Plot twists! Sometimes they aren't as shocking as the writers might've intended, but other times they do catch you off guard. And then there are the twists that are so crazy, that you are left speechless as they unfold in front of you.
For today's list we are going to be looking at six moments like these, where it turns out that YOU were actually the bad guy the entire time! Needless to say, there are major spoilers below, and as such, this list is going to start with some of the more commonly known ones. Also knowing the names of games on this list will not necessarily spoil it for you, as there is more to this than simply being "yeah, you were the bad guy."
Our final entry here is what I personally consider to be one of the craziest twists on this list, so be warned before scrolling down and reading!
SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT
Far Cry 4
Again, we are going to start this list with one a lot of people already know about, but it helped make the game special.
Far Cry 4 is a game that sees our protagonist Ajay returning to the country of Kyrat to place his mother's ashes at her requested final resting spot. The reason for his trip is pretty straight forward, but almost instantly he is captured and is met by the crazed Pagan Min; a violent king who rules the country by fear.
Pagan Min actually seems to interested in helping Ajay, but when he steps out of the room for a moment to kill a guy, Ajay realizes he has to escape. This event is what truly begins Far Cry 4, and sets Ajay down the path of helping the resistance. Once joining up, Ajay has the chance to side with one of two people within the group, and missions play out differently based upon the choices he makes. A lot of it comes down to rescuing people, taking out enemy bases, and eventually paving the way to Pagan Min himself, but there are a handful of key story decisions that impact the way this plays out. Ultimately these all do lead to a face-off with Pagan Min however, but this only leads to a completely different realization...
You are just as bad as he is.
Was Pagan Min a good guy? No. But did he keep his half of the country safe, and provide for his people? He did. They lived in peace, and the soldiers protected them from the resistance that wanted to kill them all. You as Ajay helped the resistance achieve this goal, and flipped the scales to the other side. Now the resistance side is living in peace, and the rest of the country is in fear without their leader to protect them. As for whoever Ajay sided with? They are no better either, with some truly horrible outcomes thanks to their "leadership." Personally in my playthrough I blew my choice up with a rocket launcher, and then proceeded to set everyone else on fire... Yeah, my Ajay really did end up being worse than Pagan Min. (Not to mention all the things me and my fellow writer Cat did while playing co-op!)
To make this all worse, you could've had Ajay sit and wait for Pagan Min to come back. He would've taken Ajay to where he needed to be, put his mom to rest, and then been done with it. Of course there wouldn't be a game then, but that is the one and only "good" ending in this tale.
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy has returned on the Nintendo Switch 2, with the full name in tact. The original English release of the game removed the subtitle Flying Fairy, and that presents a problem with this next twist.
The game is a follow up to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, but with its own world, story, and gameplay mechanics. They dropped Final Fantasy from the title, but retained FF within the name thanks to the name Flying Fairy, as it was something they didn't want to remove. The story itself focuses on Tiz who watches his entire world be swallowed up by a massive hole that opened under his town. This event forces him out into the world, where he then learns occurrences like this are becoming increasingly common. He eventually meets up with a woman named Agnes, with the power to reawaken the world's crystals, a fairy named Airy who is guiding her to do so, a young girl named Edea, and a mysterious man named Ringabel with a journal detailing future events. Together the five set out to do just as Airy says, and bring peace to the world once more... But of course a group of bad guys are out to stop them.
Finding and awakening crystals isn't anything new for Final Fantasy, and outside of the class system, it is the main Final Fantasy element that Bravely Default didn't remove. That being said, Bravely Default does handle it quite a bit differently, as finding and reactivating the crystals here isn't the true end goal. Instead the world ends, and our main characters find themselves back at the beginning.
The second time through the game is very strange. Most of the same events play out, but there are new stories and different outcomes spread out throughout the world. The cast still has to visit the same locations, and reactivate the same crystals, but doing so simply puts them back at the beginning.. Again... And again... And AGAIN!
This cycle keeps repeating, and Airy keeps reassuring the party that it is the only way to save the world.
