The boss battle is supposed to be this triumphant victory of good over evil and a summation of all the skills you learned through reaching that big bad…isn’t it?
Once upon a time, games needed to be that black and white because there wasn’t much space for a lengthy script in the tiny space on an NES cartridge. Technology is a wonderful thing however, and games can get complicated in some brilliant narrative ways, where who’s on the right side of history isn’t always so black and white. Here’s 15 of our favourites, but make sure you share your memorably tragic villains in the comments!
Xander – Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright
Within Fire Emblem Fates, the player character Corrin is forced to choose sides against either the kingdom that raised them but stole them away as a child, Noir, or against his birth kingdom of Hoshido. Late into the game, the player goes up against the eldest brother of the kingdom they stood against. While the tragic circumstances and the fact that neither brother manages to live through the battle is hard to watch on either side, Xander, Scion of Noir that you take on in the Birthright path wins out on how heavy it is. The encounter with Xander begins with him accidentally cutting down his own little sister, who stepped between them to stop them from fighting. Instead of heeding her final wish to lay down his sword, Xander is forced to stand with Noir, and raises it against the sibling he believes betrayed him.
