History EvilIsCool / VideoGames

* The Enclave, specifically in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. They have badass suits of PowerArmor, CoolGuns, and are lead by an AffablyEvil WellIntentionedExtremist (who is voiced by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell).

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': With an abundant cast of both good and evil, one prominent example would be the [[YourSoulIsMine soul sucking sorcerer Shang Tsung]]. With his [[SoftSpokenSadist creepy yet charming personality]] and [[CardCarryingVillain diabolical intellect]], the original BigBad of the series has been described by the creators as the franchise's "symbol of evil".

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'': [[VideoGame/BaldursGate Sarevok Anchev]] and [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII Jon Irenicus]], despite each being the BigBad of their respective games, are two of the most beloved characters in the series. In addition to each being extremely badass and powerful physical threats, both are also [[MagnificentBastard supremely competent and charismatic villains]] with rich, complex backstories that give them a great deal of depth and tragedy. The voice acting by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson and Creator/DavidWarner respectively also adds a lot to this. Amelyssan the Blackhearted, the BigBad of ''[[ExpansionPack Throne of Bhaal]]'' also gets this to a slightly lesser extent.

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'': [[VideoGame/BaldursGate Sarevok Anchev]] and [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII Jon Irenicus]], despite each being the BigBad of their respective games, are two of the most beloved characters in the series for being both extremely badass and powerful but also both [[MagnificentBastard supremely competent and charismatic villains]] with rich, complex backstories that give them a great deal of depth and tragedy. The voice acting by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson and Creator/DavidWarner respectively also adds a lot to this. Amelyssan the Blackhearted, the BigBad of ''[[ExpansionPack Throne of Bhaal]]'' also gets this to a slightly lesser extent.

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'': [[VideoGame/BaldursGate Sarevok Anchev]] and [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII Jon Irenicus]], despite each being {{Big Bad}}s of their respective games, are two of the most beloved characters in the series for being both extremely badass and powerful but also both [[MagnificentBastard supremely competent and charismatic villains]] with rich backstories that give them a great deal of depth and tragedy. The voice acting by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson and Creator/DavidWarner respectively also adds a lot to this.

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'': [[VideoGame/BaldursGate Sarevok Anchev]] and [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII Jon Irenicus]], despite each being {{Big Bad}}s, are two of the most beloved characters in the series for being both extremely badass and powerful but also both [[MagnificentBastard supremely competent and charismatic villains]] with rich backstories that give them a great deal of depth and tragedy. The voice acting by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson and Creator/DavidWarner respectively also adds a lot to this.

* The ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' is naturally full of them, but three stand out among the rest.
** ComicBook/TheJoker for obvious and already documented reasons. He goes from funny to hilariously cliché. Then he dies. Then somehow he's even MORE funny. You have to see it for yourself.

* Looking back at ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', many people were turned off by Ky Kiske because he's too much of a goody two shoes. Then, in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', he's given an {{Expy}} in form of Jin Kisaragi, a twisted, erratic JerkAss whose unwholesome personality was nonetheless well-met by many fans, though he does become a case of "Morally Ambiguous is Cool" [[CharacterDevelopment post-CS]].

*** Incineroar, the fully-evolved Fire-type starter from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''. It's an [[RatedMForManly extremely manly]] Fire/Dark bipedal tiger with the personality of a {{heel}} wrestler, complete with a championship belt made of fire. While it's a BaseBreakingCharacter (quite fittingly for its status as a heel), it has fans that love it a lot, many of which are in the {{bara}} community. This also applies in-universe, as its "bad guy" act makes it popular with children.

* If [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go2SMXxE-8Q#t=2m29s this]] video is of any guideline, Baal from ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} 2'' counts.
* Through not exactly a villain at the moment(but perhaps will be a antagonist an X-Pack), the KnightTemplar Angel Imperius from VideoGame/DiabloIII seems to be heading in this direction given his badass armor design and [[spoiler:the short but badass fight between him and Diablo at the beginning of Act IV]].

