Tokiko
04-25-2004, 05:44 PM
Let's talk about someone special now. About a very unique villain. The most insane, the creepiest villain. A villain known, feared, and hated for his infamous laughter - a sound that still makes my skin crawl! A laughter that makes me want to kick him where the sun doesn't shine.
From what I've seen, no other FF villain can be labelled as "a crazy madman". FF villains tend to be cool, calculating people, their greatest pleasure lies in elegantly manipulating people. They might have their moments when they get angry, scared, or let out a joyous laughter at the sight of their enemies near defeat. But while doing so, they still manage to preserve a certain... grace. They don't go jumping and yelling and whining around.
Kefka does. In the very beginning of Final Fantasy VI he yells at a soldier because there's sand on his boot. He went so mad about such a small matter, I just didn't believe that this comical guy would become the game's main villain. I thought he'd simply be some kind of comic relief! Make a bit of noise and cause rolling of eyes and cracking of smiles, and then somewhen fall off a cliff or be killed by the (calm, cool) main villain. Or get hit on the head and think he's a telephone for the rest of his life. Something like this. Something crazy and weird.
He's just different. Kefka doesn't even come with a proper reason for destroying the world. The wish to simply rule it would be unoriginal, but classic. Kefka doesn't want to rule, he wants to destroy. He could have anything you ever needed in life. With his godlike abilities that he gains in the middle of the game, he could have made people serve him, worship him. But he just sits there and destroying stuff, because destruction is all he wants, all he enjoys.
The reason why Kefka is this twisted and insane is never given as far as I know. Childhood trauma, victim of cruel experiments or trying to achieve a higher goal - none of this is given.
With Kefka we get someone who is evil without a cause, a true monster.
I don't know about you, but it was impossible at least for me to feel even the slightest bit of sympathy for this guy. I am the kind of person who can forgive a villain anything, feel pity for him, as soon as it's mentioned that he had a terrible childhood or anything else. Without such background explanations, and without any hint at goodness in Kefka's character, it was finally possible for me to hate this guy properly. It was possible for me to fight him without regret, and feel thoroughly happy after having defeated him, without having to feel sorry he had to die, or something like this.
Kefka - a guy you can kill without regret. That's how a villain should be like. Someone you hate, a repulsive, cruel, sadistic creature, someone you're happy when he's gone!
And thus I conclude that Kefka is an amazing kind of villain. Maybe the right kind of villain, but certainly an underused kind. There's the kind you ignore, like Exdeath, and other boring "Hi, I'm going to destroy the world now, me, your average world-destroying villain!". There's the kind you don't want to kill, a kind that seems to rule the FF series, in my view. There are always reasons in a villain why you should feel sorry for him. Kuja. Oh, Kuja.
Kefka is the kind you hate with all your heart. It's the right kind of motivation before a battle: "I'm going to kill him, kill him good! And I hope I'll have to hear his disgusting laughter never again!!"
It's probably what the characters were thinking before the final battle. Nice to have the player think the same.
Which kind of villain is better, you decide. I know I don't enjoy guys like Kefka as much as other villains. But hey, a villain is not there to be enjoyed, is he? You're not supposed to drool at the controller while goggling at the screen.
Although it's so much fun. :(
From what I've seen, no other FF villain can be labelled as "a crazy madman". FF villains tend to be cool, calculating people, their greatest pleasure lies in elegantly manipulating people. They might have their moments when they get angry, scared, or let out a joyous laughter at the sight of their enemies near defeat. But while doing so, they still manage to preserve a certain... grace. They don't go jumping and yelling and whining around.
Kefka does. In the very beginning of Final Fantasy VI he yells at a soldier because there's sand on his boot. He went so mad about such a small matter, I just didn't believe that this comical guy would become the game's main villain. I thought he'd simply be some kind of comic relief! Make a bit of noise and cause rolling of eyes and cracking of smiles, and then somewhen fall off a cliff or be killed by the (calm, cool) main villain. Or get hit on the head and think he's a telephone for the rest of his life. Something like this. Something crazy and weird.
He's just different. Kefka doesn't even come with a proper reason for destroying the world. The wish to simply rule it would be unoriginal, but classic. Kefka doesn't want to rule, he wants to destroy. He could have anything you ever needed in life. With his godlike abilities that he gains in the middle of the game, he could have made people serve him, worship him. But he just sits there and destroying stuff, because destruction is all he wants, all he enjoys.
The reason why Kefka is this twisted and insane is never given as far as I know. Childhood trauma, victim of cruel experiments or trying to achieve a higher goal - none of this is given.
With Kefka we get someone who is evil without a cause, a true monster.
I don't know about you, but it was impossible at least for me to feel even the slightest bit of sympathy for this guy. I am the kind of person who can forgive a villain anything, feel pity for him, as soon as it's mentioned that he had a terrible childhood or anything else. Without such background explanations, and without any hint at goodness in Kefka's character, it was finally possible for me to hate this guy properly. It was possible for me to fight him without regret, and feel thoroughly happy after having defeated him, without having to feel sorry he had to die, or something like this.
Kefka - a guy you can kill without regret. That's how a villain should be like. Someone you hate, a repulsive, cruel, sadistic creature, someone you're happy when he's gone!
And thus I conclude that Kefka is an amazing kind of villain. Maybe the right kind of villain, but certainly an underused kind. There's the kind you ignore, like Exdeath, and other boring "Hi, I'm going to destroy the world now, me, your average world-destroying villain!". There's the kind you don't want to kill, a kind that seems to rule the FF series, in my view. There are always reasons in a villain why you should feel sorry for him. Kuja. Oh, Kuja.
Kefka is the kind you hate with all your heart. It's the right kind of motivation before a battle: "I'm going to kill him, kill him good! And I hope I'll have to hear his disgusting laughter never again!!"
It's probably what the characters were thinking before the final battle. Nice to have the player think the same.
Which kind of villain is better, you decide. I know I don't enjoy guys like Kefka as much as other villains. But hey, a villain is not there to be enjoyed, is he? You're not supposed to drool at the controller while goggling at the screen.
Although it's so much fun. :(