Friday, January 05, 2007
Who Are The Best Game Villains?
After a discussion at work about how cool a villain Bestor was in the Babylon 5 series, and why, I got to thinking: Who are the best villains in video / computer games? I've written about what I feel makes a "good" villain... not necessarily a recipe for making one, but a few elements that seem common in the "best" villains in movies and literature.
Too often in games the villain is just a vaguely-referred-to "Foozle" (was it Scorpia who came up with that term?) who appears as an uber-powerful level boss at the end of the game. How many games actually give the "big bad" a real presence and character? How many game villains really help define who the hero is? Do any actually come close? I'm talking original IP here... sure, Darth Vader, The Joker, and Doc Oc may be cool in videogames, but their coolness may just be reflected light.
Here are the ones that come to mind from games I've played:
The Guardian (Ultima Series, particularly Ultima 7)
You come back to Britannia to discover a new religion sweeping the world: The Fellowship, a somewhat humanist religion that has somehow "improved" upon the virtues of Avatarhood. At the highest levels, however, they claim the presence of a "guardian" who will come and directly guide and influence them. This is actually one being, The Guardian, an extradimensional being who has used his minions to form this church to assist him in entering and enslaving the world. Aside from dominating worlds, his second greatest goal seems to be to taunt, demean, and prove himself superior to the hero, the Avatar.Some of his nastiest machinations include manipulating the hero to get at his own enemies and threats. Well before the first game featuring the Guardian was complete, I was really hating this guy.
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
He was the main antagonist of what was (I believe) the best-selling RPG of all time, so it's not surprising he'd make the list. A mysterious silver-haired pretty-boy driven insane by his discovery of the alien genes fused into his own before his birth, he has the power to destroy the world. More importantly, he has the power to mind-control the hero (Cloud) to make him do his bidding, and of course, stabbed romantic-interest and last-hope-for-the-world Aeris (Aerith) through the heart with his sword while she was meditating / praying. What's not to love and hate?And he had really dang cool theme music.
More importantly, though, the game was nearly as much about Sephiroth as it was about the heroes and their story. Throughout Final Fantasy 7, you find yourself learning Sephiroth's history and goals as your pursue him. You encounter him several times, including a lengthy playable flashback sequence. You confront him directly several times, and even manage to defeat him at least once prior to the final battle. But, like the heroes, he keeps leveling up and becoming more powerful. And - at least at the beginning of the game - he represents the hero's own personal ideal for himself. As much as he hates Sephiroth, he also wants to be (and, until the truth is laid bare, pretends to be) just as cool, competent, confident, and in-control as his soon-to-be nemesis.
Admiral Tolwyn (Wing Commander IV)
Played by Malcom McDowell in Wing Commander III and IV, Admiral Tolwyn was many times a thorn in the hero's side. But in previous games, he had been only a foil, not really an enemy. A superior officer with a distrust of the brash young fighter pilot (later named "Christopher Blair", after the codename "Blue Hair" in the first two Wing Commander games, and played by Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill). Though his personal pride sometimes cripples his own efforts, he's a staunch defender of the human race.In Wing Commander IV, however, he finds himself lost without a war to fight. He sees the human race sink into the chaos of transition following a decades-long war, and believes that it is becoming incapable of defending itself should another alien enemy present itself. He takes matters into his own hands by launching a two-pronged secret agenda to whip the human race into shape.
First, he provokes a civil war while pretending to be a diplomat attempting to secure the peace. Secondly, he has developed a genetically-engineered bioweapon designed to give evolution a hand - the plague which kills only those deemed "genetically deficient", culling the weak from humanity's herd.
The game starts with the hero working with the Admiral to "defend" the Confederation from attacking Border World forces, unwittingly (in some cases) helping provoke a full-fledged war. As bits of the truth begin coming to light, members of the Confederacy forces begin defecting to the Border Worlds, and the hero has two chances to join them. The game ends with Christopher Blair, now branded an Outlaw at home, must sneak into an assembly meeting and expose the Admiral by providing appropriate evidence in a courtoom-drama-like scene.
