History TragicVillain / VisualNovels

** The original game has [[spoiler: Yanni Yogi]], who through no fault of his own became the prime suspect in a prominent murder case. His AmoralAttorney refused to do any actual work to prove him innocent (and in fact believed he was guilty) and instead got him off by pleading insanity, which resulted in his life being ruined; the general public thought he'd gotten OffOnATechnicality, his fiancée committed suicide due to all the harassment, and he was forced to pretend to be brain-damaged for over a decade. It's no wonder that, given a chance, he murdered his lawyer and framed the person he believed to have actually been responsible for the death- Miles Edgeworth.

** The original game has [[spoiler: Yanni Yogi]], whose fiancée was DrivenToSuicide after he was arrested under suspicion of murder. His lawyer got him an insanity verdict, but [[spoiler: Yogi]] lost everything. Years later he [[spoiler: killed his lawyer and tried to frame Edgeworth]].

** [[spoiler: Mukuro Ikusaba, Junko's twin sister. Sure, she's Junko's accomplice and willing to do ''anything'' for her (and has on her rap sheet [[WouldHurtAChild massacring middle school students]] and ColdBloodedTorture), but ultimately, she's just another pawn and was only like that because Junko emotionally abused her into complete subservience. She ultimately dies a miserable death because Junko betrays her. It's noted that the attack that killed her was the ''one'' attack the Ultimate Soldier couldn't dodge, showing how completely caught off-guard she was. In ''Danganronpa IF'', where she survives her execution, she manages to break free of Junko and gets ''everyone'' in the school out alive, while Makoto couldn't stop the game until there were only six survivors.]]

*** [[spoiler: Mikan Tsumiki: catches the Despair Disease, causing her to regain memories of her past as Ultimate Despair and, in a desperate attempt to appease her beloved (Junko), kills Ibuki Mioda, as well as Hiyoko Saionji whose only mistake was to stumble upon the scene. The circumstances that lead to Mikan joining Ultimate Despair in the first place are equally tragic; she was bullied all her life (explaining her ExtremeDoormat personality) and devoted herself to Junko because she was the first to show her "true kindness", all the while letting herself be manipulated.]]
*** ''Danganronpa 3'' retroactively made this one even worse by revealing that [[spoiler: Mikan ''didn't'' willingly join Ultimate Despair, she had to be brainwashed into it. Batshit-crazy-Junko-lover!Mikan was ''never'' her true personality, and the despair disease effectively re-brainwashed her]].

** ''Investigations 2'' has [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind (unexpected)]] BigBad. First, he used as a pawn by his father to win a baking contest, because his father could not taste ''anything'' due to an AmbiguousDisorder. Unfortunately, the contestant whom his father teamed up with because they made up for each other's weaknesses [[{{Blackmail}} betrayed him]] when he got too reckless, and Simon's life went downhill from there. He was abandoned by his father, kidnapped and left to freeze to death in a car with his childhood friend, only to be saved by [[HitmanWithAHeart Sirhan Dogen,]] whom he would admire and later become friends with [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe becaused he was the only person who gave him any respect.]] Then, he witnessed a scandalous murder and was pressured into silence by the very people whom he should have been able to trust -- the police -- which gave him a massive distrust of not just authority figures, but ''everyone in general.'']] With nothing left to lose, [[spoiler:Simon Keyes]] goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds to see to it that justice is served to the people that ruined his life, through any means necessary.]] [[MagnificentBastard And by golly, does he ever.]]

** Justice For All has [[spoiler: Mimi Miney]], who lost her sister and was horribly injured in a car crash after being blamed for causing the deaths of several patients. To try and escape her old life and the accusations, she posed as her dead sister. Years later [[spoiler: she killed the man blaming her for the deaths and tried to frame Maya for his murder]].

** Dual Destinies' DLC case, Turnabout Reclaimed, features [[spoiler: Marlon Rimes]], whose girlfriend was an orca trainer who died on the job. He spent years resenting the orca that killed her, [[spoiler:and attempted to kill it in revenge, which ended up causing the accidental death of the aquarium's "captain", a man he greatly admired. He attempted to get his revenge on the orca anyway by framing it for the captain's death, but during the trial it comes to light that not only is the orca not the same one he thought killed his girlfriend, but the original orca was ''also'' innocent, and his girlfriend actually died of a heart condition she had never told him about]]. The poor guy is so guilt-ridden afterwards that he ''begs'' for a guilty verdict and the death penalty. [[spoiler:Phoenix isn't having any of it though, and halts the verdict in order to prove that the captain's death was an accident and that Marlon actually tried to ''save'' him]].

