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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | [[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lightandshadow.jpg]]]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[TheImp Shadow]] and [[TheHero light]] are two sides of the same coin...]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ->''"We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."'' |
| 11 | -->-- '''Master Assassin''', ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | DarkIsNotEvil in Video Games. |
| 14 | ---- |
| 15 | * ''VideoGame/DotHackGu'' toys with this. Its main protagonist Haseo has his main body designed after a Scorpion-styled Grim reaper and alongside his allies utilizes the power of monsters that in the previous game series were its bad guys. Ironically, the main villain of the game presents himself as a paragon of virtue and divine grace to the public. Though after another style change in the final game, both sides quit using the subversion, as Haseo gains an angelic form, and the villain has his malevolence permanently revealed. |
| 16 | * The Ghosts of Razgriz in ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' fly a 4-ship formation of all-black fighter jets while kicking the BigBad's asses. |
| 17 | * [[spoiler:Artix]] from ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'' is The Champion of Darkness and he is on the side of good. He's a regular, undead-slaying paladin [[spoiler: or rather, an Undead Slayer since he can't actually cast holy spells]] who has fought, and always will, fight for the side of good till the very end. |
| 18 | * The Asmodians of ''VideoGame/{{Aion}}''. They look faintly demonic, and are rather harsh and violent -- both due to living in a wasteland that at its brightest exists in what could be called "shadowy twilight", and due to being descended from those who supported continued war with the cruel and brutal Balaur rather than attempting to sue for peace. They're ultimately only trying to survive, and just as dedicated to fighting the ''real'' villains as the more angelic Elyos. Unfortunately, both sides are just as dedicated to fighting ''each other'', out of a combination of blaming the other side for the ruin of their world, and the belief that one of the remaining stumps of the Tower of Eternity has to be destroyed to save what's left of the world from total destruction. Each side also blames the other for their current state of war. |
| 19 | * A few of the agents who make up the ''VideoGame/AMCSquad'' wear dark outfits and are more [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] than anything else, since they're dedicated to their goal of combating various threats to Earth and the galaxy. |
| 20 | ** [[BlackMage Sang]] started off as an [[EvilSorcerer evil warlock]] in his youth, but later on, he grew dissatisfied and split his [[TheDarkSide evil self]] [[EnemyWithout from his body]], and seeks to [[TheAtoner make up for his past]] by working with the AMC Squad. His outfit is a primarily black robe with red highlights and a white pentagram-esque pattern on his back, and he uses a lot of dark magics and demonic weaponry in his arsenal. [[spoiler:He becomes a much more heroic character after he and his allies defeat Le Sang in Egypt, however, and switches to a red cleric-esque outfit to signify this]]. |
| 21 | ** [[TheGunslinger Rusty Nails]] appears with a mysterious aura about himself, dresses in dark clothes, has glowing ProphetEyes in a [[KubrickStare menacing glare]], and is generally aloof. Despite all of this, he hunts [[{{Cult}} cults]] and [[EvilSorcerer evil sorcerers]] and is very much on the side of good. |
| 22 | ** [[CyberNinja Kagura]] wears a dark outfit and has [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic arms]], and she wields a demonic katana that houses a [[HungryWeapon ravenous spirit]] as her weapon of choice. She's also a [[DemonSlaying demon hunter]] who uses said katana to slay her prey, is generally a very polite and respectful person, and is revealed to be the niece of Rusty Nails. |
| 23 | * ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': The [[MysteriousStranger Masked Woman]] appears to come and go at times wearing a black dress and black mask while at the same time has full knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes. She reveals herself to genuinely be one of Ann's allies as she wants to help Ann with her mission and stop C's machination from bringing world destruction. |
| 24 | * ''VideoGame/AstraHunterZosma'': The boss of Ophiuchus Obelisk is Nadir, a necromancer dressed in a dark blue robe, making him the most sinister-looking of all the story bosses. Fortunately, he's a benevolent figure who wants to use his necromancy to give people a second chance to experience more in life, and gets his wish [[spoiler:by helping Deneb revive Zosma]]. |
| 25 | * Asura from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is very demonic looking, and wears dark colors and tends to be very angry. But he is easily the nicest of all the Demi-gods shown in the game. This is played with even more when he gains a SuperpoweredEvilSide as a result of becoming too angry...and even then, he still won't hurt innocents in his berserker wrath form. |
| 26 | * Both played straight and averted (or even subverted) in the ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' series: |
| 27 | ** Your character could be a LawfulGood hero with customized dark skin and clothes, if you want. |
| 28 | ** Drizzt makes a cameo in the first ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', asking your aid against some gnolls. He's a drow aka a dark elf, a race notoriously evil from the underdark, but he's a good ranger popularized by R.A. Salvatore's novels. |
| 29 | ** However, Viconia is an evil drow cleric that can join your party, and this might counter Drizzt. But she left the underdark because she didn't want to sacrifice a child to Lolth, the drow god queen of spiders, and, depending on how you play, she might play the role of the one who simply wants to be left alone, without doing anything evil. |
| 30 | *** Viconia seems to not care if other people think of her attitude and opinions to be, uh, quite egotistic and ruthless, possibly because since all surface inhabitants seem to consider her to be racially evil for prejudice, if not trying to kill her, she might as well ignore every savoir-faire and think only for herself and despise affection, solidarity and weakness. But you can partially redeem her in the expansion, making her become neutral instead of evil if you romanced her and played the right lines. |
| 31 | *** ''VideoGame/BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspear'' also adds some talkative banters with Viconia who starts to show her unsympathetic, half-racist side, thus definitely subverting the trope. To make matters worse, [[spoiler:she's shown to have gone JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'']]. |
| 32 | ** The Enhanced Edition also adds Baeloth, an evil drow sorcerer. Even if you play a good party with him doing nothing evil, you might still know him from The Black Pits that he was really evil and ran gladiatorial fights among kidnapped warriors just for his amusement. |
| 33 | ** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' Drizzt comes again for a guest appearance, but before that you opened your way through an entire drow city full of psychopathic genocidal drows, and might have cleared dungeons occupied by evil shadow lords, evil black dragons, evil dark knights, not counting messing with various dark and shady figures and guilds. |
| 34 | ** Still, Sendai is the stereotypical evil drow tyrant throwing at you expendable slaves. |
| 35 | ** Ysuran, an elven Necromancer in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateDarkAlliance II'', plays with this. He learned to harness the [[TheDarkSide Shadow Weave]] while working for a group of terrorists, but was struck with amnesia following a magical duel with his mentor. When he learns the details of his past, he becomes TheAtoner and uses his dark magic for good. |
| 36 | ** Shadowheart in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' is a [[TheTrickster Trickery Domain]] Cleric of the Neutral Evil GodOfDarkness Shar. While her rough upbringing and the nature of her religion makes her act as a [[PragmaticVillainy cold pragmatist]] at times, she shows signs of [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold being a good person in spite of it all]]. If the player chooses to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential side with the goblins and raid the druid settlement]] in Act 1, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she will be inconsolably drunk and horrified at what she helped to do afterward]] despite the fact her goddess would be all for it. [[spoiler:Eventually it's possible for her to turn away from Shar and become a cleric of Selune, her GoodCounterpart]]. |
| 37 | ** The Oathbreaker Knight is a BlackKnight [[TheOathbreaker Oathbreaker Paladin]] who appears before the player character if they, as a Paladin, break their Oath. He is a dark and imposing figure, but is overall personable and firmly of the belief that [[BadPowersGoodPeople the dark powers of an Oathbreaker can be used for good]], just as much as [[GoodPowersBadPeople a Paladin's holy power can be used toward wicked ends.]] The Oathbreaker Knight, himself, was a Paladin who undertook the Oath of Conquest and worked for an EvilOverlord until his own sense of morality could no longer abide his actions and he struck down his own liege, breaking his Oath in so doing. |
| 38 | * Terry the Terrydactyl from ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie''. Despite his attempt to kill the duo, he's just being overly-protective of his nest; he's really a nice guy who wants to find his lost babies. After the misunderstanding's cleared up, he even asks you to find them and rewards you with a [[PlotCoupon Jiggy]] for doing so. |
| 39 | * One of the three playable protagonists in ''VideoGame/BattleAxe'', Fae the Dark Elf, where fittingly enough she's clad entirely in black robes and uses a pair of wicked-looking curved daggers in combat. However she's one of the heroes. |
| 40 | * ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': Helicrom and his rogue magi from ''Liberty'' study shadow magic, something they called "dark arts" themselves. They are completely helpful and sane allies in Baldras's rebellion against the evil queen, unlike necromancers whom Baldras must defeat in Helicrom's debut scenario or the anti-villain protagonist necromancers from other campaigns. |
| 41 | * The [[HotWitch Umbra Witches]] from the ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta}}'' series are a clan of female-only dark magic users who get their powers by literally [[DealWithTheDevil making contracts with demons]] and make it a habit of hunting down and killing angels, the titular character in particular being quite sexually provocative and snarky. However, they are protectors of the world, and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent the angels]] are actually [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] who want to wipe out humanity. Infernal Demons, on the other hand, come in both the relatively decent and DarkIsEvil varieties, especially come ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta 2}}''. |
| 42 | * ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': |
| 43 | ** [[OneManArmy Ragna the]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Bloodedge]], the main character. He has [[MysticalWhiteHair white hair]] and heterochromia (with one [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eye]]), carries an ArtifactOfDoom [[spoiler:like nearly everyone else in the game]], wages a one man war against the ruling government, the "Novus Orbis Librarium" or NOL for short, by destroying their bases and slaughtering everyone in them, and has a drive ability called "Soul Eater" which steals life from his foes. Despite all this [[AntiHero he's not really a villain]] due to the very questionable morality of the government he's fighting against. He's also [[PetTheDog nice]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold enough]] to [[TastesLikeFriendship share food]] with a hungry [[CatGirl Taokaka]] (who promptly starts calling him "Good Guy"). His rage and frustration with the world at large is also [[FreudianExcuse somewhat understandable]] since his life just ''[[JerkassWoobie sucks so much]]''. |
| 44 | ** There's also [[LittleMissBadass Rac]][[ElegantGothicLolita hel]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Alucard]] and her butler, [[BattleButler Valkenhayn]] [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent R. Hellsing]]. Rachel may be a vampire who acts quite bitchy and condescending towards almost everyone around her, but that doesn't change the fact that she also genuinely cares about the cast, and wishes to devote as much she can to defeating [[{{Troll}} Terumi Yuuki]], the man who has caused ''all'' of the suffering which takes place in the game's universe. Her faithful butler, Valkenhayn, is a werewolf and was one of the Six Heroes who saved the world from the [[{{Orochi}} Black Beast]], an abomination that destroyed most of the world. |
| 45 | ** ''Chrono Phantasma'' newcomer, Kagura, the so-called "Black Knight". With his dark features, flowing black cloak and large black & red zweihander, fire-based attacks that verge into {{hellfire}} territory, he's the current head of the Mutsuki family, the highest ranked of the Duodecim families, he is also in Japanese voiced by Creator/KeijiFujiwara who [[PigeonholedVoiceActor has a reputation of voicing vicious, jackass and cunning villains]], and... he's also the only member of the N.O.L who isn't a rigid templar for the Imperator's words or a {{Jerkass}} UpperClassTwit. He's actually a cool, affable guy who actually cares about the people, and to this end is plotting a coup to remove the current Imperator and install [[spoiler:Lord Tenjo's young son Homura]] into power. The only problem is [[HandsomeLech he's a bit of a skirt-chaser]]. [[BerserkButton God help you if you harm a woman in his presence though.]] |
| 46 | ** Taokaka has claws, a shadowy face with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]], and a CheshireCatGrin, but is one of the nicest characters in the games. |
| 47 | * ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' has several cases of this trope: |
| 48 | ** The Hunter protagonist wears gothic or otherwise grotesque clothing and has weapons with a major emphasis on BodyHorror, such as katanas and pikes activated with blood, a pair of crudely made beast claws, amongst other weapons, but the Hunter is actually fighting against Eldritch Abominations and a corrupt church that was responsible for the Beast Blood plague. |
| 49 | ** Gehrman, the game’s BigGood, is a perverted old man who dresses in black and has a SinisterScythe as his choice of weapon. In truth, he is a kind old mentor who seeks to free wayward hunters from the Hunter’s Dream. He even becomes [[WhatTheHellHero horrified when the protagonist refuses his offer to free them.]] |
| 50 | ** The [[EldritchAbomination Great Ones]] in general are nasty looking Lovecraftian monsters, but most of them are worshipped as gods by the city of Yharnam with some of them even being on the side of humanity. They only attack the protagonist because of they are simply just monsters either protecting themselves or in some cases, are just doing their jobs. |
| 51 | * Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' where the villains are exclusively aligned with darkness and it is described as "the power of hatred that amplifies negative emotions to draw power from them", but villains like Queen Hel and The Count actually have [[WellIntentionedExtremist noble]] ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality if skewed]]) [[WellIntentionedExtremist intentions]] and believe that what they are doing, ending all life and populating the universe with the undead, is a "charity" that will create a pure existance without death or overpopulation. Furthermore, as the games go on they imply more and more that Hel's claim that this is "[[YouCantFightFate the will of the Galaxy]]" is ''true'' and that humanity is only fighting back because [[DefiantToTheEnd that's just what humans do]]. The third game even has a number of undead actually rebel against Ratatosk and help Django bring him down purely because they're still loyal to Hel's goals and can't stand that he's a GenericDoomsdayVillain, while The Count purely follows Ratatosk's schemes because he's [[StealthMentor secretly training Django to foil them]] (and also because he's become creepily obsessed with fighting the kid but that's just a bonus: |
| 52 | --> '''Count:''' This is... has the Solar Boy's true powered awakened? Heh heh heh... With this kind of power it might just be possible to stop Vanargand's revival. That ambitious puppeteer's schemes are against the wishes of my late Queen... Very well Django, head to the White Forest north of San Miguel. You will meet your brother there. |
| 53 | * ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'''s [=Zer0=]. CreepyMonotone voice, default costume is mostly gray and black, TheFaceless, might not even be human. The only sense of 'expressions' you get from him are red holographic letters and numbers used as emoticons. In spite of this, he's one of the Vault Hunters opposing [[JerkAss Handsome Jack]], and after Maya is probably the most sensible of the second team of Vault Hunters (given that Axton is a MilitaryMaverick with no regard for innocents, Gaige has lapses into crazy during gameplay, Salvador is a hyperviolent BloodKnight, and Krieg is a ''literal'' Psycho), since the reason for most of what he does, including bar fights and assassinations, is an endless search for a WorthyOpponent to truly test him. Doesn't hurt that he's a SophisticatedAsHell WarriorPoet either. He also ''really'' likes driving fast cars as much as the next guy, since every time he gets behind the wheel, his reaction is a big red ":D" displayed over his face. |
| 54 | * Nina of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' fame is a pure-hearted maiden, but her feathery black wings make her an [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer outcast and scapegoat for disaster]] in her hometown. Also a BlackMagicianGirl. |
| 55 | * Soma Cruz, the resident white haired {{Bishonen}} in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' duology wields the dark power to absorb his enemies' souls and use them as weapons, a result of [[spoiler:either inheriting the power of Lord Dracula or being Lord Dracula reborn.]] That said, he is quite a nice person, selflessly [[AllLovingHero working for the good of mankind]] and looking after his [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend childhood friend,]] who later proves his sweet-as-pie [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend not-girlfriend]] who [[SubvertedTrope has so far completely failed to be kidnapped.]] |
| 56 | ** Lampshaded by Alucard (you already know it's him!). When Soma freaks because he's told his powers are dark, Alucard tells him it is just that, and not evil. |
| 57 | ** Other examples from the series include [[{{Dhampyr}} Dracula's son Alucard]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent the peaceful beastman Cornell]], the traitorous devil forgemaster Hector, a nun-cross-witch whose powers are explicitly coming from Dracula himself Shanoa, and a {{golem}} who was temporarily given a soul. |
| 58 | * ''VideoGame/{{Celeste}}'' has Badeline, the main character Madeline’s enemy without who spends 6 chapters of the game being her main obstacle. However, Badeline is still part of her, and is just scared and trying to stop Madeline from making a horrible mistake. Mending bridges and cooperating with her is the only way to finish the game. |
| 59 | * ''VideoGame/{{Chest}}'': Zong has Nether-based skills that use Dark-elemental attack animations, but he's a benevolent hero doing various odd jobs. His Nether-based skills are due to him being the prince of the Nether. However, Nether is considered a distinct type of magic from Dark. |
| 60 | * ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' liberally uses and [[PlayingWithATrope plays with]] SuperHero tropes, and this is no exception. The primary example is Infernal, a demonic-looking warrior from another dimension who controls demons and binds them into his armour, but is always portrayed as a hero (excepting his EvilTwin from the MirrorUniverse, who shows that demon binding is a risky business). ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' added a large amount of [[SpikesOfVillainy rather villainous-looking]] costume pieces, but all of them are equally accessible to hero characters as well. |
| 61 | ** Also, the various Dark power sets, which have a variety of quasi-vampiric powers, are freely usable by heroes and villains. Pain Domination may or may not involve this trope, as it is a set of villain-only ''healing'' powers with a [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience black-and-red color scheme]]. |
| 62 | ** Since the recent advent of power customization, you can have a hero with cloven hooves, horns, a demon's tail and wings, a skull head (and a costume consisting of skulls, chains and barbed wire) who fires off black energy blasts or carries black swords. |
| 63 | ** There's also the Nictus: Scientifically modified energy beings that feed off their unmodified brethren, work with The Council and 5th Column, and want to make earth their new homeworld. Reformed Nicti/human unions are a Hero exclusive archetype, called Warshades. If you want a Villainous Warshade, you have to side switch it. No Praetorian Nictus for you. |
| 64 | ** Masterminds are slated to receive "Demon Summoning" in Issue 17. Currently, Masterminds are an exclusively Villainous Archetype, but when Going Rogue is released one can easily play a demon summoning hero. |
| 65 | ** Hell, Going Rogue ''is'' this trope, (mixed heavily with LightIsNotGood). Even Arachnos Mooks can be heroes now. |
| 66 | * ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': It's revealed after the fight with Keisenger that the bird-like monsters (no matter how hideous they are) you have been fighting throughout the level are slaves under Keisenger's control. They even thank you after you kill him. |
| 67 | * ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': |
| 68 | ** [[PerkyGoth Misty]] is a goth owner of an esoterica shop, but she's one of [[PlayerCharacter V's]] closest allies and [[TheCutie one of the nicest people in Night City period]]. |
| 69 | ** [[{{Deuteragonist}} Johnny Silverhand's]] main color motif is black and red, he has a reputation of an aggressive terrorist (though with good reasons) and his first meeting with V goes [[WakeUpFighting less than smoothly]], but he's still a (mostly) positive character: despite his various flaws, vices and abrasive nature, he honestly wants to help V with [[spoiler:saving their life]], has some PetTheDog moments and is shown to honestly care about a few people. |
| 70 | ** [[TheRockstar Kerry Eurodyne]] might have a [[HotBlooded short fuse and enjoys causing property damage]], not to mention his [[HellBentForLeather penchant for leather clothes]], but he's shown to be a very kind, sensitive, and ([[RomanceSidequest potentially]]) deeply loving individual. |
| 71 | * ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'' features the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse who are feared throughout the universe and can take on monstrous forms as main characters. Despite being rough around the edges (some more than others), they are all on the side of good. Notably, when the actual Apocalypse happened on Earth, not only did they ''not'' cause it, they all eventually ended up fighting ''against'' those responsible for it. |
