Poll: Do you ever feel sorry for a protagonist?

[tjbond911]

Spoiler: Red Dead Redemption spoilers

Rest in peace, John Marston, whose only sin was in trying to redeem himself in a world that didn't care (also, murder). You were shot in the back, helped overthrow the Mexican government, got mauled/trampled by cougars/coyotes/wolves/bobcats/bears/buffalo/wild pigs/zombies, and killed your friends and father figure just so you could get the chance to repent for your past and live a normal life with your long-lost son and smokin' hot, ex-whore wife. And for your troubles, you were shot in cold blood by the very men who forced you out into the world. Goodnight, sweet prince.

On that note, fuck you, Edgar Ross. yeah i was hhappy to kill tthat fuckin douche bag

yeah i was happy to kill tthat fuckin douche bag
And mine would be Edward Nortons character from American history X. First he was maniulated by cameron (which he saw as a father figure since his real father was killed) into becoming a nazi and doing his dirty work and then he goes to prison nd after getting out he gets his brother to stop being a skinhead only to have his brother be shot. THe main reason I felt bad for him though was because even though he tried to do the right thing and help his brother he still experianced a huge tradgedy by losing him.

 

[Canid117]

Poor poor Kratos. All he wants is to be loved... and to tear Zeuses head off with his bare hands but then again Zeus had it coming even before he betrayed Kratos. What with the whole "being a serial rapist" thing.

 

[WonderWillard]

I teared up during the last Christina memory in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Scratch that. I cried deeply.

Christ, those Christina memories got so emotional. That might have been the only time I've ever teared up during a video game. They alone made Brotherhood worth it, it just made Ezio seem so... Human. I don't think I've ever felt sorrier for a character.

Also, I felt very sorry for Cole Phelps in LA Noire. He tries to hard to be this honorable, righteous police officer, but he is deeply flawed and has made some grievous mistakes.

And, Ned Stark, Game of Thrones. Seriously... You know what, just about every damn character in that damn book series.

 

[Dr Snakeman]

River Tam, Firefly. Really sucks to be her, driven completely nuts by some psychotic experiments.

Also, Cole Phelps. Just finished LA Noire, and that guy is the textbook definition of a Chew Toy.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Total downer.

 

[Zhukov]

I did however have my heartstrings pulled by the Mass Effect 1 side quest "I Remember Me". You know, the one where you have to...

Spoiler

talk down Talitha, a recently freed slave girl who's lost her marbles after years of slaver torture. Talking her out of suicide

...actually sold ME1 a hell of a lot better for me.

Totally agreed. Poor girl was messed up to a heart-breaking degree.

That whole scene was one of my favourite parts of the entire game. It's kind of a shame that most players would never see it because it requires the colonist background.

...

OT: As for actual game protagonists... no, not that often. In western games they're usually infallible, emotionless badasses. Which is (a) stupid and (b) not really conducive to pity. However, a couple of examples come to mind:

Jade from Beyond Good & Evil. That scene. "Well, you know what boy? You were wrong." If you've played the game, you know what I'm talking about.

April Ryan from The Longest Journey. Girl goes through some heavy crap toward the end. It comes as a bit of a kick in the gut, especially when contrasted to the fairly lighthearted tone of the game.

 

[SoranMBane]

A lot, actually. Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 2 is the big one, because I can relate a lot of what he's going through with his girlfriend to how I felt when my mom died. Besides him, there's also Sgt. Jackson in Call of Duty 4, Ezio in Assassin's Creed II, Sgt. Becket in Fear 2, Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto IV, etc. The list could go on. If the game does even a half-decent job of drawing me in and bad things happen to the protagonist, chances are good that I'll feel for them.

 

[Doomhammer828]

Yes, God of War 1, aka the only one that exists in a perfect utopian world

 

[Katana314]

Near the end of Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword (whichever one has Eliwood, Lyndis, and Hector)

Spoiler

Eliwood, eager to try out his new dragon-slaying sword, uses it to slice up the nearest dragon. He then discovers that this dragon was really the "true form" of the woman he loved. Even as he rages hard at the villain moments later, the villain laughs, declaring "I didn't even want her dead. She died by your hand alone." Furthermore, the dead girl's brother is part of your army. Eli has to explain to him that "I accidentally killed your sister."

All of this drama is ruined from her being resurrected in the endgame.

Aquaria

Spoiler

After the final boss, the main character is essentially frozen in carbonite by a quote unquote "loving" mother who "wants her to understand". The game gives no implication of anyone discovering her.

GTA4

Spoiler

No matter what he does, tragedy follows Niko. He can't seem to catch a break.

