Chaos (Final Fantasy)

Chaos is the antagonist and the final boss of the original Final Fantasy. He is a demonic monster who maintains a time loop. He is the quintessential Final Fantasy antagonist and final boss, many future villains paying homage to him. The elements of chaos and harmony, often represented by darkness and light, have become a recurring theme in the series.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Chaos is a horned demon with large wings, sharp claws and a tail. His kneecaps depict monster faces. Chaos's demonic appearance may have been based on Gustave Doré's illustrations of Satan (Devil or Lucifer) from John Milton's Paradise Lost. In Final Fantasy a dragon's head emerges from his stomach, but in Dissidia this has been changed to a loincloth depicting a dragon, held with another monster face buckle. In Dissidia he has four arms and a darker coloration–he is more brown-toned in Final Fantasy, and more black and purple in Dissidia.
=== Personality ===
Chaos seeks immortality and creates a time loop to live forever. He is the antithesis to the light and harmony represented by the Crystals.
==Story==
Garland was a knight of the kingdom of Cornelia who gained much respect through his power and skill. He was the best of the knights, but eventually turned against the kingdom and abducted Princess Sarah. Fleeing to the Chaos Shrine, Garland then demanded the King of Cornelia to hand over control of the kingdom in exchange for her life.
After being sent by the King of Cornelia to save the princess, the Warriors of Light travelled to the Chaos Shrine and defeated Garland, rescuing Sarah. Unbeknownst to the warriors, Garland's corpse was sent two thousand years in the past by the Four Fiends of Chaos, creatures that were created when his hatred merged with the four elements of the world, causing him to be revived as Chaos. As Chaos, Garland would send the Four Fiends to the present to continuously revive him and drain the Crystals of their power.
After the warriors travelled the world to fight the Fiends and restore the Crystals, they learned that the power the Fiends drained were being funneled into a Dark Crystal in the Chaos Shrine, opening a portal to the past. Within the present Chaos Shrine, the Warriors of Light learned that the Fiends were sent from two thousand years ago, and their master is in that time. 
Using the Dark Crystal, the Warriors traveled to the past and defeated the Fiends again. Within the depths of the shrine, the Warriors find Garland alive. The revived Garland told the Warriors of Light of the events that transpired after his defeat in the present and how he instrumented the chain of events that would drain the crystals of their power, creating a time loop that will allow him to live forever. Garland then absorbed the Fiends' power and transformed into Chaos to do battle with the heroes.
With Chaos defeated, the time loop is broken, restoring the land. Though Chaos is erased, Garland remains in the reformed present the Warriors of Light return to.
==Gameplay==
Chaos is fought as the final boss. He is remembered for his noteworthy death animation, which shows him disintegrating, a somewhat innovative phenomenon in games for the NES. This style of death was repeated for final bosses of future games in the series.
==Musical themes==
In the NES version Chaos uses the standard battle theme, but later editions give him his own music.
In the NES version his battle's music is "Battle Scene", while in the WonderSwan Color version "Last Battle" plays.
In Theatrhythm Final Fantasy the theme used in the Battle Music Sequence (BMS) is an arranged version of the "Chaos Shrine" theme, which can also be heard in the menus for the Chaos Shrine section.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Dimensions II===
===Dissidia Final Fantasy series===
Chaos is the God of Discord and the main antagonist. He summons enemies from other universes to defeat Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, who has summoned heroes to fight Chaos's forces in an endless cycle of war. Unlike the Chaos of the original Final Fantasy, who was identified as another form of Garland, it is unclear what relationship Garland of the Dissidia series has with this incarnation of Chaos.
Chaos is a manikin created by Onrac researchers and Cid of the Lufaine to be used as a weapon against other nations in World A. Raised by Cid and his wife until he matured, Chaos was taken away by the Onrac military and a manikin of his mother, Cosmos, was used to coerce him into obeying. When Cid and his wife attempted to rescue Chaos, his mother was shot, and in his hatred Chaos opened a portal to the Interdimensional Rift, which drew him, Cid and Cosmos into World B, where the events of the original Dissidia and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy take place.
In this new world, the three were met by Garland who felt he and Chaos are linked. Cid made a deal with the holy dragon Shinryu to pit Chaos against Cosmos in war, which would empower Chaos and eventually allow Cid to return home to seek revenge on Onrac. Chaos's memory faded over time and Cid and Cosmos only appear as fragments in his dreams. During the 13th cycle, Garland tells Chaos that before Cid called him to World B to partake in the cycles, Chaos sent Garland back in time 2000 years to become Chaos himself. During this cycle Cosmos's warriors vanquish Chaos, though his will is eventually inherited by the god Spiritus.
In Dissidia 012, Chaos returns as the God of Discord along with his previous warriors. A bestial form, Feral Chaos, is the result of Chaos going berserk after winning too many times against Cosmos in a nightmare world Shinryu has imprisoned Cid in. When five warriors manifest in this nightmare world, they destroy Feral Chaos, shattering the nightmare and freeing Cid. As he dies, Feral Chaos regains his senses, and thanks the warriors for freeing his father.
Dissidia 012 provides inconsistent information regarding Garland and Chaos's relationship. During the Conclusion of the Cycle chapter, Garland claims that he and Chaos are the same being. However, Report 12 suggests that Garland met Chaos for the first time after being pulled into World B and even named Chaos. The specifics of Garland's connection with Chaos are never clarified.
