Is there a better villain than Kefka Palazzo?

[[sGs] Q]

I believe Kefka is truly the best villain in video games, of all time.
He's an absolutely madman with no backstory. Narcissistic and has no absolute care for anyone but himself.
Great and memorable villainous laugh and dialogue.

Not only that, but he was actually successful.
He became an actual God and even split the world into two. Literally.

 

[The Witch]

Yes, Sephiroth beats him. But Kefka is definitely second to Sephiroth. Don't forget Kefka was eventually defeated. And actually he does have a backstory, supposedly he was abused as child. There was a book that came out and it says he was abused as an orphaned child specifically. However, this book isn't confirmed canon, but fans have reason to believe that it is.

 

[greenyxi]

I prefer Kuja myself. He's similar in some ways to Kefka (completely nuts and intent on destruction), but Kuja actually destroys an entire planet by just looking around and waving his hand. Can't get much better than that .

 

[Dionysos]

Kuja comes close for me, but he doesn't quite beat Kefka.

The planet which Kuja destroyed was already a dying planet. Terra had been dying for thousands of years or so, and that's why the Terrans formed their plan of leeching from the life crystals of other planets. Kuja destroying Terra was still very impressive, but the act might be comparable to dropping an anvil onto a greenhouse.

Kefka devastated a planet which was otherwise healthy. He didn't stop there, but decided to then rule this ruined world as a god. He could have destroyed everything in one go if he had wanted to, but playtime wasn't yet over for Kefka! I've often wondered whether Kefka (or many FF villains that make the claim) was actually a god, in that a god would need worshipers to be classified as one. Kefka has worshipers and there is a (brainwashed) cult for him. He actually becomes a god.

Is there a better villain than Kefka? There are many different types of villains, I suppose. I'm quite fond of many villains in the FF universe, but Kefka beats all of them for me. I'm both horrified and entertained by him at the same time.

 

[Necrosis]

Kefka was nice but I feel that after you begin in the world of ruin (about half way into the game) things very much come to a halt for him as a character and he sort of fades into the background, no longer interacting in any form with your characters. You basically spend more than half of the playtime in the game with him being just a boss sitting and waiting on a dungeon.

While I like VI more than V as a game, I personally like ExDeath more as a villian than Kefka. He was more unique and badass imo and accomplished more with more style as well.

Of course I think Sephiroth tops both but I feel that ExDeath is very underrated. And while she is not a villain proper I think Yunalesca is amazing and she is probably my favorite of the series.

 

[The Witch]

how is kefka's destruction of the world any different than sephiroth's? both devastated the world in the same way. can someone explain that?

 

[Dionysos]

how is kefka's destruction of the world any different than sephiroth's? both devastated the world in the same way. can someone explain that?

There are very noticeable differences. There's still room for argument regarding how much damage Sephiroth did, or whether the threat of Sephiroth was equal to Kefka or even worse than him, but judging by the appearance of the ruined planet alone there are considerable differences.

Here is the World of Balance in FFVI:

Here the planet is still healthy. There are bad things happening in it still, such as Kefka killing a lot of people, etc, but the planet itself is still very much alive. The grass is green and the sky is blue. The landmasses remained unaltered. There might be global concerns regarding the Empire, but that's comparable to our concerns about various global threats that affect us. The planet itself still works to some extent and there is a chance for some people to just continue living and enjoy life in some way.

But then Kefka did this:

This is the World of Ruin. This is the same planet, but it is now disfigured. The landmasses are now catastrophically altered. Areas which had been underwater are now above water, but worst of all many areas that had been safely above sea level have been pulled down into a watery abyss. The horrific thing for us to consider is that all of the people on these landmasses will have been plunged down with it. Kefka had killed millions, if not billions (depending on how many people lived on the planet), of innocent people just in this game-changing act.

Even if you survived the landmasses going crazy, what world are you left in? The oceans and rivers are all poisoned and polluted. The grass doesn't grow a healthy green anymore and has started to die off. Many places do not even have grass anymore, but just have dusty earth and rocks. The sky is permanently reddish-purple. It might look like a beautiful sunset at times, but the horror follows it when you realise that this eternal sunset is the planet's last sunset, and it is marking the end of life on the planet.

If your dire chances of surviving this harsh new environment aren't bad enough, the maniacal man who caused all of this has built an enormous tower. From here this guy has started to be worshiped as a god, and he acts as such and smites individuals or entire populations for his amusement.

It really is no wonder that Celes nearly did what she nearly did. This world really was bleak.



