Line #38 VillainsOutShopping/VideoGames


1	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/FZero https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fzero_deathborn_movies.png]]]]
2	->''"Wednesday, we spill the blood of virgin chickens. Thursday we anoint ourselves in said blood. Friday is, of course, poker night."''
3	-->-- '''Cultist of Shadow''', ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}''
4	* ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars: Dual Strike]]'':
5	** They had some fun with the alternate costumes for [=COs=] in this regard. Flak is dressed like he's either headed to the gym or to a skate park, Hawke wears the most generic civilian clothing imaginable and looks like a middle-aged dad going shopping, Jugger has modest human clothing draped over his robot body like he's ''trying'' to fit in with humans, and Kindle is dressed like she's ready to go to the club after the battle.
6	** Speaking of, Kindle is the queen of this. She's downright chuffed that the Allies showed up to attack in Mission 10 as she was planning on catching up on some reading while they finished their repairs, and in the end when Black Hole is defeated she tells Koal that, rather than planning their next campaign, she'd rather just find "a quiet little city with fine restaurants and good shopping" and relax for a while.
7	* In ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', one of the more comedic MultipleEndings has [[spoiler:Dark Serge, Kid, and Harle]] visiting the bar in Termina.
8	* ''VideoGame/CrisisBeat'', where terrorists have taken over a luxury ship, and in one of the earlier areas the players entered a casino... seeing plenty of mooks enjoying themselves with the slot machines and blackjack tables.
9	* In the superhero MMORPG ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', instead of wandering monsters, you'll find groups of {{mooks}} standing around committing crimes like breaking and entering or purse-snatching...or sometimes you'll just find them standing around having {{Seinfeldian Conversation}}s. Though they'll still attack your hero on sight...
10	* In ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', Baby Bonnie Hood has a ten-part routine; nine of the ten parts are activities that would seem typical for her role as a deceptive and heartless ProfessionalKiller, such as training in marksmanship, maintaining weapons, and researching marks. (Plus some rather unethical ones, like gaining weapons by stealing them, so as to be untraceable.) Number 5 on the list, however, is innocent enough: "5. Going to town to buy food and clothing, and going to Grandmother's house to do errands."
11	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': Jasper, one of Helidor's 2 most famous knights and the [[spoiler:[[TheDragon right hand man]] to Mordegon]] assigned to hunt down and stop the Darkspawn from bringing ruin to Erdrea so monsterkind will leave humanity alone forever spends his time off at the beaches of Puerto Valor to relieve stress and after the fall of Yggdrasil, goes to Gondolia to order all of the cakes for himself rather than punish the townspeople for helping the Darkspawn escape him and the Tentacular. During the same game, the various monsters of Mordegon's army are playing at Octagonia's casino to take some time off from hunting the Luminary, which as revealed in Jade's sidestory, they forced the humans to build on Booga's orders.
12	* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', you may get invited by a man named [[LouisCypher Sam Guevenne]] to a drinking contest at a random bar (typically the first one you enter after hitting level 14). You get blackout drunk and wake up while getting yelled at by a priestess of [[LoveGoddess Dibella]] for desecrating the [[SaintlyChurch local temple]]. After [[WhatDidIDoLastNight tracing your way through your misadventures the previous night]], you discover that your buddy Sam is really [[spoiler:Sanguine, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[FunPersonified Debauchery]] and [[TheHedonist Hedonism]]]], who was out [[ItAmusedMe looking for a good time]]. After you finally track him down, you find him [[spoiler:in the middle of hosting a party with some of his followers]]. Essentially, you joined him while he was "out shopping" and now he's back to work. At least he gives you an artifact staff for your troubles...
13	* The Temple of Shadows from ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' hold poker night every Friday and left the instructions for their special torture device nice and visible next to it.
14	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', the AlwaysChaoticEvil Raiders can sometimes be seen playing baseball.
15	** This returns in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', as Raiders can be heard arguing about what constitutes a sandwich if you sneak up on them.
16	** The protagonist can also be this: You may be an psychotic murderer or master thief, but doesn't mean you have to visit your local vendor to resupply and/or pawn all your stolen loot, and heck, you may even help the area out a bit when you got a second to listen.
17	* ''VideoGame/FancyIsland'': Bizarrely, two sets of [[https://lomando.fandom.com/wiki/LINE LINE stickers]] featuring many of the game's monsters with {{Nightmare Face}}s were released, showing them doing mundane everyday things like dressing up for Halloween or enjoying an ice tea.
