History TheLoad / VideoGames

* In ''Fallout2'', an optional sexual encounter with a farmer's daughter or son (either is available regardless of the protagonist's gender) will result in a ShotgunWedding and a new party member. On the upside, they join even if you've reached the ArbitraryPartyLimit, so you get another pack mule. On the downside, they have no useful skills, can't fight worth anything, never levels, has low hitpoints, refuses practically all combat instructions, and acts generally creepy and clingy. Fortunately you can lose them by arranging a divorce (fittingly enough, in New Reno), selling them into slavery, or simply having them killed one way or another.

** [[Franchise/IndianaJones Harrison Jones]] from [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the same game]] in one quest in Northrend is so {{Badass}} that even though you start a quest by getting him out of the cage he's locked in, he ends up escorting '''you''' out of the dungeon.

** Every player who purchases [=PvP=] equipment to trick the dungeon finder into believing their item level is high enough for heroic or zandalari random dungeons will inevitably be one of those through inadequate gear. They might also have a lack of skill or bad attitude as bonus. Though this has become averted in ''Mists of Pandaria'' thanks to Blizzard finally playing smart with the latest round of PvP gear. Seeing as how actual PvPers didn't want to be completely useless when switching to PvE content when they didn't have any PvE gear (PvP gear in the past replaced a stat with "Reselliance", the reason why PvEers wearing PvP gear was dumb), they instead renamed the PvP stat into "PvP Power" and "PvP Defense" and just had them as additional stats to the two that were already given. This actually proved useful for PvEers that had bad luck in drops to get '''something''' to up their item level and to get into LFRs.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL645A94C4720C11E7 A textbook example]] of this would be Simon in the LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'' by TotalBiscuit and LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}}. RuleOfFunny is pretty much the only reason for his continued inclusion. His regular contributions include...\\\

* While CIMATheEnemy is one big EscortMission, almost every escorted character at least has something they can contribute out on the field, like healing, protecting themselves and other characters, or causing enemies to [[FailedASpotCheck Fail A Spot Check]] when it comes to other characters around them. Unfortunately, there are still a few (like Telmia and Phillis) who can't do anything and only exist to be protected, and they tend to have the lowest defense.

