Top 30 Final Fantasy Villain #10 + BONUS

#10 - Wiegraf Folles
(Final Fantasy Tactics)

We’ve finally made it to the top ten! And we begin with another one of those secondary villains I find endlessly fascinating. Wiegraf is the one villain from Tactics I find legitimately engaging, with the possible exception of… well, join me further down the page.

Wiegraf was a member of the Dead Men, a military unit made up of peasants that fought alongside the nobility during Ivalice’s Fifty-Years War with the neighboring country of Ordallia. After the war ended, however, Ivalice’s economy was in a state of complete disrepair, and as such he and the rest of his unit were denied payment. In outrage towards the nobility’s throwing the commoners under the bus, he and many of the other soldiers who fought under him, including his sister Milleuda, formed the Corpse Brigade terrorist organization to strike back at the nobility.

What separates Wiegraf from the other villains of Final Fantasy Tactics is his code of honor. He may be a ruthless insurrectionist, but he refuses to see his followers becoming common bandits, and when one of his underlings kidnaps Marquis Elmdore against his wishes, Wiegraf’s response (after punishing said soldier for his insubordination) is to release him without ransom. His goal is not revenge; Rather, it is to reform the way the country is run so he and his fellow commoners won’t get screwed over again.

Really, despite his extreme measures, his intentions are noble (pardon the pun) and he could have been a heroic rebel if things had played out different. But alas, it was not to be. When an assassination attempt goes awry, the Corpse Brigade flees with Tietra- the sister of one of the main characters- as hostage. On their way to rescue her, the protagonist winds up fighting and killing Milleuda. When Wiegraf learns of this, he swears revenge, even after the Corpse Brigade disintegrates. As luck would have it, in his moment of weakness he is approached by the Knights Templar with an offer to join them. Remember back when I talked about Dycedarg, and how annoying it was that all the major villains are just possessed by demons? Here, it works to the character’s benefit. Instead of cheapening the conflict, it honestly does feel like a natural progression of Wiegraf’s throwing away his morals and giving in to his desire for revenge.

While his eventual demonic transformation does lead to the most unfair bullcrap boss fight in the entire series, that doesn’t change the fact that Wiegraf’s story is a tragedy, a tale of what could have been. Ironically, the game’s protagonist, Ramza, wound up becoming what Wiegraf almost was.

Before we go, allow me to briefly touch upon a character who would’ve been a shoo-in for the Top 10… except I’m not convinced he even counts as a villain.



Honorable Mention - Delita Heiral
(Final Fantasy Tactics)

Remember when I mentioned Tietra earlier? Yeah, this is her brother, a commoner who has it good with House Beoulve and best friend of Ramza. And when Tietra was a casualty, practically a footnote, in the final skirmish between the Northern Sky and the Corpse Brigade, he became disillusioned with the nobility and the system in general, and after being supposed dead, he started a long, bloody road to the throne, acting as a double agent for the church and backstabbing and manipulating everyone in his way, eventually marrying Princess Ovelia and achieving his goal… though the end of his story is punctuated by possibly the most tragic thing to happen in this game.

I don’t really consider him a villain because everyone he betrays deserves it, and while he does manipulate Ramza on multiple occasions and take advantage of him, he still holds him in high regard and fights alongside him at some point. The two basically have the same goal, but while Ramza tackles the corruption within the church, Delita goes after the monarchy. He’s manipulative, self-serving, and cares little for the innocents that do get stepped on on his way to the throne. On the other hand, he manages to fake the death of a heroic character who is about to be executed so he can escape, actively helps Ramza (for his own gain most of the time, admittedly, but still), his love for Ovelia is clearly genuine and he evidently winds up being a really good king.

He’s less of a villain than a morally ambiguous antihero, who is an excellent foil against Ramza. While Ramza rejects the inherent corruption of the political games around him, Delita embraces it and uses it to his advantage, aiming to change the system from within. This is perfectly exemplified in how their respective stories end. Ramza is declared a heretic due to his actions in exposing the church’s corruption, but he has a clear conscience, is surrounded by friends, went on to have more adventures, and probably loved every second of the rest of his life. Delita, meanwhile, finds himself alone at the top when Ovelia, convinced that she was nothing more than another pawn of Delita’s game, attacks him and he is forced to kill her in self-defense, winding up hollow and empty despite achieving all his goals.

Again, I don’t consider him a villain. He toes the line, to be sure, and you could definitely make the argument he is, but even still, he deserves mentioning for his skill as a manipulator and his effectiveness as a foil of the hero. If you see him as a villain, more power to you, and you can consider him, let’s say… #5 and a half.