History TookALevelInJerkass / VideoGames

** The DLC case in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', Miles Edgeworth ie extremely callous and mean spirited towards Phoenix Wright during the trials, even though he went through CharacterDevelopment several games ago where he grew out of that attitude. It's handwaved by him explaining that he's under a ton of stress from the prosecution office since no one wanted to take on the case, thus he had to do all the work himself and he'll feel better taking his frustration out on Phoenix. His attitude, as well as the supporting characters that are present, are a nod to the first game.

** Shannon Matthews is a [[HollywoodNerd cute, brainy]] GirlNextDoor who's driven to find her missing brother Kenny. Fast-forward two years later to the second game, and she's barely the same girl. She's gotten substantially darker in both her attitude and [[{{Goth}} her fashion sense]], and now she berates Kenny for his "weakness" in being unable to suppress his [[ZombieInfectee mortifilia infection]] without medicine the way that she does.

%%* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has RabidCop Carter Blake and his boss, Captain Perry, becoming this due to their hatred toward ByTheBookCop Norman Jayden.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', the Capital Wasteland branch of the Brotherhood of Steel were tied with the Commonwealth Minutemen as the most unambiguously heroic faction in the entire post-apocalyptic USA due to Elder Lyons abandoning his mission for searching the ruins of Washington DC for pre-war technology in favour of a WeHelpTheHelpless attitude towards Wastelanders. By the events of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', Elder Lyons has passed away and his (just as noble) daughter Sarah was killed in battle, leaving the Eastern Brotherhood under the control of Arthur Maxson. Under the guidance of Maxson, the Eastern Brotherhood has reverted back to the previous characterization of a conservative, borderline-xenophobic society of technology hunters, with their FantasticRacism against [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ghouls]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent super mutants]] and more recently [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Synths]] kicked UpToEleven. It's also implied the Capital Wasteland now exists in a form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Teutonic_Order Ordensstaat]], where the people of the Capital Wasteland live as subjects in a restrictive neo-feudalist society.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''

* Peter Venkman in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' is a huge jerk compared to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold his occasional niceness]] in [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} the movies]]. He and Dana were having relationship difficulties and were apart at the moment, causing him to be a little grumpy.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''

* Zoey in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' can be quite short and annoyed with the other survivors if they start to goof off when the two groups meet up in the finale, which is a sharp contrast to her personality in the previous game where she was a lot more open with joking around and making witty remarks. This is due to her group losing Bill, who had performed a HeroicSacrifice and was basically a father figure to her after both of her parents died when the zombie outbreak started.

* Yukari in ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}''. She was genuinely TheCutie until FES' "The Answer", where she seems to have gained a [[KnightInSourArmor sour coating]] over her usual sugary sweet self, though she doesn't become a jerk ass so much as go through a brief FaceHeelTurn.
* After spending God knows how long [[AndIMustScream reliving the moment of her death at Chell's hands again and again and again,]] [=GLaDoS=] is understandably a bit...cranky in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' when she's finally reactivated, and acts far more passive aggressive and mean-spirited towards her.

* While in real life Dudley from Franchise/StreetFighter TookALevelInKindness between [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV IV]], IV takes place before III, meaning in the game's chronology Dudley went from being exceedingly polite to acting more snooty and calling opponents "gutter trash" (though he zig-zags back slightly by Third Strike.)

** Hubert Oswell from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. He starts off as a weak, and easily-terrified little boy, but seven years down the line [[TookALevelInBadass he grows the hell up]] due to [[spoiler:being adopted into the military-based Oswell family of Strahta]]. When he reunites with his older brother Asbel, Hubert reveals that [[spoiler:part of the alliance his new nation has with Windor is that they get Lhant, the brothers' homeland. When Asbel argues, Hubert promptly knocks him down a peg, Mystic Artes him senseless, exiles him from Lhant, rejects his own mother when she tries to intervene (as he feels she did absoltuely nothing to help him,) and then [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking sets himself up as the one true leader of LHant]]]]. The reason for his vitriol is less that he's a military man, and more that he felt he was abandoned by his family in Lhant because [[TheUnfavorite they wanted him out of the way]]. Turns out, Hubert's father [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou wanted to spare him from what was going to happen in Lhant as well as to avoid potential strife between the brothers]], although giving Hubert up more or less ended up causing that outcome anyway. Throughout the game, Hubert also [[CharacterDevelopment grows out of it]] and [[TookALevelInKindness takes a level in kindness, too.]]

* In VideoGame/{{Touhou}}, Kawashiro Nitori went from [[InformedFlaw supposedly shy]], eccentric, and helpful gadgeteer to [[FantasticRacism racist]] AlphaBitch HollywoodAtheist who openly gloats about swindling humans out of cash - all in the span of three games.

* Before the [[FullMotionVideo FMV]] games, Admiral Tolwyn, from the ''Videogame/WingCommander'' games and novels, was a gruff but overall fair person. Starting with [=WC3=], though, he became Admiral Asshole (possibly due to {{typecasting}} of Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, the actor that played him), and continued on to [[RecycledInSpace Space]] [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] in [=WC4=]. William Forstchen's {{novelization}}s of those two games tried to lessen that a bit, but was limited by the game scripts he was writing from.

