History AllGirlsWantBadBoys / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'': [[spoiler: According to Goenitz in the prologue story for Team Awakened Orochi, both Vice and Mature are "charmed" by [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersIoriYagami Iori Yagami]], the series' resident brooding anti-hero, to the point they can no longer be relied on to fully obey their master Orochi.]]

'''Leliana''': [[EvilIsSexy Where I come from they do, oh yes]].\\

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'': Estelle and Khloe liking the brooding and cynical Joshua, Schera liking TheHedonist Olivert, as well as Tita liking the {{Delinquent}} Agate in a PrecociousCrush.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'': There is LoveableSexManiac Randy and his many escapades with women. A village girl from Mainz specifically talks about preferring bad boys such as him.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
** Parodied when the [[EvilutionaryBiologist evil]] [[MadScientist scientist]] Hojo is surrounded by women at the beach. Played straight when you are told the reasons Sephiroth and Vincent exist. This is especially notable in that [[KavorkaMan Hojo is never shown to be handsome at ALL]]. In fact, he's as close as you can get to the stereotypical mad scientist look, complete with evil laughs he doesn't even bother to hide.
** Jessie has an obvious crush on Cloud despite his casually rude treatment of her. Depending on how you talk to her on her deathbed, you can make her say that Cloud's bad-boy attitude is what she liked about him. Averted with Cloud's more serious love interests, who like him for his more [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan wholesome]] traits. Tifa in particular fell for the dorky sweet boy who left her hometown to become a hero, not the bad boy mercenary he became and in the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake remake]] even becomes scared of Cloud when he's callous.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', Jessie's attraction to Cloud is a lot more blatant, but also explained to be because of her awareness of the trope - she is an aspiring actress who has a habit of intentionally falling for dramatic men. Madam M affectionately calls Cloud a 'bad boy' after finding out he's involved with Avalanche.
* Both [[PlayingWithATrope played straight]] and {{inverted|Trope}} with ''VideoGame/TheSims2''. Angela Pleasant, the sweetheart of the Pleasant family, is going steady with Dustin Brooke, who is a rebel, at the start of the game. Lilith Pleasant, who's a bit of a devil, is going steady with a fairly good teen, Dirk Dreamer. Also, a fair number of girls are in love or have a crush on the town Casanova, Don Lothario, when Dina Caliente is dating Mortimer Goth as well, Kayleen Landgrak (One of the towns' maids, mind), is in love with both the aforementioned Don and Daniel Pleasant (who is married already), and Cassandra is engaged to Don himself. Nina is the only one in the loop who isn't dating or has a crush on anyone else.
* Karen in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' explicitly states this trope.
* In the original ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' [[TheAnimeOfTheGame mini-scenario]] that was included in the ''VideoGame/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' fandisc, Chrono played the role of the villain and Nanoha [[OfficialCouple eventually ended up with him]].
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'': [[spoiler: According to Goenitz in the prologue story for Team Awakened Orochi, both Vice and Mature are "charmed" by [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersIoriYagami Iori Yagami]], the series' resident brooding anti-hero, to the point they can no longer be relied on to fully obey their master Orochi.]]
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Bastila in the first game will fall for the male PlayerCharacter regardless of alignment, and has some comments before the kiss about how attractive his strength (of personality, we assume) is.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'': A conversed trope when it comes to Atton who knows he's the "bad boy" and tries to warn against this trope. [[spoiler: You don't get much worse than his track record as a [[MageKiller Jedi hunter]], TortureTechnician, and twice over DangerousDeserter who manually strangled his last victim to death when she showed him he was about to end up on his own torture rack.]] And can be played straight if you're running a light side female Exile who tries redeeming him.
* This trope accounts for at least some of Squall's appeal to [[RebelliousPrincess Rinoa]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', although a lot of it also has to do with the fact that Squall is profoundly ''broken'' and Rinoa is strongly motivated to help people. Rinoa also dated [[TheRival Seifer]] in the game's backstory, but considering Seifer's aspirations to heroism and the fact that Rinoa herself was a member of LaResistance, he may not necessarily have come across as a bad boy at the time.
* Chillingly deconstructed in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment''. A young, naive girl falls desperately in love with a dark, mysterious stranger covered in scars...[[spoiler:whose every word is calculated to manipulate her into being willing to do anything for him because he needs a tool to sacrifice herself for him. He feels nothing for her but irritation for using his time. He is, after all, Practical.]] It's not until after she dies that she realizes the kind of guy he really was, ''[[LoveMartyr yet still]] [[MoreThanMindControl loves him anyway]]''...

