General RPG Lists: Greatest Betrayals

Welcome back, everyone!  I've no doubt that it was a long and stressful year without these charming and sophisticated rants to soak up your free time that they so definitely and completely deserve...but at long last, we are BACK IN BUSINESS!

Uh, sort of.

Okay, so like, as I sort of mentioned in the last rant, while I did manage to build a bit of a backlog cushion during my sabbatical, it wasn't so sizable and my writing output isn't so prolific that I can really maintain the same schedule I've always kept before.  So...we're gonna try doing a rant on every other 8.  Basically, I post a rant on the 8th, then the next one's on the 28th, then the following rant's on the 18th of the next month, then it's the 8th of the month after that, and so on.

We'll see how it goes.  Hopefully this isn't too great a disappointment for my readers (at least, those of you who aren't just fucking AI being trained on my posts without my permission; don't think I didn't notice the huge jump in page views that began right around the same time that started occurring, you amoral tech industry asswipes!).  But if my readership does feel misused, lied to, and deceived by this decision, then good news!  You're totally thematically on-point for today's rant!



Betrayal!  Fiction in all forms is rife with traitors and backstabbers and fair-weather friends, and for that matter, they’re far from unknown in the history and present of the real world, too.  RPGs are predictably no different, and you’ll find pivotal moments of betrayal dotting the landscape of RPG plots like thumbtacks on a conspiracy theorist’s bulletin board.  Party members, love interests, secondary characters, tertiary characters, outright NPCs, dudes you haven’t even seen before, even occasionally an outright established villain that was somehow taken into confidence just long enough to remind one that they shouldn’t be, everyone gets in on the betrayal game sooner or later in the wide and wacky world of RPGs.

So which of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of betrayals that this genre has played host to, were the very best?  That’s what we’re here today to find out!

...Well, no, actually, that sentence was kind of misleading.  This isn’t a collaborative “us” effort.  I’m kinda just gonna tell it to you.  Sorry.

As always for my lists, though, I’ve got some ground rules to lay down first, because no rant is so boring that it can’t be made just a bit duller.  First of all, we’re only counting cases in which good guys (or innocent enough neutral parties) are betrayed; turning against the bad guys to join the heroes doesn’t qualify.  You won’t see the defeated imperial generals of Suikoden 1, or Final Fantasy 6’s Celes here, for example.

Betraying a cause or a memory doesn’t count.  Fallout 4’s Maxson may be an absolute disgrace to everything the Brotherhood of Steel was meant to stand for and a soulless traitor to the great Owen and Sarah Lyons who raised him, but he’s still not gonna be on this list.  Betrayal, in my opinion, is truest when it’s personal.  Though I’d still spit in Maxson’s face in disgust if he were a real guy and within hockin’ range, of course.

A character turning against the protagonist when the player’s made a choice that obviously goes against everything that the character stands for doesn’t count.  If Zevran in Dragon Age 1 has a low approval rating of the Grey Warden, then there’s no trust to be broken when he rejoins the Crows.  Only a fool would be surprised that Wrex would attack Shepard in Mass Effect 3 if the player forced Shepard into making the dumbass decision not to cure the genophage.  It’s only natural that the party would fight back for survival’s sake when you opt to have Ryu join Fou-Lu at the end of Breath of Fire 4, or have Nanashi actually buy into Dagda’s hypocritical bullshit in Shin Megami Tensei 4-2.

Relatedly, we’re not going to count acts of betrayal that are instigated by the player.  This is a list of scripted betrayals as occur within the course of telling a game’s story, and frankly, there’s a lot about choose-your-own-betrayal in RPGs that feels more like perverse shock value than anything of substance.  Siding with Morinth over Samara in Mass Effect 2, mind-controlling Minsc to murder Jaheira in Baldur’s Gate 3, having the Light Prism go back to its abuser in Steven Universe: Save the Light, selling your companions to cannibals as meat in Fallout: New Vegas, selling your companions into slavery in Fallout 2...there’s plenty of fucked-up betrayals you can choose to engage in within RPGs involving player choice, but few have any noteworthy weight beyond their extreme cruelty, in my opinion.

