Plot twists in games that actually stunned you? (Contains tagged major spoilers)

[RockmanDash]

Yep that's right guys, plot twists in games that actually got you and made your jaw drop. Honestly Star Ocean 3 got me there with..The whole "real" world being a sphere which is actually a fun game the people in the real reality use as entertainment for some reason I saw it coming but still.. it's so..strange to think about, yet it never turned me away. Actually, it was kind of cool in a sense.

And Tales of Symphonia 2 with.. Emil really being the summon spirit Ratatosk. I knew he was related but since he became a KNIGHT of Ratatosk in the beginning.. I never knew that whole pact was a fake to get him to think of himself as a helper for Marta.)

^ That never stunned me though, but it did make me go "What..???" for a little while.


Oh and Rune Factory with it's ending of Raguna being revealed as a prince who was used in a experiment. probably the first time the makers of Harvest Moon got a actual real plot going besides the same old "Reviving the land" etc.

That's all the ones I can think of at the moment. >_> Looks like I started with a nice amount of spoiler tags.. eh..

[ensatsu-ken]

For me, there are 2 in particular which usually come to mind:

BioShock

While it was predictable that Atlas wasn't really who he seemed to be, what really caught me off-guard was how he was literally controlling what your character's objectives were in the game by saying the simple phrase "would you kindly," as Andrew Ryan helped you realized towards the end of the game.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Just like Screw Attack said in one of their top 10 lists, when you found out that you were playing as Revan, one of the major villains of the story, the whole time, it made for one of the biggest "OMGWTF!?!" moments in gaming history.

[Strollymonster]

Valkyria Chronicles had two ones that I didn't see coming...

Isara dying, and the princess being Darcsen

[Eddy]

Bioshock:

The whole Atlas betrayal thing and "would you kindly". My jaw dropped. I actually really felt betrayed by Atlas after finding out he was just using me and controlling my actions. One of my most favorite plot twists, by far.

Silent Hill Homecoming:

After finding out that Alex never really went to war and he wasn't a soldier, but he was actually put in a mental hospital after he murdered his brother. I didn't see that one coming. What's even more shocking is that fact that they give away the ending at the very beginning of the game when Travis refers to you as Emir when you're playing as Garcian (after the game forces you to play Garcian). They gave away the big twist right there but at the time you think nothing of it.

Killer7:

Might have been too confusing for most to be shocked, but finding out that Garcian, who was once Emir Parkreiner, killed all the members of the Killer7 and then became the Killer7 was mind blowing to me.

There are probably other ones, but those spring to mind.

[Daxdiv]

For me, there are 2 in particular which usually come to mind:

BioShock

While it was predictable that Atlas wasn't really who he seemed to be, what really caught me off-guard was how he was literally controlling what your character's objectives were in the game by saying the simple phrase "would you kindly," as Andrew Ryan helped you realized towards the end of the game.


Bioshock:

The whole Atlas betrayal thing and "would you kindly". My jaw dropped. I actually really felt betrayed by Atlas after finding out he was just using me and controlling my actions. One of my most favorite plot twists, by far.

I did question why he kept saying, "would you kindly" midway before I got to the big revelation myself. I mean it was somewhat obvious after I noticed that phrase being used like more times than before

As for another game that had a big plot twist, Call of Duty 4

Your American controlled soldier, SGT. Jackson dies when a nuke goes off in his area after trying to save one of his fellow soldiers, you control him for a brief moment, you feel his suffering until he dies from either the plane crash or the radiation. That actually was kind of sad for me.

[Eddy]

I did question why he kept saying, "would you kindly" midway before I got to the big revelation myself. I mean it was somewhat obvious after I noticed that phrase being used like more times than before
True, he did use it a lot, but at the time I thought nothing of it. I just figured it was something he had a habit of saying when asking someone to do something in a polite manner.

