Jerkass Woobie/Video Games: Difference between revisions

** [[Super Soldier|Jack]]! ''Nothing'' in that woman's life has gone right, leading to us ''nearly'' forgetting that it's turned her into a [[Sociopathic Hero]] with a persecution complex. It's also worth mentioning that the player can effectively turn her into even more of a woobie. She has been used and abused all her life and believes that everyone in the galaxy is only interested in themselves and what they can get out of other people. If Shepard chooses the Renegade sex option when she confronts him, that just confirms her belief, meaning she will continue to forever circle the drain of self destruction, making the realization that you could have been her first true friend and yet refused so much worse.

* Kain of ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' could be the poster boy for [[Villain Protagonist]], being the main protagonist of the series and a cold, bloodthirsty, manipulating, selfish schemer. However, he's only this way because he's learned that ''everyone'' in the world, stretching back and forwards through time, wants him dead. Why? Mostly because {{spoiler|it it's Kain's destiny to [[Saving the World|save the world]] by [[Take Over the World|conquering it]] ([[Kudzu Plot|long story]]), and a lot of people are trying to take over Nosgoth too}}. This leads to him staking the existence of the space-time continuum on a single spin of [[Xanatos Roulette]] to reclaim his proper destiny that others have robbed him of. His incredibly selfish and jaded outlook is spawned partially by all this, and partially by {{spoiler|the fact that he was corrupted with the insanity of Nuprator just seconds out of the womb and so was pretty much ascertained from birth to grow up to be a bastard}}.

** Also, Cynthia. Yes, she might have been a bit of a bitch, but did she really deserve that?

* [[Black Magician Girl|Morrigan]] of [[Dragon Age Origins]] has had no human contact except for her uncaring and sometimes cruel mother for her entire life and has spent a lot more time [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|as an animal]] than as a human. Her trust issues and pragmatism-at-the-expense-of-compassion attitude follow naturally.

* [[Troubled but Cute|Fenris]] from ''[[Dragon Age II (Video Game)|Dragon Age II]]'' won't pass up an opportunity to remind everyone how horrible and dangerous mages are and how magic spoils everything it touches. Of course, he happens to be an escaped slave from a country run by power-hungry [[Complete Monster]] mages and lost his memory of everything that happened before the ritual that gave him his lyrium markings (which amplify his fighting abilities at the cost of causing him pain and [[Hates Being Touched|an aversion to touching]]), so mages being horrible is literally all he knows of life before his escape. He has trouble adjusting to freedom, in part because his former master is still after him. He's illiterate, sucks at social interaction, justifiably paranoid, has trust issues, and often lets his temper get the better of him, for which he tends to apologize afterward. He also treats the mages in the party like crap; this is somewhat justified with Anders, as the story progresses, who is just as much of an ass, but he berates Merrill ceaselessly at the worst possible moments. Romancing him and helping him get over these issues is one of the many heartwarming moments in the game.

** 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.]]

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

** The church guy. He {{spoiler|locks you out of the safe room, and deliberately rings a bell to get the other survivors killed by a hoard of zombies,}} yet he's had such a rough time that you can't help but want to wrap him up in a blanket and give him a hug - especially as, at various times, he's almost sobbing his lines and obviously absolutely terrified. The poor guy also spends a lot of the time desperately trying to convince himself that he's immune. {{spoiler|He's not.}}

** A less traditional example might be the witch. A pathetic, sobbing heap...[[Killer Rabbit|until you get too close]].

* The end of ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]'' implies this about {{spoiler|Porky}}. While being the main villain and an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] who's doing it [[For the Evulz]], {{spoiler|Dr. Andronuts believes that the fact that he lived his life knowing that everyone hates him made him the insecure [[Psychopathic Manchild]] he was. In the end, a self-induced [[And I Must Scream]] is the only way he can be happy.}}

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'':

** DiZ, a.k.a. {{spoiler|Ansem the Wise}}. He {{spoiler|gets betrayed by his apprentices, whom he loved like family, and thrusted into a realm of nothingness that drove him half-mad. In his desire for revenge against his apprentices, he becomes a [[Jerkass]] and does many morally questionable things, and in the end, is overcome by guilt once he realizes this. To atone, he makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save Kingdom Hearts from Xemnas. It doesn't kill him, but sends him to the realm of darkness, where he once again must endure a lonely period of banishment.}}

** Axel may also count, particularly in ''358/2 Days''. As an emotionless Nobody, he's fundamentally self-centered, and eventually loses Roxas's trust, but it can be sad seeing him watch Roxas walk away, claiming that no one in the Organization would miss him and, in the Secret Report for Day 357, {{spoiler|forgetting that Xion even existed as she dies}}. Then, of course, he tries to kill Roxas, and feels so bad about it later that he tries to bring Roxas back until, after realizing that this won't happen, [[Redemption Equals Death|he sacrifices himself]] so that Roxas's "true self", Sora, can succeed in his quest.

** Vexen in ''Chain of Memories'', who, despite being an arrogant, twisted [[Mad Scientist]], dies a horrible death at the hands of Axel (either literatelly stabbed in the back or burned alive depending on which version of the game you're playing) all while ''begging for mercy''. Even Sora, who hated Vexen, is horrified and saddened by this.

** Demyx is an infamous example. He's lazy, cowardly, funny, and would much rather play his sitar than do evil. Not a nice person, but not a mean one either. But when he finally gives in to his true, evil Nobody nature, he's killed by Sora, dying with a pitiful scream of "NO WAAAAAY!" and a sob.

* ''[[God of War (Video Game)|God of War]]'': Kratos, who has spent a good amount of his life as a [[Cosmic Plaything]] of the gods.