18	* In the "Heaven's Feel" scenario of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Shirou ends up having a rather cordial conversation with a major villain of the two other arcs in a Chinese restaurant while the other is busy eating mapo doufu. While the character has been mostly personable so far in the arc (and asks the protagonist if he wants some of his doufu), knowing what he is capable of in the other two scenarios makes this a major example of this trope.
19	** It's never certain if [[spoiler: Kirei]] isn't trying to kill Shirou through the doufu.
20	** This is the point of the "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin fun disk]]" ''Hollow Ataraxia'', where every antagonist and protagonist are shown just trying to have a normal life in Fuyuki City. Including Caster's {{cosplay\|OtakuGirl}} hobby, Caster sweeping up staircases by herself because she doesn't believe in wasting mana, Lancer attempting to hold down a job as a grocery boy, and the main antagonists Gilgamesh and Archer getting into a fishing contest because they both wanted to annoy Lancer after he insulted them while fishing. Also, football. And arguments over food. Everyone in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' show up except for [[AffablyEvil Kotomine]] (who is dead and therefore not causing any trouble. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Because he's dead]].), because he would attempt to be villainous even in these circumstances.
21	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
22	** Before one battle with the Turks, Cloud and his pals listen in on their conversation about who they all have crushes on.
23	** If you immediately went to Costa Del Sol after getting off the cargo ship, you can catch [[MadScientist Hojo]] chilling on the beach, being attended to by women.
24	-->'''Cloud:''' What are you doing...?\
25	'''Hojo:''' It should be obvious. I'm getting a tan.
26	** The Wutai sidequest has the Turks invoking this trope, by having Rude and Reno remind Elena that they're on holiday (no really) when she tries to fight the protagonists. At the end of the quest [[spoiler: after you've rescued both Yuffie and Elena, they decide that they're "still on holiday" when they get a call from their boss telling them to catch Cloud]].
27	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', some of the gang members are just hanging out in the subway train and Bay Area before encountered. Bred was shopping inside the gas station while his car got mauled by the heroes.
28	* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4'', [[GreaterScopeVillain Purple]] [[SerialKiller Guy]] appears in the background, doing his day job ([[NotMeThisTime and for once not being in any way responsible for the events of the game]]).
29	* ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'''s crew released some art of supporting character Chahut Maenad, showing that the amazonian AxCrazy MonsterClown enjoys making scrapbooks. Admittedly ''of'' photos of her victims, but still.
30	* ''VideoGame/JitsuSquad'' have various areas where in the background, mooks are enjoying their break and completely ignoring your presence while you slice and dice through their colleagues in the foreground. From bathing themselves in a hot spring, to playing in an arcade, boating in a dinghy in the beach level, having picnics, and just chilling around.
31	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
32	** Except for [[BigBad Xemnas]] and [[TheDragon Saix]], all the members of Organization XIII are shown to be pretty relaxed outside of their missions in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days]]''. The [[AntiVillain good guys among them]], Axel, Roxas, and Xion, make it a pattern to go eat ice cream atop Twilight Town's clock tower after each mission is accomplished.
33	** In the manga, you even have Marluxia and Larxene drinking soda pop (XIII Squash) and eating KFC.
34	** And also in ''358/2 Days'', it's mentioned that they have a poker league. Seriously.
35	** In general, The World That Never Was, which was TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', is made to feel more like a place where the Organization members live between missions. They even have a break room.
36	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZero'': [[spoiler: Joachim Guenter]], who is revealed to be a member of [[spoiler: the devil-worshiping D∴G Cult]], spends most of his free time fishing.
37	* Bokoblins in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' can occasionally be found hunting animals for meat out in the wild or dancing in their camps.
38	* In ''Videogame/LittleBigAdventure'', Twinsen can visit a tavern where the soldiers in Dr [=FunFrock's=] army go to unwind when they're off duty. Even though Twinsen a wanted criminal by this point in the story, [[PunchClockVillain none of the off-duty soliders try to attack him.]]
39	* In ''VideoGame/LittleNightmares'' and its [[VideoGame/LittleNightmaresII prequel]], all the monsters are usually seen doing mundane things such as collecting spoons, playing pianos, cooking or sleeping, until they notice the protagonist and begin chasing him. The sole expection is [[spoiler: the Thin Man]], whose occupations are unknown, it only makes him creepier than the rest.
