Big Bad / Final Fantasy

The talus-signingly popular Final Fantasy series is famous for its Big Bads. Some of the most well-known, one in every game.

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Main Series I-VI

• Final Fantasy: Chaos aka the knight Garland is the evil god and master of the Four Fiends terrorizing the world in order to keep the time loop going and achieve immortality.
• Final Fantasy II: Emperor Mateus Palamecia is the leader of the evil Palamecian Empire who the heroes are trying to overthrow. He's also the notable exception in the franchise's Rogues Gallery in that he's the major antagonistic force through the entire game.
  • Soul of Rebirth sequel quest released with the Game Boy Advance and PSP remakes: The Heaven Emperor is the “good half” of Mateus who has conquered Heaven itself.
• Final Fantasy III: Xande uses the power of darkness to freeze time in the world and become immortal. However he gets trumped by his boss, the incarnation of the time-freezing darkness known as the Cloud of Darkness, after she gets released.
• Final Fantasy IV: Golbez, leader of the Red Wings of Baron, is nominally working under the King of Baron to conquer the world, but is the one really running the Kingdom of Baron. Until later it is revealed he is Cecil’s brother under the control of the Lunarian Zemus, who wants to eradicate humanity so the Lunarians can reign supreme.
  • Final Fantasy IV: The After Years: The Mysterious Girl is trying to steal the Crystals from the Earth, believing that the people are unworthy to their power, and give them to her boss, the Creator, a nigh-incomprehensible alien being out to resurrect its long-dead race, no matter whose planet it has to step on to do so.
• Final Fantasy V: Exdeath desires to consume the entire world in the Void and become a god. He is made up of evil spirits that were trapped into a giant tree, and then said tree manifested itself as a humanoid.
• Final Fantasy VI: Initially, Emperor Gestahl, leader of the evil Gestahlian Empire, is the main enemy who the Returners are trying to overthrow, until he is usurped by Kefka Palazzo, his Monster Clown general who becomes a god by killing Espers and absorbing their souls, then destroys the world, and finally, becomes the world’s new ruler.

Final Fantasy VII Compilation

• Final Fantasy VII: Initially has President Shinra of Shinra Electric Power Company, which is killing the Planet by siphoning its energy. But early on he is killed and usurped by Sephiroth, a legendary SOLDIER who went insane and fused with his “mother” Jenova, an alien Eldritch Abomination who wrecked the Planet long ago, as well as his “father” Professor Hojo. Together they summon Meteor to destroy the Planet and aim to fuse with the Lifestream and become a god. Sephiroth is also the Big Bad of all the spin-offs, except the following ones mentioned:
  • Dirge of Cerberus seems to have Weiss the Immaculate as its Big Bad, though it's revealed that he was actually possessed by the Virtual Ghost of Professor Hojo, Sephiroth's father and the guy indirectly responsible for almost everything.
  • Crisis Core has Genesis Rhapsodos, who was indirectly responsible for everything Hojo wasn't.
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake only covers the Midgar section of Final Fantasy VII, so President Shinra is the near-unquestioned main villain as the head of Shinra Electric Power Company that's sucking the life out of the Planet. The Arbiters of Fate become the main antagonists after he dies, as Avalanche decides to destroy them so they can seize control of their own destiny. Sephiroth, for his part, serves as a Greater-Scope Villain and doesn't really become the heroes' primary concern until the Final Boss battle and the epilogue.

Main Series VIII-X

• Final Fantasy VIII: Initially has President Vinzer Deling, the tyrannical leader of Galbadia who wants to Take Over the World but he is killed and usurped by Sorceress Edea, the schoolmaster of Galbadia Garden, and then it's revealed that she was merely a puppet for Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future who wants to rule over time itself as revenge for the persecution of her people.
• Final Fantasy IX: Initially has the tyrannical Queen Brahne Raza Alexandros XVI, ruler of Alexandria waging war on the rest of the world, until she is killed and usurped by Kuja, her weapons supplier. From then on, Kuja and his creator Garland become the villains; Garland caused all the wars in his desire to resurrect his people, the Terrans, while Kuja aims to usurp him and eventually does, aiming to destroy reality because he does not want it to go on living after he dies.
• Final Fantasy X: Sin is the entity terrorizing the land of Spira; meanwhile Seymour Guado, master of the Yevon religion, believes the only way to end the people's suffering at the hands of Sin is by killing them all. It is revealed Sin is actually The Dragon to Yu Yevon, a god-like being with a cycle to reincarnate itself as the creature Sin as long as summoners keep defeating it with a Final Aeon, and formed the Church of Yevon to support itself.
  • Final Fantasy X-2 has a similar monstrous entity, Vegnagun, who is actually not a creature but an ancient weapon, piloted by the angry ghost of Shuyin, a character with a similar appearance to Tidus. It is implied Shuyin was the actual person the Fayths were inspired by when creating Tidus.

Final Fantasy XI

• Final Fantasy XI has the Shadow Lord, revealed to originally be a Galka soldier who sold his soul to the underworld after being wronged in a love affair, in the original game and acts as the overall Big Bad. Expansion packs also added new villains:
  • Rise of the Zilart: Eald'narche
  • Chains of Promathia: Promathia
  • Treasures of Aht Urhgan: Alexander
  • Wings of the Goddess: Probably Lilith or Atomos. (flashback sequences also feature the Shadow Lord's origins).
  • Seekers of Adoulin: Hades
  • Abyssea Trilogy: Shinryu, an alternate version of Promathia.
  • A Crystalline Prophecy: The Seed Crystal, creator of the other crystals which have been causing trouble.
  • Evil in Small Doses: Riko Kupenreich, Exhibit A as to why giving All Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks cosmic power is a Very Bad Idea. Even if they are Moogles.
  • The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born: Shantotto. Both of them. Neither of whom are the original. These two are Domina Shantotto and Belle Shantotto, respectively.
  • Rhapsodies of Vana'diel: The Cloud of Darkness, who was created from Promathia's defeat.

