The Un Favourite / Video Games

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla: Of Odin's children, he will do anything for Baldr, and gets on amicably with Thor, and then there's Vidar. Any time Odin thinks of him, his voice drips with disappointment. Even learning that the source of this disappointment (a fight which nearly got Vidar killed) wasn't as one-sided as he thought does nothing to lessen his disdain.
• If you play Crusader Kings 2, you will most likely have your share of unwanted sons. Daughters are always wanted, no matter how bad their skills and social capabilities are, because you can marry them off to establish alliances; but if you practice primogeniture (eldest son inherits), and your firstborn is an unlikable fool, it might be a good time to get him killed. Elective Monarchy is a possible solution to the problem, but if you choose that inheritance law, every unlanded adult son you have in your court gives you a prestige penalty, meaning you might want to marry them off to some foreign duchess to get them out of your hair, while keeping your intended inheritor around and preparing him to take over after you croak.
• In Devil May Cry 5, it’s revealed Vergil’s detachment to humanity and Start of Darkness was triggered by the perception that his human mother Eva viewed him as this and choose to give her life to save Dante, while he was abandoned. Dante corrects this in the Final Battle, telling Vergil’s Superpowered Evil Side Urizen that Eva’s last moments were her searching for him before she was killed. How much of this revelation has sunk in when Vergil is reforms is unclear, though he appears to be less bitter with Dante at the very least.
• In Dishonored, Delilah spent most of her childhood being disregarded by her father in favor of his trueborn daughter Jessamine. And among those marked by the Outsider, Delilah is the only one that the Outsider regrets marking her and even directly empowers others to try to stop her.
• Dragon Age:
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, Alistair feels like this, not least because he was illegitimate. His mother died in childbirth (or so he was told — supplemental material later reveals otherwise) and his father, for very cogent reasons, couldn't acknowledge him as his son. The Warden who befriends/romances him helps him grow into his own.
  • Dragon Age II has four examples:
    • In a mage playthrough, Hawke's younger brother Carver in Dragon Age II sees himself as this, despite little evidence to support his claims; it's a classic case of Successful Sibling Syndrome. Carver's uncle Gamlen is also one (see below), and the game compares the two of them on occasion. It wasn't that Malcolm disliked Carver; indeed, in a non-mage run, Bethany can mention that their father was proud of "his little soldier." Rather, Carver's lack of magical ability meant that Malcolm had very little time left over to spend with him, because he had to make sure that Bethany and Hawke (if Hawke is a mage) didn't fall prey to the very real dangers of Demonic Possession and Power Incontinence that plague untrained mages. Ironically, in the Legacy DLC they actually learn that Carver was the son Malcolm always wanted — he desperately hoped his children would not inherit his magic. If this is done in a non-mage playthrough and she is present, this discovery leads Bethany to wonder if she was secretly their father's unfavorite; her eldest sibling is very quick to shut down that line of thought. In the end, Malcolm loved all of his children and only resented that his youngest and, if applicable, his oldest carried a burden that the non-magical family members couldn't comprehend.
    • Hawke's uncle Gamlen, the younger brother of their mother Leandra, was this for his parents his entire life. It's easy to dismiss his commentary as mere jealousy of his elder sister, but the lorebook The World of Thedas, vol. 2 actually bears out his story - for reasons unknown, their parents really did idolize their daughter and had very little use for their son. Leandra, however, adored her brother and insisted he be given as much as she herself was; until she eloped with Hawke's father, she and Gamlen considered themselves best friends. Gamlen is bitter not so much because she eloped, but because he was left caring for their increasingly ill parents (they both died of cholera), and yet they still favored her - she had been secretly forgiven, and given control over the entire estate in their will; there is evidence that this is at least partly because Gamlen has a long-standing gambling problem and in general is quite inept with money.
    • In the Exiled Prince DLC, Sebastian Vael also has elements of this. As the youngest of three sons in the Starkhaven royal family, he envied his brothers and resented the fact that he wasn't even Spare to the Throne; he implies that his parents took very little interest in him because he was such an extraneous son. When he rebelled and became The Hedonist, his parents packed him off to The Church of a neighbouring city-state. It's probably not a coincidence that the relative he describes in the most detail is his grandfather.