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Comstock, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Comstock to crank up the temperature inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then left her die, but eventually [[GuiltInducedNightmare her visions of her]] override her self-serving denial and she asks the Luteces take her back to Rapture to make it right and save her. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces]] conclude during the boat ride back to Rapture that "she left the child to rot," and Elizabeth emphatically admits her guilt and says that it was despicable to kill Comstock when all he was trying to do was save his daughter.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Comstock, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Comstock to crank up the temperature inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then left her die, but eventually her visions of Sally decimate her insistence that she did nothing wrong; she asks the Luteces take her back to Rapture to make it right. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces]] conclude during the boat ride back to Rapture that "she left the child to rot," and Elizabeth emphatically admits her guilt and says that it was despicable to kill Comstock when all he was trying to do was save his daughter.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the temperature inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then left her die, but eventually her visions of Sally decimate her insistence that she did nothing wrong; she asks the Luteces take her back to Rapture to make it right. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan about the morality of other people's actions,]] discuss Elizabeth's deeds with each other and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* Cloud does this between ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', in which he's a shy, brave, and supportive person with really bad self-esteem (with some backstory about him picking fights with the people who bullied him in his hometown), and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', in which he's a rude, cocky, reckless and obsessive person who deliberately antagonises his friends Barret and Wedge and does things like taking salary from a slum-dwelling little girl's school money. He's nicer to the girls, but also pretty sexist and won't trust them with anything on their own. He gets a lot nicer after a few hours of play, but he remains vengeance-obsessed and arrogant until his [[HeroicBSOD entire persona implodes]] halfway through the next disk.

** Saïx from ''[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' goes from being the emotionless bastard we all know and love to smack around in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' to having his behavior borderline monster proportions in regards to Xion. Many were happy to learn that you get to fight him again near the end of the game. His beat down was much deserved. That's what happens when you talk smack about Xion like that. That's right, Roxas kicks your ass. This is especially true because Isa was a pretty decent guy in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]''. The rest of the Organization doesn't really suffer any drastic personality changes beyond losing the ability to truly care about others, yet Isa goes from a stoic but reasonably friendly boy to the cold-blooded Jerkass Saïx. [[spoiler:This is in part because Saïx believes that Lea/Axel values his friendship with Roxas and Xion over his former friendship with Saïx and Subject X and is jealous, and in part because, at that point in time, Saïx already had a [[SoulJar piece of]] [[BigBad Xehanort's]] [[CloneByConversion heart within him.]]. By the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', Saïx gets over his resentment and makes amends with Lea, while atoning for his mistreatment of Xion]]
** Sora (briefly) gains a level in jerkass in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' thanks to [[spoiler:Namine screwing around with his memories.]] He also has his selfish moments in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', such as wanting to steal a pirate ship, usurp a dictator, or hack Tron into singing and dancing.

* Penelope in ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' was a NiceGirl in [[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongTheives the third game]]. In [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the fourth]], she's a sociopathic bully who's cruel to Bentley, and wants Sly and Murray out of her life out of hatred. [[EvilAllAlong And that's just]] [[AmbitionIsEvil the surface]].

* In ''VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins'', Ethan Thomas is a nice enough guy, a gifted investigator, but personality-wise, he was never too impolite, despite clearly being under some MAJOR stress. Come ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'', Ethan's undergone about a year of alcoholism as well as some JerkAss power leveling. He curses all the time and is routinely impolite and distrustful towards everyone who tries to help him. This is in fact underlined by the change in his voice actor and character design (he went from an AmbiguouslyBrown SCU agent wearing a nondescript police uniform, to a rather less ambiguously Caucasian bum in grunge clothes). The personality change is possibly justified by the year of vagrancy and the events of the first game.

* Saïx from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'' goes from being the emotionless bastard we all know and love to smack around in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' to having his behavior borderline monster proportions in regards to Xion. Many were happy to learn that you get to fight him again near the end of the game. His beat down was much deserved. That's what happens when you talk smack about Xion like that. That's right, Roxas kicks your ass. This is especially true because Isa was a pretty decent guy in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]''. The rest of the Org. doesn't really suffer any drastic personality changes beyond losing the ability to truly care about others, yet Isa goes from a stoic but reasonably friendly boy to the cold-blooded Jerkass Saïx. [[spoiler: This is in part because Saïx believes that Axel values his friendship with Roxas and Xion over his former friendship with Saïx and is jealous, and in part because, at that point in time, Saïx already had a [[SoulJar piece of]] [[BigBad Xehanort's]] [[CloneByConversion heart within him.]]]]
* Sora (briefly) gains a level in jerkass in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' thanks to [[spoiler: Namine screwing around with his memories.]]

* Peter Venkman in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' is a huge jerk compared to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold his occasional niceness]] in [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} the movies]]. He and Dana were having relationship difficulties and were apart at the moment, causing him to be a little grumpy.

