Kefka is a colorful,
misanthropic madman and the game's primary antagonist. In the Japanese versions of the game, his name is spelled Cefca and in Japanese official publications, his full name is given as
Cefca Palazzo (ケフカ パラッツォ,
Kefuka Parattso?)
Kefka serves as Emperor Gestahl's Court Mage (as stated in the GBA remake by Edgar, when Kefka first visits Castle Figaro). He was the first volunteer for an experimental Magitek infusion, under the supervision of Cid. The process was still flawed, and although Kefka gained the ability to wield
magic, it warped his mind, turning him into a
nihilistic and brutal
sociopath. Kefka has a penchant for lying and manipulation, claiming multiple times that events like Celes's betrayal and Terra's escape from the Empire were his deliberate doing. He is also a rank coward, running from almost all in-game fights involving him, or employing Imperial Soldiers or illusions to fight for him.
It was Kefka who forced the Slave Crown upon Terra and used her to lead an attack on Narshe to claim the frozen Esper. Kefka also appeared at the Magitek Research Facility, where the party observes his physical abuse of weakened Espers whose power he had drained. During a siege battle, Kefka grew impatient with General Leo and poisoned Doma's drinking water behind his back, resulting in mass casualties and a swift victory for the Empire.
Citing the poisoning of Doma, Gestahl eventually has Kefka imprisoned, but a plot twist later revealed this to be a ploy to gain the Returners' trust; Gestahl later accompanies Kefka to
Thamasa to seize Magicite from the Espers congregated there. When the honorable General Leo tries to intervene, Kefka kills him.
Using the power of the Espers, Kefka helps Gestahl revive the
Floating Continent. When the Returners confront Kefka and Gestahl on the continent, Kefka freezes them (except Celes) with the power of the Warring Triad's statues, the source of all magic in the world. He tells Celes to kill her friends to show her loyalty to the Empire, but she in turn stabs Kefka instead. Enraged, Kefka knocks her aside and attempts to command the statues to kill them all. Gestahl, fearing that the statues' balance will be broken, urges Kefka to calm down and not to upset the statues. The power-mad Kefka dismisses the emperor's warning, forcing Gestahl to attempt to kill Kefka with his own powerful spells. The spells, however, are absorbed by a protective field generated by the statues. Kefka directs the statues to unleash their power on Gestahl, whose body Kefka unceremoniously boots off the Floating Continent to certain death. He then moves the Statues from their delicate balance, unleashing enough raw magical energy to reshape the face of the planet.
Imbued with the power of the statues (as well as countless Magicite taken from Espers he's slain), Kefka taps into powerful energy and wields godlike power. He uses the Statues to forge a massive tower of random debris to serve as his headquarters, as well as to smite millions of people who refuse to worship him. Many towns are destroyed by Kefka's 'Light of Judgement', a beam of incinerating light capable of cutting fissures into the planet's surface. Many global inhabitants even form the "Cult of Kefka." Members of the Cult are in a zombie-like state, wandering mindlessly. Some join the cult because they have lost their loved ones or purpose in their life (in the case of Strago in the World of Ruin), but it is likely that many joined out of fear of Kefka.
At the game's conclusion, confronted by the protagonists, Kefka finally reveals his nihilistic motivations, explaining that all life is meaningless, and that the lives of mortal humans are without purpose. Thus, he proclaims that his new goal is to eradicate everything in existence. The party questions his claims--citing examples of meaning in their personal lives--and Kefka goes berserk, turning the Light of Judgment on the World of Ruin one last time before the party attacks him. The ensuing confrontation with Kefka is the climactic battle of Final Fantasy VI, in which Kefka descends in a robed "god"-form with both feathered and bat-like wings. The music played in this fight is
Dancing Mad.
Kefka's personality resembles that of a mad clown. His defining attributes are his flamboyant, colorful dresswear and sardonic jokes (similar to
The Joker). A good example of Kefka's crass humor comes near the finale of the game, in which he dismisses the heartfelt affirmations made by the main characters, calling them "chapters from a self-help booklet". Before Kefka, most videogame villains acted as distant or monstrous figures, often devoid of much hint of personality outside of their brutish archetypes. Kefka, on the other hand, was required to scheme, double-cross, and overcome obstacles to win his power. Due in part to his irreverent and comical personality, Kefka has enjoyed a steady degree of popularity amongst fans of
Final Fantasy.
"Dancing Mad" is the music track that plays during the last four battles with Kefka at the end of
Final Fantasy VI (originally released for the SNES in North America as
Final Fantasy III, but now released under the original title name). An arranged version performed by
The Black Mages can be found on their title album. Another arranged version for
pipe organ,
choir and
orchestra lasting more than eight minutes was heard at the 4th annual
Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 23, 2006.
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It was composed by
Nobuo Uematsu, who also composed most of the music in the
Final Fantasy series, including
Final Fantasy VI. A more direct translation of the piece's Japanese title is
Wild Dance of the Ominous Star.
Because there are four semi-independent parts to the final battle with
Kefka, there are four parts to
Dancing Mad. The first movement, which plays with Visage, Long Arm, and Short Arm, has music similar to
Catastrophe in the key of C minor, and also has a small bit from the Duel part of
The Wedding Waltz ~Duel. This part also has music similar to
Johann Sebastian Bach's
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, as well as
Danny Elfman's
Penguin theme from
Batman Returns. The second movement, played alongside Machine, Tiger, Power, and Magic, has very little in common with any other previously played music in
Final Fantasy VI and it is in the key of D flat minor. The third movement, however, does; two distinct
leitmotifs can be heard: one is "Esper World", the other is Kefka's theme. In the final battle as described above, it has a short prelude. This prelude is the first movement of "Omen", the opening theme of
Final Fantasy VI. It then carries on into a much more upbeat, lively music, also in the key of D flat minor. There is also a brief moment where the music cuts out and the first opening notes of Kefka's theme is played.
Dancing Mad did not receive any such fame as other notable songs such as
The Extreme or
One-Winged Angel did. However, listeners tend to be very opinionated about
Dancing Mad, especially in regard to its length, which is in excess of 17 minutes. It is significant to note, however, that each part is in reality a separate piece of music just like others in the game, and only combined into one track on CD.
In 2006 Kefka was made into a toy in the Final Fantasy Master Creatures line. The figure is 6" tall from the bottom of the base, although Kefka himself is only about 4" or so in height. It represents his "god" form from the end of the game. Kefka also appeared as a Chance Card in
Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable.
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