History Main / NotAlwaysEvil

* The black knights in ''11eyes'' tried to kill Kakeru and his companions because they fear the Voidstone fragments within all of them will unseal the BigBad evil witch Liselotte Werckmeister. Kakeru was surprised and said "They are actually the good guys??" upon learning the truth from Shiori.

* The vampires in ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood.'' They get fleshed out throughout the anime as being just like humans, except with different dietary needs and a longer lifespan, and it's revealed that the Rosencruez vampires are terrorists who are trying to instigate an all-out war between humans and vampires, with no concern for the massive casualties that would befall both sides.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* As much as the Nazis are some of ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'''s most common villains there are plenty of instances where Nazi characters are shown to have humanity after all, such as how die-hard Nazi settlers are having second thoughts after seeing the treatment of Nazi slaves, or an officer who still believes in acting like a proper gentleman. Also the standard background for any Nazi player character is that they deserted after learning the truth of what the Nazis are.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The Orcs are the archetypal of AlwaysChaoticEvil race, and they are introduced kidnapping innocent people from the Southlands only to enslave and abuse them. When, Region, Adar and Medhor get kidnapped by the Orcs, they witness them talking with so much respect about their mysterious commander, Revion even makes a point how impossible he finds that the Orcs are capable of reverence. When Adar is finally introduced, he has no choice but to MercyKill a mortally wounded comrade, which the other Orcs mourn. The Second Age Orcs are portrayed in much more a sympathetic light, and are the first in the franchise to be shown being taken as prisoners than outright being killed.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': The Valfasq race turn out to be this in the first trilogy. Despite their initial belief that they were a race of AlwaysChaoticEvil {{Galactic Conqueror}}s, towards the end of the third game Tact and his chosen Angel witness [[spoiler:Wein's sacrifice for Lushati]], and come to believe that the Valfasq could potentially be turned to the good side if their emperor Gern gets taken out of the picture. Four years later, in the second trilogy it seems to be proven right, as several of their members have joined the Transbaal Military ranks and become part of the United Parallel Words organization.

** Bastok's conflict with the Quadav is because Bastok keeps taking over, mining, polluting, and outright keeps destroying the Quadav's homes, leading to the Quadav going all out to protect their home. Of course, the players themselves know from the get-go that Bastok needs it's mining to stay a solid nation, and with both sides having people that don't know the meaning of the words "peace and compromise", it's one of the {{Gr|eyAndGrayMorality}}ayest conflicts in the entire game.* In the original [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The Legend of Zelda]] you could find [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Moblins]] who were not only not hostile, but would give you money as a gift, asking you to not tell other moblins that they were doing it.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The Orcs are the archetypal AlwaysChaoticallyEvil race, and they are introduced kidnapping innocent people from the Southlands only to enslave and abuse them. When, Region, Adar and Medhor get kidnapped by the Orcs, they witness them talking with so much respect about their mysterious commander, Revion even makes a point how impossible he finds it that the Orcs are capable of reverence. When Adar is finally introduced, he has no choice but to MercyKill a mortally wounded comrade, which the other Orcs mourn. The Second Age Orcs are portrayed in much more a sympathetic light, and are the first in the franchise to be shown being taken as prisoners than outright being killed.

* While there are plenty of malevolent and deadly spirits in ''VideoGame/YomawariNightAlone'' and ''VideoGame/YomawariMidnightShadows'', there are few that will not harm the main character. Some are simply minding their own business while others want to play around with her, though their definition of "playing around" usually means scaring the living daylights out of her. Some malevolent spirits may relent and aid the main character if she does something nice for them.

Whatever the case, these {{Mooks}} are [[WhatMeasureIsAMook not worth less than a normal person]], and will gladly perform a HeelFaceTurn or go and live a peaceful life if given the chance. Of course, there is also the chance that the peaceful mooks will end up the victims of VanHelsingHateCrimes.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': The Valfasq race turn out to be this in the first trilogy. Despite their initial belief that they were a race of AlwaysChaoticEvil {{Galactic Conqueror}}s, towards the end of the first game Tact and his chosen Angel witness [[spoiler:Wein's sacrifice for Lushati]], and come to believe that the Valfasq could potentially be turned to the good side if their emperor Gern gets taken out of the picture. Four years later, in the second trilogy it seems to be proven right, as several of their members have joined the Transbaal Military ranks and become part of the United Parallel Words organization.