Sephiroth was a major global threat too. There was lots of destruction which cannot be looked upon lightly, but at least in FFVII's world there were still many places which had a chance for life. If Sephiroth wasn't stopped then maybe we'd see a planet resembling FFVI's World of Ruin. However, we don't quite see the same results in the game of FFVII.

I'll have to double check regarding FFVI, but I'm not sure if the World of Balance in FFVI is even restored at the end of the game. If it is, then that's fantastic for the inhabitants (although many towns will be ghost towns since the entire populations were destroyed, and I'm sure many species of wildlife would be extinct). I have the impression that they are left with trying to rebuild the planet, but it is the World of Ruin which they are rebuilding. That is tough! It's less of a happy ending when you consider that many more of our beloved characters are going to continue to suffer, die of starvation, or end up diseased.

 

[Big Casino]

Kefka is a completely overrated villain. Moreso these days than sephiroth sama himself. FF has still yet to produce what id consider a great baddie. The closest they have came is seymour in FFX and that isnt saying much

 

[The Witch]

There are very noticeable differences. There's still room for argument regarding how much damage Sephiroth did, or whether the threat of Sephiroth was equal to Kefka or even worse than him, but judging by the appearance of the ruined planet alone there are considerable differences.

Here is the World of Balance in FFVI:

Here the planet is still healthy. There are bad things happening in it still, such as Kefka killing a lot of people, etc, but the planet itself is still very much alive. The grass is green and the sky is blue. The landmasses remained unaltered. There might be global concerns regarding the Empire, but that's comparable to our concerns about various global threats that affect us. The planet itself still works to some extent and there is a chance for some people to just continue living and enjoy life in some way.

But then Kefka did this:

This is the World of Ruin. This is the same planet, but it is now disfigured. The landmasses are now catastrophically altered. Areas which had been underwater are now above water, but worst of all many areas that had been safely above sea level have been pulled down into a watery abyss. The horrific thing for us to consider is that all of the people on these landmasses will have been plunged down with it. Kefka had killed millions, if not billions (depending on how many people lived on the planet), of innocent people just in this game-changing act.

Even if you survived the landmasses going crazy, what world are you left in? The oceans and rivers are all poisoned and polluted. The grass doesn't grow a healthy green anymore and has started to die off. Many places do not even have grass anymore, but just have dusty earth and rocks. The sky is permanently reddish-purple. It might look like a beautiful sunset at times, but the horror follows it when you realise that this eternal sunset is the planet's last sunset, and it is marking the end of life on the planet.

If your dire chances of surviving this harsh new environment aren't bad enough, the maniacal man who caused all of this has built an enormous tower. From here this guy has started to be worshiped as a god, and he acts as such and smites individuals or entire populations for his amusement.

It really is no wonder that Celes nearly did what she nearly did. This world really was bleak.



Sephiroth was a major global threat too. There was lots of destruction which cannot be looked upon lightly, but at least in FFVII's world there were still many places which had a chance for life. If Sephiroth wasn't stopped then maybe we'd see a planet resembling FFVI's World of Ruin. However, we don't quite see the same results in the game of FFVII.

I'll have to double check regarding FFVI, but I'm not sure if the World of Balance in FFVI is even restored at the end of the game. If it is, then that's fantastic for the inhabitants (although many towns will be ghost towns since the entire populations were destroyed, and I'm sure many species of wildlife would be extinct). I have the impression that they are left with trying to rebuild the planet, but it is the World of Ruin which they are rebuilding. That is tough! It's less of a happy ending when you consider that many more of our beloved characters are going to continue to suffer, die of starvation, or end up diseased.

That is a great deal of damage, indeed. How did Kefka do it exactly? (I never finished the game for my file kept getting deleted)

Kefka is a completely overrated villain. Moreso these days than sephiroth sama himself. FF has still yet to produce what id consider a great baddie. The closest they have came is seymour in FFX and that isnt saying much

I agree there. But the XV villain looks promising

 

[CassinoChips]

That is a great deal of damage, indeed. How did Kefka do it exactly? (I never finished the game for my file kept getting deleted)

He didn't, directly. But by moving the Goddess statues on the Floating Continent out of alignment, he unleashed their power, rearranging the face of the world. Then he used that power in the WoR to destroy whatever displeased him with his Light of Judgment.

 

[The Witch]

He didn't, directly. But by moving the Goddess statues on the Floating Continent out of alignment, he unleashed their power, rearranging the face of the world. Then he used that power in the WoR to destroy whatever displeased him with his Light of Judgment.

Wow, that is bad ass.

I need to finish this game before I comment more.

