Villains vs. Final Bosses

by Philip Barbier 

Villain (according to Webster's online Dictionary):
1 : a deliberate scoundrel or criminal
2 : a scoundrel in a story or play
3 : a person or thing blamed for a particular evil or difficulty

Villain (according to Webster's online Thesaurus):
1. a low, mean, reprehensible person utterly lacking in principle

Is the final boss of the game always the real villain?

A few weeks ago in the letters section there was a lot of discussion about villains and whether Zemus/Zeromus was a good villain. My question is "Was Zeromus a villain at all?"

What does it take to be a good villain? First, as the definition states, the villain should be a scoundrel. Someone (or in the case of some RPGs some entity) who acts on the heros or their world in an evil and ruthless fashion. Since this villain is acting in such a fashion the villain would therefore be the focus of the heroes' attention.

In FF7 Sephiroth was definitely the focus of the main characters' attentions. In FF6 that esteemed position was held by that wonderful loon, Kefka. But in FF4 who was the scoundrel? Since Cecil and his crew didn't even know of Zemus/Zeromus until near the end of the game the only logical answer is Golbez.

Some might argue that Golbez can not be the villain because in the end he repented and fought against Zemus/Zeromus. An example of a villain repenting is Darth Vader in Star Wars. Like Golbez he also repented and fought the final boss (threw the Emperor of the walkway), but that makes Vader no less of villain. He was still the one who chopped of Luke's hand and encased Han in carbonite. Both Golbez and Vader repented, but like Vader, Golbez still remains as the antagonist and real villain of the story.

There are many games that have secret final bosses that have very little to do with the story of the game (anyone remember Dragon Quest 2). There are other games where the quest itself was the challenge and dispatching the final boss was just part of that quest (Final Fantasy 1). The thing we need to remember when we speak of villains is that the villain is part of the storyline, he's not always the final boss of the game.