Most Hated Final Fantasy Characters

Final Fantasy is a universally beloved franchise that has been around for nearly four decades now, with 16 main game titles and tons of spin-offs that have brought to life dozens of characters. Some of these characters are beloved and memorable, and others are instantly hated from the moment they appear.

This list ranks the most hated characters in the Final Fantasy franchise, according to fan polls, popularity rankings, and audience reception in general. Some of these characters might not deserve to be hated, but they hardly make any effort to gain the empathy of the fans.

1

Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X/X-2)

According To Thousands Of Fans, He Is The Worst

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy X
• Race: Guado-Human Hybrid
• Role: Temporary Party Member – Antagonist

Be it his ridiculous haircut, his persistence to never accept defeat, or his creepy voice, Seymour Guado is at the top of the list of most hated Final Fantasy characters. Though many villains of the franchise are universally hated (Kefka, Sephirot, Kuja) Seymour does an especially good job at attracting the hatred of the fandom, mostly because of his notorious ‘I’m the (not so) secret villain of the story’ attitude while also being interested in Yuna, to the point of forcing her to marry him. Despite the constant distrust of Auron and Tidus, the rest of the Final Fantasy X crew seem to be following him blindly to a more than obvious bad outcome.

Some fans say he is the perfect villain, but his motivation is lackluster (dozens of FF characters had a harsher childhood than him and never ended up becoming evil) and hard to understand. His attitude is comparable to a child throwing a tantrum, and to top it off, he has been portrayed as an ineffective villain who uses questionable methods (aka crimes against mankind) with poor results to get what he wants.

2

Sephirot (Final Fantasy VII)

Unforgivable, Simply A Scoundrel

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VII (1997)
• Race: Jenova-Human Hybrid
• Role: Main Antagonist

Sephirot is the holder of the title of ‘most destructive tantrums’ in the history of the Final Fantasy franchise. The main antagonist from FF VII goes from respected war hero to commit crimes against mankind in a second after discovering he is a bio-engineered soldier (though luck bud), so he goes out to burn an entire town, traumatize a young girl, and kill the (real) Soldier who tried to stop him.

There, his rampage never stops: he goes from mass murderer to nihilistic psycho that wants to destroy the world after figuring out he was created using the cells of an extraterrestrial being who, to no one’s surprise, arrived with the purpose of destroying the world. But, his most defining war crime was to ruin a perfect blooming love between Cloud and Aerith in the most ridiculously brutal of ways. Entire generations have been traumatized by that single scene and have power-leveled (and got a crippling addiction to Chocobo Races) to get to Level 99 and beat the hell out of him with an Omnislash. Final Fantasy fans would agree that not even death by a thousand 9999-damage cuts is enough punishment for this scum.

3

Jack Garland (Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin)

His ‘Bad-Boy’ Vibe Doesn’t Amuse Fans

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy I (Main Antagonist)
• Race: Human
• Role: Main Character (Prequel) Antagonist (FFI)

Jack Garland from Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin has one of the most generic bad-boy designs of the whole franchise, and to top it off, he is the only known character known to have become an instant joke due to his ridiculous dialogue lines and attitude, with his iconic phrase: Bull**it!

Another of his most defining qualities is his ‘blunt force everything on sight’ problem resolution method, which is honestly more funny than hateful. His weird obsession with Chaos, monotone voice acting, and overall poor background design turn him into the third most hated character in the franchise.

4

Brahne (Final Fantasy IX)

Worst Mother Ever

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy IX (2000)
• Race: Human
• Role: Main Antagonist

From maiming her adoptive daughter (and hurtfully neglecting her) to side with one of the most obvious psychos in the Final Fantasy franchise, Brahne is most definitely a hateful character. She has used Princess Garnet’s gift to murder thousands, commanded an entire realm to wage a stupid war fueled by ambition, and destroyed an entire legacy from day to night just because she could.

Her nearly non-existent motivation, cruelty, and irresponsibility as a ruler have made fans grit their teeth for years. That scene where she betrays her daughter, the cruelty of her speech, and not even trying to hide how corrupt she is will send shivers down the player’s spine every single time. She and Lusamine from Pokemon Sun & Moon could form their own house club: ‘Worst mothers in games.’

