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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/CrystalStory https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/previous-player-character-cameo_crystal-story_4_7441.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim ...And then he took an arrow in the knee.]]]]

Sometimes in a video game sequel, you meet the PlayerCharacter of a previous game in the series. This can range from said character's appearance just being a fun ContinuityNod to them having some level of story importance. In cases of the latter, this can sometimes lead to [[CuttingOffTheBranches branches being cut off]] should the previous game have had CharacterCustomization, any [[ChoiceAndConsequenceSystem player influence on the plot]], and/or MultipleEndings.

For players that have played said previous installment and thus would probably like seeing their personal character represented, some games may use an OldSaveBonus or otherwise give the ability to input the needed information in order to avert the aforementioned "cutting branches" problem. It goes without saying that the latter option will inevitably end up InterfaceSpoiler spoiling the reveal of seeing your old character alive and well, though.

Supertrope of RogueProtagonist, where the previous player character is now a major villain, in which case it can also lead to DuelingPlayerCharacters. Compare LegacyBossBattle. See also ContinuityNod and PlayerDataSharing (when another player's player character cameos).

----
!!Examples
[[index]]
* ''PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo/TwitchPlaysPokemon''
[[/index]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Action Adventure]]
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' was [[EpilepticTrees widely suspected]] to include ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time's]]'' Link in the form of the [[SpiritAdvisor Hero's Shade]], which was eventually confirmed by the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', it's implied that Gramps (the old man who runs the [=StreetPass=] function) is implied to be the Link from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', though much like with the Hero's Shade it's never directly stated in-game.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather II'', the return of player character Don Aldo Trapani is a necessity, as he starts the story off... [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome by dying]].
* In ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'', the first real boss is the Crowfather, who shapeshifts into War to mock Death's desire to save him.
* In ''Videogame/OnimushaDawnOfDreams'', [[spoiler:Tenkai is revealed to be Samonosuke of the first and third game]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Action Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreForAnswer'', it's all but stated outright that [[FaceOnTheCover White Glint]] is the protagonist of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4'' using an updated version of Joshua O'Brien's NEXT. Depending on who you side with in Chapter 2, you can end up fighting alongside him or [[RogueProtagonist fighting against him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEndersThe2ndRunner'', Dingo becomes the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin second runner]] (or pilot) of the [[AMechByAnyOtherName Orbital Frame]] Jehuty. During the course of the game, the first runner, Leo, comes to take Jehuty back in his new [[TransformingMecha Orbital Frame/LEV Hybrid]], Vic Viper...yes, [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} THAT Vic Viper]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheLastStand: Union City'', the third installment of zombie-survival flash-games, the final quest chain is given to you by the player character of the previous two The Last Stand games, now named 'Jack'.
* ''VideoGame/{{HELLSINKER}}'' pulls this with the "Apostles of the Seed" and mixes it with FridgeHorror due to the fact that the Apostles share attacks of the protaganists from ''Radio Zonde'' plus the [[WasOnceAMan origins of the Prayer's]].
* The ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'' game for the Platform/PlayStation has Gao Red as an unlockable character. ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'' had been made into a very similar [=PlayStation=] game, in which Gao Red was in fact the only playable Gaoranger.
* The VideoGame/{{Kamui}} fighters make an appearance in ''VideoGame/RefleX'' during the final chapter in a [[MeleeATrois free-for-all deathmatch]] against both the [[PlayerCharacter ZODIAC Ophiuchus]] and [[FinalBoss ZODIAC Libra.]]
* ''VideoGame/AnotherCenturysEpisode 3'' has an odd example, with the [[HumongousMecha Gunark]] from ''A.C.E. 2'' showing up...but piloted by Marina Carson, the secondary protagonist, rather than the game's main PC Tak Kepford.[[note]]Marina uses Tak's Gunark; she had one of her own, but it was destroyed early on and replaced with the upgraded Buster Ark.[[/note]] They never outright say where Tak is or what happened to him, but Marina implies that he's fine, and that they've undergone a RelationshipUpgrade as well.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Adventure Games]]
* ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'': The protagonists are all members of the same BadassFamily (with the exception of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity''; one of several reasons it is a ContestedSequel). That said, King Graham (protagonist of most of the ''King's Quest'' games) does appear in ''Mask of Eternity'', but he's [[NotAsYouKnowThem so different]] that it's easy to miss.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Exmortis}} II'', Mr. Hannay kills the unnamed player character from the first game.
* The ''VideoGame/DaymareTown'' spin-off ''Daymare Cat'' ends with the titular girl meeting the player from the main series. The same encounter plays out as a cameo in the fourth Daymare game, where you can give Cat a vinyl record.
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange2'' can feature cameos from the player characters of all three previous instalments in the franchise (one is dependent on player choice though):
** Chris Eriksen from ''VideoGame/TheAwesomeAdventuresOfCaptainSpirit'' is a supporting character in Episode 2 [[spoiler:and makes minor cameos in Episodes 4 and 5]]. Unsurprising since ''Captain Spirit'' was a prequel/teaser game for the full Season 2 release.
** Chloe Price, the player character from ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'', makes a cameo by proxy in the season finale, though exactly how she appears varies depending on the ending the player chose for Season 1:
*** [[spoiler:If Chloe died, her stepfather David Madsen—who now lives with Sean and Daniel's mother in the hippie community Away—will show Sean her picture and reminisce about how he should have treated her better.]]
*** [[spoiler:If Chloe lived, David will have more recent photographs of her along with Max, the player character from ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', taken during a visit they paid him in Away; and Sean can later overhear David's side of a phone conversation with Chloe after he leaves the trailer.]]
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeTrueColors'' has very few connections to the rest of the series in the main game, but the ''Wavelengths'' [=DLC=] bonus chapter includes [[spoiler:a voice-only cameo (in flashback) by ''Before the Storm'' protagonist Chloe Price (as voiced by [[RoleReprise Rhianna [=DeVries=]]])]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Card Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhDuelLinks'', the Vagabond is the protagonist of the Tag Force series of games, and is implied to be the hero in other Yu-Gi-Oh games.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eastern RPG]]
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Red, the hero from [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the original games]], appears in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and their remakes as the true final boss at the end of the Kanto quest. His sprite matches the first game, but to further drive home the point, he is [[HeroicMime completely silent]] and his team is one giant ContinuityNod to the first generation, containing the three starters in their fully evolved forms, [[{{Mascot}} Pikachu]], the storyline Pokémon ([[BrokenBridge Snorlax]], and Espeon, an evolved form of Eevee, who is given to you as a gift by an [=NPC=], the [[VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver Generation 4 remake]] swaps Espeon out for Lapras, another gift Pokémon). Red also returned again in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' as a battle opponent in the Pokémon World Tournament along with all the previous gym leaders, Elite Four members, and champions.
*** Creator/TeamFourStar did much the same in their Nuzlocke Let's Plays, hacking Lakigr (their protagonist from their ''Leaf Green'' Nuzlocke) and his championship team in place of Red when they played ''Soul Silver''.
*** And then Red [[TheBusCameBack returned once again]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' alongside Blue, as a young adult. Naturally, the years have changed his appearance quite a bit. He also seems to have become a character in his own right at this point, with his lack of speech becoming an actual character trait instead of a reference to him originally being the player character, and not only his look changing, but him and Blue being the only opponents who have visibly changed since their last appearance (including [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Wally]], who should be around their age chronology-wise).
*** ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndEevee'' has Red as a postgame trainer once again. And before you can challenge enough Master Trainers to unlock him, you're likely to have battled Green, who's based on both a planned female main character for the original games (that ended up dummied out due to memory limitations) and Leaf, the female player character from the remakes.
** You never actually see the character, but in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2,'' you hear about the player character from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite.'' You can even visit the character's mother in Nuvema Town, and she'll tell you that you remind her of her son/daughter. By mixing data between a completed copy of Black or White with a copy of Black 2 or White 2, you'll get short flashbacks and [=NPCs=] name your specific character from the Black or White game.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', the game’s ever expanding roster allows for the appearance of player characters from previous games. They tend to have starter Pokémon when they appear.
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'':
** As an OldSaveBonus in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', you can meet and recruit the protagonist from [[VideoGame/SuikodenI the first game]].
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/SuikodenTactics''/''Rhapsodia'' had an OldSaveBonus for ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'', allowing you to recruit [[spoiler:Lazlo, the hero of IV, and Snowe Vingerhut]].
