History DesignatedVillain / VideoGames

* [[UsefulNotes/AlfredTheGreat King Aelfred the Great]] in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' has been marketed as the antagonist of the game since he opposes the Viking invasions of England which are depicted as not just outright raids but simple migrations to escape the violence and chaos engulfing Scandinavia. [[spoiler:This was actually a case of MisaimedMarketing as Aelfred in-game not only opposes the Order of the Ancients despite being a Grand Maegester but he has no problem working with Eivor to expel the last vestiges of the group from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. It was very much intentional by the developers to show that neither the Saxons nor Vikings are all that good or evil]].

* King Dedede is the official antagonist of the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series, but InNameOnly (in the games, at least). He's a greedy jerk with a grudge against Kirby, but the only game in which he does anything truly villainous is the first, ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand''[[note]]he steals all of Dream Land's food and locks it in his castle[[/note]]. In the second, ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', he does break the Star Rod into pieces and stop everyone from having dreams, [[spoiler:but this was to protect Dream Land by stopping the real villain, Nightmare, from invading]]. From then on, all he ever does is [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2 get]] [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3 brainwashed]] ([[VideoGame/KirbyCanvasCurse or]] [[VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot impersonated]]) [[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards by the]] [[VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn real]] [[VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe villain]], [[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad get falsely accused by Kirby]], [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar act as a harmless rival to Kirby]], [[VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack defend his property from Kirby]], or ''[[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards acti]][[VideoGame/KirbyCanvasCurse vely]] [[VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn fight]] [[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand on]] [[VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe Kirby's]] [[VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies side]]''. ([[spoiler:The second and last of those apply]] in the Subspace Emissary mode of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''.)

* While ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'''s Carter Blake is a {{Jerkass}} RabidCop who has no business being on the force, calling him "psychopathic", as Jayden does, is a tad extreme. He at least seems to ''mean'' well ("The only thing I'm interested in is saving that kid's life!"), and the conclusions he comes to aren't unreasonable. But, ends don't justify means.

* The Enclave in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' can come across this way, especially to people unfamiliar with them from ''VideoGame/Fallout2''. True, they [[spoiler:hijack Project Purity]] and their leader's plan is pretty horrific when you learn of it. But the subordinates of the Enclave seem more level headed in comparison and more interested in governing the Wasteland rather than destroying it. And considering the Wasteland is a pretty [[CrapsackWorld horrible place to live]] what with the wandering gangs, super mutants, and poor living conditions, and they have by far the most advanced technology available to enforce order albeit with brutal tactics, the player may find himself wishing there was an option to side with them rather than treating them as AlwaysChaoticEvil. It gets even more clear if you foil President Eden's plot, at which point the Enclave's plan is simply to turn on the water purifier - something everyone wants to do anyway.

* ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'''s movie labyrinths have some [[InvokedTrope intentionally]] ''really'' dubious Designated Villains along with equally dubious [[DesignatedHero Designated Heroes]]. Part of the mission for each level is doing some major script edits to a more sane moral code. [[spoiler:If you notice a running theme in the movies, it's deliberate; the movies combined are, for all intents and purposes, OG character Hikari's Palace, and she suffers from near-crippling C-PTSD from almost everyone in her life trying to discipline the individuality out of her, which these movies functionally embody and depict.]]

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'':
** David Madsen is depicted as a paranoid lunatic who wants to put Max's school under heavy surveillance. However, this is because of a series of incidents where [[spoiler: students were getting drugged and photographed against their wills]], with one of the victims disappearing and [[spoiler: later turning up dead]]. Said victim is his step-daughter's best friend, so his paranoia looks pretty understandable.
** Another Designated Villain point is David's relationship with Chloe. He's painted as an abusive hardass for how he treats her, but more often than not, Chloe is the one starting the fights. One particular incident was when one of David's guns got stolen, and when he confronted Chloe about it, he scolded her for having a joint out in the open. It's later revealed that Chloe did steal his gun, so his confrontation was entirely justified. The only points that make him a villain are when he goes too far in trying to fix things, like his abrasive way of confronting Kate ([[spoiler:which ended up being one of the driving forces in her suicide attempt]]), and slapping Chloe when she gets fresh with him.

* ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'': While anyone who has played the base game will agree that [[GeneralFailure General Oliver]] isn't a nice person by any stretch of the imagination, him refusing to release the conscripts when ''a major war'' has just started and the NCR is barely holding onto Hoover Dam following the Legion's surprise attack is quite understandable. The fact that the Exiles defend Blackthorne by saying he led them to the Frontier to keep them safe and he had no idea the Legion would show up and attack them feels like a DoubleStandard, considering the fact that Oliver also had no idea the Legion would attack them.

