Line #56 HonorBeforeReason/VideoGames


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6	Characters who place HonorBeforeReason in VideoGames.
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8	* Incorporated into the mechanics of ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar''. Sparing noncombatants and wounded, fleeing aircraft earns you respect and means you don't fight the ''hardest'' aces (though the ones you do fight certainly aren't slouches), but earns you less money in the long run.
9	* In the first ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' game, we have Kanbei, who fights off the protagonists without stopping to ask why they're on his soil to begin with. He even ignores his daughter's pleas to listen to reason so he can "defend" his country. In the ''Black Hole Rising'', this trait is portrayed more positively. When [[TheStrategist Sonya]] stops Kanbei from defending a few cities from Black Hole, seeing it as a trap and how the cities are strategically worthless, Kanbei chastises her for it.
10	-->'''Kanbei:''' ''[=COs=] do not sit idly by and watch their people be destroyed! Even if it's a trap. Even if it's not strategically important. We are [=COs=]. It is our job to protect the people of Yellow Comet. Am I wrong?''
11	* ''VideoGame/AlphadiaGenesis'': Walter, a knight from a neighboring kingdom who lost to TheHero, Fray, in a battle tournament, demands a rematch when they meet up again a year later and wants it ''now''! Never mind that they meet up in a crowded tavern and drawing his sword in the midst of civilians while on an official mission for his king would have tarnished his honor far more than a fair loss.
12	* In ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'', Tyson Rios makes it a point to try to bring the conspirators within [[spoiler:Security and Strategy Corporation]] to justice, even going to so far as to force [[spoiler:Ernest Stockwell, CEO of SSC]] to turn himself in once they rescued him. His partner, Elliot Salem, who is much more pragmatic and selfish, repeatedly calls him on his honorable nature, pointing out that the two are [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]].
13	* Many variations in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' depending on your playthrough:
14	** When Keldorn learns of her wife's affair, you can advise him to abide the law and restore his honor by denouncing her, or you can suggest to talk and take steps to amend the reasons behind the issue.
15	** Similarly, when Anomen learns of his sister's death, you can incite him to vindicate his family honor and kill the alleged murder, or be reasonable and let the authorities investigate the crime.
16	** When Garren Windspear travels to Athkatla to testify in your favor for the framing in the death of the paladins, you can show to be worried only for your honor and not for Garren's child.
17	* ''VideoGame/BankPanic'' has this in the form of letting the bank robbers draw their guns first. When you encountered them, a timer would count down. If you shot them first during the timer, the kill was considered "FAIR" and you got more points. If you shot them before the timer appeared, the kill was considered "UNFAIR" and you didn't get as many points but were otherwise not penalized.
18	* As Rucks puts it in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' "If you can't do something smart, do something right".
19	* In ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'', the French gentleman-fighter Duke refuses to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown attack prone and vunerable opponents]], because of his insistence on [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen fighting like a gentleman]].
20	* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock\|1}}''. Though initially Jack is told that the only way to get large amounts of ADAM is to kill and harvest the Little Sisters, Doctor Tenenbaum makes it a point to give Jack gifts for choosing the harder path of rescuing the Little Sisters, by giving him both large amounts of ADAM ''and'' unique plasmids. Considering how much more great loot you get from saving them and how little the difference in ADAM between saving and harvesting all the Sisters is (over the course of the whole game), choosing to harvest the little sisters would be a case of Sadism Before Reason. (Or you might do it just to hear [[MultipleEndings the ending]] where the good doctor [[WhatTheHellHero calls you out for being a jerk]].)
21	* ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'': The game adds as a rule the Bushido code. Certain moves and tactics are considered dishonorable, such as striking a foe in the back. Acting dishonorably will abruptly end the player's playthrough.
22	* In ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarez'' (especially ''[[VideoGame/CallOfJuarezBoundInBlood Bound In Blood]]''), characters will come along and challenge the protagonist to a gunfight, which he accepts. Never mind they have easily pulled a Malcolm Reynolds style move and simply shot them as soon as they showed up instead of doing the whole showdown thing. In the second game they are already outlaws anyway and no one else is around to tell the tale later.
23	* ''VideoGame/Case02ParanormalEvil'': Lucy hires Brucie to kill the Grandmistress in order to avenge Sapphire, who was killed by the Grandmistress's zombies. [[spoiler:Brucie technically fails to kill the Grandmistress because the latter sacrificed her own life to revive Gla'aki, so he offers Lucy a discount again, despite Lucy being willing to pay him more. Jade notes that Brucie's principles of client satisfaction is the reason why the exorcist duo is poor.]]
24	* Angeal in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', honorable as he is he gave us a warning early on.
25	-->'''Angeal:''' But I never stole from that tree, because the wealthy man's son was my friend.\
26	'''Zack:''' If he was a friend, you should've just asked for some.\
27	'''Angeal:''' Honor can be quite a burden at times.
28	* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II: Retribution'': The end of the Tyranid campaign mentions that the Blood Ravens were killed to the last defending their recruiting worlds (despite being a fleet-based chapter), refusing to retreat.
29	* ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' has this as preamble for the boss fight against Rafshoon Diggs. Diggs has [[PlayerCharacter Jack Slate]] dead to rights (so to speak) in a prison gas chamber with a gun pointed at his head, but Jack taunts him by prodding him of his failed boxing career where he couldn't even cheat right, and it eventually annoys Diggs so much that he tosses the gun away and engages in GoodOldFisticuffs. Halfway through his health bar, [[ZigZaggingTrope he does wisen up a bit]] by turning on the poison gas while putting on a gas mask, additionally turning the brawl into a battle for oxygen, though the gun he had is weirdly nowhere to be seen.
