The 10 Greatest Video Game Villains (Imo) - Spoilers
EXPECT MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALL OF THE GAMES LISTED.
These are, in my opinion, probably the 10 greatest villains that i've ever encountered in video games. They are not necessarily the most iconic and well known, nor the bosses that gave me the most trouble when fighting them or something. These are simply my picks for the greatest video game villains that I have seen in terms of writing, impact and how memorable they are. Each of these villains represent something unique and give a different take on the concept of evil and villainy, something that can often feel quite baseline and uncreative in the medium - but each of these villains offer something special.
These are, in my opinion, probably the 10 greatest villains that i've ever encountered in video games. They are not necessarily the most iconic and well known, nor the bosses that gave me the most trouble when fighting them or something. These are simply my picks for the greatest video game villains that I have seen in terms of writing, impact and how memorable they are. Each of these villains represent something unique and give a different take on the concept of evil and villainy, something that can often feel quite baseline and uncreative in the medium - but each of these villains offer something special.
10 Games
Gaunter O’Dimm
And here it is! The top spot! In my opinion, Gaunter O’Dimm is the greatest video game villain of all time and it doesn’t actually take much for that to be the case! As far as unique, fascinating villains go, Gaunter O’Dimm has to take the cake owing to his simply fucking amazing writing and general presence in the game.
O’Dimm appears in the Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone DLC, but you actually meet him much much earlier on, at the very beginning of the game in fact, at an inn in White Orchard, where you buy him a drink and discuss some rumours with him about Yennefer. At this point he remarks that he needs no reward for the vital information he provides, because one day he may need Geralt’s help. A rather forgettable encounter that I had totally forgotten about by the time that O’Dimm returns as a major character in the Hearts of Stone expansion. But looking back at the clip of this scene, hoh boy does it hit different.
We meet O’Dimm for the second time aboard a ship to a place called Ofier. Geralt is being held prisoner on the ship, being transported to await execution for mistakenly killing the Ofieri Prince. O’Dimm just appears on the ship seemingly out of nowhere, the first of many unusual circumstances hinting that there is something more to this character. He offers to help Geralt in exchange for a small favour and burns a mark on Geralt’s face as a sign of the bargain that they’re now agreed to. There’s a number of ways that O’Dimm could have helped Geralt out in this situation, but instead he just leaves and we’re left to wonder why. That’s when a storm destroys the ship, giving Geralt a chance to escape as he fights his captors on the shore after they are washed up. A storm? How mysterious…
Eventually we find out O’Dimm’s intentions as we meet him at a crossroads at midnight, a location purposefully chosen by O’Dimm to rendezvous. O’Dimm wants you to help him finish up a contract that he made with one Olgierd, which requires that 3 wishes are granted to Olgierd. These wishes are seemingly impossible tasks that O’Dimm puts Geralt to work on, but O’Dimm provides help as it is not forbidden by the pact. What is forbidden is for O’Dimm to fulfil them himself, thus, Geralt becomes his puppet, bound to his own pact with O’Dimm. During our meetings with O’Dimm, he continues to demonstrate perplexing, other-worldly abilities that seem impossible even within the world of the Witcher, which is a world not alien to certain kinds of magical sorcery and miracles. His true identity remains a mystery, but O’Dimm seems to take great pleasure in taunting and showing off to people such as Geralt, which only made me more inquisitive about just who this person really is. At one point he actually stops time at a pub for everyone but himself and Geralt and kills a man by sticking a wooden spoon through his eye because he interrupted him. Its readily apparent that O’Dimm likes nothing more than to play tricks, torment and toy with people and he plans to do just this with Olgierd and his seemingly unfulfillable wishes and conditions bound within their contract. O’Dimm insists that he does not cheat and is strict with rules and agreements.
One of the conditions to undo their pact is that they must all meet on the moon. O’Dimm fulfils this by taking Olgierd to a location with a mosaic of the moon carved into the ground. With this, all of the conditions of their agreement are met and Olgierd’s immortality is no more. O’Dimm takes Olgierd’s soul and rips his skull from his face in a horrifying display of power. He then removes Geralt’s brand, offers him a reward of his choosing and Geralt’s debt is finally settled. O’Dimm whistles his own theme menacingly as walks off into the distance. Alternatively, Geralt can intervene and challenge O’Dimm by playing for Olgierd’s soul as well as his own. O’Dimm takes you up on the offer and what follows is an intense, timed trial in which Geralt must solve a riddle in a mysterious, unknown location before its too late and O’Dimm wins the bet. If you succeed, O’Dimm’s true nature is briefly exposed as we see his appearance shift into something demonic and grotesque, albeit only for a few seconds. In a very fitting end, the solution to master mirror’s riddle is indeed a mirror, but the reflection within water, something referenced earlier in the dlc.
Even at the very end of the dlc, O’Dimm’s true nature is never directly revealed, although he does make a point of saying that he is neither demon nor djinn and that those that have found out his true name have either gone mad or had died. It is clear that O’Dimm’s existence is inspired heavily by religion, folklore and mythology however, with many of his defining traits, tendencies and decisions harking to famous tales of demons, devils, genies and other wicked wish granters. This includes his intentional decision to cause a storm to destroy the ship that Geralt was imprisoned on instead of simply fashioning a key or breaking the bars of the cell somehow - a rather dramatic display of power that religious deities are particular fond of in various sacred texts and the like. Additionally, O’Dimm loves riddles and tricking people - perhaps his clear power and ability is so immense that he grows bored and simply derives pleasure from fooling poor idiots. Lastly, it is no coincidence that O’Dimm chooses to rendezvous at a crossroads of all places, as throughout historic folklore, mythology and religion, crossroads often represent a place ‘between worlds’ where the supernatural / paranormal can occur. Whatever the case, O’Dimm is obsessed with rules and games and outwitting his rivals, something that genies are infamous for in various texts and media throughout history - often granting wishes that intentionally find loopholes in the wisher’s wording. Twisting their words, taking advantage of anything that is vague in their choice of wish in order to toy with the wisher and often make their life even more miserable than it was before - for example, “I wish for a beautiful wife” does not specify that the wife must be a human being, nor does it clarify that they must love you back. O’Dimm does exactly this with Olgierd’s conditions in their contract, demonstrated by them standing on a tile of the moon rather than the moon itself, which was not clearly specified in Olgierd’s own terms. O’Dimm did not cheat, but took advantage where he saw fit, a classic genie / djinn move. But O’Dimm is not a genie, in fact it is theorised that his power and influence stretches far beyond that which is possbile of a typical genie or djinn, O’Dimm possesses something probably far more godlike and eldritch in nature, but we will never truly know.
H.P Lovecraft, the godfather of Eldritch horror as we know it today, is quoted as saying:
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
O’Dimm embodies this inherent fear present in all of us, and the mystery surrounding him continues to be discussed within the Witcher universe. Given O’Dimm’s unfathomable nature and innate power, how can we be sure that anything happening within the franchise’s events is not the work of O’Dimm or another ‘creature’ of his caliber. Regardless, O’Dimm is, as of right now, the most compelling, fascinating and extraordinarily written villain in gaming to date (in my opinion), able to evoke genuine fear and intrigue and even when bested, he is not truly gone for good:
"You are insignificant. You think you've defeated me but you are wrong. I can't be killed, I will be back."
- O’Dimm’s final words in the ‘good’ ending of the Witcher 3’s ‘Hearts of Stone’ DLC
And here it is! The top spot! In my opinion, Gaunter O’Dimm is the greatest video game villain of all time and it doesn’t actually take much for that to be the case! As far as unique, fascinating villains go, Gaunter O’Dimm has to take the cake owing to his simply fucking amazing writing and general presence in the game.
O’Dimm appears in the Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone DLC, but you actually meet him much much earlier on, at the very beginning of the game in fact, at an inn in White Orchard, where you buy him a drink and discuss some rumours with him about Yennefer. At this point he remarks that he needs no reward for the vital information he provides, because one day he may need Geralt’s help. A rather forgettable encounter that I had totally forgotten about by the time that O’Dimm returns as a major character in the Hearts of Stone expansion. But looking back at the clip of this scene, hoh boy does it hit different.
We meet O’Dimm for the second time aboard a ship to a place called Ofier. Geralt is being held prisoner on the ship, being transported to await execution for mistakenly killing the Ofieri Prince. O’Dimm just appears on the ship seemingly out of nowhere, the first of many unusual circumstances hinting that there is something more to this character. He offers to help Geralt in exchange for a small favour and burns a mark on Geralt’s face as a sign of the bargain that they’re now agreed to. There’s a number of ways that O’Dimm could have helped Geralt out in this situation, but instead he just leaves and we’re left to wonder why. That’s when a storm destroys the ship, giving Geralt a chance to escape as he fights his captors on the shore after they are washed up. A storm? How mysterious…
Eventually we find out O’Dimm’s intentions as we meet him at a crossroads at midnight, a location purposefully chosen by O’Dimm to rendezvous. O’Dimm wants you to help him finish up a contract that he made with one Olgierd, which requires that 3 wishes are granted to Olgierd. These wishes are seemingly impossible tasks that O’Dimm puts Geralt to work on, but O’Dimm provides help as it is not forbidden by the pact. What is forbidden is for O’Dimm to fulfil them himself, thus, Geralt becomes his puppet, bound to his own pact with O’Dimm. During our meetings with O’Dimm, he continues to demonstrate perplexing, other-worldly abilities that seem impossible even within the world of the Witcher, which is a world not alien to certain kinds of magical sorcery and miracles. His true identity remains a mystery, but O’Dimm seems to take great pleasure in taunting and showing off to people such as Geralt, which only made me more inquisitive about just who this person really is. At one point he actually stops time at a pub for everyone but himself and Geralt and kills a man by sticking a wooden spoon through his eye because he interrupted him. Its readily apparent that O’Dimm likes nothing more than to play tricks, torment and toy with people and he plans to do just this with Olgierd and his seemingly unfulfillable wishes and conditions bound within their contract. O’Dimm insists that he does not cheat and is strict with rules and agreements.
