These kinds of characters have become quite a tradition in jRPGs and they quite often annoy the crap out of the player, and not to mention the playable characters too.

These are typically characterized by the following traits

• They are entirely full of themselves. They think they are very extremely genius or otherwise extremely talented. Quite often they are the only ones who think so.

• They never accept defeat and will always try to get even with you (even against better judgment), and therefore keep on coming back

• Mostly they re-appear when you least expect it and when the moment is very inappropriate

• In their desperation not to admit their defeat they quite often come up with the most ridiculous excuses why you won. If they even admitted you won.

I do confess myself guilty in my own RPGs so I will take them with me as I set up an (incomplete) list of these kinds of characters.

Vyers - Disgaea

Vyers appears in the first Disgaea game, as a kind of a "new demon in town". He's extremely arrogant and believes to be very popular with the ladies, referring to himself as "The Dark Adonis". Main character Laharl does not think he's worthy of such titles and renames him "Mid-Boss" to mock him and the name sticks with him for the remainder of the game, and even goes beyond the game, as when he pops up in a sidequest in Disgaea 2 Adell will rename him "Mid-Boss", and in Disgaea 3 he's renamed "Mid-Boss" by Mao. Character Etna will after you defeat him for the well some number of times remark that his excuses for losing are getting more and more pathetic.

Truth is however that "Vyers" is merely a persona by somebody who conceals his true identity and has a secret agenda and that he only pretends to be an idiot, however it would be a spoiler to reveal more.

He is actually the spirit of Laharl's father King Krechevskoy, who is helping his son in secret with a kind of mission to bring demons and angels closer to each other. He is also the strange unseen voice Seraph Lamington talks to all the time.

Axel - Disgaea 2 and 4

Axel, also known as "The Dark Hero" is a demon who thinks he's a superstar, but he does not really appear to convince anybody of his talents, but he completely fails to notice. He always tells everybody who great he is, and he "cleverly" seems to ignore vital parts in phrases stating otherwise. He always claims to be the greatest and brags all the time about his greatness, and takes it for granted that everybody would be a fan of his.

In Disgaea 2, he's the host of a travel show, but tries to put into into a kind of self-promotion, much the the chagrin of his director. He eventually also hosts a big arena fight and even the news. In the news he deems the "fact" that he is a superstar more important than what is actually happening in the world. In Disgaea 4 he's a prison warden of Hades tasked with guarding criminals who are sent there. Lateron he becomes subject of "the A-virus" which turns everybody into copies of Axel. In both episodes he is a very big idiot with little sense of reality, and highly annoying.

Zed - Wild Arms

Although in the mandatory parts of the game only fought two times, you will meet him a 3rd time, and although not fought there, he is terribly annoying there nonetheless. You can eventually even take him om as an optional boss near the end of the game, and in the revamp "Wild Arms - Alter Code F" he can even join your party as an optional character.

In Wild Arms, a group of Demons seek to take over Filgaia, and Zed is one of them. The four elites among these demons are called the Quarter Knights. Zed, has, to his chagrin, NEVER been allowed to be a knight. He desperately tries to prove himself before the Zeikfried, the leader of the Quarter Knights, only failing to do so. Although when you fight him in battle, he proves to be a better swordsman, than the low opinion of both the heroes and the demons imply, however due to his extremely arrogant attitude, you simply cannot take him seriously.

Eventually Zed will fall in love with the only survivor of the attack of the town of Saint Centour. A blind girl named Aura (although her name is only revealed in Alter Code F). Being blind Aura could not see he was a demon and (as not uncommon for blind people) she could "see through" Zed's arrogant façade and take him for what he truly is. An insecure caring boy. She is also the reason why Zed will in Alter Code F decide to join your group, betraying his fellow demons in the process.

Liz & Ard - Wild Arms 2

Liz & Ard (in the Japanese version of the game called "Toka & Ge") are two lizardian scientists working for the terrorist group Odessa. Liz (the green one) is actually the scientist and Ard (the brown one) is merely an assistant. Ard is only able to say "Ard ard ard", however Liz appears always able to understand what he is saying, or at least he pretends so, as the heroes do quite often doubt his translations are correct.

Liz always speaks very highly of himself and claims to be a real asset to Odessa (well it is strongly implied that the members of Odessa look down on these two, but they could still use their help) and Liz is quite often very insulting to the group. In the Japanese version of the game (unfortunately this got a bit list due to the horrible English translation of the game) Liz pretends to be a poet and speaks always in poetic form. He's kind of abusive to Ard and seems to care little for his well-being. In combat he's also very reckless and throws bombs that do not only hurt you, but himself and Ard as well. Although he has created wonderful things, most of what he says is rubbish, and the playable characters are really not sure whether to despise these two or to pity them.

