Best video game villian

[Vulgosh]

Who do you think is the best video game villian ever.
why?

[Morty]

The Transcendent One from Planescape:Torment. S/he just wins.

[Green Bean]

KOTOR 2 spoilers

Kreia from KOTOR 2. It's difficult to describe, really, but she is frakkin' awesome.

[Ghal Marak]

Gannondorf, for sheer tenacity. :smallsmile:

[NEO|Phyte]

Hmm, I'm torn between Kefka (how many villains can you name that have actually succeeded in their grand schemes?) and The Wizard from Overlord, for reasons that become quite apparent during the final battle.

[Tekraen]

Ooh, that's true. Kefka had style.

[Actana]

(how many villains can you name that have actually succeeded in their grand schemes?)

One: Kane. 'Nuff said. Kane is the best villain ever. And what best, you are able to fight for him.

[Jibar]

I'm torn between Kain, Raziel (oh come on, he's so a villain), and Organisation XIII.
Kain has been a sort of anti-villain really. While many times he ends up as the hero, it's for all the oh so very wrong reasons. Whenever he's the villain though, he comes across... ordered. As if, if he wasn't there, then it'd be even worse. A necessary evil. Sort of fits his role of Scion of Balance really.
Raziel comes across as the hero, and very much seems to fit that role. But, for all his good intentions, he always seems to get it... wrong. He's managed to screw History over many times, and has proven to get in the way of the ultimate good much of the time. I'll count him as a villain, though others would argue otherwise.
Now Organisation XIII we have people with... dubious intentions. Incomplete people who want to be whole, but go about it the wrong way. Many of their activities comes across as evil, but without hearts to guide them, is it not just the work of the body? Even Sora's Nobody would go to those lengths. For their efforts, I'll say Organisation XIII.
Plus they have Vexen, and Vexen just trumps all contenders.

[SurlySeraph]

On every video game villain thread, someone must mention Sarah Kerrigan. She betrays everyone at least once, and betrays a couple people three times. And the sad part is, everyone she betrays is being completely rational when they don't believe she'll betray them.

[SurlySeraph]

On every video game villain thread, someone must mention Sarah Kerrigan. She betrays everyone at least once, and betrays a couple people three times. And the sad part is, everyone she betrays is being completely rational when they don't believe she'll betray them.

[CrazedGoblin]

id have to go with the ghosts from pacman, i cant remember their names though :smalleek:

[TheOtherMC]

id have to go with the ghosts from pacman, i cant remember their names though :smalleek:

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Sue?

[PlatinumJester]

Gary from Pokemon Blue/Red. I hate him soo much and nothing is more satisfying than trouncing his arse at the end of the elite four.

[Death Giant]

It would have to be Sepheroth from Final Fantasy 7. He's wicked awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1:co ol: He could kill 300 Master Chiefs in one second! [hot-weels insult] Beat that!!!!!!

[CrazedGoblin]

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Sue?

sounds familier i think thats them

[PlatinumJester]

sounds familier i think thats them

Why is one called Sue and the others called Winky, Stinky and Kinky or whatever it is :smallconfused:.

[CrazedGoblin]

why not hehe

[PlatinumJester]

Because 3 having rhyming names and 1 doesn't.

Was that one the retard child of the litter or what?

[Dorizzit]

Because Sue is random. Before random was cool.

[Volug]

O_o o_O

no one mentioned SEPHIROTH YET!?!?!?

He's the best, no questions asked.
And FF7 is a cool game as well:smallbiggrin:

[tannish2]

because they couldnt think of another rhyme

[Om]

It would have to be Sepheroth from Final Fantasy 7. He's wicked awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1:co ol: He could kill 300 Master Chiefs in one second! [hot-weels insult] Beat that!!!!!!


O_o o_O

no one mentioned SEPHIROTH YET!?!?!?


What is it with this Sepheroth/SEPHIROTH (sic) and multiple exclamation marks? We get it - you like this girl/guy - so take a deep breath and calm down.

[Cyrano]

Mmmm... My contendenders are
Planescape: Torment's Trancendant One
System Shock(2)'s SHODAN
Star Control 2's Ur-Quan.
All of them have one thing in common: They're there. Most games have a long leadup to the final villain, except you've never met the final villain before! It doesn't feel like they're doing anything but waiting in the Tower of Endgame for you to trounce them. These three (and countless others, including Jon Irenicus, but those 3 take the cake) are always there. SHODAN spends the game taunting and/or aiding you, making her presence completely known. The Transcendant One is seen in several cutscenes and seems to be an appropriate focus. And the Ur-Quan will, eventually, go around and slaughter every last one of your allies if you wait to long, and frankly, you can't get any more noticed than that. The winner would be hard, but I have to say SHODAN is the first amongst equals, merely because, snake hair? Awesome.

[The Orange Zergling]

What is it with this Sepheroth/SEPHIROTH (sic) and multiple exclamation marks? We get it - you like this girl/guy - so take a deep breath and calm down.

QFT. At least spell it right. =/

Tie between Kane, from Command & Conquer, or Kain, from Legacy of Kain.

[Hermit]

Purple Tentacle wins hands down.

