TheKingdom Heartsseries is very well known for its villains, as a lot of the time, they return, but with an added flair or additional incentives in mind. The interesting thing about Kingdom Hearts is that they use a combination of original villains they’ve created, aton of Disney villains, and a sprinkle of some Final Fantasy characters into the mix as well.
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This list is not to give players the hardest Kingdom Hearts bosses but those that have proven to be some of the most interesting in the series' overall story. There will be some minor spoilers as this list will analyze what makes each of these villains special.
Hades is one of the most reoccurring villains in the Kingdom Hearts series as he often steps in the way of different heroes' journeys. There are times when Hades tries to coax the darkness out of characters, like with Terra, and there are other times when he will cheat in the tournaments he puts on.
Whatever it is that Hades is doing, he always has a great presence to himself as he is a charismatic yet horrific anger-fueled demon man.
Pete is a side character with a lot of interesting questions that arise from his character. He was initially a friend of Mickey Mouse and helped out sora in theTimeless River worldin Kingdom Hearts 2. For some reason, Queen Minnie Mouse banished him into the lanes between forever for causing mischief. For the unacquainted, the Lanes Between is a world through which powerful characters can travel but a prison of darkness for those who can’t.
Maleficent later saves Pete from the Lanes Between, and because of this, he remains loyal to her. It’s difficult to say if Pete deserved his punishment, as Mickey Mouse was also awfully mischievous. This does make Pete one of the most interesting villains, as he’s a bit silly, and players can’t help but feel bad for him.
Ansem is the primary antagonist in the first Kingdom Hearts game. His name isn’t actually Ansem, though that is what he is referred to throughout the series. He is actually a heartless version of the Terra Xehanort, which is only one-half of a possessed version of Terra. Though Ansem refers to himself as Ansem, this actually is the name of a doctor who taught him about the heart earlier in his life. All of this is to say that Ansem is a very complicated villain with a lot going on in the series.
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As the earliest villain, Ansem’s backstory shows players that he believes that people act on self-interest, and because of that, they all fall into darkness. His purpose is to seek power and knowledge in Kingdom Hearts.
Like Ansem is the Heartless version of Terra Xehanort, Xemnas serves as the Nobody version of Terra Xehanort. His goals are very different from Ansem’s. Instead of letting Darkness consume the world for knowledge and power, he aims to become whole again as well as have a complete rule of the new universe he creates.
He also wishes to help his Organization XIII members gain hearts again, which is a large reason why many follow him blindly into battle. He’s evil, but he also has his pupils in mind in his new world.
Riku serves as a very interesting antagonist with a lot of substance in his antagonistic feats. He is initially overtaken by the darkness as he is Sora’s rival in every way when the first game starts. As Kingdom Hearts goes on, his heart becomes so full of darkness that he gets taken over by Ansem. After being defeated, he becomes a protagonist by fighting alongside Sora in the later games.
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Things get more complicated as Riku becomes Roxas' antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 358/2. However, many might argue that Riku was trying to make the right choice for the sake of Sora’s life in battling against Roxas. As a villain, his passionate motives were fun to follow.
Saix is a special organization member as he is member VII, but he serves as Xemnas' right-hand man. He will do anything to go along with Xemnas' plan, and a lot of that is due to the deep jealousy that he ends up forming against Axel. Axel and Saix were both friends before they became Nobodies, so Saix saw their old friendship as something that was real, and they could never have it again.
Axel befriends Roxas and Saix, and this is what triggers him into the spiral of growing eviler and eviler as the series progresses. His story is a beautiful way to build a Villain as all he wanted was love and acceptance from a friend but lacked communication.
4Maleficent
Maleficent is one of the main villains in the Kingdom Hearts series, as she is initially used as a pawn to help Xehanort open up Kingdom Hearts. Maleficent beliefs herself to be much more important to Xehanort’s plan than she actually is and believes that if she follows him, she will be able to rule all the worlds.
It’s interesting as she makes her relationship with Pete being her pawn obvious without ever realizing that she is just like Pete in the eyes of Master Xehanort, who she’s helping. It is her delusional nature that makes her cutscenes interesting to hear out as players get to find out more about her dark motivations.
Xion has one of the most absorbing character arcs in the story. She is part of Organization XIII and is automatically placed in the camp of the stories' villains, yet she is a replica created using Sora’s memories. She also has a villainous part in Kingdom Hearts 358/2, but when players look deeper into the lore, they find that all of Xion’s initial intentions benefit everyone except herself.
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In Kingdom Hearts 3, Xion is a lot more villainous, as she comes back as yet another replica version of herself but without any memories of her past self and as a true member of Organization XIII. Her character arc is constantly changing, but she is a fan favorite to all who played 358/2.
2Master Xehanort
Master Xehanort works as the game’s primary protagonist, and the build-up leading to Sora facing him is well worth playing all the games. He does a lot of evil things throughout the series, like trying and succeeding in taking over people’s souls and making them vessels of darkness. He is also motivated by the destruction and reincarnation of the worlds. Like any dictator-type figure with a secret organization, he believes that the world would be better if everything could start again with his guidance.
Xehanort is a villain that serves the role well as he is constantly trying to push himself and his master plan into action. All his moves are thought out and executed for him to reign supreme, and most of the time, everything goes according to his plan.
Roxas never intended to do an evil thing in his life but was forced into a difficult position as being born Sora’s Nobody, which made him an antagonist in the game’s universe. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but he also doesn’t want to cease to exist. Roxas is extremely curious and wants to feel emotions as well as experience the pleasantries of enjoying life with a heart.
As he is part of Sora, Sora needs him to be whole, and it is because of this that he ends up clashing with Sora in Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix. He is the villain left with the least choice, and because of this, he is the most interesting to dive into.
