Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a dark retelling of the original Final Fantasy on the NES, which means that some of the bosses that once appeared in 8-bit pixel form have been reborn as HD monsters. The trailers for Final Fantasy Origins' Stranger of Paradise have revealed that some of the bosses from FF1 will be returning and have received overhauls to their design, as they are no longer bound to the hardware limitations of Nintendo's original system.
2022 marks the 35th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series, as well as the 25th anniversary of the release of FF7, the game that helped put the series on the map outside of Japan. The release of Stranger of Paradise will be a fitting way to celebrate the history of the franchise, as it's an action RPG that is set in the world of FF1. The world of FF1 has been remade on a number of occasions, most recently in the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster of the first six games, but never to the same degree as Stranger of Paradise. The world of Final Fantasy Origin: Stranger of Paradise is a much darker affair than the one in FF1 and it's clear that not all is what it seems this time around, with the villain of FF1 now acting as the protagonist of Stranger of Paradise.
It bears mentioning that not all of the bosses in Stranger of Paradise appeared in FF1. The most recent demo for the game featured a pair of elemental fire and water bosses, which weren't part of FF1. It's also likely that Gilgamesh from FF5 will be a DLC boss in Stranger of Paradise. The demos, promotional materials, and trailers for Stranger of Paradise have revealed that several of the FF1 bosses will appear in the game with new designs. There are also some bosses from the trailers that could be returning creatures with drastically different designs, as there are dragons that could be revamped versions of the dragon bosses from FF1, but these have yet to be confirmed by Square Enix.
Final Fantasy Origins' FF1 Bosses - A Copy Of Garland
The original demo for Stranger of Paradise concluded with a battle against Garland, who used similar attacks to the ones he uses in the Dissidia series. It was revealed in the next demo that this was actually a woman named Neon, who had taken Garland's form. Neon then joins Jack's group and is part of his party. If the protagonist is meant to be the original Garland, then this fake-out was likely just to maintain the canon of the original game, where Garland is the first boss.
Bikke The Pirate Returns For Final Fantasy Origins
Bikke technically wasn't a classic boss monster character in Final Fantasy 1, as he was the leader of a group of pirates. It was Bikke's pirates who fought the Warriors of Light and not Bikke himself. The fact that Bikke has been shown sporting a gigantic ax in the promotional material for Stranger of Paradise, and comments made by Square Enix in press releases suggest that Bikke has been brought up to boss status in the new game.
FF1's Astos, The King Of The Dark Elves, Is In Final Fantasy Origins
The character who has the most surprising glow up in Stranger of Paradise is Astos, the King of the Dark Elves. In FF1, Astos masquerades as a monarch, before revealing his true form, where he looks like a hideous goblin. In Stranger of Paradise, he has transformed into a handsome anime character.
However, this could simply be his false form, and he'll pull a one-winged angel for a proper boss battle. The fact that Astos is shown fist-bumping Jack in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's trailer suggests that he might be an ally in this game. Either that, or his role will be greatly expanded beyond his villainous turn from FF1.
Lich, The Fiend Of Earth Is One Of FF Origins' Bosses
The Four Fiends from FF1 will all appear in Stranger of Paradise and will likely be some of the most difficult bosses in the game. The first is Lich, the Fiend of Earth. In FF1, Lich resembled a skeleton wizard wearing a set of purple robes. In Stranger of Paradise, it has a totally different design, with bone-like wings jutting out of its back, and purple flames burning within its skull. Square Enix revealed in a press release that Lich has the ability to drain the Break Gauge with its Curse spell, as well as summon skeletons to the battlefield with its magic.
Final Fantasy Origins' FF1 Bosses - Marilith, The Fiend Of Fire
It's no secret that Final Fantasy 1 borrowed from Dungeons & Dragons, and nowhere is this more obvious than with Marilith, the Fiend of Fire. In D&D, a Marilith is a high-level demon that resembles a woman/snake hybrid, with multiple sword-wielding arms. This exact design was used in FF1. In Stranger of Paradise, she has kept this design and now brings six burning swords to bear against the party. The final trailer for Stranger of Paradise shows Marilith as a high offensive character, who goes full Ludwig from Bloodborne at Jack, raining blow after blow, and unleashing flurries of flaming sword strikes against him.
Kraken, The Fiend Of Water Is A Boss In Final Fantasy Origins
Kraken, the Fiend of Water might have the most drastically different design of all of the Four Fiends. In FF1, Kraken looked like a chubby squid person, sporting a fancy purple cloak. In Stranger of Paradise, Kraken now resembles a Resident Evil boss monster, with a much sleeker design that is a better fit for an action game. Kraken is a fast opponent, who loves to rush down and grapple enemies. Kraken also has the ability to steal buffs from party members, and its water magic can make use of the surrounding environment.
Tiamat, The Fiend Of Wind Is In FF1 And Final Fantasy Origins
Tiamat, the Fiend of Wind was the first of the Four Fiends revealed for Stranger of Paradise. Her design is similar to that of the one in FF1, where she resembled a dragon with several heads. Square Enix has kept to its roots and decided that the best way to upgrade Tiamat's design was to stick a scantily-clad woman inside of her body, as it did with Final Fantasy 4 end boss Zeromus back in the '90s. Tiamat uses her heads and tail like a whip, and can unleash powerful storms against the party with her magic.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 18, 2022.