    • The fourth example is Varric, although this is only seen if he's taken along to the Fade during one particular quest. Demons there can tempt the various companions to turn on Hawke, depending on certain circumstances. If Varric ends up being one of the tempted, it's through a demon offering the chance to get even with his brother Bartrand, who tried to kill him. Varric observes bitterly that "All my life, I did everything for the family... and he's still the favorite son."
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition
    • A human Inquisitor has the option of telling Josephine that they are the Trevelyan family's unfavorite for reasons that are left to the player's imagination. Since the rest of the Trevelyans have no involvement in the story outside some distant cousins in the war table, this is never expended upon.
    • Played for Laughs with the Hand of Korth, a minor villain who kidnaps a bunch of Inquisition soldiers because he wants to fight the Inquisitor. After the Inquisitor kills him, his father, Chief Movran the Under, is put on trial for throwing live goats at the Inquisition's castle. When questioned, Movran freely admits that he was only acting out of custom and has no quarrel with the Inquisition, making it clear that he holds the Hand of Korth in much lower regard than his other sons. He attributes this to his other boys having functioning brains while the Hand of Korth was a complete idiot.
• Dragon Quest V:
  • Debora Briscoletti is well loved and pampered, but her parents consider her a disappointment compared to her sister Nera, and they have given up on her ever getting married.
  • Prince Harry's bratty behavior partially stemmed from his brother Wilbur being clearly favored over him by the Queen, while King James is far too caught up in his work to pay much attention to, either.
• This is the motivation of the Big Bad of Drakengard, Manah. Her mother showered her brother Seere with love but abused Manah, finally culminating with abandoning her in a monster-infested canyon for a cult to take. After that, she decided that the only way she could make her mother love her was if the gods themselves loved her. And since God Is Evil, this entails being infused with their power, ascending to the head of the cult, taking control of The Empire, and destroying the world. All at no older than six years of age. The moral of the story: don't abuse your children, or they'll destroy the world.
• In F.E.A.R., it turns out that the Point Man was the unfavorite grandchild of Harlan Wade, as he did not possess the same Psychic Powers of his brother, Paxton Fettel.
• Final Fantasy:
  • In Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, visiting the past shows you how badly the Chief treated poor Rekoteh. He laments that she's weak compared to her brother Rolan (not that he's a good father to him) and banishes her from the house until she can prove herself by finding the Dragon's Mark.
  • In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Kadaj considers himself such, sensing that his "mother" Jenova loves Sephiroth more than him. It's unclear how much of this is actually Jenova's will and how much is Kadaj interpreting Sephiroth's control of Jenova.
  • In Final Fantasy XVI, hero Clive Rosfield is the first son of Archduke Elwin Rosfield, and unlike his younger brother Joshua, is not the inheritor of the Eikon Phoenix. Elwin makes it clear he loves both of his sons equally and Clive isn't bothered by Joshua's status as Dominant or heir to the throne, but their mother Annabella can barely hide her disdain for Clive, believing him a failure for not inheriting Phoenix, leading her to betray the Duchy, a series of events that ends with Elwin and Joshua thought dead and Roseria destroyed. This trait of hers continues in the present day, with her shunning her step-son Dion Lesage of Sanbreque for the child she had with his father, Olivier. This blows up in her face when Dion, enraged by Olivier's ascension to Emperor and accidently killing his father, destroys Twinside in fury which in turn leads to Twinside's Mothercrystal destroyed by the sons she abandoned and her precious Olivier killed at Dion's hands. She takes her own life shortly after.
• In Fire Emblem: Three Houses:
  • Miklan was the first-born son of Margrave Gautier, but was disinherited by the family because he wasn't born with the family Crest — his younger brother Sylvain (one of the playable heroes) got it instead. The loss of what he believed to be his birthright made Miklan bitter and caused him to turn to banditry, even going as far as to steal the family's Heroes' Relic, the Lance of Ruin, to get back at his family for disinheriting him.