* Palom was an overeager, boastful, and sort of annoying character in the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', but that was probably excusable on account of him being five years old. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', though, he's kind of a dick for no readily apparent reason before softening up some.
* Before the [[FullMotionVideo FMV]] games, Admiral Tolwyn, from the ''Videogame/WingCommander'' games and novels, was a gruff but overall fair person. Starting with [=WC3=], though, he became Admiral Asshole (possibly due to {{typecasting}} of Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, the actor that played him), and continued on to [[RecycledInSpace Space]] [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] in [=WC4=]. William Forstchen's {{novelization}}s of those two games tried to lessen that a bit, but was limited by the game scripts he was writing from.
* Nathan Spencer in the 2009 ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' sequel.
* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
** Taki takes one between ''Soul Calibur III'' and ''IV''. She goes from hunting demons and fighting those like Cervantes who want the power of Soul Edge to hunting demons and fighting those affiliated with Soul Edge, fighting ex-villains and people affiliated with Soul Calibur, and fighting good guys or neutral parties who ''might'' become affiliated with one of the swords. Nearly every character's story path involves Taki trying to kill them at one point. It's certainly not helped that while she does this she accuses ''everyone'' but herself of being evil and delusional and makes some verbal [[KickTheDog low blows]] against [[TheAtoner Siegfried and Ivy]].
** Within ''Soul Calibur III'''s [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Chronicles of the Sword]] mode, Abelia, your friendly rival at the start of the story and, slightly later, useful ally, turns full tilt into a KnightTemplar halfway through, complete with a costume change and deeper, more aggressive voice bank.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Liara acts cold and distant in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', even if you were lovers by the end of the first game. She also has developed a ruthless streak, and both threatens people with violence and casually has her enemies murdered. If you persist, help her out, and make effort to get her come out of her shell, [[HiddenHeartOfGold she eventually reveals that most of her current behavior is a mask,]] [[SurvivorGuilt resulting from losing Shepard in the beginning of the game.]]
** Whichever of your human comrades (Ashley or Kaidan) survived the first game will become Jerkasses in their cameo in ''2'', mainly because they've been getting very ugly reports about you working with [[EvilInc Cerberus]] and [[LockedOutOfTheLoop and because it never occurred to anyone else that maybe they should know the whole story]]. Though if it's your love interest that does the WhatTheHellHero speech, they'll send you an apology letter, telling you to be careful because they can't lose you a second time.
** The third game sees the Asari and Salarian Councilors take a few levels in Jerkass (contrast to [[TookALevelInKindness the Turian Councilor]]). They, however, are beaten out by Quarian Admiral Han'Gerrel, who ''power-levels'' in Jerkass to the point of [[GeneralRipper doing positively insane things]] in his attempt to wipe out the Geth, including firing on a Geth Dreadnaught ''while Shepard and Tali are still inside it'' - and Tali is not just a fellow Admiral, she's also the daughter of one of his oldest friends. He also puts his ships and crews in serious danger to force other Admirals to support his reckless actions, because the alternative is losing the heart of the quarian military. If you fail to broker peace between the Quarians and Geth, [[spoiler: he [[LeeroyJenkins has his ships bullrush the geth fleet]]]]. Depending on what choices you made, [[spoiler: they either get massacred or complete wipe out the geth.]]
** Renegade Shepard was always a jerk, and [[TookALevelInJerkass took a level]] in ''2'', but in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' it's taken to a ''[[UpToEleven whole new level]]'' [[spoiler:unless you temper his/her personality with Paragon decisions at certain points]]. While their behavior was usually rude, condescending, racist, insulting, and did kill a number of people, it managed to have some funny moments in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. In ''3'' Renegade Shepard can become downright ''evil'', causing cold-blooded murder of teammates without remorse, and isn't as funny he/she used to be in previous games. You can even tell from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-eRfupYbA "Commander Shepard]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PjTuSQNLI4&feature=fvwrel is a Jerk]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1CV86SnSPM&feature=related " videos.]]
** It's very easy to forget that Councilor Sparatus wasn't actually that bad at first. Harsh yes, but he was reasonable and actually made some good points. It was only after Shepard became a Spectre that he became the unrepentant asshole everyone remembers.
** The Illusive Man was always ''kind of'' a prick, but in the third game he moves from being a morally inconvenient supporter, who could be extremely ruthless but was also one of the few to believe you about the whole "Space!Cthulhu is coming to kill us all" thing, to being an active enemy to the survival of galactic civilization whose forces brainwash new recruits, attempt to murder and/or brainwash your old friends, launch raids on human colonies to abduct new troops, attack Grissom Academy to abduct a multitude of young biotics, and [[spoiler:run a cross between a concentration camp and a Husk factory beneath a ''refugee camp'']], out of a plan to control the Reapers that even a number of his former employees think is flagrantly insane. [[spoiler:Eventually, it turns out he's been indoctrinated, so his more heinous actions are the result of the Reapers screwing with his head, and a fair chunk of his former seeming friendliness was a pose put on to manipulate you, [[JerkassHasAPoint which Ashley/Kaidan had warned you about during their own moment]].]]
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Ingo from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''. While he was never the friendliest person in the game, he was nothing more than a disgruntled employee who complained about Talon's laziness when Link was a kid. After Ganondorf comes to power, he uses the Evil King's "good" graces to take the ranch for himself, exile Talon to Kakariko Village, and proceeds to generally make life miserable for Malon until Link returns and intervenes.
** Maggie's father in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. When you first meet him, he's a pitiable pauper who is distraught over his daughter being kidnapped. But when Maggie comes back with a massive fortune in Skull Necklaces, he turns into a selfishly greedy bastard who won't even let Maggie get letters from her (sort of) love interest.
* Yukari in ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}''. She was genuinely TheCutie until FES' "The Answer", where she seems to have gained a [[KnightInSourArmor sour coating]] over her usual sugary sweet self, though she doesn't become a jerk ass so much as go through a brief FaceHeelTurn.
* Zoey in The Passing in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''. Compared to her nicer and more open nature in [[VideoGame/Left4Dead the first game]], she becomes outright annoyed and angry with some of the survivors in both teams. [[spoiler:The reason for her change of attitude is her trying to cope with the recent death of Bill.]]
%%* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has RabidCop Carter Blake and his boss, Captain Perry, becoming this due to their hatred toward ByTheBookCop Norman Jayden.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'':
** Anders takes several levels before and during the game. Being [[HumanoidAbomination possessed]] by an increasingly pissed off spirit that had no idea of being nice to begin with and gradually succumbing to it does not help a bit. In Act I, [[BreakTheCutie he's a bit grimmer than before]], but still kindhearted, snarky, and occasionally goofy. In Act II, he eventually [[spoiler:attacks (and kills, unless you stop him) an innocent mage he just saved from templars]] during a bout of UnstoppableRage, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone panics]], and retreats into a HeroicBSOD. In Act III, he's become completely paranoid of the rest of the party (except for [[TheHero Hawke]] and [[TeamMom Varric]]), quick to swing between manic determination and deep melancholy, is completely obsessed with his cause, and some of the party banter implies he might be hallucinating.
** The Spirit of Justice itself took a few levels in jerkass when it possessed Anders - it's explicitly stated in-game that it was overwhelmed and corrupted by Anders's anger at what was going on, and back in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', it was actually much more reasonable and willing to listen than it is in the sequel.
** Due to how the personality system works, The player character Hawke can slowly change their personality over time to go from a nice paragon hero type or a funny charming neutral type to an aggressive asshole.
* VideoGame/CrashBandicoot briefly fell into this trope in ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing''; numerous bonus cutscenes focus on his screwball antics inside Von Clutch's Motorworld, ranging from feeding Park Drones mouldy apples to disintegrating them in rocket engines. Granted this reversed back in the following game, where he goes back to being a KindheartedSimpleton.
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
