When people think of main KH villains, they naturally think of Xehanort or one of his many incarnations. Yet, I think the tag team of Marluxia and Larxene were probably the best villains to anchor a game in the series.
First and foremost, they have an active quest within their plot. The thing that bothers me with every Xehanort version is that they are all so incredibly passive: either everything is going according to plan to the point where they don't have to react to anything negative, or they sort of just sit around and wait. With Marluxia and Larxene, the plan they have is constantly under threat from one thing or another, and they have to keep adapting to the circumstances. Be it Vexen's unwanted intrusion, Axel's meddling, or Namine doing something unexpected, there are hinderences which pop up that they have to deal with. I can't tell you how important that is for the story: it gives an extra dynamic layer to the plot and means that all the characters involved in it have to be active.
Second, their motivations make sense, and are easily understandable. They don't like being at the back of the line, and they're going to do something about it. Simple and clean. To this end, they're going to get their own keyblade wielder to help them get an upper hand, and then show the higher ranks who's boss. I always think that selfish goals are the best kind of goals for villains, because its a kind of pettiness that we ourselves sometimes feel, so that we understand the motivation, but at the same time they take it to such an extreme that we can still allow ourselves to be shocked and condemning of them: we don't necessarily hate Marluxia for wanting to move up in the ranks, but we do resent him using Sora in the process.
Third, they're actually effectively evil. The things they do are just plain rotten, from screwing with Sora's mind and tormenting him emotionally, to using Namine as their hapless puppet, having Vexen killed out of spite, dragging the Riku-puppet into things, and more. Further, Larxene is magnificently diabolical. I love how she just takes an incredible amount of joy and pleasure in every dirty deed and trick she pulls. Also, props to her voice actor for putting so much personality and energy into the performance; it really drives the nail home. Marluxia is just unapologetically evil, and though he does lapse into the calm-cool-calculating trope that half of the Organization falls into, he makes it better by lacing his face with a smile, and again, he is active in his plot, making him far more interesting as a result.
So, yeah. I would be down for Xehanort just sort of leaving in KH3 and being replaced by Marluxia and Larxene.
When people think of main KH villains, they naturally think of Xehanort or one of his many incarnations. Yet, I think the tag team of Marluxia and Larxene were probably the best villains to anchor a game in the series.
First and foremost, they have an active quest within their plot. The thing that bothers me with every Xehanort version is that they are all so incredibly passive: either everything is going according to plan to the point where they don't have to react to anything negative, or they sort of just sit around and wait. With Marluxia and Larxene, the plan they have is constantly under threat from one thing or another, and they have to keep adapting to the circumstances. Be it Vexen's unwanted intrusion, Axel's meddling, or Namine doing something unexpected, there are hinderences which pop up that they have to deal with. I can't tell you how important that is for the story: it gives an extra dynamic layer to the plot and means that all the characters involved in it have to be active.
Second, their motivations make sense, and are easily understandable. They don't like being at the back of the line, and they're going to do something about it. Simple and clean. To this end, they're going to get their own keyblade wielder to help them get an upper hand, and then show the higher ranks who's boss. I always think that selfish goals are the best kind of goals for villains, because its a kind of pettiness that we ourselves sometimes feel, so that we understand the motivation, but at the same time they take it to such an extreme that we can still allow ourselves to be shocked and condemning of them: we don't necessarily hate Marluxia for wanting to move up in the ranks, but we do resent him using Sora in the process.
Third, they're actually effectively evil. The things they do are just plain rotten, from screwing with Sora's mind and tormenting him emotionally, to using Namine as their hapless puppet, having Vexen killed out of spite, dragging the Riku-puppet into things, and more. Further, Larxene is magnificently diabolical. I love how she just takes an incredible amount of joy and pleasure in every dirty deed and trick she pulls. Also, props to her voice actor for putting so much personality and energy into the performance; it really drives the nail home. Marluxia is just unapologetically evil, and though he does lapse into the calm-cool-calculating trope that half of the Organization falls into, he makes it better by lacing his face with a smile, and again, he is active in his plot, making him far more interesting as a result.
So, yeah. I would be down for Xehanort just sort of leaving in KH3 and being replaced by Marluxia and Larxene.
Edited by Dave