Cause I'm an evil tree, you wann fight about it?

[Elpizo]

Ex-Death was badass, funny(sometimes), and disturbing(his castle being entirely made from the bodies of the people he killed, anyone?).
And his themes are awesome. Yes, all of them.

I don't know much about some of the main enemies (III, IV) but I imagine that Exdeath and Kefka would be the big debate over who was the most successful with what they set out to do.

Well, there was always Xande (III) who managed to keep the entire world frozen in time and submerged under an ocean for Noah-knows-how-long. He's often overlooked, but IMHO, that's quite succesful. Sure, he didn't tear pieces out of the world (Exdeath), blasted it with magic to smithereens (Kefka, Kuja), but still, he held it in his grip for ages (I think, because III's timeline I find confusing, as much as I adore the story). And best of all, he held the whole world in his grip not for dominance, not to destroy it because that's fun, but simply because he didn't want to die. Selfish FTW!

The Warriors of Darkness explain that Zande was being manipulated all along by the Cloud of Darkness. He, like Golbez, was just a puppet.

Not quite. Golbez was a puppet from the start and did Zemus' bidding. That's not how it went with Xande. Xande started the events by himself, by his own free will, because he felt betrayed by Noah and wanted to find a way to avoid his mortality. For this, he darkened two crystals and froze the world, but it was this imbalance that made him unknowingly summon the Cloud of Darkness, who then further manipulated him. But it wasn't the Cloud of Darkness who kicked events off. It's just a force of nature that only appears when there's imbalance between the Crystals, and aims to return the world to Void then. If there's no imbalance, there's no Cloud of Darkness. You need to have someone make imbalance first. Xande did that, for his own reasons, of his own free will. Not like Golbez, who was manipulated by Zemus from the start. Xande wasn't.

You partially get it with his final form as Neo ExDeath. Some fans speculate his bizarre form is simply the manifestation of the different demons and dark arts that were contained in his body trying to break free.

Personally, I always thought Neo ExDeath was the Void itself who used the bodies of all demons it had devoured over its existence to have a physical form. Just my idea, though. We'll probably never know. The radical change it motive between ExDeath and Neo Exdeath seems to point in that direction, though.

[The Crystal]

Ex-Death was badass, funny(sometimes), and disturbing(his castle being entirely made from the bodies of the people he killed, anyone?).
And his themes are awesome. Yes, all of them.

I don't know much about some of the main enemies (III, IV) but I imagine that Exdeath and Kefka would be the big debate over who was the most successful with what they set out to do.

Well, there was always Xande (III) who managed to keep the entire world frozen in time and submerged under an ocean for Noah-knows-how-long. He's often overlooked, but IMHO, that's quite succesful. Sure, he didn't tear pieces out of the world (Exdeath), blasted it with magic to smithereens (Kefka, Kuja), but still, he held it in his grip for ages (I think, because III's timeline I find confusing, as much as I adore the story). And best of all, he held the whole world in his grip not for dominance, not to destroy it because that's fun, but simply because he didn't want to die. Selfish FTW!

The Warriors of Darkness explain that Zande was being manipulated all along by the Cloud of Darkness. He, like Golbez, was just a puppet.

Not quite. Golbez was a puppet from the start and did Zemus' bidding. That's not how it went with Xande. Xande started the events by himself, by his own free will, because he felt betrayed by Noah and wanted to find a way to avoid his mortality. For this, he darkened two crystals and froze the world, but it was this imbalance that made him unknowingly summon the Cloud of Darkness, who then further manipulated him. But it wasn't the Cloud of Darkness who kicked events off. It's just a force of nature that only appears when there's imbalance between the Crystals, and aims to return the world to Void then. If there's no imbalance, there's no Cloud of Darkness. You need to have someone make imbalance first. Xande did that, for his own reasons, of his own free will. Not like Golbez, who was manipulated by Zemus from the start. Xande wasn't.

Okay, not exactly like Golbez, but very close. They both were puppets when the story of the game(s) started, anyway.

Personally, I always thought Neo ExDeath was the Void itself who used the bodies of all demons it had devoured over its existence to have a physical form. Just my idea, though. We'll probably never know. The radical change it motive between ExDeath and Neo Exdeath seems to point in that direction, though.

Actually, it was the demons forming Ex-Death's body.
His alternate costume in Dissidia Duodecim was based on one of Amano's arts, that showed Ex-Death without the blue armor.
Now, look at the Duodecim costume, and look at the demon 'leading' the other demons who form Neo Ex-Death's body:

[spoilers]


[/spoilers]

[spoilers]
[/spoilers]

See the similarity?

[Elpizo]

Okay, not exactly like Golbez, but very close. They both were puppets when the story of the game(s) started, anyway.

Hate to be nitpicking but it's the other way around. Golbez was like Xande, since Xande came first. Of course, given III not being released here in the west until 2006, that only goes if you're Japanese. Or played the translated NES rom of III before you ever touched IV. Like I did.

Actually, it was the demons forming Ex-Death's body.
His alternate costume in Dissidia Duodecim was based on one of Amano's arts, that showed Ex-Death without the blue armor.
Now, look at the Duodecim costume, and look at the demon 'leading' the other demons who form Neo Ex-Death's body:

[spoilers]


[/spoilers]

[spoilers]
[/spoilers]

See the similarity?

Well, I learn something new everyday! O.o I had no clue. Never seen this Amano artwork, or played Dissidia, so... But yeah, now it's kinda obvious you're right. That design is quite awesome, too, I might add.