5

Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)

Psycho, Murderer, God?

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VI (1994)
• Race: Unknown
• Role: Main Antagonist

His somewhat childish attitude might seem amusing, but don’t think for a second this is a comedic relief: Kefka is and will always be one of the most dangerous and hateful characters in Final Fantasy. His evil is so powerful that he has appeared in several spin-offs as a recurrent villain.

Kefka Palazzo made himself hated from the moment he appeared, and his plans for world domination were never hidden using makeup: He is an absolute megalomaniac trying to conquer/destroy the world using Emperor Gestahl as his personal toy. Manipulative, vindictive, nihilistic, and most importantly, powerful, Kefka has earned the hatred (and fear) of millions of players.

6

Cait Sith (Final Fantasy VII)

Betrayer! There, Said It! Fans Hate His Guts!

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VII (1994)
• Race: Robot (Human Controller)
• Role: Party Member/Side Antagonist

From the second this thing drops into the team like a Deux-Ex brought from behind a big curtain full of lies, players knew he was one of the most obvious turncoats in Final Fantasy VII. Forcing himself into Cloud’s group through dubious means, barely hiding his dual-sided nature, and even predicting one of the most tragic deaths in the franchise: everything in Caith Sith spells trouble.

To no one’s surprise, he is discovered to be a spy and one of the Shinra Board Members (typical evil Corp CEO), and steals the keystone that opens an ancient temple, meant to entomb a powerful world-ending Materia. Needless to say, his pathetic attempt to redeem himself later in the story wasn’t enough to move players into somewhat accepting him, and the sole mention of his name among Fans of the franchise is the synonym of ‘betrayal.’

7

Fujin (Final Fantasy VIII)

One Of The Most Annoying Side Villains Ever Made

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
• Race: Human
• Role: Side Antagonist

Curiously, one of the most hated characters in Final Fantasy VIII is a side-character/villain named Fujin, who always comes with his loyal and goofy Raijin. Both of them were quite annoying throughout the game, but Fujin takes the prize home with her monotone (she almost always speaks in short sentences), ridiculous character design, and stuck-up attitude.

Her need to unnecessarily chastise Raijin when he is having a good time (on several occasions throughout their brief appearances) makes her one of the most toxic female characters in the game (followed closely by Quistis). Unlike Raijin, who is a gentleman and openly avoids hurting the female party members, Fujin does whatever it takes to accomplish her orders, even if this ends up hurting Raijin in the process.

8

Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII)

She Inspires Hatred Almost Instantly

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
• Race: Witch
• Role: Main Antagonist

Her nefarious attitude, her insidious nature, and rejection to reasoning makes Ultimecia one of the most hateful characters in the whole Final Fantasy franchise. She is deterministic, focused, and most importantly: one of the most powerful female villains in the history of gaming. Nevertheless, players hate her for other reasons: being a homebreaker and possessing the bodies of other people like a coward.

Ultimecia’s cowardice and ambition are barely hidden through the plot, and her ridiculous plan to force a conjunction of timelines to gain infinite power is also one of the most dangerous and deranged evil plots of all FF villains.

9

Rinoa Heartilly (Final Fantasy VIII)

Having A Border Collie Rocket Launcher Doesn’t Make Her Any Better

• First Appearance: Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
• Race: Witch
• Role: Party Member

Rinoa Heartilly has been dubbed the ‘most hated female main character’ in the Final Fantasy series (followed dangerously close by Quistis Trepe). If readers are wondering why, they should look into the overall construction of the character and how it is introduced into the plot. First, Rinoa appears at the Balamb Garden’s party and approaches Squall out of the blue, without a clear motivation and, most importantly, a snobbish attitude that portrays her as an entitled child of a wealthy family.

As a member of the Forest Owls resistance corps, she plays the role of ‘rebellious child’ with daddy issues, which doesn’t help her gain the approval of the fans at all. Her naive and obnoxious attitude gets worse one disc after the other. On top of that, her main weapon is simply ridiculous: a mixture of chakram, boomerang, and slingshot that doesn’t make any sense. Her only redeemable feature would be Angelo, the best boy in the Final Fantasy universe, and how does she repay this noble creature’s loyalty? By using him as ordnance against monsters and world-breaking beings. She should be in jail.