The Wool Over Your Eyes

It’s not entirely clear why Max Payne would put his trust in a stone-cold contract killer in the first place. Mona Sax is a perfect candidate for this list because of how unpredictable she is. She’s completely unreliable, but Max gives her the benefit of the doubt time and time again. Max forgives her for spiking his drink in a night club and leaving him to be found by the Mafia. He also refuses to turn her in when she’s named the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Imagine his shock when Max learns that Mona had been hired by a criminal overlord to kill him. Mona’s romantic feelings for Max prevented her from honoring her contract, but her betrayal was still a source of grief for Max. You might even say that it caused him the maximum amount of pain possible… Wait a minute… Maximum pain = Max Payne. I cracked the code guys!

Throughout the course of Final Fantasy IV, Kain continuously switches his allegiance between childhood friend, Cecil, and the dark wizard, Golbez. One moment he’s fighting alongside his friends and the next he’s challenging them to duels, holding girls hostage, and stealing crystals. It turns out that many of Kain’s questionable actions were the result of a mind control spell that had been cast upon him, but after his friends break the spell, Kain falls victim to yet another spell. Kain is a gifted Dragoon and certainly a valuable ally to have in your party, but the fact that he’s so susceptible to mind control makes him both unreliable and unpredictable. Even in situations where Kain is on the same side as Cecil, the two are often at odds because they are locked into a love triangle involving a White Mage named Rosa.

Mario is the most iconic video game character of all time, but he hasn’t always been the hero. The year was 1981; the game: Donkey Kong. Players lined up in arcades for their chance to help Mario save the girl from the giant ape, but our hero’s true intentions would not be revealed until Donkey Kong Jr. was released the following year. As it turned out, Mario was more concerned with capturing Donkey Kong than he was with saving Pauline. Mario wasted little time in imprisoning his misunderstood nemesis while Pauline was pretty much forgotten altogether. When Donkey Kong Jr. set out on a rescue mission, Mario stood guard with a whip and basically did everything in his power to keep the father and son apart. As dramatic as it sounds, Mario betrayed the entire gaming community by turning to the dark side.

One of the legendary “Four Heroes,” Ghaleon is widely considered to be the most powerful mage in the world of Lunar. He once fought to protect the Goddess Althena, but had a change of attitude after the death of his best friend. Blaming the goddess for the incident, Ghaleon planned to kidnap and imprison her. Ghaleon was eventually defeated, but would be resurrected 1000 years later by the God of Destruction, Zophar. Ghaleon was to aid in the destruction of Lunar and was instructed to hinder the progress of a young adventurer named Hiro. However, Ghaleon was helpful just as often as he was harmful. Taken aback by Hiro’s determination, Ghaleon gave up his own sword and provided advice on how to defeat Zophar. After seeing the error of his ways, Ghaleon was apparently taken to heaven.

Sigma acts as the primary antagonist in the Mega Man X series, but he once played an important role in keeping the peace between humans and dangerous reploids known as Mavericks. Sigma was a reploid himself, but he kept his renegade counterparts in line as the leader of the Maverick Hunters. Then, without warning, he switched sides and declared war on mankind. It wasn’t until Mega Man X4 that a proper explanation was given for his betrayal. The Mavericks were originally led by a robot name Zero who was considered to be Dr. Wily’s greatest creation. Zero’s power was overwhelming, but Sigma managed to smash the energy crystal on his helmet in order to free him from the Maverick virus that was controlling him. In the process, Sigma was infected by the virus himself and took Zero’s place as the Maverick’s new leader.

The Grand Theft Auto series is filled with liars and traitors, but Lance Vance’s betrayal of Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was arguably the most shocking. A Dominican drug dealer who becomes an associate of Tommy after a deal goes bad, Lance is instrumental in establishing the Vercetti Gang as Vice’s City most notorious underworld organization. The partners are the best of friends for a while, and Tommy even saves Lance after he is captured by a gang. As their wealth and power increase exponentially, Lance begins to resent the fact that Tommy’s share of the profits is substantially larger than his own. After helping Tommy on several assignments, Lance eventually sells him out to the opposing Forelli family. Lance appears calm and collected on the outside, but his thoughts are impulsive and his actions are often sociopathic.

When Jack’s plane crashes in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, he stumbles upon the underwater city of Rapture. Upon his arrival in the city, Jack is contacted by a man named Atlas who serves as his guide in the hopes that Jack will help rescue his wife and son who are lost in the now-dystopian society. When Atlas’ family is ostensibly killed by Rapture’s founder, Andrew Ryan, Atlas’ goal becomes revenge and, again, he enlists the help of Jack. Eventually, Jack discovers that he is actually Andrew Ryan’s illegitimate son and has been manipulated by Atlas through the use of genetic engineering and mental conditioning. Atlas is revealed to be a mobster named Frank Fontaine who has assumed the role of a working class hero for two years as he led a rebellion against Ryan. Fontaine himself refers to his alter-ego as “the longest con.”

The events of Double Dragon begin with a street gang known as the Black Warriors kidnapping a woman named Marian. Marian’s boyfriend, Billy Lee, immediately set out to rescue her and received help from his brother, Jimmy. Double Dragon was famous for its two-player cooperative gameplay, and the Lee brothers had to work together to fend off attacks from countless gang members on the mean streets. After finally defeating the gang’s leader, Jimmy betrayed his brother and started fighting him in an apparent bid to win Marian’s affection. Jimmy had only been helping his brother because he wanted the girl for himself! The NES version of Double Dragon paints Jimmy in an even more negative tone – revealing him to be the leader of the Black Warriors and the mastermind behind Marian’s kidnapping.

After being rescued by Snake in the first Metal Gear, Gray Fox defected and acted as the final boss in the sequel. Gray Fox was left for dead on the battle field and spent years waiting for a rematch. In Metal Gear Solid, Gray Fox reappeared as a mysterious cyborg ninja. He came to Snake’s aid by cutting off Revolver Ocelott’s hand and began to provide him with cryptic advice under an assumed identity. Gray Fox’s true intentions were eventually revealed, and he challenged Snake to a final duel. Gray Fox got his ass kicked (again), but made one more appearance in the game’s final act and sacrificed himself by attacking the eponymous Metal Gear directly. Switching allegiances is en vogue in the Metal Gear series and double agents are commonplace, but you never forget your first betrayal.

The quintessential femme fatale of the Resident Evil series, Ada Wong made her debut way back in Resident Evil 2. Acting as an ordinary citizen looking for her missing boyfriend, Ada befriended Leon Kennedy and even started to develop romantic feelings for him before it was revealed that she was actually a spy for an unnamed organization who was sent to retrieve the G-Virus sample. Ada would show up again in Resident Evil 4 to assist Leon on his mission to rescue the President’s daughter but, once again, she had ulterior motives. This time, her true objective was to retrieve a Master Plaga sample for Albert Wesker. Leon didn’t even seem surprised. It’s not clear if she really was working for Wesker or if she is employed by yet another unnamed organization, but Ada Wong is clearly one complicated woman.