History ObfuscatingStupidity / VideoGames

* Tyalie from ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' acts like a hyperactive ditz most of the time, but occasionally she’ll drop nuggets of deep philosophical wisdom, hinting that there may be more going on inside her mind than she lets on. Finally, in a secret scene just before the True Ending, she [[spoiler:[[BreakingTheFourthWall breaks the fourth wall]] and confesses to you, the player, that she’s been playing the part of a PluckyComicRelief character so that you won’t forget about her when the game ends and she [[CessationOfExistence ceases to exist]]]].*

* [[Videogame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf Marilyn Sue Dae Jie]] is a bubbly, ditzy, cheerful AnimeChineseGirl with few more than her [[GainaXing huge boobs]] going for her at first sight. But make no mistake: this beautiful young woman is a very skilled DarkActionGirl, as well as determined enough to take risks that other [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad members and assassins]] won't, in her desire to ascend into the Triads's hierarchies.

* The Ultimis incarnation of Richtofen in ''Videogame/CallofDutyZombies'' purposely acts as if he doesn't know what's going most of the time as a means of covering up [[spoiler: the fact that he's the BigBad]]. Lampshaded during the Shangri-La quest where Nikolai and Dempsey briefly bring it up.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', Xigbar shows every sign of being basically a surfer dude PunchClockVillain who just happens to be ThatOneBoss in the former. [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' reveals that he knows ''everything'' about what's going on, even more than the BigBad of the organization, Xemnas, and may have even been at least in part TheManBehindTheMan regarding Xemnas' more Xehanort-like actions]].

* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' has Kyousuke and Masato. [[spoiler:Kyousuke is naturally silly and childish, but Refrain reveals that sometimes he was acting that way to throw Riki off from considering his true motives by pretending he was just acting on his own whims. Likewise, Masato ''is'' kind of a DumbMuscle, but he dutifully followed the script Kyousuke set for him to continue to act that way and pretend not to know anything Kyousuke was doing so as to uphold the world and keep Riki at ease.]]

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
** [[spoiler:CreepyChild Rika]] seems like a normal little girl however is wise beyond her years [[spoiler:due to the fact she's been stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop for centuries]].
** Rena gives off the [[CuteClumsyGirl clumsy]], [[TheDitz ditzy]] feel, but she may just be the smartest of the gang. She shows incredibly, almost absurdly, good detective skills when [[spoiler:Satoko and Rika disappear in Watanagashi-hen]] and made up an almost believable theory about Hinamizawa in [[spoiler:the Atonement chapter...until she lost it and started [[SanitySlippage talking about aliens]].]]
** Keiichi is also an example of this as before he moved to Hinamizawa he was an InsufferableGenius with no friends that was picked on constantly in school (which lead to his unfortunate stress reliving activity). After moving he decided DumbIsGood and began acting like he is known for in the series; however his intelligence sometimes shines through his act and he appears simply BookDumb. And he's not BookDumb at all. Several scenes show him tutoring the others, including the older [[CoolBigSis Mion]], and it's implied he gets the best grades of the group. He has learned by the start of the story to not put on an act just to feel good about himself and impress others, so he acts the way he does because that's how he genuinely is. So it's really more like he completely lacks common sense. Given [[TownWithADarkSecret the setting]], he [[DysfunctionJunction fits right in]] right away.
** [[spoiler:Hanyuu]] acts like a cute, shy CheerfulChild [[spoiler:however is a centuries old god.]] Even ignoring her [[spoiler:deity status]], she [[spoiler:died as an adult so she isn't even really a kid]]. She does actually have her fair share of [[spoiler:ImmortalImmaturity]] however can show her true colors when provoked.

*** [[Manga/TouhouBougetsushou Many, many years later,]] Yukari initiated a second invasion of the moon. First she [[BatmanGambit set up]] [[UnwittingPawn Remilia Scarlet]] to invade the Moon head-on in order to distract the Lunarians from Yukari's own, much stealthier, invasion of the Moon; which she, in turn, set up [[KansasCityShuffle in order to distract the Lunarians]] from the ''infiltration'' of the Moon lead by Yuyuko... Which was a resounding success! Yuyuko infiltrated the Moon and... stole a bottle of sake from the Lunarians on Yukari's behalf? Now you're probably thinking "was stealing a bottle of sake ''really'' worth all that trouble?" Well, [[spoiler:considering that Yukari used that bottle of sake to [[BreakTheHaughty emotionally scar the Lunarian goddess of knowledge by putting the fear of the unknown in her]], which ultimately had been her objective all along,]] yes.

** The [[CatFolk Khajiit]] have a reputation for being rather simple (not helped by their cultural propensity toward [[FantasticDrug drug addiction]], their [[FantasticRacism bestial appearance]], and being [[ThirdPersonPerson third-person people]]) and often morally ambiguous (their [[LanguageEqualsThought language has no word for "rules"]] and they have a very loose view of what constitutes personal property). Despite this, they are as intelligent as any other race, and are known to play up the perceptions other races have for them as simple and unintelligent in order to take advantage of them. Cleverness is, after all, a virtue in their culture.

*** In the past, Yukari rallied groups of {{youkai}} and initiated an invasion of the Moon. To the {{Lunarians}}, this looked like a foolish, doomed attempt by the youkai to overthrow them. To the youkai, it became a lesson not to listen to people who want you to invade your neighbours, because that is liable to get you killed by said neighbours. To Yukari, it was all an opportunity to study the barrier that the Lunarians had set up in order to hide away in their own PocketDimension. She needed this knowledge in order to create a FantasticNatureReserve that the other youkai, now that they had learned a lesson about expansionism, would not carelessly venture out of: Gensoukyou, the setting of the games.