| 72 | ** ''VideoGame/DarksidersI'' has War as the main character, who is an armored behemoth with a giant sword and loves using said sword to tear his enemies apart. He can also transform into a huge magma monster through the PowerOfHate. However, everything he does in the game is motivated by a very understandable desire to clear his name after he had been accused of committing a terrible crime he didn't do, and his RoaringRampageOfRevenge is directed against those who destroyed Earth. |
| 73 | ** ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'' gives us Death, who, despite generally living up to his name in the looks department, is on a surprisingly selfless mission to save his brother War by resurrecting humanity. He also demonstrates a great deal of kindness and loyalty to the people who help him on his quest, and is a DeadpanSnarker and can be heard genuinely laughing sometimes. |
| 74 | ** ''VideoGame/DarksidersIII'' has Fury, who, admittedly, starts off as a very unpleasant person. However, she goes through a lot of CharacterDevelopment during the game, and ends up not only saving many humans in the middle of the Apocalypse, but also becomes their sworn protector. [[spoiler:And her brother Strife has been on Earth helping humanity alongside the Makers long before she made that choice.]] |
| 75 | * ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' ''loves'' playing with this trope: |
| 76 | ** The Age of Fire is initially presented as a good thing and the dying of the light is presented as bringing doom to the world. But things become darker and grayer the more you dig into the setting, with implications being that [[spoiler: prolonging the Age of Fire is prolonging the horrible suffering that the world is going through]]. Taken even further when you learn that [[spoiler: the "Dark" Soul is actually ''humanity'', and that the Age of Dark that will supposedly come after the Age of Fire ends will be a golden age for humanity.]] |
| 77 | ** The Covenant of the Darkmoon Blades is, in action, a force for order and law, with a motif based around the Moon, contrasting the Sunlight theme Gwyn and his [[spoiler: other]] kids have. Yes, the leader [[spoiler: Dark Sun Gwyndolin]] has expectedly ambiguous motivations for the order (namely [[spoiler: killing those who reveal the illusionary nature of Gwynevere and Anor Londo]]), but they do also serve as a peacekeeping force, combating those who slaughter living innocents, mostly the [[PlayerKilling Darkwraiths]]. |
| 78 | ** The DownloadableContent "Artorias of the Abyss" reveals that [[spoiler:darkness can be pretty evil and destructive if it goes out of control. The Dark Soul turned one primeval human into a monster more fearsome than any demon, dragon, or god. The message seems to be that humanity is, for better or for worse, the most powerful force in existence.]] |
| 79 | ** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' further blurs the line with [[BlackMagic Hexes]]. On the one hand, they're quite powerful, rely on "Dark" affinity, and the people who teach them are either insane or, possibly, no longer quantifiably human. Then again, it's hard to call foul since there's plenty of hypocrisy with Miracles (which come from a notoriously CorruptChurch) while Sorceries and Pyromancies have their fair share of [[MadScientist Mad Mages]]. It's also worth noting that Hexes require both [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Faith]] ''and'' [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Intelligence]] (instead of just one or [[EvolvingWeapon neither]]). There's also the Deep, heavily implied to be one and the same as the Abyss; while the the Deep is now the object of worship for the ReligionOfEvil, the Deep/Abyss itself is stated in the Deep Protection item description to have been "a peaceful and sacred place", at least before it "became the final rest for many abhorrent things." Suggesting that the Dark ''can'' be positive, but also negative. |
| 80 | ** Blurred further still with the Children of Dark, or more specifically with [[spoiler: Alsanna, The Silent Oracle]], possibly coupled with a dose of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch. She is perhaps, one of the most morally white characters in the game (which is saying something, [[CrapsackWorld considering the universe]]). Like the others, she was drawn to a monarch, but unlike [[spoiler: Nashandra]] she legitimately cared about her king and his kingdom. She even begs the player to save what remains of them when they meet her. You can also meet a non-villainous Child of Dark in the third game in the form of Karla; she teaches you Abyssal sorceries, pyromancies and (with a bit of prodding) miracles, but she's also a nice person who has been imprisoned for an unknown but lengthy period and is nothing but grateful to be rescued. |
| 81 | ** The second game also shows Dark as being a comforting thing for the souls of the dead. Agdayne, keeper of the Undead Crypt, is a friendly enough guy who takes his job of looking after the resting place of the dead quite seriously. His BerserkButton is light, which he says agitates the dead and interrupts their rest. Several characters also point out that the race of humanity is intrinsically tied to Dark, and that trying to live fully in the light is holding them back from their true "forms" and true powers. |
| 82 | ** Finally, the DLC's for the third game each reveal an important truth surround the Dark: ''Ashes of Ariandel'' shows that painted worlds require both Fire ''and'' Darkness to exist, and they are forever incomplete without one or the other. ''The Ringed City'' reveals that [[spoiler:the only reason the Dark is a threat is because [[SelffulfillingProphecy Gwyn tried to stop it from being a threat]]. The original bearers of the Dark Soul, the pygmies, happily served the gods of Anor Londo and fought alongside them in the war against the dragons. They had perfect control over the Dark and forged weapons from the Abyss. Gwyn, however, feared that the Dark was a threat to his Age of Fire even though it wasn't, and placed a seal of fire on the pygmies to seal their Dark powers. This would later manifest as the Darksign in the pygmies' descendants, humans. Because humans never learned how to properly control their inherent Dark powers, they are prone to becoming overwhelmed and turning into {{Animalistic Abomination}}s when they get too much of the stuff or mindless Hollows when they don't get enough. So, in a sense, DarkIsEvil, but only because the guy who thought it was evil made it that way]]. |
| 83 | * ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'': |
| 84 | ** Neither [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Demitri]] nor [[SuccubiAndIncubi Morrigan]] are evil. However, neither are ''good''. Morrigan is a self-indulgent and childish princess, and Demitri is a power-hungry vampire who wants to conquer Makai/the Dark World. Though at the end of Morrigan or Lilith's routes in ''Vampire Savior'', however, it does show Morrigan starting to actually grow up and accept responsibilities. |
| 85 | ** Several of the characters the closest to purely good in the series also fall under this, including Rikuo/Aulbath, the fish-man; John Talbain/Gallon, the werewolf; Anakaris, the living mummy; Lei-Lei/Hsien-Ko, the ChineseVampire; and Victor, the FrankensteinsMonster. |
| 86 | * The Darkners of ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' are mostly just living their lives in the Dark World, with some even being actively heroic. |
| 87 | * ''VideoGame/TheDesolateHope'': Malenz fits this trope to a T. Let's see, the first thing you see when you enter his room is that it's cast in red light with plenty of dark spots still in the room. Mechanical eyes cover the wall, and Malenz is pretty scary looking himself, what with the spider-like legs. Things aren't any better inside his simulation: The [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Malwastes]] are what the planet's surface might be like if it was industrialized: dust and garbage is constantly blowing in the harsh winds, and there's a really scary looking construct in the background. Then, you get to the dome on the edge of the map...and find a cute toy village populated by wooden people who sing praise on how Malenz shelters them from the harsh outside world. Malenz can even be thought as a sort of [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of ''why'' dark is no longer evil (or, in his case, realist): He was supposed to be the realist of the group, starting out with simulated miners mining simulated ore. But years of no contact with Earth and the virus ravaging at his systems made him realize that [[DespairEventHorizon all life is meaningless, because to him, all life wants you to die]]. So he retreated into a little fantasy world, like a little kid playing with toys, and doesn't really care if the virus destroys him or not. [[TheWoobie Poor guy]]. |
| 88 | * [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Light]] in ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' gets a bit of this treatment. While it comes from the Traveler the sames as [[ShockAndAwe Arc]] and [[PlayingWithFire Solar Light]], it's powers include such things as VampiricDraining, CastingAShadow, and creating ''miniature black holes''. In-game lore notes that some people compare [[BlackMage Voidwalker Warlocks]] to Hive Wizards, and Cayde says that the reason Nightstalker Hunters are so rare is because the Void ''scares'' a lot of hunters away from that path. Seems to be averted with [[BarrierWarrior Defender]] and [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Sentinel Titans]], whose use of Void includes force-fields and Captain America style shields, and don't seem to get the same in-universe bias that Voidwalkers and Nightsalkers suffer from. |
| 89 | ** Taken literally with the introduction of Stasis in the appropriately-themed ''Beyond Light'' expansion in the sequel. It's an element used both by enemies and the very-much-heroic Guardians. |
| 90 | ** Done once again with the introduction of the second Darkness-based subclass Strand in the ''Lightfall'' expansion. This time, the Darkness power in question is ''only'' usable by Guardians and, ironically enough, seems to emphasize open mindedness and peace. |
| 91 | ** Lightfall also applies this to [[spoiler:The Darkness as a whole - it turns out that the Light and the Darkness are both non-sentient {{Background Magic Field}}s and are not inherently good or evil by themselves. The Darkness is evil because the true BigBad of ''Destiny'', the Witness, tries to force it into an evil shape, and wipes out anyone who would contradict this]]. |
| 92 | * ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. JC Denton is always dressed in a black overcoat with shades. Of course, you ''can'' play JC as an amoral killer, but [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential that's your choice.]] |
| 93 | ** Similarly [[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Adam Jensen]], while pretending to be an assassin it is noted he "certainly looks the part" |
| 94 | * ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Most of the heroic characters qualify. |
| 95 | ** Sparda is the {{Precursor Hero|es}} of the setting, [[AscendedDemon a demon who saved the human world 2000 thousand years ago from a demonic invasion]]. He is also the father of the series' original protagonist, Dante who has followed in his father's footsteps. |
| 96 | ** Dante and Nero are {{Human Demon Hybrid}}s who fight to protect the world from both evil demons and humans. Extra points for Nero's name being the Italian word for "black". |
| 97 | ** Trish and Lucia are demons created by the villains Mundus and Arius respectively. Trish pulls a HeelFaceTurn due to a combination of Mundus's cruelty and Dante's kindness to her, becoming the latter's partner in DemonSlaying. Lucia remains steadfast in her duty to defending humans even after learning her dark origins. |
| 98 | ** V wears black clothing, controls three shadowy familiars who look like bosses from the first game and has a very mysterious air about him. He is still a good guy and [[spoiler:is revealed to be the human half of Vergil.]] |
| 99 | * The Necromancer from ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', who sees raising undead as a necessary evil for the greater good. He may be on to something, as the years he's spent in the crypt studying the dark arts make him much more likely to resist being corrupted by diablo's evil like the heroes of the first game. You even find his apprentice in a random event in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', carrying on his master's legacy of using necromancy for the greater good, and he comes across as being rather noble. |
| 100 | * The Witch Doctor from ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' uses zombies and voodoo as part of a mutual pact with the spirits, it's not treated as a twisted abomination or desire for power, but sheer reverence for the spirits of the departed. The witch doctor himself is also a very kind and mellow (if somewhat backwards) person. |
| 101 | ** The Demon Hunter, also from ''Diablo III'', dresses in mostly black capes and hoods, utilizes the PowerOfHate and is a rather grim, cynical person overall. Nevertheless, they genuinely want to help the innocent, each Demon Hunter knowing all too well what can happen if demonic forces [[DoomedHometown are left unchecked]]. |
| 102 | ** Necromancers return as a class and continue their tradition of nobility in solitude. As priests of Rathma, they dedicate their lives to maintaining the Balance of life and death. The Necromancer is subdued and a bit introverted due to the ostracism their order usually faces and is often surprised when accepted by other characters. |
| 103 | * Demons in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' frequently insist that they are definitely evil, but are more often lazy than malicious and tend to be smartasses rather than cruel. The 'evil' thing is really just a cultural affectation that they've picked up over the ages because, as ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'' explains, while it ''is'' their job to spread fear among humans, this is largely A. for the humans own benefit to keep them from being too self destructive and B. because both they and angels need humans to fear or worship them respectively. Everyone needs to play their part in the system or the whole system falls apart. More than evil, if demons had a character alignment it would be chaos with angels on the other side representing order, though they often believe themselves to be just as holy and good as demons are corrupt and evil. This is actually a huge element of ''VideoGame/Disgaea5'', as the characters each have to go through their own character arcs of realizing that just because they're demons and supposed to act vicious, it doesn't mean they can't care about or help the people around them, and coming to these realizations allows them to actively become far stronger than they already are. Each one gets an Overload that is no less destructive than their previous one, but is far more powerful just by allowing themselves to use their powers for the benefits of friends rather than selfish motives. |
| 104 | * The antagonist of ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty'' is an entity known only as "The Darkness", which is using a "Phase Distortion" to draw various video game worlds and the real world together into one reality. It is also capturing and holding prisoner anyone who stands against it. [[spoiler:Turns out The Darkness is a computer program that got ''way'' out of control, and is merely trying to protect itself from destruction. The end of the game is less about destroying The Darkness (which would actually be a [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt bad thing]] considering how much of the world it's enveloped at this point), and more about trying to reason with it and work out a peaceful coexistence.]] |
| 105 | * ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'': Your SpaceMarine character has some pretty strong BloodKnight qualities (just look at his [[SlasherSmile diabolical grin]] when he picks up a new weapon), and he wound up stationed on Mars due to a violent case of insubordination. His offense, by the way, was putting his C.O. in a body cast for ordering their squad to fire on civilians. |
| 106 | * While most of the Dire heroes of ''VideoGame/Dota2'' are scary and evil, there are a few who fail on the "evil" part. Examples of that include: |
| 107 | ** Sand King (Who is simply an embodiment of a desert, seeking to communicate with the world) |
| 108 | ** Clinkz (A heroic knight who was granted immortality at the same time as he was burnt by eternal flames) |
| 109 | ** Dazzle (A tribal priest; he is actually the brother of Huskar, who is on the Radiant side) |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/DragonAge'': |
| 111 | ** Blood mages. Blood magic is a terrifying power that lets you CastFromHitPoints and take control of people, but it's no more evil than any other form of magic. It does come with a high risk of WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity if used recklessly however and Blood Magic is normally learned via a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with a Demon]]. While it doesn't necessarily make the user evil, it is still a very dangerous power that shouldn't be treated lightly. While most blood mages that you meet in the series are pretty nasty, [[HeroWithAnFInGood Jowan]] is well-intentioned (even if he screws everything up) and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Merrill]] of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is the kindest person in your entire party (though she's portrayed as being quite naive and overconfident when it comes to dangerous magic). |
| 112 | ** The werewolves. [[spoiler:They're actually the descendants of humans that killed Zathrian's son and raped his daughter centuries ago. [[PayEvilUntoEvil Zathrian cursed the humans so that they and all of their descendants would be werewolves.]] The werewolves were just desperate to be cured, so they attacked and infected the Dalish hoping that Zathrian will lift the curse once he saw the curse affecting his own people. [[GrayAndGreyMorality They're not purely good, but then neither are the Dalish]].]] |
| 113 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' has one in the form of the Spirit of Justice, who in the Fade is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. However, in the real world, he ends up becoming stuck in the corpse of a Grey Warden named Kristoff and joins your party as a LawfulGood zombie. |
| 114 | ** Near the end of ''Awakening'', during the defense of the City of Amaranthine, you encounter a Disciple (sentient Darkspawn) sent by The Architect that fights alongside you if you let it. If you choose to let it go afterwards, the epilogue states that it becomes a hooded traveller that helps those it encounters (though it accidentally spreads the taint where it follows). |
| 115 | ** [[spoiler:The Grey Wardens. To better fight the Darkspawn horde, every prospective Warden must drink a special concotion of Darkspawn blood and submit themselves to [[TheCorruption their Taint]]. However instead of becoming mindless ghouls that serve the horde, Grey Wardens manage to retain their humanity and turn their newfound power against them. Likewise, it's heavily implied that the ritual likewise has some basis in BloodMagic.]] |
| 116 | ** Feynriel in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. If you help him fight off the demons in the Fade, he journeys to Tevinter and learns to control his power from a magister, remaining a good mage at heart. |
| 117 | ** Cassandra Pentaghast during the narration scenes. She's basically part of Thedas' equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition, wears all black, and is extremely grouchy... [[spoiler:and she's also trying to stop a major war from breaking out for entirely selfless reasons]]. |
| 118 | ** In the DownloadableContent "Legacy", [[spoiler:Malcolm Hawke]] is revealed to have been a Blood Mage. However, he was still a good man, and he only used blood magic [[spoiler:because it was the only thing powerful thing to seal away Corypheus. And he only did it because the Warden-Commander Larius threatened Leandra and their unborn child (Hawke)]]. The Key from "Legacy" is another example. Though it was forged with BloodMagic and has a distinctly intimidating appearance, it's a powerful weapon of good in Hawke's hands. |
| 119 | ** Technically, Tallis of ''Mark of the Assassins''. Despite the fact that she's a follower of the Qun, one of the most hated factions of the series, she is portrayed as relatively heroic and an idealist who believes the BlueAndOrangeMorality WorldOfSilence of the Qunari really is the best option. |
| 120 | ** In the "''Destiny''" trailer, Hawke is depicted as using Blood Magic during the fight against the Arishok. As this is done to save the city from the Qunari, this falls right into the realm of PragmaticVillainy. |
| 121 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' gives us Leliana, who had become so DarkerAndEdgier that she is feared throughout Thedas. Indeed, the Inquisitor themselves can suggest that disagreeing with her methods would see them dead. As cold as she can be, she's far from evil: just utterly devoted to stopping the threat and protecting her friends which cause her brutal methods to be scary. |
| 122 | * ''VideoGame/DragonFable'' really likes this. |
| 123 | ** At the end of the Dragon Egg quest chain, ''TheHero'' ends up with the Dragon of Chaos destined to destroy the world, while the ''BigBad'' ends up with the Dragon of Order destined to save it. The destiny got little twisted. |
| 124 | ** There is also a race of Dark Humanoids with horns. |
| 125 | ** If you check Tomix's stats when you have him as a guest, he actually does ''Evil-elemental'' damage. As for the Chapter 1, he is a broody loner holed up in deserted underground town and one of the good guys. |
| 126 | * The dark worlds in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII: Journey of the Cursed King'' are pretty much called that because they aren't as bright as the worlds the heroes come from and not because there's evil everywhere (though almost everything in the one in VIII is black and white for some reason, with the residents commenting on the heroes' colors). In fact, most (if not all) of the human residents encountered aren't evil at all. [[spoiler:The one in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' is actually Alefgard, the country the original game takes place in, which also appeared in the second. The main character defeats the [[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King Zoma]] and restores light to the land and is given the title of Loto/Erdrick, becoming the legendary hero that the main characters of the first two games are descended from.]] |
| 127 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': Even after being freed from Booga's control, [[spoiler:Jade]] is able to access her [[spoiler:demonic playboy bunny form]] willingly and uses it to fight alongside the heroes. |
| 128 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestBuilders2'' has Malroth, who is the human incarnation of a DestroyerDeity. You'd think the Master of Destruction would be a GodOfEvil, and the [[ReligionOfEvil Children of Hargon]] certainly see it that way. But being the god of destruction also means that Malroth is the god of mining, forestry, foraging, the harvest, and the hunt. [[spoiler: By the end of the game, his time with you inspires him to fully embrace the more positive side of his nature.]] |