The Undead Pirate LeChuck (Monkey Island)
Before there was the "Pirates of the Carribean" movies, there was Monkey Island. And the undead pirate, LeChuck, who's thirst for pillage and violence was matched only by his love (lust) for the beautiful Elaine Morley --- uncoincidentally, also the Guybrush Threepwood's (the hero, of course) romantic interest. After being hosed down and destroyed once with magical root beer in the first game, LeChuck's greatest goal becomes revenge on Threepwood.LeChuck appears regularly throughout all of the games (at least the ones I played), regularly ruining Guybrush's day. The second game, in fact, ends with his victory over Guybrush, as he casts a spell on Guybrush making him believe that they are both children and that LeChuck is actually Guybrush's long-lost brother, Chucky. LeChuck is evil and destructive, but also a funny character who is enjoyable to watch in his antics. He's Guybrush's opposite in most ways - he's evil and supremely competent, whereas Guybrush is bumbling but occasionally clever and often very lucky. LeChuck is constantly fuming over how he, the scourge of the seas, can keep getting defeated by such a loser.
Oh, yeah. And he also had really cool theme music.
* * *
So there are my picks for the best "bad guys" in gaming. How about some more? What are YOUR picks for best bad guys in videogames?
(Vaguely) Related Legible Mumblings:
* Game Moments #4: Daggerfall
* Game Moments #6: Ultima 7
* Building the Perfect Villain
* Superhero Movies
* Bad Game Endings
.
Labels: Game Design, Game Moments, retro
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:03 AM (Permalink)
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< Home
No discussion of game villains would be complete without acknowledging SHODAN.
"H-h-h-hacker."
'She' gave me chills. Every bot I destroyed, every reanimated corpse, was a strike against the central villain.
"H-h-h-hacker."
'She' gave me chills. Every bot I destroyed, every reanimated corpse, was a strike against the central villain.
Dammit! Corvus beat me to it.
"Look at you, hacker...a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?"
I'd also like to nominate:
Dr. Breen from Half-Life 2. His propaganda videos are some of the creepiest things I've ever seen; the scene where he tries to make Eli understand why he allied with the invaders was fantastic - and you actually get to kill him at the end! (His last words? "No! NO! YOU NEED ME!")
Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They put a nice backstory on him. Ganondorf was a Gerudo, one of the desert people, who left his clan and went journeying. His arrival in Hyrule shocked him - here was a green growing land, where water was abundant and the people were happy and had easy lives. Ganondorf assumed that the reasons the Hylians had it so good was because they had stolen the Gerudo's water, and thus he had the right to attack and conquer Hyrule. He was, of course, completely wrong, but that's deeper than most villain backstories; the rationale of most villains is simply "because I can".
My favorite quote: (Referring to the triforces of wisdom and courage, which Zelda and Link possess): "These toys are too much for you! I demand that you return them to me!"
"Look at you, hacker...a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?"
I'd also like to nominate:
Dr. Breen from Half-Life 2. His propaganda videos are some of the creepiest things I've ever seen; the scene where he tries to make Eli understand why he allied with the invaders was fantastic - and you actually get to kill him at the end! (His last words? "No! NO! YOU NEED ME!")
Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They put a nice backstory on him. Ganondorf was a Gerudo, one of the desert people, who left his clan and went journeying. His arrival in Hyrule shocked him - here was a green growing land, where water was abundant and the people were happy and had easy lives. Ganondorf assumed that the reasons the Hylians had it so good was because they had stolen the Gerudo's water, and thus he had the right to attack and conquer Hyrule. He was, of course, completely wrong, but that's deeper than most villain backstories; the rationale of most villains is simply "because I can".
My favorite quote: (Referring to the triforces of wisdom and courage, which Zelda and Link possess): "These toys are too much for you! I demand that you return them to me!"
One of the most annoying villians... The stupid little professor from the Tetris game. He's supposed to be the hero, but for the number of times he climbs up when you want him to go anywhere but? Villiany I tell you!
You know, I need to add one.
"Me."
In Fallout 1 and 2 I took one play-through to cruelly and calculatedly kill everyone that would keep me from living comfortably and having all the stims I wanted. In other words... everyone. I became the cruel dictator of a barren world.
Later, the lure of evil in Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Fable would also prove to great to resist.
In the final analysis, it's the game that allows me to truly become hero or villain (as opposed to anti-hero) within the central plot line that will get my vote for having the greatest villain.