** Ema Skye of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series is introduced as an aspiring forensic investigator, full of useful investigation techniques and eager to meet people in the business. However, eight years later she finds herself in a job she didn't want (detective work) after doing poorly on her forensic investigation exam and her derailed dream definitely takes its toll on her personality. The Ema of ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' is a sour and jaded woman who doesn't offer much help (unless she can use some of her forensic investigation techniques, at which point some of her original personality leaks out). By ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', Ema ''finally'' becomes the forensic investigator she always strived to be and is a much happier person.
** Phoenix Wright, while a nervous wreck most of the time, is a big time FirstPersonSmartass. By the time ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' rolls around, Phoenix is falsely accused of using forged evidence in court and is barred from practicing law. The turn of events has Phoenix become a bit more open with his smartass remarks rather than keeping such thoughts to himself (such as comparing a mob boss' wife to a sherman whale) and is prone to acting very cryptic and aloof, which greatly annoys Apollo to no end. Phoenix returns to his old self in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' since the charges against him were dropped and he was allowed to practice law again.
** The DLC case in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', Miles Edgeworth ie extremely callous and mean spirited towards Phoenix Wright during the trials, even though he went through CharacterDevelopment several games ago where he grew out of that attitude. It's handwaved by him explaining that he's under a ton of stress from the prosecution office since no one wanted to take on the case, thus he had to do all the work himself and he'll feel better taking his frustration out on Phoenix. His attitude, as well as the supporting characters that are present, are a nod to the first game.
* Cloud does this between ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', in which he's a shy, brave, and supportive person with really bad self-esteem (with some backstory about him picking fights with the people who bullied him in his hometown), and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', in which he's a rude, cocky, reckless and obsessive person who deliberately antagonises his friends Barret and Wedge and does things like taking salary from a slum-dwelling little girl's school money. He's nicer to the girls, but also pretty sexist and won't trust them with anything on their own. He gets a lot nicer after a few hours of play, but he remains vengeance-obsessed and arrogant until his [[HeroicBSOD entire persona implodes]] halfway through the next disk.
* In VideoGame/{{Touhou}}, Kawashiro Nitori went from [[InformedFlaw supposedly shy]], eccentric, and helpful gadgeteer to [[FantasticRacism racist]] AlphaBitch HollywoodAtheist who openly gloats about swindling humans out of cash - all in the span of three games.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'':
** Lucifer is far, ''far'' more cruel and insulting than he's ever been in previous installments. Even [[KnightTemplar Merkabah]] expresses pity and sympathy for Flynn when [[spoiler:he's forced to kill Isabeau]] in the Law route. In the Chaos route, Lucifer coldly brushes off [[spoiler:Isabeau's death]] as if it was nothing. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' reveals why: [[spoiler:This Lucifer isn't the Lucifer we know. He's actually one half of Satan, who serves YHVH with the goal of perpetuating the Forever War]].
** Gabriel fares no better - usually the sane member of the Archangels, here, she's tied with Raphael for being the worst.
* While in real life Dudley from Franchise/StreetFighter TookALevelInKindness between [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV IV]], IV takes place before III, meaning in the game's chronology Dudley went from being exceedingly polite to acting more snooty and calling opponents "gutter trash" (though he zig-zags back slightly by Third Strike.)
* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the temperature inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then left her die, but eventually her visions of Sally decimate her insistence that she did nothing wrong; she asks the Luteces take her back to Rapture to make it right. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan about the morality of other people's actions,]] discuss Elizabeth's deeds with each other and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Deep in the series' backstory, the Dragon Cult originated in Atmora, homeland of the [[BarbarianTribe Atmorans]] (ancient [[{{Precursors}} proto-Nords]]). There, the men worshiped the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], and the priests demanded tribute, as well as set down laws so dragons and men could live together peacefully. When the dragons and their cult moved to Tamriel, they became far less benevolent. They ruled men with an iron fist, eventually enslaving them. No one really knows why the Cult changed, though it is implied that is was the result of [[BigBad Alduin]]'s desire to ''rule'' the world instead of [[BeastOfTheApocalypse end it]].
** Two entire ''races'' take a level by the time of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** The Nords, who for much of the series (and backstory) have been a ProudWarriorRace of BoisterousBruiser HornyVikings who would gladly swap battle stories over a tankard of mead even with non-Nords, have become bitter and disillusioned following the Great War. They have become prone to FantasticRacism toward any non-Nords and believe that any Nord who doesn't share the mentality that "Skyrim belongs to the Nords" should be shunned as [[NoTrueScotsman not a "true Nord"]]. Largely [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Skyrim has been divided by Civil War in which BothSidesHaveAPoint, making it all the more devastating which feeds the disillusionment of the Nords. (The Imperial-aligned Nords believe that Skyrim has always supported the Empire and that you shouldn't abandon an ally just because they have fallen on hard times while the Stormcloaks believe that the Empire is old and weak, exemplified by them agreeing to the crippling White-Gold Concordant with the [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri Dominion]] to end the Great War, and that Skyrim is better off being independent.)
*** The [[OurElvesAreDifferent Altmer (High Elves)]], while they've always been [[CulturalPosturing haughty and snobbish]], have taken an extreme level in Jerkass under the leadership of the extremist [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]. The Thalmor play the Altmer's (not entirely unjustified) racial stereotypes UpToEleven. Their FantasticRacism has hit all time high levels, ''especially'' toward [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence the races of Men]], and they've [[StopBeingStereotypical essentially been left unchecked]] as most [[NoTrueScotsman Altmer who oppose the Thalmor]] have been exiled, arrested, or outright murdered. They also forcefully annexed the province of Valenwood (homeland of the Bosmer (Wood Elves) and used BlatantLies to appeal to the [[CatFolk Khajiit]], gaining Elsweyr as a client state.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** Amy started off as sweet and helpful in her earlier appearances, but in the later games due to {{flanderization}}, she has become more aggressive, bad-tempered, and is prone to hit people with her hammer with little provocation. This can be DependingOnTheWriter, however.
** Knuckles is usually humble and easy-going, even if he is slightly blunt and hot-headed, but in games like ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' and in the ''VideoGame/SonicRivals'' series, he's more hot-headed and a bit hostile towards others compared to his usual self.
** In the ''VideoGame/SonicRivals'' series, Silver acts much ruder and hostile to everyone than in his debut in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. He seems to have gotten better in his cameo in ''[[VideoGame/SonicColors Sonic Colors DS]]''.
** While both [[AntiHeroTeam Team Dark members]] Shadow and Rouge aren't the most pleasant people to talk to, ''[[VideoGame/SonicRiders Sonic Free Riders]]'' takes their antagonistic tendencies UpToEleven. Shadow's ego and Rouge's greed are inflated to the point of {{Flanderization}} and they basically treat everyone around them like dirt. And that's not even going into the horribly apathetic way they treat E-10000B, working the poor robot to the point where his circuits are overheating from exhaustion. The other teams are outright disgusted at their behavior and Cream in particular practically begs them to get E-10000B fixed.
** Tails, inexplicably, does this in ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld''. The [[ThePollyanna childlike naivete]] and [[HumbleHero humility]] that defined him in previous titles was spontaneously replaced with a [[InsufferableGenius smug]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]], obnoxious, whiny, and snarky attitude. [[spoiler:He had a falling-out with Sonic because he was interested in teaming up with Dr. Eggman to corrale the Deadly Six, even though he was [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 perfectly]] [[VideoGame/SonicHeroes fine]] [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog with it]] before!]] The worst part is that he never owns up to it at the end of the game.
* ''Franchise/TombRaider'': Lara Croft, a few times. First, between the second and third games, she goes from killing members of an evil cult who want to destroy the world to killing Military Police, museum guards and homeless all for the sake of finding artefacts. The 'saving the world' part only comes in for the last few levels, and by then the only humans left are on her side. The fourth and fifth games see her infamous snark taken UpToEleven, making her even less civil in conversation with other people... and then the sixth game sees her running around two European cities, contaminating crime scenes, breaking into the Louvre, killing police and security personnel, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and being rude to prostitutes]]. [[NotHelpingYourCase All to clear her name of one murder.]] It isn't until the reboot from Crystal Dynamics that Lara's personality dials back the jerk side of her.
* Jak becomes this in ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' as a result of being tortured for two years straight at the start of the game. In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', Jak was a HeroicMime, but in ''Jak II'' he speaks for the very first time at the beginning of the game, his first words being "I'm gonna KILL Praxis!", setting the tone for his attitude throughout the game. He mellows out by ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'' though.
* Ratchet from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'' becomes this about halfway through the first game, where he starts blaming Clank for everything and cutscenes rarely pass by without Clank getting insulted. By the end of the first game however they're [[HeterosexualLifePartners inseparable best friends which carries on in the following sequels.]] Ratchet reverts to a more jerkass personality in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankSizeMatters''.
* Hoxton from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' was [[MeanBrit a crude British robber with a mean wit]], but he generally enjoyed the company of his companions. After being caught by the police and being sent to jail, Hoxton's crew break him out 2 years later in ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' and he has become a bigger ass hole; not only does Hoxton constantly bitches and belittles the crew (sometimes jokingly and sometimes not) for not saving him faster, he also constantly curses out and antagonizes Houston, who was Hoxton's replacement for a while. If the player has Hoxton call out to Houston, Hoxton will only call Houston by some form of vulgarity and he still does this to him if he is incapacitated.
