With love, anything is possible… even horrible acts that will probably cause a party of adventurers to kill you. Sure, some romances are wholesome, but others just bring outthe deranged sidesin people.
Related:Anime: Best Yandere Male Characters
Sure, anime has a stranglehold onyandere characters— a trope defined by unhealthy levels of infatuation and a lack of boundaries. ButJRPGsaren’t left out of the fun. With so many great RPGs withdeep and compelling romances, there’s always room for a few bad ones.
10Octopath Traveler - Simeon
Given the nature of the yandere trope, it’s no surprise that there are several villains on this list — the first of which beingOctopath Travelers’Simeon. The game’s ability to let playersexperience multiple perspectivesjust gives more potential for anime tropes to pop up, after all.
Primrose’s arc comes to an end fighting Simeon, the Puppet Master. What starts as a typical relationship takes a turn for the unsettling when Simeon’s mask slips — reveals that it’s less ‘love’ he feels for Primrose and more a love for exploiting her life to create a theatrical performance. With thepower of friendship, Primrose finally gets to defeat him on his own stage no less.
9Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Hubert
The beauty of theFire Emblemgames is watching a wide-ranging cast of diverse personalities warm up to the protagonist over the course of hectic battles and mini-games… except Hubert. That guy’s always kinda a jerk. Especially if you put the moves on Edelgard, he has morehatred for Byleththan the entireSuper Smash Broscommunity.
Related:Fire Emblem Three Houses: Every Character In Black Eagles, Ranked
Luckily, this is in aFire Emblemgame — thus making Hubert a prime candidate for a tank in permadeath mode… and turning Byleth into the yandere. Maybegames with permadeathjust bring out that villainous streak.
8Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - Makoto Kuwahara
A title like ‘eternal punishment’ should’ve given away the ride we were in for. This is thePersonaseries we’re talking about, so it makes sense that a worldfull of demonswould be teeming with yandere characters. Makoto Kuwahara (or Stalker as he’s first known) uses a chainsaw to show his infatuation with party member Elly.
Either his voice lines are coping mechanisms or his true goal was just to bait Elly into beating him up. Either way, he makes for a fairly easy battle — not givingChainsaw Man’s Denjia run for his money any time soon.
7Yakuza 0 - Jun Oda
TheYakuzagames are always chock-full of bromances. The lives of Japanese gangsters are morally gray on a good day. Conventions in typical relationships need not apply. Sometimes one needs to crack a few skulls to prove their love. And sometimes the best way to keep in the good graces of your brother in arms is to, uh, attempt to kill his sister, so he never finds out you sold her into slavery years prior? Well, we are talking abouta yandere characterafter all.
Related:Traitors In Video Games Fans Love To Hate
Jun Oda is a yandere who tries to redeem himself, at least. Even if his actions were hardly redeemable, he sacrifices himself so that his bro Tachibana may one day be reunited with his sister. It’s more than can be said of many of the yandere on this list, but sometimes just the thought doesn’t count. Maybe he’d be better offmodding the gameto erase his misdeeds.
6Legend Of Mana - Escad
Thebeauty ofLegend of Manais that it’s a living, breathing world with years of rich history and the protagonist is just living in it. Major conflicts are all at their tipping point, and the player has just enough power to push them over the edge. One such example is in the Faerie Arc where an age-old love triangle just might end the world.
Haunted by the fact that his love interest Matilda has chosen his demon brother Irwin over him, Escad seeks revenge. And who better than the protagonist to rope into his own mess. To Escad’s credit, Irwin and Matilda did plot to destroy the world as a side effect oftheir dysfunctional relationshipso no one is really coming out on top as the ‘good guy’.
5Final Fantasy 10 - Seymour
Final Fantasydoesn’t shy away from the yandere trope. And while Final Fantasy 4’s Kain flies a little close to the sun trying to murder his best friend to snag Rosa for himself,Final Fantasy 10’sSeymour has the better boss music. You know, until Tidus came along, Seymour had everything going for him: a high-ranking position,slick drip, and a summoner fiancé to tie it all together. When Yuna’s heart wavered, however… Well, so did Seymour’s mask of civility.
Related:JRPGs To Play If You Loved Final Fantasy 10
While Tidus is proof that Yuna has no qualmsdating the undead, it turns out that she has more of a thing for athletes. Tough break, Seymour, but probably not a good jumping-off point for world-wide destruction either. Granted, the theory that ‘no one can suffer if they’re already dead’ is technically true… it’s just that some theories are better left on paper.
4Tales Of Symphonia - Mithos
There’s bound to be problems when the world’s greatest hero is also the world’s greatest villain.Tales of Symphonia’s Mithos — or Yggdrasill depending on how he’s feeling that day — plays the long ruse to bring his beloved sister back to life.
Also, a contenderfor worst fatherin gaming, Mithos don’t lend any of his fanatical devotion to his son. Although, given the lengths he’s proven he’s go, perhaps that’s for the best. He does make for a fun final boss fight, at least.
3Kingdom Hearts - Riku
Given its often convoluted plot, it’s hard to tell why anyone in theKingdom Heartsseries behaves as crazy as they do. But one thing is certain with Riku, whether he wins the race or not, he’s making a bee-line for Kairi. And his best friend, Sora’s, feelings aren’t getting in the way of that… nor are Kairi’s feelings either or thefate of multiple worlds.
Related:Kingdom Hearts: Things In The Trailers That Were Removed From The Games
His desire to have Kairi all to himself leads to him befriending villains and nearly getting his best friend killed. But that might have all just been his shadow form, and his heart needed to be unlocked bya giant key, and… What’s the plot again?
2Super Mario RPG - Bowser
Perhaps not a JRPG character in the strictest sense, Bowser did star in quite a fewMarioRPG spin-off titles such asSuper MarioRPG andPaper Mariomaking him technically fit the bill. More to the point, he’s certainly yandere. Kidnapping a woman and sicking an army of Goombas on her love interest doesn’t speak highly of one’s sanity. And this is coming from a guy who didn’t even havea tragic backstory!
Was love truly the catalyst for all Bowser’s misdeeds? Well, given his manyodd life choices, there’s probably a few more stripped wires under the hood. Unlike every other character on this list, however, he can put his rage aside to join his rival in party games and sporting events.
1Valkyrie Profile - Lezard Valeth
With the likes of popular antagonists like Riku and Bowser on this list, the name ‘Lezard Valeth’ might get little more than a, “Who?” by comparison. What’s broughtValkyrie Profile’s crazed necromancer to this list, however, is his unwavering desire to woo a woman who clearly wants nothing to do with him. Godhood isn’t even off the table when talking about lengths he’s willing to go.
Some people like to paint portraits in their beloved’s image… Lezard just creates an undead army of his love interest’s look-a-likes. If only Valkyrie Profile had adecent port or reboot, maybe his yandere antics would be better known.
