Sorting Algorithm of Deadness/Video Games

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Sorting Algorithm of Deadness

Using the scientifically Infallible power of the Sorting Algorithm of Deadness, who do you think is the next in line for being brought back from the great Bus in the sky?

To use the Algorithm, simply add the Column's "Death Value", and divide by the number of applicable rows.

Relative deadness factor	Deader Than Dead	Maybe Back Later	Be Back Soon	Death? What's That?
Death Value	4	3	2	1
Cause of death	Irony, Bridge Drop, Overkill, Stuffed in The Fridge, Ret-Gone	Redemption, Sacrifice, Bus Crash, Mortal Wound Reveal	No One Could Survive That, just plain killed in battle	Jumping
Audience Expectation	Anyone Can Die, Kill'Em All	Killed Off for Real, Tonight Someone Dies	Disney Death	Back from the Dead, Death Is Cheap, Nobody Can Die
Body Found?	Dead and Buried Only Bits And Pieces	At The Morgue	Never Found, Frozen, Petrified	Left for Dead
Reaction	Montage, Bond One-Liner	He's Dead, Jim	It's Personal	Faux Death
Last Words	Crap, Killed Mid-Sentence, Carry on men, His Name Is--	Catch Phrase, Famous Last Words, Final Speech, Obi-Wan Moment	"Fly, you fools!" "Piece of cake"	"My Death Is Just the Beginning"
Characterization	Red Shirt, Loved One, Mauve Shirt	Recurring Character, C-List Fodder	Regular	Protagonist, Archvillain
When did they die?	10+ years ago, Series Finale	5–10 years ago	Same year	Same arc
"Died" and come back?	Not yet	Died once, but got better	Twice	I've lost count

If the character hasn't died yet (but seems likely to), see Sorting Algorithm of Mortality. All of this is trumped by the First Law of Resurrection.

Currently, Shirley from Code Geass and the real Caulder from Advance Wars: Days of Ruin have scored 4, the highest possible. The latter is more notable by having 4 in every category instead of getting the CLAMP bonus that the former got. No characters have got the lowest possible score of 1 yet, but Davros and The Master are joint leaders in the death defying derby at 1.75, even beating South Park's Kenny.

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Baseline Example: The death of Superman.

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, so he's not coming back from that too quickly, or the sacrifice will be cheapened. 3.
• Genre: It's a comic book, so Death Is Cheap. 1.
• The Body: Deader Than Dead, a Pietà Plagiarism too for supes sake! So no chance of Faking the Dead. 4.
• Reaction: Really Dead Montage, uh-oh. 4.
• Characterization: Protagonist. 1.
• When did he die: Same year, so 2.
• Come Back?: This was a first, so 4.
• Average: So add it up... we get a pretty high score, 19! Since it's not a videogame, divide by 7, and we get... 19/7 = 2.7, meaning supes isn't coming back for at least a few months, maybe even years. In actuality the Death Of Superman happened in January 1993 and he came back some time before May 1994.

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Now let's make a prediction with the recent death of Batman in Final Crisis.

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, give or take. 3.
• Genre: Comic book, so Death Is Cheap. 1.
• The Body: Dead and buried, but it's a little more complicated. Still, it's a 4.
• Reaction: He's Dead Clark, plus "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" probably counts as a Really Dead Montage. 3.5.
• Last Words: "Try Me." 3.
• Characterization: It's The Goddamn Batman, people. 1.
• When did he die: Same year, so 2.
• Come Back?: This would be the first time, so 4.
• Average: 21.5/8= 2.7. A semi-high score, and DC seems to be sticking to this one for a while. Still, he'll definitely be back, likely before the end of 2010 at the latest.

Note: This sub-page is for Video Games examples only. Please ensure that you put new examples in the correct Sorting Algorithm of Deadness sub-page.

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Command & Conquer

Kane's death from the first game.

• Cause of death? He got directly hit by a massive satellite laser - no one could survive that.
• Genre? Killed Off For Real - many main characters die.
• Body found? It was assumed to be vaporized.
• Reaction? The GDI wrote him off as dead, and Nod thought so too began fighting among themselves - a He's Dead Jim.
• Characterization? Archvillain.
• When did he die? Same arc - he dies at the end of the game. 14/6 = 2.3.
• Conclusion? Kane appeared at the beginning of the game's sequel. In terms of playing time, he was never really out of the running - in the game's universe, however, he was "dead" for about 20 years. Close enough to Back Next Episode.
  • And by the time we start getting into the later games, it becomes evident that his big shtick is the dying over and over and over...

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Fire Emblem 4's mass slaughter of the player's allies at the Battle of Barhara

Let's start with Levin

• Cause: Bridge Drop. 4
• Genre: Fire Emblem is noted for it's perma death, but Jugdral is the one universe where the power to bring back the dead can be used more than once. 3
• Body Found: Not mentioned.
• Reaction: His kids are pretty miffed, 2.
• Last words:Not applied
• Character: Regular 2
• When: Over 10 years between the 2 generations. 4
• Died and come back: The player can use the Valkyrie staff on him, but that only happens if they screw up badly enough to get a Holsety user killed, which is very rare. Not yet: 4
• 20 and 6: 3.3 It takes divine intervention to get him back

Now someone who isn't confirmed Ira

• Cause: Same. 4
• Genre: same. 3
• Body found: The 5th game says at least some of the women at the battle were alive... and got turned to stone. Frozen. 2
• Reaction: again, 2nd gen is quite annoyed, 2
• Last words: ?
• Character: Unlike Levin, not a holy weapon holder, so I'd rank her a 3
• When: again, over 10 years in game AND about 10 years IRL, 4
• Come back: Again, not yet. 4
• 22 by 7: 3.142. Hey Levin lives (and is forced to abandon his children granted) with a higher score... Given her popularity she has a chance if an FE4 (preferably combined with FE5) remake is done.

For comparison, let's do someone who has come back in the series: Michalis in FE1, FE3 book 1 and Shadow Dragon.

• Cause of death: Killed by Marth's army (FE3 says that canonically his sister defeated him but couldn't kill him). Given that it wasn't until latter that story units got unhealable wounds instead of dieing, reaching 0 HP in Fire Emblem is pretty dead. 2?
• Genre: Anyone can die. 4
• Body found: No mention is given to what happened to it in the original, but said to be cared for by his sister in FE3. 1
• Reaction: 3 (We really need examples of what warrents what for villain deaths)
• Last words: "Aaagh… I am finished… Forgive me…my people…" 4?
• Character: Major enemy, but this is his first time actually appearing: 3.5
• When: 4 out of universe, 5 in. 3
• Deaths: Not yet 4
• Back for a redemption equals death

Now for said death

• Cause: 3
• Genre: 4
• Found: Yep, I think it's just abandoned given it's a battlefield. 1
• Reaction: Marth just shouts his name. 2?
• Last words: "Your highness... I leave Maria’s fate to you..." 3?
• Character: I can say he at least somewhat counts as a "loved one" now though. 4.
• When: 6 years between the original and remake, same arc between his "death" and comeback in story. ?
• Deaths: once, 3.
• 20+ "when"'s result. Either a 3 or a 1. 2.8 or 2.6 and he's back in the remake if you do it right.

