Top 30 Final Fantasy Villains - #30

#30 - Black Waltz No. 3

(Final Fantasy IX)

Let's kick this countdown off with a minor antagonist, basically a lackey, who nonetheless made a big impact on both the characters and the fans in his brief appearance. Black Mages in Final Fantasy IX are mass-produced artificial soldiers who for the most part display little to no personality. There are a few factory defects (such as Vivi, one of my favorite characters in the entire series), but out of all the mages who still serve the villains, only three show any real character, and those would be the three Black Waltzes- three specialized Black Mages sent to retrieve Princess Garnet, who the heroes have kidnapped at her own request.

Of those three, No. 1 is decent enough and No. 2 is wholly forgettable. But Black Waltz No. 3 is the one everyone remembers. When he appears on the cargo airship the heroes have stowed away on, he isn’t just driven by his mission. He has a legitimate cruelty to him that makes him more intimidating than the others, and has no qualms about collateral damage.

When the other Black Mage crewmen decide to intervene and protect the heroes (the first time we see that the previously inert standard BMs exhibit any emotion whatsoever) No. 3 responds by casually murdering them with a powerful burst of magic, which incinerates most of them and sends yet more careening over the side to their death. This act is what pushes Vivi over the edge and causes him to achieve Trance for the first time.

Even after the fight with him is concluded, he isn’t done yet; he proceeds to commandeer a smaller, faster aircraft to give chase and just flat-out try to murder the entire main party, princess included. The resulting chase scene is one of the best scenes of the Playstation era, which has an awesome (and hilarious) finish. Oh, and he also shows up later for a single fight as a shambling zombie, but it's not as cool as it sounds.

Despite being in the game for less than half an hour, Black Waltz No. 3 left quite an impression with a delightfully cruel personality, a pretty intimidating design, and providing one of the best scenes in the game. A perfect place to start this countdown, if I do say so myself.