** Eva, a human woman fell in love with a demon Sparda the Legendary Dark Knight from TheUnderworld and gave birth to his aforementioned sons. Although like Dante, Sparta only counts as a “bad boy” in the broad sense given his demonic nature, according to Eva Sparda was a noble person with a righteous heart and was a DefectorFromDecadence. Nico in ''[=DMC5=]'' states Eva must been quite the woman to tame a man like Sparda.

** Dante is a bit of a [[GenderInverted gender inversion]], he gets excited while Lady tries killing him in ''[=DMC3=]'' and gets very [[RagingStiffie aroused]] when the demoness boss Nevan paws at him. In ''[=MVC3=]'' Dante flirts with Morrigan and his win quote against her is “Mmm, baby. I love it when a girl gets violent!”. Then again from the same game, Dante laments that he can “never meet any nice girls” implying the opposite of this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', mook types known as Skulls are often shown with girlfriends who you can't attack, however, if you initiate combat with the Skulls, the girlfriend will almost immediately dump them.

* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyParty,'' both dialogue and cutscenes seem to suggest that nefarious Mr. Valentine, the "Shakespeare of Crime", does not lack for feminine affection. He even seduces one female culprit into working for him! Several others seem to have crushes on him.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' opens with Benny shooting the PlayerCharacter in the head. Later on, if the player character is female and has the [[ReallyGetsAround Black]] [[FemmeFatale Widow]] perk, they can give this trope as an excuse while seducing him. He is (understandably) {{Squick}}ed out by the offer but eventually relents.
** Cait in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' only likes it if you act in a violent domineering and mercenary manner by squeezing quest givers for money, choosing the threatening dialog options and resorting to violence. She doesn’t mind if the quest is unjust ie killing ghouls, synths or defenseless people, and in fact dislikes taking quests from weak defenseless people. She also likes it if you steal, pick locks, do chems, drink and get addicted. This is because she is addicted to Psycho, a drug meant to increase aggression in soldiers and has been using to deal with a traumatic past of child abuse, enslavement, rape, cage fighting and [[SelfMadeOrphan parenticide]]. This is the only way to earn enough of her trust to ask you for help kicking her addiction, after which a romance is possible. She also changes and mellows out a lot more. Seeking out violent domineering people is often something that abuse victims do, unfortunately that can further perpetuate the abuse.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
** Vega TheFightingNarcissist and AxCrazy pretty boy is often seen with scores of women, yet subverted with the main female characters of the franchise. In particular Chun-Li and Cammy who find Vega and the VillainousCrush he has them, utterly repulsive.
** While most characters react in horror to Evil Ryu, Juri’s win quote is about how “[[InLoveWithYourCarnage frisky]]” he makes her. Also in her win quote against Akuma, Juri says he “[[CombatSadomasochist pushes all my buttons the right way]]”. Averted with other bad guys as Juri hates M.Bison for killing her parents and hypocritically considers Vega a pervert.
** Played with Ibuki, in her win quote against escaped convict Cody she says “I do like bad boys. Those handcuffs are overkill” and is surprised to learn they’re real. Also played with her other win quotes against attractive bad boys, while she finds Jin Kazama hot in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' she ironically says he’s too “gloomy” for her taste.
** Kolin is a variation as she’s utterly devoted to Gill the DarkMessiah of TheIlluminati and serves as his DarkMistress in the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]]'' series. Except from Kolin’s perspective Gill is the genuine Messiah and believes he is a HopeBringer.
* Morrigan Aensland of ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' plays with this in her series, her rival the evil vampire Demitri wants her to be his mistress but Morrgian wanting to be a free spirit so turns into stone rather than let him subjugate her. Played straighter in later adaptations as Morrigan [[VampiresAreSexGods reciprocates his lust]] and they become a UnholyMatrimony in [[Anime/NightwarriorsDarkstalkersRevenge OVA]] and even when not a couple, Morrigan flirts with him constantly. Also played straight in crossovers such as ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' Morrigan hits on rugged scoundrels and anti-heroes such as Wolverine, Gambit, Ghost Rider and Dante whom she considers a “Handsome Devil”. Although keep in mind her [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] nature means she's very broad-minded and she even flirts with EldritchAbomination Shuma-Gorath.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' largely averts this. Some of the girls you can flirt with may ''say'' they like Jimmy's rough side, but if you so much as hurt their feelings they'll cool on you immediately and [[LaserGuidedKarma the Prefects will quickly jump on your ass]]. Zoey plays it mostly straight in-story, but abusing her in the game proper will yield equally bad results. You want some action with the ladies, you've gotta play nice.