One of the conditions to undo their pact is that they must all meet on the moon. O’Dimm fulfils this by taking Olgierd to a location with a mosaic of the moon carved into the ground. With this, all of the conditions of their agreement are met and Olgierd’s immortality is no more. O’Dimm takes Olgierd’s soul and rips his skull from his face in a horrifying display of power. He then removes Geralt’s brand, offers him a reward of his choosing and Geralt’s debt is finally settled. O’Dimm whistles his own theme menacingly as walks off into the distance. Alternatively, Geralt can intervene and challenge O’Dimm by playing for Olgierd’s soul as well as his own. O’Dimm takes you up on the offer and what follows is an intense, timed trial in which Geralt must solve a riddle in a mysterious, unknown location before its too late and O’Dimm wins the bet. If you succeed, O’Dimm’s true nature is briefly exposed as we see his appearance shift into something demonic and grotesque, albeit only for a few seconds. In a very fitting end, the solution to master mirror’s riddle is indeed a mirror, but the reflection within water, something referenced earlier in the dlc.
Even at the very end of the dlc, O’Dimm’s true nature is never directly revealed, although he does make a point of saying that he is neither demon nor djinn and that those that have found out his true name have either gone mad or had died. It is clear that O’Dimm’s existence is inspired heavily by religion, folklore and mythology however, with many of his defining traits, tendencies and decisions harking to famous tales of demons, devils, genies and other wicked wish granters. This includes his intentional decision to cause a storm to destroy the ship that Geralt was imprisoned on instead of simply fashioning a key or breaking the bars of the cell somehow - a rather dramatic display of power that religious deities are particular fond of in various sacred texts and the like. Additionally, O’Dimm loves riddles and tricking people - perhaps his clear power and ability is so immense that he grows bored and simply derives pleasure from fooling poor idiots. Lastly, it is no coincidence that O’Dimm chooses to rendezvous at a crossroads of all places, as throughout historic folklore, mythology and religion, crossroads often represent a place ‘between worlds’ where the supernatural / paranormal can occur. Whatever the case, O’Dimm is obsessed with rules and games and outwitting his rivals, something that genies are infamous for in various texts and media throughout history - often granting wishes that intentionally find loopholes in the wisher’s wording. Twisting their words, taking advantage of anything that is vague in their choice of wish in order to toy with the wisher and often make their life even more miserable than it was before - for example, “I wish for a beautiful wife” does not specify that the wife must be a human being, nor does it clarify that they must love you back. O’Dimm does exactly this with Olgierd’s conditions in their contract, demonstrated by them standing on a tile of the moon rather than the moon itself, which was not clearly specified in Olgierd’s own terms. O’Dimm did not cheat, but took advantage where he saw fit, a classic genie / djinn move. But O’Dimm is not a genie, in fact it is theorised that his power and influence stretches far beyond that which is possbile of a typical genie or djinn, O’Dimm possesses something probably far more godlike and eldritch in nature, but we will never truly know.
H.P Lovecraft, the godfather of Eldritch horror as we know it today, is quoted as saying:
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
O’Dimm embodies this inherent fear present in all of us, and the mystery surrounding him continues to be discussed within the Witcher universe. Given O’Dimm’s unfathomable nature and innate power, how can we be sure that anything happening within the franchise’s events is not the work of O’Dimm or another ‘creature’ of his caliber. Regardless, O’Dimm is, as of right now, the most compelling, fascinating and extraordinarily written villain in gaming to date (in my opinion), able to evoke genuine fear and intrigue and even when bested, he is not truly gone for good:
"You are insignificant. You think you've defeated me but you are wrong. I can't be killed, I will be back."
- O’Dimm’s final words in the ‘good’ ending of the Witcher 3’s ‘Hearts of Stone’ DLC
1
Takuto Maruki:
Maruki is definitely a contender for the top spot on this list and could be interchangeable with my number 1, but nevertheless, I just think Maruki is a wonderfully executed villain with a real sense of depth and intrigue. Is he actually a ‘true’ villain? Not really, but we’ll go into that.
Persona 5 has lots of cartoonish villains and characters like Kamoshida are definitely worthy of an honourable mention on this list. This fact has been criticised however, as the nuances of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ vigilante justice (something that is discussed and debated within the game’s narrative) are less meaningful when the villains are cartoonish, devil horned bastards with 0 redeemable or likeable qualities, pitting players against them at basically every occasion with some minor exceptions, leaving little room for nuance or grey morality. Maruki on the other hand, is the MAJOR exception, but less people know about him because he only appears in the game’s expanded version - Persona 5 Royal.
In the game, Maruki is a school counsellor who volunteers at Shujin Academy after the events of Suguru Kamoshida’s abuse and crimes, which victimised and traumatised many students. Where many of the faculty members at Shujin are cold, aloof and no-nonsense, Maruki is sympathetic, compassionate, patient and talkative. He also has genuinely likeable qualities such as being a bit clumsy and eccentric, extending kind gestures to students such as offering sweets, he makes students feel heard and let’s be real, he’s pretty damn attractive. Maruki was a real surprise for me because Persona 5 is a game that caricatures the majority of grown adults as these cold, wholly unlikeable and selfish assholes (they’re not entirely wrong though). The game clearly wants you to root for the students and look down on the arrogant, stubborn and moronic adults and the many crimes they commit behind the curtains, brought to light through the Phantom Thieves’ actions as vigilantes. Maruki, however, is the antithesis to these points, both as a character and as a villain tied to the game’s plot.
Over the course of the game, as we form a stronger kind of trust with Maruki and open up, he too opens up and begins to share details of his own studies and theories outside of his counselling sessions. Maruki, as it turns out, has a fundamental understanding of the Phantom Thieves’ methodology and it becomes clearer that he knows more about the protagonist than he lets on. Eventually, it is revealed that he was a researcher into ‘cognitive psience’ - P5’s somewhat silly name for studies surrounding the metaverse, the other world where the subconscious is materialised and ‘personas’ - the power of one’s heart, can be summoned.
Maruki is, in truth, a grief stricken man living in guilt and a desperate feeling of responsibility to stop others from experiencing the same pain that he went through. We learn that he lost his lover Rumi to a catatonic depression after her parents were murdered in a home invasion - Maruki felt powerless, but gained a mysterious power in his turmoil that allowed him to manipulate cognition. He was able to purge Rumi of her trauma but erased her memories of him aswell. It all sounds very convoluted and bizarre but the way that the story tells it in fragmented pieces does a great job of characterising Maruki and building a level of empathy for him. Maruki however, seeks to use this new power that he has acquired, dubbed ‘actualisation’, to warp reality to end all of humanity’s pain and grant eternal happiness. A pretty lofty ambition right?
Long story short, Maruki succeeds in creating an entirely new reality close to the end of the game, demonstrating extraordinary power to end all the humanity’s pain and suffering. A compassionate and fair man at heart, Maruki wants to give the protagonist the chance to see this reality for what it offers, knowing whom they are and what they stand for, he wants them to understand the opportunity he is giving and the gift of a world without pain and hurt. At first, this sounds like an incredible offer, but is it too good to be true? The player is given the choice to accept this reality, or challenge it and attempt to change Maruki’s heart by force, but only after seeing how his friends’ lives have been changed. The ‘true’ ending is initiated by the latter choice, but the former seems enticing as you see each of your friends living happily, their biggest problems now no longer existent. But once the party comes to their senses, each of them agree that while extremely difficult to accept, their choices brought them to where they are and they cannot accept a fabricated reality just given to them. There’s a fundamental split between the Phantom Thieves’ ideals of liberation and freedom to make mistakes and overcome hardships - and Maruki’s insistence that he must use his persona’s gift to cleanse all suffering and grant happiness to everyone.
This is where we see Maruki as a villain, because while his motives are not inherently evil or totally reprehensible in theory, he is wildly idealistic and possesses a messiah complex as a result of his own trauma. Akechi is particularly disgusted by the notion of this kind of ‘second chance’ that Maruki offers him, deeming that he desires to choose his own path and refuses to accept a reality concocted by someone else, ‘living under their control for the rest of [his] days’. This is exactly it, Maruki’s messiah complex and apparent belief that he can be humanity’s sole saviour whether they like it or not is twisted indeed, because despite a commendable intention on paper to end all suffering and pain, life and the human experience is too nuanced and complicated to be given such a blanket solution - there are many things that it simply does not account for and are not taken into consideration.
The final lead up to and confrontation against Maruki are accompanied by some of the most impactful musical arrangements in the series, with lyrics that reflect both Maruki’s & the Phantom Thieves’ ideals. The final battle is intense and feels like such a dramatic set piece that is the perfect end to Maruki’s tragic story. Maruki comes out alive, but his dream is crushed. Eventually he forgets what happened as his ‘palace’ in the metaverse crumbles and he goes on to live an ordinary life as a taxi driver, a fitting end since Maruki did not necessarily deserve severe punishment such as death, but he needed to be stopped. As a cab driver, he is quietly helping people in his own way if you think about it. This ending is far more fitting for P5 as a game than the base game’s and left me to ponder so much, like what might have been had things gone differently. In the alternative ending where you accept Maruki’s reality, there is an unspoken sense of melancholy, things feel too good to be true and Joker and Akechi are implied to recognise this, but nobody else knows or shows any kind of suspicion. Maruki, as a passerby, offers to take a photo of the gang during Haru & Makoto’s graduation and walks off into the distance as the gang thank him, not knowing what he has done for them and all of humanity. But all of this just feels fabricated and too good to be true.
I LOVE the true ending and this character, and Billy Kametz’s performance is nothing short of spectacular - rest in peace Billy, you will be missed, and thank you for helping to deliver such an amazing character.
Maruki is definitely a contender for the top spot on this list and could be interchangeable with my number 1, but nevertheless, I just think Maruki is a wonderfully executed villain with a real sense of depth and intrigue. Is he actually a ‘true’ villain? Not really, but we’ll go into that.
Persona 5 has lots of cartoonish villains and characters like Kamoshida are definitely worthy of an honourable mention on this list. This fact has been criticised however, as the nuances of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ vigilante justice (something that is discussed and debated within the game’s narrative) are less meaningful when the villains are cartoonish, devil horned bastards with 0 redeemable or likeable qualities, pitting players against them at basically every occasion with some minor exceptions, leaving little room for nuance or grey morality. Maruki on the other hand, is the MAJOR exception, but less people know about him because he only appears in the game’s expanded version - Persona 5 Royal.
