Final Fantasy: 25 Greatest Villains 

Anyone playing Final Fantasy VI for the first time with no foreknowledge of Ultros’ existence was likely taken massively aback by their first encounter with the giant purple octopus. Ultros always felt completely out of place even in a steampunk-inspired world full of magical creatures, but it was this fact that enabled him to be distinctive.

Always more of a nuisance than a threat, Ultros thrives on the fact that he is downright hilarious, thriving as a palate cleanser and always gets a fitting comeuppance for his actions, which are seemingly borne from a desire to cause chaos for chaos’ sake.

Whether it is attempting to kidnap an opera star or work as a receptionist to pay off debts, Ultros can be counted on to deliver humour in an otherwise bleak world and few things in the series are as funny as him being defeated by a sketch of himself.

Ultros’ popularity has seen him appear in a number of other games in the series, most recently as a DLC boss in XIII-2, an NPC in XIV and a daemon in two of XV’s supporting titles. He has retained the same characteristics in most of his appearances and is iconic enough at this point to always be welcome regardless of how bizarre the inclusion of an anthropomorphic octopus into a game’s world might be.