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Golbez]]: a BlackKnight EvilSorcerer with a BadassCape and an OminousPipeOrgan for his theme, which often plays [[CutscenePowerToTheMax in cutscenes]] when he [[CurbStompBattle casually swats your party members aside]]. Oh, and he's a BadassBaritone to boot. [[spoiler:Even in sequels and spin-offs which deal with him after he is freed from his mind control, he remains very badass, keeping his magical powers and occasionally swapping out his black armor to be a BarbarianHero with a {{BFS}}.]]

** Thanos -- for his epic fight against Ultron-Sigma, [[spoiler:managing to break the Reality Stone with his bare hands, and stealing Ryu's Satsui no Hado to make Lady Death pay for treating him like an UnwittingPawn]]... all while speaking in the smooth BadassBaritone of Isaac C. Singleton Jr. and generally being, well, ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. Even despite him being shackled early on.

** ''All'' the bad guys in ''Dissidia'', including the three above. There's [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Garland]], who is an AdaptationalBadass, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII The Emperor]], who proves AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Exdeath]], [[LargeHam who is]] [[FountainOfMemes just Exdeath]].

** Zeus in the sequels, probably the only one of the villains besides Ares to get much of following since A, the major antagonists besides him and Ares don't have much personality, or even screen time, and B, he's the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking king of the gods and shows why]] since he fights [[GoodOldFisticuffs barehanded]] in a series where nearly everyone else uses some sort of weapon, and defeats a titan while human sized.

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser]], despite his VillainDecay and [[GoKartingWithBowser penchant for competitive sports]] over the years, is still a giant, [[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]], [[BreathWeapon fire-breathing]] turtle-dragon, and winning a one-on-one fight with him as a pudgy plumber will always be satisfying - and yet, he's still a powerful menace when he needs to be, especially in the main Mario platformers. ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'' seems to play to this, where the big bad spiky dude is the main character (even if he ultimately has to save the Mushroom Kingdom) and, rather than being merely a comedic ButtMonkey, he's shown as a HotBlooded badass when he needs to be, and still gets plenty of hilarious scenes. Subsequent ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' installments run with this trope and depict Bowser as a much smarter and more menacing villain than in previous RPG's, all while keeping him as the LaughablyEvil BoisterousBruiser fans know and love. This trope was more-or-less acknowledged in the E3 trailer for ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'', which features a "Bowser Party" mode where one player controls Bowser and gets to wreak havoc on other players.

* In ''VideoGame/TerraInvicta'', one of the fandom's favorite faction is Humanity First. Humanity first are ruthless {{Absolute Xenophobes}} who not only fight the AlienInvashion, but commit terrorist attacks against fellow humans who they perceive as "alien sympathizers". However, their ruthlessness opens up new tactical options, [[LaughablyEvil their leader's brusque and down-to-earth nature gives them some of the best quotes in the game]], and [[TheExtremistWasRight their initial suspicions about the aliens prove correct]], so they're still quite beloved.

** Regarding custom empires, [[HumanityIsSuperior human supremacist]] technocracies and [[HumansAreWarriors militaristic empires]] (in the vein of the [[Film/StarshipTroopers Terran Federation]] or the [[TabletopGame{{Warhammer 40000}} Imperium of Man]], [[HumansAreMorons minus their constant]] IdiotBall and DoingInTheScientist tendencies) are very popular. Fanatic Purifiers and other genocidal empires also are popular for players on low-spec machines.

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser]], despite his VillainDecay and [[GoKartingWithBowser penchant for competitive sports]] over the years, is still a giant, [[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]], [[BreathWeapon fire-breathing]] turtle-dragon, and winning a one-on-one fight with him as a pudgy plumber will always be satisfying - and yet, he's still a powerful menace when he needs to be, especially in the main Mario platformers. ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'' seems to play to this, where the big bad spiky dude is the main character (even if he ultimately has to save the Mushroom Kingdom) and, rather than being merely a comedic ButtMonkey, he's shown as a HotBlooded badass when he needs to be, and still gets plenty of hilarious scenes. Subsequent ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' installments run with this trope and depict Bowser as a much smarter and more menacing villain than in previous RPG's, all while keeping him as the LaughablyEvil BoisterousBruiser fans know and love. This trope was more-or-less acknowledged in the E3 trailer for ''VideoGame/MarioParty 10'', which features a "Bowser Party" mode where one player controls Bowser and gets to wreak havoc on other players.