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. The entire premise of the damn game. Monsters, although wanting to kill you, are given personalities and lives past ''i am monster must kill'', and the player can spare them after interacting based on that personality.
* Unless they're an [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orc]], chances are the Beastmen in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' simply have some really bad differences with the player races:
** ''None'' of the Beastmen willingly wanted a part in the Crystal War. The [[BigBad Shadow Lord]] either forced them or tricked them into fighting for him.
** Bastok's conflict with the Quadav is because Bastok keeps taking over, mining, polluting, and outright keeps destroying the Quadav's homes, leading to the Quadav going all out to protect their home. Of course, the players themselves know from the get-go that Bastok needs it's mining to stay a solid nation, and with both sides having people that don't know the meaning of the words "peace and compromise", it's one of the {{Gr|eyAndGrayMorality}}ayest conflicts in the entire game.

* The ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series, which just loves to deconstruct its parent series, contains large numbers of nice [[TheGoomba Goombas]], Koopas, and other enemies.
%%* ''Everyone'' in the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series.

* Similarly, the Scions in ''[[VideoGame/{{Battlezone1998}} Battlezone 2]]'' are actually {{Phlebotinum Rebel}}s. The player is offered a chance to join them halfway through the story.
* The demon world of Formido Heim from ''[[VideoGame/EndlessFrontier Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier]]''. They started a bloody war with a neighboring world ten years ago, and appear to be up to no good again when their [[QuirkyMinibossSquad elite task force]] starts showing up in other worlds. [[spoiler:It turns out that the war was started by the [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsCompact2 Einst]], who killed and impersonated their king. Their ''ridiculously'' evil-looking commander actually killed the imposter and ended the war, and has spent the past ten years rebuilding his devastated world and secretly ensuring that the Einst wouldn't be able to harm the rest of the multiverse.]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation This doesn't stop the random encounters with Formido Heim's denizens]], possibly because they didn't actually ''know'' that they were GoodAllAlong.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', FantasticRacism sets [[HalfHumanHybrid half-elves]] up this way at first: humans view half-elves as cruel, greedy oppressors because the most prominent group of them - the Desians - is exactly that. However, it's gradually revealed that a) most half-elves join the Desians because [[FreudianExcuse humans have a tendency to do things like burn their villages and slaughter their families]], and the Desians are their chance to fight back and gain the upper hand, and b) there are a number of half-elves who disagree with the Desians, and are really just trying to live peaceful lives, hampered by racism from the humans. And that's ''before'' the [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle fake ending]] and subsequent plot twists...
** Later, another group is revealed, [[LaResistance the Renegades]], who are another variant of this trope. They look just like Desians so that their activities remain hidden from the BigBad, but they're actually fighting back against the Desians' plans. [[WellIntentionedExtremist And you, if you get in their way.]] Their ultimate goal is to save the world, and as far as they're concerned, they don't need some IdiotHero [[SpannerInTheWorks mucking that up]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe:
** The AlwaysChaoticEvil orcs from ''Warcraft'' and ''Warcraft II'' were afterward {{retcon}}ned to have been under the control of [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide demonic magic]] after their leaders made a DealWithTheDevil. Thus they were not originally inherently evil as a species after all, and after the demonic influence wore off, were left as a much more human {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}.
** One quest in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' requires you to kill a seemingly random mook, who then drops (as loot) an unsent letter to her father revealing that she was blackmailed into service in the evil organization, and was trying to sabotage it from inside. The NPC you turn in the letter to comforts you, saying that "there is no way you could have known".
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler:Legion, the geth who saves your life aboard the dead Reaper, explains to you that the Reaper-worshipping geth whom you've been slaughtering for the past two games are actually just [[VocalMinority a small percentage of the whole geth population]] and are considered to be "heretics," and have split from the main geth population. Besides the heretics, [[HeroicNeutral the geth just want to be left alone]]]].
** In the first game, you run across a [[spoiler:rachni queen who tells you that the rachni that the Citadel fought against two thousand years prior were [[BrainwashedAndCrazy driven insane]] by an external influence (believed to be Reaper indoctrination), and that rachni are actually a peaceful race. Letting her go and loading the save in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' reveals that the rachni remnants live on uncharted planets on the edge of known space, repopulating their species, [[ChekhovsArmy apparently to aid Shepard in the final battle against the Reapers]]]].
** Throughout the series, batarians were portrayed as pirates and slavers and were pretty much universally hostile. A couple of times in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and to a much greater extent in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', you meet batarians who are just ordinary people, if somewhat cautious around you due to the bad blood between your species. It's explained that due to their isolationist nature, most people have never met a batarian civilian, and the ones that venture outside their home systems are renegades, criminals, or those loyal to the corrupt regime that rules the species, so it's no wonder most have a bad impression of them.
* Amazingly enough, it turns out, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' that [[spoiler: the zerg Overmind was not evil, it had just been compelled by a biological ObstructiveCodeOfConduct implanted by the [[AbusivePrecursors Xel'naga]] to destroy the Protoss. Seeing no other option, the Overmind executed a ThanatosGambit to create a new being, free of the Xel'naga directive, and put it in command of the zerg swarm by attacking the Protoss homeworld, which was effectively suicide.]] That's one AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, anyway. With what little information was given so far, it could just as easily have been that [[spoiler:the Overmind was still evil, but it had a vendetta against a rogue Xel'naga who had the nerve to claim to be EvilerThanThou.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/UFOAfterblank'' series, it's revealed that the aliens that nearly destroyed humanity in ''[[VideoGame/UFOAftermath Aftermath]]'' are actually a rebellious faction of the Reticulan race. They wanted to try creating a gigantic supercomputer brain, and the rest of their species said no. The rebellious Reticulans then split from their race and destroyed Earth. This is all just interesting backstory until the ''VideoGame/UFOAfterlight'', when the non-evil Reticulans show up and propose an alliance with the remnants of humanity in an attempt to tame Mars. Of course, they will ''still'' try to screw you over, taking some of the most resource rich territories on the planet, but attempting to kill them is much more difficult due to their significantly more powerful technology.
* Ash Crimson from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' series. Watch the ending of ''KOF XIII''.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II: The Sith Lords'', you will meet a man named [[spoiler:Zherron]] in Dantooine, speaking with a deep, grave voice, having dark features and is involved with the mercenaries who is harassing the settlement. It turns out that he was spying against the mercenaries.
* In Bungie's ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' series, the S'pht, an alien cyborg race, fight alongside the real bad guys, the Pfhor, because they are under control. After a mission in which they are freed, they become fantastic allies, mowing wave after wave of Pfhor.

