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** Metal Gear RAY's ability to take down Metal Gear REX and its clones is either an informed ability, or in-universe false advertising. Raiden can take down multiple [=RAYs=] on foot with a rocket launcher in the same time it took Solid Snake to take out a single REX, then went on to throw a [=RAY=] into the air and hack it to pieces in the trailer for ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. [[spoiler:When REX and RAY finally square off in [=MGS4=], REX can take it down without too much difficulty. And this is a brand-new RAY[[hottip:* :no, it's not the prototype stolen by Ocelot in [=MGS2=], since it lacks the original's long tail]] fighting a damaged REX after the latter was blown up, left in a freezing cold warehouse for almost a decade, and then had a major structural component removed without much thought for how the rest was going to balance without it, leaving it a wonder the REX in question can even ''stand upright''.]]
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** Metal Gear RAY's ability to take down Metal Gear REX and its clones is either an informed ability, or in-universe false advertising. Raiden can take down multiple [=RAYs=] on foot with a rocket launcher in the same time it took Solid Snake to take out a single REX, then went on to throw a [=RAY=] into the air and hack it to pieces in the trailer for ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. [[spoiler:When REX and RAY finally square off in [=MGS4=], REX can take it down without too much difficulty. And this is a brand-new RAY[[hottip:* :no, RAY[[note]]no, it's not the prototype stolen by Ocelot in [=MGS2=], since it lacks the original's long tail]] tail[[/note]] fighting a damaged REX after the latter was blown up, left in a freezing cold warehouse for almost a decade, and then had a major structural component removed without much thought for how the rest was going to balance without it, leaving it a wonder the REX in question can even ''stand upright''.]]
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* ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'' - Nanaly's skills with Archery is said to put 1,000 men to shame. However, in Gameplay, the battle system works against her ''massively'', and she is frequently placed on the bench the second a fifth party member is available - because the game gives her the shaft.
** However, in other games where she cameos, her archery abilities don't get the shaft at all.
** However, in other games where she cameos, her archery abilities don't get the shaft at all.
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* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Van is stated to have taught Tear the Fonic Hyms, but in actual battles he doesn't use them. [[spoiler:though is implied to have used them off-screen after his first defeat.]]
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* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Van is stated to have taught Tear the Fonic Hyms, but in actual battles he only uses [[KillItWithFire the fifth]], and even then he doesn't use them. [[spoiler:though sing it. [[spoiler:Though is implied to have used them off-screen after his first defeat.]]
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* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}'' is a theoretical physicist... yet the most technically advanced things he does in the series is push a cart, flip switches, and plug in equipment. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Barney Calhoun in the 2nd game when he says "Good job hitting that switch. I can see that MIT education really pays for itself."
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* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}'' ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' is a theoretical physicist... yet the most technically advanced things he does in the series is push a cart, flip switches, and plug in equipment. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Barney Calhoun in the 2nd game ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' when he says "Good job hitting that switch. I can see that MIT education really pays for itself."
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removed Justifying Edit
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* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships have the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
** They would have had to mass produce them and thus cut corners to make that many though.
** They would have had to mass produce them and thus cut corners to make that many though.
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* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships have the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
** They would have had to mass produce them''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Creator/BioWare came right out and thus cut corners to make stated that many though.when the visuals and codex conflict, as here, the codex wins.
** They would have had to mass produce them
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if this counts as a true victory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale NoSell his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if this counts as a true victory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true victory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if it this counts as a true victory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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Changed line(s) 74 (click to see context) from:
** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true vicory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss was released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true vicory victory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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Changed line(s) 74 (click to see context) from:
** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights Taran Zhu and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss is released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true vicory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights [[TrueNeutral Taran Zhu Zhu]] and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss is was released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true vicory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** [[ThrowtheDogaBone Garrosh finally gets his chance to shine and defeat another lore figure]] during the patch 5.4 cinematic, in which he fights Taran Zhu and gets to NoSale his ninja abilities and [[GoodOldFisticuffs beat him with his bare fists]] when he loses his axe, and later impale Zhu on it. Of course there's also the small problem that [[spoiler: it will be his last victory since this is the patch in which the raid which has him as the final boss is released]]. Also YMMV if it counts as a true vicory for Garrosh since [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that he's already possesed by [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] at this point of the storyline, so it could be empowering Garrosh and that's the reason why he won.]]
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** They would have had to mass produce them and thus cut corners to make that many though.
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** They would have had to mass produce them and thus cut corners to make that many though.
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Changed line(s) 104 (click to see context) from:
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships had the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
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* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships had have the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
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** To be fair, both are justified as [[spoiler:John is an imposter who doesn't actually know a thing about psychiatry]] and aside from being able to break into safes a couple times in the series Trilby never really has the opportunity to steal anything in the one game where he's still a thief, and in the rest he's reformed or not the original.
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Typo.
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:This would seem to be justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER. However, he was still given many of the same treatments as one, and more besides, so he should in theory have their strength and speed as well]] This is likely the result of GameplayAndStorySegregation.
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:This would seem to be justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER. However, he was still given many of the same treatments as one, and more besides, so he should in theory have their strength and speed as well]] well.]] This is likely the result of GameplayAndStorySegregation.
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:However; this is actually justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER]].
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:However; this is actually [[spoiler:This would seem to be justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER]].SOLDIER. However, he was still given many of the same treatments as one, and more besides, so he should in theory have their strength and speed as well]] This is likely the result of GameplayAndStorySegregation.
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* So Drake from DrakeOfThe99Dragons is the best and deadliest assassin in the world...Yet his main strategy involves running into rooms shooting everything in sight, pulling two more guns out of his jacket instead of reloading his previous guns which is probably the best way to have the cops on your trail, and running after the badguys head on without any sort of disguise. He also dies 5 times in the story, one of which had him jump out of a window because he thoguht he was invincible.
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* So Drake from DrakeOfThe99Dragons is the best and deadliest assassin in the world...Yet his main strategy involves running into rooms shooting everything in sight, pulling two more guns out of his jacket instead of reloading his previous guns which is probably the best way to have the cops on your trail, and running after the badguys head on without any sort of disguise. He also dies 5 times in the story, one of which had him jump out of a window because he thoguht thought he was invincible. invincible.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships had the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Thanix Cannons have supposedly been distributed across numerous fleets, giving the ships a vastly improved firepower. However, in the space battles, none of the shots fired by the other ships had the visual representation that the Normandy had when it used its Thanix Cannon in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.
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* So Drake from DrakeOfThe99Dragons is the best and deadliest assassin in the world...Yet his main strategy involves running into rooms shooting everything in sight, pulling two more guns out of his jacket instead of reloading his previous guns which is probably the best way to have the cops on your trail, and running after the badguys head on without any sort of disguise. He also dies 5 times in the story, one of which had him jump out of a window because he thoguht he was invincible.
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* DragonAgeOrigins: Supposedly Anora is a forceful presence and would be the savvier queen but she has already been the Queen for five years. She couldn't dissuade her husband from his campaign at Ostagar even though her and her father believed it to be ill-advised and she couldn't stop Loghain from going down the path he walked as regent. Alistair at least stood up to Loghain and will (if chosen) take him down in a duel.
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* DragonAgeOrigins: ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Supposedly Anora is a forceful presence and would be the savvier queen but she has already been the Queen for five years. She couldn't dissuade her husband from his campaign at Ostagar even though her and her father believed it to be ill-advised and she couldn't stop Loghain from going down the path he walked as regent. Alistair at least stood up to Loghain and will (if chosen) take him down in a duel.
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* DragonAgeOrigins: Supposedly Anora is a forceful presence and would be the savvier queen but she has already been the Queen for five years. She couldn't dissuade her husband from his campaign at Ostagar even though her and her father believed it to be ill-advised and she couldn't stop Loghain from going down the path he walked as regent. Alistair at least stood up to Loghain and will (if chosen) take him down in a duel.
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this is an of the few examples that is not actually informed- they use Dream Eater in virtually all the their cutscenes in the games.
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* A lot of ''{{Pokemon}}'' have an InformedAbility in their Pokédex entry, which we never actually see, especially not after catching them. While many Ghost-type Pokémon are able to steal souls, some Psychic-types are hyper-intelligent and empathic and able to rip apart time and space. Also, some legendaries are stated to be able to travel through time, wipe people's memories, permanently paralyze, them or even kill them by merely looking in their eyes. In the end, all that's really impressive about them are their stats in battle... if you train them properly.
** There's a ''really'' weird case of this for Drowzee and Hypno. Their Pokedex entries make it very clear that they put people to sleep and then eat their dreams. However, despite both of them knowing the Hypnosis attack neither of them can naturally learn the Dream Eater attack.
** There's a ''really'' weird case of this for Drowzee and Hypno. Their Pokedex entries make it very clear that they put people to sleep and then eat their dreams. However, despite both of them knowing the Hypnosis attack neither of them can naturally learn the Dream Eater attack.