=== Final Fantasy XIV ===
Chaos is a boss in the Omega series of raids, making his entrance in the Alphascape. Having proven himself among the strongest of Omega's creations, Chaos is pitted against the Warrior of Light's party, using many of his elemental attacks seen in previous incarnations, as well as manipulating the arena to enhance them. He is defeated and erased from the interdimensional rift.
===Theatrhythm Final Fantasy===
Chaos is the "final boss", fought after accumulating 20,000 Rhythmia.
The "copies" Chaos's Theatrhythm Final Fantasy CollectaCard mentions is most likely a mistranslation of the "Four Chaoses" (Four Fiends). As evidence of this, the text regarding his copies was changed to simply state the Four Fiends in his Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call CollectaCard.
====Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call====
Chaos is a playable character unlocked by collecting 20000 Rhythmia points, leading to an encounter with Chaos where the player must win. As an enemy, he returns as a normal encounter, in addition to his Feral Chaos form, who is fought after accumulating 40000 Rhythmia points.
He is an Overpowered character. His Limit, Utter Chaos, deals damage in proportion to his Strength and Magic.
Theatrhythm CC Chaos.png|Chaos.
Theatrhythm CC Feral Chaos.png|Feral Chaos.
====Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival====
===Pictlogica Final Fantasy===
Chaos appears as an enemy in his original Final Fantasy and Dissidia Final Fantasy appearances.
===Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade===
Chaos appears in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.
===Final Fantasy Artniks===
DFF Chaos SR+ F Artniks.png|Final Fantasy Artniks.
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
=== Mobius Final Fantasy ===
Chaos appears as an ability card in Mobius Final Fantasy.
Mobius Chaos FFI.png|Chaos's ability card.
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Chaos appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Dark-elemental cards. He is depicted in his Dissidia Final Fantasy appearance, and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Yoshitaka Amano artworks.
Chaos-TradingCard.jpg|Chaos [1-158E] Chapter series card.
3-106r Feral Chaos.png|Feral Chaos [3-106R] Chapter series card.
Chaos TCG.png|Chaos [7-124R] Chapter series card.
Chaos2 TCG.png|Chaos [10-126S] Chapter series card.
Chaos3 TCG.png|Chaos [13-208R] Chapter series card.
FeralChaos PR TCG.png|Feral Chaos [PR-092] Chapter series card.
Chaos 1-184H from FFTCG Opus.jpg|Chaos [1-184H] Opus series card.
===Final Fantasy Portal App===
Chaos is mentioned in the introduction to Triple Triad.
===Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin===
Chaos serves as an important plot device in Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, an alternate universe prequel to the first Final Fantasy game. Jack Garland and his party begin with the singular goal of killing Chaos, initially believing Chaos to be a corporeal being. 
As Jack gains more of his lost memories, he discovers that "Chaos" is a phenomenon that stems from the darkness of humanity and that the Lufenians have goaded Jack and his party to act in their interest of using Cornelia as their experimental dumping ground for the darkness. Following the death of Princess Sarah, the burgeoning darkness in Jack's soul leads him to the Darkness Manifest, a demonic being that resembles the Chaos entity from the original Final Fantasy.
Disgusted by the Lufenians' manipulation, Jack severs his connection to the Lufenians, and battles the Darkness Manifest to fully-absorb its powers to become Chaos himself. Jack collaborates with his friends to utilize his newfound dark powers to train the Warriors of Light and wrest control of Cornelia from the Lufenians.
It is unclear how the Darkness Manifest originated. In-game dialogue states the entity is "the sum of the world's fears" and "despair given form"; however main scenario writer Kazushige Nojima claims in an interview that the entity "arose" in Jack's soul once his sadness reached a breaking point following Sarah's death.
==Other media==
Chaos appears in the novelization Final Fantasy I * II * III: Memory of Heroes. His role in the novel is essentially the same, although he is Chaos is defeated by the Warrior alone, rather than by all four Warriors of Light.
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
===Puzzle & Dragons===
Chaos appeared as part of the Final Fantasy collaboration. He was introduced in the event that happened in the North American version November 2–15, 2015. When fought in the Netherworld, he uses Cyclone, Blaze, Blizzaga, Flare, Curaga and Haste. After defeating him, he drops Cloud's Buster Sword.
He was obtainable as a 4-star ranked unit named "Chaos", with a devil type and dark and light elements.
As a 4-star ranked unit, Chaos appears in his standard form and emits a dark aura. His active skill is Soul of Oblivion and his leader skill is I will be reborn again here.
PAD_Chaos_artwork.png|No. 2052 Chaos.
==Gallery==
Chaos (sketch).jpg|Sketch by Yoshitaka Amano.
Chaos2.jpg|"Throne of Doom" artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
Final Fantasy Master Creatures Kai 2 DFF Chaos.jpeg|Master Creatures Kai 2 figure.
==Etymology==
==Allusions==
The throne that appears in Chapter 0 of Final Fantasy XV resembles the throne Chaos sits in in a concept art piece by Yoshitaka Amano for the original Final Fantasy, likely being modeled after it.
==Citations==
==See also==
*Garland (Final Fantasy)
de:Chaos (FFI)
es:Caos (Final Fantasy)
it:Chaos
pl:Chaos (Final Fantasy)
pt-br:Chaos (Final Fantasy)
ru:Хаос (Final Fantasy)
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy
Category:Antagonists