History CerebusSyndrome / VideoGames

* ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'' Oh Hatoful Boyfriend, at first it seems like an average dating sim but with birds till you get to the secret route [[Which seems normal till we cut to Ryouta finding the protagonist's head in a box, and it only gets worse from there...]]

* The ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series. The first game starts out as your typical lighthearted cartoony platformer, akin to games like ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' and ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', with a simple plot. By the second game, it is a third-person shooter sandbox with some elements of a beat-em-up and the entire tone and gameplay in general takes on a DarkerAndEdgier feel with thicker, more realistic plots and is overall a different game altogether. Even the music style was heavily changed in the sequels despite ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' and ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'' having the same music composer that the first game had. The only thing the first game has in common with any of its sequels are the primary four characters that were introduced in it. The huge changes the series made between the first game and its following sequels also qualifies as a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' is the TropeCodifier for a multitude of reasons; it helps that the series was mostly headed by one man from the '80s to the '10s, and so it grew more plot-focused as director Hideo Kojima (and the rest of the video game industry) had more technology and budget to do so. For example, the original ''Metal Gear'' has an ExcusePlot, ''Metal Gear 2'' focuses more on the plot but still keeps it relatively simple, ''Metal Gear Solid'' has numerous lengthy cinematic cutscenes and tons of worldbuilding, and ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' has an even bigger focus on cutscenes and continuity, and establishes the beginnings of a complicated conspiracy backstory. And so on.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', to some degree. From ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' onwards, the series began to take its protagonists and their personal motivations a lot more seriously than they did in prior installments. ''IV'' in particular tackled [[DarkerAndEdgier dark, adult themes usually reserved for cinema]]. Though ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' does dial back the seriousness a bit and is closer to the series' BlackComedy roots, it still features a huge, pathos-filled story for its three protagonists and tackles serious themes[[spoiler:, including [[PlayedForDrama graphic]], not PlayedForLaughs [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]]]].
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' have happy endings, but the endings of subsequent games are {{bittersweet|Ending}}:
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' is probably the [[DenserAndWackier densest and wackiest]] game in the entire Zelda series, with a whimsical tone filled to the brim with goofy humor and even cameos from other Nintendo series like ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' and ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''... Then about midway through the game, the true nature of Koholint Island and what exactly will happen to it and all of the people on it once the Wind Fish wakes up is revealed.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Even though it takes a fairly balanced approach to the lighter and darker tones demonstrated in other entries, the first part of the game is very much on the lighthearted side. Even when Zelda falls down to the world beneath the clouds, nothing really feels at risk, and the game itself takes an optimistic approach to being able to find her. In fact, the only darker moments during the first section of the game are Link's brief nightmares of [[SealedEvilInACan The Imprisoned]], implying what's in store later on. However, when Ghirahim first appears (and for the remainder of his appearances), the game takes on a ''much'' darker tone. Sure, he's a classic example of EvilIsHammy and can be quite entertaining when he wants to be, but he is very much a legitimate threat, and is downright terrifying and dangerous due to his [[AxCrazy disturbing lust]] for pain and death.
** The ''Zelda'' games in general originally had {{Excuse Plot}}s. As the series went on, more of them began to connect to eachother in subtle ways, until eventually Nintendo went as far as to release an official timeline with branching realities. (Downplayed, though, in that the actual development of the games doesn't let the established timeline bind their ideas.)
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''. Some of the games (particularly ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'') give a darker-than-usual twist to their stories because of this. The former because it reveals that the actions done in ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' were a fatal mistake (''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' shows a brief example of it in TheStinger). The latter because, during the time Samus succesfully purges the advancement of Phazon in three planets (and starts her adventure in this game preventing the spred of it in another), the Phazon allocated in ''her own body'' has been spreading, putting her gradually closer to becoming a terminally corrupted living being.
* The plot of ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}'' starts out as a fairly mild adventure story of an AmnesiacHero battling MonsterOfTheWeek until [[VengefulWidow Sakura-no-sei]] barges in, revealing to the heroes and the audience that [[spoiler: there is a BigBad out there who [[AllegedLookalikes resembles the hero down to the aura]], causing far more dangerous troubles than any of the previous enemies, and the one being blamed for all of that would be the ''hero''.]] Things take on a new level of complicated from there. And then it gets even ''worse'' after [[spoiler: the BigBad finally gets his ass kicked. One of the four ''protagonists'' of the game, and arguably the ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes nicest]]'' [[BitchInSheepsClothing one]] of the bunch, turns out to be [[EvilAllAlong conspiring against]] the good guys all along and leaves the team to [[TheDragon serve the]] GreaterScopeVillain. If that ain't bad enough, our hero is starting to act out-of-character thanks to all the tragic events and the unsettling reveals about his forgotten past.]]
* Any ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' game. ''All of them.'' A lighthearted romp at the start, with seven cheery dwarves building their home in a seemingly cheery forest, plain, or jungle. And then it gets worse as time goes on, with dwarves dying off, being disemboweled, being flung against walls, until eventually your fortress explodes into civil war under constant sieges and deaths.
* ''VideoGame/TeamCStudiosAdventure'' progressively gets darker and darker with each entry. From a light-hearted romp through the countryside fighting slimes and zombies to a cosmic horror fight for the fate of the world against villains like Herobrine.