* ''[[Ace Attorney]]'':

* Ganondorf in ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'', to a certain extent. Before that game, he was generally portrayed as a typical [[Evil Overlord]] who occasionally verged into [[Complete Monster]] territory ([[Moral Event Horizon|trying to feed all the Gorons to Volvagia comes to mind]]). His speech before the final battle in ''Wind Waker'', however, shows that his desire to conquer Hyrule stemmed from the awfully harsh life he had in the unforgiving desert. {{spoiler|Any sympathy he gains from players, however, gets a little diluted when he subsequently proceeds to beat the crap out of Link in order to snatch the Triforce of Courage}}.

** Also, Midna, in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', except she became a Woobie after becoming much nicer.

* LaCroix, the Camarilla Prince in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]''. For all his ambition, ruthlessness, devious schemes, and the fact that he's the main antagonist in all but one of the possible endings, he's so damn ineffectual that he winds up coming off as more pathetic than villainous. Hell, unless you side with him, he doesn't get so much as a {{spoiler|boss fight in the end. You just shrug off his attempt to dominate you and slice'n'stab him with a [[Cherry Tapping|letter opener off his desk]] in a ''[[Humiliation Conga|cutscene]]''}}.

* Doctor Zeppot from ''[[Dragon Quest VII (Video Game)|Dragon Quest VII]]'' isn't exactly a nice man, but his backstory as to ''why'' he's a jackass makes him oddly sympathetic.

** Fandral Staghelm is a racist who believes that night elves are the only true druids, is quite rude and patronizing toward players who do his quests, and, in Stormrage, {{spoiler|works with the villain, helping to trap Malfurion in the Emerald Nightmare and trying to corrupt Teldrassil}}. It is, however, revealed that his wife [[Death By Childbirth|died giving birth to their son]] and his son {{spoiler|was brutally executed in front of him during the war of the Shifting Sands. Fandral's going astray is the result of seeing a hallucination of his son, and his mind is completely broken by essentially losing his son a second time}}.

** Sylvanas Windrunner died a brutal death at the hands of Arthas during the invasion of Silvermoon before being raised as undead, and also lost many of her people to him. Even after being freed of the Lich King's control, she is uncertain what future awaits her, especially in the wake of the Lich King's defeat, and sees her existence as an undead as a form of torment. She is also incredibly ruthless to the Forsaken's enemies and tends to be fairly cold to those with whom she interacts. Sylvanas' woobification has grown to such tremendous levels that she's one of the Warcraft franchise's most notable example of a [[Draco in Leather Pants]].

* Dante from ''[[Devil May Cry]]''. He is constantly making snide remarks, complaining about money, extremely lazy (only works once a week), is in debt to all of his friends (and makes it clear that he won't be paying anyone back anytime soon), and is a major jerk to just about everyone. Then again, he consistently turns down payment (does the job anyway because it is the right thing) and refuses payment from the poor, saves the world on several occasions, takes care of Patty (to a certain extent), is shown to spare demons who are able to love and refuses to kill humans, and is shown to have a compassionate side as well as a kind side (he'll just give you a hard time).<br />The [[Jerkass Facade]] is to cover up the fact that he is miserable (it can be seen basically everywhere, especially in the anime; really, he never smiles except when he is slaughtering a demon or when he does a good deed!). The Woobie part is that he [[Missing Mom|witnessed his mother being slaughtered]] [[Mama Bear|while she protected him]] at the age of eight and [[Dead Little Brother|believed his brother to be dead as well]]. [[Disappeared Dad|He also believes that his father abandoned them at a young age]] and it is assumed that he basically raised himself. He finds his brother [[Cain and Abel|completely insane]] and is forced to defeat him, which leads to Vergil's apparent suicide (or so Dante believed), and forced to finally (all the while not knowing that it was Vergil) kill a possessed Vergil ten years later.<br />His friends constantely take advantage of him (manipulating him, forcing him to pay for clothing, etc.), he is forever hunted and hated by the entire demon world (and most humans hate him because of his demon heritage), and he has no hope of ever having a normal day (let alone a normal life). During everyday life, he is constantly being shot at (Lady shoots him point blank through the forehead twice and later through the stomach...in a period of six hours!), [[Impaled With Extreme Prejudice|impaled]] (a [[Running Gag]] to be stabbed through the chest or stomach), and other things. Capcom really wanted to make sure that Dante had the worst possible upbringing and life possible, didn't they?

* Subject 3 in ''[[Professor Layton and The Unwound Future]]''. He was abducted and subject to many cruel experiments, resulting in him hating humans and taking on a very harsh [[Don't You Dare Pity Me]] attitude.

* ''[[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Portal 2]]'' gives us Cave Johnson, the insane CEO of Aperture Science. He is a [[Bad Boss]] of the highest degree, and doesn't care very much what happens to his employees. Yet still, most of the things he and his company invented were by accident. He wanted to make a diet pudding, he made the propulsion and repulsion gels instead (a pair of gels that are definitely ''not'' to be consumed). He had a similar intention with the conversion gel too, and even tried it on himself...only to find out that it is deadly as all hell and works better as portal conductors. On a related note, he definitely spent more time testing his products than actually marketing them due to how horrible Aperture was at that particular task. This eventually leads to his downfall as he eventually goes bankrupt and, in his last moments, he {{spoiler|uploaded his assistant's conciousness on to [[G La DOS]] so that she would be able to run the facility in his place (despite the fact that she did not want to)}}. In short, he would have been a millionare and an everyday hero if he had at least a little more sanity and some marketing ability, and the sense to use that ability.