"I feel like I could... TAKE ON THE WORLD!"

[Crilley]

SHODAN.

Irenicus.

[warty goblin]

Sereth from Dark Messiah of Might and Magic- seriously, how many games do you actually get to destroy the world in?

[OneWinged4ngel]

Though more of an anime villain than a video game one, there are Inuyasha video games...

Naraku is, quite frankly, one of the best villains for a D&D-type of setting that I've seen in anime. He's extremely crafty, and always has a dozen contingencies, and though sure, the PCs prove that they can own him in one round (just like your big bad evil guy in D&D)... he always has a backup plan to show up again (which a lot of people don't realize is something a D&D villain at high level is always supposed to have. From lich phylacteries to wizard clones to fiery discorporation to reborn outsiders... villains aren't supposed to die so easily).

Another favorite of mine, though calling him a villain is a little bit iffy, is Andrew Ryan from Bioshock. A man chooses. 'Nuff said.

[Jibar]

It would have to be Sepheroth from Final Fantasy 7. He's wicked awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1:co ol: He could kill 300 Master Chiefs in one second! [hot-weels insult] Beat that!!!!!!


O_o o_O

no one mentioned SEPHIROTH YET!?!?!?

He's the best, no questions asked.
And FF7 is a cool game as well:smallbiggrin:

Well, the one problem with that is you picked FFVII. The geneticcally modified warrior with a god complex and mommy issues.
Wheeeen the only time that Sephiroth is actually cool is Kingdom Hearts. Gone are the genetic modifications! Gone is his need to destroy! No more with the sucky mommy! Now he is nothing but a warrior of pure darkness. Stoic, silent, and prepared.

Even then though, there are better villains. Easily.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Kefka.

Vwee hee hee, etc.

Revolver Ocelot is also up there for sheer backstabbing skill, and Wiseman from Baten Kaitos Origins for having the best. Villain voice. Ever. Including Vader's.

[Pronounceable]

Transcendent One takes the cake. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. And he's a he.

And a few more that haven't been mentioned: The Master (Fallout), Frank Horrigan (Fallout 2), Nerzhul (Warcraft series), us (Dungeon Keeper), Sarevok (Baldur's Gate), Dark Prince (PoP) and the "S" (Tetris).

[Winterwind]

I second Sarah Kerrigan, though I think she comes in only second after Arcturus Mengsk (not in terms of power, but in terms of coolness).

I'd also like to add the Trickster from Thief I. That was a positively scary being. :smalleek:

[Dancing_Zephyr]

Kefka. Nothing beats a homicidal clown, who succedes in his evil plot, and has the greatest laugh ever.

[Psychotic]

Jon Irenicus from Baldur's Gate II. I mean, c'mon! The opening scene of the game is him torturing the bejesus out of you and your allies!

I'm gonna stick my head out on the line and say Arthas from Warcraft III. Murders his father, his mentor, destroys his entire nation, and threatens the world with the doom of undeath? Thats pretty bad.

[Jacob_Gallagher]

SHODAN wins hands-down.

[Desidus]

Kerrigan hands down. Just nothing comes as close IMHO

[Archpaladin Zousha]

For me it's a three-way tie between Master Li of Jade Empire, Kreia of KOTOR II and Frank Fontaine of BioShock. All three guide and teach you throughout their respective games, and about midway to near the end of your journey, they turn on you and in the end, you make them answer for their betrayal. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good betrayal!:smallbiggrin:

[SITB]

Transcendent One takes the cake. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. And he's a he.

I'm somewhat perplexed, why is the Transcendent One a villain? An a antagonist I can get, but really, what particular villainous thing the Transcendent One did anyway?

Ravel, for example is villainous (if not particulary when you meet her).

[AmberVael]

I'm going with Jibar and Orange Zergling and saying Kain from the Legacy of Kain series is the best villain.
Seriously. He can beat the crap out of people but isn't overpowered like all these annoying "I R GAWD!" villains who have no character, and are essentially trying to compensate with raw *insert uberness here.*
Kain, however, is ruthless, skilled, and has some of my favorite lines ever. LoK is like a compendium of "quotable Kain" lines. His personality and character (as can be guessed from my above statement about overpowered villains), are well developed, and give him a complex persona that is good enough to make you question whether he is truly evil, despite all the things he does.
That's how a good villain should be, in my opinion. What kind of guy says "hur, I think I'll be evil now. RAAAARRRGGH! DESTROY!"
No, Kain's actions are well rationalized and thought out- except when he loses his temper, but that's understandable- and completely explain his villain status while keeping it as it is.

[TheBoneSplitter]

Gannondorf, for sheer tenacity. :smallsmile:

The version of Ganon in the CD-i versions were the best simply because he was the funniest looking out of all the Ganons.

[Leliel]

The main villian from Tales of Symphonia(I purposely leave out his name beacuse it is a MASSIVE spoiler). He only wanted to end all discrimination...He just chose the wrong way.

I like my villians nice and complex, with a side of tragic. Nothing makes you realize how hard it is to be a hero then one who tried...and failed.

