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Top 7 Good Versions of Bad Characters

Top 7 Good Versions of Bad Characters

We like to joke about “joining the dark side.” I mean, they have cookies and usually all the hottest people are bad guys, so why wouldn’t we want to join them? But the thing of it is, it can feel so much better to be good.

Humans are social creatures. When we’re kind to our fellow man, they are more inclined to be kind right back. If we treat them like trash, well then they have no reason not to do the same. So what happened if the villains in our favorite games were tired of fighting? What if they wanted to live the happier lives of the heroes? Let’s take a look!

Ghosts – Pac-Man

Ghosts – Pac-Man

The ghosts in Pac-Man are pretty tame compared to some of the other villains on our lists. They do their best to take out Pac-Man, but what if the tables were turned? What if you think of Pac-Man as the villain? Maybe the ghosts are just trying to defend their home, and Pac-Man is the evil invader. I mean, he eats them for crying out loud! Next time you boot up a round of the classic title, try to look at the ghosts as the good guys, it might give you a brand new outlook on the game.

Bowser – Mario

Bowser – Mario

Bowser is the quintessential classic villain. He’s always kidnapping Princess Peach from Mario, and he’s constantly sending his minions to prevent Mario from getting her back. Maybe he’s just a love-struck fool who can’t think of a better, more appropriate way to get the girl. (Certainly, he’s been on the side of good in some of the RPGs!) We’re definitely not justifying kidnapping, but maybe Bowser just needs some dating advice. If he took the time to learn how to get the girl of his dreams, maybe he wouldn’t have to resort to stealing someone else’s!

Mom – The Binding of Isaac

Mom – The Binding of Isaac

The Binding of Isaac is a heart-wrenching tale of a young boy who just wants to live his life. All that changed when his mother “heard God” and attempted to take her son’s life. What if Isaac’s mother had not started hearing voices? At the least that terrifying boss battle would have never happened, and Isaac would have been saved from the torture he endured the entire game long. He would have continued living the simple life, playing with his toys, and drawing his favorite sights. Mom would have almost certainly kept watching her Christian channel shows, but at least she wouldn’t have gone on a murderous rampage!

Frank Fontaine – BioShock

Frank Fontaine – BioShock

There’s nothing worse than betrayal. It’s hard enough to put your faith and trust in people, so when they betray it, everything can come undone. That makes Frank Fontaine one of the most terrible scoundrels on this entire list. He’s a conman, an incredibly good actor, and he has you under his spell most of the way through BioShock . What if he wasn’t a conman? What if he was just your average laborer? Maybe Frank Fontaine is someone we could have been friends with. Rapture would have been a much better place with him on the side of good at the very least.

Pyramid Head – Silent Hill

Pyramid Head – Silent Hill

Pyramid Head is one of the most well-known monsters in the entire Silent Hill franchise. It’s hard to miss him, with his massive headgear and gigantic sword. He’s horrifying, chilling, and every single other word we could use to describe fear. If you see even a hint of his sword or pyramid, you absolutely want to head the other way. What if instead of a punisher or an executioner, Pyramid Head was an angel or a protector? Maybe instead of murdering nearly everything he sees, Pyramid Head might try to defend the weak and do good in this world. It’s a really hard possibility to picture, but if it happened, we’d have a very different Silent Hill story to tell.

The Joker – Batman

The Joker – Batman

Batman is to the Joker as light is to dark. They are two halves of the same coin, and one is nothing without the other. But what if the Joker was a force to be reckoned with on the side of good, rather than evil? What if he was Batman’s right hand man in taking down the other Gotham villains? The pair working together would be nigh unstoppable. Needless to say, the Joker would probably take on the role of an anti-hero however. There’s nothing stopping that crazy that’s rattling around in his brain.

Gandhi – Civilization

Gandhi – Civilization

When this list was first coming into being, more natural villains came to mind for the top spot. Like Handsome Jack, GLaDOS, or maybe even Sephiroth. But where’s the fun in the predictable, am I right?

The top spot in our list of villains gone good is Gandhi. Those who haven’t played Civilization are probably looking a bit confused. This is ruining the fun of discovery a little, but Gandhi is not the good guy that we know from history. Gandhi will annihilate you as fast as possible in a good number of the Civilization games. So imagine playing Civilization with Gandhi functioning as he originally planned to. He’d be the quiet observer off to the side, ever the pacifist who might make you think your war-mongering ways are evil.

While all of these villains are fun to imagine as good guys, Gandhi is the one out of all of them that we are most happy to enjoy in his natural state. His characterization in some of the Civilization games is already a head scratcher, and we love that about him.

Who are some of your favorite video game villains? What would they look like as the good guy? Let us know in the comments!

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