* Simply going by what the players see, the [[TheEmpire UED]] in ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}: Brood War'' turn into this. They don't come off as particularly evil when you're playing as them in the Terran campaign, and many players were glad that you force Mengsk off his throne playing as them. Yet in the Zerg campaign you find [[TheHero Jim Raynor]], who loathes Mengsk with passion, and the Protoss, who the UED barely have any contact with, helping Kerrigan try push them out when she ultimately proves to be the worse of two evils.
** There's also the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]], where the United Powers League (the precursor to the United Earth Directorate) conducts racial cleansing of all Earth citizens, including cyborgs, mutants (including those with PsychicPowers), and other undesirable elements. The original idea is to [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything put them in camps]] [[PuttingOnTheReich and kill them]]. A scientist suggests using them to colonize a far-away planet, so tens of thousands of them are forcibly placed in [[HumanPopsicle cryo-pods]] and sent in {{Sleeper Starship}}s to that planet. The navigation system malfunctions and they end up spending decades in warp, ending up in the Koprulu sector. Throughout the struggles of the "colonists", the UPL continues to keep track of them and incorporating some of their technological breakthroughs. After the discovery of the Zerg, the UPL is reorganized into the UED, which sends a fleet to take control of the situation. In this light, it's difficult to see them as anything but villains; assuming, of course, that the UED didn't politically reform at some point, which is entirely possible, as neither of the UED's top officers seemed bothered by the presence of 'undesirables'.
** In the opening cutscene of ''Brood War'', the UED fleet is first seen observing the Zerg overrunning a colony, and it's heavily implied by Gerrard's line about "unleashing them upon men" that the UED is responsible for the attack. When it's clear that the colony is doomed unless help arrives, the fleet...simply leaves. That's pretty villainous behavior. It doesn't make the Dominion the good guys, especially since Mengsk did the exact same thing to his enemies. It's more of a case of EvilVersusEvil.

* Daleth from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' is a literal example. [[spoiler:He was created by the Center to be the anti-Messiah so the main character can defeat him and grow more popular.]]
** [[spoiler:And ironically, he's one of the few named characters, aside from the protagonist and Hiroko, to have a happy ending. He even gets a pretty girl who loves him dearly. Beth, Gimmel and potentially Zayin, all intended to be heroes, end up dead.]]

** Though in recent games, and ''especially'' the eight one, Cao Cao is being treated more as an AntiHero or AntiVillain. Some theorize this is a reaction to Wei's [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff popularity in the West]].

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' gives us Canach as the villain in the ''Secret of Southsun'' and ''Last Stand at Southsun'' arcs. After accidentally inciting some monsters to attack a major city, Canach is arrested, but claims to be a protector of the weak. He eventually disappears in order to sabotage the Consortium he used to work for. The player is ultimately tasked to stop him, which they do. The only problem is, long before you defeat him, you learn that the refugees that had settled the island had been tricked into virtual slavery thanks to the Consortium's contracts and Canach's goal was to end this injustice. Canach only fought the heroes in self-defense when they came after him, and the authorities had been refusing to help the settlers until Canach forced their hand. Ultimately, you fulfill his plan by destroying the odious contracts, but the game still acts like locking Canach up and throwing away the key is a just outcome. Why he was wrong and the heroes were right is never adequately explained.

** {{Justified|Trope}} since this is the view of the protagonists whom the Reapers are erasing. From their view, the Reapers are just predators and they want to survive.

** Ultimately subverted because it's shown that they engage in morally dubious behavior like [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slavery]] and arms dealing to fund their activities, but this is an InformedAttribute.

* ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'':
** While anyone who has played the base game will agree that [[GeneralFailure General Oliver]] isn't a nice person by any stretch of the imagination, him refusing to release the conscripts when ''a major war'' has just started and the NCR is barely holding onto Hoover Dam following the Legion's surprise attack is quite understandable. The fact that the Exiles defend Blackthorne by saying he led them to the Frontier to keep them safe and he had no idea the Legion would show up and attack them feels like a DoubleStandard, considering the fact that Oliver also had no idea the Legion would attack them.
** The developers really want you to hate the Enclave. Among other things, they apply NoCampaignForTheWicked for them and consider them a "fascist power fantasy" for "[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump Trump]] supporters". They also made the Portland chapter a bunch of AxCrazy {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s led by a MadScientist.

