Line #36 DumbMuscle/VideoGames


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8	* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'':
9	** Ranger party member Minsc is a blend of DumbMuscle, GentleGiant, BoisterousBruiser, and CrazyIsCool.
10	** ZigZagged by BarbarianHero [[AmazonianBeauty Karlach]] in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII''. Despite coming off as a [[ThePollyanna bubbly ditz]] (with a below-average Intelligence score), she frequently proves herself to be rather insightful and StreetSmart with an above-average Wisdom score to reflect it.
11	--->'''Karlach:''' Aww, was that Gale's granddad?\
12	'''PlayerCharacter:''' That was Elminster Aumar - [[WorldsSmartestMan the most famous wizard in the realms]].\
13	'''Karlach:''' [[RecognitionFailure Huh. Doesn't ring a bell.]] But all right! Must've had something important to say to Gale, if he came all this way. [[TemptingFate Good news, I hope.]]\
14	[...]\
15	'''Karlach:''' Poor Gale. He must be in bits after hearing that. [[TeamMom I'll distract him.]] Tell him [[BookDumb I haven't read a book since secondary school]], [[TheSmartGuy watch his face melt off]].
16	* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': In general, trolls and ogres are tougher than orcs and humans, respectively, but they are less smart which is why they usually work for the latter races. Grüü of ''Son of the Black-Eye'' campaign is a troll whose mind is not bright enough for many strategy, so his main job in the group (besides bringing along ''other'' trolls) is to smash his enemies with his hammer, which he can do ''very'' well.
17	* In ''VideoGame/BibleAdventures'', Noah can lift up to four animals -- five for short distances -- even things like horses, cows, and oxen, and carry them on his head... but apparently, he chose to put a ''platforming challenge'' as the way to get to the door of the ark instead of a ''ramp''. Oh, Noah...
18	* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'':
19	** [[CatGirl Taokaka]] and [[LittleBitBeastly Makoto]] are both very physically strong and rather dim. [[MusclesAreMeaningless Although you probably]] [[PintSizedPowerhouse couldn't tell from]] [[BadassAdorable looking at them]].
20	** Makoto is actually a strong ''subversion'' of this trope. Her [[ObfuscatingStupidity overt]] lack of intellect is more the result of a cocktail of [[OneOfTheKids a juvenile mentality]], [[BookDumb an aversion to studying]], and an overdose of [[FantasticRacism racism-induced]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast childhood trauma]], and most of the former two are shown in the Academy backstories. In the present day, she's shown to be surprisingly smart and perceptive, on top of showing dangerous levels of competence in Intelligence work.
21	* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' features Goliaths, the GiantMook of the Bandit enemy type. Extremely slow and very childish, Goliaths also possess size and strength befitting their name. Strangely, they seem to get smarter when they lose [[RestrainingBolt their helmets]].
22	** Most bandits come off as dumber than hell because they're way too [[AxCrazy violently insane]] to possess any higher mental faculties, but special mention goes to the Psychos. While an ordinary Psycho is a scrawny human of average height, the Badass and, God help you, Super Badass Psychos are monstrously huge, mindlessly aggressive, and apparently still dumber than hell.
23	** Brick, who was playable in the first game, is an eight foot tall behemoth of a man and melee specialist, who was either named Brick because his parents knew he wasn't smart, or later had his name changed to Brick to reflect that he isn't very smart. Subverted in the second and later games, however, especially the Assault on Dragon Keep DLC; he certainly ''acts'' dumb, but he also knows a lot about the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' parody and gets into the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' spoof well before Mordecai does.
24	** Mr. Torgue is a GeniusDitz version. He is an enormous, muscular man whose entire brain has enough room for exactly two ideas at a time, and one of them is always StuffBlowingUp, leading to the owner of his galaxy-spanning company (who bought it from him for twelve bucks and a high-five) calling him "the dumbest person in the world". At the same time, he is a weapons design ''genius'' as long as your hopes for that weapon involve exploding rounds, leading to the Torgue corporation being one of the top shotgun and rocket launcher manufacturers in the game.
25	* ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' has Russell, who pretty much defines this trope.
26	-->'''Russell:''' Russell... likes to hurt people... for peace.
