5 video game antagonists who were right (and 5 protagonists who were wrong)

One may wonder, "What exactly is the formula for a good video game?" It might be stunning visuals, fluid gameplay, or a good protagonist. But what really sets a good game apart is a well-written antagonist. A good proponent needs an opposing force to go up against.

That said, there might be times when the definition of both forces is diluted. When you think of an antagonist, a maniacal mastermind comes to mind who's willing to go up against our hero. A protagonist, on the other hand, is often an idealistic person, the culmination of all things good. However, that is often not the case.

Video game antagonists have come a long way. From the simple Ghost Gang in Pac-Man to the morally ambiguous Handsome Jack from Borderlands. While we all love a maniac mastermind like Vaas from Far Cry 3, an antagonist whose cause players can relate to and understand is what often strikes the chord.

The same can be said about video game protagonists who might not always be right, which makes you, the player, question your motives as you progress in the story.

With all that said, let's take a look at some of these antagonists who were right all along and protagonists who weren't.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions. Needless to say, potential spoilers ahead.

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Video game antagonists who were right all along

1) Genichiro Ashina

Genichiro as an antagonistic force in Sekiro (Image via FromSoftware)

Genichiro Ashina serves as the main antagonist of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and is the perfect antagonist to kick off this list. Genichiro seeks to extract Kuro's blood, as it can grant immortality.

While Genichiro's actions might seem selfish, he is not doing this for himself. He is loyal to his kingdom, Ashina, and will go to any lengths to save it. He seeks Kuro's blood in order to build an immortal army to save the kingdom of Ashina against an impending attack.

While we, as the player, do end up stopping him, when all seems lost, and Ashina is being raided by enemies, Genichiro sacrifices himself to revive Isshin, the sword saint, to save the kingdom. The boss battles with Genichiro are some of the best in the game, and needless to say, his character writing is flawless.

While Sekiro might not be a typical FromSoftware game, Genichiro is definitely one of the best antagonists FromSoftware has given us.

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2) Revolver Ocelot

Revolver Ocelot as an antagonist in Metal Gear Solid 3 (Image via Konami)

Metal Gear lore is really vast, and even explaining a character's motive might take hours. Revolver Ocelot, in this case, served as a rival of Big Boss, a friend of Solid Snake, and basically an antagonist. His acts were a result of his nature as a triple agent.

Ocelot played all sides against one another during his whole career in an effort to get the Patriots' AI, which had the power to control and manipulate the world's economy.

While Ocelot has done a lot of questionable stuff with dire consequences, he goes above and beyond in his dedication to freeing humanity. Revolver Ocelot wants the Patriots' AI, but not to manage the world's war economy; rather, he wants to destroy it and bring about "anarchy"—which, in his opinion, meant a world where people, not computers, would rule the world.

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3) Kreia

Kreia in Star Wars KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords as one of the antagonists (Image via Obsidian)

While many have questioned the classic Jedi and Sith good/evil narrative that permeates the Star Wars universe, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 exemplified it. The game introduces players to Kreia, who turned from the light and chose the dark path, later abandoning the dark path as well.

She believes the force to be a corrupting means and directs the player's moral decisions throughout the game, frequently criticizing their decisions to make them think about the drawbacks of their decisions.

Instead of taking a side, she believes that both sides are equally harmful if a person adheres to only one set of laws governed by one side of the Force.

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4) Pagan Min

Pagan Min as the antagonist in the opening sequence of Far Cry 4 (Image via Ubisoft)

Initially, the Golden Path appear to be the good guys, while the antagonist of Far Cry 4, Pagan Min, appears to be an eccentric maniacal tyrant similar to Vaas from Far Cry 3. While the rebel group Golden Path might seem to be good, if you choose to side with them, the ending makes the country a patriarchal theocracy, which is much worse than what Pagan Min had in place.

Despite the player spending the majority of the game trying to overthrow Pagan Min's reign and establish a new government in Kyrat, doing so actually makes things far worse.

One of the endings even puts the player, Ajay, as the ruler, which begs the argument that Pagan Min was trying to keep things stable in his own ways.

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5) Abby

Abby as the antagonist in the Last of Us Part 2 (Image via Naughty Dog)

This might be the most controversial yet most interesting antagonist on this list. Abby kills Joel in The Last of Us Part 2 as a means of revenge since Joel killed her dad in the first game, who was operating on Ellie to get the cure for the virus.

Throughout the game, we transition between Ellie and Abby, getting both their POVs and understanding their motives. While you would want to kill Abby for killing Joel, after playing as her, you understand her motives and why she did what she did.

