What makes a good villain?

[El Héroe Oscuro]

"See, this is what I don't get about you bad guys. You know the hero's gonna win, but you never just die quickly-- man, this one guy in New Haven, right? City's burning, people dying, blah blah blah. This guy rushes me with a spoon. A fricking spoon. And I'm just laughing. So I scoop out his eyeballs with it, and his kids are all, "aghhhhh!," and, ah...you had to be there. Anyway, the moral is: you're a ♥♥♥♥♥."

In video games, there has been a wide slew of dastardly villains, all having their own unique characteristics that make them stand out. From the early days of Bowser to the modern days of Vaas Montenegro, their have been many different villainous personalities seen. So my question to you is this: what are some of the most important characteristics that a video game villain should have? Who are your favorite video game villains?

Feel free to discuss below!

 

[Yukari]

A number of things have to go in to make a good villain. He'd have to be threatening, he'd need a believable motive, maybe he'd be a bit crazy, or just downright sadistic, ect... You get the idea right?

As for my favorite villain I'd have to say Sephiroth. Because he's an example of a villain done right.

 

[Leviathan]

I like villains that are the type of character you least expect to do something dastardly. I'm sure there's been several in all the games that I've played but the only two that currently come to mind are Alistar Azimuth from Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time and Yasha from Asura's Wrath. I loved the way that both 'villains' were introduced as good guys but then either gave in to their own ambitions or betrayed their friends out of a sense of duty. What's extra appealing is that they both kinda redeem themselves in the end before dying.

 

[Sydian]

I like villains that I love to hate. Someone that's just so bad, they're great and make me love them for being bad. I know this is a movie, not a game, but take Cinderella's stepmother. He design is great. Her facial expressions are great. Does she do anything truly evil in the movie? Well, no. Not on a large scale. She has power over one girl's life though, and it's done well enough that we hate her not only ourselves, but for our main character. But as a young adult now, I just love how they made her so easy to hate, if that makes sense. Like I said, this is a movie, but hey, villains are in those too and she's one of my all-time favorites.

Back to games though, another thing I like in a villain is one that makes me think or even feel sorry for them to some extent. Fassad in Mother 3 is actually a Magypsy, for example. But you go through the game just HATING the ever loving hell out of him. And then the main villain of the game (or final boss really, not main villain per se) is the last person you would expect. They set that up perfectly. Tears were streaming down my face during the final boss fight. It was perfect. Dark, depressing, stabbed me in the heart...but at the same time, I felt good at the end about what happened and how it ended. This all being said, I think the Masked Man from Mother 3 is my favorite video game villain for all the emotion you get out of him and the story. Bravely Default's villain is also a great example of a villain done right (maybe not in design but...).

I love villains. Not love like I'd want to be their friend or anything, but I love to see what developers can do with their villains in their series. Heroes are great too, but I think villains needs to shine just as much as their hero, maybe even more. I want villains with a motive and attitude that makes me mad and gives me purpose in fighting them. That's my personal opinion of the mark of a great villain.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Without taking visual novels into account (because spoilers and stuff), Hades from Kid Icarus Uprising was my by far my favorite villain in any video game I played, since for the most part video game villains are damn weak.

In a cast full of very lovable and charming character, Hades stood above all, with such a fun personality and AMAZING preformance by S. Scott Bullock.

Now, I'll keep it short. Motivation? Background? None. Hades is a god. He just does all that evil stuff because he can. But what makes him shine is the fact that contrary to a villain, he's so...unpredictably friendly. Even though he is the main villain in the game, for the most part, it feels like he's a friend. An ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ friend, who constantly remarks sarcastically and throws out witty insults in a very playful manner. He's not the kind of villain that you'd hate, quite the opposite. He's a great villain that you'd love to engage with, as he constantly surprises you and he never gets dull. Yet despite all that, Hades is still a merciless psychopath. A malevolent entity that has a lust for killing, and for no real reason other than his own satisfaction. He IS evil, and his personality contributes to that. A villain that is so lovable and charming with great sense of humor, but you still want to take down for good? Yep, Hades. I kinda explained why I love this character so much a lot already, so I'll just let the quotes do the talking.