27	* Buldogue from ''VideoGame/CapoeiraFighter'' has one of the highest strength stats in the game but she also has had no schooling of any kind. In Ramba's arcade mode you can show her how to apply her strength better in matches and force her to get an education.
28	* [[NubileSavage Ayla]] from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', a rare [[DistaffCounterpart female example of this trope]]. She's physically stronger than even Robo, the war robot from the future, while also being every bit as primitive as you'd expect of somebody in a society of tribal cavemen.
29	* Tiny the Tiger in the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' series. In his debut, ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'', he's a large, roaring pile of muscle, and his appearance in [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped the third game]] shows his talking for the first time in HulkSpeak, but ''VideoGame/CrashOfTheTitans'', like with everyone else, decided to modify his character, making him still muscular but without the "Dumb" part.
30	* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': The Swine King is the gigantic, brutish and extremely dangerous result of your Ancestor summoning some extraplanar creature into the body of a common pig. Unfortunately for him, what he got was too stupid to be useful in the least, and he locked it up in the warrens. When you fight it, it actually needs a helper to tell it who to target.
31	* Victor von Gerdenheim in ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', a childlike behemoth who doesn't understand the concept of death -- or the fact that his appearance is frightening and monstrous.
32	* Goliath, one of the bosses of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', is a huge hulking demon that isn't all that smart. It's such a defining trait for him, the game jokingly references it at least thrice; he's mocked by Nero for not being the sharpest tool in the shed, from comments on Nico's Report (where she describes Goliath as a "roided-out musclehead demon" who's "dumber [than] a sack of pork chops"), and as the caption of his Game Clear Bonus Art in NewGamePlus ("All brawn, no brains").
33	* The Warrior in ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'' is the most straightforward beatstick among the characters, making him in many ways a MechanicallyUnusualClass because he ''doesn't'' have a weird gimmick while the other five do. He entered the Dungeon in the hope of winning a ''monster truck'', and he's generally shown to be the dumbest and most gullible of the adventurers.
34	* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
35	** Completely and totally averted in the case of the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Qunari]]. They are certainly big and strong, but while they tend towards the xenophobic and unimaginative they are in no way dumb. Every Qunari Hawke meets in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is perfectly capable of countering every argument Hawke makes against the [[ArcWords certainty]] presented by the Qun.
36	** Played straight, however, where [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Ogh]][[BoisterousBruiser ren]] is concerned.
37	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
38	** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Princess Alena is the game's heaviest hitter, but has the absolute worst Wisdom stat in the group.
39	** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': Kon the Knight and Slon the Rook are the go-to guys when [[TheDragon Ladja]] wants someone beaten to death, but their physical power is hindered by their stupidity. Slon is considerably dumber than Kon is.
40	* Franchise/DonkeyKong is 800 lbs. of solid muscle, but is generally portrayed as being a bit slow on the uptake and tends to solve problems with a punch, GoombaStomp or [[ThrowABarrelAtIt a barrel toss]]. He can be a bit more clever depending on the adaptation.
41	* In ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', in one of the challenges resides a boss named Ugg the Assertive, having the lovely {{Boss Subtitle\|s}} <Confused Meatshield>.
42	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
43	** Many of the series' physically larger minor races, such as [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]] and [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent minotaurs]], are considered this by the races of Men and [[OurElvesAreDifferent Mer]], but most subvert it by displaying greater intelligence than they are typically given credit for. [[OurOgresAreHungrier Ogres]] are one exception, typically being every bit as dumb as they are described to be. Exceptions exist, but they are fairly rare.
44	** This is also the case for many forms of the series' [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]]. Some, like the [[GiantMook massive]] Ogrim and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodilian]] Daedroth are quite powerful but have little intelligence to speak of. Even among the most intelligent and civilized varieties, such as the [[LegionsOfHell Dremora]] and [[AmazonBrigade Golden Saints]], it tends to be Downplayed. While sapient, they often put HonorBeforeReason and [[LeeroyJenkins prefer to attack issues head-on]], which, despite their power, isn't always the best course of action.
45	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'':
46	** The [[VideoGame/Fallout1 first]] and [[VideoGame/Fallout2 second]] games are renowned for allowing you to not only play as this trope, but actually finish the game with it. Of course, you miss out on a lot of content, but people's responses to you are funny enough that it's worth it.
