History BrokenPedestal / VideoGames

* Veronica's mentor Elijah in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', you are told about how he wants to know more about the outside world and how the Brotherhood Of Steel should be working to help the others. Then you find out about what he has done over the events of Dead Money where he used you to do his dirty bidding along with 3 others.
** One resident of Megaton in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' put the Enclave on a pedestal based entirely on their radio propaganda. When they actually ''show up'', they rapidly break their own pedestal. Kidnapping said fan was probably the least evil thing they did in the game.

** Played with in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Yukari Takeba's father became her main source of hope and believed he was innocent after a traumatic event left her father dead as well as hundreds of other scientists. Said event not only ostracized her family courtesy of the public backlash, but also subsequently strained her relationship with her mother after she abandoned Yukari for other men, being unable to cope with her husband's death. Growing up lonely but willful, Yukari's belief in her father being falsely accused for the accident that claimed his life [[spoiler:was the reason she transferred to Gekkoukan Highschool, two years prior before joining S.E.E.S. Couple that with her receiving a letter from her father addressed for her to receive ten years later, was the catalyst for her Persona [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Io's]] awakening.]] Yukari's belief gets severely tested in "The Journey" and for a time after a certain event, was forced to admit that her father was guilty of mass murder, she stays with S.E.E.S. to atone for her father's mistakes. [[spoiler:Eventually it's revealed that he only did what he had to do, being one of the few scientists left with their sanity intact he delayed the coming of the end of the world, with that revelation combined with his message of immense love for Yukari, the scene becomes RebuiltPedestal, being the moment Yukari awakens her ultimate Persona [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] with a renewed will to fight.]]

* In ''{{VideoGame/Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II}}'', Uni's respect for Noire goes down the Memory card when she sees that her happy place is where she is an idol/voice actress with no responsibilities of ruling her country

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}

* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'': Lara used to admire James Whitman, but by the time of the game has seen him for the {{narcissist}}ic SlaveToPR and KnowNothingKnowItAll he really is. When she discovers a note to his soon-to-be ex-wife, in which he tries to convince her to wait until after the Yamatai expedition to divorce him largely because he wants to avoid negative publicity, while causally mentioning how he plans to [[StealingTheCredit steal the credit]] for Lara's theories and hard work if they prove correct, she explicitly remarks she's disgusted with herself for ever having looked up to him.
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Republic hero Carth Onasi was scarred when his mentor and idol, Saul Karath, turned out to be working for the Sith. He retains a deep mistrust of all Jedi, and [[TheReveal the revelation]] that the player character [[spoiler:is the amnesiac Darth Revan, former commander of the Sith rebellion]] doesn't help matters.
** Mission's quest involves finding out her brother deliberately left her behind when he left Taris.
* A morality-swapped variant occurs the second game, ''[[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The Sith Lords]]''. Visas Maar's master, Darth Nihilus, is constantly portrayed as [[HumanoidAbomination a vortex of death, more a force of nature than a human being]], whom Visas is obviously terrified of (she [[MadeASlave didn't exactly become his apprentice by choice]]). Until you defeat him, at which point you can let Visas take his mask off. When you ask her what she saw when she took the mask, she'll calmly reply "A man, nothing more."
** Atris has this attitude towards a female Exile, having idolised her prior to the Mandalorian Wars.
* A Sith Warrior in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' invokes this trope when recruiting Jaesa. Jaesa is a gifted, but inexperienced Padawan who can "see" the true nature of others. Her master and Darth Baras (your handler) have a long-running feud. When confronting the old Jedi, you can force Jaesa to "see" her master has been hopelessly warped by his grudge, causing her to abandon him, and serve you instead. It ''is'' up to you if you want to keep her inclinations to the Light Side, or BreakTheCutie by twisting her into a ''very'' psychotic verion of TheDarkSide, however.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Neku is a total CAT fanboy. Later on, he discovers that [[spoiler:Mr. Hanekoma]], a guy who's been real helpful to him, ''is'' the elusive CAT, and starts fanboying even harder. Then, in the final week, Neku discovers a lot of clues that suggest that CAT is the Composer, and goes through a textbook case of denial, then losing faith in CAT as they approach the Composer's chamber. Only, [[spoiler:as Kitaniji tells him, Hanekoma is ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' the Composer.]] The very end of the game, plus the Secret Reports, however, tell you that [[spoiler:[[DoubleSubversion he's still not someone to trust]], albeit better intentioned than Kitaniji or Joshua.]]

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/VandalHearts 2'' were the resident messiah figure, St. Nirvath, is revealed to have been a mass murderer and glory seeker, causing a crisis of faith in one of the characters. It turns out that while Nirvath is guilty of wiping out a large portion of humanity, he did so in order to save the remainder from a devastating disease and was convinced that history would remember him as a criminal and not as a saviour no matter how necessary his actions were.

* Red of ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' gets a {{Fangirl}} in the Duel Ship fights. When she finds out that Red is ordered around by his 13-year-old younger sister, she declares him extremely uncool. When she tries to beat Red in a battle later to find closure, he ends up on a RebuiltPedestal and she declares her fangirlish love for him again. This does not please her newly acquired male fanbase.
* [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]] looked up to his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. However, after Professor Gerald tried to exterminate humanity in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', narrowly averted by teaming up with Sonic, Eggman doesn't think of him nearly as highly anymore.
** Then in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', it's revealed that Gerald Robotnik struck a deal with the Black Arms alien race (who at this point have [[AlienInvasion invaded the earth]] and revealed their intention to [[ToServeMan enslave humans for food]]) that in exchange for their help in his research (which led to the eponymous character's creation), the Black Arms could have the planet. Eggman upon discovering this is nothing short of aghast. [[spoiler:However, it is later revealed in the game's Final Story that Gerald regretted his decision and originally developed the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet --the Black Arms' home planet-- and intended for Shadow to carry that task out in order to save their world.]]


* In ''{{VideoGame/Robopon}}'', Prince Tail's father had a shady past with Dr. Zero, and won the Legend 1 title by nearly killing the doctor after Zero defeated him. Tail has a HeroicBSOD when Zero tells him the truth.
* In ''{{VideoGame/Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II}}'', Uni's respect for Noire goes down the Memory card when she sees that her happy place is where she is an idol/voice actress with no responsibilities of ruling her country



* In ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that Optimus and all other Autobots looked up to Nova Prime as an idealistic figure...until he became corrupted and Shockwave spilled the beans that it was ''he'' who wanted Earth to be terraformed into a new Cybertron.]]



* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler:Peter Parker is horrified to learn that his mentor Dr. Otto Octavius has become the villainous Dr. Octopus. During the FinalBoss battle, Peter is sobbing as he yells out how much Otto has fallen.]]

* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'': [[BitchInSheepsClothing Penelope]] once had a major crush on Sly, but it suddenly went into a 180 spin, and she's now trying to murder him (and Murray) out of sheer hatred and jealousy. [[InvertedTrope A rare case]] where the ''admirer'' broke the pedestal, as Sly did nothing to justify Penelope's rage.