But what if you don't? What if you ignore Airy and don't activate the crystals? What if FF should've been removed from the title? Flying Fairy? See how many times I've said removed?
The truth is, Airy has been lying to the party this entire time. She is an agent for a being of great evil, and by activating the crystals in each dimension/timeline, this thing gets stronger and stronger. Airy has completed this task countless times, and she is close to allowing it to awaken. Just one more push is all it would take, and then it is over; however, Ringabel, his other self, and his journal are there to help stop it... And so were most of the "bad guys" the party took out along the way.
Of course a lot of these people weren't "good guys" either, but they had the right idea to take out the crystals. The main party was being mislead the entire time, so they were technically in the wrong here, but they also were also only doing what they thought was right. This is a case of our main cast not being the bad guys on purpose, but that doesn't change the fact that they are the bad ones here.
They do redeem themselves in the end, but Tiz himself is a bit more than meets the eye... And that is something that is explored more in the direct sequel Bravely Second: End Layer. Or should I say - never mind.
Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line is a special game. It is something you could easily write a full college paper on when it comes to the themes, ideas, and psychological aspects of the game in general. Being married to someone who majored in psychology, there are many aspects of the game that I can bring up to my wife, and in return learn even more about the science behind it all. It is truly impressive how much actually went into this game's story and presentation, and we would be here all day if I were to fully dive into it!
So that being said; let's just dive into the basics.
The game follows Captain Martin Walker as he leads a small squad through Dubai after it has been hit by the worst sandstorm on record. The entire region is under martial law, and Walker's group has been ordered to stick around and help out by their commander Colonel John Konrad. The intro of the game begins with a high speed helicopter shootout, and quickly jumps back in time to show the events leading up to this point. From here on out Walker follows the orders of Konrad, and makes his way through Dubai. Initially the game seems like a standard cover shooter, with some crazy sand physics, but over time it starts to change.
Walker is forced to make some questionable decisions, his squad's dialogue stops making sense, and it quickly becomes clear that Konrad is not a man to be trusted. The defining moment of this is when he instructs Walker to take out an enemy camp with white phosphorus, and completely burn and melt everything in their way. It is not a pretty picture at all, and when the squad walks through what can only be described as Hell, they realize their mistake. It wasn't an enemy camp, it was civilians.
From here on out, Walker makes it his mission to take down Konrad. The game eventually loops back to the opening scene, where it is then remarked that they have already done this; a clear nod to the player already experiencing it at the start of the game. Things get even stranger from there, with Walker fighting with his own memories, and having to face what he has done (a moment where the game shifts more towards the horror genre, and something we could've mentioned in our previous list Six Times When Games Turned Into A Horror Game). This is what does lead him to come face to face with Konrad, but that is also when the truth is revealed.
Konrad is dead.
This entire time Walker had been following a hallucination of Konrad as a way to rationalize his own actions and mistakes. He can't handle what he did, his mind had deteriorated, and he experiences a complete mental break. The whole game is nothing but these memories and Walker's shattered mental state, and players themselves are free to interpret what everything means.
Walker was the bad guy this entire time, chasing after a ghost, but there is still so much more to the story than just this. A lot went into this story, and knowing the plot twist doesn't actually ruin it; in fact, it gives newcomers even more of a reason to experience it, and to look for all the deeper context for themselves. One unique thing about this game is the fact that even the actors were forced to redo their lines over and over again until they too were mentally exhausted, and that really went a long way towards their performance.
Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is a well known PlayStation 3 title that followed the story of four characters as they attempted to solve a murder. A killer known as the Origami Killer has been kidnapping children and drowning them in rain water, and our core cast of characters gets drawn into the entire mess.
Ethan is the father of the latest victim, Madison is a reporter investigating the Origami Killer, Norman is an FBI agent who is also on the case, and Scott is a private detective looking into the event as well. Each one provides a different viewpoint, and the game uses a unique system where characters can die and the story will change. This means it is possible to complete the game without ever figuring out who the Origami Killer is, and it is also possible to get innocent people killed along the way. Actually solving the case requires smart thinking and discovering specific clues, and missing them will lead to one of the many "bad" endings... Unless you want to help the killer that is.
