Nice Mean And In Between / Video Games

Examples of Nice Mean And In Between in Video Games.

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Video Games

• In Banjo-Kazooie (more specially Tooie), the main playable trio of Banjo, Kazooie, and Mumbo Jumbo. Banjo is the lovable, kindhearted, and cowardly bear who would rather talk things out than fight. Kazooie is a very snarky, wise-cracking, and aggressive bird whose taunting always get the duo into trouble against bigger foes (and is generally disliked by everyone who isn't Banjo). And Mumbo is the perfect middle-man who is eager to help defeat Gruntilda but isn't above making jokes toward others when he feels like it.
  • The trio of Banjo, Kazooie and Bottles also counts in the first game. While Banjo and Kazooie retain their roles, Bottles is the in-between as he is very helpful to the duo but not afraid to snark back at Kazooie.
• Bear & Breakfast: Among the main trio, Anni is the Nice, optimistic dog who's looking forward to adventure, Will is the Mean, snarky bird who complains about not doing anything "fun", while Hank is the laid-back, In-Between bear who simply likes tagging along with them.
• In BlazBlue the three main characters, Noel, Ragna and Jin fit this. Noel is a kind girl, while Ragna is a bit hard around the edges, and Jin is basically the walking definition of a Jerkass.
• In Bug Fables, Team Snakemouth, the main character trio, consists of Kabbu, Vi, and Leif. Kabbu is Nice; an Ideal Hero who is kind, noble, selfless, and chivalrous, willing to help just for the sake of it. Vi is Mean; greedy, snarky, hot-tempered and rebellious bee who's mostly Only in It for the Money and always demands a reward for every deed (though she does have a Hidden Heart of Gold). Leif is In-Between; stoic, rational and collected, yet not above being brutally honest, insensitive to others' feelings, and occasionally agreeing with Vi's greedy or mean-spirited tactics.
• Cuphead gives us The Root Pack. Its members are: Ollie Bulb (Nice), Chauncey Chantenay (Mean) and Sal Spudder (In-Between)
• Deltarune:
  • In the main party, Ralsei is the most gentle, affectionate, patient and pacifistic out of them, while Susie is a violent, aggressive and rude Barbaric Bully and Kris is a stoic, voiceless kid whose actions during the game are controlled by the player.
  • There is also the three-headed miniboss Clover. The first head is affectionate, the second is aggressive, and the third is too timid to disagree with the other two.
• Detroit: Become Human has Connor as the Nice Guy android, Gavin as the Jerkass cop, and Hank as the Jerk with a Heart of Gold cop.
  • The main characters themselves fit the description. Kara is a housemaid android providing what's best for Alice, Connor is an advanced prototype android hunting down his own kind for becoming deviants (even if it's for the right reasons), and Markus is a former caretaker android who leads a rebellion for the freedom of androids either through pacifist or violent methods.
  • There's also Josh as the android pushing for pacifist options, North as the android pushing for violent options, and Simon following either of the two depending on what will Markus decide.
• The main trio of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Laharl, Etna, and Flonne fall into In-Between, Mean, and Nice respectively. Etna is one hell of an unpleasant bitch, a sharp contrast to Flonne, who's usually very sweet (unless provoked). Laharl falls in the middle, although he'd tell you that he's definitely mean. Laharl undergoes Character Development during the course of the game that gradually pushes him away from mean and closer to nice, although he's still nowhere near as nice as Flonne.
• Dragon Age has some of this in each game.
  • Dragon Age: Origins: After Ostagar falls, the Player Character is joined by Alistair and Morrigan to stop the Blight. Alistair is Nice since he's something of a naive, idealistic, kindhearted simpleton who believes in doing what's right and helping people. Morrigan is Mean since she's very abrasive, sharp-tongued, believes in taking the ruthless path every time, and often antagonizes Alistair for being too much of a bleeding heart. Just short of acting like a blood-thirsty psychopath who revels in being pointlessly cruel and killing everything in sight, the Warden is In-Between, since being the leader forces them to act sensible and make the tough decisions that Alistair won't make (no matter how nice you are), but they obviously aren't as abrasive or ruthless as Morrigan.
