10 Video Game Villains Who Actually Killed The Hero

by Danny Meegan

1. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

final fantasy 7 aerith
Square Enix

Thanks to the remake recently hitting store shelves, Final Fantasy VII is on everyone's mind lately, so what better time to discuss one of the most heartbreaking and tragic heroic deaths - brought on by a villainous act - in gaming history?

One of the most beloved characters in the series, the upbeat and bubbly Aerith was shockingly killed off midway through Square Enix's classic 1997 RPG, when antagonist Sephiroth descends from above and plunges his sword into the back of her stomach, leaving her with no chance of survival.

While the Sephiroth who kills Aerith is technically just Jenova in disguise, Sephiroth - somewhat undeservedly - always seems to get credited for the act, and it's not like he's much of a nice guy throughout Final Fantasy VII anyway.

Regardless of who you prefer to blame, it doesn't change the fact that Aerith didn't deserve such a violent ending, and for many young gamers raised on the carefree adventures of Crash Bandicoot, Mario and Sonic, this scene taught an important lesson: villains, sometimes, can come out on top.

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Got any other examples of video game villains killing the heroes? Let us know in the comments section!

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Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!