| 129 | * Supposedly, necromancy in ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' isn't evil and is in fact related to healing. This falls a little flat when the only people using necromancy are bad guys. [[spoiler:Then again, there's some of this perception in universe since it's related to why Lobelia pulled a FaceHeelTurn: She was convinced people hated her and her magic.]] |
| 130 | * While ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' has a number of dark magic/power or nasty fighting classes to play, the best example of the trope are the Priest subclasses Avenger (male priest) and Mistress (female priest) as they are innately characterized as using their dark powers and scythes (their preferred weapon) for the greater good while the other characters' goals could vary. |
| 131 | * In ''VideoGame/DungeonMakerIITheHiddenWar'', we have Niko the half witch apprentice of the magic shop owner. In addition to being half witch he also specializes in dark magic. He also happens to be one of the nicest characters in the game. |
| 132 | * Zhou Tai from ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors''. Despite being from the Wu kingdom, where red is the faction color, and an honorable and loyal man, his armor color is always black, he's tall, covered in scars, has a very deep voice, and speaks in a frightening taciturn manner. |
| 133 | * ''Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes'': This is the gimmick behind a newly announced 109th hero, whose face shall be voted on by backers when [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rabbitandbearstudios/eiyuden-chronicle-hundred-heroes the Kickstarter campaign]] reaches $3.125 million. |
| 134 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 135 | ** From the series' primary CreationMyth comes Padomay, TheAntiGod [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification]] of the forces of change, chaos, and darkess. He is the [[CainAndAbel twin brother]] to Anu, the GodOfGods personification of the forces of [[OrderVersusChaos stasis, order, and light]]. Out of [[DrivenByEnvy jealousy]], Padomay killed creation and its twelve worlds before being wounded by Anu. Anu salvaged the pieces of those worlds and created one: Nirn. However, Padomay returned and wounded Anu as he attempted to destroy Nirn. Anu [[TakingYouWithMe pulled Padomay and himself out of time]] in order to end Padomay's threat to creation. However, Padomay is not an inherently evil force and while Anu is honored for his part in creating and protecting Nirn, it could not have existed without Padomay who brought the idea of "change" to the Void. Without change, the stasis of Anu was simply "unchanging nothingness". Several cultures also have far more benevolent interpretations of their equivalent of Padomay; in the Khajiiti religion "Fadomai" is basically a GreaterScopeParagon and the one who instructed Azurah to create the Khajiit. |
| 136 | ** Throughout the series, many of the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]] play with this trope. While they are really entities AboveGoodAndEvil who operate on their own BlueAndOrangeMorality within their spheres of influence, most of the common folk of Tamriel consider them evil and the equivalent of demons. For some, like the [[GodOfEvil Prince of Domination and Rape]] Molag Bal and the [[OmnicidalManiac Prince of Destruction]] Mehrunes Dagon, this belief isn't unfounded. However, numerous others can be quite benevolent toward mortals, and are usually considered the "good" Daedra (though GoodIsNotNice and GoodIsNotSoft can be in full effect with them if you cross them). Specific examples include: |
| 137 | *** Azura, Daedric Prince of Twilight and Prophecy, is often associated with darkness and the night sky, but is widely regarded the most benevolent of the Daedric Princes by mnost of Tamriel and the only one who seems to genuinely care about her servants as more than tools or playthings. She encourages her worshipers to love themselves as much as they love her, and is very protective of her greatest servants, as seen in her treatment of the [[PlayerCharacter the Nerevarine]] in ''Morrowind''. However, even her devout worshipers admit that she can be quite cruel to those who earn her wrath. She is fan of DisproportionateRetribution toward those who wrong her, such as ([[UnreliableNarrator possibly]]) cursing the Chimer race to becoming the ashen-skinned, red-eyed Dunmer after their leaders, [[PhysicalGod the Tribunal]], defied her. Later, in ''Morrowind'', she [[spoiler:guides the Nerevarine into casting down the Tribunal under the guise of guiding him/her in defeating [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]], whose source of power just happens to be the same as the Tribunal's]]. In the years that followed, as an indirect result of these actions, Morrowind is practically destroyed as a result of the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion Crisis]], the "[[ColonyDrop Red]] [[ChekhovsVolcano Year]]", and [[SlaveRace the]] [[LizardFolk Argonian]] [[TheDogBitesBack invasion]]. The entire Dunmer way of life is disrupted, but Azura becomes even more revered by them as the center of their "New Temple" religion. |
| 138 | *** Namira is the Daedric Prince of the Decay, Revulsion, and the Ancient Darkness. According to Khajiiti religious tradition, she is a piece of the Void which became self-aware after the [[CreationMyth birth of Lorkhaj]], and to the Khajiit she's basically a SatanicArchetype [[TheCorruptor who lures them down the Bent Path]] to becoming [[DemonOfHumanOrigin Dro-m'Athra]]. However, many of her appearances aren't particularly malevolent and she is [[MamaBear very protective over her followers]]. Most of her other associations are perfectly natural occurrences as well. The Reachfolk revere her as the queen of all spirits, and believe that she played an integral role in the creation of the mortal world. |
| 139 | *** Nocturnal, the Daedric Prince of [[TheSacredDarkness Night and Darkness]], is another. Being the patron of thieves automatically makes her a few shades of gray darker, but despite this and her association with darkness, she is usually quite benevolent to her followers and there are few cases of her doing anything particularly malevolent. In one ancient Khajiiti legend, she uses her darkness to shield two allied Princes from [[FallenAngel Meridia]], [[LightIsNotGood Daedric Prince of Light]], in order to help them stop Meridia from damaging the mortal world. |
| 140 | *** Sanguine, the Daedric Prince of of [[FunPersonified Debauchery]] and [[TheHedonist Hedonism]], plays with it. Indeed, he is a Daedric Prince and his sphere includes various sins, vices, and the darker natures of man, but he isn't nearly as evil as some would suggest. He is very rarely even malevolent. His quests usually don't involve killing things, causing lasting harm, or spreading suffering in any way, only annoying folks. To put it bluntly, Sanguine is basically a demonic frat boy. He's still far from harmless, of course, but any harm he does seems to be more through carelessness than malice. On the other hand, his personal artifact, Sanguine's Rose, is one of the more dangerous Daedric artifacts, since it summons a random lesser Daedra that is not under the summoner's control. Martin Septim's reaction to the Rose in ''Oblivion'' implies that toying around with it in his youth got a bunch of his friends killed and soured him on Daedra worship forever. |
| 141 | *** Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of [[MadGod Madness]], is another. While he can fluctuate randomly between being a goofy GreatGazoo and an AxeCrazy [[ColonyDrop hurler-of-planetoids]], he does not seem to be "evil". In ''Morrowind'' he calls madness a "bitter mercy" that is sometimes a blessing for people who would otherwise fall into despair. In ''Skyrim'', [[spoiler:[[DeityOfHumanOrigin the new Sheogorath]]]] acts as a ''therapist'' to the spirit of Pelagius the Mad, an AxCrazy [[TheCaligula Caligulan]] former emperor. Being a deity of madness also means knowing how to ''treat'' madness. |
| 142 | *** Most interpretations of Boethiah, the Prince of Conspiracy, Deception, and Secret Murder, are solidly DarkIsEvil, with the Prince often being depicted as a fearsome warrior clad in black armor and characterized as a being who only cares for bloodshed. However, the Khajiiti interpretation of him, Boethra, is cast in a far better light. While still a fearsome figure wearing black armor (and sometimes a death shroud), her associations with treachery are absent, instead depicting her as a more straightforward warrior goddess who defends the Lunar Lattice from evil spirits. |
| 143 | ** The [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmer (Dark Elf)]] race throughout the series. While they have a (not undeserved) cultural reputation for being dour and suspicious, and their dark skin and [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] are indicative of a curse, the Dunmer are no more inclined to outright villainy than any of Tamriel's other races. |
| 144 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', the Underking is this. [[spoiler:It turns out that he ''doesn't'' want to destroy the Empire and take over Tamriel, he just wants to ''[[DeathSeeker die]]'', and needs the [[ArtifactOfDoom Mantella]] to accomplish this]]. Of course, he still hates the Empire for reasons deliberately left vague, so he's not fully ''good'' either. |
| 145 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Divayth Fyr is this. Despite his gray-skinned/red-eyed appearance typical of the Dunmer, the fact that he wears a full suit of [[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]] [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver Daedric]] [[ScaryImpracticalArmor armor]], and the fact that he's formerly of [[EvilSorcerer Great House Telvanni]], he has set up the "Corprusarium" to act as a safe haven for sufferers of the [[BodyHorror Corprus Disease]] where they can be safe (and to protect others ''from'' them). He's nothing but cordial to [[PlayerCharacter the Nerevarine]] and [[spoiler: cures the Nerevarine of the negative effects of the Corprus Disease, leaving him/her with the [[BeneficialDisease positive effects]] of being TheAgeless and having IdealIllnessImmunity]]. |
| 146 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'''s ''Shivering Isles'' expansion, the lesser Daedra Dark Seducers are ''much'' friendlier than their [[LightIsNotGood counterparts,]] [[JerkAss the Golden Saints]]. |
| 147 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'': |
| 148 | *** Paarthurnax is the leader of the Greybeards and one of the [[BigGood major forces of good]] in the game, despite being a ''Dragon''. Since Dragons are nearly AlwaysChaoticEvil, he explains that it takes daily meditation and [[HeroicWillpower enormous self-control]] to resist succumbing to his baser instincts. |
| 149 | *** Likewise, those who are Dragonborn are regarded in legend as being heroic figures, despite having the [[NotSoDifferentRemark same innate urge]] to dominate and destroy as all Dragons do. (The exception to this rule is, ironically, the first Dragonborn, Miraak, who was definitely evil. He could have easily helped the Tongues defeat Alduin, but he just didn't ''feel'' like it.) |
| 150 | *** The Last Dragonborn takes this several steps further. Depending on the player's choices, they can be a werewolf or a vampire lord (or both!), the head of a ThievesGuild and an [[MurderInc assassins guild]], and clad in scary-looking Daedric armor. Their race may have a bad reputation, such as the Khajiit or the Altmer. All this in addition to the above point about their dragon blood driving them toward domination and destruction. But regardless of all of this, they are the hero to all of Skyrim and beyond, and end up saving all of Tamriel from certain doom multiple times. |
| 151 | *** Serana from the ''Dawnguard'' DLC. She's one of the Vampire Lords created directly by Molag Bal, the [[GodOfEvil evilest Daedric Prince]] in TES-verse. However, she's [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire a nice girl who just wants not to be involved in world-shaking plots]], and if you side with the Dawnguard, she's perfectly willing to help the vampire hunters or, possibly, even get cured at the end of all this. |
| 152 | * The true ending of ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}:'' [[spoiler:The princess was a monster all along! But wait... [[TomatoInTheMirror your character was also a monster all along!]]]] |
| 153 | * The ghouls of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' generally have either gone completely feral or are just regular people with severe skin issues. ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' subverts this in the Tenpenny Towers questline, where the [[FantasticRacism racists]] are refusing to let Roy Philips and other ghouls move in. [[spoiler:Roy's actually ''worse'' than the residents and ends up killing all humans in the tower if the player helps him. NiceJobBreakingItHero]]. |
| 154 | ** Similarly, the Family turn out to be [[spoiler:{{Friendly Neighborhood Vampire}}s. Well, they aren't really vampires, they're a gang of cannibals that model the tenets of their society around vampire mythology, drinking human blood to control their cannibalistic urges. Get past that, and they're just some fairly decent people trying to get by in a CrapsackWorld that reviles them]]. |
| 155 | ** And in some extent, some super mutants like Fawkes, Uncle Leo and Marcus. |
| 156 | ** The Talking Deathclaws in ''VideoGame/Fallout2''. Deathclaws in general may look frightening, but they're not evil per se, just really dangerous. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/FantasyLife'': [[spoiler:Despite the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast ominous sounding name]], the Dark Sultan of Al Maajik isn't a bad guy, being more of a troublemaking prankster than actually evil. His son, Damien, also doesn't have a bad bone in him, being critical of his mother's wish for war against Castele. Their retainer, Odin, is similarly kind and undyingly loyal.]] |
| 158 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' often deals with this, as themes of Light and Darkness have always been there since the very first game, and so has a focus on LightIsGood, but without playing Light in strict opposition to Dark without some qualifiers. Hironobu Sakaguchi's scenarios tend to use the explanation that Light and Dark require balance, and too much of either is an apocalyptic force requiring correction; Kazushige Nojima's scenarios tend to rely on the idea that Darkness is, while as capable of being dangerous as any of the other elements, the element of calm and peace. (Creator/TetsuyaNomura's scenarios tend to rely on the idea that dark stuff looks extremely cool.) |
| 159 | ** The Dark Warriors of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII''. They helped save the world in the past of the game world when the Light got too powerful and threatened to destroy the world in the Flood of Light. |
| 160 | ** Most Black Mages in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' aren't evil at all. |
| 161 | --->''Not hate, but love.'' |
| 162 | ** Many recurring Summons in the series are themed around Darkness, such as Diabolos, Doomtrain, and Hades. |
| 163 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': |
| 164 | *** Cecil. Yeah, he throws away his own Dark Blade and becomes a Paladin, but the prophecy mentions wielding both dark and light... and indeed, at the end, it takes both Cecil and [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn Golbez]]]] to finish off the BigBad. |
| 165 | *** Also, there's nothing evil about the Dark Crystals, they're simply the underworld counterparts to the Light Crystals. |
| 166 | *** For that matter, [[spoiler: Golbez]] himself, especially in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' when he's teamed up with characters who are both Dark-themed ''and'' evil. To say nothing of Cecil himself, who wields both [[YinYangBomb light and dark]] in this game. |
| 167 | *** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', this gets... complicated. In the first half of the game, we encounter Dark [[spoiler:Kain]], and later in the story, we have a surprise reunion with [[spoiler:Dark Knight Cecil]]. It initially seems as though both are pure evil. However, Dark [[spoiler:Kain]] saves Porom from a horde of undead without a second thought, and Dark [[spoiler:Cecil]] is less evil and more... angry. Venting the hatred that [[spoiler:Cecil]] tried to forget. Their dark selves seem to be more a representation of their deepest feelings and strongest emotions given form. In fact, Dark [[spoiler:Cecil]] truly believes that he is the ''true'' [[spoiler:Cecil]]. In both cases, it is only when the character ''accepts'' the dark half of their soul that their journey is complete. |
| 168 | ** In some re-releases of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', you can even have your party members become heroic Necromancers, who are inherently Undead (and thus have problems with healing). |
| 169 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': |
| 170 | *** Vincent Valentine has strong goth/vampire themes, and turns into horror creatures as part of his Limit Breaks, but is nevertheless a force for good, more or less. |
| 171 | *** Cloud has vaguely punkish aspects to his design (more apparent in his later appearances), a [[PerpetualFrowner Perpetual Frown]], a "real dark side" and a very gloomy MeaningfulName, and has the legendarily bloodthirsty Murasame as one of his weapons. He is the hero. |
| 172 | ** Squall in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' wears black and is up-front about being a mercenary who'll fight for whoever pays his contract, contrasted with his RivalTurnedEvil Seifer, who is blond, wears white, and styles himself as a KnightInShiningArmor. |
| 173 | ** Vivi in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' is a BlackMage, but far from evil. His "brothers" aren't either, when they aren't brainwashed or tricked into being evil. |
| 174 | --->'''Vivi:''' I won't let you make any more instruments of murder! |
| 175 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': |
| 176 | *** The very gothy and moody Lulu uses Black Magic, and is wholly and unambiguously heroic. |
| 177 | *** [[spoiler:The Dark Aeon Anima is an expression of motherly love and devotion, who barring completion of a sidequest, aids you in your quest to save the world at the cost of her own life.]] |
| 178 | *** Tidus is vaguely themed around the Sun, and is irrepressibly cheerful; Yuna is themed vaguely around the Moon and is more serious and subdued, and aims to bring a period of peace called a "Calm". Both are examples of IncorruptiblePurePureness to the extent that both are {{Messianic Archetype}}s. |
| 179 | *** Auron also dresses kinda gothy and tends to be rather grouchy or at the very least aloof. He's also a hero. [[spoiler: He's also an unsent, which are typically malevolent spirits of people who have not yet passed on.]] |
| 180 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', Diabolos is simply cynical and even allies with the player if a certain quest is completed. Odin might also qualify for this. |
| 181 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Noctis is the most gothy ''Final Fantasy'' protagonist yet in appearance, and themed around night. He has the power of the Void, associated with DarkIsEvil villains of previous ''FF'' games, and gains access to death magic and the powers of dead kings. He's also [[PerkyGoth laid-back, cheerful and a lot more straightforwardly nice]] than previous, light-themed ''FF'' protag Lightning, whom he was intended to be ContrastingSequelProtagonist to (note that they are depicted in the same pose in their initial promo renders, but with Noctis in shadow while Lightning is in light). His MeaningfulName alludes to night as a time of clarity and peace. |
| 182 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDimensions'', while the flood of darkness that consumes half the world is very much a bad thing, the Warriors of Darkness are every bit as heroic and right-minded as the Warriors of Light, albeit led by the more cynical Nacht. The ''real'' evil is the Avalonian Empire. |
| 183 | *** In addition, the Warriors of Darkness can forge a pact with Diabolos, an Eidolon of purest darkness, who gives the ''exact'' same warning as Alexander, an Eidolon of purest light, gives to the Warriors of light; that light and darkness are meant to be together, lest horrible things happen to the world. |
| 184 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': |
| 185 | *** Played straight with the Dark Knight class introduced in ''Heavensward''. The Dark Knights harness their pain and passion [[spoiler:and love]] for power, but it's supposed to be done for the sake of justice. The first Dark Knight was a former Temple Knight who went rogue killing a very corrupt superior. The Dark Knights exist to keep the Temple Knights in check, essentially acting as rogue vigilante InternalAffairs. |
| 186 | *** This is the core theme of ''Shadowbringers''; in it, you travel to the world of the First, where the forces of darkness were all but eliminated. This allowed the Light to run unchecked and almost consumed the world in a mighty Flood of light energy. Though it was stopped before it could consume everything, what's left of the world is covered by an eternal pall of light; night is non-existent, and the survivors are besieged by [[AngelicAbomination Angelic Abominations]] known as Sin Eaters. The citizens of the world have grown jaded towards the light and concepts of virtue relating to it; they refer to friends and travellers colloquially as 'sinner', entire religions have sprung up around the worship of darkness and the return of night, and that world's version of the Warriors of Light - those who originally eliminated the forces of darkness - have gone down in history as ''villains'' for causing the Flood in the first place. To this end, the citizens of the First await a Warrior of Darkness to defeat the Sin Eaters and bring back the night. The player character Warrior of Light must take up this mantle of 'Warrior of Darkness' and use their unique powers to undo the damage the Light has done to the first. Furthermore, it is revealed that Light is really just the result of inactiveness, while Darkness is the result of activeness. |
| 187 | *** The expansion also has huge revelations about the nature of dark aligned [[GreaterScopeVillain Zodiark]] and light aligned [[BigGood Hydaelyn]] too: [[spoiler: both are the first Primals, with Zodiark being created by the Ascians to ''save'' them from an impending apocalypse, with many willingly giving their lives to summon him. Hydaelyn was not the creator of the world as originally implied during the earlier stories in the game; she was actually summoned in response to Zodiark by those who feared his power, believing he needed to be kept in check. This resulted in Hydaelyn shattering Zodiark into fourteen pieces, and thus shattering the world into the different Shards in the process. This is why the Ascians see Zodiark as a saviour and Hydaelyn as a destroyer: because in their eyes, Zodiark saved them, while Hydaelyn punished him out of misguided fear. Of course, considering [[BigBad who tells the story]], it's entirely possible he's [[UnreliableNarrator only telling his side of the story]].]] |