Spoiler:

Hades: Well, helloooooo there! Glad to see you made it!
Pit: Hades!
Hades: Settle down there, Pitty. Ladies don't like high-strung fellows. So the "good guys" covet the Wish Seed, too. Tell me, goddess, what do you wish for? Is it all kittens and rainbows, or is it something more...interesting?
Palutena: I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!
Hades: Thanks so much for asking! I just have one humble, little wish. You see this poor child? Both of her parents are dead. Awww... There was an unfortunate accident, if you know what I mean.
Pit: You mean you murdered them!
Hades: It was a simple case of distracted chariot driving. I shouldn't have been doing my hair. Anyway, I was hoping to use the Wish Seed to bring back the parents. Can you think of anything more joyous than a family reunion? Then after that, they'd strike it rich—like, rolling-in-dough rich. And then we'd slap crowns on all of them, and make 'em royalty! And that's the general gist of my wish. Pretty noble, and not at all evil, right? I can't think of anyone MORE deserving of the Wish Seed than yours truly.
Palutena: Let me get this straight. You, the lord of the Underworld, want to revive the dead. That's somewhat at odds with your "mission statement," wouldn't you say?
Hades: Don't tell me the goddess of light hasn't heard of altruism before.
Pit: What a load of baloney!
Hades: My intentions are pure. As lord of the Underworld, you have my word.
Palutena: That just makes me more suspicious.
Hades: How cold of you. Your words pierce my heart like an icicle.

Pit: But this is Thanatos's third time around!
Hades: Thanatos is a bit of a special case.
Pit: You're telling me.
Hades: He IS the God of Death after all. So he gets free perks like evil powers and health insurance... and free soda.

Hades: Whatever. We'll just keep fighting without someone out there giving orders.
Palutena: Are you saying it makes no difference whether your troops have a leader?
Hades: They're all idiots. Seriously, I don't even know if any of them have actual brains.

Hades: Morning, do-gooders!
Pit: Don't tell me you two are behind this!
Hades: Sadly, no, though I do applaud any and all violence directed at you.

Pit: Hey look, an Exo Tank!
Hades: Hey look, who cares?

Viridi: Hey! am I the only one paying attention here? Look! Those Aurum "troops" are just rip-offs of Underworld enemies!
Pit: What?!
Hades: I gotta hand it to them; those are some pretty decent knockoffs.
Viridi: First they devour planets, now they're copying enemies? Ugh. Lowlifes!
Palutena: So maybe the Treasure Boxes and Exo Tanks were also copies.
Viridi: Can't say for sure.
Hades: Full disclosure here, the Mimicuties were courtesy of yours truly.
Pit: It WAS you!
Hades: What? Don't you like presents, Pitty Pat?

Hades (imitating alien voices): We are from outerr spaaaaaace...
Palutena (sarcastically): Yes, yes, you're hilarious.

Viridi: Look! The Chariot Master has an Exo Tank!
Pit: Maybe he's a gearhead.
Hades: Or a nerd.

Viridi: Now what do we have here?
Hades: It's time for my minions to do their thing. Underlings! I'm offering 100 gold for the putz's head!
Pit: The name's Pit!
Hades: Yes, I know. Your tenure as a ring doesn't seem to have had any effect on that keen wit of yours.
Pit: Wait, you know that I was turned into a ring?
Hades: Oh, is it a secret? Then don't mind me. Mum's the word!
Pit: Did YOU turn me into a ring?
Hades: Wow, you really are clueless. Don't you know, Pit? You're the cause of all this chaos.
Pit: Whaaaaat?! That makes no sense!
Viridi: Don't let him get to you, Pit. The Underworld Army is the one to blame.
Hades: Why, thank you. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say.
Viridi: You know what? You're annoying.
Hades: Yow! She's feisty! Wear gloves with this one, minions!

