After yesterdays non-numbered special mentions, its time to begin my Top Ten Final Fantasy Characters for real, with.... number TEN! So be warned, SPOILERS from here on in...
Every character in this list is from VII, IX and X not necessarily because those characters are the coolest, its because these games are longer and take much more time to flesh out the characters than the first 6, the Ivalice games and other spin-offs.
But in this case, less is more...
10: ULTIMECIA (Final Fantasy VIII)
Ultimecia doesn't appear in much of VIII but she is such a scene stealer, she is easily the best character in the game. Most of the time she does appear, it's in possession of other characters and is it her most evil inhabiting the body of Edea. Ultimecia is from the future and travelling back in time, she rises through the ranks of the Glabadian Military to become a dictator, killing the previous President while a mesmerized crowd watches and she gives one of the bets speeches ever, thank god for copy and paste:
"...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. A new era has just begun. This is reality. No one can help you. Sit back and enjoy the show. Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the beginning. Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination."
After Edea's defeat, Ultimecia posses the main female lead and forces her into a coma. The scene where she awakens inside Rinoa aboard and space station and proceeds to smash it up from the inside, release and posses another evil Sorceress AND release a wave of monsters into the world. That is my favourite momentsin VIII, it tingles with tension and evil excitment, its possibly one of the best moments on Final Fantasy.
When she does reveal herself in her true form, she is one of the best designed villains in the game. You see otherworldly motifs of her earlier in the game but when you do finally see her (after she's caused all Time to collapse on itself and you've battle your way through a wonderfully gothic castle) you know you're in for a fight against a bad guy who's pure evil. Coupled with brilliant music motifs that make sure you KNOW when she's on the scene, Ultimecia is like the greatest evil Disney villain, only far less menacing.
-Make sure you come back for tomorrows number NINE! in the countdown. And if you want to hazard a guess then I'll give you a clue: SUPER SAIYAN + WOMANIZER = ???