Kefka Palazzo

Kefka Palazzo

Final Fantasy VI artwork of Kefka by Yoshitaka Amano
Series	Final Fantasy
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Designed by	Yoshitaka Amano
Voiced by	Shigeru Chiba Dave Wittenberg

Kefka Palazzo (ケフカ·パラッツォ, Kefuka Parattso^?, Cefca Palazzo in Japanese materials)^[1] is a character in the Final Fantasy series of video games. Designed by Yoshitaka Amano, he is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VI and later appears in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, redesigned by Tetsuya Nomura, as one of the game's villains. He is voiced in Dissidia by Shigeru Chiba in the Japanese release, and by Dave Wittenberg in the English Release.

Conception and design

Kefka's appearance was designed by Yoshitaka Amano. Initially the development team had only the character's artwork and an outline of his role in the game to work with. However, writer Yoshinori Kitase felt that one early scene with the character was "boring", and Kitase ad-libbed dialogue into the scene with one of his accompanying soldier's dusting off his boots, intended to suggest that "may be a screw or two missing from this character’s head". Kitase in an interview cited this as a key element in the character's development, setting the groundwork for the character's personality.^[2]

In Dissidia, Kefka's nihilistic ideology is build up in a new light during Kefka's deathscene where Terra believed that he was really a man who found no meaning of life other than utter destruction.^[3]

Appearances

Final Fantasy VI

This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (October 2009)

Before the start of the game, Kefka serves as Emperor Gestahl's Court Mage and was the first "volunteer" for an experimental Magitek infusion, under the supervision of Cid. The process was still flawed, and although Kefka gained the ability to wield magic, it warped his mind and made him into the nihilistic psychopath he is during the course of the game.^[4] Kefka forces a Slave Crown upon Terra and uses her to lead an attack on Narshe to claim the frozen Esper there. When she escapes Imperial control, he pursues Terra to the kingdom of Figaro, setting the castle ablaze as she, Locke and King Edgar flee.

During a siege on the kingdom of Doma, Kefka grows impatient with General Leo and poisons Doma's drinking water, resulting in mass casualties and a swift victory for the Empire. Citing the poisoning of Doma, Gestahl eventually has Kefka imprisoned, but a plot twist later reveals this to be a ploy to gain the Returners' trust. Kefka later goes to Thamasa to kill the Espers congregated there.^[5] When General Leo tries to intervene, Kefka kills him. Using the power of the Espers, Kefka helps Gestahl raise the Floating Continent holding the Warring Triad, statues that were once the three gods of magic. When the party confront Kefka and Gestahl on the continent, Gestahl freezes them (except Celes), ordering her to kill her friends to show her loyalty to the Empire, but she in turn stabs Kefka instead. Enraged, Kefka knocks her aside and orders the statues to strike down Gestahl, unceremoniously booting him off the Floating Continent to his death. He then moves the Statues from their delicate balance, unleashing enough raw magical energy to reshape the face of the planet and bringing about the second act of the game.^[6] Imbued with the power of the statues, Kefka becomes the god of the ruined world he created, using the statues to forge a massive tower of random debris to serve as his headquarters. Kefka smites the millions who refuse to worship him with his "Light of Judgment", a beam of incinerating light capable of cutting fissures into the planet's surface.

At the game's conclusion, confronted by the protagonists, Kefka finally reveals his nihilistic motivations, explaining that all life is meaningless, and that the lives of mortal humans are purposeless. Thus, he proclaims that his new goal is to eradicate everything.^[7] The party reject his claims, citing examples of meaning in their personal lives, causing Kefka to go berserk.^[8] He turns his Light of Judgment on the World of Ruin one last time as the party attacks him, and reveals himself as a tower of flesh and effigies of himself the top of which is Kefka impaled whilst sitting in a throne who then assumes a robed "god"-form with six wings. He is ultimately dispatched, the world shifts back as it once was, and the power of magic vanishes.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Kefka in Dissidia, artwork by Tetsuya Nomura

Kefka is the villain representing Final Fantasy VI in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, reflecting his mannerisms from the game. During Destiny Odyssey, Kefka allies himself with the Cloud of Darkness to bring Terra to their side because of her Esper powers, hoping to use the girl for his own scheme to destroy everything. However, when Terra refuses to aid him and learned to control her powers, Kefka attempts to kill her and ends up being defeated with Terra gaining her crystal. During Shade Impulse, after mocking the heroes as they almost faded, Kefka breaks his ties to the other villians and starts his own scheme to become the ruler of the ruined world before being ultimately dispatched for good.

He also makes a cameo appearance in Itadaki Street Portable.

Merchandising

In 2006, Kefka was made into a toy in the Final Fantasy Master Creatures line. The figure is 6" tall from the bottom of the base, representing his final form from the game's conclusion.

Critical reception

G4's Filter named Kefka one of the top ten villains of all time as selected by viewers, placing number eight on the list.^[9] In a "Reader's Choice" edition of GameSpot's "Top Ten Video Game Villains", Kefka placed first, stating "Kefka topped many of your lists, as the villain who gave Sephiroth a run for his money in the status department. You love and hate Kefka, but you surely think he's about as vile and evil as evil gets."^[10] In a similar article the boss battle against Kefka was voted by readers as one of the ten best in video games; GameSpot's staff noted "Kefka is one of the two bosses that won through the write-in ballot, meaning he wasn't on our main list of nominees. That means he's a serious favorite."^[11]

Nintendo Power named Kefka the best villain to appear on Nintendo consoles in 1994, ranking higher than Donkey Kong Country's King K. Rool and Marvel Comics' Carnage.^[12] UGO.com named him third in their "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters" article, stating "Insane, nihilistic, and cruel, Kefka isn't a reserved mystery like other Final Fantasy villains - rather, he's in-your-face at all times, doing dirty deeds just to say he did them."^[13] IGN ranked him sixth on their list of the "Top 25" Final Fantasy characters of all time, noting that several factors, such as his dialogue and appearance, contributed to his memorability as a character;^[14] in a "Reader's Choice" edition of the article he placed eighth, with similar comments.^[15] GamePro ranked him 33rd on the top 47 most diabolical video game villains of all time, citing both his "genocide" and his enslavement of Terra.^[16]

Konami video game developer Tomm Hulett described Kefka as a pure villain, stating "Unlike most Japanese stories, Kefka did not have shades of gray. He didn't have a tragic past that turned him into a sadistic clown that you felt sorry for him over. He didn't have some greater purpose that he lost sight of. Yet, at the same time, he wasn't "evil for evil's sake." There was something twisted and nasty inside him that MADE him that way... and you could feel it... but you also knew there wasn't any good in there."^[17] In a review of Final Fantasy VI Advance, IGN stated "it's the game's maniacal nihilist Kefka that really stands out. The most evil and destructive villain in the entire Final Fantasy franchise, Kefka's brutality and ruthlessness is unmatched and he has to be seen to be believed."^[18] CNet in their own review described him as "the unrivaled star of the show...he's the kind of villain that you will love to hate", comparing him to Jack Nicholson's portrayal of The Joker and calling his laugh one of the greatest sound effects in any video game.^[19]

An editor on Gamespy declared that Kefka, quite possibly, is the greatest video game villain of all time.^[20]

In Game Informer's Building the Ultimate RPG article of one issue, they picked Kefka over Sephiroth as the primary antagonist.

References