Video Game Characters We Secretly Wish Would Turn Evil
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VOICE OVER: Riccardo Tucci
WRITTEN BY: Garrett Alden
Sometimes it's fun to see the good guys go rogue. These are the video game characters that we think would either make better villains, or just think it would be a lot of fun to see them turn evil for a game.
Video Game Characters We Secretly Wish Would Turn Evil
Turning a beloved character from hero to villain is a very tricky challenge, sometimes it’s a jaw dropping twist, other times it can piss off your entire fan base. Still, looking back and seeing how Jade in “Beyond Good & Evil 2” is now the villain, it got us thinking. In what other hero’s hearts; could the seeds of evil lie? Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’ll be looking at some video game characters we secretly wish would turn evil.
Evil for evil’s sake is kind of boring after all, and villains are usually better if we can understand or even sympathize with their motivations. So for this video; we’ll be examining some non-villainous characters from games we think could make excellent antagonists.
Toad
“Mario” series (1981-)
Let’s begin by looking at one of video gaming’s most innocuous characters: Toad, of the “Mario” series. Toad is Princess Peach’s perennial retainer in the Mushroom Kingdom and shares his name and appearance with the rest of his short statured species. While the cheerful, plucky attitude of the character may seem to preclude him from villainy, his happy disposition could be just a façade; hiding his deep seated resentment at the one he serves. After all – Peach isn’t a Toad, yet she rules the Mushroom Kingdom. We’d love to see Toad snap and maybe foment a rebellion against his non-fungus ruler. Plus, you can’t tell us you haven’t thought the little guy gets a little too much enjoyment out of lording things over everyone in “Mario Party.”
Miranda Lawson
“Mass Effect” series (2007-)
From cute and cuddly, let’s turn to a femme fatale. Miranda Lawson of the “Mass Effect” franchise has a definite element of danger about her, as she works for the shadowy Cerberus organization. However, although she believes in Cerberus’ mission to create human supremacy in the galaxy, depending on the route taken, she’s gradually won over to Shepard’s cause. Yet, it could just as easily have gone another way, with Miranda holding more closely to the goals of Cerberus and its mysterious and charismatic leader, the Illusive Man. Seeing Miranda use her considerable, ahem, ass-ets for more evil purposes and betraying Shepard could have made for a compelling narrative.
Raiden
“Metal Gear” series (1988-)
Speaking of characters with a dark side, the “Metal Gear” series has plenty of heroes with an edge. Our choice though has to go to Raiden. While this ninja began his time in the franchise as a relatively polarizing character, his recent redesign and solo game have turned him into a one-liner spouting, anti-hero badass. As much as his edginess makes for a more compelling hero, we think his quippy attitude and history as a child soldier could make for an entertaining and sympathetic villain. Also, despite how overwhelmingly cool the stuff you can pull off while playing as him is, we’re sure it would be absolutely diabolical to fight against. Admittedly this may also be a road to disaster, since Hideo Kojima is no longer attached to the Metal Gear series, but it’s still fun to speculate.
Atreus
“God of War” (2018)
Keeping things within families, let’s talk “God of War.” Kratos has enough rage and blood on his hands to be the villain of someone’s story, but for our money, the more interesting character to see go evil would be his son, Atreus. Introduced in the latest game in the series, Atreus acts as his father’s companion, while also learning more about his partial god heritage along the way. However, the latter causes Atreus to believe that his actions are justified because he’s a god. Although Kratos corrects him, we could easily see the boy returning to this idea in future games and coming to oppose his father. Plus, the fact that his mother’s people call him Loki is all kinds of foreshadowing to a turn towards the mischievous, at the very least.
Mei
“Overwatch” (2016)
While we’re on the subject of mischievous characters, Mei, or at least people who play as her, can be quite the irritants. Although she herself is adorable and arguably one of the nicest characters in “Overwatch,” Mei’s abilities, which are centered around ice, frequently prove frustrating to fight against. However we also have an idea for a motive should Blizzard decide to make a story mode: Because she’s incredibly conscious about climate change, she could end up going full Eco-Terrorist in order to save the world by wiping out the most careless people on the planet. Just like Thanos, she wouldn’t be entirely wrong either, it would raise some interesting morale dilemmas and make for an interesting storyline.
Luigi
“Mario” series (1981-)
First of all, No, we’re not talking about his brainwashed persona “Mr.L”, we’re talking villain by his own decision. Luigi is Mario’s little brother and, despite being taller than him, always finds himself in his more famous sibling’s shadow. The green glad Mario brother has been written off for decades by fans, the characters, and even his own company as a joke. All that resentment at being underestimated could surely boil over into a truly villainous turn. We’d love to see Luigi prove himself a serious threat by fighting against his brother, to show the world what he can really do.