30	* Lupa from ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' is a very strong believer in this philosophy. [[spoiler:Tragically, it leads to his downfall because victims of the Atma Virus need to eat their opponents, or they become permanently berserk and have an insatiable bloodlust. Gale then takes up this philosophy after Lupa's death triggers his emotions]].
31	* Acting this way in ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' will eventually cause your character's Authority to declare you an 'Honor Cop' and encourage you to make this title official by performing a sacred ritual of ''touching'' your honor inside you with your sword hand ([[AssShove sticking your thumb up your ass]]).
32	* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2\|CursedMemories}}'': If Adell makes you a promise, he ''will'' keep it.
33	-->'''Rozalin:''' Fool! You are going to get yourself killed!\
34	'''Adell:''' ... Don't worry. [[{{Determinator}} I won't die. I still have other promises to keep]].
35	** [[VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten Valvatorez]] takes this to the logical extreme. Want to know why he refuses to drink blood, at the cost of all of his power and prestige: [[spoiler:because he promised someone that he wouldn't drink blood until he showed them true terror, and they ''died'' before it happened. Not considering death of the recipient a legitimate reason for breaking off a contract, he just went on not drinking blood for the next four hundred years]].
36	* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
37	%%** Alistair in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has a lot of this going on. Being a Grey Warden, he considers it part of his duty.
38	** PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. The Hand of Korth was supposed to attack the Tevinter Imperium, but somehow managed to get it into his head to attack you instead. After you kill him, his father (the chieftain of the tribe) declares his displeasure by smacking your holdings with goat's blood, as is the tribe's custom. Thing is, the chief is a lot smarter than his son, and knows this is probably going to get him killed. So he goes whole-hog and [[spoiler:physically ''throws a goat at the castle''. He's officially arrested for "laying siege to the walls with a goat."]] If you choose to "exile" him and his clan to Tevinter ([[{{Unishment}} which is what they wanted in the first place]]), it's one of the few decisions that every single one of your companions approves of.
39	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
40	** The ProudWarriorRace [[HornyVikings Nords]] place a high value on honor in their culture, which can, of course, lead to these issues. For instance, one of the core causes of the 4th Era Skyrim {{Civil War}} is that the secessionist Stormcloaks believe that the Empire sacrificed their honor and dignity by accepting the terms of the White-Gold Concordant with the [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri Dominion]] to end the [[GreatOffscreenWar Great War]], particularly the provision outlawing Talos worship. ([[RealMenLoveJesus Talos is one of the most popular deities in modern Nord religion]].) On the other hand, Imperial loyalists among the Nords accept that the Empire (which was ''[[FounderOfTheKingdom founded by Talos]]'') has fallen on hard times, but believe that ''real'' honor means never abandoning an ally just because the going's gotten tough. Additionally, the Empire hasn't really bothered to even enforce those bans until pressed to by the Thalmor due to Stormcloak agitations. Further, the Stormcloaks are painted as short-sighted in starting the Civil War, as both sides recognize that a second Great War with the Dominion is inevitable. Loyalists believe that a united Skyrim backing the Empire gives them the best chance of victory, while the Stormcloaks feel that a united Skyrim on its own has the best chance without being bogged down by the declining Empire.
41	** Throughout the series, this is a trait of some of the more intelligent varieties of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]], including the [[LegionsOfHell Dremora]] and [[AmazonBrigade Golden Saints]]. Both are {{Proud Warrior Race}}s with arrogance and [[PunyEarthlings superiority toward mortals]] as associated traits. They don't always think things through and [[LeeroyJenkins prefer to attack issues head-on]], which, [[EliteMooks despite their power]], isn't always the best course of action.
42	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' reveals that Dragons have an extreme sense of honor that guides their every action. A ''real'' dragon in a losing fight is expected to FaceDeathWithDignity and keep fighting to the bitter end, and will also always respond to challenges, even if they're clearly being led into a trap. {{Justified\|Trope}}, as [[DeathIsCheap dragons can only be permanently killed when another Dragon (or Dragonborn) absorbs their souls]], so they can afford to be a bit reckless. [[spoiler:When Alduin runs away from the [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] after their first fight, it leads to many dragons questioning his authority; there's no shame in submitting to a superior foe, [[NoTrueScotsman but what kind of Dovah]] ''turns tail and flees'' when faced with one?]]
43	* ''VideoGame/EVEOnline'' has this in the form of Amarr Empire battle doctrine, which completely forbids retreat or surrender. During their war with the Jove, the only battle they fought with them cost them most of their fleet because they couldn't retreat or give up.
44	* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'':
45	** TheChosenOne's first encounter with DragonInChief Frank Horrigan has him [[ResignationsNotAccepted confronting an Enclave defector]] who tells him [[DoomedMoralVictor he'd rather die than go back]]... resulting in his wife [[WouldHurtAChild and son]] being shredded by the trooper's minigun alongside him.
46	** The Enclave themselves weren't immune to this either. They were the descendants of members of the United States federal government and found themselves in the ruins of the world's most dominant superpower surrounded by people who had little to no concept of the ideals their ancestors died to uphold. As a result, they considered themselves to be the [[MasterRace only true Americans]] and [[TragicBigot saw the wastelanders as mutated trespassers]]. Despite arguably not having the numbers to repopulate the country on their own, the point of the game is that [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum they'd rather let humanity die than watch America fall completely]].
