Summary
- Final Fantasy 16 maintains the series' captivating storytelling and memorable heroes and villains, with one of the best narratives and a cast of incredible antagonists.
- Villains like Kefka, Sephiroth, and Emet Selch shine as standout antagonists, providing formidable challenges and adding depth to the game's story.
- Others like FF16's own Ultima do well to tap into the franchise's conventions and lore, but don't quite compare to other Final Fantasy classics.
In its more than 35-year history, the Final Fantasy series has remained synonymous with some of the highest quality storytelling found in video games. From the first game's breaking of an infinite time loop to clashes with literal gods, the conflicts that drive the games' heroes forward are just as entertaining as the games themselves. While many of the games in the series are associated with their iconic protagonists, it can be argued that the villains of the Final Fantasy franchise are the true stars of the story. After all, their actions are the impetus for the world-saving mission the heroes find themselves on.
For all the changes that Final Fantasy 16 brought to the series formula in an effort to modernize the franchise, it thankfully left the trademark captivating story and cast of memorable heroes and villains intact. In fact, Final Fantasy 16 features perhaps one of the all-time series best narratives and a cast of incredible antagonists that act as both foil to Clive and the embodiment of the series' traditional clashes with godlike beings. As great as characters like Barnabas Tharmr and Ultima are, they're simply the latest in a rich tradition of incredible antagonists.
S Tier
- Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) - Very few villains in Final Fantasy (or any other game, for that matter) can say that they actually win against the heroes. In Kefka's case, however, he doesn't only achieve his goal of bringing magic back, but he destroys the world and becomes a god in the process. Kefka is chaos personified and a true antagonist to Final Fantasy 6's incredible cast of heroes.
- Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) - Intimidating, mysterious, and endlessly cool, Sephiroth is essentially the Darth Vader of Final Fantasy. He is immediately recognizable as being the face of villainy in the franchise and is the kind of big bad that people can't help but want to know more about. His tragic backstory and life as a genetically-engineered deity add some reasoning behind his nefarious schemes.
- Emet Selch (Final Fantasy 14) - Creative Business Unit 3 has established itself as one of the best plotting teams behind Final Fantasy with its work on Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16, and FF14's Emet Selch is one of the best villains in the franchise's history. It's not often that players can find themselves agreeing with the villain and realizing that their aims are founded, but then again, Emet Selch isn't a typical villain.
- Ardyn (Final Fantasy 15) - For all the mixed reception surrounding Final Fantasy 15, it's hard to argue that it didn't have a supremely entertaining and captivating villain with one of the more heartbreaking backstories and motivations. Ardyn is manipulative and callous, but he has plenty of reason to be, making him somewhat of a sympathetic figure.
A Tier
- Golbez (Final Fantasy 4) - Even though Zemus is technically Final Fantasy 4's big bad, players spend the entire game facing off against Golbez and his plot to gather the crystals as a way to reach the moon. Finding out that he's the protagonist's brother is just the icing on the cake.
- Ultimecia (Final Fantasy 8) - Ultimecia is one of many Final Fantasy villains who attempt to manipulate time to become a god, but she actually succeeds in warping reality in her quest to gain unfathomable power. On top of that, she's got one heck of a fashion sense.
- Yu Yevon (Final Fantasy 10) - While both Seymour and Jecht are also major antagonists of Final Fantasy 10, the ancient summoner Yu Yevon is a fantastic villain in that he has locked the people of Spira into a never-ending cycle of destruction at the hands of Sin. The fact that he only wishes to continually summon Dream Zanarkand and he's the reason behind Tidus' materialization in Spira makes his defeat all the more tragic.
B Tier
- Exdeath (Final Fantasy 5) - Aside from his incredible concept art illustration by Yoshitaka Amano, Exdeath is a great villain deserving of a second look from what is maybe the most under-played mainline Final Fantasy. A sentient evil tree who wishes to return the universe to the void of nothingness, he's also the first villain in the series to outright kill a main party member.
- Vayne (Final Fantasy 12) - Vayne is a great villain from the Final Fantasy game with what is maybe the best cast of ancillary characters. He desires power above all else and even goes so far as to kill his own father and construct Final Fantasy 12's version of the Death Star to gain it.
- Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy 3/Final Fantasy 11) - As the only mainline villain to appear in two games, the Cloud of Darkness gets a spot above the villains from the first two Final Fantasy titles due to its great design and series longevity.
- Ultima (Final Fantasy 16) - Final Fantasy 16's main villain getting his name from the most powerful magic spell in the series canon says a lot about how the game's writers wished for players to view him. He is a being of immense power, but his selfishness and lack of connection to others denies him the strength to best Mythos.
- Kuja (Final Fantasy 9) - Kuja can technically be considered Zidane's brother in that he's his genetic counterpart, only he's missing the all-important component of a soul. His desire to wipe out all life on Gaia by merging it with the souls of the dead planet Terra is one of the more nefarious schemes in the series' history.
C Tier
- Garland (Final Fantasy) - Going off of what players learn in the original Final Fantasy alone, Garland gets some points for creating the infinite time loop that spawns the Warriors of Light. Otherwise, he's just not that interesting.
- The Emperor (Final Fantasy 2) - Similar to Garland, the Emperor isn't given much development as a character other than being the foil to Firion and his companions. That said, he does literally go to Hell and back to try and achieve his goals.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now for PS5.