"Me."
In Fallout 1 and 2 I took one play-through to cruelly and calculatedly kill everyone that would keep me from living comfortably and having all the stims I wanted. In other words... everyone. I became the cruel dictator of a barren world.
Later, the lure of evil in Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Fable would also prove to great to resist.
In the final analysis, it's the game that allows me to truly become hero or villain (as opposed to anti-hero) within the central plot line that will get my vote for having the greatest villain.
Sephiroth probably tops my charts as the best bad guy to hit the video games.
A bad "girl" that was very amusing throughout the world of Nox was Hecubah, the undead queen. She added both a dark and a humorous element to the game. Her plans were twisted, but her execution wasn't always up to par.
A bad "girl" that was very amusing throughout the world of Nox was Hecubah, the undead queen. She added both a dark and a humorous element to the game. Her plans were twisted, but her execution wasn't always up to par.
I've heard privately from others suggesting Shodan was an awesome villain as well. Sadly, I never played much of the System Shock games, so I missed out on that one (I bought SS 1 later, but had problems getting it to run. Maybe through DOSBOX?)
Hmmm...I have managed to get the first System Shock running straight through Windows (although with no sound). The DOSBox website claims that System Shock is fully supported, so if you have a fast enough system that should certainly work for you.
I really should give it another try. I just need... oh, what's that resource I never have enough of... Oh, yeah. TIME! :)
Dr Robotnik! He always had some devious machine to attack you with, even if they fell apart after a few hits. Talk about shoddy workmanship.
I admit I haven't played the full spectrum of videogames under the sun, but the best two game villains I have found so far are Breen from HL2 and both Misery and The Doctor from the freeware game Cave Story (google it--it's popular enough that the first results will be sites about it). Both fit very well with your five rules of villains.
You probably already know about Breen, so I don't need to explain him much. But he easily hits all five, especially presence--the recorded propaganda messages and orders you overhear, successfully kidnapping key characters near the end of the game, and I believe you can see his towering citadel from anywhere in the city, even walking up to the base of its ever-growing foundations at several points (often having to outrun the thing to keep it from devouring you). And you can just tell that he actually thinks he's doing the right thing, or at least believe it.
Since as a freeware game you probably don't know as much about Cave Story, so its villains and plot deserves a bit more explanation (SPOILER ALERT--I'm not gonna even try to avoid spoiling stuff, since I'm explaining what made the game's villains and thus plot good). Short (ok, not really) version, the Doctor came to the game's floating island to steal the demon crown, which makes him powerful, and the red flowers, which let him turn the mimigas (bunny people who live on the island) into an army of mutants. Misery (a witch) and her minion Balrog (a robot who despite fighting you four times is mostly comic relief) are bound to serve whoever. All sounds normal, but these villains are ACTIVE. Before you reach the game's first real level Misery has already shown up and kidnapped one of the few mimigas they haven't already kidnapped or killed, Toroko, right in front of you, thinking she was someone else. It is revealed through dialogue that they've already taken all but I think six of the people in the village. Two levels later when you find out about the flowers you rush off to destroy the things before they find them, only to find Misery and the Doctor in the process of turning Toroko into a mutant to test the process; the only other mimiga with character development rushes into the scene right in front of you and is killed instantly by Misery, and then she and the doctor run off to leave you to kill (yes kill, not subdue) the mutant Toroko who was half the reason you came there. Misery then captures you and almost every other good character and throw you all in various dungeons, and if you go for the normal ending Misery kills two more important characters in front of you before you escape (though you can both can escape if you take the harder path for the "good" ending), both of whom were actively helping you at the time (one just gave you a jetpack, but the other actually did the previous level and boss in tandem with you). By the time I got to the finale and got to kick Misery's ass right before the Doctor's doing so was so satisfying that I forgot to notice she was filling the place of that pathetically easy first form most final bosses get.
She also gets plenty of backstory--it turns out that all the mimigas were actually humans she turned into bunny things (probably both as punishment and so the red flowers could work on them), both she and (for the good ending) Curly (the other robot who fights alongside you for that one level+boss and also the secret extra level for the good ending, who backstory connects strongly to you) vaguely recall the two of you fighting and presumably beating Misery and the crown once in the past, and in the good ending she turns to help you once you've permanently destroyed the crown that had her cursed (and even in the regular ending she tries and fails to rebel against the Doctor after you beat her).