47	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', with the Broken Steel DLC installed, while the player can send a radiation-immune companion character to activate the purifier rather than sacrificing themselves or Sarah Lyons, the game still considers this a cowardly choice rather than [[NegateYourOwnSacrifice Negating Your Own Sacrifice]].
48	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
49	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
50	*** Early on, Tidus breaks a major religious taboo by entering the deepest part of a temple, a chamber normally only accessible by Summoners and their Guardians, in order to assist a summoner whose life may be in danger.
51	---->'''Priest''': The precepts must be obeyed!\
52	'''Tidus''': Like I care! (charges into the temple as everyone else gasps in shock)
53	*** When Tidus later suggests the party hunts down a monstrous Chocobo Eater because "It's the right thing to do", Auron tells him his father, Jecht, often used exactly that phrase to convince his companions to selflessly help others, and if he did, it meant he was about to get them into a lot of trouble.
54	** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII The Onion Knight]] learns this as AnAesop, as, though it went against his otherwise perfectly rational motto of not taking on any foe he wasn't confident about, he found he had to fight on regardless if it meant [[DamselInDistress rescuing]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]].
55	*** More precisely, he learns that while his perfectly logical fighting style is effective, it doesn't allow him to exceed the limits he sets on himself. Only by ignoring reason and logic can he find the power to succeed despite overwhelming odds. He stubbornly refuses to believe that it changes his fighting style, though:
56	----> '''Onion Knight''': Don't get me wrong, I still won't fight anyone I can't beat. So I guess I'll ''just have to beat you!''
57	** Much of the backstory you learn about the nation of Ishgard in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' leans heavily on tradition and honor. The Machinist job quests shows how the elite and most soldiers in general use spears, arrows, and swords for weapons against the dragon horde, because they're seen as more honorable (because their ancestors fought dragons with such weapons) than using a gun. The elite see guns that could empower the lowborn/poor and fear that the status quo would change if the lower class could be on equal footing with the high class. The Leatherworker quests post level 50 has a businesswoman trying to convince the knights that using leather armor can give adequate protection against dragons and provide warmth against the cold whereas their steel armor restricts movement and only makes freezing outside worse for the wearer. The knights kept rejecting her offer since they see steel armor as the standard that worked for them for centuries.
58	* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
59	** There exists an entire category of characters spanning the series called the Camus archetype who are more or less the embodiment of this trope. They're named for Camus in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'', the leader of the Sable Knights of Grust. Grust plays the part of the aggressor and obvious antagonist in the war (along with allies Dolhr and Gra) that serves as the backdrop for the game. Camus is well aware that his country is in the wrong and bears no ill will towards Marth or his army, yet he refuses to defect to them out of loyalty to his king and to his own code of honor. Other notables in the archetype include Eldigan of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Reinhardt of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'', Shiharam of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', and Xander of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Birthright''.
60	--->'''Marth:''' General, I have no wish to fight you. You know this battle is pointless; surely, you must!\
61	'''Camus:''' So long as Grust continues to support Dolhr's ambitions, it does not matter what I know or think. I am a knight; I have a duty to fight for my motherland's glory till the very end.
62	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', Eubans and his mercenaries rebelled against Ostia on Marquess Laus' behalf to fight in the war he started, which the heroes cut short by killing Laus. When he insists on attacking the lords, his subordinate Heath points out that they have no reason to do that because Laus vanished on them, to which Eubans says that they answered Marquess Laus' call and they should fulfill their duty anyway.
63	*** If you recruit Heath and have them fight, Eubans calls him a traitor, saying that he knows nothing of honor. This is despite Eubans having to ''blackmail'' Heath into fighting in the first place (Heath is opposed to attacking women and children, both of whom the heroes are traveling with), adding a good deal of hypocrisy to the mix.
64	** Gerik and his mercenaries from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones''. When they and their employer [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Prince Innes]] are vastly outnumbered by an enemy army, Innes tries to convince them to surrender and save themselves since the other guys are only after him. Even after he fires them they refuse to (though he orders them to surrender after firing them).
65	--->'''Innes:''' Unbelievable... and you people call yourselves mercenaries? I thought you fought for money, not duty.\
66	'''Gerik:''' Yeah, that's one of the rules. Guess we're lousy mercenaries, eh?
67	*** From the same game, Emperor Vigarde's actions were pretty much the trigger of the conflict between all the nations: [[spoiler:his kingdom was destined to be ravaged by an earthquake that Lyon had predicted. Lyon pleaded him to seek aid to the other kingdoms, but...Vigarde didn't do that because it would '''hurt his pride.''' This caused Lyon to fall into a DespairEventHorizon when Vigarde ''also'' hid the fact he was dying from an illness that eventually took him, prompting Lyon to go for extreme drastic measures by seeking the Sacred Stones and falling into Fomortiis' influence that led to Lyon's own demise, and the earthquake occurs and is seen by Grado citizens as divine punishment rather than a random but unfortunate natural disaster.]]
68	* At the end of ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', [[spoiler: [[PlayerCharacter Galen Marek]] (formerly Starkiller) rescues the leaders of the newly founded Rebel Alliance, defeating both Darths Vader and Sidious in the process. He's stopped from finishing Palpatine off by his mentor, Jedi Master Kota, on the grounds that IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim. Despite the fact that said Jedi is a leader of TheAlliance whose very purpose is to ''kill TheEmperor'', and they could have bypassed the entire CivilWar right then and there.]]