  • Dragon Age II: A rather interesting case with the three Hawke siblings. Depending on the player's chosen personality, each sibling fits a different spot. If the player tends to choose the "Good" dialogue options, then Hawke is Nice, Carver is Mean, and Bethany is In-Between, since she's not as saintly as her eldest sibling, but also not as abrasive as her Jerkass twin brother. If the player chooses the "Funny" remarks, then Bethany is Nice, Carver is still Mean, and Hawke is In-Between, since they're friendlier than Carver but their humor gives them more of an edge than Nice Girl Bethany. If the player chooses the "Aggressive" dialogue options, then Bethany is still Nice, Hawke is now Mean, and it's actually Carver who is In-Between since he's not as nice as Bethany but not as perpetually angry or ruthless as Hawke. (One of the twins always dies during the prologue, though, so this dynamic is never made especially clear while playing the game.)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition:
    • The first three companions you get for the first chunk of the game seem to embody this trope. Varric is Nice, since he's a wise-cracking and easy-going dwarf who gets along with everyone. Cassandra seems Mean, since she's very harsh, abrasive, and starts off being rather hostile to you since she believes you're the one who caused the explosion that killed thousands of people. Solas is In-Between, since he is very polite and agreeable like Varric, but also very pragmatic and tends to brush off sentimentality in favor of obtaining one's goal as efficiently as possible like Cassandra, making him more diplomatic than her.
    • The three advisors could be seen as falling into this as well. Josephine is Nice; she's the ambassador and resident Nice Girl of the entire organization, favoring diplomatic approaches at all times. Leliana is Mean, in the sense that many of her approaches to war table operations involve silencing people through threats, bribes, or occasionally, outright murder. Cullen is In-Between, as he's generally a pretty sweet guy but also extremely pragmatic, neither as ruthless as Leliana nor as fond of negotiation as Josephine.
    • At the end of the game, the Inquisitor helps select the new Divine (Fantasy Pope) to restore the Chantry after the Mage/Templar War, whose politics represent this trope. Leliana is Nice since she's the most humanitarian and charity-driven, and focuses on making dramatic reforms to abolish Fantastic Racism against elves, mages, and men in the Chantry. Vivienne is Mean, since she is the most traditionalist and ruthless, and almost fully restores the controversial Circle and Templar practices that caused the civil war in the first place. Furthermore, her reception from muggles is equally hostile since she herself is a mage. Cassandra is In-Between, since unlike Leliana she restores the Circle and Templar Order, but unlike Vivienne she enacts serious reforms to both.
    • While not describing the characters per se, this trope also applies in the companions' different stances on the Orlesian Grey Wardens and on what the Inquisitor should do with them after learning the scope of their mistakes and how they are accountable to them.
      1. Nice: Blackwall, Dorian, and the Iron Bull advocate for alliance. Blackwall is the most sympathetic of the Wardens' intentions and actions, only believing that Corypheus' false calling perverted their intentions. Dorian and the Iron Bull, meanwhile, acknowledge that the Wardens were completely in the wrong for what they did, but they are still needed to defend the world from future Blights.
      2. In-Between: Varric, Sera, and Vivienne stand in the middle. Varric outright states that he's not sure of his verdict on them (and his actual reaction depends on whether or not Hawke survives the Fade portion of the main quest. Sera has mixed feelings in regards to the Order. She both fears and respects the Wardens and believes that have committed a lot of mistakes, but they're still needed and their mistakes are why they should learn to do better. This ties to her trauma as a survivor to the Archdemon attack at Denerim and how she is uncomfortable to their presence being synonymous to danger. While Vivienne's opinion that the Grey Wardens have overstayed their welcome could count as mean, she doesn't necessarily dislike the Wardens like the last three below do.
      3. Mean: Cassandra, Solas, and Cole outright call for the Inquisitor to banish them. They believe overall that the Wardens are no longer the order they once were, having committed too many atrocities that they find hardly justifiable, and also see them as too dangerous to be given a second chance. This is very personal for Cassandra and Cole, the former learning that the Grey Wardens have a hand over the death of Divine Justinia and the latter being shaken of the demons present in the fortress and his growing fear that he can be controlled by Corypheus.
• Final Fantasy VII's initial trio of fighters: Tifa is the sweet, compassionate one, Barret while devoted to the cause, is the loud, aggressive one, who has to be frequently restrained to punch people who just stand in his way, and Cloud, while aloof and cynical, is far less confrontational and seems to have a sort of a "live and let live" mindset. Even their respective weapons appear to translate it: Tifa fights with her fists, Barret with a Gatling machine gun and Cloud with a sword.
