The Most Tragic/Sad Video Game Characters?

[Leviathan]

:o TMS...

Getting back on topic, let's all take a brief detour over here (thar be spoilers).

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Luke's definitely tragic/sad. Cloud is also as well, but for me, not only from Aerith's death, but Zack's. THough this is mainly because I played Crisis Core first >.>

Although, I think Lion/Leon from Tales of Destiny was definitely one of the more tragic characters I've seen. (SPOILERS o.O) Simply put; A character who had finally begun warming up to the party, blackmailed into working with the enemy, with his girlfriend's life on the line. Then, he's forced to fight his best friend, and sacrifices himself to save the party from a collapsing mine, so he dies, drowning, having a conversation with his sword, wondering if he really did the right thing in staying there.

And bam, one of the more endearing characters, not to mention one of the best speed/melee battlers in the game is gone for more than half the story.

I also find Yuri to be rather tragic, what with the canon ending to Shadow Hearts, and Shadow Hearts 2...

 

[Pride of Kings]

My choice would be James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2. He goes through that whole ordeal looking for his dead wife and at the end he realizes he's the one that killed her.

 

[see ya]

My choice would be James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2. He goes through that whole ordeal looking for his dead wife and at the end he realizes he's the one that killed her.

...How the FUCK did I forget James Sunderland?! Silent Hill 2 is one of my favorite games ever. D:

It's not just what he did that was sad, it's why he did it, It went beyond "You were suffering, and I wanted to end it for you". No, that was only part of the reason. The other part hated Mary for dragging him down because her terminal illness had driven her into a deep depression, and she would often lash out at him, and he was also sick of looking after her and taking care of her constantly. But in the end, his love was sincere (Well, in most of the endings) and he either killed himself for her, moved on with his life and adopted Laura, or tried to revive her using the power of the city. The other ending was him going with the demonic representation of Mary (Maria) and having to live the same nightmare for all eternity. And, well, just everything that happens in the game in general, too, especially poor Angela.

 

[Lupine Volt]

Lisa Trevor of Resident Evil fame...especially if you've read all the files, and properly completed the tomb puzzle...it'd be easier to sympathise if she wasn't trying to bash your head in.

 

[Thorne]

Lisa Trevor of Resident Evil fame...especially if you've read all the files, and properly completed the tomb puzzle...it'd be easier to sympathise if she wasn't trying to bash your head in.

You win.

Anyway, it's hard to tell, but Zero and his reincarnation 02 is kind of sad. Zero only wanted someone to love him, but no one did, so he fell to corruption. And as 02 he couldn't feel happiness at all, just hate, sadness and anger.

 

[foreign contaminant]

i always thought vivi's plot from ff9 was sad. i wouldn't want him to "turn off" that quickly. he was nice!

 

[Minish]

As already mentioned, Rhyme and Joshua from The World Ends With You.

And additionally, Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. Let's see, his childhood was pretty crap and he got blamed for Tifa being put into a coma even though he wasn't responsible for it. His entire village was burned down by his biggest idol. Zack was killed in front of him, when Cloud couldn't defend him because he was basically inane. He was so messed up and confused he pretty much lied about his life, and was only really open after being chucked into the Lifestream and having his memories and feelings probed and figured out by the combined efforts of himself and Tifa. Oh, and he watched a woman who he - let's face it, even if you don't ship them - basically fell in love with be slaughtered by the idol mentioned previously. And then he had to spend ages following said idol to save the world, which couldn't be anything but extremely stressful and depressing. And he was subjected to all the confusing Jenova cell stuff. And that's just including the stuff I haven't forgotten...

 

[Blaziking the God General]

I agree with foreign contaminent about Vivi. For pete's sake, he only lived because his "grandfather" wanted to eventually eat him Really though, Imagine realizing that you were created merely as a puppet for war, and that you were only going to be used until you needed to be replaced, after you "stopped".

 

[Eye of Gorgon]

I'd have to say Krystal from Star Fox. I mean COME ON! She was the only survivor on her ENTIRE PLANET!

 

[Dewgong]

aren't there lots of characters from games that were the last of their entire planet?

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

aren't there lots of characters from games that were the last of their entire planet?

Either that, or last of their race. Either way, it's very cliche.

 

[Erif]

Without a doubt, Mithos from Tales of Symphoniaaaa ;;

I have to step in here.

Spoiler

Mithos was a whinny brat hell-bent on destroying the human race because a human killed her sister. That's right. The whole game was fighting a crazy kid who wants revive his dead sister. Wtf? It's REALLY depressing how bad of a villain the Tales studio made in this game (because they've made some epic bad peoplez in the past). For Christ sake, he's a fucking ten year-old! He has to be one of the most boring and annoying villains I know, just because of his reason behind being evil, and his constant complaining about how the world is "bad". And I can't believe the hero's felt sorry after finally killing this mother fucka.