While the Doctor doesn't appear on camera as often, he gets even more backstory--he came along with the group where most of your allies came from to the island for "research" to get near the crown, than got it and began hunting them down. Also, characters are CONSTANTLY telling you about what the doctor has done (as I said, he's kidnapped or killed all but six members of the peaceful village by the time you first arrived and finishes off all the rest by halfway through the game, and in the second to last level you find him forcing the the mimigas to literally harvest the very flowers he's about to use to turn them into rabid monsters) and how scared/not scared they are of him (usually scared).
Both are CONSTANT thorns in your side (I only listed the appearances which are plot points, but each has even MORE showings than that, especially if you count Balrog fighting you on Misery's orders), actively kidnapping and killing key characters on camera from beginning to end. There's more dialogue relating to them than every other character combined (even though the game makes a point of having almost every character who appears more than once or does anything sufficient backstory to at least know who they are and why they're there and helping/hurting you, including the hero), and they're linked to the good guys by more than chance. They are probably more villain than every other game's (save Breen) that I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and the plot of that game is half the reason it's popular (the other half being that it's also fun). You WANT to kill these guys, they aren't just a challenge you want to be able to congratulate yourself for beating or an excuse for mowing down levels of monsters (though they do that too). So even though the boss of the secret level for the good ending is harder and has better special effects, I'd still rather be killing Miserys and Doctors.
You probably already know about Breen, so I don't need to explain him much. But he easily hits all five, especially presence--the recorded propaganda messages and orders you overhear, successfully kidnapping key characters near the end of the game, and I believe you can see his towering citadel from anywhere in the city, even walking up to the base of its ever-growing foundations at several points (often having to outrun the thing to keep it from devouring you). And you can just tell that he actually thinks he's doing the right thing, or at least believe it.
Since as a freeware game you probably don't know as much about Cave Story, so its villains and plot deserves a bit more explanation (SPOILER ALERT--I'm not gonna even try to avoid spoiling stuff, since I'm explaining what made the game's villains and thus plot good). Short (ok, not really) version, the Doctor came to the game's floating island to steal the demon crown, which makes him powerful, and the red flowers, which let him turn the mimigas (bunny people who live on the island) into an army of mutants. Misery (a witch) and her minion Balrog (a robot who despite fighting you four times is mostly comic relief) are bound to serve whoever. All sounds normal, but these villains are ACTIVE. Before you reach the game's first real level Misery has already shown up and kidnapped one of the few mimigas they haven't already kidnapped or killed, Toroko, right in front of you, thinking she was someone else. It is revealed through dialogue that they've already taken all but I think six of the people in the village. Two levels later when you find out about the flowers you rush off to destroy the things before they find them, only to find Misery and the Doctor in the process of turning Toroko into a mutant to test the process; the only other mimiga with character development rushes into the scene right in front of you and is killed instantly by Misery, and then she and the doctor run off to leave you to kill (yes kill, not subdue) the mutant Toroko who was half the reason you came there. Misery then captures you and almost every other good character and throw you all in various dungeons, and if you go for the normal ending Misery kills two more important characters in front of you before you escape (though you can both can escape if you take the harder path for the "good" ending), both of whom were actively helping you at the time (one just gave you a jetpack, but the other actually did the previous level and boss in tandem with you). By the time I got to the finale and got to kick Misery's ass right before the Doctor's doing so was so satisfying that I forgot to notice she was filling the place of that pathetically easy first form most final bosses get.
She also gets plenty of backstory--it turns out that all the mimigas were actually humans she turned into bunny things (probably both as punishment and so the red flowers could work on them), both she and (for the good ending) Curly (the other robot who fights alongside you for that one level+boss and also the secret extra level for the good ending, who backstory connects strongly to you) vaguely recall the two of you fighting and presumably beating Misery and the crown once in the past, and in the good ending she turns to help you once you've permanently destroyed the crown that had her cursed (and even in the regular ending she tries and fails to rebel against the Doctor after you beat her).
