TheFinal Fantasyseries from Square-Enix is well-known for its turbulent tales. The stories are often strange and make little sense, but provide plenty of motivation for players to be engaged. However, one of the most engaging factors would have to be its cast of villains. The main antagonists in the series are often schemers and sometimes dreamers driven by a lust for power. Some are more devious than others, but it’s hard to say that any of these villains are foolish.
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This list will rank the series’s most iconic villains based on their intelligence. Their actions will be evaluated, along with their mental capacity within the lore of the game. And, perhaps, the supreme schemer will find themselves on top.
15Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy III)
The Cloud of Darkness fromFinal Fantasy IIIisn’t stupid, but it isn’t smart either. The Cloud of Darkness basically exists as a being that brings about the end of the world, returning all life to the void.
It is merely a servant of The Void, like Exdeath, but unlike Exdeath doesn’t really have other motivations. In theDissidiagames, its interests serve that goal as well and sometimes align with that of the heroes. But, in terms of intelligence, Cloud of Darkness is ranked at the bottom.
14The Shadow Lord (Final Fantasy XI)
Final Fantasy XI’s main antagonist, the Shadow Lord, is similar to the Cloud of Darkness in that he’s basically a being of pure anger. Is it the anger of the fallen lives in his army that makes him one of thehardest bosses in the series? The answer is unknown.
Regardless, as he’s basically a spirit of vengeance, his intellect is hard to judge. Even with his military tactics, his actions aren’t necessarily that of a smart villain. He’s here at the near the bottom of the list because of that.
13Garland/Chaos (Final Fantasy I)
Garland is a big brute who kidnaps Princess Sarah at the start of the originalFinal Fantasy. His goal in this is to get control of the Kingdom of Cornelia. He is swiftly taken down by the Warriors of Light and doesn’t return until close to the end of the game.
At that point, he reveals that he basically just exploited the power of the Dark Crystal to create a time loop and live forever. His motives are questionable and his plan is pure nonsense. He just really loves to fight and that’s about it.
12Barthandelus (Final Fantasy XIII)
Many fans of the series might not have givenFinal Fantasy XIIIa fair shake. However, when revisiting the game, it has many greats qualities that make it worthy of a playthrough. Even if it’s one of the longer games, it still is worth a shot.
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However, its weakest aspect is its villain, Barthandelus. His plan goes completely off-the-rails towards the latter portions of the game and, considering revelations in later games within the Fabula Nova Crystalis series, it wouldn’t have worked in the long run. He’s just a poor villain.
11Exdeath (Final Fantasy V)
Exdeath considers himself to be an all-powerful being. His essence is quite literally just pure evil. He’s constantly one step ahead of Bartz and friends and mocks them for it. His plan basically sees itself through nearly to completion.
However, Exdeath makes the fatal error of having plenty of opportunities to kill Bartz and company, but lets them go because of his own arrogance. This is a classical villain error, but ultimately it’s also a fatal one.
10Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X)
There are a number of antagonists inFinal Fantasy X. Seymour Guado serves as the most traditional of antagonists in the game, but he’s not the smartest.
He helps to perpetuate a literal death cult, but won’t bother using hisAeon’s power to remove threats because of his lust for Yuna. He’s hardly a schemer and loses points for being taken down by essentially two volleyball players and their pet cat.
9Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Sephiroth is a great villainshrouded in mystery. He’s manipulative and powerful, torturing the party inFinal Fantasy VIImentally and physically. While Shinra plays games of politics to take down AVALANCHE, Sephiroth plays the role of an agent of chaos.
He cannot be controlled and he cannot be contained. He’s also fairly well-spoken and well-read as established in flashbacks. Sephiroth is far from stupid. However, he isn’t the typical scheming villain either. He plays his role well, but his role isn’t based upon intellect.
8Ardyn Izunia (Final Fantasy XV)
Unfortunately, like most ofFinal Fantasy XV, Ardyn is pretty forgettable. He has some good character moments but suffers from the problems that plague the game as a whole.
Ardyn, however, is still a great manipulator. Every action he makes is part of a grand performance. However, his purpose is to hunt down the Lucis bloodline, and he stops at nothing to do that. He shows he still has some humanity left in him despite his incredible power. He’s a tragic, but smart villain.
7Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII)
Ultimecia fromFinal Fantasy VIIIis a great sorceress from the future who aspires to become a God-like entity. She possesses many bodies as she propels her consciousness across time, and her ability to do this and manage it makes her a formidable foe.
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She’s also shown to play games of politics well, gaining the trust of President Deling before ultimately replacing him. Despite her skill as a manipulator, she makes the same error Exdeath does and underestimates her foes, leading to her eventual demise. She can’t be entirely blamed for this, though, when Zell isn’t really a terrifying entity, to begin with.
6Zemus (Final Fantasy IV)
There’s not a whole lot to say about Zemus. He may be the villain of a greatSuper Nintendo Entertainment System RPG, but he isn’t that complex. His motives are simple: help the Lunarians gain control of Earth and take their rightful place as rulers.
The way he plays puppet master is similar to that of Ultimecia, controlling both friend and foe alike through powerful psychic abilities. He even asks for his own death, knowing that it would make him stronger in the long-run. His rage literally becomes its own entity: the final boss, Zeromus.
