Jerkass Woobie/Video Games: Difference between revisions

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** We can't have Fenris without including the king of this trope, [[Byronic Hero|Anders]]. Replace every instance of "slavery" with "the mages' plight", and every "mage" with "templar" and his issues are nearly identical to those of Fenris'. Anders was abused in the circle and, now that he's free, he focuses all of his attention on gaining freedom for all mages, to the exemption of all else. He is the biggest hypocrite in the game, constantly whining about how Fenris has let one bad experience shape his life, and how Merrill is the worst person ever for [[Deal with the Devil|dealing with a demon]]. Anders becomes more and more of a jerkass as the game progresses, to Hawke and all other party members. He kicks Merrill when she's down, gets on everyone's case for not choosing a side, gets on your case if you don't help every single mage you see, and even applauds if you agree to {{spoiler|sell Fenris back into slavery, even though he's fighting against the enslavement of mages!}} At the same time, if you played Awakening, you see how far he has fallen from the lovable wise-cracking cat-lover he was, and you can understand and sympathize with his decision to let the lost spirit Justice possess him. With each passing year in Kirkwall, you see him fall further into his obsession with freeing mages, and want to save him more. Unfortunately, even if you romance him, you can't heal him, and in the end, there's no stopping him {{spoiler|from blowing up the chantry and starting a war.}}

** Isabela is a milder example, her irresponsible temperament and resistance to attachment are depressingly well-justified by the backstory she reveals if Hawke romances her.

* Believe it or not, Jin Kisaragi from ''[[~~Blaz Blue~~]]'' falls to this as well. He's a huge dick and can be called a disgrace to humanity in how he behaved. However, in the times when he was sane, he's actually a courteous man who seems to be ready to put his past as an [[Annoying Younger Sibling]] behind, until things from the past gets to him, and his [[Evil Weapon]] amplifies his emotions of the past, making him even more of a jerk than he usually is. There's also the fact that even when he worked his ass off to attain his position in NOL, his adopted family think that it's the family name that got him his position, making him feel like an outcast even in his own family. {{spoiler|His "reincarnation" as Hakumen}} proves that, without said [[Evil Weapon]], he can actually be a true hero, [[Good Is Not Nice|but still a jerk.]]

* Believe it or not, Jin Kisaragi from ''[[BlazBlue]]'' falls to this as well. He's a huge dick and can be called a disgrace to humanity in how he behaved. However, in the times when he was sane, he's actually a courteous man who seems to be ready to put his past as an [[Annoying Younger Sibling]] behind, until things from the past gets to him, and his [[Evil Weapon]] amplifies his emotions of the past, making him even more of a jerk than he usually is. There's also the fact that even when he worked his ass off to attain his position in NOL, his adopted family think that it's the family name that got him his position, making him feel like an outcast even in his own family. {{spoiler|His "reincarnation" as Hakumen}} proves that, without said [[Evil Weapon]], he can actually be a true hero, [[Good Is Not Nice|but still a jerk.]]

** The main "[[Anti-Hero|protagonist]]", Ragna the Bloodedge, qualifies as well. Though he does have his [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|good sides]] [[Pet the Dog|and moments]], he is for the most part rude, foul mouthed, verbally abusive and is perfectly willing to kill any and all innocent [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] that get in his way on his quest to bring down the NOL... In fact, it could be argued that the only thing keeping him from being an [[Anti-Villain]] [[Villain Protagonist|Protagonist]] is the fact that 1) the ''real'' [[Big Bad Duumvirate|villains]] in the [[~~Blaz Blue~~]]-verse are ''[[Complete Monster|MUCH]]'' [[Lack of Empathy|worse]] than Ragna could ''EVER'' be, and 2) the most active of the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] have seemingly made Ragna his designated victim, and has put lots of effort into fucking Ragna's life up as badly as possible. For example by possessing the earlier mentioned Jin, Ragna's little brother, and, through Jin, cutting off Ragna's right arm.

** The main "[[Anti-Hero|protagonist]]", Ragna the Bloodedge, qualifies as well. Though he does have his [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|good sides]] [[Pet the Dog|and moments]], he is for the most part rude, foul mouthed, verbally abusive and is perfectly willing to kill any and all innocent [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] that get in his way on his quest to bring down the NOL... In fact, it could be argued that the only thing keeping him from being an [[Anti-Villain]] [[Villain Protagonist|Protagonist]] is the fact that 1) the ''real'' [[Big Bad Duumvirate|villains]] in the [[BlazBlue]]-verse are ''[[Complete Monster|MUCH]]'' [[Lack of Empathy|worse]] than Ragna could ''EVER'' be, and 2) the most active of the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] have seemingly made Ragna his designated victim, and has put lots of effort into fucking Ragna's life up as badly as possible. For example by possessing the earlier mentioned Jin, Ragna's little brother, and, through Jin, cutting off Ragna's right arm.