* ''VideoGame/Mother3'' contains a film depicting actual scenes from previous installment ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' at one point, featuring its four protagonists. Also, the "Friend's Yo-Yo" belonged to Ness, as did (probably) the Red Cap and the Real Bat, both found only in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', Sora is mentioned multiple times throughout the game, and [[spoiler:when you fight her, Xion calls on Sora's memories to power herself up, taking on his appearance in the process]]. Outside of flashbacks and nightmares, Sora is never seen at all because he spends most of the game as a SealedGoodInACan. [[spoiler:His body does appear in TheStinger, at the moment where Roxas visits him at the end of the prelude for ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
** [[spoiler:He is an unlockable character in Mission Mode, though]].
** A young Sora appears in a few scenes in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep''. [[spoiler:The present-day version of him appears in the Secret Episode ending in the Final Mix version, in a scene taken from the ending to ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.]]
** Roxas (who is the player character in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' and in the prologue of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'') returns in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', as do Terra, Ventus and Aqua, the three player characters in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' (Aqua is also the player character in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage'').
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'':
** In ''[[VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge The Lost Age]]'' you take on the role of Felix, who was a minor antagonist in the first game, and take on three new party members with him. Eventually, you run into the original party from the first game. [[spoiler:And they join up with you.]]
** Isaac and Garet make an appearance in ''[[VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn Dark Dawn]]'''s prologue, though they cannot be directly controlled by the player. The other party members are mentioned at least once each, but none of them appear in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier EXCEED'', the party of the original game shows up and joins the new protagonists' party... as well as almost every boss in the original game. It's a big party.
* ''VideoGame/AtelierAnnieAlchemistsOfSeraIsland'' allows you to recruit Liese (the main character of ''Atelier Liese'') as one of your allies about a third of the way through the game.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' players have the option to download DLC containing the main characters from the first game (such as Lightning and Snow) and fight them in order to add them to their party.
* ''VideoGame/WildArms'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/WildArms4'' [[VideoGame/WildArms1 Rudy, Jack and Cecilia]] appear in a secret [[LimitBreak Force]] {{Combination|Attack}} Art "Kindred Souls". This art generally serves as an OldSaveBonus from ''VideoGame/WildArmsAlterCodeF'', but the game mercifully lets you get it by some backtracking.
** In ''VideoGame/WildArms5'', every party member from the previous games appear as cameos, including the temporary ones, with the notable exception of Luceid from ''VideoGame/WildArms2''.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters,'' Terry, the PC from the first game in the series, appears during the PlayableEpilogue. He allows you to breed monsters from the first game with the second game when you speak to him.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', connecting to Wi-Fi will occasionally reward you with a party member from one of the previous eight games checking into the Quester's Rest (though the actual main characters appear to be absent). You can also fight previous games' {{Big Bad}}s and {{Disc One Final Boss}}es after finding special treasure maps.
*** You can buy the main characters' clothing on an in-game store which you need internet connection for but are ridiculously expensive. Though it seems this server no longer exists. As people say they can't access it anymore. Yet said server also unlocks new quests which those are still able to access.
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' uses this ''a lot''.
** While the protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' doesn't show up in person in [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII the sequel]], a statue does. Furthermore, in [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne the following game]], it's implied that ''II''[='s=] Aleph does appear through [[spoiler:Jyoji Hijiri]] though nothing is made concrete.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', the Hero of the first game makes an appearance as a superboss under specific circumstances.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', being a hypothetical scenario for the endgame of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', features Flynn. DLC takes this a step further where [[spoiler:the first game's protagonist, Aleph, and ''III''[='s=] Demi-Fiend all come back to join up for a fight with a Recurring Extra]].
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', you can fight the Demi-Fiend from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' as a challenging {{superboss}}.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', the Demi-Fiend appears once again in the DLC "Return of the True Demon'', requiring the defeat of all the Fiends before he can be challenged as a boss.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has an appearance from [[spoiler:Black Frost]] from the first ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. To drive home the fact that it's not just any [[spoiler:Black Frost]], you get this exchange:
--->[[spoiler:'''Black Frost:''' [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor The messenger of love and justice is here! Time for some magical punishment! ]]★]]\\
[[spoiler:'''MC:''' ''(choosing the first dialogue option)'' Frosty!]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Black Frost:''' ...Ho? What're you saying, ho? You've got me confused with somebody else!]]
** The Playstation port of ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'' includes a battle against the protagonist from the very first ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' game. The enhanced 3DS port also includes a battle against Raidou Kuzunoha XIV from the Platform/Playstation2 ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Devil]]'' ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Summoner]]'' games.
** All but two of the playable characters in the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'' make at least a brief appearance in ''VideoGame/Persona2'', and several party members from both games show up in the "Who's Who" TV show in ''VideoGame/Persona3''.
** Inverted in ''Persona 3 Portable'', an UpdatedRerelease of ''Persona 3''. During the female protagonist's story, Yukiko Amagi, a party member in ''Persona 4'', makes a cameo appearance.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', several party members from ''Persona 3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'' (plus one from ''VideoGame/Persona2'') will also appear on the television from time to time.
** In ''Persona 5's'' UpdatedReRelease, ''Persona 5 Royal'', certain pieces of DownloadableContent allows you to actually battle against Makoto Yuki and Yu Narukami, the protagonists of ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 4'' respectively.
** The female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' appears in the first two ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games as "Tamaki Uchida". Additionally, Kyouji Kuzunoha from the original ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' is implied to be the one possessing Daisuke Todoroki in ''Persona 2''.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'':
** Several playable characters, most notably Welkin and Alicia, cameo in both ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII'' and ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII''.
** Being a [[SpiritualSuccessor spiritual sucessor]] to ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', ''Valkyria Chronicles'' has Vyse and Aika cameo as well.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' has you meet [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Crono, Marle, and Lucca]] midway through the game [[spoiler:as shades, the real ones having since been victims of a BusCrash between games.]]
** Lucca, as she was Kid's foster mother [[spoiler:before Lord Viper murdered her]], and Robo [[spoiler:called by his actual name of "Prometheus" right before he gets deleted]] are further alluded to in dialogue, the Dream Eater is actually [[spoiler:Schala]] fused with Lavos and driven insane by the AndIMustScream situation, and [[spoiler:Kid and maybe Harle]] are implied to be reincarnations of [[spoiler:Schala]].
* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' has appearances by two of the partners from the [[VideoGame/PaperMario64 first game]] (Parakarry in the opening and [[spoiler:Lady Bow]] in the PlayableEpilogue). The Switch remake also includes a photo of Mario with all 8 partners in his house.
** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has Catch Cards for every partner from the previous two games, including [[spoiler:Ms. Mowz]]. ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' have easy to miss nods to Parakarry and Goombella, as well as the word "Rawk" showing up in an ancient language as a reference to Rawk Hawk of the second game.
* Because of how interconnected all the arcs are in ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'', characters from previous arcs are bound to show up in some form or another.
** Estelle and Joshua, the protagonists of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'', show up in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZero'', its sequel, and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Trails of Cold Steel IV]]''.
** Lloyd Bannings from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZero'' shows up in 3 of the 4 ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' games and is playable in two of them.
** Avin and Mile from ''Legend of Heroes IV'' (I in English) pop up again in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' .
* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' does this a lot by including Cameo Bosses as extra challenges. Occasionally the cameo will be a villain, but more often it's popular player characters. Note that these villains also often technically count as "player characters", because some spin-offs add them as playable units. A few examples:
** VideoGameRemake of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Lilith Aileron]] as the boss of the arena.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' (the Platform/PlayStation2 remake) has [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Barbatos Goetia]] as an AntiGrinding trap[[note]]he appears and slaughters the party if the player spends too much time in auto mode[[/note]] and as a {{superboss}}. While Barbatos is normally TheHeavy of his home game, by the game's release he already appeared as a player character in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Narikiri Dungeon 3'' spin-off. It also counts as a weird CallBack[=/=]CallForward[=/=]whatever, as he is [[spoiler:long dead by the game's timeframe, but is resurrected in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'' by the BigBad]]. How he's even here is anyone's guess.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has a fight against [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Cress and Arche]] in the Coliseum.
** In the port of ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', you can fight Leon in the BonusDungeon. [[spoiler:Well, sort of. It's not really him. Bonus points for fighting him alone with Judas]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' out you up against [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Garr Kelvin]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Farah Oersted and Meredy]] in it's coliseum. There's a DummiedOut model of [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Rutee Katrea]] in the game's code as well, possibly serving as a fourth cameo boss originally.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', you can fight a cameo team of [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Reid]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Mint]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Philia]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Nanaly]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheTempest'' was ''set'' to have one, with [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn's]] model being left in the files.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence R'' has a battle against [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Kohaku and Hisui Hearts]], as well as against [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Milla Maxwell]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
*** [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Kratos]] appears as a {{superboss}} at the end of the bonus dungeon. He's considered one of the hardest bosses in the series.
