Is Kefka a good Villain?

[darfreeze]

So...umm...is he?

[Eldritch Esper]

JAJAJAJAJA LIEK OMHG SPERIOTH IS TOTES BETAR THAN KEFKA. EKFKA'S A KLOWN OR SUM SHIT BUT SPERIOTH IS TOTALLY SUPAR-BISH <3.

...

...

...

...Kefka's a pretty good villain, but he's a bit lacking in motivation and character depth. His backstory is pitiful, but isn't really explored that much. His terrible jokes are a big part of what appeal he does have, as is his awesome music and uwee-hee-hee.

[Aevitas]

Kefka actually had an awesome backstory, but you wouldn't know anything about it unless you read an Ultimania or some in-depth interview.

Spoiler:

Age: 35 year old
occupations: Large demon derived loyal retainer
height/weight: 167cm/48kg
date of birth: November 19th (Scorpio)
Blood type: AB
birthplace: Unclear
likes: Mirror
hates: General Leo
hobbies: Playing with Dolls

For reasons unknown, Kefka is abandoned at birth. He is raised in a local orphanage where is he is physically abused, and develops autistic traits, growing into a taciturn child.

At a young age, Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the head of his class, and is brought to the Magitek lab in Vector, where he becomes the first Magitek knight. The process warps Kefka’s mind, and he realizes he exists only to kill. He worships the emperor, and by the age of 23 is promoted to commander of one of Gestahl’s troop battalion.

At the age of 25, Kefka encounters the second ruin knight, an eight year old child by the name of Celes. He takes a keen interest in her, and trains her to become a hardened runic knight.

At the age of 30, Kefka is promoted to prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor himself. A year later, he is promoted to the position of chief of staff of the entire imperial troop. As one of the empires most brilliant minds Kefka accomplishes much in the name of the emperor, conquering foreign lands in his name.

It is around this time that Kefka becomes interested in espers; this interest grows into an obsession with magic and the demonic, and Kefka eventually has a nervous breakdown. The breakdown is part of a long term effect of the Magitek process, which was unrefined during Kefka’s augmentation.

Due to Kefka’s mental decline, he is demoted. This happens, ironically enough, just around the time his protégé Celes Chere, now 15, is promoted to Admiral. The collapse occurs at the start of the 3rd imperial campaign. Kefka loses all good sensation in his body, and forgets his fondest memories, leaving with him only memories of his childhood abuse.

Kefka begins to play with dolls, and his behaviour becomes increasingly eccentric; he begins to adorn himself with garish robes, and feminine embellishments, and his speech patterns and behaviour change appropriately. He becomes increasingly more violent, and has fits of anger, where he uses his magical abilities to attack soldiers who make fun of him. He gradually becomes the most feared man in the empire, a man who only finds beauty in death and destruction.

Source: http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/fi...-vi-28231.html
(I can't find the original article. I only included the summary, the rest is much longer.)

The article hints that he actually had a close relationship with Celes before he went insane, and then you can imagine the burn when he gets demoted and Celes takes his job. This line especially, "Unfortunately, Kefka’s madness deepens, his affection for his charge Celes being the last remnant of his humanity," really made me feel sorry for him.

As for was he a good villain, it depends on what you mean. If you mean "good" as in did he set out and accomplish his goal, which was to destroy the world? Then yes, he DID manage to destroy the world and attain godhood without even really trying. As much as I like Sephiroth, he was never able to accomplish his goal, despite him being much smarter and calculating. If you mean "good" as in he had awesome character development, then I guess he would be lacking in this department, because all you see in the game is his insanity. It made me really sad that we didn't get to see at least some flashbacks when he was still sane.

[NexusNemesis]

Kefka actually had an awesome backstory, but you wouldn't know anything about it unless you read an Ultimania or some in-depth interview.