69	** Subverted in the sequel. Master Kota once again stops Starkiller from finishing off Darth Vader but not on any flimsy Jedi grounds this time, instead so the Rebel Alliance can make a political example of him and ''then'' execute him, thus distancing TheAlliance from TheEmpire's rule of tyranny. The final scenes [[ForegoneConclusion (and film canon)]] indicate this still wasn't a great idea, but it was still a logical plan.
70	* The Arceans in ''VideoGame/GalacticCivilizations'' are all about honor, even at their own expense. This why, despite being generally nice enough guys to those who aren't their enemies, they are considered morally Neutral: honor is more important to them than any morality. A savvy player can exploit this to get the Arcean AI to do some very stupid things if they set things up properly.
71	* An utterly ''huge'' plot point in ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', as Jin was raised to follow a strict Samurai code of conduct that involves taking on one's opponent face to face and fighting fair. However, the invading Mongols he faces as an adult are very much [[CombatPragmatist combat pragmatists]], and Jin has to learn to adapt to more practical methods of fighting in order to defend his home, even though he doesn't approve of what he's doing.
72	* A mission ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' has you sneaking aboard a large ship to free some Vietnamese hostages and then taking out the ringleader of the kidnappers. The player prior to the infiltration loses all of their weapons in a helicopter crash and when they confront the ringleader, he gives the player a sword so that the two of them can have an honorable fight to the death. However, nothing stops the player from swimming ashore and running to the nearest gun store to restock on weapons and going back to the mission area to blast the boss full of holes.
73	* ''VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}'': When choosing between his ideals and practicality, Arthur will almost always choose the former.
74	* The Elites in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series definitely fall under this trope. It's noted that during the Human-Covenant War, even regular Elites would fight hand-to-hand and die rather than pick up fully-loaded human weapons at their feet. That said, it's been shown in post-''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' media that the Elites are starting to become a lot more pragmatic after the fall of the original Covenant; even anti-human Elites are ever more willing use human weapons if the situation calls for it (they seem to favor nukes).
75	** The Zealots take this '''especially''' far in ''VideoGame/Halo2''. The WordOfGod at the time was that these officers had a honour code that prohibited them from using ranged weapons, and entering vehicles is considered cowardice. When you do get one as an ally, [[DevelopersForesight giving him a gun will just result in him running up to enemies and bludgeoning them with it, and he will stubbornly refuse to enter any vehicle]]. Of course, they're still more dangerous than their subordinates because they're 8-foot aliens with a one-hit kill weapon; on Heroic, which is as close to realistic difficulty, unless if several marines focus fire on a single Zealot, he ''will'' reach lunging distance before his shields drop and he ''will'' annihilate the group of marines by himself.
76	** Additionally, the Elites' taboo against shedding blood outside of battle means that many of them would rather die than see a doctor. ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' shows that even the Arbiter still has some trouble getting his subordinates in the Swords of Sanghelios to seek medical attention, though it seems he's starting to make headway.
77	** One of the ''Halo 2 Anniversary'' Terminals recounts an instance where Thel 'Vadamee (the future Arbiter) caught a group of Marines so completely unprepared that they hadn't even dressed for combat yet. 'Vadamee halted his Elites' advance and motioned for the Marines to gear up, and allowed them to get fully equipped before giving the signal to attack (he still slaughtered them to a man once he did get started). It's noted as being one of the few recorded instances of an Elite showing honor to human opponents during the war.
78	* In ''VideoGame/HogwartsLegacy'', TokenEvilTeammate Sebastian Sallow's uncle Solomon was a former Auror with KnightTemplar tendencies. He developed a passionate hatred for BlackMagic after his line of work forced him to use an [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Unforgivable Curse]] to defend himself and he never forgave himself for it, seeing it as an instance of HeWhoFightsMonsters. When his niece Anne is cursed with dark magic and normal methods fail to help her, [[HopeIsScary he gives up on trying to help her]] and admonishes Sebastian for not doing the same while refusing to even entertain the idea of using unconventional methods. [[spoiler:When Sebastian uses the Imperius Curse to inflict PsychicAssistedSuicide on a goblin about to kill Anne, Solomon [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike immediately disowns him]] despite the fact that she would have died had he done nothing. Later on, Sebastian discovers a dark magic relic that could potentially cure Anne but Solomon outright destroys it, causing Sebastian to kill him in anger.]]
79	* Batman's no-killing policy in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' has him being called out for it many times by the regime. Because Batman refuses to kill, villains like the Joker and Bane are free to run around causing chaos and kill anyone they want to and, according to the regime, can only be fought back with absolute power and order.
80	* Subverted in the canonical ending of ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII''. Kyle Katarn has Jerec disarmed and on his knees. Jerec tries to goad Kyle into killing him, and Kyle responds by giving him his weapon back before effortlessly cutting him down to humiliate him rather than honorably give him a fighting chance.
81	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Donald Duck briefly follows Riku in his evil phase due to a literal interpretation of King Mickey's orders. He later realizes this is stupid and returns to Sora's side.
82	* In the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series, Meta Knight will give you a sword in the favor of a fair fight, even when the fate of the universe is on the line. In ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', the two of you are on a damaged airship that is currently falling towards the ocean -- and he'll wait a full thirty seconds for you to pick up the sword before deciding to attack you anyways. In ''[[VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror Amazing Mirror]]'', the fact that his evil doppelganger doesn't throw you a sword is the first clue that it's not really him. The only time he doesn't throw Kirby a sword and starts attacking right away is in ''[[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad Squeak Squad]]'' — and there, it's used as a hint that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness there's something more important than his honor on the line.]]
