Best Final Fantasy villain

[CDLviking]

I imagine this will probably boil down to Kefka vs. Sephiroth, but I added the other choices just to be fair.

[Link Antilles]

I voted Kefka, because he's a villain you really want to take down. Now, I will say Sephiroth was a cool villian, but FF7 is in the middle of the road for me. Not my favorite FF or least. Kuja and Seymour, although annoying and less threatening, were deeper villains. And the Sorceress is just the Sorceress.

[Joshua Christopher]

I vote the guy who created Final Fantasy.

[Debitt]

...Kuja...Kuja...Kuja...Kuja.... I'm sorry, no one can top Kuja in my eyes.

EDIT: Fangirling aside...I agree with Link Antilles. >_> Sephiroth was a cool guy and all, but Kuja was definitely deeper. o.o There was more of a method to his madness, if you will. If you're wondering, this is what did the other canidates in:

Kefka: 1. FF6...I didn't like that that much.
Sephiroth: 1. FF7 fanboys have found an enemy in me. 2. see above statements. 3. He flies like SUPERMAN. I'm sorry, that ruined his evil image in my eyes. 4. I feel he's to blame for the overabundance of angsty all powerful sword swinging villains I see in amateur fiction writing nowadays.
Sorceress: 1. I didn't like FF8.
Seymour: 1. Aspires to the same greatness as Kuja. However, he doesn't know when to quit... 2. His voice bugged me. Seriously.

[Elric_kun]

Sephiroth~ *o*/

[CDLviking]

Here's my rundown on the candidates.
FFI guy: Sorta evil, not much story telling to figure out why exactly though. He's just really **** off at the your party for beating him up. 3 evil points.

Kefka: Raving lunatic bent on ultimate destruction and power. Very little use of his cognitive capabilities. He has no secrets and seems to be very one dimensional to me. For being a raving lunatic bent on destroying the world for no discernable purpose... 7 evil points

Sephiroth: Master swordsman and hero of the last war. Very little is known about him. Mysterious past linked with Cloud's somehow. Works from the shadows and is very cunning and manipulative. A variety of motives that include both revenge and gaining ultimate power. Has the advatage of the coolest boss theme song ever. For cruel and manipulative plots to achieve vengance and ultimate power in one fell swoop... 9 evil points

Sorceress: Wants to achieve ultimate power for no discernable reason, and is willing to mess with other people's heads to do it. 1 evil pointl for being too lame, but still wanting to destroy the world, and time for that matter.

Kuja: Goes from a cocky arms dealer with too much power to a powerful rival with an inferiority complex (I only played all the way through once, so I may have missed some minor character points). For a dramatic role change, character depth, and willingness to destroy entire entire populations for profit... 7 evil points.

Seymour: Creepy, and did I mention how freaking creepy he is? Actually uses nihilistic logic to justify destroying the world. Kills those closest to him and manipulates people's religious beliefs. For patricide, genocide, nihilism, using religion to exploit others and overall creepiness... 8 evil points.

That's my rundown, and why I feel that Sephiroth is the greatest villain in the numbered FF series (I might put some of the guys from Tactics up there with him, but that would require a lot of in depth thought into their characters and motivations).

[Sephiroth]

Sephiroth by far, i've never found a cooler bad guy since i first played FF7 all those years ago. Just the way everything goes together, his style, character, music, Masamune (Giant Sword) and all the other stuff.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

GO KEFKA!

[blkmage]

Psychology of Evil dictates that men like Kefka could never exist in the real world. In our entire history of civilization, no ruthless dictator or cold-hearted conqueror has ever thought of themselves as ‘evil.’ In their mind, what they did was justified and was for the greater good of the people. In some cases, they act as if they were the hand of righteousness. Yet, for some reason that cannot be fully comprehended, Kefka is a popular villain that we all love to hate. His actions seem to have no purpose: he is the clown prince of madness spreading destruction and pestilence while freely admitting that he enjoys every minute of it! Simply disturbing. It is frightening to imagine what obscene thoughts must traffic within that twisted brain perched on his sinuous body. Kefka’s goal is also equally vague: to destroy. Life is blasphemous and he reveals his magnum opus to total annihilation. Of what, Kefka? The planet? The universe? All of existence?! You’ve got a wee bit of work ahead of you. You know, maybe he is just plain crazy…

[Mr. SmartyPants]

blkmage you are smart! that is the best thing... ive... ever... read

[uc pseudonym]

One might easily imagine my vote is a foregone conclusion, but such is not actually the case. I have not yet voted, nor do I intend to do so.

