Kefka vs Sephiroth; who do you like more?

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

I've seen several threads made in regard to who the greatest villain in the Final Fantasy franchise is, and the results always end up pretty tied between Sephiroth from FFVII and Kefka from FFVI.  Now, if everyone must choose between these two, I'm rather curious to see who would win as most popular.  Sephiroth seems to receive the most hype, but does he really deserve it?  Is he really that popular, or is his popularity the result of Final Fantasy VII being a more well-known game?  On the other side of that token, is everyone partial to Kefka because he "came first," and people assume that the classics cannot outmatch newer installments?  Does everyone just like him because he's so original?  (Though I wonder if I'm the only one that would compare him to the Joker...)

 

Here's where I stand:

 

I'm a huge Kefka fan, so I would say Kefka all the way.  He made a much better villain than Sephiroth did, in my opinion.  I mean, Sephiroth's cool and all, but he doesn't have much personality or even a personal flair to his motives.  I don't dislike Sephiroth in any way; I just think Kefka's far more...interesting in a mad sort of way.

 

Edited March 16, 2013 by Mystics Apprentice

[ReikuSSR 1,071]

Sephiroth all the way. Sorry Clowns are cliche and I don't like cliche clowns that go around trying to seduce little girls.

 

Edited March 16, 2013 by ReikuSSR

[The_eternal_nothing 586]

In a fight sephiroth would win. the real question would be sephiroth vs caius thatd be awsome

[Weiss 8,279]

They're both pretty great villains and Kefka could make me laugh a good bit sometimes but I'd have to go with Sephiroth. He's pretty epic though and I personally like him more.

[Jilly Shears 2,144]

Kefka.Sephiroth has too many "mommy issues" for my liking.

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

Sephiroth all the way. Sorry Clowns are cliche and I don't like cliche clowns that go around trying to seduce little girls.

 

Really?  I never noticed this...  Would this happen to be in Dissidia?  Because I've actually never seen him in length there.  I'm only familiar with him through Final Fantasy VI, and I never got that impression of him before.

[axele 151]

Kefka.

 

Kefka actually destory's the world, whereabouts Sephiroth fails. Plus Sephy is a momma's boy.

 

Though Caius destory's them both. Hmmmm he's so hawt.  :wub:

Edited March 16, 2013 by axele

[ReikuSSR 1,071]

Really?  I never noticed this...  Would this happen to be in Dissidia?  Because I've actually never seen him in length there.  I'm only familiar with him through Final Fantasy VI, and I never got that impression of him before.

Have you ever paid attention to how he talks to Terra? Dude's got some seducing issues. Well I shouldn't say anything. You are entitled to your opinion.

[Dave 5,715]

Take a look at the avatar and take a wild guess.

 

In all seriousness, though, I think both characters are actually very interesting, well written, and complex. The thing is that Sephiroth gets hindered by a few things. Namely, he's not present for most of his own game. I really love the plot of the Nibelhiem flashback, and how Sephiroth develops in that moment, but after that, he's sort of flat the rest of the game. As opposed to Kefka, who's not only present, but is constantly raising the stakes and messing up the works personally, developing his own character and advancing the plot. That, and I love his motivations. Far from being the "destruction for destruction's sake" angle that Dissidia presents him as, Kefka is almost incredibly rational in his own mind. He has seen the end of the tunnel: he sees that all there is is misery and pain at the end of life, and thus nothing you build on the way lasts or matters, so why not just kill things? He can't stand that other people can't see the world as he does, and so he tries to cause as much hatred and destruction as he can so that no one can experience the happiness of life that eludes him. Yet in spite of his big picture mentality, he ultimately fails to understand the concept of love, or how it matters. He destroys the world, removes all hope, yet he cannot crush human emotion. The incredibly rational clown cannot fathom the irrational concept of human emotion. I absolutely love that dynamic.

