Your top 10 villians list from the main series. (A spoiler or two)

[Super Christ]

So what's the top 10 order you'd place the villians from Final Fantasy, and more importantly, why do they get the position they did? May as well start with mine.

1. Kuja, FFIX - I'd have to say that he's the best because put in his position, many people would end up doing the same thing. He's also the villian whom I'd say had the most well fleshed out motives.

2. Kefka, FFVI - Because he was quite simply despicable. He was evil for the fun of it. He led the world down the path of ruin because he could.

3. Sephiroth, FFVII - I'll grant, he doesn't really deserve this spot, which he got most entirely on bad-assedness alone; he still has a pretty good amount of merit though. You gotta feel kinda sorry for the guy with all the crap Shinra pulled on him. (Cloning him, sticking Jenova cells in him, and whatnot. It was really Hojo I hated by the end of the game.)

4. Garland, FFI - Because he was pretty much the last person you expected to see when you entered that last room in the final dungeon.

5. Ultimacea, FFVIII - This is assuming the Rinoa=Ultimacea theory is right, which I happen to go by not because of any particular evidence, but because it makes Ultimacea not a crappy villian, and makes the story just a little bit better in my opinion. If the theory isn't true, drop Ultimacea down to #9, and bump the present #6-#9 up a notch.

6. Zande, FFIII - Sure he may not be the final boss, but as far as I'm concerned, he's the villian of FFIII, much like Kuja is the villian of FFIX, even though he's not the final boss. The whole thing smacks of greek tragedy to me, the old master each giving his 3 students a great gift; one, power over magic, another power over dreams, and the third student the gift the master felt most precious, life as a human, and the student thinks he got screwed in the end since he didn't get gobs of power.

7. Seymour, FFX - I've never seen anyone else come back to life as much as this jerk did. The only reason he gets this high is I still think he's better than the other 3 left in the list.

8. Zemus, FFIV - Ancient Lunarian mage who hates all humans. You don't get much more description about Zemus than that, so it definitely lands him in the lower ranks.

9. X-Death, FFV - The most I was able to get out of FFV on X-Death is that he's an ancient mage/force of nature that wants to destroy the universe. No motivation, nothing. Another low tier villian.

10. Parmekian Emperor, FFII - You just don't get any worse than this. Not only did they reveal absolutely nothing about him except that he's the emperor... of Parmekia, well, and that he wants to rule the world; but they didn't even give him an actual name for crying out loud. FF2 was a great game, but this villian just stinks.

[ZeZipster]

Kuja sucked. I refuse to back this up with evidence. If you need more proof of his sucky, please play the game again or look at pictures of him and use your imagination.

[Super Christ]

I finished yesterday. The outfit, yes, did suck. The character, as a whole, did not.

[ZeZipster]

Look is 100% of a villian. Seriously, perspective matters.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

• Goldor: A thematic villain, Goldor wears gold armor. His mansion interior is entirely gold, from the floors to the walls to the ceilings. The monsters running around the place are gold. Somehow he convinced Dorga to make him his very own personal gold crystal that generates, as much as he wants, lots of gold. His name is Goldor. Guy loves gold.
  
• Gilgamesh: Too kind and lighthearted to hang with the main villain, he was fated to be kicked out of Exdeath's ranks when he offered the heroes words of sympathy upon hearing of the death of one of theirs. He's a skilled warrior, but his fighting prowess is sent down the drain when he invests his faith in Excalipur, a phenomenally weak Excalibur knock-off. Consequently, he's unable to defend himself too well in the Cleft of Dimensions, where he meets with the Light Warriors for the last time. It is there, however, that he soon makes the ultimate sacrifice to finally prove his honor and worth.
  
  Gilgy also started the Final Fantasy trend of villains whom the party has to fight multiple times throughout the game, most of whom exist for comedy relief and pose the heroes no real threat: see Orthros, Siegfried, Biggs and Wedge, Beatrix, and the Leblanc Syndicate. Seymour is the black sheep of the group.
  
