History DethroningMoment / VideoGames

* Tropers/LucaEarlgrey: ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 5': True Mastermind Edition': For all the game's weird reveals, the one that sticks out out like a sore thumb to me is when Keith Martin, player-1 character of ''Time Crisis II'', reveals that Robert, player-2 character of the same game who's become the BigBad of this game, murdered Christy Ryan, the VSSE's internal auditor and DamselInDistress from ''Time Crisis II'', ''and'' that Christy was Keith's girlfriend at the time. At that point, my WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief went out the window, because as a professional crisis-solving armed organization that has solved some pretty nasty incidents like a coup (first game), a KillSat launch (''Time Crisis II''), one nation invading another (''Time Crisis 3''), and a rogue branch of the U.S. military almost nuking the entire country (''Time Crisis 4''), ''surely'' the VSSE must have anti-[[InappropriatelyCloseComrades fraternization]] policies in place? There was no prior hint that Keith and Christy were dating and it just seems like a bad way to add more tragedy to legacy characters (i.e. "oh no, my old partner killed our mutual coworker, ''oh and'' that mutual coworker was my girlfriend").

* Tropers/LucaEarlgrey: ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 5'': I didn't mind the out-of-nowhere reveal that ''Time Crisis II'' player-2 character Robert Baxter is the traitor, what I find inexcusable is when Keith Martin, player-1 character of that same game, reveals that Robert murdered Christy Ryan, the VSSE's internal auditor and DamselInDistress from ''Time Crisis II'', ''and'' that Christy was Keith's girlfriend at the time. At that point, my WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief went out the window, because as a professional crisis-solving armed organization that has solved some pretty nasty incidents like a coup (first game), a KillSat launch (''Time Crisis II''), one nation invading another (''Time Crisis 3''), and a rogue branch of the U.S. military almost nuking the entire country (''Time Crisis 4''), ''surely'' the VSSE must have anti-[[InappropriatelyCloseComrades fraternization]] policies in place? There was no prior hint that Keith and Christy were dating and it just seems like a bad way to add more tragedy to legacy characters (i.e. "oh no, my old partner killed our mutual coworker, ''oh and'' that mutual coworker was my girlfriend").

* Tropers/LucaEarlgrey: ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 5'': I didn't mind the out-of-nowhere reveal that ''Time Crisis II'' player-2 character Robert Baxter is the traitor, what I find inexcusable is when Keith Martin, player-1 character of that same game, reveals that Robert murdered Christy Ryan, the VSSE's internal auditor and DamselInDistress from ''Time Crisis II'', ''and'' that Christy was Keith's girlfriend at the time. At that point, my WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief went out the window, because as a professional crisis-solving armed organization that has solved some pretty nasty incidents like a coup (first game), a KillSat launch (''Time Crisis II''), one nation invading another (''Time Crisis 3''), and a rogue branch of the U.S. military almost nuking the entire country (''Time Crisis 4''), ''surely'' the VSSE must have anti-[[InappropriatelyCloseComrades fraternization]] policies in place? There was no prior hint that Keith and Christy were dating and it just seems like a bad way to add more tragedy to legacy characters (i.e. "oh no, this coworker died, ''oh and'' she was my girlfriend").

* Tropers/LucaEarlgrey: ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 5'': I didn't mind the out-of-nowhere reveal that ''Time Crisis II'' player-2 character Robert Baxter is the traitor, what I find inexcusable is when Keith Martin, player-1 character of that same game, reveals that Robert murdered Christy Ryan, the VSSE's internal auditor and DamselInDistress from ''Time Crisis II'', ''and'' that Christy was Keith's girlfriend at the time. At that point, my WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief went out the window, because as a professional crisis-solving armed organization that has solved some pretty nasty incidents like a coup (first game), a KillSat launch (''Time Crisis II''), one nation invading another (''Time Crisis 3''), and a rogue branch of the U.S. military almost nuking the entire country (''Time Crisis 4''), ''surely'' the VSSE must have anti-[[InappropriatelyCloseComrades fraternization]] policies in place? There was no prior hint that Keith and Christy were dating and it just seems like a bad way to add more tragedy to legacy characters.