* The chapters in ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' can be played in any order you wish, so the tonal shifts are dependant on the player, though if you play them in chronological order there is a trend from a gradual trend from the first's slapstick comedy to the last's sci-fi horror. Either way, though, the chapter unlocked after clearing all the initial chapters takes itself (and its self-treatment of its genre) much more seriously than any before, which ends up changing how the whole game is looked at.
* ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}''
** ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' is a silly, shiny, nice game with colors all around. Its sequel ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', though...well, what do you think of jokes such as [[spoiler:"I have good news and bad news. Good news, I found you a new weapon. Bad news, I found it stabbed through your wife's heart."]]?
** While ''Mother 3'' certainly has more overtly emotional moments than ''Earthbound'', they both have CerebusSyndrome within their games. ''Earthbound'' starts with you dealing with cops who take pride in their ability to block roads and ends as a CosmicHorrorStory. ''Mother 3'' starts with you in a peaceful, utopian village and ends with the main villain essentially owning the entire world.
* The sequel to ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' looks to be far less cartoony and both teasers available indicate the game will take place in a city in the middle of the desert. Sounds familiar.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI The original]] ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' starts with the king saying "Oh Warriors of Prophecy please save my daughter who is in the hands of my ex-most trustworthy knight". He's pretty weak, too. Then, by the end of the game, it turns out that the BigBad is [[spoiler:that same knight, whose soul went 2000 years into the past, gained [[TookALevelInBadass incredible power]] by the name of Chaos, and created the four elemental demons who are now plaguing the world, who were the ones to [[StableTimeLoop send his soul into the past when you first killed him to save the princess.]]]] And your defeat of him [[spoiler:breaks the cycle, meaning that [[ResetButton nothing of the game ever happened and no one realizes what you did]].]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', you start with a bunch of thieves/actors kidnapping a rebellious princess and a kid who goes to watch a theater play. The first 7 or 8 hours of the game (especially in the [[{{Woolseyism}} brilliantly done]] French translation) are lighthearted and fun. Then, the thieves'/actors' hometown is invaded, the rebellious princess [[spoiler:sees the death of her mother and watches her kingdom getting nuked]], the whole world comes close to destruction, and the little cute kid of the intro gets to deal with his own mortality.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', you start out with stuff like a [=JPop=] concert, bounty hunting girls in flashy outfits and a sequence in which your main character must find the right points to please a woman whose "chateau" the group is sneaking into with a massage. By the end of Chapter 2, you're uncovering a conspiracy involving a potentially world-shattering weapon and [[spoiler:fighting dark aeons. You also discover the dark past of the top three world leaders and the sad history of the spirit of a man who has been tortured with visions of his and his lover's death for a thousand years]]. While there continues to be funny / fun stuff throughout, things definitely get darker from that point on.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis'' starts with the main character living a mostly carefree life in his little village, cue a militaristic cult appearing. The main character decides then to stand against it, while remaining mostly optimistic; cue the multiverse collapsing.

* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** Ruca of ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' is currently the record holder, wandering into the plot of the game while ''hanging around town to play with his "friends"''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' starts with two main characters hunting, then it turns into a vendetta story, then into a world war, then into a conflict to save the human race, then [[spoiler:the heroes discover that Dhaos was the good guy all along]]. The comedic elements of the game's beginning are of course diminishing through the story.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': The game begins with a RagtagBunchOfMisfits having to perform community service for theft under the watchful eye of the young prodigy Knight Captain. While the first half gets darker, it still has quite a few lighthearted moments. Cue the [[WhamEpisode time skip]], cerberus syndrome kicks in big time. It ends with the planet almost getting nuked from orbit by a 2000 year old mad king intent on wiping out the entire Er'ther population.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'' starts off with Kyle going on an adventure with his big brother Loni to try to get money for their mother's orphanage. It ends with the party having to kill a goddess, with TimeTravel, [[LotusEaterMachine Lotus-Eater Machines]], and an InferredHolocaust in the middle.
** Happens in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' with the playable prologue. We're introduced to the young kids having fun with their new friend, meeting a new important friend...and then quickly watching as their new friend sacrifices herself before their very eyes with ''nothing'' they could do and (while they didn't know it yet), their other new friend was [[spoiler:possessed by Lambda]]. The result? Four to five out of the seven playable characters have a rather DarkAndTroubledPast. (Not counting [[CoolOldGuy Malik,]] who has a different and unrelated DarkAndTroubledPast)
** The difference between the first act of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' and the third act of ''Tales Of The Abyss'' is the difference between [[spoiler: accidentally destroying a city of 10,000 people]] and Jade lightening the mood by [[DeadpanSnarker snarking at you]], and [[spoiler: voluntarily sacrificing 10,000 replicas including the protagonist, all of whom are still mentally children,]] while Jade wishes he could go back in time and kill himself as a newborn because everything in the game is his fault, including this incident, because ''he suggested it.'' Compared to ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the last American release, the game itself applies this trope to the series as a whole, though the trend is reversed with ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia.''

* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' starts with a mostly light hearted storyline, with three of the seven Player Characters being comic relief. Then ''Arc 2'' comes along, and it becomes [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]], and [[AMillionIsAStatistic darker]], and [[PlayerPunch darker]]... At the end, Gogen is still cracking jokes and [[LethalJokeCharacter Poco]] is still a klutz, but [[spoiler:it is hard to notice the comedy when you failed to stop the apocalypse and lost your [[BattleCouple main couple]].]]
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' was, at some point, about going to the fair and having fun. You even meet a cute girl. Her pendant causes time travel, and [[HilarityEnsues wacky times are had by all]]. Even after you get tried and thrown in a cell for a few days, things are still lighthearted. Then you leap in the [[AfterTheEnd nearly dead future]] and see a recording of how the world ended... Even this can be somewhat justified as a form of GenreRoulette, but after you defeat the DiscOneFinalBoss and start to learn more about the history of Lavos, things become even heavier.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' starts out rather okay, but after mid game, [[spoiler: the hero gets his body switched with the bad guy, and the plot goes complicated and dark.]] Worse, the story's tying up with ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' by destroying every happy part of the prequel. [[spoiler:Crono, Marle, and Lucca are likely to be killed shortly after ''Trigger'' ends, and Schala is turned from a heroic sacrificial woman to a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.]] Also it's stated that when a future that once existed is erased from the timelime, the people end up in a dark limbo where it is cold and you can never die, and this is hinted at even back when you rescue Marle early in the first game. So not only did Chrono send the future denizens to AndIMustScream but [[spoiler: Lavos was never truly defeated and in fact it became even more powerful]], so it was all for nothing.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' starts off, and plays as, a ridiculously over the top and bizarre adventure bordering on satire. However, starting from the Spooky level, the plot quickly becomes darker and darker, ultimately culminating in one of the [[DownerEnding bleakest]] endings in video game history. In comparison, the first game in the series was an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conker%27s_Pocket_Tales E-rated Game Boy Color game]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBizarreAdventuresOfWoodruffAndTheSchnibble'': The early phase of the game is extremely silly, with multiple breakages of the fourth wall. By the time Woodruff learns about Coh Cott, the game (while still humorous) reshapes itself into a study of racism and cultural interaction.

* The first few chapters of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' are somewhat lighthearted, being comparable to a {{Shonen}} in terms of tone and characters. Even after [[spoiler: Vandham's death]], the game continues on with the same tone as before. Then [[spoiler: Fan La Norne/Haze gets killed by [[BigBad Jin]]]], and things take a turn for the worse, first with [[spoiler: Torna capturing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Pyra]] and Jin giving [[TheHero Rex]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]], then with [[spoiler: the journey through Morytha and [[TheLostLenore the true nature]] [[FallenHero of Jin's past]]]], and immediately afterwards it is revealed that [[spoiler: Praetor Amalthus and the Indoline Praetorium were EvilAllAlong, and the former is willing to destroy all of Alrest by controlling the Titans to attack one another]]. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler: the WorldTree is actually an elevator to a space station, that Alrest was really EarthAllAlong, the being whom Alrest worshipped as their {{God}}, the Architect, is [[LiteralSplitPersonality actually one half of Professor Klaus]] from [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1 the previous game]] (the other half is Zanza, the GeniusLoci BigBad of Bionis), and that [[SimultaneousArcs the events of said previous game are happening at the very same moment]], specifically the ending where Shulk and friends fight Zanza, meaning that the heroes of this game are in a RaceAgainstTheClock to destroy Artifice Aion and defeat Malos before Klaus dies as a result of Shulk killing his other half. Oh and it's implied to the player that Malos (Logos) and Pyra/Mythra's (Pneuma) LongLostSibling is Alvis (Ontos), also from the previous game.]]

* ''VideoGame/NotForBroadcast'': During Episode 1, the story and the broadcasts are mostly lighthearted, but come Episode 2 and it devolves into chaos, with your family slowly breaking apart, [[spoiler:and during the broadcasts, Advance begin to censor everything against them and start becoming more oppressive. One of the news anchors ends up being DrivenToSuicide or [[DoNotGoGentle gunned down by security]] on air, or is arrested instead depending on your choices.]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series didn't take itself all that seriously at first, what with [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI the first installment]] having a CreditsGag dedicated to spoofing famous Universal and Hammer actors. Flash-forward a couple of years later, and ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]]'''s plot revolves around both HuntingTheMostDangerousGame and RageAgainstTheHeavens, while a pivotal scene in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' depicts [[note]](although things turn out to be not as they seem)[[/note]] ''[[KillTheCutie an innocent young girl being murdered]]''.

* ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'':
** Several first chapters of the game as well as its general premise make it seem like a typical mix of "[[{{Moe}} cute girls doing cute things]]" and MagicalGirlWarrior genre with an ImprobablyFemaleCast. Main characters are Valkyries who fight against some monsters, but they also attend school and spend a lot of time just having fun together. There definitely are some serious moments as well as hints of dark backstories, but overall the plot is rather optimistic and the threats characters encounter do not seem that dangerous or impossible to overcome.
** A few chapters in, everything changes. [[WhamEpisode Things go down]] after [[spoiler: [[DeadSerious death of one of major characters]]]]. The story gains depth and more dramatic atmosphere. Valkyries are thrown into life-threatening scenarios or faced with serious dilemmas and [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]]. Friends who were always together are split up, forced to act on their own and [[spoiler: even [[FightingYourFriend fight each other]]]]. Under these new circumstances, Kiana's character fleshes out into a true [[TheHero hero]] as she [[CharacterDevelopment matures quickly and gets more responsible]]. There are also many minor side stories and flashbacks showing tragedies Honkai causes. Many dark secrets come to light and it starts to look like some characters might not get a happy ending.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}''. Some of the games (particularly ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'') give a darker-than-usual twist to their stories because of this. The former because it reveals that the actions done in ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' were a fatal mistake (''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' shows a brief example of it in TheStinger). The latter because, during the time Samus succesfully purges the advancement of Phazon in three planets (and starts her adventure in this game preventing the spred of it in another), the Phazon allocated in ''her own body'' has been spreading, putting her gradually closer to becoming a terminally corrupted living being.

*** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity Gates to Infinity]]'' took this UpToEleven starting with you and your partner building a Pokémon paradise to [[spoiler:having to stop Kyurem and his suicide cult from destroying the whole world.]] ''Both'' of which the two of you are doing because you refuse to give up on the world, despite [[CrapsackWorld everyone being bitter and miserable]] and [[TruthInTelevision no one really trusting anyone but themselves]]-- which end up being [[spoiler:exactly what caused Kyurem himself to believe the world was beyond saving.]] Literally the entire game is trying to remind people of the joys of friendship and hope, and somehow it manages to be incredibly Dark and Edgy while doing so.

* Happened to a certain extent in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' universe. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' was, in spite of the abundance of wacky humor, a significantly darker game than the original, and didn't hesitate to show slavery, drug abuse, trafficking, domestic abuse, genocide, cannibalism and racism in all their grimy glory. In comparison, ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' turned the brutality of the CrapsackWorld UpToEleven, though it, for all its darkness, left you with more of a feeling that you could make a difference than the previous games. ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' adds back a little of the wackyness, but is still plenty grim.

** Taken UpToEleven when [[spoiler:Advance ''nuke four cities'' and threaten to begin the apocalypse if the rest of the continent doesn't surrender]]. This is effectively the turning point between a corrupted democracy and a full-blown dictatorship with worldwide stakes.

** It's especially strong in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' because of [[spoiler: the children of the future]]. All of them have serious issues coming from [[spoiler: watching their parents die in the bad future]] and it's pretty clear they are nowhere near over it, [[ThereAreNoTherapists having everything from abadonment and trust issues to outright self-loathing, low self-esteem and isolation]]. They will always have a sad story to tell.

** The original ''[[VideoGame/MegamanClassic Megaman]]'' was for the most part lighthearted, Wily tried to take over the world and you had to stop him. No one was ever openly killed aside from the enemies and the darkest it got was [[spoiler: that [[VideoGame/MegaMan7 one time]] Megaman seriously considered shooting Wily.]]

** Nope. By the time of the ''[[VideoGame/MegamanZero Zero]]'' series, sixty percent of all humans and ninety percent of all reploids have been wiped out as the direct result of the Elf Wars [[spoiler:(for extra irony this was done by hijacking the newly-created cure for the Maverick Virus and Zero's original body)]], the survivors live in a tyrannical dictatorship where reploids are periodically scrapped to prevent the population from using up to much resources at once, the ecosystem is absolutely devastated [[spoiler:with only one area still possessing natural plant life]], multiple characters die on-screen,[[spoiler: your allies betray you and destroy X's body, completely invalidating his HeroicSacrifice, the man responsible for the Elf wars is effectively immortal and takes over the country right after you free it,]] and most people have flat out given up hope of peace or freedom. While [[spoiler: Zero and the Resistence do manage to bring down Neo Arcadia and stop Weil from destroying the world's last hope of recovery [[HeroicSacrifice its at the the cost of Zero's life and at least twenty million people (a large part of the remaining population) were killed before Zero took down Weil]].]]

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' is probably the [[DenserAndWackier densest and wackiest]] game in the entire Zelda series, with a whimsical tone filled to the brim with goofy humor and even cameos from other Nintendo series like ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' and ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''... Then about midway through the game, the true nature of Koholint Island and what exactly will happen to it and all of the people on it once the Wind Fish wakes up is revealed, leading to one of the most infamous TearJerker endings in video game history.

** The cherry on top of this nightmare cake is ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends MegaMan Legends]]'' where we find that at some point in the several thousand years between ''ZX'' and ''Legends'' the world flooded, leaving behind only a few islands. This or some other disaster killed all humans and reploids, destroyed everything that the previous heroes gave their lives for, and left the survivors [[spoiler:(A race of human-imitating machines called Carbons)]] completely dependent on the remnants of past technology to survive. The worst part is that there's no sign of people managing or every trying to get around this, meaning that unless something unexpected happens they're eventually going to go the same way as Neo Arcadia.