47	** And for an NPC example from the second game, there is Sulik, a tribal searching for his sister whom you can recruit in your party. Not exactly the brightest follower, but give him a super sledgehammer and a PowerArmor and he will waste every enemy in sight.
48	** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'''s Super Mutant Behemoths are, not surprisingly, the least intelligent of their kind, and never speak, vocalizing solely in monster roars. The Vault 87 Mutants, with the exceptions of Fawkes and Uncle Leo, are in general dumber than the Mariposa ones.
49	*** Which isn't to say that the Mariposa mutants weren't stupid. By and large most Mariposa mutants were stupid, possibly/partially due to a mix of radiation damaging the genes of humans (as the Master believed) and/or due an airborne strain of the Forced Evolutionary Virus inoculating wastelanders without mutating them (as Lieutenant believed). Regardless, humans with little to no radiation damage and immunity to [=FEV=] are able to stay smart.
50	** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'':
51	*** Mean Sonovabitch is a super mutant employed as a bouncer/guard. He's incredibly simplistic (his lack of tongue doesn't help) and acquired his name because everyone kept saying he was one, so he assumed it was his name (he's actually [[DeathbringerTheAdorable very nice]]).
52	*** Another super mutant kept trying to get his car repaired and functional so he could drive it around. It was a toy car so small only a mouse could fit in it. In general, nightkin super mutants have trouble with this sort of thing, due to their Stealth Boy exposure adding a healthy dose of mental instability to the mix. Some are [[BunnyEarsLawyer intellectually fairly bright under the insanity,]] though.
53	*** The ''Dead Money'' DLC adds Dog, a Nightkin super mutant who's not much more than a violent animal who barely follows your commands. However, he's actually a subversion as he's got dissociative identity disorder, like many Nightkin, and his alternate personality, God, is highly intelligent but useless in a fight.
54	** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has Strong, another Super Mutant. He's not nearly as smart as Fawkes or Uncle Leo, and thinks the "milk of human kindness" from ''[[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} "Mack Beth"]]'' is something he can actually drink to become a more powerful Super Mutant.
55	* Berserker from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', along with all other Berserkers in the Nasuverse, where becoming stronger at the price of getting dumber is an explicit ability of members of the class.
56	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
57	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': Guy, a massive brute who is barely capable of speech. The Japanese-only novelization of the game's plot reveals him to be a former WildChild -- which is why he can talk to animals.
58	** Sabin from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. He seems a pretty clever fellow up until the point when he's taken to the opera.
59	--->[[MusicalWorldHypotheses "Uh. Why's everyone singing?"]]
60	*** Sabin is actually played as a tech-savvy, fairly intelligent character otherwise. He's got the book smarts, but he's culturally oblivious, which makes sense given that he spent the last decade before the start of the game in the mountains learning martial arts from a hermit master.
61	*** Umaro is probably a better example, using HulkSpeak on the rare occasions when he speaks at all. His main solution when he sees something he doesn't like is to repeatedly bash away at it until he destroys it. This can be the enemies he beats with his giant club, or [[DungeonBypass the walls in Kefka's Tower that he smashes down to clear a path for his friends]], [[FridgeBrilliance Which, in its own way, is almost clever]].
62	* Arche, the main character from ''VideoGame/FortuneSummoners'' literally gets called "Dumb Muscle" at one point. Might have to do with the fact that she's a [[LittleMissBadass little girl]], but even compared to her classmates she has a hard time with math or understanding some words (butler/butter, for instance).
63	* Almost every ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' character indicated to be DumbMuscle, (by [[WordOfGod Nintendo's strategy guide]], even) turns out to [[SubvertedTrope actually be pretty bright]], just HotBlooded or careless. Even [[TheBrute Agatio]]. ''Especially'' Agatio.
64	* Goren from ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' qualifies, being large and stupid are pretty much his main bits of characterization.
65	* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has an entire race of these with the Ettin, bulky two-headed ogres with apparently half a brain in each head. Most are aggressive monsters who know no other combat tactic than bludgeoning things to death and stomping the ground really hard, a few of them are peaceful [=NPCs=] who cannot understand any word longer than three syllables.