While the Doctor doesn't appear on camera as often, he gets even more backstory--he came along with the group where most of your allies came from to the island for "research" to get near the crown, than got it and began hunting them down. Also, characters are CONSTANTLY telling you about what the doctor has done (as I said, he's kidnapped or killed all but six members of the peaceful village by the time you first arrived and finishes off all the rest by halfway through the game, and in the second to last level you find him forcing the the mimigas to literally harvest the very flowers he's about to use to turn them into rabid monsters) and how scared/not scared they are of him (usually scared).
Both are CONSTANT thorns in your side (I only listed the appearances which are plot points, but each has even MORE showings than that, especially if you count Balrog fighting you on Misery's orders), actively kidnapping and killing key characters on camera from beginning to end. There's more dialogue relating to them than every other character combined (even though the game makes a point of having almost every character who appears more than once or does anything sufficient backstory to at least know who they are and why they're there and helping/hurting you, including the hero), and they're linked to the good guys by more than chance. They are probably more villain than every other game's (save Breen) that I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and the plot of that game is half the reason it's popular (the other half being that it's also fun). You WANT to kill these guys, they aren't just a challenge you want to be able to congratulate yourself for beating or an excuse for mowing down levels of monsters (though they do that too). So even though the boss of the secret level for the good ending is harder and has better special effects, I'd still rather be killing Miserys and Doctors.
# posted by 
: March 16, 2007 1:36 PM
: March 16, 2007 1:36 PM
Irenicus in Baldur's Gate 2. Supreme confidence combined with an almost complete lack of emotion. He commits atrocities on you and those close to you without any feeling, and very little thought, one way or another. You are simply a means to an end and nothing more; no personal grudge or sadistic pleasure. That's his sister's forte, who serves as the perfect foil for him. The obvious pleasure her imagined superiority gives her stands in stark contrast to Irenicus' seeming indifference to...everything, and it is abundantly obvious that her days are numbered. But Irenicus comes across as being just as immune to pride as he is immune to every other emotion besides irritation, and you're left with the creeping feeling that the reason he completely disregards you as a threat is simply because you really, truly aren't one. Irenicus gives off an almost Lovecraftian aura of invincibility, and it's terrifying.
So it's needless to say that when you effectively defeat him half-way through the game, you're just as surprised as he is. And then his immense pride is finally revealed by the sound of it shattering along with his emotionless mask, as he throws a genuine tantrum trying to deny his fallibility, both to you and to himself, before running away.
And goddamn it feels good.
All the fear he once commanded is gone, refocused into a now fully confident determination to bring an end to him, and make your victory and his humiliation - though minor in comparison to what you have suffered - complete.
And there you have it. A villain whose entire terrifying image suffers a complete collapse halfway through the game without hurting player motivation or the ultimate satisfaction of victory. Bloody nifty.
So it's needless to say that when you effectively defeat him half-way through the game, you're just as surprised as he is. And then his immense pride is finally revealed by the sound of it shattering along with his emotionless mask, as he throws a genuine tantrum trying to deny his fallibility, both to you and to himself, before running away.
And goddamn it feels good.
All the fear he once commanded is gone, refocused into a now fully confident determination to bring an end to him, and make your victory and his humiliation - though minor in comparison to what you have suffered - complete.
And there you have it. A villain whose entire terrifying image suffers a complete collapse halfway through the game without hurting player motivation or the ultimate satisfaction of victory. Bloody nifty.
There's so much that has been said about Cave Story --- I feel bad having not played it. It's on my list. I'm gonna get to it... soon...
As for Irenicus - I just loved that he was voiced by David Warner. They don't make a big deal about it --- he's not exactly a big name actor - but man, I loved Tron as a kid... And I can forgive him for that awful Babylon 5 episode he was in... the worst one ever...
As for Irenicus - I just loved that he was voiced by David Warner. They don't make a big deal about it --- he's not exactly a big name actor - but man, I loved Tron as a kid... And I can forgive him for that awful Babylon 5 episode he was in... the worst one ever...
for a near non-entity, the alien brain in Xcom1 was a pretty good villain, despite having 2 paragraphs of dialog, only in the ending "cutscene"
Post a Comment
# posted by : November 08, 2007 1:38 PM
: November 08, 2007 1:38 PMLinks to this post:
<< Home
