History ThrowTheDogABone / Videogames

** In the ending of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations Trials and Tribulations]]'', after two games of being verbally abused, whipped, having his pay cut to unbelievable levels, getting a ''tracking device placed on him'', and then getting ''fired'' (though he gets rehired), it's implied that [[InspectorLestrade Dick Gumshoe]] finally hooks up with his longtime crush Maggey Byrde. Unfortunately, as StatusQuoIsGod, they seem to be JustFriends again by the time of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', barely a month later. He gets another moment at the end of ''Investigations 2'', where [[spoiler:Edgeworth actually ''raises'' Gumshoe's salary for a change. He takes a while to understand what just happened.]]

** In another meta example, 2019-2020 has been a very generous period for Porygon and its evolutions. ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters EX'' included Porygon in as a feature called the Poryphone, who's role could've easily been filled by Rotom. After the line had been excluded from the base release of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Sword & Shield]]'', they were added back in through ''The Isle of Armor'', with a Porygon given for free by Mustard's son Hyde, and [=Porygon2=] having a giveaway event by code during late August 2020. Finally, the line was the featured Pokémon for the September 2020 Community Day in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo''. It also got a Spirit in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* Princess Peach is perhaps one of the most infamous cases of the DamselInDistress trope in all of fiction. Her usual role is to sit in the sidelines watching the Mario Bros and their allies save her and act as TheLoad or NeutralFemale, almost never being allowed or having the chance to join in the action herself. The sheer amount of times she has been kidnapped is truly astonishing. However, every once in a while, Nintendo puts her out of the DamselInDistress trope and she is PromotedToPlayable and gets to show off what she's truly capable of. Examples of this include Super Mario Bros.2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, Super Mario Wonder, both Mario Plus Rabbids games and the Super Smash Bros series. She also gets to show off the full extent of her skills, intelligence and magic powers in the other RolePlayingGames and spinoff titles.

* Princess Peach is perhaps one of the most infamous cases of the DamselInDistress trope in all of fiction. Her usual role is to sit in the sidelines watching the Mario Bros and their allies save her and act as TheLoad or NeutralFemale, almost never being allowed or having the chance to join in the action herself. The sheer amount of times she has been kidnapped is truly astonishing. However, every once in a while, Nintendo puts her out of the DamselInDistress trope and she is PromotedToPlayable and gets to show off what she's truly capable of. Examples of this include Super Mario Bros.2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, both Mario Plus Rabbids games and the Super Smash Bros series. She also gets to show off the full extent of her skills, intelligence and magic powers in the other RolePlayingGames and spinoff titles.

* Johnny Sasaki of ''Franchise/MetalGear'' finally gets some luck in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Guns of the Patriots]]''. [[spoiler:He gets cured of his bowel problems, stars in his own SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, and then marries his commanding officer/long-time crush Meryl in the ending of the game.]]

* Nugget from ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten}}'' has a ''lot'' of misfortune befall him in both the first and second game. In ''VideoGame/Kindergarten2'' alone, he gets stuck behind a sewer grate, [[AnArmAndALeg chews his own arm off]] because of said situation, and depending on the route he can either [[HeadDesk bang his head against the wall]] so hard it starts to bleed out of despair over receiving cold chicken nuggets, or [[GagHaircut get his hair cut off so violently that his scalp bleeds]]. However, things finally go his way in the final mission of that same game, in which he [[spoiler:gets a [[TheCavalry Cavalry]] moment saving the protagonist and his friends from the BigBad, then gets a [[SmoochOfVictory kiss on the cheek]] from his crush Lily for his bravery]].

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' throws an even bigger bone for the original-timeline Scorpion in the first ''Invasion'' event. [[spoiler:After having lost his shit due to many failed attempts at finding a timeline with a surviving Harumi, eventually finding one where she's married to Bi-Han, after the Invasion, Fire God Liu Kang tries to find a timeline where Harumi is alive and unwedded for Hanzo. He eventually finds one where [[SwappedRoles it was Hanzo who was killed by Quan Chi and Harumi who took up the mantle of Scorpion.]] In the end, Hanzo now has his lovely wife back with the added bonus of them becoming a BadassCouple ripping through the evil within Harumi's timeline.]]

