Arguably the most impactful of the series’ villains has been Far Cry 3’s Vaas Montenegro. Vaas was featured heavily in the game’s marketing despite not being the game’s primary antagonist, and he quickly became popular following its release thanks to his powerful speeches, charisma, and interactions with the player throughout the game. Vaas’ popularity has maintained so much so that he is even being featured in Far Cry 6’s DLC alongside more recent characters Pagan Min and Joseph Seed. The iconic nature of Vaas has also led fans to compare new antagonists in the series to him, and that is no different when it comes to Anton Castillo.
RELATED: Far Cry 6 Characters Are Becoming UNO DLC
What Made Vaas so Memorable
The mohawked Vaas sitting on a sandy beach with two pistols next to the protruding head of a buried man, with corpses hanging from trees behind him, has become an iconic piece of Far Cry imagery. As effective as the composition of the image is, however, it has only achieved its staying power because of the massive impact Vaas left on players. The psychopathic pirate has very close encounters with players throughout Far Cry 3, which gave the game’s writing team a lot of opportunities to develop him as a character and madman. One major way this was achieved was through Vaas’ monologues and speeches, especially his iconic talk about the definition of insanity.
These speeches were great encapsulations of what the character represented and how he functioned, allowing the player to understand what they were up against without him always needing to be around throughout the playthrough. Vaas was also made memorable by how unique many of those encounters were, especially the player’s final fight with the villain, which sees them fighting in a room loaded with TVs while on a psychedelic drug trip. Played by Michael Mando, the performances of the character’s monologues and the final scene are chilling, and are made even more memorable by how chaotic and difficult to understand Vaas’ insanity really is. This helped Vaas become firmly lodged in the minds of players, even though he isn’t actually in Far Cry 3 for as long as many would expect.
How Anton’s Personality Compares to Vaas'
One of the biggest differences between Anton Castillo and Vaas Montenegro right off the bat is their personalities. Vaas’ personality is all about chaos, violence, Machiavellian philosophy, insanity, and unpredictable brutality. Anytime the player is confronted by him, there is no way of knowing what he will do next. He could free the player for the fun of it, kill one of his own men out of anger, or simply try to take down the player in a contrived and theatrical way. This makes it seem possible for Vaas to do anything, even survive certain death, and helps his already engaging performance have just a bit more weight to it.
RELATED: Viral Video Shows Dog’s Hilarious and Heartbreaking Reaction to Far Cry 6
In contrast, Anton is very reserved and tactical. He is determined to return the island of Yara to its former glory and sees himself as the only one who can do it. Where Vaas was just a madman following haphazard impulses, Anton is a true leader who is patriotic enough to sacrifice and harm his own people if he believes it serves the great good. The despicable actions that Anton carries out throughout Far Cry 6 are also much more calculated than Vaas’ actions. Each serves a purpose, sends a message, or has a clear motivation behind it that makes the character feel more understandable. While this can make Anton feel like a more realistic villain, in the long run, it does also contribute to him not having as big of an impact as Vaas did.
Why Anton Doesn’t Live Up to Vaas’ Legacy
Anton’s personality is a very different take on a psychopathic villain, and it is one that is unfortunately not as successful as Vaas’ unhinged mania. Throughout Far Cry 6, most of the scenes that players see him in revolve around him trying to groom his son Diego to take his place. The targeted nature of these scenes makes Anton’s actions seem too organized to be as frightening as the things Vaas does, while also feeling pretty familiar with what fans had already seen from Pagan Min in Far Cry 4. Vaas was a surprising and fresh new addition to the series, but Anton’s presentation comes off as slightly derivative.
Far Cry 6 also hinders Anton’s impact on the player by not having them interact with one another much at all. Until the end of the game, players only see Anton through cutscenes that their character Dani isn’t actually present for. The two characters hardly interact with one another until the finale, making Anton feel absent rather than a constant threat for players to fear or avoid. Anton’s lack of presence throughout the game has been voiced frequently in Far Cry 6’s reviews and seems to be one of the biggest complaints that fans and critics have about the game, as it weakens the character significantly.
It is a bit disappointing that none of Far Cry’s villains have been able to live up to Vaas, but it also speaks to the tremendous quality of Far Cry 3 and its writing. It will be very interesting to see where villains go in Far Cry’s future, especially with recent teases that point towards Vaas’ return. Hopefully, the series will be able to continue giving players memorable villains to fight against in the future.
Far Cry 6 is available now on Luna, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors Are Similarly Predictable Sequels
