History BrokenPedestal / VideoGames

** Subverted in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'', in which we are initially led to believed that Naked Snake's mentor, The Boss, had defected to the Soviet Union. It turns out [[spoiler:that the defection was a ruse to gain Volgin's trust and steal the Philosophers' Legacy from him, but after Volgin framed The Boss for assisting in the destruction of Sokolov's Research Facility, alerting her presence to Khrushchev, the U.S. sent Snake to kill her and cover up her involvement. This essentially shifts the target of his broken pedestal moment from his mentor to his government. What is left of the pedestal is ground to bits in Peace Walker when it is revealed that the U.S. government tried to murder The Boss ''multiple times'', intentionally sabotaging their own efforts to win the Cold War to MakeItLookLikeAnAccident, which culminated in intentionally supporting Volgin's nuclear assault on his own country just so they'd have an excuse to send Snake after The Boss. All because she was on the verge of confronting ''their'' war crimes and totalitarianism, potentially with a justifiable coup.]]

** Subverted in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'', in which we are initially led to believed that Naked Snake's mentor, The Boss, had defected to the Soviet Union. It turns out [[spoiler:that the defection was a ruse to gain Volgin's trust and acquired the Philosophers' Legacy, but after Volgin framed The Boss for the destruction of Sokolov's Research Facility, alerting her presence to Khrushchev, the U.S. sent Snake to kill her and cover up her involvement. This essentially shifts the target of his broken pedestal moment from his mentor to his government. Increases even further in later games when it is revealed that the U.S. government fully intended to have Snake kill off The Boss from the very beginning regardless.]]
** Double-Subverted in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Snake doesn't lose his respect of The Boss, but it turns out she betrayed him and her entire squad, and even herself, for the greater good: [[spoiler:By pursuing world peace, she effectively deemed every soldier she trained and everyone who fought alongside her to be disposable in her ideal world order, decommissioned for retirement and their skills and dreams marked as a hindrance. Snake really doesn't like it when people are considered disposable]]. As a result, he goes from passive soldier to the infamous military commander that we all know him for.

----> '''Kuai Liang''': He is my blood but he is not my brother.

* In ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'', [[spoiler:Chicory]] becomes this for a while toward Pizza following what [[spoiler:the manifestation of her fought as the Chapter 3 boss claims giving the brush to them was a mistake on top of what she says to them afterwards, leaving Pizza in a somber state throughout Chapter 4.]]

** Space Ishtar's "Ishtarin" incarnation grew up on stories about Masters, which are practically extinct in the Servant Universe, and believed they were legendary warriors. She was greatly disappointed when she met the protagonist, Risuka Fujimaru, and found they are not suited for battle. This becomes a RebuiltPedestal when Ritsuka saves her life and helps her defeat enemies with their support abilities, causing her to realize what Masters actually do.

** Blackwall in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' becomes deeply disappointed in his fellow Grey Wardens over their reaction to [[spoiler:the fake Calling and their manipulation by the Elder One]]. [[spoiler:And ''most of the party'' feel this way towards Blackwall himself, after TheReveal that he's not the real Blackwall but a fugitive murderer who'd assumed the real Blackwall's identity.]]

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': [[spoiler:Albus]] is this to Revello Forsythe. Once a friend of both Forsythe and Geoffrey Azelhart and [[spoiler:Captain of the city watch, Albus]] was [[EvilPaysBetter privately frustrated that his honour wasn't earning him as much money as he would have liked]], and [[spoiler:eventually [[FaceHeelTurn switched sides]] to [[TheSyndicate the Obsidians]] in secret. [[EvilFormerFriend He would become one of the three Crow Men who murdered Geoffrey]] for [[HeKnowsTooMuch finding out]] about [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Gate of Finis]], top-secret information to the Obsidians. Albus then pulled a FakingTheDead deception, tricking the residents of Noblecourt, Forsythe included, into believing he had died with honour resisting the Obsidians.]] In the present, the late Geoffrey's daughter Primrose Azelhart, accompanied by Forsythe, infiltrates the Right-hand Crow's lair, only to discover his true identity as [[spoiler:Albus]]. Naturally, Forsythe does not take TheReveal well at all .

* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad 3''. The main character becomes a Hunter because one saved his life when he was young. He later finds that Hunter working for the BigBad.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Sky'', Wigglytuff's beginnings as an explorer are revealed. As a child, he met Armaldo in a deep forest. Armaldo told the then-Igglybuff that he was a retired explorer, and they went on lots of missions and found lots of treasure. Igglybuff idolised Armaldo and everything was going perfectly well...until Armaldo [[spoiler:got arrested. He was a wanted criminal, not an explorer.]] Igglybuff almost had a mental breakdown and refused to believe that Armaldo was bad, even as he was being led away in custody. Whether they met again after Armaldo got out of prison is unknown.

* [[spoiler:Captain Qwark]] in ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''. The eponymous duo start out the series looking up to him, until they discover he's in league with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Chairman Drek's]] plans. It only gets worse by the time of ''Up Your Arsenal'', when they discover that Qwark had faked his own death and flat-out bailed on the rest of the galaxy to [[DirtyCoward save himself]] rather than help beat Dr. Nefarious ([[spoiler:although to his credit, he does perform a HeelFaceTurn later, thanks to Clank giving him a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech earlier]]). Boy, does Ratchet get pissed:
-->'''Ratchet''': You're pathetic, Qwark! I can't ''believe'' I once looked up to you!

** It also happens in the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016 2016 game]], although here [[spoiler:Qwark]] does legitimately [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regret his actions]] after [[spoiler:seeing Novalis get destroyed and spends the ending in prison doing community service to make up for it[[note]]although that one is debatable considering the fact that the whole game is Qwark retelling the events of the first game, and when taking into account just how much of a vain UnreliableNarrator Qwark can be...[[/note]].]]

** The ''City That Never Sleeps'' DLC [[spoiler:sees a mutual one between Peter and Yuri as Yuri loses faith in the system and Spider-Man after the trouble they had in bringing down Hammerhead, whereas Peter is horrified to see Yuri go off the drop end, becoming a murderous vigilante.]]
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Republic hero Carth Onasi was scarred when his mentor and idol, Saul Karath, turned out to be working for the Sith. He retains a deep mistrust of all Jedi, and [[TheReveal the revelation]] that the player character [[spoiler:is the amnesiac Darth Revan, former commander of the Sith rebellion]] doesn't help matters.

--->"I used to think the world of Lady Rhea. Now I'm terrified of her."

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': [[spoiler:Albus]] is this to Revello Forsythe. Once a friend of both Forsythe and Geoffrey Azelhart and [[spoiler:Captain of the city watch, Albus]] was [[EvilPaysBetter privately frustrated that his honour wasn't earning him as much money as he would have liked]], and [[spoiler:eventually [[FaceHeelTurn switched sides]] to [[TheSyndicate the Obsidians]] in secret. [[EvilFormerFriend He would become one of the three Crow Men who murdered Geoffrey]] for [[HeKnowsTooMuch finding out]] about [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Gate of Finis]], top-secret information to the Obsidians. Albus then pulled a FakingTheDead deception, tricking the residents of Noblecourt, Forsythe included, into believing he had died with honour resisting the Obsidians.]] In the present, the late Geoffrey's daughter Primrose Azelhart, accompanied by Forsythe, infiltrate the Right-hand Crow's lair, only to discover his true identity as [[spoiler:Albus]]. Naturally, Forsythe does not take TheReveal at all well.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''

** Present in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' with [[spoiler:N finding out that he's nothing but a brainwashed child soldier and that his father Ghestis is intent on banning Pokemon use so Team Plasma can "liberate" them all and use their power to conquer Unova]].

** In ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'', Rindo is a fan of Motoi, an online influencer known as [=An0ther=]. While Rindo and Motoi are on opposing teams in [[DeadlyGame the Reapers' Game]], there aren't any hard feelings between them, and Rindo considers teaming up with Motoi. By the end of the second week, though, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Motoi was manipulating Rindo in a bid to become a Reaper, and he plagiarized his content from other people.]]

* In ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'', [[spoiler:Captain Blue]] turns out to be one for Joe, after he reveals himself as the BigBad. However, [[spoiler:After Blue has a HeelFaceTurn it seems Joe regains respect for him again]].

