The Best Gods In The Final Fantasy Series, Ranked

Almost every JRPG with a fantasy setting flirts with the concept of divinity from time to time, and Final Fantasy is no exception here. The vast majority of games in the series involve players dealing with gods who are threatening to tear the fabric of reality, establish their will on innocents, or enact some kind of dastardly plan that spells doom for the universe. Whatever their motives may be, it’s up to the player to stop these malevolent gods before they lay waste to the world.

However, not all gods need to be harbingers of doom and despair. Some divine figures in the series try to look out for the heroes and help them out when the need arises, but the vast majority of gods in Final Fantasy are as despicable as they come. Still, there’s something to be said about the iconic nature of these divine beings that makes them a riveting part of the games they’re featured in.

5 Ultima

A God-Like Being Who Instigates Conflict In Valisthea

Final Fantasy 16 features an epic story that takes players on a wild ride, with the game presenting a riveting slice of political intrigue and warfare that makes Clive’s conflict feel as real as can be. Helping out the Bearers and trying to make people understand the horrors these unfortunate people go through is riveting, but things spiral into something way worse when Ultima rears his ugly head. This divine being manipulates the events in Valisthea to place the world in an eternal state of conflict while trying to help his race come back and inhabit this world.

His plan is as diabolical as they come, but Clive stands in his way and brings the fight to him in one of the most bombastic final boss fights in the history of Final Fantasy. He’s a despicable antagonist who may go against the careful storytelling of the game’s first few arcs, but it doesn’t take long for players to be invested in the act of stopping Ultima and bringing peace to the land.

4 Cosmos

The Goddess Of Harmony Who Opposes Chaos

Dissidia Final Fantasy is one of the best spinoffs that fans can get their hands on, allowing them to live out their wildest fantasies as they control their favorite characters in real-time combat scenarios and take out a litany of powerful Final Fantasy antagonists. It’s a crossover fighting game perfect for long-time fans of the series, and it helps that Square Enix put in a decent amount of effort to flesh out a story that justifies the inclusion of the heroes from every Final Fantasy game in one reality.

These heroes are brought into the world by Cosmos in a bid to stand against the might of Chaos. She’s the goddess of harmony who genuinely cares for her champions and people as a whole, making her a surprisingly riveting part of this spinoff fighting game that fans can’t stop praising to this day. She has strong ties to Cid from the first game, taking on the appearance of his wife while somehow harboring her memories as well.

3 Kefka In The World Of Ruin

Absorbs The Power Of The Warring Triad To Attain Divinity

Kefka is one of the most diabolical antagonists in gaming history. This mad jester just wants to see the world be brought to its knees, accomplishing this goal by betraying Emperor Gestahl and disrupting the balance of the Warring Triad to sunder the World of Balance. However, he doesn’t stop there. He brings the godly trio of the Warring Triad to heel and absorbs their power to ascend to godhood as well.

When Celes wakes up in the World of Ruin, Kefka has already become a faux god who uses his fearsome Light of Judgment to decimate any place that speaks ill of him. The world is in a constant state of fear, and it’s not until the heroes band together once again to save the day that Kefka is finally punished for his atrocities, saving the world from his malevolent presence once and for all.

2 Safer Sephiroth

Merges With The Lifestream To Become A Faux God

Sephiroth is an iconic antagonist from Final Fantasy 7 who needs no introduction. This silver-haired SOLDIER is grown in a lab to serve as the perfect specimen, only to lose his mind after finding the truth of his origins in Nibelheim. This leads to Sephiroth razing the town before being thrown by Cloud into the Lifestream along with his mother, Jenova. He gestates in the Planet’s essence for the longest time before eventually attaining a state of divinity.

This allows him to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time, taunting Cloud and trying to stop the party by throwing pieces of his mother their way. The party realizes that they need to reach the source and target Sephiroth’s body at the Northern Crater before he summons Meteor and destroys the entire world. Players participate in an epic multi-phase boss fight that ends with a fight against Safer Sephiroth. This divine form of the antagonist is no slouch and can destroy players with ease, including a powerful attack called Supernova that destroys every planet in the Solar System before hitting the party for almost all of their current health.

1 Chaos

Established Himself As A Heinous God From The Very First Game In The Series

Chaos is a legendary figure in Final Fantasy. He makes an appearance in the very first game as the morphed form of Garland who continues to live and spread his malice via a time loop. The Warriors of Light must travel back in time and defeat this foe to save the world from this fearsome demon once and for all.

Ever since Chaos appearance in the first Final Fantasy game, he has become an enduring presence in the series as a villainous god hell-bent on laying waste to the world by any means necessary. The most notable appearance outside of the original Final Fantasy is in Dissidia, where he serves as the God of Discord who summons the rivals of the heroes across multiple universes to ensure that his side attains victory at all costs.

Final Fantasy

Creation Year

1987

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Publisher(s)

Square Enix