Spoiler:

Age: 35 year old
occupations: Large demon derived loyal retainer
height/weight: 167cm/48kg
date of birth: November 19th (Scorpio)
Blood type: AB
birthplace: Unclear
likes: Mirror
hates: General Leo
hobbies: Playing with Dolls

For reasons unknown, Kefka is abandoned at birth. He is raised in a local orphanage where is he is physically abused, and develops autistic traits, growing into a taciturn child.

At a young age, Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the head of his class, and is brought to the Magitek lab in Vector, where he becomes the first Magitek knight. The process warps Kefka’s mind, and he realizes he exists only to kill. He worships the emperor, and by the age of 23 is promoted to commander of one of Gestahl’s troop battalion.

At the age of 25, Kefka encounters the second ruin knight, an eight year old child by the name of Celes. He takes a keen interest in her, and trains her to become a hardened runic knight.

At the age of 30, Kefka is promoted to prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor himself. A year later, he is promoted to the position of chief of staff of the entire imperial troop. As one of the empires most brilliant minds Kefka accomplishes much in the name of the emperor, conquering foreign lands in his name.

It is around this time that Kefka becomes interested in espers; this interest grows into an obsession with magic and the demonic, and Kefka eventually has a nervous breakdown. The breakdown is part of a long term effect of the Magitek process, which was unrefined during Kefka’s augmentation.

Due to Kefka’s mental decline, he is demoted. This happens, ironically enough, just around the time his protégé Celes Chere, now 15, is promoted to Admiral. The collapse occurs at the start of the 3rd imperial campaign. Kefka loses all good sensation in his body, and forgets his fondest memories, leaving with him only memories of his childhood abuse.

Kefka begins to play with dolls, and his behaviour becomes increasingly eccentric; he begins to adorn himself with garish robes, and feminine embellishments, and his speech patterns and behaviour change appropriately. He becomes increasingly more violent, and has fits of anger, where he uses his magical abilities to attack soldiers who make fun of him. He gradually becomes the most feared man in the empire, a man who only finds beauty in death and destruction.

Source: http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/fi...-vi-28231.html
(I can't find the original article. I only included the summary, the rest is much longer.)

The article hints that he actually had a close relationship with Celes before he went insane, and then you can imagine the burn when he gets demoted and Celes takes his job. This line especially, "Unfortunately, Kefka’s madness deepens, his affection for his charge Celes being the last remnant of his humanity," really made me feel sorry for him.

As for was he a good villain, it depends on what you mean. If you mean "good" as in did he set out and accomplish his goal, which was to destroy the world? Then yes, he DID manage to destroy the world and attain godhood without even really trying. As much as I like Sephiroth, he was never able to accomplish his goal, despite him being much smarter and calculating. If you mean "good" as in he had awesome character development, then I guess he would be lacking in this department, because all you see in the game is his insanity. It made me really sad that we didn't get to see at least some flashbacks when he was still sane.

thanks for this post <3!

actually, imo, in almost all aspects, Kefka is the most accomplished and superior villain in any FF game (might exclude Garland/Chaos, thats just wack). he managed to destroy the world as we know, along with ridicoulus amounts of casualties in HIS name by his own hand or his big army and magitek armors....

lets not forget that the real villain of FFVII was Jenova and NOT Sephy.... without Jenova Sephy wouldnt even BE a villain.... not that im dissing Sephy, he is my favourite FF villain and i'd turn gay for him in a heartbeat, but Kefka just wins this hands down....

hmm oh this reminds me of a youtube vid i saw.... *goes to look for it....* ahh found it ^_^ gotta love joshcorder and fieryjoker....

[Eldritch Esper]

Speaking of Kefka, Sephiroth and the Joker...

[Scott]

Kefka actually had an awesome backstory, but you wouldn't know anything about it unless you read an Ultimania or some in-depth interview.

