Good examples of "The Chosen One" - Possible Spoilers

[Sniper Team 4]

I enjoy a lot of "The Chosen One" tropes, but I think one that stands out for me is the Chosen Undead in Dark Souls. Because it shows just how twisted and messed up being "The Chosen One" can be. Talk about manipulating the events of reality.

 

[The Madman]

I really like the way the developers used that trope in The Longest Journey.

Spoiler

Subverting the player and main characters expectations by making them think they're the 'chosen one' only for it to turn out they weren't, it was totally someone else. This revelation coming only after having sacrificed nearly everything in the belief that as the 'chosen one' it was required of them.

Ouch. Such a bummer ending.

 

[Azahul]

The original Guild Wars had a really interesting take on it.

So there's a secret race of invisible floating psychic monsters called the Mursaat that can inflict a state called Spectral Agony that is basically an instant-win against just about any mortal creature. And they've been manipulating the country Kryta for the past few decades, setting up a church that venerates them as gods. And there's a prophecy that says one of the Chosen will come along and destroy them.

Chosen are an actual whole subset of humans who can detect Mursaat, so the White Mantle (the religious order that rules Kryta) sets up a ritual to find those with Chosen potential. All player characters seem to automatically be included. They then sacrifice these Chosen on a Bloodstone, which has the added benefit of ensuring that Titans, locked inside the planet, cannot escape.

So, right from the start, we have the (very MMO-appropriate) status of there being a large number of Chosen Ones, any one of which might be the subject of the prophecy.

The twist? The prophecy refers to the story's principle villain, not to the protagonist. An undead lich wants to set the Titans loose. In the process, he needs the Mursaat (whose slaughter of the Chosen is keeping the Titans sealed) to be destroyed. So the subject of the prophecy, the mythical Chosen One that would rid the world of the Mursaat, was actually the bad guy who just needed it done as the last big step towards his own attempt at world domination.

 

[Vault101]

since I'm such a fan of underdog storys (which we dont often get in videogames) I think for me there's only ways of doing it "less badly"

say what you want about Bioware at least they give you a little context for everthing...Like I can assume shepard is qualified to be a spectre, and as much as I like DA"I's set up

[sub/]because unlike a certain other fantasy series its nto just YOU running around singlehandedly doing everything, you actually have an army/spys/political pull propping you up [/sub]

its still like: who is this person? what are your quialifications?

although I do really like the fact my character is a noble, makes them being all powerful and shit easyer to swallow

disclaimer: no DA:I spoilers

 

[-Dragmire-]

Bard's Tale. Granted, he really doesn't want to be the chosen one as they don't seem live long.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

I'll go back to the older game of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Your character starts off as the only survivor of a zeppelin crash. A religious zealot appears convinced that you are the one prophesied to the reborn hero who will destroy the great evil!!! Unfortunately, his enthusiasm far exceeds his knowledge of the prophecy and you spend most of the game learning bits and pieces of just what in the world he's babbling on about.

Of course, there are other people who believe in the prophecy who do not want to see it come to fruition, so they try to kill you. But you still have no idea why.

I love the storyline of the game so I won't give out any spoilers, but I'll just say that you generally keep on doing what you need to do in the game to stay alive and stop some rather cut-rate assassins from trying to kill you rather than because you care about some old prophecy.

Spoiler

Perhaps one minor spoiler. The "prophecy" is a complete misrepresentation of history anyway. After all, how can you be the reincarnation of the great hero. . . .when the great hero is actually still alive?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Good examples... Malus Darkblade, he's a chosen one but gets fucked around endlessly, somehow only getting his situation worse with each book but still manages to get by. Even when they tell him he's a chosen one he doesn't buy it.

Dunno...I liked that he started off as a fairly ordinary DE noble (which was fairly unusual), but as the books went ton, he became the stereotypical chosen one. Got pretty bad in the last book, he turned into a hero.

 

[f1r2a3n4k5]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One Girl in all the world destined to...

