The nineties might be known as one of the best decades ever in video game history. S🐻ure, the particular era of time may not have been the beginning of the industry nor was it necessarily when we really saw what video games were capable of, but it was still the generation that gave us some of the most memorable games and gave birth to franchises that would stay with us years to come.
With every video game franchise that came to fruition during the nineties, we also received an iconic hero that went hand in hand with the game. Whether it was the titular plumber from the Super Mario series or the giant sword-wielding soldier from Final Fantasy VII, there is no denying that some of the♓ best video games heroes were birthed during this period. Of course, with a popular video game hero, we must also remember some of the malicious video game villains we have encountered over the years, leading our favorite games to an epic climax for an amazing journey.
While we certainly appreciate the villains we have encountered 🐲over the years, we can’t help but wonder what it might be like if the tables were turned. What if our favorite video game heroes weren’t heroes at all, but perhaps a small blip in time turned them into villains instead? While some of these heroes might seem unlikely to turn to the dark side, artists from acros💮s the web have reimagined these twenty-five classic heroes in a light that we never imagined before.
21 I 🍰Gotta B𝕴elieve!
Parappa the Rapper isn’t really a game where I would picture an evil antagonist. Sure, the game has had a few rivals at best during the series’ brief history, but a sinister Parappa? I just can’t really see that adorable rapping goofball becoming vindictive. Still, this more human variation of the rapping pup fills our hearts with more dread than expected. We definitely prefer our sweet puppy looking Parappa over this darker ver﷽sion, but we wouldn’t mind seeing how he’d play out in a series reboot.
20 Toasting Darkness 𒉰
There has been plenty of speculation over the actual Zelda timeline over the years, at least until we got the official version of it when it was released a few years back. While we haven’t seen this bit of history play out in a Zelda game yet, it certainly seems possible considering where the ser𝓰ies has gone before. A sinister Link teaming up with♈ Ganondorf and Ganondorf ending up with Princess Zelda? It looks like we might need a new Hero of Time.
19 𓆉 Following The Mad Scientist Trope
It’s pretty ridiculous that Dr. Cortex has been given so much grief over the years from a bandicoot. For a doctor, he doesn’t really seem to have the smarts. Maybe it would be best if Crash were served by an antagonist that had the intuition and thought process of a bandicoot AND a doctor, as well? While Crash may not seem like doctor material, we think that this evil scientist variation might work as a better ant🌳agonist than the otherwise buffoon rival that he has faced all these previous years.
18 Less Cuddly, More Ferocious 🔥
Spyro the Dragon technically already has an 𓄧evil counterpart with the same name, simply called Dark Spyro, but sometimes just a sinister clone isn’t enough. This dark version of our favorite purple dragon feels miles away from the adorable guy that we are used to. While he may look the same on the outside, those glowing red eyes just scream evil and certainly make this one dragon we wouldn’t want to cross. He even looks scarier than the actual Dark Spyro himself!
17 The Doppelgangers We Should Have Gotten 🧸
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might not technically be video game characters originally, but anyone growing up in the 90s will certainly be familiar with the side-scrolling beat em’ ups th𓄧e turtles have produced over that decade. Strangely enough, we didn’t really see many dark counterparts to the turtles themselves in video games, though it would hav꧋e definitely been welcome. This dark variation of our lean green fighting machines has the four turtles teaming up with the Foot Clan. It looks like New York is going to need to find a new group of crime fighters!
16 ꦗ A New Dictatorship
Since Bowsette has been officially debunked from Super Mario canon in the series, the idea of a dark Princess Peach seems like a mere dream. While we think that Bowser works better as a single father, personally, we still wouldn’t mind seeing an evil version of Princess Peach. Besides, 🔴considering that both Mario and Luigi and dark doppelgangers, the princess should probably als🐲o get one as well. And no, Princess Daisy definitely does not count. Let’s get the plumber facing off against someone different for a change!
15 Sticking To The Shadows ꧙ 𓄧
Sonic has seen his fair share of darker versions of himself over the years whether it was Eggman’s robotic version of the hedgehog himself or even Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic has been no stranger to dark doppelgangers. So picturing this darker version of Sonic creeping in the shadows doesn’t seem like too much of a surprise. Still, the evilest part about this version of the tit🐻ular hedgehog is how much it reminds us of that teaser poster of the upcoming movie. It’s anybody’s guess as to how he’ll actually look!
14 ꦓ A Worthy Opponent
Mega Man has faced hundreds of robot master over the years and it doesn’t seem like any of them really have what it takes to knock out the blue bomber themselves. Maybe Dr. Wily should consider making a robot based on the most capable android of all time? Considering Mega Man is programmable, a dark version of him isn’t too far of a stretch, especially if Dr. Wily were at the helm. A s🐓inister Mega Man would certainly be a good asset to Dr. Wily’𝓡s fiendish ways.
13 𒊎 ꦕ We Never Thought They'd Make Us Scared...
If you were like me back in the 90s, you spent countless hours trying to breed a golden Chocobo in Final Fantasy VII. Of course, that road to the perfect Chocobo was littered with plenty of other colors, including black. While the black Chocobo may have been the second best in the lineup, cap♋able of traversing rivers and mountains, they never seemed this dark… it’s those glowing red eyes. Red eyes are always a siဣgn of evil!
12 💎 A Dark Deity
Speaking of glowing red eyes. We already took a look at a sinister version of Link from The Legend of Zelda earlier on in this list, but we couldn’t help but add in another version of the Hero of Time, this time seeming like a cross be🅺tween Dark Link and♐ Fierce Deity Link. Link has faced dark versions of himself several times over the years, but they were nothing more than mere shadows. This dark variation of Link seems like he might actually be capable of stopping him in his tracks, however.