[Nel]

Final Fantasy I:

It was Garland the whole time! I didn't have any previous knowledge of the game when I first played it, mind you. People were too busy spoiling other Final Fantasies. :p

Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn Of The New World:

I knew something was up with the whole Emil/evil Emil/Richter's dead friend thing, but I never expected it to end up the way it did. Truth be told, I was a bit disappointed that the poor guy wasn't Emil and was actually still dead. Also, out of all the imposter choices, I never expected Decus to be the one masquerading as Lloyd.

I'm sure there's more.

[ensatsu-ken]

True, he did use it a lot, but at the time I thought nothing of it. I just figured it was something he had a habit of saying when asking someone to do something in a polite manner.

Same here, and that was the point. The reason that most people didn't question is use of it was because it is a very common phrase. There is nothing that seems out of the ordinary for it, and it felt like it was just a habit of his to keep saying that. Now, if he had an unpolite voice, or had a completely American accent (as I do at least acknowledge that you don't commonly hear such a phrase from a typical American :P ), then I would question why he used that phrase so much, but thanks to the brilliant voice acting in the game, the way he said it just seemed so natural.

Of course, I did start suspecting that he wasn't who he said he was, and that he was using me to get to something, from the very start of game. That part was obvious to me due to how oddly calm his voice seemed through most of the game. It felt like it was just an act, and that's basically what it turned out to be. Its just the fact that he essentially controlled your character's actions with a simple prhase that caught me off-guard.


As for another game that had a big plot twist, Call of Duty 4

Your American controlled soldier, SGT. Jackson dies when a nuke goes off in his area after trying to save one of his fellow soldiers, you control him for a brief moment, you feel his suffering until he dies from either the plane crash or the radiation. That actually was kind of sad for me.

I always considered that scene to just be more of a shocking moment from something unexpected happening at the last second, rather than it being an actual plot-twist in the game's story-line.

[Desensitized]

Same here, and that was the point. The reason that most people didn't question is use of it was because it is a very common phrase. There is nothing that seems out of the ordinary for it, and it felt like it was just a habit of his to keep saying that. Now, if he had an unpolite voice, or had a completely American accent (as I do at least acknowledge that you don't commonly hear such a phrase from a typical American :P ), then I would question why he used that phrase so much, but thanks to the brilliant voice acting in the game, the way he said it just seemed so natural.

Of course, I did start suspecting that he wasn't who he said he was, and that he was using me to get to something, from the very start of game. That part was obvious to me due to how oddly calm his voice seemed through most of the game. It felt like it was just an act, and that's basically what it turned out to be. Its just the fact that he essentially controlled your character's actions with a simple prhase that caught me off-guard.I think what made that scene work, was because he tricked YOU the player. Questioning the reason you were doing what you were doing and how you approached your play style.

The second time I went through the game and was forced to kill Andrew Ryan, I thought about not pushing the trigger button, and when Jack kills him anyway simply because he keeps saying the phrase... Chills, man.

I don't think there is a better plot twist in gaming.

[Eddy]

I think what made that scene work, was because he tricked YOU the player. Questioning the reason you were doing what you were doing and how you approached your play style.

The second time I went through the game and was forced to kill Andrew Ryan, I thought about not pushing the trigger button, and when Jack kills him anyway simply because he keeps saying the phrase... Chills, man.

I don't think there is a better plot twist in gaming.
Not to mention it was great that he didn't always ask you to "kindly" do everything. For example, Atlas never asks "would you kindly" harvest any Little Sisters, he just highly recommends that you do, giving you the illusion you had some kind of free will during the game.

The way they had him using you was brilliant.

[Neo Yi]

This revelation should have been really, really blatant in retrospective, but I didn't figure out the big shocker in Jak II that...

...Jak was the young kid under protection by the Underground AKA the true ruler of Haven City. Also known as the kid with the green hair, the kid who didn't speak like Jak did in the first game! It's probably due to this sequel being my first entry into the Jak series (I played its prequel after), but I could not put two and two together, no matter how stupidly obvious it was. My mind was strictly set on the idea that Jak's true life was 300 years past and said future time traveling would only be a temporary venture.