* In ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'', [[spoiler:Captain Blue]] turns out to be one for Joe, after he reveals himself as the BigBad.
** However, [[spoiler:After Blue has a HeelFaceTurn it seems Joe regains respect for him again]].

* In ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'', Rindo is a fan of Motoi, an online influencer known as [=An0ther=]. While Rindo and Motoi are on opposing teams in [[DeadlyGame the Reapers' Game]], there aren't any hard feelings between them, and Rindo considers teaming up with Motoi. By the end of the second week, though, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Motoi was manipulating Rindo in a bid to become a Reaper, and he plagiarized his content from other people.]]

** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', Connor eventually learns that [[spoiler:George Washington and not Charles Lee was behind the razing of his village Kanatahséton and thus the death of his mother -- and just ordered a new attack on it, to exterminate his people and salt the earth]]. Although Connor [[spoiler:isn't fooled by how thick Haytham lays on the disdain]], Connor's relationship with [[spoiler:Washington]] never really recovers even after [[spoiler:he prevents the attack by killing off Washington's messengers]].
** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'', Arno had considered Napoleon a friend in the main campaign, falling for Napoleon's charm. In the Dead Kings DLC, he becomes even more bitter upon overhearing Napoleon's conceited speeches and witnessing how ruthless he really is.

** In the new timeline, the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' [[spoiler:have sapped the faith Raiden had for the Elder Gods, so he begins to see them as more burden than help, considering they did nothing to stop Shao Kahn or Shinnok, both of whom regarded them as "toothless worms" and spineless cowards. This is clearly evident in TheStinger for ''MKX'', [[PayEvilUntoEvil where he decides to take matters into his own hands]] by [[KickTheSonOfABitch reducing Shinnok to a mere living head]] and [[KnightTemplar using a more hard-line stance]] on defending Earthrealm from external threats.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' has [[spoiler:Super Hero Aurum]], beloved by humans (and some demons) and idolized by Almaz. By the end of the game, you discover that he [[spoiler:has gone out of his way to make Mao into the most horrible villain imaginable, trying to manipulate him into ''attacking the human world'', simply out of boredom from having no "worthy" opponents. And when this fails thanks to the PowerOfFriendship, even the demons of the party call him out for his blatantly villainous actions, with Mao declaring cowardly Almaz a far more superior hero than Aurum.]]
* A minor example in ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten''; "Angel of Avarice" Vulcanus is more than a little put out when she realizes that the Archangel she admires [[spoiler:is none other than the flaky otaku Flonne, who used the money Vulcanus collected to build a giant robot.]]
* PlayedForLaughs in the post-game of ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'': [[spoiler: Once Void Dark's reasons for his actions are laid bare for all to see, Majorita is shocked to realize that the fear conqueror she admired is nothing more than a thug with a literally insane sister complex.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, this applies to (in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'') [[spoiler:most of the Begnion senators]], and (in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'') [[spoiler:the god that most of the populace worshipped]]. There are also [[InvertedTrope inversions]]: Micaiah dismisses Sothe's constant praise of Ike as exaggerated at best, while Soren describes Micaiah, not without reason, as the figurehead of a zealous fanatic movement. When they all team up in the finale, they see that all the praise really is warranted.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''
** Dedue, Dimitri's retainer, admired Gilbert, a knight in the service of the Kingdom of Faerghus, and saw him as a role model. In their supports, however, Dedue expresses disgust for Gilbert's abandoning the kingdom in shame over his [[MyGreatestFailure failure to stop the Tragedy of Duscur]], believing he doesn't live up to the stories Dimitri told him. Dedue has a more amicable relationship with Gilbert in their B support, but the lack of an A support or a paired ending implies that Dedue never completely regained his respect for Gilbert.
** [[PlayerCharacter Byleth's]] father Jeralt formerly served in the Knights of Seiros under the church's archbishop Rhea, who saved his life. However, he left the Knights around the time his child was born, since he noticed that Byleth lacked a heartbeat and didn't even cry, and Rhea refused to give clear answers to his questions. He returns to the Knights of Seiros just after the game begins, but is clearly wary of Rhea [[spoiler:until his death late in Part 1]]. He sums up his relationship with Rhea in his diary, [[spoiler:which Byleth reads after his death]].

** Atris has this attitude towards a female Exile, having idolised her prior to the Mandalorian Wars.