Favorite Video Game Antagonists

First off, Bowser is one of my favorites, while not the best of villians, he has an arrogance that makes him good comedy.

As for a real villain, Alex from the Golden Sun series is very good. He manages to play his cards very well, and if you haven't played the series, I highly recommend it. It's one of the best games I've played on a handheld story wise.

 

Mmm, I love me some antagonists in video games. Some of the ones I really liked are;

Clockwerk in Sly Cooper, Baron Praxis, Erol and Kor in Jak II, Gleeman Voxx (and, to an extent, Ace Hardlight) in Ratchet: Deadlocked, Kaos (for the always funny comedic shenanigans) in Skylanders, War in God Of War, Rodrigo Borgia and Haytham Kenway (and one could argue p. much everybody in AC: Rogue were villains) in Assassin's Creed, Kessler in InFamous, Mundus (and Vergil if he's considered a villain) in Devil May Cry, Darkrai in the Mystery Dungeon games, Ripto and the Sorcerer in Spyro The Dragon, Reflux in Rayman 3, andddd The Destroyer in Darksiders.

I could go on. asdesffc. Antags are so interesting.

 

Ghetsis from Pokémon BW. I feel if it weren't for the E rating, he could have been a much better villain. In B2W2, if it weren't for N's timely intervention, the player character would have died.

 

*sees RedScizor already said Sho Minamimoto*
SO ZETTA SLOW
Anyway, Sho Minamimoto is a really interesting villain. GM 1 and 3 in The World Ends With You feel like full on evil for evil's sake (can't remember their names even). I swear GM 3 is called the Iron B*** at some point... At least GM 1 had some interesting stuff with Shiki, but *shrugs* Sho Minamimoto is different. He's fun AND he is a tough boss to fight.

Also *checks video game library* Selvaria Bles from Valkyria Chronicles. I haven't beaten the game, but she is clarly the level headed one, but she clearly cares for the units in her squad. I've got all the DLC for the game, and the DLC about her and the engineer character is sweet.

 

Any antagonist from any Professor Layton game, especially those who are perceived as allies throughout 90% of the story *cough cough* Clyde from Lost Future *cough cough*
The characters in PL are just so interesting, especially the evil ones.
As for other games, Dr. Eggman's selfish desires always made me laugh, and all the Pokémon evil Team *insert name here* Leaders are pretty good in their own light.
But my absolute favourite would have to be Resetti from Animal Crossing.
Wait... does he even count as an antagonist? I mean, if AC had one, he'd be it!

 

How has no-one mentioned hades from Kid Icarus Uprising yet? I'm ashamed!

With great lines, an amazing attitude and a quotable script. Hades is one of the kind. Being an amazing antagonist who gives you the slapstick verbal comedy that you have to hear to understand. He pairs unbelievably well with viridi who I wouldn't count as a villan but that's... complicated. Hades also is the most powerful antagonist I have seen EVER. And whilst this could be a double-edged sword, in chapter 23 battle you feel utterly hopeless against his incredible power even when he doesn't even try. Burping to destroy the 3 Great Treasures. For goodness sake! His insides are in a Different dimension!! Isn't that reason enough to make him an amazing antagonist? Also...
Viridi: You know what? You're annoying!
Hades: Oh! She's feisty! Wear gloves with this one minions!
Must I say more?

Why is it that I write the most whilst fanboying about Kid Icarus Uprising?

 

No love for Ganondorf? His Ocarina of Time incarnation still gives me chills even now.

I second Bowser and add Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) and Golbez (Final Fantasy IV) to the list

 

Speaking of Final Fantasy, how bout Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII? He killed my favourite character, Aeris / Aerith. ;_; But he was still pretty cool, not gonna lie. Also amazing theme, might I add.

 

Spoiler

How is that blue-haired bishonen still alive!?

Cycling through my memory, I am going to think of the various antagonists I really like in the various video games I've played.