In the game, Maruki is a school counsellor who volunteers at Shujin Academy after the events of Suguru Kamoshida’s abuse and crimes, which victimised and traumatised many students. Where many of the faculty members at Shujin are cold, aloof and no-nonsense, Maruki is sympathetic, compassionate, patient and talkative. He also has genuinely likeable qualities such as being a bit clumsy and eccentric, extending kind gestures to students such as offering sweets, he makes students feel heard and let’s be real, he’s pretty damn attractive. Maruki was a real surprise for me because Persona 5 is a game that caricatures the majority of grown adults as these cold, wholly unlikeable and selfish assholes (they’re not entirely wrong though). The game clearly wants you to root for the students and look down on the arrogant, stubborn and moronic adults and the many crimes they commit behind the curtains, brought to light through the Phantom Thieves’ actions as vigilantes. Maruki, however, is the antithesis to these points, both as a character and as a villain tied to the game’s plot.
Over the course of the game, as we form a stronger kind of trust with Maruki and open up, he too opens up and begins to share details of his own studies and theories outside of his counselling sessions. Maruki, as it turns out, has a fundamental understanding of the Phantom Thieves’ methodology and it becomes clearer that he knows more about the protagonist than he lets on. Eventually, it is revealed that he was a researcher into ‘cognitive psience’ - P5’s somewhat silly name for studies surrounding the metaverse, the other world where the subconscious is materialised and ‘personas’ - the power of one’s heart, can be summoned.
Maruki is, in truth, a grief stricken man living in guilt and a desperate feeling of responsibility to stop others from experiencing the same pain that he went through. We learn that he lost his lover Rumi to a catatonic depression after her parents were murdered in a home invasion - Maruki felt powerless, but gained a mysterious power in his turmoil that allowed him to manipulate cognition. He was able to purge Rumi of her trauma but erased her memories of him aswell. It all sounds very convoluted and bizarre but the way that the story tells it in fragmented pieces does a great job of characterising Maruki and building a level of empathy for him. Maruki however, seeks to use this new power that he has acquired, dubbed ‘actualisation’, to warp reality to end all of humanity’s pain and grant eternal happiness. A pretty lofty ambition right?
Long story short, Maruki succeeds in creating an entirely new reality close to the end of the game, demonstrating extraordinary power to end all the humanity’s pain and suffering. A compassionate and fair man at heart, Maruki wants to give the protagonist the chance to see this reality for what it offers, knowing whom they are and what they stand for, he wants them to understand the opportunity he is giving and the gift of a world without pain and hurt. At first, this sounds like an incredible offer, but is it too good to be true? The player is given the choice to accept this reality, or challenge it and attempt to change Maruki’s heart by force, but only after seeing how his friends’ lives have been changed. The ‘true’ ending is initiated by the latter choice, but the former seems enticing as you see each of your friends living happily, their biggest problems now no longer existent. But once the party comes to their senses, each of them agree that while extremely difficult to accept, their choices brought them to where they are and they cannot accept a fabricated reality just given to them. There’s a fundamental split between the Phantom Thieves’ ideals of liberation and freedom to make mistakes and overcome hardships - and Maruki’s insistence that he must use his persona’s gift to cleanse all suffering and grant happiness to everyone.
This is where we see Maruki as a villain, because while his motives are not inherently evil or totally reprehensible in theory, he is wildly idealistic and possesses a messiah complex as a result of his own trauma. Akechi is particularly disgusted by the notion of this kind of ‘second chance’ that Maruki offers him, deeming that he desires to choose his own path and refuses to accept a reality concocted by someone else, ‘living under their control for the rest of [his] days’. This is exactly it, Maruki’s messiah complex and apparent belief that he can be humanity’s sole saviour whether they like it or not is twisted indeed, because despite a commendable intention on paper to end all suffering and pain, life and the human experience is too nuanced and complicated to be given such a blanket solution - there are many things that it simply does not account for and are not taken into consideration.
The final lead up to and confrontation against Maruki are accompanied by some of the most impactful musical arrangements in the series, with lyrics that reflect both Maruki’s & the Phantom Thieves’ ideals. The final battle is intense and feels like such a dramatic set piece that is the perfect end to Maruki’s tragic story. Maruki comes out alive, but his dream is crushed. Eventually he forgets what happened as his ‘palace’ in the metaverse crumbles and he goes on to live an ordinary life as a taxi driver, a fitting end since Maruki did not necessarily deserve severe punishment such as death, but he needed to be stopped. As a cab driver, he is quietly helping people in his own way if you think about it. This ending is far more fitting for P5 as a game than the base game’s and left me to ponder so much, like what might have been had things gone differently. In the alternative ending where you accept Maruki’s reality, there is an unspoken sense of melancholy, things feel too good to be true and Joker and Akechi are implied to recognise this, but nobody else knows or shows any kind of suspicion. Maruki, as a passerby, offers to take a photo of the gang during Haru & Makoto’s graduation and walks off into the distance as the gang thank him, not knowing what he has done for them and all of humanity. But all of this just feels fabricated and too good to be true.
I LOVE the true ending and this character, and Billy Kametz’s performance is nothing short of spectacular - rest in peace Billy, you will be missed, and thank you for helping to deliver such an amazing character.
2
Kefka:
As far as villains in video games go, Kefka is one that is often brought up alongside Sephiroth, the primary antagonist of the following game in the final fantasy series. But he’s regularly brought up for good reason, as, particularly for a video game villain first introduced in the year 1994, he is just so captivating.
The court mage of the Gestahlian Empire, a governmental organisation led by Emperor Gestahl which possesses powerful magical technology, Kefka starts in a fairly smaller time position than a lot of video game villains. He’s just a guy, albeit a bit of a ‘clown’, and doesn’t really have any crazy special powers from the beginning of the game. Serving an empire hellbent on conquering the planet using their ‘magitek’ power - power derived from ‘espers’, ancient beings that once ruled the world, Kefka is actually the very first experimental ‘magic knight’ - soldiers actually infused with the power of magitek, rather than simply using magitek powered weaponry. This is the closest that Kefka is to having special powers early on, but its not actually that uncommon in the world of final fantasy 6, with a handful of characters possessing magical abilities.
What we quickly learn about Kefka is that he is chaotic, unpredictable and completely shameless. The process of being turned into a magitek knight was not a perfected process and ended up driving him mad - he had been turned into a magical usher of chaos and destruction with an unquenchable thirst for blood. Pretty standard right? But no, final fantasy 6, known for tackling heavy themes such as teen pregnancy, suicide and life under a military dictatorship, takes no shortcuts with Kefka. Kefka is fine using innocent people as puppets / slaves and committing mass war crimes and atrocities such as poisoning an entire castle’s water supply, killing men, women and children in the process. Eventually, he even has no second thoughts about killing the Emperor himself in order to claim (and ascend beyond) his position. Using the magic of the warring triad (ancient espers with immense power), Kefka sends basically the entire world into ruin and causes chaos on a massive scale.
Kefka’s actions here actually dramatically change the world of final fantasy 6 as well as the course of the game's story. You spend the rest of the game attempting to rebuild and fight back, but for a long time, Kefka is left completely unchallenged. Sitting in his tower assuming a kind of godhood for himself, Kefka’s lust for blood and war will never be sated. What’s really cool about all of this is that midway through the game, Kefka just wins! Also, an entire narrative year passes in this ‘world of ruin’ before we even take control again and begin the chain of events leading to Kefka’s eventual demise. Eventually, at Kefka’s tower, the party we’ve built faces Kefka as well as the ‘statue of the gods’, a series of extremely powerful bosses whom you must face in an exhausting gauntlet before you can even come face to face with Kefka - who is now some kind of deity with angel-like wings. Oh also, the music here (dancing mad) goes so fucking hard and is one of the greatest boss themes ever composed.
So, what makes Kefka so captivating and interesting then? Well, I think it is partly because of the time - for a video game character written around 1994, he, alongside many other characters in ff6, feel genuinely real. While Kefka’s motivations eventually ascend to familiar tropes of seeking godlike power and wanting to dominate all life, he remains beloved as a villain for simply being a remorseless, shameless scumbag whom you love to hate and on a few occasions, he is genuinely very selfish and even cowardly and pitiful - running away from fights, dishing out insults to just about everyone and even throwing tantrums on the battlefield. He is an embodiment of true evil in a way that feels honest and sometimes even frightening and the fact that he just crushes you in the middle of the game is something that feels really refreshing for a jrpg, it really feels like you’ve just lost. But he also comes across as quite pathetic at times and a real sore loser, someone you are kind of second hand embarrassed for. The game’s split perspective in which you control multiple characters serves Kefka just as it does the rest of ff6’s groundbreaking narrative too - such as seeing how Cyan’s life is destroyed by Kefka’s actions and the feelings he harbours as a result, how Terra's life is transformed when she becomes a motherly figure for a group of young orphans who's parents lives were taken by Kefka, as well as an awesome segment where you are put in the shoes of an originally evil character, General Leo of the Gestahlian Empire, who challenges Kefka and his twisted plans at a turning point in the game - General Leo feels really powerful and is really fun to use at this stage in the game, but he is shockingly attacked out of the blue by a devious Kafka who literally leaps onto him, killing him instantly - whilst also simultaneously yelling out ‘Die, die, DIE!!!’; it’s a pretty shocking turn of events that really characterises Kefka as just a force of pure evil, he harbours no amount of affection, no loyalty, no remorse and no sense of shame. Truly a terrifyingly sadistic presence in ff6 that other jpgs have seemingly rarely ever matched - and this comes from a character in a game released almost 30 years ago, crazy! Kefka still remains one of gaming’s most captivating villains to this day.
As far as villains in video games go, Kefka is one that is often brought up alongside Sephiroth, the primary antagonist of the following game in the final fantasy series. But he’s regularly brought up for good reason, as, particularly for a video game villain first introduced in the year 1994, he is just so captivating.
The court mage of the Gestahlian Empire, a governmental organisation led by Emperor Gestahl which possesses powerful magical technology, Kefka starts in a fairly smaller time position than a lot of video game villains. He’s just a guy, albeit a bit of a ‘clown’, and doesn’t really have any crazy special powers from the beginning of the game. Serving an empire hellbent on conquering the planet using their ‘magitek’ power - power derived from ‘espers’, ancient beings that once ruled the world, Kefka is actually the very first experimental ‘magic knight’ - soldiers actually infused with the power of magitek, rather than simply using magitek powered weaponry. This is the closest that Kefka is to having special powers early on, but its not actually that uncommon in the world of final fantasy 6, with a handful of characters possessing magical abilities.
