Top 10 Final Fantasy Villains

Speaking of which, we certainly know how to pick them. In the final moments of “Final Fantasy IV”, the Lunarian magic user Zemus taunts the reformed Golbez and fellow hero Fusoya into killing him, which seems to be the end of it. But Zemus is not done – his corpse mutates rapidly and resurrects as the monstrous Zeromus. Besides the prospect of a surprise final boss, there's one more special element here: Zeromus arose from death purely on the strength of his hatred. Saying he has anger issues is an understatement.

Sometimes royalty is benevolent and sometimes it wants the world to be consumed by demons. This Emperor is the second kind, aiming for world domination by way of a conjured demonic army. He's an interesting man, to say the least – remaining cordial with his foes to a point, while still viewing himself as above them. The Emperor's short-sighted sense of entitlement is matched only by his sheer contempt for humanity, which raises the question of why he would want anything to do with ruling them.

We believe the expression here is “Take from the rich, give to yourself”. Such a principle defines Folles, leader of the anarchistic Corpse Brigade. Folles leads an aggressive campaign to change the land of Ivalice, but with the caveat that the Brigade never resort to the methods of bandits – he cannot stand ransom or kidnap. In that way, his eventual descent into vengeful action makes him an interesting sort of hypocrite – a man not so far above the people he leads, and one not as enlightened as the people he opposes.

The future is now. A truly gifted sorceress in a distant time to come, Ultimecia seeks to bend reality in just the right way to make herself a god. The extent of her manipulation can be felt everywhere – she possesses the innocent ambassador Edea to further her own agenda, convinces the aggressive Seifer to serve her exclusively, and ruthlessly takes control of the land of Galbadia. Say what you will about her arrogance and loose morals, she's quite the chess player.

Though the thought of Sin, the giant whale beast, does intrigue us, it is ultimately Seymour Guado who earns the spotlight. Seymour is a maester in the land of Spira, (Spee-rah) a well-respected magic user with a pleasant attitude and seemingly courteous nature, even fighting with your party at one point in the game. Yet his demeanour disguises something grim: a nihilistic view on the world, to the point of viewing death as a service to the living. Seymour's end game being the world's destruction and the end of humanity feels like the logical extreme.

Vayne, you magnificent devil. The son of the former Emperor of Archadia, Solidor is not one to stand around twiddling his thumbs. He's renowned for his deviousness as a poltician and his intelligence as a military leader – and will also go as far as murder to attain the role of Dynast King. From the sidelines, Solidor schemes and manipulates to fulfil his plans, though at his core he still pledges loyalty to his family and to Archadia. Look at that – he's almost admirable.

At once surprising and fascinating, Garland grabbed our attention. Starting as a fallen knight of Corneria who kidnaps the kingdom's Princess Sarah, this dark warrior quickly fell at the hands of the Warriors of Light. However, when the Warriors must travel back in time to confront the evil being Chaos, the truth becomes clear – Chaos is Garland, sent into the past and kept alive by creating a time loop. In so doing, Garland transitions from basic enemy (1) to genuinely threatening presence in a heart beat – even if his English is a bit spotty.

Manufactured beings sure are dissatisfied with life. This seems the case for Kuja, a Genome built to ignite war between fellow humans from behind the curtain. However, his plan actually runs deeper than that – he wants to be free of his creator and seeks to rule the dual worlds of Terra and Gaia. Kuja comes across as almost sympathetic, yearning for the freedom and purpose we all seek. Even if he is a villain, he's flawed enough to be relateable on some level.

The one-winged angel leaves his mark. Sephiroth is quite the villain: a tragic man fuelled by lack of identity and rage from being used. He began as a hero, a SOLDIER First Class who was admired by many – including the young hero-to-be Cloud Strife. That changed at Nibelheim, where he learned of his origins as a genetically modified being. Sephiroth's legacy is that of madness and devastation; whenever the fallen hero shows up, the death count is almost guaranteed to increase and the world gets a little more grim.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions – our one per franchise rule does not apply here:

Gilgamesh
“Final Fantasy V” (1992)
Exdeath
“Final Fantasy V” (1992)
Seifer
“Final Fantasy VIII” (1999)
Barthandelous
“Final Fantasy XIII” (2009)
Genesis Rhapsodos
“Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII” (2007)

There's a lot of reasons why Kefka stands out among the villains of Final Fantasy. He's certainly the most unrepentant, scheming behind his emperor Gestahl's back and gleefully slaughtering countless people. His plan is simple yet grandiose, consisting of destroying the world and attaining god-like power – both of which he manages to accomplish. He is the worst of humanity incarnate: arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, cruel, bloodthirsty, and sadistic to the point of madness. For us, though, it all comes down to that laugh – that creepy, one-note laugh.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Final Fantasy villain? For more endearing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.