They’re everywhere. Every console has them. Many RPG’s have them. Yes, I’m talking about long haired villains.

Possibly the most notorious of these is the one-winged angel himself, Sephiroth.
He might be the most well known, but he is definitely not the only one.
Is long hair inherently frightening? Is it associated with bad people?

Maybe the symbolism goes back to the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson had his strength from his long hair, and when it was cut, lost all his power. Or maybe it goes back to ancient Spartan warriors, who wore their hair long to add beauty to pretty faces and terror to ugly ones. Somehow the image of long hair, which generally means femininity and gentleness becomes the complete opposite when the bad guys wear it.

And we love it. Maybe the Spartans had the right idea - bad guys look even more badass with their long flowing hair whipping in the wind behind them… and there is always wind. Maybe it’s part of being an evil villain. You have a personal vortex surrounding you that ensures your hair is always striking a dramatic pose.

We all know that Sephiroth is beyond awesome, in no small part thanks to his hair. But what about all those others? Does long hair help or hurt a bad guy’s image? You be the judge.

Here we have a prime example of the magically floating long hair. Evil (or is he?) lord of the fiends Magus of Chrono Trigger keeps his long silky hair slicked back in a ‘do that makes me think of vampires. Like Sephy’s, Magus’ hair is naturally white. Why is that, I wonder? Then again, being a villain does take a lot out of you. They must age fast.

Does the do help or hinder? I think it helps. It goes well with the cloak, which, if you’ll notice, is billowing in a slightly different direction from the hair (further proving my hypothesis about that wind vortex thing).

Dracula Vlad Tempes - now there’s someone who knows how to dress. How elegant. How classy. How fitting for someone who’s such a villainous villain that his influence extends over multiple deaths. And the hair! Once again, we see the long white hair. But Dracula wants nothing to do with the wind-swept long silky locks, and instead opts for a style that goes well with the rest of his look. It’s more realistic, and more… elegant than that of Magus or Sephiroth. It fits with the time period. And the color is almost definitely due to age this time around - when you live over 900 years, you start to show some wear and tear, regardless of how elegant you are.

Help or hinder? Definitely helps. Dracula doesn’t over-do it, and it completes his look perfectly.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Long cape? Check. Smug smirk? Check. Long white hair that looks oh-so-soft to the touch? Check, check, and triple check. Kingdom Heart’s Ansem’s hair is a mix between Sephiroth’s and Magus’, with a bit of Square Enix’ trademark gravity-defying hair gel. Ansem is a power-hungry and knowledge-seeking baddie who will stop at nothing to get there. He is also a very pretty boy.

Help or hinder? Honestly… I can’t decide. On one hand, Ansem’s hair is similar to Sephiroth’s, and should, by definition, be awesome. On the other hand, Ansem overall reminds me of LOTR’s Legolas. Hmm.

Ok, I promise to vary hair colors after this guy. But Final Fantasy IX is special to me because it was the first FF game I ever (almost) finished. Now that I look back at FF9’s main bad guy Kuja, I have to wonder about him… I guess Square Enix figured that since the long white hair worked for Sephiroth, it will be a hit with anyone else. And with that went to town on the rest of his design. He is wearing a cup, clown shoes, and a belly shirt. And is that hair or a feather sticking up out of his head?

Help or hinder? It hinders, but even a change of haircut won’t help Kuja. He needs a complete makeover. And even then… really, I should be able to tell if you’re a guy or a girl. Being a diabolical villain is no excuse.

I can’t possibly come up with a better description of Cats from Zero Wing than what RPGClassics has http://maccshq.rpgclassics.com/farts/cast1.shtml : Cats is most commonly known for his usage of the line “All your base are belong to us”. Not much is known about him except that he’s the leader of an alien race bent on making all base belong to them. Whatever that means. He has a severe speech disorder, and can spread this disorder to those around him at will. Is also able to send out holographic images of himself which somehow cause everyone within a five mile radius to be temporarily affected by his speech problem.

You can’t tell from that picture, but his hair stands up on end. Completely.

This hair doesn’t wave with the wind… pfft wind? A hurricane couldn’t move that thing. I wonder how much hair gel this guy uses. Or wait, he’s an alien, so maybe it’s an alien thing.

Help or Hinder? No. Just… no.

“Hey, what’s a girl doing on the list? Wait a second. *Inspects closer* Oh.”

Ygdrassil of Tales of Symphonia happens to be a hero and a villain all bundled into one beautiful, feminine form. He really, honestly, thinks he’s saving the world. Maybe this is why he looks like such a young pretty girl - it might be symbolic of the fragile and childlike state of mind he has. His hair isn’t overly dramatic (in fact, it’s very similar to how I wear my hair). And while it’s not white, it is light (as are the clothes he’s wearing… white, pure, evil seems to be the theme here).

Help or Hinder? It doesn’t help him look like a villain, or badass, or anything of that sort. But it makes him sooooo pretty.

I don’t know about you, but this list has made me sick of the white-haired pretty boy. Here’s to the tall, dark, and handsome. And dangerous. I’d be bitter too if I had to feed off my parents’ blood to survive, which is exactly what happens to Metal Gear Solid’s Vamp when he’s just a child. That’s got to leave a mark. His hair, unlike any of the villains we’ve seen so far, is dark.. oh wait, I’m looking at the wrong hair. In any case, it’s somewhat ironic that the only bad guy here who is the complete opposite of feminine despite his long locks, is also the one bisexual on the list. This guy looks like the dream of any woman who is into the “dangerous” kind, and the long hair completes the look.

Help or Hinder? Helps oh so very much.

And almost any other Final Fantasy villain (Xande, Hojo, Emperor Mateus, Seymore Guado, Jecht, etc etc you get the point).

Only left out because there were way too many in the straight white hair category.