In the most recent years of video games, it would seem a common practice to feature one of the antagonist characters sporting their fair-colored hair in one style or another. Some would argue that it has become the pivotal requirement for a villain for future-games all because of the most famous one there is, the iconic Sephiroth.

Like him or not, his infamy has become the cornerstone of fair-haired villains; it is like him that others strive to become. That is why, in this list, I will present to you the Top 10 Fair-Haired Villains that are not Sephiroth. While not all of them fulfill the traditional “villain” role, those that do not still hold an antagonistic spot in the game’s cast; yet all of the following names have the one, most important thing in common – light hair.

**BE WARNED – SPOILERS are contained within. Read at your own discretion.**

#10: Helba (.hack series)

We start our list with the only female character presented; the potentially-limitless level 99 Wavemaster. She isn’t necessarily a pivotal antagonist of the game, but her law-breaking personality and unsurpassed hacking ability make her a threat within The World, and a true force to be reckoned with.

#9: Magus (Chrono Trigger)

The next name on the list is likewise not so much a villain of Chrono Trigger, but merely an antagonistic character. Now before I get the Chrono Trigger fans riled up for not featuring Magus higher up on the list, let me justify; firstly, as I’ve said, he’s not the true villain of the game.

Secondly, there is the option of later recruiting this powerful wizard. His vindictive and vengeful nature towards Lavos lends itself better to a supportive anti-hero character rather than to a villain; however, should he had remained a true villain throughout the game, his name would have surely seen a higher number on this list.

#8: Solidus Snake (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

The third son of the legendary Big Boss, Solidus was created with the intended purpose of being the “perfect” clone. Whereas Liquid possessed Big Boss’s recessive genes, and Snake his dominant, Solidus, his name literally meaning neither liquid nor solid, possessed a perfect balance. His scheming with the gun slinging Revolver Ocelot and Olga Gurlukovich leads to the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and his hostile takeover of the oceanic military base and laboratory, Big Shell.

As with every Metal Gear Solid game, the development of a new nuclear Metal Gear is in the works, this time in the form of Arsenal Gear. Solidus’s stolen identity plan of calling himself Solid Snake and kidnapping the president forced the true Solid Snake to go incognito. But as in every action movie, the villain is foiled just before he wages civil nuclear war, and Solidus is killed in one of video gaming’s most memorable sword fights with Raiden atop Federal Hall.

#7: Heihachi Mishima (Tekken series)

Heihachi’s a villain through-and-through. He is power-hungry and abusive to his own blood (he threw his son, Kazuya, down into a ravine and told him if he was truly his son, he would survive the fall and would be able to climb back up). And I’m not even going to get into the torment he puts Jin through.

This prominent martial arts master and once leader of the Mishima Empire, Heihachi now makes a living kicking the crap out of the others who enter the Tekken tournament and finding some way to once again betray his grandson. As if one shot to Jin’s forehead wasn’t enough. When will he ever learn?

#6: Vergil (Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening)

He’s every bit as badass as his twin-brother Dante, but his name isn’t Dante. That’s grounds for villainy, isn’t it? Well his crime is trying to harness the power of their father, Sparda, by releasing the seal from inside the Temen-ni-gru. He’s careless, but determined; the power he gains from this could potentially destroy the world, but like any traditional villain, does he care? Nope.

His trilogy of battles with his brother throughout Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening are some of the most memorable in the series, as are his subsequent “returning” battles in the original Devil May Cry in the form of Nelo Angelo. Vergil’s demise occurs much like any true villain’s, in a fiery explosion of pure epic.

#5: Kain (The Legacy of Kain series)

The Legacy of Kain’s most infamous villain is the very namesake of the series, Kain himself: the immortal, irreplaceable, irreconcilable Kain. Whether he’s burning villages to the ground trying to fulfill his desire for revenge or waging war on his own kind in an attempt to conquer Nosgoth, Kain is damn powerful. My most memorable Legacy of Kain moment comes from the opening of the first Soul Reaver game, when the game’s protagonist, Raziel, kneels before Kain and reveals the wings he has developed, something Kain has yet to do.

In a sheer act of nothing short of jealousy, Kain shreds the wings with his hands and has Raziel tossed into the gorge that is the swirling vortex of the Lake of the Dead. Raziel’s struggle back to the Material Realm is a triumph in and of itself, but Kain’s vice grip on Nosgoth is something unparalleled.