Before going into specific examples from specific leads, I'd like to give a hand briefly to Bowser (Mario series), Dr Eggman (Sonic series), Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda series), and Sigma (Mega Man X series). Those guys have lost to their respective foils probably more times than anyone can count, and in a myriad of different ways...but there's no way to kill them off for good. They just keep coming back again. And again. And again. And again.

Of those four, Bowser and Eggman can be separated into one pair, while Ganondorf and Sigma are another. I'll start with the latter pair; those two are essentially forces of unrelenting evil that, for the most part, are sealed away for a good chunk of the game, constantly looming as the threat of a primary antagonist. They might not be directly present, but they're influencing pretty much everything that's going on. And, even when they appear, and lose, they aren't dead. They're just halted for a little while. They pretty much cannot die. I'd hate to live in those worlds where such a thread could happen again at pretty much any time.

Bowser and Eggman play things a little bit differently. I'm not sure what to think of it, but for what they do, they're extremely successful, and have a lot of resources and money lying around. Mario (or Sonic) basically lays waste to a lot of their castles/airships/bases before the final confrontation, after which they run away...but this keeps happening. Where does it all keep coming from? How did Eggman manage to build 2 Egg Carriers? How many castles does Bowser even have!? Yet their foils are still stuck in the same spots trying to stop them. They might not care because of the good vs evil thing, but maybe they do. It has to be a bit wearing on them, right? And to top it off, they're both colossal hams, something which I personally love to see in a character. Bowser has a lot of underlings to do his bidding and when you finally get to him he's everything he's cracked up to be and more, though I do have to give a nod to Eggman for directly engaging Sonic whenever he has the opportunity. That takes some serious guts.

I suppose you could technically lump Dr Wily into that group as well, but at least for me, he didn't seem to have nearly the same impact that the others did. He always seemed to be 'just there' and not much else.

Now that I've said my praises about those guys, time to go to specific examples.
I'm going to put ALL of these in spoiler tags, just so the experience isn't ruined for any of you.

I highly recommend that if you have not FINISHED the game in question, do NOT open the spoiler tag.

Ace Attorney 3:

Spoiler

Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney 3). This woman. This woman. Literally everything is her fault. She's nuts, and there's no way around it. How she has manipulated several major deaths that result in both Mia Fey and Phoenix Wright into becoming the lawyers they are today - how she has tried to play her sickeningly sweet personality to a T to make lawyers fight each other over inconsequential details...she is the epitome of the femme fatale. And even when she's dead, she's still present - in fact, Dahlia was the driving force behind three of the game's trials, including the game's climax. This makes watching her defeat at the hands of Phoenix all the more satisfying.

Etrian Odyssey Untold - The Millennium Girl:

Spoiler

Memetic Installation Keeper Engine (M.I.K.E.) (Etrian Odyssey Untold). MIKE made it onto the list not necessarily because of what he did, but because of all the lead-up for his subplot. At first, MIKE is a very nice guy, very forthcoming with information, and helping them in any way possible. He outlines that his mission is to destroy the Yggdrasil Core by activating the weapon Gungnir stationed near there, and even removes Frederica's amnesia. Once you get to Area 3 of Gladsheim things start to get a little weird. He retains his mission and purpose, like any good AI should. The downside is that he is not open to any alternatives - and by then the party has found at least 1 way to potentially destroy the Core without launching Gungnir. By Area 4, Frederica decides to come clean about Gungnir - it will destroy the Core, yes. It will also destroy everything within 100 miles of it. MIKE then goes ballistic, siccing a tank on the party, and by the time you learn more about what might happen - including the fact that Gungnir might fail to destroy the Core - MIKE has lost all reason and activated Gungnir himself, resulting in you having to fight him personally under a time limit. The result is probably one of the most tense and emotional moments in any video game ever.