And Hardin

• Cause: Redemeption (technically not him that was evil, but counts) 3
• Genre: 4
• Found: ?
• Reaction: Not mentioned for a bit, but Camus gives a "He's dead Jim" in the final. 3
• Character: main villain of the arc 1.
• When: Same year. 2
• Deaths: None, 4.
• 17/7 2.4 he stays dead in both FE3 AND FE12.

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Persona 3:

The Main Character

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice: 3.
• Genre: Killed Off for Real in the initial release of the game, but FES and P3P muddy the waters considerably. 2.5, maybe?
• Body Found: "The Answer" makes this more or less a 4.
• Reaction: "The Answer" is all about the other characters' efforts at coping. 4.
• Characterization: 1.
• Last Words: "Don't cry," or "It'll be okay." 3.
• Time of Death: End of the game. The Persona games are loosely connected rather than sharing casts or storylines, so this is almost but not quite equivalent to a Series Finale. 3.
• Died and Come Back: Had a Disney Death during the final battle; we'll say 3.
• Average: 23.5/8 = 2.94. Might be back. Persona 4 mentions that Elizabeth has gone in search of a way to save him from the burden of being the Great Seal, which gives some support to the possibility.

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Dragon Age:

Duncan

• Cause of death: Presumably decapitated by a Hurlock Alpha after having been mortally wounded performing a Dying Moment of Awesome. 2
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
• Body Found? Nope. 3
• Reaction: It's Personal from Alistair. 2
• Last Words: None. N/A.
• Characterization: The Obi-Wan. 4.
• When did they die?: Beginning of game. 3
• "Died" and come back?: Not yet. 4
• Average: 3.14. Surprisingly high for a character that the fandom is convinced is still alive. Word of God is that he's been Killed Off for Real.

Flemeth

• Cause of death: Slain after long and grueling Bonus Boss fight. If finished off by a melee fighter, has an impressive death animation. 2
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
• Body found: Yes, but it never reverted from its transformation into a High Dragon. 3.5
• Reaction: Even her Codex entry doubts that she's really dead. 1
• Last Words: "It is a dance Flemeth knows well. Let us see if she remembers the steps." 1
• Characterization: Centuries old sorceress of myth. 1
• When did they die?: Most players won't be strong enough to kill her until late in the game. 2.
• "Died" and come back?: Repeatedly resurrected herself via her daughters through the generations. 1
• Average: 1.722. Looks like we'll be seeing more of her. In Dragon Age II, it's revealed that she cheated death by using a Soul Jar to create a copy of herself.

Cailan

• Cause Of Death: Squeezed by ogre. 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
• Body Found?: In Return to Ostagar where it can be crematated, fed to wolves or left to rot. 4
• Reaction: It's Personal from Duncan. 2
• Last words: A shocked cry of pain. 4
• Characterization: Naive King in a Crapsack World. 4
• When did they die?: Beginning of game. 3
• "Died" and come back?: Not yet. 4
• Average: 3.625. Dead as a doornail.

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Saints Row:

Lin

• Cause of Death: Can be seen as No-one could survive being drowned in the trunk of a car. (2)
• Genre: Killed Off for Real (3), it happened to her and Carlos, as far as the Saints go.
• Body Found?: She's been Left for Dead (1)
• Reaction: It's Personal, as far as it makes Donnie hate the Rollerz(2)
• Last words: "Run, you fools!". (2)
• Characterisation: Protagonist (1)
• When?: 5 or 10 years ago by now (3)
• Come back already?: Nope. (4)
• Avg: 18/8: 2.25. She may have survived.

Shogo Akuji

• Cause of Death:No-one could survive a Texas Funeral (2)
• Genre: Killed Off for Real (3), it happened to Lin and Carlos!
• Body Found?: Although on a literal level he has been buried, he is Left for Dead (1)
• Reaction: None, really other than 'I think Akuji's dead by now.'(3)
• Last words: Not really words, but there is a 'oh shit' look on his face as he realises he's about to be buried alive, and he spends most of the cutscene begging for his life. Oh Crap. (4)
• Characterisation: C-List Fodder (3) (at my count there's 10 antagonists, and Dane Vogel would be the Big Bad.)
• When?: Most recent game, so Same Arc (1).
• Come back already?: Nope. (4)
• Average: 21/8: 2.625, Akuji's next in line after Lin!

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April Ryan from The Longest Journey series:

• Cause of death: No One Could Survive That, so 2.
• Genre: it's adventure game series, but considering how low was the death rate until now... I say Disney Death. 2.
• Body Found? Stabbed by a pike and thrown off the pier? That's Left for Dead, I guess. 1.
• Reaction: It's Personal, so 2. Kian is seriously pissed off now!
• Last Words: Final Speech...ish. I give 3 for this one.
• Characterization: Protagonist! 1.
• When did they die? Same arc. 1.
• "Died" and come back? Nuh-uh. 4.
• Final count 2. See you in next game...

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Rugal Bernstein from The King of Fighters series:

• Cause of death: deintegrated by trying to control his own power. 4
• Genre: Mostly Killed Off for Real, but Mature and Vice kinda resurrected in KOF XIII, so 2.5
• Body found? Nope, he was deintegrated. There wasn't any body left. 4
• Reaction: None. 4
• Last words: "I'll be back". 1
• Characterization: Archvillain. 1
• When did he die? Hard to tell, really, but two arcs have passed without him resurrecting. So 3.5
• Died and come back? Never in canon. 4
• Average: 2.875. He won't be back at least until SNK forgets about his son... or until another Dream Match.

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Let's take a look at Luca Blight, arguably the greatest RPG villain ever.

• Cause: Bombarded with arrows, attacked in three consecutive melee battles, bombarded with arrows again, and finally defeated in one-on-one with The Hero. No One Could Survive That=2.
• Genre: Well, it's Suikoden, so Anyone Can Die. 4.
• Body: Well, his body was pretty clearly found, and was riddled with arrows to boot, but was never actually seen being disposed of in any way, so...3.5.
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim. 3.
• Last Words: "I am sublime! I am the true face of evil!" 3.
• Characterization: Archvillain. 1.
• When: Well, seeing as Suikoden III takes place 15 years later...let's just say 4, all right?
• Died Before: No, so 4.
• 24.5/8=3.0625. Pretty sure he's dead, but then, who knows what Suiko 6 may hold?

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Magical Starsign:

Semolina

• Cause: One part Heroic Sacrifice, two parts Driven to Suicide. 3.5, maybe.
• Genre: Brownie Brown made this. They also did a lot of work on {Mother3}. Probably 3.
• Body: It's now a Cosmic Keystone. Definately 4.
• Reaction: 3.5, clearly dead, and that she's at least with them in spirit.
• Last Words: Boils down to 'I'll make the sacrifice so no one else has to'. 3.
• Characterization: Recurring Character. 3.
• When: 1.5. She's around kind of early, but makes her sacrifice 15–20 hours into the game.
• Died Before: None, 4.
• 25.5/8 = 3.1875. Not that she wants to come back.

