History ALighterShadeOfBlack / VideoGames

* Both ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' games have this. While the character you play as is definitely evil,[[note]]Well, in [[VideoGame/OverlordI the second game]]. [[VideoGame/OverlordI The first game]] has you either be an AntiVillain or StupidEvil with no real in-between.[[/note]] you're exclusively pitted against opponents worse than you. Sure, you still get to do ''some'' evil things, but you don't get to indulge in it anywhere near as much as the people you're fighting.

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': Jack tells you flatly there are no Kindred "good guys", but it helps to retain your humanity so you don't let out The Beast.
* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Part of "Heaven's Feel" seems to be solely dedicated to making the players like Kirei Kotomine more, with several EnemyMine and PetTheDog situations, and most importantly, an utterly epic fight where he holds his own against the despicable Zouken Matou and his Servant quite well. In "Fate", Kotomine is portrayed as fairly simplistic with no motives beyond EvilFeelsGood, and in Unlimited Blade Works he takes a backseat to the conflict between Shirou and Archer. Only "Heaven's Feel" fleshes him out at all, but in doing so it makes him into [[ReluctantPsycho a much more complex character]] than when he was portrayed in simple black and white terms. In contrast, the aforementioned Zouken is an [[AbusiveParents abusive grandfather]] to [[TheWoobie Sakura]] and [[spoiler:outright [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes her]] via worms]], and encourages his grandson Shinji to commit the same kind of immoral behavior, [[spoiler:including raping Sakura]]. When Kirei finally kills him, [[PayEvilUntoEvil it's extremely satisfying]].
* ''VideoGame/FindingLight'': The BigBad [[spoiler:Zamas states that Morgoth was harder to corrupt than Typhus, since the former was once an altruistic healer while the latter, despite his stated good intentions, was always a ControlFreak who wanted to rule the world. Morgoth also shows more remorse than Typhus, since he wants the party to kill him while Typhus dies while giving a self-righteous rant]].
* ''VideoGame/MadFather'': In the true ending, [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist Aya]] [[CruelTwistEnding follows in her father's footsteps turning people into dolls]]]], however [[spoiler:as a doctor she waits for people to come to her for medical treatment, and her victims are anesthetized before they are converted into dolls]].
** However possibly subverted in TheStinger added in the Steam version, [[spoiler:depending on how you interpret what Aya means about her not forgetting because of her promise]].
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Yuthura Ban is trying to overthrow her master Uthar Wynn, who's head of the Sith academy on Korriban. It's an EvilVersusEvil Sith power struggle, but if you get to know Yuthura, you will learn that she grew up as a slave and became a Jedi in order to help other slaves, only to lose sight of her compassion and fall to the Dark Side. It's possible to convince Yuthura to seek redemption, whereas the same is not true for Uthar.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'': In the Dark Side Ending, Kreia will say that the PC is not really a Sith. Presumably, she considers them a Dark Jedi instead, i.e. someone who uses the Dark Side for their own advancement rather than submitting to the Sith Code and philosophies.
* This is the case in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' (Laharl the wannabe EvilOverlord vs. an OmnicidalManiac). ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'' have more heroic protagonists while ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' is mixed (Mao wants to slay his father, the Overlord, for trivial reasons and the rest of the cast have more heroic goals [[spoiler:plus the real villain already made Mao do it and surpressed his memories)]]

* [[KnightTemplar The Scarlet Crusade]] vs the [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Scourge]] in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. [[spoiler:At least until Wrath of the Lich King]].
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is an interesting example. On one side, the Gods of Olympus, famous for toying with or outright squashing humanity when they feel like it, but also the sources of wisdom, love, agriculture, and even the Sun itself. On the other, an increasingly remorseless killer who thinks little indeed of slaughtering anybody in his way, but with basically sympathetic motives for bringing war against the gods, and who ultimately [[spoiler:grants his enormous power or even just the Hope inside of him to humanity after bringing down Olympus after Pandora's Box, when opened, left the gods consumed with more evils.]]. In the end, which side is Lighter comes down to the viewer.
* ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours'' follows the original film in this. Sure, Tony is wiping out the gangs and the enemy gangsters all the way up to Sosa, who watchers of the film would have known was not a nice person, but he is still putting drugs on the streets of Miami.

* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}''. Among your plucky group of heroes is an AxCrazy mute soldier whose sister loves him more than is socially acceptable, a vicious red dragon, a batshit crazy elf who eats children, a religious patriarch who never passes up an opportunity to call for genocide against [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman all other intelligent species]], a blind pedophile, and a child cursed to never grow up. However, they're care bears compared to TheEmpire- a theocratic state that worships the Watchers/[[spoiler:Grotesqueries]] (who are [[spoiler:hideous {{Humanoid Abomination}}s who wish to unmake creation]]), and is led by the Cult of the Watchers' high priestess [[BigBad Manah]], a [[EnfanteTerrible six year old girl]] who delights in ruining lives left and right because her mommy never loved her enough.
* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', we have the BigBadDuumvirate formed by [[MadScientist Relius Clover]] and [[CardCarryingVillain Yuuki Terumi]]. Both of them are seemingly caught in a "How far beyond the MoralEventHorizon can you go" contest, but despite the fact that they're almost evenly matched as far as accomplishments go, Relius is still a lighter shade of black than Terumi is, first and foremost because most of his atrocities were committed in order to [[ForScience satiate his own scientific curiosity]], and secondly because he is [[PragmaticVillainy pretty pragmatic in his villainy]]. Compare that to Terumi, who [[AxCrazy doesn't even pretend]] [[ForTheEvulz to have a rationalization]] for all the shit he does and often goes out of his way to ruin people's lives just because... His behavior is sort of justified, as Terumi avoids getting [[{{Retgone}} erased from reality]] by anchoring his own existence in the world [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly through people's hatred of him]], but any sympathy points this could've earned them are ultimately DoubleSubverted, because he really ''does'' get off on pushing people beyond the DespairEventHorizon. [[spoiler:The fact that the fourth game revealed that he's actually [[SatanicArchetype Susanoo no Mikoto]], the ''[=BlazBlue=]''[='=]verse's own take on {{Satan}}, doesn't help his case, either.]]
** ''Chronophantasma'' reveals that Relius is capable of being portrayed as an extreme version of a WellIntentionedExtremist. All three main bad guys (The Imperator, Terumi and Relius) aim for destroying the [[DeusEstMachina Master Unit: Amaterasu]], which can cause a genocidal damage to the current world and reset it, but it turns that Relius [[spoiler:does so because he's frustrated that the Master Unit's {{Groundhog Day Loop}}s prevents the world from making progresses and prevents advancement of his goal of creating the Perfect Doll. While he is still pretty selfish in that he only cares for his own project, his intention can be portrayed as being beneficial for the rest of humanity trapped in depressing loops. If he completes the project, he could either leave humanity alone, or try to inject the Perfect Doll for humanity, which in his twisted mind, may have a chance to be considered a beneficial improvement for overall humans (though probably other people will not agree). Compare to Terumi, who just wants to [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil turn the world into his own playground of evil]], filled to the brink with endless despair for himself to drink in, and the Imperator, being [[TheSociopath Izanami]], who just wants everyone to die and reduce the world to inert seithr.]]
** Relius' case got even lighter by ''Central Fiction'', whereas [[spoiler:it was revealed that Master Unit Amaterasu has been abusing her world reset ability just to get her desired ending of her being plugged out of the unit and no longer having to do her duty of observing the world, which ignores not only his desire to progress on his project, but also towards the other suffering that the cast experiences, with or without Terumi's interference, an utter selfishness that drove former hero [[HotWitch Nine the Phantom]] utterly mad and devised a plan to destroy the Master Unit to free the world from its machinations, which Relius is totally on board for. It's still for his own selfish desires, but it somehow became a bit more relatable.]]
* ''Franchise/BaldursGate''
** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', you are given the choice between supporting the [[TheSyndicate Shadow Thieves]], a thieves' guild you've probably already done some sidequests for, and a rival guild led by a lady called Bodhi that contains vampires that attack people in the streets at night. If you visit their guildhalls neither of them seem terribly 'good', but at least the Shadow Thieves don't decorate with giant pools of human blood and fill their halls with mindless thralls they feed on.
** In all the three parts (BG 1, BG 2 and BG 2: ''Thone of Bhaal''), the protagonist can be evil but will still be potentially sympathetic due to being the PlayerCharacter, and will also be the lesser evil compared to the major villain of each story and their destructive plans. In ''Throne of Bhaal'', the prophecy behind much of the games' plot is revealed to contain the clause that, no matter what path the protagonist chooses if they should triumph over their antagonists in that storyline, the results of their losing would always be worse.
** [[TokenEvilTeammate Viconia]] is a drow and a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] case of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch in that she's evil aligned, just not ''that'' evil. The typical drow, especially those you meet in the Underdark arc in ''Shadows of Amn'', are so evil that Viconia looks good aligned in comparison.
** ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' has [[spoiler:Enver Gortash, one of the leaders of the Cult of the Absolute. As the chosen of Bane, the god of tyranny, he has a vested interest in taking over the city of Baldur's Gate for himself, and enforcing his rule through a combination of [[MechaMooks Steel Watchers]] and the Elder Brain that the cult has in its control. This desire to rule [[EvilVersusOblivion puts him at odds]] with fellow chosen Orin the Red, who, as the Chosen of the god of murder Bhaal, is an OmnicidalManiac who would see Baldur's Gate destroyed to satiate her bloodlust. It is such that he's willing to [[EnemyMine propose an alliance with the player to have Orin disposed of]] so that he could have all of the Netherstones (the third Chosen, Ketheric, already being dead by this point) so that Baldur's Gate would survive under his singular rule rather than face annihalation.]]