Romero & Dario - Wild Arms 3

Now these two are a bit different as these two are not arrogant. In fact they are very insecure and completely rely on their leader Janus Cascade (guy in the middle).

Romero (blonde guy on the left) often bluntly speaks his mind only to be punched by Janus for that, and Dario is just a complete idiot. They do dare to act big as long as Janus is around. Without him they'll show their true colors and act like first rate cowards always pissing their pants in fear.

Janus Cascade - Wild Arms 3

Although less idiotic than his two assistants, Janus still belongs on this list, as he is overconfident, and manages to annoy the crap out of you. Janus will eventually abandon Romero and Dario (and since they are true idiots they got their own spot on this list) and get on demonic features. Janus is the reason for worry to the Prophets, the trio of antagonists who hired him originally, and the heroes despise him. The reason why he makes it most of all on this list is because it is eventually revealed he was used by the prophets and that he fell in their trap with open eyes.

NOTICE: A person from Wild Arms 3 I was in doubt about was Maya Schödinger, however annoying (and arrogant) as she is, she is not an idiot, and when the time comes she turns out to be extremely intelligent and she even seems to feel kind of love (not in a romantic sense) towards Virginia, the game's main protagonist, but she has a rather rude way of expressing herself, and appears afraid that Virginia will get herself hurt, as Virginia clearly underestimated the cruelty of the outside world, but Virginia appears stronger than Maya originally thought, and Maya will even show respect. Maya even turns out pretty wise at some moment. So despite her being annoying and arrogant, she does not make this list, but I had to mention her, before some people say that I forgot about her, as I did not.

Balio & Sunder - Breath of Fire III

Balio (right) and Sunder's place in this list may be a bit debatable, as unlike most of the others, they do seem to be held in high regard and are even quite formidable opponents too and a long time after you finally killed them their leader will even appear as a boss and appears to be willing to avenge them.

Still they fit most of the other points in my description. They are extremely arrogant and deem themselves brave and strong, while their strength is only physical as mentally they are weak and when the going gets tough they do show themselves as true cowards. Although Balio is the smarter one, and Sunder more the aggressive one, the two of them are still not very bright, although they think they are very clever.

Balio and Sunder's most important deed in the story of Breath of Fire III is actually their first appearance. When Ryu, Rei and Teepo steal from mayor McNeil, these two burn down their house in revenge and try to kill the trio. Ryu is thought to be the only survivor, and this is the moment the game is truly begun as Ryu's quest has then begun. On their second meeting Sunder tries to kill Ryu only to find out that Ryu is actually a dragon, the keypoint of the entire story. These two get later interested in kidnapping Nina, since as a princess she must be worth a lot of money, but as you manage to stay out of their hands they get desperate and become really really annoying. In the end they are the ones you bring you in contact with Garr (Garland in the Japanese version), in which they unwittingly did a very crucial thing for the story (since Garr knows more about the dragons, of which Ryu is one), but also unwittingly signed their own death sentence.

When you finally killed them you will really think FINALLY!

Kahn - Breath of Fire IV

Kahn is the bodyguard of the manillo merchant called Marlok. When you want to meet with Marlok he tries to beat you up, only to be embarrassed in the process. After that he gets obsessed with getting even with you and trains under various masters in order to be able to beat you at last, only to be embarrassed again and again. Eventually you can find him as a master and in stead of admitting you are stronger than him, he pretends you admire him, and decides to teach you his fighting techniques, based on how many battles you won during the course of the game.

Songi - Legend of Legaia

Now Songi may also be a debatable one. Songi is a warrior monk but he does not really have a good feelings for the believes and philosophy his monk order stands for. He's been regarded by fellow monk Gala (playable character) as a friend, but the truth is that Songi resents him, as Gala is by far more talented than him and manages to get the higher ranks and titles the order has. Where Gala merely follows the teachings of the order, Songi is merely an egocentric fool with an unsatisfying lust for power. He gains a special creature called a ra-seru and undergoes a symbioses with it in order to be more powerful and even teams up with your enemies in order to work himself up, although it's unclear how your enemies think of him, it is clear he has no respect whatsoever for them and follows his own agenda.

During the game he is very annoying. He always pops up at inappropriate moments, cannot pronounce any sentence without being cynical, sarcastic or at least very extremely insulting. "Thank you for always thinking about me, members of the moron brigade!" His sadistic smirk will make you hate him even more, and for a long time he keeps getting away with his sadistic acts. And therefore I still added him to this list.