| 188 | *** ''Endwalker'' introduced the Reaper job to the game. Reapers are assassins from the mostly-antagonist empire of Garlemald who wield a SinisterScythe as a weapon, and have a [[DealWithTheDevil contract]] with a Voidsent who is projected through a puppet known as an Avatar that gives the Reaper traces of their power in return for feeding them the life energy of the Reaper's prey, to the extent of a SuperMode where the two fuse into a black-cloaked, glowing-red eyed and sharp-clawed frenzied beast. Reapers are ''also'' consummate professionals who prefer their assassination targets to be cutting off the serpent's head without excessive casualties and were culled from Garlemald after one of them tried to kill Emperor Solus after he launched his campaign of domination across the world, and besides their assassination jobs, their main and preferred quarry are Voidsent who managed to manifest in the mortal realm, who are almost always man-eating monsters. The Reaper's job trainer lives in Ul'dah and runs a group that helps to hide, secure the safety and livelihood of Garlean runaways and defectors who spoke out against the Empire's evils, who would almost certainly be killed otherwise due to FantasticRacism against Garlean citizens for what their nation was doing, and is ultimately a good person despite being very blunt and humorless. |
| 189 | *** The 6.2 ''Endwalker'' patch ''Buried Memory'' also plays with the realities of Dark and Light merely being due to elemental activeness, explaining that in the Thirteenth, [[spoiler: Voidsent can return from being killed because the sheer amount of activeness in the Dark garentees their revival unless consumed by another Voidsent]] |
| 190 | *** The dungeon "The Heroes' Gauntlet" involves the party having to fight through projections of Hydaelyn's champions summoned from all corners of the universe. One of the minibosses is a Spectral Necromancer who opens the fight by proclaiming ''"Tainted though I am, I am still a Warrior of Light!"'' |
| 191 | ** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'': |
| 192 | *** Cecil uses the powers of both the Dark Knight and Paladin, switching freely between them as he fights. Dissidia's position on this is made clear with the description of the "Twin Form", a material needed to forge Cecil's ultimate weapons: |
| 193 | ---->''Without darkness there can be no light... So how can darkness be truly evil?'' |
| 194 | *** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]] as well, who represents a good mindset amongst the Chaos faction of Dissidia. |
| 195 | *** ''012 Duodecim'' reveals many heroic characters were previously aligned with Chaos's faction, like Terra, Cloud and Tidus. |
| 196 | ** ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'': |
| 197 | *** Gaining the power of Darkness is one of the trials that Wol faces in in order to make him into a viable candidate for being the Warrior of Light. Wol is suspicious about the concept, and suggests that giving the hero of the Prophecy the power of Darkness would be a way of baiting him into abandoning his path; Sarah points out to him that while Darkness can be evil, it is also the aspect that includes rest and peace, specifically bringing up the example of the darkness under a warm blanket at night. (This is a similar take on the trope as Noctis, mentioned above.) |
| 198 | *** Wol is destined to become Warrior of Light and does have IdealHero aspects, but his [[DeadpanSnarker cynical]] personality ironically relates him more to the element of Darkness. This is what makes him unique amongst the other Blanks, who are more traditionally Light in nature and don't stand out as likely prophecy candidates. Both Sarah and Echo claim that Wol's comparative Darkness is what drew them to him. |
| 199 | * In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series, offensive magic can be divided into ''anima'' (thunder, fire, wind, sometimes ice), ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin light]]'' and ''dark'' (darkness, energy absorption). However, this doesn't determine the user's alignment; e.g Nergal from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]'' is a dark magic user and the BigBad, whereas your group can recruit a shaman named Canas who's actually a quite nice guy and directly invokes this trope (though he also points out that "dark" magic users [[InsistentTerminology prefer the term "elder" magic]]). |
| 200 | ** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'' game also uses this trope, as you can recruit ''three'' dark magic users: two shamans (Ray and Sophia, the first one being cynical but not evil and the other being a ShrinkingViolet) and a Druid (Niime, a HermitGuru [[spoiler: and Canas's mother]]). |
| 201 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'', the character Soren, who is both dressed in black and born with the "dark" affinity, is possibly ''the'' most loyal character to the protagonist's cause... and one of the most amoral and cynical of the Greil Mercenaries. Pelleas, who uses Dark Magic [[spoiler: and is implied to have become a [[DealWithTheDevil Spirit Charmer]] to get that ability]], is kind and honorable, albeit naive. |
| 202 | ** This is actually [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]''. Look up Lute and Knoll's support conversations. |
| 203 | ** In ''Radiant Dawn'', your army ends up working for the goddess of chaos ''against'' the goddess of order. The goddess of chaos is considerably kinder than the goddess of order. |
| 204 | ** A mention to ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'''s Salem, a Lopto Mage (a servant of a Dark God ([[GodOfEvil who really is evil]])) is pulling a HeelFaceTurn when you encounter him. If you successfully capture him you'll find he's not evil, unlike every other Lopto Mage ever. |
| 205 | ** ''The Sacred Stones'' has Knoll, a Shaman who is also one of the kindest and more unfortunate people in the game. If you promote Ewan into a Shaman, he also becomes an example of this. In contrast, [[spoiler: Lyon is an AntiVillain who uses Dark Magic... and has an ''horrible'' SuperpoweredEvilSide]]. |
| 206 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' zigzags this with two recruitable Dark Mages, Tharja and Henry. Tharja is a moody Plegian {{Turncoat}} with a {{Yandere}} streak for [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]], while Henry is more of a eccentric BloodKnight who has a morbid fascination with death (including his own) and violence. Both remain loyal to the Shepherds throughout the entire game, but are the [[TokenEvilTeammate shadier]] teammates. |
| 207 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': |
| 208 | *** The Kingdom of Nohr as a whole qualifies. It may ''seem'' like an initial case of DarkIsEvil, as it takes place in a [[{{Mordor}} barren, desolate wasteland]] ruled tyrannical, war-mongering king, but the situation is far from simple. Most of the denizens of Nohr are [[NiceGuy genuinely good people at best]], and being merely CreepyGood at worst. The reason why the tyrant the way he is now is because [[spoiler:he died in a Civil War, and he's being possessed by a God with a literal hatred for all humans]], and the royals are firmly on the good side, most notably [[KnightInShiningArmor Xander]]. |
| 209 | *** [[PlayerCharacter Corrin/The Avatar]] is this if they choose to side with Nohr. [[DefiedTrope Defying]] a ton of stereotypes associated with a dark prince/princess, a Nohrian-aligned Avatar is bar none ''the'' [[NiceGuy most heroic variation]] of the Avatar. Deliberately choosing to side with Nohr to prevent the country from being destroyed by xenophobes, while attempting to spare as many non-combatants as possible. His attempts to reform Nohr [[spoiler: sadly go OffTheRails,]] but even then, he admits to his mistakes and is indisputably an AllLovingHero. |
| 210 | *** Really, ''Fates: Conquest'' as a whole is ''very'' big on DarkIsNotEvil, to the point of TheSacredDarkness. Siegfried and Brynhildr -- all being "dark" weapons -- are just as divine and holy as Raijinto and Fujin Yumi, and the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Shadow Yato]] -- the holy sword obtaining the power of Siegfried and Brynhildr -- is especially blatant for being a dark sword blessed by the divine. |
| 211 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': |
| 212 | *** [[BlackMagicianGirl Lysithea von Ordelia]] uses dark magic and is one of four characters to learn Dark Magic Range +1 and Dark Tomefaire instead of their black magic equivalents, but she's ultimately a heroic figure. |
| 213 | *** Sylvain Jose Gautier's AncestralWeapon is called the Lance of ''Ruin'' and said weapon has an overall sinister look to it, he wears dark armor after the timeskip, his generic class outfits are all black and red, and he easily slides into the ''Dark'' Knight class thanks to his budding talent in Reason. But he's fundamentally a good person, philandering aside, -- to the point of lamenting the ill fate of [[CainAndAbel his antagonistic brother Miklan]] after enduring years of abuse from him. |
| 214 | *** Played with in regard to [[BattleButler Hubert von Vestra]]. His generic class outfits are all black and red, his "canon"/default class is ''Dark'' Mage (and later ''Dark'' Bishop), he uses exclusively dark magic as a playable unit, he serves as an antagonist outside the Crimson Flower route, and he has an overall sinister look to him. However, he also despises "those who slither in the dark," and he's a fully loyal ally on the Crimson Flower route. [[spoiler:Even on routes where he is the enemy (specifically, Verdant Wind and Silver Snow) he makes a point to leave behind a note for the party to ensure that "those who slither in the dark" will get their comeuppance even if he and his liege don't live to see it.]] |
| 215 | *** [[BlackKnight The Death Knight]] is another zig-zagged example. He is also a major recurring antagonist, a vicious enemy in battle, wears an appropriately scary spiky skeleton-like set of armor, and wields a SinisterScythe most of the time. Yet, [[spoiler:he willingly passes his weapon to the player if he's defeated in the paralogue he's encountered in, and warns the party about an upcoming [[FantasticNuke Javelin of Light]] strike by "those who slither in the dark" after the Fort Merceus encounter.]] On the Crimson Flower route, meanwhile, [[spoiler:he will join the party as an unflinchingly loyal ally... under his (kinda) true identity as Jeritza von Hrym, and the Death Knight turns out to be his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide different dark personality]] that he struggles to control. Oh, and for the icing on the cake, on that route you can have him reunited with [[MonsterBrotherCutieSister his beloved half-sister, Mercedes von Martritz]], if you took action to poach her before.]] |
| 216 | *** Not unlike Nohr from ''Fates'', the Adrestian army in general qualifies. While they wear red-and-black armor and wage a war of conquest, most of them range from {{Punch Clock Villain}}s at the service of a WellIntentionedExtremist AntiVillain empress at worst (on Azure Moon, Verdant Wind or Silver Snow) to outright heroic (on Crimson Flower; [[PerspectiveFlip notice the pattern?]]). [[spoiler:Except for Lord Volkhart von Arundel... due to the fact that he apparently fell victim to a KillAndReplace plot by the aforementioned clique prior to the events of the game.]] |
| 217 | *** [[PlayerCharacter Byleth Eisner]] may wear a predominantly black-and-gray outfit (especially if male), have a generally stoic and terse demeanor due to [[spoiler:being effectively on life support from a Crest Stone implanted into their heart at birth]], and carry the ''Ashen Demon'' moniker, -- but at the end of the day that cold exterior gradually thaws, [[SugarAndIcePersonality revealing a much more amicable, outgoing persona]], and they are the one to serve as TheHeart of their chosen faction and a [[TheMentor guiding]] [[MoralityChain light]] for its leader. The last moment is particularly notable with Edelgard and Dimitri, both of whom admit in their routes that without Byleth by their side they would've most likely turned into a [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans single-minded, future-obsessed]] "[[WellIntentionedExtremist harsh leader]] [[KnightTemplar with a heart of ice]]" and a [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge-driven]], [[LeeroyJenkins dangerously reckless]] [[TheCaligula delusional king]] dying "a fruitless death on the battlefield", respectively. |
| 218 | * ''VideoGame/{{Furcadia}}''[='=]s Dark Primes aren't all bad. Tallus, for example, was an "evil" god of prophecy and [[spoiler:only considered evil because he could see the apocalypse.]]. He also was a thief but [[spoiler:normally only stole from those who were unwary, unlike the light goddess M'rill who steals anything she wants.]] Tallus, according to in-game lore, died protecting his brothers and sisters, but in-game actually died [[spoiler:in a bar as he tried to defend himself from an unprovoked attack by the light god Viveravus. He could have won, but did not want to harm the mortals around him.]] Taglin Tigh is considered the king of the Dark Primes and the god of Nightmares, but [[spoiler: actually is friendly and helpful to anyone not a light prime. His main problem with the light primes is that they murdered Tallus in cold blood for no reason.]] He also is renowned as a "good father" to his many children [[spoiler:and often his own brothers and sisters. When seen in public with his less-sane family members, he is always taking care of them and preventing them from hurting anyone.]]. |
| 219 | * While the Black Getter from ''[[Manga/GetterRobo Getter Bobo Armaggedon]]'' is dark and violent at its finest for it is piloted by the [[MemeticMutation Batshit Ryouma]], ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Super Robot Wars Alpha 2 & 3]]'' puts it as a secret unit piloted by the classic and heroic Getter Team. |
| 220 | * ''VideoGame/{{Gift|2001}}'': Gift's Black Crystal power creates a bubble of darkness around him thet kills nearby Little Darks and removes the effects of red and green light. |
| 221 | * In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'', [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orkos]]. He looks like a LivingShadow and in fact [[CastingAShadow has powers related to that]], but he is probably among the most decent and kind characters in the whole franchise. |
| 222 | * ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' has a huge hearty double-helping of DarkIsEvil, first by way of the sinister Tanglewood Forest, and secondly under the monster-spewing shadows of [[spoiler: the Grave Eclipse]]. However, the only light strong enough to dispel the latter is also [[LightIsNotGood strong enough to burn to ash anyone who tries to use it]]. The solution? ''Darkness-enhanced safety gear'', sized to fit only the sweetest, most gentle member of the party. |
| 223 | * While this could be said of just about all the playable dark element characters in ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', certain characters embody this tropes more so than others. For starters, Lady Grey is a Necromancer of sorts, but only uses her power to be with her deceased family and is generally friendly. There's also Vaseraga who in spite of black armor and nasty scythe, is loyal, has a protective streak, and has a sense of humor (though his main weapon has gone haywire at time though). |
| 224 | * Millenia from ''VideoGame/GrandiaII'' is a textbook example of this. Despite being a piece of the setting's local {{Satan}} figure, she's actually a rather pleasant person when she's in a good mood. [[spoiler:Eventually she becomes one of the main characters' love interests.]] |
| 225 | ** Overall, this trope is pretty much half the point of the game itself...the other half being LightIsNotGood. |
| 226 | * In the world of ''VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}'', Dark Magic has an evil reputation and practicing it will cause rumors to form about your character, but it isn't actually inherently evil and many practitioners, such as [[LadyOfBlackMagic Morgana]] or potentially [[PlayerCharacter Guenevere]] herself can be quite heroic individuals. |
| 227 | * ''VideoGame/GuildWars''- Necromancers have all sorts of creepy and sometimes [[{{Squick}} disgusting]] powers, but they're one of the most popular professions. The three NPC necromancer heroes - Olias, the Master of Whispers, and Livia - provide the personnel for two of the most powerful player/NPC team combinations in the game, the so-called "Sabway" and "Discordway" skill sets. The NPC female necromancer Eve is one of the [[FanService poster girls]] for the game. |
| 228 | ** On that note Grenth, the patron god of necromancers, the undead, and death in general isn't actually that bad (despite being cowled and having a deer skull for a face). Grenth overthrew the previous god of death who ruled over the dead with an iron fist, and didn't allow the dead to be resurrected (whereas Grenth does). So every time you resurrect in Guild Wars, you can thank Grenth. |
| 229 | ** Assassins in Guild Wars are generally treated with respect, partially due to their killing abilities, but also because their works are (unfortunately) vital and necessary. At one point, an Assassin instructor compares Assassins to Rangers- whereas Rangers maintain order and balance within nature, Assassins use their abilities to maintain order and balance in society- through espionage, subterfuge, sabotage, theivery, and of course, outright assassination. This is shown first-hand to Assassin players when they are tricked into fulfilling an assassin job that disrupts that balance, and they are instructed to rectify their mistakes. Also, their Shadow Arts attribute is generally not tied towards dealing damage as much as it focuses on healing and providing defensive buffs. |
| 230 | * The trend continues in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', with Assassin's being replaced by the Thief/Daredevil class. Though many of their skills have a shadow theme attached to it, Shadow Arts still remains as a defensive/healing trait line rather than anything inherently evil. And Necromancer/Reaper are still good people (though sometimes portrayed as eccentric). |
| 231 | ** The Revenant class, introduced in the Heart of Thorns expansion, is often shown with evil-looking spiked armor;, a blindfold that may or may not have spikes and be made of metal; their class icon looks like a bleeding, blood-red eye; and they utilize skills from Mallyx the Unyielding and Shiro Tagachi (two of the original Guild Wars most lethal enemies)- so this character ''has'' to be evil... right? Except that they also use skills from the dwarf hero Jalis Ironhammer, and pacifist idealist Ventari; their Elite Specialization, Herald, grants them access to one of the only two good-aligned dragons in the series, Glint. |
| 232 | ** The Order of Whispers returns to the game, generally wearing armor with red and black, and working behind the scenes in Tyria to influence politics through bribery, intimidation and assassination... for the benefit of everybody. They get their hands dirty to get rid of corrupt politicians (or at least mitigate their policies) and collect valuable information that might be of use to others. |
| 233 | ** The Vigil was created by a Charr Blood Legion legionnaire, functioning as a powerful, heavily militarized order that generally wears black armor, and which favors direct conflict- against dragons. Whenever they aren't taking the fight to the dragons or their minions or protecting people from thugs and bandits, they also set up charities and aid in diplomatic events, like the peace between Humans and Charr. |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' gives us Raven. Yes, he does look very much like a bad guy thanks to his dark wardrobe (complete with flowing cape and a number of motifs related to his namesake) and displays some [[CombatSadomasochist VERY disturbing behavior]] in an actual fight. However, he's also quite personable when he wants/needs to be and is actually a good person; at the very least to the point where he's easily the most sympathetic of That Man's faction. |
| 235 | ** There's also Sol Badguy himself, a surly BountyHunter [[spoiler:whose true form is a draconian HumanoidAbomination]]. He's the hero of the series and is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. |
| 236 | * In ''VideoGame/GwentTheWitcherCardGame'', Nilfgaard seems to see it's rather nasty habits as a means to an end. That end being a more civilized, ordered, and peaceful world. Everyone else begs to differ, however. |
| 237 | * In the tragically-underexposed PAL-only PSX Konami-Atlus survival horror game ''VideoGame/HellNight'' (''Dark Messiah'' in Japan), the Cult antagonists in the game give the protagonist a test (which you have to pass in order to get a key item) to determine if he understands "True Darkness". The impression one gets is that such darkness is not supposed to be in conflict with, but actually in complement to the Light: |
| 238 | ##You see 2 birds. Which bird will you help? A black dove or a white crow? |
| 239 | ##There is a city. Who lives in it? Small children or big grown-ups? |
| 240 | ##Which you do you prefer: the darkness of outer space or the darkness of the deep ocean? |
| 241 | ** Correct answers are all B. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' franchise: |
| 243 | ** The fifth game plays with this. The Dark Elves are not generally evil, although some of their clans are. The Necromancers are initially presented as evil, but in the ''Tribes of the East'' stand-alone expansion they are allied with the good factions against the Demons. The Orcs from the same expansion are also not evil and part of the alliance. Of the 8 factions, the only one that's AlwaysChaoticEvil is the Demons. |
| 244 | ** Malassa is the [[DragonsAreDivine dragon-goddess]] of [[GodOfDarkness darkness and shadows]], and is often perceived as being evil by those who do not worship her. Despite this, she appreciates it when mortals remember that "darkness" and "evil" are distinct from one another, and she herself seems to believe in BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, as she plays an important role in keeping Ashan safe from demons, but has also acted on the demons' behalf when the scheming of her siblings threatened them with extinction. |
| 245 | ** The Dark Elves of the ''old'' verse were slightly-dusky mercantile-focused city-dwellers whose last war with their Light cousins was a long time ago. In the one game in which they show up in, you work for their Merchants' Guild to save the world (admittedly, it was destroyed not long after anyway, but that was for unrelated reasons they couldn't have done much about). |
| 246 | ** Necromancers and other wielders of Dark Magic were generally evil in the old verse, but the point was made that it was not an inherent aspect of the magic, and a few necromancers turned to be (or end up becoming), if not exactly non-evil, then at least in possession of [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]] and a fairly laid-back attitude (and Falagar the Warlock became the mentor to your world-saving band of heroes in ''Might & Magic VI''). |
| 247 | * ''Hero Wars'' has several heroes who fall into this, such as King Corvus and his daughter Prichess Morrigan, undead totals leading an undead army. |
| 248 | * ''VideoGame/HiddenCity'' has Mr. Black--who, despite his name, his all-black robes and his generally unpleasant personality--is the BigGood of Upper City region who strives to keep the City from the fog and the Shadow Cult. He's a rare example of a benevolent dictactor, being an authoritarian leader who had confiscated and sealed the City's anti-fog crystals so that only those who follow his rules will be granted its protection, but he's otherwise described as impartial and fair at heart. |