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Michael is a bank robber fresh out of retirement, Franklin is a former small-time {{Gangbanger|s}} turned big-time bank robber and assassin, and Trevor (who's by far [[TokenEvilTeammate the most evil of the three]]) is an AxCrazy drug dealing PsychopathicManChild. Despite this, all three of them have redeeming values, [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]], and PetTheDog moments that can instill some sympathy. That's more than can be said about their antagonists: Steven Haines, a corrupt FIB agent who engages in some incredibly irresponsible InterserviceRivalry with the IAA for the sake of his career, and Devin Weston, a CorruptCorporateExecutive with close ties to PrivateMilitaryContractors known for committing human rights violations all over the world.
* If you play as a rogue in ''Videogame/NetHack'', the Assassins' Guild becomes the lighter shade of black to the Thieves' Guild. You're on the eviler side.
* In the lore of {{VideoGame/Overwatch}}, Hanzo Shimada is the heir to a powerful yakuza clan, groomed to be such from the day he was born. He also killed his brother (or so he assumed), but it's heavily implied that Hanzo didn't want to go through with it and he spends the rest of his life trying to atone for it. Hanzo is definitely a rude asshole, a ruthless assassin, and a morally ''dark'' gray character, but he also despises his family for what they made him do.
** He also denies joining up with [[BigBad Talon]], though whether this is based more on his morals or his pride is still up for debate.
** Another example is Symmetra. She's a devout member of Vishkar Corporation, which is so far portraying itself as a MegaCorp that tramples on basic human rights just to ensure that they can rennovate the world and place their order in it, while she believed (or is tricked to believe by Vishkar) that it's for the greater good, though that IS starting to wane. When faced with a squarely moral opposer like Lucio, Symmetra would look like the villain, but she really had the best interests towards the people, and not to mention she also stands opposed to Talon, marking them as enemies of order.
* While ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' never explored the morality of Team Aqua and Team Magma when they weren't in the role of main antagonists, ''[[VideoGameRemake Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' make it clear that they're still ruthless in their endeavors. When the player character first meets the non-antagonistic team's leader, he thinks nothing of threatening the kid not to get in their way. Of course, it's not entirely clear just how much lighter they actually are; while they're clearly horrified by the power of the version mascot, so is the antagonistic team, and dialog at Mt. Chimney suggests that they'd have been planning something similar if their rivals hadn't beaten them to the punch.
* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'': [[MotherNature Viridi]] hates humans and wants them [[KillAllHumans wiped out]], but she's a WellIntentionedExtremist who does it to save nature, making her this against [[BigBad Medusa]]'s [[{{Revenge}} vengeance-driven goals against humanity and Palutena]], [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan Hades]]']] gluttony for souls and power, the Chaos Kin's [[GenericDoomsdayVillain destruction for destruction's sake]], and the Aurum's [[HordeOfAlienLocusts desire to strip the entire planet of life]].
* Both ''{{VideoGame/Overlord}}'' games have this. While the character you play as is definitely evil (well, in the second game. The first game has you either be an AntiVillain or StupidEvil with no real in-between), you're exclusively pitted against opponents worse than you. Sure, you still get to do ''some'' evil things, but you don't get to indulge in it anywhere near as much as the people you're fighting.
* The ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' BigBad, Lord Recluse, is the lesser of about 200 different evils. He is a PragmaticVillain with several EvilVirtues he's imposed upon his army/government and the reason there is even a national government and civilians have a decent life expectancy. That said, he is still a highly competent, CardCarryingVillain, meaning he has VetinariJobSecurity for his Big Bad status, despite this trope.
* In ''[[VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope The New Order: The Last Days of Europe]]'', the German Civil War that triggers early in the campaign is a conflict between the four rival Nazi pretenders Albert Speer, Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann and UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich to the title of Führer after the death of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, making it inevitably a conflict between villains; however, more specifically:
** Albert Speer [[spoiler:is a {{Subverted}} example to this trope. Appearing at first to be an InternalReformist, [[EvilAllAlong Speer is actually uninterested in democratizing the Reich]], and actually just wants a more pragmatic application to Nazi ideology. If given the chance, he will coup the [[InternalReformist Gang of Four]] and maintain his iron grip on the regime.]]

