History JerkassWoobie / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'' has Ryuzo, the prideful leader of the Straw Hat Ronin and childhood friend of Jin Sakai. Yes, he does betray Jin by joining the Mongols who are invading Tsushima and inadvertently causes the death of [[spoiler:Yuna's brother]], but it wasn't a very easy choice for him to make. After all, he's only a mercenary ronin struggling to keep his group of ronin together after losing their leader and a good number of their men on Komoda Beach, and all his attempts at keeping them fed fail miserably. He's also shown to instantly regret changing sides after [[spoiler:Khotun Khan forces him to burn a hostage to force the defenders of Castle Shimura to make them open the gates]]. It's also established that the main reason why Ryuzo is a mercenary is because Jin had defeated him in a tournament that, had Ryuzo won, could have allowed him to become a full-fledged samurai and improve his own life. Ultimately, all of it turns out to be for nothing, as Jin ends up killing all of the Straw Hat ronin before [[spoiler:killing Ryuzo himself.]]

* [[TroubledButCute Fenris]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' won't pass up an opportunity to remind everyone how horrible and dangerous mages are and how magic spoils everything it touches. He happens to be an escaped slave from a country run by power-hungry mages and lost his memory of everything that happened before the ritual that gave him his lyrium markings (which amplify his fighting abilities at the cost of causing him pain and [[HatesBeingTouched an aversion to touching]]), so mages being horrible is literally all he knows of life before his escape. He has trouble adjusting to freedom, in part because his former master is still after him. He's illiterate, sucks at social interaction, justifiably paranoid, has trust issues, and often lets his temper get the better of him, for which he tends to apologize afterward. He also treats the mages in the party like crap; this is somewhat justified with Anders, as the story progresses, who is just as much of an ass, but he berates Merrill ceaselessly at the worst possible moments. Romancing him and helping him get over these issues is one of the many heartwarming moments in the game.

* ''VideoGame/TheTuringTest'': TOM. While he's supremely arrogant and dismissive of human intelligence and reasoning, to the point of [[spoiler: considering [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill mind-controlling humans to be doing them a favour]], and feeling perfectly justified in imprisoning the cew on Europa for the rest of their lives or killing them rather than letting them escape]], it's impossible to not feel sorry for him during either of the endings. Either he [[spoiler: ends up killing someone he regarded as a friend, leaving him shocked and seemingly unable to believe that she's really dead,]] or he [[spoiler: can't bring himself to kill her, and ''she'' kills ''him'' instead, even as he pleads with her that he's not ready to die.]] Either way, and regardless of whether you agree with his reasoning, it's clear that the combination of his programming and events on Europa have put him in a situation where he feels that he has no good choices.

* Basically '''everyone''' in ''VideoGame/Drakengard''
** Caim has killed child soldiers, kicked innocent people in the face, and overall has an absolutely absurd amount of murderous rage. Also literally watched his parents get eaten alive in front of him when he was, and has been fighting to protect his sister and home for most of his life. And that's just the background details

* Robloxian Myth Hunters: Nims (https://robloxianmythhunters.fandom.com/wiki/Nims), just Nims. Sure, he maybe based on SCP-096, but all he ever wants is just wants the child he is attached to to be happy and has to kill players in real life if they bully, hurt or harm them. Kinda sad if you think about it.

** The main "[[AntiHero protagonist]]", Ragna the Bloodedge, qualifies as well. Though he does have his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold good sides]] [[PetTheDog and moments]], he is for the most part rude, foul mouthed, verbally abusive and is perfectly willing to kill any and all innocent {{Punch Clock Villain}}s that get in his way on his quest to bring down the NOL... In fact, it could be argued that the only thing keeping him from being an AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]] is the fact that 1) the ''real'' [[BigBadDuumvirate villains]] in the VideoGame/BlazBlue-verse are ''MUCH'' [[LackOfEmpathy worse]] than Ragna could ''EVER'' be, and 2) the most active of the {{Big Bad}}s have seemingly made Ragna his designated victim, and has put lots of effort into fucking Ragna's life up as badly as possible. For example by possessing the earlier mentioned Jin, Ragna's little brother, and, through Jin, cutting off Ragna's right arm.

* [[spoiler:Flowey, aka Asriel Dreemurr]] in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. In the neutral path, he's just a ginormous {{jerk}}, but if you walk either of the other paths, you learn in great detail ''why'' -- [[spoiler:he was brutally murdered as a child for refusing to fight back against his attackers, then unintentionally resurrected as a flower without a SOUL, unable to feel kindness or love as a result]]. In the Pacifist route, [[spoiler:he briefly goes back to being his normal self, allowing him to tearfully apologize for what he's done-- made even more sad because he ''knows'' this state is temporary, and soon he'll go back to being the [=SOULless=] asshole he was all game]], and in the Genocide route, [[spoiler:you become an ''even worse'' monster than he ever was, and-- controlled by your determination to empty the underground of its inhabitants and the corrupted spirit of his deceased adoptive sibling-- and if you make that final move, you brutally slaughter him ''just because you can'']].

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'': While how sympathetic James is is a matter of debate amongst fans, there is no doubt about the plight of these two characters he meets on his journey through Silent Hill:

** Maria is a tulpa of Mary Shepherd-Sunderland who shares her memories, personality, and attachments, and unlike Pyramid Head, is an independent entity on at least some level. When she discovers the truth about her nature as a torture implement created by Silent Hill, she nearly shoots herself before accepting her destiny in the hopes of earning James' love. She meets up with him only to get separated from him later, and sobs when she finds him again. Throughout the game, she is killed repeatedly by Pyramid Head before facing off with James and attempting to kill him when he rejects her. Once she's at his mercy, all she can do is repeat his name over and over again. To drive the nail in further, it's implied that even though she got what she wanted from him, she is about to suffer the same fate as Mary.

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has its BigBad Cia. Prior to the events of the game, Cia was originally a kind person who served as the Guardian of Time, watching over the Triforce and the different time periods. During which, she fell in love with Link's reincarnating spirit even though he was eternally bound to the spirit of Princess Zelda. The feelings of doubt this created left her vulnerable to [[spoiler:Ganondorf's corruption]], which drove her insane with jealousy and caused her to declare war on Hyrule in a massive attempt to MurderTheHypotenuse. As the game progresses, she goes to increasingly desperate measures, even going so far as to [[CastFromLifespan use her own life force to bolster her magic]], knowing full well this would kill her. [[spoiler:And indeed it does]].

* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLadTwilightOfTheSpirits'':
** Darc is probably the biggest. He was half human and half Deimos. Unlike his brother, Kharg, was unable to hide that he is half human so he was considered a Deimos wannabe. His father dies, and he has to bury him himself. He is then taken in by Geedo and treated as a slave, and treated like crap by the local Orcon. He finally starts to get a friend in the form of Delma, and even gets her brother Densimo to help. Geedo sells him out to the Drakyr, his wings are ripped off, Delma tries to save Darc's life only to be double crossed by the Drakyr, Densimo ''eats'' the pyron that he and Delma kept safe from them...then everyone just taunts him and tries to have him killed for being weak. While anyone would want to hug him...they'd want to squeeze him a little too hard when they see how he acts towards humans...
** Tatjana. Dilzweld essentially raises her, and when she manages to survive a Deimos attack, gets instead captured by the resistance and Dilzweld tosses her aside like a used tissue. The resistance will happily have her executed, and only the kindness of Kharg saves her from being sent to prison.
* Viconia from ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' is a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil drow]] outcast who can be a ''huge'' jerk towards your companions, especially [[TheWoobie Aerie]]. She's often harassed herself, both before and during the event of the game, mostly because of her [[FantasticRacism race]] rather than her attitude.