[Jibar]

I'm going with Jibar and Orange Zergling and saying Kain from the Legacy of Kain series is the best villain.


I assume you're leaving out Blood Omen 2 as well here.
'Cos seriously, that just f***ed over so much, and the obligatory romance was so unlike Kain.

Edit: Actually, forgetting Blood Omen 2, Kain does rise above the Organisation in villainry terms.
Move my vote to him, and put twenty eucalypti on the platypus to win the derby.

[BRC]

I personally think Mengsk was a better villain than Kerrigan. Kerrigan was proably more evil, but Mengsk was more ruthless and effective with what he had to work with.

[Winterwind]

I personally think Mengsk was a better villain than Kerrigan. Kerrigan was proably more evil, but Mengsk was more ruthless and effective with what he had to work with.And much more ambivalent, too. He truly seems to believe that whatever he does serves just for the well-being of mankind in the face of alien dangers. Plus vengeance for the destruction of his homeworld. It's only that his methods are even more ruthless than those of the government he set out to destroy.
Kerrigan, on the other hand, is purely evil; heroes had to die to establish that.

[XiaoTie]

Kefka aaaaaaaaall the way

"There is sand in my shoes!"

[BobGhengisKhan]

I can't say I'm big on the common set of villains nowadays: All of the murderous psychopaths and evil tyrants tend to blend together after a while. this is why I've decided to stick with the Touhouverse antagontist set (I say antagonist, because most of them aren't evil, at least not in the D&D sense).

Yuka- Lazy as all get out. She likes flowers, not people. Don't mess with the flowers. Yuka thinks that genocide is hilarious, but doesn't do it herself because that would, you know, require effort.

Shinki- This is more of a sin of omission than anything. Even though she's the ruler of hell, why should she interfere if the demons want to set up their own tourist service and schedule mass trips to the human world? Free enterprise ahoy!

Remilia Scarlet- The vampire that never grew up. Combine count Dracula with powerful sorcery and the childish whimsy and selfishness of Peter Pan, and what do you get? You get the sun mostly blocked out. Not that it kills or anything, it's just uncomfortable when she's watching the flowers, is all.

Yuyuko- Finally, a ghost villain that isn't a spectral axe murderer. Borrowed spring (yes, the season) to try to revive an ancient, monstrous tree in the netherworld just too see what would happen, but kept on failing. In life, she killed herself to seal the tree, and reviving the tree would revive her body. thus, everything she experinced as a ghost- Friends, places, everything- would be completely lost, and so her subconscious held her back from essentially destroying herself.

Eirin and Kaguya- Hid the Earth from the moon, and put up a fake moon in the place of the real one, to keep Lunarian messengers from taking them back for judgement. Of course, this isn't mentioning that monsters, ghosts, lycanthropes, and vampires all depend on the moon in some way...

[Triaxx]

Sephiroth is an emo whiner. Kuja got completely robbed from being the final boss, but he was a gloriously powerful villain.

I also have to say Tazok. He was in both BG games, and was completely evil in both.

[BlackStaticWolf]

I'm somewhat perplexed, why is the Transcendent One a villain? An a antagonist I can get, but really, what particular villainous thing the Transcendent One did anyway?

I'm with you there. Awesome antagonist yes, villain... nah. For that matter... what particularly heroic things does the Nameless One do?

Torment really was all about the never ending battle of neutral versus other neutral.

[Cubey]

SHODAN. An evil transcending all morality, who called herself God because, let's face it, she had the power to do so!
The player's character (from the 1st System Shock) also created her, in a way.

Notable runner up: Kefka, submariner! I don't have to say why, I believe.
In general, it seems that villains who become gods are powerful and charismatic, as a villain should be!

Now I will disagree with some people a bit. First, Sephiroth: excepting one flashback scene, he does NOT have mommy issues. His control over Jenova is absolute, and his plan to achieve godhood was masterminded perfectly.

Kain is awesome, but I don't think he's a villain. Compared to the world he is living in (even before the pillars' shattering), he's almost a benevolent saint! Not to mention that he had plans to actually, you know, prevent Nosgoth's destruction without having to sacrifice himself. Too bad we will (probably) never know how the series ends.:smallfrown:

I believe, to the bottom of my heart, that Kerrigan has NO place to be in this thread. Maybe if a thread was created titled "lamest villains", then yes - she should be posted there. Let me elaborate why: Kerrigan did nothing, not a single thing, that would be considered badass. All of her successes can, and are, attributed to the following:
-Zerg being overpoweringly numerous in the first place
-Blizzard people being awful fanboys of their own work and ending all events that happen with Kerrigan/Zerg on top because they're playing favourites. OFFTOPIC: They're also awful fanboys of Shamans in World of Warcraft. Fortunately, Shamans are underpowered, and they deserve it because of their pampered status. OFFTOPIC OVER
-Smart and insightful characters turning into gullible idiots when they deal with Kerrigan. Come on, her treason was so easy to foresee that it wasn't even funny! It's not that she had a reputation of being honorable in the past! This includes the whole deal with the Dark Templars' Matriarch as well. Also note that when I say smart characters, I do NOT mean Artanis who was a fool with a generic personality/motives to start with.

