Everyone knows that it takes a lot of skill to create a fictional character that is universally beloved.
However, it takes an equal level of skill to make a character that is universally reviled.
8 Amazing Characters That Deserved Better Games
Spare a thought for these unsung heroes.
It’s one thing to have a character that’s just kind of lousy, but another thing entirely to have one that’s so immensely hateable that doing so becomes kind of fun.
As JRPGs have a naturally high concentration of characters in general, they’re also a great place to look for the absolute worst of the worst.
If you’re lucky, you get to pummel these characters in a combat encounter, but just ruining their days is pleasant, too.
10Sugimura
Persona 5 Royal
Every Confidant inPersona 5has a minor antagonist that’smaking your friend’s life difficult, usually necessitating a change of heart in Mementos.
All of these people are pretty awful, but the worst by far is Sugimura, the arranged fiancé to your friend Haru.
Okumura planned to marry Haru off to Sugimura to bolster his business and political power, and Sugimura was into it because, and we quote, having a high school fiancé is a “turn-on.”
You only get to beat up his cognitive doppelganger in Okumura’s Palace, unfortunately, but at least the real one gets firmly jettisoned from Haru’s life at the end of her Confidant.
Bravely Default 2
Midway throughBravely Default 2’s story, you encounter the mastermind of the mysterious occurrences in the city of Wiswald: Folie, wielder of the Pictomancer Asterisk.
For Folie, her art is paramount over quite literally anything and everything else, up to and including the well-being of everyone in Wiswald.
Folie arranges a series of tragedies throughout the cities, killing innocents and driving men insane, all just so she could get some fresh paints for her artwork.
Her callous indifference to her own crimes is so severe, it drives Elvis to his breaking point, solidifying his resolve to end her threat once and for all.
8Prince Charmles
Dragon Quest 8
Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King
InDragon Quest 8, Prince Charmles of Argonia was engaged to Princess Medea before Dhoulmagus turned her into a horse.
His name is pronounced “Charm-Lay,” if you were wondering, though we wouldn’t blame you for assuming otherwise.
He’s a textbook spoiled prince, having lived life with everything handed to him. He has little-to-no sense of right and wrong or non-material value, and will run screaming at the slightest provocation.
He’s also terrified of lizards, which is ironic given his kingdom’s lizard-centric culture, and needs the party to get a large lizard heart for him as part of a royal test, which he ultimately fails by cheating.
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Professor Hojo is the head of the Shinra Electric Power Company’s science division inFinal Fantasy 7, and quite possibly one of the most universally hatedanythingto come out of the whole franchise.
To say Hojo lacks scruples would be putting it mildly; the concept of ethics couldn’t be further from his mind as he performs his deranged scientific research.
Hojo is directly responsible for the events of the game, as it was his research that gave rise tothe Jenova Project, SOLDIER, and Sephiroth.
Unlike the other Shinra execs, who at least have the excuse of being greedy, Hojo nearly drives the planet to extinction for literally no other reason than scientific curiosity.
6Seymour Guado
Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Maester Seymour Guado is a prominent figure in the Yevon religion inFinal Fantasy 10and one of the game’smost stubborn antagonists.
He seems like a pleasant enough chap at first, but it’s quickly made clear that under his public face lies a seething nihilist.
Seymour effectively hates the concept of life itself, believing that if everyone in Spira were to just drop dead, they’d all be free from suffering.
No matter how many times the party beats him down, he keeps popping back up, even defying death as an Unsent if it means “saving” (i.e. destroying) Spira.
5Sota Kume
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
InYakuza: Like a Dragon, a recurring antagonistic force is Bleach Japan, an NPO focused onremoving the country’s legal gray zones.
The head of Bleach Japan’s Yokohama branch is Sota Kume, a thoroughly unpleasant man who seems to be perpetually perched atop his high horse.
Kume regularly causes trouble for Ichiban and his friends, harassing businesses with illegal protests and covertly hiring thugs to intimidate them.
Despite the organization’s supposed moral high ground, Kume very clearly cares superior to other people rather than actually being a halfway decent person.
4Porky Minch
Originally introduced inEarthbound, Porky Minch (or Pokey, if you prefer) is Ness’s annoying next-door neighbor.
He’s bratty, greedy, unintelligent, and just an all-around lousy kid. Somehow, though, he manages to schmooze his way to being the right-hand man to Giygas.
Giygas Is Still One Of Gaming’s Most Terrifying Villains
Earthbound’s final boss is the thing nightmares check under their beds for.
After Giygas is defeated, Porky escapes through time and space, eventually finding himself on Mother 3’s Nowhere Islands to establish the Pigmask Army.
The time-traveling process has severely aged Porky, leaving him ancient and bedridden. In spite of that, he still remains the exact same bratty, irritating child at heart.
3Metal Face
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Metal Face is the first Faced Mechon to appear in Xenoblade Chronicles, a mysterious, seemingly sapient offshoot of the Mechon forces immune tothe powers of the Monado.
Metal Face is a recurring threat to Shulk and company, wanting to seize the power of the Monodo for himself while inflicting as much pain on them as he possibly can.
In actuality, Metal Face is Mumkhar, a Homs soldier who fought alongside the Monado’s previous wielder, Dunban.
The majority of Mumkhar’s actions as Metal Face stem from his jealousy of Dunban’s use of the Monado, a jealousy which he extends to Shulk.
2Preceptor Seluvis
Elden Ring
The majority of those who havepledged loyalty to Ranni the WitchinElden Ringare brave-hearted and honorable individuals. Preceptor Seluvis is the exception, and a big one at that.
Seluvis is a scholar with an affinity for puppetry magic, using magic potions to transform innocents into his unfeeling marionettes.
Despite being one of her servants, Seluvis has designs of doing the same to Ranni, and isn’t shy about showing his gross excitement about the prospect.
Amusingly, no matter how you handle Seluvis’ questline, he draws the short straw, ending up dead on Ranni’s order.
Octopath Traveler 2
Harvey is the antagonist of Osvald’s story inOctopath Traveler 2.
Like Osvald, Harvey is a scholar in pursuit of the One True Magic, though his pursuits became a bit more… open-ended.
Out of jealousy of Osvald’s progress, Harvey burns down his home, kills his wife, and frames him for it so he can steal his research and pass it off as his own.
Apparently, Harvey knew Osvald would come for him if given the chance, which is why he bribed the judges of Osvald’s sentencing for imprisonment instead of death just so he could lord his treachery over him.
10 Video Game Supporting Characters That Stole The Show
Whether it’s Solaire or Sans, there are some supporting characters who have found a permanent place in our hearts.