66	* The Hunters and Brutes in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' seem to be this, but the expanded universe shows that the Hunters are {{Warrior Poet}}s who were one of the more advanced species to be incorporated into the Covenant, and that the Brutes are one of the few Covenant species who don't consider modifying Forerunner technology to be blasphemy.
67	** Some of the smarter Brutes are quite terrifying in how cunning they can be. But then again, quoth the ''Halo 3'' Bestiary: "Jiralhanae are the only species on record who achieved space, [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves reduced themselves through internecine war to a preindustrial condition]], clawed their way back to their former state, and [[AesopAmnesia learned nothing from the experience]]."
68	* In the VisualNovel DatingSim ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', you start with 1 wisdom, 800 vitality, and 5 charisma, and you do not get more than about 35 to 40 possible points of stat increase throughout the game. That said, your character is quite erudite regardless of what you do with stats.
69	* Crag Hack of ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' (Creator/NewWorldComputing verse only, the Ashan incarnation was quite a clever man in his appearances) may be a barbarian, but as his fellow barbarian Yog notes, most barbarians aren't ''quite'' so dumb as Crag Hack -- this is a man who, despite ''decades'' of experience as a mercenary across (''at least'') two continents, not all of it in combat, ''still'' hasn't picked up that 'Mister' is a title, not a name.
70	* Yellow Heart from ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaVictory'' has childish speech patterns, can only read and write very simple words, and is generally dumb as a brick. She can also slug the other [=CPUs=] hard enough to knock them out of SuperMode and send them over the horizon. [[spoiler: Part of this comes from the fact her normal form is a LOT younger than her CPU form looks, but counts as DoubleSubverted since she's still dim even for a child.]]
71	* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'': Chang Koehan is a colossal numbskull with unbelievable physical prowess.
72	* Played with by Dr. Mundo from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. On the one hand, he's a genius chemist capable of enhancing his own body to many times its physical limit and granting himself a massive HealingFactor. On the other hand, he forgets his own name if he doesn't constantly [[HulkSpeak say it to himself]]. Apparently those body enhancements had side effects.
73	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Moblins are this in comparison to the Bokoblins. Neither enemy type is portrayed as especially bright -- they're at a Stone Age level at best -- but Moblins are distinctive for never using weapons more complex than clubs and spears, unlike the Bokoblins' use of bows, and never inhabit complex camps unless Bokoblins are also present -- Moblins found by themselves simply live in the wilderness without even the simplest shelter or even just a firepit area and crates that even the simplest Bokoblin-only camps have. However, they're a lot bigger and a lot stronger than Bokoblins, being archetypal {{Smash Mook}}s to the Bokoblins' easily slain {{Mooks}}, and serve as the main combat muscle and damage sponges in mixed bands.
74	* In ''VideoGame/LegoCityUndercover'', [[TheDragon Rex Fury]] is this. He can break out of handcuffs without any difficulty, but his reasoning skills leave much to be desired - case in point, he was arrested prior to the game's story because he tried using a riding lawnmower as an escape vehicle.
75	* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' has Masato, who is almost obsessed with muscles but isn't particularly bright and admits to having no good subjects at school. Though Riki does think at one point that if he spent as much time on schoolwork as he does on training he wouldn't be doing nearly so badly.
76	* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', we've got Masaru, a pro-wrestler with absurdly high health and a huge variety of damaging martial arts moves, but no matter how much you LevelGrind, his base IQ always stays at a paltry 25.
77	* ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'':
78	** Dekar from ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' is a classic cutout for just the two words "Dumb muscle" put together.
79	** Guy in ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals''. He's not a complete moron (like Dekar), but he'll be the first to admit that his expertise lies primarily in smashing things.
80	* Little Eddie, the first boss of ''VideoGame/MadWorld''. Little Eddie loves his big bada-booms! He also promises to "murderlize" Jack, and the slurring of his speech suggests actual mental impairment to some degree.
81	** And Frank. Co-Commentator Kreese Kreeley specifically describes him as "dumber than a box of blondes but strong as shit. Clumsy fucker, though; Jack can take him if he plays smart and fast." Both Little Eddie and Frank are several times larger than Jack, by the by.