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' throws an even bigger bone for the original-timeline Scorpion in the first ''Invasion'' event. [[spoiler:After having lost his shit due to many failed attempts at finding a timeline with a surviving Harumi, eventually finding one where she's married to Bi-Han, after the Invasion, Fire God Liu Kang tries to find a timeline where Harumi is alive and unwedded for Hanzo, he finds one where [[SwappedRoles it was Hanzo who was killed by Quan Chi and Harumi who took up the mantle of Scorpion.]] In the end, Hanzo now has his lovely wife back with the added bonus of them becoming a BadassCouple ripping through the evil within Harumi's timeline.]]

** In [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos's]] ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' ending [[spoiler:he is personally thanked by Raiden, the only god to not stab him in the back or treat him like a tool]].

** Reptile is finally given a break in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' after multiple games featured him getting screwed over by his masters. His new boss, Kotal Khan, is a NobleDemon who values and greatly respects Reptile for his loyalty and sense of duty.
** Johnny Cage spent most games as a FakeUltimateHero and in Mortal Kombat 9, he's a ButtMonkey who gets his ass kicked by most characters. But in the end they made him survive the carnage that the game was. Things get better for him in Mortal Kombat X, where he [[TookALevelInBadass took several major levels in badass]], gets to kick Shinnock's ass and marries Sonya and have a daughter with her (even if they divorce, they get together again at the end of the game).
** Three endings in ''X'' have this to Scorpion (who gets recruited by Raiden alongside his Shirai Ryu clan to protect Earthrealm), Takeda (who finds Taven in a crucial step towards finding his mother's killer), and Kitana (who is granted a vision of her killing Shao Kahn and liberating Edenia). Things aren't as cracked-up for Scorpion and Kitana though, considering that the former is now in service to a WellIntentionedExtremist and the latter is [[YankTheDogsChain forced out of the vision]] into less than desirable circumstances.

* Waver Velvet of ''LightNovel/FateZero'' became "Lord El-Melloi II" after the Fourth Holy Grail War, but all he ever wanted was to be with his [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat King]] again. It's stated to be a TragicDream in the written midquel series, the ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles''. He gets his wish by becoming a [[{{mon}} Servant]] in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''.

** As a meta example, Raichu was considered TheArtifact as soon as Pikachu became a BreakoutCharacter, with Pikachu getting all kinds of event-exclusive moves, formes, and playing a major role in most Pokémon media. Raichu, by contrast, got nothing new added to it, only shows up once every so often in the anime, and is almost never marketed anymore, to the point where the fandom started joking that Creator/GameFreak wanted people to forget that it even existed. Then ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' happened, however, and Raichu was among the various Pokémon to receive an Alolan Forme. Then, ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', Raichu along with other Pokémon that can evolve via Evolution stones can relearn the moves of their pre-evolutions meaning it can be instantly evolved from Pikachu and learn Agility and Quick Attack and can also learn Thunder Punch. In addition, Gigantamax/Terastal Pikachu keep the base form's terrible stats and in addition the former can't even evolve whereas Raichu can soak up some hits and chase off Ground-types with Surf and Grass Knot.

** As a meta example, Raichu was considered TheArtifact as soon as Pikachu became a BreakoutCharacter, with Pikachu getting all kinds of event-exclusive moves, formes, and playing a major role in most Pokémon media. Raichu, by contrast, got nothing new added to it, only shows up once every so often in the anime, and is almost never marketed anymore, to the point where the fandom started joking that Creator/GameFreak wanted people to forget that it even existed. Then ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' happened, however, and Raichu was among the various Pokémon to receive an Alolan Forme.

** In the ending of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations Trials and Tribulations]]'', after two games of being verbally abused, [[WhipItGood whipped]], having his pay cut to unbelievable levels, getting a ''tracking device placed on him'', and then getting ''fired'' (though he gets rehired), it's implied that [[InspectorLestrade Dick Gumshoe]] finally hooks up with his longtime crush Maggey Byrde. Unfortunately, as StatusQuoIsGod, they seem to be JustFriends again by the time of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', barely a month later. He gets another moment at the end of ''Investigations 2'', where [[spoiler:Edgeworth actually ''raises'' Gumshoe's salary for a change. He takes a while to understand what just happened.]]

