One common trope in pop culture is that of the evil twin, a version of a well-loved character with the same face yet, a completely warped personality compared to the original. This trope extends into the world of video games as well, with there being plenty of evil versions of beloved characters.
Sometimes these doppelganger characters are one-off boss enemies. Other times, they can be an integral part of the story. But, one thing many gamers can agree on is that this is one of the stronger tropes when done well.
10 Shadow The Hedgehog Isn’t Just A Faker
One of the more iconic characters in the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise is none other than Shadow The Hedgehog. Introduced initially as an evil hedgehog meant to rival Sonic, his relationship with the hedgehog soon evolved into somewhat of a respectful rivalry.
While Shadow doesn’t necessarily stay as an opposing force to Sonic, their initial meetings as enemies are still some of the most memorable parts of their characters. Shadow’s popularity grew to the point of him gaining his own game.
9 Anti-Sora Is A Memorable Boss Fight
This one might be more low-key in comparison to a lot of the other doppelgangers gamers have fought, the Anti-Sora boss fight is one of the most memorable ones in the first Kingdom Hearts game. Fittingly, Sora and Co end up fighting this boss in Neverland, almost in a mirror to how Peter Pan ends up fighting his own shadow in the Disney classic film.
What makes this boss so special is the lasting impact it had on the series going forward. There’s little doubt that Anti-Sora is the influence behind the darker forms Sora can take on in the later series entries.
8 The Team Wolf Leads Is Almost Entirely Comprised Of Evil Twins
The only thing worse than having to fight one evil twin is having to fight an entire team of them. The Star Wolf team of pilots is a group of mercenaries led by Wolf O’Donnell.
Everything about this team of mercenaries is almost opposite to Star Fox, including the Wolfen ships they fly around, which are the only ships that rival Star Fox’s Arwings. Star Fox fights for justice, while they primarily fight for profit. There’s no doubt this team is likely to cause more trouble for the Star Fox team in the future.
7 Vergil’s Rivalry With Dante Spans The Whole DMC Series
The brutal rivalry between Dante and Vergil has been going on since the beginning of the Devil May Cry series. By rejecting humanity, Vergil has put himself into direct opposition with his brother. Yet, despite this clear opposition in ideals, their powers are comparable.
His quest for power has led him down dark paths time and time again, and he’s even been manipulated in the past to serve another adversary of Dante’s. Gamers have had the pleasure of getting to play as Vergil time and time again in DLC expansions or later releases of the DMC games.
6 Dark Samus Is One Of Samus’s Most Terrifying Adversaries
One of Samus’s most iconic and terrifying adversaries comes in the form of Dark Samus from the Metroid Prime series. Dark Samus is essentially a being 0f Phazon and the game’s titular, Metroid Prime.
The powers at the disposal of this doppelganger are similar to that of Samus’s, being able to use similar weaponry, yet where Dark Samus differs from Samus is that she can naturally channel Phazon energy into how she fights. Dark Samus would eventually go on to become the primary antagonist of Metroid Prime 3.
5 Mimikyu Is An Adorable Evil Twin To Pikachu
Not every evil twin has to be some maniacal villain plotting the downfall of their look-a-like. Sometimes the evil twin can be pretty adorable and wholesome in comparison to who they’re imitating.
It is really hard to make a Pokémon such as Mimikyu seem terrifying at the outset, especially not after its Pokédex entries are read, revealing that it just wants to be accepted, so it wears the Pikachu rag over its actual body. However, its actual body is said to be the stuff of nightmares.
4 The Legend of Zelda’s Dark Link Has Been An Enemy Multiple Times
Some evil twins can take the form of a recurring enemy, such as the case of Dark Link, who appears as an enemy in multiple games in the Legend of Zelda franchise. Dark Link first appeared as the final boss to The Legend of Zelda II: Link’s Adventure. This final boss is one of the more notoriously difficult ones to come out of the franchise.
The other more notable reappearance of Dark Link is in The Ocarina of Time, where it appears as a sub-boss in The Water Temple level. While this fight isn’t as hard as the NES fight, it doesn’t make an already difficult section of the game any easier.
3 Dark Pit Is An Evil Doppelganger That Quickly Takes A More Neutral Role
Dark Pit is one of the more low-key doppelgangers to appear in recent years, and his existence is partially owed to an alternate skin for Pit in Super Smash Bros Brawl. The popularity of this skin is something that was considered by the team working on Kid Icarus: Uprising.
He first appears when Pit touches the Mirror of Truth, and he and Pit have a fight almost immediately. He later returns for more fights, joining Viridi’s forces, and eventually comes into his own and helps Pit out much later into the game when he’s in a critically wounded state.
2 The Short-Lived Rivalry Between Liquid Snake And Solid Snake Is One Of The More Iconic Ones
Not every iconic evil twin rivalry has to span the course of entire franchises. Sometimes the rivalry can be a one-off instance like with Solid Snake and his twin brother, Liquid Snake. They were both bred to be sons of Big Boss, but only one of them could get his dominant genes.
The other twin would get all of the recessive genes, meaning this rivalry started well before they were born. While Liquid’s rivalry with Snake only spanned the first Metal Gear Solid game, his legacy would be carried on by Ocelot in the later installments in the franchise.
1 Wario’s Greed Has Caused Mario Plenty Of Problems In The Past
Before Warioware, Wario was most known for being one of Mario’s arch enemies. Making his Debut in the Gameboy classic, Mario Land 2, Wario’s greed was one of his most defining traits and still continues to be. His rivalry with Mario began in that game, and as time went on, it would eventually cool.
These days, Mario and Wario aren’t as bitter rivals as they used to be. This just goes to show that sometimes the best way to deal with an evil twin is to make peace with them. Or at least tolerate them more, because it is clear they likely aren’t going anywhere.
NEXT: Mario: 10 Harsh Realities of Being Bowser’s Minions
Next Marvel: The 10 Deadliest Supervillains, Ranked
About The Author
Alexander Giller (18 Articles Published)
Alexander Giller is an experienced writer who’s assisted in writing articles for TheOffBeatLife. He first picked up a game controller at the age of 3 and hasn’t been able to put it down since, immersing himself in the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, Xenoblade, and many others. He’s passionate about video games, anime, currently trending movies, and animated shows(and a few live-action ones). He now works with Valnet as a Freelance writer, producing informative lists content on the CBR website. You can best reach out to him on his email: AlexanderRGiller@gmail.com