Turning a beloved character from hero to villain is a very tricky challenge, sometimes it’s a jaw dropping twist, other times it can piss off your entire fan base. Still, looking back and seeing how Jade in “Beyond Good & Evil 2” is now the villain, it got us thinking. In what other hero’s hearts; could the seeds of evil lie? Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’ll be looking at some video game characters we secretly wish would turn evil.
Evil for evil’s sake is kind of boring after all, and villains are usually better if we can understand or even sympathize with their motivations. So for this video; we’ll be examining some non-villainous characters from games we think could make excellent antagonists.
Toad
“Mario” series (1981-)
Let’s begin by looking at one of video gaming’s most innocuous characters: Toad, of the “Mario” series. Toad is Princess Peach’s perennial retainer in the Mushroom Kingdom and shares his name and appearance with the rest of his short statured species. While the cheerful, plucky attitude of the character may seem to preclude him from villainy, his happy disposition could be just a façade; hiding his deep seated resentment at the one he serves. After all – Peach isn’t a Toad, yet she rules the Mushroom Kingdom. We’d love to see Toad snap and maybe foment a rebellion against his non-fungus ruler. Plus, you can’t tell us you haven’t thought the little guy gets a little too much enjoyment out of lording things over everyone in “Mario Party.”
Miranda Lawson
“Mass Effect” series (2007-)
From cute and cuddly, let’s turn to a femme fatale. Miranda Lawson of the “Mass Effect” franchise has a definite element of danger about her, as she works for the shadowy Cerberus organization. However, although she believes in Cerberus’ mission to create human supremacy in the galaxy, depending on the route taken, she’s gradually won over to Shepard’s cause. Yet, it could just as easily have gone another way, with Miranda holding more closely to the goals of Cerberus and its mysterious and charismatic leader, the Illusive Man. Seeing Miranda use her considerable, ahem, ass-ets for more evil purposes and betraying Shepard could have made for a compelling narrative.
Raiden
“Metal Gear” series (1988-)
Speaking of characters with a dark side, the “Metal Gear” series has plenty of heroes with an edge. Our choice though has to go to Raiden. While this ninja began his time in the franchise as a relatively polarizing character, his recent redesign and solo game have turned him into a one-liner spouting, anti-hero badass. As much as his edginess makes for a more compelling hero, we think his quippy attitude and history as a child soldier could make for an entertaining and sympathetic villain. Also, despite how overwhelmingly cool the stuff you can pull off while playing as him is, we’re sure it would be absolutely diabolical to fight against. Admittedly this may also be a road to disaster, since Hideo Kojima is no longer attached to the Metal Gear series, but it’s still fun to speculate.
Atreus
“God of War” (2018)
Keeping things within families, let’s talk “God of War.” Kratos has enough rage and blood on his hands to be the villain of someone’s story, but for our money, the more interesting character to see go evil would be his son, Atreus. Introduced in the latest game in the series, Atreus acts as his father’s companion, while also learning more about his partial god heritage along the way. However, the latter causes Atreus to believe that his actions are justified because he’s a god. Although Kratos corrects him, we could easily see the boy returning to this idea in future games and coming to oppose his father. Plus, the fact that his mother’s people call him Loki is all kinds of foreshadowing to a turn towards the mischievous, at the very least.
Mei
“Overwatch” (2016)
While we’re on the subject of mischievous characters, Mei, or at least people who play as her, can be quite the irritants. Although she herself is adorable and arguably one of the nicest characters in “Overwatch,” Mei’s abilities, which are centered around ice, frequently prove frustrating to fight against. However we also have an idea for a motive should Blizzard decide to make a story mode: Because she’s incredibly conscious about climate change, she could end up going full Eco-Terrorist in order to save the world by wiping out the most careless people on the planet. Just like Thanos, she wouldn’t be entirely wrong either, it would raise some interesting morale dilemmas and make for an interesting storyline.
Luigi
“Mario” series (1981-)
First of all, No, we’re not talking about his brainwashed persona “Mr.L”, we’re talking villain by his own decision. Luigi is Mario’s little brother and, despite being taller than him, always finds himself in his more famous sibling’s shadow. The green glad Mario brother has been written off for decades by fans, the characters, and even his own company as a joke. All that resentment at being underestimated could surely boil over into a truly villainous turn. We’d love to see Luigi prove himself a serious threat by fighting against his brother, to show the world what he can really do.