* In the first ''VideoGame/{{ObsCure}}'':
** Shannon Matthews is a [[HollywoodNerd cute, brainy]] GirlNextDoor who's driven to find her missing brother Kenny. Fast-forward two years later to the second game, and she's barely the same girl. She's gotten substantially darker in both her attitude and [[{{Goth}} her fashion sense]], and now she berates Kenny for his "weakness" in being unable to suppress his [[ZombieInfectee mortifilia infection]] without medicine the way that she does.
** Kenny himself undergoes an even more extreme example, though his shift has a very specific trigger. [[spoiler:When he runs out of medicine to treat his infection, he [[FaceMonsterTurn mutates into a beast the size of a Buick]]. He becomes a major villain from that point forward, murdering Mei, kidnapping and raping Amy (and impregnating her with a monster offspring in doing so), and [[DrivenToSuicide driving Corey to suicide]] before Shannon and Stan finally kill him.]]
* After spending God knows how long [[AndIMustScream reliving the moment of her death at Chell's hands again and again and again,]] [=GLaDoS=] is understandably a bit...cranky in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' when she's finally reactivated, and acts far more passive aggressive and mean-spirited towards her.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', the Capital Wasteland branch of the Brotherhood of Steel were tied with the Commonwealth Minutemen as the most unambiguously heroic faction in the entire post-apocalyptic USA due to Elder Lyons abandoning his mission for searching the ruins of Washington DC for pre-war technology in favour of a WeHelpTheHelpless attitude towards Wastelanders. By the events of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', Elder Lyons has passed away and his (just as noble) daughter Sarah was killed in battle, leaving the Eastern Brotherhood under the control of Arthur Maxson. Under the guidance of Maxson, the Eastern Brotherhood has reverted back to the previous characterization of a conservative, borderline-xenophobic society of technology hunters, with their FantasticRacism against [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ghouls]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent super mutants]] and more recently [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Synths]] kicked UpToEleven. It's also implied the Capital Wasteland now exists in a form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Teutonic_Order Ordensstaat]], where the people of the Capital Wasteland live as subjects in a restrictive neo-feudalist society.
* [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Used as a game mechanic]] in ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon''. If a hero gains a certain amount of stress, they have a chance to become afflicted. Afflicted heroes will be heavily affected both stats are personality wise as they become paranoid, selfish, hopeless, or even abusive towards the other party members. This includes verbally abusing or proclaiming TheEndIsNigh to increase others' stress, or to refuse to give heals or cures even if heavily needed, among other things. "Abusive" is particularly assholish, consisting as it does of a constant barrage of verbal artillery, although "Selfish" isn't far behind.
-->'''Focused!Musketeer:''' See now? You have the heart of a hunter!\\
'''Abusive!Musketeer:''' Has bumblebrains got themselves an owie?
* Guybrush Threepwood of the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series fluctuates between varying degrees of jerkassery and [[TookALevelInKindness kindness]] between games, but is at his jerkassiest in ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'', where he's gained a noticeable ego after defeating [=LeChuck=] in the previous game, and has no problem screwing people over to achieve his goals (including getting a cook fired so he could take his job, get advance payment and then sneak out the window, stealing the monocle off a cartographer and leaving him [[BlindWithoutEm blindly searching for it for a lengthy period of time before returning it]], and nailing Stan the used ship de-[[WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs er, coffin salesman]] inside one of his own coffins to steal from him) Even his love interest Elaine dumped him between games because she couldn't stand him, and when he returns to her it's only for his own self-interest. Fortunately, he's still the ButtMonkey of the series, so he gets plenty of comeuppance, and future games dial back on the whole "screwing people over" thing to have him act a little more like a good-natured if bumbling GuileHero.
* Batman becomes more and more callous as the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' progresses, attempting to push the people in his life further and further away out of fear that if they keep getting involved with him they'll end up dead. His fear isn't entirely unfounded, as [[spoiler: he's been led to believe that Jason Todd had been killed by Joker while under his tutelage (when the reality is even worse,) his love interest Talia Al'Ghul is killed in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', and he's tricked into believing Oracle had been DrivenToSuicide by Scarecrow's Fear Toxin in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''.]]
* The Grandmas in ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' start out as sweet {{Granny Classic}}s, but as you buy more and more their messages become more and more hostile and ominous, until they reveal their true forms as {{Eldritch Abomination}}s if you initiate the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Grandmapocalypse.]] If you sell one of them, they drop the nice act immediately and begin insulting you.
* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'':
** The wraith/[[spoiler:Celebrimbor]] was cold and pragmatic, and a jot manipulative, but had clearly heroic aspirations. Come ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', going full-tilt CantArgueWithElves is him at his nicest. Talion summarizes the reason for the change (which ties into the wider lore):
-->"How much of your ''soul'' was lost in [[ArtifactOfDoom that Ring]]?"
** Ultimately, Talion finds out that Celebrimbor, corrupted by his ring of power, [[MotiveDecay no longer cares about killing Sauron and taking revenge for his murder- along with his wife and daughter's- at Sauron's hands]]. [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget Now he just wants to take over Middle-Earth and replace Sauron instead]]. When Talion hears this, he declares it NotWhatISignedUpFor and refuses to work for Celebrimbor any longer. Celebrimbor then [[spoiler:decides YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and takes his ring from Talion to give it to fellow Elf Eltariel, knowing Talion will die without it.]]
* Between ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePresequel'' and ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'', Aurelia Hammerlock. A downplayed example; in the first game, she was ''evil'', and [[CardCarryingVillain called herself as much]], but had enough PetTheDog moments to make her [[ALighterShadeOfBlack less evil]] than [[HangingJudge Nisha]], [[CyberneticsWillEatYourSoul Wilhelm]], or [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jack]]. In ''3'', every one of her sympathetic traits is lost, and she's a simple, utterly evil villain.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'':
** ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'': The Boss took on a much harsher personality after the boat explosion at the end of the [[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 first game]] left him in a coma for five years.
** ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'': Shaundi was a spacey hippie and druggie in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' that was very chill (likely from all the weed she smoked). In ''The Third'', she cleans herself up and takes on a much more serious attitude and then couples it with anger and rage after [[spoiler: Johnny Gat]] dies. From then on, she's always complaining about others and wants to kill anyone that even looks at her funny. She'll also get angry at Pierce for having a party instead of mourning over [[spoiler: Gat]]. By ''VideoGame/SaintsRow4'', it's explained that Shaundi had SurvivorsGuilt and she didn't want to feel like she was being TheLoad to her team. After Shaundi reconciles with [[spoiler: her younger/more fun self]], she becomes a lot nicer.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'':
** Entirely optional in Season 2, but also entirely possible if you consistently choose to be as mean and manipulative as the game allows you to be. Justified by the previously sweet and innocent Clem undergoing now around two years of barely surviving and losing everyone she knows and loves. By the time of Season 3, living by herself and losing everyone she loves have hardened Clem into a cynical and callous IceQueen -- though interacting with the Garcia family and learning AJ is still alive can help defrost her. Season 4 also gives the option of being aggressive and rude towards everyone.
-->'''Eleanor:''' ''[to Javier]'' That girl... Clementine... there's something cold behind her eyes.
** Kenny's a lot more aggressive and assertive in Episode 2 of Season 1. Also, depending on how you interpret his actions should you side with Lilly after Larry's heart attack in Episode 2, it could be JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and maybe even crossing the MoralEventHorizon. The level of jerkass increases if you side against him often in the later episodes. It's mostly subverted when Clem finds him again in Season Two, but there are a few moments that show his temper is getting even more out of control. DoubleSubverted in "No Going Back", where Kenny's outbursts are the last nail in the destruction of the group and lead to him trying to kill Jane on suspicion that she killed Alvin Jr.
** In Season 1, while she could be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, Lilly ultimately had the group's best interests at heart and her most villainous action in season 1 [[spoiler:the murder of Carley/Doug]] was at the very least the result of an episode's worth of SanitySlippage and she at least [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone seemed shocked and ashamed of herself.]] By her return in Season 4 however, she has become a cold bandit leader who is more then willing to kidnap/kill a bunch of kids and turn them into ChildSoldiers in order to recruit them to her groups war which includes the little girl she helped look out for in Season 1.
** After Omid's death, Christa goes back to being cold and distant. She still cares for Clementine though despite her attitude.

