I'm sorry, but---
Well, no. I'm not sorry. I refuse to apologize for thinking critically about the books I read and the games I play. So no apologies here.
You lose my good will and generosity when you show a cutaway of the villain thinking to himself, "The empire---no, the whole world will be mine!" and then laughing evilly, especially when the cutaway is entirely unnecessary other than to show us his villainous ambitions. Mr. Sakaguchi, that character was much more intriguing when we weren't quite sure of his intentions, when we were slightly suspicious of the too-good an offer he made to our main character but didn't know enough to peg him fully as a villain. Now we know he's just another cackling, power-mad little tyrant with---like our main character, Zael---not a shred of complexity, subtlety, or secrets.
When groaning out loud and pointing out this scene to my wife, I openly pined for Final Fantasy X, and she reminded me of a line that marks the clearest distinction between the writing of FFX and The Last Story:
"Then pretend I didn't say it."
OH MY GOSH. Seymour! Please come back! Please teach your fellow villains how to be a real character, motivated and grounded in reality! Please teach the villains how to villain!
Actually, my brother (one of the many) and I got into a discussion about this sort of thing. We came to the conclusion that a main draw people have to villains is the mystery surrounding them. As you said, the guy was much more interesting when his motives were uncertain and the audience wasn't sure what to make of him yet. Villains need a shroud of mystery about them that captivates readers / watchers / gamers. No mad cackle and stupid ambitions allowed.
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