Now, they really succeeded with Tales of Phantasia's Dhaos. One of my favorite villains of all time. His story: Dhaos came to Earth(or whatever world ToP is set in) from his world Derris Kharlan, that was dying off. His purpose was to take the Seed of Mana, which is the source of life in the world, and take back so he could save his home world and all the people he loved there(I think he was a king or something). But there was a problem. Stupid, clueless humans were taking a step forward into technology; they were building a Mana canon, that sucked away the very power of Mana and "The Great Mana Tree" or something like that. So, he goes on a killing spree with a horde of demons and destroys everything in his path, aiming towards finishing off the canon. But, our heroes, clueless of what Dhaos' true intentions were, put an end to Dhaos and his quest.. After all. they only saw Dhaos as a cruel, powerful tyrant who killed for no reason. After they kill him and hear his story though, the have the right reason for thinking "Was what we did right?" All in all, Dhaos makes Mithos look like a pussy.

Oh yeah, this man deserves the title of 'one of the hardest boss battles evar lolololol. You have to fight him THREE different times, and the last time you fight him he has three different forms, two of which are extremely hard and long.

In my first playthrough of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, through princess Eirika's story, Prince Lyon's end made me cry real, hot salty tears.

Spoiler: ending

Once you mortally wound him he finally regains control of himself. He was in love with Eirika and pretty much did all that crazy stuff that ended up destroying himself, just for her. As for Ephraim's side of the story, he just wanted to feel like he was as fit to be a king as Ephraim. And then, he dies. Though killing him didn't even do any good because the Demon King rises anyway.

Also, Carlyle. (his name doesn't get spoiler tags 'cause he's such a minor character) You only ever run into him if you play Eirika's side of the story, but tale is pretty depressing. But it involves the family of my favorite character so maybe I'm kinda biased.

Spoiler: plot point

He's in love with Queen Ismaire (Joshua's mother) but she's just like, "No, dude. Sorry." Then you gotta kill him. (I always use Joshua to do so for dramatic effect; and they also have a special pre-battle dialogue.)

Is it obvious that Eirika's side of the story is my favorite one from FE:SS? Ephraim's is all... manly.

Have you played any of the other FE games? If not, 7 and 9 make 8 look like a happy ending. Some sad stuff. I agree though, his dying was sad. D=

I'd have to say Krystal from Star Fox. I mean COME ON! She was the only survivor on her ENTIRE PLANET!

lolfail.

 

[Aisling]

Have you played any of the other FE games? If not, 7 and 9 make 8 look like a happy ending. Some sad stuff. I agree though, his dying was sad. D=

I've beaten Path of Radiance (didn't it have a happy ending? The herons all dying was pretty sad and everything, though, true, and the whole Ike's-dad-killing-his-mom thing... I actually forgot a lot about PoR until just now), and the first couple chapters of the Wii one... I didn't get very far in 7 either. Last I played, I was stuck on the chapter where you get the chance to recruit, er... that purple haired assassin with the scars on his face, with the card in his inventory? I really need to try that game again. >:/

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

I have to step in here.

Spoiler

Mithos was a whinny brat hell-bent on destroying the human race because a human killed her sister. That's right. The whole game was fighting a crazy kid who wants revive his dead sister. Wtf? It's REALLY depressing how bad of a villain the Tales studio made in this game (because they've made some epic bad peoplez in the past). For Christ sake, he's a fucking ten year-old! He has to be one of the most boring and annoying villains I know, just because of his reason behind being evil, and his constant complaining about how the world is "bad". And I can't believe the hero's felt sorry after finally killing this mother fucka.

He's basically a halfassed, bastardized version of Dhaos for the noobs, and small children. The best Tales villains ever, though, while they aren't tragic or anything, they're still fucking awesome; Barbatos, and Miktran.

Come to think of it... Shizel from Tales of Eternia/Destiny II is kinda tragic: During Rid's third and final Seyfert Trial for the Aurora Arte, when the player is forced to actually play as Shizel for a short time (With awesome spells, and a crazy fast incantation time for each of them. You're also forced to protect a young Meredy, who can't do anything except be a complete dumbass and run towards the enemies.), the player learns the reason she wants to destroy the world; After watching soldiers kill off her husband, Balir -the Inferian mentioned in disc 1 and 2, who used the Bridge of Light in Mt. Farlos to cross over to Celestia- She ends up absorbing the Dark Aurora, and Nereid's will and conscience, and decides that the world that currently exists, which is a material world, is a world where people constantly feel pain, and are always fighting, and wishes to return it to nothingness.

