Highlights
- Hojo, the demented mad scientist behind Final Fantasy 7, spearheaded twisted experiments, adding peril to the heroes' journey.
- Ultimecia, a powerful sorceress in FF8, seeks to change fate through time compression, causing destruction to survive.
- Exdeath in FF5 represents pure evil, with a simple motivation to defeat those who oppose him and plunge the world into darkness.
Across sixteen mainline titles and numerous spin-offs, the Final Fantasy franchise has created some of the most terrifying and cruel characters in gaming. In a world where the heroes of the story are often driven into conflict with some sort of far-reaching empire or imperial authority, it makes sense that characters on the side of authoritarianism are some of the most vile people one can meet. Or if a game doesn't feature an evil empire, sometimes these characters are just plain nasty and have no reason for their cruelty beyond a tarnished soul.
8 Best Sephiroth Quotes From Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
One of the best villains from the Final Fantasy franchise, Sephiroth shows how iconic he continues to be with the following FF7 Rebirth quotes.
Whether it's destroying humanity with a cackle and a sense of glee or orchestrating some kind of conflict for their own gain, some of Final Fantasy's villains have been the most dastardly one can find in the entire industry.
1 Hojo
Demented Mad Scientist Sets Events Of Final Fantasy 7 In Motion
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
Among the many antagonists in Final Fantasy 7, ranging from Sephiroth to the various members of the Shinra Electric Power Company, one of the absolute worst of the bunch is Hojo. This demented mad scientist manages to be worse than nearly every member of Shinra with his twisted experiments.
As the one who spearheaded the SOLDIER program and the Jenova project, Hojo is largely responsible for most of the perils that the heroes of Final Fantasy 7 face. He is a disgusting man who tends to get lost in the deluge of outrageous villains in FF7 but is still one of the evilest rogues that Square has ever created.
2 Ultimecia
A Powerful Sorceress From The Future Who Plots To Destroy SeeD
Thematically, Final Fantasy 8 can best be described as how fate and destiny intertwine with grief and trauma. And no character more perfectly describes that than Ultimecia, the evil sorceress from the future who is destined to be defeated by SeeD. By setting an event known as Time Compression into motion, Ultimecia sought to change her doomed fate and survive by any means necessary.
9 Things Final Fantasy 8 Does Better Than The Other Main Games
There are a few ways in which Final Fantasy 8 is greatly superior to the other games in the franchise.
Though the true nature of her creation is left ambiguous, she is a nasty sorceress who will cause untold amounts of death and destruction to change her future. Numerous fan theories exist that she is a future version of Rinoa, who went mad after the death of Squall. But whatever it was that turned Ultimecia into the monster she is, she remains one of Final Fantasy's most devious antagonists.
3 Exdeath
The Ultimate Personification Of Evil
Exdeath appears in Final Fantasy 5, where he is introduced as the personification of all the evil and hatred in the world. First living inside a sentient tree, Exdeath was the result of millions of evil spirits co-mingling inside a forest meant to keep them at bay. After breaking the seal, Exdeath begins plotting to eliminate the Light Warriors.
Rather than being driven to villainy by some sort of tragic backstory, Exdeath is simply pure, concentrated evil in its rawest form. There is no grand plan beyond defeating those who oppose him and returning the world to complete darkness. Among the roster of villains that the heroes of Final Fantasy have faced, Exdeath is one with a frighteningly simple motivation that is still endlessly compelling.
4 Seymour Guado
Duplicitous Mage Who Seeks Power Through Murder
When Final Fantasy made the transition from the PS1 to the PS2, the powerful new hardware made it possible for more games to have voice acting than previous generations. As a result, villains became even more complex and Seymour from Final Fantasy 10 was able to benefit in some pretty fantastic ways.
Final Fantasy X: All Overdrives Of The Main Characters, Ranked
Overdrives are certainly one of the best parts of Final Fantasy X. Here is every characters Overdrives ranked.
This cruel summoner spends the majority of his time scheming behind the scenes of FF10, but once the mask is off, his callous nature becomes increasingly clear. He attempts to use Yuna to gain more power, as his marriage proposal to her is based entirely on a lie. A murderous, heartless man, Seymour is easily one of the most horrific characters to ever exist in the series.
5 Benedikta Harman
A Heartless Soldier Who Is One Of The Franchise's Best Villains
Final Fantasy 16
- Platform(s)
- PS5
- Released
- June 22, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Among the numerous things that Final Fantasy 16 does well, it's the villains. And Benedikta is not just FF16's greatest antagonist, she's one of the franchise's best and most fascinating sources of evil. This cold and merciless killer is a thorn in the side of protagonist Clive in the early stages of FF16.
Backed by an absolutely stellar performance by Nina Yndis, Benedikta's ruthless actions throughout the game are delightfully evil, and wondering what she'll do next is endlessly compelling. She also features in one of the game's best boss fights, as the multi-level fight shows just how cruel she can be.
6 Sephiroth
A Fallen Soldier With A Messiah Complex
After leaving their 2D sprites behind, Square opted to create something big and bold for the seventh mainline Final Fantasy game. With new hardware and a seemingly unlimited amount of space to work with, they ended up creating one of the most fascinating villains in the entire industry with Sephiroth. Driven to madness after discovering what Professor Hojo has done, Sephiroth seeks the Promised Land by any means necessary.
The result is murder, destruction, and genocide. Once seen as the greatest soldier who ever lived, Sephiroth throws everything away to achieve the godhood that he believes rightfully belongs to him. His majestic beauty makes his villainy even more alarming. His ability to manipulate, deceive, and gaslight Cloud throughout the game, as well as the untold destruction, is what makes this iconic villain so much fun to watch.
7 Kefka Palazzo
Irredeemable Mad Clown That Only Seeks Destruction
While a lot of villains are born out of tragedy or some sort of betrayal, the main antagonist from Final Fantasy 6, known as Kefka, requires none of that. He is simply an evil, sadistic harlequin who only wants destruction and chaos. His lack of empathy for life and humanity is what makes this maniacal clown so interesting.
Final Fantasy 6: All Versions, Ranked
There are a few different versions of Final Fantasy 6 that players can find, but only one can be the best version to try out.
In the swan song to Final Fantasy's 16-bit days, Kefka tortures the party with endless bouts of nihilistic violence and destruction. His trademark cackle is still haunting to this day, as this outrageous jester is still one of the most spectacular villains in the history of video games.
5 Final Fantasy Villains Who Deserve Their Own Spin-Off
Some of the most interesting characters in any Final Fantasy game is the villains, and some of them absolutely deserve their own spin-off game.