* Tropers/AlmightyKingPrawn: As a little kid I loved watching my brother play VideoGame/BanjoKazooie and Tooie on the his UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. Needless to say, 5-year-old me was extremely excited for Nuts & Bolts to come out. (This being the early days of the internet where you couldn't look up games easily and had to just buy them.) So we turned the game on to see a fat and depressed Banjo and Kazooie, a joke that didn't really land all too well. They see Gruntilda and they're about to fight: finally, the game's starting! We're gonna have so much fun and [[WorldOfSnark snark]]! And then this dumbass who calls himself the "Lord of Games" comes in, says they're outdated and no one likes them anymore, and forces them in cars. Being as young as I was, that scene genuinely broke my heart. I still think about it a lot. Poor me became a borderline StepfordSmiler, desperately waiting alongside my brother for a Banjo-Threeie that never came. All I can say is thank God for VideoGame/{{S|uperSmashBrosUltimate}}mash.

* Tropers/{{Redhead64}}: When I completed the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version of ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife: The Next Chapter'' I began to wish I hadn't. Why? Because of the ending. In short, what it shows is that [[spoiler: the whole thing was AllJustADream of minor character Mike, and everyone else (save for Heather) [[DreamApocalypse no longer exists]]. All those characters and towns I saved over the course of two games and You just erase them all from existence?!]] This is how you end the series?! It's quite possibly the most [[MoodDissonance jarring, infuriating]], [[TearJerker depressing]] and [[ShootTheShaggyDog pointless]] ending I've ever laid my eyes upon! At least there's [[http://wattledee11.deviantart.com/art/DTL-2-Alt-Ending-Challenge-142002855 fanfiction]]...

* Tropers/MathsAngelicVersion: I'm a long-time ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fan, but I can't stand the story of ''[[VideoGame/TouhouKikeijuuWilyBeastAndWeakestCreature Wily Beast and Weakest Creature]]''. If I have to point to one moment that ruins it, it's when it's revealed what you're actually fighting for: you're being tricked into helping an alliance of animal spirits who believe that the strong have the right to abuse and enslave the weak. This twist would have been fine if it led to the protagonist rebelling against the animal spirits, but nope. The rest of the game has them making you fight Keiki, a god who tried to protect the victims of their cruel and unjust system. While the story is annoyingly unclear about her exact morality,[[note]]According to the manual, her idols ended up oppressing the very victims she was trying to help (and the way it's described is an obnoxiously cynical subversion of the power of altruism), and her trying to take over the whole Animal Realm is questionable, but she ultimately seems like a WellIntentionedExtremist. And good intentions is reason enough for me to like her more than the monsters she's up against.[[/note]] no interpretation is appealing in the slightest because of how utterly unlikable the animal spirits are. If a Keiki victory would improve things, I obviously don't want to be forced to fight her, and if it would just lead to the destruction of the Animal Realm, it still doesn't work for me because [[TooBleakStoppedCaring I have absolutely no interest in saving that awful place full of awful people]].

* [=SorPepita=]: ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' is and probably will always be my favourite videogame story of all time, but I believe they screwed up royally when retconning Daisy Fitzroy's motivation. Before the retcon, she was an excellent example of how one person can fight monsters while still being a monster herself, and anyone who doesn't think so can find plenty of examples in history (and there is one which greatly resembles Daisy's MoralEventHorizon of attempting the murder of an innocent kid in spite of what started as a noble crusade: Tsarism was hideous and revolting against it was fully justified, but the Revolution ended up killing Nicholas II's children, including 14-year old Alexei). But plenty of people complained that the Daisy they knew would never do such a thing (despite all previous interaction with her amounting to a single cutscene), and so in ''Burial in Sea'' we learn that it was all a plan to motivate Elizabeth into destroying Comstock. Apparently being kidnapped and tortured by him for the purpose of turning her into the Lamb who would destroy the Sodom Below wasn't motivating enough. Yeah, the new Daisy makes oh so much more sense.

* Animeking1108: As much as I enjoyed ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange,'' Chloe's behavior was often a sour spot for me. However, what really annoyed me was in episode 1 when David confronts her about his missing gun and then notices her pot. If the player fails to hide, Chloe will [[DirtyCoward immediately blame Max for the weed]]. If the player either denies it or if they succeeded in hiding, David will slap Chloe after one-too-many disrespectful comments. If the decision ends up being final, David is [[DesignatedVillain painted as the bad guy for disciplining Chloe]], and she will [[EntitledBastard blame Max for not having her back]]. First off, if Max hid, it was her fault in the first place for telling her to hide. Second off, if Max didn't hide, Chloe had no right to throw Max under the bus to save her own skin and blame her for what happened. Third, Chloe was doing drugs, and as the game later reveals, [[spoiler: stole a gun]], [[DesignatedHero both of which are illegal]], which only [[StrawmanHasAPoint justifies David's actions even more]]. Despite all that, the game has the audacity to [[YouMonster guilt-trip the player]] for letting that [[BrattyTeenageDaughter smartass]] [[TheStoner junkie]] [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic get some well-needed karma for her actions]].