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake alters this so that Cloud is now the mean one, continually getting into pointless arguments with people, pushing people away for trying to help him, having to be restrained from killing unnecessarily and being flat out told by Tifa that he's scaring her, while Barret is still loud and confrontational but in a much friendlier, more community-spirited way. The thread about him punching his men is dropped in favour of him being A Father to His Men, and his initial conflict with Cloud is played more like he's trying to make friends with Cloud but keeps rebounding off Cloud's awful personality. Notably, Tifa, in the original, takes Cloud's side and defends him in front of Barret, but in Remake she's most likely to take Barret's side and appeal to Cloud's better nature to control him.
• From Fire Emblem Fates, the ninja trio of Kaze, Saizo, and Kagero form one of these trios. The three can all support with each other, and Kaze is the nice character, Saizo is the mean character, and Kagero is the in-between character. Though it's downplayed somewhat in that Saizo is more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold than an outright Jerkass.
• From Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the childhood friend trio of Ingrid, Felix, and Sylvain form this. Ingrid is Nice, Felix is Mean, and Sylvain is In-Between. It's Played With a bit, however, as Ingrid is also a critical Control Freak and Felix is merely a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
• Grand Theft Auto:
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas gives us C.J's friends: Big Smoke acts as the Big Fun to C.J. and enjoys his company the most even if it is to cover up his true colors, Ryder is the mean one who doesn't hesitate to chew out C.J. for running out five years ago and is just a general Jerkass, while Sweet is the in-between, who, like Ryder, isn't afraid to criticize C.J. for leaving Los Santos, but, unlike him, recognizes his efforts to help Grove Street, and remains loyal to him after all of his other "homies" betrayed him.
  • The C.R.A.S.H unit, despite being the main antagonists, are a downplayed example of this: Hernandez is easily the most (and only) moral of the trio, only killing Ralph Pendlebury because Tenpenny forced him to and taking a bullet for C.J. when Pulaski tries to kill him, while Tenpenny and Pulaski are both malevolent Dirty Cops who are nothing but trouble, Pulaski lacks Tenpenny's coolness and humor, and is very racist and hot-headed.
  • Grand Theft Auto V has Michael, Trevor, and Franklin fulfilling these roles respectively. Michael is a Noble Demon who prefers to let people go if he can. Trevor is the most violent and aggressive of the three and is likely to kill either out of blind rage or just for kicks. And Franklin is the in-between due to being the most pragmatic of three; while not as merciful or gentlemanly as Michael is, he's also far less temperamental than Trevor.
• Heavy Rain has Ethan as the pleasant family man, Blake as the Jerkass Rabid Cop, and Jayden as the By-the-Book FBI Agent with a temper.
• The three members of the Security Service in Hidden City. Rayden Storke is the nice one, being very friendly, trusting and sympathetic towards everyone he meets. Mr. Black, the leader, is the mean one, being suspicious and often hostile towards anyone not directly under his command (and sometimes even then). Kira Woodville is in-between, being described by Carlos Light as "kind, but strict". She is not as confrontational as her leader when talking to others, but she's quite brisk and is not as sympathetic as Rayden towards wrongdoers.
• The King of Fighters has the Three Sacred Treasures team with Kyo Kusanagi, who is good-hearted and heroic yet cocky and brash as In-Between, Iori Yagami, who is rude to everyone and wants to kill Kyo as Mean, and Chizuru Kagura, the kind priestess who often brings the trio together to stop threats such as Orochi as Nice.
• Kirby:
  • The main trio form this dynamic. Kirby is cheerful, friendly and childish (Nice), King Dedede is a vain and greedy Jerk with a Heart of Gold (Mean) and Meta Knight is a mostly well-intentioned, but standoffish Anti-Hero who can be an antagonist or ally depending on the game (In-Between).
  • The second wave of Dream Friends in Kirby Star Allies are Adeleine & Ribbon, Dark Meta Knight, and Daroach. Both Adeleine and Ribbon are helpful, cheerful and friendly allies of Kirby, Dark Meta Knight is a cold, ruthless antagonist and the Token Evil Teammate of the three Dream Friends, and Daroach is a thieving-but-polite antagonist-turned-ally.
  • The third wave of Dream Friends is the same, with the formerly-evil prankster Magolor (In-Between), the already-redeemed Taranza (Nice), and Susie, who aims to mechanize planets and their people (Mean).
  • The Three Mage Sisters get this as well. There is the polite, collected but shy Francisca (Nice), the Hot-Blooded Fiery Redhead Flamberge (Mean) and the stern, earnest and straight-laced Zan Partizanne (In-Between).