*** It also includes [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Dhaos]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Shizel]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Barbatos]] in the Arena. All three have appeared as playable characters in VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld games.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'':
*** In the original DS version you can fight [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss The Amazing Guy]]!
*** In the UpdatedRerelease of ''Tales of Hearts'', you can fight a DualBoss with [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Hubert and Pascal.]] Also they're wearing cat costumes. (Some fans have hypothesized that [[ShipTease they're on their honeymoon]]. Aw)
*** On a more serious and ''not'' {{Superboss}}-related note, [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence QQ Selezneva]] appears in the secret cutscene, where she is revealed as a part of some sort of military. Here she is met by Gall Gruner, who has returned into what appears to be his home dimension]]. It was meant to be a part of the Triverse storyline, that now appears to have been [[AbortedArc adandoned]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' includes [[VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth Veigue]] as the boss of the Coliseum, and [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Amber]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Reala]] in the Zhonecage. Beat the latter two in that dungeon and they'll join Veigue in Riot Peak thereafter.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', things have been getting old-school again, with the cameo team this time being [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Mint, Cless,]] [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn and Rutee.]] (And there's transformation items that turn any character into said cameo bosses as well as Bruiser Khang for some reason.)
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' features [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Jade Curtiss]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Sophie]] as solo cameo bosses. The Dark Turtlez from Graces appears again and while not exactly a PC cameo, his Mystic Arte is a parody of [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Amber]]'s Mystic Arte and most of the fight is a reenactment of the Julius boss fight from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'':
*** There is a post-game sidequest that involves [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Jude]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Milla Maxwell]] being fought separately, before the sidequest ends in them being a DualBoss for the party.
*** ''Berseria'' also plays with this trope - Zaveid is fought on a few occasions throughout ''Berseria''. However, since ''Berseria'' is a ''prequel'' to ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', it's hard to say if Zaveid counts as a "previous" player cameo.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'':
*** The game has a series of {{Nostalgia Level}}s, where the player first fights [[VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria Edna]], then [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria Eizen]], and then both of them at once.
*** There's also [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 Chronos]], who is the ultimate {{Superboss}} of the game. By the game's release he already appeared in ''VideoGame/TalesOfCrestoria'' as a playable unit.
* ''VideoGame/KingsField'' 2 (or 3 as it was known in Japan) features a cameo by the ghost of Alexander, the player character of the previous game, who has since died.
* The image above comes from the browser game ''VideoGame/CrystalStory'', which features 4 adventurers who fought to defeat an evil witch. In the next game, those four adventurers are living their own lives while they assist the next group of adventurers in some way or other. [[spoiler:Despite what the image above shows very little time has actually passed between the two events, and the protagonist of the first game is just playing around with a fake beard and pretending to be a elderly veteran.]]
* Creator/{{Uri}} loved doing this for their ''Strange Man'' series.
** ''VideoGame/TheSandman2014'' had [[VideoGame/TheCrookedMan David Hoover]] serve a minor role as becoming a good friend to new protagonist Sophie Grundler.
** ''VideoGame/TheBoogieMan'' had David Hoover appear again, but with a bigger role as the person following Keith Baring and checking the mystery behind the castle out. Sophie Grundler appears as well, but her role is diminished, but her CharacterDevelopment from being a passive stepford smiler to being open about her feelings is taken into account.
** ''VideoGame/TheHangedMan'' has all three previous protagonists play minor roles. Sophie and Keith give new protagonist Will Morton a chance to search the abandoned homeless shelter for his pet rat that ran off, with the former also following him around and helping for a while. David has the most diminished role, only appearing in the introduction, where he gets Will out of trouble and lets him stay the night, and in some endings.
* In ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove'', Ichiro Ogami, the protagonist of the previous four ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' entries, appears in the introduction as the one who assigns new hero Shinjiro Taiga to the New York Combat Revue. Sakura Shinguji, franchise poster girl, also cameos in the opening scenes.
* It's never directly stated, but it's ''heavily'' implied that the family of three you meet in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' are in fact the Player Character and parents from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII'' - after all, talk to them and they state they are looking for the Lost Ark!
** The DS remake all but confirms it, using the same unique model and design for the FFLII protagonist that appears on the box art.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' seres:
** The original ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts1'' is confirmed to be a StealthSequel to ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'' when [[spoiler:titular Koudelka turns out to be TheVoice that directs Yuri throughout the game. She plays a large role in BigBad's plans, and her son, Halley, is a party member. She doesn't join herself only because... [[HeroicNeutral reasons]]]].
** Valentine siblings appear in the games following their introduction. Keith from ''Shadow Hearts'' appears in ''[[VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant Covenant]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld From the New World]]'', while Joachim, who debuted in ''Covenant'', appears in ''From the New World''.
** Margarete shows up in ''Covenant'' at the end of the ChainOfDeals sidequest, under the name "Malkovich, an Ordinary Citizen".
* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', all of the prequel’s party members pop up somewhere, with varying degrees of importance. Anonymous is still a main character, Shrimp and Cornelia are [[RecurringTraveller Recurring Travellers]] who [[EleventhHourRanger rejoin the team at the last minute]], [=GmasterRED=]’s antics are a RunningGag, while Adromelk and Jelly only appear for one small scene each. Notably, the only two who are completely absent are Mason and Crissa, who were [[OptionalPartyMember optional]].
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':
** Dark Souls introduces a strange and convoluted cameo in the form of the legend of Artorias the Abysswalker. The whole game is full of references to Artorias. Numerous item descriptions mention him, along with information about his stature, strength, bravery, high status, or tell about this or that incredible feat he achieved. [[spoiler:When you play the DLC, you are grabbed by Manus and dragged back in time, where you discover that Artorias was consumed by the Abyss, and it's your duty to right the wrongs, save Oolacile and defeat Manus. Once it's done and you look at what you did, it turns out that the legend of Artorias is actually the story of ''your'' questline in the past, attributed to Artorias since he went there to do exactly what you did and you defeated him and Manus before leaving without any witnesses to tell the tale. The legend of Artorias is a cameo of your own character without you knowing - yet.]]
** The FinalBoss of the third game, the withered husk of a knight known as the Soul of Cinder, is actually an {{Exaggerated}} version of this trope: [[spoiler: they are not just ''your'' previous player character, they are an amalgamation incarnating the souls of ''every single individual that has ever linked the First Flame,'' an embodiment of all previous player characters that all Dark Souls players have ever brought to the kiln and sacrificed in order to keep the Age of Fire alive, and all of these characters are still fighting to keep alive, even as the world around them is dying. And if you wish any at all kind of good ending to come out of everything that has lead up to this point, [[PlayerPunch you have to kill them]] [[AllForNothing and let the First Flame die.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuthHackersMemory'' is a {{Midquel}} to ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuth'', and as such the new main character Keisuke can catch glimpses of the previous main character Aiba in some scenes. Interestingly, Keisuke eventually meets and befriends nearly all major characters from the previous game, except Aiba themselves.
* In ''VideoGame/DigimonWorldNextOrder'', it's all but stated that "Mameo" is the player character of the original ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld'', now all grown up. He wears a yellow shirt and a knitted hat just like his younger self, and he mentions several times that he has saved a different Digital World. Not only that, after the final confrontation of the game, [[spoiler:it's revealed that BigBad Shoma is possessed by the spirit of Analogman, the BigBad of the original ''World'']].
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', you can pick up [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles Shulk, Fiora]], and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX Elma]] as Rare Blades. [[spoiler: The inclusion of [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS]] is done more as a MythologyGag, until ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' goes and ''strongly'' suggests that game's world(the amalgam of the post-game worlds of XBC 1 and 2) is in fact the "Lost Jerusalem" that KOS-MOS is seen approaching at the end of ''Xenosaga Episode 3''.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fighting Games]]
* If you've imported your ''Videogame/DragonBallXenoverse'' character to [[Videogame/DragonBallXenoverse2 the sequel]], the character from that game shows up as a recurring character and gets a big hologram statue in the middle of the HubCity.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:First-Person Shooters]]
* ''Videogame/DeusEx'': J.C. Denton becomes a boss in ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'' - some endings require you to ''kill'' him. He is the default pale-skinned, black-haired Denton.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
** Soap [=MacTavish=] of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'' is one of the {{Player Character}}s' CO in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2 Modern Warfare 2]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3 3]]''.
** Dimitri Petrenko and Viktor Reznov from ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar World at War]]'' reappear in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'', though the former only in a flashback mission where you play as the latter.
