View source for And Now for Someone Completely Different/Playing With

{{trope}}
'''Basic Trope''': A [[Video Game]] switches the characters that you're playing as.
* '''Straight''': After playing as [[Boisterous Bruiser|Chance]] for some time, the first "chapter" of the game ends... and control abruptly switches to [[Cute Witch|Ichigo]], who has ''very'' different [[Little Miss Badass|strengths]] and [[Glass Cannon|weaknesses]] compared to [[Lightning Bruiser|Chance]].
* '''Exaggerated''': After playing as Ichigo for a while, the game kicks you over to [[Combat Medic|Claudia]] and her friend [[Hot Chick With a Sword|Lanna]] for the next chapter. Then [[Squishy Wizard|Leon]]. Then...
* '''Justified''':
** Each of the characters is one of [[The Chosen One|The Chosen Ones]] meant to help [[The Hero|Sol]] defeat Emperor Evulz.
** [[The Hero Dies]] and someone takes his place.
** It is a historical war game following several different conflicts across the world.
** The character switch follows a sidequest to give the [[The Hero]] a powerfull weapon or clue (without making too easy for the player).
* '''Inverted''': The game enforces hotseat multiplayer, causing the players to change as the character stays the same.
* '''Subverted''': The game switches to another character, but it turns out that it's the same character you've been playing as, disguised as someone else.
* '''Double Subverted''': The game switches to another character, but it turns out that it's the same character you've been playing as, disguised as someone else. Then you eventually end playing as who you were disguised as for real.
* '''Parodied''': Each time you level up, [[Ditto Fighter|Steve]] turns into a different character.
* '''Deconstructed''':
** At the beginning of each chapter, you have to switch to a new character because the game takes place over several decades and the previous character you played was caught and killed by [[The Empire]] in a suicide attack to complete a piece of the puzzle that will defeat them.
** Chance gets captured by Evulz, and so we play as Ichigo attempting to rescue him. But, like the player, Chance's old comrades keep comparing her to Chance and finding her lacking, soon growing to despise her. Ichigo has a massive crisis of confidence and fails to achieve anything, leading to a mental breakdown, taking the damper off her powers and leading to her unintentionally casting an Apocalypse Spell, which was Evulz's ultimate aim and the real reason he captured Chance. Chance then breaks out and you use him to kill Ichigo before she can end the world, having to kill the character you previously despised in a deliberately painful way that makes you realise how much you'd bonded to her.
* '''Reconstructed''': Your gameplay switches between many characters being dispatched by [[The Empire]] one by one; however, they frequently remind everyone around them and the player that their battle will not be for naught, fighting harder and more valiantly with every passing year. At the ending, your rebellion stands triumphant due to the sacrifices of true heroes who will be remembered for all of history.
* '''Zig Zagged''': You start playing Alice the fire mage but as she progresses through the level she earns more and more ice and water magic, when she has balanced fire and ice/water powers you switch to Bob, who fights with ice/water powers and earns some of the fire attacks Alice had and some earth attacks, when that's over you play as Carol that starts with the same earth powers Bob had developed and earns air, water and ice powers. Next you play Dave that starts with the same air powers Carol developed and develops all the powers the previous characters have developed depending on which order you solve the dungeons. When that's done you play Carol again and develop fire powers to add to her previous powers. Then you play Alice and develop earth and air powers. Then you play Bob and develop air powers. Depending on your gameplay at the end the four character have a different balance of elemental control and you can use the one you prefer to finish the last mission with the best combination of elemental power you prefer or get them to a bonus stage to improve Alice's fire skills, Bob's water/ice skills, Carol's earth's skills and Dave's air's skills, but this requires the player finding the bonus game hidden in the past levels that can be revisited.
* '''Averted''': The game never switches the viewpoint character.
* '''Enforced''': "We need a way to show the story from different perspectives... how about we let the characters switch from time to time?"
* '''Lampshaded''': '''Bob:''' "Do you think, Alice, that it's a bit weird how our squad leader gets replaced every time we complete an objective?"
* '''Invoked''': The last game was criticized for only having [[Lightning Bruiser|Chance]] playable.
* '''Defied''': [[Xkcd (Webcomic)|Actually, I downloaded a mod to add]] <s> [[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Aeris]]</s> [[And Now for Someone Completely Different/Playing With|Chance]] [[It Was His Sled|back to the party]].
* '''Discussed''': "Yeah, I finally beat this game! ([[Beat]]) [[What Happened to The Mouse?|What ever happened to Chance]]?
* '''Conversed''': "Ah damn! I just got this far with [[Hot Chick With a Sword|Lanna]], and now the game switches back to [[Combat Medic|Claudia]]!
* '''Played For Laughs:''' Bob is playing ''[[Show Within a Show|Chronicles of Troperia]]'' and enjoying tearing things up as Chance. He keeps trying to call Alice over, but she isn't paying any attention... until the game kicks him into Ichigo's shoes, and his shouts of surprise draw her over. Meaning that naturally, her first impression of the game he's been raving about involves a little [[Kawaiiko|cutesy girl]] in a [[Pimped-Out Dress|pretty red-and-pink dress with lots of frills]].
* '''Played For Drama:''' Chance has been doing well on his quest to stop Emperor Evulz' forces so far, but runs into trouble when he discovers a burning village. While trying to defend the survivors, he's surrounded, seriously wounded, and falls unconcious... and the game [[Mood Whiplash|switches focus]] to Ichigo [[Good Morning, Crono|waking up in her sweetly decorated room]].

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[[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]. You can have a break now, Chance. Ichigo will take over for a while.

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[[Category:And Now for Someone Completely Different]]
[[Category:Playing With]]