What we quickly learn about Kefka is that he is chaotic, unpredictable and completely shameless. The process of being turned into a magitek knight was not a perfected process and ended up driving him mad - he had been turned into a magical usher of chaos and destruction with an unquenchable thirst for blood. Pretty standard right? But no, final fantasy 6, known for tackling heavy themes such as teen pregnancy, suicide and life under a military dictatorship, takes no shortcuts with Kefka. Kefka is fine using innocent people as puppets / slaves and committing mass war crimes and atrocities such as poisoning an entire castle’s water supply, killing men, women and children in the process. Eventually, he even has no second thoughts about killing the Emperor himself in order to claim (and ascend beyond) his position. Using the magic of the warring triad (ancient espers with immense power), Kefka sends basically the entire world into ruin and causes chaos on a massive scale.
Kefka’s actions here actually dramatically change the world of final fantasy 6 as well as the course of the game's story. You spend the rest of the game attempting to rebuild and fight back, but for a long time, Kefka is left completely unchallenged. Sitting in his tower assuming a kind of godhood for himself, Kefka’s lust for blood and war will never be sated. What’s really cool about all of this is that midway through the game, Kefka just wins! Also, an entire narrative year passes in this ‘world of ruin’ before we even take control again and begin the chain of events leading to Kefka’s eventual demise. Eventually, at Kefka’s tower, the party we’ve built faces Kefka as well as the ‘statue of the gods’, a series of extremely powerful bosses whom you must face in an exhausting gauntlet before you can even come face to face with Kefka - who is now some kind of deity with angel-like wings. Oh also, the music here (dancing mad) goes so fucking hard and is one of the greatest boss themes ever composed.
So, what makes Kefka so captivating and interesting then? Well, I think it is partly because of the time - for a video game character written around 1994, he, alongside many other characters in ff6, feel genuinely real. While Kefka’s motivations eventually ascend to familiar tropes of seeking godlike power and wanting to dominate all life, he remains beloved as a villain for simply being a remorseless, shameless scumbag whom you love to hate and on a few occasions, he is genuinely very selfish and even cowardly and pitiful - running away from fights, dishing out insults to just about everyone and even throwing tantrums on the battlefield. He is an embodiment of true evil in a way that feels honest and sometimes even frightening and the fact that he just crushes you in the middle of the game is something that feels really refreshing for a jrpg, it really feels like you’ve just lost. But he also comes across as quite pathetic at times and a real sore loser, someone you are kind of second hand embarrassed for. The game’s split perspective in which you control multiple characters serves Kefka just as it does the rest of ff6’s groundbreaking narrative too - such as seeing how Cyan’s life is destroyed by Kefka’s actions and the feelings he harbours as a result, how Terra's life is transformed when she becomes a motherly figure for a group of young orphans who's parents lives were taken by Kefka, as well as an awesome segment where you are put in the shoes of an originally evil character, General Leo of the Gestahlian Empire, who challenges Kefka and his twisted plans at a turning point in the game - General Leo feels really powerful and is really fun to use at this stage in the game, but he is shockingly attacked out of the blue by a devious Kafka who literally leaps onto him, killing him instantly - whilst also simultaneously yelling out ‘Die, die, DIE!!!’; it’s a pretty shocking turn of events that really characterises Kefka as just a force of pure evil, he harbours no amount of affection, no loyalty, no remorse and no sense of shame. Truly a terrifyingly sadistic presence in ff6 that other jpgs have seemingly rarely ever matched - and this comes from a character in a game released almost 30 years ago, crazy! Kefka still remains one of gaming’s most captivating villains to this day.
3
Dutch Van Der Linde:
The leader of the Van Der Linde gang, Dutch Van Der Linde and his crew are outlaws on the run from the law at the beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2 (the prequel to rdr1). Dutch was first introduced in Red Dead 1 back in 2010, as the final gang member that player character John Marston is tasked with bringing in to face the law as part of his agreement with the government after his family are taken hostage as ransom for John's services. In Red Dead 1 Dutch was a somewhat underdeveloped character whom the player is informed on and encouraged to take in only from the perspective of John. The crimes that Dutch commits or attempts to commit, such as shooting an innocent woman that he was holding hostage in the head and attempting a bank robbery serve as context for how far Dutch has gone and why he must face justice.
Red Dead 2, like its predecessor, encompasses many different themes and subjects such as social change, the cycle of violence and the gradual loss of freedom and liberties during a time of fundamental human and societal development at the very end of the American frontier. Dutch serves as a majorly idealistic character and one who is on the extreme end of the game’s alignment & thematical spectrum - a character who values ideals of liberty and anarchy, free from the shackles of law, technology and systematic control of the populace.
Red Dead 2, a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption, tells the tale of the Van Der Linde gang trying to survive in a vastly changing world - culturally, technologically and systematically. Dutch is the one that they all look up to, with player character and trusted gang member Arthur Morgan claiming that ‘Dutch has always seen us right’, and it is quite plain to see this sentiment shared among several members of the gang. Dutch, while undoubtedly a hardened and sordid criminal, clearly cares for his comrades and wants above all else to see them survive and thrive. After a botched heist in Blackwater, the gang go on the run and spend the majority of the game trying to stay one step ahead of the Lawmen and, notably, the ‘Pinkertons’, a private security and detective agency who are seemingly always on the gang’s tail. Things go on a downward spiral as more and more problems arise for the gang, from money issues to constantly having to move camp to making more enemies than friends and ultimately finding their back against the wall.
What makes Dutch such a fascinating and compelling villain is to do with his strict ideals and dream, but also his development. From very early on Dutch always tries to attest that the ends justify the means and uses this manipulative sentimentality to justify the killing of innocents and lawmen, as well as continual thievery and manipulation of near every poor sucker they come across. Its basically him gaslighting his followers to be honest. But Dutch seems to genuinely believe that he is doing these things for a vision and an idealistic dream of a free land and lifestyle, rather than for the clear selfish reasons such as greed and perhaps even some kind of ‘redemption’ against the rising threat that mass law and order poses to him and his gang.
Over the course of the game Dutch goes from someone that the player is almost encouraged to look up to and see the good in, as someone who shows compassion and familial responsibility and care for the gang, to someone driven mad by continual pressure, failures and perceived betrayals. Dutch starts killing indiscriminately without even needing some kind of loose motivation or score to settle and falls prey to being manipulated within his own ranks by Micah Bell, an informant to the Pinkertons. Arthur perceives this change and goes from simple concern for Dutch to mixed feelings and ultimately feeling like Dutch is no longer the man he used to follow. Making preparations to see John and his family out safely, Arthur starts taking certain matters into his own hands without Dutch’s consent, which Dutch takes personally and sees as treachery, treachery by someone he once saw as a brother or a son.
By the end of Red Dead 2 we see such a transformation in Dutch, but one that is handled so well because of how gradual it feels, a natural and dynamic shift over a lengthy course of time, triggered by a series of events that put increasing pressure on himself and the gang as a whole. The gang starts to lose sight on what it was all for and Dutch grows more desperate to hold onto his dream despite waning faith from all sides. Dutch’s charisma is no longer enough to hold everyone together. Eventually, Dutch is driven mad and his now waning justifications for his heinous actions lose any amount of weight pretty much entirely. We’ve now seen Dutch change into the man we see in Red Dead 1, the criminal who cares not who he kills or robs, but the question remains, did he ever actually care? Dutch is a nuanced villain with selfish reasoning and justification behind his actions at every step, but whether it really ever meant anything is something the player is left to ponder for themselves. This is also something that Arthur tackles in the game however, and by standing up to Dutch and trying to get John out safe, it eventually costs him his life.
Dutch finally meets his own end when cornered by John Marston many years later, but kills himself before John can take him in, throwing himself off of a cliff. His last words are:
"We can't always fight nature John... We can't fight change. We can't fight nothin'." "Our time is passed, John...",
A fitting end to an outlaw trying to cling on desperately to an age that is now history. It is hard to know what to feel in this moment, as he seems almost pitiable; but knowing what crimes he has committed, he is not deserving of it. This is the sign of a truly great and memorable villain, Dutch loses sight of what he fought for, but its hard to even see what it was all for to begin with.
The leader of the Van Der Linde gang, Dutch Van Der Linde and his crew are outlaws on the run from the law at the beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2 (the prequel to rdr1). Dutch was first introduced in Red Dead 1 back in 2010, as the final gang member that player character John Marston is tasked with bringing in to face the law as part of his agreement with the government after his family are taken hostage as ransom for John's services. In Red Dead 1 Dutch was a somewhat underdeveloped character whom the player is informed on and encouraged to take in only from the perspective of John. The crimes that Dutch commits or attempts to commit, such as shooting an innocent woman that he was holding hostage in the head and attempting a bank robbery serve as context for how far Dutch has gone and why he must face justice.
Red Dead 2, like its predecessor, encompasses many different themes and subjects such as social change, the cycle of violence and the gradual loss of freedom and liberties during a time of fundamental human and societal development at the very end of the American frontier. Dutch serves as a majorly idealistic character and one who is on the extreme end of the game’s alignment & thematical spectrum - a character who values ideals of liberty and anarchy, free from the shackles of law, technology and systematic control of the populace.
Red Dead 2, a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption, tells the tale of the Van Der Linde gang trying to survive in a vastly changing world - culturally, technologically and systematically. Dutch is the one that they all look up to, with player character and trusted gang member Arthur Morgan claiming that ‘Dutch has always seen us right’, and it is quite plain to see this sentiment shared among several members of the gang. Dutch, while undoubtedly a hardened and sordid criminal, clearly cares for his comrades and wants above all else to see them survive and thrive. After a botched heist in Blackwater, the gang go on the run and spend the majority of the game trying to stay one step ahead of the Lawmen and, notably, the ‘Pinkertons’, a private security and detective agency who are seemingly always on the gang’s tail. Things go on a downward spiral as more and more problems arise for the gang, from money issues to constantly having to move camp to making more enemies than friends and ultimately finding their back against the wall.
