8 - Bit Theater 8 - Bit Theater is a sprite based webcomic written by Brian Clevinger and loosely based on the original " Final Fantasy " . The story follows the Four Light Warriors , Fighter , Black Mage , Red Mage and Thief as they attempt to collect the four Orbs to defeat the Demon King Chaos and save the world . However , the four are largely inept , slow - witted , cowardly , and sometimes outright evil . Thus they end up causing more trouble than they stop , usually doing heroic deeds by sheer accident . The comic concluded June 1st , 2010 , with a total of 1 , 225 strips over a course of more than nine years . Today it is one of the most popular sprite - based webcomics on the internet . History . 8 - Bit Theater began as a school project for Clevinger in 2001 , and he continued to produce the comics when he saw how popular they were . The website for the comic , Nuklear Power , was intended to host a variety of eight - bit sprite - based comics , including comics based on the " Metroid " and " Mega Man " games . However , the " Final Fantasy " comic proved the most popular and eventually became the site ' s focus with the other comics being abandoned . In 2002 the comic won the Web Cartoonists ' Choice Awards for best fantasy comic in 2002 . In a 2007 article by 1Up . com on web comics , Nich Maragos stated , " Neglected Mario Characters is the true origin of sprite comics . Bob and George is where everyone mistakenly thinks they began . But it was unquestionably Brian Clevinger ' s 8 - Bit Theater that took the style to its fullest expression and greatest popularity . " The comic ' s humor stems from anticlimaxes , pop - culture references , and the antics of the Light Warriors and their enemies who are usually just as incompetent . The comic follows the basic plot of the original " Final Fantasy " but introduces numerous subplots and original characters to flesh out the world of the comic . Strips usually consist of four rows of panels with two to four images on each row . Sprites and backgrounds are recycled frequently . Most sprites are taken from the NES sprites of " Final Fantasy " , " Final Fantasy II " and " Final Fantasy III " , but other , more detailed sprites are used on occasion . Many sprites used are modified due to copyright issues , and to incorporate a greater degree of expression and movement on the characters . The comic originally ended at Strip 1 , 224 on March 20th , 2010 to fan outcry related to a lack of a true feeling of conclusion . However , Clevinger already was planning a final comic titled " The Epilogue " with Matt Speroni , the artist from another of his series , and hinted at it for some time as a " secret project . " It was released June 1st the same year , featuring more conventional art as White Mage follows up on where the Light Warriors have gone three years after their quest ended . Synopsis . Story . Two comrades , the simplistic Fighter and power - hungry Black Mage , search the Giant ' s Forest for the Armor of Invincibility , but their search proves fruitless . They return to Corneria and see a sign calling for four Light Warriors to save the kingdom , and decide to sign up after recruiting two allies : the treacherous elf Thief and stat - obsessed Red Mage . Black Mage attempts to get White Mage , a kind healer whom he lusts for , to join the group , but she is voted out . The four are first sent by King Steve to save his daughter Sarah from the knight Garland in the Temple of Fiends to the north . However , Garland is a genuinely good person who needs to be coached by Sarah on how to be a proper villain . The Light Warriors travel to the temple , and eventually Garland is defeated by White Mage ' s bodyguard Black Belt . White Mage and Black Belt would continue to be recurring characters in the comic for some time . With Garland defeated and Sarah safe the Light Warriors return to Corneria where King Steve builds a bridge in their honor . On the next continent the Light Warriors meet Matoya , a witch who poisons them and blackmails them to recover her crystal ball from the pirate Bikke . The Light Warriors find Bikke and his pirates , Garland accompanying them , and commandeer Bikke ' s ship to sail to Elfland , Thief ' s homeland . They find Thief ' s father the king poisoned by Astos , who also has Matoya ' s crystal . They defeat Astos and his son Drizz ' l and retrieve the king ' s crown , Drizz ' l being carried away by Garland and Bikke . The Elfland king sends the Light Warriors to the Earth Shrine to retrieve the Earth Orb from the fiend Lich and his son Vilbert . Lich kills Black Mage , who conquers Hell and returns to earth where he kills Lich . Lich then heals the incapacitated Hell demons and overthrows Black Mage ' s rule , restoring him to life . Vilbert is meanwhile recruited as the fourth Dark Warrior . White Mage takes the Light Warriors to see Sarda the sage , who tells them to find the other three orbs and return them to him . The Light Warriors enter a volcano to confront the second Fiend , Kary , who kills Black Belt before being killed and sent to Hell with Lich . The Light Warriors meet the Dragon God - King Bahamut , who asks them to retrieve a Rat ' s Tail from the Castle of Ordeals in exchange for power . The Light Warriors accomplish this and are rewarded with class changes . The Light Warriors travel through the cities of Gaia and Onrac , and eventually use a submarine provided by Sarda to reach the Sunken Shrine where the Water Orb is kept . They defeat a doom cult trying to summon the third Fiend , " Ur " , but Fighter accidentally summons Ur by invoking its true name , " Jnn ' efur " . Ur swallows Red Mage in a frenzy , and Red Mage cuts his way out , killing Ur . The Light Warriors then travel to Lefein and meet Dragoon , last of the dragon knights who lives in the Mirage Tower . When they meet Dragoon ' s pet parrot Muffin , who unbeknown to him is actually a dragon , they attack her sky castle and kill her to claim the four and final Orb . The Light Warriors return to Sarda , who directs them back to the Temple of Fiends , now drastically more menacing in appearance . The Dark Warriors also return here , and after a night ' s rest the two groups plan to stage a final battle . During the night Drizz ' l summons demons from hell to assist them , and calls back the Four Fiends . However , they are killed once again by Black Mage , using the dark energy he absorbed from an evil clone of himself in the Castle of Ordeals . Sarda arrives and strips the Light Warriors of their powers , revealing his plan to destroy them after their quest to prove to them how pathetic and powerless they are . Sarda absorbs the power of the Four Orbs as well as all the dark energy from Black Mage , and becomes the vessel for the Demon King Chaos . Chaos gives the Light Warriors 24 hours to prepare for their battle , confident he is invincible . However , White Mage arrives with three other White Mages , and after proving to Chaos his desire for a chaotic universe is paradoxically impossible , they unite their power to kill him . Unwilling to let the Light Warriors take credit for Chaos ' defeat due to their actions , White Mage has the Dark Warriors championed as the heroes and the Light Warriors go their separate ways . Three years later Red Mage and Dragoon are in a sect for " last surviving members of an order , " Thief is the ruler of Elfland , and Fighter and Black Mage continue to travel together , Fighter still harboring hopes of finding the Armor of Invincibility and suggesting they set out in search for it in a nod to the original game ' s time loop .