Magnus Muzzleflash

• Cause: Kamehame Hadoken into space. Hard to say, probably 2.
• Genre: 3, Cerebus Syndrome is in full swing.
• Body: Left for Dead, 1
• Reaction: Never mentioned again. Plus it happens in a cutscene. 4, most likely.
• Last Words: Probably Oh Crap, if they could speak during cutscenes. 4.
• Characterization: Mentioned earlier, though he's one of the few bosses who don't just flee. 4, maybe.
• When: Same arc, 1.
• Died Before: Nope, 4.
• 21/8 = 2.625 - He could probably show up in a sequel, if there ever is one.

Tektos

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice via Cast from Hit Points Kamehame Hadoken. 3
• Genre: 3, see above.
• Body: You take his brain afterwards. 4
• Reaction: hard to pinpoint. probably 3
• Last Words: I'd call it a Final Speech. 3
• Characterization: Only introduced recently. 4
• When: Same arc. 1
• Died Before: No. 4
• 25/8 = 3.125 Well, he was alright with it.

Brie Porre

• Cause: Injured by a boss, after showing signs of redemption. 3?
• Genre: 3
• Body: right there. 4
• Reaction: Montage. 4
• Last Words: Telling the party to run. 2
• Characterization: Showed up much earlier, only just started getting characterization. 3.5
• When: Same arc. 1
• Died Before: Nope. 4
• 24.5/8 = 3.0625, Yet she's alive again before the cutscene is over.

Detective Beignet

• Cause: Injured by a boss. 2
• Genre: 3
• Body Found: You escape before seeing what happens. Left for Dead 1
• Reaction: The party is not happy about the current situation. 2
• Last Words: You Shall Not Pass 2
• Characterization: Reccurring Character. 3
• When: 1.
• Died before: Not him either. 4
• 18/8 = 2.25. His fate's pretty vague all around.

Biek Fowler

• Cause: Taking You with Me inturrupted by a Cross-flare from behind. 4
• Genre: 3
• Body Found: It's hard to tell if there is one, but his armor's still there. 4
• Reaction: The only thing they care about is whether the bomb still works. 4
• Last Words: Famous Last Words. 3
• Characterization: High up on the Sorting Algorithm of Evil, and that's about it. 3?
• When: 1
• Died before: No. 4
• 26/8 = 3.25. He's not coming back from that.

Duram

• Cause: I'd call it a Heroic Sacrifice with an appitizer of redemption. 3
• Genre: 3? That's seeming a bit low at this point...
• Body found: Off screen, and the party is warped away quickly. 1
• Reaction: The Party is not happy. 2
• Last words: probably qualify as a 2
• Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
• When: 1
• Died before: No. 4
• 19/8 = 2.375. If you ignore the game saying not to look back, you can find out he survived almost immediately.

Master Chard

• Cause: Curb Stomp Battle. 4.
• Genre: 3.
• Body found: mix of Everything Fades with Made of Explodium. 4
• Reaction: Something along the lines of "Finally!" 4
• Last Words: Final Speech. 3
• Characterization: Major Villian. 3
• When: 1
• Died before: No. 4
• 26/8 = 3.25

Master Kale

• Cause: Karmic Death 4
• Genre: 3
• Body found: Everything Fades 4
• Reaction: The party is concerned with other things at the moment. Discounted for now
• Last Words: Final Speech. 3
• Characterization: Big Bad 1
• When: 1
• Died before: No. 4
• 20/7 = 2.857

Miss Madeline

• Cause: Not Quite Saved Enough 4
• Genre: 3?
• Body Found: 4
• Reaction: Pretty Distraught. 4
• Last Words: Final Speech, See you next life. 3
• Characterization: Big Good / The Obi-Wan 1
• When: 1
• Died before: No. 4
• 24/8 = 3.

On the other hand, it's already been established that Magic-users can be reincarnated. So if they do another 800 year time skip...

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Advance Wars series examples. Let's start with Sturm in Black Hole Rising:

• Cause: mix of Bridge Drop and No One Could Survive That (he was hit by Black Storm) - 3
• Genre: first "death" in the series. Add the clone usage and it's 1.5
• Body: seems to be right there, but seeing as he wasn't unmasked, let's count this as Never Found - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Role: Archvillain - 1
• When: right at the end in Black Hole Rising - 1; same year in Dual Strike - 2
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 20.5/8 = 2.5625 in Black Hole Rising, 21.5/8 = 2.6875 in Dual Strike. He could come back, especially if Hawke had killed a clone.

Dual Strike follows up with a couple. First, the Andy clone:

• Cause: left to die - 3?
• Genre: Up to this point, only Sturm had "died", but the clone usage is useless for lowering his score - 2.5
• Body: Right there - 4
• Reaction: It's Personal - 2
• Last Words: Famous Last Words - 3
• Role: I'd say Red Shirt - 4
• When: same arc, late in the game - 1
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 23.5/8 = 2.9375. Not too likely to come back, but another Andy clone may

And Von Bolt:

• Cause: Karmic Death - 4
• Genre: see above - 2
• Body: Right there again - 4
• Reaction: None given, but then he invited Karma's wrath - 4
• Last Words: Taking You with Me -- failed miserably - 4
• Role: Archvillain - 1
• When: right at the end - 1
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 24/8 = 3. Of course, even if he does come back, he's not even in a condition to sweep any streets.

Now for Days of Ruin. There's a bunch of them. First, the Beast:

• Cause: You Have Outlived Your Usefulness - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: Right there - 4
• Reaction: none - 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Role: Red Shirt - 4
• When: Same arc - 1
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 29/8 = 3.625. He's had it, commander.

Next is Forsythe:

• Cause: Bridge Drop - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: Right there again - 4
• Reaction: Montage - 4
• Last Words: Famous Last Words - 3
• Role: Anti-Villain - 2.5
• When: Same arc - 1
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 26.5/8 = 3.3125. May that coward Greyfield pay for what he did.

And of course, Brenner:

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, could be considered Redemption Equals Death in his own viewpoint - 3
• Genre: take a wild guess - 4
• Body: Not Found, but the area got nuked - 3.5
• Reaction: Montage - 4
• Last Words: Famous Last Words - 3
• Role: Regular - 2
• When: Same arc - 1
• Come back before: believed to be dead at one point, but other than that, no - 3.5
• Average: 24/8 = 3. Actually good for being nuked.

Davis in the American version:

• Cause: Death by Irony - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die, of course - 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Body: Left for Dead - 1
• Reaction: none, really - 3
• Role: Mauve Shirt - 4
• When: Same arc - 1
• Come back before: No - 4
• Average: 25/8 = 3.125. Not looking too good for the poor guy.

