There have been many, many games in the Final Fantasy franchise over the decades. Final Fantasy 7 is, so far, the only one to receive the “remake treatment”. But other epic tales in the series, such as Final Fantasy VI, could eventually blow the minds of fans all around the world. Though players often take on the role of hero, villains are what keep fans coming back.
The first games in the series all featured unique designs, but the bad guys often lacked interesting motivations or backstories. The newer games developed more sophisticated antagonists with nuanced and dynamic personalities. Due to these differences, some of them have endured more than others.
Honorable mention here goes to a not-quite-main villain from Final Fantasy XII: Judge Gabranth. For fans who know his story, they know why he fits in with this crowd. But now, which villains in the Final Fantasy franchise are the best?
10 Final Fantasy XV: Ardyn Izunia
The main antagonist of Final Fantasy XV makes for a great villain on paper. His brother betrayed him, he made a sacrifice unknowingly, and he will never know death since he’s immortal. Though a fantastic manipulator and tragic character, Ardyn exemplifies everything wrong with the game. He just doesn’t quite fit into the road trip journey of Noctis.
His abilities and backstory act as a foil for Noctis, but to a lesser degree than past attempts at this. Instead of getting Cloud and Sephiroth, fans got a prince, his bros, and a sad boy with mind powers.
9 Final Fantasy XII: Vayne Carudus Solidor
Vayne is the heir to the Archadian Empire, an antagonistic force in Final Fantasy XII. He dresses well, speaks verbosely, and killed his own father. Like many other Final Fantasy characters, Vayne wants to get rid of the gods, but also rule the world himself.
But Vayne is a prince and princes don’t get their hands dirty. Instead, he manipulates everyone around him, portraying a facade of nobility and decorum. The biggest flaw about this villain is that he wasn’t as good as the other antagonists in the game. But it’s difficult to compete with the emotional trappings of fighting a teammate’s father and another one’s brother.
8 Final Fantasy XIV: Solus Zos Galvus/Emet-Selch
Technically, Lahabrea is the longest-reigning main villain in Final Fantasy XIV. He leads the Ascians and can possess people whenever he pleases. But the main villain in the Shadowbringers expansion, Solus zos Galvus, or Emet-Selch, is a better villain.
Emet-Selch is the Architect of the Ascians, incredibly intelligent, manipulative, and patient. He has engineered and overseen genocide and even created a delusion for himself of the past he misses so dearly. Something between a god and a human, Emet-Selch is everything fans would expect from a Final Fantasy villain.
7 Final Fantasy Tactics: Delita Heiral
This entry may be a bit of a contentious one due to the fact that Delita is technically a protagonist in the game. Despite his associations with the actual hero of the game, Ramza, Delita’s intentions are not pure of heart. He seeks to infiltrate the nobility to take the crown for himself to prevent needless bloodshed. This seems a kind-hearted enough goal, but Delita is merciless in his pursuit.
He spares some people as he challenges the Lucavi, but never wavers from attaining the throne. In fact, Princess Ovelia learns of his deceit and stabs him for it. In response, he stabs her right back and she dies, but he lives. He reigns for a long time after and executes a historian named Orran Durai for trying to reveal the truth. Not very heroic, eh?
6 Final Fantasy X: Seymour Guado
Seymour kicks off the section of this list that might be called the “Lonely Hearts Club” or something similar. As a half-human, half-Guado, Seymour was rejected at every turn even as a child. He was immensely lonely and that isolation furthered as he grew up. As a result, he became hardened, cruel, and apparently capable of transforming into strange, semi-mechanical monsters.
But, from his perspective, becoming Sin would be a blessing and so is killing people. All he has known in life is loneliness and pain, so everyone in Final Fantasy X must have had the same experience, right? Seymour wanted to spare Spirans the pain of living. It may not justify his actions, but this context makes his villain status more understandable.
5 Final Fantasy IX: Kuja
Some Final Fantasy IX fans have criticized Kuja’s appearance over the years, but he fits as a foil for Zidane while also being a sort of version 1.0 of him. However, that purple skirt and feathered hair hide a great deal of pain and a little boy who just wants to be loved.
Not only can players relate to the feelings of rejection Kuja exhibits, but they can also relate to the rage that his hurt becomes. These are very real emotions manifested into a couture, manipulative video game villain. If only his robot dad Garland had just played some catch with him once in a while.
4 Final Fantasy VII: Sephiroth
Sephiroth is yet another in a long line of Final Fantasy series villains who really just needs a hug. He is deeply traumatized and has no one to go to for guidance or understanding. Pair that with the call of Jenova and his insane combat skills and that’s how to write an epic antagonist. He also serves as the perfect foil for Cloud Strife — a rookie recruit from a small town village and no real skills.
Players can relate to Sephiroth’s pain and loneliness while also realizing that his actions were unjust and wrong. Then they can help rectify things vicariously through Cloud. But the joke of the whole thing is that Sephiroth isn’t even the “real villain” of the piece. From the perspective of the Ancients, it’s Jenova and from the perspective of people like Tifa, it’s the next entry on this list.
3 Final Fantasy VII: The Shinra Electric Power Company
It isn’t often that an entire corporation functions as a primary or tandem antagonist. Even in games like Borderlands where corporations do unequivocally terrible things, it is just played for laughs. FFVII instead directly portrays Shinra as a shadowy cabal of power-hungry, selfish, and greedy oligarchs.
Even Rufus, the son of the company’s founder, isn’t motivated by good things. He funds Avalanche privately just to destabilize the power his father holds in order to take it for himself. But the people are powerless to rise up due to the stratification of wealth and power in their society.
2 Final Fantasy VIII: Ultimecia
Though the player fights a number of villains in Final Fantasy VIII (Seifer, Adel, etc), the true villain is Ultimecia all along. Not only is she a powerful sorceress from the future, but her plan also involves compressing time in order to become a god. She can project her consciousness across time and space to possess others like a Mind Flayer Elder Brain on steroids.
Despite getting taken down by some teenage soldiers, Ultimecia remains one of Final Fantasy’s best villains of all time. Her ability to possess others made for a story full of intrigue, red herrings, and unique fashion statements.
1 Final Fantasy VI: Kefka Palazzo
It is very rare — in any video game series or story — for the villain to succeed in their overarching goal. In the case of Kefka Palazzo, that goal was to destroy the world and become the supreme overlord. Halfway through Final Fantasy VI, he achieves this and the player starts over with an amnesiac character on a beach.
Beyond this, his design is so specific and unflinching (much like his resolve). He is loud without being brash, kitschy without feeling cheesy, and delightfully mad while still calculating and cunning. He also bridges a problem many villains face of not having motivation for his actions. Some people just want to watch the world burn and dance while it happens.
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