Main Series XII-XVI

• Final Fantasy XII: The three villains controlling the Arcadian Empire are Prince Vayne Carudas Solidor, who aims to become the new Dynast-King and unite all of Ivalice under his control for the greater good; Doctor Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, who aids him in his plans as an equal; and Venat, a rogue Occuria who helps the two free humanity from the will of the Occuria.
  • Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings: The Judge of Wings aims to invade Ivalice from Lemurés and start a war between the Aegyl and Humes, except she is being manipulated by Feolthanos, the crazed self-proclaimed god of a long-lost race, the Aegyl, who wants revenge on the Occuria for trying to dominate his species.
• Final Fantasy XIII trilogy:
  • Final Fantasy XIII: Primarch Galenth Dysley, aka fal'Cie creator Barthandalus, leader of Cocoon, and Orphan, his fellow fal'Cie who powers Cocoon, collaborate together to ensure its destruction.
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2: Caius Ballad aims to destroy all of time in retaliation for Yeul's repeated deaths. Stopping him is why Lightning sent Noel to fetch her sister; she needs help foiling his other plans. He wins.
  • Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII: Bhunivelze, the world's supreme deity who created Pulse, Etro, and Lindzei, is planning to purify human souls of emotion and destroy their memories of the dead to create emotionless pawns that will live in his idea of a perfect world he rules over.
• Final Fantasy XIV has the Garlean Empire and its numerous Legati, as well as the mysterious Ascians who ultimately turn out to be behind the Empire too.
  • The first Imperial Legatus to pose a major obstacle to players is Nael van Darnus aka Eula Darnus, who seeks to destroy Eorzea by bringing the lesser moon Dalamud crashing down on the land like a Meteor.
  • Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn has Nael's occupation force replaced by Gaius van Baelsar, whose forces awaken Ultima Weapon in a bid to conquer Eorzea.
  • Stormblood has the Imperial Crown Prince, Zenos Yae Galvus at the helm of its conflict, standing in the way of freeing the nations of Gyr Abania and Doma, which he holds dominion over.
  • Shadowbringers sees players finally face off against the founder of the Empire himself, Solus Zos Galvus who reveals himself as one of the leaders of the Ascians, Emet-Selch, having founded the Empire to further his people's goals. Ultimately, following his death, he is supplanted by his great-grandson Zenos, who returns to further menace the player with the powers of an Ascian, and an accomplice - Fandaniel.
  • Fandaniel himself could be said to be the ultimate Greater-Scope Villain of XIV. All actions taken by the Ascians were done to try and restore their world after a cataclysm known as "The Final Days", an apocalypse kickstarted by a space-faring empath named Meteion. While she serves as the primary threat of Endwalker, it was Fandaniel who originally created her.
  • The only significant antagonists outside the Garleans and Ascians, are the Dragons, with Nael's Meteor project having been influenced by Bahamut (who was originally a creation of the Ascians), while his brother Nidhogg serves as the Big Bad for Heavensward.
• Final Fantasy XV: Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt of Niflheim wants the Lucian Cystal to Take Over the World but the actual Big Bad is Ardyn Izunia/Ardyn Lucis Caelum, the Evil Chancellor of Niflheim and an ancient Humanoid Abomination who was an ostracised Lucian king and healer. He plots to bring about the Starscourge and end the Lucian royal line. He succeeds in the latter when the last of the line, Noctis, sacrifices himself to destroy Ardyn.
• Final Fantasy XVI: King Barnabas Tharmr and Emperor Sylvestre Lesage are both conquering rulers of nations who want nothing more but to expand their domains, but they are pawns for Ultima, the creator deity of Valisthea and a cruel and narcissistic being who wants nothing more than to remain unsurpassed as the ultimate life form, using Mothercrystals to strip the world of aether and turn it into a dying husk for them to shape as they please.

Spinoffs

• Dissidia Final Fantasy establishes that in the Final Fantasy multiverse, the evil god Chaos is the biggest Big Bad. He bosses around most of the people listed above, and the only ones who try to double-cross him are Emperor Mateus, who plans to outlive Chaos to rule the universe and Golbez who, as he was not the Big Bad of his game, decides to help his brother, Cecil, in getting the crystal.
• Final Fantasy Tactics had Lord Folmarv, who is actually Hashmal, the second-in-command and acting leader of the Lucavi. Ultima, his superior, would be considered a Greater-Scope Villain of sorts as she is completely incapacitated until the final battle.
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin: Chaos is the dark entity threatening Cornelia that Jack and his party set out to stop. However, that was actually a lie created by The Lufenians, a civilization of Advanced Ancient Humans that has been sending the darkness that creates monsters and sends agents that play the role of the Warriors of Light to create a Forever War that will keep the rest of Cornelia permanently under their control. Jack Garland and his party end up taking his role in order to free Cornelia from the darkness and serve as the Anti-Villain protagonists of the DLC.
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: General Douglas Hein aims to kill the Phantoms with a giant space cannon, and is fully willing to risk destroying the Earth in the process. Though he is ultimately a secondary threat to the Alien Gaia, the collective mass of the souls and hatred of the Phantoms. It kickstarted the events of the film by causing the apocalypse, and disabling it is the only way to stop the Phantom invasion.