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* A lot of ''{{Pokemon}}'' have an InformedAbility in their Pokédex entry, which we never actually see, especially not after catching them. While many Ghost-type Pokémon are able to steal souls, some Psychic-types are hyper-intelligent and empathic and able to rip apart time and space. Also, some legendaries are stated to be able to travel through time, wipe people's memories, permanently paralyze, them or even kill them by merely looking in their eyes. In the end, all that's really impressive about them are their stats in battle... if you train them properly.
** There's a ''really'' weird case of this for Drowzee and Hypno. Their Pokedex entries make it very clear that they put people to sleep and then eat their dreams. However, despite both of them knowing the Hypnosis attack neither of them can naturally learn the Dream Eater attack.properly.
** There's a ''really'' weird case of this for Drowzee and Hypno. Their Pokedex entries make it very clear that they put people to sleep and then eat their dreams. However, despite both of them knowing the Hypnosis attack neither of them can naturally learn the Dream Eater attack.
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** There's a ''really'' weird case of this for Drowzee and Hypno. Their Pokedex entries make it very clear that they put people to sleep and then eat their dreams. However, despite both of them knowing the Hypnosis attack neither of them can naturally learn the Dream Eater attack.
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\"in the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and and good guys\" means that this is purely Gameplay And Story Segregation- his lack of power is demonstrated in the \"cutscene\" portion of the story.
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** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the top tier characters, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks than the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
** Shantotto on the other hand is depicted as incredibly powerful magic user, with even her enemies showing her great respect or outright admitting she is more powerful than them. However, in the game she is so weak as to render the character nearly unplayable.
** Shantotto on the other hand is depicted as incredibly powerful magic user, with even her enemies showing her great respect or outright admitting she is more powerful than them. However, in the game she is so weak as to render the character nearly unplayable.
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Should proofread more.
Changed line(s) 100 (click to see context) from:
** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the top tier characters, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
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** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the top tier characters, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and than the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
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Fixed nonsensical sentence in Dissidia entry
Changed line(s) 100 (click to see context) from:
** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the strongest characters in game, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
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** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the strongest characters in game, top tier characters, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
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Dissidia final fantasy entries added
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* In ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia: Final Fantasy]]'' many characters fall victims to the separation between story and gameplay.
** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the strongest characters in game, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
** Shantotto on the other hand is depicted as incredibly powerful magic user, with even her enemies showing her great respect or outright admitting she is more powerful than them. However, in the game she is so weak as to render the character nearly unplayable.
** Firion is described in the story as a struggling everyman, skilled with weapons but in no way supernatural. In the story he is often defeated or in need of rescuing by both the bad and good guys, most of whom are actual deities, genetically engineered superbeings, legendary heroes or simply armed with modern weaponry. However, in game he is one of the strongest characters in game, with better counter than the dedicated counter user, faster attacks and the dedicated fast characters, identical damage and toughness stats to the big tough guy (but with stronger attacks).
** Shantotto on the other hand is depicted as incredibly powerful magic user, with even her enemies showing her great respect or outright admitting she is more powerful than them. However, in the game she is so weak as to render the character nearly unplayable.
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Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' characters possess a vast array of magical abilities, ranging from control of insects to being an [[BornLucky intense luck charm]] to [[BlowYouAway manipulation of wind]] to [[RealityWarper absolute mastery of borders]], however as the genre of the games is BulletHell those abilities never appear in gameplay, which a few exceptions (like Utsuho throwing miniature suns at the player). This is given an in-story explanation with the implementation of the spell card rules, both providing the weaker denizens of Gensokyo a reasonable chance of success and preventing the stronger denizens from simply vaporising their opponents.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' characters possess a vast array of magical abilities, ranging from control of insects to being an [[BornLucky intense luck charm]] to [[BlowYouAway manipulation of wind]] to [[RealityWarper absolute mastery of borders]], however as the genre of the games is BulletHell those abilities never rarely appear in gameplay, which a few exceptions (like Utsuho throwing miniature suns at the player). player, Cirno throwing Icicles or Mystia making the player's field of vision reduced in Inperishable Night). This is given an in-story explanation with the implementation of the spell card rules, both providing the weaker denizens of Gensokyo a reasonable chance of success and preventing the stronger denizens from simply vaporising their opponents.opponents.
**However, in the fighting games their abilities are shown much more clearly (Sakuya's time manipulation, Meiling's martial art, Youmu swordfighting, Komachi's manipulation of distances etc...), excluding of course some exception like Yuyuko being able to kill anything, or Remilia's manipulation of fate.
**However, in the fighting games their abilities are shown much more clearly (Sakuya's time manipulation, Meiling's martial art, Youmu swordfighting, Komachi's manipulation of distances etc...), excluding of course some exception like Yuyuko being able to kill anything, or Remilia's manipulation of fate.
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* [[VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles Welkin]], who the game tells us is a genius. Mostly, he's just Lieutenant Obvious who happens to pay more attention to the environment because he's a biology geek. The one time he's ever seriously pressed for a solution to a crisis, he flubs it. When the problem is solved by means he doesn't like, he can't argue with the logic behind it or come up with a better solution, so he just socks [[spoiler:Faldio]] in the face. Further, [[spoiler:Isara's death]] occurs when Welkin apparently thought it was cool to have the army camp out in an open field for tank repairs without cover, or even posting watch.
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* [[VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles Welkin]], who the game tells us is a genius. Mostly, he's just Lieutenant Obvious who happens to pay more attention to the environment because he's a biology geek. The one time he's ever seriously pressed for a solution to a crisis, he flubs it. When the problem is solved by means he doesn't like, he can't argue with the logic behind it or come up with a better solution, so he just socks [[spoiler:Faldio]] in the face. Further, [[spoiler:Isara's death]] occurs when Welkin apparently thought it was cool to have the army camp out in an open field for tank repairs without cover, or even posting watch.watch, and Alicia [[spoiler: attempts suicide]] because Welkin gave her the brush-off when she came to him, in tears, for support.
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** Merlose gets something of a pass on this one; she's armed with a buckler, but no weapons, because she's an investigator and not a soldier, but once she manifests her psychic powers there's not a lot of point in trying to use the conventional interrogation tactics she's supposedly good at. Samantha's incompetence is a plot point: [[spoiler: Guildenstern needed a pure soul to sacrifice, and it's implied that he gave her the position to get her into the city and keep her close.]]
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* Most video games ''themselves'' are an example. Think about it - how many times have you played a game that casts you as the greatest hero of the universe, only for you to fail spectacularly on your first few plays?
* ''[[SuperMarioBros Mario and Luigi]]''. In the games themselves, not to mention most of the associated media (except for a certain live-action spinoff), despite their manner of dress and going through pipes, are they ever shown doing any actual plumbing? This was ''[[LampshadeHanging pointed out]]'' in ''ThereWillBeBrawl''.
** They were ''finally'' shown doing plumbing in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''. Granted, [[spoiler:they were forced to do it as part of a {{plan}} by Cackletta to unlock the Beanstar from its cage]]
** The basis of the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros.'' game indicates that they were engaged in plumbing when the monsters are shown coming out of the pipes that they have to get rid of.
* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}'' is a theoretical physicist... yet the most technically advanced things he does in the series is push a cart, flip switches, and plug in equipment. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Barney Calhoun in the 2nd game when he says "Good job hitting that switch. I can see that MIT education really pays for itself."
** He also supposedly can talk, but you would never [[SilentProtagonist guess that from playing the games]].
** He apparently picked up some mechanical knowledge at least, picking up any weapon and figuring out the controls quickly, even alien ones like the overwatch pulse rifle, successfully subverting UnusableEnemyEquipment.
* Of comparable informed ability status is Isaac Clarke, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/DeadSpace''. He is said to be known for original and innovative engineering solutions, yet he never displays any knowledge of engineering through the first game.
** Averted in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2''; the first things Isaac does is flaunt his engineering degree by combining a medical laser and a flashlight to make a plasma cutter, and then going about manually rewiring electronics.
** Averted even further in Deadspace 3, which gives him the ability to build his own guns.
* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':
** Solid Snake is supposed to have a 180 IQ, he tends to believe almost everything people tell him.
** Metal Gear RAY's ability to take down Metal Gear REX and its clones is either an informed ability, or in-universe false advertising. Raiden can take down multiple [=RAYs=] on foot with a rocket launcher in the same time it took Solid Snake to take out a single REX, then went on to throw a [=RAY=] into the air and hack it to pieces in the trailer for ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. [[spoiler:When REX and RAY finally square off in [=MGS4=], REX can take it down without too much difficulty. And this is a brand-new RAY[[hottip:* :no, it's not the prototype stolen by Ocelot in [=MGS2=], since it lacks the original's long tail]] fighting a damaged REX after the latter was blown up, left in a freezing cold warehouse for almost a decade, and then had a major structural component removed without much thought for how the rest was going to balance without it, leaving it a wonder the REX in question can even ''stand upright''.]]
