Your favorite RPG villain?

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Irenicus from Baldur's Gate 2. Not only did he turn out to be a fairly sympathetic character once you begin to realize his motivations later in the game, but he genuinely gets shit done. Seriously, this isn't some pushover villain that stands in the background and monologues only to turn into a complete wimp once it's time to throw down, no, he's not only fully capable of kicking ass but does so multiple times throughout the game making him feel like a genuine threat.

Spoiler: He's the creepy torturer guy near the end...

Great shout. Ya gotta love arch-villains whose motivations are, when viewed in a certain light, perfectly understandable. For that reason, I gotta pick Dagoth Ur:

Spoiler: Do I really have to spoiler a game that is nearly ten years old? Yeah I do, because if you haven't played Morrowind you need to...

The whole Tribunal vs Ashlander account adds an interesting twist into the main quest; do you accept the Tribunal account that Dagoth Ur went mad with power and tried to steal the Heart, or do you accept the Ashlander accounts that Ur was loyal to the Nerevarine and was betrayed by a power-hungry Tribunal?

We need more moral ambiguity. There's nowhere near enough of it in games these days.

 

[rohansoldier]

I'm gonna have to go with Saren from Mass Effect. He made Mass Effect as strong a game as it was with his antagonistic presence. The sequel's story was a lot weaker without an antagonist like Saren.

I liked Saren as a villian but I didn't like how under utilized he was in the game. After he discovers Sheppard ativated the beacon, he goes into a dangerous rage and vows to her/him. Then he sends several hired goons to kill you on the way to the bar and then nothing else from him at all until you get to Virmire then fight him one last time on Citadel.

I see your point on this but I guess they didn't want to over use him whilst also allowing the player to see the extent of his schemes and the influence of the reavers.

It also allows the other characters like benezia to have some screen time.

 

[Vern]

I'm going to have to go with Kefka as well. He's just... batshit. Completely batshit. The fact that Final Fantasy 3(Goddamnit 6) is the best Final Fantasy helps.

 

[RuralGamer]

I'm going to go with Darth Malak from the first KotOR.

Bitchin' theme song too.

Possibly this guys as well; he was actually hard in a good way as well, as opposed to inconsistently difficult (Nihlus in KOTOR 2; some times he'd destroy me and others he'd go down in less than a minute), hilariously easy (Sion in KOTOR 2; Force Crush chain lock every time I was evil and he'd never get a hit in) and ridiculously hard (Traya and her floating lightsaber fan club from KOTOR 2).

He's an asshole as well, so that always makes a good villain as well; "oh well, this search for this specific Jedi is taking too long; destroy the entire planet she's on!"
One of the few final boss fights I really wanted to go back and play. I liked how he was a balance between Force and lightsaber combat, which actually made him more difficult to overpower.

 

[Haagrum]

Jon Irenicus from Baldur's Gate 2. In most RPGs I am motivated by the watching the plot unfold and/or powering up my character. In Baldur's Gate 2 my primary motivation was to make sure Irenicus died. That makes him a great villain in my mind. Besides the main villain in one of the greatest RPGs of all time should get some respect.

+1 for this. Seriously, I never wanted to beat down any RPG villain as much as Irenicus. What made it worse was that he was seemingly always two steps ahead, no matter what you did - he would get what he wanted, no matter what he had to do to achieve it, and that was that. Even on the one occasion where you pulled something he didn't see coming (arguably there are two), he pulled himself together in a heartbeat and got on with the job.

Spoiler

Even dying doesn't stop him, and neither does being trapped in limbo with your soul being his only chance of escape and survival. He did unspeakable things just to rip out your soul and he's hanging onto it come hell or high water.

Also, the Turian Councillor from Mass Effect. That bastard...

 

[RuralGamer]

Spoiler: Jade Empire spoilers inside

Sun Li from "Jade Empire". There is a REASON why this guy is called the Glorious Strategist, and does he ever earn it.

I second this vote! When you look up diabolical in the dictionary his picture is next to the definition!!

Darn I entirely forgot about him; forget a dictionary reference, someone should write a book titled "How to pull a Sun Li and become Emperor of the World"

 

[Furioso]

Lord Yggdrasil from Tales of Symphonia is one of my favourite RPG bosses ever. The reason being is that he is not just the usual "mwahahahah I'm evil" bosses, but in fact an incredibly tragic character that you end up feeling sorry for rather than hating, the fact that you don't meet him until about halfway throught the game and don't learn anything about him until further on is a pretty impressive feat of writing, for a videogame anyway.

He is a legend, a hero that however many years ago brought peace to the land, however he has been driven pretty mad by the poor treatment of his race (half elves) and the death of his sister and the one thing that he wants is to bring his sister back from the dead. He is willing to do anything and as we find out in the early stages of the game, his methods are pretty extreme, you have every right to hate this guy for what he has done to Colette and to pretty much everyone else. However, towards the end of the game, when he has finally has what he wants, his sister reincarnated inside of Colette, she rejects him, disgusted by the horror and the suffering that he has inflicted on the people. In the end, he is a broken pathetic being, one that you feel sympathy for rather than any hatred or fear for. Beating him at the end is an act of compassion, you are putting him out of his misery rather than simply beating him to save the world.