What makes Dutch such a fascinating and compelling villain is to do with his strict ideals and dream, but also his development. From very early on Dutch always tries to attest that the ends justify the means and uses this manipulative sentimentality to justify the killing of innocents and lawmen, as well as continual thievery and manipulation of near every poor sucker they come across. Its basically him gaslighting his followers to be honest. But Dutch seems to genuinely believe that he is doing these things for a vision and an idealistic dream of a free land and lifestyle, rather than for the clear selfish reasons such as greed and perhaps even some kind of ‘redemption’ against the rising threat that mass law and order poses to him and his gang.
Over the course of the game Dutch goes from someone that the player is almost encouraged to look up to and see the good in, as someone who shows compassion and familial responsibility and care for the gang, to someone driven mad by continual pressure, failures and perceived betrayals. Dutch starts killing indiscriminately without even needing some kind of loose motivation or score to settle and falls prey to being manipulated within his own ranks by Micah Bell, an informant to the Pinkertons. Arthur perceives this change and goes from simple concern for Dutch to mixed feelings and ultimately feeling like Dutch is no longer the man he used to follow. Making preparations to see John and his family out safely, Arthur starts taking certain matters into his own hands without Dutch’s consent, which Dutch takes personally and sees as treachery, treachery by someone he once saw as a brother or a son.
By the end of Red Dead 2 we see such a transformation in Dutch, but one that is handled so well because of how gradual it feels, a natural and dynamic shift over a lengthy course of time, triggered by a series of events that put increasing pressure on himself and the gang as a whole. The gang starts to lose sight on what it was all for and Dutch grows more desperate to hold onto his dream despite waning faith from all sides. Dutch’s charisma is no longer enough to hold everyone together. Eventually, Dutch is driven mad and his now waning justifications for his heinous actions lose any amount of weight pretty much entirely. We’ve now seen Dutch change into the man we see in Red Dead 1, the criminal who cares not who he kills or robs, but the question remains, did he ever actually care? Dutch is a nuanced villain with selfish reasoning and justification behind his actions at every step, but whether it really ever meant anything is something the player is left to ponder for themselves. This is also something that Arthur tackles in the game however, and by standing up to Dutch and trying to get John out safe, it eventually costs him his life.
Dutch finally meets his own end when cornered by John Marston many years later, but kills himself before John can take him in, throwing himself off of a cliff. His last words are:
"We can't always fight nature John... We can't fight change. We can't fight nothin'." "Our time is passed, John...",
A fitting end to an outlaw trying to cling on desperately to an age that is now history. It is hard to know what to feel in this moment, as he seems almost pitiable; but knowing what crimes he has committed, he is not deserving of it. This is the sign of a truly great and memorable villain, Dutch loses sight of what he fought for, but its hard to even see what it was all for to begin with.
4
Mr House:
Mr. House is one of Fallout: New Vegas’ most important, central figureheads whom you can side with alongside Caesar of Caesar’s Legion, President Kimball of the New California Republic & Yes Man, a reprogrammed securitron robot who is programmed to only tell the truth (and who is also the superior choice of whom to side with).
Whilst Caesar definitely could have claimed a place on this list were it longer, Mr. House has to take this spot. Even so, both are uniquely fascinating video game characters that stand by their own twisted set of morals and beliefs regarding the political and systematic direction of the mojave wasteland and its inhabitants. While Caesar clearly embodies a much more primitive and brutal ideology based upon imperialism and totalitarianism, the game does an amazing job of not placing any one faction as wholly reprehensible or wholly good. In many ways, Mr. House is not so different from Caesar despite them being at each others’ throats, particularly over control of ‘hoover dam’, a key strategic foothold in the Mojave owing to its clear importance as the main source of power for the whole region. While the game makes it clear that Caesar’s legion will not shy from sadistic methodology to control its populace like torture, corporal punishment and indoctrination, it is juxtaposed against Mr. House’s own code of conduct and values as an american businessman and capitalist still grasping onto power and influence in a vastly changed world.
Like I say, Mr. House is not so different from Caesar and, like many wealthy capitalists, entrepreneurs and political figureheads of the modern day, he is arrogant, selfish & concerned only with furthering his own agenda regardless of the consequences it may have on those he deems less important. Progress comes before all, no matter the cost, and Mr. House is not one to feign remorse over whom he must trample to realise his vision. Sitting elusively atop the Lucky 38 tower in a still functioning new vegas strip in the heart of a post apocalyptic Mojave, Mr. House has continued to further his vision for hundreds of years, owing to an advanced life support system that sustains his physical body and mind. For other factions in the Mojave, Mr. House is the biggest barrier in the way of their own plans owing to his hoarding of power and influence in the strip. Most notably, House owns his own private army of securitron robots, armed and dangerous machines that he seeks to use to establish unrivalled control of the Mojave. However, at the point in the game in which we, the player, assume control, his plans have more or less ground to a halt because of an elusive ‘platinum chip’ that was mysteriously stolen from him by one ‘Benny’ - a new vegas chairman and the player characters’ attempted killer who seeks to usurp Mr. House and seize power of the strip for himself.
The chip is important because it is a storage device that houses key data that House plans to use to his major tactical advantage. The data has the power to upgrade House’s securitrons to a far more deadly ‘Mark II’ operating system as well as software upgrades to the Lucky 38 - effectively rendering Mr. House unstoppable. What the main character chooses to do with Benny and the chip is entirely down to the player, but if one chooses to side with House, it becomes increasingly clear just how far he will go to see his vision realised, being the only ‘faction’ in the game that requires you murder all of the brotherhood of steel, whom House sees as a major threat and fanatic terrorists. There is no talking your way out of this one, House deems himself humanity’s future and clearly believes that any major opposition must be stamped out, he has no intention of negotiating and no interest in establishing some kind of pact or shared control. House represents an undying capitalist, pre-war sentimentality in a vastly different world. House sees democracy as a failure however, deeming the great war and the wasteland it spawned as the prime example of that. Despite how he may come across like a relic of a long lost age, House is actually concerned with progress and a vision of the future by any means necessary and interestingly, does not cling to habits and methods of the past.
This is why Obsidian’s writing in New Vegas is so fascinating and unique, each faction and central character you can side with feel like they exist on a nuanced and multi faceted political and ideological spectrum. House is truly a villain, however, willing to stamp out opposition without a second thought and control through use of fear and withholding of supreme power, but he is one that is also partially morally grey. Wanting to progress humanity in a world shaken by war and resulting chaos and savagery is not an entirely unfounded or twisted notion in and of itself, but House’s actions and sense of superiority and like he alone knows what is best for everyone else places him within a far more chaotic alignment, also grounded in authoritarianism and a fascistic military presence. Even so, same with Caesar, listening to House speak and go over his plans and ambitions is nothing short of fascinating, as obsidian do such a spectacular job of humanising its core characters and making them feel like they could genuinely exist. Even when the assignments that you’re asked to undergo become bloody and extreme, there is always some twisted logic on display in an attempt to conclude that the ends justify the means - and that is as real as a villain comes.
Mr. House is one of Fallout: New Vegas’ most important, central figureheads whom you can side with alongside Caesar of Caesar’s Legion, President Kimball of the New California Republic & Yes Man, a reprogrammed securitron robot who is programmed to only tell the truth (and who is also the superior choice of whom to side with).
Whilst Caesar definitely could have claimed a place on this list were it longer, Mr. House has to take this spot. Even so, both are uniquely fascinating video game characters that stand by their own twisted set of morals and beliefs regarding the political and systematic direction of the mojave wasteland and its inhabitants. While Caesar clearly embodies a much more primitive and brutal ideology based upon imperialism and totalitarianism, the game does an amazing job of not placing any one faction as wholly reprehensible or wholly good. In many ways, Mr. House is not so different from Caesar despite them being at each others’ throats, particularly over control of ‘hoover dam’, a key strategic foothold in the Mojave owing to its clear importance as the main source of power for the whole region. While the game makes it clear that Caesar’s legion will not shy from sadistic methodology to control its populace like torture, corporal punishment and indoctrination, it is juxtaposed against Mr. House’s own code of conduct and values as an american businessman and capitalist still grasping onto power and influence in a vastly changed world.
Like I say, Mr. House is not so different from Caesar and, like many wealthy capitalists, entrepreneurs and political figureheads of the modern day, he is arrogant, selfish & concerned only with furthering his own agenda regardless of the consequences it may have on those he deems less important. Progress comes before all, no matter the cost, and Mr. House is not one to feign remorse over whom he must trample to realise his vision. Sitting elusively atop the Lucky 38 tower in a still functioning new vegas strip in the heart of a post apocalyptic Mojave, Mr. House has continued to further his vision for hundreds of years, owing to an advanced life support system that sustains his physical body and mind. For other factions in the Mojave, Mr. House is the biggest barrier in the way of their own plans owing to his hoarding of power and influence in the strip. Most notably, House owns his own private army of securitron robots, armed and dangerous machines that he seeks to use to establish unrivalled control of the Mojave. However, at the point in the game in which we, the player, assume control, his plans have more or less ground to a halt because of an elusive ‘platinum chip’ that was mysteriously stolen from him by one ‘Benny’ - a new vegas chairman and the player characters’ attempted killer who seeks to usurp Mr. House and seize power of the strip for himself.
The chip is important because it is a storage device that houses key data that House plans to use to his major tactical advantage. The data has the power to upgrade House’s securitrons to a far more deadly ‘Mark II’ operating system as well as software upgrades to the Lucky 38 - effectively rendering Mr. House unstoppable. What the main character chooses to do with Benny and the chip is entirely down to the player, but if one chooses to side with House, it becomes increasingly clear just how far he will go to see his vision realised, being the only ‘faction’ in the game that requires you murder all of the brotherhood of steel, whom House sees as a major threat and fanatic terrorists. There is no talking your way out of this one, House deems himself humanity’s future and clearly believes that any major opposition must be stamped out, he has no intention of negotiating and no interest in establishing some kind of pact or shared control. House represents an undying capitalist, pre-war sentimentality in a vastly different world. House sees democracy as a failure however, deeming the great war and the wasteland it spawned as the prime example of that. Despite how he may come across like a relic of a long lost age, House is actually concerned with progress and a vision of the future by any means necessary and interestingly, does not cling to habits and methods of the past.