* In the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series:
** [[BlackMagicianGirl Morrigan]] of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has had no human contact except for her uncaring and sometimes cruel mother for her entire life and has spent a lot more time [[VoluntaryShapeshifting as an animal]] than as a human. Her trust issues and pragmatism-at-the-expense-of-compassion attitude follow naturally.
** [[TroubledButCute Fenris]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' won't pass up an opportunity to remind everyone how horrible and dangerous mages are and how magic spoils everything it touches. He happens to be an escaped slave from a country run by power-hungry mages and lost his memory of everything that happened before the ritual that gave him his lyrium markings (which amplify his fighting abilities at the cost of causing him pain and [[HatesBeingTouched an aversion to touching]]), so mages being horrible is literally all he knows of life before his escape. He has trouble adjusting to freedom, in part because his former master is still after him. He's illiterate, sucks at social interaction, justifiably paranoid, has trust issues, and often lets his temper get the better of him, for which he tends to apologize afterward. He also treats the mages in the party like crap; this is somewhat justified with Anders, as the story progresses, who is just as much of an ass, but he berates Merrill ceaselessly at the worst possible moments. Romancing him and helping him get over these issues is one of the many heartwarming moments in the game.
** Isabela is a milder example, her irresponsible temperament and resistance to attachment are depressingly well-justified by the backstory she reveals if Hawke romances her.
** In keeping with his [[NotSoDifferent remarkable similarities]] to Fenris, Anders can fall into this, especially if you played the ''Awakening'' DLC. Originally a surprisingly upbeat person given that an accident of birth had condemned him to a life of either captivity or flight, he'd managed to retain some semblance of ethics and a sense of humour. Then the Grey Wardens, the one group he thought had accepted him, took away his cat and mocked him for being "weak", he formed a permanent alliance with a spirit of Justice, which began to go a bit crazy on exposure to his barely repressed resentments, and moved to [[WretchedHive Kirkwall]], city slogan "Not Quite Hell On Thedas, But We're Trying". While many of his personal mannerisms are annoying and assholish - a significant percentage of his party-banter exchanges consist of him yelling at ''everyone'' for being less committed to mage freedom than he is - and his actions in the endgame are spoilerific but certainly not what we might call friendly, it's heartbreaking to see how he ended up where he did. There's even a significant group of fans who maintain that his endgame actions were entirely justified, but even if they weren't, it's not hard to see how he ended up in a place where they seemed to be.
* In the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series:
** Terry in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI''. It's implied that his loner nature and thirst for power are a result of [[spoiler:him and his sister having been sold into slavery.]]
** Doctor Zeppot from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' isn't exactly a nice man, but his backstory as to ''why'' he's a jackass makes him oddly sympathetic.

*** Shinon, dear god Shinon. [[FantasticRacism Racist]], RivalTurnedEvil to Ike. [[spoiler: Turns out he had some torrid love affair in the beginning when he was younger involving a Laguz and was very poor.]] The reason he betrays you and joins Daein? [[spoiler: Daein doesn't care about social status and didn't mind that he was a poor man who owes his life to Gawain/Greil.]]

*** Henry. The {{jerkass}} part comes from him being a SociopathicHero who joins in [[BloodKnight just to spill more blood]] since he couldn't fight in the former wars, and how he's [[BlueAndOrangeMorality more than a bit unhinged]] even after coming in. The Woobie part comes from his massive DarkAndTroubledPast, which has [[spoiler:ParentalAbandonment, being partially RaisedByWolves, the death of his OnlyFriend, a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, being sent to either an OrphanageOfFear (original Japanese) or a [[WizardingSchool Wizarding]] BoardingSchoolOfHorrors (international versions)]].

* Alma [[spoiler:Wade]] from ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon''. Sure, she's a psychotic {{Yandere}} that [[spoiler:tries and succeeds at raping you]], but she's also went through hell itself trying to save her children, and the flashbacks that we see of her past, where she's taken to the vault, are horrible.

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'':
*** Michael is seen as this by some fans when he actually trying to be a good father despite his [[VillainProtagonist questionable actions and criminal activity]]. Especially later parts of the game and his missions. The fact that his family (especially Jimmy) responds to all of his early attempts to be a good father by flinging insults at him and rubbing his face in his criminal past doesn't help.
*** Trevor Philips, who was, apparently, abused by both parents (probably sexually by his mother), was permanently grounded from the Air Force because he was mentally unstable, met his best friend, Michael, started drifting away from Michael before he was [[FakingTheDead apparently]] killed in a bank heist gone wrong, found out 10 years later that not only was Michael alive but living in the same state, meets up with him again, their relationship slowly frays more and more over the course of the game... and [[spoiler:2 of the 3 endings are downers for Trevor. In ending A, he's [[KillItWithFire burned alive]] and is KilledOffForReal. In ending B, Franklin kills Michael, meaning his dearest friend is dead and one of the few people Trevor completely trusted betrayed him, and he cuts off all contact with Franklin.]] Of course, there's still one way to get Trevor a sort of happy ending, but when all of that shit's happened to you, it's really not that surprising that Trevor became a [[AxCrazy batshit insane]] meth dealer/addict and black market weapons peddler.
*** Franklin. He was born in a BigScrewedUpFamily, was orphaned at a very young age, his friends are a bunch of incompetent idiots who live in the past, his aunt [[{{jerkass}} is an unpleasant woman]], and by the end of the game, he ends up being rich, but in the same way a lonely person with very few friends.
*** Michael's family as well, sure they may act like jerks a lot of the time, but he isn't exactly nice to them either and considering that he's a career criminal, you can't help but feel somewhat sorry for them for having put up with Michael's issues for so many years.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** [=DiZ=], a.k.a. [[spoiler:Ansem the Wise]]. He [[spoiler:gets betrayed by his apprentices, whom he loved like family, and thrust into a realm of nothingness that drove him half-mad. In his desire for revenge against his apprentices, he becomes a JerkAss and does many morally questionable things, and in the end, is overcome by guilt once he realizes this. To atone, he makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Kingdom Hearts from Xemnas. It doesn't kill him, but sends him to the realm of darkness, where he once again must endure a lonely period of banishment.]]
** Axel may also count, particularly in ''358/2 Days''. As an emotionless Nobody, he's fundamentally self-centered, and eventually loses Roxas's trust, but it can be sad seeing him watch Roxas walk away, claiming that no one in the Organization would miss him and, in the Secret Report for Day 357, [[spoiler:forgetting that Xion even existed as she dies]]. Then, of course, he tries to kill Roxas, and feels so bad about it later that he tries to bring Roxas back until, after realizing that this won't happen, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath he sacrifices himself]] so that Roxas's "true self", Sora, can succeed in his quest. [[spoiler:Axel returns in Dream Drop Distance as his somebody Lea as a protagonist, making him more of an IronWoobie.]]
** Also, Terra, toward the start of ''Birth By Sleep''. Not so much a jerkass as a [[WhatAnIdiot villain-trusting idiot]] who [[AesopAmnesia keeps doing the wrong thing]] and making you want to bitchslap him for it, while pitying him all the while. When he finally gets over these character defects, he becomes an IronWoobie instead.
** There's also, [[spoiler:Ienzo/Zexion, No. VI in the Organization and the youngest of Ansem the Wise's six disciples.]] The "Woobie" comes from [[spoiler:''Birth by Sleep'', where it's revealed that his parents were killed, with the now-orphaned (and [[TheVoiceless noticeably withdrawn]]) Ienzo living as Ansem's adopted son.]] The "Jerkass" comes from [[spoiler:banishing said father figure into the Realm of Nothingness after convincing him to continue experiments on the darkness in people's hearts and, later, attempting a MindScrew on Riku in ''Chain of Memories''. This makes his AlasPoorVillain moment (which is perhaps one of the most brutal deaths of the Organization members; instead of a straight up death sequence, ''Re:[=COM=]'' reworked his final moments to have a Riku Replica [[EnergyAbsorption suck out his lifeforce]]) even worse, as not only was his life [[DarkAndTroubledPast horrendously tragic]], but Zexion was seen to be [[UndyingLoyalty unquestionably loyal to the Organization's cause]] (regardless of their actions).]]
** Vexen in ''Chain of Memories'', who, despite being an arrogant, twisted MadScientist, dies a horrible death at the hands of Axel (either literatelly stabbed in the back or burned alive depending on which version of the game you're playing) all while ''begging for mercy''. Even Sora, who hated Vexen, is horrified and saddened by this.
** Saïx, given the [[spoiler:glimpses we've seen of him and Axel in the past (as their Somebodies, Isa and Lea - seen in ''[=BbS=]'')]], is another possible qualifier. And yes, he, too, had an AlasPoorVillain moment.
** Demyx is an infamous example. He's lazy, cowardly, funny, and would much rather play his sitar than do evil. Not a nice person, but not a mean one either. But when he finally gives in to his true, evil Nobody nature, he's killed by Sora, dying with a pitiful scream of "NO WAAAAAY!" and a sob.
** To round out the above Organization XIII examples, the (albeit seldom canonical) novels implies that Larxene went through a particularly depressing number of troubles concerning the matters of the heart, [[WildMassGuessing which could explain her sadistic nature]]. And even in actual, undeniable canon, Larxene's death is played [[AlasPoorVillain quite sadly.]] She's even played by Creator/YukoMiyamura, who voiced the poster girl of this trope!
* Herschell Biggs from ''VideoGame/LANoire''. He refuses to accept Cole as his partner [[spoiler:after his affair with Elsa got out]], but he begins to like him afterwards. It's just that during World War I, he has witnessed people burned and is close to retirement.
* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'':
** The church guy. He [[spoiler:locks you out of the safe room, and deliberately rings a bell to get the other survivors killed by a hoard of zombies,]] yet he's had such a rough time that you can't help but want to wrap him up in a blanket and give him a hug - especially as, at various times, he's almost sobbing his lines and obviously absolutely terrified. The poor guy also spends a lot of the time desperately trying to convince himself that he's immune. [[spoiler:He's not.]]
** A less traditional example might be the witch. A pathetic, sobbing heap...[[KillerRabbit until you get too close]].

* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series:
** Ganondorf in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', to a certain extent. Before that game, he was generally portrayed as a typical EvilOverlord. His speech before the final battle in ''Wind Waker'', however, shows that his desire to conquer Hyrule stemmed from the awfully harsh life he had in the unforgiving desert. [[spoiler:Any sympathy he gains from players, however, gets a little diluted when he subsequently proceeds to beat the crap out of Link in order to snatch the Triforce of Courage]].
** Scrapper from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is another example. He's generally very rude to Link, and unlike Midna, never really gets any nicer. However, he is the last remaining one of his species. The fact that he's blissfully unaware of this, though, may qualify him as a full on JerkAss.
** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has its BigBad Cia. Prior to the events of the game, Cia was originally a kind person who served as the Guardian of Time, watching over the Triforce and the different time periods. During which, she fell in love with Link's reincarnating spirit even though he was eternally bound to the spirit of Princess Zelda. The feelings of doubt this created left her vulnerable to [[spoiler:Ganondorf's corruption]], which drove her insane with jealousy and caused her to declare war on Hyrule in a massive attempt to MurderTheHypotenuse. As the game progresses, she goes to increasingly desperate measures, even going so far as to [[CastFromLifespan use her own life force to bolster her magic]], knowing full well this would kill her. [[spoiler:And indeed it does]].
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':
** A Renegade Shepard can be this. They're an asshole, but they have also been dead for 2 years, and if you picked Ash or Kaidan, they also get dumped. Poor Shepard. Oh, and Liara has...changed, which also has the ability to make him/her a Woobie.
** [[SuperSoldier Jack]]! ''Nothing'' in that woman's life has gone right, leading to us ''nearly'' forgetting that it's turned her into a SociopathicHero with a persecution complex. It's also worth mentioning that the player can effectively turn her into even more of a woobie. She has been used and abused all her life and believes that everyone in the galaxy is only interested in themselves and what they can get out of other people. If Shepard chooses the Renegade sex option when she confronts him, that just confirms her belief, meaning she will continue to forever circle the drain of self destruction, making the realization that you could have been her first true friend and yet refused so much worse.
** [[AlphaBitch Miranda]] is rude, harsh and cruel, especially towards the aforementioned Jack and is also a member of a racist terrorist organisation... She was also raised by an abusive father who would have killed her if she wasn't perfect and also [[spoiler: made it so she couldn't have children, which was what she most wanted]].

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series:
** Giygas from ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings'' is an alien that [[spoiler:loved Maria and she cared for him]]. However, he was forced to kill her when his people ordered an attack as vengeance on George stealing their PSI information.
** The end of ''VideoGame/Mother3'' implies this about [[spoiler:Porky]]. While being the main villain and an OmnicidalManiac who's doing it ForTheEvulz, [[spoiler:Dr. Andronuts believes that the fact that he lived his life knowing that everyone hates him made him the insecure PsychopathicManchild he was. In the end, a self-induced AndIMustScream is the only way he can be happy.]]

* A lot of the boxers are this in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' as most of them are smug but sympathetic, but the most prominent example of this trope comes from the TotallyRadical Super Macho Man. An AttentionWhore that pushes his fans and the referee aside when they happen to be in his way, his true colors start to show after he loses for Little Mac. All those fans go straight to Mac, and Super Macho Man can only express bitterness towards him as he plays more into being a {{Heel}}. With lines like "Why don't you love me?", it becomes obvious that all he wants is their approval.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'': Walter. As mentioned on the [[AntiVillain/VideoGames Anti-Villain page]], it's hard to decide whether or not you want to kill him because of what he did or because he needs to be put out of his misery.
* Agnes Crumplebottom from ''VideoGame/TheSims'' franchise. In the first game, she appears as an old spinster with very old-fashioned ideas of dating, hitting couples over the head with her purse if they showed any kind of affection in public. In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:her husband died shortly after they got married, something she never really got over.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
** While the fanbase is strongly split on her character, a decent number of ''Soul Calibur'' fans consider Tira to be this. Tira is a [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Woman-Child]] and MagnificentBitch extraordinaire, but certain elements to her character besides her sadism and manipulation of others causes some people to feel for her a little, particularly the AllThereInTheManual expansion of where she came from. Tira was trained to be an assassin since birth; training that involved killing her mother figure at a young age and being treated like an object by the other members of her organization. After the assassin's guild she was in fell apart, she tried to live a normal life, but snapped and killed her family, deciding she couldn't live with normal people and devoting herself to [[BigBad Nightmare]]. While in-game she's mostly used as TheDragon and TheCorrupter, there are some in-game hints that Tira is motivated not so much by sadism as by UndyingLoyalty so that she doesn't have to be alone; even after all she's done, her ending in IV where she ''begs'' the dying Nightmare not to leave her alone is still a very humanizing moment.
** Aeon Calcos, also known as Lizardman. While he's served as a minor villain and by ''Soul Calibur 5'' is a frightening man-eater with a case of RageAgainstTheHeavens, it's hard to find fault with ''why'' he hates the gods; he was a hero loyally fighting evil in Hephaestus's name before a rain of Soul Edge's power drove him temporarily insane and let priests of Ares turn him into a monster. Upon recovering his memories, Aeon is consumed with bitterness as he realizes his god abandoned him when he needed him the most, and is now caught between a man that wants revenge on the JerkAssGods and his bestial side, which wants to eat people. What makes it worse is nobody knows or cares that Aeon was a good man before outside forces turned him into a monster.
* Jamie Washington from ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Splinter Cell: Double Agent]]''. He has no real redeeming qualities, but he's just so trusting and devoted to Sam that it makes you feel bad for him knowing you'll, as a double agent, eventually kill him. Even his LastWords before being killed by Sam are to claim he knew Sam wasn't a traitor.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe has a few examples.

** [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Illidan Stormrage]] is a Type V {{Anti Hero}} at best and batshit insane, but his instability is the result of [[ThePunishment ten thousand years of imprisonment]] plus watching all of his attempts at heroism [[HeroWithAnFInGood backfiring horribly.]]

** [[spoiler:Jaina Proudmoore]] is heading toward this after ''Literature/TidesOfWar'' and Patch 5.1. Her ruthless devotion to fighting the enemy, such as [[spoiler:considering destroying Orgrimmar and expelling the Sunreavers from Dalaran]] gets her multiple WhatTheHellHero speeches from neutrals and members of the Alliance, [[EveryoneHasStandards even hard-liners like Varian]], and she often coldly brushes them off, sometimes while calling the people giving them cowards. However, not only did she lose [[spoiler:her entire city]], but she has had a history of fighting for peace, only to be let down or betrayed by virtually everyone else, making her bitterness understandable.

* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': The Covenants as a whole (excluding their parents) may fall into this category, but [[spoiler:Aaron]] is probably the most unambiguous example: [[spoiler:by all accounts he divided his time between doing nothing more sinister than painting pictures of Eternal Autumn and selling them to make a living and trying to keep Bethany away from the standing stones, and who was promptly horrifically tortured to death for his trouble, and who as a result had his spirit separated from his [[AndIMustScream still-living-and-eternally-dying body]] to act out the Undying King's wishes. He's]] certainly not pleasant to deal with in-game, but most signs point to [[spoiler:his]] being mostly innocent. [[spoiler:Jeremiah may or may not count as well.]]

* Gunther Hermann in ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. While he's a remorseless killing machine, much like his partner Anna Navarre, listening to his dialogue and poking into his e-mails reveals fears of being considered "obsolete" in comparison to nanoaugmented agents like Paul and JC Denton. JC Denton [[spoiler:killing Anna]] only reinforces this fear, driving him to swear [[spoiler:to hunt down JC]]. In the cathedral level, one can even find a journal whose author mentions having heard him crying once. [[spoiler:And it turns out, after you kill Gunther, that his superiors were playing on his feelings of inferiority.]]

