Wednesday, January 29, 2014

My Top 50 Favourite Video Game Villains: #10 to #2

So. Here we are. The Top 10. Well, #10 to #2 anyway. We're almost there. Let's continue!

Note: There are possible spoilers in each entry so avoid them if you don't want to ruin any storylines.

#10: Pyramid Head
Other Names: Red Pyramid, Bogeyman, James
Debut Game and Year: Silent Hill 2 (2001)
Famous Quote?: None
Other Appearances: Silent Hill: The Arcade, New International Track & Field, Silent Hill: Downpour, Silent Hill: Book of Memories

My favourite stalker in all of video gaming history is Pyramid Head. Everything is amazing about this guy. First he's scary as hell. That pyramid helmet is just ridiculous. He walks incredibly creepily. That sword/large knife is insane. He's just one scary mother.


But underneath his appearance is his significance to the plot of Silent Hill 2. SH2, one of the best video game storylines of all time (in my opinion), has so much imagery and physical metaphors, and Pyramid Head is one of the biggest ones. James, the main character, practically created Silent Hill 2's complete setting and monsters. And they all have some significance to his mental health. Pyramid Head is the part of James that feels he deserves to be tortured and killed for his murder of his wife. Pyramid Head kills Maria over and over again throughout the game. Maria, who looks a lot like his wife Mary. So that's the purpose of Pyramid Head. Both his appearance and his significance to the game are immense. And he's just one hell of a badass monster.

#9: Lloyd
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: The Legend of Dragoon (1999)
Famous Quote?: "I am the one who torched your home to the ground. I am the one who deprived your friend of his life. And I hold the Moon Gem and the Moon Dagger in my hands! You abhor me, don't you?"
Other Appearances: None
While The Legend of Dragoon isn't the most original RPG, and its set of characters are quite bland and generic at times, Lloyd saves the game for the most part. Once again, his character isn't terribly original, but it's the swagger he has and his coldness that makes him stand apart. He has some badass quotes too. And, what can I say, I have a thing for characters with a plan and a determination to succeed in doing that plan. Of course, Lloyd, in the end, isn't a bad guy as he was deceived and used to deliver a utopia requested by the main villain of the game, Melhbu Frahma, but, 75% of the bad things that happen in the game, especially the death of Lavitz, one of the best "pure good guys" in video game history, really make you seethe this guy.

#8: Kuja
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Final Fantasy IX (2000)
Famous Quote?: "What comedy! Zidane, isn't it hilarious!? I'll die just like the black mages I so despise! I single-handedly brought chaos unto Gaia, but in the end, I'm nothing but a worthless doll! ... I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"
Other Appearances: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
So the previous entry, Lloyd from The Legend of Dragoon got in so high because of his cool looks and the way he presents himself. Kuja's appearance has always been his downfall in my opinion. He just doesn't look like a big threat to the party. But... his actions, his quotes, and everything else about him screams of awesome. From causing a war between loving family nations, to creating a mass army, destroying countless towns and an entire planet. Kuja is a man of action. And he does it all, laughing and calmly reciting poetic lines like Shakespeare. I just love Kuja so so much, and of course, the main villain from my favourite video game of all time has to be high on my list right?

#7: Neo Cortex
Other Names: Dr Neo Cortex, Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex, Cortex
Debut Game and Year: Crash Bandicoot (1996)
Famous Quote?: "You fool! Do you think I'm unaware of this situation? If we don't have any friends left on the surface, then we need to find... an enemy..." - Crash Bandicoot 2
Other Appearances: Every Crash game since
I love Cortex so much. I don't know what it is about him. His banter with Crash is fantastic. And I suppose, unlike Dr Robotnik before him, he shows so much personality. I'd like to think that Megamind, the evil villain of the movie, was based on Cortex. He's just so dastardly yet lovable at the same time. I love a villain who has a silly side to him, and Cortex is king of the silly evil bad guys in video game history.

#6: Wheatley
Other Names: Intelligence Dampening Sphere
Debut Game and Year: Portal 2 (2011)
Famous Quote?: "Now who's a moron?! Could a moron PUNCH! YOU! INTO! THIS! PIT?! HUH?! COULD A MORON DO THAT?!" - turning bad
Other Appearances: None
SPOILERS! I was so torn on whether or not to put Wheatley in this list of video game villains. Firstly because, in itself, it's a plot spoiler if you've not got far enough into the game that you find out that he's the real main villain of Portal 2. And secondly, because, well, he's not a bad guy. He's just an incredibly stupid, dumb robot who, through circumstances, becomes the most powerful robot in the laboratory, and misuses his power due to his lack of intelligence.

Wheatley is a fascinating character on so many levels. Firstly, he's just one of the funniest characters in video game history. You literally are laughing probably once a minute when he's on screen. Stephen Merchant does an absolutely fascinating job, one worth an Oscar for, playing Wheatley. And secondly, such a simple storyline is used to perfection - give power to the wrong people means they abuse that power. But the battle between Chell and Wheatley unfolds tremendously well, and while you do want to beat him up at the end of the game, you really have fallen in love by that point with one of the most fantastic characters of all time.

