Top 30 Final Fantasy Villains Countdown (Complete!)

Ah, Halloween is right around the corner. And Halloween gets me in the mood for villains. There’s just something about them that fascinates me. I couldn’t tell you what it is. Maybe it’s their range from sympathetic and charismatic to ineffectual and comedic to monstrous and terrifying that makes them so fun to analyze. Maybe it’s because without a villain, many stories would be a lot less interesting, or not happen at all. Maybe it’s how they reflect the darkness of the protagonist. I honestly don’t know why I find them so fascinating.

Now, my favorite video game series of all time is Final Fantasy. And because each game exists in its own self-contained universe and tells a different story, there are a lot of different villains for me to look at. So, in the spirit of Halloween, each day in October leading up to the 31st I will count down the 30 best villains to have graced the series. In terms of criteria, I’m ranking them on a few things- their motivations, designs, personalities, how competent they are, how intimidating they are, how good their fights are, their impact on the franchise and its fans, etc.

I actually started in October 1, but I only now decided to post this in other places.

Just from the get-go, no Final Fantasy games are off-limits (though only 2 are not from the main series) and some of the villains featured are from Final Fantasy XIV. By its very nature, the story is still going and hasn’t reached its conclusion yet, so there is a very real possibility more villains added from that game in the future I am unaware of as of this writing. Also bear in mind I haven’t played EVERY game in the series.

Lastly, HERE BE SPOILERS.

Now, here is the countdown itself! (Here are links to their entries on my blog. I have to get my blog out there somehow.)

#30
#29
#28
#27
#26
#25
#24
#23
#22
#21
#20
#19
#18
#17
#16
Honorable and Dishonorable Mentions
#15
#14
#13
#12
#11
#10 + Bonus
#9
#8
#7
#6
#5
#4
#3
#2
#1
Agree with my choices? Disagree? Feel free to let me know!

Any list without the all-powerful Aps is false.

... what? I have a soft spot for that boss, okay?

I'm halfway there now, and I'm breaking up the list with my honorable and dishonorable mentions.


Sorry, but if Don Corneo didn't make the list, his pet wouldn't have a chance.

I wouldn't expect it to. I just think it's kind of adorable that he is the big ugly amalgam of several different creatures who uses a self-damaging special move.

If Wiegraf Folles isn't #10 and/or Delita Hyrule doesn't make top 5 then this list is invalid. That's all I've got to say.

Well, you're half right. One of those two characters will be in the top 10. I won't say which one just yet.

Updated with #14!

I was going to upload 12 and 11 today, but I decided not to. 11 will be up either tomorrow or Monday along with 10.

I updated the list with #10, plus a little bonus where I discuss another character who would've been a shoo-in for the Top 10, but it's pretty debatable if he's actually a villain or not. You know what? I'll make that a poll.

If Kefka from ff6 isn't #1 then I will cry, everyone for some reason always picks sephiroth, but he's nowhere near as evil and awesomely villianious as Kefka. and that laugh...

best villian ever!

Sorry for hijacking your thread, just figured I'd remind you whose the best villian. lol

PS. You can tell I love ff6 the most, and Kefka as my main villian of choice... I even named one of my cats kefka. lol

I don’t mind you “hijacking” it, don’t worry. I wish more people would hijack the thread, frankly. And rest assured, I ranked Kefka ahead of Sephiroth. Is he #1 though? We’ll see soon enough. But VI is my favorite too. I’ll upload #9 later today.

(Incidentally this whole list was planned in advance, in case you’re wondering.)

At least he's ahead of Sephirioth. I did love ff7 (it was the second ff game I played after ff6), the gameplay, and the story was very clever and the characters... except for Cloud and Sephiroth, they annoyed me something serious. lol. I think Cloud should rank as his own worst villian!

It's fun to see a thread like this, ff is my favourite game series.

I just added #9. The reason he won out over #10 was because the final fight against #10 was bullcrap. If it hadn't been for that fight, Wiegraf would've been a bit higher on the list.

Yeah, can't agree more about Weigraf. Bloody stone, man. First time I played I accidentally locked myself into that third fight with a party that did not have the capacity to overcome him and had to restart the entire game. If it hadn't been such a rare gem of a game for its time I'd probably have stopped right then and there.

Agreed. In fact, that one fight is the reason I’ve never had the motivation to replay Tactics. Rest of the game was excellent. Probably my second or third favorite FF game overall.

@VillainFan42 which one is your favorite out of curiosity? Tactics has always been Final Fantasy's Magnum Opus to me, of course I haven't actually played them all. Played a couple of the earlier ones, 6-10 and 12 in addition to tactics. None came close to comparing, wondering if there's another hidden gem hiding in the pile I haven't touched worth my trouble.

My personal favorite is VI, and my 2nd favorite is a toss-up between X and Tactics. I also love XIV but that’s an MMO so that’s its own can of worms.

vi is the greatest final fantasy of all times, I love it the very most, all the characters are amazing and awesome and I secretly wanna marry Edgar!

But I also love 13. the characters were very good, and I haven't had the chance to play the sequels yet. (sorry, just saw the latest villian and your note on how you didn't really enjoy 13).

I really hated 10 and 12 though. I couldn't get more than a few hours into them before giving up. Not sure what it was, but i just couldnt get into them. especially 10, 6 hours in and i was still bored! lol.

The top 5 has kicked off with the best of the worst. The #1 villain will be posted on Halloween. Stay tuned!

Ooooooh! Two more to go! which will be Kefka? 1 or 2, and who have you chosen as the other? I've been wracking my brain, and I have no doubt when you reveal them I'll be all... Ah Yes!

BTW, did you add Uultros from ff6 anywhere? because he was epic, and really annoying, which would make him one of the best villians ever! lol.