Kefka Palazzo

Kefka Palazzo (ケフカ·パラッツォ, Kefuka Parattso, Cefca Palazzo in Japanese materials). is a misanthropic madman and the game's central antagonist, dressed as a flamboyantly colorful Pedrolino and with a personality resembles that of a mad clown who enjoys destruction.

Appearances

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. He is also a rank coward, running from almost all in-game fights involving him, or employing Imperial Soldiers or illusions to fight for him.

It was Kefka who forced the Slave Crown upon Terra and used her to lead an attack on Narshe to claim the frozen Esper. Kefka also appears at the Magitek Research Facility, where the party observes his physical abuse of weakened Espers whose power he had drained. During a siege battle, Kefka grows impatient with General Leo and poisons Doma's drinking water behind his back, 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 revealed this to be a ploy to gain the Returners' trust; Kefka later goes to Thamasa to seize Magicite from the Espers congregated there under the orders of Emperor Gestahl. When General Leo tries to intervene, Kefka deceives him by employing a shadow of himself, and then he backstabs and kills Leo while posing as Gestahl.

Using the power of the Espers, Kefka helps Gestahl revive the Floating Continent. When the party confront Kefka and Gestahl on the continent, Kefka freezes them (except Celes) with the power of the Warring Triad's statues, 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 attempts to command the statues to kill them all. Gestahl, fearing that the statues' balance will be broken, urges Kefka to calm down and not to upset the statues. Kefka dismisses his emperor's warning, forcing Gestahl to try and kill Kefka with his own powerful spells. Gestahl's magic, however, is absorbed by a protective field generated by the statues. Kefka directs the statues to unleash their power on Gestahl, whose body Kefka unceremoniously boots off the Floating Continent to certain death. He then moves the Statues from their delicate balance, unleashing enough raw magical energy to reshape the face of the planet.

Imbued with the power of the statues (as well as countless Magicite taken from Espers he's slain), Kefka is now the sole source of all magic and becomes the god of the ruined world he created, using the statues to forge a massive tower of random debris on what was Vector to serve as his headquarters and shrine. Many global inhabitants have come to form the "Cult of Kefka." Members of the Cult are in a zombie-like state, wandering mindlessly. Some join the cult because they have lost their loved ones or purpose in their life (in the case of Strago in the World of Ruin), but it is likely that many joined out of fear of Kefka as he smites the millions who refuse to worship him with his 'Light of Judgement', 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. The party rejects his claims--citing examples of meaning in their personal lives--causing Kefka to go berserk. He turns his Light of Judgment on the World of Ruin one last time as the party attacks him and he assumes a roped "god"-form with six wings, both angelic and demonic, before he dies and his Tower collapses as his death marked the end of magic in the world.

Kefka is the villain representing Final Fantasy VI in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, where he is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in the Japanese version. He attempts to bring Terra to his side because of her power, hoping to use the girl for his own scheme to destroy everything. He also makes a cameo appearance in Itadaki Street Portable.

Cultural impact

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, although Kefka himself is only about 4" or so in height. It represents his "god" form from the end of the game.

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. 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." 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."

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." GameDaily placed him 2nd on their "Top 25 Craziest Villains" list, describing him as a "prime candidate for the insane asylum", noting his desire to be a god and hatred of everything as contributing factors to his placement on the list. IGN listed him as one of the "Top 25" Final Fantasy characters of all time, noting that several factors such as his dialogue and more heavily his appearance contributed to his memorability as a character; in a "Reader's Choice" edition of the article he placed eighth, with similar comments.

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." 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." 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.