40	* There are some Iron Crown Marksman and Warriors idly fishing in [[{{Mordor}} Angmar]] in ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline''.
41	* There's a superb, but all too brief, one of these in a high-speed chase in the ice level of ''VideoGame/{{MDK}}'' - at one point, the hero and his pursuers, busy in a firefight whilst iceboarding, crash right through a small guardhouse - which contains a mook sitting in an armchair, reading a paper, who gets briefly swept along with the rest of the fight for a few seconds (continuing to obliviously read the news) before being obliterated in the hail of bullets.
42	* The Pigmask Army from ''VideoGame/Mother3'' may be soldiers of an evil regime, but they sure love rock concerts!
43	** Lucas and his party also encounter some pigmasks who are in the middle of a discussion about whether they hang up their masks when they use the bathroom.
44	* All of the ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' villains describe aspects of their lives in their journals. Sirrus writes about gardening and exploring Spire, Achenar writes about the local wildlife and the construction of his various outposts, Gehn writes about finding frogs for his pipe, and Saavedro writes about making plant hybirds. It helps humanize them as well as inform you about their antagonistic deeds.
45	* In ''VideoGame/{{Nefarious}}'', the VillainProtagonist Crow likes to sing karaoke in his spare time.
46	* In the French RPG ''VideoGame/{{Off}}'', we see [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist The Batter]]]] have fun on a roller coaster and get his photo taken.
47	* In ''VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous'' the player comes across the village of Wintersun, whose inhabitants have been ensorcelled to see mortals as demons and vice versa. This has very little to do with the demons' overall goals (beyond the cruel joke of tricking them into killing mortals they see as demons), and it's clear that some of them just really enjoy roleplaying as mortals. Some demons have lived there peacefully for years.
48	* From ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' examples, though most of their true natures are unknown until far late into the games.
49	** [[VideoGame/Persona3 Chidori]] often times paints strange pictures by herself at Port Island Station.
50	** From ''VideoGame/Persona4'', [[spoiler:you can find Namatame on the streets. He will talk about how he got a new job recently and is trying to recover from the reporter he loved dying. Adachi also shows up on some days in Junes. He likes to buy cabbage. And then there's that gas station attendant that likes to make small talk with you and only [[DevilInPlainSight works when it rains]]...]]
51	** [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is often seen [[spoiler:hanging out in Leblanc Cafe.]]
52	** In ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'':
53	*** The first time the player meets Alice Hiiragi, she appears to be a friendly young woman who is promoting her new store at 705. Subverted in that this is actually part of her scheme to change hearts of her targets.
54	*** The shady-looking, antagonistic Zenkichi can be first seen casually hanging around Le Blanc. [[spoiler: Inverted since he is not actually a villain to begin with.]]
55	*** Played straight with [[spoiler: Ichinose, the true culprit]] who is seen [[spoiler: eating at the beef tongue restaurant in Sendai]] where the Phantom Thieves meets them for the first time.
56	* In the remakes of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', the player character can visit the Goldenrod City Department Store while disguised as a member of Team Rocket. The civilian [=NPCs=] [[LampshadeHanging make some amusing comments about you]].
57	* Happens occasionally in ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
58	** In ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction Tools of Destruction]]'', most of the flying missions end with the pirates running off to yoga class or some other weird thing, and leaving a [[LetsYouAndHimFight boss]] behind.
59	** It turns out in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'' that Dr. Nefarious keeps himself quite busy when he's not actively plotting evil misdeeds.
60	--->'''Dr. Nefarious:''' Aaaand... action! ''You'll never take me alive, Qwark! Time is under my control!''
61	--->'''Lawrence:''' ...Oh, am I interrupting?
62	--->'''Dr. Nefarious:''' ''Lawrence!'' I'm rehearsing my epic romantic action comedy space opera!
63	** Also, near the end of ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal Up Your Arsenal]]'' we learn that Lawrence himself plays bass in a rock band. And when we learn this it's almost time for his solo.
64	** In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'', its mentioned that Thugs-4-Less hosts company picnics (Something the Thief gets really annoyed about), and the Desert Riders have bake sales.
65	* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' features this from quite a few villainous characters - but given the game's MoralityKitchenSink, chances are you might just end up allied with them from time to time.
