Top 30 Final Fantasy Villains - #4

#4- Vayne Solidor

(Final Fantasy XII)

Whenever I hear discussions about the best villains in the series, I almost never hear this guy get brought up. Which is a real shame, since I personally found Vayne one of the best aspects of one of my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Vayne Solidor is the third son of Emperor Gramis of Archadia. However, his two older brothers were found to be traitors and killed, though Vayne may or may not have been behind that. As such, only he and his youngest brother Larsa are left, and he is set to inherit the throne. He masterminded the incursion into Dalmasca for one reason- so he could use the vast quantities of Nethicite the land possessed to sever mankind’s connection with the Occuria, godlike beings who rule humanity through puppet kings because they think humanity is too stupid to be trusted with its own free will. With Dalmasca under Archadian rule, he begins to rule as its new consul. However, when the Senate tried to set up Larsa as a puppet Emperor, Vayne takes action, poisoning his father and assuming the role as acting Emperor, framing a senator who supposedly committed suicide so as to “temporarily” dissolve the senate.

First and foremost, Vayne is cunning and charismatic. This game takes place in the same universe as Final Fantasy Tactics, so that should be a no-brainer. In one of his earliest scenes, when he is first appointed consul, the locals are naturally feeling hostile. However, Vayne manages to get the crowd cheering for him in a single speech. The scenes featuring him working behind the scenes are some of my favorites from XII. His design reinforces his demeanor perfectly, looking appropriately regal and princely, though I gotta say, he could do with a haircut.

What I find so fascinating about Vayne is just how human he is. While Sephiroth may have carried a terrifying presence with him everywhere, Vayne honestly feels like the one villain you could go out to lunch with. Despite his ruthlessness, he legitimately does care a lot about his younger brother, wanting to ensure he is kept far away from the bloodshed his plan will result in as possible. During his short tenure as consul, he is shown to be a reasonable, respectable ruler devoted to the well-being of his subjects. Heck, it could be argued his takeover of the government wasn’t motivated by a desire for personal power, but rather to preserve the honor of his family name. Becoming Emperor was just a nice bonus for him.

In addition, even though we see his actions play out, the motivations behind them are, for the most part, pretty noble, and enough is left to interpretation that we could view him in a completely different light. Take, for example, his murdering his father. We see the last conversation between the two and there’s nothing to indicate Vayne has anything but respect for his father. Was his takeover really a betrayal, or was the Emperor in on the plan? Then, near the end of the game, when Larsa begs him to call off his forces, Vayne responds that if what he’s doing really is so wrong, “[Larsa] had best find the strength to correct [him].” Was this a taunt? Or was Vayne completely okay with Larsa taking control now that Vayne’s goals had already been achieved? After all, he does say that he knows he’s done terrible things, and as such sees no reason to stay his hand, and wants to spare his brother the burden of doing the same for the sake of power.

The fights against him are also decent as well, allowing you to fight alongside Larsa and Gabranth through his three forms. His first form makes him unique as the one Final Fantasy villain who fights using martial arts as opposed to swordplay or magic or something. His second form, where he is hopped up on Nethicite, is unsettling and intimidating, and while his final phase has a bit too much going on to be truly memorable, the concept is pretty cool- he’s empowered by his ghostly ally Venat while using a freaking battleship as armor. Though it does get a bit frustrating halfway through his final phase when he suddenly stops taking damage for no reason.

Really, the one problem with him is that, as the main villain behind the whole conflict, he has no real connection to the rest of the cast beyond a couple degrees of separation. However, that doesn’t change the fact he’s an intelligent, charismatic force with interesting motivations and a level of genuine likability that sets him apart from some of the other rogues this series has given us.