Finally, to count, the betrayal must be something negative.  Which seems like it goes without saying, but there are a good number of cases in RPGs in which what seems like a betrayal was actually something done specifically to help the heroes’ cause.  Specifically and successfully, I should clarify--a betrayal done out of good but misguided intentions that is ultimately harmful does still count.  It’s only cases like the faux-betrayals seen in games like Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Knights of the Old Republic 2, Wild Arms 2, and Makai Kingdom, ones that are shams performed only to help the good guys, that are disqualified.  Mind you, a well-meaning betrayal has to actually work as intended not to count; selling out the heroes’ cause in an attempt to keep them safe and then gasping in shock as the villain you made a deal with doesn’t follow through does make you eligible for a spot here, albeit less likely to place than a betrayal of genuine malice.

Alright, enough stupid rules and preamble.  Let’s do this: the 15 Greatest Betrayals in RPGs!

NOTE: As with my Greatest Deaths list, the game is listed and the traitor must be highlighted to be seen, to avoid potential spoilers.



15. PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER
Nyrissa tries to euthanize her Hound

Whether or not it’s seen coming, this is a good, basic plot twist betrayal as the quest-giving plant damsel you’ve been helping and, let’s not kid ourselves, probably simping for reveals that she’s been playing you against your adversary this whole time, and it turns out you’re just the most recent sap in a long, long line of dominoes that she’s been setting up and knocking down.  More than its face value, though, this is a good betrayal for the fact that it sets the stage for understanding the truth of Nyrissa and what was stolen from her, and a great one for being an elegant approximation of her own fall at the hands of an unfair higher being, a case of her suffering begetting that of others.  And the fact that you survive this betrayal is the igniting spark of Nyrissa’s potential redemption, as the first instance that shows her it’s possible to overcome such treacheries, as well as, should you choose it, a hopeful first step to restoring her love through your own as you later show her its power to forgive.  Nyrissa’s betrayal’s finest qualities are the long term ways it coalesces in the plot and themes, and forms the basis of redemption and love.


14. SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE
Cartman does what Cartman always does

Most of the time, a great betrayal relies pretty strongly on being unanticipated to at least a reasonable degree, but when your shining virtue is humor, that necessity flies out the window--I mean, how hard was Seth telegraphing that there was something off about him in Phantasy Star 4?  Hard enough that I’m not even spoiler-redacting that one; it’s just damned funny that Chaz actually fell for fucking Hugh Mann.  So yeah, is it surprising in any capacity at all that Cartman, one of the most selfish, narcissistic, sociopathic, and, most notably, reliably treacherous little assholes ever written, betrays his friends and fellow make-believe heroes?  Not in the slightest; it was only a matter of when his ego would demand it.  But is it still great?

Yup!

Because Cartman actually expects the New Kid and the rest of the friends he’s betraying to buy his bullshit.  Instead of just owning up to his selfish aim to keep himself in the spotlight, Cartman resurrects a gimmick of South Parks’ past, draws a face on his left hand, then “talks” through it as a different personality named Mitch Conner, and he sincerely thinks that no one will see through this deception, acting the whole time like he himself is a separate and innocent entity from the evil mastermind crudely painted onto his hand.  The delusional audacity, the fact that you KNOW some stupid treachery is coming, the earnestness of his performance, it all comes together in the revelation of Cartman (through proxy of Mitch Conner) as a traitor to be one of the funniest, most amusingly and masterfully stupid moments in a game already full to bursting with masterfully stupid humor.


