Kefka

[The Crystal]

The Man and Wolf Kanno

The other FF villains weren't being helped, they were using their own abilities(power and/or intelligence) to directly or indirectly force/influence other people in doing exactly what they wanted.
Ghestal however, was doing whatever he wanted. Kefka didn't have any control over him, and he was just lucky the emperor's objectives(reach the Espers and the Triad) were the same as his own. And Kefka was lucky that FFVI's world is the only FF world with a "apocalypse and godhood in an instant" 'button' waiting to be 'pressed' by anyone.

Kefka was waiting for the right moment to strike, because he knew that, sooner or later, Ghestal, by his own free will, would guide Kefka to his goal, because that was Ghestal's goal too. That's not manipulation.


If you guys still don't understand what I'm saying, lets compare Kefka with two other FF villains, okay?
Before the start of FFIX's plot, Brahne was stated to be a calm and peaceful queen. But then Kuja appeared, and convinced her to expand the kingdom through war. He influenced her with his words and intelligence.
Before the start of the original FFVII's plot, Sephiroth fell in the Lifestream with Jenova's head, that tried to take control of his mind. Sephiroth however, overpowered her/it and assimilated Jenova, becoming the one in control of her cells.
Kefka on the other hand, did nothing to influence Ghestal in going after the Espers or the Triad. That were the emperor's plans from the start.

Now, could you imagine if Ghestal lost all his interest for the Espers and the Triad, and suddenly became a pacifist? What would Kefka do to reach his goal, then? He isn't powerful enough to force the emperor to obey him, like Sephiroth did to Jenova, and he isn't intelligent enough to convince the emperor to to do what he want, like Kuja did with Brahne. So, what would he do?
Answer: Absolutely nothing. Because he never showed(during the WoB at least) intelligence or power comparable to those other FF villains.



Kefka was a man who took any opportunity he had, to grow in power and cause mayhem. But the only reason he was successful in that, was because the opportunity allways appeared(Leo conveniently living him un-supervised in Doma giving him the chance to poison the river, the conveniently easy way of attaining godhood and destroying the world in FFVI, etc).
Things weren't so easy for the other FF villains however. The opportunity didn't constantly fell on their lap, they had to work for their power.

Regardless, Kefka is still one of the better villains purely for personality, his endearing one-liners, and the fact he went out of his way to be cruel and malicious

Yeah... But not for his competence.