* In any party-based RPG in which you're playing as a mage, during the early levels ''you'' are The Load to your party. They have to act as targets and damage-soakers for your enemies because you go down when the wind blows too hard. They have to bash the baddies' heads in when you run out of the few pathetically low-damaging spells you can cast. They have to carry your stuff because your spine would break under the strain. And all the while, somehow everyone important insist on talking to you.
* In general, playing co-op/multiplayer games with other players who aren't contributing enough if at all, especially when said game requires the effort of every player in order to succeed. It may be excusable if a player is new to the game or the multiplayer portion of it, but some players may [[{{Griefer}} actively try to sabotage their teammates]]. Thankfully most games allow you to kick such players. This is especially so if the number of players in a team are low, but the skill levels of the players affect their roles (or negatives) by a lot. This translates to having a few player bringing important and far-reaching contributions, but there is this one person who might as well not exist (he might not be bad persay, he's just CantCatchUp to his teammates). MOBA games such as ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' and RTS such as ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'', even certain breeds of FPS and action games such as ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' and ''Team Fortress'' tend to become TeethClenchedTeamwork because of this trope.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL645A94C4720C11E7 A textbook example]] of this would be Simon in the LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'' by TotalBiscuit and LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}}. RuleOfFunny is pretty much the only reason for his continued inclusion. His regular contributions include...
** [[EverythingsWorseWithBees Summoning bees everywhere.]]
** Healing enemies just as much as allies.
** Preventing teammate revival by making it rain ''constantly.''
** Using [[MeaningfulName ARSE]] [[FanNickname Mines]] to blow himself, his teammates, and (occasionally) enemies [[RingOut clear off the map.]]
** Accidentally blocking his teammates' attacks with his entire body until he [[LudicrousGibs explodes]].
** CrossingTheStreams with his teammates' beams and [[TotalPartyKill blowing them all to Hell.]]
* Every EscortMission ever.
** Except Caiden Dunwald from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. He wants you to accompany him through what he knows damn well is a twilight ambush. He is so powerful however that ''he'' is escorting ''you.''
** In a similar vein to Dunwald are the quests in DungeonFighterOnline where you fight alongside the Slayer trainer, GSD. He's incredibly powerful, able to spam the highest-level Asura techniques with no cooldowns and oneshotting everything in his path. It was actually possible to use him as an effective level grinding tool by letting him destroy everything in sight and quitting before the boss room. Aversion indeed.
** [[Franchise/IndianaJones Harrison Jones]] from [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the same game]] in one quest in Northrend is so {{Badass}} that even though you start a quest by getting him out of the cage he's locked in, he ends up escorting '''you''' out of the dungeon.
** ''VideoGame/ColdFear'' very nicely averts this with Anna Kamsky thanks to GameplayAndStorySegregation. In story she's wounded and not a good combatant, but during gameplay she can't be killed and has unlimited ammo.
** Escort missions in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'', unfortunately, are a straight example; your escortee is always level 1 (at least in Rescue Team), they will always attack enemy Pokémon (even when said enemy Pokémon has a type advantage or can otherwise [[OneHitKill one-shot]] them), you can't edit their moveset or IQ to help them not make stupid decisions that could get them killed, and you can't give/take away/exchange items with them. Your best bet is to bring along lots of Reviver Seeds and pray that nothing too terrible happens. Also, Pokemon that you've just recruited can turn into this if you forget to turn off any unhelpful moves.
** The escort missions in Morrowind are infamous for this. They're ungodly slow and are easly killed.
* The [[PunnyName Carrie]] bonus missions in ''KirbysEpicYarn''. She is a useless ball of yarn that you have to carry throughout the level, and as such, you have to drop her every time you need to defeat an enemy or climb a ladder. It isn't helped by the fact that these missions have a time limit, which is the only way to fail in ''KirbysEpicYarn'' because you can't die.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''
** Eventually in the game you will probably end up doing instances or raids. There is a 99% chance that you will eventually be in a group with The Load who will constantly ignore the group's pleas to stop screwing up or [[TheMillstone grabbing aggro]] and will often need to be saved. Others will lag well behind the rest of the party in DPS (including the tanks), compromising a raid's ability to win through a more subtle vector, and will not (or, more charitably, ''cannot'') make improvements. Needless to say, they are often kicked.
** Every player who purchases [=PvP=] equipment to trick the dungeon finder into believing their item level is high enough for heroic or zandalari random dungeons will inevitably be one of those through inadequate gear. They might also have a lack of skill or bad attitude as bonus. Though this has become averted in ''Mists of Pandaria'' thanks to Blizzard finally playing smart with the latest round of PvP gear. Seeing as how actual PvPers didn't want to be completely useless when switching to PvE content when they didn't have any PvE gear (PvP gear in the past replaced a stat with "Reselliance", the reason why PvEers wearing PvP gear was dumb), they instead renamed the PvP stat into "PvP Power" and "PvP Defense" and just had them as additional stats to the two that were already given. This actually proved useful for PvEers that had bad luck in drops to get '''something''' to up their item level and to get into LFRs.
* Every JokeCharacter who is a RequiredPartyMember during some parts of their game.