Those who have played through the game at least once may have a better idea how to do this, but it is possible to play through the game helping the killer instead. You can miss clues on purpose, and you can even cover the killer's tracks to prevent them from getting caught. This leads to the "ultimate bad ending" where everyone involved is dead, and the killer gets away, and you as a player are the one who can make this happen. In a way this makes "you" yourself the bad guy in this case, but there is a more literal meaning to this as well. The killer is none other than Scott, with the game viewing his story as a delusion of "wanting to help."
Sadly there was some content of the game that got cut to remove supernatural elements, and some may argue that the killer's identity is a little strange, but that doesn't change the fact it is who it is.
Zero Escape Vol 2: Virtue's Last Reward
The Zero Escape series is a pretty well known one among visual novel fans. It was written by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who was known for the Infinity Series, and would also go on to do the AI series after. His story writing has always been known for including plot twists, and the first entry in the Zero Escape series, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, shocked everyone who played it. So how does he follow this up when making a sequel? By pulling off a different completely unexpected twist; that's how!
999 was a game that followed the story of 9 individuals who had 9 hours to locate the number 9 door. They had been kidnapped by someone named Zero, and stuck on a sinking ship. The game featured full on visual novel segments, with each room being an escape room. There were multiple paths, and the game required seeing them all to get the full experience. Eventually players could put together the mystery, and escape, but the overall story is where the game truly shined. The reason everyone was there, who each person was, and why Zero chose them, it all formed some sort of connection, and the ending left players wanting more. Virtue's Last Reward was that more.
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Like in the previous game, VLR followed a group of people who find themselves locked in a strange building, and are forced to play through an escape game. Zero is back, but this time he divides everyone up into teams, and are forced to either vote for or against each other. After solving an escape room, groups are put into a room to vote for either "Ally" or "Betray," and they are rewarded points based on their answer. Those groups who both hit "Ally" will be rewarded 2 BP, but if someone votes "Ally" while the other votes "Betray," the betrayer will receive 3 BP, and the Ally will lose 2. Both groups hitting "Betray" rewards no points, and simply prolongs the game. Upon reaching a set score that player will be free to leave, while everyone else will be trapped forever.
This is an interesting setup where everyone wants to escape, but they have to rely on each other to do so, yet doing so also risks them being trapped within the building if they lose. To make matters worse, some players are either friends or family, with our main character Sigma having no connections at all. He is a simple college student who woke up along side a woman named Phi, and he has no idea how he got there (or why he was chosen). Throughout the game, Sigma becomes closer to the other players, and discovers clues that lead them to understand what is going on. He learns to trust some, sees the true colors of others, and gets betrayed by those closest to him. It is a roller-coaster filled with non-stop ups and downs, and eventually you as a player start to notice a pattern. Like with 999 it is required to go through every story path to reach the end, but this time around a built in flowchart exists to make things faster. Seeing someone betray Sigma in one timeline means you can go back and betray them instead, and that is what leads to the first surprising revelation. Sigma remembers it all.
This surprises Sigma too, the first time it happened, but eventually he starts to use this to his advantage. Bad outcomes in one branch can be prevented by choosing a different option, and even Phi begins to retain her memories. Together the two start working through the mystery they are caught up in, and this does lead Sigma to come face to face with a recording of Zero himself. It doesn't answer any questions on who Zero is, or why he has done this, but others seemingly understand the moment they see him.
The big revelation comes near the end of the game when the group finds a way to beat the game, and save everyone; however, winning isn't actually winning. As it turns out, the world has ended, and Zero set the game up for one purpose, and one purpose only; to save it.
When Sigma finds what seems to be a clone of himself asleep, he is surprised that they share the same face. What was even more surprising however, is the fact that no one else recognized this copy of him. This freaks Sigma out more than anything else, which leads him to finally look at his own reflection. Looking back at him is none other than an old man. An old man he had seen before... The recording of Zero.
