10 Video Game Villains That Switched Sides In The Sequel

The pressure for a video game sequel to be bigger and better than the original is undeniable, and so it's little surprise that many sequels simply fail to live up to the hype.

The struggle to up the scale while not simply rehashing what came before is real, and as a result sometimes even the most talented developers come up short.

But an easy way to creatively shake things up for the next game in the series is to flip the script, by taking a previously antagonistic character and making them heroic, usually in the quest to bring down an even more imposing enemy.

That was the case in these 10 games, which dusted off a prior antagonist - be they the main Big Bad or a memorable supporting baddie - and switched them to the hero's side.

Though it's a dramatic gamble that doesn't always pay off, in the case of these games it most certainly freshened things up sufficiently and, more often than not, deepened the character in the process...

Though Knuckles the Echidna is now fondly remembered as Sonic's longtime ally, that wasn't actually the case in his debut outing in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Knuckles is initially tricked into teaming up with Dr. Robotnik and standing against Sonic, and as a result the two platforming icons battle each other several times throughout the game.

Though Robotnik's subterfuge is revealed to Knuckles near the end of Sonic 3, it isn't until the follow-up, Sonic & Knuckles, that he returns as a playable character, eventually joining the side of everyone's favourite video game hedgehog.

After initially proving suspicious of Sonic's motives for desiring the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles realises they're on the same side, and the rest is history.