Post by Lady Tatsh on Feb 2, 2009 17:52:16 GMT -6
I never stopped to think about it until En started playing Dissidia. Final Fantasy villains are awesome in their own way, but what surprises me (now, at least) is that the one that is by far the most popular also didn't do a lot.
Sephiroth has held the "Best FF Villain" position for quite some time, and I admit I am a Sephiroth Fan, but then I look at one of my old favorites; Kuja.
Kuja has to be my all time favorite Final Fantasy Villain. But what I don't understand is why no one thinks he's a great villain.
Allow me to elaborate.
Let's say there is a list of achievements one has done in their villainy career. Everything from slaughtering cattle to destroying the moon is included. We'll first start with Kuja's list.
Kuja's (known) Achievements:
Then, as a side achievement;
Now, let's recap all that Sephiroth has done.
However, the last on the list failed.
Now, there are some discrepancies here.
Sephiroth, while being an excellent villain, was not always a villain. In fact, for the first part of his public career he was a war hero, known for taking down a rebellion almost single-handedly. He was loved and revered by many, including the game's protagonist. He didn't start slipping into villainy until he discovered that his father, Hojo, created him as a genetic experiment. After that he lost it, set fire to the village, slaughter many of it's occupants, and attempted to flee with his "mother". Now to clarify, Jenova is not his mother. Lucrecia (lol Vincent) is his birth mother, but Sephiroth believes that since his DNA constructs contain the Jenova gene that she is his mother. For all that aren't familiar with what Jenova is, she is known as "Heaven's Dark Harbinger" (FF7 taught me that word >w>), and she is an extraterrestrial. How they got ahold of the tentacle'd mistress I have no idea, but she is preserved in a tank at the Shinra Headquarters.
Sephiroth, as a villain, is more interpreted as "Misunderstood" as opposed to "Evil". That, and he has an enormous Oedipus Complex.
This happens to be the opposite of what Kuja is. He was created to be evil.
Kuja was also genetically created. He was constructed by a man named Garland, whom, while the rest of the citizen's of the planet Terra had their souls locked away to preserve themselves, was left to find a new habitat for them to populate. Terra is a planet that has survived only by assimilating with other planets. The Terran occupants appointed someone they held in high regard to do so. Once a suitable planet is found it is Garland's job to analyze it and create suitable creatures to clear it's occupants. These creatures were called "Genomes", and their purpose was to destroy.
The first of the Genomes was Kuja. And as usual for being a first attempt at anything big Kuja was a bit flawed. He served his purpose well enough, the only issue was that he liked destroying too much. Because of this Garland did not think he'd be suitable, and created his second Genome as a replacement when Kuja was eight years old.
The second Genome was Zidane, who also happens to be the hero of the game. Zidane, while having the potential to be the perfect genome for the project, was regarded as too pure. Basically, Garland thought he wasn't destroyer material, and sought to correct that through "training".
During the destruction of Madain Sari, a village of summoners who posed a threat to the project, Garland told Kuja that Zidane was meant to be his replacement, and once he was ready Kuja would no longer be need. Kuja, being the little nut he was at the tender age of twelve, would not stand for this and proceeded to toss his "little brother" overboard. Garland was not pleased to say the least, and Kuja got to keep his Angel of Destruction title just a bit longer.
Garland created one more genome, named Makoto, who was sent to Gaea to find bodies for the Terran souls. Makoto could be regarded as the only perfect genome, being that she had no free will.
Fast forward twelve years and we find Kuja again, Garland feeling it's time to start assimilating the occupants of Terra to Gaea. After numerous events and Kuja seemingly being the perfect servant, he turns around and destroys his creator, hijacks the airship, and proceeds to destroy the planet he was born on. His goal; Create the perfect world for the one worthy of his love.
(read; Zidane)
In the end Kuja met his downfall after using a particularly nasty spell to destroy the party, and himself. Before he "dies", he revives the party and brings them back from the underworld.
Hereafter Zidane is shown trying to rescue him, but it is never confirmed if he succeeds or not. Approximately two years pass between the final scene with Kuja and the ending. This makes Kuja the only Final Fantasy villain to not have a confirmed demise.
I feel that this one "good deed" (while huge) is not enough to drop him down the list of villainy.
Given these facts I whole-heartedly believe that Kuja is the better villain. He not only did more to reach his goals, but he did a lot more general destruction of not only the hero's planet, but his own. Sephiroth spends most of his time brooding about his mother and screwing with the main characters' mind. And if this is not enough proof for you, just remember the last time you tried to destroy the world in high-heels and a skirt.
Sephiroth has held the "Best FF Villain" position for quite some time, and I admit I am a Sephiroth Fan, but then I look at one of my old favorites; Kuja.
Kuja has to be my all time favorite Final Fantasy Villain. But what I don't understand is why no one thinks he's a great villain.
