Of the FE antagonists and how fearsome they are.

[The Void]

1. What FE games have the most fearsome antagonists?

2. What FE games have the least fearsome antagonists?

3. In a future FE, what do you suggest for how fearsome any of the antagonists of that game can be?

[Refa]

1. I've never managed to beat Eltoshan or Eldigan or whatever his FE13 name like ever.

2. It's so emasculating when Tiki is the best way to beat you, FE1/3/11 Medeus (although he might not be weak to TIKI-FIRE in FE1).

3. Make them harder to beat.

[RJWalker]

1. Deghinsea

2. Veld

3. Don't make them sitting ducks. We need more final bosses that move.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Ranger Jack Walker

[Knight]

Gameplay-wise or story-wise?

Obviously FE9's Black Knight takes the cake for both, the game builds up to the battle so well, legitimate fear floods into your head when you see him.

I guess the worst would be Veld or Lyon, but Lyon's not as fearsome as he is tragic.

More optional luck-based boss fights, and make villains more interesting.

[Silver Lightning]

The Black Knight is the most fearsome; screw final boss Ashnard, it was only ever the Black Knight who ever struck fear in me. Especially the first time I played FE9 when he f*cking stepped out of a house! Right in front of Mist!!

Eh, I won't say the Fire Dragon from FE7 wasn't frightening.....but compared to others, it was the least, since it hardly had any real buildup towards it. I prefer to think of Nergal as the final boss. And while I haven't beaten FE6 yet, I have heard underwhelming things about that game's "true" final boss....

For me, what scares me the most is a nameless fear. If they want more frightening final bosses, give us things that strike fear not just because they are powerful, but because they are unknown in just about every aspect. Kingdom Hearts usually scores in that department for me because usually when you fight a final boss you have no idea where the f*ck you are or wtf you're fighting...

[Tamanoir]

Duma is the most fearsome-looking (well, Grima is a strong contender), and his battle theme gives me the creep each time. And this final battle was pretty terrifying as well.

Alvis is also pretty awesome. He is a great character, and he is immensely powerfull.

The least fearsome... I'll say Idoun. She wasn't that strong, and her backstory is more tragic than anything. Vigarde was pretty disappointing as well.

How to makes them more fearsome ? Do you mean terrorizing, or imposing ? The solutions already proposed more or less answer the questions...

Who the hell is Veld again ?

[BrightBow]

Nobody is as chilling as Valter from FE8.

He is a bloodthirsty, sadistic and cruel stalker. And despite being insane, he is highly intelligent and manipulative.

He manages to pass as a mere arrogant prick while his victims are completely ignorant about what's after them.

His targets, Eirika and Ephraim, have no clue that they are followed by such a psycho.

As a result, the player knows that they are completely unprepared for whatever he has in store for them.

And he is so unpredictable that he might strike anywhere at any time.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would say the FE7 Fire Dragon is the best choie.

Because that guy gets screwed over so badly by continuity, I can't help but smirk every time the game pretends that even a single dragon is this big threat towards mankind.

I mean, ignoring the fact that dragons are weak enough to be defeated by normal humans and only started loosing because humans reproduced so quickly, there were two Divine Weapons and two of the Divine Generals present. And these individuals brought an entire world war against dragons to a turnaround.

And of course, dragons in Elibe can't actually stay transformed because of their rapid energy loss.

So he should probably fall into the sea and drown long before he could reach the main land. Let alone destroy all of mankind.

Not to mention, that we all knew that Elibe and Eliwood would still have to be around 20 years later. So nothing significant could have happened anyway.

And in order to make antagonists more fearsome, I would say that it would be vital to make it possible for them to actually move.

Valter is made a lot less intimidating by the fact that he just stands still until the player is ready to bash his face in. That is very unfitting for someone who has been such a wild card for the entire story.

Edited May 24, 2013 by BrightBow

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

1. What FE games have the most fearsome antagonists?

FE3 and Hardin. The way he chased you when your team is weak, showing off his 20/20/20 stats is nothing but epic. And his themesong make it a high tension battle. A honorable mention for Astram for FE3 as well for pretty much the same reason. I must admit when you finally recruited Astram, man its satisfying

2. What FE games have the least fearsome antagonists?

Wallhart

Nothing says unthreatening more than having your on screen appearance involves having your ass kicked

3. In a future FE, what do you suggest for how fearsome any of the antagonists of that game can be?

Moving boss maybe

Edited May 24, 2013 by JSND

[edza90]

Beldo.
Fucking Stone spell if you don't Warp.
Also Hi Galzus.
Eltoshan in FE4 if you lost her incestous sister/cousin whatever.
FE6 Sacae normal enemies, damn fast.