*** In turn [[spoiler:Heydrich becomes the lighter shade against Himmler [[EvilVersusOblivion when he realizes the projects of his boss]]: [[OmnicidialManiac to destroy the world]] by provoking WorldWarIII, cleansing it of all but the Aryans sheltered in the Burgundian underground bunkers. A second civil war starts soon after, during which Heydrich races for the control of German nukes with Heidrich to prevent him from ending the world, and, if successful, to kill him.]]
** At the game's start, Japan owns a brutal and exploitative empire over East Asia where millions of souls are enslaved and/or forced to give up their freedoms to be politically and culturally oppressed... but Nazi Germany is all of this, with even more ideological insanity and ''ethnic genocide'' thrown into the mix. Japan has more options to peacefully reform into a HegemonicEmpire or even TheFederation if [[spoiler:[[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Takagi Sokichi's]] liberal reforms succeed, and unlike Albert Speer (who is a fascist who furthers Nazism via more subtle means and ultimately does away with the reformists to seize power), Takagi is a ''genuine'' reformist who sees the need for liberalization and democratic reform, albeit one who still believes in Japanization and the promises of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series, the Third Street Saints are seen as the good guys, despite engaging in many of the same shady activities the enemy gangs do. This can potentially be invoked by the player on the [[GoldenEnding Save Shaundi]] ending. Yes, The Boss may still be a crime lord who isn't above drugs, robbery and sexual slavery, but this ending shows [[AFatherToHisMen their best qualities]] while [[AccidentalHero unintentionally saving a prized monument of Steelport.]] Meanwhile, the STAG Initiative destroyed half of the city, killed hundreds of civilians, and were part of a giant FalseFlagOperation / BatmanGambit to play on The Boss' selfishness in order to get permission to wipe them out. Monica Hughes sums it up really nicely:

** ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' has a variation with Sage, Eggman's new AI underling, who is antagonistic towards Sonic, but willing to entertain the notion of forging an alliance with him to combat a mutual threat if Eggman would consent to it, which he does not [[spoiler:...at first.]]
* {{VideoGame/Wizardry}} has the typical D&D alignments and the manuals use this reasoning to explain the presence of such people in the party: "''Evil characters are not really evil when compared to some of the things they fight in the Maze. They are self-centered, and always want to know "what's in it for them." Evil characters help old ladies cross the street for a small fee."''
* Jackie Estacado from ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' is a ruthless hitman who won't hesitate to shoot anyone who opposes him paired with an EldritchAbomination that has been in his family for generations with the same mentality. That said, he's pretty much a saint when compared to [[VideoGame/TheDarknessII The Brotherhood]], a group who's motives went from protecting the world from the Darkness to wanting to control it themselves. [[NightmareFetishist Johnny]] [[GibberingGenius Powell]] best describes it in the Brotherhood trailer:
-->'''Johnny''': I'm not- I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that [[AntiHero Jackie Estacado's]] a good guy, he's far, ''far'' from it. That said, even though while Jackie may carry the Darkness, his soul's still a few shades lighter than these Brotherhood guys.
* In ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'', the BigBadEnsemble consists of [[spoiler:Yomi Hellsmile and Makoto Kagutsuchi, Amaterasu Corporation's leaders, the former being the Peacekeepers director and the latter being the CEO who commands him. Both of them are ''very'' ruthless and manipulative rulers, who are very much the source of the misery the Master Detectives undergo, and they both contribute their share of crimes, Makoto's having a much worse effect on the titular detectives since he pitted them against Yomi in the first place, and is the one who knocks them unconscious at the end of Chapter 4. However, Makoto is trying to save Kanai Ward's homunculi, is genuinely empathetic, and is an AntiVillain who happens to be a clone of Number One of the World Detective Organization, who does possess Number One's [[EvilVirtues virtuous]] personality, and said virtues are what drive him. On the other hand, Yomi is '''purely''' TheCaligula and is a self-centered, apathetic RoyalBrat who only cares about his own power over others and is willing to massacre anyone who dares to oppose him with zero remorse, who is also responsible for Kanai Ward being a place where crime and disaster can thrive at all.]]
* ''VideoGame/EmperorBattleForDune:'' In the Harkonnen campaign, the Baron's sons are constantly at each other's throats, and you eventually have to choose whom to back in a civil war. While they're both ruthlessly evil, Gunseng is at least pragmatic about it, and promises rewards for following him. Copec is a FatBastard ManChild that threatens you, and ''continues'' threatening you even if you side with him.

** In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', he becomes this to the Black Arms. The invading aliens want to destroy the Earth, and Eggman can't conquer the planet if there is ''no'' planet left to take over.

* In ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'', the BigBadEnsemble consists of [[spoiler:Yomi Hellsmile and Makoto Kagutsuchi, Amaterasu Corporation's leaders, the former being the Peacekeepers director and the latter being the CEO who commands him. Both of them are ''very'' ruthless and manipulative rulers, who are very much the source of the misery the Master Detectives undergo, and they both contribute their share of crimes, Makoto's having a much worse effect on the titular detectives since he pitted them against Yomi in the first place, and is the one who knocks them unconscious at the end of Chapter 4. However, Makoto is trying to save Kanai Ward's homunculi, is genuinely empathetic, and is an AntiVillain who happens to be a clone of Number One of the World Detective Organization, who does possess Number One's [[EvilVirtues virtuous]] personality, and said virtues are what drive him. On the other hand, Yomi is '''purely''' TheCaligula and is a self-centered, apathetic RoyalBrat who only cares about his own power over others and is willing to massacre anyone who dares to oppose him with zero remorse.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'', The BigBadEnsemble consists of [[spoiler:Yomi Hellsmile and Makoto Kagutsuchi, Amaterasu Corporation's leaders, the former being the Peacekeepers director and the latter being the CEO who commands him. Both of them are ''very'' ruthless and manipulative rulers, who are very much the source of the misery the Master Detectives undergo, and they both contribute their share of crimes, Makoto's having a much worse effect on the titular detectives since he pitted them against Yomi in the first place, and is the one who knocks them unconscious at the end of Chapter 4. However, Makoto is trying to save Kanai Ward's homunculi, is genuinely empathetic, and is an AntiVillain who happens to be a clone of Number One of the World Detective Organization, who does possess Number One's [[EvilVirtues virtuous]] personality, and said virtues are what drive him. On the other hand, Yomi is '''purely''' TheCaligula and is a self-centered, apathetic RoyalBrat who only cares about his own power over others and is willing to massacre anyone who dares to oppose him with zero remorse.]]

* In modern ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games, while Dr. Eggman remains a threat, he ends up as the lighter shade of black against the [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater-Scope Villains]] that appear.

-->[[spoiler:'''Monica Hughes:''' [[HeWhoFightsMonsters You]] declared martial law and knocked down half the city. The Saints just saved a treasured monument. Who the [[BreakingPointProfanity fuck]] do you think the public will side with?]]

-->[[spoiler:'''Monica Hughes:''' [[HeWhoFightsMonsters You]] declared martial law and knocked down half the city. The Saints just saved a treasured monument. Who the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] do you think the public will side with?]]