• Orthros (a.k.a. Ultros): Siegfried was supposed to be the original continuation of Gilgamesh's legacy, but somewhere in the planning of FFVI, his part was massively truncated and the role of Goofy Reoccurring Villain went to old Uncle Ulty. Although his role in the story wasn't nearly as important as Gilgy's (which was itself marginal), his dialogue was just as classic. He managed to balance on "evil, but not too evil" incredibly well; as Palmer Election HQ put it so well so long ago, he was just a purple octopus who showed up whenever he felt like and whose only goal in life was to make the party's life hell.
  
• Rubicantë: It takes a real gentleman of a demon emperor to heal his opponents before fighting them, especially when he's supposed to be one of the game's primary evils. Nice guy.
  
• Kraken (FFIII), Dr. Lugeie, Magissa, Faltzer, Dada Lama, etc.: Remember this type of enemy? They always had some inkling of personality and a hint of some backstory or motivation, but you'd meet them right before you killed them and then never ever heard about them ever again. The concept was sorta reprised in FFIX with Gizamaluke, but it's largely extinct in the recent installments of the series. Cryin' shame.
  
• Hain (a.k.a. Hyne): For better or for worse, the originator of enemies with shifting weaknesses (see Melusine, Magic Master, Huge Sphere, Magus, etc.), but undoubtedly one of the most well-designed characters ever. Such a snappy dresser!
  
• Elidpius (a.k.a. Elidibs): So this guy's supposed to be an expert mage and war hero who supposedly went into hiding to attain some enlightenment, and then you find him at the bottom floor of the deepest dungeon in the world and he talks for a minute, turns into a monster, and fights you to the death. Despite the circumstances, though, he did seem pretty mellow, and I like his hat.

6. Zande, FFIII - Sure he may not be the final boss, but as far as I'm concerned, he's the villian of FFIII, much like Kuja is the villian of FFIX, even though he's not the final boss. The whole thing smacks of greek tragedy to me, the old master each giving his 3 students a great gift; one, power over magic, another power over dreams, and the third student the gift the master felt most precious, life as a human, and the student thinks he got screwed in the end since he didn't get gobs of power.

I love Zande's story. Poor guy didn't know what he had.

[The Captain]

Hmm...

I'd put the Turks on my list somewhere, but really I'm on the fence as to judging villians, since each was unique to their story.

Take care all.

[The Man]

Hmm.

1. Kefka. Do I really need to explain this choice? Of course I don't. Uwee hee hee!

2. Kuja. Most of the villains in the Final Fantasy series, including Kefka, don't have a particularly well-defined reason for being evil. Kuja very rationally, without the slightest trace of mysterious outside scientific or telepathic influences (hi Golbez, Kefka, Sephiroth, Edea, and pretty much every other principal villain in the series besides Seymour) comes to the point where his sanity snaps and he decides that if he will be unable to live, then so will everyone else. Probably the best serious villain in the entire series.

3. Gilgamesh. My namesake, and pretty much what kishi said. The Turks surely belong in the "comic relief villains" category, however.

4. Ultros. Once again, I'd be repeating what kishi said. I don't think any video game villain has ever had more classic lines than Ultros, with the possible exceptions of Kefka and Luca Blight.

5. Reno. FFVII would have been so much more entertaining if Reno had been (a) Jenova's figurehead instead of Sephiroth, or (b) a recruitable character after the party makes peace with them. A complete badass who really doesn't give a crap what anyone else thinks, Reno also has a slew of great lines. Anyone who can retort to Elena with a line like "Just lookin' at you is making me sober!" has respect in my book.

6. Golbeza. Forget the Darth Vader cliché "Luke, I am your father brother" aspect of Golbeza's personality; this guy is one mofo you don't want to mess with. From the very first time you encounter him, he somehow always manages to have the upper hand over your party, and he revels in doing so. He's even more of a badass in J2e's fantastic translation, which you should quite simply play right now since you'll be missing out on a large portion of the main story (and the humour in the game) if you don't. He has a killer theme, too (although the "Best Villain Theme" award still has to go to either Kefka or Sephiroth).