* Marin from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' seems to be this. If the player attacks a Cucco enough times while she's with you, she will scream out different remarks such as "Ohh! Link, you're a bad boy!" as if she's orgasming over Link's badness.
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', it shows up when playing a male, Dark-side Sith. Interestingly, the two classes have two different variations:
** If the DS Sith Warrior falls for Vette, it's implied the relationship is genuine love, since to start the romance he has to remove her ShockCollar, which he has no reason to do besides wanting to. She ends up being his MoralityPet, and he her [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Violently Protective Boyfriend]].
** A DS Male Sith Warrior who pulled a CorruptTheCutie on Jaesa ends up with not only this, but it almost veers into BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor, as DS Jaesa is batshit crazy even by Sith standards.
** GenderInverted trope when it comes to a DS Female Sith Warrior and Quinn. Quinn is a stoic Imperial loyalist who more or less expects you to act like a crazy Sith and is a little rattled if you don't. He's attracted to your power but very resigned to the fact he (as a {{Muggle}}) is not likely to survive once the Sith bores of him.
** The DS Sith Inquisitor and Ashara, however, seem to deconstruct this. While the feelings between them are also genuine, he does some pretty dark things to win her over, including staging a RescueRomance to get in her good books and killing her parental figures so she can travel with him. Additionally, the usual "bad boy is redeemed by love" cliché is completely absent here--while he has a [[MoralityPet soft spot for Ashara]], the Inquisitor remains evil. In fact, his relationship with Ashara [[CorruptTheCutie opens her up to Sith corruption]] and she ends up SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, showcasing the [[RealitySubtext very real dangers]] of this trope.
** A Female Sith Inquisitor can play this with Andronikos. Andronikos, like his predecessor Atton, is a ''very'' "bad boy" with a lot of betrayals and a high body count. Unusually for this trope, the "girl" is actually much more dangerous than the "bad boy". Of fact he's attracted to the Inquisitor because she's dangerous.
** While not to the extent of the Sith classes, and certainly not played with on the same level as the Inquisitor's, this can also be present in any other class where the male PlayerCharacter is Dark-side and going after a Light-side companion.
* Interestingly toyed with in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Henry is [[PrettyBoy a beautiful]] [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white-haired youth]] [[BlueandOrangeMorality with some screws loose]] due to a DarkAndTroubledPast, and, as a result, he's a merciless BloodKnight with a LackOfEmpathy. However, when a girl falls for him, it's NOT due to his badassery and bad attitude but because, despite his craziness on the battlefield, outside of it he tries to help them in their daily lives--he joins Cherche in her vigilance rounds, fixes the plates Sumia broke, tries to help Lissa catch some sleep, etc. He also turns out to be a surprisingly loving and dedicated father to any child he has.
** Inverted in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' with Niles and two of his possible love interests, Effie and Oboro, who don't show any romantic interest in him until they get a glimpse of his HiddenHeartOfGold.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': Nirya, one of the mages at the College of Winterhold, says that [[EvilSorceror Ancano]] is clearly up to no good, but he's "rather handsome" anyway. Of course, if you read the Skyrim KinkMeme at all, you know that many, many people agree with her, as Ancano and various other male Thalmor (especially Ondolemar) feature prominently in the fills.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Roommates}}'', Anne going for Max fits the trope to a T. She describes him as being the kind of guy her parents warned her about, despite the fact that there were no guys like him within miles of her hometown. Anne's GayOption Isabella ''also'' counts. Flipping the player's gender, Max going for Sally could be seen as counting in a way, as while Sally isn't as sheltered as Anne, she's not nearly as wild as Max, either.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** Subverted with Sonya Blade falling in love and having a child with ArrogantKungFuGuy Johnny Cage. Sonya naturally found his AwesomeEgo disgusting and only fell for Johnny when he TookALevelInKindness and became more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold rather than just a jerk.