It does the usual struggle with the burden thing that a lot of them do, but it does it well, and it contrasts nicely with the expectation that she'll fight evil, and the expectation that she'll be a normal girl, with all that that entails, which never really goes away. She herself wants the latter. It helps that the series isn't really consistent about power levels or anything, so they can play fast and loose with it, and the role of the Slayer is to fight the monsters, but the title is passed on with their death, so it's essentially eternal servitude, and a burden, rather than a boon and a guarantee of success. Since the series plays it so loose with the details of the power in mythology, a large cast of supporting characters have significant parts to play, so it doesn't get old.

Of course, your tolerance for Joss Whedon may vary.

IMHO, you've glossed over the most important bit, that it is passed on upon her death.

She's not "The" Chosen One, she is the current holder of a title held by lots of others before her, which will immediately go on to someone else once she dies. She's ultimately expendable.

I think that's what makes this use of the trope so great.

It has all the classic trappings of The Chosen One. Like how she tries to refuse the call. Or how her friends/allies are always inept in comparison.

BUT, it maintains the tension by positing from the very beginning that her being the "Chosen One" will ultimately lead to her death.


On topic:
From literature: Harry Potter
From games: Baldur's Gate, Fable, Castlevania (the trope is sometimes inverted)

It's kind of interesting. Looking back, I loved this trope as a child. Now I find it very meh. Reflecting on it, I suspect it's because as a child, we all fantasize about uncovering great and unique qualities about ourselves (see also: all those kids crushed that they aren't going to Hogwarts).

But by adulthood, we know who we are (mostly). We know what we are capable of (mostly). And we also have usually done at least a few amoral things. So perhaps, we grow out of the "Chosen One" trope and into the "Everyman" persona.

Something to chew on, I guess.

 

[Casual Shinji]

OT: I don't know if you could really call it a Choosen One story, maybe the opposite of it, but Berserk is about a man who is destined to fail and be consumed by Hell no matter what, yet he just keeps on fighting at the expense of his own physical and mental health. It's the best!

Hey, the OP didn't specify that the Chosen had to be the protagonist. Isn't Griffith pretty much the ultimate Chosen one, and a really sick twist on the whole thing too? A savior figure who reached (or was destined to reach) his stature by slaughter, sacrifice and rape.

I'd consider Griffith more the anti-Choosen One, since he is basically the anti-Christ. He's the dude who is seemingly bringing world peace and spreading goodness wherever he goes, but inside...

 

[Aetera]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One Girl in all the world destined to...

It does the usual struggle with the burden thing that a lot of them do, but it does it well, and it contrasts nicely with the expectation that she'll fight evil, and the expectation that she'll be a normal girl, with all that that entails, which never really goes away. She herself wants the latter. It helps that the series isn't really consistent about power levels or anything, so they can play fast and loose with it, and the role of the Slayer is to fight the monsters, but the title is passed on with their death, so it's essentially eternal servitude, and a burden, rather than a boon and a guarantee of success. Since the series plays it so loose with the details of the power in mythology, a large cast of supporting characters have significant parts to play, so it doesn't get old.

Of course, your tolerance for Joss Whedon may vary.

I came here to post this same thing. Buffy is the Chosen One, but that isn't a guarantee that she will succeed by fate. It is a guarantee that she is destined to fight. In the show, it is stated that slayers rarely make it to 18. Buffy subverts the usual "chosen one destined to stand alone against the monsters" by leaning on her friends for support, which makes her stronger and ultimately the longest lived slayer, if I recall correctly. The show was all about subverting tropes. It's my favorite show ever.

 

[Hades]

I thought Symphonia handled the Chosen concept very well by showing how much it sucks for the Chosen and the mental strains that come with the job.

In the declining world the Chosen is constantly told she's holy and perfect and that she alone can save everyone from their suffering which really hampered her self esteem. When finally on the job it turns out to be very harsh and painful and it does have a dark secret she knew all along so all the attention is reminding her she's going to suffer big time.