* [[spoiler:Sanchez]] of ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' is an excellent example. A part of your army since the very beginning, it eventually turns out [[spoiler:he was a spy working for the enemy the entire time, and when the Empire is close to losing he gets desperate and fatally injures your army's chief strategist.]] The icing on the cake and what makes the situation relevant is that [[spoiler:your faction ultimately decides that the newly-formed government could not withstand the scandal of one of its founding members turning out to be a traitor the entire time, and he lives out the rest of his life peacefully under a secret house arrest. Publicly speaking, his image as a hero is never tarnished.]]
** A subtle hint is provided since the castle is founded: [[spoiler:if you took the time to look at the massive tablet that has the 108 stars and people's names, you'll notice he's not on the list. You'll also notice he is the ''only one living in the castle'' who's not on the list.]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this happening at least twice.
** [[spoiler:Van Grants for Luke, Tear and Guy]], [[spoiler:Legretta for Tear]], possibly [[spoiler:Ingobert for [[strike:his daughter]] Natalia; the two ultimately reconcile after the truth comes to light, but Guy suggests that they can't necessarily go back to the way they were before]].
*** Interestingly enough, [[spoiler:Legretta]], in a final letter [[spoiler:read after her death]], mentions feeling concerned that [[spoiler:her student Tear]] saw [[spoiler:her]] as an ideal, and hopes that [[spoiler:Tear]] will follow [[spoiler:her]] own path, a rare case in which the character on the broken pedestal attempts to dispel the admirer's notions.
** You can see this in Lloyd's reaction to [[spoiler:Kratos betraying them]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has [[spoiler:Richter Abend.]] [[LoveHurts Poor,]] [[BreakTheCutie poor,]] [[TheWoobie Emil.]]

* Played with in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Yukari Takeba's father became her main source of hope and believed he was innocent after a traumatic event left her father dead as well as hundreds of other scientists. Said event not only ostracized her family courtesy of the public backlash, but also subsequently strained her relationship with her mother after she abandoned Yukari for other men, being unable to cope with her husband's death. Growing up lonely but willful, Yukari's belief in her father being falsely accused for the accident that claimed his life [[spoiler:was the reason she transferred to Gekkoukan Highschool, two years prior before joining S.E.E.S. Couple that with her receiving a letter from her father addressed for her to receive ten years later, was the catalyst for her Persona [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Io's]] awakening.]] Yukari's belief gets severely tested in "The Journey" and for a time after a certain event, was forced to admit that her father was guilty of mass murder, she stays with S.E.E.S. to atone for her father's mistakes. [[spoiler:Eventually it's revealed that he only did what he had to do, being one of the few scientists left with their sanity intact he delayed the coming of the end of the world, with that revelation combined with his message of immense love for Yukari, the scene becomes RebuiltPedestal, being the moment Yukari awakens her ultimate Persona [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] with a renewed will to fight.]]
* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''. After [[spoiler:a major character is seemingly KilledOffForReal]], the protagonist's surrogate father figure, a by-the-book and thoroughly incorruptible policeman, runs off apparently to kill the man thought responsible; [[spoiler:this is part of a BatmanGambit on the part of the writers to induce the player to kill the suspect when given the opportunity, which is a one-way ticket to the BadEnding.]] Later on, after having some time to chill out (like the player characters) he was able to see that the evidence surrounding him just didn't fit and wanted to just get some more info from him.
* In ''Videogame/Persona5'', Yusuke Kitagawa was raised by the famed artist Ichiryusai Madarame, who has been plagiarizing him and other apprentices for years. After learning that [[spoiler:Madarame let Yusuke's mother die in order to take credit for her work as well as to take Yusuke]], he loses all sense of admiration for the man. His personal Confidant storyline deals heavily with his feelings regarding his former mentor. He eventually comes to peace with him after a former colleague of Madarame stated that when Yusuke fell ill as a child, Madarame was desperate to save him, indicating at least some sense of affection (albeit [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]]), and Yusuke realizes that he can still see Madarame as a FatherFigure and Mentor while still despising his manipulative and egotistic nature.

* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeNewYorkCity'' had Terry Higgins, a cop who helped Marcus from slipping off the slope; he is presumably dead early on. It was revealed he was TheMole and was quite corrupt despite how Marcus saw him. Marcus will either kill him immediately if his ethics are less than questionable or attempt to arrest him but Terry dying.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Sky'', Wigglytuff's beginnings as an explorer are revealed. As a child, he met Armaldo in a deep forest. Armaldo told the then-Igglybuff that he was a retired explorer, and they went on lots of missions and found lots of treasure. Igglybuff idolised Armaldo and everything was going perfectly well...until Armaldo [[spoiler:got arrested. He was a wanted criminal, not an explorer.]] Igglybuff almost had a mental breakdown and refused to believe that Armaldo was bad, even as he was being led away in custody. Whether they met again after Armaldo got out of prison is unknown.
** And subverted. Armaldo really did care for Igglybuff and was curious to see how far he'd go as an explorer. Armaldo comforted Igglybuff and told him to continue exploring for him. And he promised to explore with him again once he did his time.
** This occurs again with [[spoiler:your partner and Dusknoir. When it is revealed Dusknoir is from the future and is only here to kill you, your partner, and Grovyle, he/she can hardly believe it until they hear it straight from Dusknoir. It doesn't help that the person you thought was a villain (Grovyle) is actually a hero and that you directly contributed to Grovyle's capture.]]
* Present in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' with [[spoiler:N finding out that he's nothing but a brainwashed child soldier and that his father Ghestis is intent on banning Pokemon use so Team Plasma can "liberate" them all and use their power to conquer Unova]].
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** [[spoiler:Jacob Taylor's father, Ronald, vanished 10 years ago. When they receive a message and go to the unhabited planet to save them, turns out that after his ship crashed and the captain died, Ronald forced the lower crew members to eat the planet's toxic food, which caused their minds to degrade, while they tried to fix a beacon to call for aid. Female crew members were assigned to officers, like pets. A year later, the beacon was ready, but Ronald figured the report would look bad and wanted to stay. He then had the other officers killed. Gradually the degraded males started to rebel, becoming "hunters" as even in a decayed state they knew things weren't right. Ronald held out for ten years, until his supplies ran low and he called for aid. Needless to say, Jacob was utterly disgusted and would've killed his old man, if not for the fact he "wasn't worth pulling the trigger". If your Shepard is a renegade, you can suggest Jacob to give his father a weapon with one bullet. If you pick the neutral option, [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard he will get killed by his own men.]]]]
** And then there is [[spoiler:Rael'Zorah, Tali's father and a part of the Admiralty Board. Her father is found dead on the ship and Tali was accused of treason. When she find out what happened, it turns out Rael'Zorah was willingly endangering his own crew's lives to create a measure to control the Geth much to her horror.]]
** A few people, most prominently Ashley/Kaidan (even more hardhitting if they were your love interest in ''[[VideoGame/MassEffect1 Mass Effect]]''), consider Shepard to be one since s/he's working with Cerberus, a terrorist organization in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. An [[FourthWallMyopia often overlooked factor]] in this is that they were [[LockedOutOfTheLoop unaware]] of [[BackFromTheDead the Lazarus Project]], so they were under the impression that Shepard had been FakingTheDead to join Cerberus, a conclusion [[InvokedTrope that the Illusive Man encouraged with strategic information leaks]].
** This is also brought up in a news story:
--> '''Newscaster:''' Emotions at Shepard's alleged survival are mixed. While some are overjoyed to see her/him return, [[HeroWithBadPublicity others believe her/his false death was a betrayal.]]
** This is how Captain Anderson describes his meeting with Saren. As a potential recruit into the SPECTREs, Anderson was sent on a mission while supervised by the most successful, well-known and feared Spectre of them all, Saren Arterius.... Who turned out to be a brutal BloodKnight whose ulterior motives used massive amounts of overkill that ultimately ended in the death dozens of civilians in the completion of his mission before finally laying the blame on Anderson when political backlash followed.
** Even before that, in the first game, you can make Shepard into one for [[HeroicWannabe Conrad Verner]].
** Through the first and second games, the Protheans have been regarded as a race of very advanced and powerful, but benign BenevolentPrecursors. [[spoiler:Then in the third game, we meet [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Javik]], the last Prothean warrior, and find out that the Protheans were actually a highly imperialistic society who conquered anyone they encountered and integrated them into their empire as "subservient races." Liara in particular is quite disappointed, once [[http://youtu.be/HuMWZZLkBnY implies that they were monsters]], and comes to consider her earlier writings on them as foolishly naive.]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Liara''': You're a ''Prothean!'' You were supposed to have all the answers!]]
*** Given more time, she changes her stance a little, no longer feeling betrayed and able to think of them more objectively.
** Liara gets another one when she finds out [[spoiler:her own government has maintained their technological superiority by hiding a Prothean Beacon from the rest of the galaxy, in defiance of Citadel laws. It's even worse when Liara realizes her own mother was probably in on the coverup, although EDI suggests that Benezia kept Liara out of the loop to protect her daughter]].
** Cerberus becomes one for Miranda at the end of ''2'' and in ''3''. Shepard themselves can invoke this in their conversations with The Illusive Man in ''3'', pointing out that not only has he turned his back on Shepard, but on everything Cerberus was supposed to stand for.
** Mordin Solus's student Maelon is so disgusted by his mentor's role in trying to maintain the genophage that he ends up resorting to extreme and barbaric means to cure it. This in turn, ends up infuriating Mordin when he finds out.
-->'''Maelon:''' I was your student! I looked up to you!
-->'''Mordin:''' Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. No choice. Have to kill you.

