Top 5 Lovable Forgivable Bad Guys

Villains are the epitome of a necessary evil in video games. Every adventure with a drive needs their pushback to be able to strive for the ultimate goal. Like their own Yin and Yang, the dichotomy between bad guys and their hero counterpart cannot exist without each other.

For those miscreants who have shown their worth, however, the bitter taste of inevitable defeat is a harsh punishment for their righteous role fulfillment. They can't help being bad. It's what their world needs of them. Especially when these characters have already bonded with our hearts, it becomes so painful to see them fail. There are a select few game baddies that get their day, but most of them are cast forever in the shadows of the champions. That's a raw deal.

There needs to be a place where the often black and white performance of games gets its balance switched. An instance must exist where good guys finish last. So, here's a testament to these characters of evil intention with noble obligation. May some of the most memorable get their luck turned around someday.

Presenting, the five cuddliest baddies who don't get to be forgiven for their sins, but perhaps should be.

5. Dr. Robotnik (Sonic)

Here stands a person so humiliated over time that their alternate name, Eggman, has a mere character trait represent their whole being. That originates from a mix-up between Japanese and English languages, but that's a story for another time.

Robotnik, as the doctor should be called, has been the whipping boy of Sonic the Hedgehog time and again. Despite running an entire empire, possessing a supreme intellect and using the most technologically advanced gear possible, the mustached scientist is usually outdone by a few timed jumps. It's pathetic to think this is even possible. Ever since the nineties, this genius has been at the mercy of some spiny critter and their chums, with nothing to show for it but Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Sadly enough, even that game ends in defeat.

Robotnik's closest victory so far is in the Nintendo DS game made by Bioware, called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Twenty years and dozens of titles later, it would be nice to see all this effort truly pay off in a clear win. Gritty is in fashion right now, so the planet Mobius that houses the Sonic franchise could do with a dystopian overhaul. Rename it Eggmania maybe.

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4. Jackie Ma (Sleeping Dogs) >