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It is revealed that Zero set the entire game up to give himself a second chance. Using his ability to transfer his mind between timelines, he swapped places with his younger self, and attempted to prevent the world's destruction. If he succeeds, time moves on, but if he fails, he is to return to his future body, and let his past self setup the game once again. Ultimately Zero does fail, and Sigma finds his mind being sent back to his original body; except without his arms and one of his eyes. It is the that he witnesses the end, and realizes he must spend the rest of his life preparing for what comes next. He has to become Zero, and someday try again.
The follow up titled Zero Time Dilemma is actually set between the first two titles. It is the moment Zero transfers his mind back to his younger body, and is his attempt to save the world. Virtue's Last Reward is the story path where he fails, while ZTD itself has many other paths to follow. While Sigma himself isn't technically a "bad guy," he had to result to kidnapping and ruining people's lives to hopefully fix what happened. This puts him in a very strange situation, making him both the villain and the hero of his own story.
White Knight Chronicles
White Knight Chronicles is a JRPG by LEVEL5, and it was released in two parts. White Knight Chronicles was of course the intro to the series, but White Knight Chronicles 2 was not only a sequel, but also an enhanced version of the original game. Players booting up 2 for the first time would get to pick up and continue where their save file left off in the first game, and those who skipped out on playing White Knight Chronicles first would get to start over from the beginning; with enhanced features and new content to boot! It was basically two full length games that made up a "single" story, and it even had a full MMO like multiplayer mode as well... And this is where things get crazy.
When you first start the game you are asked to create an avatar. This character will represent "you" in the story, but mostly takes a backseat. The character's looks can be customized, and they can be any class you would like them to be, but they are not the main character of the story. This honor belongs to the young man named Leonard.
Although players can control their avatar during the main game, Leonard is the hero of this tale. Early on in the story the princess Cisna is attacked, and Leonard happens to be in the right place at the right time to awaken the mysterious power of the White Knight; a giant mech like being that Leonard is able to summon and pilot. This event is what leads him to meet a mysterious old man, who seems to know a thing or two about the princess and the knights, and this sets him out on an adventure across the land. Along the way he meets other users who are able to use their own Knights, and he slowly begins to learn the truth about the world; all while your avatar stands in the background watching.
Moving forward, it is eventually revealed that the main cast does in fact have connections to a major event that happened in the past, and that the "big bad" from back then is once again trying to take over the world. The princess Leonard has become close to and is now in charge of protecting is none other than the reincarnation of the queen from back in the day, and that is ultimately why she is the target of this strange evil group's attacks. Of course Leonard and the rest of his team, and the avatar, are here to protect her at any cost, but then something unexpected happens...
One of your friends is the reincarnation of the evil Emperor Madoras.
After this revelation, things change. Your once "friend" is now the enemy, and the party now has a clear goal; stop them. It becomes the main focus of the story, and gives the party a tangible enemy that they need to take out. It isn't just some mysterious group, it is this guy who is behind it all!
And then things continue like usual, with your avatar in the background, and Leonard does everything he can to protect Cisna (especially considering he is in love with her now). From here on out it seems like a pretty standard story, and eventually that leads the party to face off against Madoras... Or not really.
It turns out the person we thought was Madoras was simply crazy and was tricked into thinking they were the emperor reincarnated. As our silent avatar stands there, the truth is eventually revealed... The reality is, the one who was truly the evil emperor was none other than Leonard all along.
At this point, the character you just spent two full games playing as, betrays the party, runs off with all your level ups, skills, upgrades, etc, and becomes the final boss. Not to mention that he takes the White Knight with him, something that has been key in every boss fight, and now you have nothing!
This is when the avatar has to step up, and the grind for end game begins.
The final story sees the avatar leveling up, unlocking their own Knight, and upgrading its abilities and equipment. It is a whole new customization mechanic on top of the standard class system, and takes quite a bit of time to even come close to the level Leonard was on. Of course those who played the online mode (that is now sadly gone) would've had their avatar leveled up a bit more, but that avatar might not have been customized to take Leonard's place. This can make the final arc a lot more challenging, and is still one of the craziest moments in a JRPG to this day.
And that is it for today's list! Did any of these surprise you? Or is there a game you feel should've been on this list? Feel free to let us know below!
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