* ''Mage Gauntlet'' has [[spoiler:Whitebeard. The ritual to repair the Dark Realm seal requires sending a mage through the portal permanently, which is the ultimate fate of most of his apprentices. He only gave Lexi the gauntlet to make her an acceptable sacrifice. Furthermore, Hurgoth is merely a gatekeeper for much stronger creatures, and Whitebeard has been using his fame as an excuse for every kind of forbidden magical research in existence, ultimately getting one other mage turned into a lich, possibly getting another consumed by a slime hivemind, and creating an entire army of walking body horror]].

* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'': [[spoiler:The Order of the Stone can be this when it's revealed they faked defeating the Ender Dragon. As with most of Jesse's reactions you can react however you want to and be as angry as the options allow. You also have the choice of whether or not to reveal their secret to the world.]]

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': In both timelines, Raiden started out with great faith in the Elder Gods, only [[FaithHeelTurn to lose it due to their inaction]]. He even [[WhatTheHellHero calls them]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech out several times]] for their slackness in maintaining the stability of the realms.
** [[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 After being promoted to Elder God]], [[spoiler:he could not interfere [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi killed his protégé Liu Kang]] in the original timeline]]. Disgusted at his peers for their refusal to intervene, he renounces his position as an Elder God, gathering his mortal allies to stop [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance the Deadly Alliance]].
** In the new timeline, the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' [[spoiler:have sapped the faith he had for the Elder Gods, so he begins to see them as more burden than help, considering they did nothing to stop Shao Kahn or Shinnok, both of whom regarded them as "toothless worms" and spineless cowards. This is clearly evident in TheStinger for ''MKX'', [[PayEvilUntoEvil where he decides to take matters into his own hands]] by [[KickTheSonOfABitch reducing Shinnok to a mere living head]] and [[KnightTemplar using a more hard-line stance]] on defending Earthrealm from external threats.]]
** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', this happens to several people.
*** Frost turns against her former mentor Sub Zero because he chose to peacefully reconcile with Scorpion and ended their clans' long feud and Frost cannot stand how they now became BashBrothers.
*** Jacqui has this with [[spoiler: her father, the older Jax]] when the latter chose to ally themselves with Kronika, albeit with well-meaning intentions.
*** Downplayed with Jade and Kotal Khahn. Jade is horrified by the several KickTheDog moments Kotal has since her death and he is no longer the person she fell in love with. However, she chose to remain by his side and believes he can change for the better.
*** Kuai Liang (Sub Zero II) has this when he encounters his older brother Bi-Han (Sub Zero I) who has now become Noob Saibot and revels in the evil power granted by Quan-Chi and dismisses his younger brother's leadership of the Lin Kuei as weak. Kuai Liang is disgusted by how his brother is NotBrainwashed and that he's a CardCarryingVillain who wants to plunge the universe into darkness.
----> '''Kuai Liang''': He is my blood but he is not my brother.
* In ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'', Bruce Wayne suffers one when he learns that [[spoiler:his father, Thomas Wayne, [[AdaptationalVillainy was actually a corrupt man who used his power and influence to essentially rule Gotham along with Hamilton Hill and Carmine Falcone]]. And Alfred knew about this the entire time. You can also choose not to forgive Alfred for this, but will make sure he NeverLiveItDown.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Terra, who has been overly-conscious and quite a bit afraid by the darkness in his own heart, had quite a bit of respect for Master Xehanort, who assumed a guiding role in regards to channeling the darkness towards something good. [[spoiler:Sadly, his respect for the old master turned entirely into rage and hatred when Xehanort manipulated him into fighting his father-figure Eraqus, murdering said father figure, and revealing himself to have been screwing with everyone Terra knows for the sake of his evil plan. In fact, part of Xehanort's plan was to purposely set up this trope to maximize Terra's hatred and send his darkness into overdrive, giving the old man the chance to take that younger body for himself.]]

* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' has a few examples:
** Tomoya used to highly admire Wataru as an actor and joined the theatre club to learn from him, only to be ''very'' disappointed when he learned what an eccentric he is. However, as the year goes on he learns that he is still a good person and [[RebuiltPedestal they become friends.]]
** Tsukasa highly admired the idol unit Knights and was very excited to join, but was not nearly so impressed when he met his teammates, particularly the strange and whimsical leader Leo.
** During the war, Chiaki totally believed in fine's image as a force for good taking down bad guys, only realising the truth after he got to know Kanata and realised that the oddballs didn't deserve the way they were treated. He still likes Eichi however and considers them friends (as it'd be difficult for Chiaki to dislike ''anyone''), but doesn't talk about his previous fine support as he believes the first years would be disappointed in him and see him as less of a hero.

* [[spoiler:Sanchez]] of ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' is an excellent example. A part of your army since the very beginning, it eventually turns out [[spoiler:he was a spy working for the enemy the entire time, and when the Empire is close to losing he gets desperate and fatally injures your army's chief strategist.]] The icing on the cake and what makes the situation relevant is that [[spoiler:your faction ultimately decides that the newly-formed government could not withstand the scandal of one of its founding members turning out to be a traitor the entire time, and he lives out the rest of his life peacefully under a secret house arrest. Publicly speaking, his image as a hero is never tarnished.]]
** A subtle hint is provided since the castle is founded: [[spoiler:if you took the time to look at the massive tablet that has the 108 stars and people's names, you'll notice he's not on the list. You'll also notice he is the ''only one living in the castle'' who's not on the list.]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this happening at least twice.
** [[spoiler:Van Grants for Luke, Tear and Guy]], [[spoiler:Legretta for Tear]], possibly [[spoiler:Ingobert for [[strike:his daughter]] Natalia; the two ultimately reconcile after the truth comes to light, but Guy suggests that they can't necessarily go back to the way they were before]].
*** Interestingly enough, [[spoiler:Legretta]], in a final letter [[spoiler:read after her death]], mentions feeling concerned that [[spoiler:her student Tear]] saw [[spoiler:her]] as an ideal, and hopes that [[spoiler:Tear]] will follow [[spoiler:her]] own path, a rare case in which the character on the broken pedestal attempts to dispel the admirer's notions.
** You can see this in Lloyd's reaction to [[spoiler:Kratos betraying them]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has [[spoiler:Richter Abend.]] [[LoveHurts Poor,]] [[BreakTheCutie poor,]] [[TheWoobie Emil.]]
* [[spoiler:Palaxius]] in ''VideoGame/AtelierIris2TheAzothOfDestiny''.
* You can actually point out that [[spoiler:Aribeth]] in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has done this to your player as part of convincing [[spoiler:her]] to [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn come back from the dark side]]]].
* Played to the hilt in ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', where [[spoiler:Master Li, [[TheChessmaster The Glorious Strategist]], takes over the Jade Empire by torturing and siphoning the power of the newly-corrupted Water Dragon for his own, [[UnwittingPawn after using you to remove the previous ruler]]...upon whose success he immediately kills you. [[UnexplainedRecovery You get better]].]]
** Also, [[spoiler:The Emperor for his daughter, Sun Lian/Silk Fox.]] Even the revelation that [[spoiler:Master Li is the BigBad and the root cause of the plan to usurp the Water Dragon's power]] does not absolve him in his daughter's eyes. In several endings of the game she deliberately steps up to be the Emperor he wasn't
** [[spoiler:Master Li]] is not only the Broken Pedestal for the PlayerCharacter but also for Dawn Star, especially when [[spoiler:she finds out he's her father who doesn't give a shit]].