Elena - Final Fantasy VII

"You talk too much, Elena"
One of the few females on this list. Elena is a member of the Turks, a kind of security and investigation unit within Shinra inc. the company you right against, during most of the game. Although as a boss you'll only fight her once, and that fight can even be skipped, making her technically an optional boss, however in the mandatory parts of the game she'll pop up a lot. Elena is an over-achiever and always jumps into stuff immediately when she thinks it has to be done, this much to the annoyance of Reno and Rude, her co-workers. She behaves very self-important and often criticizes her co-works for being lazy, which is basically an error of her own, due to her lack of experience as a Turks. She is also pretty hypocrite, shown that she is annoyed by the fact that Rude and Reno appear to have sexual desires for Tifa and Aeris, and make no attempt to hide it and even discuss it openly, seeing them as a bit sexist, while she actually does the same as she openly speaks of her own feelings towards her fellow Turks Tseng. Elena is also a bit of a blabbermouth making her often reveal top secret matters unwittingly. Just like the other idiots she undergoes some embarrassing moments, only to come back later.

Heidegger - Final Fantasy VII

Well, I couldn't leave him out, now could I? Heidegger works for Shinra, just like Elena, and is head of the military department of Shinra. Heidegger has an extremely boosted ego, and not to mention a very short fuse. Whenever he gets scolded by the Rufus, the president of Shinra, he goes berserk and beats up one or more of the soldiers in order to vent his frustrations. His trademark laugh "Ghyaaahahahaha" annoys the president, which is another reason for him to go berserk.

His partner in crime is Scarlet, a very evil idiotic woman.

I was in doubt about Heidegger, since he confronts the party pretty little, still I think he's an idiot, and he annoyed me enough to make this list.

Scarlett - Final Fantasy VII

She's very extremely annoying, but she is rather a thinking type and seems by far more capable of getting things done properly. Yet, her behavior is rude, and she does seem to lack manners. Her trademark laugh "Kyahahahaha" and the slap-face-duel with Tifa, did really turn her into an idiot. She's pretty much of a sadist and appears not only to enjoy other people's pain and suffering, but their deaths as well. She's absolutely despicable. Although only met in combat once (indirectly as you fight a robot she controls with her partner in crime Heidegger), she pops up a lot in the game, and we all hate her with passion.

Nana, Saki & Mio - Grandia

Let's come with this idiot trio. Now strictly speaking Mio is the only intelligent one of these three, but she does make this trio complete, after all. Nana (purple haired), Saki (short red hair) and Mio (green hair and glasses) are sergeants of a private army called The Garlyle Forces, and this army rivals the game's protagonist Justin and his friends. Although you only fight them twice in the game, they'll be there to annoy you quite a long time. Nana and Saki are both the brainless ones... Not really interested in what the army stands for, and more interested in getting the affection of the handsome colonel Mullen. They both have a very short fuse and are very easily offended. Mio is the bright one, and although also more interested in colonel Mullen, she actually does some thinking work, making her the most dangerous girl to deal with. Mio's trademark is that she always prefixes her most important sentences with "According to my calculations" (and both times she's defeated in combat she moans that she must have miscalculated). They are very insulting to Justin and friends, rising in anger about the smallest things and care for nothing but their own careers. Not to mention how they loathe Lt. Leen, who is not only higher in rank, but at their beloved colonel's side, and this is pure jealousy, as they suspect Mullen and Leen to love each other (which actually turns out to be true). Justin however gets the better of them most of the time, leading to very embarrassing moments, however it only makes them more arrogant and more insulting. Many Grandia fans I've spoken call these three: The Three Stooges.

White Knight Leo - Lunar: Eternal Blue

Yeah, this one is also debatable, but still I decided to add him.

"Leo changes as his mind as much as I change socks, which is to say... NEVER" (funny detail, Ronfar, the one who says this, never wears socks at all).

Leo serves the goddess Althena (or so he thinks, as she turns out to be a fraud), and is sent to kill "Lucia the Destroyer". It is very soon clear that Lucia is not a destroyer at all, but Leo is not willing to listen to reason and keeps annoying the crap out of you for a large portion of the game, and that is why I still added him. Now you will during this stage of the game only face him once as a boss and always lose that fight, he gives you a very high-load of trouble, and his pride simply doesn't allow him to even consider he might be serving a criminal in stead of the goddess. Although you only fight him once during this time, your encounters with him do often end up in total embarrassment for him and his crew, and that's why he still earned a spot on this list.

Unlike the other idiots in this list though, Leo will accept the truth once the evidence is smeared so much in his face that he can no longer deny it. In order to make it up for his mistakes he will help you first as a kind of superhero called "Mystere the defender of justice" (even joining the party under this persona). He later fights the main character Hiro again in order to "kill White Knight Leo", so he's free of the chains of his former employer, and even gives you the Dragonship Destiny so you can travel more freely over the world map. Near the end of the game he'll even join the party permanently so you can beat the final boss together with him. This is where his spot on this list may become a bit dubious, I admit... still before he redeems himself, he definitely fills the bill.

