Who was your favorite villain/antagonist from last-gen?

He was the first character I thought of as well. I can't think of anyone else that was as memorable.

I really liked Wheatley as a villain. He had a nice arc.

@petiew: Caius was a great series of boss fights so that probably puts him on the top of that list (which is very important for being a credible villain and somewhat rare in newer games) aside from Radec. He's an alright character and voiced by Lezard (since everyone is voiced by Lezard), but he isn't Lezard who's worse than the really good JRPG villains but still better than most modern villains. I guess he could squeak into the top 5, but I'm just as likely to add Artorias, Manus, Flamelurker, or Gwyn arbitrarily because of boss fight quality.

Hey you know Kerrigan wasn't that bad up until the ending in Wings of Liberty; I don't think Kerrigan has ever been an exceptional character and she seemed perfectly fine in that; obviously the ending was so bad they had to retcon it immediately in the next game.

Andrew Ryan - Bioshock

Adachi - Persona 4 (because wtf was that about)

Godot - Ace Attorney

Vaas - Far Cry 3

Robert the Terrible from VeggieTales.

Caius Ballad (FF13-2) - Great antagonist all around, imo. Can't wait to see him in Lightning Returns!

The Shadow Lord (Nier) - The story of this game is just amazing, and the game is in my top 5 mainly because of it. Everything that happens at the end is just amazing, especially the alternate endings

David (The Last of Us) - Great villain/antagonist, this may be partially because of how much I came to love Ellie but I actively hated him in the end.

Andrew Ryan and Comstock in the Bioshock series

Oddly, there are no villains or antagonists immediately springing to mind. Many villains are one-note and flat, lacking anything to remember them by. The Joker from the Bathamarkhamcity games is memorable and not so one-note, but he's not my favourite. The Mass Effect series' villains were ridiculous and silly, oftentimes memorable; infortunately their motivations were virtually nonexistent and all of them have the silliest exits I've seen in recent memory.

One that stands out in my memory is the Black Knight from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. He's stylish, memorable, and interesting! Unfortunately, he's much less of a villain than he was in FE: Path of Radiance so he's more of a runner-up.

The Raincoat Killer from Deadly Premonition is the other villain that comes to mind. While he is stylish and memorable, he's not the most interesting fellow.. and like a Mass Effect villain, he has a silly end. So he is at best a runner-up.

The most memorable villains were, in truth, the ones without a pre-set personality, appearance, or goal: the denizens of the noble world in Crusader Kings II and, to a lesser extent, Europa Universalis IV's kingdoms. It will be many years before I forget the villainous tyranny of Skofte Crovan, the Duke of the Isles, or the endless plotting of my Spymaster, or even the undefeatable Aragonese. Indeed, these are the most memorable villains I've come across this past generation.

My favourite villain or antagonist: the nobility of the Medieval World

@fredchuckdave said:

I don't think that was a reversal due to fan reaction or changing creative vision or anything. Starcraft II is so wrapped up in some stupid "Kerrigan is the chosen one" prophecy where it's integral that she control the Zerg otherwise shadowy villain man will use the Zerg to eradicate all life in the universe. They said as much in Zeratul's weird future vision in Wings of Liberty. So I think it was Blizzard's plan all along to have Kerrigan be turned into a human, then have Kerrigan herself decide she wants back the power to control the Swarm and all the arbitrary psionic powers she gains once she is the Queen of Blades.

Which just makes the whole thing more stupid, because it means we spent two whole fucking campaigns turning Kerrigan human, then undoing that, and the only damn thing that changed is Arcturus Mengsk is finally dead. And Duran/Narud is dead, which is of absolutely zero consequence in the grand scheme of things, other than "Alright, great, you killed off one more character introduced in original Starcraft and have failed to introduce very many plot-significant new characters in either part of Starcraft 2."

There was more political moving and shaking and switching of alliances in the first like 5 missions of Starcraft 1's Terran campaign than there has been in the entirety of Starcraft 2 so far. Blizzard's current writers are shit at their jobs and deserve to be fired.

@bisonhero said:

It really can't be stated any more clearly than that.

I miss the Overmind and wise Cerebrate Zasz...

@bisonhero: It was definitely intended that she'd remain human and in control of the swarm, not revert back to being the zerg. You can still be a mass murderer and be human, little known fact. The plot might be pretty similar but her being literal Zerg makes it a little silly and there's really no credible villains left in the next game unless they revive Duran or something. On the bright side I played Protoss in multiplayer so that should be easy/fun.

Forgot about F... K... In... the coffee, about as good as Bulletstorm guy (voiced by Jake Busey of Starship Troopers fame).

Reverend Ray McCall. Though he is both protagonist and antagonist, still one of the scariest mofo's in video games.

John Riccitiello

Hands down, The Origami Killer from Heavy Rain would have to be the most cunning, lethal antagonist of the past generation.

Dunno, David?

Even though you only get one opportunity to interact with it, that conversation with Sovereign was one of the most chilling moments in video games, as you realize that there's something unknown out there that will doom the entire galaxy.

Well I can't deny Sovereign really did left a great impression on me.

My favourites of this console generation have been villains with a sympathetic side to them. Two prominent examples would be Saren and the Illusive Man from Mass Effect; both sought the exact same thing as Shepard but ultimately succumbed to the enemy they sought to stop. Heck, even Shepard's clone from the Citadel DLC, when they learn in the end what truly made them different from Shepard.