** Another one from ''Black Ops''. The agent who conducted Mason's psyche profile is named C. Miller, the same name of the American PlayerCharacter in ''World at War''. Given that Miller would be about 41 years old by the time of ''Black Ops''...
** [[spoiler:Reznov]] also briefly appears in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'' as part of a flashback from Mason's perspective. It counts since he was playable in a level of the original ''Black Ops''.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'': Sort of. During the [=ODSTs'=] drop to Regret's flagship, a tiny human ship can be seen approaching it: ''In Amber Clad'', which main PlayerCharacter Master Chief was aboard during the events of ''VideoGame/Halo2''.
** ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': Master Chief also appears briefly in an Easter Egg in "The Pillar of Autumn"; the cutscene of Keyes' Pelican flying to the ''Pillar of Autumn'' is partially interactive, and if the player moves their control stick to the right while the Pelican lands in the hangar, they will get a brief glimpse of Master Chief in a cryotube, just like he was at the beginning of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''. Additionally, Edward Buck, the squad leader from ''ODST'', shows up as a potential {{escort|Mission}} objective in "New Alexandria"; this serves as a combined CallForward (given ''ODST'' was released first) and CallBack (given ''Reach'' is a prequel), since in the final level of ''ODST'' Buck refers to a Covenant capital ship firing on Earth itself as being "just like Reach all over again!".
** ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'': Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, the {{deuteragonist}} of ''VideoGame/Halo2'' and ''VideoGame/Halo3'', plays the role of SupportingLeader during the levels set on Sanghelios.
* All the standalone {{Expansion Pack}}s for ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' have a brief brush with Gordon Freeman at some points. In [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 the sequel]], Barney Calhoun, protagonist of ''[[VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift Blue Shift]]'', shows up as a supporting character.
** Both Gordon and Adrian Shephard of the ''[[VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce Opposing Force]]'' standalone briefly appear as companion [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] in the fan-made single-player mod ''VideoGame/AzureSheep'' by Italian developers ''Toadman'' and ''DAV''.
* In ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'', the PC of all the previous games in the ''VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga'' (excepting one expansion pack) has moved on to become the master to a new PC, whom you can even fight as a {{Superboss}} if you [[MultipleEndings choose the dark side]]. Since the previous games have buffed him into a MemeticBadass, this is commonly regarded as the hardest fight in the game. [[spoiler:You don't even kill him in this case, either. You only incapacitate him long enough to make an escape.]]
* The original ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' survivors appear in "The Passing" campaign in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', sans Bill, who is dead. They help the new survivors in the finale map by providing cover fire and tossing down supplies until the bridge is lowered so the new survivors can escape.
* ''VideoGame/RainbowSix: Vegas'' and ''Vegas 2'' put Ding Chavez, the intended player character of the first three games, in charge of the entire organization. In addition, Logan Keller from ''Vegas 1'' is one of your squadmates in the first mission of ''Vegas 2'', and as the two games take place during the same general time-frame, his exploits are mentioned every now and again as you progress, most notably where the penultimate mission forces you to go alone because your squadmates are called in to replace Logan's squad that was kidnapped at the end of the first game's opening level. In a more minor example, Kevin Sweeney, one of the Recon specialists in the original game and ''Rogue Spear'', appears in ''Raven Shield'' as an advisor in the same manner as the head honcho John Clark rather than a returning field operative, giving you more technical details on what the enemies of the mission are up to.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/FireWarrior'' has the player in the role of a Tau Fire Warrior named Shas'la Kais, "shas'la" being his rank. ''Warhammer 40,000: VideoGame/DawnOfWar -- Dark Crusade'' features a character named Shas'O Kais as the leader of the Tau forces on Kronus. While not officially confirmed (and not at all helped that A) "Kais" is apparently the Tau equivalent of "John Everyman", and B) the Fire Warrior was [[HeroicBSOD driven completely insane by the events of his game]]), it is suspected within the fandom that the two are the same person.
* The Vault Hunters from ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' return as major characters in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' and in certain missions will fight alongside the players.
** And in the DLC ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'', the "cameos" are twisted into a totally-meta Ouroboros. As the player, you get to control the same character from among the six of ''Borderlands 2'' that you've been doing all along. But this time it's not really you. Tiny Tina is running an RPGEpisode for several of the ''Borderlands'' '''1''' [=PCs=], and your actions are just the [[DeepImmersionGaming visualization]] of that. So you are a player controlling a character who is not really your player character, but a player character of non-player characters who used to be player characters that you might have already played. Meanwhile, the player characters you the player are used to playing still exist in the "real" world, but now they are non-player characters completely separate from these player characters of non-player characters, and they're just downstairs. One of them even has an interjection into the narration, responding to objections over the use of his likeness for non-player characters that these player characters of non-player characters have to defeat. (Meaning, if you play Salvador, you will kill copies of yourself because one of the old [=PCs=] makes you.)
** In the Creator/TelltaleGames side-series ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' assassin [=Zer0=] makes a guest appearance in the first episode (which is named after him), and can join your team briefly if you make the correct choices. A few other Vault Hunters from throughout the series make appearance, including Brick, Mordecai, Athena, [[spoiler: and Claptrap]].
** ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', an {{Interquel}} taking place between the first and second games, feature Lilith and Roland from the first game, though in reduced roles compared to 2.
** ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'' has many previous player cameos from all the games: Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai from ''1'', [=Zer0=] from ''2'', Claptrap and Aurelia from the ''Pre-Sequel'', and Rhys from ''Tales''.
* Hawkins from ''VideoGame/{{Vietcong}}'' returns at the very first level of the second game's US campaign. And drunk. You can even have a conversation with him.
* [[VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic The Classic Team]] return to ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' in the comic "A Cold Day in Hell". All of the members are present, except for [[spoiler:Classic Medic, who had his spot filled in by Modern Medic.]]
* The ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' series seemed fond of this. The second game of the series, Underground, featured the protagonist, Manon (who had been MissionControl in the first game, making her an inversion) escaping North Africa on a plane piloted by Jimmy Patterson, the protagonist from said first game, though [[GameplayAndStorySegregation he was only revealed in briefings]]. A later game, European Assault, played it straight and had the player character rescue Manon from the Germans.
** She also made a brief appearance helping Powell in ''Allied Assault'', and was selectable as a skin in multiplayer. [[TheBusCameBack More recently]] she returns as a major supporting character in ''Above and Beyond''.
* A major plot point of ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.3.A.R.]]'' is the Point Man and Fettel trying to meet up with Michael Becket, the protagonist of ''[[VideoGame/Fear2ProjectOrigin F.E.A.R. 2]]'', to find out what he knows about Alma. [[spoiler:He [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome doesn't last]] [[YourHeadAsplode very long]] once you physically catch up with him.]]
* Sonny Bonds, the player character of the ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' series, is the instructor of the tutorial mission of ''VideoGame/SWAT4'', the fourth installment of ''Police Quest'''s successor series. He also appears in ''SWAT 2'' as a selectable squad member.
* In ''VideoGame/FarCryNewDawn'', the protagonist of ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' appears as [[spoiler:The Judge, acting as Joseph Seed's enforcer after being brainwashed at the end of 5]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hack-and-Slash]]
* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'':
** The Warrior from the last game was possessed by Diablo and is always a few steps ahead of you. He mostly shows up in the cutscenes, but you do encounter him once ingame.
** Blood Raven and The Summoner are the two other possible player characters from the first game, the Rogue and Sorceror respectively.
** Later, the ghost of the Sorceress appears as the Wizard's mentor in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII''.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'', a SpinOff of the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' franchise, features Byleth, the Ashen Demon, the protagonist from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''. Their gender is shown to be customizable like in ''Three Houses''.
* While not an officially licensed game, the ''Franchise/TouhouProject''/''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' crossover game ''[[VideoGame/KoumajouDensetsu Koumajou Densetsu II]]'' featured Sakuya Izayoi as the player character rather than Reimu Hakurei, who was the player character of the first game. The fourth boss of the sequel is Marisa Kirisame, who was a support character for Reimu in the original, and the fifth boss is Reimu Hakurei herself.
* ''VideoGame/Drakengard2'' sees the return of Caim, the silent protagonist of the [[VideoGame/{{Drakengard}} first game]]. If you know anything about [[BloodKnight what kind of person he is]], it's almost too fitting that he's one of the ''villains'' this time (in part because [[spoiler:the BigBad of the last game is in your party]]).
* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'' has two alternate Bayonettas, in her character designs from the first two games, showing up [[spoiler:to help out the main Bayonetta in the final boss battle, heavily implying that all three games were in different universes.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Light Gun Games]]
* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis''
** In the Crisis Mission mode in the home console of ''Time Crisis 2'' the final mission has you face Richard Miller, the original protagonist of the first game, in a gun duel.