Tony & Renée - Mana Khemia

Tony and Renée are two students in higher year than you when you are studying alchemy at the Al Revis academy. They are two bullies who annoy the crap out of you on several accounts of the game, and Tony in particular often goes too far in his enthosiasm to sabotage your every move. Renée on the other hand is a more lazy person and more worried about her fingernails than completing the tasks given to her. Tony acts a a real annoying idiot and is extremely arrogant and seems to hold a grudge against Flay, one of your playable characters. He appears to enjoy being evil (where Renée only appears to be a pain in the butt, because she has to be), and also appears to take a fair share in insulting the group.

Now the relationship between Tony & Renée is a bit of a mystery as nobody knows if they are actually lovers or merely friends. In Mana Khemia 2, Tony comes back but no longer as an enemy, but as one of the teachers, and although a lazy bum, and still holding a grudge against Flay who also became a teacher, he is generally on your side then. In Mana Khemia 2 a mention of Tony's wife is made, but her name is never mentioned, so it's unclear if Renée is Tony's wife or that he eventually married an other woman.

It is eventually revealed that Tony is not entirely acting on his own accord when he sabotages your group. One of the teachers appears to loathe main character Vayne (for reasons I will not tell you here), and seems to instruct Tony and Renée in secret to do their sabotaging stuff. I can note though that Tony often goes further than the instructions go. In the end Tony is in Mana Khemia a person you love to hate. His Mana Khemia 2 version is a lot friendlier, but still not really a kind of man I like.

Harry McDummy - The Fairy Tale

Harry is an idiot of my own design and is seen in my own game. Harry's story is a bitter one. Harry tries hard to be a warrior, but failed his exams so much the examiners lost track of counting. His former best friend Jake Werrington is a natural when it comes to the ways of the sword, and this caused Harry to get jealous.

When Jake falls in love with Marrilona, a Fairy, and therefore an enemy, Harry deems Jake a traitor and will try to get his honor by bringing Jake to justice (read: killing him, as treason is punishable by death), completely unable to accept that traitor or not, Jake is by far a superior swordsman. Even when peace with the Fairies appears to be in sight, Harry is unable to accept his wrongdoing.

During his hunt for glory he becomes really insulting towards Jake and his remarks towards Marrilona may even be misogynist at best. These are just the marks of somebody who simply cannot accept things the way they are.

Allow me to reveal that Harry and Jake never reconciled. Although Harry did come to terms with that he was wrong, once he gained wisdom with age, he was too embarrassed to see Jake in the eye ever again.

Sheck-Lock - The Secrets of Dyrt (original, remake)

Sheck-Lock is the self-proclaimed "king of crime". Although according to Seelah Gandra the price on his head was no more than a firm handshake, implying that he was not so much of a king of crime as he himself believes. He always gets away if you blink, which you inevitable do eventually.

Sheck-Lock is a a bit of a tribute to my childhood. Like many boys I did set up many adventures with my friends, and Sheck-Lock was our villain and not a very successful one and the story always ended with him being thrown into a pool of cow shit. This cow shit was not taken into the game, however Sheck-Lock does play a role in my novel "De Wraak van Yuleria" (Yuleria's revenge) in which he bets his crystal sword under it that Scyndi (Seelah Gandra) cannot defeat him in a duel. Because Scyndi refused to kill him, but did make him end up in a pool of cow shit in stead, Sheck-Lock does not accept his defeat and deems Scyndi who claims his crystal sword after the fight merely a thief. However a magic crystal sword always returns to the hand of its true master, and since the crystal sword does after the fight always return to Scyndi's hands it appears the sword itself does recognize Scyndi as the victor and thus as its new master.

Where Harry does have a kind of tragic back-story, Sheck-Lock was only meant to be an idiot and as a bit of personal nostalgia.

Now lastly there are two characters who may not really fit in this list as they are not exactly your opponents. But idiots nonetheless. So they do not fit this list exactly, but they do fill a few of the requirements.

First of all Nash. And Nash is not just any idiot. Nash is Nash. Nash is a playable character in Lunar Silver Star Story. He has a very overinflated ego and as a magician he feels himself superior of the non-magic people he simply deems as "peasants". When his love interest Mia is around, he becomes even more of an idiot. And a very annoying one at that.

Second Poe, a Fairy who is a playable character in Atelier Iris 2. He flirts with anybody who falls under the label "girl", but is not really successful in winning the girls over (showing that girls are not idiots), and once he does win a girl's heart, Poe is in for a lot of trouble. He deems himself a superstar and seems to have a kind of superhero complex calling himself "Flash Bang Poe the Gun Mana". He appears to be in love with Viese, and although Viese is a very sweet girl who hardly judges anybody, it is hinted that even she doesn't take him seriously. His stupid remarks get annoying very soon, and his arrogance makes me wanna puke. He does however show a few bright moments, however he spoils those himself by being arrogant about those.