Greyfield:

• Cause: Death by Irony - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die, naturally - 4
• Body: right there - 4
• Reaction: And There Was Much Rejoicing - 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Role: Disc One Final Boss - 4
• When: Same arc, again - 1
• Come back before: nope - 4
• Average: 29/8 = 3.625. The moral of the story? Never murder POWs, or nuke your own people to kill the idealist commander of an Anti-Hero subordinate.

The Mayor:

• Cause: Karmic Death - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: right there - 4
• Reaction: none, really; can be considered And There Was Much Rejoicing for the audience - 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Role: recurring character - 3
• When: same arc, but becomes a year past soon afterwards - 2.5
• Come back before: no - 4
• Average: 29.5/8 = 3.6875. He's toast.

Cyrus:

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: right there again - 4
• Reaction: Montage - 4
• Last Words: Famous Last Words - 3
• Role: recurring character - 3
• When: same arc, but becomes a year past soon afterwards - 2.5
• Come back before: no - 4
• Average: 28.5/8 = 3.5625. May he rest in peace.

The real Dr. Caulder

• Cause: Death by Irony - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: A passing reference that he was in a plane crash hints at this in the first place, and his murderer--the clone that was running around--watched him die - 4
• Reaction: His clone found "watching yourself die" fascinating - 4
• Last Words: none, but no shown speaking role - 4
• Role: creator and victim of the Big Bad - 4
• When: before the start of the game, quite possibly before the meteors - 4
• Come back before: no, and there barely any hint that the Caulder you fight is a clone - 4
• Average: 32/8 = 4. You got first place.

And finally, Dr. Caulder himself, or rather, the clone:

• Cause: Death by Irony (hey, I think I'll not try to escape the player who just turned my Scrappy Level into a joke so that he toys with me and doesn't blow up the last of the lasers right away to destroy the level when he can easily do so any time he pleases, because he must find it...fascinating) - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: Left for Dead - 1
• Reaction: none, really - 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Role: Big Bad in an Anyone Can Die game - 4
• When: same arc, but a year passes after his death - 2.5
• Come back before: no - 4 (no, being a clone who killed your own creator doesn't lower your score, Caulder)
• Average: 27.5/8 = 3.4375. Very unlikely, but could come back.

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Bolvar Fordragon and Saurfang jr. from World of Warcraft

Bolvar:

• Cause: Dropped a few barrels filled with a deadly disease (that destroys living beings and undead alike) on him. No one survived that: 2
• Genre: For player Characters, Death may be cheap, but when they make a cinematic showing you die, then you usually stay dead (with or without prefix): 3
• Body: either the disease rotted his flesh away, or he got burned by the breath of the red dragons. Either way, The Body's gone: 4
• Reaction: It's Personal for King Wrynn, and causes a major War between the Alliance and the Horde: 2
• Characterization: Former Boss of Stormwind and major Character in Wrath of the Lich King: 2
• When: Same year: 2
• Died and come back: nope: 4
• Average: 19/7 = 2.71. Will probably come back in one of the next patches (possibly as a Boss in Icecrown Citadel)

Saurfang jr.:

• Cause: Got his soul sucked out of him by the games trademark Artifact of Doom: 2
• Genre: See above: 3
• Body: See above: 4
• Reaction: It's Personal. The Horde ain't to happy about his death.: 2
• Characterization: Recurring Character: 3
• When: Same year: 2
• Dead and back: Again, no: 4
• Average: 20/7= 2.85. A bit deader than the above, but still likely to be a future boss encounter.

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For kicks, I'll do some counting on Capcom fighting game deaths....

Hyo Imawano, Project Justice (Rival Schools 2)

• Cause: Body ravaged by being possesed by his dad's spirit. Considering that point in the story he's trying to undo his dad's influence on his views, this is Death by Irony. 4
• Genre: Conflict here. This is the Fighting Game genre, where usually Death Is Cheap (see also: Bison, M.; Gouken; Mishima, Kazuya). However, this is also a Killed Off for Real considering Hyo's seiyuu died (this reason also killed off Zato-1 of Guilty Gear) and Rival Schools really hasn't had any major character deaths yet. Let's split the difference here - 2
• Body: Pretty much dies in Kyosuke's arms, but like his twin himself, the body has seemingly disappeared. Unless a future RS game shows a funeral, we'll split the difference again. 3.5
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim from Batsu. 3
• Last Words: Famous Last Words to Kyosuke. 3
• Characterization: He's Kyosuke's beloved twin brother, so Loved One. 4
• When he died: Since Project Justice is the most recent game in the series so far and was released close to a decade ago - 4
• Died and come back: The series' first and only major death so far, and no third game yet to see if it happens. 4.
• Average: 3.4375. His hopes of coming back are as likely as a Rival Schools 3 happening.

Charlie Nash, Street Fighter Alpha 3

• Cause: According to Guile's A3 ending, holding back M. Bison long enough to allow explosives set up by Guile and Charlie to blow up Shadaloo's base. Mix of No One Could Survive That and Heroic Sacrifice. 2.5
• Genre: This is Street Fighter, so Death Is Cheap. 1
• Body: Never found, confirmed by Guile's SF IV intro. 3
• Reaction: It's Personal for Guile. 2
• Last Words: Telling Guile that he'll finish off Bison and to get out of the base. Something of a mix of "Run!" and Famous Last Words, so 2.5
• Characterization: His presence in the Alpha series is there to give impetus to Guile's story, so Death by Origin Story. 4
• When He Died: 10+ years ago. 4
• Died and come back: Twice prior his Alpha 3 appearance. Both times were declared Canon Discontinuity by Word of God, but they still happened. 2
• Average: 2.625. Dead, and unlikely to come back. As noted above, though, that hasn't stopped Capcom before.

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Beatrice from Umineko no Naku Koro ni

• Cause: Honestly? Puff of Logic. Not sure it's listed, but the fight had some similarity to redemption, so I'll give it - 3
• Body: She disappeared in a Puff of Logic; what do you think? Never Found the Body - 3
• Reaction: It's Personal - 2
• Genre: Kill'Em All... over and over and over again. Does that make this Death Is Cheap? I'll give it - 1.5
• Last Words: A thank you to Battler for having fun with her during their game. I'll call it a Final Speech, I guess - 3
• Characterization: Archvillain for whom the main character is The Only One Allowed to Defeat You. And he didn't - 1
• Died and came back: Once - 3
• When: Last arc - 2
• 17.5/8 = 2.1875 She's probably coming back in an arc or two.

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GLaDOS from Portal

• Cause: No One Could Survive That - 2
• Genre: I don't know.
• Body: The body is destroyed, but you don't know that that's the whole body. Also, software can be stored, so it's sort of like frozen. - 2.5
• Reaction: Waking Up - 1
• Last Words: Killed Mid-Sentence. - 4
• Characterization: Archvillain - 1
• Died and came back: This is the first appearance, so it's not really applicable.
• When: Same year, I guess. - 2
• 12.5/6 = 2.0833 She probably survived.