** In ''Peace Walker'', the Pupa is supposed to be amphibious, but we only see it doing kickflips on a perfectly dry [[SkateHeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth circular base built like a giant half pipe]], and its amphibious capabilities are never relevant to or mentioned in the story (unlike ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'''s RAY, which is fought on land but has the swimming ability to destroy the Discovery).
* In ''StarControl 3'', you are told over and over again how powerful The Eternal Ones are, and yet, you never actually fight them, even when you get to the end, expecting to at least be able to fight the {{big bad}}dy in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Instead, you meet up with [[TheDragon the secretary]] of The Eternal Ones, who lost to the last secretary, and somehow have never been defeated before. Of course, this is found out after you [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKJH9myI05A defeat them with a single ship and no losses]].
* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'':
** Godot apparently can do an excellent impression of a previous witness, but seeing as the games are text based all that happens is that his LeitMotif changes.
*** Godot gets to perform impressions of ''two'' witnesses. When he's impressioning a female witness, the speaking-beeps switch to the higher pitched female ones too.
*** Godot is constantly feared by police and other prosecutors alike for being a powerful attorney. ''He's the least successful prosecutor in the entire series.'' He never wins a case, both on-screen or off, where as Winston Payne is at least noted for being undefeated up until his trial against Mia. It's justified only so far [[spoiler:with him being a defense attorney,]] but he uses tricks and plots that pretty much revoke that.
*** Godot's prowess as a prosecutor is brought up before you meet him: Gumshoe talks about how he's never been defeated. This turns out to be entirely true; the case where you meet him is his first one as a prosecutor.
** Averted in a clever way with Lamiroir in ''ApolloJusticeAceAttorney''. She is considered a world-class singer, with an angelic voice. How do they put this on a DS game? They don't record vocals, and instead give her voice as a musical tone. The effect works, her voice sounds brilliant, but it isn't quite ShowDontTell, as it's clear each of those tones represents her voice.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'':
** Your stats ''do'' have an impact on your interaction with the world outside the vault. In the tutorial in the vault, however, Butch (strength 5 out of maximum 10 according to the construction kit) will always attempt to bully, even if logic dictates that if you are stronger than him he is going to get his ass kicked if he provokes you. Neither will your charisma score affect your interactions with other vault dwellers in the slightest: even if you have 10 in Charisma, Amata will still be the only one in your age group that actually likes you, all others being hostile or indifferent. High Skills do offer some extra conversation paths however.
** Protectron Robots are implied to be extremely fast and efficient factory workers, so much so that a Factory variant exists (yet still comes equipped with a built in laser pistol), however in gameplay, Protectrons are clunky, stiff, bulky, noisy, and slow. They also suffer from limited movement abilities due to their design (so tasks as simple as using a shovel are impossible). Even if they've gone without maintenance for 200 years, one can only wonder how such a machine could actually outperform a human. This is lampshaded in the epilogue of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' if you reprogram Primm Slim as the town sheriff of Primm. He's stated to be able-minded but not able-bodied with his slow speed leading to a few crooks managing to get away.
* Used for a gag in ''MegamanBattleNetwork 2''; when a villain is captured, he expresses disbelief at how two kids could beat him, future head of Gospel (note: ego), with an IQ of 170. [[TheRival Chaud]] informs him "Your IQ of 170 didn't help you this time."
** In ''3'', Tora constantly mentions "strategy" and "thinking several moves ahead" and is even introduced in the N1 as a "master strategist". His navi, [=KingMan=] is one of the cheapest bosses in the entire series, its "strategy" consisting of staying in back row while a bunch of autonomous chess pieces continually harass the player.
*** Although, you could argue on the basis that he had thought of that being an effective method when designing the navi, seeing as his is one of the only ones to put the navi in the back row and have objects do all the fighting. From a practical standpoint it is very effective in a netbattle.
* Leon Silverberg of ''SuikodenII'' is supposed to be perhaps the greatest strategists to ever live. Except we only see brilliance from his former student Shu, who is so terrified of Leon's unbeatable brilliance that he [[spoiler:nearly kills himself to bring Leon down.]] Never mind that we never see Leon do anything all that special. Considering the mind-boggling brilliance of some of the strategists in the series, Leon is an extreme case of this trope.
* [[BattleButler Ramirez]] in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is referred to as a brilliant strategist and tactician. However his strategies tend to simply be [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer bombarding stationary or slow-moving targets into submission from afar]]. He's never actually seen to command a battle (occasionally just hanging back [[WeHaveReserves while his own ships or troops are destroyed]] and then either bombarding from afar or wading in and [[OneManArmy single-handedly taking down the heroes' party]]. He doesn't even take part in either of the game's climactic large-scale ship battles.
** Mind you, compared to the ''rest'' of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Valuan admirals]]...
* The wingmen you fly with in the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' games are all supposed to be truly {{badass}} veteran pilots, but with a relative few exceptions... well, [[ArtificialStupidity they aren't]].
** Knight rarely seems to make it back with any kills, or indeed his fighter, even though he has an impressive service record prior to the start of the campaign. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the movie, where he dies spectacularly.
** In Maniac's case, [[LeeroyJenkins the stunts he pulls]] while flying as a wingman are in-character for him.
* In ''VivaPinata'', it is mentioned that the Eaglair "has earned respect through its natural nobility, tempered strength, and thumping great talons." Somehow that 'respect' doesn't seem to stop larger Pinatas from walking over it, and it's 'talons' are somewhat nonexistent due to the Eaglair's legs and feet being a pair of ''stumps''.
* In ''MonsterRancher Battle Card: Episode 2'', you're allowed to lose as many times as you want because you're always wagering a "Critical" card, which Cue has a massive stack of. Every NPC seems quite interested in getting this card for themselves, going so far as betting fifteen other cards or one Monster Card (...and more skill cards) against it. Critical, however, isn't that good a card-- it takes two GUTS to use, and adds two points to another attack (which can still be dodged or blocked). A lot of attacks have better GUTS-to-damage ratios, so it's often better to replace Critical with... just about any other card.
* A lot of ''{{Pokemon}}'' have an InformedAbility in their Pokédex entry, which we never actually see, especially not after catching them. While many Ghost-type Pokémon are able to steal souls, some Psychic-types are hyper-intelligent and empathic and able to rip apart time and space. Also, some legendaries are stated to be able to travel through time, wipe people's memories, permanently paralyze, them or even kill them by merely looking in their eyes. In the end, all that's really impressive about them are their stats in battle... if you train them properly.
** Granted, Cyrus in Diamond/Pearl explains legendary Pokémon lose part of their powers when they are trapped in a Poké Ball the first time, and that's why he gives you a Master Ball free of charge and leaves to steal Dialga/Palkia's powers by himself.
** Ghost-type attacks in Generation I were supposed to be super-effective against Psychic-type Pokémon but possibly due to a programming oversight, Ghost-type moves cannot hit Psychics, leaving a major hole in the ElementalRockPaperScissors formula and resulting in the Psychic type becoming a major GameBreaker until later generations fixed it. By sheer coincidence, the same is true of the anime's first season; Ash brings a Haunter to fight Sabrina's Kadabra because Ghost hurts Psychic. But the Haunter in question never uses any Ghost attacks, instead using humor to make Kadabra laugh.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' your two rivals are the ditzy Bianca who admits she isn't very good and the analytical Cheren who is focused on nothing but becoming the champion. In your fights with them however, while Bianca isn't a particularlly hard fight, she is still harder than Cheren who has an abysmal set up for his team [[note]]His two Pokémon that differ from hers are both physical based glass cannons. Knowing this he decides that both should use sets that depend on them surviving an attack o and the second should run a set with no physical moves. While he tries to give one a set up so he will always critical, he doesn't actually complete it and deletes the move needed to pull it off by the time he has put the other pieces together[[/note]].
** N is immediately labeled as a MotorMouth, and though [[PaintingTheMedium his text speed is always faster than your text speed settings]], he seems to speak normally compared to everyone else and uses ellipses often.
*** It's possible the way N speaks just can't be rendered through the largely-visual game medium, since he is supposed to be somewhat strange.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}''. Master Otenko is the representation of The Sun, and a guardian of the Solar System... but he makes it clear to Django in the first game that he can't fight. Indeed, Otenko does get his leafy stem handed to him on a regular basis.
* In ''[[SoulSeries Soul Calibur IV]]'', Angol Fear, the "King of Terror" is said to weigh 1.44 tons, and be 14800 years old. Given that, you would think that she would be super strong, unjugglable, and more of a threat than all of the fighters in the game considering the knowledge she should have amassed. The character is Seong Mina. Not Shin Seong Mina or Seong Mina with a speed boost or a health boost or extra combos or power armor or juggle resistance or any discernible advantage whatsoever. It's just Seong Mina. Actually a little worse, because her weapon is slightly shorter than Seong Mina's, meaning that in a scant few cases, she doesn't have the range that Mina has.