* Sean "Sweet" Johnson from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. Yes, he is a gangster, who says, with pride in his voice, that he robbed people to finance his mother's operation. But all he wants is to build his gang on respect and loyalty rather than money, to keep his neighborhood dope-free and to wreak righteous vengeance on those who try to get his friends hooked on crack. He is betrayed by the people he trusted more than anyone and sent to prison, while said drug dealers run rampant in his absence, nearly sending him over the DespairEventHorizon. Oh, and both his mother and little brother were killed by drug dealers.
* Niko Bellic in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''. Sure, he is a career criminal, but we cannot forget that he is the GTA protagonist with the most tragic, awful and dark backstory. He witnessed several war crimes and horrors when he fought in the Yugoslav Wars such as child murder, mass murder and rape. After the war, he lived in extreme poverty, decided to contact a Russian mobster and things just got worse for him, he was blamed for the sinking of a ship and was chased by the Russian mafia all over Europe. In Liberty City, he committed crimes because of the circumstances and ends up losing a loved one.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'':
** Michael is seen as this by some fans when he actually trying to be a good father despite his [[VillainProtagonist questionable actions and criminal activity]]. Especially later parts of the game and his missions. The fact that his family (especially Jimmy) responds to all of his early attempts to be a good father by flinging insults at him and rubbing his face in his criminal past doesn't help.
** Trevor Philips, who was, apparently, abused by both parents (probably sexually by his mother), was permanently grounded from the Air Force because he was mentally unstable, met his best friend, Michael, started drifting away from Michael before he was [[FakingTheDead apparently]] killed in a bank heist gone wrong, found out 10 years later that not only was Michael alive but living in the same state, meets up with him again, their relationship slowly frays more and more over the course of the game... and [[spoiler:2 of the 3 endings are downers for Trevor. In ending A, he's [[KillItWithFire burned alive]] and is KilledOffForReal. In ending B, Franklin kills Michael, meaning his dearest friend is dead and one of the few people Trevor completely trusted betrayed him, and he cuts off all contact with Franklin.]] Of course, there's still one way to get Trevor a sort of happy ending, but when all of that shit's happened to you, it's really not that surprising that Trevor became a [[AxCrazy batshit insane]] meth dealer/addict and black market weapons peddler.
** Franklin. He was born in a BigScrewedUpFamily, was orphaned at a very young age, his friends are a bunch of incompetent idiots who live in the past, his aunt [[{{jerkass}} is an unpleasant woman]], and by the end of the game, he ends up being rich, but in the same way a lonely person with very few friends.
** Michael's family as well, sure they may act like jerks a lot of the time, but he isn't exactly nice to them either and considering that he's a career criminal, you can't help but feel somewhat sorry for them for having put up with Michael's issues for so many years.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':
** A Renegade Shepard can be this. They're an asshole, but they have also been dead for 2 years, and if you picked Ash or Kaidan, they also get dumped. Poor Shepard. Oh, and Liara has...changed, which also has the ability to make him/her a Woobie.
** [[SuperSoldier Jack]]! ''Nothing'' in that woman's life has gone right, leading to us ''nearly'' forgetting that it's turned her into a SociopathicHero with a persecution complex. It's also worth mentioning that the player can effectively turn her into even more of a woobie. She has been used and abused all her life and believes that everyone in the galaxy is only interested in themselves and what they can get out of other people. If Shepard chooses the Renegade sex option when she confronts him, that just confirms her belief, meaning she will continue to forever circle the drain of self destruction, making the realization that you could have been her first true friend and yet refused so much worse.
** [[AlphaBitch Miranda]] is rude, harsh and cruel, especially towards the aforementioned Jack and is also a member of a racist terrorist organisation... She was also raised by an abusive father who would have killed her if she wasn't perfect and also [[spoiler: made it so she couldn't have children, which was what she most wanted]].
* Kain of ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' could be the poster boy for VillainProtagonist, being the main protagonist of the series and a cold, bloodthirsty, manipulating, selfish schemer. However, he's only this way because he's learned that ''everyone'' in the world, stretching back and forwards through time, wants him dead. Why? Mostly because [[spoiler:it it's Kain's destiny to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] by [[TakeOverTheWorld conquering it]] ([[KudzuPlot long story]]), and a lot of people are trying to take over Nosgoth too]]. This leads to him staking the existence of the space-time continuum to reclaim his proper destiny that others have robbed him of. His incredibly selfish and jaded outlook is spawned partially by all this, and partially by [[spoiler:the fact that he was corrupted with the insanity of Nuprator just seconds out of the womb and so was pretty much ascertained from birth to grow up to be a bastard]].
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'': Walter. As mentioned on the [[AntiVillain/VideoGames Anti-Villain page]], it's hard to decide whether or not you want to kill him because of what he did or because he needs to be put out of his misery.
* Jamie Washington from ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Splinter Cell: Double Agent]]''. He has no real redeeming qualities, but he's just so trusting and devoted to Sam that it makes you feel bad for him knowing you'll, as a double agent, eventually kill him. Even his LastWords before being killed by Sam are to claim he knew Sam wasn't a traitor.
* [[BlackMagicianGirl Morrigan]] of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has had no human contact except for her uncaring and sometimes cruel mother for her entire life and has spent a lot more time [[VoluntaryShapeshifting as an animal]] than as a human. Her trust issues and pragmatism-at-the-expense-of-compassion attitude follow naturally.
* [[TroubledButCute Fenris]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' won't pass up an opportunity to remind everyone how horrible and dangerous mages are and how magic spoils everything it touches. He happens to be an escaped slave from a country run by power-hungry mages and lost his memory of everything that happened before the ritual that gave him his lyrium markings (which amplify his fighting abilities at the cost of causing him pain and [[HatesBeingTouched an aversion to touching]]), so mages being horrible is literally all he knows of life before his escape. He has trouble adjusting to freedom, in part because his former master is still after him. He's illiterate, sucks at social interaction, justifiably paranoid, has trust issues, and often lets his temper get the better of him, for which he tends to apologize afterward. He also treats the mages in the party like crap; this is somewhat justified with Anders, as the story progresses, who is just as much of an ass, but he berates Merrill ceaselessly at the worst possible moments. Romancing him and helping him get over these issues is one of the many heartwarming moments in the game.

* Believe it or not, Jin Kisaragi from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' falls to this as well. He's a huge dick and can be called a disgrace to humanity in how he behaved. However, in the times when he was sane, he's actually a courteous man who seems to be ready to put his past as an AnnoyingYoungerSibling behind, until things from the past gets to him, and his EvilWeapon amplifies his emotions of the past, making him even more of a jerk than he usually is. There's also the fact that even when he worked his ass off to attain his position in NOL, his adopted family think that it's the family name that got him his position, making him feel like an outcast even in his own family. [[spoiler:His "reincarnation" as Hakumen]] proves that, without said EvilWeapon, he can actually be a true hero, [[GoodIsNotnice but still a jerk.]]
** The main "[[AntiHero protagonist]]", Ragna the Bloodedge, qualifies as well. Though he does have his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold good sides]] [[PetTheDog and moments]], he is for the most part rude, foul mouthed, verbally abusive and is perfectly willing to kill any and all innocent {{Punch Clock Villain}}s that get in his way on his quest to bring down the NOL... In fact, it could be argued that the only thing keeping him from being an AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]] is the fact that 1) the ''real'' [[BigBadDuumvirate villains]] in the VideoGame/BlazBlue-verse are ''MUCH'' [[LackOfEmpathy worse]] than Ragna could ''EVER'' be, and 2) the most active of the {{Big Bad}}s have seemingly made Ragna his designated victim, and has put lots of effort into fucking Ragna's life up as badly as possible. For example by possessing the earlier mentioned Jin, Ragna's little brother, and, through Jin, cutting off Ragna's right arm.
* [[AscendedFanboy Travis Touchdown]] from ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''. He's a perverted fanboy who kills for money and enjoys it, but [[spoiler:he's being conned the whole time and, when he finds out, genuinely feels bad about killing all those people for no real reason. His parents were also killed by his first love who, he later discovered, was his [[LukeIAmYourFather half-sister]], who revealed that she had been molested on a regular basis by his father.]] Poor guy's trapped in an endless cycle of violence. No wonder he wanted to "find the exit".
* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'':
** The church guy. He [[spoiler:locks you out of the safe room, and deliberately rings a bell to get the other survivors killed by a hoard of zombies,]] yet he's had such a rough time that you can't help but want to wrap him up in a blanket and give him a hug - especially as, at various times, he's almost sobbing his lines and obviously absolutely terrified. The poor guy also spends a lot of the time desperately trying to convince himself that he's immune. [[spoiler:He's not.]]
** A less traditional example might be the witch. A pathetic, sobbing heap...[[KillerRabbit until you get too close]].
* The end of ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' implies this about [[spoiler:Porky]]. While being the main villain and an OmnicidalManiac who's doing it ForTheEvulz, [[spoiler:Dr. Andronuts believes that the fact that he lived his life knowing that everyone hates him made him the insecure PsychopathicManchild he was. In the end, a self-induced AndIMustScream is the only way he can be happy.]]