Psychology of Evil dictates that men like Kefka could never exist in the real world. In our entire history of civilization, no ruthless dictator or cold-hearted conqueror has ever thought of themselves as ‘evil.’ In their mind, what they did was justified and was for the greater good of the people. In some cases, they act as if they were the hand of righteousness. Yet, for some reason that cannot be fully comprehended, Kefka is a popular villain that we all love to hate. His actions seem to have no purpose: he is the clown prince of madness spreading destruction and pestilence while freely admitting that he enjoys every minute of it! Simply disturbing. It is frightening to imagine what obscene thoughts must traffic within that twisted brain perched on his sinuous body. Kefka’s goal is also equally vague: to destroy. Life is blasphemous and he reveals his magnum opus to total annihilation. Of what, Kefka? The planet? The universe? All of existence?! You’ve got a wee bit of work ahead of you. You know, maybe he is just plain crazy…

In my mind, this is actually the only appealing aspect of Kefka: he doesn't believe he is doing good. That is, perhaps due to its improbibility, fairly disturbing (though not as disturbing as those who justify their actions).

Seymour: Creepy, and did I mention how freaking creepy he is? Actually uses nihilistic logic to justify destroying the world. Kills those closest to him and manipulates people's religious beliefs. For partricide, genocide, nihilism, using religion to exploit others and overall creepiness... 8 evil points.

I agree, he is one of the better villains in terms of philosophy. Plus, he is well designed in that almost everyone I know really dislikes him. Some players are almost sorry to see a villain like Sephiroth go, but I think everyone liked finishing off Seymour.

[blkmage]

I got that paragraph from ffonline's top ten FF characters of all time list, with Kefka at #2. Guess who didn't make it. That's right: Sephiroth.

[Debitt]

blkmage: Went and read the top 10 list after I read your post. O_o Those people at ffonline are GOOD. I agreed with a lot of what they said about the characters I was really familiar with (IE anyone from 7, 8, or 9). And they captured Kuja perfectly. *insert fangirl dancing and singing here*

[termyt]

Seymour was a freak job, that much is true. I didn't like him from the start, he was way too creepy, but I would have joined his side if such a thing were permitted in the game. Here's why (I feel compelled to spoilerize to protect those who have not played the game but want to, so please bare with me):
[spoiler]
Seymour wanted to kill everyone on the planet. If that had been Earth, then yes, he's a mad man who must be stopped, but this is Spira. Death doesn't seem so bad there. After all, you're own party member Auron is dead and he seems fine. If anyone's a criminal, it's Yuna. She takes the dead and locks them all in a tiny room in Guadosalam. Think of it - billions of people all trapped in a little room. That seems like unlawful imprisonment to me. Seymour's method would seem to liberate all of these people, freeing them to pursue the life of their choosing. So some of them become monsters - so what? What are they going to do, kill me? I'm already dead.

It really doesn't help my sense of justice and right versus wrong that the main character of the story is just a figment of some else's imagination, either.
[/spoiler]

So, I can't vote for Seymour. He's as close to a hero as Spira's got. Since Yuna's not a choice, I choose good old Sephiroth. He's a twisted genius - both mad and clever, and one heck of a fighter, to boot. No match for the Knights of the Round summon, but then, who is?

Edit: Oo, that wasn't decent. Funny, so I left it, but not decent. I would like you all to bear with me, not bare with me. Anyway, if you haven't played and want to - start already! The games been out for years.

[uc pseudonym]

Those are some interesting observations about Seymour; I approve. I haven't actually finished the game (given that I play it solely at the house of a friend on rare occasion), so I can't have a complete opinion, but I just might agree with you.