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the temperature inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then left her die, but eventually her visions of Sally decimate her insistence that she did nothing wronr; she asks the Luteces take her back to Rapture to make it right. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan in regards to the morality of other people's actions,]] discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* The titular ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' took a page from this in the sequel. What was once a PowerTrio of balanced personalities (Chris the cool customer, Jennifer the conniving money-grubber, and Matthias the pyromaniac) tipped into all three of them behaving like Matthias. ...Who is incidentally [[WolverinePublicity featured on the cover]]. Though with the game this time around being less about the pay day from a job well done and more about the [[RoaringRampageofRevenge "payback"]] for being betrayed by their employer and shot in the ass, it's pretty understandable that they're 'pissed'. These are not very nice people.

* Shaundi was a spacey hippie and druggie in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' that was very chill (likely from all the weed she smoked). In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', she cleans herself up and takes on a much more serious attitude and then couples it with anger and rage after [[spoiler: Johnny Gat]] dies. From then on, she's always complaining about others and wants to kill anyone that even looks at her funny. She'll also get angry at Pierce for having a party instead of mourning over [[spoiler: Gat]]. By ''VideoGame/SaintsRow4'', it's explained that Shaundi had SurvivorsGuilt and she didn't want to feel like she was being TheLoad to her team. After Shaundi reconciles with [[spoiler: her younger/more fun self]], she becomes a lot nicer.
** The Boss took on a much harsher personality in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' after the boat explosion at the end of the [[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 first game]] left him in a coma for five years.