Companion Cube:

• Cause: Dropped a Bridge on Him - 4
• Genre: I don't know.
• Body: Never found. - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim, but it shows him at the, possibly non-canon, ending. I'll call it a 2
• Last Words: He can't talk.
• Characterization: Possibly a loved one. I'll just call it a 3
• Died and came back: Again, first appearance: not applicable.
• When: Same year again. - 2.
• 14/5 = 2.8 He's unlikely to come back. Given that he's in the same possibly-canon ending as GLaDOS, if she survives that means he probably does. Of course, that doesn't mean it would actually show him.

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Lucca from Chrono Trigger, who was apparently killed by Lynx in Chrono Cross...

• Cause: Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome, and pretty gratuitous as well, going from being able to punching out Cthulhu to getting killed by some panther furry. I'd say that counts as a Bridge Drop. 4.
• Genre: Well, judging from the first game, Death Is Cheap, but Chrono Cross tries to establish an Anyone Can Die sort of mood, so we'll just average 4 and 1 and say 2.5.
• Body: Never Found. 3.
• Reaction: Definitely It's Personal for Kid. 2.
• Last Words: We never actually hear them, but she does leave a parting letter, so... Final Speech. 3.
• Characterization: One of the three main protagonists of the last game, though it could also count as a loved one. This time, I'll lean toward Protagonist and say 1.
• When Did They Die?: More than ten years before the start of Chrono Cross... 4. Uh oh.
• Came Back?: Not yet... 4.
• Total: 23.5/8 = just under 3. That's pretty high, but it doesn't totally rule out a return for Chrono 3... if they ever get around to making it.

• While we're at Chrono Trigger, let's try Crono's Plotline Death in the first game.
• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice = 3
• Genre: Chrono Trigger is very idealistic, so I'd say = 2.5
• Body: Vaporized = Never found? = 3
• Reaction: Average reaction from the other characters. I'd say = 2.5
• Last Words: None... unsurprisingly, since he never speaks = N/A
• Characterization: Protagonist = 1.
• When: Same game = same arc I'd say. = 1
• Came back?: Never really died before. = N/A
• Result: 2.17 = Probably Back Quite Soon. And if you bother to resurrect him, he indeed comes back fairly quickly.

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Let's try a couple of Battalion Wars examples:

In the first game, we have Tsar Gorgi:

• Cause of death: Bridge Drop (he was thrown off a bridge by Ubel right after a battle that his forces had won) - 4
• Genre: first non-mook casualty so hard to say without information from the second game - 2
• Body Found: right there, as he was talking with his son - 4
• Reaction: It's Personal - 2
• Last Words: Final Speech - 3
• Characterization: Regular - 2
• When: same arc, becomes same year before it is bothered with again - 1.5
• "Died" and come back: nope - 4
• Average: 22.5/8 = 2.81. Of course, the sequel ups the score by 1 for Genre (Killed Off for Real; he's even a ghost there), 2 for Reaction (Montage, being buried at the Gorgisburg Mausoleum), and 1.5 for When, totaling 27/8 = 3.37. He's not coming back.

And next up is the second game's death victim A-Qira:

• Cause of death: Bridge Drop (his drink was poisoned by Vlad) - 4
• Genre: thanks to Tsar Gorgi, Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found: Left for Dead - 1
• Reaction: none given, just doesn't appear in the ending - 2.5
• Characterization: Regular, although proud - 2.5
• Last Words: Oh Crap ("Poison! Treachery!") - 4
• When: same arc, same year by the end of the game - 1.5
• "Died" and come back: nope - 4
• Average: 22.5/8 = 2.81. Assuming we don't see him pull a Tsar Gorgi in the next game if it is made, there's still hope for our good admiral. Though his last words reduce his chances.

Countess Ingrid from the first game:

• Cause of death: Hard to call. The character was beyond salvation, so I guess it would be redemption - 3
• Genre: As stated before, Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found: Left for Dead - 1
• Reaction: None per se - 3
• Characterisation: Regular - 2
• Last Words: Famous Last Words ("You have made a grave error in coming here, Empress!") - 3
• When: Same year - 2
• "Died" and came back: No - 4
• Average: 21 points, or 2.625. Given the fact that she's entombed with the Iron Legion, essentially, it's not too farfetched to see this character coming back.

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Alright, now that Batman: Arkham City been out for a while, it's time to fill the deadness algorithms for the killed of characters.

• First and foremost, we have The Joker himself: Spectacular Aversion of Joker Immunity or a Double Subversion of it?
• Cause of Death: Death by Irony / Karmic Death, 4.
• Audience Expectation: Disney Death most likely considering Scarecrow and some others appeared to have survived their apparent deaths in Arkham Asylum, and there's an established method by which characters could come back from the dead; the Lazarus Pits. Although Like You Would Really Do It is in full effect, so 1 is the best answer.
• Body Found?: Found but not buried. The Joker gets a 3 here.
• Reaction: Believe it or not, something close to a Really Dead Montage, since the cutscene following his death puts a big emphasis on the reactions of Joker's Mooks to his death.
• Last Words: Difficult to say, though Famous Last Words fits best, 3.
• Characterization The Big Bad, 1.
• When did they die?: Difficult to say, though since Arkham City concludes its arc, same year would be the best bet. 2
• Died and Come Back: While his Comic Book incarnation has died and come back countless times over the years, the time Joker faked his own death in the Arkhamverse was to lure Batman into a false sense of security near the beginning of the game, so a 3.
  • Final Verdict: Ultimately The Joker averages out to 2.625, so its quite possible that Joker's body will find its way Into a Lazarus Pit, or already has., though its completely conceivable that this is curtains for the Killer Clown.

• Next up is Ras Al Ghoul. Will his body find its way to a Lazarus Pit or not?
• Cause of Death: A failed attempt at Taking You with Me, the best bet is a 2 because of the failure.
• Audience Expectation: Ra's Al Ghul has Like You Would Really Do It in his favor, though not as much as the character above. However, he has the added bonus of having an established mechanism for coming Back from the Dead, so its a 1.
• Body Found: We see the body, but it quickly goes missing, so its a 2.
• Reaction: Faux Death to some extent, not because Batman doubts that he's dead, but because of the aforementioned ability to come Back from the Dead using the Lazarus Pits. 1.
• Last Words: Technically an Oh Crap, but Ra's outlasts his "Last Words" by about 20 seconds, during which he's completely fine physically and attempts a Taking You with Me. So a 3 here.
• Characterization: The Other Big Bad, 1.
• When Did They Die: A 2 here for the same reasons as the above character.
• Died And Come Back?: Once on screen, countless times in backstory: 1.
• Final Verdict: 1.625. We haven't seen the last of Ra's Al Ghul!!! Though he's probably actually dead for the time being.