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: The crew of the S.S. Linbeck includes Link (a brave, passionate hero), Linebeck himself (a greedy Lovable Coward), and Ciela (a friendly fairy with an abrasive streak).
• Lonely Wolf Treat:
  • The three main girls form this type of dynamic, especially in the second chapter. Mochi is the optimist who wants rabbits and foxes to become friends with one another, Moxie is the bully who likes to chase rabbits around for fun, and Treat is the recluse who prefers to just keep to herself.
  • Moxie's fox friends qualify as well. Salt is playful and affable, Pepper is a grumpy Perpetual Frowner, and Chai is quiet and stoic.
• In Mega Man (Classic), Rock/Mega Man is the nice one, rivaled by Forte/Bass, the mean one who fights usually just for his own sake, while Blues/Proto Man, though excessively independent, strives to live by the idealism and optimism of his younger "brother" robot.
  • In the X series, X is the nice one who is pacifistic and somewhat gullible, if a bit easily guilt-ridden and no ball of sunshine. Even so, Zero is the mean one who is cold, snarky and cynical and calls out X for his idealism. Axl mediates between them, being neither as gullible nor as pacifistic as X, but also not having the same extent of a shoot-first-questions-later mentality like Zero.
• Snake's main support team in Metal Gear Solid: Mei Ling is nice, always kind and supportive (unless the player really goes out of their way to push their buttons) and is completely loyal to Snake, Naomi is mean, being aloof and judgmental and a willing accomplice in a plot to kill Snake though she eventually regrets it and Colonel Campbell is the in-between, a somewhat gruff, no-nonsense military officer but also Snake's Old Friend who understands him way better than the above two and while he also betrays Snake, it's only because he's been coerced to do so.
• The Lin Kuei brothers in Mortal Kombat 1 has Smoke who is sweet-natured and rather dorky (Nice), Sub-Zero who is gruff and abrasive (Mean), and Scorpion who is polite and humble, yet stoic (In-Between). Out of the three of them, only Sub-Zero betrays Earthrealm.
• Neptunia: Of the main CPUs, Neptune for the most part is the nice one due to her being kind and energetic, Noire is the mean one as she tends to be prideful and conceited (though she has her moments of kindness), and Blanc mediates between the two as she's normally calm, but becomes violent when angered (which is frequent) or in her HDD form. Vert also falls in the middle as though she has a kind-hearted and mature personality, she's a hardcore gamer with a perverted streak and tends to boast about her well-endowed figure.
• In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, we have the Shadow Sirens; Beldam, Vivian and Marilyn. Beldam, the leader, treats the other two members horribly, verbally berating them and punishing them for the slightest transgressions. Vivian is kind and non-confrontational, and she pulls a Heel–Face Turn mid-game due to her treatment at the hands of Beldam. Then we have Marilyn, whose personality is sort of an enigma due to her tendency to speak in grunts and moans, rather than actual words.
• The Power Trio of Joker, Akechi and new character Kasumi form this dynamic during the third semester in Persona 5 Royal when they're the only characters who haven't fallen to Maruki's world. Kasumi is a cheerful, kind-hearted girl, Akechi is a belligerent, Ax-Crazy Jerkass and Joker's generally heroic, but can be a bit of a show-off and The Gadfly at the player's discretion.
• Pikmin 3: The three main characters. Alph is the naive and kind one in the group, and is often mocked by the more brusque and mordant Brittany. Charlie, the leader, stands as a mediator between the two (but that doesn't keep him from being mocked by Brittany as much as Alph is being).
• The three main rivals in Pokémon Sword and Shield fit this dynamic; Hop (the player's cheerful Childhood Friend) is the Nice, Bede (a smug jerk who repeatedly belittles other characters) is the Mean, and Marnie (nicer than Bede, though she generally remains The Stoic) is the In-Between.
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has the five bosses of Team Star: Eri and Atticus, despite looking pretty mean and having the Fighting and Poison types respectively, are nice and graceful upon defeat. Giaccomo and Mela are in-between with them having rougher attitudes, as well as being more willing to fight, but at the end they are nicer than they initially look like. Ortega, despite being The Baby of the Bunch and using the cutesy Fairy type, is mean, being a Spoiled Brat who looks down upon others and is a terrible Sore Loser (though he's still very protective of his Team Star companions).
  • The Aura trio are composed of Xerneas, the Life Pokemon (nice), Yveltal, the Destruction Pokemon (mean), and Zygarde, who keeps the aforementioned two Pokemon in balance (in-between), respectively.
