History Main / MonsterKnight

** Maximus from ''Might and Magic X'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic VI'' is an Ashan-type orc, has tusks, and is a Knight. ''Might & Magic: Heroes VI'' gives the backstory of this incarnation: When war-chief Kunyak led the rest of the orcs in a slave uprising and exodus, Maximus' ancestor chose to remain living in the human lands. Maximus earned his position of knighthood through tournament combat.

** Maximus from ''Might and Magic III'' [[spoiler:and reappearing in ''VII'']] was an evil ''half-''orc (visibly favouring his orcish ancestry, with tusks and green skin) knight that served as one of the pre-made characters.

[[quoteright:294:[[Anime/FutureCardBuddyfight https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragonknight.png]]]]

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': The trainer-hating Bulbasaur, who later decides to challenge Ash to a battle to see if he capable of capturing it after Ash shows it there are honorable trainers.

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': Undyne, the [[BladeOnAStick spear-swinging]], [[FantasticRacism human-hating]] [[FishPeople fish Lady]] [[LadyOfWar of War]] in command of the royal guard. Also too honorable to attack you [[TalkingIsAFreeAction while you're on the phone]] or [[SacredHospitality when you're in her house]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'': Shrek's an ogre who is press-ganged into putting on armor and rescuing a princess. [[SubvertedTrope He's not really much of a trained warrior, though]]. [[UnskilledButStrong He's still pretty strong,]] able to take on many guys at once, and clever enough to set up traps for his enemies.

* ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer'' features [[spoiler:a Goblin Paladin, who is [[DarkMessiah heralded as the champion]] to the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil most inhuman, degenerated and vicious races]] in the setting, and yet he is explicitly a [[LightIsNotGood Holy Knight]] since he worships a non-evil deity (in his case, the God of Wisdom) but is every bit as depraved as his kind]].

* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'' it's relatively common within the Jura Tempest Alliance, as they are all monsters and are crafting a nation. Plenty are capable of fighting and quite a few fit the noble attributes nicely. Unlike most examples however, the vast majority here are truly heroic. The one that doesn't fit that is the Orc Lord and he's still a TragicVillain who did what he did to try to save his people.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' features the [[PunnyName Wight Knight]], a formerly heroic knight of a dead kingdom who has been trapped by the spell of a Succubus. Until defeated by the player, he doesn't realize that he has been dead for ages and the kingdom that he fought for has long since passed into history.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', the evil Darknuts are jackal-headed monsters under their armor. They come in a number of different varieties, but all fight with sword and shield until stripped of their armor. Then they switch to kicks and punches.

** While not encountered in ''Videogame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', the Pokédex describes Victreebel, essentially mobile pitcher plants with eyes, as forming secret societies and executing those who trespass.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': King Bulblin. The first time, he fights like a brute by just swinging his spear around whenever he gets close. However, he later dons a pair of bucklers to block Link's sword strikes and eventually fights one-on-one in the Hyrule Castle courtyard. Unlike many examples, he [[spoiler:admits defeat honorably and disavows Ganon's service, becoming the Trope Namer for IFightForTheStrongestSide in his sole line of dialogue]].

*** The Rakshasas were among the most monstrous, being multi-headed, fanged or tusked giants who preyed on mankind and were expelled from Brahma's realm after he created them on accident and was nearly devoured by them in his sleep. Yet they also studied vigorously, meditated, grew gardens and developed a sophisticated society during the time they ruled on Earth called Lanka. Ravana from the ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', possibly the biggest bad guy in Hinduism, was honored for his respectable points after Rama, the avatar of the god of the universe, killed him.

* ''VideoGame/Vampyr2018'': William Marshal was an famous knight and an ancient vampire said to strongly adhere to chivalric honor. [[spoiler:It's revealed that he still retains his knightly disposition as well as his [[ReligiousVampire faith in Christ]] (which is impressive considering faith is an anathema to vampires). The main protagonist himself, Jonathan E. Reid, is also supposed play the same role as Marshal's -- protect Britain from the [[BigBad Red Queen's]] wrath, in [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential one way or the other]]]].

** Sparda, also known as "The Legendary Dark Knight", was an demonic warrior who stood up for humanity against his kind and singlehandedly beaten the demons back to hell. Though he has an human form that resembles his children Dante and Vergil very closely, his [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/d/d5/Sparda_Devil_Trigger_%28Model%29_DMC4SE.png/revision/latest?cb=20150512170927 true form is decidedly more appropriate for this trope]].

** In ''Videogame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' players can come across the Musketeer trio ([[OneExtraMember plus Keldeo through downloadable content]]), whom ended a war between humans when Pokémon were getting caught up in it and whom become [[BerserkButton indignant]] ([[TurnsRed and more powerful]]) if you employ underhanded (or evil) moves against them.

* Common across the ''Franchise/ShiningSeries'', which have various beast men sprinkled into its fantasy setting. Instead of human knights riding horses into battles, centaurs act as both, their human tops bearing armor and equipped with jousting lances or spears/javelins. Dragonutes are a race of {{draconic humanoid}}s who typically wear heavy plate armor and fight with axes, maces or flails. Wolflings typically aschew armor to focus on speed and their own inherent strength (possibly with WolverineClaws), but Zynga of ''Shining Ark'' bears a spear and shield. [[BirdPeople Birdmen]] are almost always equipped with swords and armor.

%%The examples on this page have been sorted alphabetically. Please help keep this page tidy by adding new ones in order. Thank you!

%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages; all such examples have been commented out. Please add proper context before uncommenting them -- a good example should explain *how* it's an example.

[[caption-width-right:294:[[http://buddyfight.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Knight,_Liechtenauer "For dragons to master the sword skills of men, hundreds of years of trial and error were involved."]]]]

** Nelo Angelo, whom Dante comes to respect out of all the bosses in the first game. Makes sense, considering Nelo Angelo is quite clearly [[spoiler: his brother Vergil]].
** The Holy Knights of Fortuna in the fourth game are a ChurchMilitant organization inspired by Sparda that underwent an Ascension ceremony to become demons themselves.

* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'':
** Maximus, from ''Might and Magic X'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic VI'', is an Ashan-type orc, has tusks, and is a Knight.
** ''Might & Magic: Heores VI'' gives the backstory of his Ashan incarnation: When war-chief Kunyak led the rest of the orcs in a slave uprising and exodus, Maximus' ancestor chose to remain living in the human lands. Maximus earned his position of knighthood through tournament combat.