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': The feud between Matt Engarde and Juan Corrida was an ugly affair that resulted in Celeste Inpax, a woman who'd been romantically involved with both of them, caught in the middle. Celeste ended up being DrivenToSuicide after Matt informed Juan that Celeste had been previously romantically invovled with Matt, resulting in Juan breaking off their engagement. Juan, however, is seen as the less vile of the two, given that he appears genuinely shocked and heartbroken in an image depicting him finding Celeste after her suicide and Matt [[spoiler:ended up hiring an assassin to have Juan killed]], crossing a line that Juan never did.

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': CJ and every criminal organization he associates with (Grove Street Families, the Varrios Los Aztecas, and the Triads) are NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters who oppose the drug trade and work to stop the sale of cocaine all across the state. [[BigBad Officer Frank]][[DirtyCop Tenpenny]], has not only been largely been giving the coke-dealers more power for his own benefit, but he's deeply corrupt and is set to kill everyone who could possibly expose his crimes. Including his own partners.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Yuthura Ban is trying to overthrow her master Uthar Wynn, who's had of the Sith academy on Korriban. It's an EvilVersusEvil Sith power struggle, but if you get to know Yuthura, you will learn that she grew up as a slave and became a Jedi in order to help other slaves, only to lose sight of her compassion and fall to the Dark Side. It's possible to convince Yuthura to seek redemption, whereas the same is not true for Uthar.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is an interesting example. On one side, the Gods of Olympus, famous for toying with or outright squashing humanity when they feel like it, but also the sources of wisdom, love, agriculture, and even the Sun itself. On the other, a completely sadistic killer who thinks nothing of slaughtering anybody in his way, but with basically sympathetic motives for bringing war against the gods, and who ultimately [[spoiler:grants his enormous power to humanity after bringing down Olympus]]. In the end, which side is Lighter comes down to the viewer.

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' we have the BigBadDuumvirate, [[MadScientist Relius Clover]] and [[CardCarryingVillain Yuuki Terumi]]. Both of them are seemingly caught in a "How far beyond the MoralEventHorizon can you go" contest, but despite the fact that they're almost evenly matched as far as accomplishments go, Relius is still a lighter shade of black than Terumi is. First and foremost because most of his atrocities were committed in order to [[ForScience satiate his own scientific curiosity]], and secondly because he is [[PragmaticVillainy pretty pragmatic in his villainy]]. Compare to Terumi who [[AxCrazy doesn't even pretend]] [[ForTheEvulz to have a rationalization]] for all the shit he does and often goes out of his way to ruin people's lives just because... His behavior is sort of justified, as Terumi avoids getting [[{{Retgone}} erased from reality]] by anchoring his own existence in the world [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly through people's hatred of him]], but any sympathy points this could've earned them are ultimately DoubleSubverted, because he really ''does'' get off on pushing people beyond the DespairEventHorizon. [[spoiler:The fact that the fourth game revealed that he's actually [[SatanicArchetype Susanoo no Mikoto]], the [=BlazBlue=] 'verse's own take on {{Satan}}, doesn't help his case, either.]]
** ''Chronophantasma'' reveals that Relius is capable of being portrayed as an extreme version of WellIntentionedExtremist. All three main bad guys (The Imperator, Terumi and Relius) aim for destroying the [[DeusEstMachina Master Unit: Amaterasu]], which can cause a genocidal damage to the current world and reset it, but it turns that Relius [[spoiler:does so because he's frustrated that the Master Unit's {{Groundhog Day Loop}}s prevents the world from making progresses and prevents advancement of his goal of creating the Perfect Doll. While he is still pretty selfish in that he only cares for his own project, his intention can be portrayed as being beneficial for the rest of humanity trapped in depressing loops. If he completes the project, he could either leave humanity alone, or try to inject the Perfect Doll for humanity, which in his twisted mind, may have a chance to be considered a beneficial improvement for overall humans (though probably other people will not agree). Compare to Terumi, who just wants to [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil turn the world into his own playground of evil]], filled to the brink with endless despair for himself to drink in, and the Imperator, being [[TheSociopath Izanami]], who just wants everyone to die and reduce the world to inert seithr.]]