Spoiler:

Age: 35 year old
occupations: Large demon derived loyal retainer
height/weight: 167cm/48kg
date of birth: November 19th (Scorpio)
Blood type: AB
birthplace: Unclear
likes: Mirror
hates: General Leo
hobbies: Playing with Dolls

For reasons unknown, Kefka is abandoned at birth. He is raised in a local orphanage where is he is physically abused, and develops autistic traits, growing into a taciturn child.

At a young age, Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the head of his class, and is brought to the Magitek lab in Vector, where he becomes the first Magitek knight. The process warps Kefka’s mind, and he realizes he exists only to kill. He worships the emperor, and by the age of 23 is promoted to commander of one of Gestahl’s troop battalion.

At the age of 25, Kefka encounters the second ruin knight, an eight year old child by the name of Celes. He takes a keen interest in her, and trains her to become a hardened runic knight.

At the age of 30, Kefka is promoted to prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor himself. A year later, he is promoted to the position of chief of staff of the entire imperial troop. As one of the empires most brilliant minds Kefka accomplishes much in the name of the emperor, conquering foreign lands in his name.

It is around this time that Kefka becomes interested in espers; this interest grows into an obsession with magic and the demonic, and Kefka eventually has a nervous breakdown. The breakdown is part of a long term effect of the Magitek process, which was unrefined during Kefka’s augmentation.

Due to Kefka’s mental decline, he is demoted. This happens, ironically enough, just around the time his protégé Celes Chere, now 15, is promoted to Admiral. The collapse occurs at the start of the 3rd imperial campaign. Kefka loses all good sensation in his body, and forgets his fondest memories, leaving with him only memories of his childhood abuse.

Kefka begins to play with dolls, and his behaviour becomes increasingly eccentric; he begins to adorn himself with garish robes, and feminine embellishments, and his speech patterns and behaviour change appropriately. He becomes increasingly more violent, and has fits of anger, where he uses his magical abilities to attack soldiers who make fun of him. He gradually becomes the most feared man in the empire, a man who only finds beauty in death and destruction.

Source: http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/fi...-vi-28231.html
(I can't find the original article. I only included the summary, the rest is much longer.)

The article hints that he actually had a close relationship with Celes before he went insane, and then you can imagine the burn when he gets demoted and Celes takes his job. This line especially, "Unfortunately, Kefka’s madness deepens, his affection for his charge Celes being the last remnant of his humanity," really made me feel sorry for him.

As for was he a good villain, it depends on what you mean. If you mean "good" as in did he set out and accomplish his goal, which was to destroy the world? Then yes, he DID manage to destroy the world and attain godhood without even really trying. As much as I like Sephiroth, he was never able to accomplish his goal, despite him being much smarter and calculating. If you mean "good" as in he had awesome character development, then I guess he would be lacking in this department, because all you see in the game is his insanity. It made me really sad that we didn't get to see at least some flashbacks when he was still sane.

I thought all of that was actually just some extreme detail that someone put into a Fanfic? AKA Totally made up.

[Aevitas]

According to the source, it was written in the VI Ultimania book, the bible of all of Square Enix's development of their games. You usually get a lot of information in there that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

[NexusNemesis]

<3....

[darfreeze]

That was creepy...


Yeah...I've read the FFVI Ultimania too...it has all the useless info about FFVI...

Spoiler:

Age: 35 year old
occupations: Large demon derived loyal retainer
height/weight: 167cm/48kg
date of birth: November 19th (Scorpio)
Blood type: AB
birthplace: Unclear
likes: Mirror
hates: General Leo
hobbies: Playing with Dolls

For reasons unknown, Kefka is abandoned at birth. He is raised in a local orphanage where is he is physically abused, and develops autistic traits, growing into a taciturn child.

At a young age, Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the head of his class, and is brought to the Magitek lab in Vector, where he becomes the first Magitek knight. The process warps Kefka's mind, and he realizes he exists only to kill. He worships the emperor, and by the age of 23 is promoted to commander of one of Gestahl's troop battalion.

At the age of 25, Kefka encounters the second ruin knight, an eight year old child by the name of Celes. He takes a keen interest in her, and trains her to become a hardened runic knight.