82	** Kreese himself is implied to be at least as strong as Jack (since he talks about performing feats Jack can perform) and is completely illiterate. And he's not too good with numbers, either. [[RunningGag He blames our schools]].
83	* Levi, the Material of Power in ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny''. She's as strong as her title suggests, but comes with a very childlike and simple-minded personality. As in, 'easily pacified with a lollipop' childlike and simple.
84	* Flay in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis'' falls pretty blatantly into this category, most of the time.
85	* [[ProudWarriorRace Krogan]] are generally considered to be this in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' by the other races, especially salarians and turians, and you'll find plenty of krogan thugs throughout the series that play it straight. Any krogan who's [[NominalImportance actually got a name]] is probably smart enough to avert the trope, though. Wrex, Grunt, and Drack certainly all are, while in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''[[VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda Andromeda]]'' there are even krogan scientists, engineers, mechanics, and technical minded individuals who are shown to be quite good at what they do.
86	* Spark Mandrill in ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' is actually aware of the fact that he's not so bright, and is also, you know, a punishing apelike robot. "Now, X, you never thought that maybe Sigma was right and you were wrong? I don't like thinking, either. Maybe we can find the answer together, in battle!"
87	* Bud Bison from ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', though, atypically, he's very sentimental and is easily manipulated from an ''emotional'' angle.
88	* Subverted by the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' GameMod ''A Tale of Ajandel'' where part of the loot from a minotaur in a mazelike cave was a diary which briefly mentioned building the maze so that it could have a private place in which to write the "great minotaur novel" and mourn its late wife.
89	* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'': Invoked with [[https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Actum Actum]], a unique weapon with powerful base stats, but sets your Intelligence points to 0.
90	* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
91	** Akihiko Sanada from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' most certainly ''wasn't'' this in his original game. It's made clear that he's a very good student on top of being insightful, keen, and good at planning during fights; in fact, he's the first one to connect the dots in regards to why [[BossBattle those large Shadows]] appear during [[{{Lunacy}} full moons.]] His only shortcomings, mentally, are his sorely lacking social graces. Once {{Flanderization}} kicked in during ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' and ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', his more bookish intelligence is thrown out the window, his tactlessness is ramped up, and he becomes far more aggressive than even his worst moments in ''3'', as demonstrated by his battle quotes in ''Arena'' and his constant whining and arguing with his friend Shinjiro in ''Q''. Throw an obsessiveness with protein that wasn't in the original game and you've got one dumb, tactless boxer.
92	** Kanji Tatsumi in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' plays it a bit straighter than Akihiko, being far more academically inept and clueless (how he gets involved in the action in ''Arena'' involves him ''falling asleep and falling into his television set,'' and he spends his entire story mode thinking he's in a dream.) It's emphasized with his more brutish fighting style, which involves smacking chairs and other blunt objects, whereas Akihiko is a trained boxer.
93	** Ryuji Sakamoto plays this straight in ''VideoGame/Persona5''. A HotBlooded BookDumb JapaneseDelinquent with excellent physical stats, he's the self-proclaimed "First Attacker of the Phantom Thieves" and has a bad tendency to shout about the Thieves' activities when it's least appropriate. Compared to the more conventional weapons of his compatriots, Ryuji starts out with a [[ImprovisedWeapon pipe]] and admits that Joker is far smarter than him.
94	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
95	** Rhyhorn's tackles are strong enough to topple buildings, but it's so stupid that it often forgets why it's charging in the first place.
96	** Cramorant's ''Sword'' dex entry states that it is capable of knocking out its opponents in one hit, but it has a habit of forgetting what it's fighting in the middle of combat.
97	** Despite being an incredibly powerful Pokémon, the Pokédex says that Dondozo is not very intelligent, as it fails to capture most of the prey that it tries to hunt on its own. That’s why it often has [[TheSmartGuy Tatsugiri]] help it, since it actually knows how to hunt.
98	* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': Unlike his more sophisticated comrades, Beelzebub's programming isn't very complex, and thus the fight with him is downplayed into a very generic boss battle. Asmodeus even Lampshades this.