* The first few chapters of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' are somewhat lighthearted, being comparable to a {{Shonen}} in terms of tone and characters. Even after [[spoiler: Vandham's death]], the game continues on with the same tone as before. Then [[spoiler: Fan La Norne/Haze gets killed by [[BigBad Jin]]]], and things take a turn for the worse, first with [[spoiler: Torna capturing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Pyra]] and Jin giving [[TheHero Rex]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]], then with [[spoiler: the journey through Morytha and [[TheLostLenore the true nature]] [[FallenHero of Jin's past]]]], and immediately afterwards it is revealed that [[spoiler: Praetor Amalthus and the Indoline Praetorium were EvilAllAlong, and the former is willing to destroy all of Alrest by controlling the Titans to attack one another]]. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler: the WorldTree is actually an elevator to a space station, that Alrest was really EarthAllAlong, the being whom Alrest worshipped as their {{God}}, the Architect, is [[LiteralSplitPersonality actually one half of Professor Klaus]] from [[VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} the previous game]] (the other half is Zanza, the GeniusLoci BigBad of Bionis), and that [[SimultaneousArcs the events of said previous game are happening at the very same moment]], specifically the ending where Shulk and friends fight Zanza, meaning that the heroes of this game are in a RaceAgainstTheClock to destroy Artifice Aion and defeat Malos before Klaus dies as a result of Shulk killing his other half. Oh and it's implied to the player that Malos (Logos) and Pyra/Mythra's (Pneuma) LongLostSibling is Alvis (Ontos), also from the previous game.]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' didn't take itself all that seriously at first, what with [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI the first installment]] having a CreditsGag dedicated to spoofing famous Universal and Hammer actors. Flash-forward a couple of years later, and ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]]'''s plot revolves around both HuntingTheMostDangerousGame and RageAgainstTheHeavens, while a pivotal scene in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' depicts [[note]](although things turn out to be not as they seem)[[/note]] ''[[WouldHurtAChild a teenage girl being murdered]]''.

** In fourth game, the main game is mostly calm and just normal event flags in both main and side plots. However, the tension begins in a later important event where [[spoiler:Prince Baroa spits the truth out that Patricia (the CanonName of the daughter) is actually a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]], and her biological father is a demon king]]. The situation returns to calm, but in another event, it gets worse unlike the previous event mentioned above [[spoiler:where Rise’s (one of Patricia’s friends) father gets ambushed by demons and dies from his severed injuries]]
** The fifth game begins with the "raise a 10 year old girl until she's 18 years old" as per the common game mechanism, but it takes place in a modern Japan setting unlike the rest of the games. The story tends to get DarkerAndEdgier when [[spoiler:knowing the daughter that you’ve raised was originally from another world after she got her memories restored. Cube’s [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesia spell]] to the daughter gets undone]] when [[spoiler:Gateau, one of assassins from [[ThePurge evil revolutionary forces]] in the daughter’s original planet / world, who has killed all (except the daughter) princess candidates and her biological parents, knows her present location, and attempts to kill her. This is because a princess is the sign of peace and harmony of 5 realms in her world, and the revolutionary forces hate that concept.)]] Later, [[spoiler:the leaders of those revolutionary forces are also summoning their assassins to your world to kill her, as she’s the only princess candidate who survived the genocide]]. But no worries, this is your chance [[spoiler:to train your daughter for TakingALevelInBadass so she can [[GenocideBackfire fight them back and save her world all by herself!]]]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' have happy endings, but the endings of subsequent games are [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]]:

* The plot of ''[[VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}} Onmyōji]]'' start out as a fairly mild adventure story of an AmnesiacHero battling MonsterOfTheWeek until [[VengefulWidow Sakura-no-sei]] barges in, revealing to the heroes and the audience that [[spoiler: there is a BigBad out there who [[AllegedLookalikes resembles the hero down to the aura]], causing far more dangerous troubles than any of the previous enemies, and the one being blamed for all of that would be the ''hero''.]] Things take on a new level of complicated from there. And then it gets even ''worse'' after [[spoiler: the BigBad finally gets his ass kicked. One of the four ''protagonists'' of the game, and arguably the ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes nicest]]'' [[BitchInSheepsClothing one]] of the bunch, turns out to be [[EvilAllAlong conspiring against]] the good guys all along and leaves the team to [[TheDragon serve the]] GreaterScopeVillain. If that ain't bad enough, our hero is starting to act out-of-character thanks to all the tragic events and the unsettling reveals about his forgotten past.]]

* Mobile VirtualPaperDoll game, ''VideoGame/LoveNikki'' is mostly aesthetic, beautiful yet heartwarming as the theme of this game genre, until [[spoiler:Chapter 15]] in the main story where [[spoiler:a major CharacterDeath event]] occurs where [[spoiler: Lunar, one of Nikki’s friends dies at the hands of [[NobleDemon Nidhogg.]]]] [[RealityEnsues All problems can be solved by fashion (contests), they said...]]

Examples of video games or video game franchises [[CerebusSyndrome getting progressively more serious.]]

** The ''Zelda'' games in general originally had ExcusePlot[=s=]. As the series went on, more of them began to connect to eachother in subtle ways, until eventually Nintendo went as far as to release an official timeline with branching realities. (Downplayed, though, in that the actual development of the games doesn't let the established timeline bind their ideas.)

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' have happy endings, but afterwards the games' endings are [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]]:

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' starts with two main characters hunting, then it turns into a vendetta story, then into a world war, then into a conflict to save the human race, than [[spoiler:the heroes discover that Dhaos was the good guy all along]]. The comedic elements of the game's beginning are of course diminishing through the story.