** In ''Time Crisis 5'', the two new player characters are under the command of Robert Baxter, who was one player character sin the second game. What's more they're after Keith Martin, the other player character whose turned into a villain. [[spoiler:This gets flipped when it turns out Robert is the true villain of the story and Keith was trying to stop him. After which the player character switch sides.]]
* ''VideoGame/LetsGoIsland'' has a brief cameo by Ben and Norah, the heroes from the first game, ''VideoGame/LetsGoJungle'', in photos before the stages as well as walking by in the ending.
* G in ''[[VideoGame/HouseofTheDead The House of the Dead 2]]'' shows up a bit wounded but giving the player characters critical information about the monsters they'll face before sending them on their way. Subverted in the third game and the special mode in the 4th game where he's playable once more.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:[=MMORPGs=]]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', [[spoiler:both Revan and the Exile (as a Force Ghost) make appearances and are part of a special questline. Revan later returns as the main antagonist of the ''Shadow of Revan'' expansion.]]
* This gets played with for the Midlander Hyur in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. The Hyur in question isn't ''the'' player character in a sense due to players being able to change their appearance easily, so the generic male is used as a stand in for promotional trailers. For a while, WordOfGod teased that the Midland Hyur is ''and'' is not the player character, meaning the character is his own and is not when it comes to representing the player. [[spoiler:In patch 3.1, players are introduced to a character that's identical to the Midlander Hyur, along with the companions he had in the early 2.0 trailers, [[RogueProtagonist who are all now working against the player character.]]]]
** Later, in Shadowbringers, it's revealed that the Midlander Hyur sort of ''is'' both the player character and not the player character at the same time. [[spoiler:His name is Ardbert, and while he's his own person, he's also part of the player character; everyone on Hydaleyn had their soul sundered into fourteen parts millenia ago, and Ardbert is the First shard's fragment of the Warrior of Light's soul. [[FusionDance Ardbert and the player character merge back together at the end of the expansion.]]]]
** It should be noted, however, that [[spoiler:Ardbert]] and the trailer Hyur are two different characters. The trailer Hyur is just a generic Warrior of Light and is officially known as [[KnownOnlyByTheirNickname "the Meteor Survivor"]]. His purpose is to simply to act as the AllegoricalCharacter for the Warrior of Light/Player in all the promotional material for the game, which includes the expansions where [[spoiler:Ardbert]] doesn't and shouldn't for story reasons be able to appear in. The differences between the two are further emphasized with the cinematic trailers, which show the Meteor Survivor aging and becoming more battle-hardened over the course of expansions. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Ardbert]] retains his youthful appearance, since [[spoiler:[[DeadAllAlong he's already dead]] by the time he meets the Warrior of Light]]. In the promotional material for Shadowbringers, both the Meteor Survivor and [[spoiler:Ardbert]] are sometimes shown together, referencing the reveal that [[spoiler:Ardbert is the player character's AlternateSelf]].
* In the endgame story of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'', [[spoiler:the player squares off against Elidibus after he transforms into the Warrior of Light as he appeared in official artwork of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' and ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''.]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' plays with this in certain quests, in which you experience the battles against Illidan(in ''Burning Crusade'' and Ysera (in ''Legion'') from the boss' point of view. If you've actually fought in those battles, your character will be among the enemies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Platform Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' you meet either [[spoiler:Vent]] (when playing as Ashe) or [[spoiler:Aile]] (when playing as Grey) halfway through the story. And thanks to Model A's [[{{Shapeshifting}} A-Trans]], you can ''play'' as them again.
* Super Joe is a background character in the NES version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando1988'', a ''very'' loose sequel to his earlier game ''Commando''.
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
** In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]'', [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Richter Belmont]] appears as an optional boss in a dream sequence. Defeating him there turns the game's weak starting weapon into an [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Whip]]. It's also revealed late into the game that [[spoiler:Wind is actually the ghost of [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines Eric Lecarde]].]]
** In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'', Richter shows up as a RogueProtagonist. OptionalPartyMember Maria is a friendly NPC, helping Alucard figure out just why Richter went rogue.
*** Alucard, himself, has appeared in various games. Outside of the beings that dwell within Dracula's Castle, he's the only character to constantly appear throughout the series, since he's immortal. Doppelgangers also have a tendency to transform into characters from prior games when they're not mimicking the player character or some other main character.
* In ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in Miracle World'', Alex's brother [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Igul/Egle/Iguru]] was also the [[CarryABigStick hammer-wielder]] [[KnightInShiningArmor knight]] of ''[=PitPot=]''.
* ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', being a homage to Sonic's 20th anniversary, plays a lot with this trope. MANY playable characters from previous games appear in side missions, either helping or acting as rivals, and using moves and gimmicks from old games (such as Tails, who flies and lifts Sonic through a particular mission just like he used to do in ''VideoGame/{{Sonic 3|AndKnuckles}}'').
* ''[[VideoGame/JakAndDaxter Daxter]]'' is an interquel set during the opening cutscene in ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', during which series protagonist Jak is in prison. He only appears in three scenes, with Daxter being the player character in his quest to free Jak.
* In ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon'' 2, Zangetsu has three new party members - [[spoiler:and halfway through the game, the previous trio of Miriam, Alfred and Gebel return.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rail Shooters]]
* Todd from ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap'' appears in ''VideoGame/NewPokemonSnap'' as a colleague of Professor Mirror's and professional photographer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Time Strategy]]
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
** It's kind of implied in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun'' that General Solomon was the player character in the GDI campaign of the original ''C&C'' (in that he is stated to have led the attack on Kane's Sarajevo temple, which was the final mission of the first game). In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'' itself, the player 'character' is a NonentityGeneral.
** In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars Tiberium Wars]]'', there are a few statues of Nick "Havoc" Parker from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade Renegade]]'' in the single-player campaign, and he's cited as being a right-wing pundit.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spellforce}} 2: Shadow Wars'', the PlayerCharacter of ''The Breath of Winter'' makes an appearance as [[spoiler:the shadow warrior who helps you lead his race in a massive MookFaceTurn]]. And in that game's sequel, ''Dragon Storm'', ''Spellforce 2's'' PlayerCharacter shows up as [[spoiler:a dragon!]]
* ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}'' has this, as Artanis in ''Brood War'' is said to be the Protoss commander (PC) from the original game. The same happened in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIWingsOfLiberty'': ''Brood War's'' Protoss commander is revealed to be Selendis.
* In the ''VideoGame/BattlestationsPacific'', during the Japanese campaign you can actually '''kill''' one of the two player characters from ''Battlestations: Midway'' by sinking his PT Boat at Pearl Harbor; the other player character can also be killed during the same battle by shooting down his plane.
-->''His name was Henry Walker. [[AlternateUniverse This is not his story.]]''
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWarII'':
** The game has both Gabriel Angelos and Davian Thule (from the first ''Dawn of War'' campaign and the ''Dark Crusade'' campaign respectively) as major characters, with Thule even returning to playable status [[spoiler:as a Dreadnought]], while Eliphas (from ''Dark Crusade'') makes a surprise return in ''Chaos Rising''.
** This trope really comes into play in the final campaign mission of the base game. Angelos pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment, [[spoiler:reaching the recruitment worlds just in time to prevent the Chapter from being overrun]] and drops down to the planet for the final battle, ''wielding the Daemonhammer he was given by the Inquisition in the first game.''
** You also can't keep Gorgutz down.
* In ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'', [[spoiler:Captain Olimar only appears at the end of the game. Louie appears a while earlier in the story.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roguelikes]]
* A rather grim version in ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl''. Previous characters that were killed within the dungeon can later be encountered as vengeful angry phantoms. They are, suffice it to say, not happy to see you. They tend to be quite dangerous, too! Especially if they were spellcasters. On top of that, their flavor dialogue is full of contempt and spite for the living, and assurances that your new character will fail too.
* In ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' you can meet your retired adventurer and dwarves from your former fortresses if you play in the same universe. Also, dwarves from old fortresses might rejoin the next one you play if they're close enough to where they escaped to. This, of course, can lead to a DiskOneNuke if said dwarf is a legendary warrior...
* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'' you can occasionally run across the graves of previous adventurers, complete with an epitaph displaying their level and [[HaveANiceDeath how they bought their plot]]. You can ''loot the graves'' of your former selves, complete with all of their equipment... 80% of which is cursed. (Had that [[GameBreaker spellbook of Polymorph?]] [[SchmuckBait Guess what you just found!]])
