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Whilst huge titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 promise to bring the simple thrills of blasting through evil enemies this year, fans might be wishing for antagonists that are a little more relatable as well. Some of the best video game franchises in the world have featured morally gray villains but it takes a special title to go even further and have one that is correct from the very start.
From Far Cry 5 to Red Dead Redemption, some of the best games ever made have managed to pull off this trick. Redditors have provided their favorite examples of villains who had a point all along.
Logan (Fable III)
Though it’s impossible to defend the extent of Logan’s cruelty as ruler of Albion, forcing the hero to sacrifice either their love interest or a group of protesters in the first decision of the game, Redditor Miss_Sophia thinks there’s an argument to be made in the king’s favor. They explain that “the premise is that he is cruel and hateful but it turns out he wants to do whatever it takes to destroy an evil army.”
Indeed, when the player first learns about Logan’s iron rule, they aren’t aware that an outside threat is brewing that threatens to exterminate all life in Albion, one that’s hanging over Logan’s head as he’s forced to lead Albion to confront it. It’s clear he would have failed regardless though, meaning the player is also correct to lead a revolution against him.
King Dedede (Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land)
Players might not have expected much moral complexity from a villain in a series that’s more about fun platforming than great story-telling but Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land‘s twist does redeem its central antagonist. Kirby spends much of the game undoing Dedede’s plot to destroy the Star Rod and prevent dreams but it becomes clear when Kirby defeats him that something isn’t right.
Redditor TouhouWitch explains that Dedede was “trying to keep everyone safe” and by assembling the star rod again, Kirby inadvertently allowed Nightmare to re-emerge and attack. The revelation that he was a good guy all along in that game is part of the reason King Dedede is arguably Kirby’s best rival.
Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5)
The Far Cry franchise is known for compelling antagonists and, even though Far Cry 5 is far from the strongest game in the series, its villain is a great example. Throughout the game, Joseph Seed is made to look like a madman trying to brainwash an entire Montana County to expand his militaristic doomsday cult.
Redditor blitherblather425 says the “ending blew my mind” because of how it revealed the truth about Seed. With society collapsing amid nuclear war if the player chooses to fight him at the end, it turns out that, despite the horror of his methods, Joseph was entirely right about the world’s impending doom.
Dutch Van Der Linde (Red Dead Redemption)
Though Dutch’s more prominent role in Red Dead Redemption 2 means that many players now think of him in a positive light anyway, it’s in Red Dead Redemption that he makes for an incredible video game villain. In the first game, Dutch forms a new gang comprised of people who share his hatred of the government when John is tasked with taking him down.
Redditor Robjr83 points out that Dutch was entirely right for not liking the government and especially in telling John “the bureaucrats will always make up monsters to justify their jobs.” Sure enough, it was not long after that the government went back on their end of the deal and betrayed John, proving Dutch absolutely right.
The Master (Fallout)
Whilst it’s easy to see The Master as a cartoon villain initially, with his terrifying appearance, intimidating way of talking, and his plan to achieve world peace with his legion of mutants, fans know there’s a lot more to it than that. Redditor Steadfastcounts points out that he only developed this plan because he “was afraid that we wouldn’t last in the wasteland.”
Given how dangerous the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is, it’s easy to see why he thought ordinary humans wouldn’t make it and decided something drastic had to be done. Of course, in the ending where The Master learns it was all for nothing anyway, even he acknowledges that he went way too far for his new vision of the world.
Magus (Chrono Trigger)
To this day, Chrono Trigger is still considered one of the best turn-based RPGs ever made and a big part of that is the game’s incredibly well-written characters which include the minor antagonist Magus. An immensely powerful being amassing an army of demons, it’s easy to assume Magus is a simple villain.
However, as Redditor GeminiK points out, his entire plot had the aim “to enact revenge on Lavos,” the game’s world-ending ultimate villain that also destroyed Magus’ family. Though it’s unlikely he would have had anywhere near enough power to take out Lavos alone, it’s easy to see why Magus was angry at the protagonists for robbing him of his chance.
Helghast (Kill Zone)
Though the consensus is that there are no real good guys in the Kill Zone series, with both sides committing atrocities in the name of their civilizations, Redditor Kreissv doesn’t consider the antagonistic “Helghast” to be the blindly evil force they’re sometimes made out to be.
According to them, the ISA, whom the series’ hero works with against the Helghast, is worse and the Helghast are right to attack them. Whilst the first game centers on the Helghast invasion of Vekta, a rich, earth-like planet, the game also shows that the Helghast only settled on Helghan in the first place because they were exiled from Vekta to the harsh barren world.
Several Metal Gear villains are arguably right in the end but Redditor Astragar points to the first game’s Big Boss as perhaps the best example of this. Whilst the final confrontation reveals Big Boss to have been using his influence to attempt to form his own world superpower, they argue he did this “to avoid becoming a tool of politicians.”
Rather than acting purely out of self-interest, Big Boss had pure intentions of creating a world where soldiers didn’t have to be pawns for corrupt politicians to use how they liked. The fact that Big Boss went on to be a series protagonist demonstrates just how much fans ultimately came to relate to the character.
Pagan Min (Far Cry 4)
It’s rare to only realize a villain was right after they’re out of the picture but Far Cry 4 is a unique game. Though the player spends most of the game trying to topple Pagan Min’s tyrannical rule and install a new government in Kyrat, doing so ends in a far worse situation for the small fictional country.
That’s why one Redditor thinks he’s a great example of a villain who was right all along, even arguing that Min is just a “broken man attempting to bring some amount of stability” to Kyrat. On the other hand, the Golden Path rebels who the player can work with have a far worse vision for the country.
Kreia (Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith lords)
Whilst many have questioned the traditional good/evil narrative of the Jedi and the Sith that exists throughout the Star Wars franchise, the second Knights Of The Old Republic makes its criticisms of this easy way of looking at things more overt. Redditor AG_Moore thinks Kreia is a great example of this, though she’s seen as a villain.
They argue that she was right to be disillusioned with the overly righteous Jedi and instead focus on “a far greater enemy lurking in the shadows.” Whilst the Jedi/Sith dynamic was distracting them, her place in between both meant she was the only one ready for this new threat.
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