Seriously, they had to make Kerrigan kill Fenix to show off how badass she is, because she did nothing badass in the past - and even that failed! I hope she dies in SC2. Miserably.

[Pronounceable]

You really don't like Kerrigan, do you? She did have a good moment though, her first meeting with Jim. But still, she's better than that pansy Arthas.


I'm with you there. Awesome antagonist yes, villain... nah. For that matter... what particularly heroic things does the Nameless One do?

He spared the multiverse from his continued existance. One way or another.


I'm somewhat perplexed, why is the Transcendent One a villain? An a antagonist I can get, but really, what particular villainous thing the Transcendent One did anyway?

He tried to sustain his existance.

His prolonged survival caused so much pain, suffering, torment and all around evil that his destruction is an act of pure good.

Torment is all about the neverending battle of man vs himself. Literally.

[Cubey]

You really don't like Kerrigan, do you? She did have a good moment though, her first meeting with Jim.
Yeah, but she wasn't a villain back then yet. So it doesn't count.


But still, she's better than that pansy Arthas.

Agreed! Kerrigan was friggin' annoying post-change, but not before it. Arthas, on the other hand - a total prick before falling, after getting the Frostmourne not much changed...

[Elidyr]

How about Smiling Jack from Vampire Bloodlines (then again, you might not consider him a villian). Dance puppets, dance!

[hanzo66]

Yami from Okami, the God of Darkness/Technology...

He's certainly got a unique form as a tiny seal-fetus within a Mecha-Orb

The Darkness just for having an awesome voice...

[Vidan]

Don't remember his name, but the last boss in Gears of War; why, because he is very challenging and... he looks cool:smallsmile:

[Ganon11]

...and Wiseman from Baten Kaitos Origins for having the best. Villain voice. Ever. Including Vader's.

I haven't gotten a chance to beat BKO yet, though I've liked what I've played.

Best villain has to be Ganon, from Ocarina of Time. Not Ganondorf, mind you - wtf is up with light-ball-style baseball? But Ganon at the end was sweet. I think Ganon from Wind Waker also has an interesting background to his evil.

Then again, Dark Samus is just ridiculously powerful in either MP2 or MP3...hmm...

[Demon Messiah]

Now I'm not going to say Sephiroth is the best villian by any means, but he's not a bad one either. You can shout "Momma's boy!" all you want, but in the end, Sephiroth AND Kefka lost.

Ganondorf though...now that's a badass. I mean, just look at Ocarina of Time. He plays a pipe organ. He survives the massive collapse of his own lava encircled castle. He transforms. He comes back around 5,643,241 times.

And I nominate Gato from Chrono Trigger for greatest villian.

If you wanted those ten silver points, you had to get through HIS metal joints first.

[Inigo_Carmine]

Kain from the Legacy of Kain series is the best villain.

Spoilers abound, so anyone who hasn't yet, but intends to play the series should stay out. This is revealing some pretty big plot points.

Is Kain ever really the villain though? I mean truely? In the first game, maybe. It's hard to say revenge is evil when you're taking out people worse than you and making the world a better place. He can be seen as selfish at the end for refusing to make the sacrifice.

He appears the villain in Soul Reaver, but that's just to give you motivation as Raziel. Though his original motivation for refusing to sacrifice himself might have been selfish, it turned out to be a better one due to the Damned if you do, damned if you don't situation set up by Moebius, and by the time this game takes place, Kain is aware of that. What he did to Raziel was (at least he says) with the intention of its resulting consequences. If you rewatch the opening cinematic of Soul Reaver, it almost seems like that might be the case. As Kain turns his back when they toss Raziel into the whirlpool, it looked like arrogance and disdain at first. With foreknowledge of events to come, it could almost be like regret and distaste for having to put Raziel through that.

As far as the Love Story is BO2, I found it acceptible if not great...certainly better than such things are usually handled in videogames (or movies for that matter). I don't remember any great romance between them, but Kain was definitely fond of her. when she betrayed him (even for the right reasons so to speak) he killed her, with only a twinge of hesitation and remorse. With the exception of the stiff movement/combat, I actually enjoyed this game if not so much as the others...well, BO1 is an even bigger chore to play as well but with a worthwhile story.

With that much said, I suppose Kain is pretty ruthless and willing to make necessary sacrifices of others for what he perceives as the greater good (which actually is the greater good these days). Might that be a result of the taint he received at birth from being tied to the pillars at the moment of their corruption?

If anything, the final scene of him and Raziel in Defiance erased any ideas of Kain being a villain anymore in my mind. He's the good guy now. And thanks to Raziel, taint-free as well.

Ironic, really, because in the Soul Reaver games, you really do empathize with Raziel's self-righteous anger at Kain and want to kill him just as much as Raziel does. It's a credit to the game's good story, acting and pacing that I started out really hating Kain only to end up really liking him.

Been a while since I thought about this game. I do hope they eventually continue this story.

[Cubey]

And I nominate Gato from Chrono Trigger for greatest villian.

If you wanted those ten silver points, you had to get through HIS metal joints first.

FIFTEEN points!

And yeah, Gato is pure evil.