** Most games tend to follow the "let's put these mean, ugly bandits in their place -> oh crap the world's gonna end" formula. But the one game in the series that really pulls the stops is, without a doubt, the fourth one, Genealogy of the Holy War. It starts off with a young lord repelling an invasion by a neighboring kingdom with his knights and some noble friends, going off to battle in his country's name, making new friends and losing others along the way, having his girlfriend/wife kidnapped, being framed for a murder and seeking to speak to the king to clean his name. Sounds like a pretty standard plot for a medieval fantasy game, right? Not when chapter 5 comes in, it isn't. While hints are given along the way that some seedy stuff is going on, nothing compares to what happens there. Short version? [[spoiler:''Every character in your party'' is murdered at the end of that section. The only thing keeping this from being completely bleak is that the next chapter opens with you playing as their now-adult kids, with the stated goal of "Make the bastards pay for that".]] Case in point, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', while not really "comedic", is fairly light at the beginning, with a teenage mercenary learning the ropes of his job against small bandit bands and under the careful watch of older fighters. By the end of its sequel, the plot looks like an adaptation of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' with slightly more colors.

** Then comes ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX X]]'' and you have to deal with the now massive and highly visible death tolls, an incurable, uncontainable virus brainwashing people into it's pawns, the morality of killing said pawns, [[spoiler: the senseless deaths of your friends/allies/lover by your hand, and the knowledge that all of that is actually the fault of one of the protagonists who was the original carrier for the virus.]] It also turns out that over the hundred years between the two series, civilization was destroyed by an unknown cataclysm and not only was a large part of the world basically rendered uninhabitable but all of the characters from the previous series were killed as well. Still it looks like there may still be a chance to turn things around right?
** Nope. By the time of the ''[[VideoGame/MegamanZero Zero]]'' series sixty percent of all humans and ninety percent of all reploids have been wiped out as the direct result of the Elf Wars [[spoiler:(for extra irony this was done by hijacking the newly-created cure for the Maverick Virus and Zero's original body)]], the survivors live in a tyrannical dictatorship where reploids are periodically scrapped to prevent the population from using up to much resources at once, the ecosystem is absolutely devestated[[spoiler: with only one area still possessing natural plant life,]] multiple onscreen characters die,[[spoiler: your allies betray you and destroy X's body, completely invalidating his HeroicSacrifice, the man responsible for the Elf wars is effectively immortal and takes over the country right after you free it,]] and most people have flat out given up hope of peace or freedom. While [[spoiler: Zero and the Resistence do manage to bring down Neo Arcadia and stop Weil from destroying the world's last hope of recovery [[HeroicSacrifice its at the the cost of Zero's life and at least twenty million people (a large part of the remaining population) were killed before Zero took down Weil]].]]
** Jump to ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZX ZX]]'' and [[spoiler: Ciel, [[BigGood the woman responsible for literally all of the worlds improvements since the beginning of the Zero series]] has been murdered]], the protagonists watched their family and countless other people attending an amusement park be slaughtered in front of their eyes as children, [[spoiler: [[AndIMustScream Serpent takes control of your mentors body]] and forces you to kill him in the second level,]] and the main villain of the previous series transferred his psyche into his space stations core and is now countless fragments that brainwash anyone who comes near them into acting like him in addition to granting superpowers in large enough numbers, there's a group of terrorists who stole the weapons created to fight said villain and are trying to trigger another apocalypse so that they can rule whats left, [[spoiler: finally two-thirds of the ruling government are under the control or at least influence of Model W and the sole unaffected one has been incapacitated or killed.]]
** The cherry on top of this nightmare cake is ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends MegaMan Legends]]'' where we find that at some point in the several thousand years between ZX and Legends the world flooded,leaving behind only a few islands. This or some other disaster killed all humans and reploids, destroyed everything that the previous heroes gave their lives for, and left the survivors [[spoiler:(A race of human-imitating machines called Carbons)]] completely dependent on the remnants of past technology to survive. The worst part is that there's no sign of people managing or every trying to get around this, meaning that unless something unexpected happens they're eventually going to go the same way as Neo Arcadia.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' starts out rather okay, but after mid game, [[spoiler: the hero gets his body switched with the bad guy, and the plot goes complicated and dark.]] Worse, the story's tying up with ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' by destroying every happy part of the prequel. [[spoiler:Crono, Marle, and Lucca are likely to be killed shortly after "Trigger" ends, and Schala is turned from a heroic sacrificial woman to a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.]] Also it's stated that a future that once existed is erased from the timelime. The people end up in a dark limbo where it is cold and you can never die, this is hinted at even back when you rescue Marle early in the first game. So not only did Chrono send the future denizens to AndIMustScream but [[spoiler: Lavos was never truly defeated, in fact it became even more powerful]] it was all for nothing.

** Case in point, the only games that are rated E by ESRB are the first game and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]''. From ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]]'' onward, all of them are rated [=E10=] without exception. Even ''[=CoM=]'''s rating is kinda iffy, as it is way more violent than the first game and probably got a pass because of its GBA limitations (and when it was remade as a [=PS2=] game with full voice acting and whatnot, that did receive the [=E10=] rating). In fact, many of the games would have gotten a T rating and had to be very slightly censored in the West due to the premise being that, y'know, these were *supposed* to be kids games.

* The main [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] usually makes no attempt to do this, but the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series do.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' takes place in a CrapsackWorld where the enemy is an organization that {{Mind Rape}}s Pokémon into heartless killing-machines for a pastime, ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger'' has the third BigBad plotting to KillAllHumans just because his plan to TakeOverTheWorld failed, and there's the second ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' which is home to [[BadFuture a horrific and nightmarish alternate future]] that gives ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'s'' future a run for its money, and the heroes considering ''killing themselves to save the world.''