83	* ''VideoGame/KnightBewitched2'': In Zamaste, there's no one running the shops, but despite Alex's insistence on taking free stuff, the party still pays money before taking any items or even using the inn to heal.
84	* This is used for IdiotHero Wain's EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns''. When a bolt of lightning sets a house on fire and a little girl is trapped inside, Wain rushes in without hesitation, pulls the girl out, then collapses from his injuries. Seena heals him, then asks what he would have done if she ''wasn't'' able to heal him...to which he replies that she ''could'' heal him, so it wasn't a problem anyway.
85	* Averted in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', where Samara, a WarriorMonk swears an Oath to Shepard so she will follow his/her orders, no matter how dishonorable they would be normally considered by her Code. However, she does inform them that if he/she does anything particularly dishonorable in the eyes of the Code, Samara will kill them when she is released from the oath of subsumation.
86	** Either played straight or subverted depending on the player's whims in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', where Samara attempts to [[spoiler:kill herself]] as her Code requires her [[spoiler:to kill her only surviving daughter]]. However, Shepard can intervene, allowing time for [[spoiler:her daughter to provide an alternative]].
87	** Inverted with Javik in ''Mass Effect 3'', he chastises Shepard for believing that that victory is possible with one's honor intact.
88	---> "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer."
89	** Zig-zagged with curing the genophage. If Wrex is in charge, especially if Eve is still alive, the honourable path -- playing fair with an old friend -- is also the reasonable one, since they can keep the krogan pointed at the enemy and direct them toward a brighter future, while backstabbing them for salarian support will end in [[spoiler:Wrex dead, Mordin dead, and Clan Urdnot sitting the war out]]. If Wreav is in charge, especially if Eve is dead, curing the genophage -- while still the noble thing to do -- will ultimately end in either a massive krogan civil war, or a new Krogan Rebellions, and as a result the dishonourable option of backstabbing them becomes the most viable.
90	** It is noted that turians, being a ProudWarriorRace, have a heavy cultural stigma against avoiding personal responsibility. A turian might decide to not advertise they have just committed a crime, but would always confess if directly questioned. This extends to various turian {{Arc Villain}}s across the games, who are prone to admitting their wrongdoing and then launching into a MotiveRant when things come to a head. It also comes up with Garrus: Shepard can flat-out ask if he used torture when he [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique "questioned"]] one of Dr. Saleon's lackeys. Garrus will quickly deflect and try to change the subject, but he won't lie.
91	* True to the tabletop setting they come from, lore in the ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'' series has this trope as fuel. You get things like trials of position, which invariably end up in the death of all the challengers but one so the last man standing can rise in rank; retreat is generally seen as an undesirable concept even if you're being absolutely overwhelmed; and many 'Mech pilots have this weird idea that if your own machine is being blown to bits around you, using the ejection system is dishonourable and it's preferable to die with it.
92	** As seen in the ''Mercenaries'' series, there are some [=MechWarriors=] who take the opposite position: caring mostly just about the money and without much care for allegiances, they have a rather dim view of losing their skin to honour and tend to take more reasoned positions. However, they are a minority in the universe.
93	** After disobeying orders in a previous mission in ''[=MechWarrior=] 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy'', the next mission consists of your commander challenging you to a DuelToTheDeath for your insubordination. Instead of the usual video mission briefing, you instead get audio of your commander's commander chewing him out before the duel for letting his ego get in the way of Ghost Bear's mission.
94	* Enforced with ''VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar'''s KarmaMeter. Characters can earn Chivalry points from doing things like sparing prisoners and lowering taxes, or Dread by executing [=POWs=] and exploiting peasants, that's straightforward enough. But on the battlefield you're abiding by medieval codes of chivalry, so "good" strategies are limited to frontal assaults against an equally matched opponent. If you use flanking actions, shoot down foes with archers, charge units in the rear, or use spies to gather intelligence -- you know, ''tactics'' -- characters will quickly pick up "Cruel and Cunning" and other Dreaded traits.
95	* Both [[KnightTemplar Colonel]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist General]] from ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' have been duped into sending Repliforce to war with the world by [[ManipulativeBastard Sigma]], forcing X and Zero to stop them. Colonel foolishly becomes a MartyrWithoutACause, which has a ''horrific'' [[KillTheCutie repercussion]] if you're playing as Zero. [[spoiler:His sister Iris tries to exact [[RevengeBeforeReason heartbroken revenge]] after being [[BreakTheCutie emotionally wrecked by the death of her brother]], and Zero, her beloved boyfriend, is forced to [[KillTheOnesYouLove do her in]] (Similar to Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet, but Romeo still lives). Zero has a '''''stratospheric''''' HeroicBSOD as a result]].
96	** General is one of the all-time offenders of this trope, enacting a myriad of disasters because of the honorable name of Repliforce. He meets a [[TheManBehindTheCurtain cloaked figure]], never discovering he's really [[BigBad the most feared Maverick on the planet, Sigma]]. While he ''does'' refuse to buy into Sigma's advice to attack humanity, the claims that humanity would eventually turn on Repliforce out of fear clearly strike a chord in him. Worse, he is unaware [[DoubleAgent Magma Dragoon]] caused [[ColonyDrop Sky Lagoon to crash]] and [[InnocentBystander wipe out millions]] -- he thinks it's an accident perpetrated by the Maverick Hunters. This unintentionally causes Repliforce to dishonor its namesake, the army to be decimated, and General to act on the doubts planted by Sigma and decide the ends justify the means. Worse, General has [[KillSat Final Weapon]], a doomsday space station geared for Armageddon he declares is only for self-defense, but the simple fact it exists at all, much less pointed ''down'' at Earth is just asking for trouble. After X/Zero gives him a well-deserved WhatTheHellHero speech (Zero even more angered, on the verge of a RoaringRampageOfRevenge), pulverizing half his steely body in the process, General cools down long enough to realize that acting in favor of NecessarilyEvil was a deadly mistake, and he has a HeelFaceTurn. However, Sigma's EvilPlan allowed him to hijack Final Weapon to trigger the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. To stop it, General pulls a HeroicSacrifice, using his halfway-ruined body to block the weapon's laser strike, but doing so vaporizes him into space dust.