* In ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'' has Varg, Homare's role from ''Last Planet'' play. Varg's illustration drop caused an uproar. AwesomeMcCoolname, on top of having a transparent Coat Cape and a literal [[LaserBlade lightsaber]], with a PsychoticSmirk and TriggerHappy as the title. In the trivia lines in 5th Anniversary event, Varg is also said to have CombatClairvoyance ability. As a space police, Varg is like a reminiscent of Homare's [[AxCrazy Dewey]] from the stage shuffle...[[SubvertedTrope though in the actual play, Varg is on the good guy's side.]] [[spoiler:Though as the 5th anniversary story shows, he is rather rebellious against Grimm, his superior, and threatens him just so that he can participate in [=FORTF=] investigation.]]

** Both KOTOR games actually provide especially good foundations for this. In the first game, you're playing an [[spoiler: amnesic Sith Lord]], and if you decide to reclaim your former glory, characters will acknowledge you as such. And KOTOR II just takes it UpToEleven. This time, you aren't technically on a mission to be the hero, so it's not even expected of you. In this game, you get to wear a black BadassLongcoat, teach your companions the way of the Dark Side, cut your way through small armies like a knife through butter, take out entire ambush teams of mercenaries with a single Force Storm, [[CurbStompBattle curbstomp]] ''Jedi Masters'' in a duel, [[AwesomenessByAnalysis steal their techniques]], then suck up their power for yourself...and that's all ''before'' you get Force Crush, [[PurposelyOverpowered against which there is no defense!]] The Light Side path may have more plot exposition, but the Dark Side one is definitely the cooler one.

* Jean Descole from the VideoGame/ProfessorLayton series was most likely created with this trope in mind. He is a MalevolentMaskedMan who combines almost [[BadassInANiceSuit all]] [[CoolMask the]] [[PrettyInMink over the top]] [[BadassCape clothing]] tropes and actually ''pulls it off''. And his coolness goes UpToEleven in the movie ''Anime/ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva''.

* Jean Descole from the VideoGame/ProfessorLayton series was most likely created with this trope in mind. He is a MalevolentMaskedMan who combines [[NiceHat almost]] [[BadassInANiceSuit all]] [[CoolMask the]] [[PrettyInMink over the top]] [[BadassCape clothing]] tropes and actually ''pulls it off''. And his coolness goes UpToEleven in the movie ''Anime/ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva''.

** Ryuga, another Homare's play character, from ''SK∞ the Infinity × A3!'' never loses in the skateboarding races even until the end of the play because he is just that StrongAndSkilled. There he makes condescending remarks about other skateboarder and provokes them into a "race," in which he deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, though he is said to pull a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the play. Ryuga also gets two major skateboarding duel scenes (pretty much most of the biggest skateboarding scenes in the play) to showcase how strong, badass, and violent he is, which just highlight his BloodKnight nature.

* In ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'' has Varg, Homare's role from ''Last Planet'' play. Varg's illustration drop caused an uproar. Awesome McCoolname, on top of having a transparent Coat Cape and a literal [[LaserBlade lightsaber]], with a PsychoticSmirk and TriggerHappy as the title. In the trivia lines in 5th Anniversary event, Varg is also said to have CombatClairvoyance ability. As a space police, Varg is like a reminiscent of Homare's [[AxCrazy Dewey]] from the stage shuffle...[[SubvertedTrope though in the actual play, Varg is on the good guy's side.]] [[spoiler:Though as the 5th anniversary story shows, he is rather rebellious against Grimm, his superior, and threatens him just so that he can participate in [=FORTF=] investigation.]]