* In ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'', Luna is loved by her entire village for her singing voice. Unfortunately, they gave her a voice actress who doesn't measure up to the apparent reverence and occasionally hits a sour note.
* João Franco playing the lute in ''VideoGame/UnchartedWaters: New Horizons''. Although his {{leitmotif}} is called "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZfyXEXaLuI Caprice for Lute]]".
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' characters possess a vast array of magical abilities, ranging from control of insects to being an [[BornLucky intense luck charm]] to [[BlowYouAway manipulation of wind]] to [[RealityWarper absolute mastery of borders]], however as the genre of the games is BulletHell those abilities never appear in gameplay, which a few exceptions (like Utsuho throwing miniature suns at the player). This is given an in-story explanation with the implementation of the spell card rules, both providing the weaker denizens of Gensokyo a reasonable chance of success and preventing the stronger denizens from simply vaporising their opponents.
* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', Iron Tager is supposedly around 550 kg, as ''Teach me, Ms. Litchi!'' tells us, but you wouldn't know that from the way pretty much everyone else lighter than him can still [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom toss him around]]. Admittedly, it would be unbalanced to make him immovable to others' attacks.
* Dunkoro in ''GuildWars'' is supposed to be a good planner, but doesn't actually get to show this much in game. (Partly because a lot of the story consists of reacting to things, though when Dunkoro does give advice, it is often quite basic.)
* For those unfamiliar with the books, a number of {{NPC}}s from ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' can be seen like this. One of the most jarring examples is Samwise Gamgee: The Guardian class (a tank class who is described as protectors of those in need) is partly based on him and how protective he was of Frodo in the books, and higher-level players are sent to Sam as part of their training. Imagine the surprise when learning that the "guardian of unmatched skill" is a nervous hobbit who says things like "We are in quite a pickle, aren't we, Samwise old boy?" It's even more noticeable if you're playing as a hobbit yourself, who by then should have a good number of heroic deeds behind them.
* To quote an LP of the ''ChzoMythos'': "In case you haven't noticed, John is even worse at psychiatry than Trilby is at stealing. [[spoiler:There is not a single instance in the entire series of a protagonist actually demonstrating a skill we're supposed to believe they have.]]" Note that this is referring to the ''ChzoMythos'' series, which doesn't include ''Trilby: VideoGame/TheArtOfTheft''.
* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', General Warfield is supposed to be this badass general, and yet his entire career over the course of the game involves him screwing up the attack on Char and handing over command to Raynor, who lampshades it prior to touchdown.
--> ''You can't plan for the zerg, general. They won't fit into your nice, clean timetable.''
** In his defense, though, it's more likely that he made his career fighting other Terrans: this expertise would not carry over at all to Zerg. It's unknown where he was during Brood War and if he was even facing the Zerg at that time.
* ''SamAndMax'':
** In ''SamAndMax Hit The Road'', Conroy Bumpus is supposed to be an incredibly highly-rated country-western singer. When we hear him sing his VillainSong, his voice is clearly a pretty good attempt at singing, but pretty shaky. Lampshaded in that Max calls Bumpus's singing 'atonal warbling', and possibly {{Justified|Trope}} in that Conroy is massively overrated and doesn't even like his own music, except that it 'pays the bills'.
** Also, a lot is discussed about Trixie's singing, yet we never actually hear her sing even once in the game. Particularly noticeable since she's part of Conroy's backing band, yet plays tambourine instead of the song's female backing vocals.
** In TelltaleGames's ''SamAndMax'' games, Sam's singing/banjo playing is supposed to be horrible, to the point where Girl Stinky claims Poison Control insists she has a CD of him singing to use as an emetic. Other than a bit of contrived HollywoodToneDeaf doggish howling, his singing voice is actually pretty good.
* [[VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles Welkin]], who the game tells us is a genius. Mostly, he's just Lieutenant Obvious who happens to pay more attention to the environment because he's a biology geek. The one time he's ever seriously pressed for a solution to a crisis, he flubs it. When the problem is solved by means he doesn't like, he can't argue with the logic behind it or come up with a better solution, so he just socks [[spoiler:Faldio]] in the face. Further, [[spoiler:Isara's death]] occurs when Welkin apparently thought it was cool to have the army camp out in an open field for tank repairs without cover, or even posting watch.
* Garland from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' is supposed to be a great warrior that no force in Corneria was able to stop once he turned to evil. His reputation for being quite easy to beat by the Light Warriors has become legendary (as well as creating the second-greatest meme in the franchise's history).
** [[spoiler:He does turn out to be the BigBad though.]]
* [[BloodKnight Garrosh Hellscream]] from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is constantly regarded as being a "[[BlatantLies Tactical Genius]]", even from Major [=NPCs=] like Cairne Bloodhoof and Thrall, and even from the [[WordOfGod Blizzard Team themselves]], but anyone who actually did the quests and events that involves him would know right off the bat that he is ''lightyears'' from being remotely regarded as this:
** ''The Burning Crusade'' introduces us to Garrosh, who at the time was sooo {{wangst}}y about his father's legacy and the deteriorating health of the Greatmother, he never lifted a finger to help with the numerous issues plaguing his clan the Mag'har. You, the player character, end up covering his ass so much that upon the climax of the storyline, he was even willing to ''turn over leadership of the entire Mag'har clan to you so he can go die in a corner because he realized how much of a loser he was in comparison to you''. (Oh, if only...)
** Fast forward one expansion, now we are in ''Wrath of the Lich King'' and Garrosh does a complete 180 turn of his personality, instead of the mopey crybaby, we're now treated to his trademark JerkAss persona. And during the early questlines of one of the first Northrend zones Horde players will enter, players witness firsthand that Garrosh is as impatient and reckless as his father (One of the reason he was so depressed in the previous expansion by the way), and was more interested in eliminating the Alliance forces on the opposite side of the zone than dealing with the numerous issues just outside his fortress. Later, when scout requested reinforcements to take out a Necromancer and his small army, [[WhatAnIdiot Garrosh scoffs and sends ''only'' the player]], who would have been promptly captured and zombified had resident Badass Saurfang not seen the stupidity himself and personally came to the rescue. Garrosh also had some followers in later zones who were as stupid and jerkass as he is, one of them even got herself killed by the player because of her own zeal and stupidity.
*** [[MemeticBadass Saurfang]] even called Garrosh out on the fact he was trying to fight a war without bother to gather supplies first. Supplies like artillery, ''armor'', and ''frickin provisions!'' Garrosh in fact, regularly made claims along the lines of, "A true warrior doesn't need supplies, allies, or strategy to win." [[SarcasmMode Wow, Garrosh. You're brilliant strategic mind is definitely showing.]]
*** The player character is actually brought on to help her sister kill her in a fight to the death, because Gorgonna (the sister) knew all of Conquest Hold was about one more tyrannical decision from Krenna (the follower) before riots broke out.
** Fast forward another expansion, now we're in ''Cataclysm'', and our boy has grown up and is now [[ThisIsGonnaSuck THE leader of the Horde]]. Naturally, this proved disastrous. He immediately breaks treaties and wages open war on the Alliance against the other leader's advice (effectively undoing EVERYTHING Thrall spent years trying to avoid), alienates three of the four other Horde leaders and their people from Orgrimmar, and his stupidity and hotheadedness results in getting the fourth leader killed in a duel. This is well after he was told by Thrall to LISTEN to his advisers.
** There's also the Stonetalon incident, in which Krom'Gar, a corrupt general of his, burns down half the zone and blows up the other half. Which result in Garrosh "dismissing" Krom'Gar after giving him a lecture on honor. Which some of his few fans would consider both a CrowningMomentOfAwesome and a PetTheDog moment - Until you realize that Garrosh was the one who put Krom'gar in charge of that expedition in the first place, (''and'' failed to check on him until it was far too late), and thus is the one ultimately responsible for the whole mess. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero OOPS!]]
** Last but certainly not least. In the Twilight Highland quests, you witness an epic display of his monumental incompetence from the get-go: In his usual impatience, he orders his goblin engineers to build a fleet of zeppelins to protect his supply carriers from the Black Dragonflight with little time or resource to actually complete them. When the ships are deployed, they can't even stay in flight, and one of them actually crashes. And then Garrosh spots an Alliance navy fleet and immediately orders his attacking ship to make a beeline for them, which would leave all the remaining supply and transport ship completely undefended, a Goblin Captain even questions who'd be stupid enough to do this, but gets punched by one of Garrosh's loyalists for protesting - who remarks that a "Winner" would do so. The Horde fleet attacks and defeats the alliance, however this leaves the carriers completely helpless, as expected the Twilight Dragonflight shows up shortly after and takes out just about every single carrier. Leaving Garrosh, the player, and a few survivors to be washed on shore after.
*** Even better, when you talk to one of the other survivors, apparently Garrosh, in an attempt to save face, claims ''[[BlatantLies the alliance attacked them unprovoked.]]''