[Nate]

Sephiroth: 4. I feel he's to blame for the overabundance of angsty all powerful sword swinging villains I see in amateur fiction writing nowadays.

*nods enthusiastically*

Yeah, I think Sephiroth became a prototype for WAY too many SI (self-insert) characters in fanfiction. This is not a good thing.

Furthermore...

[SPOILER]Sephiroth was asleep in the Northern Cave the entirety of the game. He never left it. So then who were Cloud and Co. chasing? More than likely, Jenova. To quote the game:

"To change one's looks and personality, that is the power of Jenova."

Not to mention whenever you saw Sephiroth, what happened? "He" would leave behind a piece of Jenova for you to fight.

So there was a big sword in the President's back when you fought up Shinra Tower. So what? Cloud had a sword exactly like that. Two, in fact (Murasame and Yoshiyuki). So it wasn't necessarily Masamune. Palmer claims to have seen Sephiroth, but Palmer was in a panic, and probably said what they wanted to hear so that they would let him go.

But the BIGGEST evidence that it was Jenova is this:

When Aeris gets killed, "Sephiroth" flies up into the sky and says, "You have no feelings. Because you are..."

Then you fight Jenova LIFE. After the fight, Jenova is the one who finishes the sentence, "You are a puppet."

Wait a second. So Jenova is always around with "Sephiroth," and Jenova is the one talking to Cloud after Aeris's death...well, I'd have to say that Jenova is the one present in most of the game! That means all the stuff that "Sephiroth" did was actually done by Jenova. So what did Sephiroth do the entire game? Uh...he sat on his fat butt in the North Cave and didn't do anything until the final boss fight. LAME. ULTRA LAME. BEYOND LAME. Heck, even Garland from FF1 did more than that.[/SPOILER]

I didn't like FF8.

You get a hundred cool points from me.

As far as the other games, the most evil villain was definitely Kefka. Most of the other villains in the other games were either so-so, or had so little screen presence they almost didn't matter...such as the final boss from 9, who you didn't even know existed until you fought him. That was kinda lame. Same thing for Zeromus from 4, or that dude from 5.

And there wasn't an option for Kain.

[kazekami]

I don't like FFVII. I liked FFVIII.

I think Kefka was the best villian. The guy poisions water supplies.

[MasterDias]

Seymour was a freak job, that much is true. I didn't like him from the start, he was way too creepy, but I would have joined his side if such a thing were permitted in the game. Here's why (I feel compelled to spoilerize to protect those who have not played the game but want to, so please bare with me):
[spoiler]
Seymour wanted to kill everyone on the planet. If that had been Earth, then yes, he's a mad man who must be stopped, but this is Spira. Death doesn't seem so bad there. After all, you're own party member Auron is dead and he seems fine. If anyone's a criminal, it's Yuna. She takes the dead and locks them all in a tiny room in Guadosalam. Think of it - billions of people all trapped in a little room. That seems like unlawful imprisonment to me. Seymour's method would seem to liberate all of these people, freeing them to pursue the life of their choosing. So some of them become monsters - so what? What are they going to do, kill me? I'm already dead.

It really doesn't help my sense of justice and right versus wrong that the main character of the story is just a figment of some else's imagination, either.
[/spoiler]

So, I can't vote for Seymour. He's as close to a hero as Spira's got. Since Yuna's not a choice, I choose good old Sephiroth. He's a twisted genius - both mad and clever, and one heck of a fighter, to boot. No match for the Knights of the Round summon, but then, who is?

[spoiler]1. It's not just the fact that SOME of the unsent people turn into mindless fiends, but MOST of the unsent turn into fiends. Auron is an exception, not the rule.

2. Er...that wasn't the entire Farplane at Guadosalam. That doesn't really make any sense. What was at Guadosalam was only a gate to the Farplane were people could view their loved ones or whoever. The Farplane is supposed to be similar to various cultures' concepts of the afterlife.
[/spoiler]

As far as Seymour is concerned, he had the motivations to be a good villian. But, you fight him three times and beat him up all of those times. Seemed like more of a nuisance who didn't want to stay dead...

