10 Video Game Villains That Switched Sides In The Sequel

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves pulled this trick not once but twice - and even made the offending characters briefly playable.

For starters, we have the Panda King, who was initially introduced as a demolition-loving secondary villain in the original Sly Cooper, showing up as one of the game's bosses.

But in Sly 3, the Panda King is recruited to join the Cooper Gang's heist, resulting in a uneasy partnership whereby he agrees to help on the condition that they rescue his kidnapped daughter. By game's end, he's a card-carrying hero, his daughter is safe, and he returns home to China.

Then there's French iguana Dimitri Lousteau, who makes his debut in Sly 2: Band of Thieves as the game's very first boss.

Like the Panda King, he's recruited into the Cooper Gang in the third game, agreeing to become the team's frogman in exchange for helping him recover his grandfather's prized diving gear. By the end of Sly 3, Dimitri has become a wealthy scuba instructor.

The "reluctantly recruit former rival into heist gang" trope is as old as time itself, but rarely as enjoyably executed as it was here.