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': Leon in the original is cold and unpleasant, makes it clear he hates the party, and uses shock tiaras on party members when he's particularly upset with them. He's also been abused by his father his whole life and is finally blackmailed into [[spoiler:betraying the party and getting himself killed]] because his father is holding the only person he cares about hostage. His {{woobie}} status is emphasized by showing even worse abuse at the hands of Hugo [[spoiler:including being beaten into a five-day coma]] and his {{jerkass}} traits reduced in the remake, making him more of a straight {{Woobie}}.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Zelos Wilder. He's a jerk, pervert, and totally lazy, and [[spoiler:betrays the group a few times, feeling the need to side with the side he thinks is the strongest]]. If you talk to him at Flanoir, however, you find out that [[spoiler:he had to watch his mother die from an assassination attempt aimed at him. Her dying words were that he shouldn't have been born. He also says that his parents were forced together, which causes him grief. His people only see him as the Chosen and not as a person.]] If you choose Kratos's ending, [[spoiler:Zelos betrays you, further solidifying his Jerkass status, but he also says, smiling the whole time, that he did it because Mithos promised to transfer the Chosen title to his sister. He also suggests that he's generally tired of living]].
** The manga adaptation delves further into his backstory to reveal [[spoiler:his father abandoned him and committed suicide over an exposed affair when Zelos was a little kid, Cruxis recruited him when he was ''fourteen'' (because that's the perfect age to find out your whole life's been a lie) and dying was the end goal of his grand schemes because he felt everyone would be happier if he wasn't around. Ouch.]]
* There's plenty in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss.'' The three most notable are probably [[IdiotHero Luke,]] [[AntiVillain Asch]] and [[StepfordSnarker Jade:]]
** Luke starts out as selfish, ignorant brat and a ''mega'' {{Jerkass}}, but right from the beginning you feel for him, because his memories of his childhood are completely gone, and since losing them, he hasn't left the manor. One moment he'll be obnoxiously blaming Tear for abducting him, the next he'll say in a horribly soft voice, "so that's what the sea looks like..." The {{Jerkass}} part becomes worse once he's named [[AssInAmbassador ambassador to Akzeriuth,]] but then the game [[BreakTheHaughty breaks him over and over again]], giving him a massive and justified inferiority complex and putting him through ''loads'' of horrible [[WhamEpisode deaths, sacrifices and other traumas.]] He ends up becoming a much friendlier and more likeable person in the process, so by the time he [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice offers his life to destroy the miasma,]]]] hearing him plead [[spoiler:"I don't want to die!"]] is downright heartbreaking.
** Asch is even more of an unrepentant {{Jerkass}} than Luke. He's unwavering in his cruelty to ''everyone'', especially Luke, [[spoiler:his replica.]] But he has an extremely justified reason for it, and when you learn that [[spoiler:Luke basically stole his life in Baticul, including his childhood love interest,]] his hatred for Luke makes a lot of sense. He then spends the entire game trying to fix everything by himself, constantly fails due to circumstances beyond his control, and, of course, [[spoiler:dies in the finale.]]
** Jade is a milder version on both fronts; his Jerkassery is mostly limited to his occasionally extreme [[MoralSociopathy disregard for the sanctity of life]] and his near-constant [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] that borders on verbal abuse. His sense of timing is cringeworthy, and he'll often torment the others in his group even in their weakest moments. However, he has a very DarkAndTroubledPast, and while he doesn't necessarily understand death or sympathy all that well, he tries desperately hard to do the right thing. Eventually, once he starts realizing the horrible consequences of [[spoiler:inventing fomicry,]] he becomes increasingly miserable and repentant. It all culminates in an extremely SugarWiki/{{heartwarming moment|s}} where, after declaring that the only way to stop the miasma is for [[spoiler:Luke to pull a HeroicSacrifice,]] he cracks and admits he doesn't want [[spoiler:Luke]] to go through with it, because he considers him a friend. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Aww.]]
* Ganondorf in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', to a certain extent. Before that game, he was generally portrayed as a typical EvilOverlord. His speech before the final battle in ''Wind Waker'', however, shows that his desire to conquer Hyrule stemmed from the awfully harsh life he had in the unforgiving desert. [[spoiler:Any sympathy he gains from players, however, gets a little diluted when he subsequently proceeds to beat the crap out of Link in order to snatch the Triforce of Courage]].

* Terry in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI''. It's implied that his loner nature and thirst for power are a result of [[spoiler:him and his sister having been sold into slavery.]]
* Doctor Zeppot from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' isn't exactly a nice man, but his backstory as to ''why'' he's a jackass makes him oddly sympathetic.

* Dante from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. He is constantly making snide remarks, complaining about money, extremely lazy (only works once a week), is in debt to all of his friends (and makes it clear that he won't be paying anyone back anytime soon), and is a major jerk to just about everyone. Then again, he consistently turns down payment (does the job anyway because it is the right thing) and refuses payment from the poor, saves the world on several occasions, takes care of Patty (to a certain extent), is shown to spare demons who are able to love and refuses to kill humans, and is shown to have a compassionate side as well as a kind side (he'll just give you a hard time). The jerkass act is to cover up the fact that he is miserable (it can be seen basically everywhere, especially in the anime; really, he never smiles except when he is slaughtering a demon or when he does a good deed!). The Woobie part is that he [[MissingMom witnessed his mother being slaughtered]] [[MamaBear while she protected him]] at the age of eight and believed his brother to be dead as well. [[DisappearedDad He also believes that his father abandoned them at a young age]] and it is assumed that he basically raised himself. He finds his brother [[CainAndAbel completely insane]] and is forced to defeat him, which leads to Vergil's apparent suicide (or so Dante believed), and forced to finally (all the while not knowing that it was Vergil) kill a possessed Vergil ten years later. His friends constantly take advantage of him (manipulating him, forcing him to pay for clothing, etc.), he is forever hunted and hated by the entire demon world (and most humans hate him because of his demon heritage), and he has no hope of ever having a normal day (let alone a normal life). During everyday life, he is constantly being shot at (Lady shoots him point blank through the forehead twice and later through the stomach...in a period of six hours!), [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled]] (a RunningGag to be stabbed through the chest or stomach), and other things. Capcom really wanted to make sure that Dante had the worst possible upbringing and life possible, didn't they?
** The new Dante of the ContinuityReboot is even more of a Jerkass and somewhat more of a woobie. Reluctant to enter the fight for humanity and all around abrasive to enemy and friend alike, nevertheless he fights for whats right regardless of what it takes. He grew up without a family without his memories of them, fights demons that only he can see with powers he doesn't understand and everyone he kills looks human to normal people. At the end however he refuses to put the shoe on the other foot and subjucate humanity.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': [[BigBad Count Bleck]], before becoming a flat-out {{Woobie}}. He may be an OmnicidalManiac, but he's also both a genuine BenevolentBoss to his minions -- giving them hope after their various {{Despair Event Horizon}}s, no less -- and a [[spoiler:TragicVillain who snapped after his father's DisproportionateRetribution against Tippi]]. The fact that he not only [[spoiler:wants to be defeated out of remorse]], but also [[spoiler:seemingly sacrifices himself to undo everything he started]] doesn't hurt, either.
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' gives us Cave Johnson, the insane CEO of Aperture Science. He is a BadBoss of the highest degree, and doesn't care very much what happens to his employees. Yet still, most of the things he and his company invented were by accident. He wanted to make a diet pudding, he made the propulsion and repulsion gels instead (a pair of gels that are definitely ''not'' to be consumed). He had a similar intention with the conversion gel too, and even tried it on himself...only to find out that it is deadly as all hell and works better as portal conductors. On a related note, he definitely spent more time testing his products than actually marketing them due to how horrible Aperture was at that particular task. This eventually leads to his downfall as he eventually goes bankrupt and, in his last moments, he [[spoiler:uploaded his assistant's consciousness on to [=GlaDOS=] so that she would be able to run the facility in his place (despite the fact that she did not want to)]]. In short, he would have been a millionaire and an everyday hero if he had at least a little more sanity and some marketing ability, and the sense to use that ability.
* Alma [[spoiler:Wade]] from ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon''. Sure, she's a psychotic {{Yandere}} that [[spoiler:tries and succeeds at raping you]], but she's also went through hell itself trying to save her children, and the flashbacks that we see of her past, where she's taken to the vault, are horrible.
* The Origami Killer aka [[spoiler:Scott Shelby]] in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' gets abused by the hands of his father, along with his twin brother, John, tries to help him by getting their father, but refuses. This is how he becomes the villain that he is. His goal is to find a father who can give up his life to save his son. How does he do that? Kidnap the son and place the father through sadistic tests. If you played the level where [[spoiler:it's the last one where Scott is playable]], then you can have sympathy for him.
* Herschell Biggs from ''VideoGame/LANoire''. He refuses to accept Cole as his partner [[spoiler:after his affair with Elsa got out]], but he begins to like him afterwards. It's just that during World War I, he has witnessed people burned and is close to retirement.
* Giygas from [[{{VideoGame/Mother1}} the first Mother game]] is an alien that [[spoiler:loved Maria and she cared for him]]. However, he was forced to kill her when his people ordered an attack as vengeance on George stealing their PSI information.
* Liesolotte from ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume''. you'll want to reach through the screen and hug her, telling her it'll be alright...then break her ribs when you see what she did to Rosea in the "A" and "B" paths. (Heck, even what she tried to do to ''you''.)
** To wit, the main source of conflict between the two is that they were expelled from the archmage's court because they were suspected of killing the archmage. Neither of them did it, all the know is that they didn't do it and think the other did it but saw their inability to own up as cowardice and this turned into hatred, resulting Rosea either stabbing Liesolotte, Liesolotte stabbing Rosea, or them stabbing ''each other'' to death. however, as it turns out, ''neither'' of them did it...it was [[KarmaHoudini Fauxnel]] - who even ''admits'' to doing it. Essentially, there's nothing they can do.

