Our Favorite Video Game Villains | GameSided Roundtable

2 of 2

Erik Sugay

I guess this depends on the type of character interpretation with which you approach the player character; Wander, from Shadow of the Colossus. He crosses into a sacred and forbidden land, strikes a deal with an almighty and unknowable power, and willing sets forth to slay 16 beautiful creatures. Most of them only attack as a response to his assault (one of them doesn’t even ever attack you! It just lets you kill it!); they’re generally just going about their lives in peace. After the death of each Colossus, you can feel the beauty fade from the world and you can gradually see the darkness physically consume Wander, but still he (and the player) ventures on.

The reason he’s committing these terrible acts is to resurrect someone he cares about deeply. I honestly can’t say I wouldn’t consider crossing some lines if it meant the chance to bring back someone who means the world to me. It’s hard to fault the actions of someone going through such immense grief and I believe the best types of villains (or any characters, really) are the ones with flaws. They’re the ones you can sympathize with; the ones who could just as easily be considered heroes as they are villains.

Daniel George (Twitter)

Final Fantasy VI Spoilers!

Without a doubt, my pick for favorite video game villain has to go to Kefka from Final Fantasy VI. What makes him my favorite? It’s because, for a time, the villain actually wins.

More from News

Kefka is a general for the Empire but often represents himself early in the game as an evil clown. He burns down castles, poisons entire civilizations and enslaves young women and molds them for magitek destruction. All of this comes as a henchman for Emperor Gestahl, placing Kefka in a position that makes him the aggressive lackey. However, you start to see his machinations unfold piece by piece, eventually moving to disrupt the flow of magic itself and harnessing its power to become a god.

At the halfway point in Final Fantasy VI, Kefka achieves total victory. He can control magic at will, extolling justice through the power of the Light of Judgment while sitting upon his mountainous tower. He has the power to level towns at the blink of an eye. He can only be defeated by a readied party, with a final boss battle that mirror’s Dante’s Inferno. He is wholly unlike most other antagonists in video games, making him my odds-on favorite. Plus, his end-game medley is some of series composer Nobuo Uematsu’s finest work.

More from GameSided

Looking to write about video games? Join us at GameSided! Contact me to apply or if you have any inquiries/tips: daniel.george@fansided.com.

Home/News