* Sunry in ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' was a [[TheRepublic Republic]] [[RetiredBadass veteran]] who settled down on the AwesomeUnderwaterWorld of Manaan following the Exar Kun War. When the PlayerCharacter arrives, they find that he's on trial for murdering his mistress and forced to serve as his attorney. Through investigation it's revealed that Sunry ''did'' do the crime, but only because he discovered that she was a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Sith]] spy using him for information. The player's KarmaMeter is only affected if they lie to the court, and the quest's GoldenEnding has you get him off through the Sith's lack of evidence while convincing Manaan to sanction them, but the narrative itself presents Sunry as in the wrong (not just for cheating on his wife) as your CoolOldGuy companion Jolee who knew him personally regards him as a FallenHero and Carth gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim killing an unarmed combatant]].
** However, DummiedOut content shows that she was [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness planning to kill him herself]], making his actions completely justified (especially since she's a Force-sensitive and he's a weak old man). Although he had no way of knowing that.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has a particularly bad case in regards to TheHero Luke: the WhamEpisode is of him [[spoiler: unintentionally destroying an entire city]] and beforehand he wasn't exactly a [[{{Jerkass}} shining example]] of a person. He follows through by going NeverMyFault. But here's the thing that makes everyone's WhatTheHellHero and TheReasonYouSuckSpeech plus treatment from then on cross the line: [[spoiler: Luke is ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook seven years old]]'' due to being [[TomatoInTheMirror a replica]] of the original one. He even acts like what you can expect from a spoiled and seriously sheltered seven-year-old.]] Despite that, everything becomes Luke's fault, and he [[HeroicBSOD doesn't handle it well]] to the point of ''seriously'' bad HeroicSelfDeprecation and becoming a DeathSeeker. Despite this somehow his treatment during this point is supposed to be a "heroic" and "good" thing for the rest of the party to do. And that's not even getting into the fact that the disaster is just as much [[spoiler: [[BigBad Van]]]]'s fault as it is Luke's, if not more so.
** It doesn't help that [[spoiler:literally every single other person in the party comes off as a massive hypocrite due to their ''own'' shady actions. Guy was actively helping Van's plans in order to get revenge on Luke's father for the massacre of his family, only stopping once Van's true goals came to light; Tear and Natalia knew the truth about Luke's identity from the beginning, yet said nothing; Jade literally helped cause the conflict of the story by (at least partially) creating Fonic Arts and the Score; and Anise spends the majority of the story as TheMole for Van's second in command. And yet despite all this, Luke is the ''only'' one subjected to such brutal treatment over his mistakes.]]

* Baby Bowser in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'' doesn't actually do anything wrong in this game, the entire plot is set forth by his assistant Kamek after foreseeing what the future held for Bowser. When you actually encounter Baby Bowser at the end of the game, he acts... very much like a child. While Bowser obviously becomes a full blown villain later on down the road, it can seem particularly cruel to hurt him in this game.

** David Madsen is depicted as a paranoid lunatic who wants to put Max's school under heavy surveillance. However, this is because of a series of incidents where [[spoiler: students were getting drugged and photographed against their wills]], with one of the victims disappearing and [[spoiler: later turning up dead]]. Said victim is his step-daughter's best friend, [[AdultFear so his paranoia looks pretty understandable]].

* Queen Odette from ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' acts cruel and sadistic most of the time, but when it comes down to it, she just wants for everyone to stop breaking into the Netherworld to bring people back to life, and stealing her jewels to create Psyphers to kill more people while corrupting the natural flow of life. The only really villainous things she does revolve around Oswald and his MagicallyBindingContract with her (granted, he wasn't aware of the conditions when the contract was made, but that was because the contract was made by somebody else who didn't have his best interests at heart). [[spoiler:In fact, when she's finally KilledOffForReal, King Gallon is able to take control of the Netherworld's forces and help trigger Armageddon.]]

** There's also the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]], where the United Powers League (the precursor to the United Earth Directorate) conducts racial cleansing of all Earth citizens, including cyborgs, mutants (including those with PsychicPowers), and other undesirable elements. The original idea is to [[PuttingOnTheReich put them in camps and kill them]]. A scientist suggests using them to colonize a far-away planet, so tens of thousands of them are forcibly placed in [[HumanPopsicle cryo-pods]] and sent in {{Sleeper Starship}}s to that planet. The navigation system malfunctions and they end up spending decades in warp, ending up in the Koprulu sector. Throughout the struggles of the "colonists", the UPL continues to keep track of them and incorporating some of their technological breakthroughs. After the discovery of the Zerg, the UPL is reorganized into the UED, which sends a fleet to take control of the situation. In this light, it's difficult to see them as anything but villains; assuming, of course, that the UED didn't politically reform at some point, which is entirely possible, as neither of the UED's top officers seemed bothered by the presence of 'undesirables'.