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft Wrath of the Lich King'', the Lich King uses this trope as part of an extremely effective XanatosGambit.

* [[ByronicHero Atton Rand]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' at first seems like your typical Han Solo-{{Expy}}, (StreetSmart but completely out of his element when it comes to Jedi vs. Sith conflicts), but various characters drop hints that he is ''much'' [[HiddenDepths more than]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast he lets on]]. If the Exile confronts him on Nar Shaddaa, [[spoiler:he finally lets it slip that he used to work as a Sith hunter and torturer... who specialized in [[MageKiller capturing/killing Jedi]]. Much of his persona is him using his emotions and lesser thoughts [[PsychicStatic as a mental shield]].]] How much of his behavior is faked and how much is genuine is [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation debatable]].

-->Jillian: He acts that way on purpose, silly! Deep down, he's actually a really thoughtful guy!

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'':
** Caius Cosades, Imperial {{Spymaster}} of the Blades in Morrowind and primary QuestGiver for the first act of the main quest, is doing this as part of his cover identity, along with PlayingDrunk. His cover identity is that of a poor [[FantasticDrug Skooma addict]].
** Crassius Curio, one of the few [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Reasonable]] and [[HonestCorporateExecutive Honest]] councilors of [[ProudMerchantRace Great House Hlaalu]], a haven for {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s with several in the pocket of the [[TheSyndicate Camonna Tong]], is doing this as part of his GuileHero style plan to clean up the corruption within the House. He lets others believe that he is an easily manipulated fool (which isn't hard, given his LovableSexManiac and DirtyOldMan predilections) as he brings his plans together beneath their suspicion.

* Double from ''VideoGame/MegaManX 4'' is a portly rookie Maverick Hunter, who is shown falling over at times in the game's FMV. Despite his goofy appearance and clumsiness, [[spoiler:he is actually a fiercely powerful reploid in a fake body]]

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':

* [[spoiler:Shuji Ikutsuki]] relies heavily on this to fool ''{{Persona 3}}'''s protagonists into [[spoiler:bringing about the Fall for him.]] A harmless character known for [[spoiler:bad jokes]] becomes TheChessmaster in one fell swoop..
** And in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', [[spoiler:Adachi]] plays much the same role. People who have played ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' will probably be instantly suspicious towards him because of it.
*** [[spoiler:Adachi]] plays like more of a subversion of the trope. While they do successfully obfuscate their real personality from others and are implied to be fairly intelligent, they mostly stumbled into the plot without any real planning or cunning on their part. In fact, their direct involvement is what ultimately gives them away. What they're really obfuscating is their morbid curiosity and sheer disregard for others, which they've twisted into believing is some sort of deep revelation.

* Asmodeus from ''{{Painkiller}}'', an easy-going imp who followed Daniel around for most of the game only to reveal that [[spoiler: he was Lucifer himself, digging holes to allow demons into Purgatory from Hell]].

** For that matter, Yukari Yakumo herself, while never pretending to be stupid, is ''incredibly'' good at either making her ingenious masterplans look like really petty mischief or covering up her numerous objectives and the fact that there's no way to actually beat her [[XanatosGambit without giving her exactly what she want.]]
*** In the past, Yukari rallied groups of {{youkai}} and initiated an invasion of the Moon. To the {{Lunarians}}, this looked like a foolish, doomed attempt by the youkai to overthrow them. To the youkai, it became a lesson not to listen to people who want you to invade your neighbours, because that is liable to get you killed by said neighbours. To Yukari, it was all an opportunity to study the barriers that the Lunarians had set up in order to hide away in their own PocketDimension. She needed this knowledge in order to create a FantasticNatureReserve that the other youkai, now that they had learned a harch lesson about expansionism, would not carelessly venture out of: Gensoukyou, the setting of the games.

* Resident hungry ghost Yuyuko Saigyouji, of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', definitely fits the bill. It's even a possibility she's actually even smarter than TheChessmaster Yukari.
** During her appearance in ''Imperishable Night'' she keeps talking about the incident-solving as a "wonderful midnight snack tour across the land" and have an overall very carefree attitude towards the whole thing. But if you look at her dialogue carefully, it's very much implied she already figured out everything beforehand, and each "dish" is a metaphor for every enemy they're facing.
** She continues this in ''Ten Desires''. After picking a fight with the player character [[ItAmusedMe for no real reason]], she then quickly points them out to the right direction despite never actually leaving her mansion.
** Moriya Suwako fits the bill as well. She looks and behaves like a CheerfulChild but is actually a PhysicalGod [[OlderThanTheyLook well over]] [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 2000 years old]]. It's been all but stated outright that her childishness is an act and her appearance might very well be a shape she has assumed to make her act more convincing.

* Nowi from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' seems to be a ditzy, childish dragon girl and few more. But she's [[BadassAdorable pretty good at fighting]] and her childishness is at very least partially faked, as a part of her decision to [[WhoWantsToLiveForever handle how she wants to enjoy her immortal life]]. A pretty good example of this is [[spoiler: her being a TricksterMentor to her serious and bookish KidFromTheFuture Nah: knowing that her daughter doesn't take her seriously, Nowi pretends that she only wants to play with Nah, and helps her fix her fighting problems by training her through their "games"...]]

* ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' has [[spoiler:George Woodman]] pull a few of these at later murder scenes. The character's actions are meant to either try to help the victim ([[spoiler:wanting to cut the wires that are holding up a barely-alive Becky]]) or the typical hotheaded reactions ([[spoiler:wrestling with Nick, trying to arrest him for Diane's murder]]), but ultimately result in making things worse. During TheReveal, the player realizes that all of that was done on purpose to actually bring about the deaths while looking like clumsy, well-meant accident.

** Though, then again, that happened '''AFTER''' his HesBack moment.