COMPLETE SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 4, PW: AA, DUAL DESTINIES, UNWOUND FUTURE, VIRTUE'S LAST REWARD, 999, XENOBLADE CHRONICLES, RADIANT HISTORIA, ACE ATTORNEY INVESTIGATIONS, AND BIOSHOCK
Having a villain be hidden from view can be quite a game changer, in terms of how a story plays out. Sometimes, there are reasons to suspect that character for being the one behind evil deeds, but at other times, their reveal takes you off guard and makes you scream "WHAT. WHAT. WHAT.". Personally, I love those moments; they show off how well a developer is able to fool us, and really make great storytelling. There are also times when you think "oh, this character is the bad guy", but you don't know how much of one they truly are, and how they actually go far beyond your comprehension of evil. In any case, today, let's take the time to honor those villains and their dastardly deeds....sorry that there are some series repeats.
You guys like them Microsoft Paint skills?
Ace (Gentarou Hongou)
When I went into 999, I thought Ace was going to be my favorite character, besides Junpei of course. As it turns out, Ace is actually one of the despicable characters I've ever seen. He had children kidnapped and put into the Nonary Game when they were around ten years old, and forced them to complete the puzzles for his experiments with the morphogenetic resonance field. He even trapped young Akane inside a furnace that would ignite unless she solved a puzzle in time. He's evil, and is also really the origin of many of the atrocities of the Zero Escape universe. Screw you, Ace.
Adachi Tohru
Throughout Persona 4, someone keeps throwing people into TVs, hoping they will end up being killed by the Shadows on the other side. In reality, the criminal was Taro Namatame, but he thought he was protecting the people, unknowingly putting them in great danger. He did this at the encouraging of Adachi, who had also thrown the first two victims into the TV, killing them. Dissatisfied with the small town of Inaba, the malevolent Adachi threw people into the TVs and also encouraged Namatame to do so because he just found it fun. He also tried to bring about the end of the world because he found it "dull and annoying as hell".
Clive
To be honest, I didn't see this one coming at all. In the third Professor Layton game, the cast thinks they're in a future version of London for most of the game, but it turns out in the end that this is a lie, and that the person pretending to be a future version of Luke is the true villain. A child who lost his parents in the time machine accident years prior to the events of the game, Clive strives to exact revenge on those responsible-mainly Prime Minister Bill Hawks, who performed the experiment. In the end, he realizes his wrong doings, after being comforted by Professor Layton, but that initial reveal is still so surprising...
Bobby Fulbright (The Phantom of UR-1)
Dual Destinies was my game of the year for 2013, and the final reveal of the game was what I called the best moment all year. Phoenix Wright realizes that the person behind all the events, the Phantom (an international spy), is actually Bobby Fulbright, the detective who has been working with him and everyone else the whole time. At first, Fulbright denies this, but then he finally reveals he killed the real Fulbright a year ago, and he's been impersonating him ever since. Dang it Fulbright, you were so awesome...and Phantom...HOW DID YOU DO ALL THAT?!
Dio (Left)
Sure, Dio seems like he could be the villain at the beginning of Virtue's Last Reward. He's pessimistic, cunning, and doesn't work with anyone. Some other characters are still in the running at that point, but then you discover that, not only is Dio the antagonist...he's a terrorist. A clone of the younger brother of Brother, Left, he is the leader of the Myrmidons, the mercenary group that works with Brother's cult Free The Soul, which seeks to reinvent the world. Dio came to the moon to stop the AB Project from being fulfilled, although he failed in the end...well, in one timeline at least.
The Monado (Zanza)
For most of Xenoblade Chronicles, you think the antagonists are only the Mechon from the Mechonis, but you'd be wrong. The one who caused them destruction (and thus made them vengeful in the first place) was Zanza, the soul of the Bionis, and who dwells within Shulk's Monado. Revealing himself after the defeat of Egil, Zanza declares that all life shall return to the Bionis, as it has down for eons, and he destroys the Mechonis by awakening the Bionis. He's an arrogant god, and a great villain.
Manfred von Karma
When you first meet Manfred von Karma, you think he's just there to be a really tough "final boss" of sorts, as he has never lost a case in his forty years as a prosecutor. The truth is, though, that he orchestrated the death of Robert Hammond, the blaming of Miles Edgeworth, and that he himself killed Gregory Edgeworth, Miles' father, fifteen years prior to the game. He manipulated many people around him at great length, all in the name of achieving "perfection".
Heiss
Heiss is the character who gives Stocke the White Chronicle, and basically reveals that he knows what it is capable of when he asks about it later. I thought that he was going to be some omniscient being that ended up being a key player later in the game...but it turned out a bit differently. He's revealed to be the holder of the Black Chronicle, the opposite of the White, and that he's been manipulating things behind the scenes to go in his favor. In truth, he is the brother of the late king of Granorg, and he was supposed to be sacrificed as per the Granorg Royal Family's duty, in order to prevent the desertification of the world. He refused this call, and absconded with his nephew, Ernst, giving him new memories to make him think he's a warrior from Alistel named Stocke.
Quercus Alba
As the ambassador of Allebhast, Quercus Alba seems...like a tame old man. He hobbles around on his cane, speaks softly, and also berates himself for minor mistakes. After Edgeworth realizes that Alba had both the means and the motive to be involved in the illegal ongoings at the embassies, Alba finally reveals his true demeanor as an arrogant man who boasts of extraterritorial rights. Yeah, that got annoying for awhile, but I still loved this reveal.
Atlas (Frank Fontaine)
Hey, you know that guy who was helping you the whole time? Hey, you know that guy who apparently ruined this place before you arrived but died? They're one in the same! Well, you've just been working with the villain the whole time and it turns out he had you created in a lab two years ago! Great! Well, there goes the neighborhood I guess...anyway, Atlas's reveal was a big deal for a lot of people; I had had the game spoiled beforehand, so I didn't really have the emotional weight of it...but it was still a nice one.
I would ask you all to share any hidden villains that you all liked, but for the same of avoiding spoiling things for others (and me), please don't mention anything unless you give a clear notification and maybe give a URL for an image (with the URL not giving away the spoiler either). Just don't want anyone (including me...) getting spoiled for something we don't want to! Well, hope you all enjoyed this list, and I'll see you guys later!
Peace.