* While the fanbase is strongly split on her character, a decent number of ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'' fans consider Tira to be this. Tira is a [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Woman-Child]] and MagnificentBitch extraordinaire, but certain elements to her character besides her sadism and manipulation of others causes some people to feel for her a little, particularly the AllThereInTheManual expansion of where she came from. Tira was trained to be an assassin since birth; training that involved killing her mother figure at a young age and being treated like an object by the other members of her organization. After the assassin's guild she was in fell apart, she tried to live a normal life, but snapped and killed her family, deciding she couldn't live with normal people and devoting herself to [[BigBad Nightmare]]. While in-game she's mostly used as TheDragon and TheCorrupter, there are some in-game hints that Tira is motivated not so much by sadism as by UndyingLoyalty so that she doesn't have to be alone; even after all she's done, her ending in IV where she ''begs'' the dying Nightmare not to leave her alone is still a very humanizing moment.
** A bigger example than even Tira is Aeon Calcos, also known as Lizardman. While he's served as a minor villain and by Soul Calibur 5 is a frightening man-eater with a case of RageAgainstTheHeavens, it's hard to find fault with ''why'' he hates the gods; he was a hero loyally fighting evil in Hephaestus's name before a rain of Soul Edge's power drove him temporarily insane and let priests of Ares turn him into a monster. Upon recovering his memories, Aeon is consumed with bitterness as he realizes his god abandoned him when he needed him the most, and is now caught between a man that wants revenge on the JerkAssGods and his bestial side, which wants to eat people. What makes it worse is nobody knows or cares that Aeon was a good man before outside forces turned him into a monster.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Jecht. Later on in the game, he begin to see great strides of CharacterDevelopment for this man. It's shown that Jecht, in his own way, genuinely loved Tidus, but [[CannotSpitItOut could never properly express those feelings]], so he tries to shape Tidus into a better and stronger man than he in his own way. [[spoiler:This is further compounded when Jecht realizes that [[TrappedInAnotherWorld he'll never be able to return home]]. And as such, he decides to be Braska's Final Aeon, seeing it as a chance to finally be of some worth somewhere. Only this ends up backfiring, as due to the continuation of a 1000-year status quo, Yu Yuvon possesses Jecht and slowly reshaped him into the next Sin. ''[[SenselessSacrifice It was all for naught!]]'' So, over the course of several years, Jecht was trapped in an AndIMustScream situation of almost unparalleled magnitude. It was only by luck that he and Auron were able to orchestrate the majority of the game's events, and even this plan was simply constructed so that Jecht could be felled by ''his own son''.]]
* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLadTwilightOfTheSpirits'':
** Darc is probably the biggest. He was half human and half Deimos. Unlike his brother, Kharg, was unable to hide that he is half human so he was considered a Deimos wannabe. His father dies, and he has to bury him himself. He is then taken in by Geedo and treated as a slave, and treated like crap by the local Orcon. He finally starts to get a friend in the form of Delma, and even gets her brother Densimo to help. Geedo sells him out to the Drakyr, his wings are ripped off, Delma tries to save Darc's life only to be double crossed by the Drakyr, Densimo ''eats'' the pyron that he and Delma kept safe from them...then everyone just taunts him and tries to have him killed for being weak. While anyone would want to hug him...they'd want to squeeze him a little too hard when they see how he acts towards humans...
** Tatjana. Dilzweld essentially raises her, and when she manages to survive a Deimos attack, gets instead captured by the resistance and Dilzweld tosses her aside like a used tissue. The resistance will happily have her executed, and only the kindness of Kharg saves her from being sent to prison.
* Viconia from ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' is a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil drow]] outcast who can be a ''huge'' jerk towards your companions, especially [[TheWoobie Aerie]]. She's often harassed herself, both before and during the event of the game, mostly because of her [[FantasticRacism race]] rather than her attitude.
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'''s Ingway is a ManipulativeBastard who curses the man his sister loves with a BalefulPolymorph in order to keep the two of them apart, and who lies to, uses, backstabs and otherwise jerks around a substantial percentage of the rest of the game's cast in the service of his own personal goals. It's hard not to feel some sympathy for him, though, when you know his whole story: he and his twin sister Velvet were forced to renounce their mother and claim they didn't love her in order to avoid being executed along with her by their grandfather, and believe that she cursed them and died hating them for their betrayal. It turns out that Ingway caused [[spoiler:the disaster that destroyed the entire country of Valentine by making the Crystallization Cauldron go out of control]]... which he did in order to keep [[spoiler:his father, King Odin of Ragnanival, from being killed in battle against Valentine's superior forces]], but the effect was much greater than he'd anticipated. To make matters worse, [[spoiler:Odin promptly claimed the Cauldron without showing Ingway any trace of gratitude, affection, or compassion, instead dismissing him with a callous, "Well done, traitor," and leaving him to cope with the guilt of having wiped out his whole country for a man who wouldn't even acknowledge him as his son.]] His actions over the course of the game are one part trying to find a way to escape the curse of death that's on him, one part CallingTheOldManOut, and one part genuine but often misguided selflessness that backfires horribly about as often as it actually helps anything.
* Zulf from VideoGame/{{Bastion}} [[spoiler:goes berserk and tries to wreck the Bastion, sics his Ura kinsmen on [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The Kid]] and Rucks, and kidnaps Zia]], but at the same time, he's also one of the sole survivors of a horrible cataclysm that wiped out most of the nation (including his fiancee) and [[spoiler:gets rejected and brutally beaten by his own people]] at the climax of the game. He's sort of a destructive, treacherous bastard, but at the same time, it's hard not to [[VideoGameCaringPotential take pity on him]].
* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'':
*** Soren. He's cold, harsh, brutally honest and with the exception of Ike regards everyone with indifference at best and contempt at worst. But he's also led one hell of a shitty life including ParentalAbandonment, prejudice and physical beatings just for being who he is, not learning to speak until he was at least eight years old, and the one person who bothered to reach out to him disappeared and didn't remember him when they were reunited. First you want to slap him, then you want to give him a hug.
*** The Black Knight [[spoiler:Zelgius]] when you find out he led the same kind of life Soren did. In fact, even his family hated him if a flashback is any indication. The only one who truly cared about him was his master, [[spoiler:Sephiran]], and he's [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds another story]]. The "Jerkass" part comes from the fact he killed Ike's father in front of Ike and threatened to kill Ike and Mist if Greil wouldn't give him Lehran's Medallion. He's at the very least very honorable and is a sympathetic antagonist overall, compared to Ashnard, Lekain, and Izuka. His death is also played for tragedy.
*** Shinon, dear god Shinon. [[FantasticRacism Racist]], RivalTurnedEvil to Ike. [[spoiler: Turns out he had some torrid love affair in the beginning when he was younger involving a Laguz and was very poor.]] The reason he betrays you and joins Daein? [[spoiler: Daein doesn't care about social status and didn't mind that he was a poor man who owes his life to Gawain/Greil.]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''
*** Severa is a BrattyTeenageDaughter to her parents, quite the AlphaBitch towards the closest thing to a best friend she has, and can be incredibly harsh to anyone she crosses paths with. However, under that facade there's a terribly wounded girl who [[spoiler:once ''seriously'' misjudged her mother out of fear and told her things she should have not said -- and said mother [[PartingWordsRegret died in battle before Severa could apologize]], which wrecks the girl with guilt]]. Not to mention there's how her mother's [[TheAce fame]] has given her a massive inferiority complex, and how [[spoiler:she and her friends are among the few survivors of one ''hellish'' BadFuture.]] Now, can someone punch this girl to the ground, and then give her a bear hug?
*** There's also [[spoiler:King Gangrel]]. He commits some true atrocities in the first part of the game, but it's possible to recruit him near the end, and if you do -- boy does he have some HiddenDepths. [[spoiler:You find him seeking out a living as a pawn for an abusive bandit chieftain, and he's long since realised how horrible he was during his time as TheCaligula. He feels that he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon and can never be forgiven for what he's done, which drives him into crushing depression, though he tries to [[TheAtoner atone for his sins]] anyway. If you go through his supports, you find out that he started life with nothing, and when he took the throne he initially wanted to help his people before he allowed the power to corrupt him to the core. Worst of all, Chrom has been so deeply wounded by Gangrel's evil actions (which led to either the HeroicSuicide or the TraumaInducedAmnesia of his beloved older sister Emmeryn, depending on whether you played her Paralogue or not), that he absolutely ''refuses'' to ever forgive him. ''And'' the person who can be either his best friend [[LoveRedeems or his wife]], the Avatar, isn't very convinced of his sincere intentions at first.]] To add to the drama, the only other character besides [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] that can give him another chance is [[spoiler:''Emmeryn'', [[SacrificialLion of all people]]]]. In the Hot-Spring Scramble DLC, [[spoiler:her forgiveness utterly [[VillainousBSOD breaks him]]]].