| 249 | * ''VideoGame/HogwartsLegacy'' depicts the Dark Arts (more specifically, the Unforgiveable Curses) as extremely dangerous, but not inherently corruptive. The protagonist of the game is more than capable of basing their entire combat build around using them while remaining an upstanding student and friend otherwise. [[spoiler: The closest the game gets to condemning the Dark Arts is in Sebastian's Uncle Solomon, whose hatred of Dark Magic is played as narrowminded, to the point he'd rather let his niece die to a dark curse than entertain the thought of studying Dark Magic in hopes to find a cure. To be fair, Sebastian is just as often depicted as foolhardy in how readily he trusts Dark Magic, but the biggest source of conflict he faces because of it is with his uncle's beliefs, rather than an internal struggle against evil.]] |
| 250 | * ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The main character, the Knight, is strongly associated with darkness, and is referred to by several characters as "Ghost" and "Shadow". They are nonetheless a heroic figure. [[spoiler: They later turn out to be a being of the Abyss, which is also this trope; the Void is a completely neutral wellspring of potential creation/destruction that is primarily used to stop the plague, and the worst sentient product of it turns out to be a misguided WellIntentionedExtremist known as "the Collector" who [[AmbiguousSituation may or may not have been right]]. This puts them in contrasts with the [[TheCorruption Infection]] and, by extension, [[BigBad the Radiance]], both examples of LightIsNotGood.]] |
| 251 | * The hero's power in ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' is dark-based, and his badass form is called a dark knight. The BigBad [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere it]]self is neither Light nor Dark, the hero and his LoveInterest fuse into a YinYangBomb to fight it. |
| 252 | * ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' can't seem to make up its mind about Dark Eco: it's undoubtedly ''dangerous'', corrupting and destroying life it comes in contact with. But at no point does it demonstrate some perverse will of its own, and by the time of ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', it's a dependable energy source for Haven City. Like all Eco, Dark Eco seems inherently neutral, though those poisoned by it inevitably turn out megalomaniacal lunatics. |
| 253 | * ''VideoGame/JourneyOn'': Shirley is a Necromancer who can raise dead spirits to either get info from them or have them act as guest characters in battle. Her dark powers also allow her to use healing magic. While she starts out uncorrupted, she can visit the Dark Sanctuary in her dreams and corrupt her soul in exchange for more power. However, it's possible to beat the game without corrupting Shirley's soul. [[spoiler:Even if Shirley gets fully corrupted and absorbed by the Avatar of Darkness, she is still loyal to Selena and will fight the Avatar from the inside.]] |
| 254 | * [[spoiler:Dark Pit]] in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. As his name would imply, he was originally intended to be [[spoiler:an EvilTwin of Pit created by the Mirror of Truth]] to serve the Underworld Army. However, he turns out to be an AntiHero. |
| 255 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': The first game is very straightforward about declaring that DarkIsEvil, but from ''Chain of Memories'' onward, darkness is treated more like acid: powerful, useful if you use it responsibly, but dangerous to touch unprotected and easy to use for evil. Without protection, darkness feeds off and heightens the user's worst impulses before ultimately destroying them, but an obsession with purity of light means ignoring other people's pain and being an above-it-all jerk. ''Dream Drop Distance'' introduces the first good-aligned native creatures of darkness in the form of Spirit Dream Eaters, and the next group of villains set against Sora after Xehanort's defeat are ones obsessed with the power of light. To help emphasize this evolution in the mindset of the series, of the two characters who successfully gain the AcquiredPoisonImmunity necessary to use darkness for good, one of them is none other than Mickey Mouse. |
| 256 | * ''Videogame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' gives us the Dokkalfar. They are stated to be dark elves and have a reputation as either a [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bastard/bitch]] yet people STILL live with them. Why? They are social creatures out and out. They, generally, are easy to talk to and love to chat. Sure they'll trick you into doing something but after they'll apologize and explain why they did. Being hot, flirtatious, athletically built elves who like wearing {{Stripperific}} clothes might add to it. |
| 257 | * ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'': |
| 258 | ** Meta Knight is a shady, mysterious figure with ominous-looking bat-like CapeWings, but he's at his worst a WellIntentionedExtremist and more often a HeroAntagonist or outright AntiHero. |
| 259 | ** Gooey from ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3''. Despite being made of the same substance as [[DarkIsEvil Dark Matter]], he's Kirby's friend and helps him on his adventure. During the final battle he even [[OneWingedAngel transforms]] into a flying form that's very similar to Dark Matter, except with his face instead of a single eye, yet he attacks Zero without hesitation. |
| 260 | *** Gooey [[TheBusCameBack returns]] as a playable character in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', where his connection to Dark Matter is emphasized to a greater degree through his ability utilize its trademark Dark Laser attack while in his flight form (Now officially called "Mock Matter"). |
| 261 | ** Shadow Kirby is a black and grey doppelganger of Kirby that leaps out of the shadows to attack Kirby. It turns out he's actually just trying to [[spoiler:[[GoodAllAlong protect the Mirror World]], but he was tricked into thinking his counterpart was a threat by the real BigBad. He wises up and helps out in the last battle by retrieving the EleventhHourSuperpower for Kirby if he loses it.]] |
| 262 | * Downplayed with the titular protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}''. Some aspects of Klonoa's design are traditionally creepy, like his mostly black fur (though he also has plenty of white fur too), his fangs, and his yellow eyes. The latter two features were especially prominent in ''Door to Phantomile'', where he had a mouth full of sharp teeth, and yellow sclerae with HellishPupils, making him look more animalistic than he does in later games. However, Klonoa is also a cheerful PrimaryColorChampion, which certainly ''isn't'' dark. He's definitely a hero, though. Some unused concepts for the character, including a shadow creature and a robot containing a human soul, would have been more creepy in nature, but the creators ultimately went with a cuter design for Klonoa to make him more sympathetic (and possibly more marketable.) |
| 263 | * The Exile in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' is revealed near the end of the game to have never regained their lost connection to the Force at all, but instead has been unwittingly using their ability to easily create Force-bonds with others to [[PowerParasite draw forth]] the Force from them, being more akin to a Force [[PowerOfTheVoid Black Hole]]. Despite this, the canonical version of the Exile is nonetheless aligned with the light-side. |
| 264 | * The Grey Order from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' are former Noxians who broke off from their nation due to its evil, but still study dark magic. Their representative Champion is CreepyChild Annie, who doesn't necessarily qualify as ''good'', but is certainly not evil. |
| 265 | ** [[MeaningfulName Yorick Mori]] is an undead necromancer who summons ghoul to rip apart his enemies in battle. He was also the last member of a long line of gravediggers who never produced a heir and died in shame. His grief was so great he was unable to pass on, and returned to the world of the living as a hulking undead behemoth. He joined the League of Legends only to bring his family name into the light once again, and his [[SecretTestOfCharacter League Judgement]] makes it clear how much of a Woobie he truly is. |
| 266 | *** His rework retconned a lot of this, but kept the trope true: He is now an undead monk who wields cursed weapons and commands armies of smaller ghouls to cut down his enemies. However, his enemies are his fellow undead, and his goal is to end the curse on [[UnholyGround the Shadow Isles]] that causes the dead to return against their will there. [[NoPlaceForMeThere Even though he is one]]. |
| 267 | ** There's also Nasus, who's powers revolve around draining life from his targets and withering them into dust. He also constantly rambles on about the deaths of his enemies. However, he mainly joined the league to help fight the unjust forces of Runeterra, particularly his AxCrazy brother Renekton. |
| 268 | ** Kassadin is a {{humanoid abomination}} whose [[PowerOfTheVoid powers come from the Void]]. However, he fights to protect Valoran from the creatures of the Void, in contrast to Malzahar, who wants the opposite. |
| 269 | * ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver'' features a CrapSackWorld and a number of fearsome-looking characters who could not exactly be called blameless, but their appearance is no guarantee of their moral alignment. The protagonist Raziel is former vampire, twisted by cruel execution into a ghoul who must feed on the souls of humans and monsters alike. However he rejects the brutality of his former brethren and acts with honor and is genuinely searching for the truth. The vampires are revealed to be the victims of a curse by their enemies, and were once a race of winged celestial beings. The vampire Vorador is a green scaly monstrosity but is basically decent. Even Kain, the BigBad, is partially justified in his actions in the end. Contrast this with the supposedly righteous human characters, who are xenophobic, religiously fanatical exterminators of anything not human, including [[spoiler:Raziel in his pre-vampire days as a member of the ruthless Sarafan order.]] |
| 270 | * The heroine of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDarkWitch'', Zizou, is a dark witch who's out to save the world. |
| 271 | * Rose from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', who, being the dragoon of the dark dragon, has such attacks as: sucking out an enemy's life force, doing ''something'' that leaves the enemies utterly terrified, and sucking the enemy party through a portal to hell. She can be rather harsh, but she also saves the main character's life, teaches him how to use her powers, and faithfully follows the rest of the party in their missions. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:as the only apparent survivor of the original seven dragoons, she has spent the last 11,000 years taking the unpleasant but necessary steps to keep the world from being utterly annihilated by the [[LightIsNotGood supposed Messiah]].]] |
| 272 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'', Cynder is the only [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience black dragon in the game]] and has control over the element of [[CastingAShadow Darkness]] but is only a villain in the first game, after being freed of being BrainwashedAndCrazy, turns out she's actually a pretty nice girl and a loyal ally, and [[spoiler:love intrest]], for Spyro, even becoming playable in the third game. |
| 273 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': |
| 274 | ** The Sheikah race, who are known as Shadow Folk. Though they're portrayed as intimidating {{Ninja}}s with [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] and a tendency to look after various [[BigBoosHaunt crypts and other haunted locales]], they're still on the side of good, being sworn to protect the Royal Family of Hyrule and also being a TribeOfPriests devoted to following the will of [[GodOfGood Hylia]]. Recurring character Impa in particular has served as the personal maid, bodyguard, and occasional ParentalSubstitute for Princess Zelda. The only exceptions to this are the [[EvilCounterpart Yiga Clan]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. |
| 275 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': The Gerudo at first come across as a dangerous race who kidnap and lock up men, attack Link, and hail Ganondorf as their king. They are perfectly willing to accept Link into their tribe when they see his strength and skill though, and Nabooru is introduced as doing her best to prevent Ganondorf's evil plans. Their subsequent appearances in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'' and ''Breath of the Wild'' show them as being completely friendly with the good guys. |
| 276 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': Koume and Kotake are shriveled hags who appeared in the previous game as villains. In this game, they're pretty nice (if a little grumpy) and will provide Link with some useful items and help him move forward in the game ([[FantasticRacism provided he's in his human form]]). |
| 277 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'': The Subrosians wear hooded cloaks and live BeneathTheEarth in a land filled with lava. Despite this, they're rather easygoing and nice, if a little secretive and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} odd]], except for the Strange Brothers who trick Link into trading his Roc's Feather for Fool's Ore. |
| 278 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The entire game plays with this trope in one way or another. Consider the golden wolf that turns into a menacing skeleton warrior... who then proceeds to teach you how to sword-fight. Or the monstrous black headless bird summoned to attack you that, once its master is defeated, happily gives you a ride to your next destination. Or the hungry yetis, who send you on fetch quests for treasures that turn out to be soup ingredients, and ''don't'' attempt to eat you at any point in the game (Well, the big guy might've considered going after you in wolf form if he hadn't just gone fishing), in fact they let you have as much free soup as you want any time you want, soup with very effective healing power. Or the Temple of Time, where you spend the first half evading vicious enchanted armor, and the second half ''controlling'' it. [[spoiler:Or when Midna finally uses the Fused Shadow, which seemingly goes out of control and turns her into a [[EldritchAbomination massive tentacled shadowy beast]]... and then a boss fight ''doesn't happen''.]] And all this is on top of the premise of Link being a wolf for much of the game, complete with the way the public reacts. |
| 279 | *** The Twili people in general are the game's main antagonists, and the game's backstory indicates that they once used dark powers to try to conquer the land and steal the Triforce, which lead to them being banished to the Twilight Realm. Late in the game, however, [[spoiler:Midna indicates that [[KarmicNod the Twili took their punishment to heart]], and [[HeelFaceTurn became a peaceful people with no desire for power]]. Indeed, Zant was shunned and rejected among his people ''because'' [[ObviouslyEvil they could see his lust for greater power]], and they remembered well [[SinsOfOurFathers what happened the last time they went that direction]]. The only reason you're fighting them in the game is that Zant has used Ganondorf's magic (which comes from [[LightIsNotGood his Triforce of Power, the "golden light" of the three Goddesses]]) to [[TheCorruption corrupt]] and control them: when freed of his influence, the Twili revert to their true, peaceful forms.]] |
| 280 | *** It should be noted that prior to her character development, Midna (while wanting to help free the Twili) cared nothing for mankind or Hyrule and only saw Link and Zelda as means to an end, and was planning on letting Link go back to a normal life instead of disposing of him after he had gotten her the last Fused Shadow. Then her plan became more complicated, so she stayed with Link longer, fueling a bond between the two. She's also friends with Princess Zelda, and part of her reluctance to aid the Hylians was due to a long-standing rule of non-interference on the Twili's part. But when [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice Zelda sacrifices herself to save Midna's life]]]], [[ItsPersonal it becomes personal for her]]. |
| 281 | *** When you defeat the seemingly bestial King Bulblin for the final time, who has never indicated anything other than sheer [[AlwaysChaoticEvil goblin brutality]]: |
| 282 | ---->'''King Bulblin''': Enough. [[IFightForTheStrongestSide I follow the strongest side]]! ...That is all I have ever known.\ |
| 283 | '''Midna''': Link! He... he spoke! |
| 284 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': The demon Batreaux has a monstrous appearance and causes monsters to appear in Skyloft every night with his mere presence, but he is a very nice guy who wants nothing more than to become human so that he can mingle with other people. |
| 285 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': |
| 286 | *** The [[{{Precursors}} Zonai]] characters we see, Rauru and Mineru, have almost black skin, darkly-colored clothes, and a resemblance to various carnivorous animals. But they're also some of the most benevolent people in the story, having helped found Hyrule in the distant past and fought Ganondorf to the death to stop him from destroying everything. Interestingly, Rauru also doubles as a case of LightIsGood, since he shares his namesake's status as the Sage of Light. |
| 287 | *** The Bargainer deities who hold power in the Depths are depicted by and channeled through imposing colossus statues of bulky, inhumanly-proportioned wizard-like figures with their upper faces doubled and stacked so they have four eyes and two noses. They even claim to have no interest in morality and are only concerned with guiding lost souls. However, they evidently do so completely honestly when you provide them, and they reward you for your aid with the Poes and for discovering their brethren by crafting you unique armor and letting you recover special treasures if you bring more Poes. |
| 288 | *** Likewise, the Armor of the Depths purchased from the Bargainers counts. It's Link's spookiest set of armor, resembling the Bargainer statues' hoods with a pointy silhouette and patterns of monsters, but also has a uniquely raggedy robed look that covers all but one eye on his face and may recall Zant as well as grim reapers. Despite this, the armor is crafted to protect Link from the actual evil in the Depths—Gloom, and it provides temporary hearts to take Gloom damage and spare the removal of Link's own hearts. The armor also regenerates its lost hearts after a short amount of time, giving it a connotation of powerful benevolent magic. |
| 289 | ** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': With the exception of Yuga, ''all'' of the villains (including Volga, once his Level 4+ Dragon Spear is unlocked) [[DarkIsEvil use the Darkness element]]. However, Young Link, Midna, Twili Midna, and Ravio do as well and are definitively heroic characters. Zelda also uses the Darkness element when equiped with her Dominion Rod, but she's far from being evil. Other examples include some benevolent characters' Level 4+ weapons adding Darkness on top of the already existing element (Link's Hylian Sword, Zelda's Rapier, Lana's Book of Sorcery, Darunia's Hammer and Toon Link's Sand Wand). [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Skull Kid does too]], but is also more of a wild card. His mischievous dialogue isn't evil per se, but doesn't paint him as noble either. |
| 290 | * ''VideoGame/Lit2009'': According to the developers, the decision in making Jake an EmoTeen (or at the very least, look the part) was to invoke this trope; a character associated with darkness bringing light to his high school. |
| 291 | * ''VideoGame/LocoRoco'': Budzi is pitch-black, dwells in a spooky forest, and looks remarkably similar to a [[{{Mook}} Moja]], but is still just as friendly and upbeat as the other [=LocoRocos=]. |
| 292 | * In ''VideoGame/LonesomeVillage'', Mocty the wolf is the village gravekeeper and wears a shirt with a skull pattern, but his outfit also includes a bright flower necklace and he is one of the friendliest villagers around. |
| 293 | * ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'' and [[VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney its sequel]] has the Dark People, these aren't evil despite the fact that they are cloaked, dressed in black or seem to lack legs. They are librarians and collectors of stories and knowledge and actually helps the main characters on several occasions. |
| 294 | * The [[PhysicalGod Vernal deity]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Urlach]] of ''VideoGame/{{Lusternia}}'', who used TheUndead as shock-troopers to stand against [[EldritchAbomination The Soulless Gods]]. His views brought him into conflict with other, more idealistic Vernals, but he never failed to get results and never stopped fighting. He also used his magic to create the Catacombs of the Dead. Though ostensibly designed to move his undead troops around efficiently, it was also used to transport refugees away from cities attacked by The Soulless Gods. [[PetTheDog Many thousands of innocents were saved in this way]]. |
| 295 | * ''VideoGame/LunarLux'': |
| 296 | ** The first Murk boss, Chronos, sacrifices its life to protect Bella from other Murks. This is because [[spoiler:she's actually Thea Grey, who maintained some of her consciousness. When she's temporarily revived by Guardia, she's in full control of her Murk form and helps Bella defeat Saros's Murk form]]. |
| 297 | ** The secondary protagonist is [[spoiler:Nickle the Murk Slayer, who is a human whose body emits antimatter, allowing him to use antimatter-based attacks and transform into a Murk-like humanoid. Although he starts as an antagonist, it turns out he's trying to save the people of Luna from Saros's Murk experiments]]. |
| 298 | * ''VideoGame/{{Majesty}}'': Two of the gods of the setting of Ardania are Fervus, the god of chaos, and Krypta, the goddess of death. However, Fervus is also a nature god, and his rivalry with Dauros is portrayed as more a morally neutral nature-vs-civilization rivalry, while Krypta sees herself as an egalitarian who dislikes meaningless, pointless deaths. Their followers will all serve the player with loyalty – so Cultists of the god of chaos and Priestesses of the goddess of death can be among the kingdom’s greatest heroes – but they have an ongoing rivalry with Dauros, the god of law and order, and Argela, the goddess of life, and will refuse to share a settlement with their followers. |
| 299 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the Human and Turian militaries, which tend to wear dark or drab shades (but fly brightly-painted ships), but it also has the Reapers, a [[MoralEventHorizon massive]] [[AbusivePrecursors aversion]] of this trope. |
| 300 | ** This seems to be the main theme for the squad of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. The fact that (aside from the returning teammates) Shepard's squad is comprised mainly of criminals, assassins, Cerberus operatives or otherwise untrustworthy individuals didn't sit well with some fans. However, the problem is that, aside from {{nominal hero}}es [[PsychoForHire Jack]] and [[BountyHunter Zaeed]] (before CharacterDevelopment sets in), none of your squadmates are ''evil'' per se. [[spoiler:With one exception.]] |