...I was a young, naive seventeen year old.

[Daxdiv]

I always considered that scene to just be more of a shocking moment from something unexpected happening at the last second, rather than it being an actual plot-twist in the game's story-line.

I wasn't expecting him to die, I was expecting more stories in the Middle East compared to SAS stories.

[MegaJ]

No one brought up Master Miller?

[ShadowGUN]

No one brought up Master Miller?

Speaking of Metal Gear, Holy crap did the MGS4 send me on plot twist rollercoaster ride of shock and awe.

- Finding out that the bad guys from the game, the original Patriots, were actually the good guys from MGS3 ( Zero, Big Boss and rest of the Fox Unit).

- The revelation that Eva was Solid Snake and Liquid's mother.

- The return of Psycho Mantis. It was hilarious how he tried to read my memory card but didn't find it.

- Liquid Ocelot not being the real Liquid.

- Meryl and Snake not ending up together.

- Big Boss lives and then dies.

[Prof. Mecavio]

It's been years since I played it, but I remember being quite surprised by the plot-twist in Toonstruck when I first played that game.

Here's how it goes (taken freshly from memory):

After Drew Blanc (Christopher Lloyd) and sidekick Flux Wildly (Dan Castellaneta) have found all the parts needed to fix the Cutifyer and used it to restore the saccarine-sweet nation of Cutopia to it's former self, Drew is ready to go home to the real world. However, King Hugh, the ruler of Cutopia announces that he intends to use the Cutifyer in order to rule the world. King Hugh tries to grab the keys to the Cutifyer from Drew, but trips, causing his smiley-head to fall off, revealing that he's actually Fluffy-Fluffy Bun-Bun an extremely annoying minor character. Fluffy explains that she's holding the real king Hugh prisoner and that the cutifying of the world is only the first step in her plans. Turns out that Bricabrac (I think that was his name), the guy who designed the Cutifyer is working on a new machine; one that will allow Fluffy to basically become...A God.

[SirLemming]

Just to make sure this is clear...

Even though this thread is marked for spoilers, all spoilers should still be tagged. This is because we're discussing multiple games. Nobody's played every game, so we need to allow people to read some spoilers and avoid others.

Don't worry. So far, you're all doing a great job of this without my nagging. :p

[Fool's Gil]

Tales of Symphonia:

Kratos was in league with Yggdrassil, and tries to kill you several times!
Yggdrassil was a fallen hero, and was Mithos!
Zelos can be permanently killed!
:DYou can pull a Hot For Teacher relationship with Lloyd and Raine!:D
The sequel is crap in gameplay and plot, a real downer for the series!

[RockmanDash]

Tales of Symphonia:

Kratos was in league with Yggdrassil, and tries to kill you several times!
Yggdrassil was a fallen hero, and was Mithos!
Zelos can be permanently killed!
:DYou can pull a Hot For Teacher relationship with Lloyd and Raine!:D
The sequel is crap in gameplay and plot, a real downer for the series!

O_o The last one made no sense

The sequel is not crap, you might as well be calling Tales of the Abyss which has the same gameplay crap as well. The free-run game play made things actually interesting, running around to avoid attacks is a bit more of a breather than staying backed up on one big screen. And as for the plot, it might of been a bit weaker but the character development kicks the first game's butt big time. They really showed the maturity of the Symphonia cast and really they gave Regal the spotlight he needed that he did not receive in the first game really well. Honestly after replaying the game twice, it's a very worthy sequel. >_> Kind of happy they got rid of the walking on the map and replaced it with a nice just go there option. Of course this is MY opinion but I think that's a bit too harsh of a statement without backing yourself up.

