JRPGs are well-known for having deeply complex character relationships, motivations, and interactions. Some JRPGs are entirely built around a massive cast of characters with ludicrous relationships! And the tragic JRPG hero is a common trope, and for good reason — we love them even when we love to hate them.
But villains, though? Who doesn't love a good villain? Sometimes, the villain has a point. Sometimes, you're the villain. Sometimes, the villain doesn't have a point, but that doesn't matter — their backstory or motivations are so compelling that we love them anyway. These PS5 JRPGs all have something that makes their villains feel just a little more compelling than the protagonists.
Karen Travers is a tragic figure with a deeply personal motivation. He wants to save Alive, but in doing so, he messes around with time in a pretty major way. This isn't just a bunch of timey-wimey shenanigans, because we're confronted with pretty big questions: The nature of fate and free will, identity, the integrity of memories and personhood, and whether changing the past can ever justify destroying the present and an infinite number of possible futures.
Karen's motivation isn't Machiavellian; it's not for some evil plan or convoluted business reason. It's a deeply emotional and irrational attempt to deny tragedy, whatever the consequences. For me, this kind of doomed, pointless, but deeply emotional motivation is always more compelling than a protagonist motivated by more prosaic heroic notions.
I find Daelophos a more compelling character than Val, but I'm going to have to caveat this one — The concept was better than the execution. In Visions of Mana, Daelophos was originally a hero serving the Mana Goddess who turned against the system after Cerulia's death. You've got a story of grief, betrayal, revenge, and the wholesale rejection of a system.
He's essentially a jaded version of Val who's rejected the system precisely because he knows what it's all about and has the scars to prove it. The story doesn't really deliver on this premise very well, but the missed opportunity lingers, and I can't help but think about what could have been.
Natsu is a typically optimistic and brave protagonist. Essentially, Natsu believes you should protect your friends, defeat your enemies, and save the world. We've all been there and done that: It's not bad, but it's pretty standard. It doesn't have much emotional depth.
Zeref, however, is cursed with immortality and has spent centuries watching the people he loves die. Zeref has a much more complicated emotional burden than Natsu, and it's hard not to look at Zeref and see a version of Natsu that will never be. For me, that's just much more interesting.
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