* Played with in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Yukari Takeba's father became her main source of hope and believed he was innocent after a traumatic event left her father dead as well as hundreds of other scientists. Said event not only ostracized her family courtesy of the public backlash, but also subsequently strained her relationship with her mother after she abandoned Yukari for other men, being unable to cope with her husband's death. Growing up lonely but willful, Yukari's belief in her father being falsely accused for the accident that claimed his life [[spoiler:was the reason she transferred to Gekkoukan Highschool, two years prior before joining S.E.E.S. Couple that with her receiving a letter from her father addressed for her to receive ten years later, was the catalyst for her Persona [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Io's]] awakening.]] Yukari's belief gets severely tested in "The Journey" and for a time after a certain event, was forced to admit that her father was guilty of mass murder, she stays with S.E.E.S. to atone for her father's mistakes. [[spoiler:Eventually it's revealed that he only did what he had to do, being one of the few scientists left with their sanity intact he delayed the coming of the end of the world, with that revelation combined with his message of immense love for Yukari, the scene becomes RebuiltPedestal, being the moment Yukari awakens her ultimate Persona [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] with a renewed will to fight.]]
* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''. After [[spoiler:a major character is seemingly KilledOffForReal]], the protagonist's surrogate father figure, a by-the-book and thoroughly incorruptible policeman, runs off apparently to kill the man thought responsible; [[spoiler:this is part of a BatmanGambit on the part of the writers to induce the player to kill the suspect when given the opportunity, which is a one-way ticket to the BadEnding.]] Later on, after having some time to chill out (like the player characters) he was able to see that the evidence surrounding him just didn't fit and wanted to just get some more info from him.
* In ''Videogame/Persona5'', Yusuke Kitagawa was raised by the famed artist Ichiryusai Madarame, who has been plagiarizing him and other apprentices for years. After learning that [[spoiler:Madarame let Yusuke's mother die in order to take credit for her work as well as to take Yusuke]], he loses all sense of admiration for the man. His personal Confidant storyline deals heavily with his feelings regarding his former mentor. He eventually comes to peace with him after a former colleague of Madarame stated that when Yusuke fell ill as a child, Madarame was desperate to save him, indicating at least some sense of affection (albeit [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]]), and Yusuke realizes that he can still see Madarame as a FatherFigure and Mentor while still despising his manipulative and egotistic nature.
* PlayedForLaughs with FourthWallObserver Raiho in ''Videogame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''. Raiho was originally a Jack Frost who profoundly admired Raidou and wished to become Raidou the Fifteenth, fusing himself with a Bancho uniform to create Raiho. The funny part? Raiho ''defines'' SmallNameBigEgo, and promptly forgets his fanboying of Raidou, realizing he's so much cooler now.
* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeNewYorkCity'' had Terry Higgins, a cop who helped Marcus from slipping off the slope; he is presumably dead early on. It was revealed he was TheMole and was quite corrupt despite how Marcus saw him. Marcus will either kill him immediately if his ethics are less than questionable or attempt to arrest him but Terry dying.

* ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'': In the "All Hail" trailer, with the Master Chief lying wounded in a ruined landscape at the base of an impossibly larger-than-life statue of himself, while Jameson Locke accuses him of betrayal and prepares to execute him. [[spoiler:[[NeverTrustATrailer In the actual game, Locke never loses his respect towards Chief.]]]]
-->'''Locke:''' All hail the conquering hero. Let us remember him as our protector and not the one who gave us... this. As our savior and not our betrayer. Let us see him forever as [[LivingLegend you]] ''[the statue]'' and not as [[FallenHero you]] ''[the real Master Chief]''. All hail the conquering hero. The one who was supposed to save us all! But now, I must save us from you.

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** [[MissionControl Dr. Roman]] is a {{Fanboy}} of King Solomon, so when it becomes clear that he's trying to destroy the world, he's incredibly shocked and tries to use Sheba to prove he's not behind it. When the protagonist and Mash return from London, he's having a nervous breakdown. [[spoiler:Later revelations indicate that his reaction [[SubvertedTrope has less to do with finding out his idol is evil]], and more to do with shock that ''his'' body and name were being used by someone else.]]
** When the party meets Marie Antoinette, she declares that she will make both Jeanne and Jeanne Alter surrender to her, but [[ThatCameOutWrong the way she said it]] makes it sound like she wants them sexually. Dr. Roman says, " ...It's falling apart...My image of Marie Antoinette is falling apart..."
** Atalanta and Meltlilith are disgusted when they meet Artemis and find she is a lovestruck idiot who is totally obsessed with Orion. Especially since Artemis made Atalanta swear a vow of chastity when she was alive. The material books reveal that [[spoiler:Penthesilea]] had a similar reaction.
** Abigail Williams is disgusted when she meets [[HandsomeLech King David]] and finds he is a pervert, saying this discovery is making her religious faith waver.

* [[spoiler:Sanchez]] of ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' is an excellent example. A part of your army since the very beginning, it eventually turns out [[spoiler:he was a spy working for the enemy the entire time, and when the Empire is close to losing he gets desperate and fatally injures your army's chief strategist.]] The icing on the cake and what makes the situation relevant is that [[spoiler:your faction ultimately decides that the newly-formed government could not withstand the scandal of one of its founding members turning out to be a traitor the entire time, and he lives out the rest of his life peacefully under a secret house arrest. Publicly speaking, his image as a hero is never tarnished.]]
** A subtle hint is provided since the castle is founded: [[spoiler:if you took the time to look at the massive tablet that has the 108 stars and people's names, you'll notice he's not on the list. You'll also notice he is the ''only one living in the castle'' who's not on the list.]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this happening at least twice.
** [[spoiler:Van Grants for Luke, Tear and Guy]], [[spoiler:Legretta for Tear]], possibly [[spoiler:Ingobert for [[strike:his daughter]] Natalia; the two ultimately reconcile after the truth comes to light, but Guy suggests that they can't necessarily go back to the way they were before]].
*** Interestingly enough, [[spoiler:Legretta]], in a final letter [[spoiler:read after her death]], mentions feeling concerned that [[spoiler:her student Tear]] saw [[spoiler:her]] as an ideal, and hopes that [[spoiler:Tear]] will follow [[spoiler:her]] own path, a rare case in which the character on the broken pedestal attempts to dispel the admirer's notions.
** You can see this in Lloyd's reaction to [[spoiler:Kratos betraying them]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has [[spoiler:Richter Abend.]] [[LoveHurts Poor,]] [[BreakTheCutie poor,]] [[TheWoobie Emil.]]
* [[spoiler:Palaxius]] in ''VideoGame/AtelierIris2TheAzothOfDestiny''.
* You can actually point out that [[spoiler:Aribeth]] in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has done this to your player as part of convincing [[spoiler:her]] to [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn come back from the dark side]]]].
* Played to the hilt in ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', where [[spoiler:Master Li, [[TheChessmaster The Glorious Strategist]], takes over the Jade Empire by torturing and siphoning the power of the newly-corrupted Water Dragon for his own, [[UnwittingPawn after using you to remove the previous ruler]]...upon whose success he immediately kills you. [[UnexplainedRecovery You get better]].]]
** Also, [[spoiler:The Emperor for his daughter, Sun Lian/Silk Fox.]] Even the revelation that [[spoiler:Master Li is the BigBad and the root cause of the plan to usurp the Water Dragon's power]] does not absolve him in his daughter's eyes. In several endings of the game she deliberately steps up to be the Emperor he wasn't
** [[spoiler:Master Li]] is not only the Broken Pedestal for the PlayerCharacter but also for Dawn Star, especially when [[spoiler:she finds out he's her father who doesn't give a shit]].

* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad 3''. The main character becomes a Hunter because one saved his life when he was young. He later finds that Hunter working for the BigBad.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Yukari Takeba's father became her main source of hope and believed he was innocent after a traumatic event left her father dead as well as hundreds of other scientists. Said event not only ostracized her family courtesy of the public backlash, but also subsequently strained her relationship with her mother after she abandoned Yukari for other men, being unable to cope with her husband's death. Growing up lonely but willful, Yukari's belief in her father being falsely accused for the accident that claimed his life [[spoiler:was the reason she transferred to Gekkoukan Highschool, two years prior before joining S.E.E.S. Couple that with her receiving a letter from her father addressed for her to receive ten years later, was the catalyst for her Persona [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Io's]] awakening.]] Yukari's belief gets severely tested in "The Journey" and for a time after a certain event, was forced to admit that her father was guilty of mass murder, she stays with S.E.E.S. to atone for her father's mistakes. [[spoiler:Eventually it's revealed that he only did what he had to do, being one of the few scientists left with their sanity intact he delayed the coming of the end of the world, with that revelation combined with his message of immense love for Yukari, the scene becomes RebuiltPedestal, being the moment Yukari awakens her ultimate Persona [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] with a renewed will to fight.]]
* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''. After [[spoiler:a major character is seemingly KilledOffForReal]], the protagonist's surrogate father figure, a by-the-book and thoroughly incorruptible policeman, runs off apparently to kill the man thought responsible; [[spoiler:this is part of a BatmanGambit on the part of the writers to induce the player to kill the suspect when given the opportunity, which is a one-way ticket to the BadEnding.]] Later on, after having some time to chill out (like the player characters) he was able to see that the evidence surrounding him just didn't fit and wanted to just get some more info from him.
* In ''Videogame/Persona5'', Yusuke Kitagawa was raised by the famed artist Ichiryusai Madarame, who has been plagiarizing him and other apprentices for years. After learning that [[spoiler:Madarame let Yusuke's mother die in order to take credit for her work as well as to take Yusuke]], he loses all sense of admiration for the man. His personal Confidant storyline deals heavily with his feelings regarding his former mentor. He eventually comes to peace with him after a former colleague of Madarame stated that when Yusuke fell ill as a child, Madarame was desperate to save him, indicating at least some sense of affection (albeit [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]]), and Yusuke realizes that he can still see Madarame as a FatherFigure and Mentor while still despising his manipulative and egotistic nature.
* PlayedForLaughs with FourthWallObserver Raiho in ''Videogame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''. Raiho was originally a Jack Frost who profoundly admired Raidou and wished to become Raidou the Fifteenth, fusing himself with a Bancho uniform to create Raiho. The funny part? Raiho ''defines'' SmallNameBigEgo, and promptly forgets his fanboying of Raidou, realizing he's so much cooler now.
* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeNewYorkCity'' had Terry Higgins, a cop who helped Marcus from slipping off the slope; he is presumably dead early on. It was revealed he was TheMole and was quite corrupt despite how Marcus saw him. Marcus will either kill him immediately if his ethics are less than questionable or attempt to arrest him but Terry dying.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** The reveal that the leader of the anti-terrorist black ops unit FOXHOUND was also the leader of the international terrorist organization Outer Heaven caused Snake to intentionally ban his use on Big Boss' CQC techniques, among other things. [[spoiler: Solid Snake starts using CQC again in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', after he finds out the truth of The Boss's sacrifice (and also learns that she created CQC, not Big Boss).]]
** Discussed in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' between Meryl and Snake when she jokingly accuses him of trying to be her KnightInShiningArmor. [[spoiler:Notably it never actually becomes a thing and Meryl consistently believes that Snake is [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre better than he thinks he is]] right up [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots until the end]].]]
---> '''Meryl:''' Just what I'd expect from the legendary Solid Snake. You trying to sweep me off my feet?
---> '''Snake:''' Don't worry. You'll land back on them once you meet me. The reality is no match for the legend, I'm afraid.
** Subverted in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'', in which we are initially led to believed that Naked Snake's mentor, The Boss, had defected to the Soviet Union. It turns out [[spoiler:that the defection was a ruse to gain Volgin's trust and acquired the Philosophers' Legacy, but after Volgin framed The Boss for the destruction of Sokolov's Research Facility, alerting her presence to Khrushchev, the U.S. sent Snake to kill her and cover up her involvement. This essentially shifts the target of his broken pedestal moment from his mentor to his government. Increases even further in later games when it is revealed that the U.S. government fully intended to have Snake kill off The Boss from the very beginning regardless.]]
** Double-Subverted in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Snake doesn't lose his respect of The Boss, but it turns out she betrayed him and her entire squad, and even herself, for the greater good: [[spoiler:By pursuing world peace, she effectively deemed every soldier she trained and everyone who fought alongside her to be disposable in her ideal world order, decommissioned for retirement and their skills and dreams marked as a hindrance. Snake really doesn't like it when people are considered disposable]]. As a result, he goes from passive soldier to the infamous military commander that we all know him for.
** Played completely and tragically straight in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''. [[spoiler:In the post-credits scene of the True Ending, Ocelot tells Kaz of Big Boss's true plan: leaving everyone he ever knew behind so he could conduct his own war against Cipher, building the true "Outer Heaven" without his old comrades, and having the current Diamond Dogs acting as their decoy, complete with creating an exact body double of Big Boss (who is the character you play as throughout the whole game). After losing his comrades, his limbs, and even his dream, Kaz finally gets his revenge on those who wronged him, only to find out that he feels completely hollow and that his best friend is an impostor, the real Big Boss having abandoned him without a goodbye. Having truly lost everything, Kaz furiously swears that Big Boss will pay for his betrayal, and that he will be more than happy to train the phantom and both his sons to oppose him.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' has [[spoiler:Super Hero Aurum]], beloved by humans (and some demons) and idolized by Almaz. By the end of the game, you discover that he [[spoiler:has gone out of his way to make Mao into the most horrible villain imaginable, trying to manipulate him into ''attacking the human world'', simply out of boredom from having no "worthy" opponents. And when this fails thanks to the PowerOfFriendship, even the demons of the party call him out for his blatantly villainous actions, with Mao declaring cowardly Almaz a far more superior hero than Aurum.]]
* A minor example in ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten''; "Angel of Avarice" Vulcanus is more than a little put out when she realizes that the Archangel she admires [[spoiler:is none other than the flaky otaku Flonne, who used the money Vulcanus collected to build a giant robot.]]
* [[spoiler:Captian Qwark]] in ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''. The eponymous duo start out the series looking up to Captain Qwark, until they discover he's in league with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Chairman Drek's]] plans. It only gets worse by the time of ''Up Your Arsenal'', when they discover that Qwark had faked his own death and flat-out bailed on the rest of the galaxy to [[DirtyCoward save himself]] rather than help beat Dr. Nefarious ([[spoiler:although to his credit, he does perform a HeelFaceTurn later]]). Boy, does Ratchet get pissed:
-->'''Ratchet''': You're pathetic, Qwark! I can't ''believe'' I once looked up to you!
** It also happens in the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016 2016 game]], although here [[spoiler:Qwark]] does legitimately [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regret his actions]] after [[spoiler:seeing Novalis get destroyed and spends the ending in prison doing community service to make up for it.]]
* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'': Lara used to admire James Whitman, but by the time of the game has seen him for the {{narcissist}}ic SlaveToPR and KnowNothingKnowItAll he really is. When she discovers a note to his soon-to-be ex-wife, in which he tries to convince her to wait until after the Yamatai expedition to divorce him largely because he wants to avoid negative publicity, while causally mentioning how he plans to [[StealingTheCredit steal the credit]] for Lara's theories and hard work if they prove correct, she explicitly remarks she's disgusted with herself for ever having looked up to him.
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Republic hero Carth Onasi was scarred when his mentor and idol, Saul Karath, turned out to be working for the Sith. He retains a deep mistrust of all Jedi, and [[TheReveal the revelation]] that the player character [[spoiler:is the amnesiac Darth Revan, former commander of the Sith rebellion]] doesn't help matters.
** Mission's quest involves finding out her brother deliberately left her behind when he left Taris.
* A morality-swapped variant occurs the second game, ''[[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The Sith Lords]]''. Visas Maar's master, Darth Nihilus, is constantly portrayed as [[HumanoidAbomination a vortex of death, more a force of nature than a human being]], whom Visas is obviously terrified of (she [[MadeASlave didn't exactly become his apprentice by choice]]). Until you defeat him, at which point you can let Visas take his mask off. When you ask her what she saw when she took the mask, she'll calmly reply "A man, nothing more."
** Atris has this attitude towards a female Exile, having idolised her prior to the Mandalorian Wars.
* A Sith Warrior in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' invokes this trope when recruiting Jaesa. Jaesa is a gifted, but inexperienced Padawan who can "see" the true nature of others. Her master and Darth Baras (your handler) have a long-running feud. When confronting the old Jedi, you can force Jaesa to "see" her master has been hopelessly warped by his grudge, causing her to abandon him, and serve you instead. It ''is'' up to you if you want to keep her inclinations to the Light Side, or BreakTheCutie by twisting her into a ''very'' psychotic verion of TheDarkSide, however.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Neku is a total CAT fanboy. Later on, he discovers that [[spoiler:Mr. Hanekoma]], a guy who's been real helpful to him, ''is'' the elusive CAT, and starts fanboying even harder. Then, in the final week, Neku discovers a lot of clues that suggest that CAT is the Composer, and goes through a textbook case of denial, then losing faith in CAT as they approach the Composer's chamber. Only, [[spoiler:as Kitaniji tells him, Hanekoma is ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' the Composer.]] The very end of the game, plus the Secret Reports, however, tell you that [[spoiler:[[DoubleSubversion he's still not someone to trust]], albeit better intentioned than Kitaniji or Joshua.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'', [[spoiler:Captain Blue]] turns out to be one for Joe, after he reveals himself as the BigBad.
** However, [[spoiler:After Blue has a HeelFaceTurn it seems Joe regains respect for him again]].

