History NotMeThisTime / VideoGames

* The [[WouldHurtAChild Purple]] [[SerialKiller Guy]] in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' is in [[GreaterScopeVillain one way]] [[BigBad or another]] responsible for all the dangers faced in the games -- except ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4'', where he only has a cameo, [[VillainsOutShopping doing his day job]]. The Child is being attacked by the Nightmare Animatronics for reasons unrelated to him. [[spoiler:They're actually the Child's nightmares, caused by [[BigBrotherBully his brother]], his fear of the real animatronics, and the fact that he's (probably) the victim of the Bite of '87.]]

** In the opening FMV of the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} version of ''VideoGame/MarioTennis'', when Bowser arrives at the court, the other participants are understandably worried when he arrives, as they think he's planning to attack the tennis arena. However, instead, Bowser just [[GoKartingWithBowser challenges Mario to the tournament in a friendly fashion]] when he actually approaches Mario.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', [[spoiler:Dimitri]]'s hatred of the Flame Emperor and the reveal that [[spoiler:it was Edelgard all along]] began under the assumption that the Flame Emperor was allied with the ones who caused the tragedy that led to the deaths of [[spoiler:Dimitri]]'s family and friends. While it is true that the Flame Emperor is aligned with the perpetrators, it is a TeethClenchedTeamwork situation at best and they had only become allies ''long after'' the incident ([[spoiler:Edelgard was only a child when the Tragedy of Duscur occurred, after all]]). [[spoiler:Edelgard]] denies involvement in the Tragedy, but refuses to elaborate further because [[spoiler:Dimitri]] is beyond listening at that point.

* Franchise/{{Kirby}} often goes after King Dedede for whatever evil plot is going on, whether or not Dedede had anything to do with it. In fact, he's ''rarely'' at fault; he either doesn't have anything to do with it, is actually trying to fix it ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero and thus Kirby makes the situation worse]]), or is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy being controlled by another entity]]. This begs the question of why Kirby is so insistent that everything is his fault. The ''only'' time he's the villain was back in the [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand very first game]] and [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar its remake]] ''Spring Breeze''. In fact, when he steals all of the food at the beginning of ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' just like he did in ''Kirby's Dream Land'', his pause description suggests that Kirby is ''confused'' by this, meaning that it's gotten to the point that Kirby doesn't see King Dedede as a villain anymore.
** The worst example of this is in ''VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad''. Kirby's cake is stolen at the beginning of the game by the eponymous gang of thieving mice, and Kirby immediately concludes that Dedede is responsible with no evidence other than the fact that he's [[{{Greed}} greedy]] and a BigEater just like him.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
** At the Gold Saucer, the party finds several people were murdered. They at first suspect Sephiroth, but Cloud points out they were shot while Sephiroth DoesntLikeGuns. A survivor says they were shot by a man with a gun for an arm, which makes them suspect Barret, who had earlier run off in anger. The actual culprit was Barret's old friend Dyne, who also has a gun for an arm and has gone insane.
** Sephiroth laughs at your party when you get attacked by a dragon in the Temple of the Ancients and think that he is responsible for it.
** There's a variation on this during the Wutai sequence. As the party approaches Wutai, they are confronted by a group of Shinra soldiers and Yuffie comments "I have nothing to do with this one!" As they'd already been a bit suspicious but didn't yet know that she had done anything, this clues them in when, during the battle with the soldiers, she's gone and so is all their materia.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', where the [[CorruptChurch Church of Yevon]] likes to blame ''everything'' that goes wrong on the Al Bhed (no matter how little sense it may make), who are not followers of Yevon and try to recover and use advanced technology in defiance of Yevon's [[EvilLuddite anti-technology philosophy]]. So when the Church blames the Al Bhed for [[SummonMagic Summoners]] mysteriously disappearing, you might think it's just another baseless accusation… but it really was the Al Bhed this time, although it was done with good intentions.

* Chapter 2 of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure The Legend Of Heroes: Trails from Zero]]'' begins with the theatre troupe Arc en Ceil receiving a threat letter from the infamous [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Heiyue-affiliated]] assassin Yin. Heiyue claims no involvement, and Yin themselves later seeks assistance finding the culprit, claiming it to be a copycat. [[spoiler:They're right, the culprit turns out to be a political secretary planning to assassinate the mayor, who'll also be attending the show. The threat letter was an attempt to keep the cops busy protecting the wrong person. Unfortunately for him, one of Arc en Ceil's stars ''is'' Yin, so she instantly realized the letter was fake and got the party involved.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', an entire sidequest that usually has the PhantomThief Bleublanc's work is at play and the heroes must solve his riddles. [[spoiler:It turns out that no, he didn't do it this time, but a certain BigBad of the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Crossbell arc]] did it and stole his shtick.]]

* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Mia's party suspects that Vanessa is forcing the king of Asala to work for her and that she usurped him behind the scenes. [[spoiler:In reality, the king committed suicide due to the built up trauma of his son's death and the appearance of the Revenant.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}} 3'', your party is trying to figure out who created the plagues of monster that are attacking TheEmpire. You can question the dragons, the Vahnatai, and the sorceress Erika, all of whom have grudges against the Empire and the means to create the monsters, but they all insist that while they hate the Empire with a passion, they have nothing to do with this. [[spoiler:The Vahnatai are lying.]]