Allow me to elaborate.
Let's say there is a list of achievements one has done in their villainy career. Everything from slaughtering cattle to destroying the moon is included. We'll first start with Kuja's list.
Kuja's (known) Achievements:
- Swayed someone in a imperial position to do his bidding
- Killed said Imperial
- Destroyed a village of high summoners (mages)
- Threw a small child off the edge of an airship
- Destroyed a major city and it's occupants
- Stole a summoner's summon
- Stole his father's ship
- Kicked his father off a ledge and into oblivion
- Destroyed the planet where his father's oblivion was stationed
- Halted the reproduction of his own race (because of his father's demise)
- Went bat**** insane after finding out he was going to die soon and attempted to destroy everything
Then, as a side achievement;
- Used the last of his strength to save the good guys
Now, let's recap all that Sephiroth has done.
- Burned down a village
- Slaughtered said village's occupants (though he didn't get them all)
- Pulled a hostile alien life-form from it's tank and escaped with it
- Mindraep'd a blond pretty boy and his friends
- Killed said pretty boy's love interest
- Summoned a meteor to destroy the world
However, the last on the list failed.
Now, there are some discrepancies here.
Sephiroth, while being an excellent villain, was not always a villain. In fact, for the first part of his public career he was a war hero, known for taking down a rebellion almost single-handedly. He was loved and revered by many, including the game's protagonist. He didn't start slipping into villainy until he discovered that his father, Hojo, created him as a genetic experiment. After that he lost it, set fire to the village, slaughter many of it's occupants, and attempted to flee with his "mother". Now to clarify, Jenova is not his mother. Lucrecia (lol Vincent) is his birth mother, but Sephiroth believes that since his DNA constructs contain the Jenova gene that she is his mother. For all that aren't familiar with what Jenova is, she is known as "Heaven's Dark Harbinger" (FF7 taught me that word >w>), and she is an extraterrestrial. How they got ahold of the tentacle'd mistress I have no idea, but she is preserved in a tank at the Shinra Headquarters.
Sephiroth, as a villain, is more interpreted as "Misunderstood" as opposed to "Evil". That, and he has an enormous Oedipus Complex.
This happens to be the opposite of what Kuja is. He was created to be evil.
Kuja was also genetically created. He was constructed by a man named Garland, whom, while the rest of the citizen's of the planet Terra had their souls locked away to preserve themselves, was left to find a new habitat for them to populate. Terra is a planet that has survived only by assimilating with other planets. The Terran occupants appointed someone they held in high regard to do so. Once a suitable planet is found it is Garland's job to analyze it and create suitable creatures to clear it's occupants. These creatures were called "Genomes", and their purpose was to destroy.
The first of the Genomes was Kuja. And as usual for being a first attempt at anything big Kuja was a bit flawed. He served his purpose well enough, the only issue was that he liked destroying too much. Because of this Garland did not think he'd be suitable, and created his second Genome as a replacement when Kuja was eight years old.
The second Genome was Zidane, who also happens to be the hero of the game. Zidane, while having the potential to be the perfect genome for the project, was regarded as too pure. Basically, Garland thought he wasn't destroyer material, and sought to correct that through "training".
During the destruction of Madain Sari, a village of summoners who posed a threat to the project, Garland told Kuja that Zidane was meant to be his replacement, and once he was ready Kuja would no longer be need. Kuja, being the little nut he was at the tender age of twelve, would not stand for this and proceeded to toss his "little brother" overboard. Garland was not pleased to say the least, and Kuja got to keep his Angel of Destruction title just a bit longer.
Garland created one more genome, named Makoto, who was sent to Gaea to find bodies for the Terran souls. Makoto could be regarded as the only perfect genome, being that she had no free will.
Fast forward twelve years and we find Kuja again, Garland feeling it's time to start assimilating the occupants of Terra to Gaea. After numerous events and Kuja seemingly being the perfect servant, he turns around and destroys his creator, hijacks the airship, and proceeds to destroy the planet he was born on. His goal; Create the perfect world for the one worthy of his love.
(read; Zidane)
In the end Kuja met his downfall after using a particularly nasty spell to destroy the party, and himself. Before he "dies", he revives the party and brings them back from the underworld.
Hereafter Zidane is shown trying to rescue him, but it is never confirmed if he succeeds or not. Approximately two years pass between the final scene with Kuja and the ending. This makes Kuja the only Final Fantasy villain to not have a confirmed demise.
I feel that this one "good deed" (while huge) is not enough to drop him down the list of villainy.
Given these facts I whole-heartedly believe that Kuja is the better villain. He not only did more to reach his goals, but he did a lot more general destruction of not only the hero's planet, but his own. Sephiroth spends most of his time brooding about his mother and screwing with the main characters' mind. And if this is not enough proof for you, just remember the last time you tried to destroy the world in high-heels and a skirt.