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode out of two by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth while the other Booker was trying to get her back, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the heat inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then leaving her die, but eventually the visions she kept having of Sally tormented her so badly that she couldn't keep insisting that she did nothing wrong, causing her to have the Luteces take her back to that point in time in that timeline of Rapture to make it right. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan (if not a little sarcastic) in regards to the morality of other people's actions,]] discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves during the trip back, and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* Shaundi was a spacey hippie and druggie in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' that was very chill (likely from all the weed she smoked). In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', she cleans herself up and takes on a much more serious attitude and then couples it with anger and rage after [[spoiler: Johnny Gat]] dies. From then on, she's always complaining about others and wants to kill anyone that even looks at her funny. She'll also get angry at Pierce for having a party instead of mourning over [[spoiler: Gat]]. By ''VideoGame/SaintsRow4'', it's explained that Shaundi had SurvivorsGuilt and she didn't want to feel like she was being TheLoad to her team. After Shaundi reconciles with [[spoiler: her younger/more fun self]], she becomes a lot nicer.
** The Boss took on a much harsher personality in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' after the boat explosion at the end of the [[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 first game]] left him in a coma for five years.

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode out of two by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth while the other Booker was trying to get her back, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the heat inside so much that the metal was bright red under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her.]] Episode two begins with [[spoiler: Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her [[RevengeBeforeReason unnecessary plot for revenge]] and then leaving her die, but eventually the visions she kept having of Sally tormented her so badly that she couldn't keep insisting that she did nothing wrong, causing her to have the Luteces take her back to that point in time in that timeline of Rapture to make it right. Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan (if not a little sarcastic) in regards to the morality of other people's actions, discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves during the trip back, and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode out of two by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be a Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth while the other Booker was trying to get her back, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the heat inside so much that the metal was bright red, under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her. Episode two begins with Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her unnecessary plot for revenge and then leaving her die, but eventually the visions she had of Sally tormented her so badly that she couldn't keep insisting that she did nothing wrong, causing her to have the Luteces take her back to that point in time in that timeline of Rapture to make it right. Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan (if not a little sarcastic) in regards to the morality of other people's actions, discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves during the trip back, and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode out of two by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth while the other Booker was trying to get her back, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the heat inside so much that the metal was bright red, under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her. Episode two begins with Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her unnecessary plot for revenge and then leaving her die, but eventually the visions she had of Sally tormented her so badly that she couldn't keep insisting that she did nothing wrong, causing her to have the Luteces take her back to that point in time in that timeline of Rapture to make it right. Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan (if not a little sarcastic) in regards to the morality of other people's actions, discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves during the trip back, and conclude that "she left the child to rot."]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth ends the first episode out of two by not only [[spoiler: getting that timeline's Booker killed because he used to be Comstock before having the Luteces wipe his guilt-addled memories of accidentally killing his timeline's baby Elizabeth while the other Booker was trying to get her back, despite the fact that he was just trying to quietly live out his days and only went with Elizabeth to find his missing adopted daughter Sally, but also by leaving Sally, who had become a Little Sister after being separated from Booker, trapped in a piping hot vent; she convinced Booker to crank up the heat inside so much that the metal was bright red, under the guise of forcing her out, when it was really only to lure him into position for a Big Daddy to [[ImpaledWithExtremePredjudice impale him,]] this being after he got his memories back and sincerely apologized to Elizabeth for what he did to one version of her. Episode two begins with Elizabeth trying to shove down her guilt over the fact that she used Sally as a pawn in her unnecessary plot for revenge and then leaving her die, but eventually the visions she had of Sally tormented her so badly that she couldn't keep insisting that she did nothing wrong, causing her to have the Luteces take her back to that point in time in that timeline of Rapture to make it right. Even the Luteces, who are by and large nonpartisan (if not a little sarcastic) in regards to the morality of other people's actions, discuss Elizabeth's deeds amongst themselves during the trip back, and conclude that "she left the child to rot."

