Lampshade Hanging/Video Games: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Half-Life 2]]'', Dr. Breen hangs a lampshade on Gordon Freeman himself, saying that he's just a theoretical physicist, just one normal human. ...Which makes sense, really. How the heck is this one ordinary guy not only an MIT educated theoretical physicist, but also a [[One-Man Army]]?

* In [[Kingdom Hearts]], at first, only Sora,{{spoiler|(and Riku and The King later on)}} has the ability to wield a Keyblade. Later on, in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas {{spoiler|and Kairi}} can wield one (Hell, Roxas can wield TWO!). In that Game's secret ending and [[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep|Birth by Sleep]], it is also revealed that Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and Master Eraqus can wield them, {{spoiler|as can Master Xehanort and Vanitas. There's even a world full of abandoned Keyblades at the end of the game, suggesting that at some point, there has been THOUSANDS of people able to wield the Keyblade.}} I think Braig summed it up best:

** Braig also comments on {{spoiler|Terra-Xehanort's}} amnesia with "Boy, this is some cliché." It definitely starts sounding like a lampshade when one considers that convenient-for-the-plot memory loss seems to be a rather common ailment in the series.

* In ''[[Tatsunokovs Capcom]]'', nearly all of the victory quotes lampshade plenty of things, from the character designs (Chun-Li wondering about her thighs after fighting another Chun-Li), gameplay (Batsu mistaking Ryu as a [[Shotoclone|practitioner of his fighting style]], etc.) or even meta stuff (Zero commenting that he wins by [[Power Copying|studying enemy moves]]). [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/file/953921/59315 Here] is the full list of victory quotes of the game.

* ''[[Star Wars]]: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy'': at one point, when faced with a [[Locked Door]], Kyle Katarn, [[Genre Savvy|who has been in this kind of game before]], snidely comments to the [[Player Character]], "They always lock the doors. You'd think they'd've learned by now." and later, "The console for opening the door is probably hidden in some room twelve floors up... how does ''that'' make sense?"

** And let's not forget the dialogue at the beginning of the game:

'''Kyle:''' You always sense a disturbance in the Force. }}

* Both the Master Chief and even more so Cortana in ''[[Halo]]'' are strongly leaning to the [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky side]] and make several [[Genre Savvy]] comments throughout the games. But the series [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] of Cortana's rescue near the end of the third game does not end without fixing up the [[Mood Whiplash]]:

'''Master Chief:''' Thought I'd try shooting my way out—mix things up a little. }}

* At one point in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 2: Sons of Liberty'', Raiden asks Solid Snake why he never seems to run out of ammunition. In answer, Snake simply touches his bandanna and says "Infinite ammo." In the game, the bandanna is a secret item which does indeed grant infinite ammunition. While Snake is most likely referring to his mind, the joke is not lost on the player. (It also implicitly said that the "good" ending of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' was canonical, which was later confirmed in ''4''.) The ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series is famous for repeatedly [[Fourth Wall|breaking the fourth wall]].

** The tutorial section is done [[He Knows About Timed Hits|from the mouth of a character]] and when told seemingly obvious things like how to jump, the bard mocks him for his ignorance and questions what the ''x button'', etc. are.

** Don't forget the obligatory mention of a PC version of the game:

* One part in ''[[Metro 2033]]'' has a Nazi soldier about to execute the player. [[Talking Is a Free Action|He says something witty and just]] ''[[Talking Is a Free Action|stands there]]'' until [[Big Damn Heroes|a Ranger kills him.]] The Ranger then says "... one thing I like about the bad guys, [[Just Between You and Me|there's always a lot of discussion before they get around to pulling the trigger]]".

* In the final chapter of ''[[Drakengard]]'', after you are convinced they have [[Mind Screw|no more weird left to shovel in your face]], the [[Final Boss]] mission's description says "Reality breaks down, and the fantasy begins." And then it gets even weirder.

* The [[Resident Evil]] series seems to have a particular fondness for lampshades, especially in the later installments.

** ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'': Osmund Saddler, right before {{spoiler|mutating into this giant spider-thing}}:

*** And then Leon ''[[Nuke'Em|nukes]] [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|him]]''.

** ''[[Resident Evil 5]]'' lampshades many of the recurring themes of the series. An exasperated Chris Redfield complains about how he feels like he's trapped in a monster movie and that there always seems to be a guy with a chainsaw trying to kill him. And when Wesker goes into one of his monologues or explains his [[Evil Plan]], Chris grumbles about more crazy talk and responds to the latter with:

* ''[[Zork: Grand Inquisitor]]'' lampshaded the [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]. When the player puts a large vacuum on a vending machine, Dalboz comments "Just where were you keeping that?"

* In ''[[Gabriel Knight]] 3'', the [[Hyperspace Arsenal]] is lampshaded when a jacket Gabriel has squeezed into his jeans forms a [[Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?|suspicious-looking bulge]].

** The "This isn't that kind of game" line is probably referring to the budding relationship between Farah and the Prince, rather than a lampshade hang -- though it could pretty easily be both.

** From the previews, the new Prince is actively [[Genre Savvy]]. He's noted that he tends to move "toward" the monsters, and when his cohort points out that it "[[It's Quiet... Too Quiet|seems quiet]]", he advises her not to say that.

* During one of the missions in ''[[Free Space]] 2'', a pilot mutters about how useless their technology had been during the Great War, thirty years before, lampshading the fact that, while in ''Freespace 2'', capital ships will fire all sorts of very large and deadly cannons and lasers, in ''Freespace 1'', during which the Great War takes place, capital ships were for the most part fairly unimpressive moving targets.

* ''[[The Simpsons Game]]'' has you '''collecting''' these for [[One Hundred Percent Completion]].

** The third part of the quest chain The Rise of the Machines, an NPC instructs you to collect quest drops, but doesn't specify how many. In the quest summary, it states exactly how many you need, followed by, "You know this because you are psychic."

** A series of books can be found in various undead instances written by a low-ranking servant of [[The Undead|TheScourge]] critiquing the convoluted and insane methods of the dungeon's bosses. From ''On Scholomance'',

** One of the employees in a tavern in Outlands laments to his employer that he feels as though he's caught in an [[Perpetually Static|unending loop of performing the same meaningless task over and over again]].

** Speaking of ''World of Warcraft'', ''[[My Sims]]'' hangs a lampshade when you move in Arcade Game Owner Vic Vector. When you complete tasks for him, the "flavor text" of each new blueprint reads "This blueprint is soulbound, so try to get rid of it!" "An epic blueprint. Take it, my class can't use it." And for the final task completed... "Vic gives you a rocket wall decorative for your house! An epic mount! Sweet!"

** In [[Warcraft III]], if you poke too much Shandris Feathermoon, the night elf archer in steroids, one of the things she says is why she never runs out of arrows.

* In ''[[Gears of War]]'', whenever you find a door too thick for your [[Powered Armor]]-clad steroids-overdosed hero to kick down, you have to call a stealthed bot called Jack to cut it. Then you get a tough encounter while the bot is at his business. Every. Single. Time. At one of these points, it gets to the exchange.

:: Then Baird gets into a defensive position... and you probably should as well. }}

* Good old [[Jim Ross|J.R.]] calls it with the [[Professional Wrestling]] page quote, word for word, in the ''[[Smackdown vs. Raw]]'' series.

*** Sam: "Yes, actually - 555-1984."

* This is used during a bonus sequence in ''[[Super Smash Bros|Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. The stage is in space and none of the characters wear air masks:

'''Peppy:''' Bah! Way to go, Slippy. [[MST3K Mantra|No-one would've even noticed if you hadn't opened up your big yap!]] }}

* In ''[[Tales of Hearts]]'', Kunzite, a [[Ridiculously Human Robot]], is nonetheless perfectly capable of being hit with all the [[Standard Status Ailments]] such as poison, curse, and petrification. If one of those occurs while [[The Lancer]] is in the party, that lancer will question it during the [[Victory Pose]]: "How exactly does a machine get poisoned, anyway?" "I am constructed to be very similar to a human being." etc.

** Similarly, if you ask the Ostagar merchant if you can help him find his AWOL servants, he'll say he's sure someone like you has more important things to do than worry about his inane personal problems.