* Slippy Toad of ''VideoGame/StarFox''. He was even nicknamed "Slippy 'The Load' Toad!" It helps that he's pretty popular in [[AmericansHateTingle Japan]]. [[MostAnnoyingSound "Slippy just got hit!"]] Slippy is ALWAYS getting hit. Actually gets lampshaded at the end of the Aquas level in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' where Peppy comments on Slippy's nice work with the Blue Marine (submarine used by Fox in the level) and says "Maybe Slippy's not such a screw up after all!". Naturally this gets Slippy all hot and bothered.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Ruto ''literally'' acts as a load, forcing Link to carry her around and getting caught by enemies. And ironically, is only useful by ''being'' a load. Specifically, she is an indestructible and portable [[StockVideoGamePuzzle weight that can be used to keep switches pressed down.]] As well as all that, she also damages enemies if you happen to chuck her at them, leading to the ridiculous amounts of awesome that is defeating most of the enemies with the "Ruto Cannon".
* In ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' there's Doctor Carroll who you must escort; he gets stuck on walls and odd places when following you, and can die easily.

* In ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' there's Yorda. The shadows are constantly after her and you can't let her die because A) You need her to open doors and B) You instantly die if she's captured. It's very intentional, as the game is a close examination of the trope, gently asking the player to start caring about the girl ''because'' she's helpless. In the original game concept, she was blind.
* Owyn from ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'' starts out as this, as the nineteen-year-old kid who's not quite as experienced in dealing with life-or-death situations as his companions, which include a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy dark elf]], a former-thief-turned-royal-special-agent, and a knight and soldier of the realm. He only joins the party because he's a security risk otherwise, and his limited magic skills don't do much to offset the trouble of needing to protect him from getting killed all the time. As soon as he starts picking up some new spells, however, this changes dramatically, and you'll be glad to have him. The "blind" spell that he knows from the beginning is quite useful, though. By blinding some enemies in an attacking group you can momentarily keep them out of the fight and let your fighter characters deal with the remainders one at a time.

* Professor Harold [=MacDougal=] from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' fits this trope to a T. He's not only a whiny, wimpy and drug-addled racist, he also requires constant protection and creates new problems for players, such as provoking a grizzly bear or being held at gunpoint and used as a human shield. He contributes absolutely nothing during missions, and on top of it all, is ridiculously full of himself, making his departure back to Yale a welcome moment in the game. And when you read the last Newspaper, it is revealed he is kicked out of Yale after going on a drug-fueled rampage. And then he returns to Blackwater just in time for '' [[EverythingsDeaderwithzombies Undead Nightmare]] '' where he [[TemptingFate is going down that empty street to get his bag.]]
* Shandra Jerro from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' is a bit of a load before her [[TookALevelInBadass levels in fighter]] show up.
* Most ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games allow you to make anyone light enough (low enough constitution) become The Load to someone with an adequate rescue value by use of the rescue mechanic, which, while useful for moving slow units and well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rescuing]] units in peril, also halves the rescuer's speed and skill stats (as well as Strenght, Defense and sometimes Movement in ''[[FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]''). At least it's not as annoying since it's by choice, but irresponsible use can lead to failure.
** A straighter example of this occurs in ''Radiant Dawn'' near the end of part 1. The main character, [[SquishyWizard Micaiah]], becomes this during [[ScrappyLevel 1-9 when the bad guys ambush her at night, resulting in Fog of War]]. The good news is that the [[EleventhHourSuperpower Black Knight]] literally warps in out of nowhere to save your ass, but Micaiah can still be attacked if you're not careful. This is bad considering all of the enemies are fairly powerful physical users, and Micaiah's weak points are speed and defense, as well as a low HP cap. The worst part is that she refuses to be rescued by the Black Knight for... principles, I guess? Despite the fact that you'll pretty much be using him for the entire fight anyway, while Michaiah runs and hides, despite the fact that [[ScrappyMechanic enemies are never blinded by Fog of War]]. Still if she could be rescued, the fight would becomes [[ZeroEffortBoss something else entirely]].
** PlayedWith somewhat, as the whole point of the level is to cap Micaiah before her forced promotion. The good side of this is that if you've prepared well enough and play strategically, she can hit level 20 and max out a few of her stats. If Micaiah is too low a level, it's almost impossible for her to ''not'' get killed.
* Ashley Graham, from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. In the game, you [[EscortMission return her safely to the White House]], which turns out to be as easy as it sounds, for the chirpy First Daughter's heavily prone to danger. Whether she's cowering in fear in the line of fire, being kidnapped by spinning walls, eating up your health items, or shrieking HAAALP! and LEON! when snatched up, it barely justifies [[PantyShot the bonus of her company]] in what can be a very long game.\\\
This is pretty much the reason that, in NewGamePlus, you can choose to put her in a suit of armor that both protects her from ANY damage and is too heavy for the mooks to carry her away. Not only is she just some girl that follows you around now, but you can actually use her as bait now. The only drawback it the noise she makes when she walks, but it's a miniscule price to pay for The Load becoming invincible. Fortunately, the game eventually starts giving the player dumpsters that they can make Ashley hide in so she can keep out of the way.

