Final Fantasy is one of the most beloved franchises in gaming. Since its humble beginnings in 1987, it was singlehandedly responsible for bringing the JRPG genre to a larger audience, with the SNES and PS1 eras of the franchise eliciting some of the fondest memories. Two of the franchises' best villains come from these eras- FF VI's Kefka and FF VII's Sephiroth.
Each one of these villains has their strong suits and each made their respective games even more memorable. No other FF villains come close to them and picking who is the best of the two is a difficult task.
10 Sephiroth's The Best: He's Instantly Recognizable
While fans will argue which game is better, it's hard to deny that FF VII is more popular than FF VI. The marketing campaign for the first PS1 installment of the series was everywhere and Sephiroth became a part of gaming history once the game's twist hit fans' minds. However, a huge factor in the appreciation of the villain was his instantly recognizable look.
The long white hair, long katana, and flowing clothes are all so recognizably Sephiroth that he's become as synonymous with the FF franchise as his arch-nemesis Cloud, with even non-fans able to recognize him.
9 Kefka's The Best: He's Way More Fun Than Sephiroth
Kefka starts making appearances very early in FF VI and right off the bat is the kind of over-the-top villain that instantly sticks out in people's minds. From forcing a trooper to shine his boots on a march through Figaro Desert to the glee he takes in every evil act, Kefka is more than just one of the most powerful FF characters ever- he's also one of the most fun.
Players knew Kefka was something special immediately and even when he was doing the most terrible things, he was still one of the most fun characters in the game, injecting black humor into the proceedings. This gave the game such a unique flavor and would pave the way for so many FF villains.
8 Sephiroth's The Best: His Boss Fights Are More Challenging
FF games aren't known for being punishingly hard but the game's bosses can certainly be great challenges. While Kefka is a pretty tough foe, especially his final multi-part form, he's fairly easy to beat for any sufficiently leveled and equipped party. The players fight Sephiroth several times throughout FF VII and the battles against him are some of the toughest of the PS1 era.
In video games, the villain's story and personality are only half the appeal- if they aren't challenging to players, that's a huge issue for them to overcome. Kefka has a lot of strengths but it takes more to defeat Sephiroth than the mad clown.
7 Kefka's The Best: He Keeps Growing Throughout The Story
One of the things that make Kefka one of the franchises' best final bosses is the way his story and threat develops. At first, he seems to be little more than a secondary villain, one who's sort of a threat but also kind of funny and that the party will clown him throughout the game. However, every time he comes back, his threat is raised and players learn more about him, building him up more and more.
It's truly a surprise when Kefka stabs Emperor Gestahl and takes the powers of the Statues for his own, one that players weren't at all expecting. The way he grows throughout the story, becoming more and more threatening is a work of art and makes him a very effective villain.
6 Sephiroth's The Best: The Game Builds His Threat Very Well
While it was changed in FF VII Remake, Sephiroth's slow-burn introduction in FF VII is one of the most effective in gaming. For the entirety of the player's time in Midgar, Sephiroth is built up as the ultimate SOLDIER and a fearsome combatant. It gets even better when players wake up to his rampage through the Shinra building.
It builds him up in player's minds and the almost horror movie vibe of the Shinra building after his bloody attack on the corporation's top brass does an amazing job of selling Sephiroth as the ultimate foe for Cloud and company.
5 Kefka's The Best: There's More Going On Under The Surface With Kefka
Kefka was one of the Empire's Mage Knights, experimented on by Cid at the Magitek Research Facility. Unlike Leo or Celes, Kefka was driven insane by the process. However, instead of being taken out of the Empire's service, Gestahl kept him around. Leo and Celes were the competent generals of the Imperial Army but Kefka's was the Emperor's scalpel, cutting out everything that threatened the Empire.
Kefka's story was actually pretty tragic, all things considered- he was transformed into a mad weapon by an uncaring master and then turned loose on the world, which only made him wilder and more prone to indulge his sinister blood lust.
4 Sephiroth's The Best: The Machinations Of Hojo And Shinra Transformed Him Into A Monster
Kefka's story is pretty tragic but it doesn't have anything on Sephiroth's. While there are some similarities between the two, the fact that Sephiroth was experimented on from birth by his own father and forged into Shinra's ultimate weapon makes him a very sympathetic villain.
It all comes to a head in Nibelheim when Sephiroth discovers the twisted secrets of his life and loses his mind. It's hard not to feel bad for him at this point; the Sephiroth that players meet at the beginning of the sequence is very different from the one that walks off into the flames. The machinations of those around ruined his life and set him down the path of destruction.
3 Kefka's The Best: His Unparalleled Cruelty Make Him Easy To Hate
Regardless of how he went crazy, Kefka's ever-escalating cruelty throughout FF VI makes him one of the franchise's cruelest villains. Fans get their first glimpse of this in the siege of Doma Castle- Leo wants to keep the siege up until those inside surrender, but Kefka wants to poison their water supply and kill them all. Leo leaves on an urgent errand and Kefka goes through with it.
It only gets worse when he gains the godlike power of the Statues, as he fries entire towns with the Light of Judgement just because he can. Kefka's cruelty knows no bounds and only gets worse as his power increases, making him an easy villain to hate.
2 Sephiroth's The Best: He Kills Aerith
Sephiroth is responsible for one of the most iconic moments in the FF franchise. The party makes their way to the Northern Continent, to the home of the Cetra, and finds Aerith playing for the power of Holy to help them. It's a reunion that is ruined by Sephiroth, who drops down and kills her.
It's a shocker of a moment that's still effective all these years later and is one of the reasons Sephiroth is considered one of the best villains in the series. Aerith was positioned as the game's lead heroine and Sephiroth killing her had a huge impact on the story and players alike, cementing Sephiroth's place as an icon.
1 Kefka's The Best: He Succeeds In His Mission To Create Chaos
By the time that Kefka has positioned himself as the main villain, he's not doing it to take over the world. He doesn't care about the Empire or the Returners or anything else. He just wants to be God and cause as much chaos and destruction as possible. While he is eventually toppled, he does succeed in his mission.
Kefka's rise to power completely rearranges the world, shifting the continents themselves. Everything is changed and while he reigns, there is no central power, only ceaseless chaos infecting everything with him at the top of it all. Kefka didn't want an empire, he just wanted the world to burn and he was successful in his mission for a time.