** Aside from his lackluster command abilities, he's also supposed to be a great warrior. Now, he's probably pretty good in his own right, but so is [[WorldOfBadass just about every other noteworthy character in Warcraft]], and when he's up against other lore figures he tends to do poorly. He was beating Thrall in their duel in the ''Wrath of the Lich King'' pre-event, but this was later explained as Thrall holding back to avoid humiliating him. He only won his Mak'gora with Cairne because [[EvilChancellor Magatha Grimtotem]] poisoned his axe without his knowledge. And Varian had him beat in ''Wolfheart'', were it not for his troops pulling him off the battlefield while Varian was distracted he likely would have been killed or taken prisoner. In fact, Garrosh has never won a fight with another major character with his skill alone. Garrosh himself may be becoming increasingly aware of this, as in patch 5.1 [[spoiler: he attempts to have Vol'jin assassinated, rather than killing him outright.]]
** A good example would also be Sylvanas Windrunner. Seeing how she is implied to be super threatening and intelligent despite her tendency of keeping potential traitors close to her AND having the "super brilliant" strategy of bombing everything with plague. She also gets her rotting ass handed to her on several occasions by other major characters - often having to resort in her underhanded tactics in the first place. She also gets killed by a single bullet through the chest by one of the said "potential traitors" just after ransoming another NPC.
** We're informed, in the tie-in novel ''{{The Shattering|PreludeToCataclysm}}'', that Aggra is an exemplary shaman in her own right. As far as she's actually written, however? She's Thrall's SatelliteLoveInterest [[spoiler:and [[BabiesEverAfter eventual]] [[BirthDeathJuxtaposition babymama]]]], but little else.
* In ''KingdomHearts'', [[TheGambler Luxord]] of Organization XIII is stated to have time-based powers, which pretty much extends to putting a "Time Limit" in his boss battle that really just ends up being "Hit Luxord a lot" and fights more with his [[DeathDealer cards]].
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Gilgamesh, the BigBad of one route and TheDragon of another apparently has such a high charisma (A+ rank) that his goes beyond "Can be said to have achieved the greatest level of popularity as a human being" (which is A rank). However, you never, never see him doing anything remotely charismatic. Quite the opposite, actually. He spends his whole time being a JerkAss, SmugSnake, SocialDarwinist who [[LovingForce tries to rape]] [[LadyOfWar Saber.]]
** Then again Archer is also known for not bothering to use his full abilities and so prideful he regards everyone else as vermin and/or possessions. Even if "The King" is able to be personable why should he bother if he doesn't want to?
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:However; this is actually justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER]].
** Ironically, played straight with actual members of SOLDIER. They're supposed to be Shinra's elite fighting force, but you only ever face them in a handful of locations in random encounters, and they're no better than the legions of other nameless mooks you face.
* Judging by his reputation, AmoralAttorney Igland of the Swift Sword in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' is a very talented lawyer. Judging by his actual performance in the game, if this is true it is a ''dire'' statement on Neverwinter's legal system, since Igland's idea of a compelling case in a murder trial is "the defendant is a dirty savage and therefore we should hang him". One wonders how much of his reputation for having never lost a case involved [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney passing Exhibit M, a large sack of money]], to each juror.
* [[SonicTheHedgehog Sonic's]] speed is sometimes this relative to the other main characters, especially in the older games before the characters' abilities had speciated as much. For instance, some of the earlier games contain situations where Knuckles, Tails, and even Robotnik can run as fast as Sonic. Tails can still fly as fast as Sonic runs, but they make sure it looks like he's flying. Not running.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Van is stated to have taught Tear the Fonic Hyms, but in actual battles he doesn't use them. [[spoiler:though is implied to have used them off-screen after his first defeat.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', Kratos was stated to have a large amount of success as a general in the Spartan army, which would be more passable if not for the fact the sequels depict as being TooDumbToLive.
** Not only that, his strategy seems to be 'hit it. If that fails, hit it harder...' Which may be FridgeBrilliance, if the other Spartans are HALF as badass as him...he may have just run roughshod over ambushes.
** He's also the son of Zeus himself and as strong as Hercules, which helps a lot.
* Most commander characters in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' have bios stating how smart they are, but fail live up in the game's plot, apart from Slavik and McNiel in ''TiberianSun'', but only because they're the player characters.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Tidus is a famous blitzball player, which implies ''some'' degree of skill, but in the actual blitzball minigame he starts out fairly mediocre - at the start he's the best shooter on the team, sure, but that team is the Besaid Aurochs, who start out with the overall blitzball competence of a spoon.
** To be fair, you could accuse the Luca Goers, who had apparently won the championship for several years running, of the exact same thing. And the blitzball minigame is ''rife'' with GameplayAndStorySegregation.
* ''VagrantStory'' has Lady Samantha and Callo Merlose. Samantha is a Catholic-schoolgirl-styled, doe-eyed ingenue who we're told is a captain of the Crimson Blades; Callo Merlose is a VKP Inquisitor who spends the entire game as a hostage who is supposedly capable of defending herself (but chooses not to, because she's a psychic spy and her captors were the ones she was supposed to be investigating). Either way, we don't get to see them do much of the stuff they're supposedly able to do.
* The universe of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' (Specifically, ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII-2}}'') brings us Caius of the Ballads. Promoted as one of the most sinister villains of the entire franchise. You wouldn't know it by how easily you kick his ass during boss battles. Honestly, even though his battles end when he uses auto-life, you'd probably take down that second bar with no trouble.
** [[spoiler: Turns out he's JustToyingWithThem. When you re-fight him using the [[NewGamePlus Paradox Scope]], he's significantly more difficult. ]]
* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', Kraden mentions that carrying just one of the Elemental Stars could give you enough power to rule the world. The player character for the first two games has one in his inventory, and all it does is take up space.
** Also, the {{Feelies}} for ''The Lost Age'' mention that Sheba has the power of precognition. The only time this comes up in-game is when Sheba insists it's her destiny to accompany Felix on his journey... and she later admits she was lying about that.
** A cutscene in the first game has Hama state that Ivan also has the power of prediction... to which Ivan himself replies that if he does, [[LampshadeHanging it's news to him]]. Which justifies his never using it, since obviously [[HowDoIShotWeb he doesn't know how]].
* Used to subtle effect in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' with Wilhelm, Handsome Jack's [[TheDragon Dragon]], a massive cyborg warrior so powerful he supposedly defeated the previous set of Vault Hunters from the first ''Borderlands'' game. When you fight him, he turns out to be a pushover and you easily defeat him. [[spoiler: All part of Jack's plan, because by defeating the supposed ultimate minion and looting his corpse, you get a certain power core that lets Jack shut down the shields for your base and leave it vulnerable to orbital bombardment. Also, a cut piece of dialog from Jack states that [[WorfHadTheFlu he had Wilhelm poisoned prior to the fight]].]]
* In both ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Metroid Fusion]]'', Adam Malkovich, Samus' former CO, is referred to as a tactical genius with a perfect military mind. When we meet him in ''Other M'', however, not only does he seem oblivious to things going on around him, but he makes several questionable decisions, and ultimately [[spoiler:loses everyone in his squad except for Anthony]].
* [[TheDragon Hawke]] in the Advance Wars series is repeatedly praised for how powerful and unstoppable he is, when in reality he's a middle-tier commander at best who boasts a pitiful 10% power boost in exchange for the slowest charging power in the game. Ironically, the InsufferableGenius / PerkyGoth Lash, even ''after being nerfed for Dual Strike'', has a FAR superior power (Her attack raises along with her defense depending on the terrain, making her unstoppable on mountains and cities) yet is seen as nothing more than an annoyance by the good and bad guys alike.
----
* Most video games ''themselves'' are an example. Think about it - how many times have you played a game that casts you as the greatest hero of the universe, only for you to fail spectacularly on your first few plays?
* ''[[SuperMarioBros Mario and Luigi]]''. In the games themselves, not to mention most of the associated media (except for a certain live-action spinoff), despite their manner of dress and going through pipes, are they ever shown doing any actual plumbing? This was ''[[LampshadeHanging pointed out]]'' in ''ThereWillBeBrawl''.
** They were ''finally'' shown doing plumbing in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''. Granted, [[spoiler:they were forced to do it as part of a {{plan}} by Cackletta to unlock the Beanstar from its cage]]
** The basis of the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros.'' game indicates that they were engaged in plumbing when the monsters are shown coming out of the pipes that they have to get rid of.
* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}'' is a theoretical physicist... yet the most technically advanced things he does in the series is push a cart, flip switches, and plug in equipment. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Barney Calhoun in the 2nd game when he says "Good job hitting that switch. I can see that MIT education really pays for itself."
** He also supposedly can talk, but you would never [[SilentProtagonist guess that from playing the games]].
** He apparently picked up some mechanical knowledge at least, picking up any weapon and figuring out the controls quickly, even alien ones like the overwatch pulse rifle, successfully subverting UnusableEnemyEquipment.
* Of comparable informed ability status is Isaac Clarke, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/DeadSpace''. He is said to be known for original and innovative engineering solutions, yet he never displays any knowledge of engineering through the first game.