At the age of 30, Kefka is promoted to prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor himself. A year later, he is promoted to the position of chief of staff of the entire imperial troop. As one of the empires most brilliant minds Kefka accomplishes much in the name of the emperor, conquering foreign lands in his name.

It is around this time that Kefka becomes interested in espers; this interest grows into an obsession with magic and the demonic, and Kefka eventually has a nervous breakdown. The breakdown is part of a long term effect of the Magitek process, which was unrefined during Kefka's augmentation.

Due to Kefka's mental decline, he is demoted. This happens, ironically enough, just around the time his protegé Celes Chere, now 15, is promoted to Admiral. The collapse occurs at the start of the 3rd imperial campaign. Kefka loses all good sensation in his body, and forgets his fondest memories, leaving with him only memories of his childhood abuse.

Kefka begins to play with dolls, and his behaviour becomes increasingly eccentric; he begins to adorn himself with garish robes, and feminine embellishments, and his speech patterns and behaviour change appropriately. He becomes increasingly more violent, and has fits of anger, where he uses his magical abilities to attack soldiers who make fun of him. He gradually becomes the most feared man in the empire, a man who only finds beauty in death and destruction.

Timeline:

-35: Kefka Palazzo is born. His parents abandon him at an orphanage where Kefka is beaten physically. Kefka develops an autistic personality, and withdraws from the world.

-17: Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the top of his class.

-12: Kefka is promoted to the head of his platoon.

-10: Kefka takes an interest in Celes Chere, the 8 year old daughter of a slain General and noble woman. Kefka uses his influence to shape her into one of the finest ruin knights in the empire.

- 5: Kefka is promoted to the position of Chancellor of the Empire, second only to Gestahl.

- 4: In addition to his social promotion, Kefka is promoted the very top of the imperial army, as the commander supreme.

- 3: Around the time his ward Celes ascends to the rank of Leuitenant, Kefka has a nervous breakdown, and developes many personal eccentricities. He is deemed unfit for his position in empire and is demoted. However, due to his many years of service, The emperor sees it fit to keep Kefka around to do the jobs no one else is willing to do. 26 year old Leo Chirstophe is promoted, and Kefka develops a deep hatred for him.

- 0: An esper is discovered in Narshe; Kefka sends Biggs, Wedge, and a half-esper Girl named Terra to recover it.

The Magitek Knights of Emperor Gestahl

- As the right hand man of Emperor Gestahl, a Magitek knight participates in various military campaigns.
- Kefka is imbued with the power of the Espers by Cid.
- But because of the expirement, Kefka fell ill.
- Now he is a dangerous member of the empire.
- The Magitek facility siphons magical power from the Esper, and
uses it to augment humans.
- The test subject gains mighty power, but it creates discord in the mind, emotional stability, and quirks in speech patterns and behavior.


Childhood

- Kefka is thrown away at birth, and is raised in an orphanage on the edge of Thamasa.
- Kefka is beaten severely as a child. He develops into a taciturn individual. (The word autism is surrounded by two words I am unable to translate.)


Young adulthood

- Kefka graduates from the imperial academy at the head of his class, and enters the Magitek facility. With Doctor Cid, he studies espers and magically derived experiments.
- Kefka finds purpose in his Magitek experiments. Due to his blind loyalty to emperor Gestahl, he receives much power.
- At the age of 23, Kefka is promoted to commander of the Magitek Knight platoon.
- At the age of 25, Kefka encounters Celes, and takes an interest in her. He uses his political pull to make sure she develops into a Rune Knight.


Adulthood

- At the age of 30, Kefka is appointed to the position of Prime minister.
- At the age of 31, Kefka is named General of the whole imperial army.
- As the brains behind the Imperial army, Kefka accomplishes much. He is particularly intrigued by the possibilities of magic power, and thus grows into his role as head of Gestahl's Magitek army perfectly.
- Unfortunately, Kefka's madness deepens, his affection for his charge Celes being the last remnant of his humanity.