This is why Obsidian’s writing in New Vegas is so fascinating and unique, each faction and central character you can side with feel like they exist on a nuanced and multi faceted political and ideological spectrum. House is truly a villain, however, willing to stamp out opposition without a second thought and control through use of fear and withholding of supreme power, but he is one that is also partially morally grey. Wanting to progress humanity in a world shaken by war and resulting chaos and savagery is not an entirely unfounded or twisted notion in and of itself, but House’s actions and sense of superiority and like he alone knows what is best for everyone else places him within a far more chaotic alignment, also grounded in authoritarianism and a fascistic military presence. Even so, same with Caesar, listening to House speak and go over his plans and ambitions is nothing short of fascinating, as obsidian do such a spectacular job of humanising its core characters and making them feel like they could genuinely exist. Even when the assignments that you’re asked to undergo become bloody and extreme, there is always some twisted logic on display in an attempt to conclude that the ends justify the means - and that is as real as a villain comes.
5
Flowey:
After the game’s intro exposition, flowey is the first character we meet in undertale, a game now famous and beloved for its eccentric cast of characters bursting with personality, but also shrouded in mystery. It’s easy to forget that undertale is actually a very cryptic, hands off kind of game owing to its reputation and endless amount of discourse - the backstory of undertale is tied inherently to flowey’s very existence, who ends up being possibly the most important character in the entire game. Without a clear understanding of the story, however, its not immediately evident just why flowey is so great, since the backstory and lore fragments are split across instances of flavour text and perhaps the biggest dump of background lore is given by flowey (asriel) himself, but only if you backtrack all the way to the start of the game after nearly finishing a true pacifist run - yeah, pretty cryptic.
But regardless, what makes flowey such a great villain comes down to these mysteries surrounding his identity and motivations. Flowey embodies the spirit of undertale and its core theme about violence and choosing mercy and love over hatred. Of course its a lot deeper than this and dumbing it down to just that does undertale a disservice - its a game just filled with exploratory character studies, obscene humour, outlandish ‘bits’ and unique gameplay mechanics that all serve a powerful narrative covering many different themes and ideas. But the ones most associated with flowey are the ones most poignant.
From the start of the game flowey tells you that in this world, the underground world of monsters in which you, the human player character, have fallen into, is a ‘kill or be killed’ world. Its a pretty miserable sentiment, that there’s no supposedly no way to progress in the game but to kill or be killed - but when you think about it it is an intentional deconstruction of what rpg games have the player do, you must kill to progress, to get stronger and to ultimately achieve victory and complete the game. Its not something you usually think about and the game’s creator Toby Fox wants you to ponder this one way or another, be it through the game’s dialogue or gameplay mechanics - which revolve fundamentally around an idea, what if you could beat an rpg game without killing any of the games’ inhabitants that you ‘encounter’ - unheard of right? But this is taken to such an extreme in undertale, with the player constantly being questioned about certain decisions, most notably whether they chose to kill or spare a main character. This eventually leads to some outright crazy potential scenarios, some uplifting and heartwarming if you choose a path of low LOVE (level of violence) and EXP (Execution points), and some downright horrifying if you go the… other way.
This other way is the way flowey strongly encourages, since he is supposed to be like the inner voice embodying most gamers’ tendencies (in my opinion at least). Kill or be killed, gain exp, its the way of the world you idiot. Its an average gamers’ instinctual, habitual practice, we see something we can kill, we want to kill it, be it because we want a reward or simply for the fun of it since the game offers that option with little consequence. But boy does undertale have consequence! Innocent characters come to despise and fear you, characters that the game does a fantastic job of building and providing depth to - I felt endeared by these characters existence but I too fell prey to exactly what Toby Fox wants. I didn’t even realise you could talk your way out of basically any encounter and spare your opponent - instead I assumed the only way to progress was to fight and ended up killing toriel and papyrus, thinking they wouldn’t ACTUALLY die, but they do, and you are chastised for it and made to feel like a piece of shit!
Eventually flowey’s truly evil nature comes to its peak as he kills Asgore for you if you choose to spare him and consumes human souls to become a grotesque ‘photoshop flowey’ entity that actually crashes your game before attacking you with everything it has! This is the only ending possible on an initial run besides a ‘genocide’ run where you kill everything (which is definitely not an easy thing to do), the ‘true’ ending of the game is, initially, purposefully locked and I think this is a really interesting storytelling technique because you’re able to spare flowey after your fight and you’re then presented with an opportunity to essentially ‘make things right’. In the alternative endings of undertale, either you rescue flowey and give asriel (flowey’s true nature) peace - or you can become so remorseless and evil you can kill him along with everyone else in possibly the most disturbing ending to a game i’ve ever seen.
So all in all what makes flowey such a tremendous villain is his contextual relevance and innate ties to undertale’s themes and meta narrative. Flowey constantly breaks the fourth wall and speaks seemingly directly to the player, not just the player character on many occasions, furthering this sense of dread associated with him. The fact that he actually crashes your game if you’re playing on a pc is insane to me, it is one of those mind blowing once in a blue moon game moments like psycho mantis reading your console’s memory card in metal gear solid that will never not be memorable because of how creative it is. Flowey is also devious and tricksy and intentionally tries to mislead and taunt you on many occasions and i’m sure he’s caught many a player out into making an unintentionally bad move like killing an innocent npc or otherwise gaining exp, something the game eventually chastises you for. All in all just a really successful, brilliantly executed and very unique sort of villain that isn’t just an evil entity to either rescue or defeat, but a meta textual, fourth wall breaking personification of rpg trends and player expectations that is wholly memorable and thought provoking. He’s also genuinely scary, some of his evil faces and the whole photoshop flowey fight still disturb me a little not gonna lie. Plus going down the route to save flowey and achieve the game’s true, best ending is one that genuinely touched my heart and brought me to tears, and basically all written and programmed by one guy! Mad shit.
After the game’s intro exposition, flowey is the first character we meet in undertale, a game now famous and beloved for its eccentric cast of characters bursting with personality, but also shrouded in mystery. It’s easy to forget that undertale is actually a very cryptic, hands off kind of game owing to its reputation and endless amount of discourse - the backstory of undertale is tied inherently to flowey’s very existence, who ends up being possibly the most important character in the entire game. Without a clear understanding of the story, however, its not immediately evident just why flowey is so great, since the backstory and lore fragments are split across instances of flavour text and perhaps the biggest dump of background lore is given by flowey (asriel) himself, but only if you backtrack all the way to the start of the game after nearly finishing a true pacifist run - yeah, pretty cryptic.
But regardless, what makes flowey such a great villain comes down to these mysteries surrounding his identity and motivations. Flowey embodies the spirit of undertale and its core theme about violence and choosing mercy and love over hatred. Of course its a lot deeper than this and dumbing it down to just that does undertale a disservice - its a game just filled with exploratory character studies, obscene humour, outlandish ‘bits’ and unique gameplay mechanics that all serve a powerful narrative covering many different themes and ideas. But the ones most associated with flowey are the ones most poignant.
From the start of the game flowey tells you that in this world, the underground world of monsters in which you, the human player character, have fallen into, is a ‘kill or be killed’ world. Its a pretty miserable sentiment, that there’s no supposedly no way to progress in the game but to kill or be killed - but when you think about it it is an intentional deconstruction of what rpg games have the player do, you must kill to progress, to get stronger and to ultimately achieve victory and complete the game. Its not something you usually think about and the game’s creator Toby Fox wants you to ponder this one way or another, be it through the game’s dialogue or gameplay mechanics - which revolve fundamentally around an idea, what if you could beat an rpg game without killing any of the games’ inhabitants that you ‘encounter’ - unheard of right? But this is taken to such an extreme in undertale, with the player constantly being questioned about certain decisions, most notably whether they chose to kill or spare a main character. This eventually leads to some outright crazy potential scenarios, some uplifting and heartwarming if you choose a path of low LOVE (level of violence) and EXP (Execution points), and some downright horrifying if you go the… other way.
This other way is the way flowey strongly encourages, since he is supposed to be like the inner voice embodying most gamers’ tendencies (in my opinion at least). Kill or be killed, gain exp, its the way of the world you idiot. Its an average gamers’ instinctual, habitual practice, we see something we can kill, we want to kill it, be it because we want a reward or simply for the fun of it since the game offers that option with little consequence. But boy does undertale have consequence! Innocent characters come to despise and fear you, characters that the game does a fantastic job of building and providing depth to - I felt endeared by these characters existence but I too fell prey to exactly what Toby Fox wants. I didn’t even realise you could talk your way out of basically any encounter and spare your opponent - instead I assumed the only way to progress was to fight and ended up killing toriel and papyrus, thinking they wouldn’t ACTUALLY die, but they do, and you are chastised for it and made to feel like a piece of shit!
Eventually flowey’s truly evil nature comes to its peak as he kills Asgore for you if you choose to spare him and consumes human souls to become a grotesque ‘photoshop flowey’ entity that actually crashes your game before attacking you with everything it has! This is the only ending possible on an initial run besides a ‘genocide’ run where you kill everything (which is definitely not an easy thing to do), the ‘true’ ending of the game is, initially, purposefully locked and I think this is a really interesting storytelling technique because you’re able to spare flowey after your fight and you’re then presented with an opportunity to essentially ‘make things right’. In the alternative endings of undertale, either you rescue flowey and give asriel (flowey’s true nature) peace - or you can become so remorseless and evil you can kill him along with everyone else in possibly the most disturbing ending to a game i’ve ever seen.
So all in all what makes flowey such a tremendous villain is his contextual relevance and innate ties to undertale’s themes and meta narrative. Flowey constantly breaks the fourth wall and speaks seemingly directly to the player, not just the player character on many occasions, furthering this sense of dread associated with him. The fact that he actually crashes your game if you’re playing on a pc is insane to me, it is one of those mind blowing once in a blue moon game moments like psycho mantis reading your console’s memory card in metal gear solid that will never not be memorable because of how creative it is. Flowey is also devious and tricksy and intentionally tries to mislead and taunt you on many occasions and i’m sure he’s caught many a player out into making an unintentionally bad move like killing an innocent npc or otherwise gaining exp, something the game eventually chastises you for. All in all just a really successful, brilliantly executed and very unique sort of villain that isn’t just an evil entity to either rescue or defeat, but a meta textual, fourth wall breaking personification of rpg trends and player expectations that is wholly memorable and thought provoking. He’s also genuinely scary, some of his evil faces and the whole photoshop flowey fight still disturb me a little not gonna lie. Plus going down the route to save flowey and achieve the game’s true, best ending is one that genuinely touched my heart and brought me to tears, and basically all written and programmed by one guy! Mad shit.