7. Seymour. Quite honestly, Seymour was the first villain in Final Fantasy with anything remotely resembling personality that I couldn't find anything to like about. In a way, Seymour's personality resembles Golbez in that he'll be terribly deceptive and make the party think they're causing him grave harm when in fact they're helping him out tremendously, but that's hardly the only thing that made me detest him. It's things like the way he laughs after telling Kimahri he killed off all the other Ronsos; or the way he tells Tidus he should thank him for allowing his father to live again. Maybe it's not so much Seymour's personality as his voice actor, who did a very good job (more so than most of the other voice actors in FFX, at that) conveying his insanity, that makes me rank Seymour this high.

8. Rubicante. As Kishi said, Rubicante is one classy villain. Unlike almost every other antagonist in the FF games, Rubicante has a very clear code of honour that he never, under any circumstances, breaks. Nice guy indeed.

9. Chupon. Just look at it. How can you not like it? Obviously the result of someone's acid trip gone bad, this is by far one of the best monsters I've ever seen in an RPG. It's a real pain in the ass in the Colosseum, too. *sneeze*

10. Sephiroth. And arguably, Jenova should be the one listed here, since most of the actions commonly attributed to Sephiroth are really performed by Jenova in his guise. However, Jenova appearing to be Jenova as a villain wouldn't have been at all imposing; Sephiroth, with his black trenchcoat and ridiculously long sword, is practically the definition of imposing. It's a shame he doesn't have much of a personality; otherwise I'd probably like him more. Of course, the "silent, imposing bishounen" is the whole point of Sephiroth's character, but it's something I can't identify with at all.

Note that I haven't played FF8, FFX-2, FFT, or FFTA at all, or enough of FFI-III to know any of the villains in said games.

[Outsider]

Kefka
Golbez
Dycedarg
Zemus
Rubicant
Wiegraf
Atma Weapon

[Del Murder]

Rubicant is one of my favorites, too. I like how he heals you but at the same time he allows Edge's parents to be turned into zombies. That's a true villian.

List off the top of my head:

1. Kefka (VI)
2. Kuja (IX)
3. Rubicant (IV)
4. Rufus (VII)
5. Sephiroth (VII)
6. Ultros (VI)
7. Hojo (VII)
8. Seifer (VIII)
9. Golbez (though Kain was better as a heel too) (IV)
10. Dark Knight (II)

[Estes]

Im gonna go with Rufus from VII cause he changed the role of president to pratically emperor and led his own people more and more in to annhilation.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

6. Golbeza. Forget the Darth Vader cliché "Luke, I am your father brother" aspect of Golbeza's personality; this guy is one mofo you don't want to mess with. From the very first time you encounter him, he somehow always manages to have the upper hand over your party, and he revels in doing so.

That's exactly why it's so incredibly satisfying when the party finally finally gets the upper hand on him by disabling the Giant of Babel, and not only does he get upset, he shrieks, "YOU WRETCH! You are all DEAD!"

[Estes]

golbez's music really set his dark mood as well...when that music played you got the feeling that death was on its way.

[Trumpet Thief]

1. Kefka - FFVI

2. Sephiroth- FFVII

3. Seifer - FFVIII

4. Jenova - FFVII

5. Seymour - FFX

6. Zande - FFIII

7. Hojo - FFVII

8. X-Death - FFV

9. Ultemecia - FFVIII

10. Kuja - FFIX

[Mo-Nercy]

I liked Kuja. So far, he was the only villian I felt sorry for. He basically weighed up the odds and decided that no one deserved to live if he was dead. That's pretty darned selfish of him making him hella evil.

He was also a very literate villian. I'll always like villians that are all talk better than those that show up every 2 seconds and try to kill you but fail miserably (*cough* Seifer *cough*)

And he can fly when he's Tranced.

[Sefie1999AD]

Top-10? Hmm, okay.
*CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!*


1. Sephiroth (FFVII): I chose him as the 1st and Kuja as the 2nd only because his background story is somewhat more tragic and more explained. Some people like The Man may claim you can't call Sephiroth a villain because he was arguably controlled by Jenova, but that's about the same as if you say Golbez can't be called a villain because he was controlled by Zemus. In other words, I'll still count Sephiroth as a villain. And finally, it's really fun beating the trash out of him in both FF7's final battle and KH's platinum battle.