* Kirei Kotomine, the BigBad of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. He was born with a mental defect that made it so that the only thing he could find pleasure in was the suffering of other people. However, he still had a ''conscience'', and every time he enjoyed someone suffering, he recognized that it was ''wrong''. Disgusted with himself, he tried out a number of different vocations in the hopes that he would be able to enjoy one without bringing harm to others-- he even married an IllGirl, whom bore him a child to try and feel familial love. But when she killed herself to try and prove that he could feel emotions, he realized that he would have been more satisfied if ''he had killed her himself''. He gave up at that point, setting the plot of the game in motion.

** The same game has [[spoiler: Acro]]. He and his brother were abandoned by their parents at a young age. They were adopted into a circus, and [[spoiler:Acro]] came to see the ringmaster as a father figure. After a prank gone wrong, [[spoiler: Acro]] ended up being crippled in a lion attack while his brother was placed in a coma. [[spoiler: Acro]] tried to kill the ringmaster's daughter (who was responsible for the accident) but ended up accidentally killing the ringmaster instead. He ended up unintentionally framing an innocent man for the crime. He wanted to turn himself in and clear the other man's name, but couldn't because he was still waiting for his brother to recover from his coma.
** From ''Trials and Tribulations,'' there's Godot. [[spoiler:His plan to kill Misty Fey could have been entirely avoided had he just gone to Phoenix for help. But he hated both Phoenix and himself for failing to protect a woman in their lives. Godot's desire for {{Revenge}} nearly got Maya killed, and required Godot to kill Misty Fey to get what he wanted. [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot Godot even admits his faults when Phoenix exposes his crimes.]]]]
** Dual Destinies' DLC case, Turnabout Reclaimed features [[spoiler: Marlon Rimes]], whose girlfriend was an orca trainer who died on the job. He spent years resenting the orca that killed her, [[spoiler:and attempted to kill it in revenge, which ended up causing the accidental death of the aquarium's "captain", a man he greatly admired. He attempted to get his revenge on the orca anyway by framing it for the captain's death, but during the trial it comes to light that not only is the orca not the same one he thought killed his girlfriend, but the original orca was ''also'' innocent, and his girlfriend actually died of a heart condition she had never told him about]]. The poor guy is so guilt-ridden afterwards that he ''begs'' for a guilty verdict and the death penalty. [[spoiler:Phoenix isn't having any of it though, and halts the verdict in order to prove that the captain's death was an accident and that Marlon actually tried to ''save'' him]].

** ''Investigations 2'' has [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind (unexpected)]] BigBad. First, he used as a pawn by his father to win a baking contest, because his father could not taste ''anything'' due to an AmbiguousDisorder. Unfortunately, the contestant whom his father teamed up with because they made up for each other's weaknesses [[{{Blackmail}} betrayed him]] when he got too reckless, and Simon's life went downhill from there. He was abandoned by his father, kidnapped and left to freeze to death in a car with his childhood friend, only to be saved by [[HitmanWithAHeart Sirhan Dogen,]] whom he would admire and later become friends with [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe becaused he was the only person who gave him any respect.]] Then, he witnessed a scandalous murder and was pressured into silence by the very people whom he should have been able to trust -- the police -- which gave him a massive distrust of not just authority figures, but ''everyone in general.'' With nothing left to lose, Simon goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds to see to it that justice is served to the people that ruined his life, through any means necessary.]] [[MagnificentBastard And by golly, does he ever.]]]]

** ''Investigations 2'' has [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind (unexpected)]] BigBad. First, he used as a pawn by his father to win a baking contest, because his father could not taste ''anything'' due to an AmbiguousDisorder. Unfortunately, the contestant whom his father teamed up with because they made up for each other's weaknesses [[{{Blackmail}} betrayed him]] when he got too reckless, and Simon's life went downhill from there. He was abandoned by his father, kidnapped and left to freeze to death in a car with his childhood friend, only to be saved by [[HitmanWithAHeart Sirhan Dogen,]] whom he would admire and later become friends with [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe becaused he was the only person who gave him any respect.]] Then, he witnessed a scandalous murder and was pressured into silence by the very people whom he should have been able to trust -- the police -- which gave him a massive distrust of not just authority figures, but ''everyone in general.'' With nothing left to lose, Simon goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds to see to it that justice is served to the people that ruined his life, through any means necessary.]] [[MagnificentBastard And by golly, does he ever.]]