99	* In ''VideoGame/PotionPermit'', Leano's first mate Ottmar is a "simple-minded dullard" who's larger than her, speaks in [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]], and is [[TrademarkFavoriteFood obsessed with corn]] to the point that he [[OneNoteCook only makes recipes using it.]] Despite all of those, he's still diligent in running Primerose Sail with her.
100	* If you play as a fighter in the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' games, your intelligence and communication skills start out lower than the mage or thief, and characters will sometimes remark about the lack of refinement in your speech. There's one scene in the fourth game where you read a book in the adventurer's guild about climbing, and the narrator notes that it was "obviously meant for fighters" as it is written in very simple language.
101	* In ''VideoGame/RootsOfPacha'', Touk has all the muscles and loves training like Grob, but he doesn't have the intelligence to go with it. In one of his cutscenes, he admits that he decided to become tough because he believed he couldn't be smart, but he's trying to train his new pet wild boar piglet, Beast, to prove himself that he can be smart, too.
102	* ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'': Gaira Kafuin is a parody of the MartialPacifist mold, being a Buddhist monk who is actually a violent knucklehead.
103	* ''VideoGame/SaturdayNightSlamMasters'': One of Titanic Tim's prefight quotes is "No one can sink the Titanic", which certainly ''sounds'' intimidating until you examine it for one second (hint: the Titanic actually did sink, but it's that exact sort of boasting that made its sinking memorable).
104	** And King Rasta Mon, who was actually an original rejected design for WildChild Blanka from ''Street Fighter''. His Japanese name is "Missing IQ" Gomez.
105	* ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'' has the Water Street Boys gang, which is basically a ''gang-wide'' case of this, complete with leader Winston Chu's right-hand man Conroy Wu (both described as possible steroid abusers) making his boss look ''worse'' for having him[[note]]he's a walking, talking symbol of Winston's inability to attract and cultivate subordinates with potential intellect or refinement[[/note]], and both men plus their gang are collectively described[[note]]by the previous mole Charlie Ho[[/note]] as unable to achieve their goals due to lack of sophistication, respectability[[note]]with which to move into white-collar crime[[/note]] and just about anything ''except'' fierce loyalty to one another and brute force violence. Then [[GeniusBruiser Wei Shen]] comes along...
106	* ''Franchise/SlyCooper'':
107	** Murray is a downplayed example. While he takes great pride in his strength, primarily solves problems with his fists, and even admits not being as smart as his teammates, he is skilled in many other areas. For example, he helps Bentley build a plane in the ''Flight of Fancy'' chapter of [[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves the third game]], and manages to repair the arcade machines of each hideout in [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the fourth game]] (should the player find all treasures in the corresponding level). Add the fact that he is a genuinely skilled driver, and Murray is more simple-minded than outright dumb.
108	** Muggshot is a straighter example. Though he has impressive strength and can take insane amounts of damage, his intellect leaves a lot to be desired. When invading Mesa City, he drives out all citizens [[DidntThinkThisThrough and suddenly remembers why he doesn't have any customers in his casino business]], and laments on how the "Thingus Raccamagoocus" [[note]] "Thievius Raccoonus" [[/note]] has "WAY too many big words". Judging from his introduction cutscene, Muggshot spent more time exercising his muscles than his brain. He does, however, have a [[SophisticatedAsHell surprisingly good vocabulary mixed with his crude slang]].
109	** [[EliteMooks The Flashlight Guards]], regardless of the area they appear in, are the biggest and most powerful of the three basic mook types. However, from [[VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves the second game]] and onward, [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy they are easily fooled]] and display [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy poor aiming skills]]. Additionally, many of the in-game cutscenes portrays the Flashlight Guards as dense comic-relief characters who suffers various mishaps.
110	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
111	** Knuckles, Sonic's original [[DefeatMeansFriendship rival-turned-ally]], though he's more simple-minded than outright stupid. This is a bit of a justified example, as as Knuckles grew up away from civilization and the first person he ever met just so happened to be [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]], so he's not exactly well-equipped at dealing with guile and crafty people. Later games show him as being a knowledgeable treasure hunter and learning to avoid Dr. Eggman's lies, so it's more he just looks dim compared to the tech-savvy villains.
