From day one magic has been a huge part of Final Fantasy. Spell progressions like Fire, Fira, Firaga have become iconic to the series, multiple games have used the existence of magic as a crucial part of the plot, and some of the most memorable characters in the franchise have been focused on using magical powers.
So, taking into account the incredible breadth of Final Fantasy, its spinoffs, and connected titles, here’s who we think are the five most powerful magic users.
5. Black Mage Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
We’re starting on a slightly awkward note here as there isn’t a single Warrior of Light. This is the player character in an MMO, meaning that there are infinite variations on who this is. Even so, any Warrior of Light that’s battled through A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker will have defeated countless divine beasts, colossal demons, and — apparently — invincible deities.
And of the Warriors of Light, the Black Mage is objectively the most damaging magic-using class in the game. Compared to other XIV jobs there’s not much to the Black Mage: you simply cast classic Final Fantasy spells on various cooldowns, know when to start channeling, and manage your mana.
Despite that simplicity the Black Mage has the highest DPS (damage per second) of any class, let alone magic users. That means any max-level Black Mage character that can survive an Ultimate level raid must be counted as one of the most talented Final Fantasy magic users – if they have a healer who works stupidly hard to keep them alive.
4. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
There are few more memorable spells in Final Fantasy than Sephiroth’s ‘Super Nova’. This is his final form’s ultimate attack, showing a meteor rocketing through space, destroying Jupiter and Saturn before smashing into the sun. The sun then goes (as you’d expect) supernova, causing a giant explosion that envelops Earth. Perhaps surprisingly, this isn’t an instant party kill, but it deals heavy damage.
But that’s merely Sephiroth’s flashiest battle spell, as throughout Final Fantasy VII he demonstrates his formidable magical abilities. The pinnacle of that comes when he retrieves the Black Materia and casts Meteor, which threatens to wipe out nearly all life on Earth if he’s stopped.
Sephiroth has become an icon, appearing in multiple Final Fantasy VII spinoffs and in Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. In each of these he maintains his magical reputation. And, of course, beyond all that he’s an expert swordsman and general physical threat. There’s a reason he’s held in such high regard.
3. Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)
The main villain of Final Fantasy VI has among the most compelling stories of any Final Fantasy antagonist. At a young age he was selected as the first Magitek Knight and suffered through brutal experiments to give him magical abilities. This was technically a success, but his sanity was irreparably damaged in the process.
He soon developed a reputation for sadism and cruelty, though this only saw him promoted to the top ranks of the Imperial army. Over the course of the game he gradually grows in power and reveals his desire to destroy the world. Then he does something no previous Final Fantasy villain ever managed: he wins.
Yup, Kefka ascends to become the God of Magic and destroys the world. The rest of the game sees the surviving heroes pick through the ashes as they figure out a way to take down Kefka as a God. This being a video game they eventually succeed, but Kefka’s magic left a mark on the series, and he’s reappeared as an intimidating mage boss in more recent games – notably as a tricky raid in Final Fantasy XIV‘s Stormblood expansion.
2. Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII)
So how do you one-up the “God of Magic”? For our money Final Fantasy VIII’s final boss Ultimecia has Kefka beat. Ultimecia is an incredibly powerful Sorceress living at the end of time, with her ambition to achieve full”‘Time Compression”, which will make all of history exist in a single space. That will let her absorb the entirety of time and space, turning her into an omnipotent being.
Though you don’t physically meet her until the final moments of the game, she’s able to project her consciousness backward in time and possess Sorceresses in the past to carry out her plan. Beyond that she possesses a full suite of the best spells in the game, can unleash “Hell’s Judgement” that reduces the party’s HP to one, is able to teleport and phase through matter, and even read people’s subconscious thoughts and turn them into reality.
The cherry on top is a fun fan theory that Ultimecia is the future form of party member and romantic interest Rinoa. Though the evidence is convincing, the game’s director Yoshinori Kitase has gone on record to say this isn’t the case. But whatever, we’ll always have our headcanon.
1. Donald Duck (Kingdom Hearts series)
First up this is not a joke. The Kingdom Hearts games are inextricably intertwined with Final Fantasy, with the games featuring a ton of character and enemy crossovers. And, within that, Donald Duck has demonstrated that he’s by far the most suped-up Mage ever seen in a Square-Enix game (let alone a Final Fantasy one).
The proof comes in Kingdom Hearts III, where Donald casts the spell Zettaflare. Flare is one of the most destructive spells in the Final Fantasy games, with its upgraded forms Megaflare and Gigaflare usually reserved for optional endgame bosses or summons. Its next form Teraflare is even more cataclysmic, with Bahamut’s use of it in Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 destroying the world of Eorzea and setting in motion A Realm Reborn.
So, how destructive is Donald’s Zettaflare? Well, if the name is anything to go by, Zettaflare is a billion times stronger than Terraflare. This makes Donald a one-duck apocalypse, potentially able to wipe out realities as he sees fit. Fortunately for now he’s on the side of the heroes, but we know he has a famously short temper so it might not be long until every Final Fantasy world is trampled under his webbed feet.