2. Kuja (FFIX): Another tragic character with a nice personality. His poetic speaking and "Hi, I'm another Flea (CT)!" was weird at times, but that didn't reduce his value as a villain, really. It's also funny how he's the main story villain of FF9, but you actually never defeat him. Instead, he defeats you even in your final encounter. His music theme is also great.

3. Golbez (FFIV): Uh huh, this guy is powerful and spooky, and he also has great dialogue (at least in FF4 hard type) and a music theme that screams "My name is Golbez, and you're dead meat!" He fell under Zemus' control because of the darkness in his heart, and in the end, he regretted his actions and went to eternal cryogenic sleep. His ending is quite sad, IMHO. It's also a plus that he kidnaps Rosa. Come on, that damsel had to suffer and face Kain because she did the dirty thing and dumped him for his best friend.

4. Gilgamesh (FFV): Once again, I've got to say I love this villain's music theme. He's also the best side villain ever, IMHO, and not only he's cool, but he's funny with lots of jokes and comic situations. He bugs your party several times, only so that the player could get some good laughs. What a nice guy.

5. Rubicant (FFIV): This one is another cool guy. He fully heals you before you fight him, but he's still powerful enough to wipe the floors with you. He's the Fiend of Fire, so he uses the power of fire to his advantage. He absorbs fire, but with his cool cape, he can also absorb ice attacks. The way he insults Edge and Lugae is also great.

6. St. Ajora (FFT): The master of Lucavi demons and the final enemy in FF Tactics. This guy is so cruel. First he acts like a christ-like figure to the world, and gets the church and everyone to worship him. Then he sends demons to manipulate the church, and the church provokes the world into a bloody civil war. If that wasn't enough, Ajora's Lucavi demons get everyone slaughtered: leaders of both sides and most of the church. When the world is in total chaos, Ajora is resurrected through Alma's (the main character Ramza's sister) body, and he tries to take over the world, but he loses to Ramza and his group. But even after that, the world still worships Ajora and considers him a holy person, and they hate Ramza, who everyone considers a heretic. Overall, a really devilish villain.

7. Edea (FFVIII): Once again, I shouldn't consider her a villain because she's controlled by Ultimecia, but similar stuff can be said about Sephiroth, Golbez etc, so you know the drill. Edea is one frightening sorceress villain with her dark magic. You don't want to mess with her, because if you do, no-one can tell what kind of consequences you'll face. Just look what she did to Seifer, President Deling, Rinoa and Squall.

8. Zande (FFIII): Another good villain. You don't get to know his character that much, but his story is pretty good. One of the three magic students (the others being Dorga and Unne), he's the one who decided to take the path of darkness. He brought darkness to the world by sending his minions to disrupt the balance of the crystals, and he finally summons the Dark Cloud, who Tsunami Bren and The Man consider to be hot. Zande also gives you one really tough fight.

9. The Turks (FFVII): Okay, that's three villains, but how can you not like these guys? They're neat, and they also bring some nice comic relief. Reno is a great guy who also has some excellent lines. The way he killed Don Corneo was really awesome. Rude is the cool guy of the group, and he also has some funny lines. Elena is the whining chick of the group, and she's got comic moments too. I especially remember when she tries to punch Cloud, but she misses and goes rolling all the way down the hill.

10. Garland (FFI / FFIX): I know these aren't the same person, but I think they're tied. The Garland of FF1 is the first boss in the series, and he's also the first final boss in the series. Woohoo! He doesn't have much story or character, but he's got this one legendary line: "No one touches my Princess!! LIGHT WARRIORS?? You impertinent fools. I, Garland, will knock you all down!!" The one in FF9 is a sinister and ruthless villain. He's Kuja's nemesis, and he shows absolutely no mercy to those who stand in his way. He blows up all of Alexandria with his airship Invincible and ruins the lives of the main characters without remorse. His castle Pandemonium is also a frightful place.


That's about it. Too bad some villains couldn't make it to this top-10. Other FF villains that I liked would include the Dark Knight (FF2), Exdeath (FF5), Rufus (FF7) and Shuyin (FFX-2).