97	** While several characters show signs of this, nowhere is it more apparent than in Colonel. By stubbornly refusing to allow his forces to be questioned by the Hunters due to his [[{{Hubris}} pride]], he is hugely responsible for the Fourth Maverick War, which leaves himself, his sister and the rest of Repliforce dead. In fact, he is one of the few villains from that game who is ''completely unsympathetic'': in fact, his hair-trigger willingness to [[JumpOffTheSlipperySlope toboggan down the slippery slope]] all the way to all-out war against humanity ''[[NotHelpingYourCase absolutely justifies]]'' the "unfair Mavericks accusation" that got him so worked up in the first place. [[spoiler:It's justified, however, [[AllThereInTheManual as stated in the manual]] -- he was built without the supposed capability of compassion and pacifism that he was supposed to have (that part went into Iris), thus he lacked the capability of peaceful reasoning. The only time he ever relents on anything is when Iris shows up in person to stop him during his first duel with Zero]].
98	* Inverted in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series. Being a StealthBasedGame, Snake isn't averse to using every dirty, underhanded tactic in the book to incapacitate/kill/sneak past his enemies, and MissionControl encourages the player to employ these tactics at every possible occasion, while the villains ''always'' announce their presence and proceed to give Snake a (relatively) fair fight instead of [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just killing him]].
99	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': [[spoiler:The Boss inverts and plays this trope straight. Her GambitRoulette ensured that she'd be dishonored and declared "the biggest traitor of this century," her personal honor keeps her from killing, and sometimes even passively '''helping''' Snake in his mission.]]
100	*** The End is a more pure embodiment, as he wanted "one last" honorable sniper battle. even if he gets the drop on you, he only ever knocks Snake out and drags him to an ''unlocked'' cell at a previous base instead of killing Snake. In turn, Snake is sad to disappoint The End if the player lets him die of old age, which causes the Major to chew him out over the radio for trying to be dramatic. As Snake, though, you can entirely invert this trope if you're fast enough after a cutscene, by sniping The End dead from a distance while he's sitting in his wheelchair. Snake feels a bit bad about it, but not because of honor, just because he thinks he might have missed a great fight.
101	* This is one of the many causes for the backlash against ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM''. Samus encounters her former CO while on a mission, and even though she's no longer part of his squad she agrees to his request to keep her suit's many features [[BagOfSpilling deactivated]] unless he authorizes her to use them. Possibly reasonable for her advanced weaponry, but downright suicidal when it comes to her defenses, such as keeping her heat shields turned off while touring the LethalLavaLand. [[spoiler: Becomes less so toward the endgame, when she activates the Screw Attack and later the Power Bombs on her own.]]
102	* In the storyline of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' Kotal Kahn, TheEmperor of all Outworld, permits a foreign emissary of no great importance to challenge him in TrialByCombat for the life of a petty thief. His decision to personally participate himself instead of using a champion is questionable, although it may have been a calculated risk given that he's [[RankScalesWithAsskicking an incredibly deadly warrior]]. Less forgivable is that upon losing, he insists that the winner execute him as per ancient tradition, even though he's in the midst of a SuccessionCrisis and his death would give the throne to his hated, psychotic rival. He only survives because his opponent [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou needs him on the throne]] and demands his service instead.
103	* ''VideoGame/PaqueretteDownTheBunburrows'': Pâquerette excuses her inability to move while a bunny is moving as being polite and letting them finish their turn.
104	* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' introduce Palafin, a dolphin Pokémon which is normally weak, but can transform into an [[SuperStrength incredibly strong]] superhero-like form. The catch? Like with stereotypical comic book superheroes, it'll never let anyone see it change out of its SecretIdentity, so it has to be switched out and brought back into battle to transform. Even if it's facing down an opponent that'll clobber it unless it transforms, Palafin will let itself be knocked out every time instead of breaking this rule. Especially absurd when one considers that it's a wild animal.
105	* In the ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker2'' games, Cube cites this as his reason to not get [[LoveInterest romantically involved]] with the daughter. He is merely a servant and bound to the father and daughter through his duty, and any overstepping would break that bond he holds dear. Even if the player succeeds to have the daughter married to Cube, he will still apologize to the father for marrying her, though he also admits that he's very happy.
106	* Piston Hondo from ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' has a really bad habit of bowing before a match, being Japanese and all. [[CombatPragmatist You can punch him in the middle of his bowing to gain a start punch]]. He learns his lesson for the title defense match against him and will dodge and counter your punch if you try to do it again.
107	* The ''Quest For Glory'' series has several:
108	** In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'', a fighter faces TheDragon in a climactic swordfight, and quickly disarms him. If he chooses to kill his unarmed foe, instead of letting him have his sword back, the game treats it as a dishonorable act... even though TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is due to happen ''in a few minutes,'' if the hero doesn't get a move on. The VGA fan remake is even more extreme in this regard; giving the sword back leads to a truly NintendoHard fight. Apparently, TheDragon waits until after you show him mercy to bust out the really nasty moves.
