10 Times Video Games Made You Fight Yourself
8. Dark Knight Cecil (Final Fantasy IV)
Final Fantasy IV is a game very clearly inspired by Star Wars. There’s the classic set-up of an evil empire opposed by a plucky group of rebels, except the game’s twist on this is that you appear to be playing as FFIV’s Darth Vader figure, Dark Knight Cecil (FFIV is a game that’s very much in love with Darth Vader; there are two other characters which also map onto Vader).
Our first introduction to Cecil is when he is leading a group of soldiers against the resistance; we watch Cecil indiscriminately slaughter rebels during the assault.
Cecil becomes conflicted because of the atrocities he’s been asked to commit in the name of the king and eventually deserts from the army.
Roughly at the game’s mid-way point Cecil confronts his dark past when he battles solo against his Dark Knight alter ego. Interestingly, this fight has a unique gimmick: Cecil must defeat the Dark Knight through pacifism, fighting back will result in failure. Once Cecil rejects his violent past the Dark Knight is defeated, and Cecil becomes Paladin Cecil.