* Snipers dueling each other or sniping enemies strictly to rack up kills is a common problem in a ''lot'' of team-based multiplayer games, including ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'', to the point where some players are of the opinion that snipers are completely useless. Of course, there's also a practical point to sniper duels: you have to keep killing the other guy, or at least making yourself a target for him, so that he doesn't start ''shooting at the rest of your team''.
** However, whatever the game's objective may be, it's difficult for the other team to accomplish it when they're dead.
* Any thief character in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons: Order of the Griffon''. There are a few locked doors he can open at the very beginning, but after that, there's no real opportunity to use any of the thief special abilities, and you cannot even backstab in combat. As a result, the thief just becomes a very weak, under-armed and especially under-armored fighter. And since you can only have four characters in your party, you are really much better off taking almost anyone else besides a thief. This is a milder example than some of the others, in that a thief isn't totally useless, he's just not as useful as any other option you could take.
* Since ''Order of the Griffon'' utilizes something very similar to the classic Gold Box engine, this same trope could be said to apply, to a lesser extent, to most if not all the Gold Box games. Depending on the game, there may be the occasional trap to disarm, and locked doors are relatively common. In the latter case, however, you are likely to have at least one character strong enough to force any locked door. Additionally, backstabbing in combat is hard, although not impossible. Also, the fact that you can have six party members as opposed to just four means it's less of a burden to use one slot on a thief. All in all, though, you will frequently be better off with another frontline combatant or spellcaster.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'', both [[MrExposition Verdelet]] and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Seere]] serve this role in their own way. Verdelet is not only the NonActionGuy despite being considered a party member, he spends the game raving about the impending doom befalling the world and little else (and when he actually tries something, it only leads to the villain going OneWingedAngel in response). Seere serves mostly as a DamselScrappy who gets kidnapped and sidetracks the protagonists.
* In ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', Pearl can't fight at all, and in events that require her, she takes up a slot that could be filled with a more useful character, or even a main character from another game file. Not quite an EscortMission -- you can bring her along on random missions, and the game doesn't care if she gets hit with NonLethalKO if another character remains standing -- but she sure does not pull her weight. [[spoiler:[[SuperpoweredEvilSide Lady Blackpearl]], [[GameBreaker on the other hand...]]]]
* Maria, Eileen, and Elle in ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', ''[[VideoGame/SilentHill4 4]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming Homecoming]]'' respectively. Eileen's, which takes up the ''entire second half'' of the game, can be particularly frustrating; on one hand, she herself is invincible [[spoiler:(up until the FinalBoss, anyway)]] and is capable of fighting back. On the other, she can't keep up with Henry because of her injuries, which makes running away from dangerous situations that much more difficult, and she likes to attack ''everything'', [[TooDumbToLive including the]] [[InvincibleMinorMinion Ghost Victims]]. It probably doesn't help that all three have a bad case of ArtificialStupidity.
* Emma Emmerich in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. [[spoiler: She dies at the end of the mission.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}'', teenaged girl Yukimura Chizuru is taken in by the {{Shinsengumi}} and spends a good four to five years tagging along with them. She has almost no combat ability herself, and despite her best efforts to make herself useful by acting as a messenger or medic when the need arises, she's well aware that she's a liability to them -- especially when they're forced to leave Kyoto and go to war against the Imperial Army.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonNest'', if you complete a dungeon without attacking you get the "Carried through a dungeon. Tsk, tsk." achievement and the Pacifist title.
* Skye from the first ''VideoGame/LostInBlue'' installment is rendered [[BlindWithoutEm blind]] after you accidentally step on her glasses. Now you are tasked with not only escaping from a deserted island, but you must feed and care for two people [[ItsUpToYou while doing so]]. Should you ever have to bring her with you on your journey, be prepared to lose all your stamina hauling her butt up the island. Your best bet is to just leave her in the cave, [[StayInTheKitchen where she'll prepare meals with the food you bring back]].

* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV'' gives King Graham a talking owl companion named Cedric to help him in rescuing his kidnapped family. Unfortunately, not only is Cedric completely useless (for the first chunk of the game, he won't even enter any dangerous areas or buildings,) but later on he's constantly getting into trouble and needing to be rescued. The only time he actually does anything useful is when he [[spoiler: TakesTheBullet for Graham at the end of the game, and even then he does it unintentionally.]]
* ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars II'': Non-combat ships like Repair and Salvage or Supply. In the first game, you could stuff a fleet with as many spacecraft as you wanted and only deploy the combat ones. In this installment, though, changes to the system mean that you can only load a fleet with as many craft as your ArbitraryHeadcountLimit allows and can't hold non-combatants in reserve. This means that long-range expeditions that require multiple Supply-types will have much less firepower to call on. Unsurprisingly, this has been bemoaned as a ScrappyMechanic.
* Various in the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' series ...
** Bizarrely, ''you''. This is partly due to Atlus' unbelievably sadistic move of 'If the Protagonist falls, it's game over'. As a result, it becomes an absolute imperative to keep the Protagonist alive, at the expense of all others in the party. This often results in the situation where the boss is about to die, but is doing enough damage that you spend all your effort keeping your hero alive rather than doing damage and getting the fight over with. However, you invariably have the most flexible skillset and access to the best skills in the game, which lightens the burden somewhat. The downside comes when you also have to bear in mind your highly variable ''weaknesses'', too.
** Naoto Shirogane. Naoto has a brutal movepool of high-power Physical skills, unblockable Almighty magic and instant-kill attacks, making for a perfect GlassCannon. However, her health isn't great and her defence stat is also very low, so she has a habit of dying a lot. Also, instant-kills don't work on bosses and are luck-based, and Almighty spells are very expensive. The UpdatedRerelease gave her more elemental magic, however, making her far more balanced.
** Aigis. With no elemental magic and only mediocre Physical skills for much of ''Persona 3'', she can be kind of useless. However, her Orgia mode gives her another boost of power, and she has the best flexibility of Physical skills in the game (there are ''three'' different types of Physical damage; Slash, Strike and Pierce). Also, she gets better in The Answer.
* Jin in ''DeadIsland'' is worse than TheLoad, she's a complete and utter liability that gets several people killed and places you at risk. After reaching Morseby she steals the truck and threatens you until you agree to gather supplies for everyone, resulting in a number of survivors being killed when you do so. Then she gets kidnapped by the gangs when she tries to help them and you have to go rescue her, resulting in the person who went with her from the church dying. Then she releases Ryder White's obviously infected wife and yells at him out of anger, clearly seeing that he was about to be attacked and not warning him, leading to him being attacked and shooting and killing her, before taking the cure which instead transforms him into a monster, and you have to kill him. She can be used to carry items but that's it.
* Sam in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs''. His older brother Henry's over protectiveness has left him a regular kid who is unable to fend for himself in a world filled with {{Crazy Survivalist}}s and zombies. He does nothing useful during his time in the party! tagging along and being protected by everyone else, and [[spoiler:his inability to defend himself ends up biting him somewhat literally]]. Ellie starts as this as well, but unlike Sam, [[LittleMissBadass she definitely grows out of it]].