** Averted in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2''; the first things Isaac does is flaunt his engineering degree by combining a medical laser and a flashlight to make a plasma cutter, and then going about manually rewiring electronics.
** Averted even further in Deadspace 3, which gives him the ability to build his own guns.
* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':
** Solid Snake is supposed to have a 180 IQ, he tends to believe almost everything people tell him.
** Metal Gear RAY's ability to take down Metal Gear REX and its clones is either an informed ability, or in-universe false advertising. Raiden can take down multiple [=RAYs=] on foot with a rocket launcher in the same time it took Solid Snake to take out a single REX, then went on to throw a [=RAY=] into the air and hack it to pieces in the trailer for ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. [[spoiler:When REX and RAY finally square off in [=MGS4=], REX can take it down without too much difficulty. And this is a brand-new RAY[[hottip:* :no, it's not the prototype stolen by Ocelot in [=MGS2=], since it lacks the original's long tail]] fighting a damaged REX after the latter was blown up, left in a freezing cold warehouse for almost a decade, and then had a major structural component removed without much thought for how the rest was going to balance without it, leaving it a wonder the REX in question can even ''stand upright''.]]
** In ''Peace Walker'', the Pupa is supposed to be amphibious, but we only see it doing kickflips on a perfectly dry [[SkateHeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth circular base built like a giant half pipe]], and its amphibious capabilities are never relevant to or mentioned in the story (unlike ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'''s RAY, which is fought on land but has the swimming ability to destroy the Discovery).
* In ''StarControl 3'', you are told over and over again how powerful The Eternal Ones are, and yet, you never actually fight them, even when you get to the end, expecting to at least be able to fight the {{big bad}}dy in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Instead, you meet up with [[TheDragon the secretary]] of The Eternal Ones, who lost to the last secretary, and somehow have never been defeated before. Of course, this is found out after you [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKJH9myI05A defeat them with a single ship and no losses]].
* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'':
** Godot apparently can do an excellent impression of a previous witness, but seeing as the games are text based all that happens is that his LeitMotif changes.
*** Godot gets to perform impressions of ''two'' witnesses. When he's impressioning a female witness, the speaking-beeps switch to the higher pitched female ones too.
*** Godot is constantly feared by police and other prosecutors alike for being a powerful attorney. ''He's the least successful prosecutor in the entire series.'' He never wins a case, both on-screen or off, where as Winston Payne is at least noted for being undefeated up until his trial against Mia. It's justified only so far [[spoiler:with him being a defense attorney,]] but he uses tricks and plots that pretty much revoke that.
*** Godot's prowess as a prosecutor is brought up before you meet him: Gumshoe talks about how he's never been defeated. This turns out to be entirely true; the case where you meet him is his first one as a prosecutor.
** Averted in a clever way with Lamiroir in ''ApolloJusticeAceAttorney''. She is considered a world-class singer, with an angelic voice. How do they put this on a DS game? They don't record vocals, and instead give her voice as a musical tone. The effect works, her voice sounds brilliant, but it isn't quite ShowDontTell, as it's clear each of those tones represents her voice.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'':
** Your stats ''do'' have an impact on your interaction with the world outside the vault. In the tutorial in the vault, however, Butch (strength 5 out of maximum 10 according to the construction kit) will always attempt to bully, even if logic dictates that if you are stronger than him he is going to get his ass kicked if he provokes you. Neither will your charisma score affect your interactions with other vault dwellers in the slightest: even if you have 10 in Charisma, Amata will still be the only one in your age group that actually likes you, all others being hostile or indifferent. High Skills do offer some extra conversation paths however.
** Protectron Robots are implied to be extremely fast and efficient factory workers, so much so that a Factory variant exists (yet still comes equipped with a built in laser pistol), however in gameplay, Protectrons are clunky, stiff, bulky, noisy, and slow. They also suffer from limited movement abilities due to their design (so tasks as simple as using a shovel are impossible). Even if they've gone without maintenance for 200 years, one can only wonder how such a machine could actually outperform a human. This is lampshaded in the epilogue of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' if you reprogram Primm Slim as the town sheriff of Primm. He's stated to be able-minded but not able-bodied with his slow speed leading to a few crooks managing to get away.
* Used for a gag in ''MegamanBattleNetwork 2''; when a villain is captured, he expresses disbelief at how two kids could beat him, future head of Gospel (note: ego), with an IQ of 170. [[TheRival Chaud]] informs him "Your IQ of 170 didn't help you this time."
** In ''3'', Tora constantly mentions "strategy" and "thinking several moves ahead" and is even introduced in the N1 as a "master strategist". His navi, [=KingMan=] is one of the cheapest bosses in the entire series, its "strategy" consisting of staying in back row while a bunch of autonomous chess pieces continually harass the player.
*** Although, you could argue on the basis that he had thought of that being an effective method when designing the navi, seeing as his is one of the only ones to put the navi in the back row and have objects do all the fighting. From a practical standpoint it is very effective in a netbattle.
* Leon Silverberg of ''SuikodenII'' is supposed to be perhaps the greatest strategists to ever live. Except we only see brilliance from his former student Shu, who is so terrified of Leon's unbeatable brilliance that he [[spoiler:nearly kills himself to bring Leon down.]] Never mind that we never see Leon do anything all that special. Considering the mind-boggling brilliance of some of the strategists in the series, Leon is an extreme case of this trope.
* [[BattleButler Ramirez]] in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is referred to as a brilliant strategist and tactician. However his strategies tend to simply be [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer bombarding stationary or slow-moving targets into submission from afar]]. He's never actually seen to command a battle (occasionally just hanging back [[WeHaveReserves while his own ships or troops are destroyed]] and then either bombarding from afar or wading in and [[OneManArmy single-handedly taking down the heroes' party]]. He doesn't even take part in either of the game's climactic large-scale ship battles.
** Mind you, compared to the ''rest'' of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Valuan admirals]]...
* The wingmen you fly with in the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' games are all supposed to be truly {{badass}} veteran pilots, but with a relative few exceptions... well, [[ArtificialStupidity they aren't]].
** Knight rarely seems to make it back with any kills, or indeed his fighter, even though he has an impressive service record prior to the start of the campaign. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the movie, where he dies spectacularly.
** In Maniac's case, [[LeeroyJenkins the stunts he pulls]] while flying as a wingman are in-character for him.
* In ''VivaPinata'', it is mentioned that the Eaglair "has earned respect through its natural nobility, tempered strength, and thumping great talons." Somehow that 'respect' doesn't seem to stop larger Pinatas from walking over it, and it's 'talons' are somewhat nonexistent due to the Eaglair's legs and feet being a pair of ''stumps''.
* In ''MonsterRancher Battle Card: Episode 2'', you're allowed to lose as many times as you want because you're always wagering a "Critical" card, which Cue has a massive stack of. Every NPC seems quite interested in getting this card for themselves, going so far as betting fifteen other cards or one Monster Card (...and more skill cards) against it. Critical, however, isn't that good a card-- it takes two GUTS to use, and adds two points to another attack (which can still be dodged or blocked). A lot of attacks have better GUTS-to-damage ratios, so it's often better to replace Critical with... just about any other card.
* A lot of ''{{Pokemon}}'' have an InformedAbility in their Pokédex entry, which we never actually see, especially not after catching them. While many Ghost-type Pokémon are able to steal souls, some Psychic-types are hyper-intelligent and empathic and able to rip apart time and space. Also, some legendaries are stated to be able to travel through time, wipe people's memories, permanently paralyze, them or even kill them by merely looking in their eyes. In the end, all that's really impressive about them are their stats in battle... if you train them properly.
** Granted, Cyrus in Diamond/Pearl explains legendary Pokémon lose part of their powers when they are trapped in a Poké Ball the first time, and that's why he gives you a Master Ball free of charge and leaves to steal Dialga/Palkia's powers by himself.
** Ghost-type attacks in Generation I were supposed to be super-effective against Psychic-type Pokémon but possibly due to a programming oversight, Ghost-type moves cannot hit Psychics, leaving a major hole in the ElementalRockPaperScissors formula and resulting in the Psychic type becoming a major GameBreaker until later generations fixed it. By sheer coincidence, the same is true of the anime's first season; Ash brings a Haunter to fight Sabrina's Kadabra because Ghost hurts Psychic. But the Haunter in question never uses any Ghost attacks, instead using humor to make Kadabra laugh.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' your two rivals are the ditzy Bianca who admits she isn't very good and the analytical Cheren who is focused on nothing but becoming the champion. In your fights with them however, while Bianca isn't a particularlly hard fight, she is still harder than Cheren who has an abysmal set up for his team [[note]]His two Pokémon that differ from hers are both physical based glass cannons. Knowing this he decides that both should use sets that depend on them surviving an attack o and the second should run a set with no physical moves. While he tries to give one a set up so he will always critical, he doesn't actually complete it and deletes the move needed to pull it off by the time he has put the other pieces together[[/note]].