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', [[spoiler:Jaheira]] has this in regards to the Harpers during her personal quest. [[spoiler:First, Galvarey, the regional Harper leader in Athkatla turns out to be an opportunistic SmugSnake who wants to use charname in his bid for power. Jaheira is understandably dismayed by this, especially since the other Harpers, who are unaware of Galvarey's intent, consider the incident an act of treason on her part and a murder on your part. Once that is cleared up, she discovers that Dermin, her old mentor, was actually in on Galvarey's plot, and is just as much of a SmugSnake as he was. Needless to say, the whole affair [[BreakTheCutie shook Jaheira to her core]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Sky'', Wigglytuff's beginnings as an explorer are revealed. As a child, he met Armaldo in a deep forest. Armaldo told the then-Igglybuff that he was a retired explorer, and they went on lots of missions and found lots of treasure. Igglybuff idolised Armaldo and everything was going perfectly well...until Armaldo [[spoiler:got arrested. He was a wanted criminal, not an explorer.]] Igglybuff almost had a mental breakdown and refused to believe that Armaldo was bad, even as he was being led away in custody. Whether they met again after Armaldo got out of prison is unknown.
** And subverted. Armaldo really did care for Igglybuff and was curious to see how far he'd go as an explorer. Armaldo comforted Igglybuff and told him to continue exploring for him. And he promised to explore with him again once he did his time.
** This occurs again with [[spoiler:your partner and Dusknoir. When it is revealed Dusknoir is from the future and is only here to kill you, your partner, and Grovyle, he/she can hardly believe it until they hear it straight from Dusknoir. It doesn't help that the person you thought was a villain (Grovyle) is actually a hero and that you directly contributed to Grovyle's capture.]]
* Present in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' with [[spoiler:N finding out that he's nothing but a brainwashed child soldier and that his father Ghestis is intent on banning Pokemon use so Team Plasma can "liberate" them all and use their power to conquer Unova]].
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** [[spoiler:Jacob Taylor's father, Ronald, vanished 10 years ago. When they receive a message and go to the unhabited planet to save them, turns out that after his ship crashed and the captain died, Ronald forced the lower crew members to eat the planet's toxic food, which caused their minds to degrade, while they tried to fix a beacon to call for aid. Female crew members were assigned to officers, like pets. A year later, the beacon was ready, but Ronald figured the report would look bad and wanted to stay. He then had the other officers killed. Gradually the degraded males started to rebel, becoming "hunters" as even in a decayed state they knew things weren't right. Ronald held out for ten years, until his supplies ran low and he called for aid. Needless to say, Jacob was utterly disgusted and would've killed his old man, if not for the fact he "wasn't worth pulling the trigger". If your Shepard is a renegade, you can suggest Jacob to give his father a weapon with one bullet. If you pick the neutral option, [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard he will get killed by his own men.]]]]
** And then there is [[spoiler:Rael'Zorah, Tali's father and a part of the Admiralty Board. Her father is found dead on the ship and Tali was accused of treason. When she find out what happened, it turns out Rael'Zorah was willingly endangering his own crew's lives to create a measure to control the Geth much to her horror.]]
** A few people, most prominently Ashley/Kaidan (even more hardhitting if they were your love interest in ''[[VideoGame/MassEffect1 Mass Effect]]''), consider Shepard to be one since s/he's working with Cerberus, a terrorist organization in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. An [[FourthWallMyopia often overlooked factor]] in this is that they were [[LockedOutOfTheLoop unaware]] of [[BackFromTheDead the Lazarus Project]], so they were under the impression that Shepard had been FakingTheDead to join Cerberus, a conclusion [[InvokedTrope that the Illusive Man encouraged with strategic information leaks]].
** This is also brought up in a news story:
--> '''Newscaster:''' Emotions at Shepard's alleged survival are mixed. While some are overjoyed to see her/him return, [[HeroWithBadPublicity others believe her/his false death was a betrayal.]]
** This is how Captain Anderson describes his meeting with Saren. As a potential recruit into the SPECTREs, Anderson was sent on a mission while supervised by the most successful, well-known and feared Spectre of them all, Saren Arterius.... Who turned out to be a brutal BloodKnight whose ulterior motives used massive amounts of overkill that ultimately ended in the death dozens of civilians in the completion of his mission before finally laying the blame on Anderson when political backlash followed.
** Even before that, in the first game, you can make Shepard into one for [[HeroicWannabe Conrad Verner]].
** Through the first and second games, the Protheans have been regarded as a race of very advanced and powerful, but benign BenevolentPrecursors. [[spoiler:Then in the third game, we meet [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Javik]], the last Prothean warrior, and find out that the Protheans were actually a highly imperialistic society who conquered anyone they encountered and integrated them into their empire as "subservient races." Liara in particular is quite disappointed, once [[http://youtu.be/HuMWZZLkBnY implies that they were monsters]], and comes to consider her earlier writings on them as foolishly naive.]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Liara''': You're a ''Prothean!'' You were supposed to have all the answers!]]
*** Given more time, she changes her stance a little, no longer feeling betrayed and able to think of them more objectively.
** Liara gets another one when she finds out [[spoiler:her own government has maintained their technological superiority by hiding a Prothean Beacon from the rest of the galaxy, in defiance of Citadel laws. It's even worse when Liara realizes her own mother was probably in on the coverup, although EDI suggests that Benezia kept Liara out of the loop to protect her daughter]].
** Cerberus becomes one for Miranda at the end of ''2'' and in ''3''. Shepard themselves can invoke this in their conversations with The Illusive Man in ''3'', pointing out that not only has he turned his back on Shepard, but on everything Cerberus was supposed to stand for.
** Mordin Solus's student Maelon is so disgusted by his mentor's role in trying to maintain the genophage that he ends up resorting to extreme and barbaric means to cure it. This in turn, ends up infuriating Mordin when he finds out.
-->'''Maelon:''' I was your student! I looked up to you!
-->'''Mordin:''' Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. No choice. Have to kill you.
* Cloud got hit by this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. As a teenager, he dreamed of joining the elite [=SOLDIER=] unit like his idol, the great warrior Sephiroth. When Cloud finally gets to go on a mission with Sephiroth, finding out that Sephiroth wasn't as noble as Cloud thought he was is the ''least'' of our hero's disappointments.