FFVIII: Her name is Ultimecia. At least get that right. I enjoyed FFVIII just fine. But the main villian wasn't as memorable as many of the other FF villians. You didn't find out that she existed until disc three.

Kuja had interesting motivations but he isn't my favorite.

I guess I'll go with Sephiroth. I'm inclined to agree with Kaemmerite's observations...but I dig swordsmen anyway so...
Kefka was certainly a memorable villian however.

And there wasn't an option for Kain.

Brainwashed good guys who become allies later on shouldn't really count in a poll like this.
Kain was a cool character however.
At least, I assume that you are talking about FFIV's Kain. I don't remember any other Kains in FF.

[Nate]

[spoiler]2. Er...that wasn't the entire Farplane at Guadosalam. That doesn't really make any sense. What was at Guadosalam was only a gate to the Farplane were people could view their loved ones or whoever. The Farplane is supposed to be similar to various cultures' concepts of the afterlife.[/spoiler]

[SPOILER]Right. In fact, when you go into that little "room," Tidus sees all the clouds and stuff, but they get rolled back and you see that the Farplane is this enormous field with lots of pretty waterfalls and the like. So the Farplane is actually a really big place, kinda like the Elysion Fields.[/SPOILER]

Brainwashed good guys who become allies later on shouldn't really count in a poll like this.
Kain was a cool character however.
At least, I assume that you are talking about FFIV's Kain. I don't remember any other Kains in FF.

Ah, I guess you're right. Kain did make for a pretty good villain though.

There was a Kain in FFII, he was Richard's son. But I'm pretty sure that the world of II isn't the same as the world from IV (even though they both have a Mysidia).

[brightsword_jon]

I do agree it's Sephiroth. He's totally evil and ruthless; fit for a villain. I haven't finished the game yet (my FF VII the third disc broke) but I have "tasted" his ruthlessness already. Go Sephiroth!!!!!!!!

[brightsword_jon]

I do agree it's Sephiroth. He's totally evil and ruthless; fit for a villain. I haven't finished the game yet (my FF VII the third disc broke) but I have "tasted" his ruthlessness already. Go Sephiroth!!!!!!!!

[CDLviking]

A word on Sephiroth
[spoiler]My take on the game was that, yes the real Sephiroth was in the Northern Cave the whole time. He washed up there after cloud threw him into the depths of the Mako Reactor in Nibelhem. The Sephiroth that you see throughout the game is not Jenova, it is his clone. Throughout the game you meet several pathetic looking individuals with tatoos of nubers on them. All of them are Sephiroth clones, but the one that actually looks like Sephiroth has the number 1 tatoo, which I assume to mean that he is the first and strongest of the clones. Sephiroth is able to manipulate them all from within his cave. The sword is definitely Masamune that they find because Cloud identified it as such, and having personally been run through by that sword, I think he would know. What I haven't figured out yet, is whether or not Cloud was a failed clone as Sephiroth claimed, or the boy from Tifa's past.[/spoiler]
I've never considered Sephiroth angsty. Cloud yes, but not Sephiroth.

I apologize to any fans of the villains of FFII-V, I don't know any of them, so I didn't include them in the poll. The only one I did know of was Exodeath, whom I consider to lame to mention.

[uc pseudonym]

As far as Seymour is concerned, he had the motivations to be a good villian. But, you fight him three times and beat him up all of those times. Seemed like more of a nuisance who didn't want to stay dead...

The only credit he got from me was the fact that he actually did die when you killed him the first time. Unfortunately, this is FFX, and dying doesn't stop many people, anymore.

I may actually be able to finish that game.