13. SUIKODEN 2
Jowy kills Annabelle

In a game rich with overwhelming emotion and meaning, the scene of Riou, Pilika, and Nanami waiting in vulnerable hope at the entrance to Muse for Jowy to return to them is 1 of the most poignant in Suikoden 2, and the relief and joy at seeing their hope rewarded, in knowing that he made it back from the clutches of the enemy camp, is so powerful that even the player feels it...enough that we may not even think to wonder how Jowy did accomplish his return.  To realize that it was bought with a terrible, treasonous bargain.  When you start to feel that something is wrong with Jowy...when you see him come into Annabelle’s room, and realize what he’s about to do, your heart drops into your stomach, and you race to get Riou and Nanami there in time to stop him, only for it to be too late, and the terrible scene is laid out before their uncomprehending eyes.  Jowy’s betrayal breaks their family apart, pits him against them in a war that he thought he was ending before it could ruin more lives, and sends Nanami and presumably Riou reeling.  Jowy’s betrayal is high-level political-military maneuvering, and yet also so very personal even though the people it emotionally hurts most weren’t even present to witness it, and its gravity earns its spot here.


12. FINAL FANTASY 7
Yuffie steals your materia*

Oh you absolute bitch, GET BACK HERE WITH MY MATERIA!

This is such a unique and iconic RPG betrayal.  On a story level, it’s interesting because it holds almost no emotional weight whatsoever--the party doesn’t especially trust Yuffie and they barely even seem to like her (and honestly, she’d made little particular impression on me, too).  But that’s the thing--this isn’t just a betrayal on the story level.  It’s notable because Yuffie is betraying you, the player.  Like her or hate her, she’s a party member, and while you might expect the occasional backstabber in the main cast to keep the story moving, what you don’t expect is for one of them to, in the process, also rob you of 90% of your gameplay agency in combat, messing up your own forward momentum just as much as it hinders the party’s in-game.

And credit also has to be given for how well it’s done, too.  It’s totally unexpected--while Yuffie’s been sketchy from the start, the actual moment when she makes her move is truly out of the blue, with the scene simply occurring while you happen to be exploring a newly accessible (and totally optional) part of the world map, with no warning whatsoever to prepare you.  The gamer is essentially taken as much by surprise by the betrayal as in-game characters typically are, more than them, in this case!  Furthermore, the actual revelation of just what Yuffie’s done to us is cleverly revealed through a battle with some Shinra flunkies, in which you suddenly realize you don’t have any combat options related to your materia--it’s spelled out afterwards that she’s stolen the party’s materia and hightailed it, but you’ve already discovered her treachery firsthand.  And then there’s the fact that this stops we, the players, in our tracks just as much as it does the games’ heroes, because on both levels, we can’t reasonably continue our journey without the magic crystals that we’ve come to rely on for our power.  Yuffie’s betrayal puts all other plans on hold, as any good betrayal does (just usually within the confines of the plot), and forces us to engage in the long and frustrating Wutai sidequest immediately.

And as a final insult, when Yuffie DOES eventually give the materia back, she completely messes up who’s got what.  All that work you’ve done up until now to customize your party’s loadout, and not only is it removed unceremoniously, but it’s then replaced so sloppily that you’ve got to redo it from the ground up.

So yeah, Yuffie’s act of treachery is a great one, a rare but effective example of a game’s story and character acting in a way that reaches past their own level and affects the player him/herself.  It’s easily the most aggravating sequence in the entire game, and I hate it, and that’s what makes it such a great betrayal.


11. BATEN KAITOS 2
Verus unveils his machinations

Pretending not to be a douchebag for long enough to win the trust of the good guys is a trial for any villain, of course, but some baddies are definitely spending a lot more effort on keeping up their appearances than others.  You can’t say that Tales of Symphonia’s Mithos, for example, grappled with nearly as difficult a task of gaining the heroes’ confidence when he halfheartedly channeled that wishy-washy false smile of a former personality of his for a few hours as, say,  Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5’s Akechi underwent as he spent 2/3rds of a school year pretending to be polite, intelligent, and not a complete narcissistic murderous psychopath.  Some heel-turns took a lot more effort and patience to get to than others, and what a relief it must be for a baddie who’s been playing his good guy part to finally let his silver bishounen hair down and go wild.