* [[Ascended Fanboy|Travis Touchdown]] from ''[[No More Heroes]]'' and its sequel. He's a perverted fanboy who kills for money and enjoys it, but {{spoiler|he's being conned the whole time and, when he finds out, genuinely feels bad about killing all those people for no real reason. His parents were also killed by his first love who, he later discovered, was his [[Luke, I Am Your Father|half-sister]], who revealed that she had been molested on a regular basis by his father.}} Poor guy's trapped in an endless cycle of violence. No wonder he wanted to "find the exit".

* ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'':

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** [[Big Bad|Cyrus]] in ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'' (and ''Platinum'') counts. Destroying the universe and betraying his followers? Jerkass. His motivations for doing so? [[Cry for the Devil|Aw,]] [[Freudian Excuse|poor]] [[Broken Ace|guy]] (especially in ''Platinum'').

* The Origami Killer aka {{spoiler|Scott Shelby}} in ''[[Heavy Rain]]'' gets abused by the hands of his father, along with his twin brother, John, tries to help him by getting their father, but refuses. This is how he becomes the villain that he is. His goal is to find a father who can give up his life to save his son. How does he do that? Kidnap the son and place the father through sadistic tests. If you played the level where {{spoiler|it's the last one where Scott is playable}}, then you can have sympathy for him.

* Herschell Biggs from ''[[LA Noire]]''. He refuses to accept Cole as his partner {{spoiler|after his affair with Elsa got out}}, but he begins to like him afterwards. It's just that during World War I, he has witnessed people burned and is close to retirement.

* Herschell Biggs from ''[[L.A. Noire]]''. He refuses to accept Cole as his partner {{spoiler|after his affair with Elsa got out}}, but he begins to like him afterwards. It's just that during World War I, he has witnessed people burned and is close to retirement.

* Giygas from [[MOTHER 1|the first Mother game]] is an alien that {{spoiler|loved Maria and she cared for him}}. However, he was forced to kill her when his people ordered an attack as vengeance on George stealing their PSI information.

* Liesolotte from ''[[Valkyrie Profile Covenant of the Plume]]''. you'll want to reach through the screen and hug her, telling her it'll be alright...then break her ribs when you see what she did to Rosea in the "A" and "B" paths. (Heck, even what she tried to do to ''you''.)

* Liesolotte from ''[[Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume]]''. you'll want to reach through the screen and hug her, telling her it'll be alright...then break her ribs when you see what she did to Rosea in the "A" and "B" paths. (Heck, even what she tried to do to ''you''.)

** To wit, the main source of conflict between the two is that they were expelled from the archmage's court because they were suspected of killing the archmage. Neither of them did it, all the know is that they didn't do it and think the other did it but saw their inability to own up as cowardice and this turned into hatred, resulting Rosea either stabbing Liesolotte, Liesolotte stabbing Rosea, or them stabbing ''each other'' to death. however, as it turns out, ''neither'' of them did it...it was [[Karma Houdini|Fauxnel]] - who even ''admits'' to doing it. Essentially, there's nothing they can do.

* In the [[Grand Theft Auto (series)|Grand Theft Auto]] series: Sean "Sweet" Johnson from ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]''. Yes, he is a gangster. But all he wants is to build his gang on respect and loyalty rather than money, to keep his neighbourhood dope-free and to wreak righteous vengeance on those who try to get his friends hooked on crack. He is betrayed by the people he trusted more than anyone and sent to prison. Oh, and both his mother and little brother were killed by drug dealers.

* In the [[Grand Theft Auto (series)|Grand Theft Auto]] series: Sean "Sweet" Johnson from ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]''. Yes, he is a gangster. But all he wants is to build his gang on respect and loyalty rather than money, to keep his neighbourhood dope-free and to wreak righteous vengeance on those who try to get his friends hooked on crack. He is betrayed by the people he trusted more than anyone and sent to prison. Oh, and both his mother and little brother were killed by drug dealers.

** Niko Bellic in [[Grand Theft Auto IV|GTAIV]], who had spend his early life growing up in the Yugoslav Wars and eventually becoming a criminal.