Marle: *shoots Gato for 8 damage from her wimpy crossbow*
Gato: *counterattack straight into Crono's FACE!*

...

Gato: I lost, you won! Here's fifteen points - wasn't that fun?
Crono: *spits out a tooth* ... <--- Translation: "Heck no."

[Demon Messiah]

FIFTEEN points?! Impossible! Woe unto me, for I have failed my favorite turnbased RPG on this day! Frog....forgive me!

*commits hari-kari*

[Namaste123]

Albedo from Xenosaga! He was insanely delusional as well as having amazng regeneration powers!

Runner-up- GARLAND! From FFI. He was waay too powerful. >_>

ROFL

[rabidsnakemonky]

Sephiroth is an emo whiner.

some other people said stuff against Sephiroth as well (sorry i was too lazy to quote you)

yes you're right, but as soon as you hit that boss battle, and the music started, and all you kept thinking was "holy sh*t, i'm about to get owned" he just seems that much more badass. plus he looks badass. I still wouldn't call him the "best villan" however, because he is not really evil, just confused.

I still cant think of a really good villian.

[someonenonotyou]

seymore from ff10 he a trying to do a good thing but just a bad way i don't think him as a villan but i guess he count's he just trying to end all the pian in the world
AND
Sephiroth 2ND

[Kel_Arath]

Umm, some obvious choices:
Kefka - Duh...
Diablo - What makes a better bad guy than the devil?
Captain Hector - Though not a bad guy, I hated him none the less. (I will be so proud of anyone that also hates the captain.)

[Terumitsu]

I will have to say Kuja... He actualy succeeded in blowing up a planet and destroying all of space/time.... it never was explained how they fixed that though....

And also, FATE from Chrono Cross. Because of the fact that:
The FATE machine actualy made you live while possessing your father to make him Lynx who then swapped bodies with you so he/FATE could go back into it's core system. Needlessly complicated is a sign of true villiany.

(oops... Sorry for not fixing that spoiler earlyer)

[banjo1985]

Roger Bacon from the 1st Shadow Hearts game was a decent villain. Looked like a tradition english toff, but was a complete & utter evil bastard.

The guy wanted to become a god, and would do absolutely anything to do so. But the main thing is that he had style, which is a big thing for a villain. It made him memorable.

Zera from Grandia 2 was also pretty nasty. I won't go into the details of what he gets up to just in case anyones playing it, but he really deserves the villain tag.

[SITB]

FIFTEEN points!

And yeah, Gato is pure evil.

Marle: *shoots Gato for 8 damage from her wimpy crossbow*
Gato: *counterattack straight into Crono's FACE!*

...

Gato: I lost, you won! Here's fifteen points - wasn't that fun?
Crono: *spits out a tooth* ... <--- Translation: "Heck no."

And if you, by any chance, lose...



You're so weak
And I'm so strong
I punched your lights out
Now run along (http://captainsnes.com/?date=20010821)

[Mattarias, King.]

Oohh.. I'm thinking a tie between Yggdrassil from Tales of Symphonia (Seriously. Though he -could- kinda be considered good.. :smallconfused: ) And Ganon/Ganondorf.

Awesome backstories FTW!

[Tengu]

Don Corneo from FF7 - remember what they say that rape can be worse than murder? And this guy's sole purpose in life is to, ahem, violate pretty and cute women - while he was in business he took three fresh victims daily, one for him and two for his henchmen! He also has no boundaries and will try to perform zoophilia (Aeris is half-Ancient, so not really human), pedophilia (is Yuffie 14 or 16? I can't remember) and sodomy (Miss Cloud - need I say more?).
He might seem useless in combat, but it's just an illusion - remember how he dodged those soldiers in Wutai, making them charge at you instead? That's some pretty high Evade if you ask me - I am sure even Limit Breaks would have trouble hitting this guy. While his own physical attacks are probably worthless, he has command over powerful monsters - where does he get them from is another question - we might not want to think too much about this topic.
He managed to outsmart the group more than once, with grievious consequences - if not him, Cloud and co would probably manage in time to save that pillar from falling and killing lots and lots of people.
Also, his personal music theme is ominous.


You need a sarcasm detector if you took this post seriously.

[Suraht]

Albedo from Xenosaga! He was insanely delusional as well as having amazng regeneration powers!

Runner-up- GARLAND! From FFI. He was waay too powerful. >_>

ROFL

I have to second Albedo. Insane, able to go toe to toe against three mecha with little more than his bare hands, and is nearly impossible to kill for longer than a minute or two. The guy cut off his own arm and twisted off his own head and then regrew them just to freak out a little girl.

As for Sephiroth...

....you only get to see Sephiroth in flashbacks, at least if my understanding of the storyline is correct. Cloud as a green rookie managed to kill Sephiroth by dumping him into a reactor, and the dude that walks around with the flowing hair and 15 foot long sword for the rest of the game is little more than a physical manifestation of Jenova.

[Tengu]

As for Sephiroth...

....you only get to see Sephiroth in flashbacks, at least if my understanding of the storyline is correct. Cloud as a green rookie managed to kill Sephiroth by dumping him into a reactor, and the dude that walks around with the flowing hair and 15 foot long sword for the rest of the game is little more than a physical manifestation of Jenova.