  • Caspar is initially implied to be this to his father, Count Leopold von Bergliez, as he is the younger son and was born without a Crest, so he doesn't have much in the way of expectations, but unlike Miklan, Caspar is quite well-adjusted despite that and actually feels glad he doesn't have a Crest because it frees him to make his own decisions instead of what his parents want for him. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes would elaborate on their relationship, however, and show this is averted as Leopold quite clearly cares about Caspar, having trained him from a young age and showing pride in his accomplishments as a warrior.
• In Goodbye Volcano High, Fang is implied to be this, due to both being nonbinary and choosing to pursue their musician dream instead of a more "respectable" career. Their parents show clear favoritism towards younger brother Naser, and don't respect Fang's music ambitions, gender, or chosen name. In Chapter 1, while their parents are out of town, Naser tells Fang he gets five texts a day from mom. Meanwhile, Fang gets none, but won't admit to Naser that it hurts them.
• In Growing Up, Alicia's parents dote on her brother more than her because her dad's training him to be next in line for his company. Alicia believes that her parents are only spoiling her to pretend that they care about her.
• In Hades, Nyx loves all her children, but doesn't have respect for Hypnos, owing to his childishness, failing to be any help with the many responsibilities of the Underworld, and calling Nyx mom in front of other people. When Nyx brings Hypnos up in conversation, the first thing she asks is if he hasn't been completely intolerable.
• In Kings Quest (2015), Gart feels like the unfavorite grandchild compared with his cousin Gwendolyn, who is clearly the apple of their grandfather's eye. All things considered, it's hard to blame him for being grumpy about it.
• In Mega Man ZX Advent, it turns out Grey is the unfavorite to Master Albert. Of the three Reploids he created (Prometheus, Pandora, and Grey), Grey was always meant to be the back-up Ultimate Mega Man if by some chance Albert was killed before his plan could succeed. The thing is, that's all he was meant to be in the long run unlike his siblings, who Albert used as his top minions for centuries to enact his plan (although considering what they went through, they probably think Grey got lucky). When he wakes up before his scheduled brainwashing was completed, Albert treats him with indifference at best and contempt at worst, calling him a "Defective" and acting like he's used goods, even happily trying to kill him himself at the endgame since he didn't need Grey after all. Albert treats Ashe, who's his last living human descendant and the other playable protagonist fighting against him, with far more care than he does Grey.
• Metal Gear:
  • Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. He was so much of an unfavorite of his clonedaddy Big Boss that he swore revenge against his 'superior' twin, commandeered a walking nuclear death-tank, and held the world for ransom for the remains of Big Boss. Talk about family issues.
    • Worth pointing out: because they were conceived without his knowledge or consent, Big Boss didn't want to have anything to do with any of his sons, so they were all unfavorites. Liquid was just the only one to develop a complex over it.
  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty had Fatman, who was neglected by his parents, and apparently, even though he built a nuclear bomb at age 10 and was rather famous (or infamous) within the bomb trade for this feat, he was hated within his own school. Even the rest of Dead Cell don't seem to like him all that much. Ironically, he came to hate his former mentor and teacher Peter Stillman, the one person who actually did like him, more than anyone else and became sadistically obsessed with "beating" him.
• In Mysteries and Nightmares: Morgiana, the title character's younger sister Arabella was actually given Morgiana's horse just because she cried when her own horse broke its leg and had to be put down. Needless to say, this sort of disparity didn't end well.
• In one sidequest in NieR: Automata, you're asked to find a machine child who ran away from his mother after an argument. When you find him, it turns out that his mother was very tough on him and he got tired of being this to his older brother; the latter broke a dish and the mother blamed the younger machine, and when the older machine punched him, the mother machine reasoned that it was the younger machine's fault.
• Ni no Kuni has the princes of Hamelin, Marcassin and Gascon. As children, the younger Marcassin showed extreme magical potential while the elder Gascon had almost none. Thus, their emperor-mage father lavished attention on Marcassin while Gascon fell by the wayside. Although he loved his younger brother, Gascon believed his father hated him—and despite being very young, Marcassin seemed to know it as well, hiding his powers in order to make their father pay more attention to Gascon. And in the PS3 version, when the party travels back in time to the days of the two young princes, the emperor reveals to Swaine that he knew he was Gascon all along, and as he lay dying in his son's arms, tells him he's always loved him and is proud of him regardless.