* In ''[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite BioShock Infinite's]]'' DLC, ''BioShockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', Elizabeth is much ruder to [[spoiler:this version of]] Booker than she was in ''Infinite''. [[spoiler:Turns out that it's deliberate, since you're not playing as Booker, you're playing as an ''alternate version of Comstock'' who had taken up the 'Booker' persona.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', the wraith/[[spoiler:Celebrimbor]] was cold and pragmatic, and a jot manipulative, but had clearly heroic aspirations. Come ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', going full-tilt CantArgueWithElves is him at his nicest. Talion summarizes the reason for the change (which ties into the wider lore):

** [[spoiler:TookALevelInJerkass is an {{Understatement}] for Celebrimbor. Ultimately, Talion finds out that Celebrimbor, corrupted by his ring of power, [[MotiveDecay no longer cares about killing Sauron and taking revenge for his murder- along with his wife and daughter's- at Sauron's hands]]. [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget Now he just wants to take over Middle-Earth and replace Sauron instead]]. When Talion hears this, he declares it NotWhatISignedUpFor and refuses to work for Celebrimbor any longer. Celebrimbor then decides YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and takes his ring from Talion to give it to fellow Elf Eltariel, knowing Talion will die without it.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', the wraith was cold and pragmatic, and a jot manipulative, but had clearly heroic aspirations. Come ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', going full-tilt CantArgueWithElves is him at his nicest. Talion summarizes the reason for the change (which ties into the wider lore):

** Garrosh's jerkassery, in turn, had an after effect of Jaina taking one herself. She loses her [[AllLovingHero all-loving]] part and her rage against the Horde goes to extreme FantasticRacism levels as she tried to flood Orgrimmar with her magic, only to be called out of it by Thrall and Kalegcos. Then when she tried to wind down, she's betrayed again that she initiated the Purge of Dalaran with a glee. [[spoiler:She's gone as far as suggesting the assassination of the new Horde after Garrosh is defeated, which would mean the death of Thrall... something that even Varian ''refused''. In other words, while Varian TookALevelInKindness, Jaina ended up doing the reverse.]] By Legion, the two have essentially become the other's prior characterization.

*** The [[OurElvesAreBetter Altmer (High Elves)]], while they've always been [[CulturalPosturing haughty and snobbish]], have taken an extreme level in Jerkass under the leadership of the extremist [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]. The Thalmor play the Altmer's (not entirely unjustified) racial stereotypes UpToEleven. Their FantasticRacism has hit all time high levels, ''especially'' toward [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence the races of Men]], and they've [[StopBeingStereotypical essentially been left unchecked]] as most [[NoTrueScotsman Altmer who oppose the Thalmor]] have been exiled, arrested, or outright murdered. They also forcefully annexed the province of Valenwood (homeland of the Bosmer (Wood Elves) and used BlatantLies to appeal to the [[CatFolk Khajiit]], gaining Elsweyr as a client state.

* Saïx from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'' goes from being the emotionless bastard we all know and love to smack around in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' to having his behavior borderline monster proportions in regards to Xion. Many were happy to learn that you get to fight him again near the end of the game. His beat down was much deserved. That's what happens when you talk smack about Xion like that. That's right, Roxas kicks your ass. This is especially true because Isa was a pretty decent guy in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]''. The rest of the Org. doesn't really suffer any drastic personality changes beyond losing the ability to truly care about others, yet Isa goes from a stoic but reasonably friendly boy to the cold-blooded Jerkass Saïx. [[spoiler: This is in part because Saïx believes that Axel values his friendship with Roxas and Xion over his former friendship with Saïx and in part because, at that point in time, Saïx already had a [[SoulJar piece of]] [[BigBad Xehanort's]] [[CloneByConversion heart within him.]]]]

* Saïx from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'' goes from being the emotionless bastard we all know and love to smack around in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' to having his behavior borderline monster proportions in regards to Xion. Many were happy to learn that you get to fight him again near the end of the game. His beat down was much deserved. That's what happens when you talk smack about Xion like that. That's right, Roxas kicks your ass. This is especially true because Isa was a pretty decent guy in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]''. The rest of the Org. doesn't really suffer any drastic personality changes beyond losing the ability to truly care about others, yet Isa goes from a stoic but reasonably friendly boy to the cold-blooded Jerkass Saïx. [[This is in part because Saïx believes that Axel values his friendship with Roxas and Xion over his former friendship with Saïx and in part because, at that point in time, Saïx already had a [[spoiler: [[SoulJar piece of]] [[BigBad Xehanort's]] [[CloneByConversion heart within him.]]]]

* Saïx from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'' goes from being the emotionless bastard we all know and love to smack around in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' to having his behavior borderline monster proportions in regards to Xion. Many were happy to learn that you get to fight him again near the end of the game. His beat down was much deserved. That's what happens when you talk smack about Xion like that. That's right, Roxas kicks your ass. This is especially true because Isa was a pretty decent guy in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]''. The rest of the Org. doesn't really suffer any drastic personality changes beyond losing the ability to truly care about others, yet Isa goes from a stoic but reasonably friendly boy to the cold-blooded Jerkass Saïx. ||This is in part because Saïx believes that Axel values his friendship with Roxas and Xion over his former friendship with Saïx and in part because, at that point in time, Saïx already had a piece of Xehanort's heart within him.||