** N is immediately labeled as a MotorMouth, and though [[PaintingTheMedium his text speed is always faster than your text speed settings]], he seems to speak normally compared to everyone else and uses ellipses often.
*** It's possible the way N speaks just can't be rendered through the largely-visual game medium, since he is supposed to be somewhat strange.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}''. Master Otenko is the representation of The Sun, and a guardian of the Solar System... but he makes it clear to Django in the first game that he can't fight. Indeed, Otenko does get his leafy stem handed to him on a regular basis.
* In ''[[SoulSeries Soul Calibur IV]]'', Angol Fear, the "King of Terror" is said to weigh 1.44 tons, and be 14800 years old. Given that, you would think that she would be super strong, unjugglable, and more of a threat than all of the fighters in the game considering the knowledge she should have amassed. The character is Seong Mina. Not Shin Seong Mina or Seong Mina with a speed boost or a health boost or extra combos or power armor or juggle resistance or any discernible advantage whatsoever. It's just Seong Mina. Actually a little worse, because her weapon is slightly shorter than Seong Mina's, meaning that in a scant few cases, she doesn't have the range that Mina has.
* In ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'', Luna is loved by her entire village for her singing voice. Unfortunately, they gave her a voice actress who doesn't measure up to the apparent reverence and occasionally hits a sour note.
* João Franco playing the lute in ''VideoGame/UnchartedWaters: New Horizons''. Although his {{leitmotif}} is called "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZfyXEXaLuI Caprice for Lute]]".
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' characters possess a vast array of magical abilities, ranging from control of insects to being an [[BornLucky intense luck charm]] to [[BlowYouAway manipulation of wind]] to [[RealityWarper absolute mastery of borders]], however as the genre of the games is BulletHell those abilities never appear in gameplay, which a few exceptions (like Utsuho throwing miniature suns at the player). This is given an in-story explanation with the implementation of the spell card rules, both providing the weaker denizens of Gensokyo a reasonable chance of success and preventing the stronger denizens from simply vaporising their opponents.
* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', Iron Tager is supposedly around 550 kg, as ''Teach me, Ms. Litchi!'' tells us, but you wouldn't know that from the way pretty much everyone else lighter than him can still [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom toss him around]]. Admittedly, it would be unbalanced to make him immovable to others' attacks.
* Dunkoro in ''GuildWars'' is supposed to be a good planner, but doesn't actually get to show this much in game. (Partly because a lot of the story consists of reacting to things, though when Dunkoro does give advice, it is often quite basic.)
* For those unfamiliar with the books, a number of {{NPC}}s from ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' can be seen like this. One of the most jarring examples is Samwise Gamgee: The Guardian class (a tank class who is described as protectors of those in need) is partly based on him and how protective he was of Frodo in the books, and higher-level players are sent to Sam as part of their training. Imagine the surprise when learning that the "guardian of unmatched skill" is a nervous hobbit who says things like "We are in quite a pickle, aren't we, Samwise old boy?" It's even more noticeable if you're playing as a hobbit yourself, who by then should have a good number of heroic deeds behind them.
* To quote an LP of the ''ChzoMythos'': "In case you haven't noticed, John is even worse at psychiatry than Trilby is at stealing. [[spoiler:There is not a single instance in the entire series of a protagonist actually demonstrating a skill we're supposed to believe they have.]]" Note that this is referring to the ''ChzoMythos'' series, which doesn't include ''Trilby: VideoGame/TheArtOfTheft''.
* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', General Warfield is supposed to be this badass general, and yet his entire career over the course of the game involves him screwing up the attack on Char and handing over command to Raynor, who lampshades it prior to touchdown.
--> ''You can't plan for the zerg, general. They won't fit into your nice, clean timetable.''
** In his defense, though, it's more likely that he made his career fighting other Terrans: this expertise would not carry over at all to Zerg. It's unknown where he was during Brood War and if he was even facing the Zerg at that time.
* ''SamAndMax'':
** In ''SamAndMax Hit The Road'', Conroy Bumpus is supposed to be an incredibly highly-rated country-western singer. When we hear him sing his VillainSong, his voice is clearly a pretty good attempt at singing, but pretty shaky. Lampshaded in that Max calls Bumpus's singing 'atonal warbling', and possibly {{Justified|Trope}} in that Conroy is massively overrated and doesn't even like his own music, except that it 'pays the bills'.
** Also, a lot is discussed about Trixie's singing, yet we never actually hear her sing even once in the game. Particularly noticeable since she's part of Conroy's backing band, yet plays tambourine instead of the song's female backing vocals.
** In TelltaleGames's ''SamAndMax'' games, Sam's singing/banjo playing is supposed to be horrible, to the point where Girl Stinky claims Poison Control insists she has a CD of him singing to use as an emetic. Other than a bit of contrived HollywoodToneDeaf doggish howling, his singing voice is actually pretty good.
* [[VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles Welkin]], who the game tells us is a genius. Mostly, he's just Lieutenant Obvious who happens to pay more attention to the environment because he's a biology geek. The one time he's ever seriously pressed for a solution to a crisis, he flubs it. When the problem is solved by means he doesn't like, he can't argue with the logic behind it or come up with a better solution, so he just socks [[spoiler:Faldio]] in the face. Further, [[spoiler:Isara's death]] occurs when Welkin apparently thought it was cool to have the army camp out in an open field for tank repairs without cover, or even posting watch.
* Garland from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' is supposed to be a great warrior that no force in Corneria was able to stop once he turned to evil. His reputation for being quite easy to beat by the Light Warriors has become legendary (as well as creating the second-greatest meme in the franchise's history).
** [[spoiler:He does turn out to be the BigBad though.]]
* [[BloodKnight Garrosh Hellscream]] from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is constantly regarded as being a "[[BlatantLies Tactical Genius]]", even from Major [=NPCs=] like Cairne Bloodhoof and Thrall, and even from the [[WordOfGod Blizzard Team themselves]], but anyone who actually did the quests and events that involves him would know right off the bat that he is ''lightyears'' from being remotely regarded as this:
** ''The Burning Crusade'' introduces us to Garrosh, who at the time was sooo {{wangst}}y about his father's legacy and the deteriorating health of the Greatmother, he never lifted a finger to help with the numerous issues plaguing his clan the Mag'har. You, the player character, end up covering his ass so much that upon the climax of the storyline, he was even willing to ''turn over leadership of the entire Mag'har clan to you so he can go die in a corner because he realized how much of a loser he was in comparison to you''. (Oh, if only...)
** Fast forward one expansion, now we are in ''Wrath of the Lich King'' and Garrosh does a complete 180 turn of his personality, instead of the mopey crybaby, we're now treated to his trademark JerkAss persona. And during the early questlines of one of the first Northrend zones Horde players will enter, players witness firsthand that Garrosh is as impatient and reckless as his father (One of the reason he was so depressed in the previous expansion by the way), and was more interested in eliminating the Alliance forces on the opposite side of the zone than dealing with the numerous issues just outside his fortress. Later, when scout requested reinforcements to take out a Necromancer and his small army, [[WhatAnIdiot Garrosh scoffs and sends ''only'' the player]], who would have been promptly captured and zombified had resident Badass Saurfang not seen the stupidity himself and personally came to the rescue. Garrosh also had some followers in later zones who were as stupid and jerkass as he is, one of them even got herself killed by the player because of her own zeal and stupidity.
*** [[MemeticBadass Saurfang]] even called Garrosh out on the fact he was trying to fight a war without bother to gather supplies first. Supplies like artillery, ''armor'', and ''frickin provisions!'' Garrosh in fact, regularly made claims along the lines of, "A true warrior doesn't need supplies, allies, or strategy to win." [[SarcasmMode Wow, Garrosh. You're brilliant strategic mind is definitely showing.]]
*** The player character is actually brought on to help her sister kill her in a fight to the death, because Gorgonna (the sister) knew all of Conquest Hold was about one more tyrannical decision from Krenna (the follower) before riots broke out.
** Fast forward another expansion, now we're in ''Cataclysm'', and our boy has grown up and is now [[ThisIsGonnaSuck THE leader of the Horde]]. Naturally, this proved disastrous. He immediately breaks treaties and wages open war on the Alliance against the other leader's advice (effectively undoing EVERYTHING Thrall spent years trying to avoid), alienates three of the four other Horde leaders and their people from Orgrimmar, and his stupidity and hotheadedness results in getting the fourth leader killed in a duel. This is well after he was told by Thrall to LISTEN to his advisers.
** There's also the Stonetalon incident, in which Krom'Gar, a corrupt general of his, burns down half the zone and blows up the other half. Which result in Garrosh "dismissing" Krom'Gar after giving him a lecture on honor. Which some of his few fans would consider both a CrowningMomentOfAwesome and a PetTheDog moment - Until you realize that Garrosh was the one who put Krom'gar in charge of that expedition in the first place, (''and'' failed to check on him until it was far too late), and thus is the one ultimately responsible for the whole mess. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero OOPS!]]
