I’d like to see you rank the Madou villains, including the non-game ones and even the villains of Sorcery Saga if you’ve played that game.
I’m not going to do Sorcery Saga or the novels, because I don’t know enough about them. However, I am going to include Waku Puyo in this, because one villain in particular deserves a special shout-out.
Alright, let’s get this bread! Madou Monogatari final bosses/antagonists from worst to best-
Bottom Tier: Guardian (from Ibun), Owlbear
The Guardian has a great design but literally just exists to be beaten. Owlbear meanwhile… Arle’s story is the weakest of the ARS trio. Better than having Satan in the GameGear version at least, with how.
Owlbear gets edge over the Guardian for continuously coming back each time Arle beats him, but with more scars. That was a nice touch.
Low Tier: Yog-Sothoth
A waste of a wonderful Lovecraftian creation, made into a mere plot device for the Saturn game. There’s no intelligence of a god like in the actual Lovecraft material, extremely disappointing, but at least they’re visually impressive for the time.
Mid-Low Tier: Sleeping Princess, Mamono
Recolored Wish, but she has some funny dialogue at least and has a decently done sprite. Mamono is cute and fluffy meanwhile, gets a bit of points for being a recurring Puyo character, and is super cool in the Mega Drive game. But he doesn’t leave the same impression the next guy does.
Mid Tier: Rulue, Minotauros, Fudoushi
This is where the good stuff starts, these three are all about presentation and build-up.
Rulue is the character you first meet in Madou Monogatari III, and in the GameGear version you defeat her. However, her servant is actually the superior one.
Minotauros actively chases Arle and proves to be a much more savage opponent in battle than Rulue is. If you do not grind enough, he will kill you. It feels much more satisfying to finish him over Rulue because of that.
As for Fudoushi, If it was just his PC98 incarnation, he’d be on the same level of Mid-Low, but he benefits in the GameGear version as well as the PCE version-- which is the ideal depiction imo. I only rank him above Rulue and Mino because of the face melting scene.
Mid-High Tier: Devil, the Count
Another example of build-up and presentation. Devil constantly causes problems throughout Arle’s adventure, becoming increasingly powerful after each encounter. It’s very satisfying to finally put him in his place.
The Count meanwhile, was going to drink Rulue’s blood and take Carbuncle for himself. Seeing a party that exists who is actually worse than Satan? That’s one hell of a feat, also very satisfying to kick once he’s down.
High Tier: Satan, Dark Matter / Wish
The big boys.
Satan is a classic, his appearance in Madou II is a wonderful, intimidating encounter… that is sadly ruined by future games over-exposing him. Still, he’s pretty damn cool.
Dark Matter though? He tops Satan in terms of the menacing reveal any other day. His spells have so much beautiful flair, and when he possesses Wish? It gets even more dramatic, with the mix of “Fiend Empire” playing as you fight in an attempt to repel Dark Matter.
If not for the top three, then Dark Matter / Wish would have taken the best final boss.
The holy trinity, the God Tier:
Rune Lord:
The thing about Rune Lord that puts him above Dark Matter? Unlike Dark Matter… he won. He won from the very beginning. In fact, that’s a thing he has over most of the Madou final bosses is that he didn’t lose.
No, he wanted Schezo to defeat him. The seeds of darkness were planted. It’s just like how in FF6, Kefka technically still won by becoming God and causing all that destruction. Even if death, Rune Lord was fucking victorious. And that’s what sticks out about his manipulations.
Doppelganger Schezo:
The reason I included Waku Puyo was because of him. Holy crap, there is not a character in this series more tragic than him (well maybe). His existence? It was a mistake caused by Schezo. His motives? Schezo taken to an extreme, with no understanding of fun, or life. He cannot live unless he keeps draining the power of others.
In Arle and Schezo’s ending, after you defeat him… you honestly feel sorry for the guy, and wish that there was another way. You actually want to save Doppelganger Schezo, even if at the end of the day, he’s just a crystal that became sentient and power hungry.
This is a character I want to see redeemed and given a second chance. He’s honestly one of the reasons I think Waku Puyo is better than Saturn Madou.
Phantom God:
Remember what I said about presentation and build-up? Phantom God hits all of those check-marks and more-- they even hit the “mildly sympathetic” mark like Doppelganger Schezo does.
Phantom God exists to be used as an item, to test whoever comes to take Lilith’s place… imagine how sad of an existence that is-- especially once Arle rejects their power, forcing them to remain alone with the Gem Guardians. Throughout the game, Phantom God attacks Schezo and Rulue, and when Arle finally has a chance to dispose of the Seraphim Orb rather than taking it? She doesn’t go through with it, she just leaves it.
Their theme is also so powerful, with the weird MIDI organ playing. I would absolutely love a more modern remix of this song done with orchestral instruments.