| 301 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', [[spoiler:even the Reapers are revealed to have a sympathetic motive. They are merely trying to stave off the end of all life in the galaxy by periodically culling civilzation to prevent what they believe is an inevitable RobotWar.]] |
| 302 | ** Rila and Falere, Samara's other two daughters who despite being Ardat-Yakshi are not sociopathic murderers like their sister Morinth and are actually content in their exile. |
| 303 | ** The rachni are giant bugs who are legendary bogeymen, but the queen you meet in the first game only wants to be left alone. Saving the original queen in the first and third games will not only bring them onto your side, but contribute about a hundred points of War Assets to the Crucible project. |
| 304 | * ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'': Zigzagged with Shinigami. In her human form, she wears a black dress reminiscent of the Victorian design, while she does assist Yuma at all-times, yet doesn't hold much for how humans die once she reaps their souls. |
| 305 | * ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', especially in the 2nd game, where he spends most of the time running around in a black leather jacket and black trousers, in comparison the BigBad, who wears all white clothing. |
| 306 | * Sir Daniel Fortesque of ''VideoGame/{{Medievil}}'' is a brave knight-... [[FakeUltimateHero wait, scratch that]], he's a guy who's been dead for 100 years and now just a skeleton in armour. He's out to defeat the evil wizard Zarok and truly earn his title as the Hero of Gallowmere. |
| 307 | * Serenade from ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 3'' may also apply. [[ViewerGenderConfusion It]] claims to be a "denizen of the Dark" when it is defeated. It also rules over the game's [[BonusDungeon post-game area]], which is pretty much the original form of the [[WretchedHive Undernet]], an [[BonusLevelOfHeaven unspoiled, peaceful sanctuary]]. |
| 308 | * In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Snake is the "brother of dark", and in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' he's described as "a shadow which no light can shine on". His battle strategy involves sneaking around in the shadows, and he has a dark, subdued personality, dark hair (in [[SilverFox most]] of his appearances), and usually wears dark clothing. Compare to his brother Liquid, the "brother of light", who has an [[LargeHam extroverted]] personality, blond hair, tends to wear lighter colours and favours battle strategies about overwhelming his enemies using an open display of force. Snake is not only the hero, but one of the more morally centred characters in the whole series, and agonises over his more questionable actions. Liquid, on the other hand, is an outright supervillain and an emotional trainwreck to boot. |
| 309 | * ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'' explores this concept a lot. |
| 310 | ** The lead protagonist is Talion, a Gondorian ranger that was revived by a wraith and given supernatural powers that he uses against Sauron and his minions. He becomes even more of this trope in the second game when [[spoiler:he becomes a ''Nazgul'' himself, albeit one still heroic that decides to stand his ground in Mordor, to prevent Sauron from uniting his forces and unleashing his invasion of Middle-earth, which Talion succeeds for many, many decades]]. |
| 311 | ** [[spoiler:Celebrimbor]], the wraith that provides Talion with his powers has a genuinely freaky and decayed appearance as you would expect for a undead ghost, but he is also well-intentioned and motivated to stop the Dark Lord too, even if he is ruthlessly pragmatic about it. Ironically, his nickname in-universe is the "Bright Lord". [[spoiler:However there are hints that he is not as noble as he lets out to be, which is confirmed by the second game that he is just as deceptive and tyrannical as Sauron, making him a case of LightIsNotGood instead]]. |
| 312 | ** Despite being a very sinister figure who threatens the protagonists at the very start of the second game, [[spoiler:Shelob herself]] turns out to be this trope instead. [[spoiler:Everything she does is to prevent from a terrible future from coming to pass, namely Celebrimbor enslaving Sauron instead of destroying him and he would have successfully conquered Middle-Earth, which Talion manages to prevent by refusing to follow Celebrimbor anymore. In addition, Shelob provides helpful advice to the heroes and never turns on them despite their uneasy alliance. And finally, she is the one to tell Talion that to preserve the balance of power in the Middle-Earth, Sauron must be contained to Mordor at all costs]]. |
| 313 | * Downplayed in ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'', where there are Imp-type monsters, who look like devils, but there is an Imp class who is entirely on your side. [[spoiler:There's also the Vampire class, and all vampires you meet throughout the game aren't evil.]] |
| 314 | * Several armors and weapons in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' games are rather dark and sinister-looking, some even coming with descriptions that indicate a "cursed" legend or attributes considered "evil". However, your character is usually doing heroic things like saving villages and forts from gigantic, vicious monsters. |
| 315 | * ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'': Dark-shifted monsters are stated to be more aggressive than their neutral or light-shifted counterparts, but are otherwise just as capable of showing compassion to others and loyalty to a monster keeper who treats them with respect. As a case in point, [[spoiler:a dark-shifted koi pulls a HeroicSacrifice in order to restore balance to the sanctuary's sun after an alchemist corrupts it in order to spread chaos through the world.]] |
| 316 | * {{Tsundere}} siblings Noire and Uni of ''{{VideoGame/Neptunia}}'', also known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Black Heart]] and Black Sister, are the goddesses that preside over the [[SteamPunk steampunk-y]] [[ParodyNames Lastation]], the Land of Black Regality. They also happen to be [[HairTriggerTemper two]] [[PolarOppositeTwins of]] [[EveryoneLovesBlondes the]] [[OurFairiesAreDifferent several]] [[BunglingInventor major]] [[FourthWallObserver protagonists.]] |
| 317 | * Boo from ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' is a HumanDemonHybrid and the scariest-looking character in the game, having demonic horns, red eyes, and resembling a towering monster over the humans. But he's an ally and one of the heroes, all the way to the end. |
| 318 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has no alignment alterations for appearance. So yes, with an upgraded game to get the right color options you can run around as a paladin with matte-black skin and hair dressed in black and red, and still have people treat you like you look perfectly normal and are not at all creepy. |
| 319 | ** The rebel drow in Hordes of the Underdark, though their replacing the traditional drow black and red with blue and purple uniforms doesn't hurt either. |
| 320 | ** Ammon Jerro, the second game's resident KnightTemplar, is a demon-summoner with grey skin and glowing spiderweb tattoos that the game tries to convince you is the BigBad for the first two chapters. If you have enough Influence with him by the scene at Shandra's farm, he will not be quite as evil as he was before. |
| 321 | * In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', the Siberian Black Army[=/=]Free Territory is a group of democratic anarchist communes with an ominous name and [[SkeletonMotif macabre black imagery]]. The "country" has the Libertarian Socialist ideology group, and it is one of the few places in the world with Legal Protections for LGBTQ+ people[[note]]The vast majority of countries have homosexuality set as [[BuryYourGays Outlawed]], and the few that don't have it simply Decriminalized.[[/note]]. [[spoiler:However, if Ivan Stepanov is afforded too much influence then he will successfully depose Pyotr Suida, the anarchist territory will become anarchist InNameOnly, and the dark imagery will [[DarkIsEvil become entirely appropriate for the Black Army's new dictator]].]] |
| 322 | * The ''VideoGame/NexusWar'' series has the death-god Hashaa, who is a morally neutral deity that champions free will and opposes both angels and demons. Her efforts in the game are mainly spent ferrying souls off the battlefield to prevent DesecratingTheDead and routing the souls of the slain in and out of the [[DeathIsCheap void]]. Being aligned with neither good nor evil means that both are possible choices; playing as a Hashaa cultist grants lots of powers that are useful for killing, but that killing doesn't have to be indiscriminate and some of her followers are downright saintly. |
| 323 | * The main character of ''VideoGame/NieR'' teams up with Grimoire Weiss (an egotistical talking SpellBook that gives him the ability to cast blood-powered BlackMagic), Kainé (a foul-mouthed, scantily-clad swordswoman with [[DemonicPossession Shade]] powers), and Emil (who can [[TakenForGranite petrify]] people by looking at them and later transforms into a creepy skeleton with incredibly destructive abilities). All of them are [[BadPowersGoodPeople good people]] who would lay down their lives for their friends. |
| 324 | ** The big reveal of this game is that [[spoiler:Shades aren't AlwaysChaoticEvil and many bosses are only trying to protect their friends and family.]] |
| 325 | * ''VideoGame/{{Nihilumbra}}'': The protagonist, literally a chunk of the void given a mind, who looks like a windswept scarecrow made of pure darkness. Sounds villainous enough, but he's actually just like a curious child, eager to see the world, who means no harm to anyone. Born isn't really evil, despite looking like a scarecrow made of pure dark. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'': |
| 327 | ** The main protagonist Ryu Hayabusa. He wears either black or dark blue ninja suits, has a fairly ruthless approach to his enemies and has Fiend blood in his ancestral line. |
| 328 | ** Rachel, one of Ryu's allies. She wears a black outfit [[DressedLikeADominatrix that wouldn't be out of place at an S&M club]], is rather cold to Ryu at first and also has Fiend blood. |
| 329 | * ''VideoGame/NobodySavesTheWorld'': |
| 330 | ** Nobody's somewhat offputting [[BlackEyesOfEvil pitch black]] [[EmptyEyes eyes]] set them apart from the rest of the cast and are present in every form, of which most range from somewhat threatening-looking like the [[RuggedScar battle-scarred Guard]] and [[InTheHood shady-looking Rogue]] to blatantly monstrous like the [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily huge-mawed]] [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Mermaid,]] the [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ever rotting Zombie]] who weaponizes TheVirus, and the [[EvilIsBigger huge]] [[DemBones skeletal]] {{Necromancer}} decked out in [[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]], [[HornsOfVillainy villainous-looking armor.]] None of this changes the fact that Nobody is in fact trying to save the world. |
| 331 | ** The hooded Merchant is obviously some sort of scaly, reptilian creature that makes ominous remarks about some of his wares potentially being cursed and will cheerfully refer to the Necromancer form as "Dark Lord" like certain evil cultists hanging around the hills north of Damptonia. Nonetheless, he's a valuable asset to Nobody and pretty friendly if snarky. |
| 332 | ** The citizens of Mutown have all been horribly mutated after a nuclear plant meltdown. Some of them look more grotesque than the monsters you slay, but aside from their looks, they are just regular people living normal lives. |
| 333 | ** [[{{Halloweentown}} Damptonia]] is populated by witches and monster [=NPCs=] like a vampire and a wolfman, but they are all perfectly friendly. |
| 334 | * ''Noctropolis'' features a post-cataclysmic city in perpetual night under a cloud of volcanic ash. The city's main hero restores his health, powers and equipment by immersing himself in a pool of AppliedPhlebotinum called Liquidark, the distilled liquid essence of darkness, created by the Brotherhood of the Night as research into the extradimensional Elementals particularly the Patronage of Darkness, none of whom seem malevolent. The protagonist takes up the hero's mantle to fight the BigBad [[spoiler:revealed to be his predecessor switched over to {{Light|IsNotGood}} in a FaceHeelTurn to take over the world.]] |
| 335 | * In ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'', the "Shadow Knight" Oswald is somewhat cold and ruthless, but ''definitely'' a good guy. The "Demon Lord" Odin is one of the most morally ambiguous characters in the game but never comes across as "evil". Even Odette the Queen of the Underworld, despite being as cruel and vindictive as you'd expect for someone in her position, doesn't seem to be a real villain. The game DOES have definite villains and Odette doesn't even come close. |
| 336 | * ''VideoGame/OmegaLabyrinthLife'' has Mei Kurosaki, a {{Chuunibyou}} who nonetheless gets access to ''actual'' dark and terrible powers, and whose canonical weapon is a SinisterScythe. Despite this, she is still firmly on the side of Justice and the protagonists. |
| 337 | * The plot for ''VideoGame/OffSwitch'' has TheHero fighting to save his world (which is composed of shadows) from the invading [[LightIsNotGood light]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]]. |
| 338 | * In the PC game ''VideoGame/PajamaSam in: There's No Need To Hide When It's Dark Outside'', the titular Pajama Sam wants to vanquish the Darkness so he can return home, due to being scared. However, by the end[[spoiler:, he discovers that Darkness is actually a very nice guy, [[ItMakesSenseInContext who enjoys playing Cheese and Crackers.]] Sam returns home, and hopes to play with Darkness again the next night.]] |
| 339 | * ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': |
| 340 | ** Vivian is considered an enemy since she is the sister of the other two "Shadow Sirens" that are working for Grodus. However, about midway through Chapter 4, Vivian ditches her witch sisters and [[spoiler:joins Mario's party in order to not be pushed around by Beldam anymore and as thanks for Mario helping her find the Superbombomb. She uses many witch-like powers, such as setting enemies on fire or pulling Mario into a void to dodge enemy attacks, which falls under this trope since she's helping Mario on his quest to defeat the ManBehindTheMan.]] |
| 341 | ** The people in Twilight Town live in a pretty dark and depressing place, wear dreary outfits, and have dull personalities. Despite that, though, they're not dangerous and they're hospitable to Mario and his friends. The hotel owner actually leaves a peach if the player takes a nap there. |
| 342 | ** A few games have depicted Luigi with rather dark powers, even having the potential to be the most powerful destructive force in existence. He's a good guy, and not even an AntiHero or AmbiguouslyEvil. |
| 343 | * Marona, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', is technically a mercenary necromancer who binds and commands the spirits of the dead. She is a thirteen-year old girl who just wants to be happy and get along with people, is kind to even her enemies, and arguably the nicest person in ''any'' Nippon Ichi game. The Phantoms themselves are ghostly spirits, but they're overall pretty decent people. You also cross paths with Fox, Puppeteer of the Dead, a true necromancer... who is just a regular merc and not a particularly bad person either. [[spoiler:He aids Marona during the final struggle, along with all the other Ravens.]] |
| 344 | * Despite the Terran Republic in ''VideoGame/PlanetSide 2'' having [[GasMaskMook sinister gas mask infantry]], [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black/gray]] uniforms, and an obsession with [[MoreDakka putting as much lead downrange as possible]], they are arguable the ''least'' "evil" faction - they saved the Earth from a near-ForeverWar that was consuming humanity, are a genuine democracy with a large welfare state, and genuinely want to reunite the warring factions on [[LostColony Auraxis]] (but probably lopping off a few heads in the process to show who's boss), but the Auraxis [[TheRemnant remnant]] have been pressed into [[FascistsBedTime drastic actions]] due to resource shortages and insurrection on the damaged colony fleet as it tried to find a new home. In contrast, the [[MegaCorp New Conglomerate]] wants to abolish much of the welfare state and set up more a laisezz-faire system for their operations ("A miserable free man is better than a contented slave"), and the [[MachineWorship Vanu Sovereignty]] want to forcibly "[[CyberneticsEatYourSoul enlighten]]" everyone. |
| 345 | ** Averted, however, with the Terran Republic in ''VideoGame/PlanetSide 1'', where it was an [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny oppressive oligarchy]] that kept the Earth under an iron fist for a thousand years. Their uniforms and equipment was much darker (such as the almost completely black Prowler tank), and their gas masks more intimidating. |
| 346 | *** Really all the factions are this for the most part since... |
| 347 | *** The Terran Republic have kept the peace by sacrificing liberty and human rights and creating a police state, albeit a mostly benevolent one. And despite being democratic, they have still managed to remain in power as a one party state for over a millennia, suspect in it's own right, and they clearly are not alright with citizens of their empire attempting to secede. |
| 348 | *** The New Conglomerate want to rule themselves and are fighting for the right of self-determination from a controlling oppressive government which is completely unwilling to let them go peacefully. However it is clear they have resorted to using terrorist tactics and the 'Conglomerate' part of their name comes from their backers, a group of extremely powerful corporations using the rebellion to free themselves from Terran Republic rules, regulations and presumably taxation. Their leadership also comes into serious question on both moral and tactical grounds since - on pretty shaky justifications - they have also declared war on the Vanu Sovereignty and forced themselves into a war on two fronts for no reason. |
| 349 | *** The Vanu Sovereignty are scientists and free thinkers who believe artifacts left for them by Vanu and his people are the key to uplifting the human race. They (re)invented immortality on Auraxis and gave it to all and only want to improve people's lives through technology. They didn't even want to fight the NC and offered something akin to an alliance, which was rejected. They don't even really want to rule Auraxis, but are fighting to preserve and protect the Vanu artifacts there, since they believe uplifting the species will end petty factional disputes anyway. They are also cultish in nature, extremist, zealous transhumanists surrounded by rumors of sick and inhumane experiments, willing to uplift people whether they wish it or not, convinced that they and only they are able to decide whats best for their lost brothers and sisters, whom they see as stupid misguided children begging to be taught. Given that they are undoubtedly the most intelligent people in the setting, and that Vanu is reluctantly confirmed by the TR to have existed, they may or may not be right. |
| 350 | * ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' really likes this one. Your party alone can include Fall-From-Grace, a [[ChasteHero chaste]] [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] uninterested in consuming mortal men's souls, and Morte, the sarcastic foul-mouthed disembodied talking skull [[spoiler: who went to Hell when he died]]... who is also the only Good recruitable NPC and the only true friend you start the game with. |
| 351 | * Several plants in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' are rather [[{{Pun}} seedy-looking]], but are here to defend your brains from the zombies: |
| 352 | ** [[ManEatingPlant Chompers]] are sharp-toothed purple plants resembling Audrey II from ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors''[[note]]which is referenced in the almanac[[/note]] but crave zombies instead of living people. |
| 353 | ** Doom-Shrooms are on your side, even though the warning in the Almanac makes one doubt it. |
| 354 | ** The appearance of Grave Busters fits with their purpose, devouring tombstones. But Grave Buster wants you to know that "he loves kittens and spends his off hours volunteering at a local zombie rehabilitation center. 'It's just the right thing to do,' he says." |
| 355 | ** The Tangle Kelp is also a little creepy with its [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glowing squinty eyes]]… basically a less-goofy-looking version of [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Tangela]], though its FlavorText in the Suburban Almanac mitigates this with a spot of humor. |
| 356 | ** While we're at it: Spikerocks look kind of monstrous, but turn out be art lovers and impressed with European museums. |
| 357 | * ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'': Shadow Plants. Despite some of them having rather dark powers such as poison (Shadow-Shroom) and darkness (Grimrose, Shadow Peashooter), they're still the good guys. |
| 358 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 359 | ** Dark-type Pokemon are no more inherently bad than those of any other type. A good example is Absol, who can sense disasters and [[BearerOfBadNews tries to warn people of them]], but gets [[TheScapegoat scapegoated]] [[CassandraDidIt as the perpetrator]], or Umbreon, which evolves due to ''happiness'' (at night). Even thuggish ones like Scrafty are noted as taking good care of their family and allies. Despite this, the original Japanese name for Dark type is "aku" or "evil" type. This could be because of the nasty effects Dark-type attacks often have, however - most of them involve [[TheCombatPragmatist "fighting dirty"]], like pretending to cry (Fake Tears), ganging up on one opponent (Beat Up), biting (Bite, Crunch), thievery (Thief), and throwing foreign objects (Fling). A VERY welcome Woolseyism. |
| 360 | ** Ghost- and Poison- types are also similarly treated in the same way that Dark types are, Ghost types having paranormal powers and Poison types being associated with pollution, disease, or venom. |
| 361 | ** Same goes for the trainers who specialize in Ghost- or Dark-types; while villains will often use these types, anyone who makes a point of using them is just as likely to be nice or on your side. Though RonTheDeathEater will occasionally come into play.... |
| 362 | ** In that vein, the various regions' Gym Leaders and Elite Four members who frequently use one of the "evil" types. Many of them dress and act like exactly the type of person who would use Dark, Ghost or Poison types, with themed outfits and so forth. Hoenn's Ghost master Phoebe seems to be the odd one out, being a very cheerful girl wearing a tropical sarong and flowers in her hair. However none of these trainers are evil, and even the nastiest looking ones (Looking at you, Sidney) are quite friendly toward the player. |
| 363 | ** In ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'', the original Japanese name for Shadow Pokémon is Dark Pokémon. They, for the most part, were used by an evil organization, inverting this trope. This trope was also ironically played straight, as not every Dark Pokémon was an "evil" type. |
| 364 | ** Darkrai is a Dark-type [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] that personifies the new moon, and inflicts terrifying, unending nightmares upon all who draw near it. This happens to be a defense mechanism that it [[PowerIncontinence has no control over]], and it sequesters itself on a remote island far away from civilization so that no one will be affected by its power. It even serves as the ''hero'' of the anime's tenth movie (although it is accused of causing the events until Dialga and Palkia make their presence known). |