[Nate]

A word on Sephiroth
[spoiler]My take on the game was that, yes the real Sephiroth was in the Northern Cave the whole time. He washed up there after cloud threw him into the depths of the Mako Reactor in Nibelhem. The Sephiroth that you see throughout the game is not Jenova, it is his clone. Throughout the game you meet several pathetic looking individuals with tatoos of nubers on them. All of them are Sephiroth clones, but the one that actually looks like Sephiroth has the number 1 tatoo, which I assume to mean that he is the first and strongest of the clones. Sephiroth is able to manipulate them all from within his cave. The sword is definitely Masamune that they find because Cloud identified it as such, and having personally been run through by that sword, I think he would know. What I haven't figured out yet, is whether or not Cloud was a failed clone as Sephiroth claimed, or the boy from Tifa's past.[/spoiler]

[SPOILER]Well, it could be a clone, I forgot to mention that. One other thing I forgot to mention is that when you kill the third form of Jenova you retrieve the Black Materia from it, but it was "Sephiroth" who initially took the Black Materia. So I guess maybe it was Jenova in some spots, and the clone in the other. The other main evidence that Sephiroth wasn't in the rest of the game is everyone claims to see a black-caped man with a tattoo of the number one. Obviously, the real Sephiroth doesn't have a tattoo, making it a clone. Either way, all Sephiroth did was sit in the North Cave.

And I think Cloud is who they said he was on the Highwind. Just a failed SOLIDER who got screwed up and lived vicariously through Zack. Remember, Zack was physically and mentally strong and able to resist Jenova/Mako, while Cloud wasn't. They tied up all the loose ends pretty good, I thought...except why Masamune didn't affect Cloud.[/SPOILER]

[Sparrowhawk]

Sephiroth: why? classic insane villain with plenty original twist. Simply put- you just cant beat it.

[CDLviking]

[SPOILER]Well, it could be a clone, I forgot to mention that. One other thing I forgot to mention is that when you kill the third form of Jenova you retrieve the Black Materia from it, but it was "Sephiroth" who initially took the Black Materia. So I guess maybe it was Jenova in some spots, and the clone in the other. The other main evidence that Sephiroth wasn't in the rest of the game is everyone claims to see a black-caped man with a tattoo of the number one. Obviously, the real Sephiroth doesn't have a tattoo, making it a clone. Either way, all Sephiroth did was sit in the North Cave.

And I think Cloud is who they said he was on the Highwind. Just a failed SOLIDER who got screwed up and lived vicariously through Zack. Remember, Zack was physically and mentally strong and able to resist Jenova/Mako, while Cloud wasn't. They tied up all the loose ends pretty good, I thought...except why Masamune didn't affect Cloud.[/SPOILER]

That's one of the reasons I think Sephiroth makes such a good villain. He imposes his will from the shadows. He screws with people without needing to lift a finger.

Even though I knew it would come down to Kefka and Sephiroth, I was hoping for more votes for Kuja and Seymour. I think both of them are better villains than Kefka was.

[Tommy]

Sephiroth definately.

If Kefka had long hair and a sword and was actually 3D then I`d vote for him. You have to have a sword and not resemble a clown to be a wicked cool FF villian.

Yeah, the FF1 villian`s name was Garland.

And actually, I`d say the most evil villian is the Emperor from FF2. He was more evil than Kefka. You`ll see why when you get to the last boss.

Then again, I`m halfway through FF6 so i don`t have a strong opinion on him. He just looks really stupid. At least you can`t tell he`s a clown in the original and his laugh made me dislike him.

Oh and buy the way, you fight and defeat Seymour 4 times, not 3. It was so obvious he was going to be a villian.

[uc pseudonym]

Then again, I`m halfway through FF6 so i don`t have a strong opinion on him. He just looks really stupid. At least you can`t tell he`s a clown in the original and his laugh made me dislike him.

I don't know exactly where "halfway" places you, but Kefka in battle is far more obviously a clown. Still, it was nothing like what I had expected given his sprites, so it made me raise my eyebrows the first time I saw it.

[Fsiphskilm]

Sephoroth is

[CDLviking]

I personally don't care about what villains look like or what weapons they carry. I look for their character traits and motivations. True, I do think Sephiroth looks cool and has an awesome sword, but that doesn't influence his villain score.

FFVIII is tied with FFVII for the coolest boss music ever. Liberi Fatali is super cool. Although Sephiroth wasn't as tough, it was a more involved battle that required some strategy.