Let’s be honest, Final Fantasy villains are awesome. In fact most villains achieve cult status and have followers. The reason why is because not only are they awesome, but they also have deep motives.
Some just want to rule the world, some just want to prove themselves, some think they’re doing the right thing, and some are just plain evil. Be wary though as these villains like to spoil things!
10) Vayne (Final Fantasy XII)
Vayne is a political genius. Rather than using brute force, Vayne uses the might of his empire to complete his agenda. That snake can slip through almost anything with his deceptive nature. He’s able to convince an entire nation of his innocence and to follow him blindly. He lacks strength and has to rely on his buff judges to deal with enemies though.
9) Master Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)
He may not be a Final Fantasy villain, but this is one bad dude. His agenda would not be stopped by mere age or the loss of his heart. He wanted to test an experiment by unlocking Kingdom Hearts to see what would happen even though it would probably cover every world in darkness and snuff out everyone’s hearts. His ruthlessness and inability to appreciate life gets him to #9.
8) Garland (Final Fantasy I)
The original bad guy makes his way to #8. Garland set the mark for all future Villain’s to follow with his brutal, selfish, and heartless nature. Garland was once the king’s most trusted knight till he captured the king’s daughter. The four heroes of light defeated him only to later learn that he had let lose 4 elemental fiends so that he could create a time paradox allowing him to live forever. Garland established the Final Fantasy villain as many follow his template with some wanting power, immortality, and some not caring for the world itself.
7) Xande (Final Fantasy III)
Xande was a talented pupil under the tutelage of Master Noah. When the time came Noah gave up his power to his three apprentices and Xande ended up with the gift of mortality. Feeling betrayed, he tampered with the Void and used its darkness to stop the flow of time in the lower world so he would not die. Xande is an interesting case because he never sought power or riches. Instead he genuinely felt betrayed and acted as he saw fit. This is in general conflict with villains, as he could be perceived as a tragic figure rather than a cold-hearted beast.
6) Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII)
A witch of great power, Ultimecia was a witch afraid of the future. Hunted down in her time due to events in the past, this sorceress sent her consciousness into the past to possess other sorceress’ to stop her ultimatum; death at the hand of a SeeD. Ultimecia barely did much fighting herself and relied on using other sorceress’ in the past due to her being from the future. She was also the first to be given a prophecy like in Greek Mythology where some fate was to happen to her so she did all she could to avoid it by compiling all times within her so she could become an omnipresent being. This was an interesting take on the Final Fantasy villain and still remains unique to this day. No other villain has an Oedipus like prophecy that helped spur them into action nor were any of them as effective in their quest as she almost accomplished it.
5) Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
The one-winged angel enters the top 5. Sephiroth was the product of experimentation on a fetus with Jenova cells. Sephiroth was born into a world of fighting and misery and soon grew to SOLDIER 1st Class due to his super-human like traits he received from Jenova. One trip to Nibelheim would cause him to forever change as he discovered his origins. Sephiroth fled for a great many years into hiding with many presuming him to be dead, but he had a greater plan. He felt better then humanity and therefore hatched a scheme to merge with the lifestream to become a god. Sephiroth was an example how humanity has consequences on everything, even their own enemies as humanity alone created Sephiroth. He became psychopathic murdering everyone even Aerith. His brutality and strength earn him a good place on the list.
4) Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Kuja was created by Garland to be the angel of death and was constructed a path to follow. Kuja however grew to become independent and desired to free himself and tried to dump Zidane (another of his species) on Gaia. Kuja then would go on to seek power so that he could always remain one step ahead of Zidane and achieve immortality. Only after the destruction of his world Terra and the summoning of Necron does he redeem himself. With his last act Kuja uses the remainder of his power to save Zidane and his party. Kuja’s story was an arc that many other villains did not face. He knowingly knew what he was doing was bad, but did it anyway. In the end though, he was able to realize how misguided his ways were and sacrificed himself to save the heroes. His motivations and character arc land him at #4.
3) Golbez (Final Fantasy IV)
The tragic villain Golbez appears at #3. While shown as cruel and manipulative, Golbez’s actions were never his own. In fact another greater villain named Zemus controlled him. Under the control of Zemus, Golbez was known for his cruelty and also his ability to manipulate people. He was able to trick the heroes into recovering 2 crystals and luring them into cleverly devised traps. He stands out among the others for not only being controlled, but also for his ability to fight and use his brain at the same time. His ability to scheme had the heroes start to destroy the world themselves and come close to ending their own lives.
2) Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)
The maniacal, laughing, and mentally-disturbed clown lands at #2. Why? Well unlike any other villain, he seems to be just plain evil and enjoys every ounce of it. He simply finds amusement in the suffering and death of others. In the end he claims that all of humanity is insignificant and meaningless. His lack of any sense of decency or morality is what makes him such a great villain.
1) Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X)
The heavily twisted Master of Yevon is our #1 villain. While it may be controversial, Seymour stands out as the best villain because of his views and personality. Half-Guado and half-human, Seymour was bullied into isolation and grew up with an already nihilistic view towards the world of Spira. Add in Sin and then you have a double whammy in him. He believed that Spira would never be from Sin and forever be stuck in a spiral of death so he hatched a scheme to become Sin and destroy Spira. Villains can want power, immortality, or just be evil, but a villain who truly believes what they’re doing is the right thing, now that’s a true villain and that’s why Seymour is our #1 Final Fantasy villain.
So ends part 2 of our look back at Square Enix’s most revered franchise. Do you agree or disagree? Who’s you favourite villain? Leave a comment below and let us know!