** Also, there's this quote from some adventurers you prevent from (falsely?) accusing a mage of practicing blood magic:

** If you bring Alistair to the Brecilian Forest and meet Zathrian for the first time, he offers this quote with a knowing smile after hearing about the werewolves' attack:

** [[Dragon Age II|The sequel]] has one man wandering around the Hanged Man tavern that seems to have knocked a few holes in the fourth wall. Among insane rants of feeling like "just a background character in someone else's play" or like that, come lines specifically pointing out video game contrivances, like "Does anyone else notice the normal day-to-day activities are so much easier? Eating? Sleeping? I hardly even notice them..."

* In ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' II many players were forced to turn on the subtitles due to the incredible amount of Italian spoken. During a present-time conversation with Rebecca she apologizes for it, claiming the translation on the Animus 2.0 isn't up to par. His response? "Oh, it's no problem, those subtitles really help." This is also a lampshade to apologize because there there were no subtitles in the first game.

** In the first game, Flay also has a tendency to drop down from the ceilings. When questioned, he dismisses it with lines like, "Minor details." Then later on, when he walks through the workshop door normally, the workshop explicitly calls attention to this.

* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'', when you click on the pamphlet guy in front of City Hall, he tell you what particular cause he's promoting this week.

** In a passing dialogue, one NPC insists to his obviously disbelieving friends that he actually ''did'' manage to snatch a purse.

* In ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'' when Heather is explaining to Douglas that {{spoiler|Harry killed the God summoned by Dahlia}} she points out that "it must not have been much of a god if it could be killed by a human being".

** In addition to lampshading [[The Bartender]], this lampshades a specific bartender in the first game's version of the Citadel, who specifically tells you to ask him for news.

** The character of Conrad Verner is one gigantic lampshape in human form. He calls attention to several video game tropes used heavily in both games.

'''Conrad''': Hey, don't say it like that! I talk to people, you know? Ask them if they have big problems that only I can solve. You'd be surprised at how many people are just waiting for someone to talk to them. Sometimes [[Kleptomaniac Hero|I poke through crates, too. You know, for extra credits.]] }}

** The first game had long load times that were covered with lengthy elevator rides filled with conversations between your squad mates. ''[[Mass Effect|Mass Effect 2]]'' lampshades these in the following dialog, which can show up if you take Tali and Garrus around the Citadel.

'''Garrus:''' Mmmmmmaybe we'll talk later. }}

** Mordin mentions that the salarian Special Tasks Groups were ''much'' better funded than Council Spectres, as they [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Master_Spectre_Gear didn't have to buy their own weapons].

* ''[[Disgaea]]''. All forms, all the time. The games THRIVE on this. A particularly good example is ''Disgaea DS'', Where after getting [[New Game+]], You unlock a sarcastic [[Everything's Better with Penguins|Prinny]] who seems to have a talent for pointing out ridiculous things. Every other line.

* ''[[Postal]] 2'''s version of the [[Level Editor|Unreal Editor]] has help messages that lampshade how ridiculously easy it is to cause the program to crash.

Successful use of the engine is defined as thwarting the intentions of those who made it? }}

* A scene at the beginning of ''[[Yo-Jin-Bo]]'' has Jin asking [[Rebellious Princess|Hatsuhime]] if she [[King Incognito|has disguised herself to wander the land and experience the life of the common people]]. Yo immediately reproaches Jin, telling him that sounds like something out of a story. This not five minutes after both Yo and Jin tease Mon-Mon about not being "one of the guys you can get [[Medium Awareness|at the end of the game]]."

* ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' does a ''lot'' of this.

** The item description for an Iifa Tree<ref> The ''extremely large'' [[World Tree]] in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' originally, here simply something used in [[Item Crafting]] as a [[Mythology Gag]]</ref> lampshades the ridiculousness of some of the things the player could have in their [[Bag of Sharing]] over the series (and in this game too):

** The game's "player plan" system, which rewards the player for continued playing of the game with boosts to the experience points gained and special treasures, and is represented by a little chocobo running across a field, is in-game explained like so:

"... [[MST3K Mantra|Look, just don't think about this one too hard]]." }}

** In the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series, [[A God Am I]] is prevalent amongst the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]. [[Final Fantasy VI|Kefka]] thus says the following about [[Final Fantasy VII|Sephiroth]]:

** The ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series has garnered a [[Your Mileage May Vary|somewhat undeserved reputation]] for [[Anime Hair|ridiculous hairstyles]]--really, only one main character's hair is flat-out impossible: Cloud, of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''. Nonetheless, since his game made the series popular, it's stuck, and so [[Final Fantasy XI|Shantotto]]'s taunt when facing him is:

** Significant parts of [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud and Sephiroth's]] dialogue make subtle digs at the fact that they fight each other in ''every'' spinoff of their original game, due to popularity.

