Summary
While thePersonaseries is often praised for its characters, whether it’s the ones that make up the main party or the numerous popular side characters, one aspect of the franchise that is particularly strong isthe villains. Furthermore,Persona’s female antagonists rank up there among some of the best in the entire franchise, as these villainous women have tortured the casts of Atlus' RPG series for years.
Whether they are humans who are manipulating some sort of events in the background or just straight-up monsters, these women have shown that villainy in this demon-catching franchise isn’t just for the men. These characters easily rank up there as being some of the most compelling villains in this long and storied franchise.
It’s fairly common for Atlus to produce multiple spin-offs and side games for the series, be it fighting gamesor even tactics games, but one of the best of these wasPersona 5 Strikers. The spin-off’s lead villain, a woman named Kuon Ichinose, is one of the best that the series has seen.
Initially established as one of the good guys, Kuon’s mask is eventually stripped as she is revealed as the mastermind behind the game’s catastrophic events. Her bright personality is replaced by a cold and emotionless demeanor, one determined to use everything and everyone she can to accomplish her quest.
Sae Niijima isone of the first charactersthat Joker and the Phantom Thieves meet inPersona 5, as this prosecutor interrogates Joker during the game’s intriguing framing device. She is an antagonistic force to the Phantom Thieves for the first half of the game, as each conversation with Joker between their palace visits becomes more heated.
She is also the sister of Phantom Thief Mokoto, adding an extra bit of complexity to her pursuit of them. As time goes on, however, Niijima becomes more of a threat, to the point that she gets her own palace that the party infiltrates, culminating in a boss battle with Shadow Sae that is one ofP5’shighlights and the perfect cap to Niijima’s rivalry with Joker and the Thieves.
The demon Nyx isa long-standing enemyin thePersonaandShin Megami Tenseiseries, having first appeared inSMT3and showing up in multiple spin-offs and mainline games. However, the villain’s turn inPersona 3is her crowning achievement, as her collision with pre-historic Earth gave birth to the Nyx Avatar, leading to the events of the game.
As the final boss ofPersona 3, she’s a force to be reckoned with.Persona 3is already a rather difficult game, but Nyx Avatar is a stern final test. The context of her creation and her somewhat sympathetic final message to SEES make her one of the franchise’s absolute best antagonists.
Personais a franchise that tends tolend a sense of sympathyand relatability to its antagonists, as evidenced by one of the absolute best examples of that in Chidori Yoshino. She is a member of the antagonistic group known as Strega, one that carries out assassinations during a time known as the Dark Hour.
Over time, her association with Strega and her interactions with SEES create a fascinating conflict that Chidori is right in the middle of. Her doomed relationship with Junpei and the strong emotional context it provides is fantastic, elevating Chidori from what could have been a fairly standard villain into one of the best antagonists in the entire series.