• Persona:
  • Though it may not be confirmed as we never see his parents, Nozomi Suemitsu, aka the Gourmet King from Persona 3, was constantly in his older and less rotund bother's shadow.
  • Persona 4 takes this trope a step further with Kou Ichijo. It's revealed that Kou was raised in an Orphanage of Love and then adopted as a child because his adoptive parents thought they couldn't have any children of their own... until they actually do. When they do, Kou feels that they've literally cast him to the side now that they have a "real" child. However, progressing his Social Link will reveal that Kou's parents do truly love him, and will support him in whatever path he chooses.
  • Defeating Futaba's uncle in Persona 5 reveals that he always felt this way compared to his sister Wakaba. She was far more intelligent and talented than him when they were kids, and became a brilliant scientist and researcher while he struggled just trying to be relevant. He then took this resentment out on her daughter Futaba after her death.
• Flora, in the Professor Layton series, seems like this sometimes because the Professor keeps trying to leave her at home when he goes on investigations, but allows Luke — who is younger — to tag along. Although the Professor's reasoning is good (he's unwilling to take a young lady into dangerous situations), it's a bit wince-worthy, especially since Luke is only the Professor's apprentice and Flora is his adopted daughter.
  • It's arguably justified by the differences in Flora and Luke's backgrounds. Luke, as the professor's apprentice, is used to solving puzzles and hazarding dangerous situations. Flora has not had that sort of experience, and also is implied to still be recovering from the trauma of her dad first having tried to pass off a robot as a replacement for her mother, then dying himself and leaving her to be raised by Ridiculously Human Robots. What's harder to justify is the fact that Layton persists in not explaining his reasons to her; her feelings are also exacerbated by Flora having an intense fear of being alone.
• Bill Williamson in Red Dead Redemption II is treated as the Butt-Monkey and one of the least liked of the Van der Linde gang, despite him trying his best to pull his weight around the gang and staying very loyal to the gang. At one point, after he makes a mistake and gets chewed out on it, Bill complains how Arthur as Dutch's Number Two seems to do whatever he wants and always gets away with it. In one drunk conversation with John, Bill in a roundabout way admits that he is jealous that John is Dutch's favorite.
• In Silent Hill: Homecoming Alex's younger brother Joshua is clearly the favorite of his parents, to the extent that Alex tells his mother to "stop pretending you care about me" at one point when she tries to apologize to him. It's later revealed that Alex's parents had to choose one of their children to be sacrificed to Silent Hill's god in order to keep it from destroying Shepherd's Glen. They chose Alex and, knowing he was doomed, purposely remained distant with him to make the inevitable sacrifice easier.
• The titular "Bastard of Kosigan" from a Neverwinter Nights mod, whose situation at home was so uncomfortable for him that he ran off and became a mercenary after his father (the only person defending him from his uncle's abuse) died.
• The Sims 2 has Lilith Pleasant, the younger daughter of Mary-Sue and Daniel Pleasant. When you first play the household, she has a bad relationship with everyone, including her older twin sister, whom she hates (and vice versa). She also starts out with poor school grades and a red aspiration meter, showing how dissatisfied she is with her life, and has memories of growing up badly from each life-stage to the next. While it's not exactly clear why Mary-Sue and Daniel favour Angela over her, the common fandom theory is that they were expecting only one child and weren't prepared to take care of a second.
• In Stardew Valley, it becomes clear that Demetrius doesn't care at all about his stepson, Sebastian. He favors his daughter Maru a lot, becomes overprotective of her if the player romances her, and never even talks about his stepson. Sebastian is well-aware of his stepfather's attitude, and his mother is insensitively oblivious to it, at best.
• Beat in The World Ends with You typically sees himself as the Unfavorite of his family, especially compared to his younger sister Rhyme. As a result of being unable to live up to their standards, he stops trying at school altogether, which Neku notes is at odds with the Hot-Blooded personality he demonstrates.