power of the Warring Triad's statues, ordering her to kill her friends to show her loyalty to the Empire, but she in turn stabs Kefka instead. Enraged, Kefka knocks her aside and attempts to command the statues to kill them all. Gestahl, fearing that the statues' balance will be broken, urges Kefka to calm down and not to upset the statues. Kefka dismisses his emperor's warning, forcing Gestahl to try and kill Kefka with his own powerful spells. Gestahl's magic, however, is absorbed by a protective field generated by the statues. Kefka directs the statues to unleash their power on Gestahl, whose body Kefka unceremoniously boots off the Floating Continent to certain death. He then moves the Statues from their delicate balance, unleashing enough raw magical energy to reshape the face of the planet.[41]

Imbued with the power of the statues (as well as countless Magicite taken from Espers he's slain), Kefka is now the sole source of all magic and becomes the god of the ruined world he created, using the statues to forge a massive tower of random debris on what was Vector to serve as his headquarters and shrine. Many global inhabitants have come to form the "Cult of Kefka." Members of the Cult are in a zombie-like state, wandering mindlessly. Some join the cult because they have lost their loved ones or purpose in their life (in the case of Strago in the World of Ruin), but it is likely that many joined out of fear of Kefka as he smites the millions who refuse to worship him with his 'Light of Judgement', a beam of incinerating light capable of cutting fissures into the planet's surface.

At the game's conclusion, confronted by the protagonists, Kefka finally reveals his nihilistic motivations, explaining that all life is meaningless, and that the lives of mortal humans are purposeless. Thus, he proclaims that his new goal is to eradicate everything.[42] The party rejects his claims--citing examples of meaning in their personal lives--causing Kefka to go berserk.[43] He turns his Light of Judgment on the World of Ruin one last time as the party attacks him and he assumes the a robed "god"-form with six wings, both angelic and demonic, before he dies and his Tower collapses as his death marked the end of magic in the world.

Scarmiglione (????????, Sukarumiry?ne?) (Milon in the original SNES release and PlayStation re-release) is the Elemental Lord of Earth who first meets Cecil on Mt. Ordeals when the Dark Knight is on his quest to become a Paladin. Scarmiglione first appears as a small cloaked figure who does nothing more than cast a low-level lightning spell. Though Cecil thinks that he has defeated Scarmiglione and his zombie minions, the Earth Lord soon transforms into a hunched, zombie-like beast, attacking the group from behind and using poison gas and brute strength. Even though Cecil and his allies believe that Scarmiglione had been destroyed as he fell off a bridge at the summit of Mt. Ordeals, he faces the Lord once again in the Giant of Babel. Both of his forms appear in Dawn of Souls on the fifth level of Hellfire Chasm.

One of the Four Lords of the Elements, Cagnazzo (??????, Kainattso?) (Kainazzo in the original SNES release) has power over water; he can defend himself by withdrawing into his shell and by raising a barrier of water, and attacks with tidal waves. Hired by Golbez and Zemus, Cagnazzo killed King Baron and impersonated him. It was in fact Cagnazzo that ordered Cecil to steal the Water Crystal from Mysidia and bomb the village of Mist, not the king. The initial battle with Cagnazzo is fought in the throne room of Baron. The heroes seem to defeat Cagnazzo, but it appears he still had the ability to cling to the world for a tiny bit longer. As the party exited the throne room, it became apparent that the small hallway between the throne room and the main area of the castle had been trapped by Cagnazzo. He locked the doors and began to force the walls shut. Palom and Porom turned themselves to stone to prevent the rest of the party from being killed. He later joins the other Lords in a final battle against Cecil and his friends in the Giant of Babel. Also appears in Dawn of Souls on the Fifth Level of Hellfire Chasm.

Barbariccia (??????, Barubarishia?) (Valvalis in the original SNES release and PlayStation re-release) is the only female member of the Four Elemental Lords. The Lord (or Lady) of Wind, Barbariccia can transform herself into an almost indestructible tornado. Only Dragoons are able to break this tornado form of Barbariccia by jumping on her - ironic, as she appears to have an affinity for Kain. In the Japanese version of the game, she is shown unclothed, this was changed when the game was brought stateside. Though Cecil and the party first defeat Barbariccia in the Tower of Zot, they later fight her in the Giant of Babel, where it is somehow possible to damage her in her tornado. In both battles, Barbariccia is able to petrify the party and reduce them to near death with tornado spells. She also appears as an optional boss in Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls (GBA) on the final level of Hellfire Chasm. The Magus Sisters are shown to be under her command, as well.

Rubicante (?????, Rubikante?) (Rubicant in the original SNES release and PlayStation re-release) is the leader and strongest member of the Four Lords of the Elements. The ability to create and manipulate fire with his own hands makes him a worthy opponent, and his Cloak of Flames absorbs even Ice element attacks, unless it is open, revealing his legs. Rubicante is most known for his Glare attack, which deals massive fire damage to one character, likely exceeding the max HP value of characters at that stage of the game, being somewhat of a cheap move. Working with Dr. Lugae to raise the Giant of Babel, he is the archenemy of Edge. Cecil and Edge later defeat Rubicante in the Tower of Babel and the Giant of Babel. Unlike the other Lords, he is very honorable and even heals Cecil's party before fighting them; This is shown to not be out of pride, as he advises Edge to not let his anger get the best of him, as it will merely blind him. He did not authorize Lugae to transform Edge's parents into monsters, and apologizes to Edge for the deed before they battle. Cecil must face him again within the Giant of Babel, fortunately his cloak is open more often this time around. Also appears in Dawn of Souls in the final level of Hellfire Chasm.

Vayne Carudas Solidor (???????????????, Vein Karudasu Sorid?ru?) Vayne is the third son of Emperor Gramis and Larsa's older brother, as well as the primary antagonist of the game. He is the twenty-seven year-old Consul-Governor of Archadian-occupied Dalmasca, Commandant of the Archadian Empire's Western Armada and a member of House Solidor, whose members had led the Empire for four generations. This in effect makes him a "Prince", though as he states, the democratic nature of the Empire makes him no more eligible for the throne than anyone. He often laughs off those who attempt to give him the respect his title would command and makes efforts to reach out to the conquered Dalmascans who make up his jurisdiction.

However, while he honestly cares for the welfare of the people and of his family, particularly his younger brother Larsa, Vayne is Machiavellian in his methods, willing to use any means necessary to maintain order. He ensures the complete subjugation of Nabradia and Dalmasca, even exterminating their royal families, in order to acquire their deifacted nethicite. He confronts Dalmasca's resistance movement with absolute ruthlessness, accepting no surrender. He even goes so far as to murder his own ailing father and frame the Imperial senators, to put an end to their scheming against himself and Larsa. Vayne's ultimate goal is to free humanity from the control of the Occurians, a race of god-like beings that have, for centuries; secretly meddled with the course of human history. In doing so, he undertakes his noblest goal—freeing humanity from the slavery of the gods—and commits his ultimate act of villainy—toppling kingdoms, building massive warships, and leveling entire cities in nethecite testing experiments—in order to achieve his goal.

During the Battle over Rabanastre, Vayne commanded the Sky Fortress Bahamut, and when confronted by the team, used the Nethicite to become Vayne Novus before being mortally wounded by Vaan. But Venat awards Vayne for helping it by sacrficing itself to give him the power of an Occurian, causing Vayne to become the monstrous Undying, grafting pieces of the Bahamut's superstructure onto his body. Despite this monstrosity's incredible destructive power, a furious battle with the team eventually forced his mechanical body to break apart, and in the resulting explosion caused Vayne to be blasted into oblivion.