Near the end of the main route, [[spoiler:Sunny tries to stop his former friend Basil from killing himself. But Basil remains in denial about Sunny's AccidentalMurder of the latter's sister Mari, and both boys hallucinate and break down, physically fighting each other in desperation. Sunny tries to calm himself down, but it doesn't work like it did before, and Basil ends up stabbing Sunny in the eye. In short, Basil doesn't take to Sunny's help. He [[MindRape wrests all agency from Sunny's mind]], cripples his body for life, and makes them both collapse helplessly on the floor. Some people see this as a climactic consequence of Basil's toxic positivity, or a lead-in to a message of how love and friendship are more powerful than past trauma. But this being a violation of Sunny's safety and trust, combined with the fact that all alternatives involve Sunny's friend (whom I can't see as his actual best friend) dying by suicide, and that all responsibility is seemingly forced on Sunny for a mess that occurred of no one's fault,]] I find this deeply anxiety-inducing and degrading instead.

* Miracle @ St. Olaf: The way ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' resolves the conflict between Max and Serrano is just awful in every direction. Serrano had taken a flying leap over the MoralEventHorizon by murdering an innocent, helpless woman in cold blood, and yet the writers somehow expected us to [[CryForTheDevil pity and root for him]] once he runs afoul of another, slightly nastier villain and gets tortured. Well, boo-fucking-hoo, Rockstar; the guy's a remorseless killer and he earned his bad karma legitimately. Further rubbing salt in the wound is that Max frees Serrano, allows him to take revenge on the doctor who was torturing him, and then... he just lets the guy go. Remember, seeing women get hurt is one of Max's biggest {{Berserk Button}}s. He fled from New York to Brazil in the first place because he killed a mobster's son, without a second of hesitation, for the act of hitting a woman. Not only does he completely forget about what Serrano did to Fabiana, but his internal narration even has him admiring the evil fucker and hoping he survived (Though the fact that the building that he was in completely collapsed thankfully means there was practically zero chance of him surviving, but of course they NeverFoundTheBody). If Max suddenly being okay with violence against women was supposed to be some attempt at CharacterDevelopment, then I have to say Rockstar's creative team are even worse at writing than Joe Hazelwood was at captaining an oil tanker. Nevermind all the {{Fanservice}} in video games; if you want a compelling example of real misogyny in the medium, look no further.

* Tropers/Loekman3: I can't help but roll my eyes in ''VideoGame/DisneyDreamlightValley'' when it turns that The Forgetting's dimensional tear will shatter all of reality and not just the Dreamlight Valley itself. Like I get it, they want to show us the stakes of the crisis but having it threaten everything outside of our Valley and the Realm surrounding is completely unnecessary especially in a work like this when just those is already enough for us to understand the weight of the threat.

* Tropers/MasterN: Today on "Master N rants about endings he hates", we're looking at ''VideoGame/SacredEarthAlternative'', in which you play as Konoe in her search to find her memories and save what little is left of the world, and the story is fairly intriguing, though not without some problems. So you get to the end and fight the FinalBoss... and [[spoiler:even if you win, she kills Kuroe and destroys the world anyway, and brings about an implied HappyEndingOverride for ''Promise'']]. OK, a lot of RPG games have MultipleEndings, so clearly that's the bad end and the player has to go back and do something to trigger the GoldenEnding. So you go fight the {{Superboss}} and unlock the TrueFinalBoss fight, and what's your reward for all that hard work? '''The exact same depressing ending, with ONE additional scene added that's nothing but a {{Cliffhanger}}.''' As I have stated on my troper page, there is no worse ending for a video game than one that ends by [[ShootTheShaggyDog invalidating the player's efforts]], and the fact that the game teases you with an alternate ending only for it to be essentially the same ending with one minor difference feels like a giant middle finger to any players who got through the game's challenges. Basically, it's ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'''s ending all over again[[note]]There's a damn good reason that game's ending is on Creator/JoshScorcher's "Top 10 Worst Endings" (in video games)[[/note]], and is so bad that it killed my interest in the series going forward, because I do not want to stick around if it's gonna do this again.