And lemme tell you, nobody’s been villain-edging as long and as hard as Verus from Baten Kaitos 2.  This is a megalomaniac who’s not only been convincingly playing the part of an upstanding, conscientious, and dignified statesman for years in-universe and something like 30 hours in-game, he’s also managed to saddle himself with the added affectation of a cane and a limp, AND keeping up the pretense that he has an otherworldly spirit of good guiding his actions that he hears and communicates with.  This guy, who for context has this for a Resting Kill Your Family Face, has been going around for his entire political career pretending to be a champion of righteous nobility who regularly and publicly communes with a saintly voice only he hears while getting around with a cane, when all he wants to do, if you somehow couldn’t tell just by looking at that natural repose I just shared, is violently seize power and order artillery strikes on hospitals that cater exclusively to kittens.

So it’s no surprise that when Verus finally has the opportunity to drop his pretenses and spread his wings,** he villain-nuts hard.  This man isn’t satisfied with just telling the heroes he manipulated them into defeating his main rival, and then seizing power.  Oh, no.  His betrayal also involves killing Millie’s father in front of her.  Along with revealing that Verus was actually the one who had the wings of Sagi’s mom cruelly and painfully ripped off in a public spectacle.  Plus calling said mother a whore.  Additionally, informing Sagi that Verus had him experimented on as a baby and implanted with a piece of the soul of a cursed world-ending god-monster.  Did I mention the face?  Cuz that’s there, too.  And just for good measure, he also breaks up with his boytoy Geldoblame by telling Geldoblame that he used to be hot but now he’s an old uggo, giving the guy some complexes that Geldy’s just gonna make everyone’s problem in the next game.  Like, damn, boy, leave some villain juice in the tank for later!


10. BRAVELY DEFAULT 1
Airy’s role is revealed

The pivotal twist of the game may or may not take you by surprise, depending on how long you let this traitor lead you on before breaking the cycle, but it’s an epic, shocking betrayal all the same, so monumental to the plot and ideas of the game that it reshapes the title screen itself, as the name of the game is revealed to have had the answer all along.  That revelation is really cool, and Airy’s malevolent glee and disgust with Agnes are wonderfully at odds with all we’ve seen of her so far, turning the innocuously cute and opinionated mascot into a vile and remorseless monster.  The shock of the party at the revelation, the dismay of Agnes at learning that a genuine friend hated her all along, and the chilling knowledge that not only have they been dooming worlds thanks to her, but that they’re not even the first versions of themselves to do this and that Airy has murdered their predecessors, makes this a betrayal for the books.


9. UNDERTALE
Flowey takes advantage of your naivete

I made a fairly sizable rant that mostly covers why this one is so remarkable, so if you’d like the details, feel free to check it out!  Suffice to say, this betrayal cuts to the core of the audience because, as with the Final Fantasy 7 traitor, it’s a betrayal of the player her/himself, shattering the security we have through our distance from the game’s stage.  The fact that we’ve only known Flowey for moments doesn’t matter, because we’ve trusted the conventions that he takes advantage of for years, and this treachery plants a seed of distrust within our heart for a long time to come in this game, which only all the more advances Undertale’s fascinating ideas and themes.  Strikingly excellent stuff, perfectly orchestrated for maximum power over us.


8. BATEN KAITOS 1
Kalas double-crosses the party

In terms of motivation, character development, and general narrative strength, this betrayal is fine, but nothing to write home about.  But come on, you just can’t deny the fact that the game’s own protagonist was a traitor all along is an awesome twist!  And it IS a twist; no one saw this coming--you’d have sooner expected Chrono Trigger to kill its protagonist off than for Baten Kaitos 1 to have its main character turn out to be working against the party the whole time!