* Various in the ''VideoGame/Persona'' series ...

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2: Thane Krios is a ''very'' technical example. He's an effective squad mate, especially against the Collectors, but he's also the only member of the team along with Mordin who can't uniquely contribute in any way to everyone's survival of the suicide mission[[note]][[spoiler: Jacob, Miranda, and Garrus are all good candidates to lead the fire teams; Kasumi, Tali, and Legion are good candidates to send through the ventilation shaft so they can open and close the doors for the fire teams in time; Jack and Samara/Morinth are good candidates to hold up the biotic barrier against the seeker swarms; and Garrus, Grunt and Zaeed provide the highest defense bonuses for holding the line]][[/note]], and without Mordin the team wouldn't have survived the seeker swarms on Horizon.

* Murray is actually like this in the first ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' -- he is a clumsy, cowardly goofball absolutely useless for anything not involving driving, to the point that his job description actually includes the phrase "full-time burden." The later games make him into TheBigGuy.

** Bizarrely, ''you''. This is partly due to Atlus' unbelievably sadistic move of 'If the Protagonist falls, it's game over'. As a result, it becomes an absolute imperative to keep the Protagonist alive, at the expense of all others in the party. This often results in the situation where the boss is about to die, but is doing enough damage that you spend all your effort keeping them alive rather than doing damage and getting the fight over with. However, you invariably have the most flexible skillset and access to the best skills in the game, which lightens the burden somewhat. The downside comes when you also have to bear in mind your highly variable ''weaknesses'', too.

* Professor Harold [=MacDougal=] from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' fits this trope to a T. He's not only a whiny, wimpy and drug-addled racist, he also requires constant protection and creates new problems for players, such as provoking a grizzly bear or being held at gunpoint and used as a human shield. He contributes absolutely nothing during missions, and on top of it all, is ridiculously full of himself, making his departure back to Yale a welcome moment in the game. And when you read the last Newspaper, it is revealed he is kicked out of Yale after going on a drug-fueled rampage. And then he returns to Blackwater just in time for '' [[EverythingsDeaderwithzombies Undead Nightmare]] '' where he [[TemptingFate is going down that empty street to get his bag]]

* Similarly to Carrie, an unlicensed NES game titled ''Bible Adventures'' (which was 3 games in 1) had a game called "Baby Moses" in which you played as Jochebed (Moses' mom) and had to carry the baby to the end of each stage. Needless to say, Moses doesn't help Jochebed at all.

* Similarly to Carrie, an unlicensed NES game titled ''Bible Adventures'' (which was 3 games in 1) had a game called "Baby Moses" in which you played as Jochebed (Moses' mom) and had to carry the baby to the end of each stage, Needless to say, Moses doesn't help Jochebed at all.

* Similar to Carrie, an unlicensed NES game titled ''Bible Adventures'' (which was 3 games in 1) had a game called "Baby Moses" in which you played as Jochebed (Moses' mom) and had to carry the baby to the end of each stage, Needless to say, Moses doesn't help Jochebed at all.

** Escort missions in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'', unfortunately, are a straight example; your escortee is always level 1 (at least in Rescue Team), they will always attack enemy Pokemon (even when said enemy Pokemon has a type advantage or can otherwise [[OneHitKill one-shot]] them), you can't edit their moveset or IQ to help them not make stupid decisions that could get them killed, and you can't give/take away/exchange items with them. Your best bet is to bring along lots of Reviver Seeds and pray that nothing too terrible happens. Also, Pokemon that you've just recruited can turn into this if you forget to turn off any unhelpful moves.