Sony's Playstation lineup of consoles has been nothing short of a runaway success in the market. The original PS1 did a great job of giving some tough competition to what was Nintendo's monopoly on the console market at that point. Ever since then, each edition of the PlayStation has done a great job of giving deserving developers a platform to showcase their creativity, with Sony's in-house development studios being pretty remarkable in their own right.
Given Sony's focus on mature story-driven experiences, it only makes sense that they would push the idea of realistic characters with proper motivations, which was a stark contrast from the relatively simple narrative experiences that games pushed at that time. As a result, the PlayStation's lineup of characters has become quite massive and impressive, with their female villains being quite noteworthy in this regard. Here are some of the most iconic characters that Sony have placed in their consoles.
10 Ultimecia (Final Fantasy 8)
Ultimecia is an antagonist who does come out of nowhere after it's revealed that Edea was being manipulated in Final Fantasy 8. However, for what it's worth, her imposing presence in the final stages of the game coupled with one of the best final boss fights in Final Fantasy history more than make up for her surprise inclusion.
The theory of Rinoa being Ultimecia herself makes this antagonist even more engaging as well. It's easy to see why so many people vividly remember Ultimecia despite Edea being the major villain for a longer period of time.
9 Lady Maria (Bloodborne)
Lady Maria is one of the best and most epic boss fights in Bloodborne. The three phases this boss has are all pretty daunting in their own right, with both blood and fire being added to her regular attacks for massive damage.
Maria's tale is a tragic one, with her psyche deteriorating after committing various atrocities in the Fishing Hamlet. As a result, she was doomed to be trapped in the Hunter's Nightmare well after her death.
8 Nadine Ross (Uncharted 4: A Thief's End)
Nadine is a strong and powerful antagonist who appears to stop both Nathan and Sam during the events of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The fact that she got a starring role in the standalone expansion Uncharted: Lost Legacy shows how much fans loved this character.
The only reason she was opposing the Drake brothers was that Rafe Adler had hired her. Thankfully, it turned out that she actually had some semblance of common sense and told off both Rafe and Nathan before leaving them to duel to the death as they squabbled over Henry Avery's riches.
7 Marlene (The Last Of Us)
Naughty Dog has written some compelling female characters indeed. Such is the case with Marlene, who seems like a nice character in a world full of despicable people.
However, it turned out that Marlene was so fixated on finding a cure that she would sacrifice the life of an innocent child to secure the same. This didn't sit well with Joe, who shot up the entire building and killed Marlene in a bid to save Ellie's life.
6 Brooke Augustine (Infamous: Second Son)
Infamous: Second Son was one of the first games on the PS4 that made the most of this new and upgraded hardware. It was a great game that built upon the foundations of Infamous, despite some of its mechanics being somewhat dated.
The antagonist of this tale was Brooke Augustine, the director of the Department of Unified Protection who took an extreme stance against Conduits. She relentlessly hunted them down, which made it even worse when players figured out that this hypocrite was a Conduit herself!
5 Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)
Danganronpa is one of the best murder-mystery series that fans of the Ace Attorney franchise will have a great time with. Each game locks students into a twisted killing game, with the plot revelations in each game being pretty great indeed.
Each title places a major focus on the dastardly actions of Junko Enoshima, one of the evilest characters in the series. She's the reason why the entire world of Dangaronpa has been plunged into the apocalypse, with her nefarious presence being quite palpable even after her demise.
4 Lady Yunalesca (Final Fantasy 10)
Final Fantasy 10 was a resounding entry for the series that announced its arrival on a new generation of consoles in a truly incredible manner. The game is absolutely brilliant and modernizes the Final Fantasy formula in the best way possible.
The game is also full to the brim with challenging bosses, including Lady Yunalesca herself. After the party decides to fight back against the cycle of hatred that was tormenting Spira all this time, Yunalesca fights against them in one of the best and hardest boss battles in the game.
3 Katherine Marlowe (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception)
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception did a great job of expanding on Drake's backstory as an orphan, despite the clear issues it raised with the reveal of Drake's brother in Uncharted 4. It also had a great antagonist in the form of Katherine Marlowe.
Her obsession with Francis Drake's ring caused her to clash heads with Sully and Nate over and over again. Eventually, this obsession over the ring became so unhealthy that she ended up losing her life over it!
2 Abby (The Last Of Us Part 2)
Abby is the antagonist in Ellie's journey, there's no doubt about that. However, over the course of the game, players realize that there's more to this character than what meets the eye.
The cycle of violence is perpetuated in this game with Abby killing Joel over the death of her father. It's a defining moment in the series that kickstarts the events of the second game.
1 Kaileena (Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within)
Kaileena is a pretty intriguing character in Warrior Within, initially appearing to be on the side of the Prince before revealing herself as the Empress of Time. This was a huge reveal that put this antagonist in the Prince's crosshairs.
It's only later that the Prince finally realizes that both these characters don't need to fight at all. The Dahaka is the true antagonist, and the player can fight this nightmarish entity instead of killing Kaileena if they get all the Life Upgrades and manage to acquire the Water Sword.