** ''Investigations 2'' has [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind (unexpected)]] BigBad. First, he used as a pawn by his father to win a baking contest, because his father could not taste ''anything'' due to an AmbiguousDisorder. Unfortunately, the contestant whom his father teamed up with because they made up for each other's weaknesses [[{{Blackmail}} betrayed him]] when he got too reckless, and Simon's life went downhill from there. He was abandoned by his father, kidnapped and left to freeze to death in a car with his childhood friend, only to be saved by [[HitmanWithAHeart Sirhan Dogen,]] whom he would admire and later become friends with [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe becaused he was the only person who gave him any respect.]] Then, he witnessed a scandalous murder and was pressured into silence by the very people whom he should have been able to trust -- the police -- which gave him a massive distrust of not just authority figures, but ''everyone in general.'' With nothing left to lose, Simon goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to see to it that justice is served to the people that ruined his life, through any means necessary.]]

*** [[spoiler: Kirumi Tojo: She is a "civil servant" (read: prime minister) fighting against a great calamity, which she uses to justify her reason to be let off the guilty verdict. She practically exploits this trope and sways the others' opinion so much that, despite Kaito and Ouma calling her out on her TheNeedsOfTheMany utilitarianism, several of the students still volunteer to be executed in her stead. Furthering that, many students encouraged her as [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere run away from her execution]], suggesting they could fully understand her feelings over the matter.]]

*** [[spoiler: Hifumi Yamada: manipulated by Celestia Ludenberg into thinking Kiyotaka Ishimaru had stolen the AI he had befriended (ItMakesSenseInContext), made to kill Taka as a pawn, and then is betrayed and killed by Celeste. Celeste may have committed been less sympathetic, but she was compelled to kill after being offered enough money to live out the European-style castle fantasy she had dreamed of, thereby casting off her hated former identity of Taeko Yasuhiro. According to the manga, as Taeko she was so plain and unremarkable she had to endure a lifetime of isolation and loneliness that, once she discovered her gambling talent, she made up the persona of Celeste to make sure she never goes back to that life, even if she has to die as Celeste the ruthless gambler.]]

*** [[spoiler: Kaede Akamatsu: Faced with an extreme time crunch, wherein if nobody died soon, Monokuma would kill everyone, she decides to set a trap to kill the mastermind. Someone completely innocent falls into the trap instead. She urges Shuiichi to reveal she is the killer to the others, and feigns resistance to make it more believable for them. Even worse, [[FrameUp it's later revealed the ball missed, and someone else killed the victim with it afterwards]]; while it doesn't take away from her initial intent to kill, it adds another layer of tragedy to the whole matter.]]

*** [[spoiler: Gonta Gokuhara: He only killed Miu in his misguided attempt to "save" everyone after learning about the state of the outside world, something Kokichi used for his own reasons. Because of the bug, he is unable to recall anything he did, and he's horrified when he finds out.]]
*** [[spoiler: Kaito Momota: As an attempt to save Maki from being executed for poisoning Kokichi, both Kokichi and Kaito willingly agreed for the latter to kill the former.]]

** Dual Destinies' DLC case, Turnabout Reclaimed features [[spoiler: Marlon Rimes]], whose girlfriend was an orca traner who died on the job. He spent years resenting the orca he felt was responsible for her death, [[spoiler: and wanted to kill Orla the orca, when he in his murder attempt accidentally caused the death of the aquarium's manager, or captain, Jack Shipley, who was one of his closest friends. Despite his best efforts, Shipley fell to the bottom of the empty tank.]] Electing to at least make some use of himself by exacting his revenge on Orla, he has to learn that [[spoiler: not only is Orla not guilty of murder, neither was her sister, who he thought had killed his girlfriend, and he had spent all these years resenting an innocent soul.]] The poor guy begs for his death penalty at first.

*** [[spoiler: Kaede Akamatsu: She set up a trap that was intended to kill the mastermind, it just happened to be someone else who triggered it. She urges Shuiichi to reveal she is the killer to the others, and feigns resistance to make it more believable for them. Subverted later on [[FrameUp when it turns out the ball missed, and someone else killed the victim with it afterwards]].]]
*** [[spoiler: Kirumi Tojo: She is a "civil servant" (read: prime minister) fighting against a great calamity, which she uses to justify her reason to be let off the guilty verdict. She practically exploits this trope and sways the others' opinion so much that, despite Kaito and Ouma calling her out on her TheNeedsOfTheMany utilitarianism, several of the students still volunteer to be executed in her stead. Furthering that, many students encouraged her as [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere run away from her execution]] knowing, suggesting they could fully understand her feelings over the matter.]]