Nervous Breakdown

- Kefka's mental began around the time he was appointed Prime Minister. The cause of the collapse being a side-effect from the Magitek augmentation process.
- Kefka's collapse becomes visible around the time Celes is promoted to the position of Rear Admiral, during the Third Imperial campaign.
- All of Kefka's pleasant memories begin to deteriorate. He loses his ability to experience pleasant sensations, and his ability to appreciate beauty. The only desire left is the desire to destroy the world.
- After spiraling into insanity, Kefka starts to wear makeup and garish clothing, acting like a complete buffoon. His behavior changes and his patterns of speech deteriorate.
- Kefka begins to act conspicuously, and his motives come into question.

Character Reputation

- It is debated whether Kefka is autistic or his taciturn nature is due to abuse and assault.
- Kefka's reputation among his co-workers is not good; he is viewed as eccentric, and not trusted by those who participate in imperial campaigns.
- Kefka is prone to temper tantrums, where he destroys property with his great magical abilities.
- When around Celes, Kefka acts as a kind older brother.

Before his nervous breakdown

- Kefka lived in a tower connected to the Magitek research facilities with Celes.

After the nervous breakdown

- Kefka is placed under house arrest, let out for work related activities only.
- In his home he gathers many jewels, and plays with dolls.

Combat Efficiency

- Kefka is a tremendously powerful mage, but his aptitude for hand-to-hand combat is low.
- His powers as a mage are increased by his nervous breakdown.
- The Spirit of the Esper that imbued Kefka acts through him. (Editor's note: Maybe this demon Maria is actually the Esper that Kefka was augmented with?)

Change in goals due to Magitek side effects

- Before his nervous breakdown, the existence of magic was the only thing that confirmed Kefka's own existence to himself.
- After the side effects emerge, Kefka's only goal is to find the highest power in the world, that which can destroy anything.


Dolls (more a section on androgyny)

- Kefka adorns his dolls the same way he adorns himself, with makeup and garish clothing
- When Kefka is in a bad mood, he destroys his dolls for fun.

Mirror

- Kefka is fascinated by the phenomena of the mirror image.
- Kefka dresses up for himself solely for the purpose of seeing himself in the mirror.

Relationship with Celes before nervous breakdown.

- Stemming from their common experience of Magitek augmentation, Kefka viewed Celes as the love of his life; He viewed her as his daughter and his sister.
- Celes was the only person Kefka was able to care about.
- Kefka would essentially die for his young ward.


Relationship with Celes after the Nervous breakdown

- Kefka begins to view Celes as a play toy; strong and weak, beautiful and submissive, his perfect doll (editor's note: EWW creepy.)
- Kefka finds beauty in the fact that Celes is mentally damaged, since he too, has suffered.


Relationship with Dr. Cid

- In his early adulthood, Kefka served as part of Cid's research staff, and was his subordinate.
- After becoming Prime Minister, Kefka forced Cid to make the research the creation of an ultimate magical based weapon.


Relationship with Leo Christophe

- Because Leo, a consummate soldier, is opposed to the use of magic, he and Kefka clash in ideology often.


Relationship with Emperor Gestahl

- Kefka views Gestahl as the absolute master who gives his existence meaning.
- Kefka and Gestahl have a heavy reliance on each other; Kefka is given the nickname "The Shark of the Emperor".


Relationship with Terra Brandford

- Before his Nervous breakdown, Kefka viewed Terra as a valuable research test subject.
- After his nervous breakdown, Kefka viewed Terra as a magically powered toy.
- Kefka fears Terra for her natural power.

[Kraid]

When I first played FFVI, I hated Kefka.

Then I started realizing why I hated him: It was because he was such a good villain. A Good villain is one you can hate + He also has one of the greatest sense of humours (at least in the English Translations) ever.