Emet-Selch consistently places well in popularity polls for Final Fantasy XIV. But why is a villain such a fan favorite? Let’s dissect his character under the microscope of what makes for a well written villain. Is he the best Final Fantasy villain ever? Maybe so!
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I wonder how soon he regained his memories after we defeat him
Great video. Did he really know that the WoL was Azem the whole time? I thought he didn’t realize it until Ardbert rejoined the WoL in the moments before the finale.
He's so good that the antagonists in Endwalker seem as downgrades in comparison.
I think the thing that Venat just kind of glosses over is that the Ancients weren't just trying to revive their sacrifices, they were trying to free them. Their souls were all trapped within Zodiark, potentially forever, unable to rejoin the Ethereal Sea or ever be reborn as new life. But to simply release them would have meant the destruction of all life for all time.
Only ff14 villians that gets kind of close in regards of tragic are Hermes in all his forms and Yotsuyu Brutus I special liked the moral dilemma with her memory lost and what she could have been if her life had took an other turn.
Emet is my favorite villain of all time. Although I feel Fandaniel/Hermes and Elidibus are heavily underrated when it comes to FFXIV. Especially Hermes. Ishikawa & Yoshida explain him wonderfully in one of their latest interview. BTW. Absolute banger video.
I think Ilberd is the best villain so far.i hated him so much he was crazy annoying especially the scene were he kills himself to summon Shinryu still gives me goosebumps.emet-selch ist not a villain for me
Emet was such a wildcard, you could never fully understand his intentions unless he wanted you to know. He is also the most memorable villain I can think of out of many other FF games I've played. Not only can I relate to him but I also had a fear of what he would do next in the back of my mind the entire time. Still my favorite character as a villain/ stuck up friend that was edgy yet compassionate.
Another thing about his motive is that it is so relatable. He had gave the new life a lot of chances to prove him wrong. Being the creator of an empire and see how they fall. Seeing the greed and ugliness of humanity. Knowing the peaceful and respectful culture of the pass. Even the WoL experience those ugliness (think back to 2.5 and 3.3). But we have comrades to care for us or to share the burden. Emet only had himself when he saw those. I feel like some part of him knows what he did is wrong. But NOTHING has ever JUSTIFY the cost of the ancient's life. At least for me, if I was Emet, I would do the same thing. And this made him so relatable for me.
I completely agree with your assessment – Emet-Selch is not only the best villain in the FF franchise, he may be one of the best villains I've seen in any game. Although, I have a hard time calling him a villain. He's a hero in his own right – a mirror in many ways to the WOL. He's someone that wants to save his world, and sacrificed so much for that goal over 12,000 long years. I hated killing him, and will always fondly remember his character and hope he keeps popping back up in the story from time to time. 😉
Don't forget that against Elidibus, Emet had remembered what really happened. He's already realized at that point, WoL's methods are the best option to stop Meteion.
That said while I do not think much of reviving the sacrificed ancients, especially after Elpis I think reuniting Etheirys is unquestionably the best path forward. If it were up to me, WoL would focus on finding a way of doing a rejoining that isn't a cataclysm. Maybe using dynamis and not just aether. Regardless I now think he was right!
Finally I think Emet shares qualities with Ardyn who has connections with Noctis, a compelling story, and is quite entertaining. Ardyn is also definitely in my top 5 of series villains
I think, as a villain, Emet is pretty great. What bothers me is how the game forces our character to think highly of him, regardless of our opinion of him.
One thing confuses me…
Did the Ancients summon an already existing Zodiark and Hydaelyn, or create them both as the greatest and first two Primals?
Isn't Hydaelyn and Venat the same person?
Isn't Zodiark a combination of Elidibus and the others sacrificed to summon it?
I think he also is the best FF villian of the whole series but is tiresome of so many FF fans not caring about him nor FF14 because "is an online game and it doesnt count"
Emet Selch Theories
1. It is actually stated that because Venat knows the future via the WOL, she intentionally did not sunder Emet Selch, Elidibus, and Lahabrea.
2. Emet Selch, Elidibus, and Lahabrea were tempered by Zodiark which caused them to be twisted and evil. However, they retained some of their individuality and free will.
3. It is likely Emet Selch became a sarcastic and scheming person after the sundering to mimic Hythlodaeus' playful personality because he deeply misses his old friend.
4. Emet Selch likely gradually grew weary of his mission as he started his royal family. He loved both his wife and firstborn son. Their deaths made his sad & upset.
5. I believe that Emet Selch ignored his mission once when he started a family. Emet Selch's relationship with his firstborn son likely mirrors that of Thanos & Gamora.
6. Aside from Lahabrea, both Emet Selch and Elidibus gradually had doubts of their mission.
7. Emet Selch did not like Lahabrea likely due to his cold personality which Lahabrea actually displayed before the sundering by rejecting to acknowledge his own son.
8. Unlike Elidibus & Lahabrea, Emet Selch only switched bodies one time after his "mortal death" as Solus Vos Galvus. He willingly aged and left his old body.
9. After Varis decided to clone his grandsire, Emet Selch used the clone bodies as his vessels.
What resonated the most for me in Emet Selch was the desperation. Not the pleading of someone about to die, or the frustration of someone that's been inconvenienced by life and the world. This is a man who lost everything in the process of trying to save it. This is a man who has no refuge from the reminders of that failure save what his memory can conjure up; and even such daydreams are ephemeral and a pale shadow of what he wants. He tried to move on, he tried to make due with what the world offered now, and everything he saw was insufficient. So he clung to his dream; at the expense of all else and of everyone else. He became bitter and spiteful, in the service of the one thing he felt could fix things.
Emet Selch is someone I am deeply sympathetic to, and one of the most relatable antagonists I've ever known.
He's up there to Aryden from FFXV. I love both their personalities.
Emet-Selch is the best written character in the entire Final Fantasy franchise.
I'd put him as one of the best villains in gaming, if not of all time.
fucking love it
I became a fan of FF14 thanks to Shadowbringers… He was amazing… One of the greatest written for a video game.