Announcing the RPGamer Villain-Off

TheAnimeMan · May 2016

RealityChecked wrote: »

I want my villains to be there throughout the game, make me suffer, be one step ahead of me at every turn, and get destroyed in end. Sure, there's a place for villains you empathize with or that realize the error of their ways, but not at the top.

Lavos and Sin don't resonate with me...they really are just 'natural disasters' with no malice.

Ghaleon, Delita, and Yggdrasil are solid choices, but they are trying to do what they think is best for 'humanity' in their own twisted way.

Ganon has potential for overall body of work, but his different incarnations make him hard to pin down as an individual villain.

Then there's Kefka. It's a boring pick, and I wish he was less 'clown-like' and a bit scarier, but he checks the boxes. At least from the 24 candidates, he's my choice (of the ones I've played).

Lezard Valeth corrupts time and space all in his pursuit to have Valkyrie all to himself, manipulating events so that she's on par power wise equal to Odin. (at least in their version of mythology)

http://valkyrieprofile.wikia.com/wiki/Lezard

Is a good thing, but tons of spoilers of exactly how messed up he is

hyperknees91 · May 2016

>I want my villains to be there throughout the game, make me suffer, be one step ahead of me at every turn, and get destroyed in end. Sure, there's a place for villains you empathize with or that realize the error of their ways, but not at the top.

That's actually a big rarity among RPG villains in general. Got any examples?

RealityChecked · May 2016

hyperknees91 wrote: »

>I want my villains to be there throughout the game, make me suffer, be one step ahead of me at every turn, and get destroyed in end. Sure, there's a place for villains you empathize with or that realize the error of their ways, but not at the top.

That's actually a big rarity among RPG villains in general. Got any examples?

It is unfortunately rare indeed. A few examples that at least come close are Sephiroth (FFVII), 'Lynx' (Chrono Cross), the 'main' villain in TitS I/II (Trails in the Sky), and Zophar (Lunar EB).

TheAnimeMan · May 2016

RealityChecked wrote: »

hyperknees91 wrote: »

>I want my villains to be there throughout the game, make me suffer, be one step ahead of me at every turn, and get destroyed in end. Sure, there's a place for villains you empathize with or that realize the error of their ways, but not at the top.

That's actually a big rarity among RPG villains in general. Got any examples?

It is unfortunately rare indeed. A few examples that at least come close are Sephiroth (FFVII), 'Lynx' (Chrono Cross), the 'main' villain in TitS I/II (Trails in the Sky), and Zophar (Lunar EB).

Actually Sephiroth was hinted at through all of FFVII but it wasn't really Sephiroth, it was Jenova the secret manipulator of the whole thing dealing with Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself is just a glorified puppet being pulled along by the strings of Jenova

RealityChecked · May 2016

TheAnimeMan wrote: »

RealityChecked wrote: »

hyperknees91 wrote: »

>I want my villains to be there throughout the game, make me suffer, be one step ahead of me at every turn, and get destroyed in end. Sure, there's a place for villains you empathize with or that realize the error of their ways, but not at the top.

That's actually a big rarity among RPG villains in general. Got any examples?

It is unfortunately rare indeed. A few examples that at least come close are Sephiroth (FFVII), 'Lynx' (Chrono Cross), the 'main' villain in TitS I/II (Trails in the Sky), and Zophar (Lunar EB).

Actually Sephiroth was hinted at through all of FFVII but it wasn't really Sephiroth, it was Jenova the secret manipulator of the whole thing dealing with Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself is just a glorified puppet being pulled along by the strings of Jenova

True enough...I should have put Sephiroth in quotes like I did 'Lynx' (since he's not as simple as he looks either as fate would have it...). Still, he's the face of the evil entity you fight throughout the game, makes you betray your friends, drives you to madness, and turns a girl you like into a kabob in front of you.

redwing42 · May 2016

Disappointed that there is no Kato on this list. He is probably my favorite antagonist ever. Ghaleon is a close second, though.

silktail · May 2016

TheAnimeMan wrote: »

Actually Sephiroth was hinted at through all of FFVII but it wasn't really Sephiroth, it was Jenova the secret manipulator of the whole thing dealing with Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself is just a glorified puppet being pulled along by the strings of Jenova

That's only one theory though, with the most obvious counter-theory being that it is Sephiroth's will which is manipulating Jenova. (It has the advantage of being what the game says is happening.)

