Between its dozens of mainline entries, sequels, spin-offs, Gaiden games, and more, the Final Fantasy series has produced untold numbers of villains for its heroes to face. Of them all, none are as notorious as Sephiroth: the villain of Final Fantasy VII who threatens to devastate the world through the casting of Meteor.
Sephiroth is both popular and immensely powerful, but he's by no means the only villain in the franchise with world-killing potential, nor is he the strongest. There are other frighteningly capable and terrible villains in the Final Fantasy series, many of whom go above and beyond Sephiroth's capabilities.
10 Orphan Powers An Entire Artificial World
The Final Fantasy XIII sub-series has a higher power level than most settings in the series. The player characters are the chosen servants of gods and regularly go up against antagonists beyond the power scale of other games. As such, even the merest of its villains is immensely powerful.
Orphan pales in comparison to other villains in the sub-series but is nonetheless an immensely powerful fal'Cie. As the secret core to Cocoon, Orphan is the immense power source that keeps the artificial world running and floating in the sky of Gran Pulse. The main plot of the game involves killing Orphan, destabilizing Cocoon, and leaving it powerless.
9 Yu Yevon Single-Handedly Causes An Ongoing Apocalypse
In Final Fantasy X, the world is kept in a constant state of fear and regression caused by the immensely powerful entity known as Sin, who regularly appears and destroys any technologically-advanced cities. Sin is almost unstoppable in direct combat, thwarting many attempts to kill it and destroying entire armies.
However, Sin is merely a suit of armor for another entity, Yu Yevon – the former leader of Zanarkand. To keep Zanarkand safe, Yu Yevon uses Sin to destroy any technology that might threaten his city and reforms the creature every time it's defeated. As such, until he's defeated by Tidus and Yuna, Yu Yevon is the most powerful being in all of Final Fantasy X.
8 Cloud Of Darkness Exists To Destroy The World
As the overarching threat of Final Fantasy III, Cloud of Darkness is an entity with the sole purpose of bathing the world in darkness and ultimately reducing it to nothingness. It doesn't do this out of malice or spite, but simply because that is what it does. Destroying the world is what it's meant for.
It shows immense power in gameplay, being undefeatable in its first encounter and requiring severe weakening in its second, and even that is said to not kill it. Instead, Cloud of Darkness is merely left dormant by its defeat, and will one day inevitably destroy the world.
7 The Li-Grim Can Create And Sustain An Entire World
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance takes place in a world that's fictional even within its own story, being an artificial world created by the wishes of people channeled through a magical grimoire. Despite being illusionary and artificial, Ivalice is nonetheless a full and real-world with its own locations, rules, and people.
The world is sustained by the five Totema, but there's a sixth entity that's responsible for its creation and existence: the Li-Grim, taking on the identity of Mewt's mother, Remedi. Although defeated in a straightforward battle, the Li-Grim's ability to create an entire world sets it apart from other Final Fantasy villains in power.
6 Caius Ballad Is Powerful In Unusual Ways
The villain of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is Caius Ballad, a time traveler who seems to have a similar power to the game's protagonists; he's an l'Cie much like them. However, the centuries have given him exceptional and unconventional power, which he uses throughout the game to his benefit.
Caius has a certain level of influence and control over time and Chaos, both of which he uses in his ultimately-successful plot to bring about an end to time itself. While Caius isn't capable of outright ending the world, he's nonetheless able to forever alter it with his powers, being a rare successful villain in a Final Fantasy game.
5 Ardyn Izunia Has A Huge Array Of Powers
Even in his guise as an ordinary human, Ardyn Izunia of Final Fantasy XV appears frighteningly capable. An incredibly talented warrior who's able to hold his own against multiple other veterans, he also seems impervious to physical harm. However, his true abilities go far deeper than that.
As the incarnation of the Starscourge, Ardyn is immortal and seems to not feel pain. Furthermore, he's a capable magician, can create fully-convincing illusions, and has access to all the abilities of Noctis' royal bloodline, as well as naturally spreading Starscourge. As such, Ardyn is one of the most versatile villains in the series and distinctly powerful.
4 Ultimecia Has Power Over Time And Space
Being a mere sorceress would be enough to make Final Fantasy VIII's Ultimecia a powerful villain, but she goes so far beyond that. Specializing in controlling time and space, she demonstrates a bevy of abilities that range from simply casting spells to creating life from the thoughts of others to controlling the actions of large numbers of people.
Ultimecia's powers are fairly limitless given her broad domains, and she demonstrates several abilities that alone would make her an incredible threat in any other Final Fantasy game. Despite this, her plan is to become even more powerful, seeking to become entirely omnipotent.
3 Kuja Actually Destroys A World
Destroying the world is at least part of the goal of a great many villains in the Final Fantasy villains, but few succeed. Kuja, from Final Fantasy IX, manages to do it with a single spell. When confronted in the alternate world of Terra, Kuja, on the verge of defeat, casts the spell 'Ultima' and utterly shatters that world.
Kuja shows power beyond a great many entities in the Final Fantasy series, many of whom need elaborate plots to threaten an entire world. However, he only reaches this point late in the game after absorbing a huge number of souls. However, after that point, he's nearly unstoppable.
2 Kefka Becomes A God
Seemingly little more than a minor villain in Final Fantasy VI, Kefka reveals himself as the game's main antagonist when he betrays Emperor Gestahl. However, rather than settle himself with a kingdom, Kefka has far grander ambitions. Taking over the Warring Triad, he makes himself the God of Magic and sets about abusing his power.
Kefka devastates most of the world in seconds and then spends the next year demonstrating his power by destroying any civilizations who oppose him. His goals go even further as he intends to ultimately end all existence in an exercise in nihilism, suggesting that he may have even greater power than he shows.
1 Bhunivelze Both Creates And Destroys
The Final Fantasy XIII sub-series ends its first installment with the death of the demigod at the heart of a world, and its second with the end of all time. As such, to keep the stakes high, the third game, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, sees Lightning and her allies go up against the creator of their entire world, Bhunivelze.
Bhunivelze is an almost entirely omnipotent being that creates new worlds and lets them die on mere whims. The only real weakness he has is the inability to see human souls. Lightning is only able to beat him after he grooms her to be his Goddess of Death, and even then, she requires the help of all her allies to do so.