| 365 | ** Giratina (Ghost/Dragon-type) gets a lot of this. It's the closest thing to a canon EldritchAbomination the Pokémon verse has, being a creature from another world, an embodiment of Chaos, and being very, very ''angry'' when it makes its presence known in the games. All that said, though, it isn't evil, and its interference is actually a BigDamnHeroes moment in ''Platinum''; [[spoiler: it saves the world by its actions, although in the process it does inadvertently create ''another'' problem that the player must solve by confronting it]]. |
| 366 | ** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Pokémon White]]'' gives us Zekrom, who, despite the black scales and [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes,]] sides with the player to stop N and [[LightIsNotGood Reshiram]]. Their roles are switched in ''Black'', though. That being said, even in that case it, like N, isn't ''evil'' so much as misguided, and both N and Zekrom are firm good guys in the sequel ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Black 2]]''. |
| 367 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' has the legendary Dark-type Yveltal, a red and black wyvern-like Pokémon whose sphere is destruction, contrasting Xerneas' theme of life and creation, and has an appropriately nasty signature move in Oblivion Wing, which drains the target's life force. However, Yveltal itself isn't malicious or evil, and its destruction is described as a cosmic balance, destroying so that new life can be created by his counterpart. This is made most evident in the fact [[spoiler:that it's just as interested in thwarting Team Flare's genocidal plans as Xerneas is, allowing itself to be captured and used for that purpose by the player.]] Not to mention its [[http://lintufriikki.tumblr.com/post/70267418869/ribbonista-look-look-at-this-motherfucker face]] when you play with it in Pokémon-Amie... |
| 368 | ** One of the franchise's best examples is Gladion, from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''. He's a cynical, abrasive EmoTeen who favors dressing in black punk clothes, but he's not as sinister as his appearance or personality would suggest; he's very caring towards his Pokemon and [[spoiler:has a strong BigBrotherInstinct towards his sister Lillie.]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast He also has a good reason for being such a pessimist.]] |
| 369 | *** Also from ''Pokémon Sun and Moon'' as well as ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' is the first Dark-type specialist in a Pokémon League role who isn't an Elite Four member. [[spoiler:He is Nanu, and he is the sheriff who singlehandedly is responsible for why Team Skull has not run wild all over Alola, making him one of the biggest forces of good in his region.]] |
| 370 | ** Ula’Ula Island's Ghost type Trial Captain Acerola has a team of spooky Ghost-ype Pokémon, her Totem Pokémon is a fairly frightening Mimimkyu, and she's dressed in faded, patchwork rags. She is also incredibly sweet and welcoming to the player and Lillie (outright taking the latter on a shopping trip to cheer her up), and enjoys taking care of the orphans at the Aether House. |
| 371 | ** The Pokemon Incineroar (the final evolution of Litten) is a scary looking big cat with red and black fur who happens to be a Dark/Fire Pokemon, along with being classified as a Heel Pokemon. However, Incineroar’s personality is all an act and [[FriendToAllChildren it enjoys the admiration of children and smaller Pokemon.]] |
| 372 | ** In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'', [[spoiler:Hydreigon turns out to be one of the most genuinely kind characters in the game.]] |
| 373 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' has Eternatus, a giant skeletal Poison Dragon whose PowerIncontinence created a phenomenon called “The Darkest Day”. But it’s just as capable of being befriended as any other Pokémon. |
| 374 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Treasures of Ruin,]] a set of primary Dark-type objects-turned-Pokémon that seem to [[DarkIsEvil play it straight,]] having rampaged across Paldea in ancient times until being [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] in their shrines. However, they became that way because of the negative influence of humans’ baser emotions, and as with Eternatus, are fully capable of friendship with a good Trainer. |
| 375 | * According to the backstory, in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'' BigBad Ahriman, God of Darkness, was an example of this trope... until his FaceHeelTurn a thousand years or so before the game started. Becoming the SealedEvilInACan hasn't helped matters any in that regard. |
| 376 | * ''VideoGame/PurgatoryRPGMaker'': In the end of the first game, [[spoiler:Enri]] becomes Demonic [[spoiler:Enri]], a powerful being weilding the Demonic Axe and with a sinsiter red glow. As the sequel shows, [[spoiler:Enri]] is still on the side of the heroes and wants to fight against the spider invasion. |
| 377 | * Toby from ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' is this giant, furry, hulking, red-eyed, fanged, ill-tempered monstrosity. However, he's just protective of his ward [[spoiler:[[TearJerker to the point where he will sacrifice himself to bring her back to life.]]]] |
| 378 | * ''[[http://www.kongregate.com/games/BeGamerCom/rew REW]]'' casts you in the role of a monstrous teddy bear, with the first scene showing him in a kitchen where he has murdered a little old lady...but the scenes are actually being shown in reverse order, and it's gradually revealed that [[spoiler:the little old lady was actually an evil witch who abducted an entire village of cute teddy bears, either killing them and dumping their corpses in a pit or turning them into her monstrous minions.]] |
| 379 | * ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'' has the Arcs, a tribe of benevolent bat-winged and eared Sprites entrusted with guarding Lacrima Castle. Their race was almost completely wiped out by demons [[spoiler:and by a [[LightIsNotGood Grim Angel]], [[MeaningfulName Malice]]]], before the heroes' arrival. Serene, the sole survivor of the race and one of the [[{{Tomboy}} main heroines]], exhibits these traits. Played with during a battle event in Mireno Cemetery against two vampires: |
| 380 | -->'''Mercedes''': Why are you with them, comrade...? |
| 381 | -->'''Lina''': You're a vampire!? |
| 382 | -->'''Ein''': So your wings... |
| 383 | -->'''Serene''': These are Arc wings! How could a cute girl like me be a demon...? |
| 384 | * Death from ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'' is actually quite an important deity, as he is in charge of the cycle of reincarnation; he even helps out the heroes if you fight in areas where Death is worshipped or use his vortex enough; in which he will instantly kill most enemies, even some Bosses (Sadly undead and certain bosses are exempt). |
| 385 | * ''{{VideoGame/Rosenkreuzstilette}}'': |
| 386 | ** TheStoic, Grolla Seyfarth, wields the almighty Demon Sword Grollschwert and the also-almighty ability to turn the moon and night sky blood red. She's also willing to protect her colleagues at any cost. |
| 387 | ** Grolla's grandfather and mentor, Raimund Seyfarth, mastered Grollschwert as well as the Devil Scythe Grassense. He was called the God of Death, and not without good reason. That explains why Graf Michael Sepperin brought him BackFromTheDead as a wraith resembling TheGrimReaper. Since the Seyfarth family runs with the whole DarkIsNotEvil idea, this means he's not such a bad guy, either. |
| 388 | ** Graf Sepperin is a good man at heart who made a pact with the devil, learned the forbidden arts, and became a vampire while he was at it, using his new dark powers to launch a coup against the Empire to protect his fellow Magi and his daughter Iris [[spoiler:([[FatalFlaw whom he trusted so much that he didn't know she was manipulating him all along]])]]. He's a very WellIntentionedExtremist AntiVillain indeed (only without much of the villain part), and for good reasons; he truly cares for his fellow members of RKS that much. |
| 389 | * Zaros is the God of Fate and Control, and also the divine aspect of dark energy in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', however, his goals are fairly noble. He wishes to become an Elder God to bargain with the other awakened Elder Gods to not destroy humanity by starting a new cycle of creation, and when he realized his mere presence caused those around him to bend to his will because of his divine nature, he took a step back from directly managing his empire and followers, wanting to merely be, in his own words, "the voice that drives them to greatness." Zaros also directly calls this trope out when you get a chance to speak to him directly. |
| 390 | -->'''World Guardian''': Some see you as controlling, others as evil, and yet your loyal followers are in awe of you. And did you not say yourself that you were the divine aspect of dark energy? |
| 391 | -->'''Zaros''': Do not confuse darkness and light with evil and good. Real life does not deal in absolutes, not extremes. All life falls on a spectrum, and all life has capacity for both good and evil. Judge me only by my actions and my words, not by the words of others. |
| 392 | * ''VideoGame/SecondSight'' introduces members of the psychic Zener Children that were horribly mutated by the treatments used to activate their powers: despite their repulsive appearance and cannibalistic habits, when John Vattic arrives in the lower levels of the Zener Project base, they are quite generous in assisting John through the passages, eventually banding together with the unmutated Zener Children in the final battle. |
| 393 | * Quite a few characters in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' have some kind of monstrous aspect or heritage, and yet still possess redeeming or even heroic traits: |
| 394 | ** Saïd of the [[TheNecrocracy Kingdom]] is quite clearly an Ancient Egypt {{Mummy}} and also a member of a syndicate that is pulling strings all over Egypt; however, he's actually one of the few mummies who isn't out to kill the player, and other than his {{greed}} and arrogance, he's firmly on the side of the [[LaResistance Marya]]. Plus, despite his attempts at seeming proud and aloof, [[ThePollyanna Nassir]] takes great delight in pointing out his HiddenHeartOfGold. [[spoiler: He's also trying to atone for accidentally causing the Tokyo Incident via an impulsive deal with the Morninglight.]] |
| 395 | ** Later in the Egypt arc, players encounter the Sentinels, seven [[LivingStatue living statues]] of the Egyptian Gods - [[PoweredByAForsakenChild each infused with the soul of a human sacrifice]]. As always, the darkest and most imposing of them is the statue of Anubis, who supposedly drove an Orochi wet-works operative [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane just by talking to him]]. However, when you actually visit him, it turns out that the Anubis statue ended up with the soul of a five-year-old child named Houy, and is [[ChildrenAreInnocent easily among the nicest of the Sentinels]]. In one mission, you actually see him conducting his duties of releasing the souls of the dead to the hereafter, [[DontFearTheReaper remaining gentle and kind throughout]]. |
| 396 | ** Loitering around the Sentinels is the [[OurGeniesAreDifferent Jinn Amir]]. Like all Jinn you've encountered so far, he's a towering barely-human nightmare with CreepyLongArms and talon-like fingers, perpetually WreathedInFlames and hovering several feet above the ground; plus, one of his earliest cutscenes involves him burning a helpless mummy alive. However, despite his fearsome appearance cynical outlook on humanity, he's actually one of the few Jinn who haven't allied with {{Hell}} and will gladly help you if it means saving Gaia. |
| 397 | ** According to Theodore Wicker, ''[[OurDemonsAreDifferent the entire demon race]]'' is actually this. They're not AlwaysChaoticEvil, just desperate for the Anima they need to survive, having descended into barbarism when their world was cut off from its only consistent source of it; and the only reason why they're trying to invade Earth is because [[{{Satan}} Eblis]] is enslaving them. Once Wicker kicks off a rebellion in Hell, you end up working alongside quite a few of the more benevolent demons. |
| 398 | ** Wicker himself is also one of these: among other things, he willingly ''[[HellSeeker sent himself to Hell]]'', magically modified himself into a HumanoidAbomination in order to survive his new environment, [[TheSoulless stripped away his soul]] and never looked back, and now speaks with a [[VoiceOfTheLegion distinctly demonic reverb]] to his voice. However, despite all these disturbing elements to his character, he's actually one of the most selflessly benevolent figures in the entire game, having sent himself to Hell in order to ''redeem demonkind!'' |
| 399 | * Oichi in ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' is known for her demonic powers and even has 'dark hands' as her special moves. But she's pretty much an innocent, melancholic woman that doesn't seem to be pure evil, driven by her love with Nagamasa. [[BreakTheCutie Push her too far]], however, and she'll really show that she can be destructive (or to be exact [[spoiler:she gets taken over by her dark side and wreaks havoc]]). Another example would be the jovial ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, who is only "dark" due to his shady job. |
| 400 | * Yuri from ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' is a "Dark"-elemental character, and the main character- a heroic main character, even. He can transform into various demons, but he uses that power to fight against the really nasty bastards, and himself suffers absolutely no evil attitudes other than being a bit of a dumbass and a slight pervert. There's also Shania, in the third game, who is not only the main heroine and a ProudWarriorRaceGuy... er, ''girl'', but very much a Darkness element character. |
| 401 | ** Lucia from ''Covenant'' is also a Dark-elemental character...who's also a [[TheDitz ditzy]] and nice fortune-teller, barring the whole attempted murder by giant, pink pussy on the cat (she has a good reason for that). |
| 402 | ** Also in ''Covenant'', you get a vampire in your party. The fact that he's a vampire kinda takes the back seat to the fact that he's a [[CampGay gay pro wrestler]], though. |
| 403 | ** Said vampire is part of a family of vampires whose members have joined the heroes in each game. His older brother Keith joined Yuri in the first game and their younger sister Hilda aids Shania and Johnny in the third game. |
| 404 | * ''VideoGame/{{Shadowverse}}'': |
| 405 | ** Rowen wears dark armor, but he is one of the good guys. [[spoiler:He can also transform into a powerful black dragon.]] |
| 406 | ** Luna isn't necessarily evil as per say, as she doesn't have any evil intentions and just want to have friends. But [[BlueAndOrangeMorality her idea of playtime and befriending people involves killing someone and making them as undead]]. |
| 407 | * ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': |
| 408 | ** The series usually uses a two-axis alignment system for its demons, with the axes being Law/Neutral/Chaos and Light/Neutral/Dark. However, despite what you might expect due to its similarities to ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Dark Is Not Evil, and LightIsNotGood -- they have to do with the mythological reputation of the being in question, not its actual morality; Dark demons can be good, and Light demons can be quite nasty indeed. |
| 409 | ** The ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' spin-off games for the Game Boy systems are probably king of this trope: the eponymous heroes are half-demons who explore Makai and various other worlds training [[{{Mons}} demons]], at some points even collaborating with [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. Naturally, they're trying to [[RageAgainstTheHeavens save the world]]. Then again, positive portrayals of some "dark" supernatural entities is pretty standard for [=MegaTen=]. |
| 410 | ** Igor from the spin-off series ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' is a very sinister-looking character, with a hunched back, bulging eyes, an enormously long nose, and pointed ears. He's actually a steadfast ally to the main characters throughout the series, giving advice and his services of Persona fusion. And he's the only character to appear in all the mainline ''Persona'' games to date; he even appears in [[Anime/PersonaTrinitySoul non-canon anime]]! |
| 411 | ** [[VideoGame/Persona4 Izanagi and]] [[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/JapaneseMythology Izanagi-no-Okami]]]], the Persona/[[spoiler:[[EleventhHourSuperpower Ultimate Persona]]]] of the the HeroicMime, [[CanonName Yu Narukami.]] Yes, that's right: the silent protagonist of the happiest ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game ever not only has the Japanese GodOfGods as his Persona, but it's this trope with borderline TheSacredDarkness. It ''Nulls Darkness'' in it's initial form, and though it [[spoiler:loses said resistance as Izanagi-no-Okami]], it's reappearance in ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' has him once again nullify Darkness. |
| 412 | ** [[HeroicDog Koromaru]] from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and [[GreatDetective Naoto]] from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' ended up having Darkness skills as one of their specialties. And with the former being a very loyal companion, and the latter being on the side of Justice, they are definitely not evil. |
| 413 | ** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', Rei and Zen are respectively a [[spoiler:CuteGhostGirl and a GrimReaper.]] Obviously, they are weak to light and strong to dark. However, they are your loyal companions throughout the game, and even [[spoiler:the BigBad who is Zen's merciless side isn't evil at all.]] |
| 414 | ** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': The Protagonist and his GuardianEntity Arséne wear black clothing, and Arséne naturally uses [[CastingAShadow darkness spells]], but are anti-heroes fighting [[TheHeartless Shadows]] and far worse criminals, rather than outright villains. |
| 415 | *** On the same game, unlike other Palace rulers, Shadow Futaba is actually made of suppressed positivity instead of negative desires and corruption, and seeks to tell Futaba the truth that she is being manipulated to ruin her own life. |
| 416 | ** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', Hikari wears black and [[spoiler:her background story of having to live a torture is shared with several major antagonists in the series,]] but she most certainly isn't the villain and is in fact a NiceGirl. |
| 417 | *** Then there's also Doe. While being a strange, black shadow like creature that is made out of [[spoiler:a twisted image of Hikari's Father and her depression, he actually wants to protect Hikari and help everyone get out of the Cinema.]] |
| 418 | * Galm from the ''VideoGame/ShiningSeries'' is a complicated character but not really evil. He's one of the most powerful Vandals, a race that where sealed away but are trying to come back to reclaim their kingdom, but seems to be completely disinterested in helping out. In fact in ''Videogame/ShiningTheHolyArk'' he helps out the heroes attempting to stop the revival of the Vandals. Then again he did rape and/or impregnate a couple of women so he isn't exactly good either. |
| 419 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Shinobido}}'', Goh Asuka is known as the Crow and wears black from top to toe, but he's the good guy. |
| 420 | * ''Franchise/SilentHill's'' Alessa Gillespie is either ChaoticGood or ChaoticNeutral, depending on whether you assume that her motivations are to prevent the [[spoiler: birth of some sort of demon goddess and protect the world]], or just to [[spoiler: end her own suffering]], but either way, she is ''absolutely freaking terrifying'' and she is preventing the end of the world. |
| 421 | * ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' has plenty of this: the Skylanders are basically the Spyro Universe's version of the Justice League, yet they have absolutely no problem in recruiting [[TheUndead Undeads and Ghosts]] such as Ghost Roaster and Chop-Chop, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elven]] undead {{Necromanc|y}}er Hex, Troll MadBomber Boomer, Orc Warrior Vodood or Cynder. Spyro is even revealed to have learnt to use his [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Dark Spyro]] form to heroic purpose. |
| 422 | ** Keep in mind these Skylanders are classified as the "Undead" type, which served as a stand-in for dark, with "Magic" standing in for light. Come Trap Team, actual Dark and Light Skylanders are added, and the Dark Skylanders are just as much on the side of justice as the light ones. |
| 423 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 424 | ** Sonic in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' unwillingly gets turned into [[OurWereWolvesAreDifferent a werehog]] after absorbing some of the BigBad's dark energy. He may look ferocious but he's still (mostly) the same hero we all know and love. |
| 425 | ** Shadow the Hedgehog qualifies for this after his drawn out HeelFaceTurn. |
| 426 | ** Dark Chao appear as (quite adorable!) little demons. Newborn chao can become this way if they're shown affection and treated well by otherwise-villains (Shadow, Rouge, Dr. Eggman). They act no differently from any other chao, and those that are interacted with by a character they like show signs of joy and affection. |
| 427 | * The beginning of ''VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction'' has a flashback to Sam Fisher telling his daughter who's scared of the dark that the dark can be used to protect you from bad guys. |
| 428 | * The Duty faction in the ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series. While their uniforms have dark tones with red marks and their attitude can come off as harsh and somewhat elitist, they're not inherently evil (or good, for that matter). |
| 429 | * ''VisualNovel/SoranicaEle'''s Zenobia has a power called Lucifer that commands the forces of darkness to strangle her opponents and disguise herself. She's really not a bad person, and in fact carries a heavy burden from all that she's been through, and seeks forgiveness for it. |
| 430 | * The Protoss Dark Templar of ''Franchise/StarCraft'' are pretty damn heroic. They are also some of the only Protoss seen so far to have a sense of humor. As for the mainstream Protoss, it's a case of LightIsNotGood, because most of the Khalai Protoss, with a few exceptions, are blind, arrogant, LawfulStupid religious fundamentalists. The Dark Templar are actually peaceful, it's the Light-aligned Khalai Protoss who are the war-mongers. During the course of the series so far, the Khalai Protoss have declared war on the Dark Templar at least three times. The Dark Templar have declared war on the Khalai Protoss... never. They just want to be left alone. In fact, Zeratul, the Dark Templar hero of the series, has been described by Gamespot's [[http://uk.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_heroes/hero10.html Top 10 Heroes in Gaming]] as a [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] who fights for the rebellion. |
| 431 | -->''"Though we strike at you from the shadows, do not think that we lack the courage to stand in the light."'' |