#5: Sephiroth
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Famous Quote?: "Only death awaits you all, but do not fear. For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me." - Sephiroth, coldly talking whilst slaughtering Tseng
Other Appearances: Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

Well. What to say? That hasn't been said before? One of the most popular characters in video game history. The most famous villain of all Final Fantasy. And does he deserve these accolades? One hundred percent yes.

While there is another FF villain I prefer (more on one of the entries to come), Sephiroth is the ultimate villain. He ticks all the boxes. He looks badass. He fights like a badass. He's a tough nut to kill. He is so cool, so calm, yet so evil, killing important characters in the game, and summoning a huge meteor to destroy the planet. He just is the epitome of villains really. You spend the entire time chasing him (even if it's not really him but Jenova, but, that's another story for a different day), to finally put an end to him and his plans, that when you finally get to him, you just don't know what to feel. Getting to finally do battle with Sephiroth was, and still is, one of the most exciting moments in video game history. Adrenaline runs like water. Sephiroth is just an amazing, in every sense of the word.

#4: Officer Tenpenny
Other Names: Frank Tenpenny
Debut Game and Year: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
Famous Quote?: "I can shit on you from such a height, you'll think God himself took a crap on you!" - When Tenpenny reveals he's part of C.R.A.S.H.
Other Appearances: None
God I hate this guy. He's such a prick. And not even a lovable prick. Right from the beginning of the game, when he reveals himself as a crooked cop, messing you about, you hate him then. But when it's revealed how he's linked with the death of CJ's mum, and with the drug dealings around San Andreas, and using you to do his dirty dealings, you just hate him much much more. And he's there, getting high, ordering you to do more of his dirty laundry, all you want to do is kill him there and then. He's really one of those bad guys that you just can't wait to kill, and, while CJ doesn't kill him directly, seeing the end of Officer Tenpenny is a sweet sweet piece of justice.

#3: GLaDOS
Other Names: Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System
Debut Game and Year: Portal (2007)
Famous Quote?: "We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret, but I think we can put our differences behind us, for science... you monster..." - when reawakening in Portal 2
Other Appearances: Portal 2
Haha, who doesn't love GLaDOS? One of the most loved villains in video game history. And for so many justifiable reasons. There's no denying her evil and cold ways of using your character. Getting a "buzz" from testing you over and over again in more and more difficult tests, trying so hard to kill you off, but at the same time, not wanting you to die because you're the only thing she has left to work with in the lab. Her role in Portal 1 is great, because you think the voice is just a computer for the majority of the game, before it's revealed to be an intelligence robot. And in Portal 2, because you killed her, and passed all the tests, she gets resurrected and puts you through it all over again. She's just an amazing villain, and also, one of the funniest villains in video game history (even if Wheatley is funnier). Her one-liners are some of the best of all time, she's so quick and calculated in her venomous retorts to your character, you can't help but laugh. GLaDOS is just so so awesome and I love her.

#2: Kefka
Other Names: Kefka Palazzo, Cefca Palazzo
Debut Game and Year: Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Famous Quote?: "Hee, hee! Nothing can beat the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!" - when poisoning the rivers of Doma
Other Appearances: Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Kefka got to #1 in my Favourite Final Fantasy Characters list but in this list he's runner up. What villain do I possibly love more than Kefka? Find out tomorrow...

#2 or #1 it doesn't matter. Kefka is one of the most evil and sickeningly horrible villains of all time. Think The Joker crossed with a clown. That's Kefka. He's probably the only villain in Final Fantasy history to actually destroy the world and achieve Godhood. It takes a regrouping of your party after being separated across the globe to take him down. So what does he do that's so cold and evil? He manipulates Terra, the main character (debatable), in killing 50 soldiers. For a test. Then he sets a castle on fire (only for it to be able to be buried underground), then poisons the rivers in another castle (Doma), killing all the soldiers, and their families who lived there. Then he turns on his allies, and murders General Leo by stomping all over his vulnerable body into the ground, laughing. He gets all the power in the world, and chucks his old boss, Emperor Gestahl, off the side of a floating island. He then, destroys the world, to a point that is barely resembles its old self. And for kicks, after destroying the world, any attempts citizens have on rebuilding their town or village, he strikes it down again with his magic. He's just evil and, and, I love him. Killing Kefka is worth the ride, not to mention his final battle sequence to look at is incredibly impressive, especially for 1994. And who can't get enough of this laugh?!

So, here we are. 1 character left to reveal. Who is it? Comment below if you want to guess. Otherwise, find out tomorrow!

See other parts of this listing!
#50 - #41 | #40 - #31 | #30 - #21 | #20 - #11 | #10 - #2 | #1 + More

Other entries you might want to read:
Big News Regarding My DJing - Personal Blog
The Metal Hour Show (20/1/14) - DJ Show
The Transformations of William Birkin - Article


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