• Psychonauts has this dynamic in the form of Whispering Rock's staff.
  • Milla and Ford are the Nice. Milla is a friendly woman who is good with children and encourages the cadets into unlocking their Levitation potential with a fun obstacle course. When Ford is sane, he's a Cool Old Guy who helps Raz throughout his adventures.
  • Coach Oleander is the Mean. He's a Drill Sergeant Nasty who is generally unfriendly to the kids. He's also behind the brain thefts because he wants to Take Over the World.
  • Sasha is the In-Between. While he does have a heart beneath that aloof exterior of his, he has experimented on the campers before (and thus is The Dreaded to them).
• Ratchet & Clank: Whenever paired up, Clank is the nice robot always willing to help, Captain Qwark is the mean, narcissitic Hero with an F in Good and Ratchet is the in-between hero with some snarky moments.
• Sly Cooper: The Cooper Gang are a downplayed case of this as they are honourable thieves who are sweet and compassionate towards each other. However Murray tends to be the most sensitive and emotional, Bentley is the most cynical and temperamental and Sly balances between the two as he's not as sensitive as Murray but is calmer and more optimistic than Bentley.
• Smite: Though this might not be the case in the actual Japanese Mythology (it's a lot more complicated), the three main Japanese/Shinto gods, Amaterasu, Susano and Tsukuyomi form this dynamic. Amaterasu is the Nice one, being the benevolent and kind leader of the Japanese Pantheon. Tsukuyomi is the Mean one, since he's a cruel Jerkass who kills people who shows weakness and thinks Amaterasu's leadership is worse than what he plans to bring. Susano is the In-Between, he used to be a Jerkass too, but then he got a shot in a redemption arc by slaying Orochi, becoming a better person and made peace with his sister and keeps to himself rather than taking a side between the conflict between Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
• Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • We have the trio of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Tails is the mild-mannered best friend of Sonic, Knuckles is the tough, hot-headed friendly rival, and Sonic mediates the two, combining the kindhearted attitude with his cocky and snarky attitude (although it's mostly geared towards his foes).
  • Team Dark consisting of Shadow, Rouge, and Omega is a downplayed example. Rouge is the closest to nice in the group and by far the most social, Shadow is in-between in that he appears to be very cynical, egotistical, and moody, but is caring to others even if he doesn't show it, and Omega is the mean one due to being a Killer Robot who's on the team for the sake of destroying things and considers just about anyone who's not Shadow or Rouge to be expendable.
  • Team Chaotix have this as well. Charmy is an enthusiastic and free-spirited kid, Vector is a greedy and money-obsessed adult, and Espio is a calm and overconfident teen.
  • The Babylon Rogues follow this trope too. Storm defaults to being the nice in the trio due to him being the most sympathetic in the group, Wave is in-between in that she appears to be very snobbish, but is the sanest of the group and Jet is the mean one to due to him being a trademark immature Jerkass for the sake of being short-tempered.
• The three gods of the Zee in Sunless Sea: Stone is Nice (praying to Stone if you're in trouble will give you succor one way or the other, and her curse does essentially nothing); Storm is Mean (praying to Storm involves Human Sacrifice and is likely to kill you because invoking him angers him, and his curse involves being plagued with bad weather); and Salt is In-Between (Salt is... mysterious. Praying to him if you're in trouble usually means being teleported to either Irem or Kingeater Castle, and getting his attention means crew can disappear. As for his Curse, well, the less said about it the better, but he knows that the worst thing one can do to a traveler like you is take away all they could return to).
• In Tales of Symphonia, the initial three members of the group fill this trope. Compassionate and self-sacrificing All-Loving Hero Colette is the Nice, Bratty Half-Pint Genis is the Mean, and Lloyd, who can be a bit hotheaded but is nevertheless truly heroic, is the In-Between.
• Tekken:
  • The current core members of the Mishima Clan: Lars Alexandersson is the Nice, being the White Sheep and currently the sole member that has a pure heart. Kazuya Mishima is the Mean, stoic Jerkass who treats weak people with contempt. Jin Kazama is the In-Between, as he is going through a Balance Between Good and Evil fighting his Devil Gene.
    • Lee Chaolan shares the In-Between role with Jin as he started off with ambiguous morality till he eventually changed his ways while still acting eccentric at times.
