Greatest JRPG Villain(s)

[Forsaken Lover]

NO FINAL FANTASY ALLOWED!

Who are the best antagonists from a Japanese roleplaying game or series? One of the things I loved so much about Xenogears was its cast of villains. Xenosaga was similarly great.

What other series have memorable and beloved bad guys?

(I am kinda looking to see if Wild ARMs has any cool baddies since I want to start that series)

Apparently some guy from Valkyrie Profile is really popular.

[Ayen]

Greatest JRPG Villain(s)

*opens mouth to speak*


NO FINAL FANTASY ALLOWED!

http://1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/wsg/image/1390/17/1390179951470.gif

Let's see, I think out of the "three" JRPGs outside of Final Fantasy I've played I can list... Mist? Can mist count? It was pretty terrifying in Legend of Legaia. That knight in the opening cut-scene of Legend of Dragoon was pretty bawse, too.

[Skyblade]

You didn't exclude Chrono Trigger? I think that might have been an oversight, so I'll exclude it just to be fair.

Alex, from Golden Sun.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I love all of the villains in Xenosaga pretty much, like you already mentioned. Albedo is one that seems to be what most people mention, but I truly think Wilhelm is one of the greatest villains in JRPGs, at least out of the ones I have played.

[The Man]

Luca Blight.

[Wolf Kanno]

Tetsuya Takahashi has great villains, I pretty much love all the bad guys from the Xeno titles. They are all pretty damn awesome and I would be hard pressed to find a series of games that can match them.

I will second Luca Blight from Suikoden II, I also really like Emperor Barabrossa from Suikoden I, and the Godwins from Suikoden V.

I love Nyalarthotep from Persona and I am really hoping the Malevolent Entity turns out to be him cause that would be awesome.

Pretty much all of Vagrant Story's antagonists are really great as well though Sydney gets special mention for being a scene stealing badass.

Wild ARMS tends to have some great villains and antagonists, largely because at first they always seem kind of generic and then the story whams you by making the situation far more complex than you think it. The Metal Demons from WA1 seem like a generic group of villains, until you start to get more backstory with them and when they begin to fight among themselves. The final boss is not going to be who you think it is. While WA2 had a... "interesting" final antagonist the meat of the plot deals with the Odessa organization, that seems like your typical "evil empire/organization" and then you get to the second disc and everything you thought you knew is turned upside down. WA3 also had an interesting revolving cast of villains as well and even a call back to WA1 with one of them.

The Sinistrals were pretty cool too, though they are fairly generic except for Iris, what made them cool was how the game really played up them being physical gods. They may not have had personality, but you certainly dreaded them showing up until you got Dual Blade.

Myria, Yuna, Fou-Lu, and the Regeants from the Breath of Fire series are all excellent protagonists. Myria is kind of a weak villain in the first game but gets some really good character development in BoFIII. Yuna is pretty much the real villain of BoFIV, but watching Fou-Lu fall from anti-hero to full villain was probably the best part of the game. The Regeants are just an awesome group of villains in BoFV and its a shame they didn't get more screen time but they were a really intriguing group of figures that makes the games world more deliciously intriguing.

The Magic Emperor from Lunar was also a great villain with a good back-story.

I will totally throw in Lavos from Chrono Trigger as well as Azala and Queen Zeal. Chrono Trigger had great villains as well.

I'll probably think of a few more eventually...

[black orb]

Apparently some guy from Valkyrie Profile is really popular.
>>> Lezard Valeth, he is good villain in the first game, at VP Silmeria it lost his charm a little. Luca Blight is a good villain too. For Suikoden I, Windy is the best villain there in my opinion.
I also like Zophar and Ghaleon from the Lunar games.:luca:

[NeoCracker]

...Yeah, I'm just going to have to disagree on Lunar's villain. He was kind of generic I thought.

And me and Luca Blight have some mixed feelings. Firstly, dear god this guy is cartoonishly evil. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see him start kicking puppies, and his name is Luca Blight. That's like, one step away from a Captain Planet Villain.

However it is rare to see a game succesfully make a guy feel that threatening. I mean dear god he comes across as a monster, and the fight against him is one of the best set ups I've ever scene in an RPG, what with the full three units you use to take the guy down. Basically I think he's done a bit better then the Sinistral in Lufia in that regard, though I agree with you they do that very well.

For Breath of Fire 2, I won't say Deathaven himself is the great villain, but more The Church of Eva. I mean playing through the game, the moment you hit the revelation about the church, it kind of sinks in the reach that it has, and suddenly no where you can go feels safe anymore.

Edit: Also, while I've praised Xenogears for something once already, I'll throw in Grahf. I may not feel as if he got a proper send off, but he's among the best villains there are at what he does. And what he does is show up from time to time to poke the party into doing something and getting angry, a job he does amazingly well.

Not to mention he actually has an amazing backstory, and I totally by him doing what it is he's doing because of it.

[Wolf Kanno]

While I will agree he's a pretty generic villain with a cliche backstory, I disagree that it's execution wasn't just awesome. I mean you can tell the guy is the bad guy but when you finally realize why he did it, I felt his VA performed that scene pretty well.

[Raistlin]

I have to third Luca Blight from Suikoden II. I also really liked Ghaleon from Lunar: SSSC.

[Bright Shield]

In no exact order.

Ramirez(Skies of Arcadia)
Galcian(Skies of Arcadia)
Belleza(Skies of Arcadia)
Alhazad(Wild ARMs)
Ghaleon(Lunar series)
Zophar(Lunar 2)
Luca Blight(Suikoden 2)
Jowy Atreides(Suikoden 2)
King Valentine(Odin Sphere)
Magus(Chrono Trigger)
Lynx(Chrono Cross)
Harle(Chrono Cross)
Cardinal Albert Simon(Shadow Hearts)
Masaji Kato(Shadow Hearts: Covenant)
Grahf(Xenogears)
Albedo(Xenosaga)
Boomerang(Wild Arms)
The Killer(Persona 4)
Nyalarthotep(Persona 2)
Lloyd(The Legend of Dragoon)
Herr Mullen(Grandia)
Valmar(Grandia 2)



...Yeah, I'm just going to have to disagree on Lunar's villain. He was kind of generic I thought.

I feel that you can't truly appreciate Ghaleon's greatness without playing Lunar 2. My god was he a complete manipulator in that game.

[Pike]

Gary Oak.

Need I say more?

[Sephiroth]

Xehanort.