Story-Heavy RPGs With The Best Villain Twists

M. Night Shyamalan’s successful films made twist endings really popular. While he wasn’t the first to use them, he definitely brought them to the forefront of storytelling. And it’s not just movies – video games are full of surprising twists, even outside of scary games.

Role-playing games often feature surprising plot twists, like discovering a friend was the enemy all along, or a villain unexpectedly changing sides. However, a twist isn’t necessarily good just because it’s shocking. Let’s examine some of these reveals and consider whether they felt earned and meaningful.

There will be spoilers.

Shaun

Baby Got Back

Fallout 4 starts with the world being destroyed by bombs, and the player character rushing to safety in a vault. While frozen in the vault, their baby, Shaun, is taken, and their spouse is killed. The main goal of the game is to find Shaun in the ruined city of Boston, and discovering what happened to him is a major twist.

Shaun is an adult and a key figure in The Institute, a notorious and ruthless group. Players face a difficult choice: help Shaun because he’s their son, despite his involvement in terrible acts.

Airy

Hey, Listen!

In Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, you control a group of four heroes – Tiz, Agnes, Ringabel, and Edea – and are guided by a fairy companion named Airy. The story centers around their quest to restore powerful crystals. However, once they succeed in reviving the final crystal, the group is unexpectedly sent back to the start of their adventure, trapped in a repeating time loop.

It’s surprising enough to learn any of this, but then we discover Airy has been secretly pulling the strings the entire time. She’s been collecting crystallized energy with each cycle, and it’s a total shock because she seems like such a harmless character.

Magus

From Misunderstood To Good

Chrono Trigger is a role-playing game centered around time travel, and it begins with the hero, Crono, journeying to the Middle Ages. This is where players first encounter Magus, a major antagonist in the game.

Long before Sephiroth, there was Magus – a powerful figure with striking blue and purple hair and a massive scythe. As the game progresses, players uncover the story behind his actions. You’ll eventually have the choice to either add him to your team or defeat him, but choosing to defeat him is a mistake, as he’s a strong ally with incredible abilities and is ultimately striving to make amends for his past.

Riku

Less Heart

In the world of Kingdom Hearts, Riku and Kairi are Sora’s best friends. They all grow up together on an island, hoping for exciting adventures. When their wish comes true, a mysterious darkness separates them, sending them to worlds inspired by Disney movies. Throughout his travels, Sora occasionally sees Riku, but it appears Riku has allied himself with the villainous Maleficent and the Heartless, and is even trying to steal people’s hearts – including Kairi’s.

Near the end of the game, it’s discovered that the main villain, Ansem, had been controlling Riku by trapping his own spirit inside him and using him to gain power. After being consumed by darkness for so long, the rest of the Kingdom Hearts story focuses on Riku’s journey to prove he’s inherently good and overcome the darkness within him.

Rella Melancoryphus Cygnus

A Religious Betrayal

The game Metaphor: ReFantazio starts with Will assembling a team to confront Louis, a soldier believed to have cursed the prince. As the story unfolds, unexpected events lead to a major turning point around two-thirds of the way through the game.

Rella, a respected member of the church and sister to Junah, was responsible for cursing the Prince. This was orchestrated by Sanctifex Forden, the church leader, who intended to falsely accuse Louis and eliminate him as a rival. However, Forden’s scheme failed. Rella is a relatively minor figure who feels remorse for her actions and ultimately dies, frozen in ice.

Claus

The Darth Vader Effect

The game Mother 3 starts with a happy scene: two young brothers, Lucas and Claus, living with their family in a peaceful countryside home. However, tragedy strikes when a fire and other unfortunate events cause Lucas to lose his brother, his mother to pass away, and his father to vanish.

For players familiar with RPG tropes, it’s not surprising to learn the masked villain is a key character—in this case, Claus, who has been brainwashed. While he’s ultimately beyond saving and dies, Lucas does get a bittersweet reunion with his father, making the experience meaningful despite the loss.

Tohru Adachi

Jinkies!

Persona 4 is a mystery game centered around a group of Japanese teenagers who discover a strange world inside their televisions. They believe this world is linked to a series of local murders. The player character, Yu, lives with his uncle, Ryotaro, a detective, and his cousin, Nanako. Ryotaro works with a partner named Tohru, who initially appears to be an incompetent detective.

Similar to a surprising plot twist, Tohru is revealed to be the one pulling the strings throughout the story. Just like the unexpected transformation of Airy in Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, Tohru’s involvement in Persona 4 comes as a shock, and his explanation is completely wild.

Joran

The Masked Rider

Near the beginning of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a key character named Joran dies in combat. His friend, Noah, honors him with a farewell ceremony alongside other soldiers who have fallen. Later in the game, the primary antagonists are a group called Moebius, whose members – known as Consuls – all wear distinctive red armor and masks.

Consul J, initially presented as a playful troublemaker, turns out to be a reprogrammed Joran, a reveal that deeply shocks Noah. While not a primary villain, the discovery of Consul J’s true identity is a major surprise, and Noah struggles to come to terms with what feels like a personal betrayal.

Lord Zokket

A Corrupt Mentor

In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Mario and Luigi embark on a new RPG adventure to a faraway land. They team up with a girl named Connie to rescue a massive tree that’s vital for connecting and energizing all the islands in the area.

The conflict was interrupted by Lord Zokket, a masked villain with a hidden history. It’s revealed during the climactic fight that Zokket is actually Cozette, Connie’s old teacher, who was being controlled by the true enemy, Reclusa. Because of Cozette’s involvement, Reclusa is brought back to life, but Mario and Luigi ultimately defeat them, and everything ends well.

Cuff/Susurrus

Who Saw That Coming?

Forspoken is an action RPG that’s sparked a lot of debate. It follows Frey, a young woman from New York City, who suddenly finds herself in a fantastical world, similar to those seen in Japanese anime. This land is controlled by a group of powerful witches called the Tantas. Luckily, Frey discovers a magical bracelet, Cuff, which allows her to challenge and absorb the Tantas’ powers one by one.

Throughout the game, Cuff appears helpful, but also somewhat monstrous. However, everything changes when he absorbs enough energy from the Tantas, allowing him to break free from his magical bracelet and transform into the demon Susurrus. Surprisingly, Frey then needs to team up with the Tantas to stop Susurrus from causing more destruction.

2026-01-26 08:35