Fire Emblem has no shortage of starstudded characters and their portrayal in each game’s story. The lords go through conflict, gather allies along the way, and beat the bad guy. There are some villains that are unbelievable in their motives, characteristics, and role in the story, while others might have something that gives them potential, but not being impressive enough to be considered a great villain.
Some are up to par for being as popular as the main characters from their respective games. Whether the villains are sympathetic, power-hungry, or idealistic, Fire Emblem villains can provide a reason for the lords to fight. Here’s a look at 5 of the best and 5 worst Fire Emblem villains.
10 Best: Ashnard
Ashnard is a villain with a simple goal, but how he is portrayed in Path of Radiance is absolutely ingenious. He has an idealogy that only the strong survive and is parallel to Ike in a way. There is a very good reason why he is the perfect final boss in Path of Radiance and rightfully earning the title “The Mad King.”
For a power-hungry villain, it is surprising how Ashnard is a captivating and intimidating character. He is the type of king to go to any lengths necessary to get what he wants and do it while having a creepy smile on his face.
9 Worst: Surtr
Fire Emblem Heroes will not exactly be on par for compelling villains in the mainline games, but the worst that FEH has to offer is the one dimensional, kill and burn everything Surtr. Sure, his goal is straightforward, he’s very threatening, and he fits the role as the villain for Book II, but he has no depth to him than just, “I am flame,” and “All will burn.”
Compared to other Fire Emblem villains, Surtr is probably the weakest villain to those that have more depth and backstory behind them. He might be a simple villain, but there are just many others who are executed better than him.
8 Best: Berkut
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a beautiful remake that updates Gaiden’s story and brings life to the characters with gorgeous art and topnotch voice acting. One of the best additions to the remake was including Berkut, the nephew of Emperor Rudolph and heir to the Rigelian throne.
Berkut is the embodiment of pride and his goal to be better than Alm is a story of tragedy and irony. Despite his role as a villain, players are shown a softer side of him when he’s with his fiancée Rinea. When he falls from grace, it is horrid but also an exceptionally powerful character plot.
7 Worst: Garon
Garon had a lot of potential that was wasted in Fates. He is similar to Surtr where he is “kill all, spare none,” but with hidden details about what he was like before becoming corrupted. Still, it’s hard to see him as compelling or likable as a villain. It’s almost so bad that his eldest son Xander couldn’t see through it until he is at death’s door in Birthright.
If Garon were to go through a list of what makes a good video game villain, he would cross out none of the factors except for just being evil for the sake of being evil. If Fates were to be reworked, then the king of Nohr should be rewritten where he’s more believable and not just, “I’m so diabolical, fear me.”
6 Best: Lyon
The betrayal of someone who was considered a friend is heartbreaking, and that is exactly what Ephraim and Eirika went through when they found out that Lyon was behind the many events that happen in Sacred Stones. Depending on the route you pick, there are two sides to Lyon that make him a brilliantly written villain.
Of the two, Ephraim’s route portraying Lyon is considered the best, which makes their friendship all the more heartbreaking. Perhaps in another life, Lyon would have been a great king of Grado.
5 Worst: Iago
To be antagonistic against the protagonist, there has to be a reason why. Iago’s reason is for just being evil, which is cliche and as boring as it gets. He is portrayed somewhat well in Birthright where he poses as a threat but ultimately fails, but in Conquest, he somehow succeeds but doesn’t get punished for it.
He is like Peri in a way, but the irony is that Peri is a playable unit who has done horrible things but makes up for them by fighting in Corrin’s army. All Iago has going for him is enjoying people suffer and being a coward at the same time.
4 Best: Hardin
It was a bold move to have a playable unit become the villain due to the events that happen. In Mystery of the Emblem, Hardin becomes the crowned ruler of Archanea with Nyna as his wife, but since she only holds love for Camus, Hardin was grief-stricken and later tempted by Gharnef as he became corrupted by the Darksphere.
The player can’t help but feel sorry for Hardin as he truly loved Nyna and felt deep remorse for his actions when Marth defeats him for good and came back to his senses before passing on. Once an honorable warrior, Hardin fell into despair and chaos consumed him.
3 Worst: Validar
Validar may kill it in the best villain designs list, but his role as the secondary villain in Fire Emblem Awakening does not have a lot of substance to make him outstanding or even memorable. He is only generic at best and his goal is to just summon the Fell Dragon Grima and cause havoc in the world.
Validar is also an awful father for only wanting to bear Robin to become the vessel for the demonic dragon. Not only that, but he also destroyed Aversa’s village and brainwashed her to believe she was saved by him. That alone makes him slightly interesting, but it is only revealed in exposition from Aversa’s paralogue and her supports with Robin.
2 Best: Arvis
Genealogy of the Holy War already has a lot going for it being one of the best games in the series. The story, the characters, and especially the main villains are complex and interesting. Sometimes, not all antagonists are inherently evil, as Arvis is a well-written, diabolical, but sympathetic villain that is still loved to this day.
While he is not the ultimate culprit, he did go along to make his ideals be a reality. Along the way, Arvis also may have gotten too close to his half-sister Deirdre, so he also committed more than just burning Sigurd alive and making Grannvale a tyrannical empire.
1 Worst: Anankos
For being the true villain in Fire Emblem Fates, Anankos only appears in the Revelation route and is barely mentioned in Birthright or Conquest. There is barely any depth to him and the only reason why he is remotely a villain is that he started to degenerate and lose his sanity.
To know more of him, the player would have to get the Hidden Truths DLC, but other than that, he only appears in three chapters during Revelation. His overall role is just being the puppet master as he created an imposter of Garon, who was already a bad villain to begin with, and possessed Takumi.
