Summary
Final Fantasyis a series known for its recurring themes and characters. Players love taking on enemies that have made an appearance in previous games yet manage to feel right at home despite the world being completely different in some ways. Some of these recurring characters are beloved for their infectious personality, and Gilgamesh is a great example of the same.
After a notable debut inFinal Fantasy 5where the full extent of Gilgamesh’s personality could be seen firsthand, fans were treated to numerous appearances of this character who made a name for himself with a wide array of weaponry that could either hit foes to inflict serious damage, kill them outright, or do absolutely nothing to perturb them. This makes Gilgamesh a wild card in terms of strength whenever he enters the battlefield, leading to him becomingan iconicFinal Fantasycharacterin the eyes of many.
Given that players candefeat Gilgamesh multiple timeswhenever he encounters the heroes, an argument can be made that this character is pretty weak compared to his other incarnations. However, there’s no denying that Gilgamesh is one of the best antagonists inFinal Fantasyhistory who manages to be intimidating despite coming off as a goofball at times.
Players will love facing off against him multiple times throughout the series, including the memorable Battle at the Big Bridge that is accompanied by one of the best pieces of music created by the brilliant Nobuo Uematsu. His hilarious Excalipoor has become a running joke in the series, and fans can’t help but feel for him when he’s banished to the Interdimensional Rift for his numerous failures. In the final dungeon, he comes back to aid the player, delivering some heartfelt final words before sacrificing himself and aiding the party to head towards Exdeath and defeat him once and for all.
Final Fantasy 12is known forits many impressive huntsthat players can embark on, with the party unlocking Elite Mark hunts after a point. One of these battles is against none other than Gilgamesh himself, who appears with Enkidu to engage in a duel with the heroes. One interesting thing about this character is that he wields the swords of pastFinal Fantasyheroes along with an iconic blade fromDragon Questtoo, making for a fun reference that is sure to entertain long-time fans of the series.
As one would expect, there’s a touch of subtle hilarity to this encounter that makes the battle against this Elite Mark more memorable. Each iconic blade that Gilgamesh wields is a knockoff, which makes for an interesting detail if players make the effort to peruse his weapons carefully. The party engages in a battle with this character twice and can defeat this character with a bit of work despite his strength in battle. The fake blades he wields don’t aid his power that much, making this encounter surmountable in the eyes of many.
Unlike the previous appearances of Gilgamesh in the series,Episode Gladiolusfeatures a serious takeon this character who lacks a lot of his patented humor. This may be disappointing, but players won’t mind as long as they get to take on the Blademaster in an epic encounter where they make the most of Gladiolus' hard-hitting attacks to do serious damage.
Since Gilgamesh lost an arm in his fight against Cor, it can be argued that Gladio had an easier time with this boss courtesy of this handicap. Still, the Blademaster brings his A-game in battle, using four blades to dish immense damage. The strongest one of the lot is the iconic Genji Blade, which can be obtained as a reward for beating this challenging boss and one of the strongest iterations of Gilgamesh in the series.
The encounter against GilgameshinFinal Fantasy 6makes for a fun boss fight, with this Coliseum battle being the only one where the entire party engages him in battle. It’s not an easy fight in the slightest, but players who bring their strongest party to battle and approach this battle tactically can beat up one of the toughest enemies in the series.
The party is rewarded with the Gilgamesh magicite for their efforts, letting players summon this being in combat to trigger one of four possible effects based on the sword that he chooses to attack the player’s enemies. Zantetsuken hits for immense holy damage, Masamune hits for armor-ignoring non-elemental damage, Excalipoor hits for a measly 1 damage, and Enkidu arrives on the battlefield if all three swords glow to decimate foes in his strongest attack.
Seifer is one of the most iconic rivals inFinal Fantasyhistory. Watching himface off against Squallthroughout the series is something fans can’t get enough of, with the final encounter being a cinematic one if players have Odin as a GF. The summon appears to kill Seifer, only to be cleaved in two by the Hyperion wielder. Seifer gets cocky after this victory, not realizing that the GF’s Zantetsuken landed at Gilgamesh’s feet.
This legendary character appears mid-battle to unnerve Seifer before taking him out in a single hit and showing the wealth of his power. This version of Gilgamesh is extremely powerful and is never defeated in the game. He replaces Odin as the wild card that can appear at any time during a battle, unleashing one of four attacks depending on the blade he chooses. The effects that Zantetsuken and Excalipoor have are well-documented, while Excalibur and Masamune deal major damage to all opponents.
