Summary
Cackling, self-absorbed, and self-destructive characters, defined as “chaotic evil” byDungeons & Dragon’smoral alignment system, are akin to natural disasters: there is no reasoning or negotiating with them; the best course of action is to run and hide. While some are certainly mindless killers, they can also be highly intelligent, which only adds to their levels of threat.
Chaotic evil tends to be the most straightforward and obvious form of “bad guy,” and althoughFinal Fantasyhas a fine rogues' gallery ofruthless, string-pulling villains, the seriesalso has its fair share of mirthful murderers, each with their own take on evil chaoticism. Each villain showcases different aspects of the alignment, from ice-cold nihilism to red-hot, universe-burning temper tantrums.
Anyone looking in from the outside would assume that a scientist of all people, even one working for the Shinra Electric Company, would be interested in furthering human understanding through the slow process of the scientific method, if only for knowledge itself and not for the benefit of society. Hojo’s actions throughoutFinal Fantasy 7, however, place him firmly inthe “mad” scientist categoryas he embraces the more “experimental” side of data acquisition with total contempt for ethical standards.
Hojo’s early work included injecting pregnant women with unstable genomes to turn their babies into ghastly monsters, but his true passioninvolved putting the entire planet at risk to test his Jenova reunion hypothesis. Later, inDirge of Cerberus, long after the Jenova cells destroyed his body, he attempted to trick the planet into sending its lifestream into the Omega Weapon through a computer proxy and by possessing Deepground’s Weiss the Immaculate.
For a tree (with roots and all), the main villain ofFinal Fantasy 5sure has boundless ambition. After an amalgamation of evil monsters and mage souls got trapped inside the Great Forest of Moore, they combined together to make a seed, and Exdeath was born. Being a tree, and having noticed that many humans inhabit houses made of wood, Exdeath got to work building the inverse: a castle made of disgusting, pulsating corpses.
Exdeath is not on someenvironmental crusade against industryor humanity; before leaving his birthplace, he had all the other trees burned down in a ruthless display of contempt for his fellow flora. When the heroes defeat him in the rift, he loses control of the void, which consumes him and turns him into Neo Exdeath, promising to end everything: memories, dimensions, and all existence.
Some chaotic evil characters embody the philosophy of “might makes right,” the idea that only the most powerful deserve to live, usually when they themselves have a chance at securing the top spot. Judge Bergan fromFinal Fantasy 12is a prime example, displaying contempt for the weak and respect only for the strong and the cruel.
Bergan conceals his rabid affection for violence enough to maintain the highest rank in the order of judges, but when let on a long leash, he drinks in his pleasure’s worth of slaughter, as demonstrated by his massacre of countless innocents on Mt Bur-Omisace. Although he doesn’t rank amongstthe most powerfulFinal Fantasyvillains, his position and penchant for chaotic malice make him a deadly enemy.
The big bad pulling the strings over everyone’s head (most prominently Golbez) inFinal Fantasy 4was Zemus, who was more or less a level-headed villain (despite bouts of megalomania and seeing his own people as mere tools). Upon being defeated, however, his soul is transformed into a beast named Zeromus, the personification of his vengeance, hatred, and spite. He declares that he will only stop when the last of the universe is flushed away.
After his defeat, Zeromus promises to linger so long as there is still hatred in the world. Zeromus stayed true to his word as he appeared inThe After Yearsas a boss hidden in the depths of the Red Moon, awakened on behalf of an even more powerful being than Zemus had ever been. Perhaps asa little nod to previous games, Zeromus shares his name with an esper inFinal Fantasy 12,who is described as the “ultimate law abider.”
Seymour’s chaotic nature is not immediately apparent when first encountered inFinal Fantasy 10. He seems law-abiding and respectful. However, his true motivation for attaining power, born fromexperiencing a tragic upbringing, is to end all life in Spira, ending what he sees as an endless spiral of despair. As such, he falls firmly in the chaotic evil category.
Seymour has internalized the belief that death is a release from pain and so views murder as a generous act. Even if he has managed to convince himself that mass murder is altruistic, he is still going against the law of Spira (Yevon) and the consent (to say the least) of his victims, who would, upon being “freed,” either return as tortured unsent or live on as fiends.
Probably the easiest example of chaotic evil in Final Fantasy (or any media) is Kefka,a magic-born, homicidal clownwho spends most of his time inFinal Fantasy 6struggling to hold himself back from attacking every living thing he sees in order to complete his mission on behalf of the Emperor. That said, he does have his murderous moments throughout the story.
However, when the Emperor is finally within the grasp of enough power to rule the world with magic, he betrays him, taking it for himself. In exemplary chaotic-evil fashion, Kefka, now the living god of magic, ruins the world. He then proceeds to construct a tower for himself so that he can torture and kill the remnant souls still clinging to their doomed existence by shooting them with his divine judgement.