You are partially correct. Sephiroth was defeated by Cloud, and everything you meet on the way are Jenova fragments, but he's not dead - he's in the northern crater as a legless torso, as you can see at disk 2. And it's fair to assume that either his will has merged with Jenova's, or that he controls her - which means that, although everything you see Sephiroth perform in the game was not made directly by him, it's still his doing in the long run, because he does it via a mind-controlled doll that looks like him.
Sephiroth at the boss battles is the real one, too.

[JabberwockySupafly]

Magus, anyone? Chrono Trigger Magus that is. Okay, so he joins your party later but he is indeed a villain for half of the game before you discover Lavos, another awesome villain in it's own right.

Also, I will have to nominate Vergil, from Devil May Cry 3. I don't think there's a more stylish villain around and anyone here who's played against him in Dante Must Die mode knows there are very few villains as lethal.

[Nerd-o-rama]

For the record, Tengu has the right of it.

The "Jenova is controlling Sephiroth" theory has been shot down by official sources. Sephiroth is using Jenova's powers (and fragmented body) to continue Jenova's work, but he's very much a willing successor.

[A Rainy Knight]

RAAM from Gears of War. That guy friggin' creeps me out.

[Ashtar]

Shodan from System Shock... Really creepy and what's worse is that it's your fault he/she/it's like that.

[Leliel]

I would also like to submit:

Frank Fontaine from Bioshock. Lying bastard.

Nene from Blue Dragon. Every so often, its nice to see a villian who is just plain selfish. "I wanted to hear your screams..." Sadistic too.

[Khanderas]

Anyone mentioned Kefka yet (just kidding).
Kefka is the only game villain that I physically and actually stood up, pointed at the screen and shouted in a rage that be bastard must die.
... and was serious about it.

Kefka, you magificent bastard.

[Darius Midnite]

Jack of Blades from Fable. Words cannot describe how awesome he is. Shrouded in mystery, cruel and deciding, but also balanced.

If you haven't played the game, here's a pic (http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8123/12137254373hw6.jpg)

[....]

Originally I was going to say Andrew Ryan from Bioshock, but then I realized it was Fontaine who was really the awesome villain in that game. When the reveal happened I litterally started cussing at the screen for how I'd been tricked.

Vergil from Devil may Cry 3 was a pretty cool villain.

Kain is probably one of the best written 'villains' in any game. The things he does are villanous, at first. But as a character he actually develops from a snotty aristocratic bastard, to an evil selfish vampire lord, to a man who's trying to fix his mistakes without falling for the plots of his enemies. Everything he does is planned and calculated and even though Raziel could probably tear his heart out (ha ha), he dosn't, because Kain always has a way out and always knows something you need to know.

And just as an aside, I'm sick of 'tortured villains' that you should feel sorry for because their mommies didn't love them enough. Its really bad with jRPGs (although I blame a lot of this on fans who think silver hair and black makes people cool and they want to like un-evil people).

Sometimes I just want a villain who's a villain. Sure, give him some reason to be evil, but I don't want to feel sorry for him. Think of Machine from 8mm:

"Daddy never hit me. Mommy never touched me. I do these things... because I like them!"

[Albub]

I can't remember if he was in any of the 40K games, but Horus from warhammer 40k is a major villain. He betrays his daddy; kills billions and billions of people for the enjoyment of it, as well as for personal gain; he causes the deaths of trillions indirectly through the actions of chaos marines that follow his ideals; and above all else, he was a "good guy" at the start of his career, supposed to be a saviour of mankind, a pillar of justice and hope for mankind to stand upon. Then he got corrupted by the chaos gods, and some of his morally wayward brothers and began in secret to plot the destruction of mankind. He killed his brother, who was supposed to be next best out of all the primarchs, using a method so incredible unspeakable that anyone carrying the guy's genes literally end up going "what the hell man?" and then flipping out thousands of years later.

[Tom_Violence]

I can't remember if he was in any of the 40K games, but Horus from warhammer 40k is a major villain. He betrays his daddy; kills billions and billions of people for the enjoyment of it, as well as for personal gain; he causes the deaths of trillions indirectly through the actions of chaos marines that follow his ideals; and above all else, he was a "good guy" at the start of his career, supposed to be a saviour of mankind, a pillar of justice and hope for mankind to stand upon. Then he got corrupted by the chaos gods, and some of his morally wayward brothers and began in secret to plot the destruction of mankind. He killed his brother, who was supposed to be next best out of all the primarchs, using a method so incredible unspeakable that anyone carrying the guy's genes literally end up going "what the hell man?" and then flipping out thousands of years later.

I wouldn't vote for Horus because he's too cliche. He's basically a 'Satan' figure, what with the whole fall from grace dealy, and splitting the super good guys in twain. The best villain ever needs to be a bit more original than something so clearly Biblical in basis. :smalltongue:

[LordVader]

Horus fails in the end, though, although his villianry was indeed masterful.

