One of the hallmarks of the Final Fantasy series is its stellar character design. With heroes come villains and with well-designed heroes come impressive villains. In this case, the villains in Final Fantasy become quite damning figures on a globally catastrophic scale.
While Final Fantasy contains monsters among its rank of villains, some characters merely fought for the wrong cause. Others fought only due to their horrible circumstances. Read our list below to learn the five most damning villains vs. the redeemable souls who could not fight the odds stacked against them.
Please be wary of the major spoilers below.
10 Most Intimidating: Kefka
When one thinks of irredeemable villains, Kefka always comes to mind. Initially a supporting antagonist to the Empire, in Final Fantasy VI, Kefka revealed his true intentions when he appeared on the Floating Continent. Once he realigned the Warring Triad statues, Kefka became a god unmatched in magical power and destroyed the world. The following year he enforced his dogmatic, tyrannical ways, opting to use the Light of Judgment indiscriminately to smite humankind.
However, even before his evolution, Kefka was not above genocide. Using poison to kill the citizens of the Kingdom of Doma, Kefka delighted in killing civilians. Even before his ascent to godhood, Kefka represented the worst of humankind.
9 Most Tragic: General Leo
Perhaps the polar opposite of Kefka, General Leo strived to fight for what was right. Despite aligning himself with the Empire, he went above Kefka's mass-murdering tactics. Although he fought for the wrong side, he always believed in avoiding the most bloodshed.
Sadly, Leo's demise came too soon. Kefka discovered that Leo was helping the Resistance. As Leo stood against Kefka, he fell in battle to the mage general. His demise was followed by a funeral service to remember the good he tried to accomplish while serving the awful military who used his life.
8 Most Intimidating: Sephiroth
For the Final Fantasy VII veteran, Sephiroth seems like a tragic character at first. He was an upstanding SOLDIER, the best fighter in the world, and even played a sort of mentor figure to young Cloud at first. However, when he learned of his true identity - created from the cells of Jenova - Sephiroth went berserk and burned down Nibelheim. Being the son of the demented Professor Hojo, the One-Winged Angel never got to live an ideal life.
Despite his past and his insanity, however, Sephiroth quickly learned his path in life. He believed in his destiny and would carry it to the end. He indiscriminately killed Tifa's father and Cloud's mother. Plus he would later continue his bloody warpath through Shinra's halls. Eventually, he killed Aerith Gainsborough and set to destroy the entire world with Meteor. Even his theme song brings chills down the player's spine.
7 Most Tragic: The Turks
Shinra's elite task force, The Turks, consists of Rude, Reno, and their leader, Tseng. In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, they're allies with the protagonist, Zack. However, the Turks are assigned with dirty jobs, even the ones they must accept reluctantly.
When the Turks sent the Sector 7 plate crashing down, they committed mass-murder. However, Tseng justifies their actions indicating that if they weren't the ones to do it, someone else would have done the job. Not only that, but given Shinra's firepower, they might have become wanted men against the Shinra empire had they chosen to disobey.
6 Most Intimidating: Emperor of Palamecia
Emperor Mateus, from Final Fantasy II, started a brutal war. When the heroes defeated him in battle, they all fell into his plan. He would enter hell to send demon armies to the world. Several noteworthy characters, including Minwu, died at his hands.
The Emperor not only took over hell but heaven as well. He awaited in Arubboth, seeking forgiveness from his slain victims. As they hesitated, the heroes' loved ones on Earth reminded them that Mateus was continuing his battle in hell. Perhaps the intimidating thing about him was that he planned to conquer the afterlife and all of Earth's inhabitants beyond death.
5 Most Tragic: Jecht
Sin is Jecht. Auron's words rung through Tidus' ears as the first major plot twist of Final Fantasy X revealed itself. The cataclysmic being that committed mass genocide was the protagonist's father. This was all too hard to bear even for someone who resented the former guardian and Blitzball star player.
Jecht was Summoner Braska's Final Aeon to defeat Sin. In doing so, the Final Aeon became Sin itself, repeating the cycle ten years later. Jecht never wanted to become Sin. He wanted to save the world and ended up destroying large parts of it. He loved Tidus but could never show it. Yet at the end of the game, Jecht resigned himself to his fate and faced his son one final time before dying in his arms.
4 Most Intimidating: Kuja
Much like Sephiroth, Final Fantasy IX's Kuja presents himself as a tragic villain. He feels it's unfair that he was created and that his life span would end soon. Kuja took vengeance by activating his Trance and obliterating all of Terra.
However, Kuja was but a narcissist. He killed Garnet's mother in cold blood and set his own ambitions onto the world of Gaia. Once he learned the truth of his existence, he chose to defy it by asking, "why should the world exist without me?" Kuja's ego would not allow the world to live without him and sought to destroy it. If he couldn't be a part of it, no one could.
3 Most Tragic: Golbez
Final Fantasy IV took multiple cues from Star Wars. "Biggs and Wedge" were characters, the Imperial Fleet was the initial enemy, and the dichotomy of light and darkness came from the designs of the hit space opera film. Perhaps the most pressing element was Golbez who seemed to take on a Darth Vader role to Cecil. Instead of the protagonist's father, however, Golbez was Cecil's long-lost brother.
This soul was possessed by a malevolent moon being named Zemus. Under Zemus' possession, Golbez sought to collect the four elemental crystals and plunge the world into ruin. However, Golbez committed mass murder under Zemus' direction without a will of his own. Once Golbez regained control, he sought to atone immediately by beelining to the moon to fight Zemus one more time. In the end, after the demon's defeat, he chose to stay on the moon to repent for his sins.
2 Most Intimidating: Chaos
Known as the knight, Garland, the main enemy of Final Fantasy I fights the party before being slain. However, he sends himself back in time and sends the four elemental fiends out to destroy the world. Once the party defeats the fiends, they learn the truth and travel back in time.
Garland sought to live in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. His selfish desire meant throwing the world into a time loop where he fulfills his own ambitions without the risk of death. Once the party confronts him, he becomes the terrifying being, Chaos. A life with Chaos meant an endless loop of pain and suffering.
1 Most Tragic: Delita
Delita Heiral, from Final Fantasy Tactics, would become King of Ivalice. He would strive for any means necessary to achieve his goal. However, he never hated his friend, Ramza, and promised nothing but his love for his wife, Ovelia, who betrayed him.
To this day, Delita remains the subject of debate. Was he evil for killing his wife in self-defense or manipulating the heads of Ivalice into war? Or was he a good man who achieved his goal by turning villains against one another in order to unify a kingdom? If no other, peaceful methods would work, Delita resorted to more drastic measures. His ambition was pure, void of corruption, and set to build a better future than Ivalice's present. In doing so, Delita became perhaps the single best example of moral gray in Final Fantasy history.