*** In this episode, you play as an attorney defending [[BitchInSheepsClothing Bridget]] in Angie's murder trial [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs (whose ghost advises you,]] [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext for some reason)]]. Just through watching [[WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} slowbeef & Diabetus']] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVlt_F62Pao&list=PLzaxOQM7-ZIJNeFWyLAuc2faGXrlJ7wAY footage,]] you know that your character [[KangarooCourt is shat upon at every opportunity.]]

* Tropers/MathsAngelicVersion: I'm a long-time ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fan, but I can't stand the story of ''VideoGame/WilyBeastAndWeakestCreature''. If I have to point to one moment that ruins it, it's when it's revealed what you're actually fighting for: you're being tricked into helping an alliance of animal spirits who believe that the strong have the right to abuse and enslave the weak. This twist would have been fine if it led to the protagonist rebelling against the animal spirits, but nope. The rest of the game has them making you fight Keiki, a god who tried to protect the victims of their cruel and unjust system. While the story is annoyingly unclear about her exact morality,[[note]]According to the manual, her idols ended up oppressing the very victims she was trying to help (and the way it's described is an obnoxiously cynical subversion of the power of altruism), and her trying to take over the whole Animal Realm is questionable, but she ultimately seems like a WellIntentionedExtremist. And good intentions is reason enough for me to like her more than the monsters she's up against.[[/note]] no interpretation is appealing in the slightest because of how utterly unlikable the animal spirits are. If a Keiki victory would improve things, I obviously don't want to be forced to fight her, and if it would just lead to the destruction of the Animal Realm, it still doesn't work for me because [[TooBleakStoppedCaring I have absolutely no interest in saving that awful place full of awful people]].

*** What helps soften the blow is that [[spoiler: based on dialogue from Joker, Strange, and Scarecrow about Batman bottling up his feelings suggests that Joker is really a split personality Batman made, that was briefly woken up by the Toxin of the first game and briefly appeared after beating Mr. Freeze. Though the game itself is suggesting that Joker came back from beyond thanks to Batman's blood infection, which honestly feels like cheating; not only did the series have a record of DoingInTheWizard, giving actual reasons for seemingly supernatural events, but ''Knight'' was trying to be even more realistic, removing Bane and the Titan forumla. That and Batman is not a magic hero.]]

* Grotadmorv: I've played a few ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' ROM hacks, and ''Hack'' is one of my favorite series. When ''Hack 5'' released, I enjoyed it until I reached the final level. The game [[FilibusterFreefall randomly turns into political commentary]] and has Donald Trump appear in a cutscene. The rest of the level is set inside his phone, complete with insulting messages and enemies with Trump heads. This is really out-of-place for the series (which has never had real people in it before, let alone presidents), and I was completely dissatisfied with turning a fun series of ROM hacks into a lame insult towards Trump.

Near the end of the main route, [[spoiler:Sunny tries to stop his former friend Basil from killing himself. But Basil remains in denial about Sunny's AccidentalMurder of the latter's sister Mari, and both boys hallucinate and break down, physically fighting each other desperately. Sunny tries to calm himself down, but it doesn't work like it did before, and Basil ends up stabbing Sunny in the eye. In short, Basil doesn't take to Sunny's help. He [[MindRape wrests all agency from Sunny's mind]], cripples his body for life, and makes them both collapse helplessly on the floor. Some people see this as a climactic consequence of Basil's toxic positivity, or a lead-in to a message of how love and friendship are more powerful than past trauma. But this being a violation of Sunny's safety and trust, combined with the fact that all alternatives involve Sunny's friend (whom I can't see as his actual best friend) dying by suicide, and that all responsibility is seemingly forced on Sunny for a mess that occurred of no one's fault,]] I find this deeply anxiety-inducing and degrading instead.