* The smaller factions of the beastmen tribes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are this compared to their evil counterparts. Beastmen, in general, are considered enemies by the spoken races because beastmen summon primals when threatened and summoning primals drains aether, which is the planet's life force. What also didn't help was some of the beast tribes became hostile because [[HumansAreBastards the spoken races did some unsavory things to them first]]. There are other factions of beastmen of the same species that are not hostile and either want to be left alone or are willing to work with the spoken races for peace between them.
* The demons of the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series are {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who believe BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad (with a healthy dose of InsaneTrollLogic). Each game makes it pretty clear that demons are more concerned with ''appearing'' evil than actually being evil, and underneath it all they're fairly decent individuals. To drive it home, whenever the demons encounter a truly despicable character, they recoil in disgust and are more than willing to beat the tar out of them.
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' and ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'' star characters that try to live up to the demonic ideal but then find that they're better people than they thought they were. ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'', which is not a ''Disgaea'' game but is set in the same setting, has something similar. It also shows that high-level demons are willing to look out for each other, [[FriendlyEnemy even though they may also be rivals]]. ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'' stars the noblest of {{Noble Demon}}s, a character who is just a few steps shy of being an actual hero. Finally, one of the characters in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 5}}'' is shocked to find that his demonic allies genuinely care about each other and other people. The character is [[spoiler: secretly an angel that was framed as a spy by other angels. The fact that demons can be better people than angels throws him for a loop.]]
* Several monster races in ''VideoGame/BlackDesertOnline'' have civilian examples. For example, Khurutos will try to kill you on sight at Khuruto Cave or the Abandoned Iron Mine, but the storage keeper in Tarif and the jewelry vendor in Calpheon are also Khurutos. The are also civilian examples of Rhutums, Giants, Catfishmen...
* While there are plenty of malevolent and deadly spirits in ''VideoGame/YomawariNightAlone'' and ''VideoGame/YomawariMidnightShadows'', there are few that will not harm the main character. Some are simply minding their own business while others want to play around with her, though their definition of "playing around" usually means scaring the living daylights out of her. Some malevolent spirits may relent and aid the main character if she does something nice for them.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'': the Gajalakas are a tribe of Lynians that attack the player on sight, and generally make pests of themselves during High Rank hunts. However, completing one sidequest leads to the Lynian researcher deciphering their language and assisting in making friends with one sub-tribe, allowing you to gain their help as Tailriders. Other Gajalaka will still attack you, though.
** Completing an extra mission in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' crossover event results in more Gajalaka tribes agreeing to ally with the Hunters.
* In the original [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The Legend of Zelda]] you could find [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Moblins]] who were not only not hostile, but would give you money as a gift, asking you to not tell other moblins that they were doing it.