 

Oddly enough, I think the much lambasted mommy issues of Sephiroth is the best part of his character. It's an angle that no other villain in the series has, and it's funny that a man so inherently selfish and ego driven has that sore spot.

[CloakedSchemerX 1,011]

Emperor Mateus and Exdeath blow them away.

 

But, of the two, I'd go with Kefka. He has much more development and personality. But on the other hand, Sephiroth has a bit more reasoning to do what he does. Not good reasoning, but still, he has a purpose. They each have their quirks and gimmicks.

[Silvia Kuroi 1,480]

I have to go with Kefka for this one. Kefka (In my opinion) is a more fleshed out villain, and everything about him reeked of a sadistic hilarity. Though Sephiroth maybe stronger, I just like Kefka for his personality and motives. Not only that, but the way he did things is like this:

Found a boring village? Let's spice it up with some explosions! That's pretty much who Kefka is.

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

Have you ever paid attention to how he talks to Terra? Dude's got some seducing issues. Well I shouldn't say anything. You are entitled to your opinion.

Definitely not denying he's got some serious issues, but I suppose I'd never noticed the seducing side to him before.  I wasn't questioning you per se, but more that I was curious if he's actually like that in Dissidia and not 6, because many people seem to be of this opinion about him.  It's just from studying him in FF6 I never noticed it.  But don't worry; I completely respect your opinion.  

Take a look at the avatar and take a wild guess.

 

In all seriousness, though, I think both characters are actually very interesting, well written, and complex. The thing is that Sephiroth gets hindered by a few things. Namely, he's not present for most of his own game. I really love the plot of the Nibelhiem flashback, and how Sephiroth develops in that moment, but after that, he's sort of flat the rest of the game. As opposed to Kefka, who's not only present, but is constantly raising the stakes and messing up the works personally, developing his own character and advancing the plot. That, and I love his motivations. Far from being the "destruction for destruction's sake" angle that Dissidia presents him as, Kefka is almost incredibly rational in his own mind. He has seen the end of the tunnel: he sees that all there is is misery and pain at the end of life, and thus nothing you build on the way lasts or matters, so why not just kill things? He can't stand that other people can't see the world as he does, and so he tries to cause as much hatred and destruction as he can so that no one can experience the happiness of life that eludes him. Yet in spite of his big picture mentality, he ultimately fails to understand the concept of love, or how it matters. He destroys the world, removes all hope, yet he cannot crush human emotion. The incredibly rational clown cannot fathom the irrational concept of human emotion. I absolutely love that dynamic.

 

Oddly enough, I think the much lambasted mommy issues of Sephiroth is the best part of his character. It's an angle that no other villain in the series has, and it's funny that a man so inherently selfish and ego driven has that sore spot.

Hm, let me think long and hard on that one...

 

But yes, you have some very valid points here.  I like Kefka's uniqueness, and I think that if FF7 had developed Sephiroth's character more over the course of the game I'd like him more, too.  But, as you pointed out, he was barely present for a great deal of the game, so it was really hard to take him seriously whenever he would appear.  Crisis Core did a better job at portraying him for who he was (and it actually made me like his character after that), but I still think his motives were a tad flatter than Kefka's.  You did a great job of explaining his mindset, by the way.  I've studied his character for close to six years and still am unable to write a paragraph that best describes him.

[ReikuSSR 1,071]

Definitely not denying he's got some serious issues, but I suppose I'd never noticed the seducing side to him before.  I wasn't questioning you per se, but more that I was curious if he's actually like that in Dissidia and not 6, because many people seem to be of this opinion about him.  It's just from studying him in FF6 I never noticed it.  But don't worry; I completely respect your opinion.

Hm, let me think long and hard on that one...

