Your favorite RPG villain?
- Thread starter renegade7
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Kefka would be my top one. The battle against him felt more personal, since he starts weak like you, then builds up to a God. He does what he wants, when he wants. And there's his laugh.
Then, Gilgamesh: "Enough expository banter! Now we fight like men! And ladies! And ladies who dress like men! For Gilgamesh...it is morphing time!"
Then, Gilgamesh: "Enough expository banter! Now we fight like men! And ladies! And ladies who dress like men! For Gilgamesh...it is morphing time!"
Saren from Mass effect. For me the quality of an villain isn't how evil or hateful they are.
It's how sympathetic they are.
I could understand Saren's motives. In fact, some part of me even wondered if he had the right idea. What if defying the reapers really was the wrong thing?
THAT's what makes a great villain. When they can make you question your own motives and decisions. That makes them believable. I never really enjoy your typical 'Villain.' Usually, they're just some generically power-hungry or psychotic killer. The ones that have motivations that normal people could sympathize with are much more interesting because they add more depth to the story.
It's how sympathetic they are.
I could understand Saren's motives. In fact, some part of me even wondered if he had the right idea. What if defying the reapers really was the wrong thing?
THAT's what makes a great villain. When they can make you question your own motives and decisions. That makes them believable. I never really enjoy your typical 'Villain.' Usually, they're just some generically power-hungry or psychotic killer. The ones that have motivations that normal people could sympathize with are much more interesting because they add more depth to the story.
I won't spoil it, but my favorite is the main villain in Jade Empire. To get to what you think is the end only to realize the true bad guy was pulling the strings the whole time and your journey is only half over, it was amazing the first time I played it and it still is.
Reaver. ._. From Fable 2/3. Something about him is just amazing to me. Maybe it's the fact he was voiced by Stephen Fry.
I vote Saren. As someone else said, he made Mass Effect the game it was.
He was almost a tragic villain, doing the evil things he did for the good of all races.
As much as I loved ME2, Harbinger just wasn't as strong as villain.
Here is hoping ME3 has as strong a bad guy to round out the trilogy in style.
He was almost a tragic villain, doing the evil things he did for the good of all races.
As much as I loved ME2, Harbinger just wasn't as strong as villain.
Here is hoping ME3 has as strong a bad guy to round out the trilogy in style.
He was less calm at the tree but in his defense, you did survive being de-souled, fighting two or three dragons, and hordes of mooks he threw at you. Also there was that thing in the Underdark.... and you did just interrupt his nigh Ascension to godhood so yeah the " ELVEN JESUS CHRIST! WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS OF BAATOR AND THE SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SIX LAYERS OF THE ABYSS DOES IT TAKE TO KILL YOUR HALF BRED GODLING ASS!?" thing was kind of warranted. It also took him the whole game to finally lose his cool for a moment.[/quote]Thedek said:
Interesting observation.
Anyway I am going to piss some people off with this (which is why I will enjoy writing it):
I last played BG2 two years ago and FF6 earlier this year. Growing up in the 90s I felt that Kefka was a fantastic villain - one of my favourites. If this question was posed last year I would have considered putting him as number one. But playing it again recently I found him a bit cheesey and cartoony. Irenicus, on the other hand, stayed as potent an enemy as when I first remembered.
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.GartarkMusik said:
This. A thousand times.The Madman said:
To be a good villain, you have to be at least able to understand their point of view. People that are just stupidly evil for the sake of it are not interesting to me.
I'll also add my vote to Sun Li.
I'd have to go with Lavos from Chrono Trigger. This spiny monster really embodies alien nature: it's implacable, inscrutable, faceless, and uncommunicative. Yet, it's motivations and actions are entirely understandable once known. It destroys the world, but not out of some desire for conquest, revenge, or a philosophical viewpoint, but merely as a side effect of it's own life cycle.
I second this vote! When you look up diabolical in the dictionary his picture is next to the definition!!Kimarous said:
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.
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.