6
Berkut:
This one is a bit of a curveball and might come as a surprise to some people, but I really do think that Berkut is deserving of a spot on this list. Fire Emblem is a series not known for its particularly strong villains, many of them are lame archetypes with generic motivations and designs that serve little to the story besides a final boss battle (usually against a dragon of some kind). But Berkut is where I personally think that we see this trend change for the better.
A brand new character introduced in the remake of the second fire emblem game, Berkut serves as a secondary antagonist alongside Emperor Rudolf, the main villain from the original game. The nephew of Rudolf, Berkut is one of the first major antagonists that we, the player, meet. A claimant to the throne of a land called Rigel, Berkut lost his father and then his mother at a young age and grew up a timid child who was often teased. Berkut was raised to be the emperor of Rigel one day, and so needed to be strong, thus, he devoted himself to the military and desired recognition for his deeds. Attempting to prove himself in the coming war against the neighbouring nation of Sofia, a land of peace and prosperity, Berkut rides at the side of the main forces.
Berkut is also engaged to Rinea, a soft spoken noblewoman of Rigel. She has a deteste for violence and wants simply to be at Berkut’s side, clearly not sharing the same lofty expectations of Berkut and his status.
Over the course of the game we, as Alm (the main hero of the story) face Berkut on the battlefield on a couple of occasions. Its quite clear that Berkut, despite his royal status, wishes to be on the battlefield to crush the enemy and prove himself, particularly against Alm who is becoming more and more of a thorn in Rigel’s side. Rigel favours might over all else and so, when it just so happens that Berkut is sent running on every encounter with Alm, he feels increasingly frustrated and humiliated. Bested by Alm on every occasion, Berkut begins to turn to more desperate strategies, such as using a powerful curse gifted to him by the god of strength (Duma) in an attempt to overcome them (something he previously shunned and dismissed, seeing no honour in it - the first major sign that Berkut is beginning to lose his mind).
As Alm and his army, the deliverance, march upon the capital of Rigel and slay emperor Rudolf, Berkut watches on. Upon dying, Rudolf reveals Alm to be his own biological son and the true successor to the throne - thus Berkut loses his claim. Wallowing in despair, Berkut feels that he has lost everything and undergoes a descent into madness. Eventually, he willingly gives himself over to the god Duma, hellbent on exacting revenge against Alm. In doing so, however, he also willingly sacrifices Rinea, his fiancé. Rinea does not care whether or not he is emperor and only wishes to spend her life with Berkut and dance with him, but Berkut is not who he once was. Driven insane by the possibility of great power, Berkut (and Rinea, now turned into a witch) attack Alm and his party. After Alm bests Berkut for the last time, he departs into the afterlife alongside the spirit of his beloved Rinea, who still lived on.
At a glance, this seems a fairly typical tale of tragedy and a lust for power. But what makes Berkut’s story and presence so special is how real it feels and how great Ian Sinclair’s portrayal of him is, particularly in his final moments, when he undergoes his ‘fall’. Berkut is a refreshing villain for the fire emblem franchise, driven by selfishness but also expectations to fulfil, boots to fill if you will. Imagine growing up fatherless, with the only person you have to look up to being a war mongering conqueror. Berkut is incredibly flawed and blind to the good that he has in Rinea, who loves him unconditionally - Berkut believes that Rinea wants to be an empress at his side and that he must prove himself worthy of her and his country, but in truth he had all he needed from the beginning, he could have eloped with Rinea or tried to challenge the war, but instead he felt that he had an obligation to serve - to deliver on the expectations placed upon him, to be a strong, powerful leader worthy of the throne. I don’t know, there’s just something very genuine and close to home about that kind of tragic villain origin story and Berkut does it particularly well with enormous payoff near the game’s end.
This one is a bit of a curveball and might come as a surprise to some people, but I really do think that Berkut is deserving of a spot on this list. Fire Emblem is a series not known for its particularly strong villains, many of them are lame archetypes with generic motivations and designs that serve little to the story besides a final boss battle (usually against a dragon of some kind). But Berkut is where I personally think that we see this trend change for the better.
A brand new character introduced in the remake of the second fire emblem game, Berkut serves as a secondary antagonist alongside Emperor Rudolf, the main villain from the original game. The nephew of Rudolf, Berkut is one of the first major antagonists that we, the player, meet. A claimant to the throne of a land called Rigel, Berkut lost his father and then his mother at a young age and grew up a timid child who was often teased. Berkut was raised to be the emperor of Rigel one day, and so needed to be strong, thus, he devoted himself to the military and desired recognition for his deeds. Attempting to prove himself in the coming war against the neighbouring nation of Sofia, a land of peace and prosperity, Berkut rides at the side of the main forces.
Berkut is also engaged to Rinea, a soft spoken noblewoman of Rigel. She has a deteste for violence and wants simply to be at Berkut’s side, clearly not sharing the same lofty expectations of Berkut and his status.
Over the course of the game we, as Alm (the main hero of the story) face Berkut on the battlefield on a couple of occasions. Its quite clear that Berkut, despite his royal status, wishes to be on the battlefield to crush the enemy and prove himself, particularly against Alm who is becoming more and more of a thorn in Rigel’s side. Rigel favours might over all else and so, when it just so happens that Berkut is sent running on every encounter with Alm, he feels increasingly frustrated and humiliated. Bested by Alm on every occasion, Berkut begins to turn to more desperate strategies, such as using a powerful curse gifted to him by the god of strength (Duma) in an attempt to overcome them (something he previously shunned and dismissed, seeing no honour in it - the first major sign that Berkut is beginning to lose his mind).
As Alm and his army, the deliverance, march upon the capital of Rigel and slay emperor Rudolf, Berkut watches on. Upon dying, Rudolf reveals Alm to be his own biological son and the true successor to the throne - thus Berkut loses his claim. Wallowing in despair, Berkut feels that he has lost everything and undergoes a descent into madness. Eventually, he willingly gives himself over to the god Duma, hellbent on exacting revenge against Alm. In doing so, however, he also willingly sacrifices Rinea, his fiancé. Rinea does not care whether or not he is emperor and only wishes to spend her life with Berkut and dance with him, but Berkut is not who he once was. Driven insane by the possibility of great power, Berkut (and Rinea, now turned into a witch) attack Alm and his party. After Alm bests Berkut for the last time, he departs into the afterlife alongside the spirit of his beloved Rinea, who still lived on.
At a glance, this seems a fairly typical tale of tragedy and a lust for power. But what makes Berkut’s story and presence so special is how real it feels and how great Ian Sinclair’s portrayal of him is, particularly in his final moments, when he undergoes his ‘fall’. Berkut is a refreshing villain for the fire emblem franchise, driven by selfishness but also expectations to fulfil, boots to fill if you will. Imagine growing up fatherless, with the only person you have to look up to being a war mongering conqueror. Berkut is incredibly flawed and blind to the good that he has in Rinea, who loves him unconditionally - Berkut believes that Rinea wants to be an empress at his side and that he must prove himself worthy of her and his country, but in truth he had all he needed from the beginning, he could have eloped with Rinea or tried to challenge the war, but instead he felt that he had an obligation to serve - to deliver on the expectations placed upon him, to be a strong, powerful leader worthy of the throne. I don’t know, there’s just something very genuine and close to home about that kind of tragic villain origin story and Berkut does it particularly well with enormous payoff near the game’s end.
7
David:
The Last of Us is not really a game with one clear villain. One of the many things that I love about the story is the way in which it handles its chapters - each chapter very much feels like its own unique setpiece and passage of time. All of them seem to have their own major objective or obstacle to overcome and none are remotely obsolete. While TLOU is not a game with 'boss battles' outside of its powerhouse bloater enemies, it has one absolutely standout chapter and major antagonist - that antagonist being David, the cannibal who kidnaps and imprisons Ellie during the brilliant 'Lakeside Resort' chapter, the final major arc before the games' ending sequence.
Okay so 'David', as one might infer from his rather bogstandard name & the fact that he is just some guy, is hardly a groundbreaking villain. Honestly he alone is not deserving of such praise, but what makes him so standout, so memorable and so brilliant that I put him on this list is the way in which he is set up and the way in which you defeat him. By this point in the game I really felt connected with Joel & Ellie, i'd been with them at literally every step and alongside them, barely escaped death countless times. I say 'alongside' because The Last of Us feels, to me, like a very personal and emotional experience to take in and one in which you feel like you're in the moments with Joel & Ellie. Joel starts their journey together rather cold and distant, seeing Ellie as merely another smuggling job as he's tasked with taking her to a firefly base. But through lots of small and subtle moments of companionship and a fatherly sentiment from Joel (we've also seen his heartbreaking loss of Sarah by this point too), he warms to Ellie and their relationship deepens to something really special. A relationship where they both look out for and support each other in a cruel post-apocalyptic world. Their relationship is not without a good share of squabbles, fights and really tough times, only making their relationship feel more genuine.
Then suddenly, in quite a shocking twist of events, Ellie needs to look after and protect Joel rather than the other way around. Joel is severely injured and on the brink of death as they escape bandit pursuers into the mountains and Ellie must single handedly keep Joel alive. This is around the time she runs into David while out hunting a deer for food. Initially fighting and surviving together against infected attackers, their relationship quickly becomes hostile when Ellie learns that his group were the ones who attacked her and Joel, as well as the fact that he and his group are cannibals. She is extended the offer to join them but refuses and is eventually captured and imprisoned by David. Escaping and fighting her way through David's men, Ellie desperately tries to find her way back to Joel, but is cornered by David in an old abandoned restaurant.