And what makes this even better is that it’s not just a great, creative plot twist in its own right--as with FF7’s and Undertale’s notable traitors before, this is a case of you, the player, yourself being taken unawares and transgressed against!  BK1 actually incorporates the player into its main story, with she or he taking on the role of a spirit summoned from another plane of existence intended to empower, guide, and generally assist its charge in his/her endeavors--so the fact that Kalas turns on his friends and cause without ever giving away his intentions to you, taking you as much by surprise as everyone else on his team, makes this another case of a betrayal directly against the players themselves.  Kalas even makes mention of how inconvenient you’ve been for him, an unknowing watchdog with your benevolent eye upon him even in his most private moments.  By merit of what a great twist it is as it takes advantage of Baten Kaitos’s unprecedented player involvement in the story, Kalas’s is an all-time great of RPG betrayals.


7. FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
Zalbag gives the order

In spite of his having been revealed recently to be a classist jerk, the sudden, casual, and indifferent brutality of seeing Algus lift his crossbow and murder Teta as she stands a helpless hostage is a shocking punch to the gut.  Bigoted noble or not, Algus was only just recently an ally fighting alongside Ramza and Delita, and to see him murder the innocent without a care because she’s inconvenient and because her life has no value thanks to the circumstances of her birth...

But Zalbag!  Algus the aristocratic goon who had an opportunity to learn class empathy handed to his fallen noble house and squandered it is one thing, but Zalbag is Ramza’s brother!  With Ramza viewing Delita like a sibling and Alma seeming to do the same with Teta, with Dycedarg’s assurance that he’d never let harm come to Teta and that she’s like a sister to him...the moment that Zalbag gives the order almost feels unreal, that he can so casually throw away the life of someone who’s been a sister to his family (who was only made a target for capture because of that association!) without hesitation, not for the sake of saving others, not because he or his soldiers are in danger, but simply to make a statement to his enemies...it’s a brutal bucket of water to the face, a shocking confirmation that everything both Wiegraf and Algus said was true.

The consequences of this heinous treachery extend their reach far into Ivalice’s future history, too.  From this murder, this betrayal of his trust and love and view of the world, stems every single dirty deed, every deal struck and cheated, every man and woman cut down, every back stabbed, by Delita through the rest of the game.  Delita is one of the most infamously deadly double-dealers in RPG history, and every single one of his own considerable ethically complex but undeniably violent and self-serving betrayals stem from this one committed against him.


6. QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT
Claudine takes what she wants

It’s shocking, it’s evil, it’s underscored by some of the most perfect music for terror and tension I’ve heard, and it ends in horrible, upsetting brutality.  And most of all...in its swiftness and its ugly turn, in the helplessness you feel with Marine both in the moment and retroactively at knowing that someone trusted has used their position of power for their own sick ends, it’s terrifying.  This isn’t some bad guy revealing their intentions for grandiose villainy on a global scale, it’s personal.  This is the chill of knowing that someone you trusted to have power over you, emotional and systemic, was a predator all along.  Claudine’s sudden (yet also extended) betrayal is a critical moment of emotional and life-or-death shock in an already tense game, and while I give full credit to the Undertale betrayer for the lingering trauma-like effect he has upon the player’s mindset, it’s Claudine alone on this list whose betrayal actually shook me into genuine fear as it went down.


5. JADE EMPIRE
Master Li demonstrates that he taught you all you know, but not all that he knows

When it comes to the classic, bread-and-butter moment of RPG betrayal of the leader/mentor figure you thought was in your corner turning out to be the evil mastermind behind all the world’s ills, Master Li’s sudden treachery is pretty much the best there is.  I defy anyone to claim that they saw it coming; Li somehow manages to hit a perfect spot in the middle of a Venn diagram of benevolent teacher, expectant quest-giver, fair but not coddling parental figure, wisdom-sharing elder, and exposition machine that never strays far enough into any of the roles to so much as spark a stray thought of suspicion in the player, and the story itself gives no reasonably discernible hint that there’s any greater scheme at play than the already fully-involved quest to save the empire from a dictator tearing the natural order apart.  This is just the quintessential specimen of the betrayal that you never saw coming.