* Veronica's mentor Elijah in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', you are told about how he wants to know more about the outside world and how the Brotherhood Of Steel should be working to help the others. Then you find out about what he has done over the events of Dead Money where he used you to do his dirty bidding along with 3 others.
** One resident of Megaton in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' put the Enclave on a pedestal based entirely on their radio propaganda. When they actually ''show up'', they rapidly break their own pedestal. Kidnapping said fan was probably the least evil thing they did in the game.
* ''Franchise/DragonAge''
** A {{downplayed|Trope}} example in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', but Alistair initially shows great admiration for Teyrn Loghain mac Tir, saying that he's the one people should be looking to for victory in the Battle of Ostagar rather than King Cailan. Come the Loghain's betrayal at the same battle, and Alistair wants nothing more than to take his head off. [[spoiler:To the point that he'll leave the party permanently if you recruit Loghain into the Wardens at the Landsmeet.]]
** In the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' {{DLC}} "Soldier's Peak", Sophia Dryden becomes this (posthumously) to her descendant Levi Dryden. While her goal of opposing a tyrant was admirable, she still resorted to BloodMagic and demon summoning when the chips were down and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard suffered the consequences]].
** First Enchanter Orsino in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' can become this [[spoiler:to Bethany if she joins the Circle. If Hawke takes the side of the templars during the endgame battle sequence, they can get Orsino to admit that he protected the serial killer responsible for turning their mother into a Frankenstein bride. In the mage endgame, Orsino only mentions Quentin offhandedly and we don't see how either Hawke sibling reacts.]]
*** The "Legacy" {{DLC}} turns [[spoiler:Malcolm Hawke]] into one [[spoiler:with TheReveal that he was a Blood Mage. Probably the most sympathetic example of this trope ever since he did it to seal away a powerful evil, was forced to do it with a threat to his lover, and he made sure his mage child(ren) knew of the dangers associated with it. Malcolm was ashamed of his past and hoped his family would never learn of it.]] His children still don't take the news very well but understand why he did it.
*** The Grey Wardens can become this to [[spoiler:Carver if he joined them, after learning that Warden-Commander Larius gave the order to blackmail Malcolm Hawke into performing BloodMagic, because they threatened to kill Leandra if he refused. Particularly as Leandra was ''pregnant'' with his older sibling at the time]].
** Blackwall in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' becomes deeply disappointed in his fellow Grey Wardens over their reaction to [[spoiler:the fake Calling and their manipulation by the Elder One]]. [[spoiler:And ''most of the party'' feel this way towards Blackwall himself, after TheReveal that he's not the real Blackwall but a fugitive murderer who'd assumed the real Blackwall's identity.]]
* In ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'' Ayumi greatly respects Naho Saenoki, an occult expert despite just being in high school. She is disheartened when Naho reveals that she died in Tenjin Elementary and in Chapter 5 laments that they could have been friends. Shortly after that, however, she finds out that [[spoiler:the instructions for the Sachiko charm (which is what trapped them in Tenjin Elementary in the first place) that she found on Naho's blog were faulty...And Naho ''knew'' this]]. Ayumi calls her out on it. Naho doesn't really care and insults "occult freaks"...until Ayumi reveals that [[spoiler:after Naho [[TheCorruption succumbed to The Darkening]], she killed her beloved mentor, Kou Kibiki. [[FreakOut She doesn't take]] [[BadBlackBarf this revelation well]]]].
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/VandalHearts 2'' were the resident messiah figure, St. Nirvath, is revealed to have been a mass murderer and glory seeker, causing a crisis of faith in one of the characters. It turns out that while Nirvath is guilty of wiping out a large portion of humanity, he did so in order to save the remainder from a devastating disease and was convinced that history would remember him as a criminal and not as a saviour no matter how necessary his actions were.
* In ''VideoGame/WildARMs5'', Dean worships and tries to emulate the famous golem hunter Nightburn. When it turns out he's TheQuisling for the Veruni, his pedestal shatters.
* Red of ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' gets a {{Fangirl}} in the Duel Ship fights. When she finds out that Red is ordered around by his 13-year-old younger sister, she declares him extremely uncool. When she tries to beat Red in a battle later to find closure, he ends up on a RebuiltPedestal and she declares her fangirlish love for him again. This does not please her newly acquired male fanbase.
* [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]] looked up to his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. However, after Professor Gerald tried to exterminate humanity in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', narrowly averted by teaming up with Sonic, Eggman doesn't think of him nearly as highly anymore.
** Then in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', it's revealed that Gerald Robotnik struck a deal with the Black Arms alien race (who at this point have [[AlienInvasion invaded the earth]] and revealed their intention to [[ToServeMan enslave humans for food]]) that in exchange for their help in his research (which led to the eponymous character's creation), the Black Arms could have the planet. Eggman upon discovering this is nothing short of aghast. [[spoiler:However, it is later revealed in the game's Final Story that Gerald regretted his decision and originally developed the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet --the Black Arms' home planet-- and intended for Shadow to carry that task out in order to save their world.]]

* In ''{{VideoGame/Diablo}}'', part of the reason why Farnham became TheAlcoholic is the sense of betrayal he felt after Archbishop Lazarus betrayed him and the others to demons.

* ''VideoGameSlyCooperThievesInTime'': [[BitchInSheepsClothing Penelope]] once had a major crush on Sly, but it suddenly went into a 180 spin, and she's now trying to murder him (and Murray) out of sheer hatred and jealousy. [[InvertedTrope A rare case]] where the ''admirer'' broke the pedestal, as Sly did nothing to justify Penelope's rage.

* In ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'', [[spoiler: Josh]]'s friendships with the others crumble because of [[spoiler: his horrible and traumatic prank on them]] but Sam in particular felt betrayed the most by the former's actions as the two of them had become close the last year and she felt they had genuinely bonded over the loss of Hannah and Beth together.

** The reveal that the leader of the anti-terrorist black ops unit FOXHOUND was also the leader of the international terrorist organization Outer Heaven caused Snake to intentionally ban his use on Big Boss' CQC techniques, among other things. [[spoiler: Solid Snake starts using CQC again in ''VideoGame/Metal Gear Solid 4'', after he finds out the truth of The Boss's sacrifice (and also learns that she created CQC, not Big Boss).]]