Best 40k villian has to be the Deciever, one of the C'tan, the masters of the Necrons. He's manipulated so many people into doing what he wants, he basically runs the galaxy at this point, and that's only a slight understatement. He tricked his own bretheren into killing each other. He tricked the Necrontyr into becoming the Necrons. He has worshippers in the Adeptus Mechanicus. He's posed as Imperium planetary governors. He gave Commander Farsight the Dawnblade. The list goes on and on.

[evisiron]

HK-47 from KotOR!

[Tussy the Druid]

I have to agree with Darius. Jack of Blades was a great character (in my opinion).

Frank Fontaine, yeah he was a great villain and all, but the end battle got rid of a lot of the hype. (I mean, is it just me or was he so easy that my dad could do it?)

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Jack of Blades wasn't as scary to me, mainly because Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters wasn't much of a story. Yes, he's a scary satanic guy in a mask. Yes, he's after the most powerful weapon in the universe. YES, HE'S A FREAKIN' DRAGON! But he just lacked development. Most of Fable did. It's like it expects you to know these things right off the bat and leaves you with sparse, in any plot exposition.

[Jade_Tarem]

Some ideas:

Jon Irenicus from Baldur's Gate II

Why he should win: Several reasons, really. He's a badass CE wizard with a plot to suck the collective life out of the elven race to achieve ultimate power/revenge. He steals your soul and Imoen's too, and he has the voice for the job. Everything he says has an undertone of "I'm so far over your head..."

Also, he has one of the most satisfying endings I've ever seen. You've chased this punk across 7 chapters, 3 nations and about 16 demiplanes, fixing all the problems of the nation of Amn (if you do it right :P), and you fight him to the death, then go to hell and kill him again! In the end, he gets deleted from existance by a horde of bearded devils (who shove him into this eternal burning lake.) Pure awesome.

Why he shouldn't win: Despite everything above, it's more satisfying to kill his minion Bodhi within the same game. She can't be the best, however, because by the time you finish her off she's no challenge at all.

Amillisan the Black from BGII TOB

From the expansion.

Why she should win: The lying wench has been working against you from the beginning, convincing the bhaalspawn that they're stuck in a kind of highlander competition and getting more powerful as they kill each other... but really they're just setting her up for godhood!

Why she shouldn't win: She's a really poor loser.

Mizar from Jet Force Gemini

Why he should win: Ok, so he had no real plot going on, but I challenge you to find a harder "shooter" endboss.

Why he shouldn't win: There's no mystery, plus he survives when the plucky robot Floyd doesn't! Where's the justice in that?

Bowser, Sigma, Dr. Wily, Ridley, Gannon[dorf] from Mario Games, Mega Man X games, Mega Man games, Metroid games, and Zelda Games

Why any one of them could win: Sheer tenacity + implied immortality.
Why they should not win: Because each of them is repetitively defeated by a foe with vastly inferior resources and preparation time.

[Setra]

No one has mentioned Luca Blight? Wow.

In any case, though I know this is an echo by now, Kefka.

He had a way with words, and actions, that made him a.. well you know.

He doesn't seem so evil at first (Ahem, there's SAND on my boots!), but when he poisons Doma (Ah, nothing like the sound of a thousand voices screaming in unison (He poisoned his own troops as well), you see how evil he can be.

Then he pretty much drives espers to extinction, oh and of course hijacks the powers of three gods, becoming a demigod himself, and ruling the world for about a year or so.

In the end, he seeks to destroy everything, and nearly succeeds. Also, if FFVI had less abusable evasion systems, and tricks like Ultima x Quick + Economizer, he'd be a pretty hard boss too.

Roger Bacon from the 1st Shadow Hearts game was a decent villain. Looked like a tradition english toff, but was a complete & utter evil bastard.
That's not Roger Bacon...

[Falconer]

Am I going mad, or has no one yet even mentioned the Gravemind? His is one super-ownage villain.

"I? I am a monument to all your sins."
-Gravemind

Perhaps one of the coolest quotes by a video game villain.

[Talkkno]

The main villian from Tales of Symphonia(I purposely leave out his name beacuse it is a MASSIVE spoiler). He only wanted to end all discrimination...He just chose the wrong way.

I like my villians nice and complex, with a side of tragic. Nothing makes you realize how hard it is to be a hero then one who tried...and failed.

Seconded, the only emo villian(Besides Sasori :P) i ever liked anyways, I'm still not enterilly sure if he was the bad guy in the instance....

[AslanCross]

Some ideas:

Jon Irenicus from Baldur's Gate II

Why he should win: Several reasons, really. He's a badass CE wizard with a plot to suck the collective life out of the elven race to achieve ultimate power/revenge. He steals your soul and Imoen's too, and he has the voice for the job. Everything he says has an undertone of "I'm so far over your head..."


Irenicus is one of my favorite villains of all time. His voice acting is awesome, his characterization is atypical for an elf (even an elf wizard). You'd figure he'd be emo with his background, except that his background prevents him from being emo, with his missing emotions and all. Also, he actually succeeds in sucking out your soul, which is one of the rare times a villain actually succeeds in a game.