112	** Big the Cat is another example, though like Knuckles, he is also a hermit who lives away from people. And he's less "dumb" or more just simple-minded.
113	** Storm the Albatross is another example, albeit with none of the justifications as the other two. Fittingly enough, he's an EvilCounterpart to Knuckles with the ''VideoGame/SonicRiders'' games.
114	* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'':
115	** The main character, Akira, is shown to be intelligent enough to solve puzzles and mysteries, but is [[BookDumb hopeless when it comes to educational endeavours]] like reading and studying, and intelligence is his lowest stat. He makes up for it with his near superhuman physicality, soaring to the top of an underground fighting ring and serving as the party's main bruiser.
116	** Kubitarou has superhuman strength, but was addled by mental illness in life. She was given a poor education and treated as dull-witted by her village as a result.
117	* The Imperial assassin droids in ''VideoGame/StarWarsDroidworks'' play this to an extent. Lacking droid brains, they don't have much tactical advantage, and sport weapons so short-ranged that [[ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon they have to be in contact with the target]]. But that doesn't stop them from spouting all sorts of nightmarish [[IShallTauntYou taunts]] at you, [[spoiler: and one of them shows enough skill to have sabotaged a nuclear reactor on its own.]]
118	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
119	** Balrog. After Bison's disappearance, Balrog was left in charge of Shadowloo, and promptly ran it into the ground.
120	** Zangief is another example. He's fairly lacking in intelligence and seems to be more brawn than brains, yet is a proud nationalist of Mother Russia and a gentle giant.
121	** Rufus arguably qualifies as well; While there [[StoutStrength doesn't appear to be an ounce of actual muscle on him]], he's quite the imbecile [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} in his own way]], though the comics apparently makes this as part of a BunnyEarsLawyer aspect since his [[LightningBruiser size]] and nonsensical ravings makes him easy to underestimate.
122	** In the same universe we also have Bratken, the FrankensteinsMonster-like manchild and unwitting pawn of Mad Gear in ''Final Fight II''.
123	* [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser Bowser]] of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is frequently portrayed this way, especially in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games. In particular, ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' gives him a BrainsEvilBrawnGood dynamic with Fawful, where the latter sets up a GambitRoulette and utilizes various gadgets and robots while Bowser simply punches his way through the Mushroom Kingdom to get his castle back. Averted in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'', where Bowser displays a surprising amount of competence from the get-go. Additionally, this is generally averted in the main series.
124	** Morton is one of the biggest and strongest of the Koopalings, and is "more brawn than brains" according to his ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' trophy. Later games show him talking in all caps HulkSpeak to emphasize this.
125	** Roy is a downplayed example. He's similar in strength to Morton and certainly more eloquent, but is a bit disdainful of reading and tends to solve problems by shooting it with a bazooka more than anything.
126	* Most of the hard-hitting heavyweight characters in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series -- Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Charizard -- have shown below-average intelligence and poor judgment in their home series (or in Charizard's case, it's merely an animalistic character). Exceptions include Ike, Pyra (who are of average intelligence with the latter being a GlacierWaif), Ganondorf, Ridley, King K. Rool (all three of which fit the GeniusBruiser archetype), and Bowser Jr. (a GadgeteerGenius who classifies as a heavyweight due to the vehicle he's riding in).
127	* The Marine in ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars: The Pit'' is a stereotypical brainless grunt. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration His base in-game stats reflect this lore]] by making him high in Might and combat skills but low in Brains and technical skills.
128	* The Heavy Weapons Guy from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is a subversion; although speaking simple English, he's [[EloquentInMyNativeTongue a lot more eloquent in Russian]] and even has a [=PhD=] in Russian literature (if you take his appearance in ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' as canon). He also lampshades this by saying people can outsmart him, but they can't outsmart bullet. That line is something of a GeniusBonus for folks familiar with Russian idioms, as there is a Russian expression about weapon safety that goes "Bullets are stupid and sightless". So he's actually calling his opponents blind idiots. Clever, Heavy, very clever.
129	** The Soldier, on the other hand, spent years fighting World War II ''after'' the war had actually ended, [[CaptainObvious repeats everything the announcer says]], and has trouble remembering the password of '1111'. He gets Sun Tzu confused with Noah, once stating that Noah used his fight money to buy a boat, and brought two of every animal aboard said boat to beat the crap out of every single one.