'''Sephiroth''' ''(about Cloud)'': "I must face him and fulfill my obligation." }}

** [[There Are Two Kinds of People in the World|There are two major kinds of villain in]] ''[[Final Fantasy]]'': The kind that want to ''[[Take Over the World|rule]]'' [[Take Over the World|the world]], and the kind that want to ''[[Omnicidal Maniac|destroy]]'' [[Omnicidal Maniac|the world]]. ''Dissidia'' has a conversation between one of the former ([[Final Fantasy VIII|Ultimecia]]) and one of the latter ([[Final Fantasy III|the Cloud of Darkness]]). In it, Ultimecia begins to make an [[Evil Speechof Evil]] about her plans--and is ''interrupted'' by the Cloud of Darkness, calling such schemes "petty machinations" and saying they are boring and tiresome. Cloud of Darkness would prefer instead to [[Apocalypse How|return all to the Void]]. Ultimecia's response to that is a simple "...Why?", thus allowing the ridiculousness of both kinds of villainy to be properly lampshaded.

* The ''first thing'' Pit says in the announcement trailer for ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'' is [[Vaporware|"Sorry to keep you waiting!"]] At one point in the demo for said game, Palutena mentions that it's been "about 24 years" since she last battled Medusa. Guess when the original ''[[Kid Icarus]]'' was released in America. Go on, guess.

* [[G La DOS]] enjoys lampshading things you do that are particulary stupid, especially in Portal 2. After you are separated from Wheatley and land in a shattered corridor, with the only way of proceeding being a portal-friendly wall that makes you fall into a room with a door that reads "[[G La DOS]] Emergency Shutdown (and Cake Dispensary), {{spoiler|it naturally turns out to be a trap. [[G La DOS]] mocks you openly when she reveals herself.}}

* ''[[House Of The Dead 2]]'' Very subtle example. At the very beginning of Stage Two a car swerves towards you out of control, if you don't shoot the zombie on the bonnet it passes you and crashes into a shop, killing the man inside (and changing the path you take). ''Just'' before you duck inside you get a glimpse of the shop's name. It's called {{spoiler|Curtains}}. Boom, boom, tish.

* The ''[[Uncharted]]'' series ''loves'' to hang lampshades on everything. Just about half of the speech in the games is dedicated to saying "why does this keep happening?"

* In ''Jak 3'', the third installment of the [[Jak and Daxter]] series, Seem the monk comments to Jak and Daxter "This isn't a game!" to which Jak and Daxter turn to the camera with eyebrows raised.

* Near the beginning of the ''[[Anaksha Female Assassin]]'' Mini-Adventure "A New Threat," Anaksha has just been asked for some parts to make a taser so that the owner of a recently-robbed shop is confident enough to open it again so that Anaksha can get a battery for her new cell phone. Having been through two previous Mini-Adventures where she had to do a [[Chain of Deals]] to get what she wanted, Anaksha knows immediately what's coming:

* ''[[X (video game)|X3: Albion Prelude]]'' hangs a shade on ''X3: Terran Conflict's'' [[Fetch Quest|Hub Plot]] and its insane requirements. The scientists you transport to the Hub in ''X3AP'' note that Mahi Ma filled the cargo hold with thousands upon thousands of microchips, referring to the 75,000 microchip requirement in ''TC's'' plot. Afterwards, several crates of microchips are left floating around the Hub.

* ''[[Star Control 2]]'' has several, but perhaps the most hilarious is when you talk to the {{spoiler|Dnyarri after getting it}} and he complains he's becoming insane because there's music loops playing ceaselessly and that he has heard the same song several hundred times.