Kefka Palazzo from FFVI

He looks so dorky and yet is such a badass. He also actually wins and manages to throw the world into chaos before you find all your friends and take him down. He also actually has a sense of humor, ("You all sound like pages from a self-help book!") unlike Sephiroth, who never even speaks in FFVII. He also has one of the most disturbing-looking final forms (with that Giger-esque tower of Espers twisted into his image and a quasi-angelic/demonic appearance) I've ever seen. Plus, Dancing Mad rocks.

I've seen this elsewhere: Kefka took over the world because he could. Sephiroth tried to destroy the world because his mama said so.

[Darius Midnite]

Jack of Blades wasn't as scary to me, mainly because Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters wasn't much of a story. Yes, he's a scary satanic guy in a mask. Yes, he's after the most powerful weapon in the universe. YES, HE'S A FREAKIN' DRAGON! But he just lacked development. Most of Fable did. It's like it expects you to know these things right off the bat and leaves you with sparse, in any plot exposition.

Can't argue with you one that point. The game did had some flaws. "This boys village gets burned down, then he is accepted into an academy for heroes where he trains to revenge his family" Well gee. But, that's not the point. We're talking villains here, and the few times we did get to see Jack, I thought he was a spectacular character, even if he was "lacking in progress.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Still, I think it would have been better if we learned more about Jack as the game progresses, instead of just reading about it in an in-game book that most of us probably didn't even bother to read. And then we recieve that Big gobbet of information about him from the Oracle and that's it. If he had better exposition he'd probably be a lot more terrifying. I mean, if you don't read that book, the arena is the first time you learn of him. You should be able to have hints of who he is before you actually encounter him.

[Darius Midnite]

Agreed. Some knowledge about his past deeds would give the character some well needed background.

[TheOtherMC]

Horus fails in the end, though, although his villianry was indeed masterful.

Best 40k villian has to be the Deciever, one of the C'tan, the masters of the Necrons. He's manipulated so many people into doing what he wants, he basically runs the galaxy at this point, and that's only a slight understatement. He tricked his own bretheren into killing each other. He tricked the Necrontyr into becoming the Necrons. He has worshippers in the Adeptus Mechanicus. He's posed as Imperium planetary governors. He gave Commander Farsight the Dawnblade. The list goes on and on.

Wait, the whole Farsight=Cron thing is still just speculation right? There is no actual proof that The deciever gave him the sword (whether directly or indirectly) yet. Sorry for being nitpicky but Farsight is my hero, or at least one of them.

[....]

Jack of Blades reminds me of Slade from Teen Titans.

And he gave me my name in all online FPSes: "Ace of Knives"

[Leliel]

Seconded, the only emo villian(Besides Sasori :P) i ever liked anyways, I'm still not enterilly sure if he was the bad guy in the instance....

Oh, belive me he was a bad guy...just not an evil guy.

[Mr._Blinky]

Irenicus is one of my favorite villains of all time. His voice acting is awesome, his characterization is atypical for an elf (even an elf wizard). You'd figure he'd be emo with his background, except that his background prevents him from being emo, with his missing emotions and all. Also, he actually succeeds in sucking out your soul, which is one of the rare times a villain actually succeeds in a game.

"You will suffer! You will all SUFFER!" :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

[doliest]

I have to say, the 3 villians from KOTOR 2, not apart, but together, because they truly work together perfectly-

I forget his name or The mask guy-He is the face villian, you build up to him, see this great terrifying monster, but he is nothing, and it makes you wonder, just in time to basically learn he is a test, a tool, a shard used to see if you are ready.
Sion-This guy is death incarnated, literally you think he is un-killable, all the hints of him being some force-fueled god, I mean that first time I saw him, I was scared as anything, this guy would slaughter vader!
Kriea-The bretrayer, I mean seriously, strings you along and you never see it coming until.....she flips out and wipes out three jedi masters and(or) you easily not to mention making EVERYONE play like pieces on a chess board.(Also makes sidious look like a child when it comes to maniplulating other people.)

[Binary Stars]

He may not be the evilist, cruelist, or most psychotic villian, by a long-shot, but back when I first played Full Throttle, this guy was my first experience with a game villian who was a complete jerk:


http://www.tentakelvilla.de/vollgas/ripburger.gif
Adrian Ripburger.

He may not be out to take over the world, he may not be sadistic, but the man was a real prick, and made you want to hate him.

The man beat an old man with a stick while he was peeing and left him to bleed to death, slowly, then blamed it on the main characters. :smalleek:

[....]

I always wondered why Mr. Ripburger had so much spare facial area.

[Popuri]

Tough call...

Kefka is a good one. How many other video game villains actually perform genocide and don't just talk about it. Plus, he burns the same town down every month just to see how many times they'll rebuild it.

Megaman Juno from Megaman Legends. Creepy nice guy evil.

Zeromus from FFIV. Literally the physical incarnation of hate. Hard to get much more evil than that in concept, if not actions.

[potatocubed]

The elder Von Karma from Phoenix Wright. I was so pleased when I finally stitched him up.

I think Miles Edgeworth makes a better antagonist, but Von K was a proper villain.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff of Moddingham: Please don't do Thread Necromancy. Thanks.