Your thoughts on Caius as an FF Villain?

[ShineTheLion]

I will start this thread by saying that I have completed FFXIII-2, and that I am basing my opinions here on that. I intended this post mostly for discussion by people who have beaten or at least played a good chunk of the game. I won't give away any plot spoilers, but if you think that knowing the general personality traits and attitudes of a character are spoilers, then don't read forward! Also, I discuss some plot spoilers of Final Fantasy 8. So if you haven't played it and want to, get with the times and do it, and don't read ahead! Kapeesh?

Alright, so, if you're still with me, on to my thoughts about Caius.

Caius was my favorite Final Fantasy villain since Seifer and Edea in Final Fantasy 8.

Why? Well, first off he shares a very big common trait with those two. He is complex and not a stereotypical antagonist. He is driven by personal interests just like the protagonists, not by some hokey, cliche desire to control or destroy humanity. I think the best villains in stories are the ones you can relate too, ones that aren't completely batpoop crazy but willing to be quite a jerk in order to cope with dire circumstances and achieve a goal. I really liked Caius in this regard. There were moments when I truly felt his pain and sympathized with his sadness. There were times I felt like his actions were justified. I really enjoy that kind of villain the most.

The reason Edea and Seifer were my former favorites is because they are not outright villains. They eventually side with and help the main characters fight in their respective title, and to me that shows depth of character. They were driven by rational motivations, not irrational urges like lust for power.

Anyway, Caius was by no means an admirable character overall, but as far as FF villains go, he was a lot more admirable than most of the others. It was nice to see the villain as a normal person dealing with abnormal amounts of stress, rather than the typical hellbent religious power figure or scheming madman we usually see in this series.

So I tip my hats to the writers of XIII-2 for giving us a really enjoyable villain. What are your thoughts on Caius? Particularly if you have already played a good portion of the game...