* While not a sequel per se, ''VideoGame/TheConsumingShadow's'' Ministry Man is all-but-stated to be Trilby from the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'' by [[Creator/BenCroshaw the same author]]. WordOfGod said it was done to avoid a ContinuityLockout.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Simulation Games]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'', the Aldrin Expansion plot has a brief cameo by [[spoiler:Julian Brennan, the PlayerCharacter of ''X2: The Threat'' and ''X3: Reunion''.]] Also, the player ship of ''VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier'', the Xperimental Shuttle, is a plot reward and arguably the best M3 fighter in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', Mobius One, the player character from the fourth game in the series and the arcade mode of the fifth, is the final enemy in a bonus stage that you unlock by beating the game. Later games with boss rush modes also let you fight Blaze from ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar 5]]'' and Scarface One from ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 2]]''. Furthermore, later games very often allow you to unlock or [[DownloadableContent buy]] the paint schemes of prior protagonists, many of them also featuring Gauntlet-like stages where you get the chance to fight them.
* In the first 4 ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' games, your PlayerCharacter is Christopher Blair. Then comes ''Wing Commander: Prophecy'', where Blair is an NPC, and you take on the role of a rookie pilot.
* In ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter: New Blood'', Derek Stiles, the protagonist doctor of ''Under the Knife'' and ''[[VideoGameRemake Second Opinion]]'', and his assistant Angie Thompson make a brief appearance in Episode 7. Later, they appear in Challenge A-4, the only Challenge operation with any plot: Derek and Angie are developing a medical simulator for training doctors to handle GUILT and Stigma, and have chosen Markus and Valerie to test it out.
** Stiles also features in Trauma Team, never named, only shown from the back, and mostly in flashbacks, as part of Naomi's subplot about the complications from her having GUILT in Second Opinion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stealth-Based Games]]
* {{Inverted}} in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, with Big Boss, the BigBad of the first two games and his legacy influencing events until the fourth (i.e. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'') becoming the playable character in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and two spinoffs. The series has yet to come full circle with Big Boss (as the player character) interacting with Solid Snake. [[spoiler:Although he does show up to have one last conversation with Solid Snake in the epilogue of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.]]
** Snake himself plays it straight in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', though it's more than just a cameo.
** In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', there was a downloadable wooden sword imbued with the soul of Solid Snake that would comment on [[PlayerCharacter Raiden's]] actions during play.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', TheReveal at the end shows that [[spoiler:Ishmael is the real Big Boss from the previous games. Venom Snake, who the player has been controlling and was led to believe was Big Boss, was a lookalike, though he would be the 'Big Boss' that Solid Snake would ultimately kill [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 in Outer Heaven.]]]]
*** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes Ground Zeroes]]'' also has bonus missions involving Solid Snake and Raiden. They are also available as bonus costumes in ''Phantom Pain''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Survival Horror]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Trapt}}'', if certain actions are taken [[spoiler:the player could meet and battle Millenia, the main character in Deception II: Kagero.]]
* The main draw of the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' DownloadableContent "The Passing" is this trope. [[spoiler:Though, as the title indicates, Bill is dead.]]
* In ''Franchise/SilentHill'', the previous games' characters tend to limit their cameos to the (joke) UFO Endings, but in ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' an older Travis of ''VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins'' is the one who gives Alex a lift back to Shepherd's Glen at the beginning of the game.
** There's also Harry Mason's cameo from the original ''VideoGame/{{Silent Hill|1}}'' in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3''. [[spoiler:Even if it's only his dead body]].
* In ''VideoGame/ProjectZomboid'', if your character dies, you get the opportunity to restart with a brand new character in a random position on the map. If they got zombified, you might even bump into them by heading back to the spot.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', after an entire game with only fleeting references to the prior events of the series, [[spoiler:Chris Redfield]] shows up at the final boss fight. Said character later becomes the protagonist of the ''Not a Hero'' DLC.
* ''VideoGame/YomawariMidnightShadows'' features the appearance of the protagonist of ''VideoGame/YomawariNightAlone''. She and Haru hit it off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Third-Person Shooters]]
* ''Mafia''
** Tommy Angelo, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/MafiaTheCityOfLostHeaven'', briefly appears again in ''VideoGame/MafiaII'', [[spoiler:where it's revealed that the two goons who murdered him at the end of the first game are actually Vito and Joe, the current protagonists]].
** Vito of ''Mafia II'' is one of the protagonist's lieutenants in ''VideoGame/MafiaIII''. [[spoiler:Joe Barbaro, Vito's best friend and the protagonist of the Joe's Adventures DLC pack, makes a cameo as well.]]
* ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'': Exploring the map, Alec Mason can happen upon and old man in red overalls sitting outside his home, who if he hangs around long enough and listens to will be revealed to in fact be Parker, the PlayerCharacter from the first ''VideoGame/RedFaction.''
* The ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' games have done this a few times with Agent 3, [[VideoGame/Splatoon1 the first game]]'s PlayerCharacter.
** In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2: [[DownloadableContent Octo Expansion]]'', [[spoiler:they appear in a BigDamnHeroes moment near the end of the game. Shortly thereafter, they must be fought as the penultimate boss when they become BrainwashedAndCrazy. Later on, they serve as a {{Superboss}} who you can fight by [[GottaCatchThemAll collecting all of the mem cakes]].]] While an OldSaveBonus isn't possible due to the Switch being unable to download Wii U files, the game still allows you to customize their appearance, which is first prompted when Cap'n Cuttlefish sketches up a missing poster after you've collected the first three [[PlotCoupon thangs]], allowing some level of personal continuity.
** By the time of ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'', they have ascended to the rank of the [[TheTeam New Squidbeak Splatoon]]'s new commander, complete with CommissarCap, coinciding with Cap'n Cuttlefish's retirement. Unlike last time, since ''3'' is on the same console as ''2'', if the player chose to [[OldSaveBonus carry over their save data]] and had gotten to the point where they were asked to customize 3's appearance in the ''[[DownloadableContent Octo Expansion]]'', the character will once again have that appearance here.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Turn-Based Strategy]]
* This a staple of Creator/NipponIchi games. To whit:
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': Marjoly from ''VideoGame/RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure''[[note]]A subversion since she was a villain in that game[[/note]] and Priere from ''VideoGame/LaPucelle'' are {{superboss}}es (both join your party if you defeat them). This had actual ramifications for the latter. As ''Disgaea'' is a game about Demons, they decided to use a version of Priere that came from a GagEnding where she ended up becoming a Demon herself. But since ''Disgaea'' was a much more popular game, more gamers knew of Prier as a Demon than her normal Human self. So when an UpdatedRerelease of the game was made, they actually went back and made an additional storyline building from a former joke.
** ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'': Midboss, Etna, Flonne, and Laharl of ''Disgaea'' can be recruited (or, at least their "phantom copies" are), as is Myao from ''VideoGame/RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure''.[[note]]Like her boss Majory, she is also a subversion.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'': Etna, Flonne, and Laharl of Disgaea and Castille from ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave''. (You can also recruit Asagi, a cameo from a game never produced.)
** In ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'', you meet Etna at the end of Chapter 3, and she [[HopelessBossFight wipes the floor with you]]. At the beginning of Chapter 10, you summon her into your party... at Level 1 (thanks to a botched ritual). Both Laharl and Flonne are bonus characters. Asagi, Marjoly, Prier, and Zetta appear as {{Superboss}} characters. The PSP remake also allows Ash and Marona from ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'' to be added as DownloadableContent.
*** You also must fight Laharl in another HopelessBossFight (if you grinded enough to beat him it will give you a NonStandardGameOver)
** ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' - Endorph turns out to be [[spoiler:Walnut, space-time-displaced from ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'']]; Lujei from ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'' and Asagi can also be gained as a recruit. Laharl appears in a one-line cameo that's basically a BigLippedAlligatorMoment.
** ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' has the ENTIRE list of characters above, PLUS a whole slew more, as DownloadableContent. Basically, if they were a main character in a previous Creator/NipponIchi series, you can recruit them as bonus characters.
** ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'' gives [[spoiler:Flonne]] a BigDamnHeroes moment when [[spoiler:she brings her new mecha to help halt the falling moon]].
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaDimension2'' has Adell, Rozalin and Axel from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'', Lilliel from ''VideoGame/TheGuidedFateParadox'', Mao, Rasberyl and Salvatore deom ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|Absence Of Justice}}'', ''all'' the protagonists from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'', Zetta, Petta, Pram, Asagi and Alex from ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' Marona and Ash from ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', Prier[[note]]both her Overlord and Humans forms, as separate units[[/note]] and Eclair from ''VideoGame/LaPucelle'', Metallia from ''VideoGame/TheWitchAndTheHundredKnight'' and Plume from ''VideoGame/BattlePrincessOfArcadias''. Only Asagi, Emizel, Axel, Artina, Valvatorez, and Fenrich are unlockable in the post game, the rest are DLC.