The characters in The Last of Us blur the lines between what is right and what is wrong, especially in the highly controversial sequel. Is Abby wrong for killing Joel? Is Ellie wrong for killing all of Abby's friends? It's like Ellie said, "We are not murderers; we just survive."

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Video game protagonists who were wrong

1) Captain Walker

Captain Walker in Spec Ops: The Line (Image via 2K Games)

To say that Spec Ops: The Line is a unique game would be an understatement. Spec Ops makes you believe that this is your typical shooter game, similar to that of Call of Duty. However, it tackles much more complex and darker themes of death and PTSD.

Throughout the game, Captain Walker is on the lookout for John Konrad, whom he keeps talking to on the radio and whom he blames for the situation in Dubai. However, it is later revealed that things might not be as simple as they seem.

As we locate Konrad in a penthouse, we expect a tyrannical mastermind in the chair. However, what we witness is a rotting corpse coming to the revelation that everything that happened in Dubai was done by Walker, and Lieutenant John Konrad was a mere means of Walker's brain to cope with the atrocities he unleashed in Dubai.

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2) Wander

Wander possessed by Dormin the antagonist (Image via Bluepoint Games)

Shadow of the Colossus follows a simple premise. The game begins with Wander, who wants to bring his beloved Mono, a girl, back to life. To do this, a mysterious ancient spirit called Dormin tells him to slay 16 colossi scattered across the land. However, what Wander doesn't know is that each colossi contains a part of Dormin's soul to prevent him from regaining power.

After slaying the sixteenth colossi, it is revealed that Wander has committed a mistake, and he is now possessed by Dormin. Emon, a supposed priest, throws Wander's sword into a sacred well, which pulls Wander, who is now possessed by Dormin, into a vortex, which leads to both their demise.

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3) The Lord of Frenzied Flame

Becoming the Lord of Frenzied Flame in Elden Ring (Image via FromSoftware)

Elden Ring is a vast game, and the ending you get depends on you. The Lord of the Frenzied Flame is the bad ending wherein the Tarnished rejects the natural order of things to embrace chaos.

While there is no "canon" ending as such, this is an ending that is often considered to be the worst one, where you end up burning everything, bringing a full-fledged apocalypse to the Lands Between.

Melina leaves the Tarnished's companionship if the Frenzied Flame is inherited before the events at the Forge of the Giants, leaving the Tarnished to offer their own body as a sacrifice. This results in a bonus scene at the conclusion when Melina dedicates herself to bringing "Destined Death" to the Tarnished.

The world of Elden Ring, along with the errors of the Greater Will—all existing sin, torment, fracture, and curse—will be burned in this ending, as explained by the Three Fingers, with the goal of uniting everything and everyone like the crucible that existed before time. The Tarnished will assume the role of the Lord of Chaos.

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4) James Sunderland

James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 (Image via Konami)

Silent Hill 2 is considered to be one of the best games not only in the series but also in the whole genre. The game focuses on James Sunderland, who is looking for his lost wife. After receiving an enigmatic letter supposedly from his late wife, Mary, James Sunderland travels to the titular town of Silent Hill.

Nevertheless, it is later revealed that James was really the one who killed Mary to prevent her from suffering any more from an unidentified ailment. He doesn't remember killing Mary, as he spends the whole game looking for her in an illusioned state, blocking out the memory of killing his own wife.

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5) Ellie

Ellie trying to kill Abby (Image via Naughty Dog)

This entry brings us full circle to the end of our list. You can consider Abby to be the Yin to Ellie's Yang. Both of these characters are right yet so wrong in their own horrendous ways. After Abby kills Joel, Ellie goes on a quest to, as she quotes, "I'm gonna find... and I'm gonna kill... every last one of them." This leads to her killing all of Abby's friends, with only Abby remaining.

That said, the moment Ellie is about to kill Abby, the picture of Joel flashes in front of her eyes, and she spares Abby. Many players didn't like this ending, as they stated, they felt robbed of the moment, and it would've been better if Ellie killed Abby. While an argument can be made for that, Naughty Dog does something truly unique with this sequel that makes the player question their actions.

The game makes you play as Abby as you find Lev and have your own journey with her, similar to that of Ellie and Joel. Naughty Dog blurs the lines between good and evil, with the masterclass of a sequel proving that there's no such thing as right or wrong. There are only gray areas, and it's up to us whether we want to walk that path or not.

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Key takeaway

Video games are a truly unique form of media with the ability to engage players in a variety of ways where you yourself will have moral qualms. With each passing year, new antagonists and protagonists are revealed, with some being forgotten and some finding an inedible space in the hearts of players.