Best morally ambiguous characters in video games

[fates_puppet13]

issac clark

in both dead space games you spend most your time trying to not get killed
and especially in the first game he doesn't seem to show a great deal of concern to the fate of other survivors.
hes morally ambiguous if only for not making moral choices

maybe a better example would be: jaaaaames sunderland!

 

[Mr.logic]

Easily a tie between the wanderer, and John Marston. Both of them did truly terrible things with good intentions(or maybe it was because I made them do it).

 

[ripdajacker]

Lara Croft, that murdering thief.

HK-47 from KOTOR. Awesome droid, but then again does a droid have a way of telling amoral from moral?

Max Payne maybe?

 

[Daggedawg]

Agent 47. Yeah, he kills a lot of criminals and people who are up to some seriously messed up stuff. But he does it all for money. Money which he spends on better weapons and equipment, so he can kill more...

 

[Serenegoose]

Another vote for Kreia, for definite.

 

[Kelethor]

Kreia from Knights of the Old Republic 2.

yeeeeessssssss.

Im gonna go ahead and Say Keal'Thas/Arthas, at least in the beginning.

Arthas and Keal both fell from Grace, when all they really wanted was too save their respective home's from the scourge.and they would do anything, ANYTHING too achieve their goals.

 

[C117]

Mario.

What is his true goal? I it just for him to stop on goombas just minding their own business? Why does he always rescue the princess even though she's basicaly a mongoloid moose in a pink dress? Why?!

 

[townkrier]

Delita from FFT is a great example of being morally ambiguous.

Spoiler

Throughout the game he switches sides between hero, villain, accomplice, friend, ally, etc. His motive is never as simple as "defeat the other guy" or even self-interest. He has compassion at times, but he also some pretty sh*tty things along the way. He's eventually seen at the hero of the war, but for most of the game he isn't seen that way.

 

[townkrier]

Whoops. Thought it said Jan 30 of the 2012, sorry Did a search and thought it was two days ago.

 

[Doc Gnosis]

I could say Kirby from the namesake franchise, and point to the Jimquisition video that brings it up, but I'm not that convincing...

On another note, I'd say, Commander Shepard, JC Denton, & Kreia. The former two for how much the player could interpret them and the latter for her backstory and actions in the game.

 

[endtherapture]

All the Templars you kill in Assassin's Creed 1. I was killing these evil people, but in their post death speeches I found myself agreeing with some of what they said, it was really weird.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Kreia from Knights of the Old Republic 2.
~image snip~

This, by a fracking landslide.

I agree absolutely, amazing villain.

+1 to this, kreia was freaking amazing. I have never seen a villain quite like her in any other game since. (If you can even truly call her the "villain".)

 

[ms_sunlight]

+1 to this, kreia was freaking amazing. I have never seen a villain quite like her in any other game since. (If you can even truly call her the "villain".)

This! She is one of the best, most nuanced characters ever created in the medium of video games. Is she a villain, a corruptor, or the ultimate mentor? Antagonist is a far better word than villain; you oppose her, and it is necessary that you do, but is she wrong?

Planescape: Torment had another fine morally ambiguous antagonist.

Spoiler

Throughout the game, the antagonists whose acts you are uncovering are actually several versions of your past self, and the final boss was a part of yourself created by your own past actions. Only through self-discovery, not combat, can you get the best ending. Several of the mini-bosses such as Ignus are also in part your creation. In a way The Nameless One is both protagonist and antagonist in the same story.

 

[kyogen]

The OP seems to focus on morally ambiguous protagonists, so...
1) Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher 1 and 2): loyal to his friends, ambivalent toward the world
2) Wander (Shadow of the Colossus): saving the girl at a very high price
3) Garrett (Thief series): expert redistributor of wealth
4) Nier (Nier): play new game + at least once for a little more perspective
5) Chell (Portal 1 and 2): we like her but poor little GLaDOS doesn't

 

[townkrier]

5) Chell (Portal 1 and 2): we like her but poor little GLaDOS doesn't

Your number #5 really doesn't make sense to me. Just because someone doesn't like you doesn't make you morally ambiguous. Everyone has an enemy. Gandhi, Jesus, and the Dalai Lamas had enemies. Doesn't make them morally ambiguous. As Malcolm X said: "Brothers and sisters...friends....and I see some enemies. I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we had a audience this large and didn't realize that there were some enemies present.

 

[Kashrlyyk]

...

This! She is one of the best, most nuanced characters ever created in the medium of video games. Is she a villain, a corruptor, or the ultimate mentor? ...

Were you asleep when the cutscenes showed she is working against you? But hey, maybe you care to explain in more detail why you think she is a nuanced character. I stopped playing the game when she gave a retarded ham-fisted moral lesson on Nar Shaddaa.

 

[kyogen]

5) Chell (Portal 1 and 2): we like her but poor little GLaDOS doesn't

Your number #5 really doesn't make sense to me. Just because someone doesn't like you doesn't make you morally ambiguous. Everyone has an enemy. Gandhi, Jesus, and the Dalai Lamas had enemies. Doesn't make them morally ambiguous. As Malcolm X said: "Brothers and sisters...friends....and I see some enemies. I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we had a audience this large and didn't realize that there were some enemies present.

It's a joke. That's what the little emoticon at the end is there to show. GLaDOS is clearly the aggressively hostile antagonist of Portal. Chell is just unlucky enough to be trapped inside of Aperture Science with her/it. However, GLaDOS does spend most of the endgame telling Chell how horrible she is--hence the joke. How about asking for clarification before preaching?

 

[DioWallachia]

The characters on Legacy of Kain series: Kain, Raziel, Moebius and even the Hylden Lord if you are into alternate interpretations.

 

[KingofMadCows]

Kreia is definitely on the top of the list. Although, I really like this guy:

I really like these two characters as well, but I doubt that many people recognize them:

 

[ms_sunlight]

...

This! She is one of the best, most nuanced characters ever created in the medium of video games. Is she a villain, a corruptor, or the ultimate mentor? ...

Were you asleep when the cutscenes showed she is working against you? But hey, maybe you care to explain in more detail why you think she is a nuanced character. I stopped playing the game when she gave a retarded ham-fisted moral lesson on Nar Shaddaa.

If you stopped playing the game then you would not realise that

Spoiler

she is manipulating you in order to mould you into a person of power capable of facing the true threat that is coming. She's not working against you any more than a gardener who prunes a tree in order to make it grow more fruit is working against the tree.

Why I am responding to someone who even admits they didn't finish the game I'm not sure. If that's the case, I'm sure I've seen more of the cut scenes than you have.