Whatever the case, these {{Mooks}} are [[WhatMeasureIsAMook not worth less than a normal person]], and will gladly perform a HeelFaceTurn or go and live a peaceful life if given the chance.

Related to MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch, where, it turns out the PlanetOfHats has a lot more ''diversity'' than it first seemed to. See also MinionWithAnFInEvil, MookFaceTurn, TokenHeroicOrc and TheManBehindTheMonsters. Compare HeelRaceTurn, where a race ends up changing from evil to good, and FantasticRacism, when a species is a stereotype as being always evil is due to prejudice.

* The Liberation Front in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' were revealed to be the good guys less than half-way through the story, vindicating the players who stuck with non-lethal force to fight them. Of course, there are still recurring examples of how good the people of the original organization were, so the Triads and MJ12 were introduced for the player to spend their live ammo on guilt-free.

* Yukimi from ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' looked like a typical {{Mook|s}} in his first appearance. Boy, [[PetTheDog were]] [[PapaWolf we]] [[HeelFaceTurn wrong]]...

* We've actually encountered quite a few decent Skrulls over the decades like Lyja and Skyppi, but Marvel fandom still tends to casually refer to them as a villain race.

Related to MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch, where, it turns out the PlanetOfHats has a lot more ''diversity'' than it first seemed to. See also MinionWithAnFInEvil, MookFaceTurn, and TheManBehindTheMonsters. Compare HeelRaceTurn, where a race ends up changing from evil to good, and FantasticRacism, when a species is a stereotype as being always evil is due to prejudice.

** The Taxxons, while not "good", are slaves to their overpowering hunger (to the point where they'll eat ''themselves'' if there's nothing else around) and accepted Yeerk control to escape this.

* In the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', The Urgals only seem AlwaysChaoticEvil because they've been brainwashed by TheDragon, Durza. They do a HeelFaceTurn as a species after his death.
* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse
** Noghri iwere first introduced as evil mooks serving TheEmpire Remnant. When Leia found out that they were, in fact, manipulated by Palpatine into serving him, they reject their former allegiance and join the good guys.

* {{WesternAnimation/Danny Phantom}}, ghosts are portrayed as {{always chaotic evil}} until the episode Bitter Reunions wherein [[spoiler: The Ghost of the Dairy King]] frees Danny Fenton and tells him “Not all ghosts are evil, you know, some just like to be left alone”.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', dragons aren't evil but are being controlled by the Green Death, a giant dragon that's essentially their HiveQueen. They have to bring back food or they get eaten. Once the Green Death is killed, the Vikings of Berk can coexist with the dragons.

* Near the end of ''Series/TheInvadersTVSeries'' we learn that there's actually a sizable number of aliens back on the homeworld who are against the whole idea of invading Earth, but we've never seen them before because, obviously, they're not part of the invasion force that came here.

* Near the end of ''Series/TheInvaders,'' we learn that there's actually a sizable number of aliens back on the homeworld who are against the whole idea of invading Earth, but we've never seen them before because, obviously, they're not part of the invasion force that came here.