No one goes through life unscathed. People inevitably rack up injuries. Most of these recover with time, but it's tough in some instances. Such is the case with those who lose an eye.
The gaming landscape boasts several one-eyed faces. These often belong to villains or other shifty figures. Losing an eye seems to symbolize an untrustworthy nature. These guys probably wouldn't appreciate that stereotype, but it sure makes for some entertaining individuals.
7 Goro Majima - The Yakuza Series
The wild card of the Yakuza series, Majima makes an immediate impression. His uneven haircut, snakeskin jacket, and lack of shirt are as random as it gets. What's more, is that he's got a personality to match. His flamboyant, unsettling attitude signals that he has absolutely no inhibitions. Even among all of this, though, his eye patch is an oddity.
This accessory has darker origins. Back in the '80s, the Tojo Clan tasked Majima and his sword brother, Saejima, with assassinating a rival leader. Not wanting responsibility for the hit, other Tojo members tried to threaten Majima into standing down and abandoning his friend. However, he doesn't kowtow to anyone he doesn't respect, so they take his eye. Despite the deformity, the circumstances mean he probably considers it a mark of honor. Why else would he decorate it in later games?
6 Xigbar/Braig - The Kingdom Hearts Series
The heroic Sora first encounters this cocky foe in Kingdom Hearts 2. A member of the villainous Organization XIII, Xigbar enjoys egging the kid on, comparing him unfavorably with past Keyblade wielders. Little do fans know that condescension comes from past experience.
Xigbar (formerly known as "Braig") is also a henchman in the prequel, Birth by Sleep. Here, he's a pawn of the maniacal Xehanort, who pits him against an angry Keyblade wielder named Terra. The resulting battle leaves him grievously scarred, explaining why he wears the eye patch. How inconvenient that his optical injury carries over when he becomes a Nobody.
5 Raiden - The Metal Gear Solid Series
This mechanical Metal Gear Solid star is an elite special forces fighter and part-time mercenary. No matter his profession, though, Raiden always gets results. He utilizes both stealth and gunplay to eliminate terroristic threats the world over. Sadly, this profession predictably leads to bodily harm.
During a mission to track down the malicious Sundowner, the job goes south and results in a train crash. Raiden loses an arm, scrambles his nervous system, and destroys his left eye. He then replaces the former two with cybernetic components, giving him a slew of enhanced abilities and built-in weapons. However, one wonders whether these new toys were really worth the optical loss.
4 Eivor - Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
The hero of Valhalla seems like just another Viking. However, Eivor soon falls victim to the standard tropes of Assassin's Creed titles (and Ubisoft games, in general). Specifically, he or she experiences visions of mysterious figures, faraway places, different times, and computerized glitches. Some might chalk this up to Animus nonsense, but Eivor is actually the reincarnation of Odin.
Players see this during several hallucinatory sequences in Asgard, the realm of the Aesir gods. The other Norse deities treat Eivor as their king. True to myth, the hero sacrifices an eye to acquire knowledge. Said sacrifice seems to stick in the DLC and future AC appearances.
3 Wolf O'Donnell - The Star Fox Series
In design and action, Wolf is the dark side of Fox McCloud, serving as a recurring rival to the Star Fox squad. This becomes clear when they fight against him in the Lylat Wars. Granted, he has little investment in this, serving as an honorless thug for hire. He further shows that unscrupulous nature when he lords over a pack of crooks. These underground activities are presumably how he loses his eye.
The games never specify the circumstances of this injury. It possibly comes from skirmishes with McCloud and his family, as he implies some history with Fox's father. Wolf lives a dangerous life, so he's bound to accrue some wear and tear along the way.
2 Beatrix - Final Fantasy 9
A general in the Alexandrian army, Beatrix is one of the toughest figures in Final Fantasy 9. She repeatedly combats the party as an unbeatable boss, but this seemingly antagonistic streak comes from her immense sense of duty. It's that very same duty that later fuels her allegiance with the heroes.
One can assume that patriotic service cost her an eye. This is another instance where players don't learn the specifics behind it, but the cause is not hard to imagine. Beatrix throws herself directly into danger and leads her troops by example. Though this hardens her for battle, it also makes her an easy target for the enemy's opening salvo.
1 Sagat - The Street Fighter Series
The self-professed "Emperor of Muay Thai" has gone through quite a journey. Sagat enjoys the thrill of combat and strives to be the best. This makes him ideal as the final boss of the firstStreet Fighter. After his defeat, he signs up with Shadaloo, becoming M. Bison's top lieutenant. Thankfully, he later lets go of his anger and joins Ryu and the other heroes. Here, he can continue fighting, this time to redeem himself.
No matter where Sagat's loyalties lie, he's clearly a man of action. He's been that way since boyhood, and he's accumulated numerous battle scars to prove it. The worst, however, came when Go Hibiki gouged his eye out. Why he later shaved his head is unclear, but it complements the eye patch in cementing his imposing image.