And as others have noted, Caius Ballad of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Everything he does is out of desperation and madness over Yeul's constant death and reincarnation.

The Arishok from Dragon Age II is another great example. He ends up sacking Kirkwall because he's just fed up with being in a place he sees as a complete festering stinkhole and is perfectly content to die in the process if it means an end to his duty.

Scolar Visari (Killzone 2)
Dr. Nefarious (Ratchet and Crank Future: A Crack in Time)
Maiden Astraea (Demon's Souls)

Edgar Ross from Red Dead. Also not a direct antagonist, but Caesar from Fallout: New Vegas was pretty interesting, if a little over the top.

Don Mattrick.

I don't see the big deal about The Joker. It's the exact same performance from the Batman and Justice League cartoons, but he was better written in them.

I agree with Vaas, Wheatley, and David (Mr. Pedo) from The Last of Us. Video games usually aren't very good at creating villains IMO; they seem to be getting better though.

@deathstriker: David would have been a much better villain if they didn't make him a creep; though it does sort of make the end scene of winter possible and that's hard to deny as effective.

true, and Joker's Million and the Man Who Killed Batman are episodes I'd rank in as my personal favorite. But again, Mark Hamill's retirement of the character is just a nice way to send him out...... even if it's a roided out, greasy unreal engine 3, simon bisley looking design of the character, it's still a nice way to send him out.

I find this to be a bit of a stacked roster, really. I'll split my personal faves between villains and antagonists to keep this organized.

Villains:

Everyone's said it, practically speaking, but I have to say it again: Sovereign. The video's in the thread. That conversation freaked me the hell out when I first saw it. That is how you do a proper sci-fi villain, folks. Powerful, imposing, smart, he checks all the boxes.

I'm sad that there isn't more love for Hazama in this thread. Or maybe more accurately, Terumi Yuuki. No character has managed to make me actively want to hate him more than Terumi has. And guess what? That's his job, that's his MO, that's how he freaking lives. Hazama/Terumi is one of the best "love to hate" villains of the last generation, and is an absolutely superb character. He's just one of many reasons why I love the Blazblue series.

The same goes for Handsome Jack. He may as well be Terumi's western equivalent with the amount of trolling and "love to hate" factor he has going for him. He's one of the few villains whom I can say it was honestly satisfying to beat the first time I managed it. You don't get that kind of villain all the time, much less so in video games (at least from my own experiences), so it was a very nice and refreshing thing to experience.

Mark Hamill knocked his final few performances as the Clown Prince of Crime clean out of the park. Especially in Arkham City. Dear lord, his performance in that game is one of the few that literally gave me chills. It was frankly amazing. And while no one will ever replace or top him, I do have to commend Richard Epcar for his portrayal of an absolutely sinister Joker in Injustice. If you've never watched it yourself, I recommend you do so. He does a spectacular job.

Antagonists:

I wasn't sure whether to put him as a villain or not, so I'll just place him as an antagonist: Andrew Ryan. Probably one of the single most cerebral antagonists in gaming history. He makes you think, and does so often. One of the few visionary-type antagonists that really got into my head. A character like Ryan really shows just how much of a modern masterpiece the original Bioshock is. Maybe the fact that I couldn't decide whether to place him as a villain or an antagonist is further proof of just how well-written he is as a character.

Even though I've only started getting into Metal Gear Solid recently, holy mother of god, Liquid Ocelot. Perhaps the personification of the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." An absolutely compelling antagonist that is equal parts sympathetic and intimidating. And as someone who's played through most of the series so far, that's a stature well earned. Amazing stuff.

While on the subject of Metal Gear, I definitely need to mention Senator Armstrong. While certainly memetic with his college football career and his famous "Nanomachines, son!" quote (which a college friend of mine, a lifelong hardcore Metal Gear fan, had been using since MGS4 as a joke, ironically enough), Armstrong is proof that brains and brawn can be a lethal combination on an antagonist as well as a compelling one if written well. And, well, this is Metal Gear. It's gonna be written well. Maybe written a bit confusingly, but written well once all the pieces fall into place.

Saren/Sovereign from Mass Effect. I also liked Matriarch Benezia if you bring Liara. I also enjoyed the dialogue in Mass Effect 2 with all the different group leaders going after Archangel. Especially if you have certain characters with you. The Illusive Man is also pretty great.

I loved Zinyak from Saints Row 4, mostly because he was a damn eloquent speaker and that's always fun to have in a villain. Especially reading the text adventure stuff about his life.

All of the ones in Persona 4 were also pretty good. I also liked how Deadly Premonition went too.

I recently went and did the Captain Scarlett DLC for Borderlands 2 and I really enjoyed her character, even though she was only sort of a villain.

And Kane, of course. Even though I didn't care for C&C4 much, I still really liked him.

I honestly don't think I could name a single villain. Hell, I even enjoyed the leaders of the Teams in Pokemon Platinum and X/Y. There's a lot out there I thought were great for the game/setting they were in. Even the dude in Halo 4.

For me, it's the Joker from Batman Arkham Asylum, and Arkham City. It's all thanks to Mark Hamill, who does a fantastic vocal performance as the homicidal clown.

Never felt the need to dispose of any villain so badly until I was introduced to Vaas.