[Tamanoir]

Beldo.

Fucking Stone spell if you don't Warp.

Also Hi Galzus.

Eltoshan in FE4 if you lost her incestous sister/cousin whatever.

FE6 Sacae normal enemies, damn fast.

Oh yeah, Beldo is Veld. I knew I heard this name before...

Beldo is a strange case, because FE5's final chapter is one of the hardest final chapter, but Beldo himself is a breeze, because he is followed by far more fearsome allies. Let's see. A Leydrick and Galzus Clone, Friggin' Zwölf (Vantage + Berserk Sword, WTA (Lance is basically absent, or the one using it aren't good enough), and goddamn Neun (Prayer + Wrath + Nosferatu, unavoidable berserk Staff), and endless waves of ennemies that paralyze you on touch.

Galzus is really great though. Ishtar should also be cited here. He appears early on, when he can one shot all of your units, and actually chase you. Even in his recruitment chapter, he's still a force to be recognized. Ishtar is easier to beat, but wilml really pose an important challenge each time.

That's coincidentally why Validar is one of the worse villain. Really first chapter, you beat him senseless. First appearance, he is somewhat fearsome, but still manageable; If you change the character requirement to survive, and gives him his Prologue stats, he actually become a recognizable threat.

Actually, Lufia did it well with the Sinistrals. You fight Gades many time, and he is impossible, or at least incredibly hard to beat, so you know that he really is something. There's also all the Erim part who is pretty interresting....

I would add Saias here,because he is pretty interresting. He's the main reason why Chapter is such a pain. He isn't particulary strong, but he is such a genius tactician that his own presence on an army's side is nearly an automatic victory. That is pretty impressive.

[Knight]

I liked the Fire Dragon, just because how simple of a villain he was. Actually, FE6 ruined what I liked about the Fire Dragon, the fact that he seemed like a regular beast of an ancient unknown time. Than FE6 gave me the explaination of the dragons, and bah, I didn't like it.

[NoNameAtAll]

Beldo is the worst, no contest. He's just a Loptyrian priest with a stone spell. No unique sprite, no nothing. His chapter is daunting, but the build-up is ruined when you see this joke.

[shadykid]

2. What FE games have the least fearsome antagonists?

Wallhart

Nothing says unthreatening more than having your on screen appearance involves having your ass kicked

???

the only thing you see onscreen before fighting him is Basilio getting wrecked

Edited May 24, 2013 by shadykid

[Book Bro]

From 6 on...

Most: Black Knight. Since his first appearance you know he doesn't kid around, and when he pops up on maps throughout PoR it does send you into a panic if anyone happens to be near him. His music theme and anonymity add to him being so unsettling. Not to mention only Ike with Ragnell can damage him. In RD he becomes less creepy because we get to see him as an ally in part 1 and then he doesn't show up much after that, but he's still a formidable villain.

Least: Surprise, it's Validar. Like BK he shows up several times on maps before his "final showdown" appearance. Except...he is not only fairly easy to kill every time but thanks to Awakening's lack of variety in missions killing him over and over is required. Am I really supposed to be intimidated by this guy? At least villains like Idoun and Lyon were meant to be more tragic than scary, but I'm not sure what Validar is supposed to be.

[Constable Reggie]

Most:

As Owain said, probably the Black Knight. The first times he shows up in the actual maps are legitimately terrifying, even moreso if you're playing on hard. Honorable mention to Nergal for getting significant amounts of screen time and pulling off some bastardly stuff (see: durandal-ice dragon scene)

Least:

Manfroy. While actually initially succeeding in his goal, Alvis takes the credit for part one, and he screws up so bad in part 2 it's not even funny. Dishonorable mention to Validar, who is somewhat saved by the beginning chapter and scenes' buildup (which, unfortunately, doesn't pay off well)

Future titles:

Follow the Black Knight and Nergal's lead, and have them constantly appear throughout the story doing fearsome things. Don't give us another Validar, who gets his pathetic ass kicked in 6, casually talks to you in Valm, then predictably turns on you in lategame.