• On a similar note, next up we have Talia Al Ghul.
• Cause of Death?: Not exactly crystal clear, but matches Stuffed in The Fridge or Dropped a Bridge on Him the most, so its a 4.
• Audience Expectation: Since She lacks the Joker Immunity of the two previous characters, its quite possible that Talia might be dead for real in the eyes of the audience. 2 because of other characters apparently cheating death.
• Body Found?: Like her father's body Talia's disappears during the boss fight following her apparent death, so 2.
• Reaction: It's Personal, 2.
• Last Words: Receives wound that kills her mid sentence, but lasts long enough to deliver some last words; 3.
• Characterization: Loved One, 4.
• When Did They Die?: 2 for the same reasons as the above characters.
• Died and Come Back?: Nope, 4.
• Final Verdict: 2.625, about as likely as The Joker to come back from the dead.

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Here's a comparison to see whether Luke or Asch made it back in the ending of Tales of the Abyss.

Asch

• Cause of Death: Heroic Sacrifice - 3
• Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found? Not by anyone else, but shown on screen after death - 4
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Characterization: Regular, almost protagonist - 1.5
• When Did He Die?: Three years ago in-universe, otherwise inapplicable
• Died and came Back? No - 4
• Average: 3.08

Luke

• Cause of Death: Heroic Sacrifice - 3
• Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found? No. - 3
• Reaction: Characters believe he will be back - 1
• Characterization. Protagonist. - 1
• When Did He Die?: Three years ago in-universe, otherwise inapplicable
• Died And Came back? No - 4
• Average: 2.5

The results favor Luke.

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After 15 years, Resident Evil 5 subverts Joker Immunity and finally lets you fight and kill series Big Bad Albert Wesker. Will he stay dead?

• Cause Of Death: Dropped into boiling lava just prior to taking two simultaneous rocket launcher shots to the face. No One Could Survive That. 2.
• Genre: Kind of tricky, as the series has both a whole bunch of Disney Deaths (it's a B-horror game about zombies and supersoldiers, for crying out loud!) and yet also many major supporting characters who were Killed Off for Real. I'll split the difference and give it a 2.5.
• Body Found?: Finding the body would be a little hard, considering he was dropped into a volcano. Never Found the Body. 3.
• Reaction: Surprisingly, none. Then again, by that point the heroes were probably just too damn tired to do much of anything except collapse in exhaustion. No score.
• Characterization: The series' Big Bad. Particularly significant, as he's been a thorn in our sides for 15 years running. 1.
• When Did They Die?: In the most recent game in the series, but there's often a 2 to 6 year timeline gap between games. Can't really score this until a sequel comes out.
• Died and Came Back?: Once, infamously. 3
• Average = 2.3 - They'll bring him back as Sealed Evil in a Can after a few more games.

Alternate result: once you take into account that Wesker was assumed to already be dead by the main character after a plot-relevant encounter inbetween games, the average comes out slightly differently: (2 + 2.5 + 3 + 1 + 2)/5 = 2.1 - Not much difference though, the only question is how long he'll actually be out of commision.

Steve

• Cause of Death: He sacrificed himself for Claire. 3
• Audience Expectation: 2.5
• Body found: Stolen by Wesker, thus never found. 2
• Reaction: Varies. Darkside Chronicles has an It's Personal reaction whereas Code Veronica doesn't show what happened. (Though it's implied that she was crying.) 2.5
• Last Words: His final speech. 3
• Characterization: Mauve Shirt, seeing as how he was created specifically to die. 4
• When Did He Die: 10 years ago. 3
• Died And Came Back?: Never. 4

24/8= 3. Seeing as how most of the side characters are put on a bus, he may come back. Who knows?

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Mega Man X:

Sigma, Mega Man X (SNES)

• Cause: You blow up his body, which is then in an exploding base, which then crashes into the ocean No One Could Survive That. 2.
• Genre: Anyone Can Die, for those with characterization 3.
• Body: Never Found the Body. 3.
• Reaction: "War is over...credits...Oh h* !l." 1
• Characterization: Big Bad. 1.
• When did he die?: Same game, so..1?
• Revival Count: 4 (first game test, remember that his head pops off and gets grafted onto the giant robot for the first transformation.)
• Average: 2 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 = 15, 15/7 = 2.14, high for a villain that announces after the credits he lives, but fits.

Sigma, X8 (PS2)

• Cause: Killed, body left beaten. 4
• Genre: Anyone can die, unless your name is X, Zero or Sigma. 1.
• Body: Deader than dead, doesn't even have the decency to explode. 4.
• Reaction: Keeping arms guns raised, and then told Sigma was being used and sacrificed 4.
• Characterization: More of a regular, red herring big bad than the big bad. 2.
• When did he die?: Same game. 1?
• Revival Count: 1
• 4+1+4+4+1+2+1=17, 2.428. Back next episode. If there is a next one.

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Myst

A'Gaeris.

• Cause of Death: Death by Irony. 4
• Genre: Killed Off for Real. 3
• Body Found: No body left to find. 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Gehn. 3
• Characterization: Big Bad. 1
• When: 10+ Years ago. 4
• Died and Come Back: Never. 4
• Conclusion: 22/7 = 3.142857. Good riddance.

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Just for kicks, Wild Dog from Time Crisis.

• Cause Of Death: Blows himself up in a massive explosion at the end of each game. In the latest game, Time Crisis 4, he had a ton of metal debris dropped on his head before blowing himself up. No One Could Survive That. 2
• Genre: Killed Off for Real for all the series' other characters. However, for Wild Dog himself, Death Is Cheap. Oh so very much. 1
• Body Found?: The heroes never bother to look. After all, the guy just exploded. Never Found the Body. 3
• Reaction: None (it's an arcade game, not Shakespeare). No score.
• Characterization: Although nominally The Dragon, he's the series' only recurring character and has sort of become the series' mascot, so I'll go ahead and list him as the Arch-Villain. 1
• When Did They Die?: The last game, and based on his rate of aging there seems to be a 5-10 year gap between each game, so I'll go with that. 4.
• Died and Came Back?: Yes, to put it mildly. 1.
• Average = 2. Honestly, this should be lower, but still it's no surprise Wild Dog will just keep coming back for more. Interestingly, he's visibly aging with each game, so I suppose eventually Father Time will do what countless bullets to the face and several massive explosions have failed to do so far.

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Starcraft: Fenix's second death:

• Cause: Killed off like a regular unit. 2
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
• Body Found: Laying in a pile of Dragoon goo. 4
• Reaction: It's Personal (He's the Protagonist's best friend, and he's angry.) 2
• Characterization: Regular. 2
• When: 10 years ago. 3
• Died and Came Back: Once before. 3
• Average: 2.857. The sequel's coming out soon, so hopes are we see him again.

Edmund Duke.

• Cause: Same as Fenix. 2
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
• Body Found: Crashed with his ship, but possibly retrieved for burial.. 4
• Reaction: Mengsk doesn't care that Kerrigan killed his second-in-command. He's mostly angry because she betrayed him. 3
• Characterization: Regular. 2
• When: 10 years ago. 3
• Died and Came Back: Never. 4
• Average: 3.143.