Oh that's a good one, I'm with you Yggdrasil is a great villain, first time I've seen a resurrection plan go wrong in that way too

 

[kingcom]

Really easy. Jon Irenicus. Madman? Power hungry? A lover scorned?

Regardless, he tried to take so much, do so much, be so much. And he was destroyed.


"I CANNOT be caged. I CANNOT be controlled. Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools!"


EDIT: Wow theres actually a lot of people saying the same thing.

 

[mikey7339]

KEFKA!!! Best villain of all time!

Gives the world a midgame nuking!

I must agree, there is no better villain than one that is not only pure evil, but also flipping out of his violently tiny little mind insane. (ie The Joker)

I'm going to have to agree and go with Heath Ledger, I mean the Jokeeer....I mean Kefka. With Sephiroth and Golbez pretty much tied with him for first place.

Game developers these days could take a note from the early FF games on how to make memorable characters.

 

[putowtin]

I'm gonna have to go with Saren from Mass Effect. He made Mass Effect as strong a game as it was with his antagonistic presence. The sequel's story was a lot weaker without an antagonist like Saren.

Agreed, I like the collectors and Harbinger's "Assuming Control" but their not a patch on Saren

Anyway, that was my first thought, but I had forgotten about the best written character in video games (as far as I have experienced):

Spoiler: KotOR II spoilers

"Know that there was once a Darth Traya. And that she cast aside that role, was exiled, and found a new purpose. But there must always be a Darth Traya, one that holds the knowledge of betrayal. Who has been betrayed in their heart, and will betray in turn."

It is such a quiet thing, to fall. Far more terrible is to admit it.

Traya is one of the best! Hand's down one of the main reasons I prefer KotOR II over I
(the other reason being Atton!)

 

[Clarity112]

I'm gonna say Jack Of Blades from the original Fable. The good Fable. He was so badass, until they changed his voice from suave british ************ to stupid over processed voice guy. YOU ALWAYS DO THIS PETER!

 

[Gizmo_Gia_Gias]

Albedo Pizzarolla comes to mind almost instantly. His masterful manipulation of his brother Jr.(Rubedo). The intense hatred he has for MOMO that is expressed in a very creepy pedophilic scenes. His attempt to kill the space pope, and the fact that he one of the few human sized characters you can fight with your A.G.W.S.(Giant Robots). His genius and his insanity are a terrific combo all brought together wonderfully by the voice acting skill of Crispen Freeman. When you get his backstory his character is fleshed out so much that he takes on a sympathetic quality in your mind. He just was a scared boy who did not want his power to cause him to be without his beloved brothers. If it was not for him I may very well have not finished the trilogy because the second game has the most annoying combat system I have ever seen.

 

[meowchef]

Darth Malak or Saren for me. Probably Darth Malak I guess.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Does HK-47 count? He's sorta villiany.

 

[Aiden Raine]

anyone that goes against Kefka is a traitor and must be summarily executed

seriously how can he NOT be the best ever?

simply because he's the best FF villain doesn't make him the best RPG villain.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Adachi from Persona 4, Seymour from Final Fantasy X, and Janus Cascade from Wild Arms 3.

I guess the common connecting thread is none of them are what they seem to be at the start, but all three of these guys are somewhat likable despite being Kefka-level sociopaths underneath their facade (who I would say but he's overdone by now).

 

[GartarkMusik]

Spoiler: Jade Empire spoilers inside

Sun Li from "Jade Empire". There is a REASON why this guy is called the Glorious Strategist, and does he ever earn it.

This, this, and totally this!! Seriously, this ************ planned for nearly everything! I think Saren from the original Mass Effect comes in a close second though.

Argh thank god there are people in this world who enjoyed this epic game. Undeniably one of the most underrated(From the point of view that I don't ever remember hearing about it from anyone) games ever and a true bioware gem. Also, he is one of the best villains ever and because I cannot think of any better at present my next pick is Darth Malak, a top contender if you ask me, followed closely by the archdemon, literally an entity of pure evil.

I don't think Jade Empire is underrated, at least not in The Escapist community. But yeah, remember in one of Yahtzee's videos where he talks about BioShock having an intelligent undertone that deconstructed the nature of linear gameplay? I respectfully think that Jade Empire did it first, because remember the visions of the Water Dragon foreshadowing everything that will happen, and then mid-game, it suddenly makes sense. BioWare at it's finest. Though I have no problem with the games they are releasing today, it's worth remembering that all of today's BioWare titles are standing on the shoulders of titles like Jade Empire, KOTOR, and Baldur's Gate.

EDIT: It was the BioShock 2 review where he said that, by the way.

 

[Joseph Harrison]

Saren Arterius if you count Mass Effect as an RPG (I do) and King Henselt from the Witcher 2 if you don't.