109	** In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'', a paladin character searching the headquarters of an evil cult will refuse to break open a cabinet and take some healing items that would be very useful. However, the last thing the character will probably do in there is ''burn down the entire building'', which obviously destroys everything inside and is portrayed as a positive action. [[LampshadeHanging Even the narration points out that this makes very little sense as a moral position.]]
110	* Leon Kennedy in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' is this in comparison to the original game. In the middle of a zombie apocalypse, he's much more focused on saving people and being a police officer (even putting the uniform on) than surviving. He constantly attempts to get the mortally-wounded Martin to safety despite his protestations he's too far gone, to the point where Marvin has to pull his gun on Leon to get him to leave on his own; he refuses to free Ben from the jail cell he's in until he's talked to the chief about it (this gets Ben [[spoiler: killed by Mr X and Leon down the keycard to leave the building]]); and he trusts Ada immediately because he thinks she's with the FBI. His CharacterDevelopment has him growing past this mindset while remaining an idealistic hero, but it's clear [[ChronicHeroSyndrome his inability to save everyone frustrates him]].
111	* In ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'', Lord Theodore is the leader of the Knights of the Dominion, and one of the few who still follows their code to the letter. Unfortunately, he is '''''so''''' convinced that he's '''''the''''' bastion [[JusticeWillPrevail of justice and honor]], '''''the''''' [[HolierThanThou last such bastion left in the Dominion]] that he constantly overcompensates for the failings of his kin, both real and imagined. Rather than leading by example, he becomes LawfulStupid incarnate.
112	* The White Knights of ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' apparently value the honour of a straight-up battle that would leave many of their number dead over the reasonable approach of sniping the enemy leader from above and behind, almost expelling the member of their order that [[CombatPragmatist took the latter approach]] to killing a dark magic-wielding enemy warlord.
113	** Pointedly averted by the Temple Knights of Saradomin, an order of holy paladins in the service of a god of honor and nobility, who nonetheless immediately recruited the aforementioned shooter on the basis that he ''did'' get the job done.
114	* Ronin leader Kazuo Akuji from ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' suffers a terminal case of this. His casual disrespect of a ''gaijin'' Ultor Executive whom he deems as beneath him backfires when that guy -- Dane Vogel -- immediately gives crucial intel to the Saints in retaliation, and his insistence on an honorable katana duel against The Boss goes awry when it turns out The Boss is a CombatPragmatist who has no problem bringing a gun to a swordfight.
115	** This extends to his son, Shogo Akuji, as well. After Vogel gives away the intel mentioned above, Shogo crashes Aisha's funeral to fight The Boss and Johnny to make up for how the two of them humiliated his family. Johnny is clearly ''very'' angry about this, and gives him several chances to walk away, but Shogo insists on restoring his family's honor. Cue a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that ends with him being BuriedAlive.
116	* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Naoe Kanetsugu embodies this trope to a tee, Azai Nagamasa less so (who splits this with his [[LoveFreak love]] of Oichi). Interestingly, the JerkAss Ishida Mitsunari actually adopts this trope by his decisive battle at Sekigahara [[spoiler:by refusing an officer's suggestion of a sneak attack on the enemy, and revealing in his ending that his friends' honor tropes actually rubbed off on him]].
117	* A game mechanic in ''VideoGame/{{Sengoku}}''. Honor is gained by such things as donating money to the Emperor and granting land to vassals, and lost by hatching plots and declaring wars. If a character loses too much, they commit {{seppuku}}.
118	* Kasumi from ''Shakkin Shimai'' takes this to an extreme, refusing help from Okura even if it means she'll be sold into prostitution to pay off her family's debt.
119	* Red from ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' usually acts before he thinks, and, being a generally nice guy, he's usually acing heroically (or [[IdiotHero stupidly]], but sometimes GoodIsDumb). He justification for rushing headlong into a mission that seems hopelessly outmatched is just "IGaveMyWord."
120	* In ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', you eventually have to defeat Sir Gawain (AKA Knuckles) in a duel. Knuckles is so ashamed of his loss to "a mere apprentice", he attempts to [[SlashedThroat slit his own throat on the spot]].
121	* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManMilesMorales'', Miles goes out of his way to save the life of [[TheBrute Rhino]], who's an insane BloodKnight [[SaveTheVillain that was trying to kill him minutes prior]], after the Tinkerer tries to kill him for insulting her. As a result, the two fail to obtain the evidence they need to take down [[EvilInc Roxxon]] and [[EvilFormerFriend Tinkerer gets fed up with him]] and gives him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, preventing him from [[PoorCommunicationKills telling her that]] her EvilPlan would destroy Harlem.
122	* The Yehat in ''VideoGame/StarControl''. In the second game you'll find they, formerly members of the Alliance of Free Stars as humans were, became BattleThralls as their Queen prefered to surrender to the Ur-Quan rather than being the first ruler in the dinasty's two thousand years to lose a battle. Their oath of loyalty to her means that, as much as [[ApologeticAttacker they dislike it]] they'll attack you [[spoiler:at least until you bring them an [[UpliftedSpecies Shofixti]], what will cause a civil war between those loyal to the Queen and those who think she acted dishonourably.]]
123	* Possible in the ''VideoGame/StarRuler'' mod ''Galactic Armory''. One [[MinMaxing Trait]] you can take is "Code of Honor", which prevents from using a variety of subsystems. No [=WMDs=], fair enough, but when the thing prevents you from using sensible things like ArmorPiercingAttack it goes straight into this.