130	** He also collects the heads of his enemies, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} has tea parties with cardboard cut-outs]], and wore a costume made of household rubbish, thinking he had fooled an army of robots into believing he was one himself (though to be fair, it did work until their newest creation singled him out). Safe to say, he's none too bright. It is later revealed in the comics that this was due to lead poisoning in the water he drank.
131	** In-Game, bad Heavies and, most of the time, W+M1 Pyros also qualify. "If I keep going forward and shooting, I'll score some kills!"
132	* [[Franchise/TouhouProject Cirno, the Strongest]] [[WrongGenreSavvy thinks]] she's this (being able to pound a nail in with a banana, after all), but is closer to a SquishyWizard who [[BoisterousWeakling vastly overestimates her abilities]], and is likewise considered ''smart'' for a fairy, the average of which is much less intelligent.
133	** Also the oni, [[TheOgre for]] [[BoisterousBruiser obvious]] [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl reasons]].
134	** Neither are perfect examples. Cirno isn't that strong compared to the rest of the cast, even though she far surpasses regular humans and yokai in magical ability, to the point that she is at risk of losing her nature as a fairy, and the immortality that goes with it: in this respect, it could be argued that [[InvertedTrope they're]] dumb muscle compared to ''her'', being physically stronger due to their natures yet unable to use danmaku. For the oni, Suika is fairly intelligent, as seen in her story path of ''Immaterial and Missing Power'', Kasen definitely isn't dumb and her status as muscle is dubious, and we just haven't seen much of Yuugi. A better example would be Utsuho, who is extremely powerful, being essentially a living sun, and not all that much smarter than an actual crow. While crows are quite smart ''for birds'', they're still just birds. And most other characters have intelligence that's just as human-like as their appearance.
135	* ''VideoGame/TheTwins2020'' has Bob, who serves as the muscle of the duo, but is very simpleminded. He has a SimpletonVoice and is dumb enough to drink coffee laced with rat poison which visibly turns the coffee green.
136	* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Beat's ridiculously slow wit is balanced by his equally overwhelming abundance of power.
137	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
138	** Ogres. Most of them, anyway; Two-headed ogre mages are utter geniuses even compared to other races. To Ogres, might makes... might, and leadership is decided by who can beat up who.
139	** Pit Lords are not noted for their grasp of tactics or subtlety. When they're bigger than houses, wield two-end spears the size of trees, and hit enemies so hard it spills over to bystanders, they don't need to.
140	* Mutons in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown''. True, they're physically imposing and resistant to gunfire, but they have no real initiative. Fittingly, they're very predictable tactically, and their Will score is so low that any psionic trooper you have will mop the floor with them.
141	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' has Reyn, although he’s a bit of a downplayed example. While not outright stupid, he is a little BookDumb and has a tendency to make rash decisions. He’s also a bit of a deconstruction, since he worries that his muscle is the only contribution to the gang, and once they can defend themselves, they won’t need him anymore. Thankfully [[CombatMedic Sharla]] is there to snap him out of it, and reassures him that he will always have a place on the team no matter what.
142	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': The Prone race are collectively like this. Their homeworld had been ravaged by a millennia-old war between two rival clans even before the Ganglion incorporated them into their ranks, and that whole time they never developed proper strategy, to the point that one Prone is fascinated by Sun Tzu's writings. They also frequently speak in HulkSpeak. Contrast all this with the [[CatFolk Wrothians]], who are also a ProudWarriorRace but are much more intelligent.
143	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': Both Lanz and Sena fit this role to a T, being the physically strongest members of the team, and also being the least tactically-minded[[note]]they have the lowest Tactical Points (a measure of a character's strategic ability) out of everyone except Triton, who's ''[[ScatterBrainedSenior senile]]''[[/note]] and somewhat BookDumb. It's downplayed here, as they're both fairly emotionally intelligent (especially [[TheHeart Sena]]), and also deconstructed a bit, as they both have an InferioritySuperiorityComplex brought on by the fact that they believe their contributions to the team are limited to their muscle.
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Context DumbMuscle / VideoGames