66	** Amoral [[TheIlluminati Illuminati]] [[MissionControl manager]] [[MeanBoss Kirsten Geary]] gets up to quite a bit of this. Among other things, some of her after-mission text messages are just notifications from the sysadmin explaining that Geary's taking time off work at an office party with an open bar. During the "Mayan Apocalypse" event, thanks to you missing a memo, you end up contacting Geary during a Christmas party - and judging by the deteriorated spelling, [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl she's completely shitfaced]].
67	** When not keeping a condescending eye on Sarge and deciding whether or not to have Solomon Island nuked, [[IceQueen Karen Olsen]] apparently shares lattes with Kirsten Geary.
68	** [[FatBastard Abdel Daoud]], head of the [[ReligionOfEvil Atenists]], spends most of his time away from cult ceremonies lounging around in a coffee house - a fact that his supplier gives him no end of grief over.
69	** The dreaded {{Oni}} mercenary Inbeda of the House-In-Exile spends his time off at a bathhouse, usually while wearing his tiger-print bathrobe and fluffy slippers. Plus, in one mission intro, you catch him dancing with a mannequin to hip-hop music. Also, lore entries claim he's in the habit of using the pool as a means of scrying into Hell - not for espionage, but just because he's homesick.
70	** One mission intro features you walking in on demented {{Yakuza}} [[TheDon boss]] [[DiabolicalMastermind Daimon Kiyota]] doing cartwheels around his office as part of some bizarre dance move. Later in the same mission, Daimon also cheekily admits to stealing CCTV camera footage of you [[MoonwalkDance moonwalking]] across pressure plates - and then putting it up on Website/YouTube!
71	** When he's not trying to convert you to the worship of [[EldritchAbomination the Dreamers]] [[spoiler: or plotting to kill Lilith]], the [[MouthOfSauron Black Signal]] actually spends his off-hours chatting with [[PlayfulHacker Harumi]] online, and occasionally trolling unsuspecting people around Kaidan for little more than cheap laughs.
72	* ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'': In all the main games, it's downright common for members of the player's chosen team to run into other during story segments, doing everything from shopping to grabbing a bite to eat to indulging in their hobbies. These generally don't end in a fight either, with even Good and Evil Shinobi being downright cordial to one another without a mission putting them at loggerheads. This is part of the games' [[GrayAndGreyMorality deconstruction of those concepts]], showing just how shallow those labels are and how hard it is to apply them to real people with their own priorities. Also counts are {{Foreshadowing}} in ''Shinovi Versus'', as [[spoiler:the other teams realize they've never seen the new Hebijo squad out and about on downtime and start to wonder why that is.]]
73	* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'''s BossRush happens when you interrupt the Order of No Quarter as they're having dinner together.
74	* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'': As stated by the [[AllThereInTheManual Squid Sister Stories]], [[BigBad DJ Octavio]] ended up genuinely accepting Callie's company when she was feeling lonely due to drifting apart from Marie, because he, too, was feeling lonely after breaking free before the events of the game. The only reason why he [[spoiler:placed hypnoshades on her]] is because [[TheParanoiac he was afraid]] she would either rat him out to the Squidbeak Splatoon, or worse, make him undergo a HeelFaceTurn [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because she was nice to him]].
75	* In ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the player can often find him or herself in situations where Sith soldiers or even Dark Jedi are "off duty" in a lounge, bar, or simply keeping to themselves. This is the entire point of the world of Manaan, where a neutrality treaty has forced enemies to work in close proximity to each other without fighting. The player can even accept sidequests from some of these characters to help them out.
76	** The sequel has a rather hilarious conversation tucked into Dantooine, where the player confronts one of the mercenaries plaguing the planet, while he's placidly (and helpfully) spelunking. As he says, even professional killers need hobbies.
77	* Commonly found in the ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'' series. Female mooks are enjoying the night life at a club when you bust in to beat them up, and several mooks can be found sleeping on benches, eating, or brushing their hair before they spot you.
78	** At one point in the second game, you jump into the back of a parked truck. Several biker mooks are gathered there, and you prepare for a fight... wait, you can't hit them? Then you spot a miniboss, and see they're pumping their arms. These guys are the ''audience'' for an underground fighting ring. (They won't attack until you defeat the current champ.)