** The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' series. The ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam Rescue Team]]'' games had their dark moments but were fairly consistently upbeat throughout. The ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers Explorers]]'' series start off their plots more or less in line with the first games' in terms of tone, but almost immediately after the halfway point drops, all traces of comedy vanish, setting the stage for an ''incredibly'' morose plot.

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games also did this in the Dreamcast Era, starting with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', but it really took hold in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''. ReverseCerebusSyndrome soon kicked in with ''VideoGame/SonicColors''. Really, the Sonic series is a huge CerebusRollercoaster. And ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' somehow has both this and [[ReverseCerebusSyndrome its inverse]] ''at the same time'', featuring both more comedy than Colors and a darker underlying plot than most other games in the series. Forces then went back to the DarkerAndEdgier territory again.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': The first few chapter are somewhat lighthearted, being comparable to a {{Shonen}} in terms of tone and characters. Even after [[spoiler: Vandham's death]], the game continues on with the same tone as before. Then [[spoiler: Fan La Norne/Haze gets killed by [[BigBad Jin]]]], and things take a turn for the worse, first with [[spoiler: Torna capturing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Pyra]] and Jin giving [[TheHero Rex]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]], then with [[spoiler: the journey through Morytha and [[TheLostLenore the true nature]] [[FallenHero of Jin's past]]]], and immediately afterwards it is revealed that [[spoiler: Praetor Amalthus and the Indoline Praetorium were EvilAllAlong, and the former is willing to destroy all of Alrest by controlling the Titans to attack one another]]. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler: the WorldTree is actually an elevator to a space station, that Alrest was really EarthAllAlong, the being whom Alrest worshipped as their {{God}}, the Architect, is [[LiteralSplitPersonality actually one half of Professor Klaus]] from [[VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} the previous game]] (the other half is Zanza, the GeniusLoci BigBad of Bionis), and that [[SimultaneousArcs the events of said previous game are happening at the very same moment]], specifically the ending where Shulk and friends fight Zanza, meaning that the heroes of this game are in a RaceAgainstTheClock to destroy Artifice Aion and defeat Malos before Klaus dies as a result of Shulk killing his other half. Oh and it's implied to the player that Malos (Logos) and Pyra/Mythra's (Pneuma) LongLostSibling is Alvis (Ontos), also from the previous game.]]

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' goes through this once you hit Chapter 18. For something that starts out as a DenserAndWackier AffectionateParody of both Myth/GreekMythology and video games in general with NoFourthWall, the shift to one of the bleakest tones in ''any'' Nintendo game comes as quite a shock to say the least.

* Indie game VideoGame/{{OFF}} gets hit with this '''hard'''. It starts off with a man called 'The Batter' fighting ghosts in a relatively quirky world and it quickly goes downhill from there.

* The [=PS2=] adaptation of ''Astro Boy'' that was handled by Creator/SonicTeam starts of in a typical MonsterOfTheWeek format, with Dr. Tenma as the main bad guy. After the fight with what is said to be ''the most powerful robot in the universe'' Tenma gets brutally killed off and an unknown hooded man takes his place. From there on the gameplay completely alters. Instead of you fighting a simple series of enemies before fighting the boss, you have now to complete a NightmareFuel laden stage before fighting one. In the end, [[spoiler: the main villain also is revealed to be an idealisation of Tenma who has the same motives as Tenma but wants to wipe out all emotions of robots and it is revealed to us that he created a rocket that is meant to destroy the entire world in order to accomplish his plan.]]

* Mobile VirtualPaperDoll game, ''VideoGame/LoveNikki'' is mostly aesthetic, beautiful yet heartwarming as the theme of this game genre, until [[spoiler:Chapter 15]] in the main story where [[spoiler:a major CharacterDeath event]] occurred where [[spoiler: Lunar, one of Nikki’s friends dies at the hands of [[NobleDemon Nidhogg.]]]] [[RealityEnsues All problems can be solved by fashion (contest), they said...]]

** In fourth game, the main game is mostly calm and just normal event flags in both main and side, however the tension begins in latter important event where [[spoiler:Prince Baroa spit the truth out that Patricia (the CanonName of the daughter) is actually a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]], and her biological father is a demon king]]. The situation returns calm, but in another event, it got worsened unlike previous event mentioned above [[spoiler:where Rise’s (One of Patricia’s friends) father got ambushed by demons and dying from his severed injuries]]
** The fifth game begins where you raise a 10 years old girl until 18 years old as their common game mechanism, but it takes place in modern Japan setting unlike the rest of the games. The story tends to get DarkerAndEdgier when [[spoiler:knowing the daughter that you’ve raised was originally from another world after she got her memories restored. Cube’s [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesia spell]] to the daughter gets undone]] when [[spoiler:Gateau, one of assassins from [[ThePurge evil revolutionary forces]] in the daughter’s original planet / world, who has killed all (except the daughter) of princess candidates and her biological parents, knew her present location, and attempted to kill her. (since the princess is the sign of peace and harmony of 5 realms in her world. The revolutionary forces hates that concept.)]] Later, [[spoiler:the leaders of revolutionary forces are also summoning their assassins to your world to kill her, as she’s the only princess candidate who survived the genocide]]. But no worries, this is your chance [[spoiler:to train your daughter for TakingALevelInBadass so she can [[GenocideBackfire fight them back and save her world all by herself!]]]]

