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I've noticed a lot of people really seem to think that Kefka is the best FF villain ever. He's no longer number one on my list, and I was curious if anyone else felt the same way as me. I remember when I was younger and first played the game on the Super Nintendo I thought he was really incredible and so twistedly evil. Playing it again though and already knowing all his actions he seems somewhat trite to me and overly obvious. There's something about him being just too evil and a little simplistic in that sense. For utterly cruel poisoning of Doma is an action I've seen in movies and such so many times that it just seems like "look how evil I am" to me. Final Fantasy Tactics is the Square game that dominates all my spare Role Playing time now and to me the villains in it seem much more complex and less "I'm the evil villain". How does everyone else feel?

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

personally i feel that kefka is still the best FF villian ever, if not the best overall villian. What i like aboit him is his evilness, hes not the cliche dark, quite evil guy, hes the not-as-cliche evil clown type. And thats just cool in my book

if u don't like kefka anymore, which villian caused you to change ur mind?

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<Nealio> Seymour sounds like evil Winnie the Pooh

I think fundamentally Kefka was a great character: it's not so much pure evil as pure indulgence. Anybody who's read '120 days of Sodom' by the Marquis de Sade will know what I mean. Kefka does whatever pleases him, the consequences of good and evil don't enter his mind, nor do their definitions.

I did however, like you, feel sometimes Kefka wasn't given quite as much depth as a character like his should have been. Although he is well portrayed, I never felt they quite conveyed the sadistic tendencies he had. For the most part I think he was well portrayed, and I have to admit some of those more sadistic tendencies would probably be pretty hard to represent in a computer game designed for most ages. But Kefka is definitely a Libertine and although I don't think that always comes across quite so well as it could have, I think the message is still there.

It's not that another villain has taken his place, it's just on re-evaluation he seems a little cliche to me. Not always mind you, what he did to General Leo was pretty unique and I thought really cool to watch as well as his actions outside Figaro Castle in the beginning of the game. I really like Delita as a villain from FFT (though lots of people probably don't consider him to be a villain) because he's so unclear on his own actions. Also I forgot to mention as far as a last boss goes, Kefka was definately one of the worst. I don't think I ever felt differently than last. The only worse boss I can think of is that one from FFIX. I'll just call him Mr. No-Name who loses to low level tranced Zidane in a matter of minutes. *Shudder.

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

I still think that Kefka is probably the best-designed villain of all time. Why? Kefka is a very non-standard villain. If you didn't know he was the villain, you'd take one look at him and dismiss him as a clownish, foolish idiot. Sephiroth has that mysterious, dark aura around him. Exdeath tells you explicitly what evil he will conduct. Golbez has an evil-lord theme music and the appearance of an evil character. But Kefka surely looks like a clown and acts like some stuck-up, demented fool, until it's too late, which also happens to be when you realize it...and I believe we all know what he looks like at the end--something totally different and unexpected, containing an extraordinary amount of irony but still coherent with the rest of the game. How easy is that to pull off?

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I love kefka as a villain..always have. For all the reasons those gave above, plus one more. In most cases the heroes actually manage to defeat the villian before he finishes his evil plan of destrying the world.

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

Where they failed, Kefka suceeds

thats what makes him good in my mind..

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

that he got what he wanted

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"I will be the last, and you will go first!" -Saravok

"Silence Dog. You serve no purpose but to die by my hand." - Jon Irenicus

"Doom awaits thee!" -Mellisan

"Eh-Yo, It's me, Imoen"

Yah I think Kefka was VERY well done indeed! It's just another example how the makers actually managed to get away from the cliched mainstream definitions on what something should be. In Kefka's case, who would ever think of a villain as being a "clown"( or otherwise)? But the makers have managed to do it smoothly. Hats off to them for being able to think outta the box!!!

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Student of CCS, Grandmaster of Alternative Literature and Musical Passionista at your service!!!

Really? I wasn't surprised at all when Kefka took over as the "main" villain in the game. It seemed to me like he was always geared up towards being the main villain during the course of gameplay. I kinda figured he'd be the one you fight in the end from the very beginning. How he managed to take the reigns so to speak was definately cool, with the destruction of the world and all, but I never really felt the Emperor was going to be the last boss.

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

I still think that Kefka was the best villain. Period. His story was extremely unique and creative, as was his manner. You rarely see a crazy villain that comes off as scary, too. His final form really scared the fuzz out of me. Unfortunately, you rarely see a compassionate, loving villain. It'd be interesting to see a villain who is evil, but also has a lighter side, and can love.

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Wow. 1,000 posts.

I miss you all now that I'm in boarding school! ;_;

This is what makes Kefka great in my opinion: He's pure chaos. A more traditional "I'm evil and I'm going to rule the world" type of villain wouldn't have fit into the story. FF6 asks explicitly, "what's the point of life? why keep on struggling when we're all going to die in the end, and when a random tragedy can strike at any time and destroy everything we love?" Kefka represents that unpredictable side of life that threatens to wreck everything we build. He's like a rampaging tornado, a raging and uncontrollable fire that doesn't discriminate as it consumes everything in its path. He's the perfect enemy for Terra and the rest of the gang.

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Sabin: ... to Mom... and to Figaro.

"A true classic never goes out of style!"

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain..."

In many ways, Kefka is the trigger in my life that started me down the path of nihilism.

The end comes beyond chaos.

Best. Villlain. Ever.

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"Nothing can beat the music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!" - Kefka

Kefka and Sephiroth are the two best but I cant really decide between them. You have to compare them which is difficult although I think Sephiroth had the more realistic personality.

I like Sephiroth more but just barely...Kefka's insano attitide was fun.

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There is a time and a place for everything, and I am niether