8 Best 'Meet The Real Villain' Moments In Gaming History

1. Sephiroth - Final Fantasy VII

There was a time - though it doesn't feel like it anymore - where Final Fantasy VII came across as this relatively straightforward tale of a soldier and his environmental activist friends going up against the evil Shinra corporation.

Yes there were explosions and magic powers, but the very idea of a massive-sworded villain named Sephiroth was barely shown in the trailers, largely omitted entirely from the biggest showcases of 1997 and 1998 because Square knew exactly what they were doing.

Come the point in the game where you've reached Shinra HQ and been arrested by their president, the tone does a complete 180. Suddenly the doors to your prison cells are open, guards lay slain in all directions as blood trails off down the corridor, hinting at where to go.

Follow and you'll find the Shinra president now impaled, as Cloud and Tifa remark that "Sephiroth is alive?!", noting only he can use this oversized blade.

From here - and it's hard to replicate the feeling of discovery today - the whole world of Final Fantasy VII was blown wide open. The hunt for Sephiroth spanned literal countries and continents in-game, and such a great character being the catalyst for the remaining 30+ hours of the story was a masterstroke.