Final Fantasy V:

Spoiler

Exdeath (Final Fantasy V). He's basically of the same ilk as Sigma. Story dictates that when he lost initially, they couldn't kill him because he pretty much refused to die, so they had to seal him off. The party then unwittingly frees him and he gets right to work, and he's no slouch either. In the end he dies, fine, but the party has to go through a lot of crap - and in the process, you end up with one really great epic death scene on the way. (It's a spoiler, so unless you've played the game or don't care about spoilers, don't click it.)

Fire Emblem 7:

Spoiler

Lundgren (Fire Emblem 7). He has a great boss fight, that much is true, but mostly it's because I read every single one of his lines in Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice.

Fire Emblem 8:

Spoiler

Lyon (Fire Emblem 8). He's actually a lot more subtle than pretty much anyone I've named so far. Throughout the story there are very clear signs that he is either not quite himself or is possessed. It's also heavily implied that ever since he destroyed the Sacred Stone - and possibly even before then - the Demon King has been controlling all his actions. In Eirika's story the conversion is seen as extremely abrupt and Lyon's body was completely taken over, but in Ephraim's story it's incredibly difficult to tell. Lyon appears to have full knowledge of his actions at times, very little at others, and rarely does he show the outright possession that he does in Eirika's story. His only moment of true lucidity is said at the end of chapter 18, where he alerts Ephraim that he will perform a ceremony in 10 days and he tells Ephraim to kill him. It's an interesting puzzle just trying to figure out how much Lyon is possessed, and when, but after that moment of lucidity until he dies, he's basically lost it.

Golden Sun:

Spoiler

Saturos (Golden Sun). I know people talk about Alex being a manipulative bastard - and he is - but Saturos was just as harsh and cunning in his appearances too. The whole game of GS1 is basically you trying to catch up to him, and whenever he does appear, he twists your arm to get his way. Kidnapping your buddies, stalling for time, harassing innocents, being shrewd on a bargain - Saturos had plenty of manipulative moments. The main difference between him and Alex is that Saturos is more up front and honest about it.

The World Ends With You:

Spoiler

The Composer (The World Ends With You). I'll admit that Sho is technically the only 'real' villain in this game, and for me to talk about him would just be repeating what a bunch of people have already said (which is all true). But the Composer? He's far, far worse. He is Alex from Golden Sun turned Up To Eleven. They both have a disregard for pretty much anyone but themselves, and only aid people if it's in their best interest. In fact, the two characters are very similar, and had they switched universes, they would probably do the exact same things. However, while Alex has a lust for power, the Composer's motives are the elimination of people because they 'can't change'. I don't think Alex has actually killed anyone, nor has an inclination to. The Composer kills people without remorse, and would have destroyed the entirety of Shibuya in 30 days without a second thought, but decided to give them a chance.

Edit:

Their names are:

Spoiler

Yodai Higashizawa, and Mitsuki Konishi, respectively.

 

I'd like to add two more of my favourite antagonists!

Master Hand and Crazy Hand (and to an extent, Master Core) are probably some of the hardest bosses in ALL of Smash Bros, besides the next one on my list. Sure, you could just go and play on an easy difficulty and then it's not too hard, but if you add the extra hand, or challenge yourself with Master Core's forms, you're in for a painful day.
Tabuu from the Subspace Emissary is the boss I was talking about in the last paragraph. With wings, swords, dragon heads, huge pulse attacks, laser eyeballs... the list goes on. Anyway, even on Very Easy, this boss was a tough one to beat. And, although I'm not sure what exactly he does as an antagonist, since he's just there to beat you up, he still makes a darn good one.
Finally, Majora from Majora's Mask is an insane idea for an antagonist. You know, because sometimes I just think Hey, let's put a creepy mask on a lonely kid, give him super powers, and then when the mask comes off, he's not evil anymore. But that plot aside, he makes for one of the toughest (and most hilarious) bosses in the Nintendo 64 title.

 

Personally I like Garrosh Hellscream because he bombed fucking theramore and a vale.
Then he comes to the past and rules the iron horde

 

I'd have to say maybe... ooh I think alduin from skyrim is pretty legit. I mean it's a dragon, come on guys.