Villains -or- Why the Heros do what they do

[VGJustice]

Pretty simple concept really. A person or group of people is antagonizing The World and the hero appears to stop them. But there's plenty more to it than that.

Sure, any yahoo can proclaim themselves Your Enemy and go on a rampage (I'm looking at you, Team Rocket), but it takes a special kind of sadist to manipulate the powers of creation for their own sick pleasure (hats off to Kefka of FF6, folks). So what's it take to make a villain that's more than just a barrier to the progress of the player? What traits does the Big Bad have to have to make them truly scary, or dangerous? Or both even. What is it that separates the mildly annoying from the truly problematic?

Obviously this idea spreads beyond the scope of just video games, but it's just as important here as it is with any literary device.

One of my favorite villains is Fou-Lu from Breath of Fire IV. And what I feel made him especially effective in this role was that he was impressively human.

Let me describe the character a bit. Fou-Lu is a Dragon in human form, much like the main character Ryu has been in all Breath of Fire games. In fact, you spend several chapters playing AS Fou-Lu as he escapes capture and attempts to recapture his kingdom. At first he cares very little for the lives of those around him. He is centuries old, why should he care about the mortals around him? They are little more than subjects to his court.

Fou-Lu spends most of the game running away from a very powerful sorcerer and ends up wounded. He is rescued in a peasant village by a kind girl. She takes him in to her home and heals his wounds, asking for nothing in return and only offering kindness. The perspective shift for Fou-Lu is simply incredible.

Spoiler: Spoiling critical plot points (click to show/hide)

Eventually the girl is captured and Fou-Lu is forced to run again. As punishment for protecting him, they use her as a sacrifice for their ultimate weapon, which they use on Fou-Lu directly. And while he's reeling from the blast, he finds the bell that the girl always wore. It was a strange thing indeed for me to root for the "bad guy", but this scene removed any hatred I might have had for him. And his wrath was mighty indeed.

This character is one of the most unusual villains I've encountered, and I was deeply impressed by him at every turn. He was surprisingly human, which I feel is lacking in most works.

[MW]

 If we're going to speak in TVTropes Wikiwords, I personally find anyone who is "evil just for the heck of it" as a half-baked cliché character. They are dull, flat, and undeserving of being the driving antagonist force within a long story. Anti-Villians and Affable Evils are (in my book) the only true opposing force one can go with. Nobody looks at themselves as evil, so why on earth should someone be classified as such?

 The true antagonist must be as well brushed and colourful as the hero. Fou-lu as you have described is the picture of a perfect antagonist.

 However, one I have always had trouble was Pokey/Porky from the MOTHER games. I must admit, when I first played Earthbound, I really didn't know what to think of him.

 To understand the character of him you really need to play close attention. Of course, half of his motivations seem to be little more than a Freudian Excuse, but considering the fact that he's only 10-11 years old those things that motivated him would be in full swing at all ends. Abusive Parents, little brother always getting the better of him, and possibly an inferiority complex to Ness. Given what happened the night of the meteor shower, he comes home, gets slapped around by his dad, is grounded for "eternity", and only mulls over the fact that someone else was chosen by the Universe to do great things while he's fat, somewhat cowardly, and getting slapped around by his parents.

 He jumps for power at the nearest possible light.

 I suppose there is an Aesop there. Don't know what it is really.

 Even then, after putting things into perspective, it really explains why I had trouble with him. Was he supposed to be my friend? If so, why did I hate him so much?

 Pokey/Porky was a real odd one, I guess. He was human, but even then, a very demonic human. It's hard because from the viewpoint of Ness, you never really see how things work for him.

[mamthew42]

I think the most interesting thing about Pokey was the way Ness saw him in Magicant.  I know of at least one person this could be a spoiler to, so...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

When the player sees that Ness wishes that Pokey would just want to be his friend.  At least that's what I took from it.

I'm really interested in Pokey's history, but I find it even more interesting that the person he antagonized most didn't have it out for him.