 

But yes, you have some very valid points here.  I like Kefka's uniqueness, and I think that if FF7 had developed Sephiroth's character more over the course of the game I'd like him more, too.  But, as you pointed out, he was barely present for a great deal of the game, so it was really hard to take him seriously whenever he would appear.  Crisis Core did a better job at portraying him for who he was (and it actually made me like his character after that), but I still think his motives were a tad flatter than Kefka's.  You did a great job of explaining his mindset, by the way.  I've studied his character for close to six years and still am unable to write a paragraph that best describes him.

yeah.. in duodeciem he is a bit pedophile-ish. Thank you for respecting my opinion.

[IsaTheTroll 44]

Kefka isn't only the best villain in Final Fantasy, but also the best in gaming history.

[Rob 5,571]

Not to sound like a bias FF7 fan, which Im not........Sephiroth.

[Dracozombie 4,554]

I'll vouch for Sephiroth's effectiveness as a villain, but there's something to be said for Kefka's direct involvement in his game's storyline.  Sephiroth is cool and badass and most certainly a threat, but the thing with him is that his actions are too indirect.  He stays in the sidelines until the end for reasons that, while justified, means he needs to rely on passive means to carry his goals, that being manipulating Cloud and sending out Jenova to wreak havoc.  He's less a character and more an omen and destructive force, which shows how dangerous he is but hampers his worth as a character.

 

Kefka, on the other hand, is more engaging.  You see the guy escalate from a twisted and ineffectual clown to destroyer of the freakin' world while you're playing the game itself.  Sephiroth's descent into insanity is condensed into the Nibelheim flashback (lasting longer if you're playing Crisis Core, though even that's a small part of the rest of the game), and when that's done, he mostly becomes the thing the heroes must deal with or the world's screwed.  Kefka is a threat and a character you need to deal with throughout the game.  He's more interesting than Sephiroth in that way.  You follow him from the beginning and fight him in the end, dealing with his actions and descent into insanity in a timeline that spans the whole plot, not just a flashback.  It makes Kefka more engaging than Sephiroth, dealing with him as you go along, even if their threat level is roughly the same.  Though, I will argue Sephiroth might be more threatening.  Though he failed in the end, it took intervention from the planet itself to stop Meteor, not a group of friends with spiffy powers working together.  Remember, them stopping Sephiroth and clearing the way for Holy didn't work.  Maybe that's why Kefka was allowed to succeed--his actions weren't irreversible like what would've happened if Meteor fell.

[IsaTheTroll 44]

I'll vouch for Sephiroth's effectiveness as a villain, but there's something to be said for Kefka's direct involvement in his game's storyline.  Sephiroth is cool and badass and most certainly a threat, but the thing with him is that his actions are too indirect.  He stays in the sidelines until the end for reasons that, while justified, means he needs to rely on passive means to carry his goals, that being manipulating Cloud and sending out Jenova to wreak havoc.  He's less a character and more an omen and destructive force, which shows how dangerous he is but hampers his worth as a character.

 

Kefka, on the other hand, is more engaging.  You see the guy escalate from a twisted and ineffectual clown to destroyer of the freakin' world while you're playing the game itself.  Sephiroth's descent into insanity is condensed into the Nibelheim flashback (lasting longer if you're playing Crisis Core, though even that's a small part of the rest of the game), and when that's done, he mostly becomes the thing the heroes must deal with or the world's screwed.  Kefka is a threat and a character you need to deal with throughout the game.  He's more interesting than Sephiroth in that way.  You follow him from the beginning and fight him in the end, dealing with his actions and descent into insanity in a timeline that spans the whole plot, not just a flashback.  It makes Kefka more engaging than Sephiroth, dealing with him as you go along, even if their threat level is roughly the same.  Though, I will argue Sephiroth might be more threatening.  Though he failed in the end, it took intervention from the planet itself to stop Meteor, not a group of friends with spiffy powers working together.  Remember, them stopping Sephiroth and clearing the way for Holy didn't work.  Maybe that's why Kefka was allowed to succeed--his actions weren't irreversible like what would've happened if Meteor fell.

Well, I think that Kefka is almost as threatening. He killed many people. He poisoned Doma, used the Light of Judgement etc. etc.