Final Fantasy XV’s Villains Look Pretty Cool

Over the weekend, Square Enix shared more details on the upcoming Final Fantasy XV through its latest Active Time Report. If you missed it, you can check out the full thing here:

This ATR provided a lot of information about how the magic system works and showed how the battle system has changed since Episode Duscae. They also announced a special event for March 30, which is when they’ll also announce the release date. (Some people have criticized them for announcing the announcement of the release date, but they already announced the announcement would come in March back during Gamescom 2015.)

You can get all of those details from the above video or Gematsu. Now let’s talk about the most exciting revelation: the villains!

Okay, this is a JRPG, so we have no guarantee these guys will be the main villains for the whole game. Still, the Niflheim Empire has been presented as the major antagonistic force so far.

First, we have Iedolas Aldercapt, the emperor. He’s not directly in charge at the start of the game, but look at that evil smile! I think we can safely call him an evil emperor.

True power currently lies with Chancellor Ardyn Izunia. Despite his pink hair and resemblance to Luka (am I the only one who sees that?), he look sinister.

Apparently he’s a clever, humorous character building the empire’s power by expanding the use of Magitek Infantry. I can’t help but get a slight Kefka vibe from this description of our evil chancellor.

Those Magitek soldiers were developed by a character who didn’t get as much of the spotlight, but still seems important, Verstael.

He’s described as a “researcher,” but look at that face. He’s a mad scientist!

I had to cut his image from a diagram showing the Niflheim leadership because he didn’t get a full shot like the others, but I hope he still has a fun role to play in the game.

And while the Magitek soldiers are robots, they’re led by a human, General Glauca.

What’s going on with his armor? I’d love a full-body shot of Glacua to get a better look at his crazy armor. He’s masked, which makes me even more interested in this dark knight.

Finally, one of Niflheim’s aerial divisions is led by a dragoon, Aranea Highwind.

Apparently she was initially shown back when the game was Final Fantasy Versus XIII, so fans are thrilled to see she’s still in the game. I didn’t pay attention to Versus XIII, but she seems interesting. Crazy helmet, though.

I love villains. They can make or break a story for me. Back at Gamescom, they said Final Fantasy XV’s villains would top even Sephiroth and Kefka. If they can pull that off, awesome. It’s a bold claim to make, though…

With an evil emperor, an evil chancellor, a mad scientist, a masked knight, and a black-armored dragoon, they definitely have potential. Then again, mere screenshots and descriptions of Final Fantasy XIII’s villains probably look promising, too.

Will Final Fantasy XV’s cast of villains live up to their potential or fall flat? Join me in the comments to speculate on Iedolas, Ardyn, and all the others.