 

[Ed Elric]

I prefer Kuja myself. He's similar in some ways to Kefka (completely nuts and intent on destruction), but Kuja actually destroys an entire planet by just looking around and waving his hand. Can't get much better than that .

I agree completely.

Kefka was a pretty badass villain and completely crazy at that,

but I just felt Kuja to be more of a likable villain. Sure Kefka was a badass and could do whatever the bloody hell he wanted, I didn't like him.

Though now i think about it... I don't think you're supposeta like bad guys

Ya, I'd say he's the best at the worst

then Kuja....

but barely.

 

[The Witch]

after hearing about kefka's backstory, he's a very sad character to me. while he's a successful villain i can't help but feel bad (like I do with sephiroth).

so i think you can like bad guys, just like em for what they are and don't say they're somethin they're not. most fans tend to assign qualities and traits to villains in order to make themselves like them. when really, you can like a villain for being a villain

 

[Razberry Knight]

i dont understand kefka too much, and although a very interesting villain, he shines most in DIssidia more than FF6.....Kefka is designed to be a powerhouse more thana character that you can actually marvel at.

For one, Kefka makes no sacrifices whatsoever to get to the point he's at. Then again, most of the villains don't shine since FF9 i believe...

 

[Shaissa]

To expand on what Razberry Knight was saying.

He made no sacrifice and had no purpose in really wanting to destroy the world.... Only thing we really know is that he was experimented on to be able to use magic.

Throughout the game he wants everyone dead, yet there is no other reason why.... so yes he destroyed over half the world, but the real questions are:

A) was this his actual goal or was it just a mistake in conquest?
B) why does he want to destroy everything?
C) if his goal is destruction why does he leave anything left?

I do like Kefka as a villain, he kinda has the Joker thing going for him (in Batman), but I feel there are better in other video games.

 

[SquallKefka17]

You basically spend more than half of the playtime in the game with him being just a boss sitting and waiting on a dungeon.

Yeah but that is a pattern in FF Games isn't it be it Zemus in FF 4 or Sephiroth in FF7 both hiding out using mind control from afar. I don't think FF6 did Kefka justice in the world of ruin either thought he was a very interactive bad guy til then. Still he was the reason I got FF6 rather than the good guys can't say that about other FFs a lot of other FF villains come across as sort of snobbish to me Kefka was probably the most brutal villain in any FF for me even if he was more than just a subtle nod to the Joker from Square.

 

[FineOldFantaSea]

yes imo, sephiroth, seymore (he was creepy as hell like a child molester), kuja and even seifer are all more developed and interesting baddies. i dont dislike kefka as such, i just wish he was a more developed character.

 

[Cio]

I believe Kefka is truly the best villain in video games, of all time.
He's an absolutely madman with no backstory. Narcissistic and has no absolute care for anyone but himself.
Great and memorable villainous laugh and dialogue.

Not only that, but he was actually successful.
He became an actual God and even split the world into two. Literally.

IMO, NO...

But then i see your avatar, i can say i remember 1 best villain that can compare to Kefka, yes, SHE is Illyas from MGQ (Hentai Game). Her maniac and reason for doing evil bidding only because her loneliness...

 

[LinnyCockle]

I preferred Sephiroth on the whole. He was much more mysterious, much more threatening and had a sense of real dread about him for the first half of the game.
Kefka is much more implausible as a villain for me. He's a bit too insane to actually pull off the things he manages to.

 

[Gaminada]

Thats why people compare Kefka to the Joker, You don't think someone as crazy and unpredictable can pull of something as big as destroying the world and becoming a god.

Remember that quote from the Dark Knight? "Do i look like a man with a plan?" Even if he is crazy he still had to take the time to plant bombs, get himself captured in purpose etc... So even if they look crazy and don't seem to care about motivations or consequences, there is still some of genius behind

If i dare to compare villains, i would not just look at what they accomplished or what was their goal, but what was their motivation? Kefka just says "life,hope, dreams, where do they come from and where do they go? such meaningless things" so he pretty much has no motivation other than "for the lulz"

Sephiroth was kinda emo and had a mommy problem, and hated everyone for making him and taking the world from his mom... idk, he might look badass and be all stoic and mysterious but that motivation made him a bit unappealing to me.

Most other Villains that are Interdenominational monsters like Zeromus or Exdeath just had the goal of Destroying/Conquering the World/Universe, simple.

Seymour from FFX had what i think is the most retarded motivation to be the "Baddie" tl:dl *i want to kill everyone so no one can be killed*..... what do you make of that????