** Mileena is a justified example, she’s attracted to and slept with tyrannical assholes such as Goro and Reiko but given she’s been raised by Shao Kahn, this taste in men is hardly surprising. Averted at other times as she’s completely infatuated with TheHero Liu Kang, who putting it lightly [[AbhorrentAdmirer doesn’t reciprocate her feelings]].
** {{Necromancer}} Quan-Chi in ''Mortal Kombat Mythologies'' Sub-Zero has a trio of babes Sareena, Kia and Jataaka who Dracula’s Brides-style serve him faithfully since his magic sustains their beauty. Although at least one of them Sareena, pulls a HeelFaceTurn to good.
** In ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat11 MK11]]'' Queen Sindel thanks to AdaptationalVillainy instead of being brainwashed into loving Shao Kahn like she was in previous continuity, [[NotBrainwashed willingly choose]] the EvilOverlord over her husband TheGoodKing Jerrod. In-game Sindel make multiple InLoveWithYourCarnage comments to Shao Kahn.
** Averted with Jade and Kotal Khan, she’s attracted to his nobler qualities rather than his ProudWarriorRaceGuy ruthless attitude and is willingly to even fight him when he dips into the latter.
* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'':
** [[LadyOfWar Tsubaki Yayoi]] has a rather obvious attraction to [[AnIcePerson Jin Kisaragi.]] Jin himself is an ArrogantKungFuGuy who barely holds his contempt for those around him. To be fair, they are ChildhoodFriends and Tsubaki is pretty much the only character Jin treats with any sort of kindness.
** [[ShrinkingViolet Noel]], [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Rachel]], [[CatGirl Taokaka]], and [[NiceGirl Celica]] all have been attracted to [[AntiHero Ragna the Bloodedge]] since [[SubvertedTrope he's not]] actually a bad guy, rather because [[JerkWithAHeartOFGold he actually cares for them]].
* Tawna, who was Crash's girlfriend and also rescued by him in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', was met with scorn by MoralGuardians due to her MsFanservice design. She was replaced by Crash's sister Coco in the sequel, who was more kid-friendly. To explain Tawna's disappearance, the developers stated that she dumped Crash for Pinstripe Potoroo (a boss from the first game), who was a bad boy with a tommy gun.
* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': Subverted. Some of the [=NPCs=] do, and Clarence's girlfriend might, but more often than not, she won't.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/UnderNightInBirth''. [[{{Ojou}} Orie]] developed a crush on [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Hyde]] not long after she first met him. Even though he dresses like a school delinquent, [[SirSwearsALot swears like a sailor]] and his face is seemingly set in a constant scowl, Hyde kindly takes the time out to help her get used to the city and being in a co-ed school, and he is also shown to be an incredibly selfless and brave individual in other events.
%% INSERT NAME HERE in ''VideoGame/StardewValley'': He has some of the bad boy-isms (edgy design, smokes, rides a motorcycle, is in a band, and is a jerk to you in the beginning). However, once you start his Friendship route, it’s revealed that he’s a nerd who loves the Dungeons and Dragons Expy in the game; is a programmer; has a strong relationship with his mother, Robyn; and has a textbook case of social anxiety. And if you choose to date or marry him later on, he’s a giant mush.
* ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'':
** Jun Kazama is a mysterious case of this. She’s PurityPersonified yet slept with Kazuya Mishima the cruel and repugnant VillainProtagonist turned CorruptCorporateExecutive who’s [[DemonicPossession possessed by the Devil]] and birthed his son Jin. Jun doesn’t at all fit the usual criteria seen by other women listed here, making her relationship with Kazuya all the more baffling, although it is implied Jun was able to bring some goodness out of him. This is supported by Devil Kazuya’s ''Tekken Tag Tournament 1'' ending where he has a PetTheDog moment giving an unconscious Jun a BridalCarry as well as ''Anime/TekkenTheMotionPicture'' where their relationship is explored and Jun’s influence leads to Kazuya sparing [[ArchnemesisDad Heihachi]]. However, since both those examples are non-canon, it’s hard to say for sure.
** The Williams sisters Nina and Anna seem to only go for men as morally bankrupt as they are. Anna flirts and in the anime boinks Lee Chaolin the conceited SmugSnake (although he’s more a JerkWithAHeartOfGold later on), becomes the DarkMistress of Kazuya in ''Tekken 6'' and all we learn about her fiancé is that he was a G-Corporation executive with mafia ties. Nina for her part shows UndyingLoyalty to Jin who in the events of sixth game, triggers WW3 as head of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
** Subverted with Ling Xiaoyu, she’s a DoggedNiceGirl to well established bad boy Jin, except similar to Jun with Kazuya, Xiaoyu’s goal in the series has been acting as Jin’s MoralityPet against him being a bad guy. Her attraction is also quite hopeless as Jin per WordOfGod has decided he CantHaveSexEver out of fear of furthering his “cursed bloodline”.