* Princess Peach is perhaps one of the most infamous cases of the DamselInDistress trope in all of fiction. Her usual role is to sit in the sidelines watching the Mario Bros and their allies save her and act as TheLoad or NeutralFemale, almost never being allowed or having the chance to join in the action herself. The sheer amount of times she has been kidnapped is truly astonishing. However, every once in a while, Nintendo puts her out of the DamselInDistress trope and she is PromotedToPlayable and gets to show off what she's truly capable of. Examples of this include Super Mario Bros.2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, both Mario Plus Rabbids games and the Super Smash Bros series. She also gets to show off the full extent of her skills and magic powers in the other RPGs and spinoff titles.

* Princess Peach is perhaps one of the most infamous cases of the DamselInDistress trope in all of fiction. Her usual role is to sit in the sidelines watching the Mario Bros and their allies save her and act as TheChick or NeutralFemale, almost never being allowed or having the chance to join in the action herself. The sheer amount of times she has been kidnapped is truly astonishing. However, every once in a while, Nintendo puts her out of the DamselInDistress trope and she is PromotedToPlayable and gets to show off what she's truly capable of. Examples of this include Super Mario Bros.2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, both Mario Plus Rabbids games and the Super Smash Bros series. She also gets to show off the full extent of her skills and magic powers in the other RPGs and spinoff titles.

* Princess Peach is perhaps one of the most infamous cases of the DamselInDistress trope in all of fiction. Her usual role is to sit in the sidelines watching the Mario Bros and their allies save her and act as TheChick or NeutralFemale, almost never being allowed or having the chance to join in the action herself. The sheer amount of times she has been kidnapped is truly astonishing. However, every once in a while, Nintendo puts her out of the DamselInDistress trope and she is PromotedToPlayable and gets to show off what she's truly capable of. Examples of this include Super Mario Bros.2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, both Mario Plus Rabbids games and the Super Smash Bros series.

* Princess Peach gets to show what she really is capable of when she is PromotedToPlayable and not the eternal DoomnMagnet and DamselInDistress like in Super Mario 3D World, Super Princess Peach, Super Mario RPG, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Bros.2, both Mario Plus Rabbids games, Super Mario Run and the Super Smash Bros series.

* Pierce Washington of the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series usually plays ButtMonkey to the other Saints, with the Boss constantly disregarding his [[ComplexityAddiction overly complex plans]] in favour of the much quicker (and much more fun) method of just barging in and shooting everybody between him/her and his/her objective. In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', his loyalty mission involves the Boss actually letting him do one of his plans for once. Furthermore, ''VideoGame/AgentsOfMayhem'' takes place in the AlternateTimeline created by ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'''s CosmicRetcon ending. In this timeline, the Saints do not exist, and therefore the man/woman who would become the Boss never got involved in crime. Instead, Pierce is known as "Kingpin", and is the equivalent of both the Boss ''and'' Benjamin King. After succeeding King as leader of the Vice Kings, Pierce united the Vice Kings, Westside Rollers, and Los Carnales under one banner by [[BribingYourWayToVictory offering them a shitload of money if they agreed to his terms]].

%%** Three endings in ''X'' have this to [[YankTheDogsChain Scorpion]], [[ShootTheShaggyDog Takeda]], and [[KickTheDog Kitana]]. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)

** In the ending of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations]]'', after two games of being verbally abused, [[WhipItGood whipped]], having his pay cut to unbelievable levels, getting a ''tracking device placed on him'', and then getting ''fired'' (though he gets rehired), it's implied that [[InspectorLestrade Dick Gumshoe]] finally hooks up with his longtime crush Maggey Byrde. Unfortunately, as StatusQuoIsGod, they seem to be JustFriends again by the time of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', barely a month later. He gets another moment at the end of ''Investigations 2'', where [[spoiler:Edgeworth actually ''raises'' Gumshoe's salary for a change. He takes a while to understand what just happened.]]
** In Case 1-3 of ''Trials and Tribulations'', there is a fantastic moment where [[spoiler:Edgeworth not only stops Dee Vasquez from ending the cross examination, but points out a vital contradiction in her testimony, thus giving Phoenix what he needs to prove her guilt.]] Given how Edgeworth has done nothing but make the cross examinations miserable for Wright (all while [[SmugSnake being smug and condescending]]), this is ''very'' welcome.