In the flourishing world the Chosen is at the top of the hierarchy along with the king and the pope which drags him into all kinds of court disputes and the Chosen family seems very dysfunctional because of it. The title also robs the one wearing it of any sense of personal life.

 

[SidheKnight]

Harry Potter.

I can't tell why without spoiling.

 

[Cowabungaa]

There is only one right answer:

 

[Veldel]

I guess something like Kingdom Hearts (the first one anyway);

Sora is the one the Keyblade chose, so only he can use it. It distinguishes him from everyone else immediately, to the point where villains and whatnot go out of their way to try and steal it (doomed to fail as that may be).

What really annoys me about the trope is when someone is "The Chosen One" but there is nothing stopping anyone else from doing their job! If the only thing that makes them The Chosen One is some birthmark then it just comes across as all kinds of stupid.

Actually Riku is the chosen one but due to letting himself fall to darkness or whatnot it passes to the 2nd most capable Sora.

And it's reveled in BbS they all had gained the ability by interacting with Terra, Aqua, I forgot the 3rd guy

 

[jurnag12]

I really liked the one used by the Wheel of Time. The series has many faults, but I do enjoy how it used the Chosen One status to grab its main character and just fucking ruin his life. he is the Dragon Reborn, the one reincarnated again and again throughout the turnings of the wheel of time itself to stand against the Shadow and prevent the unsealing of the Dark One.

And it fucking breaks him. The first 8/10ths of the series after Rand discovers both his status as the Dragon and his powers as a Channeler is just the process of him trying to do the best with the situation, and just being utterly crushed by it due to him, despite magical powers of various kinds that make him a one man army and a decent head on his shoulders, basically being a random farm kid thrown into the role. He tries to become stronger to face his task, and just ends up making it worse for himself due to the taint on the male type of magic. He resolves to go emotionless hero to help him make tough decisions and it reaches a head where he nearly kills his father who he had not seen in months out of frustration and rage. Meanwhile the Chosen One status as being a consistent reincarnation combined with the madness-inducing effects of the taint cause him to develop multiple personality disorder with his prior incarnation, who has just flat-out gone mad with grief from the things that happened to HIM in the process of fighting the Dark One's machinations.

I just love how it takes the Chosen One thing and doesn't actually disguise that something like that will severely psychologically fuck with a person. Have some godlike power and importance to the universe for free! Wait, you wanted a happy ending to go along with it? Fucking start working then, jackass.

 

[Auron225]

I guess something like Kingdom Hearts (the first one anyway);

Sora is the one the Keyblade chose, so only he can use it. It distinguishes him from everyone else immediately, to the point where villains and whatnot go out of their way to try and steal it (doomed to fail as that may be).

What really annoys me about the trope is when someone is "The Chosen One" but there is nothing stopping anyone else from doing their job! If the only thing that makes them The Chosen One is some birthmark then it just comes across as all kinds of stupid.

Actually Riku is the chosen one but due to letting himself fall to darkness or whatnot it passes to the 2nd most capable Sora.

And it's reveled in BbS they all had gained the ability by interacting with Terra, Aqua, I forgot the 3rd guy

Honestly, I thought it was a nice twist that Riku was actually TCO - it meant that Sora had earned it in the end when it chose him instead.

I don't think less of it either that a Chooser was involved. Again, that made it better. Terra specifically gave the ability to Riku since he saw potential in him. He did somewhat misjudge him though given what happens in the first game, but once more I liked that. Sometimes The Chosen One shouldn't have been chosen.

 

[Jingle Fett]

There is only one right answer:

Thank you good sir, I was reading through the first page and was getting depressed nobody had mentioned Kung Pow yet. The one and only Chosen One

For anyone who hasn't seen it...the protagonist's name is Chosen One...literally. Or Cho-Simba when Mushu-fasa shows up...
(two chosen one tropes in one movie!)

Spoiler

2:18 "I remember a long time ago, when a good friend of mine once told me there would be...a chosen one"

Spoiler

That's a lot of nuts