And the execution is flawless, timed exquisitely for the maximum narrative shock.  I was an RPG veteran many times over when I played Jade Empire, and yet somehow Li taking the crystal plot MacGuffin in his hand slowly and turning back to address the protagonist was done with such carefully natural rhythm that it didn’t put up any warning flag for me, even though I’ve seen such a moment play out multiple times before in other games (and other media) and known at that second that a betrayal is coming.  By far the greatest part, though, is the timing of Li speaking to the protagonist, congratulating her/him on having achieved so much and expressing pride that she/he did so while still sticking to the fundamentals of Li’s training...

“Even the flaws!”

What a hell of an other shoe to drop.  Of all of the great moments of betrayal in this list, Master Li’s is the only one so succinctly powerful that I remember the experience of it in a single line, every ounce of its weight and shock in a penetrating mere 3 words.  Few are the betrayals that can rival Li’s in his field!


4. FALLOUT 1
The Overseer evicts the Vaultdweller

Not every iconic betrayal is malicious, not every traitor a villain.  Sometimes, the rug can be pulled out from under you for well-meaning reasons by a man who must weigh the reward that the few have earned against the good of the many...

...in his own cowardly, xenophobic, small-minded way.

The sheer, overwhelming unfairness of the situation of Fallout 1’s ending is powerful.  The Vaultdweller has traversed an extraordinarily hostile, dangerous, radioactive postapocalyptic wasteland on what’s almost a fool’s errand looking for a single, rare piece of electronics hidden within a world of marauders and mutants, in order to save his home and its people.  Then, after surviving for the months necessary to scour the wastes and find the water chip, the Vaultdweller is sent out immediately again to achieve an even more impossible goal of ending the threat of an army of super mutants that intends to overrun all of humanity, an insane charge to lay upon any single person--but this, too, he manages.

And then, after achieving impossible victories, living in the wilds of a nuclear wasteland, seeing the ugly realities of the terrible world that history’s follies has created from the worst traits of man...after all that he has gone through to save his home, all that the Vaultdweller has done merely to earn his chance to return to the life he had been living before this crisis...the door is shut in his face.  The Overseer tells the Vaultdweller with a heavy heart that he’s been out there too long, represents too much of a symbol of the very chaos and instability that he fought to eliminate, that others will admire him, want to follow his example, leave the Vault, and jeopardize its community in doing so.  You really can’t go home again.

It’s an iconic rug-pull, and it’s great for its symbolism of lost innocence and growing past security into selfhood, for the sudden ugly light it sheds on even the most positive conceptual view of the Vaults that will be echoed again and again throughout the Fallout series, and for the final, iconic, bittersweet scene it sets of the Vaultdweller walking, a lonely man with his dog, away from his home and past.  Struck down in his moment of victory and return by the leader of those he’d saved, in a cruelly unfair move, but one so small-minded that, in a way, it proves itself right simply by happening--the Vaultdweller has outgrown his home, for it to be represented by such a myopic leader.  What a great moment of betrayal this was.


3. PATHFINDER: WRATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Staunton Vhane does what he was driven to

In a sharp contrast to most cases, what makes this betrayal so noteworthy and excellent isn’t that you can’t see it coming--on the contrary, it’s the sad lack of surprise as Vhane once again throws his lot in with Minagho that gives his treachery its weight.  This moment in which Vhane turns against his cause to defend the demon who led him on and destroyed his life is one of many pivotal steps in the tragedy of Staunton Vhane’s fall, a tragedy so grandly theatrical and sympathetic that it’s more than reasonable to even call it Shakespearian--Vhane and Minagho bear, in multiple ways, resemblance to MacBeth and his Lady, in fact.

And that’s what makes this such a great betrayal: it’s tragic because it was so avoidable.  After the catastrophe of Staunton’s having fallen to Minagho’s wiles the first time, he’s worked tirelessly for 70 years to make up for his great failure that lost a city and cost so many lives within, throwing himself into the fight against the demons and putting his life on the line over what amounts to a lifetime for a human being...and the entire time, his peers have only ever treated him as a pariah for his mistake.  Staunton was allowed to live and fight the demon armies for redemption for his sins, but no matter what he’s done, how faithful to the cause, how much pain he’s suffered and blood he’s shed for his fellows, all that’s ever seen of him is a traitor.  Imagine living with the hatred of all those around you, those you fight to protect, for not months, not years, but decades, and never, ever making any headway to earning their forgiveness for a moment of weakness you experienced before many of your detractors were even born.