*** Even one part of the BigBadEnsemble is this. [[spoiler:Izuru Kamukura aka [[TomatoInTheMirror Hajime Hinata]]: He volunteered for a project that would give him every single talent in existence, in the name of becoming the Ultimate Hope for humanity; however, the academy deliberately withheld information about how it would completely destroy his personality and emotions. The betrayal [[BrokenPedestal from the people he worshipped]], along with his lost humanity, utterly broke Izuru, leaving him vulnerable for Junko's manipulations. Worse yet, he went through with the surgery to (in his mind) become worthy of the real Chiaki, but lost his memories of her. This leads to him standing by as Junko brutally executes his former love interest, which he ends up regretting when he finally does remember. While he is responsible for bringing Junko's AI into the virtual reality, kick-starting the killing game, he states he did so to get back at her and to test if Chiaki's legacy will overcome Junko's.]]

* Every murderer, with the notable exception of [[spoiler: [[HopeCrusher Junko Enoshima]], [[BitchInSheepsClothing Tsumugi Shirogane]], and [[HateSink Korekiyo Shinguji]]]] from the ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'' games. They all kill because of the horrifying situation they've been put into.

** ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'':

** ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'':

*** [[spoiler: Chiaki Nanami: after finding out that all the students bar Chiaki are former Ultimate Despair members, Nagito Komaeda orchestrates his own elaborate death, manipulating the odds so that Chiaki will be the one to "kill" him, but the "murder" will be unsolveable so that all of the students except Chiaki will die and hope will win in the end. Thanks to his extraordinary luck, he ''almost'' succeeds. Chiaki is willingly executed, but returns in spirit (she is an AI in the game, after all) to keep Hajime away from the DespairEventHorizon in the last trial.]]

*** [[spoiler: Sakura Oogami: chooses to TakeAThirdOption and commit suicide after Monokuma threatens to kill her family and destroy the dojo if she does not kill another student. The ensuing trial is genuinely heartrending, with best friend Aoi Asahina so distraught (with the help of a suicide note Monokuma faked) that she believes that none of them deserve to live after driving Sakura to suicide and tries to get all of the remaining students killed.]]

* Kirei Kotomine, the BigBad of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. He was born with a mental defect that made it so that the only thing he could find pleasure in was the suffering of other people. However, he still had a ''conscience'', and every time he enjoyed someone suffering, he recognized that it was ''wrong''. Disgusted with himself, he tried out a number of different vocations in the hopes that he would be able to enjoy one without bringing harm to others-- he even married an IllGirl, whom bore him a child. But when she killed herself to try and prove that he could feel emotions, he realized that he would have been more satisfied if ''he had killed her himself''. He gave up at that point, setting the plot of the game in motion.
** Also Archer in the Unlimited Blade Works route, who fought so hard to be a hero and save people, only to break under the realization that he couldn't actually accomplish anything, leading to his desire to [[spoiler: kill his past self before he can pursue that path.]]

* Every murderer, with the notable exception of [[spoiler: [[HopeCrusher Junko Enoshima]], [[BitchInSheepsClothing Tsumugi Shirogane]], and [[HateSink Korekiyo Shinguji]]]] from the Franchise/DanganRonpa games. They all kill because of the horrifying situation they've been put into.
** For [[VisualNovel/DanganRonpa the first game]]:

** For [[VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2 the second game]]:

** And for [[VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3 the third game]]:
*** [[spoiler: Kaede Akamatsu: She setup a trap that was intended to kill the mastermind, it just happened to be someone else who triggered it. She urges Shuiichi to reveal she is the killer to the others, and feigns resistance to make it more believable for them. Subverted later on [[FrameUp when it turns out the ball missed, and someone else killed the victim with it afterwards]].]]

* Kennyo from ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'' used to be a genuinely kind and caring monk until Nobunaga Oda burned down his temple and scarred him. This caused him to become so consumed by hatred towards Nobunaga that his desire for revenge drove him to [[HeWhoFightsMonsters become even more ruthless]] than the Devil King himself. It's shown in multiple routes that he takes no pleasure in the many atrocities he's committed in his quest for revenge and still displays glimmers of the kind man he once was, but is ultimately too far gone to turn back from his destructive path.