*** There's also a a Previous FinalBoss Cameo. It's not Marjory this time but [[VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject Darkdeath Evilman]].
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', one can, after completing a [[GuideDangIt very long]] series of sidequests, get [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]]. A little more work, and one can get his Buster Sword. Of course, by this point most players are in their forties or fifties, level-wise, and he starts out squarely at level one, so he's pretty much useless unless one is willing to spend quite a bit of time leveling him up.
** After a considerably less terrible sidequest in the UpdatedRerelease, ''War of the Lions'', you can get your hands on [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Balthier.]] Unlike Cloud, he's a GameBreaker - super fast, comes with all of Mustadio's delaying skills and a thief's skills with a higher success rate, and the strongest gun in the game.
** Similarly, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2 Luso]] joins in the UpdatedRerelease as part of the main plot, at a level close to Ramza's, and his base class is essentially [[OvershadowedByAwesome Ramza's]] [[BoringButPractical Chapter]] [[JackOfAllStats 4 "Super-Squire"]] class, renamed, with an innate Poach mechanic, making the Poaching minigame much easier and providing you with yet another DiscOneNuke that remains powerful and versatile throughout the whole game.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Vaan and Penelo]] join Luso's clan late in the main story, after they first debut in the game as plot-important [=NPCs=]. Both of them come with their own unique classes, Sky Pirate and Dancer respectively.
* Destin Faroda, the player character of ''VideoGame/OgreBattleTheMarchOfTheBlackQueen'', is TheMentor of Magnus, the hero of ''VideoGame/OgreBattle64''.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' and its remake ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'' feature Palla, Catria, and Est from the previous game as playable characters in Celica's party. In addition, ''Echoes'' allows you to recruit Marth, Ike, Robin, Lucina, Roy, and Corrin through their amiibo.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' is a strange example - as a prequel of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', it features several characters from it in their younger years, with Bartre, Marcus and Karel playable. Fae and Sophia make cameos in houses throughout the game, and Roy and Lilina appear in the epilogue as ten-year-old children (being that ''The Blazing Blade'' stars their parents in their youth).
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' includes many characters from previous games as downloadable content.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' allows you to recruit [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Marth]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ike]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Robin, and Lucina]] if you have their Toys/{{amiibo}}. Additionally, Laslow, Selena, and Odin are revealed in various supports and dialogue to be, respectively, [[spoiler:Inigo, Severa, and Owain from the above-mentioned ''Awakening'' in disguise]]. There's also the 'Before Awakening' DLC you can play, in which your army teams up with Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa in a battle set right before ''Awakening'' begins. [[spoiler:There's even unique dialogue should any of the previously mentioned disguised characters, Odin's daughter Ophelia, or Cordelia's {{Expy}} (and potential granddaughter) Caeldori talk to them.]]
* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' features Lanselot Tartaros, the leader of the dark knights. He is revealed to be a [[spoiler: RogueProtagonist]] after one gets the "A" Ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'', where he was [[spoiler: known as Alphonse.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Phoenix Wright shows up as the first defendant in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', and generally spends the game hanging back without getting too involved in anything, much to Apollo's frustration. [[spoiler: But ultimately ''subverted'' when it turns out Phoenix was playing [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] all along, with the murder that he was framed for being ''not a coincidence at all'', and he ultimately plays a vital role in the story (i.e. far more than a mere cameo). Also, you get a flashback case where you get to play as ''him'', in the case that got him disbarred.]]
** Played straighter in the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' spin offs. Blink and you'll miss it, but in two cases in the first game, you can see Phoenix and Maya in the background at some point, apparently just enjoying themselves together.
* ''VisualNovel/DaCapo's'' protagonist Junichi Asakura returns in ''VisualNovel/DaCapoII'' as the wise old grandfather of Otome and Yume.
* Dead bodies count as cameos, right? In ''Sentimental Graffiti 2'', the sequel to ''VisualNovel/SentimentalGraffitti'', the game starts with the new protagonist at the first protagonist's ''funeral'', as he'd suffered [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome a fatal car crash]] between games.
* In ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', you learn partway through the game that [[spoiler:Tenmyouji is Junpei from the previous game, and the old woman who is found dead in most timelines is Akane. In the timelines where she doesn't appear, she is actually [[SamusIsAGirl inside K's armor pretending to be him]].]]
** The third game in the series, ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', has both Junpei and Sigma, the protagonists of the previous games, return for the finale. Akane and Phi also return.
* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
** The final trial in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' has [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Makoto Naegi]] appearing in a BigDamnHeroes moment. [[spoiler:Except he turns out to be a fake created by Monokuma. A little while later, the real one shows up in an ''actual'' BigDamnHeroes moment, and he's brought Byakuya and Kyoko along with him]].
** The non-canon demo for ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' has both Makoto and ''Danganronpa 2''[='s=] Hajime Hinata welcoming the new protagonist, even substituting for two characters during the Class Trial. Makoto also cameos in the game proper, only seen from the back and recognizable by his IdiotHair.
* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' features a few cameos of characters from the previous game, ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterDeathMark'':
** In the Urashima case, it's revealed that Kaoru got her information on the Urashima Woman from an [=OOParts=] magazine that's run by Moe from the first chapter of ''Death Mark''.
** In the Killer Peach case, Akira catches part of a music program that's describing the huge success of Ai Kashiwagi, one of the companions for ''Death Mark's'' fourth chapter.
** In the Bad End, [[spoiler:Yashiki, the protagonist of ''Death Mark'', arrives too late to stop Akira from being transformed into a monster.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western RPG]]
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', the [[PlayerCharacter Jedi Exile]] meets and fights the PlayerCharacter from the original ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' in a vision. Also, various party members make return appearances, either joining the new party or as [=NPCs=]. ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' then contains the FullyAbsorbedFinale for both ''Knights''[='=] [=PCs=]: [[spoiler:a Republican Flash Point concerns rescuing Revan from the Sith Emperor's prison, during which a Force ghost of the late Exile is encountered; while an Imperial Flash Point concerns locating the now-free Revan and seemingly killing him. [[BackFromTheDead He returns, but claims to have genuinely have died and come back]]]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** The player character from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'' reappears in ''VideoGame/FalloutBrotherhoodOfSteel'' as an NPC. For whatever reason, while he's a friendly NPC in the first chapter, [[spoiler: the player can fight him as an optional boss battle in the city of Los and kill him]].
** There's also a joke random encounter in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' where you meet various unnamed [=NPCs=] from ''Fallout'', including character models who were "rejected" from playing the lead role. There's also your trusty dog, Dogmeat.
** Not exactly a full cameo, but in ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'', it is possible to stumble upon the car used by the playable character from ''Fallout 2'', with some approriate items inside. One popular [[WildMassGuessing fan theory]] states that the character No-bark Noonan, a seemingly-crazed hermit living in Novac, is actually the PC from ''Fallout 2'', given his proximity to this vehicle and some highly implicit dialogue.
** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', taking place in Massachusetts in 2287, was originally supposed to feature the Lone Wanderer, the player character from ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' which took place 10 years prior in Washington D.C. in 2277. There are still many assets in the game files that reflect this, but ultimately the cameo was cut during development.
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** You can meet Alistair, Leliana, Zevran, and Nathaniel from ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Origins]]'' in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', as well as getting Anders from ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'' in your party, but the Warden is only mentioned, never shown on-screen. Anders delivers a faint nod to the fourth wall by reminiscing about the events of ''Awakening''... and how [[PlayerCharacter Hawke]] reminds him of his [[PlayerCharacter old friend]] he used to follow back then.
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': [[spoiler:Hawke pops up nonchalantly at Skyhold soon after the Inquisition takes over it to help the Inquisitor in investigating the game's HiddenVillain. The Warden doesn't appear in person, but you do get a letter from them if you complete a certain mission (assuming their survival).]] Varric returns as a party member, Leliana serves as your spymaster and Morrigan and Alistair serve as plot-significant [=NPCs=]. Loghain can also be part of the story if he became a Warden.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Throughout the series, references to the player characters from the previous games are sprinkled in. Downplayed, however, in that none so far have actually made an appearance. This is stated to be an intentional action taken by the developers, so as not to "make canon" any particular version of those player characters and thus, invalidate anyone's play-throughs.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', Sheogorath, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[MadGod Madness]], implies in his dialogue that he [[spoiler:was formerly the Champion of Cyrodiil, the player character of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''. Makes sense, as ''Oblivion'''s ''Shivering Isles'' expansion ends with the Champion assuming the mantle of Sheogorath]]. ''Skyrim''[='s=] Sheogorath does look and act exactly the same as the previous Sheogorath, however, except for maybe having [[TookALevelInKindness Taken A Level In Kindness]].