** Last but certainly not least. In the Twilight Highland quests, you witness an epic display of his monumental incompetence from the get-go: In his usual impatience, he orders his goblin engineers to build a fleet of zeppelins to protect his supply carriers from the Black Dragonflight with little time or resource to actually complete them. When the ships are deployed, they can't even stay in flight, and one of them actually crashes. And then Garrosh spots an Alliance navy fleet and immediately orders his attacking ship to make a beeline for them, which would leave all the remaining supply and transport ship completely undefended, a Goblin Captain even questions who'd be stupid enough to do this, but gets punched by one of Garrosh's loyalists for protesting - who remarks that a "Winner" would do so. The Horde fleet attacks and defeats the alliance, however this leaves the carriers completely helpless, as expected the Twilight Dragonflight shows up shortly after and takes out just about every single carrier. Leaving Garrosh, the player, and a few survivors to be washed on shore after.
*** Even better, when you talk to one of the other survivors, apparently Garrosh, in an attempt to save face, claims ''[[BlatantLies the alliance attacked them unprovoked.]]''
** Aside from his lackluster command abilities, he's also supposed to be a great warrior. Now, he's probably pretty good in his own right, but so is [[WorldOfBadass just about every other noteworthy character in Warcraft]], and when he's up against other lore figures he tends to do poorly. He was beating Thrall in their duel in the ''Wrath of the Lich King'' pre-event, but this was later explained as Thrall holding back to avoid humiliating him. He only won his Mak'gora with Cairne because [[EvilChancellor Magatha Grimtotem]] poisoned his axe without his knowledge. And Varian had him beat in ''Wolfheart'', were it not for his troops pulling him off the battlefield while Varian was distracted he likely would have been killed or taken prisoner. In fact, Garrosh has never won a fight with another major character with his skill alone. Garrosh himself may be becoming increasingly aware of this, as in patch 5.1 [[spoiler: he attempts to have Vol'jin assassinated, rather than killing him outright.]]
** A good example would also be Sylvanas Windrunner. Seeing how she is implied to be super threatening and intelligent despite her tendency of keeping potential traitors close to her AND having the "super brilliant" strategy of bombing everything with plague. She also gets her rotting ass handed to her on several occasions by other major characters - often having to resort in her underhanded tactics in the first place. She also gets killed by a single bullet through the chest by one of the said "potential traitors" just after ransoming another NPC.
** We're informed, in the tie-in novel ''{{The Shattering|PreludeToCataclysm}}'', that Aggra is an exemplary shaman in her own right. As far as she's actually written, however? She's Thrall's SatelliteLoveInterest [[spoiler:and [[BabiesEverAfter eventual]] [[BirthDeathJuxtaposition babymama]]]], but little else.
* In ''KingdomHearts'', [[TheGambler Luxord]] of Organization XIII is stated to have time-based powers, which pretty much extends to putting a "Time Limit" in his boss battle that really just ends up being "Hit Luxord a lot" and fights more with his [[DeathDealer cards]].
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Gilgamesh, the BigBad of one route and TheDragon of another apparently has such a high charisma (A+ rank) that his goes beyond "Can be said to have achieved the greatest level of popularity as a human being" (which is A rank). However, you never, never see him doing anything remotely charismatic. Quite the opposite, actually. He spends his whole time being a JerkAss, SmugSnake, SocialDarwinist who [[LovingForce tries to rape]] [[LadyOfWar Saber.]]
** Then again Archer is also known for not bothering to use his full abilities and so prideful he regards everyone else as vermin and/or possessions. Even if "The King" is able to be personable why should he bother if he doesn't want to?
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud is supposed to be a SOLDIER, yet he isn't that much better at fighting than other characters. [[spoiler:However; this is actually justified by a case of UnreliableNarrator as Cloud was never actually ''in'' SOLDIER; he just thought he was Zack Fair, who ''was'' a first class SOLDIER]].
** Ironically, played straight with actual members of SOLDIER. They're supposed to be Shinra's elite fighting force, but you only ever face them in a handful of locations in random encounters, and they're no better than the legions of other nameless mooks you face.
* Judging by his reputation, AmoralAttorney Igland of the Swift Sword in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' is a very talented lawyer. Judging by his actual performance in the game, if this is true it is a ''dire'' statement on Neverwinter's legal system, since Igland's idea of a compelling case in a murder trial is "the defendant is a dirty savage and therefore we should hang him". One wonders how much of his reputation for having never lost a case involved [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney passing Exhibit M, a large sack of money]], to each juror.
* [[SonicTheHedgehog Sonic's]] speed is sometimes this relative to the other main characters, especially in the older games before the characters' abilities had speciated as much. For instance, some of the earlier games contain situations where Knuckles, Tails, and even Robotnik can run as fast as Sonic. Tails can still fly as fast as Sonic runs, but they make sure it looks like he's flying. Not running.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Van is stated to have taught Tear the Fonic Hyms, but in actual battles he doesn't use them. [[spoiler:though is implied to have used them off-screen after his first defeat.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', Kratos was stated to have a large amount of success as a general in the Spartan army, which would be more passable if not for the fact the sequels depict as being TooDumbToLive.
** Not only that, his strategy seems to be 'hit it. If that fails, hit it harder...' Which may be FridgeBrilliance, if the other Spartans are HALF as badass as him...he may have just run roughshod over ambushes.
** He's also the son of Zeus himself and as strong as Hercules, which helps a lot.
* Most commander characters in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' have bios stating how smart they are, but fail live up in the game's plot, apart from Slavik and McNiel in ''TiberianSun'', but only because they're the player characters.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Tidus is a famous blitzball player, which implies ''some'' degree of skill, but in the actual blitzball minigame he starts out fairly mediocre - at the start he's the best shooter on the team, sure, but that team is the Besaid Aurochs, who start out with the overall blitzball competence of a spoon.
** To be fair, you could accuse the Luca Goers, who had apparently won the championship for several years running, of the exact same thing. And the blitzball minigame is ''rife'' with GameplayAndStorySegregation.
* ''VagrantStory'' has Lady Samantha and Callo Merlose. Samantha is a Catholic-schoolgirl-styled, doe-eyed ingenue who we're told is a captain of the Crimson Blades; Callo Merlose is a VKP Inquisitor who spends the entire game as a hostage who is supposedly capable of defending herself (but chooses not to, because she's a psychic spy and her captors were the ones she was supposed to be investigating). Either way, we don't get to see them do much of the stuff they're supposedly able to do.
* The universe of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' (Specifically, ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII-2}}'') brings us Caius of the Ballads. Promoted as one of the most sinister villains of the entire franchise. You wouldn't know it by how easily you kick his ass during boss battles. Honestly, even though his battles end when he uses auto-life, you'd probably take down that second bar with no trouble.
** [[spoiler: Turns out he's JustToyingWithThem. When you re-fight him using the [[NewGamePlus Paradox Scope]], he's significantly more difficult. ]]
* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', Kraden mentions that carrying just one of the Elemental Stars could give you enough power to rule the world. The player character for the first two games has one in his inventory, and all it does is take up space.
** Also, the {{Feelies}} for ''The Lost Age'' mention that Sheba has the power of precognition. The only time this comes up in-game is when Sheba insists it's her destiny to accompany Felix on his journey... and she later admits she was lying about that.
** A cutscene in the first game has Hama state that Ivan also has the power of prediction... to which Ivan himself replies that if he does, [[LampshadeHanging it's news to him]]. Which justifies his never using it, since obviously [[HowDoIShotWeb he doesn't know how]].
* Used to subtle effect in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' with Wilhelm, Handsome Jack's [[TheDragon Dragon]], a massive cyborg warrior so powerful he supposedly defeated the previous set of Vault Hunters from the first ''Borderlands'' game. When you fight him, he turns out to be a pushover and you easily defeat him. [[spoiler: All part of Jack's plan, because by defeating the supposed ultimate minion and looting his corpse, you get a certain power core that lets Jack shut down the shields for your base and leave it vulnerable to orbital bombardment. Also, a cut piece of dialog from Jack states that [[WorfHadTheFlu he had Wilhelm poisoned prior to the fight]].]]
* In both ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Metroid Fusion]]'', Adam Malkovich, Samus' former CO, is referred to as a tactical genius with a perfect military mind. When we meet him in ''Other M'', however, not only does he seem oblivious to things going on around him, but he makes several questionable decisions, and ultimately [[spoiler:loses everyone in his squad except for Anthony]].
* [[TheDragon Hawke]] in the Advance Wars series is repeatedly praised for how powerful and unstoppable he is, when in reality he's a middle-tier commander at best who boasts a pitiful 10% power boost in exchange for the slowest charging power in the game. Ironically, the InsufferableGenius / PerkyGoth Lash, even ''after being nerfed for Dual Strike'', has a FAR superior power (Her attack raises along with her defense depending on the terrain, making her unstoppable on mountains and cities) yet is seen as nothing more than an annoyance by the good and bad guys alike.
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