The Final Fantasy series is chock-full of some truly fantastic video game characters. Each entry will usually require its protagonists to journey across vast lands, obtain great power, and finally, defeat a devastating evil. These evils can take many forms depending on the entry, but they all share a similar goal.
The sole purpose of each Final Fantasy game's main villain is to prevent the protagonists from moving forward. Though most of them enhance the overall plot, some are severely under-utilized and will often meet their ends much too quickly. There are many examples of this throughout the series, but some villains receive less favorable treatment than others.
5 Doctor Cid (Final Fantasy 12)
Cid is one of the best villains in Final Fantasy 12, but he gets sidelined much too often. His lust for power resulted in his son, Balthier, abandoning him to search for a better life. Balthier couldn't stand to watch his father succumb to his own greed, so he gave up his life in Archadia in the hope that maybe Cid would see sense. With no one to stop him from pursuing his goals, however, Cid came into contact with a godly being who promised to reward the foolish scientist in exchange for his help.
Cid is a classic example of what too much power can do to a person. His obsession with harnessing the power of Nethicite corrupted his mind and eventually led to his downfall. He was a compelling villain, but his time in Final Fantasy 12 was quite short compared to the game's main antagonist, Vayne. Vayne was also transfixed with power, but he wasn't nearly as interesting. If Cid was the primary villain, perhaps the strained father-son relationship between him and Balthier could have been explored more.
4 Yunalesca (Final Fantasy 10)
Upon completing her pilgrimage, Yuna is summoned into the ruins of the Zanarkand Temple to meet with Lady Yunalesca. While there, the unsent summoner informs Yuna that the only way to defeat Sin is to sacrifice one of her comrades and turn them into an Aeon. The party is shocked by this revelation, but they refuse to turn back. However, Yuna has no intention of sacrificing anyone. She confronts Yunalesca on how the tradition of sacrificing summoners should be discarded, but Yunalesca refuses to listen.
The party is then forced to battle Yunalesca to ensure their survival. It can be quite challenging given her unusual abilities, but she goes down relatively easily if the player is patient. Once the battle is won, she accepts her defeat and fades away. Yunalesca is one of the most intimidating villains in Final Fantasy, but her time in Final Fantasy 10 is short-lived. Perhaps if Seymour didn't return so often, Yunalesca may have gotten a chance to shine.
3 Aranea (Final Fantasy 15)
While infiltrating a Niflheim military base, Noctis and his sworn protectors end up encountering their deadliest foe yet: Aranea Highwind. Aranea is a highly renowned mercenary and the highest-ranking commodore of the Niflheim Empire's Third Army Corps 87th Airborne Unit. As such, she is capable of performing some tremendous feats, particularly while engaging enemies in midair.
Aranea introduces herself to Noctis by leaping at him from the sky and locking her lance with his sword. She mocks the young prince by complimenting his appearance before returning to the sky to prepare for battle. Noctis will then need to ascend to the heavens to meet her attacks, allowing for one of the most enjoyable battles in the game. Aranea retreats after Noctis defeats her, but she returns later as an ally to aid him. Her transition from foe to friend is abrupt, leaving much to be desired regarding her sinister motivations.
2 Yu Yevon (Final Fantasy 10)
Sin is portrayed as the main antagonist of Final Fantasy 10 for most of the game's duration. The beast spends the majority of the narrative wreaking havoc across all of Spira, further prompting Yuna and her companions to vanquish it. It appears to be humanity's greatest threat, but only when Yuna defeats Yunalesca does she learn of the reason for the creature's existence.
Yu Yevon, a summoner who lived one thousand years before the events of the game, created Sin as a means of preserving his mind. He did so during the Machina War by manipulating the pyreflies of dead soldiers. He has since been using Sin to enact revenge on Bevelle for destroying his home, but his mind is no longer what it once was. Learning that Sin was nothing more than a suit of armor was a truly shocking reveal, but it might have meant more if Yu Yevon was more central to the plot.
1 Hojo (Final Fantasy 7)
Hojo is one of the most intimidating villains in Final Fantasy for a variety of different reasons. Unlike most villains in the series, this sinister scientist lacks the necessary power to conquer the world. He instead tends to focus his efforts on creating monsters through experiments; Sephiroth is his most successful. Without Hojo, the SOLDIER program wouldn't exist and, therefore, neither would Cloud.
He is first encountered during Cloud's trip to the Shinra Headquarters where he is found interrogating Aerith. Cloud offers some information about the scientist's past, but the most notable tidbits are only discovered by progressing the story. Hojo is later revealed to be Sephiroth's biological father. It's a shocking revelation, but it never leads to anything. Though Vincent Valentine's optional storyline offers some crucial information about Hojo's past, the end result leaves more questions than answers. Hojo fulfills his role as the secondary antagonist quite well, but a great deal of his character remains unexplored due to the emphasis placed on Sephiroth.