Over the years Fire Emblem has created numerous enemies for you to slay during the course of each game.  While most of these enemies are one off bosses that are very forgettable, a few of these enemies appear for a majority of the game and manage to create a terrifying impression either.  This is a list of the five most intimidating antagonists, now I say antagonist because some of these characters wind up as allies at one point or another and there will be spoilers.

5. Nergal

The main enemy of Fire Emblem for the game boy advanced, Nergal manages to create an army of artificially made warriors and powerful mercenaries in order to achieve his goal of summoning dragons.  Throughout the game we see Nergal very sparingly but what makes him so intimidating is the fact that when you do face off against him he summons recreations of several former bosses to go up against and you have to defeat each one of them before getting to Nergal.  Of course seeing how someone can bring back several bosses that gave you trouble can naturally make you worry about how powerful Nergal is.  As you defeat boss after boss you keep pondering his power and he becomes more and more intimidating with each passing moment.

4. Rudolf

Rudolf is a huge enemy of Fire Emblem Echos: Shadows of Valentia and what makes him so intimidating is his first impression.  Rudolf storms into the throne of the Goddess Mila and stabs the god slaying sword Falchion down on the ground to show his ill intent.  Mila unleashes waves of power in a fit of anger which affect Rudolf’s men but Rudolf himself remained unmovable by this flaunt of power.  We later find out that Rudolf managed to win the fight which only made him seem even more intimidating because you realize you have to fight someone who literally slayed a god.

3. Takumi

An ally in Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations and Birthright; however, he is a terrifying foe in Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.  He keeps appearing to fight your party and shows tremendous hatred with each encounter.  You feel this hatred with every word he speaks which alone can be scary; however, he takes things to a whole new level when you see him jump off a building after facing off with your party only to have his body possessed by another enemy.  This new Takumi comes back, seemingly from the dead, to be the final boss of Conquest in a pose that looks like he’s about to twist his head like the poltergeist.  In additional to all of this he is also one of the more powerful foes as he summons a clone of himself to dual strike with.

2. Walhart

Walhart from Fire Emblem: Awakening already comes with the terrifying nickname of conqueror.  You first hear of him after he’s already conquered several different nations.  When your party sends Basilio to slow him down, Basilio sends an army only to find out Walhart defeated them all by himself and then wipped the floor with Basilio, seemingly killing him. This one man army is huge, war driven, intense and comes with a terrifying voice.  It’s a relief that he can join your party at a later point in time. It’s better to have this guy as an ally instead of an enemy.

1. Black Knight

The Black Knight from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.  In his first appearance in Path of Radiance he wipes the floor with Ike’s father who was seen as a force of unspeakable power and that power was reaffirmed several times before his death at the hands of the Black Knight.  Once you realize someone against you is much stronger you are instantly afraid.  When he appears later on a random map your only option is to just run from him and hope you don’t get close.  When you do fight him one on one with Ike he is nearly impossible to defeat and the building falls on him, seemingly killing him.  He then appears in Radiant Dawn to claim he held back this whole time and is still impossible to beat for a majority of the game.  When you do have your final fight with him you have to find a space that gives Ike more defense or you will still be outmatched.