The chance to regain his honor through service to his cause was meant to be a mercy, but if it’s clear that he’ll never be allowed that redemption, that mercy becomes only an eternal, miserable sentence of degradation and isolation.

Small wonder we bear witness to Staunton snapping and returning to Minagho’s side.  It’s still a crime he should and will have to answer for, but can you truly blame him?  After hostile isolation from everyone around him, knowing nothing but scorn from those for whom he daily suffers and risks himself, for thousands and thousands of days, hundreds and hundreds of months, tens and tens of years, realizing and despairing more and more fully as the years roll by that the good he can do will never be allowed to outweigh the crime of his past...of course there would finally come a moment in which he broke for a second and final time, and returned to the side of the only person who’s treated him well in over half a century.  Better even the empty but pleasant manipulative love of a demon than the uncaring spite of his so-called comrades.  He’s a villain, but one of the world’s making, not his own, and though treachery is usually known for evoking indignance and hate, this turncoat I can only feel a grim sympathy towards.


2. LIVE-A-LIVE
Streighbough gives Oersted the worst day ever

Has there ever been a more devastating, cruel, infuriatingly petty and disproportionate double-cross than Streighbough’s?  This narcissistic psychopath ruined his best friend’s life beyond recognition and killed his king (the father of Streighbough’s supposed beloved, no less!) in a single stroke for the sake of his own worthless ego, and in so doing, doomed his world and nearly doomed many more.  Out of some callow feeling of inadequacy, Streighbough commits the most overpoweringly heinous and extreme betrayal in RPG history (yes, more powerful in its sin and intensity even than the one below!), and the scene in which he reveals his treason, and what follows, is a moment of jaw-dropping hateful tragedy as Streighbough robs Oersted of the only things he had left--hope, love, and the ability to trust anything he knew before this most terrible day.  The final contender below earns its position by many virtues of art, elegance, and power, but in terms of sheer potency, Streighbough’s is the top betrayal.


1. TALES OF BERSERIA
Laphicet sacrifices his life to save the world

The grand, thematic, masterful excellence and poetry of this greatest of betrayals is one which would take an entire enthusiastic, rambling rant to really describe adequately.  Which, like, I totally did already.  Yeah, I know it’s cheap and annoying to just assign you an entire other rant as reading homework just to finish this one, but there’s just too much to the craftsmanship of Laphicet’s betrayal to merely summarize here and call it adequate.  It’s just an absolutely beautiful piece of work.


Honorable Mention: FINAL FANTASY 4
Kain attacks Cecil

No list of RPG betrayals would be complete without Kain, the iconic Benedict Arnold of Final Fantasy and one of the first, most memorable traitors of the genre.  It may not have quite the gravitas, elegance, or uniqueness to make it onto the list proper, but Kain’s 2-faced turnabout is still a solid go-to of the classic best friend and/or party member betrayal, and more than 1 of the terrific traitors we’ve listed above can trace at least some of their roots back to good old Kain.



This was fun!  Hope y’all enjoyed this trip down Memory Lane--or maybe the Backstab Back-Alley would be more accurate.  If you did, then stay tuned, because I originally wanted to do a joint list of both the best AND crappiest RPG betrayals, but since this part has already turned out to be rather long, I’m gonna separate them into 2 proper, separate lists, so the rundown of the worst betrayals is forthcoming!














* All credit to Ecclesiastes on this one; I was so focused on the big story-redefining traitors for this rant that Yuffie’s betrayal of ‘mere’ sidequest theft completely flew under my radar, but she inarguably deserves her spot of honor here!


** HA HA WINGS, see cuz it’s Baten Kaitos, oh man am I ever fucking funny amirite

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