** Case in point, the only games that are rated E by ESRB are the first game and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]''. From ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]]'' onward, all of them are rated [=E10=] without exception. Even ''[=CoM=]'''s rating is kinda iffy, as it is way more violent than the first game and probably got a pass because of its GBA limitations (and when it was remade as a [=PS2=] game with full voice acting and whatnot, that did receive the [=E10=] rating). In fact, many of the games would have gotten a T rating and had to be very slightly censored in the West due to the premise being that, yknow, these were *supposed* to be kids games.
* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' had this; the first game was sort of up beat, with you fighting it out with the clear-cut bad guys. Second game, still upbeat, but the villain is somewhat more... unnerving. Third game, the villains are sucking the life out of the planet, there's few signs you can do anything to change this, and you [[spoiler:choose at the end whether the BigBad lives or dies]]. The fourth game is set in a post apocalyptic wasteland where the [=NPCs=] in the campaign tell you to leave the civilians behind and the first fight you have is with piratical raiders. And the big bad? Strum wanted to take over the world. Von Bolt wanted to live forever. Caulder, on the other hand, conducts experiments on what's left of humanity.
* The Flash game ''VideoGame/{{Viricide}}'' goes, over the course of the paragraphs that pop up between the 17 waves, from jokes about an AI's malfunctioning double entendre system, to said AI explaining that her programmer was taking depression meds while working on her, and one day told her he was going to solve all his problems by taking all the pills in the bottle at once instead of taking them two at a time. She never saw him again, but hopes what he did made him feel better. [[spoiler: She also goes from referring to her programer as "my programmer" to calling him "my father" and "Dad" and she asks you to [[ICannotSelfTerminate disable her "emotional core"]] which gives her a personality.]]

* Mobile VirtualPaperDoll game, ''VideoGame/LoveNikki'' is mostly aesthetic, beautiful yet heartwarming as the theme of this game genre, until [[spoiler:Chapter 15]] in main story which [[spoiler:major CharacterDeath event]] occurred where [[spoiler: Lunar, one of Nikki’s friends dies at the hands of [[NobleDemon Nidhogg.]]]] [[RealityEnsues All problems can be solved by fashion (contest), they said...]]

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI The original]] ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' starts with the king saying "Oh Warriors of Prophecy please save my daughter who is in the hands of my ex-most trustworthy knight". He's pretty weak, too. Then, by the end of the game, it turns out that the BigBad is [[spoiler:that same knight, whose soul went 2000 years into the past, gained [[AGodAmI incredible power]] by the name of Chaos, and created the four elemental demons who are now plaguing the world, who were the ones to [[StableTimeLoop send his soul into the past when you first killed him to save the princess.]]]] And your defeat of him [[spoiler:breaks the cycle, meaning that [[ResetButton nothing of the game ever happened and no one realizes what you did]].]]

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Paper Mario|64}}'' played the typical [[GrandfatherClause Bowser kidnapping the princess]] plot straight; [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor the second]] was already darker, starring an EldritchAbomination as a BigBad; and then ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' came in, featuring an OmnicidalManiac, the main characters dying and going ToHellAndBack (LessDisturbingInContext), and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt actually happening. And then [[VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar Sticker Star]] happened. Saying it was less dark is an understatement.
** ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' was a fairly lighthearted game. ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime Partners In Time]]'' had ''aliens attacking the past'' for a plot, with depressing moments (Toad Town, anyone?). ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Bowser's Inside Story]]'' shifts the pendulum back to a lighthearted tone.
** The non-RPG games have an undead Bowser and Bowser's risky plot to expand his empire into outer space.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': The first few chapter are somewhat lighthearted, being comparable to a {{Shonen}} in terms of tone and characters. Even after [[spoiler: Vandham's death]], the game continues on with the same tone as before. Then [[spoiler: Fan La Norne/Haze gets killed by [[BigBad Jin]]]], and things take a turn for the worse, first with [[spoiler: Torna capturing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Pyra]] and Jin giving [[TheHero Rex]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]], then with [[spoiler: the journey through Morytha and [[TheLostLenore the true nature]] [[FallenHero of Jin's past]]]], and immediately afterwards it is revealed that [[spoiler: Praetor Amalthus and the Indoline Praetorium were EvilAllAlong, and the former is willing to destroy all of Alrest by controlling the Titans to attack one another]]. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler: the WorldTree is actually an elevator to a space station, that Alrest was really EarthAllAlong, the being whom Alrest worshipped as their {{God}}, the Architect, is [[LiteralSplitPersonality actually one half of Professor Klaus]] from [[VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} the previous game]] (the other half is Zanza, the GeniusLoci BigBad of Bionis), and that [[SimultaneousArcs the events of said previous game are happening at the very same moment]], specifically the ending where Shulk and friends fight Zanza, meaning that the heroes of this game are in a RaceAgaintTheClock to destroy Artifice Aion and defeat Malos before Klaus dies as a result of Shulk killing his other half. Oh and it's implied to the player that Malos (Logos) and Pyra/Mythra's (Pneuma) LongLostSibling is Alvis (Ontos), also from the previous game.]]