79	* In ''VideoGame/SuperLesbianAnimalRPG'' Javis's four sons, magically created beings who were made to serve as commanding officers in the plan to take over the planet can be seen in their unfinished lair sitting on a couch playing video games together.
80	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
81	** In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', Fawful at one point says to the heroes: "Now that out of the way I have made you, Fawful thinks he will go to the mall. Bye!"
82	** It's also worth noting that in the prior game, ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', Fawful was a shopkeeper who exchanged beans for badges. Only Baby Mario and Luigi met him though, and he doesn't recognize them.
83	** Bowser is absent for most of ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'', being on vacation.
84	** Same with in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', where he's simply enjoying a hot bath with his son and Mama Peach when that pesky plumber shows up to [[MemeticMutation disturb his family vacation.]]
85	* ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'': The games have a reputation for [[GainaxEnding bizarre endings]], at least as far as the arcade mode goes, and some of them involve this - assassin sisters Nina and Anna lounging on the beach, Heihachi financing an amusement park [[EvilIsPetty just to play a prank on a little girl]], or Kazuya sitting down for a documentary about his life. There are also a lot of 'good' characters who are nonetheless aligned with evil groups, whose instances of tomfoolery might count as well. For example, Kuma's endings alternate between his well-intentioned ([[DoggedNiceGuy and doomed]]) attempts to woo Panda or showing him working for the Mishima Zaibatsu and Heihachi.
86	* The very first scene in ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'' had a pair of guards talking about going to the bear fights later, one of them being disgusted at how soft and harmless the bears have become compared to [[BearsAreBadNews the killing machines they were in his youth.]]
87	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', being [[WhiteAndGreyMorality fairly lighthearted]], has game installments like ''VideoGame/TouhouBunkachouShootTheBullet'' and ''VideoGame/DoubleSpoilerTouhouBunkachou'' (in which our [[BlatantLies honest and trustworthy]] IntrepidReporter ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome conducts interviews!]]''), and non-game installments which are even more SliceOfLife about Gensokyo and its inhabitants, humans and youkai alike.
88	** In particular, one of the non-game installments mentions two of the early-game bosses starting a [[PunkRock punk rock band]].
89	* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' has an extremely bizarre conversation during Kohaku's route, between Shiki and one personality of the game's BigBad, on a downtown sidewalk, as the two drink coffee and have a cordial chat on how society judges murderers like them. [[spoiler:It's notably the only path where Shiki doesn't fight -- or even make an enemy of -- either of the BigBad's personalities, due to that little chat and its end result of the BigBad recognizing Shiki as "the better killer".]]
90	* ''VideoGame/TurtleHead: Unmasked'': If his profile pic is anything to go by, the titular maniacal {{Yandere}} and SerialKiller of humans and animals alike is a fan of a MagicalGirlWarrior in-universe ShowWithinAShow.
91	* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':
92	** If you leave your radio scanner on, you can overhear some members of the fascist Grineer empire, an organization dedicated to the enslavement and eradication of all other races, going through basic docking and customs procedures in a bored tone. Even their discussion of the [[OneManArmy player characters]] is pretty much just "yeah, everybody's dead, this is gonna be a lot of paperwork."
93	** A literal example can be seen at Cetus, where Corpus Crewman, resident {{Mooks}} of the local MegaCorp, can be seen shopping and trying to sell their own wares. Hardly surprising - they can't be a MegaCorp unless they actually ''sell things''.
94	* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Reapers are allowed to phase into the mortal plane and lead relatively normal lives when they're off the clock. 777, for instance, spends his spare time as part of an indie rock band.
95	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has several occasions where you can overhear enemy {{mooks}} chatting about very mundane things. Examples include a blood elf mob (in Quel'Danas) wanting to get a house by the sea when the war is over, a human guard (in "Escape From Durnholde") chatting about his/her coming vacation, and the members of a demon-worshipping cult (in Terokkar) who talk about playing leatherball, going to a nearby town for some drinks, and having difficulties controlling an EldritchAbomination they summoned. Oh, and you usually end up killing all of them.
96	** Rival player territories can also have a similar effect. The first time you travel to the territory of the opposing faction, it feels like a dangerous mission deep behind the frontlines where only unknowns exist and the enemy lives in their wholly alien ways. Cue sneaking into Stormwind and finding level 1's running about and naked players dancing on mailboxes. Just like Orgrimmar. Or finding players who use emotes to break the language barrier.

Context VillainsOutShopping / VideoGames