I knew that one in particular would the most controversialOriginally Posted by ToriJ
, but sure thing...
GOLBEZ
I'd say he isn't the villain but was just being mind controlled by Zemus all along. His actions also don't really have much of an impact either, besides bombing Damcyan (a place you hadn't visited yet full of people you hadn't met) and mind controlling Kain to lead him to backstab the party (all of which is just Zemus acting through him) he is just collecting crystals but the fact that he steals the crystals doesn't really seems to have much of an impact on the world as we see in V where the wind, fire and the like stop when ExDeath makes the crystals shatter. Because of this you don't really feel the sense of threat and urgency that you get with ExDeath as he is carrying out his plans. IV overall also has a problem with too many fake deaths, which ends up taking away from the impact of Golbez (Zemus) actions.
You also never get a proper fight with him, the first time you meet him and you think a battle will ensue, you become an spectator as Tellah takes over (without you being able to control him like you do Galuf in his confrontation with ExDeath) and does his Meteo and dies. When you encounter him again, it is another scripted fight where Rydia joins and he "dies" after the first hit or so. The last time when you think a real fight will ensue, when you meet him within the Giant Of Babil, FuSoYa takes over and "wakes" him up and he is suddenly a good guy who was just being controlled by Zemus. It was very anticlimactic the way he was handled in the game.
Why ExDeath is better: He is his own person, no ad hoc villain is introduced at the end which controls him that cheapens things up. He has a more interesting and unique concept and background (a tree full of evil spirits that gained consciousness). His goal/motive is more clear and better fleshed out, not to mention that he actually accomplishes it. You also get to fight him properly and get the satisfaction of defeating him. His actions had a much more powerful impact on the world and the party: swallows different parts of the world into the void including Castle Tycoon and Bartz home town, Galuf and the rest of the Warriors of Dawn die because of him as does Lena and Faris' father (King Tycoon); all of which makes things very personal for the party and so when you finally defeat him it is very rewarding.
KEFKA
His motives are poorly fleshed out and rather ambiguous. In the WoB he never really feels like the villain but rather just a nutty guy who does a lot of bad stuff for no real reason. His betrayal of the Emperor right after demanding that Celes show her loyalty to the empire and after working in tandem in such an elaborate way with the Emperor came basically out of nowhere. As far his other actions goes, his poisoning of Doma really didn't made much of an impact to me as I hadn't met any of these people (Cyan included) before then and the same goes for him killing General Leo. While Leo was portrayed as a nice and noble man, the game didn't let me spend enough time with him to make me care (like V does with Galuf). So Kefka killing him didn't feel as meaningful.
While half way through the game he "destroys" the world and ends up becoming a god of sorts and the source of magic (a transition which isn't elaborated upon); you don't see him at all after that and he doesn't really do anything in the WoR but rather becomes a boss waiting for you at the end of a dungeon for what amounts to more than half of the game. Also for someone who is so hell bent on destroying everything and who supposedly casts down the Light of Judgement on those who dare oppose him, he offers no opposition to the party in the WoR as you go on your journey to recruit your friends and get an airship. You then land in his tower without a single obstacle getting in your way (contrast with how things flow when you decide to go to the Floating Continent). So he is literally doing nothing during all this time and when you finally confront him he goes on about how he will destroy everything which makes you wonder, if he is so powerful, why hasn't he done so already and why practically all the towns and locations in the WoR are in such rather nice shape? Because of this, as is the case with Golbez, you don't really feel the sense of threat and urgency with Kefka that you get with ExDeath as he is carrying out his plans.
Why ExDeath is better: Many of the things I said above on Golbez applies here as well. Unlike Kefka who is doing nothing during the WoR, while he is busy trying to accomplish his goal of controlling the void in the third world, ExDeath sends his minions to hinder the party from getting the sealed weapons and sucks into the void several locations along the way. When you confront him at the end and he demonstrates his power just like Kefka does, he vanishes actual places and people into the void increasing the tension as opposed to Kefka who just hits water and some land with his Light of Judgement. Not only that but he actually sucks the whole party itself into the void; who are only saved thanks to the Warriors of Dawn. ExDeath also feels far more imposing and in control of things during the whole game than Kefka and his interactions with the party are not only more numerous than Kefka's but also better done. And if we are going the humour route, ExDeath tops the clown with his fight against Guido (a turtle!) and his thrashing of Gilgamesh.
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