| 432 | * The video games ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' have child magic users Leon and Vivi, respectively, available as player characters. Both of them, especially Leon, use shadowy and dark magic in some of their attacks, even to the point of summoning up TheGrimReaper to instantly destroy the villains, but neither Leon or Vivi are themselves evil. [[TheWoobie Far from it, at least in Vivi's case.]] |
| 433 | ** In ''Star Ocean: The Second Story'', Leon's ultimate weapon is the ''Necronomicon''. Evil flavor text about opening portals to hell and summoning demons also included. |
| 434 | * This is a key point in ''VideoGame/StarTrekJudgmentRites'' during the episode "The Light and the Darkness". Kirk and his team encounter two interactive holograms, each representing a race of single-celled organisms at war with one another. One hologram looks angelic, while the other looks demonic. Kirk quickly notices that the angelic hologram is a lot more aggressive, while the demonic one is actually more passive. However this is just the first step to realizing that the holograms have nothing to do with the creatures they are "representing", and in fact no morality is involved in this situation at all. |
| 435 | * In ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', it is possible to play a Light-sided Imperial, meaning your Sith Warrior/Inquisitor can be a largely benevolent and reasonable individual even while choking or electrocuting their enemies. The light-sided Imperial Agent can be played as a [[MyCountryRightOrWrong well-meaning patriot who wants what's best for the Empire]] while the Bounty Hunter is more of a HitmanWithAHeart who believes in professionalism and standards. |
| 436 | * ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha 3'' gives us Cobray Gordon, who pilots the Werkbau and eventually upgrades to the Dis Astranagant. Werkbau is dark-colored and ''vaguely'' demonic in appearance, but the Dis Astranagant looks like something the GrimReaper would pilot, complete with a SinisterScythe, {{Attack Drone}}s that look like a swarm of bats, and [[FinishingMove Ain Soph Aur]], a WaveMotionGun which draws power from ''dead souls'' in order to ''wipe an enemy from existence''. Is this badass son-of-a-bitch the final boss? TheDragon? An anti-hero? Nope, he's one of the four selectable main characters, and he's every bit as heroic as the other three. |
| 437 | * ''[[VideoGame/EndlessFrontier Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier]]'' has the Orchestral Army, and to an extent the entire demon world of Formido Heim, although they did cause a bloody war ten years ago. However, special mention goes to the Orchestral Army's leader Ezel Granada, an axe-wielding demon whose head is a demonic skull with glowing red eyes and ram horns, constantly displaying a fanged grimace. He's also quite possibly the most noble character in the entire game, [[spoiler:having spent the past ten years shouldering the burden of protecting the Endless Frontier from the Einst, as well as the guilt from being tricked into starting the war.]] |
| 438 | * The [[CyberPunk Cybran Nation]] from ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander''. Well, [[GreyAndGrayMorality they're no more or less good than anyone else in this game]], but this trope applies since their units are painted red and black and are the most menacing looking overall. |
| 439 | * ''VideoGame/SwordOfPaladin'': |
| 440 | ** Although Zechs is a Dark Knight and is initially antagonistic to Asgard, he's also a benevolent ruler to the people of Vanaheim. [[spoiler:After Augustus turns on him, he forms a truce with Asgard and becomes an ally against the Extra Gem conspiracy. This becomes a plot point in the post game, since he has to purify the Satan Gems with his dark powers and fight Nade in a clash of darkness and light in order to create a Flotsam, giving Asgard a stable power source to maintain their floating continent.]] |
| 441 | ** [[spoiler:Augustus's innate element is darkness and he used to be a good person before being corrupted with Miasma by Berienstahl and Ragnarek, turning him into a mad emperor. Once he becomes the Royal Gem of Darkness and is purified of Miasma, he helps Nade and Alex defeat Ragnarek.]] |
| 442 | ** Orpheus has his existence maintained by the Miasma, [[spoiler:but he's allowed to keep his sanity because his wife is the Miasma Stella sword, allowing him to help the party by weakening Anguis.]] |
| 443 | * The Summon Spirit, Shadow, who is the summon spirit of darkness, in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', and again in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is one of the nicer Summon Spirits. (In ''Phantasia'' especially, as he does not require a fight to obtain.) |
| 444 | ** He's contrasted in ''Symphonia'' by Luna and Aska, who [[LightIsNotGood will kill you if you lose the pact-making fight]], and they're the Summon Spirits of Light. (Note that in ''Phantasia'', neither Luna nor Aska had a fight either.) |
| 445 | ** Because of ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'''s magic system, Shadow ''makes'' whatever mage is equipped with him the designated Dark mage. Also, the Dark Aurora used by [[KnightTemplar Shizel]] [[spoiler:and Meredy]]. See also YinYangBomb. |
| 446 | ** Tenebrae, from ''Symphonia'''s [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld sequel]], is also a very straight example-besides being a servant of you know, ''the king of all monsters'', he's also the Centurion of Darkness. He's also a pure good guy, albeit one with a [[DeadpanSnarker nasty sense of humor]]. |
| 447 | *** Emil, the protagonist in the sequel, is also Darkness-affiliated. Although with his [[BerserkMode Ratatosk Mode]], this may not be a perfectly straight example. |
| 448 | ** The series also has several Dark-elemental playable characters - Leon Magnus of ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Ricardo Soldat of ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', Kunzite of ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' and Elize of ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' all use primarily Dark techs, spells, and abilities. However, the original Leon doesn't really count as he remained a sadistic {{Jerkass}}, it wasn't until the remake where his personality gets retooled into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. On the other hand, [[spoiler:his alter ego]] Judas counts very much. |
| 449 | *** Judas (as well as Harold) both feature Light and Dark elemental spells in their moveset. Judas's stronger hi-ougis have him using Light elemental attacks, and his best move involves him materializing a sword of light out of thin air. As a result, he could be considered an example of a YinYangBomb... Except that his usual outfit, involving all black and a mask made out of a dragon's skull, also makes him fall into this trope. |
| 450 | * Yoshimitsu from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is one of the most bizarrely and terrifyingly looking characters of the franchise, but definitely one of the nicest. |
| 451 | ** Ditto for his ancestors from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries''. |
| 452 | * Oleander from ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' is a rebellious unicorn who's attempting to save her home from the Predators, but is herself cursed with dark magic. It's become a personal quest to prove dark magic can be used for good, but whether or not she's right is a different matter. Her companion, Fred - the demonic entity stuck in the book that cursed Oleander in the first place - is more ambiguous, helping Oleander on her quest without hesitation but also casually talking about bringing its own brand of evil upon Fœnum. |
| 453 | -->'''Oleander:''' My magic may be dark, but it will bring light to the world. |
| 454 | -->'''Fred:''' Yeah, or dark, either one. |
| 455 | * Garret from the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series may seem like an uncaring and dark fellow who'd do anything for some extra gold, but he never goes so far as to kill anyone that doesn't deserve it (that is if the game is played properly, of course) and usually ends up doing the right thing, whether intentionally to or not, even saving the world a few times. |
| 456 | * Pick a {{youkai}} from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', any youkai from ''Touhou''. In spite of youkai supposedly having a [[ImAHumanitarian diet consisting of human]], almost none of the characters are ever admitted as having actually done this. (Notable exception: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire]] Remilia Scarlet, who, disturbingly enough, is otherwise very much a [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampires friendly neighborhood vampire]].) Even if, at first glance, TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed, almost none of the supposed {{Big Bad}}s were actually doing something as dangerous as it at first seemed, and [[DefeatMeansFriendship after the shooting ends]], [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu tea parties are in order]], and the characters are invited into the greater cast for whatever random adventure they'll be up for next. |
| 457 | ** ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'' featured youkai hated even by other youkai for their [[BadPowersBadPeople distasteful powers]], and exiled to the Underworld. Yamame, the friendly CuteMonsterGirl spider monster could inflict diseases at will, but was popular for her friendly, cheerful personality. Yuugi, a much-feared Oni, mostly played around (though [[BloodKnight very roughly]]) with the heroines before helping them out. Satori and Koishi both had telepathic powers that terrified youkai and humans alike, forcing them to live with nothing but animals, even if they had done no actual wrongs to anyone. Rin carries away corpses and uses them to regulate the Hell of Blazing Fires, and initiated the game when she began driving evil spirits above ground, but only to lure the more powerful beings living there underground to stop her friend Utsuho from doing anything foolish or dangerous. Even Utsuho herself, the nuclear-powered hell raven with ambitions to TakeOverTheWorld, just went a little [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity mad with power]] and was fine after having some sense blasted into her. |
| 458 | * In ''VideoGame/TrailsOfColdSteel'', Rean Schwarzer's primary orbment is time which is the darkest element in the series, yet he is very heroic. This also applies when he's in control of his Super Mode which makes things scary when he starts losing control over it. In the fourth game, [[spoiler:he wears an all black outfit, and due to the effects of The Great Twilight, permanently has white hair and red eyes, which gives him a rather intimidating appearance, though he's no less heroic than the previous games.]] |
| 459 | * In ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', darkness is considered to be one of the eight fundamental elements of the world. The dark Elemental, Shade, has a very threatening appearance, but is very polite and readily offers his aid to the heroes. In addition, PrestigeClass[=s=] embody either light or darkness, and even if the player leans fully toards dark classes, the heroes remain heroic. The lore for the dark-dark classes leaves whether they are outright evil or using evil for good ends up to the player: is the Fatal Fist a crazed and violent brawler, or a specialist in lethal techniques tailored to bring opponents a swift and painless death? Is the Nightblade a murderous madman who revels in killing, or a fierce vigilante who uses underhanded tactics to bring the corrupt to justice? You decide! |
| 460 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Tsioque}}'', the first allies you make are a tentacle monster and a spider, who both help the titular princess out despite seeming like they would be creatures to avoid. |
| 461 | * ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'': |
| 462 | ** Shadow, a ghostly black hearse that's had several drivers (including an undead mortician, a goth girl, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a nerdy kid with a pet frog]]), all with fairly sympathetic motives. |
| 463 | ** Dollface from ''Black'', who is [[ClingyCostume stuck wearing]] a WhiteMaskOfDoom while clad in black clothing adorned with spikes. She also drives the huge black truck Darkside, which belonged to the sinister Mr. Ash in previous installments. Despite all this, she is the nicest character in the game with [[IJustWantToBeFree the innocent motive of freeing herself from the mask]]. |
| 464 | * ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': The game's regular cast as a whole is based on Franchise/DisneyVillains, the designs surrounding them have dark academia overtones, but they're ultimately heroic characters. |
| 465 | * ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' gives us Brahms, the King of Vampires. Considering the other vampires in the game (at least two that murder multiple innocents, plus some mooks fought by the main character), you'd think that job description would put him very high on the ranks of the evil food chain. He's actually calm, soft-spoken, and tries to convince the main character to ''not'' fight (despite being more than capable of [[TotalPartyKill wiping out the whole party]]). The sequel goes into even more detail, where his one crime was explained: [[spoiler: he actually rescues Silmeria from being imprisoned by Odin (who attempted to do so after Silmeria tried to stop Odin from destroying Midgard), and uses her power to prevent the end of the world the best he can.]] He's only the King of Vampires so that he can have the power to protect the weak, as revealed by the invocation for his [[LimitBreak Soul Crush]] in the second game: "My strength is the sword of the oppressed!" |
| 466 | * Moonrider, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/VengefulGuardianMoonrider'', has perhaps the most menacing appearance out of all the [[SuperSoldier guardians]], with bone-white armor, a fearsome horned helmet, and a pair of demon-faced ShouldersOfDoom. Unlike the others, however, Moonrider wants to set the people of Penrai free and rebels against the oppressive regime that created him. |
| 467 | * ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus'': Jessica Valiant from the ''Freedom Chronicles'' expansion dresses all in black and looks like more like a Franchise/JamesBond villainess than a NaziHunter. Nevertheless, she's one of the good guys. |
| 468 | * The monsters in ''VideoGame/WolfsGang''. Wolfgang himself is a WolfMan while his friends include skeletons, slimes and lizardmen, and their former home was a tower ruled by the Dark Lord. Despite this, all they wanted was to live their lives there in peace before the humans attacked. [[spoiler:Possibly subverted with the Dark Lord himself, as he did murder Ralph's parents.]] |
| 469 | * The country of Darkworld is on the good guys' side in ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterWorld''; apparently it's called that because it's dark most of the time (which is also why there's so much ice), even though the world is flat. |
| 470 | * Immorta from ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'' drives a black-and-red spaceship and wears an outfit remarkably similar to the villainous Vorkken, but she desperately wants to help the Wonderful 100 defeat GEATHJERK. [[spoiler:Vorkken's first mate, Chewgi, turns out to be this, and Vorkken himself becomes this after GEATHJERK's nanoweapon is removed from his body.]] |
| 471 | ** A few of the minor Wonderful Ones would also count, such as [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Wonder-Zombie]], [[HotWitch Wonder-Witch,]] [[ColdSniper Wonder-Sniper,]] and even [[TheGrimReaper Wonder-Death.]] |
| 472 | * The ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' series has Shade, the spirit of Darkness. Despite having spells with names like "Evil Gate" and pitting the party of one game against a monster in order to prove their worth, he's still a purely good entity, as dedicated to saving the world as the heroes are. |
| 473 | ** It should be noted that at least in ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', he's the only one not possessed and only attacks to prove your worth. |
| 474 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': |
| 475 | ** The Forsaken. There have been plenty of arguments between those who say they're evil and those who say they're doing what they have to in order to survive. Blizzard themselves [[FlipFlopOfGod flip flops]] on this issue. |
| 476 | ** The Wrathgate storyline more or less proved both sides of the debate right. [[spoiler:Putress and his followers certainly weren't 'doing what they need to to survive,' when they betrayed their allies and killed the delegation at Wrathgate. However, the subsequent Battle for Undercity storyline makes it plain that Putress and Varimathras were only a splinter group and that most of the Forsaken, including Sylvanas, remained loyal to the Horde.]] |
| 477 | ** Also Warlocks, who are described in the character creation menu in vanilla as "the bane of all life" known for their "singular wickedness and cruelty", and whose magic focuses on (1) summoning demons, (2) sucking life energy out of people, and (3) setting people on fire. Nonetheless, they're able to do all the same heroic deeds as any other playable class. (Having said that, all important warlocks in the ''story'' are evil.) Good warlocks are said to resist corruption from the dark powers they wield through HeroicWillpower. |
| 478 | *** Many Warlocks being evil comes from the fact that [[EvilIsEasy evil characters wanting a quicker path to power use fel magic]], and are prone to making deals with the [[OmnicidalManiac Burning Legion]], in later cases the [[EldritchAbomination Old Gods]], the latter use of it being the main reason why so many races mistrust them, as well the fact that the ecosystem on the orcs' homeworld was killed by Shadow Council recklessly using fel magic. The novel ''"War Crimes"'' shows the Alliance [[spoiler:actually utilizes Warlocks as a military force in the climax. Though this is the only known case of Warlocks being good/accepted in any of the stories, and it sort of comes out of nowhere.]] |
| 479 | ** The Good aligned troll tribe are called the Darkspear. Similarly the Shadow Tooth tribe of Dark Trolls aided in the battle of Mount Hyjal. |
| 480 | ** The night elves, while being ''[=WoW=]''[='=]s version of dark elves, aren't evil. Yes, they're nocturnal and have fangs. Sure, they're mysterious, distrustful of the other races, and rather prideful. They have made some (rather large) mistakes in their past, namely tearing the Warcraft world's Pangaea-like supercontinent apart with overuse of magic. But for the most part they're okay folks who want to preserve the balance of nature and stuff. |
| 481 | *** If you really get into the lore, you begin to find that the ones who are actually still dark elves are largely, in fact, the ones who managed to ''avoid'' being responsible for all of the above mistakes. |
| 482 | ** The Death Knights were members of the Horde and Alliance who died in battle, and were brought back as mindless servants of the Scourge. Towards the end of the questline the Lich King loses control over the player, and the player rejoins either the Alliance or Horde depending on their race. |
| 483 | *** One of the biggest examples is the NPC Death Knight Thassarian, first to rejoin the Alliance. [[spoiler:Even while still loyal to the Scourge, he shows a bit of weakness by showing concern for a captured ally, something which is frowned upon by his colder comrade Orbaz Bloodbane (who did not join the Knights of the Ebon Blade). After returning to the Alliance, he's primarily concerned about saving his sister.]] |
| 484 | ** [[CastingAShadow Shadow priests]] are arguably one of the darkest classes in the game, with an explicit connection to the game's resident {{eldritch abomination}}s and powers over madness, darkness, and void. They are still the good guys. |
| 485 | ** The ''Cataclysm'' ExpansionPack features Gilnean [[{{Wolfman}} Worgen]], [[CursedWithAwesome not entirely unfortunate]] victims of a lesser version of [[EvilSorcerer Arugal's]] curse. Unlike their truly cursed cousins in Silverpine, they retain control of their minds in wolf form and can switch between both at will. While they look less ugly then true worgen ([[AnotherDimension extradimensional]] invaders that have one form and one form only), having no tusks and well-groomed fur, they still look fairly menacing. They're members of the Alliance, as opposed to the [[UglyCute endearing]] goblins of the Horde. |
| 486 | *** It's worth noting that the worgen in Gilneas ''didn't'' have free will at first; it took a potion from the royal alchemist to restore free will on even a temporary basis. Night elf druids provided the more permanent solution (which also allowed shapeshifting between human and wolf forms), with the help of what is implied to be the (previously lost) Scythe of Elune--only then did the worgen curse become a case of CursedWithAwesome. |
| 487 | ** Gilneas also fit this in ''Warcraft II'', in which their color was black. Though tremendously selfish {{Jerkass}}es, they still fought with the Alliance during that war. They did isolate themselves from the rest of the Alliance via a wall shortly afterward, though. |
| 488 | *** "Damn the orcs, damn the Alliance, and damn you! The last thing Gilneas needs is sponges from other nations drawing from our resources, Dalaran wizards meddling with our affairs, and someone else's enemies killing our soldiers! Gilneas is its own nation and it always will be. This is the last time I'll ever talk to you, Terenas, so I hope you were listening." -- Genn Greymane, the king of Gilneas. |
| 489 | ** The Arakkoa Outcasts in ''Warlords of Draenor'' are mottled arakkoa that gain their power over shadows through the [[CursedWithAwesome Curse of Sethe]] and are hunted by the genocidal [[LightIsNotGood followers of Rukhmar]]. |
| 490 | ** [[CreepyGood Void]] [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elves]] are former High/Blood Elves who've been infused with a tremendously dark force (the Void) that has been known to subject its wielders to insanity and their [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette sinister appearance]] has been noted as being rather off-putting to the more light-loving members of the Alliance, but they are firm believers in the core ideals of the Alliance and pledge to use their new powers for the protection of Azeroth. |
| 491 | ** The [[HeelFaceTurn formerly villainous]] Dark Iron clan of dwarves who resemble an EvilCounterpart to the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer dwarves. In ''Battle for Azeroth'', they have officially been inducted into the Alliance, bringing their shadowy and grim tactics with them. |
| 492 | * In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness seems to be every conspiracy theorist's NightmareFuel. However, despite having their spokesman completely shrouded in shadow and speaking in an extremely............... ''threatening'' manner, the Council seems to be comprised of ReasonableAuthorityFigures who compliment you for your good work and only offer criticism if you ''really'' screw up. |
| 493 | * ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': [[spoiler:Between the two Titans, the black clad, mechanical-looking Mechonis is actually the good one, while the white and green Bionis turns out to be the BigBad. In addition, the native sapient lifeforms of Mechonis, the Machina, are extremely benevolent pacifists who assist the heroes various times]]. |
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