124	* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': The Klingons, repeatedly, to IdiotBall levels. Might even qualify as a DeconstructedTrope.
125	** In the backstory they react to Federation condemnation of their unilateral invasion of the Gorn Hegemony by breaking off diplomatic relations and beginning attacks on Federation colonies. [[HistoryRepeats Just like they did before the Dominion War]].
126	** In the mission "Diplomatic Orders", a Klingon cruiser commander gets information that a Federation diplomat is really an Undine. Does he submit his findings to the Federation? No! He leads a deep-strike into Federation territory to kill the ambassador himself, and instead of coming out firing, he sacrifices the element of surprise to high-handedly demand that the Federation PC hand over the ambassador. The Fed PC reacts surprisingly well to this: instead of just blasting the idiot out of space on sight (remember, the Feds and Klinks have now ''been at war for four years'' and the Klingon is asking a Starfleet officer on an EscortMission to ''hand over his escortee to an enemy combatant''), he asks to see the Klingon's evidence, and the Klingon instead takes umbrage and attacks, and because he's up against a {{Plot Armor}}ed PlayerCharacter he dies completely pointlessly and Starfleet makes the kill against the Undine.
127	** Then there's "House Pegh". Emperor Kahless breaks away from a covert infiltration mission that is going surprisingly well because he sees an Iconian on a security camera and wants to challenge it to honorable combat. T'Ket at first ignores the idiot, then basically toys with Kahless for a while until [[spoiler:B'Eler {{technobabble}}s away T'Ket's NighInvulnerability. Instead of pressing his unearned advantage home, Kahless cuts off T'Ket's arm then starts monologuing about honor, giving T'Ket time to recover and vape Kahless. And then the "mighty Klingon warriors" of House Pegh, supposedly the Empire's covert ops arm, ''panic and run for their lives''.]]
128	* Darth Thanaton, the BigBad of the [[VillainProtagonist Sith Inquisitor]] storyline in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' takes this trope and runs with it off the highest cliff possible. He [[TheFriendNobodyLikes never received the respect of his peers]] due to his low upbringing and InsufferableGenius demeanor, and as a result adopted a stubborn [[AppealToTradition adherence to Sith tradition]] as a thinly-veiled [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex overcompensation to validate himself]]. As a result not only does he annoy everyone around him by never shutting up about tradition, he ''[[SkewedPriorities actively sabotages their own war effort]]'' through his staunch refusal to innovate to the point that the entire storyline revolves around recruiting people sick of him to help you with your KlingonPromotion. A [[PragmaticVillainy Light side Inquisitor]] can even tell him [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot they don't even need to be enemies if he'd only stop trying to kill them]], but he insists that tradition demands their death [[FatalFlaw and ends up getting himself killed for it]].
129	* Luke, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', starts off as being extremely self-centered and arrogant, but later he becomes near-suicidally selfless in an attempt to make up for his previous behavior, and holds true to the strength and ideals of humanity, opposing the fatalist views of the game's antagonists.
130	* The Half-Zatoichi in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is a katana wielded by the Demoman and the Soldier. It is Honorbound, meaning that once you draw it, sheathing it without drawing blood will hurt you, but you regain a large amount of health when you kill with it.
131	* In the ''Franchise/WarcraftExpandedUniverse'' book ''Literature/OfBloodAndHonor'', the human paladin Tirion Fordring is an extremely honourable guy, saving an elderly man from a race which pretty much all of humanity was still recovering from having being nearly crushed by at the time. Doing so saw him exiled for treachery and his wife refusing to take herself and their son into the ruin he made for himself. His magical powers were supposed to have been taken from him, though due to nature of his use of them, it is assumed that they were granted by moral righteousness -- which has since been debated and argued about in true nature, due to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.
132	* In ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', Pang De's version of this trope is so cliche that he's called out on this more than once -- hilariously, when one asks him what his "way of the warrior" even means, Pang De's explanation is basically repeating the concept. [[spoiler:It's especially off, and call-out-on-worthy, since he's on Orochi's side through Wei, particularly Cao Pi's aligning with Orochi. However, in the Battle of Shizugatake (Shu story) if the player manages to save enough Hojo officers and prevent defections he will recognize the conflict and agree to leave Wei/Orochi]].
133	* One of the playable factions in ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai4'' is the Prajna Movement; a group of xenophobic nationalists who want nothing more than to prevent western culture from flowing into Japan. Despite knowing guns are superior to swords, they refuse to use them, as these are not weapons a true samurai would use in their eyes. Unfortunately for them, all other sides in the game's conflict have no qualms against using firearms.
134	* In a rare ''villainous'' example of this trope, in ''VideoGame/{{Weaponlord}}'', it has been prophesied that on the night that the moon bleeds, the BigBad Zarak will be killed by the Weaponlord, whose identity is unknown except for the clue that he/she was born under the Warrior's Moon. Zarak's lieutenants advise him to pull a Herod and simply slaughter all the infants born under that moon, but Zarak instead decides to wait until the Weaponlord is grown up, and then face his prophesied killer fair-and-square in single combat to see if the prophecy will really work. [[spoiler:This gets Zarak killed if you play anyone but him, and if you play Zarak himself, it is revealed that Zarak ''himself'' was born under a Warrior's Moon, and since he killed the ''previous'' BigBad, Zarak ''himself'' becomes the Weaponlord.]]

Context HonorBeforeReason / VideoGames