** Krystalinda from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' is mistakenly blamed by Sniflheim's people for [[spoiler:spreading the Golden Fever after Yggdrasil's fall,]] even though she was researching a cure for it. To her credit, she understands why someone with her reputation would be the first suspect and willingly imprisons herself until the epidemic is solved. The real culprit turns out to be Gyldygga, one of Mordegon's Spectral Sentinels, aka [[spoiler:Mia, Erik's sister]].

** It's implied that Miraak, the BigBad of the ''Dragonborn'' DLC, didn't actually send the ambush that starts off that quest line; for one thing, he doesn't recognize that you are the Dragonborn when you meet him in person, and for another, his evil plan was chugging along quite nicely without you butting in.[[spoiler: It's likely [[GreaterScopeVillain Hermaeus Mora]] did it, to put a SpannerInTheWorks for Miraak's treasonous plan.]]

** Also in ''Radiant Dawn'', whilst [[spoiler:Sephiran]] masterminded most of the events of both Tellius games, [[spoiler: he never ordered Greil's death. That was all on Zelgius.]]

* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', [[spoiler:Hades]] does this twice in the story, stating that he had nothing to do with the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Aurum]] (and he even [[EnemyMine joins in on the fight against them]]) and later showing up when Pit is dealing with the [[spoiler:Chaos Kin]] just to say that he also had nothing to do with this as even he had no way of controlling it. [[spoiler:Overall, this [[BlatantLies isn't entirely true]] (but [[MetaphoricallyTrue not entirely false]]), though, since he was more or less the reason leading up to Pit attacking the Lunar Sanctum in the first place by dragging the Forces of Nature into the scene.]]

* Chapter 2 of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure The Legend Of Heroes: Trails from Zero]]'' begins with the theatre troupe Arc en Ceil receiving a threat letter from the infamous [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Heiyue-affiliated]] assassin Yin. Heiyue claims no involvement, and Yin themselves later seeks assistance finding the culprit, claiming it to be a copycat. [[spoiler: They're right, the culprit turns out to be a political secretary planning to assassinate the mayor, who'll also be attending the show. The threat letter was an attempt to keep the cops busy protecting the wrong person. Unfortunately for him, one of Arc en Ceil's stars ''is'' Yin, so she instantly realized the letter was fake and got the party involved.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', an entire sidequest that usually has the PhantomThief Bleublanc's work is at play and the heroes must solve his riddles. [[spoiler:It turns out that no, he didn't do it this time but a certain BigBad of the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Crossbell arc]] did it and stole his shtick.]]

* Franchise/{{Kirby}} often goes after King Dedede for whatever evil plot is going on, whether or not Dedede had anything to do with it. In fact, he's ''rarely'' at fault; he either doesn't have anything to do with it, is actually trying to fix it ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero and thus Kirby makes the situation worse]]), or is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy being controlled by another entity]]. This begs the question of why Kirby is so insistent that everything is his fault. The ''only'' time he's the villain was back in the [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand very first game]] and [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar its remake]] ''Spring Breeze''.
** The worst example of this is in ''VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad''. Kirby's cake is stolen at the beginning of the game by the eponymous gang of thieving mice, and Kirby immediately concludes that Dedede is responsible with no evidence.

** In Radiant Dawn, whilst [[spoiler:Sephiran]] masterminded most of the events of both Tellius games, [[spoiler: he never ordered Greil's death. That was all on Zelgius.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', [[spoiler:Dimitri]]'s hatred of the Flame Emperor and the reveal that [[spoiler:it was Edelgard all along]] began under the assumption that the Flame Emperor was allies with the ones who caused the tragedy that led to the deaths of [[spoiler:Dimitri]]'s family and friends. While it is true that the Flame Emperor is allies with those people, it is a TeethClenchedTeamwork situation at best and they had only become allies ''long after'' said tragedy ([[spoiler:Edelgard was only a child when the Tragedy of Duscur occurred, after all]]). [[spoiler:Edelgard]] doesn't bother to try explaining this because [[spoiler:Dimitri]] is beyond listening at that point.

* In ''VideoGame/FarCry4'', everyone refers to how the [[LaResistance Golden Path]] leader Mohan Ghale was killed by [[TheCaligula Pagan Min]], and it's not an unreasonable assumption, since the two were enemies. Min, for his part, doesn't seem all that interested in correcting people, and it's only at the end of the game that the truth comes out: [[spoiler:Min was involved, but only peripherally. Ghale was actually killed by his own wife, Ishwari, after Ghale [[WouldHurtAChild murdered Ishwari's baby daughter Lakshmana]] after Ghale found out that his plan to have his wife serve as a HoneyTrap spy on Min [[GoneHorriblyRight went too well]] and she genuinely fell for him and had a child. After killing her husband, Ishwari took her son Ajay and fled to the United States, and the plot is kickstarted by Ajay wanting to fulfill his mother's dying request to have her ashes placed with Lakshmana's]].