#4: Ansem (Kingdom Hearts)

Xehanort. Xemnas. Ansem. Whatever form of his you’re referring to, this guy is one ruthless villain. You’d have to be heartless – no pun intended – to bring war into the Disney Kingdom. He possesses Riku and attempts to kill Sora, he unleashes swarms of heartless into the universe of Disney, and he later separates Kairi from her friends at the end of Kingdom Hearts. Is there really anything else that needs to be said about him?

#3: Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)

Kuja’s one of the least popular Final Fantasy villains. Perhaps it’s his tendency to sometimes wear women’s clothing. Does that make him any less insane? On the contrary, I think it makes him even more insane. When comparing him to the two most popular Final Fantasy villains, Sephiroth and Kefka, it’s easy to see why he’s not on their level – he isn’t a hentai’s wet dream like Sephiroth, and doesn’t have an awesome laugh like Kefka.

However, when you compare their personalities, he far surpasses them both. Sephiroth wanted to become a god. He’s one of the least successful villains in all of Final Fantasy. All he manages to do is kill off one character, and still, she spiritually returns to save the party at the end of the game. Kefka, on the other hand, obliterates civilization. What he fails to do is actually destroy the world, and thus, eventually, life one day returned to the planet.

But Kuja…Kuja literally destroys an entire planet, removing it from existence. Why does he do it? Because he found out that he really wasn’t immortal. Talk about insanity. Show Kuja some love, he deserves it. His insanity and power is only surpassed by his Trance form, but alas, so too does his hair change color. If this were a “Top 10 Red-Headed Villains” list, Trance Kuja would definitely be number one.

#2: Marquis Messam Elmdor (Final Fantasy Tactics)

Some of the most difficult battles to come out of Final Fantasy Tactics were courtesy of this man and his two assassins, Celia and Lede. The only other battles that likely overshadow these in terms of difficulty are the Wiegraf/Velius battles at Riovannes Castle, and the end-game struggle against Balk. Marquis Elmdor, aside from remarkably looking like Magus, featured elsewhere on this list, exhibits almost a complete opposite character change.

When you first encounter him, you’re saving his life at the request of Algus – who’s a villain in his own right. Later, however, it’s revealed what his true intentions are, as well as the revelation of his possession of the Lucavi Zalera. Marquis is encountered twice; atop Riovannes Castle, wherein all you must do is bring either himself or one of his assassins into critical condition, and the second, considerably more difficult battle, inside his own Limberry Castle.

Here, the Marquis holds nothing back as he shows you why he’s earned the second spot on this list. He possesses the only Teleport 2 spell in the game, allowing him complete and total freedom of movement. It’s this spell alone that makes him all the more difficult, especially if you’re trying to steal from him the Genji equipment.

#1: Albedo Piazzolla (Xenosaga Trilogy)

Here he is. The lucrative, sadistic, brilliant, lustful, envious, rebellious, and whatever other appropriate adjective you can think of. He is Albedo. All of what I’ve just said, and all that can be said about him does no justice to how truly insane Albedo is. His laugh, in my opinion, rivals and even surpasses the iconic cackle of the previously-mentioned Kefka.

Albedo is not just an insane character, he’s brilliant and witty, something villains usually lack – especially on the witty part. He frequently calls MOMO “my belle Pêche,” which translates into “my beautiful peach.” Pêche is the French word for peach, and momo is the Japanese word for peach. Albedo knows his languages, and knows how to use it. Couple this with his strange pedophiliac-attraction for the 99-Series Observational Realians, the Kirschwasser, his childhood resentment towards his older brother Rubedo, and his sinister, mind-numbing laugh, and you have the makings of the pinnacle of villainy.

It’s not until his death and ascension in Episode II, and his subsequent resurrection as the White Testament in Episode III that Albedo’s true potential is revealed. Here’s to a brilliant character.

You may not agree with me on some, or all, of these selections, but that is the beauty of opinion. To some, Sephiroth may be the greatest villain of all time; to others, he may be just the hollow shell of a momma’s boy. It is in the act of disagreement that legends are born. Perhaps Albedo may not even be on someone else’s list, but on mine, he is number one. The very exemplification of what a “good” villain should be.