There's also Special Agent Kato, in Shadow Hearts II;

Spoiler

In the original Shadow Hearts, his lover, Yoshiko Kawashima was killed. In II, he spends a large portion of the game trying to get his hands on the Emigre Manuscript (Or Emigre Document, for you traditionalists who played Koudelka), and in Disc 2, uses it to bring her back to life in the form of a mutant ape, as Ouka. After Nicolai's very existence had been taken over by the Demon Lord Astaroth, Astaroth stabs his sword, intending on killing Kato, but ends up killing Ouka instead, who had fallen in love with Kato a second time. This ends up stemming Kato's stupid "If my lover can't live, then no one else can" mindset. Granted, it's kinda stupid, but that honestly, would just plain suck if your lover had died right before your eyes twice.

 

[J.T.]

lolfail.

How so? It's a valid point. True, it doesn't have a personal level on it like Count Bleck or Lucas or something, where the whole story (or a major part of it) is based on the tragedy (with Krystal it's like "my whole planet was decimated... OKAY DONE GO KILL THINGS"), but it is, in its way, a serious video game tragedy.

Although I do agree the whole "only surviving member of *insert population here*" is getting kind of old.

 

[Erif]

He's basically a halfassed, bastardized version of Dhaos for the noobs, and small children. The best Tales villains ever, though, while they aren't tragic or anything, they're still fucking awesome; Barbatos, and Miktran.

God, were you the guy who just posted the P4 song in the rate the song above thread? You're so much win. My new best friend <3

How so? It's a valid point. True, it doesn't have a personal level on it like Count Bleck or Lucas or something, where the whole story (or a major part of it) is based on the tragedy (with Krystal it's like "my whole planet was decimated... OKAY DONE GO KILL THINGS"), but it is, in its way, a serious video game tragedy.

Although I do agree the whole "only surviving member of *insert population here*" is getting kind of old.

It's not. It's a clitche tragedy, not even really a tragedy at all. "oh noez, her planet died"... Now, if it were "Her family was brutally murdered by a vicious tyrant, who went on and killed of the rest of the remaining survivors on her planet" I would understand, but it's not

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

God, were you the guy who just posted the P4 song in the rate the song above thread? You're so much win. My new best friend <3

Haha, Tales of Phantasia is a classic. If Tales of Symphonia wasn't so plain, and cookie cutter, it might've been better than Phantasia. But Yggdrasil was just so horrible... He had a lame Dhaos Collider/Corridor rip-off (Outburst? Come on...), and he wasn't even good enough to rip off of DAOSU REIZAAA/Dhaos LAYZARS. Instead, he just got that lame Death Eater/Death Kneel attack.

Mithos was just a complete idiot that couldn't comprehend the true meaning of what his sister said, while Dhaos was the very pinnacle of the term "Nationalist". Plus, he was one of the best misunderstood antagonists ever. That's where the main characters come in to support that, because they were all so young (Save for Klarth), and all so naive, they didn't really truly know the meaning of evil, which Dhaos wasn't.

 

[Erif]

Finally, I found someone who doesn't think that "tals of symphonia is teh gratest tals game evar!" >.<

Yes yes, Symphonia could of been much better than it was. I can't believe how easy the final boss was, either. I mean, I was definitely expecting a final form, but it took about five minutes tops. His magic attacks were pretty weak, and most of them you could easily dodge. All in all, Mithos was a bad villain and a weak final boss :/

I also didn't like how bad the CD (character development) was in ToS compared to ToP. There were those small cut-scenes you could activate with the "Z" button, but still, it's nothing like what the had in Phantasia. It has some of my favorite characters (Arche for the fucking win), because of how well I got to know the characters, the HUGE amount of cut-scenes used for development, and the massive in-story development. Still, Symphonia had pretty good CD, just lower than my expectations.

ToS did have some great extra quests, though. The Devil's Arms quest was fun, and I still haven't beat Abyssion lol. The Sword Dancers, Maxwell, Niflheim, and the special appearance of other Tales characters at the arena.

 

[reecemysocksoff]

You've got to feel sorry for Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 2.

[SPOILERS...I think...]
His life is pretty much a fake one because he's a nobody. He's also constantly plagued by confusing dreams, and has been living a lie in his computer life, having all that meant the world to him taken away. While I feel bugger all sympathy for the rest of Organisation XII (Axel maaaybe...) Roxas' story is so wonderfully told, and you do feel genuinely sad once he has to leave the fake traverse town, back to having pointless existence.