** ''Script/C0DA'', written by former series writer/designer Creator/MichaelKirkbride, takes place in the far distant future of ''TES'' universe. Numidium, the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] HumongousMecha of [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]] construction, presumed destroyed following the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', returns after having been caught in a time warp. It continues its war on the [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri Dominion]], led by the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName fascistic Thalmor]], leading to an apocalyptic event known as "Landfall", which has forced the remaining inhabitants of Nirn to take refuge on the moon Masser. The supplementary work ''Landfall: Day One'' includes the Nerevarine, the PlayerCharacter from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', make an appearance [[spoiler:piloting Akulakhan to battle Numidium]]. Inkeeping with Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s habit of describing past player characters as little as possible so as not to make any one version of them "canon", the Nerevarine is described as a shapeless, multi-racial being.
* In ''VideoGame/LandsOfLore 3'', Copper has a meeting halfway through the game with Luther, the protagonist of ''Lands of Lore 2''.
* Jake Armitage, the protagonist of the SNES ''VideoGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' game, winds up in your party a couple of times during the first campaign of ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns''. In a further reference, he once again wakes on a slab in a morgue -- but this time, it's apparently just because he's in the habit of taking naps there.
-->"[[AmnesiacHero Bad memory]]. [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue Poor sleep habits]]. Knows the game like no one else."
* In ''VideoGame/CthulhuSavesTheWorld'', Dem from ''VideoGame/BreathOfDeathVII'' is a {{superboss}} and OptionalPartyMember. In the alternate campaign ''Cthulhu's Angels'', you're fighting Sara (the first party member you get in BODVII) instead due to the ImprobablyFemaleCast.
** In Zeboyd Games' later ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'' both Dem and Cthulhu are superbosses. Lita, one of the party members from BODVII, is one as well. Several party members from ''VideoGame/CthulhuSavesTheWorld'' also appear in this game, namely, Umi appears as an NPC, while October and Paws appear as recruits, the latter can be recruited only after beating him in the MiniBoss fight during the festival and then talking to him after the festival's end.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland}}'' features four default character presets for the player's four-man squad: Snake Vargas, Hell Razor, Thrasher, and Angela Deth. ''VideoGame/Wasteland2'' features Snake, Thrasher, and Angela as major story [=NPCs=], while Hell Razor and [[OptionalPartyMember recuitable NPC]] Ace serve as {{Posthumous Character}}s whose deaths kick off the plot. ''VideoGame/Wasteland3'' similarly features Angela as a major character, [[spoiler:with Snake and Thrasher as {{Posthumous Character}}s after the events of the previous game.]]
* Lucian the Divine, the player character of ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'', pops up a couple of times as an NPC in later games of the series, though usually in some kind of a major reveal: [[spoiler:In ''VideoGame/DivinityII'', everyone presumes him dead, but he turns out to have been merely trapped in stasis in a parallel universe by the BigBad and is freed by that game's PC and returns to Rivellon as the BigGood. In ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' (taking place decades before ''Divinity II''), on the other hand, he has faked his death and reveals himself in the finale as the WellIntentionedExtremist who has orchestrated the whole Voidwoken crisis to mend the leaky barrier between Rivellon and the Void]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox]]
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''
** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', the [[SilentProtagonist quiet player]] from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' (Claude) makes a cameo as the new boyfriend of CJ's ex-girlfriend, Catalina. CJ refers to him as "[[LampshadeHanging that mute asshole]]." Note that ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' occurs chronologically later than ''San Andreas'', and Catalina herself serves as a previous-game-BigBad-cameo, as she's the main antagonist of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''. ''San Andreas'' is also the first time he's officially called "Claude", as he was previously an example of NoNameGiven. [[note]]He was called that internally in [=GTA3=], though.[[/note]].
** This trope is also frequently reversed in other GTA games, where [=NPCs=] from previous games are given their own storyline, as is the case with ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories Liberty City Stories]]'', ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'', ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned The Lost and Damned]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony The Ballad of Gay Tony]]''. These {{Gaiden Game}}s also play this trope straight occasionally: ''The Lost and Damned'' wastes no time at all and gives Niko a cameo right in the opening cutscene.
*** In addition, Niko appears right in the opening cutscene for ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'', pulling a heist on the very bank that Luis happens to be in, although it's hard to know he's there without having played the original mission in the base game due to him wearing a suit and mask.
** In ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Johnny Klebitz of ''The Lost and Damned'' DLC of the previous game makes an appearance where [[spoiler:he is killed by Trevor Phillips]]. It's also possible to spot Niko Bellic's [[Website/{{Facebook}} Life Invader]] profile.
* ''Dead Rising''
** In the ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' epilogue DLC ''Case West'', Frank West appears alongside Chuck Greene, and [[CoOpMultiplayer replaces the Chuck clone as the second playable character.]] His camera-taking abilities are also being brought over from the first game. Then Creator/{{Capcom}} decided to make ''Off the Record'', a WhatIf scenario that replaced Chuck with Frank as the man on the scene in Fortune City, making a Previous Player Character Cameo out of ''Chuck'' by having him as one of the [[BossBattle Psychopaths]].
** ''VideoGame/DeadRising3'' features [[spoiler:Chuck Greene in the best ending and, if you make the right choices and earn Overtime mode, he partners up with you for the final fight.]]
* In ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'', the player can find an old coot residing near the Mohole in the Badlands. Said old coot is [[spoiler:Parker, the protagonist of the original game]]. Furthermore, in Eos, it is possible to find an audio tag from [[spoiler:Alias, ''Red Faction II's'' protagonist]].
* ''Saints Row''
** In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', the default player character designs from the [[VideoGame/SaintsRow first]] and [[VideoGame/SaintsRow2 second]] games show up in one mission as enemies. With the latter, you have to fight two of them, because the other guy is [[MediumAwareness the co-op character]].
** And if you start ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' with a previous save from ''IV'', that's the character used to portray the President in appearance and voice in the intro.
* In the fourth entry of the ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai'' series, your character from a previous playthrough can show up wandering around town. Usually they'll pay you little heed, but if you stop close to them, they look momentarily surprised, [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne then immediately challenge you to a duel]].
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''
** In ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' you play as Shay Cormac and meet Haytham Kenway, one of 2 player characters in ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIII'', and Adéwalé, the player character from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedFreedomCry''.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedChronicles China'' has Ezio Auditore (''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'') mentoring Shao Jun in combat.
** The ''Crossover Stories'' [=DLC=] for ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' features [[spoiler: Kassandra the canonical protagonist of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'', whose immortality allows her to meet with Eivor as the first AC hero to literally turn up in another protagonist's time period.]]
* In ''Videogame/WatchDogs2'', one of the sidequests involves helping out Aiden Pierce from behind the scenes by bailing him out from the Russian Mob. T-Bone of the Bad Blood DLC is also in the game as a mentor figure to Marcus.
** ''VideoGame/WatchDogsLegion'' has DLC that adds Aiden Pierce from the first game and Wrench from the second game as playable characters.
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is a prequel to ''Videogame/RedDeadRedemption'' about the gang that John Marston rode with. As such John [[spoiler:and Jack]] are characters that Arthur Morgan deal with in the plotline. [[spoiler:The PlayableEpilogue puts players in John Marston's shoes, detailing the events that happened between games]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'': the player character from ''Shadow of Chernobyl'', [[spoiler:Strelok]] reappears as an antagonist in ''Clear Sky'' and as an ally in ''Call of Pripyat''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'':
** In Campaign 2, the Mighty Nein encounter [[spoiler:Vilya, the mother of Keyleth, one of the player characters from Campaign 1's Vox Machina. When Vilya finally gets the chance to go home, the Nein briefly see Keyleth through the portal as she runs towards her mother.]]
** Campaign 3 has a cavalcade of these. Bell's Hells encounter multiple members of Vox Machina in their quest to [[spoiler:revive Laudna]], as Keyleth transports them to Whitestone to meet with Vex'ahlia, Percy and Pike. Later, Keyleth leads becomes TheCavalry for the assault on the Malleus Key, where Bell's Hells also run into [[spoiler:Beau and Caleb from the Mighty Nein]], and when Keyleth gets stunned and is nearly killed by Otohan, [[spoiler:Vax'ildan]] comes to her rescue.
[[/folder]]
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