THERE'S SO MANY MORE. Best damn villain, not up for debate.

 

[Raine]

Personally, I'm more along the lines of Jak's interpretation of a "good" villain design. I enjoy villains that have some sort of back story, should the game allow for players to have an insight to, and feeling an emotional attachment to them. Regardless of their mission or plan for destruction in a game, I still appreciate the human traits that they possess. For example, one villain that I enjoyed was Ultimecia from Final Fantasy VIII. Albeit that most people wouldn't regard the game's story as the best within the franchise, but I, being the minority, loved the entire game, and the characters. I'd go as far as saying that I enjoyed Ultimecia more than the actual characters themselves. In essence, the best kind of villain would be one that you can empathize with, but still have this ounce of hatred towards them.

 

[twocows]

I like villains that aren't. More specifically, I like villains whose motivations are arguably ethically superior to the protagonists. This could be for any number of reasons. Maybe the villain is only seen as such because he thinks the ends justify the means... and they actually do in this case. Or perhaps the protagonists were just misled, or were themselves the bad guys (or maybe just mercenaries) but didn't seem like it at first. Or maybe they became bad guys over the course of the story. There are any number of ways this idea can play out, but the key point is that I like it when the bad guys and good guys aren't.

 

[Luck]

I don't think there's a single "best" villain, as it all depends on the story and the setting itself. While I like ethically superior antagonists as characters, it's frustrating to fight them in RPGs that task you with saving the world, and this frustration is only magnified because most video games have awful writing. I also rather like antagonists that do the things they do in order to survive, even if they're nothing more than parasitic animals a la Lavos. It doesn't allow for any ethical dilemmas, but it does make you sympathize with the antagonist and understand their methods.

The only types of antagonists that I'm not fond of are the ones that are crazy or are evil for the sake of being evil. Even then, I'm sure they can be executed well as long as they complement the rest of the game well enough.

As for bad guys that I like, I'm pretty fond of the Shadowlord from NieR, but then again I'm pretty fond of everything about that game. I also rather like ShinRa in FF VII and the antagonists from Final Fantasy Tactics: WotL - at least, I do until Matsuno pulls the old EVIL DEMONS CONTROLLING EVERYTHING card.

 

[KnSlash]

This are some of my favorite quotes from AMC Movie Talk Sr. Editor in Chief John Campea:

"The most dangerous bad guy is the one who thinks he's doing the right thing."

"When you have a villain who is convinced they are doing the right thing, he will stop at nothing to do it, and then get lost in his own madness."

I think that about sums it up perfectly!

 

[Ultramarine]

Jeez, everyone has such long responses, and here I am.
All I'm gonna say is that I like a villain you can sympathise with. You understand why they're doing what they're doing, even if it's "wrong." It's not interesting if they're evil just to be evil, or if they just like doing evil things.

 

[Lusus]

Manipulative, powerful, threatening, look badass/cool/awesome and/or be mysterious. Also the ones that you never expect what they do.

Dr. Weil from Megamn Zero 3 and 4 is a pretty good example. Also Omega from Megaman 3, though he really was "just there as a final boss of Megaman Zero 3", but he did have a really good plot twist.

I also like villains that actually have a reason to do what they do, Dr. Weil isn't a really good example of this however, mostly because he just went insane after being punished for almost destroying the world (not literally) twice.

 

[Heir]

In my opinion, a true "villain" is a someone who has true hate or remorse for human society, and desires change because of his/her own beliefs. A villain who just hates everything just because is not a villain, but an insufferable prick. Lysandre from Pokemon X/Y was a good villain because he wasn't necessarily evil, he just thought the world needed a change.

As contradictory as it is, I love Fawful from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga so much.