Highlights
- Chaotic evil villains in Final Fantasy showcase different aspects of their alignment, from mad science to destructive ambition.
- Villains like Hojo, Zeromus, and Seymour embrace nihilistic beliefs, leading to world-ending actions.
- Characters like Kefka and Bergan prioritize strength above all else, making them deadly, ruthless enemies.
Cackling, self-absorbed, and self-destructive characters, defined as "chaotic evil" by Dungeons & Dragon's moral alignment system, are akin to natural disasters: there is no reasoning or negotiating with them; the best course of action is to run and hide. While some are certainly mindless killers, they can also be highly intelligent, which only adds to their levels of threat.
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Chaotic evil tends to be the most straightforward and obvious form of "bad guy," and although Final Fantasy has a fine rogues' gallery of ruthless, string-pulling villains, the series also has its fair share of mirthful murderers, each with their own take on evil chaoticism. Each villain showcases different aspects of the alignment, from ice-cold nihilism to red-hot, universe-burning temper tantrums.
Hojo - Final Fantasy 7
Throws Out Ethics In The Pursuit Of Knowledge Even At The Cost Of The World
Final Fantasy 7
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original) , PC , iOS , Android , Nintendo Switch , Xbox One , PS4
- Released
- January 31, 1997
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- This Shinra scientist is willing to put aside ethics to gain more knowledge, even if it kills him
- Hojo is destructive to everyone around him, including his colleagues, his unfortunate "experiments," and the planet itself
Anyone looking in from the outside would assume that a scientist of all people, even one working for the Shinra Electric Company, would be interested in furthering human understanding through the slow process of the scientific method, if only for knowledge itself and not for the benefit of society. Hojo's actions throughout Final Fantasy 7, however, place him firmly in the "mad" scientist category as he embraces the more "experimental" side of data acquisition with total contempt for ethical standards.
Hojo's early work included injecting pregnant women with unstable genomes to turn their babies into ghastly monsters, but his true passion involved putting the entire planet at risk to test his Jenova reunion hypothesis. Later, in Dirge of Cerberus, long after the Jenova cells destroyed his body, he attempted to trick the planet into sending its lifestream into the Omega Weapon through a computer proxy and by possessing Deepground's Weiss the Immaculate.
Neo Exdeath - Final Fantasy 5
The Culmination Of Evil Magic And The Void Incarnate
- Exdeath was born from the evil souls of mages and monsters combined into a tree
- When absorbed by the void, he returns with a desire to see everything in existence erased
For a tree (with roots and all), the main villain of Final Fantasy 5 sure has boundless ambition. After an amalgamation of evil monsters and mage souls got trapped inside the Great Forest of Moore, they combined together to make a seed, and Exdeath was born. Being a tree, and having noticed that many humans inhabit houses made of wood, Exdeath got to work building the inverse: a castle made of disgusting, pulsating corpses.
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Exdeath is not on some environmental crusade against industry or humanity; before leaving his birthplace, he had all the other trees burned down in a ruthless display of contempt for his fellow flora. When the heroes defeat him in the rift, he loses control of the void, which consumes him and turns him into Neo Exdeath, promising to end everything: memories, dimensions, and all existence.
Bergan - Final Fantasy 12
The Mad Dog And Supreme Judge Of Archadia
- This high-ranking member of the Archadian military respects strength and strength alone
- He follows orders for the most part until he can get away with shedding bloodshed for his own amusement
Some chaotic evil characters embody the philosophy of "might makes right," the idea that only the most powerful deserve to live, usually when they themselves have a chance at securing the top spot. Judge Bergan from Final Fantasy 12 is a prime example, displaying contempt for the weak and respect only for the strong and the cruel.
Bergan conceals his rabid affection for violence enough to maintain the highest rank in the order of judges, but when let on a long leash, he drinks in his pleasure's worth of slaughter, as demonstrated by his massacre of countless innocents on Mt Bur-Omisace. Although he doesn't rank amongst the most powerful Final Fantasy villains, his position and penchant for chaotic malice make him a deadly enemy.
Zeromus - Final Fantasy 4
The Manifestation Of A Powerful Psychic's Hatred
- After being defeated, Zemus is reborn as "Zeromus," the spirit of everlasting hatred
- The only thing that will sate his wrath is the end of all things
The big bad pulling the strings over everyone's head (most prominently Golbez) in Final Fantasy 4 was Zemus, who was more or less a level-headed villain (despite bouts of megalomania and seeing his own people as mere tools). Upon being defeated, however, his soul is transformed into a beast named Zeromus, the personification of his vengeance, hatred, and spite. He declares that he will only stop when the last of the universe is flushed away.
After his defeat, Zeromus promises to linger so long as there is still hatred in the world. Zeromus stayed true to his word as he appeared in The After Years as a boss hidden in the depths of the Red Moon, awakened on behalf of an even more powerful being than Zemus had ever been. Perhaps as a little nod to previous games, Zeromus shares his name with an esper in Final Fantasy 12, who is described as the "ultimate law abider."
Seymour Guado - Final Fantasy 10
The Nihilist Killer Who Wants To Tip Over The Spiral
- While he plays by the rules for those outside his inner circle, his ultimate goal is the eradication of all life
- He believes in a twisted form of nihilism that views death as a blessing
Seymour's chaotic nature is not immediately apparent when first encountered in Final Fantasy 10. He seems law-abiding and respectful. However, his true motivation for attaining power, born from experiencing a tragic upbringing, is to end all life in Spira, ending what he sees as an endless spiral of despair. As such, he falls firmly in the chaotic evil category.
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Seymour has internalized the belief that death is a release from pain and so views murder as a generous act. Even if he has managed to convince himself that mass murder is altruistic, he is still going against the law of Spira (Yevon) and the consent (to say the least) of his victims, who would, upon being "freed," either return as tortured unsent or live on as fiends.
Kefka - Final Fantasy 6
The Quintessential Chaos Clown & Evil God Of Magic
- Kefka follows the orders of the Emperor, but only to further his bloodlust and desire for chaos
- In true chaotic evil fashion, he murders the Emperor and takes all the power for himself, razing the world
Probably the easiest example of chaotic evil in Final Fantasy (or any media) is Kefka, a magic-born, homicidal clown who spends most of his time in Final Fantasy 6 struggling to hold himself back from attacking every living thing he sees in order to complete his mission on behalf of the Emperor. That said, he does have his murderous moments throughout the story.
However, when the Emperor is finally within the grasp of enough power to rule the world with magic, he betrays him, taking it for himself. In exemplary chaotic-evil fashion, Kefka, now the living god of magic, ruins the world. He then proceeds to construct a tower for himself so that he can torture and kill the remnant souls still clinging to their doomed existence by shooting them with his divine judgement.
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