"Know suffering! Know death!"

—Zeromus

Zeromus (ゼロムス, Zeromusu^?) is the final boss of Final Fantasy IV. It is the spirit and hatred of Zemus, reborn after his death. In the Nintendo DS version he is voiced by Michael McConnohie, who also voiced Fusoya and Cagnazzo.

StoryEdit

Final Fantasy IVEdit

"My hatred will not be stanched until it has consumed all else! You shall be next. Come! Pass into this darkness I have wrought!"

—Zeromus

Zeromus does not make his appearance until the very end of the game, within the core of the Red Moon. After Fusoya and Golbez kill Zemus, Zeromus materializes out of his corpse and attacks them, wounding Cecil and his allies. Golbez and Fusoya attack Zeromus, casting the legendary Meteor, but Zeromus is incorporeal and the attacks do nothing. Golbez attempts to use a Crystal to render Zeromus vulnerable, but Zeromus states that as Golbez is tainted in darkness, him using the Crystal is pointless. Zeromus then casts his own Meteor, knocking down Fusoya, Golbez, and the party.

With seemingly no one left to stand against Zeromus, Palom and Porom (on Earth) sense Cecil is in danger. The Elder of Mysidia leads Cecil's allies in prayer to send strength to him, giving him and his allies the power to stand again. Using the Crystal Golbez gives to him, Cecil renders Zeromus corporeal, causing him to reveal his true form. When killed, Zeromus fades but warns he will always exist as long as there is hatred in the hearts of people.

Final Fantasy IV: The After YearsEdit

"Evil is evolution at it's purest..."

—Zeromus's Malice

The Mysterious Girl drains the Crystals of the Red Moon of their energy and they shatter as Golbez and Fusoya race to the center of the moon to make sure the rest of the Lunarians are safe. When they reach the core the final Crystal shatters, and with them gone Zeromus's restraints fail, and he is reborn as Zeromus's Malice.

After the two fight Zeromus's Malice he uses Big Bang to weaken them, and Fusoya teleports Golbez to the Lunar Whale, urging him to get to the Blue Planet and help protect its Crystals. The fates of Fusoya, the Lunarians and Zeromus are unknown, with Golbez setting out in the Lunar Whale to investigate them at the end of the game if he survives.

BattleEdit

Final Fantasy IVEdit

Main article: Zeromus (Final Fantasy IV Boss)

As the final boss, Zeromus is a very dangerous opponent. He has two signature moves, Black Hole, which nullifies any positive status buffs on the party, and Big Bang, which does massive non-elemental damage. He also has access to Bio, Flare, and Meteor.

In the Advance and The Complete Collection releases of Final Fantasy IV, Zeromus EG appears in the Lunar Ruins as an optional superboss. He knows several elemental and status spells along with the original Zeromus's Black Hole and Big Bang.

Final Fantasy IV: The After YearsEdit

Main article: Zeromus's Malice

Zeromus is revived as Zeromus's Malice during the events of The After Years and is fought at the Crystal Palace. He can use Big Bang, but only once as his final attack.

GalleryEdit

Zeromus in the SNES version.

Akira Oguro artwork of the final battle against Zeromus, for the official novelization of Final Fantasy IV.

TriviaEdit

• In the Advance and Complete Collection releases of the game, Zeromus refers to himself in the plural as "we." The reason for this is unknown, and no other release gives him this trait.
• The Esper Zeromus from Final Fantasy XII is named after him. They both have the same signature attack, Big Bang, and they were both corrupted by hatred. The Esper's design is a composite of the original and the "Zeromus EG" version, retaining various crustacean-like qualities.
• In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Golbez's ultimate weapon is known as the Zeromus Shard.
• It's possible for certain copies of Final Fantasy IV to freeze if the player goes back and forth between doors 64 times. Square's defunct newsletter, "Ogopogo Examiner" wrote this glitch off as a "trap created by Zeromus".
• In the DS version, a Zeromus costume for Whyt can be obtained by completing the Bestiary.