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The one important character to die) of Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army. (Note: I wasn't sure which genre the game falls into. If someone can recalculate this with genre included, it would be appreciated.)

• Cause: No One Could Survive That and Heroic Sacrifice by satellite blowing up. That's a 5.
• Genre: (I don't know, needs calculation)
• Body: Not sure where to put this one, see cause of death.
• Reaction: Felt like an It's Personal to me. So 2.
• Characterization: I would call him a Regular. 2.
• When: Towards the end, I'd call that... same arc? 1?
• Died and Came Back: Nope, so 4.

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Kaidan/Ashley on Virmire, in Mass Effect

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice by way of a multi-kiloton nuke, 3
• Genre: The whole Virmire incident seems to say that Anyone Can Die, so a 4
• Body: Never Found, 3
• Reaction: Between montage and He's dead, 3.5
• Characterization: The border between Mauve shirt and Regular, so I'll give 'em a 2.5
• When? By Mass Effect 2 it'll be into "Same Year" territory. 2
• Died and come back? Nope. 4, that's not good!
• I got a straight up 3, for back next season. Trumped by Word of God, which says that they're staying dead.

For that matter, Saren (The first time)

• Cause: Redemption - 3
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body: 1.5 - would have been Left for Dead, but one of your team members shoots him again to make sure.
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Last words: Final Speech - 3
• Characterization: Archvillan initially (except he actually isn't) - 1.5
• When: Same arc - 1
• Died and come back: No - 4
• Overall: 3. He comes back immediately after.
  • Well, not so much him as the implants that Sovereign gave him. By that point, Saren's either already gone or in an And I Must Scream situation.

And, just for fun since we know the outcome, the first time Commander Shepard dies at the beginning of ME2.

• Cause: Do they make bridges big enough to drop on entire ships? That said, Shepard died trying to save Joker, so maybe we could count this as a Heroic Sacrifice, as well. 3.5
• Genre: Anyone Can Die, as seen above. 4
• Body: Eventually found years later by Liara. Still very much dead. 3.5
  • I'd call that frozen; his helmet was intact, and the planet it landed on was well below the temperature needed to preserve the head inside.
• Reaction: Got a trope named after it: We Were Your Team. 4
• Last Words: "Get the hell out of here, Joker!" 2
• Characterization: Main character. 1
• When: Start of the game count as same arc? 1
• Died and Came Back: Maybe once if you count that Disney Death at the end of ME 1. 3
• So 22/8 gives us 2.75. Pretty high score for a main character, and I was being light on some of them.

Let's do Shepard again, this time for really screwing up the suicide mission. Word of God is that you can't import a save where Shepard died into 3, so let's keep that in mind.

• Cause: Looks like a Heroic Sacrifice to me. Joker probably would've kept on trying to hold off the Collectors and gotten killed either by them or the explosion that takes out the Collector Base, no news would've been brought back. 3.
• Genre: ME2 is reasonably far into Anyone Can Die territory, so 4.
• Body: Depending on your choice in the endgame (destroying the Collector Base or handing it over to Cerberus), he either fell a huge distance and then got nuked, or just fell a huge distance. 3?
  • nuked either way, the question is whether it's a giant bomb or just a giant radiation pulse intended to kill everything but leave their tech.
• Reaction: Get the feeling this is a 3. Judging by the ending, Joker is pretty crushed.
• Last Words: "Joker, you have to tell them!" Putting this as a 2.5.
• Characterization: THE hero, pretty much. 1
• When: A bit more than two years ago, but at the very beginning of ME2. Putting this as 1.5.
• Died and Came Back: Once, so 3. They do make a big deal out of how people do NOT come back from the dead, and how reviving Shepard is an insane exception, however.
• 2.625. Could come back again, but it'd cheapen his/her first resurrection. Word of God denies it, so let's assume s/he does with so many modifications to his/her body this time that s/he owns all the Reapers bare-handed.

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Sgt. Johnson's death from the very end of the Halo Trilogy.

• Cause of Death: He makes it to the very end of the trilogy, only to be killed off completely out of left field by Guilty Spark to set up the final battle. Sounds a lot like they Dropped a Bridge on Him, but he also uses his last shot to save Master Chief from Spark, so it might count as a Heroic Sacrifice instead. I'll give him a 3.5.
• Genre: Nominally Killed Off for Real, although by the end pretty much everyone is dead except for Chief, Cortana, and Arbiter, so might count as Anyone Can Die also. Again, I'll split the difference and give it a 3.5.
• Body Found?: Died in Master Chief's arms. Chief never bothered to take a pulse, but I'll assume he's not an idiot and had some way of knowing Johnson had expired and not simply passed out. And then the Halo he died on blew up, although see below... So, Deader Than Dead. 4.
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim. 3.
• Characterization: Started out as a Red Shirt in Halo, but was made a series Regular in Halo 2. 2.
• When did they die?: Doesn't really count, since the series ends after his death. No score.
• Died and came back?: There was that little matter of being on a giant Ringworld just as it gets blown up in a massive explosion, yet coming back alive and well for the sequel. So a definite yes, he's done it before. 3.
• Average = 3.17. Rest in Peace, Sarge. "You were one hard-core son of a bitch".

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A fun contrary example: Private Antony Carmine from Gears of War.

• Cause of Death: Got sniped in the head because a) he was wearing a helmet (and thus lacked peripheral vision), and b) he was dumb enough to stand up in the middle of a firefight. Definitely Death by Irony. 4.
• Genre: Not really Anyone Can Die, as the only characters to die are the ones expected to (the Red Shirt, the Squad Leader, and the Big Bad). Otherwise, though, death is handled realistically, so, Killed Off for Real. 3.
• Body Found?: We see his head burst (or at least blood splatter), but the actual body is left behind for dead (the squad was being shot at and chased off at the time), so somewhere between Never Found the Body and Deader Than Dead. I'd say 3.5.
• Reaction: No real reaction other than brief surprise, since the surviving squad members are busy being shot at. I'm gonna say not applicable.
• Characterization: Red Shirt. Carmine is even a shade of red. A definite 4.
• When did they die?: Gears of War 2 takes place, what, a year after the original game? 2.
• Died and came back?: Nope. Realistically, this is a Killed Off for Real genre. 4.
• Average: 3.42. He should be just another forgotten dead Red Shirt. And yet Word of God is that he's coming back in the sequel... How's that for accuracy, folks?
• Although "a" Carmine joined Fenix's gang in Gears of War 2, it was not the original Carmine; it was his brother.

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Dr. Breen in Half Life 2

• Cause: Last seen trapped in a teleporter device about 50 feet below the epi-center of a massive explosion, so definitely No One Could Survive That. 2.
• Genre: No major characters have died yet (Eli's fate is still in limbo until Episode 3 comes out). Alyx was pretty much dead, but brought back to life by the Vortigaunts, so Back from the Dead. 1.
• Body Found?: Nope. See Cause. 3.
• Reaction: Almost none at all, actually. The protagonists don't celebrate (or even really remark on) his death, although one civilian does miss his show (he used to have jugglers!). No score.
• Characterization: Main antagonist (although ultimately he was just a tool of the Combine), so 1.
• When did they die: Technically, Episodes are expansion packs to Half Life 2, so Same Arc. 1.
• Died and Come Back?: Never happened, because no one's died yet. 4.
• Average: An even 2. I guess we'll be seeing him in Episode 3, so literally Back Next Episode. There's good money that the Combine Advisor in Episode 2 is his new "host body".