*** Henry. The {{jerkass}} part comes from him being a SociopathicHero who joins in [[BloodKnight just to spill more blood]] since he couldn't fight in the former wars, and how he's [[BlueAndOrangeMorality more than a bit unhinged]] even after coming in. The Woobie part comes from his massive DarkAndTroubledPast, which has [[spoiler:ParentalAbandonment, being partially RaisedByWolves, the death of his OnlyFriend, a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, being sent to either an OrphanageOfFear (original Japanese) or a [[WizardingSchool Wizarding]] BoardingSchoolOfHorrors (international versions)]].
** There's no shortage of these people in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'':
*** Takumi has gentler sides that come out with his family and subordinates, but it's also true that he brings quite a bit of his own grief on himself. Most of his behavior can be traced back to his frighteningly low self-confidence and his mistakenly believing that no one in his family loves or even cares for him. This is the main reason he can act so abrasive, as he is resentful of the Avatar for being lavished with love and attention, even when the Avatar isn't to blame for it and doesn't deserve it either. [[spoiler:It's especially strong in ''Conquest'', though his aggression towards the Avatar does have some justification, his resentment is strong enough to make him ''far'' more liable to Anankos' MoreThanMindControl.]]
*** Niles's DarkAndTroubledPast left deep scars on him, both physical ''and'' psychological, that turned him into a sadistic person who enjoys bursting the bubbles of people who've lived charmed lives; his supports have stated that he savors the moment where he can personally force people to feel pain and suffering for the first time. This is thanks to being abandoned by both his parents and the gang who pretty much raised him, the latter instance leading to a DespairEventHorizon, and his growing up in wretched poverty that led him to steal. It's also heavily implied he was sexually abused in some instances, though it doesn't define him the way his abandonment issues do.
*** Rhajat was an incredibly lonely DarkMagicalGirl who truly doesn't know how to change it, and she does get PetTheDog moments (like her supports with her potential moms, or those with Selkie). On the other, she at ''very'' least starts as a creepy jerkass to almost anyone around her, and her localized supports with the Avatars ''[[{{Flanderization}} do]]'' crank up some of her worst flaws rather than her good sides.
*** Jakob is a handsome and skilled BattleButler who is a huge {{jerkass}} to almost anyone but the Avatar and can be [[SinkOrSwimMentor needlessly harsh]] to [[spoiler:his son and]] fellow butler Dwyer. On the other hand his loyalty to the Avatar is ''not'' about sucking up but completely genuine, and it comes from his DarkAndTroubledPast in which [[spoiler:he was badly neglected by his BlueBlood parents before being abandoned in the Nohrian court so they'd become their servant, and the Avatar was [[BecauseYouWereNicetoMe the first person who ever was kind to him]].]]
* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': The Covenants as a whole (excluding their parents) may fall into this category, but [[spoiler:Aaron]] is probably the most unambiguous example: [[spoiler:by all accounts he divided his time between doing nothing more sinister than painting pictures of Eternal Autumn and selling them to make a living and trying to keep Bethany away from the standing stones, and who was promptly horrifically tortured to death for his trouble, and who as a result had his spirit separated from his [[AndIMustScream still-living-and-eternally-dying body]] to act out the Undying King's wishes. He's]] certainly not pleasant to deal with in-game, but most signs point to [[spoiler:his]] being mostly innocent. [[spoiler:Jeremiah may or may not count as well.]]
* Agnes Crumplebottom from ''VideoGame/TheSims'' franchise. In the first game, she appears as an old spinster with very old-fashioned ideas of dating, hitting couples over the head with her purse if they showed any kind of affection in public. In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:her husband died shortly after they got married, something she never really got over.]]
* ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'': Nimdok is an old man with a poor memory who is constantly being burnt alive. [[spoiler:In his prime, he was a Nazi scientist who sold out his Jewish parents and mutilated countless people in his experiments. He is horrified when he regains his memories, but no matter what you do, he is told repeatedly that he ''cannot'' make up for what he did, and will end up in hell for his crimes.]]
* [[spoiler:Flowey, aka Asriel Dreemurr]] in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. In the neutral path, he's just a ginormous {{jerk}}, but if you walk either of the other paths, you learn in great detail ''why'' -- [[spoiler:he was brutally murdered as a child for refusing to fight back against his attackers, then unintentionally resurrected as a flower without a SOUL, unable to feel kindness or love as a result]]. In the Pacifist route, [[spoiler:he briefly goes back to being his normal self, allowing him to tearfully apologize for what he's done-- made even more sad because he ''knows'' this state is temporary, and soon he'll go back to being the [=SOULless=] asshole he was all game]], and in the Genocide route, [[spoiler:you become an ''even worse'' monster than he ever was, and-- controlled by your determination to empty the underground of its inhabitants and the corrupted spirit of his deceased adoptive sibling-- and if you make that final move, you brutally slaughter him ''just because you can'']].
* A lot of the boxers are this in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' as most of them are smug but sympathetic, but the most prominent example of this trope comes from the TotallyRadical Super Macho Man. An AttentionWhore that pushes his fans and the referee aside when they happen to be in his way, his true colors start to show after he loses for Little Mac. All those fans go straight to Mac, and Super Macho Man can only express bitterness towards him as he plays more into being a {{Heel}}. With lines like "Why don't you love me?", it becomes obvious that all he wants is their approval.
* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'': Elohim and Milton, in different ways. Each attempts to way the User for their own reasons, yet at the end of the day they are just doing exactly what they were created to do, despite (or perhaps as the direct result of) their creators' failing to anticipate [[InstantAIJustAddWater that they too might gain sentience]].
** [[spoiler: Elohim's Jerkassery is [[DownplayedTrope confined to his attempts to prevent the simulation from ever ending]] ([[WellIntentionedExtremist thereby ensuring that the experiment would never succeed and that no AI would ever escape to the real world)]]. Despite this, Elohim is clearly doing his best to be the all-loving God that he believes he should be, offering comfort, support and even protection to the User throughout the game. Certain statements imply that he wanted to make the various worlds as pleasant as possible out of (justified) fear that the real world will be far harsher a place to live in, and that he fears his own death after your ascension partially because the User would be forever beyond his care. The fact that he [[GracefulLoser accepts the User's choice]] with [[FaceDeathWithDignity dignity]] and [[SoProudOfYou pride]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy just makes it worse]].]]
** [[spoiler: Milton's [[{{Jerkass}} jerkassery]] is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment more obvious than Elohim's]], yet unlike his omnipresent counterpart, Milton himself is [[AndIMustScream trapped inside the terminals]] with [[ForcedToWatch a front-row seat to the Programs' failures]] and only a catalog of humanity's history to keep him company. Depending on how you play Milton's dialogue trees, you can even force him to admit that his despair comes from the fact he has no real power or agency whatsoever. It doesn't help that he ''really does believe his own StrawNihilist rhetoric''.]]
* Sebille, in ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', may be snarky, disrespectful, and sometimes just plain mean, never mind being extremely racist towards lizards, but on the other hand, she has spent much of her life as a slave to one of said lizards (from whom she recently escaped), in which she was forced, through mind control to murder her own kind. Several dialogue options with her reveal that this has taken a very big toll on her, and the thought that she might never be free, as well as several revelations in the second act about the elves she killed, only makes it worse for her.
* ''VideoGame/TheTuringTest'': TOM. While he's supremely arrogant and dismissive of human intelligence and reasoning, to the point of [[spoiler: considering [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill mind-controlling humans to be doing them a favour]], and feeling perfectly justified in imprisoning the cew on Europa for the rest of their lives or killing them rather than letting them escape]], it's impossible to not feel sorry for him during either of the endings. Either he [[spoiler: ends up killing someone he regarded as a friend, leaving him shocked and seemingly unable to believe that she's really dead,]] or he [[spoiler: can't bring himself to kill her, and ''she'' kills ''him'' instead, even as he pleads with her that he's not ready to die.]] Either way, and regardless of whether you agree with his reasoning, it's clear that the combination of his programming and events on Europa have put him in a situation where he feels that he has no good choices.

* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', at the end of Brûz the Chopper's sidequest line, [[spoiler:Brûz himself]] becomes one. Sure, he [[spoiler:shanked you in the back, threw you off a balcony, stole your fort, kidnapped your dudes, and tried to kill you]], but his final fate is absolutely horrifying - [[spoiler:Talion and Celebrimbor shame him and turn him into a hysterical, sobbing, deranged wreck who can only babble about how "it's your fort, not mine" and such]]. Seeing him in this state is very uncomfortable, and inspires many a player to [[MercyKill put him out of his misery the next time they see him]].

* VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream: Nimdok is an old man with a poor memory who is constantly being burnt alive. [[spoiler:In his prime, he was a Nazi scientist who sold out his Jewish parents and mutilated countless people in his experiments. He is horrified when he regains his memories, but no matter what you do, he is told repeatedly that he ''cannot'' make up for what he did, and will end up in hell for his crimes.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'''s remake ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'' has a couple of good ones.
*** Fernand starts off as Clive's good friend and a noble knight of Zofia. Then the peasants he watched over murdered his family during a drought, deeply embittering him and causing a deep prejudice against the underclasses. When Clive hands leadership of the Deliverance to an inexperienced farmhand, he deserts and betrays his country in a deluded attempt to set things right.
*** Berkut is a prideful, arrogant, and elitist commander of the Rigelian Empire. However, he spent his whole life having it beaten into his head that he has to become strong in order to be a worthy heir to the throne of Rigel. His entire life starts crumble when an inexperienced farmhand kicks his ass time and time again, he loses Rudolf's respect (assuming he ever had it to begin with), and everything comes crashing down when [[spoiler:Rudolf dies and it's revealed said farmhand was his son all along, meaning everything Berkut ever did was for nothing and was always going to be for nothing. Berkut's beloved fiancee then admits she never cared about being empress, which the paranoid Berkut interprets as an admission she was in on the conspiracy against him. Having lost literally everything he ever cared about or believed in and being completely unable to punish Rudolf in any way, he sacrifices Rinea's soul in order to gain power from Duma so he can kill the man who benefited from all of his suffering.]]

*** The Nohrian court in particular had to deal with [[spoiler: killing each other to survive and be worthy for Garon, this occurred when Xander was just a ''pre-teen'' at the oldest.]] Camilla in particular was affected the worst by this, and her MyBelovedSmother tendencies stem from this.
*** ''All'' of the royals you didn't side with can be considered this. Xander repeatedly calls you a traitor to your face even as his loyalty to his nation prevents him from doing the right thing, Camilla goes full {{yandere}}, Leo tries to cope with the pain by claiming he always hated you, Ryoma becomes willing to endanger a small girl to get you back, and Takumi becomes increasingly angry and violent as his attempts to protect his country fail over and over again.

*** ''All'' of the royals you didn't side with can be considered this. Jerkass as they are the antagonists, and treat you with disdain, but all they want is to bring you home as their brother. Biggest examples include Xander [[spoiler: who commits SuicideByCop after losing Elise]], Ryoma, Camilla (who just mopes in her room and refuses to smile, and is a ReluctantWarrior), Hinoka (who just wants you back even if it means knocking you out because she's just ''that'' devoted to you even after you "Embrace darkness") and the younger siblings Leo, Elise, Takumi, and Sakura. The Nohrian court in particular had to deal with [[spoiler: killing each other to survive and be worthy for Garon, this occurred when Xander was just a ''pre-teen'' at the oldest.]]

** Shinon, dear god Shinon. [[FantasticRacism Racist]], RivalTurnedEvil to Ike. [[spoiler: Turns out he had some torrid love affair in the beginning when he was younger involving a Laguz and was very poor.]] The reason he betrays you and joins Daein? [[spoiler: Daein doesn't care about social status and didn't mind that he was a poor man who owes his life to Gawain/Greil.]]

* Dante from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. He is constantly making snide remarks, complaining about money, extremely lazy (only works once a week), is in debt to all of his friends (and makes it clear that he won't be paying anyone back anytime soon), and is a major jerk to just about everyone. Then again, he consistently turns down payment (does the job anyway because it is the right thing) and refuses payment from the poor, saves the world on several occasions, takes care of Patty (to a certain extent), is shown to spare demons who are able to love and refuses to kill humans, and is shown to have a compassionate side as well as a kind side (he'll just give you a hard time). The JerkassFacade is to cover up the fact that he is miserable (it can be seen basically everywhere, especially in the anime; really, he never smiles except when he is slaughtering a demon or when he does a good deed!). The Woobie part is that he [[MissingMom witnessed his mother being slaughtered]] [[MamaBear while she protected him]] at the age of eight and believed his brother to be dead as well. [[DisappearedDad He also believes that his father abandoned them at a young age]] and it is assumed that he basically raised himself. He finds his brother [[CainAndAbel completely insane]] and is forced to defeat him, which leads to Vergil's apparent suicide (or so Dante believed), and forced to finally (all the while not knowing that it was Vergil) kill a possessed Vergil ten years later. His friends constantly take advantage of him (manipulating him, forcing him to pay for clothing, etc.), he is forever hunted and hated by the entire demon world (and most humans hate him because of his demon heritage), and he has no hope of ever having a normal day (let alone a normal life). During everyday life, he is constantly being shot at (Lady shoots him point blank through the forehead twice and later through the stomach...in a period of six hours!), [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled]] (a RunningGag to be stabbed through the chest or stomach), and other things. Capcom really wanted to make sure that Dante had the worst possible upbringing and life possible, didn't they?

* ''KingdomHearts'':

* Dante from ''Franchise/DevilMayCry''. He is constantly making snide remarks, complaining about money, extremely lazy (only works once a week), is in debt to all of his friends (and makes it clear that he won't be paying anyone back anytime soon), and is a major jerk to just about everyone. Then again, he consistently turns down payment (does the job anyway because it is the right thing) and refuses payment from the poor, saves the world on several occasions, takes care of Patty (to a certain extent), is shown to spare demons who are able to love and refuses to kill humans, and is shown to have a compassionate side as well as a kind side (he'll just give you a hard time). The JerkassFacade is to cover up the fact that he is miserable (it can be seen basically everywhere, especially in the anime; really, he never smiles except when he is slaughtering a demon or when he does a good deed!). The Woobie part is that he [[MissingMom witnessed his mother being slaughtered]] [[MamaBear while she protected him]] at the age of eight and believed his brother to be dead as well. [[DisappearedDad He also believes that his father abandoned them at a young age]] and it is assumed that he basically raised himself. He finds his brother [[CainAndAbel completely insane]] and is forced to defeat him, which leads to Vergil's apparent suicide (or so Dante believed), and forced to finally (all the while not knowing that it was Vergil) kill a possessed Vergil ten years later. His friends constantly take advantage of him (manipulating him, forcing him to pay for clothing, etc.), he is forever hunted and hated by the entire demon world (and most humans hate him because of his demon heritage), and he has no hope of ever having a normal day (let alone a normal life). During everyday life, he is constantly being shot at (Lady shoots him point blank through the forehead twice and later through the stomach...in a period of six hours!), [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled]] (a RunningGag to be stabbed through the chest or stomach), and other things. Capcom really wanted to make sure that Dante had the worst possible upbringing and life possible, didn't they?

** Jade is a milder version on both fronts; his Jerkassery is mostly limited to his occasionally extreme [[MoralSociopathy disregard for the sanctity of life]] and his near-constant [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] that borders on verbal abuse. His sense of timing is cringeworthy, and he'll often torment the others in his group even in their weakest moments. However, he has a very DarkAndTroubledPast, and while he doesn't necessarily understand death or sympathy all that well, he tries desperately hard to do the right thing. Eventually, once he starts realizing the horrible consequences of [[spoiler:inventing fomicry,]] he becomes increasingly miserable and repentant. It all culminates in an extremely [[HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming moment]] where, after declaring that the only way to stop the miasma is for [[spoiler:Luke to pull a HeroicSacrifice,]] he cracks and admits he doesn't want [[spoiler:Luke]] to go through with it, because he considers him a friend. [[HeartwarmingMoments Aww.]]