It'll be interesting to see if the planned remake tries to make it more clearer either way. Although I suspect Sephiroth's popularity will place him at the helm.

Clix · May 2016

silktail wrote: »

TheAnimeMan wrote: »

Actually Sephiroth was hinted at through all of FFVII but it wasn't really Sephiroth, it was Jenova the secret manipulator of the whole thing dealing with Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself is just a glorified puppet being pulled along by the strings of Jenova

That's only one theory though, with the most obvious counter-theory being that it is Sephiroth's will which is manipulating Jenova. (It has the advantage of being what the game says is happening.)

It'll be interesting to see if the planned remake tries to make it more clearer either way. Although I suspect Sephiroth's popularity will place him at the helm.

According to the latest Ultimania book for the series, the developers stand by Sephiroth ruling over Jenova. Hard to say if that was the authorial intent at the time of development, but it is most certainly their stance now a days after all of the cameos and Compilation material.

TheAnimeMan · May 2016

Yeah but Seph wouldn't even be as nearly bad as he is with out the Jenova cells. So even if he's manipulating Jenova now ... he wouldn't be able to with out her to begin with there by going right back to Jenova secretly manipulating everything

watcher · May 2016

Woulda been nice to see Grahf make the list now that I think about it.

Alex Fuller · May 2016

And the group stage is over. We will now take a break over the weekend so I can sort out the staff assignments for each matchup.

Quarter-Final Draw:
Begins Monday May 16, 2016, at 7pm EST.

Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)
vs.
Delita Heiral (Final Fantasy Tactics)

Lavos (Chrono Trigger)
vs.
Sin (Final Fantasy X)

Luca Blight (Suikoden II)
vs.
N (Pokémon Black/White)

Ghaleon (Lunar)
vs.
Ganon (The Legend of Zelda series)

Please note the different rules for the knockout stage:
Each match has five points up for grabs. Three of these points come from individual staff members' votes, with the other two coming from the on-site reader votes. With reader votes these two points will assigned to be winner provided they earn at least 52% of the vote. If neither villain attains 52% or higher, then the two reader points will be split between them.

Cassandra Ramos · May 2016

The elite eight has been decided. Let's see how this goes. :)

Shannon Harle · May 2016

Yeah in hindsight, Grahf would've been a good choice.

But in the same series, I see people clamoring for Albedo. Need I remind people that his motivation was literally just having a boner for MOMO and being jealous of Jr? The latter is even the ENTIRE PLOT of Xenosaga 2. Sure, he messes stuff up pretty bad bringing in Proto Merkabah and generally making chaos' job a PitA, but... his motivations are so thin and one-dimensional...

If I HAD to go for a villain from XS, it's gotta be Margulis. Either that or Kevin. Actually, scratch Margulis, KEVIN is a ton better than Albedo... Spoilers ahead.

Spoiler:

Like, Kevin is pulling the strings from THE VERY FIRST GAME and even BEFORE that with trying to bring forth Mary Magdeline, messing with Shion's emotions and mental state something FIERCE... and all because he wants to revive the Ark with the rest of the Testaments by taking advantage of Shion. :/

More up-to-date... Ghaelon v Ganon is going to be hard because I wanna pull for my boy (love Ghaleon so much) but Ganon is SO good especially if we're talking Wind Waker Ganon... ;w;

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Announcing the RPGamer Villain-Off

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