Eli Vance, last seen being cranium-raped by a giant alien slug in the Downer Ending of Episode 2.

• Cause: Well, he gave Gordon his final orders, then attacked the Advisor to distract it, so a Heroic Sacrifice. 3.
• Genre: Same series, so 1 (see above).
• Body Found?: Episode 2 fades out just as you reach his body, so there hasn't been time to check for a pulse, but he really looks Deader Than Dead. 4.
• Reaction: The game fades out with Alyx's hearfelt sobs over her father's body. This is obviously It's Personal, to get us in the mood to kick Advisor ass in Episode 3. The rather down mood also kind of makes it He's Dead, Jim, too. I'll say 2.5.
• Characterization: Loved One. AND Wise Old Mentor to boot. Definitely a 4.
• When Did They Die?: The story is currently right up to his death, so definitely same arc. 1.
• Died and Come Back?: Nope. 4.
• Average: 2.79. I suppose he could just be a vegetable...

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For the hell of it, let's do Adam from Metroid: Other M

• Cause of Death: Sacrifice: 3
• Genre: Anyone can Die (save Ridley): 4
• Body Found?: No: 2
• Reaction: It's Personal? 2
• Last Words: Final Speech: 3
• Characterization: I'm calling loved one: 4
• When did they die: Same Arc: 1
• Died and Come back?: I'm not counting computer Adam, so no: 4

23/8=2.875, so pretty dead.

And Now Ridley from the same game

• Cause of death: Overkill: 4
• Genre: Anyone can Die: 4
• Body Found: At he morgue pretty much: 3
• Reaction: he's dead Jim: 3
• Last Words: If Ridley could talk, he would've said Oh Crap: 4
• Characterization: Arch-Villian: 1
• When did they die?: Same Arc: 1
• Died and Come back?: I lost count: 1

21/8=2.625, and yet he makes his grand, cloned return in Fusion

One more from the game, just for fun: Anthony

• Cause of death: Jumping, pretty much: 1
• Genre: Anyone can die: 4
• Body Found: No: 2
• Reaction: It's personal?: 2
• Last Words: C'mon. I'll call it a 2
• Characterization: C list fodder: 3
• When did they die: Same Arc: 1
• Died and come back: No: 4

2.375. And yet, he comes back.

Sephiroth

• Cause of death: Overkill (How many swords did Cloud use, please?). 4
• Genre: Back from the dead. 1
• Body Found: Didn't really have an actual body this time.
• Reaction: It's personal. Geostima? Didn't actually need it, just wanted to mess with Cloud. 2
• Last Words: "I'll never be a memory." 1
• Characterization: Archvillian. 1
• When did they die: Same Arc. 1
• Died and come back: Twice. 2

1.7142. Mama's boy is coming back, did anyone doubt it?

• He won against the Master and Davros. Yes, he IS that awesome.

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Fang and Vanille

• Cause of death : Heroic Sacrifice. 3
• Genre : Well, Death Is Cheap is the choice here, since all the "dead" main characters but Nora Estheim come back. 1
• Body Found : Analogous to Frozen. 2
• Reaction : Their part of the ending cutscene and the novella episode i could count as a Montage. 4
• Last Words : They talk to the others after their death and tell them they'll watch them or something, counts as a Final Speech. 3
• Characterization : Two protagonists. 1
• When : A little more than a year ago, so… let's say same year. 2
• "Died" and came back : Well, they already went to crystal stasis and came back, so… Once and got better. 3

2,375. They should be back in XIII-2.

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The Nameless One (non finale)

• Cause: Jumping onto a trap to set it off and the like: 1
• Genre: Even for other people, in D&D, Death Is Cheep: 1
• Body Found: Most places you use it it counts as Left for Dead 1
• Reaction: The party member reactions don't really fall under anything, but they are mostly sighs of "here we go again": 1
• Last Words: I forget what his death quotes are, I think they are mostly that dieing still hurts: 1 (though not to sure here)
• Character: Protagonist 1
• When: Same Arc 1
• How many times: I've lost count 1

Score: 1: It doesn't even take him an hour! Hey! Isn't this our first straight "1" guy?

Getting flayed

• Cause: The Lady is overkill: 4
• Genre: 1
• Body: We don't see it, but flayed bodies remain: 4
• Reaction: none in-game, but typical Sigil would be "Oh look, another sod got himself flayed!" 3
• Last words: None
• Character: 1
• When: 1
• Alreddy: 1

15/7 2.1 Suprisingly low for flaying.

Anyone care to do the endings?

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The Elder Scrolls series

Almalexia

• Cause: just plain killed in a duel by the player character. I think that's about 3.
• Genre: High Fantasy. Technically in this universe death isn't cheap, but godlike beings tend to pop back into existence more or less often. Let's give her a 2.
• Body Found: Left for dead in the Clockwork City. A clear-cut 1.
• Reaction: No one believed she's dead. 1
• Last Words: a "Piece of cake" speech about how she's going to off Nerevarine. 2
• Character: archvillainess / fallen heroine. 1
• When: In Skyrim's times it's about 200 years after her death. 4
• How many times: Not yet. 4

Score: 2,57. Something between "Be back soon" and "Maybe back later".

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Hades from Kid Icarus Uprising

• Cause: Overkill including but not limited to getting his torso chopped off, his head ripped off his body, and getting blasted to ashes, 4
• Genre: Death Is Cheap when it comes to gods, 1
• Body: Got blasted into dust by a giant laser beam during the Final Battle; Hades even said he isn't even sure if he can get his body back, 4
• Reaction: Pit does a "V" Sign after he won; that could count as a Bond One-Liner, 4
• Last Words: Hades said Famous Last Words as he was dying, 3
• Characterization: Serves as the Big Bad of the last two-thirds of the game, 1
• When: He just died, 1
• Died and Come Back: As far as we know, this is the first time Hades died, 4

Score: 22/8 = 2.75 Hades may come back since he probably has at least 25 years before the next game comes out; that's plenty of time to figure out a way to come back.

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Deidranna Reitman from Jagged Alliance 2

• Cause: Depending on player actions this can be 4 or 2 so take the average, 3.
• Genre: Anyone can die, 4
• Body: 4
• Reaction: The game ends and every playable character has unique comment, 4
• Last Words: Elliot! You idiot!, 3
• Characterization: 1
• When did they die?: Several years prior, 3
• "Died" and come back?: 4

Score: 27/8 = 3.375 And yet Deidranna Lives is one of the oldest and most celebrated mods for the game.