* In ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'', [[BitchInSheepsClothing Penelope Mouse]] starts crushing on [[GentlemanThief Sly]] for him being a notorious thief, while having no romantic interest in [[GadgeteerGenius Bentley]] or [[RealMenWearPink Murray]] despite them being Sly's equals. She does eventually fall for Bentley... but come ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', Penelope's worst traits as a [[TheSociopath heartless]] GoldDigger come in, and her initial love towards Sly is replaced with [[GreenEyedMonster murderous hatred and jealousy]].
* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'':
** Discussed and lampshaded in the side mission "Holdin' On": [[TheRockstar Kerry]] and [[{{Deuteragonist}} Johnny]] talk about their bandmate Denny dating their another bandmate, Henry. Johnny doesn't understand what Denny saw in Henry, due to Henry being a FunctionalAddict and Denny being the smartest member of the band. Kerry answers that Denny always had a [[HasAType thing]] for losers, and that Henry was perfect for her, because she got to "rescue him over and over again". Johnny then asks "But why did she never tried to fix me?", to which Kerry responds with "Because she'd have to get in line, that's why!".
** Speaking of Kerry, they seem to be his [[HasAType type]], making him an "All guys want bad boys" example. His relationship with Johnny could only be described as "toxic", with Johnny frequently belittling Kerry. Johnny also often abused alcohol and drugs, and pulled dangerous stunts for no real reason (shooting into the audience during a concert) or for petty reasons (bombing the Arasaka Tower as revange for [[TheLostLenore Alt's]] death that he himself caused). His feelings for Johnny are so strong that it's implied he's still in love with him 50 years later, despite the fact that they never even got together in the first place. [[PlayerCharacter V]] is a downplayed example, because while he isn't nearly as toxic as Johnny was, he's still a dangerous mercenary who kills and steals for a living. In his "Temperance" ending call if V romanced him, [[spoiler:he mentions that he used to date a guy who he caught cheating, and another one who nonchalantly dumped him via text]]. Kerry himself lampshades it during his "Path of Glory"/"The Devil" romanced call:
---> '''Kerry:''' Don't get me wrong; I ''love'' having a (boyfriend) who's also Night City's bad boy(...)
** According to [[WordOfGod Mike Pondsmith]], Michiko Sanderson (nee Arasaka) once dated Adam Smasher in her youth. The legendary no-ganic, full-borg boogeyman of Night City for whom wanton destruction and collateral damage are conditions for his deployment. He presumably controlled his more repulsive impulses around her so as to not piss off his bosses.
* ''{{VideoGame/Deltarune}}'': Noelle wants a bad ''girl'', specifically the class bully Susie. She's a bit of a NightmareFetishist, so while most people avoid Susie because of her violent and aggressive behavior, she finds it appealing. By the time we see them properly interact in Chapter Two, however, Susie's chilled out a ''lot'' and [[TookALevelInKindness is now much nicer]], and it's revealed that Noelle was the one classmate she never picked on, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because she was nice to her]]. Ironically, Noelle thought Susie was ignoring her because she didn't even know she existed.

** GenderInverted example Leon S. Kennedy, all around hero and NiceGuy can't help but be attracted to FemmeFataleSpy Ada Wong whom he chooses over nice girls Claire Redfield and Ashely Graham. Despite Ada [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor double crossing]] and [[TheVamp manipulating]] him on a dime, Leon admits to Ashely in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil RE4]]'', Ada is a part of him he "can't let go", although he never trusts her again after '' [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil RE2]]''. PlayedForDrama in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 RE6]]'' as Leon is fully aware Ada is bad for him and doesn't deserve his care, but he's still willingly to fight Chris to prevent him killing someone he thinks is Ada. Downplayed in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake RE2make]]'', in spite of his feelings, Leon is still furious with Ada when he learns about her true motives and tries [[ByTheBookCop arresting her]] before she's shot by Annette Birkin and falls into a BottomlessPit. On the [[TrainEscape escape train]], Leon chides himself for missing Ada and throws away the ID wristband she gave him.