The restaurant starts to burn down as a violent and intense fight ensues, one which is genuinely terrifying and sees you having to quietly sneak your way around him to get the jump on him, as David is twice as strong as you and armed with a machete. What makes this encounter so genuinely frightening and impactful to me comes down to a lot of things, notably the stakes of the situation - Joel & Ellie's lives as well as the fact that they'll probably be eaten, the 'betrayal' on David's part and learning the truth about him in an awesome 'oh shit' moment since you originally think he's just another survivor and lastly, the amazing way in which their final encounter ends. While pinning Ellie down and tormenting her, David, it is indicated, tries to sexually assault Ellie. Just in time Ellie reaches for David's machete and brutally kills him in a shocking, emotional and heartbreaking act of self defence. It is heartbreaking because you can just see and feel how many emotions Ellie must feel in this moment - fear, anger, hate, panic, desperation. For a young girl to have already gone through so much and experience such trauma felt really affecting and the incredible moment it delivers where Joel arrives and comforts her would not have been possible without a villain as plain and terrifying as David. What's more, as Joel arrives, Ellie very nearly reacts by attacking him out of instinct, further indicating her fear for her life and immense anguish felt in this moment. Joel also, upon finding out what David tried to do to her, holds Ellie close and says 'oh baby girl' - the first time we hear him say this since losing his daughter in the game's intro sequence / prologue, solidifying, with subtlety no longer, that Joel sees Ellie like a daughter. Simply put - perfect writing, I absolutely love everything about this chapter. And hey, fundamentally, there may be many spooky looking monster villains and gross looking bosses in video games to fulfil the role of antagonist, but in David's case, he's just an old white guy, and they truly are the scariest villains of all.
The Last of Us is not really a game with one clear villain. One of the many things that I love about the story is the way in which it handles its chapters - each chapter very much feels like its own unique setpiece and passage of time. All of them seem to have their own major objective or obstacle to overcome and none are remotely obsolete. While TLOU is not a game with 'boss battles' outside of its powerhouse bloater enemies, it has one absolutely standout chapter and major antagonist - that antagonist being David, the cannibal who kidnaps and imprisons Ellie during the brilliant 'Lakeside Resort' chapter, the final major arc before the games' ending sequence.
Okay so 'David', as one might infer from his rather bogstandard name & the fact that he is just some guy, is hardly a groundbreaking villain. Honestly he alone is not deserving of such praise, but what makes him so standout, so memorable and so brilliant that I put him on this list is the way in which he is set up and the way in which you defeat him. By this point in the game I really felt connected with Joel & Ellie, i'd been with them at literally every step and alongside them, barely escaped death countless times. I say 'alongside' because The Last of Us feels, to me, like a very personal and emotional experience to take in and one in which you feel like you're in the moments with Joel & Ellie. Joel starts their journey together rather cold and distant, seeing Ellie as merely another smuggling job as he's tasked with taking her to a firefly base. But through lots of small and subtle moments of companionship and a fatherly sentiment from Joel (we've also seen his heartbreaking loss of Sarah by this point too), he warms to Ellie and their relationship deepens to something really special. A relationship where they both look out for and support each other in a cruel post-apocalyptic world. Their relationship is not without a good share of squabbles, fights and really tough times, only making their relationship feel more genuine.
Then suddenly, in quite a shocking twist of events, Ellie needs to look after and protect Joel rather than the other way around. Joel is severely injured and on the brink of death as they escape bandit pursuers into the mountains and Ellie must single handedly keep Joel alive. This is around the time she runs into David while out hunting a deer for food. Initially fighting and surviving together against infected attackers, their relationship quickly becomes hostile when Ellie learns that his group were the ones who attacked her and Joel, as well as the fact that he and his group are cannibals. She is extended the offer to join them but refuses and is eventually captured and imprisoned by David. Escaping and fighting her way through David's men, Ellie desperately tries to find her way back to Joel, but is cornered by David in an old abandoned restaurant.
The restaurant starts to burn down as a violent and intense fight ensues, one which is genuinely terrifying and sees you having to quietly sneak your way around him to get the jump on him, as David is twice as strong as you and armed with a machete. What makes this encounter so genuinely frightening and impactful to me comes down to a lot of things, notably the stakes of the situation - Joel & Ellie's lives as well as the fact that they'll probably be eaten, the 'betrayal' on David's part and learning the truth about him in an awesome 'oh shit' moment since you originally think he's just another survivor and lastly, the amazing way in which their final encounter ends. While pinning Ellie down and tormenting her, David, it is indicated, tries to sexually assault Ellie. Just in time Ellie reaches for David's machete and brutally kills him in a shocking, emotional and heartbreaking act of self defence. It is heartbreaking because you can just see and feel how many emotions Ellie must feel in this moment - fear, anger, hate, panic, desperation. For a young girl to have already gone through so much and experience such trauma felt really affecting and the incredible moment it delivers where Joel arrives and comforts her would not have been possible without a villain as plain and terrifying as David. What's more, as Joel arrives, Ellie very nearly reacts by attacking him out of instinct, further indicating her fear for her life and immense anguish felt in this moment. Joel also, upon finding out what David tried to do to her, holds Ellie close and says 'oh baby girl' - the first time we hear him say this since losing his daughter in the game's intro sequence / prologue, solidifying, with subtlety no longer, that Joel sees Ellie like a daughter. Simply put - perfect writing, I absolutely love everything about this chapter. And hey, fundamentally, there may be many spooky looking monster villains and gross looking bosses in video games to fulfil the role of antagonist, but in David's case, he's just an old white guy, and they truly are the scariest villains of all.
8
Dr. Nefarious:
Nefarious, now Ratchet & Clank's arch enemy and the franchise's most iconic and beloved villain is just a hilarious guy to be honest. He's a villain that you just can't help but like. Alongside qwark, he embodies R&C's great sense of humour & lighthearted silliness.
Nefarious' running gags like his embarrassing fondness for romance films, his robotic tendency to malfunction and come to a halt at the worst possible times and his back and forth with his butler Laurence used to crack me up as a kid. Laurence is the perfect ying to Nefarious' yang, being just so done with the guy, probably bored of his increasingly outlandish plans that always backfire.
Where Nefarious is manic, furious and narcissistic all the time, Laurence simply just wants to do his job and this creates a really great dynamic between the two. Nefarious also has some really cool boss fights throughout the series and is just so animated and endlessly entertaining with some top notch voice acting. He's living proof that a cartoonish, unapologetically evil character can still be fantastic - mostly owing to the humour and amount of energy he brings to the series which other villains in the games have never been able to match.
Nefarious, now Ratchet & Clank's arch enemy and the franchise's most iconic and beloved villain is just a hilarious guy to be honest. He's a villain that you just can't help but like. Alongside qwark, he embodies R&C's great sense of humour & lighthearted silliness.
Nefarious' running gags like his embarrassing fondness for romance films, his robotic tendency to malfunction and come to a halt at the worst possible times and his back and forth with his butler Laurence used to crack me up as a kid. Laurence is the perfect ying to Nefarious' yang, being just so done with the guy, probably bored of his increasingly outlandish plans that always backfire.
Where Nefarious is manic, furious and narcissistic all the time, Laurence simply just wants to do his job and this creates a really great dynamic between the two. Nefarious also has some really cool boss fights throughout the series and is just so animated and endlessly entertaining with some top notch voice acting. He's living proof that a cartoonish, unapologetically evil character can still be fantastic - mostly owing to the humour and amount of energy he brings to the series which other villains in the games have never been able to match.
9
Senator Armstrong:
I must admit, i've not actually played Metal Gear Rising, i've played the rest of the games on this list but the metal gear series is not really something i've delved into much at all. Even so, from everything i've seen and read about Senator Armstrong, he's just a fantastic all round villain who just feels really authentic and fundamentally tied to current affairs - politics, modern day fears and stagnation as a result of overwhelming patriotism. Armstrong has an ambition of worldly destruction in order for humanity to rise greater and stronger and he has a burning desire to ‘make America great again’ (ring any bells?), and while this is a ludicrous and unfounded idea, its one that feels like it could actually be believed by some absolute madmen.
Senator Armstrong, despite being hilarious and I of course, would never have heard about him if not for that one meme, is actually surprisingly threatening and a tour de force of strength thanks to his NANOMACHINES, SON. The way he's like an absolute titan during the david and goliath esque scenes between him and raiden make for some fantastic action setpieces, with Armstrong being an absolute powerhouse and seemingly unstoppable, but fundamentally still human. The fact that his hp only slowly goes down during that fight despite taking an absolute onslaught of attacks from Raiden and the manner in which he fixes his glasses after taking such a serious beating does so much for his personality. It's clear why this guy is such a fan favourite because of how easily memeable he is, but from what i've read of his motivations and desires, he does feel like the sort of villain that could genuinely exist.
I must admit, i've not actually played Metal Gear Rising, i've played the rest of the games on this list but the metal gear series is not really something i've delved into much at all. Even so, from everything i've seen and read about Senator Armstrong, he's just a fantastic all round villain who just feels really authentic and fundamentally tied to current affairs - politics, modern day fears and stagnation as a result of overwhelming patriotism. Armstrong has an ambition of worldly destruction in order for humanity to rise greater and stronger and he has a burning desire to ‘make America great again’ (ring any bells?), and while this is a ludicrous and unfounded idea, its one that feels like it could actually be believed by some absolute madmen.
Senator Armstrong, despite being hilarious and I of course, would never have heard about him if not for that one meme, is actually surprisingly threatening and a tour de force of strength thanks to his NANOMACHINES, SON. The way he's like an absolute titan during the david and goliath esque scenes between him and raiden make for some fantastic action setpieces, with Armstrong being an absolute powerhouse and seemingly unstoppable, but fundamentally still human. The fact that his hp only slowly goes down during that fight despite taking an absolute onslaught of attacks from Raiden and the manner in which he fixes his glasses after taking such a serious beating does so much for his personality. It's clear why this guy is such a fan favourite because of how easily memeable he is, but from what i've read of his motivations and desires, he does feel like the sort of villain that could genuinely exist.
10
2 Comments
Some great choices here! Especially love the inclusion of Dr. Nefarious.
My personal favorite video game villain is Porky from Earthbound and Mother 3, super underrated and extremely compelling as a character. Wish more people talked about the themes he explores and the growth he goes through in EB.
My personal favorite video game villain is Porky from Earthbound and Mother 3, super underrated and extremely compelling as a character. Wish more people talked about the themes he explores and the growth he goes through in EB.
CheesyChip
1 year ago