[The Fush]

If you want a fearsome antagonist, the Black Knight's phone number is right there next to the Fireman's. I'd agree that Nergal was a pretty devious guy too, considering that he completely mentally broke Eliwood after insert-melodramatic-spoiler-here

Also Begnion Senators are utter wimps and should just drown entirely since they're weak and stupid and cause annoyance for everyone and then the big guys show up

Also I'd say Valter deserves an honourable mention for being the least scariest bad guy I've ever seen (Cotton Candy is a competitor for him)

In the future give us more villains that when we take our first look at them we're like "oh shit be damned let's run before that guy ohkos us all QUICK GET TO THAT ESCAPE PANEL"

Fun fact: In the Derp Brigade's first part 3 chapter, Mordecai actually took 2 hits from the Black Knight and survived... he didn't get Eclipsed, granted.

Edited May 24, 2013 by The Fush

[RJWalker]

Gharnef was pretty fearsome, at least in story terms if not in gameplay terms.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Black Knight was the most intimidating and rather gnarly villain ive encountered so far in the series. I havent really played the No Export For You ones, so i cannot say.

BK is just like "I want to maim Greil simply because." And im like "umm..." And then we find out hes working on Sephiran's orders and acting outside Sephiran's orders. I dunno, hes a nasty customer. Hes doing what hes doing basically to prove hes got a bigger peen or something.

Valter is pretty gnarly. He and Narshen should get together and form a "Fire Emblem Rapists Club". Gheb could join.

Nergal is pretty awesome because Manipulative Asshole for the win. He really gets under the skin of many characters on a psychological level. I like that in a villain.

Least Dangerous?
Well Sephiran didnt scare me. But hes really more of the chessmaster than anything else. ( i love his character though)

Validar was total mehsauce. Grima itself wasnt much either.

I wanna see a villain who actually scares me. While the more fearsome guys are...fearsome in their own right, they dont freak me out. Im sick of villains who dont give me the collywobbles. I need some brutal torture implications (Izuka was too much of a sissy) and some bad bad juju. Helps if the big bad has a wingman whos totally batshit insane and likes the sight of limbs being ripped off too.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Florina Stark

[Book Bro]

Totally agree with everyone who mentioned Nergal, btw. Aside from all the shit he pulls on the main characters, the fact that he goes around killing people, makes creepy servants from their remains, and then makes those servants go kill more people for him...seriously disturbing. Actually, that dude from Death's Embrace DLC is pretty similar, now that I think about it, only his assassins < morphs.

[Refa]

What about Orson? He was creepy and interesting as a character.

Orson is the best.

[bookofholsety]

if mostly in terms of characterisation rather than gameplay, i'd definitely have to cite Raydrik as the least fearsome... which is his entire point, and i feel that's what makes him successful as a interesting antagonist. he's completely useless in and of himself, all bluster with nearly zero power of his own, only getting where he was by carving his way up through being a manipulative and traitorous asshole who makes fucktons of deals behind everyone's backs. and of course, he has absolutely no idea how to handle his tenuous hold over Manster and deal with the Loptyrians abandoning him, aside from flipping his shit like a spoiled brat

he's not even remotely fearsome, that was the point, and that's what makes him interesting as an antagonist

of course if you're talking antagonists who are unintentionally lacking in presence or threat, Validar's a pretty obvious choice (though i think the story also sort of addressed this by Basilio's claim that he's kind of a dipshit compared to Walhart?).

as for ones that do a great job of being actually threatening? there's quite a few which come to mind and i can't really settle on one as the most prominent. the Black Knight seems like a reasonable choice but i'm still not done with FE9 so i haven't quite gotten the full picture of him as an unstoppable force of nature pre-Ragnell (in gameplay anyway). i'm also fairly fond of Zephiel and Hardin in this respect, and to a lesser extent Sephiran

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

???

the only thing you see onscreen before fighting him is Basilio getting wrecked

Basilio already get wrecked before, and the battle also involves Basilio critting

Yeah I think my bias on FE13 character hate is rather obvious. Should not said Wallhart in the first place, but eh

[edza90]

The stone spell wield by Veld is ass, not Veld himself, still it's unique to him, so...

[shadykid]

Basilio already get wrecked before, and the battle also involves Basilio critting

Yeah I think my bias on FE13 character hate is rather obvious. Should not said Wallhart in the first place, but eh

what, when was this

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

The chapter when Wallhart's name is first mentioned and Cherche is introduced.

They basically pull of the "They beat Basilio. How tough" gimmick on that chapter