** The reveal that the leader of the anti-terrorist black ops unit FOXHOUND was also the leader of the international terrorist organization Outer Heaven caused Snake to intentionally ban his use on Big Boss' CQC techniques, among other things.

* In ''Videogame/Persona5'', Yusuke Kitagawa was raised by the famed artist Ichiryusai Madarame, who has been plagiarizing him and other apprentices for years. After learning that [[spoiler:Madarame let Yusuke's mother die in order to take credit for her work as well as to take Yusuke]], he loses all sense of admiration for the man. His personal Confidant storyline deals heavily with his feelings regarding his former mentor. He eventually comes to peace with him after a former colleague of Madarame stated that when Yusuke fell ill as a child, Madarame was desperate to save him, indicating at least some sense of affection (albeit [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]]).

* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, this applies to (in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Path of Radiance]]'') [[spoiler:Most of the Begnion senators]], and (in ''Radiant Dawn'') [[spoiler:The god that most of the populace worshiped]]. There are also {{inver|ted trope}}s: Micaiah dismisses Sothe's constant praise of Ike as exaggerated at best, while Soren describes Micaiah, not without reason, as the figurehead of a zealous fanatic movement. When they all team up in the finale, they see that all the praise really is warranted.

* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'': Lara used to admire James Whitman, but by the time of the game has seen him for the {{narcissist}}ic SlaveToPR and KnowNothingKnowItAll he really is. When she discovers a note to his soon-to-be ex-wife, in which he tries to convince her to wait until after the Yamatai expedition to divorce him largely because he wants to avoid negative publicity, she explicitly remarks she's disgusted with herself for ever having looked up to him.

* In the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' {{DLC}} "Soldier's Peak", Sophia Dryden becomes this (posthumously) to her descendant Levi Dryden. While her goal of opposing a tyrant was admirable, she still resorted to BloodMagic and demon summoning when the chips were down and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard suffered the consequences]].
* First Enchanter Orsino in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' can become this [[spoiler:to Bethany if she joins the Circle. If Hawke takes the side of the templars during the endgame battle sequence, they can get Orsino to admit that he protected the serial killer responsible for turning their mother into a Frankenstein bride. In the mage endgame, Orsino only mentions Quentin offhandedly and we don't see how either Hawke sibling reacts.]]
** The "Legacy" {{DLC}} turns [[spoiler:Malcolm Hawke]] into one [[spoiler:with TheReveal that he was a Blood Mage. Probably the most sympathetic example of this trope ever since he did it to seal away a powerful evil, was forced to do it with a threat to his lover, and he made sure his mage child(ren) knew of the dangers associated with it. Malcolm was ashamed of his past and hoped his family would never learn of it.]] His children still don't take the news very well but understand why he did it.
** The Grey Wardens can become this to [[spoiler:Carver if he joined them, after learning that Warden-Commander Larius gave the order to blackmail Malcolm Hawke into performing BloodMagic, because they threatened to kill Leandra if he refused. Particularly as Leandra was ''pregnant'' with his older sibling at the time]].
* Blackwall in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' becomes deeply disappointed in his fellow Grey Wardens over their reaction to [[spoiler:the fake Calling and their manipulation by the Elder One]]. [[spoiler:And ''most of the party'' feel this way towards Blackwall himself, after TheReveal that he's not the real Blackwall but a fugitive murderer who'd assumed the real Blackwall's identity.]]

* [[SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]] looked up to his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. However, after Professor Gerald tried to exterminate humanity in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', narrowly averted by teaming up with Sonic, Eggman doesn't think of him nearly as highly anymore.

* You can see this in Lloyd's reaction to [[spoiler:Kratos betraying them]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.

** During the war, Chiaki totally believed in fine's image as a force for good taking down bad guys, only realising the truth after he got to know Kanata and realised that the oddballs didn't deserve the way they were treated. He still likes Eichi however and considers them friends (as it'd be difficult for Chiaki to dislike ''anyone''), but doesn't talk about his previous fine support as he believes the first years would be disappointed in him and see him as less of a hero.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler:Peter Parker is horrified to learn that his mentor Dr. Otto Octavius has become the villainous Dr. Octopus. During the FinalBoss battle, Peter is sobbing as he yells out how much Otto has fallen.]]

* [[spoiler:Captian Qwark]] in ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''. The eponymous duo start out the series looking up to Captain Qwark, until they discover he's in league with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Chairman Drek's]] plans. It only gets worse by the time of ''Up Your Arsenal'', when they discover that Qwark had faked his own death and flat-out bailed on the rest of the galaxy to [[DirtyCoward save himself]] rather than help beat Dr. Nefarious ([[spoiler: although to his credit, he does perform a HeelFaceTurn later]]). Boy, does Ratchet get pissed:

* Played with in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Yukari Takeba's father became her main source of hope and believed he was innocent after a traumatic event left her father dead as well as hundreds of other scientists. Said event not only ostracized her family courtesy of the public backlash, but also subsequently strained her relationship with her mother after she abandoned Yukari for other men, being unable to cope with her husband's death. Growing up lonely but willful, Yukari's belief in her father being falsely accused for the accident that claimed his life [[spoiler:was the reason she transferred to Gekkoukan Highschool, two years prior before joining S.E.E.S. Couple that with her receiving a letter from her father addressed for her to receive ten years later, was the catalyst for her Persona [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Io's]] awakening.]] Yukari's belief gets severely tested in "The Journey" and for a time after a certain event, was forced to admit that her father was guilty of mass murder, she stays with S.E.E.S. to atone for her father's mistakes. [[spoiler:Eventually it's revealed that he only did what he had to do, being one of the few scientists left with their sanity intact he delayed the coming of the end of the world, with that revelation combined with his message of immense love for Yukari, the scene becomes both CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming and RebuiltPedestal rolled into one, being the moment Yukari awakens her ultimate Persona [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] with a renewed will to fight.]]

** Abigail Williams is disgusted when she meets [[HandsomeLech King David]] and finds he is a pervert, saying this discovery is making her religious faith waver.

** Atalanta and Meltlilith are disgusted when they meet Artemis and find she is a lovestruck idiot who is totally obsessed with Orion. Especially since Artemis made Atalanta swear a vow of chastity when she was alive.
** Abigail Williams is disgusted when she meets King David and finds he is a pervert, saying this discovery is making her religious faith waver.

** In the new timeline, the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' [[spoiler:have sapped the faith he had for the Elder Gods, so he begins to see them as more burden than help, considering they did nothing to stop Shao Kahn or Shinnok, both of whom regarded the Elder Gods as "toothless worms" and spineless cowards. This is clearly evident in TheStinger for ''MKX'', [[PayEvilUntoEvil where he decides to take matters into his own hands]] by [[KickTheSonOfABitch reducing Shinnok to a mere living head]] and [[KnightTemplar using a more hard-line stance]] on defending Earthrealm from external threats.]]

* In TransformersDevastation, [[spoiler:it's revealed that Optimus and all other Autobots looked up to Nova Prime as an idealistic figure...until he became corrupted and Shockwave spilled the beans that it was ''he'' who wanted Earth to be terraformed into a new Cybertron.]]

* [[MissionControl Dr. Roman]] of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' is a {{Fanboy}} of King Solomon, so when it becomes clear that he's trying to destroy the world, he's incredibly shocked and tries to use Sheba to prove he's not behind it. When the protagonist and Mash return from London, he's having a nervous breakdown. [[spoiler:Later revelations indicate that his reaction [[SubvertedTrope has less to do with finding out his idol is evil]], and more to do with shock that ''his'' body and name were being used by someone else.]]