Sometimes people break up. You lose contact with old school friends, you leave home, you change jobs – it’s a sad fact of life. You know what would be way more rad, though? If your new best friend were to duel with your old best friend to claim the title of ultimate friend for life. Unfortunately, life isn’t as cool as a video game, but you can dream.
Just an FYI, due to the nature of this article, the entries within are extremely spoiler-heavy, so proceed with caution. These aren’t just cinematic battles either; these are fully playable segments that pit the old against the new. Insert the “Friendship ended in X, Y is my new best friend” meme here.
8 Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Eltariel vs. Talion
In the Blade of Galadriel DLC for Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the newly playable Eltariel must face former protagonist Talion twice. While the first duel is a fake-out, the second duel sees you defeating Talion and forcing him into a life of servitude as the Nazgûl.
What makes this battle even more heartbreaking is that Talion’s fall to the dark side and his sad fate as a pawn in the Witch-King’s army is entirely Eltariel’s fault, considering their battle. finale at the end of the main campaign.
seven Devil May Cry 4 and 5 – Nero/Vergil vs. Dante
Devil May Cry 4 has you fighting regular DMC protagonist Dante twice throughout the game. The first battle is more of a tutorial than a boss fight, but the second is a full-fledged duel that many consider the toughest fight in the entire franchise.
In Vergil’s campaign DLC for Devil May Cry 5, the usual DMC formula of beating Vergil as Dante is knocked down. At least it ends with a brotherly bonding scene where you kill a load of demons together. Classic boy stuff.
6 Prototype 2 – James Heller vs. Alex Mercer
Prototype 2, the controversial sequel to the original Prototype, saw you take control of US Marine James Heller, a very angry man bent on taking down Alex Mercer for his role in the death of Heller’s wife and daughter.
You fight Alex Mercer multiple times during Prototype 2, which culminates in Mercer being defeated and consumed so you can take your place at the top of the viral food chain. It’s kinda hard to feel bad for Mercer at this point in the story, considering he’s literally a bio-terrorist.
5 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 – You vs. You
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has a nice little twist on the protagonist vs. protagonist trope, letting you fight the original character you created yourself in the first Xenoverse title – as long as you import your save file from the previous game.
After defeating the original Future Warrior, now under the control of main villain Mira, your reward is to see them completely erased from existence. They ultimately survive, but it’s still a smart twist on an otherwise mundane, fanservice-heavy story.
4 Deus Ex: Invisible War – Alex Denton vs. JC Denton
In Deus Ex: Invisible War, protagonist Alex Denton is offered several different endings – the majority of which require you to assassinate the original Deus Ex hero and Alex’s brother/clone, JC Denton.
The Illuminati and Templar endings require you to kill JC in cold blood, and the Omar ending turns the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland anyway, so JC would have died regardless. Why exactly would you choose one of these endings over the Club Vox dancing ending is a mystery, given that it’s the happiest and most elegant of the five options.
3 Mega Man X5 – X vs. Zero/Zero vs. X
Mega Man X5 is unique when it comes to this trope, as which protagonist you end up fighting is entirely up to player choice. All three endings result in either X or Zero clashing before the final boss fight, depending on which character you currently control.
There are some subtle differences depending on whether you’re working towards one of the good endings or the bad ending in which Zero becomes a maverick, but either way one of the protagonists must defeat the other before facing Sigma. .
2 Pokémon Gold and Silver – Silver/Gold vs Red
Pokemon has always been a series close to the hearts of many young people in their twenties, a series that reminds most gamers of the times spent trading Pokemon on the playground or staying up late nights just for VHS marathons. from the television series.
So when Gamefreak decided to make Gold and Silver’s final boss none other than Red, the parallel Ash Ketchum himself, it blew the minds of ten-year-olds everywhere. Its thematically appropriate team, complete with all the fully evolved original Gen 1 starter Pokemon and a fearsome Level 81 Pikachu, still remains one of the toughest fights in Pokemon history.
1 Drakengard 2 – Nowe vs. Caim/Angelus
Drakengard 2, the second entry in the Drakengard/Nier series, goes one step further and gets you killed both of the main protagonists of the previous game. Nowe, the sequel’s protagonist, duels Caim and Angelus in two separate boss fights – killing them both in the second fight.
This also serves to rub some extra salt into the wound because, unbeknownst to Nowe and Caim, the two men are actually nephew and uncle. Although Nowe does not directly kill Caim, the boss fight against the Red Dragon Angelus results in his death, and their family connection is never revealed to either of them.
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