Top 10 Dastardly Video Game Doppelgangers

We all have a doppelganger out there somewhere. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Video Game Doppelgangers.

This list will make you think you’re seeing double as we look at characters who were clearly made to be someone’s counterpart. It doesn’t matter if they’re good or evil, but let’s face it, most doppelgangers have a bit of an evil streak.

We all have a bit of darkness within us. Thankfully, we don’t all have access to a mystical sword that can transform us into terrifying fighting game adversaries. The same can’t be said for Siegfried, who went insane after accidentally killing his father. Not able to face the truth, he placed the blame on someone else, and journeyed to find Soul Edge to exact his revenge. This gave birth to Nightmare, who later became a separate entity of Siegfried. It’s not easy having a walking representation of your anger and hatred, especially when it seeks to destroy everything.

Oh Smash Brothers palette swaps, look what you’ve done. Not that Pit’s black palette swap in “Brawl” is the sole reason for this doppelganger, but it probably planted the idea in Nintendo’s head. In “Uprising” we find out that he was created by the Mirror of Truth and is the exact opposite of Pit. While Pit is fiercely loyal to the gods, Dark Pit or “Pittoo” as Palutena calls him is fiercely loyal to himself, so much so that he even turns his back on his creator. He’s definitely earned that cynical smirk on his face. If you were looking for a bad boy version of Nintendo’s angel, you’ve got it.

If it looks like a Shepard and talks like a Shepard... it may not be a Shepard. Things would be much easier if this copy only walked and talked like Shepard, but it also copies the powers Shepard has. As in your Shepard. Whatever class you’re using is the class this look-a-like uses. This also applies to his or her weapons. This new Shepard wants to take your place, but if you manage to win the day, you get to decide what to do with them as they angrily wonder what makes you so damn special.

When your series needs an anti-hero, you take the main character and make them black... and no, we don’t mean it like that, Shadow is literally a black and red version of Sonic. Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik to be the Ultimate Life Form. Things didn’t go as planned, and 50 years later, Gerald’s grandson -- a certain iconic Sonic villain -- discovered Shadow. Unlike Sonic, Shadow has no time for your “way past cools” and chili dogs. Shadow is so anti-Sonic that his sidekick is a machine gun instead of a two-tailed fox. Just listen to the lyrics of his song! Jeez!

Warning: there’s about to be way too much stylishness going on in this entry. As if Bayonetta weren’t sassy enough, Jeanne enters the scene, dressed in all red and armed with the same magnificent, over-the-top fighting skills as the Umbra Witch. The two women clash often throughout the first game until Bayonetta discovers the truth: the two women, once upon a time, were friends. Much to our delight, the rivalry transformed into a friendship just in time for the two to save the world. We feel sorry for anyone on the wrong side of their shoes.

Most doppelgangers, at some point, have some kind of explanation in regards to their creation. Some even get more detailed personalities and become their own character. Not Dark Link. In 1987 he just... appeared... at the end of “Zelda II.” There he stood, an exact copy of Link, covered in darkness and frustratingly difficult to conquer. This version of Link would appear in various games, usually serving as a boss who could mimic Link’s every move. Who created him? What does he want? Why is he so annoying to battle? Why are there 3 of him in that creepy dream sequence? We’ll probably never know.

As soon as we heard the words, “Can’t let you do that, Star Fox,” we knew that we were about to meet some memorable foes. Andross may be the main antagonist, but Wolf O’Donnell and his team proved to be just as threatening. We dare say the Wolf team was even more intimidating, since they seemed less concerned about taking over the Lylat System, and more concerned about taking Fox and his crew down. We’d get chills every time we heard that theme music kick in, because we knew we’d have to be on our guard.

Palette swaps are a time-honored tradition in fighting games, but no series did it quite like “Mortal Kombat.” What started as Scorpion and Sub-Zero (0:24) turned into an entire crew of characters who looked like one another, but with different colors and abilities (9:01). Over time, these rainbow colored ninjas developed unique personalities, backstories, and outfits to call their own. This wasn’t just done with the male characters, several ladies of kombat with a “K” started off as swaps (24:31) before we were introduced to the psychotic glory that is Mileena. At least Jade is sane, right (1:12:45)?

We understand being jealous of a sibling, but there’s jealousy and then there’s... Liquid. As the second clone of Big Boss, Liquid was led to believe that he inherited his “father’s” inferior genes. This made Liquid resent Snake as he yearned to defeat his brother and prove that he was better than him. This need to prove oneself isn’t anything new in regards to sibling rivalries, but the hatred Liquid feels is legendary in the gaming world for a reason. Just be glad they never bring up their reject brother, gaseous snake.

Before we get to our number one pick, these honorable mentions have us seeing double:

Evil Lara
“Tomb Raider: Underworld” (2008)

Vergil
“Devil May Cry” series (2001-)

Uka Uka
“Crash Bandicoot” series (1996-)

Dark Samus
“Metroid Prime” series (2002-07)

Fukua
“Skullgirls Encore” (2012)

Anyone who rocks a mustache like that automatically has our respect. When it comes to doppelgangers, no one does it better than Wario... oh and Waluigi. Wario reminds us of that loud, rude uncle in the family, the one who thinks the “pull my finger” gag is still funny, but you kiiiiinda wanna hang out with him because he’s got a cool motorcycle and likes money more than kidnapped princesses. At the end of the day, we all have a soft spot for Wario’s brashness... as long as we don’t have to smell it.

Do you agree with our list? Which video game character do you think has the best double? For more top ten lists published every day, be sure to subscribe to the one and only WatchMojo.com.