Although theFire Emblemgames always feature a cast oflovable and upbeat charactersthat the player can use in battle, their stories often tend to be quite serious and even dark at times, primarily because they will usually feature a handful of despicable villains. Although players will need to face down numerous generals and commanders in the games which act as small sub-bosses for a particular level, there’s always a much more sinister and evil antagonist lurking in the background who eventually reveals themselves when the time is right.
Because of how excellent the character writing and development is known to be within this series though, it has resulted in some incredibly fascinating villains showing up who, very often, are a lot more complex and nuanced than the typical fictional antagonist that many people are used to seeing. Whether it’s because of their merciless personality, unique design, or even their complex ideology of how the world ought to be, there are plenty of reasons why a villain can be captivating, and when it comes toFire Emblem, there are plenty of antagonists who tick these boxes.
Not only does Ashnard have one of the most striking designs in all ofFire Emblem, often being seen withhis trusty black dragon mountand a giant cape that covers his entire body, but he’s also an incredibly intimidating antagonist because of how simple and destructive his ambitions are. Ashnard’s goal is simple; destroy the entire world and rebuild it into a new society that is entirely based around the powerful leading the weak.
He believes so passionately in this vision that he goes to some very extreme lengths in order to fulfill it, including murdering his own father and even starting a full-scale war just to have a chance of awakening the dark god that could assist in his plans. Although he’s not too complex or deep as a character, the sheer level of authority and power that Ashnard wields, mixed with his incredible design, make him a very memorable villain who also puts up quite a challenging boss fight when he’s encountered.
After trying to defend her Divine Dragon brethren from being pushed into a war against their own will, Idun was eventually captured by the other dragons and was forced to become a Demon Dragon, an immensely powerful being who could assist in the dragon’s war against the vastly stronger humans. However, after showing some resistance to her commanders, the dragons discarded Idun’s soul completely, making her little more than an obedient servant who could serve them in the war effort.
Although she only shows up for a few brief appearances throughoutThe Binding Blade, Idunn still has an incredibly mysterious aura that makes her incredibly intriguing, and when her backstory is revealed, it becomes quite easy to sympathize with her after all she’s been through. When she’s finally defeated in the Dragon Temple, and all of her fellow dragons are slaughtered by humans, she can be found staring into the sky as she struggles to find a purpose without a soul, and without a purpose to guide her. While she was forced to be the villain by those around her, slowly unraveling why Idun came into the position in the first place is a highlight ofBinding Blade’snarrative.
5The Black Knight
The Black Knight Is A Fearsome And Lethal Combatant Who Comes Off As Incredibly Intimidating
The Black Knight, also commonly referred to as Zelgius, is a ruthless warrior whose experience in battle makes him a truly terrifying individual, something that he makes very apparent to Ike near the beginning ofPath of Radiance. After beating Ike’s father, Greil, in a duel, The Black Knight decides to brutally kill him in front of his son, with Ike swearing vengeance on the knight for his heinous actions.
While he does show up at multiple points throughoutPath of Radiance’sstory, it’s not until Ike comes face to face with him atNaddos Castlethat they finally get to engage in a long-awaited duel, and it’s fair to say that the battle is just as intense as players were expecting it to be. Although he does appear again inRadiant Dawnas more of a sidekick to Michiah, during the events ofPath of Radiance, he comes across as a genuinely menacing foe who really stands out for his combat prowess and incredibly detailed design.
Having been born as a noble, Berkut feels as though he must prove himself worthy of his social status in the only way he knows how; oppressing anyone who opposes him and conquering as much land as possible to demonstrate his authority and dominance. His pride can sometimes come as a determent though, such as when he’s offered the Duma’s blessing to help overcome Alm but refuses due to not wanting to have to rely on someone else’s support to help him win his battles.
Unlike a lot of power-hungry villains who would jump at the chance of using external resources, such as magic and religion, to make them stronger, Berkut’s stubbornness to do so makes himgenuinely fascinating as an antagonistand proves just how desperate he is to make a statement. Berkut may be an incredibly dangerous individual, but his motivations help to make him much more believable and human than the average villain who only seeks to cause chaos for the sake of it.
Lyon fromFire Emblem: The Sacred Stonesdidn’t start off as a villain. In fact, he initially wanted to be the savior of the world after seeing into the future and witnessing the planet being destroyed by a giant earthquake. In the hopes of finding a way to prevent this natural disaster, Lyon started experimenting on the Sacred Stones, but disaster struck whenthe Demon King, who was encased in the stones, possessed Lyon and tricked him into believing that reviving the king would be the key to saving the world from its inevitable destruction.
As a result, the Demon King uses Lyon as his puppet who instigates the War of the Stones which results in countless lives being lost and entire towns and villages being completely destroyed. Lyon is an incredibly tragic character whose desire to save the world ultimately proves to be too ambitious for him to handle, and eventually turns him into a dangerous villain who has become merely a shell of his former self.
Despite being portrayed as a villain when she decides to betray the Church of Seiros inFire Emblem: Three Houses, Edelgard is so well-written as a character thatthere have been countless fan debates over the years centering on whether she can actually be considered a bad person, especially given her tragic past. Edelgard was the victim of a horrific experimentation where, as a child, she was forced to possess two Crests against her will, something which has traumatized her ever since.
Crests are essentially emblems of social status in the world ofThree Houses, and although they are said to keep the world in “Balance”, Edelgard believes that they must be wiped out entirely, and plans to conquer all of Fodlan in order to create one single nation where the Crests no longer hold any power. Of course, actually getting to this point is far from an easy task, and it inevitably involves a lot of killing, deception, and betrayals. The fact that Edelgard has raised so many discussions among fans concerning her controversial ideology just goes to show how much care and effort went into making her a captivating antagonist, and she’s one that all players ofThree Houseswill never be able to forget.
1Sephiran
May Come Across As Kind And Considerate, But His Twisted And Complex Ideology Makes Him Incredibly Dangerous
What makes Sephiran such an intriguing and memorable villain to so manyFire Emblemfans is just how atypical he is as an antagonist. Rather than being fueled by anger and greed, Sephiran comes across asa genuinely loving and considerate man, qualities that would usually be reserved for the heroes. Even though he commits plenty of horrific acts, and has a lot of blood on his hands for his actions, he never shows any anger or animosity towards the main characters, which gives him a very unsettling aura, since it feels as though he should be some sort of maniacal mastermind considering how powerful he is.
Sephiran’s belief is that considering that the incredibly powerful goddess of creation known as Ashera is going to exterminate all humankind in the future anyway, he feels that it’s his duty to speed up the process by awakening her, with his disgust at humanity’s actions prompting him to do so. This makes him an incredibly complex antagonist since, while he doesn’t exactly seem to enjoy what he’s doing, he sees it as necessary and even as an act of kindness towards the population, but he’s nonetheless seen as the villain since his actions will end up killing everyone either way. The presentation of Sephiran, mixed with his unique ideology and personality, has helped turn him into an iconic villain who completely shatters the typical template of what makes a good fictional villain.