[Fool's Gil]

O_o The last one made no sense

The sequel is not crap, you might as well be calling Tales of the Abyss which has the same gameplay crap as well. The plot might of been a bit weaker but the character development kicks the first game's butt big time. They really showed the maturity of the Symphonia cast and really they gave Regal the spotlight he needed that he did not recieve in the first game really well. Honestly after replaying the game twice, it's a very worthy sequel. >_> Kind of happy they got rid of the walking on the map and replaced it with a nice just go there option. Of course this is MY opinion but I think that's a bit too harsh of a statement without backing yourself up.

Well okay,

Aside from the character development of the previous cast, which I did like, the newer, smaller cast were annoying, as well as the monster system. I also enjoyed walking everywhere and fighting overworld monsters, so that personally broke the camel's back when they removed it, as well as the fact all three ending are depressing with you

A) Killing yourself, or B) Getting yourself stuck in the tree.

[blazecat]

In Zelda the Windwaker, when Tetra's true identity was revealed to be Princess Zelda.

In Zelda Twilight Princess, when Zant (who was a completely awesome villain that wore a mask throughout most of the game) revealed himself to be a crazed, deranged, hideous (he finally removes his mask), power hungry freak who is just being used by Ganondorf. Before this moment, during the game, he was completely powerful and ruthless. Then he turned into a chimpanzee on crack.

[RockmanDash]

Well okay,

Aside from the character development of the previous cast, which I did like, the newer, smaller cast were annoying, as well as the monster system. I also enjoyed walking everywhere and fighting overworld monsters, so that personally broke the camel's back when they removed it, as well as the fact all three ending are depressing with you

A) Killing yourself, or B) Getting yourself stuck in the tree.

Looks like somebody did not fully complete the game.. =p

There is ANOTHER ending if you did not know.

Don't let Lloyd steal any of the cores besides the first one and you will get a good ending where Emil and Marta get reunited. And you don't get stuck inside a tree, you just get locked up with buddy Ricther for 1000 years in Ratatosk's room which is just one big den inside a area which is COVERED in tree roots, and if you choose to get the normal ending, I hope Emil, Ratatosk, and Ritcher have a stack of cards >_>

[Tenku]

Speaking of Metal Gear, Holy crap did the MGS4 send me on plot twist rollercoaster ride of shock and awe.

- Finding out that the bad guys from the game, the original Patriots, were actually the good guys from MGS3 ( Zero, Big Boss and rest of the Fox Unit).

- The revelation that Eva was Solid Snake and Liquid's mother.

- The return of Psycho Mantis. It was hilarious how he tried to read my memory card but didn't find it.

- Liquid Ocelot not being the real Liquid.

- Meryl and Snake not ending up together.

- Big Boss lives and then dies.

I... well, I wasn't all that shocked Eva turned out to be Liquid and Solid's mom.

But the part about Meryl going with Johnny (and Johnny is not a bad looking person at all) floored me. After the Rat Patrol killed the Frogs, when she talked to Snake, I did sense that 'yeah, it's not going to work'. But Johnny?!

Huh.

[Chris Sanders MSX]

No More Heroes has a couple of them as you get closer to the end. ESPECIALLY Jeane's entire fast forwarded scene, which you can find on youtube slowed down.
Seriously the most messed up and shocking plot twist in the history of videogames.

[Charlie]

Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic
Revan is actually the player's character.It was pretty obvious something was going on with the character early on, but that one just surprised me.

[WolfieKiwi]

Bioshock

The big reveal upon meeting Andrew Ryan, particularity the way the role of the villain shifts so drastically and dramatically.

Metal Gear Solid

Probably the least surprising thing in the game, but I had no idea Decoy Octopus was the Darpa Cheif in disguise up until much later. I just... completely forgot about him.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Major Zero being the founder of The Patriots, and Paramedic and Signit being Patriot members. If that wasn't enough to swallow, the history on them certainly was! Not once did I ever think twice about these guys...and now... >.<

Tales of Vesperia

Raven. Just everything about Raven. Best developed character in the game, imo.

[MegaJ]

Tales of Symphonia
I'm stunned that anyone was stunned by anything in that game. Saw the Kratos being Lloyd's father and Mithos/Yggdrasil thing a mile away.