Prince of Persia 2008

Spoiler

Elika knows what's coming to her a long, long way off. She slaves to save the world, AND THEN has to give her life for it.

Doom 2

Spoiler

The space marine will never see home again. He stays in hell purely to ensure the aliens don't attack home.

 

[KarlMonster]

Fallout 3, Vault 112, Tranquility Lane. Can you name the 'protagonist?'

Max Payne. Partly because of the drugged out baby crying sequence. Mostly because of the parts where I sit through a 10 minute cutscene and then die instantly, and have to watch the whole cutscene again. Before I die again.

Sorry, the Bioshock guy would be sad and stuff, except its a rail shooter. The game is full of him "willingly" doing things to himself. I would have liked for there to be choices involved, but that would require 2K developing it as an adventure game instead. For a little more on that, see my first post on the escapist.

 

[NeutralDrow]

If I find a protagonist sympathetic, and bad shit happens to them, naturally I feel sorry. And that does happen more often than not.

Specific examples...well, current example would be Yuichi from Kanon. I mean, the game is bad enough when it comes to putting him and the heroines through the ringer, but the anime? It's one thing to go through an emotionally traumatizing and draining time in a single route; it's another when he has to go through at least four. I'm honestly surprised the guy can still smile and stand upright after twenty episodes.

Also, Kana: Little Sister. Forget the protagonist, I was systematically crushed by that game.

 

[Snowy Rainbow]

Luigi, poor guy, stuck in between his show-boading brother and a dumb blonde he occasionally has to save when Mario isn't bothered, Everyone cheers on Mario but Luigi is left to pick up the pieces eg getting green stars in Galaxy 2

It's just not fair! All he wants is to be like his popular older brother. *sadface*

 

[mike141]

Games: link from any LoZ games because he saves the world and for what nothing zelda dosnt grant him anything she just like "oh thanks for killing ganondrof so... bye have a good life" also the chick at the end of portal 2 geting out to find shes the last person on earth.

book: if anyone has read the "his dark matirials" books(the golden compass, the suble knife, the amber spyglass) then at the end i almost cryed for lyra and will...and im a 15 year old boy, seriusly read that series

thats all i can think of right now

 

[Maxtro]

First one that comes to mind is Nathan Drake. That dude goes through so much shit it's amazing he's even alive. Dude needed serious willpower and a drive to stay alive.

Next up is Ethan Mars. It's amazing what you can put him through. Hell, any game where you can make your character actually kill himself is screwed up. Of course, that's part of the fun.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Eh, I would have to mention Noble Six at the end of Halo: Reach.

Spoiler

You know, at the end when he's pretty much all alone on that conquered planet. It was really sad and at the same time, awesome. But I mean, just imagine how cool that would be. Your mission has been finished successfully and now all that's left to do is to go out in one of the coolest ways possible while taking some of those dratted Elites down with you. That was a good job on Bungie's part.

 

[Foxblade618]

book: if anyone has read the "his dark matirials" books(the golden compass, the suble knife, the amber spyglass) then at the end i almost cryed for lyra and will...and im a 15 year old boy, seriusly read that series

thats all i can think of right now

This and this again. I am a 24 year old man who essentially weeps every time I get to the end of that series, believe me, it only gets harder as you get older and have more life experiences. The adult characters are all fairly tragic as well. And I agree, everyone should read those books - they are my absolute favorite, hell I'm naming my daughter Lyra.


Also, John Marston. There is a reason he ended it the way he did, rather than the bloodbath he was capable of, and it was the 'right' choice, albeit difficult and depressing.

 

[Vanbael]

Snake in MGS4, you know that this is the last mission for him. After that, he is going to die because he was designed to age quickly. Yeah he's come to terms with it, but what a shit storm for him to endure.

 

[pyrosaw]

Red Dead Redemption. Even after the last mission, I still wasn't satisfied.

The second ending to Portal 1 was a bit sad.

 

[Cogwheel]

Yep. Three instantly come to mind. Ark from Terranigma, Nameless One from Planescape: Torment, and Iji from, well, Iji. All three go through some horrific things.

 

[Hectix777]

Eh, I would have to mention Noble Six at the end of Halo: Reach.

Spoiler

You know, at the end when he's pretty much all alone on that conquered planet. It was really sad and at the same time, awesome. But I mean, just imagine how cool that would be. Your mission has been finished successfully and now all that's left to do is to go out in one of the coolest ways possible while taking some of those dratted Elites down with you. That was a good job on Bungie's part.

Yeah, my question is why he didn't just take the Pillar of Autumn of the planet and not die and be of use in the Halo series?