* Tropers/{{dynamicDiscovery}}: A few months or so after I played ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'', I [[AngstAversion really couldn't bear the taste left by it]], but I'm only able to get into something more specific than that. I will make one thing crystalline clear, though: this game is not for me. I played it outside my comfort zone in terms of how I should consume media, but my developed idea of what media I should consume is still not something ''OMORI'' was written with in mind. It was written for fans of offbeat, ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}-''esque {{Dramed|y}}ies. I was attracted to the content nonetheless, so my word should be taken as constructive criticism to make of at least in some way.\\

* Tropers/{{dynamicDiscovery}}: A few months or so after I played ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'', I [[AngstAversion really couldn't bear the taste left by it]], but I'm only able to get into something more specific than that. I do need to make something crystalline clear beforehand: this game is not for me. I played it outside my comfort zone in terms of how I should consume media, but my developed idea of what media I should consume is still not something ''OMORI'' was written with in mind. It was written for fans of offbeat, ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}-''esque {{Dramed|y}}ies. I was attracted to the content nonetheless, so my word should be taken as constructive criticism to make of at least in some way.\\

Near the end of the main route, [[spoiler:Sunny tries to stop his former friend Basil from killing himself. But Basil remains in denial about Sunny's AccidentalMurder of the latter's sister Mari, and both boys hallucinate and break down, physically fighting each other desperately. Sunny tries to calm himself down, but it stops working unlike before, and Basil ends up stabbing Sunny in the eye. In short, Basil doesn't take to Sunny's help. He [[MindRape wrests all agency from Sunny's mind]], cripples his body for life, and makes him collapse helplessly on the floor. Some people see this as a climactic consequence of Basil's toxic positivity, as well as something that leads into a message of how love and friendship are more powerful than past trauma. But this being a violation of Sunny's safety and trust, combined with the fact that all alternatives involve Sunny's friend (whom I can't see as his actual best friend) dying by suicide, and that all responsibility is seemingly forced on Sunny for a mess that occurred of no one's fault,]] I find this deeply anxiety-inducing and degrading instead.

* Tropers/{{dynamicDiscovery}}: A few months or so after I played ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'', I really couldn't bear the taste left by it, but I'm only able to get into something more specific than that. One thing I'll make crystalline clear beforehand: ''OMORI'' is not for me. I played it outside my comfort zone in terms of how I should consume media, but my developed idea of what media I should consume still isn't something this game was written with in mind. It was written for fans of offbeat, ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}-''esque {{Dramed|y}}ies. I was attracted to the content nonetheless, so my word should be taken as constructive criticism to make of at least in some way.\\

Near the end of the main route, [[spoiler:Sunny tries to stop his former friend Basil from killing himself. But Basil remains in denial about Sunny's AccidentalMurder of the latter's sister Mari, and both boys hallucinate and break down, physically fighting each other desperately. Sunny tries to calm himself down, but it stops working unlike before, and Basil ends up stabbing Sunny in the eye. In short, Basil doesn't take to Sunny's help. He wrests all agency from Sunny's mind, cripples his body for life, and makes him collapse helplessly on the floor. Some people see this as a climactic consequence of Basil's toxic positivity, as well as something that leads into a message of how love and friendship are more powerful than past trauma. But this being a violation of Sunny's safety and trust, combined with the fact that all alternatives involve Sunny's friend (whom I can't see as his actual best friend) dying by suicide, and that all responsibility is seemingly forced on Sunny for a mess that occurred of no one's fault,]] I find this deeply degrading and anxiety-inducing instead.

** Tropers/AjWargo: Allow me to properly explain what Killerweinerdog’s Dethroning Moment is. After a boss fight with the game’s antagonist, Joseph Seed, one of the most loathsome and deplorable villains I have ever seen in a video game, it looks like you and your allies are finally going to send him to jail. Happy ending, right? Nope! Out of nowhere, a fucking NUKE goes off. How? Who would want to nuke a backwater part of Montana? And though you and your team tries to escape, your car crashes and Joseph drags you off to a bunker where he murders the mission control offscreen and makes it clear that he intends to brainwash you. Not to mention I think the whole radio broadcasts open up a plothole, since the game said that Joseph and his equally horrible siblings shut off all communication with the outside world, so that should include any outside broadcasts like news reports! And you know what else is stupid? Apparently, what causes global relations to break down is… Foreign terror attacks. Really? Since when did fucking terror attacks cause global tensions to rise? This backlash was so bad that they had to make [[VideoGame/FarCryNewDawn a sequel]] where it’s revealed that some people did escape the nuking and Joseph finally gets his comeuppance, but, since this nuking was on a global scale, we don’t know what happened to the rest of the world! What happened to Jason or Ajay? Fortunately, it seems as if Ubisoft realized the massive screw up they made and have retconned the whole thing. They’re either claiming Joseph was just hallucinating and no nukes were fired and he was properly arrested, or that "only" Montana was nuked. You decide which one you think is better, but I’m going with the former, and I hope that any re-releases of this game choose to change this ending, too.