    • Reina started off Tekken 8 sharing the Nice role with Lars as she is friendly despite her villainous look, but by the end, she shares the Mean role with Kazuya after The Reveal she is not only Heihachi's illegitimate daughter, but a Devil Gene Bearer.
  • In previous games, Kazuya continued to serve as the Mean, being a stoic Jerkass who treats the weak with contempt. Jin was the nice, being the one member of the Mishima bloodline until Lars's introduction to have heroic inclinations, while Heihachi filled the role of In-Between, being an egocentric Blood Knight who wants to prove himself the best in all endeavors, often pitting him in Evil Versus Oblivion situations where he opposes world-ending threats as a matter of pride.
  • A Downplayed example with Lars, Alisa and Lee. Alisa serves as the Nice, being the most kind-hearted one. Lee is the Mean eccentric member. Lars is the In-Between, while Nice in his own right, is still prone to short-tempererness.
  • Another Downplayed example with Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu is the Nice and excitable Genki Girl, Hwoarang is the Mean Hot-Blooded fighter and Jin is the In-Between, being The Stoic. In Tekken 6 Jin and Hwoarang switch places due to the former starting World War III.
• The three playable protagonists in Wild AR Ms 1. Rudy is the Nice, being eager to help anyone who needs it and leaping into action to protect who he can. Jack is the Mean, being rude and abrasive to hide his past. Cecilia is the In-Between, being less selfless than Rudy but more polite than Jack, friendly to most people but willing to chew someone out when they do wrong or annoy her.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: When Eskel, Lambert, and Geralt interact, they drift into this dynamic. Unflappable, amiable and courteous Eskel is Nice. Bitter, cynical and volatile Lambert is Mean. Deadpan Snarker Jerk with a Heart of Gold Geralt is In Between.
• The World Ends with You has Neku's three partners, Shiki, Joshua and Beat. Shiki is a Nice Girl who's friendly, compassionate, and surprisingly patient with Neku's initially abrasive and anti-social behavior, even though she doesn't hesitate to call him out when he goes too far. Joshua is an obnoxious Jerkass of an Insufferable Genius, who enjoys casually belittling Neku and turns out to have killed him in order to enter him into the Reaper's Game and use him as a pawn in a plan to destroy Shibuya. Beat is a hot-tempered Jerk with a Heart of Gold who cares for his sister, which leads him to join the Reapers and fight Neku a few times, but he ultimately saves Neku from an otherwise hopeless situation and helps Neku prevail in the final week.

Visual Novels

• In Ace Attorney:
  • The childhood friend trio of Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, and Larry Butz. Larry is the nice being the most excitable and hotheaded of the trio and is always willing to help out (mainly to girls). Edgeworth is the mean being a Perpetual Frowner who isn't afraid to say what is on his mind about others. And Phoenix is the in-between being a fairly Nice Guy always willing to help out his clients to make sure they're found innocent, but is a major First-Person Smartass due to being the series' biggest punching bag.
  • Interesting case in Apollo Justice where there is three people (at the time) working at the Wright Talent Agency. In this case, Apollo, Phoenix, and Trucy. Trucy is the nice being the most upbeat of the group who works hard to keep company going. Phoenix is now the mean as losing his badge for many years caused him to become very cynical and his former First-Person Smartass is now in the open (especially toward Apollo). And Apollo himself takes over the in-between much like with Phoenix: overall nice who is always willing to help out his clients but is actually a bigger Butt-Monkey than Phoenix ever was leaving him in a constant state of annoyance toward others.
  • The three main prosecutors of the Apollo trilogy. Klavier is the nice, being a Nice Guy and the most helpful prosecutor in the series, as well as one of the few with no Amoral Attorney tendencies whatsoever. Blackquill is the Mean, since he has a tendency to give people insulting nicknames, and remains a Jerk with a Heart of Gold after Character Development. Nahyuta is the In-Between, as a complicated case; at first glance, he's a ruthless prosecutor for the Kingdom of Khura'in, but he actually is a rebel and a truly kind person at heart.
• Danganronpa:
  • Chihiro Fujisaki, Mondo Owada, and Kiyotaka Ishimaru from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Chihiro is a Shrinking Violet who can't even kill a mosquito, and feels guilty for voting Leon Kuwata guilty, believing it to be equal to killing him directly. Mondo is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold whose Establishing Character Moment is punching the protagonist so hard he knocks him out and sends him flying. Taka is a Badass Pacifist who would be a subversion as he is also a Nice Guy until he Took a Level in Jerkass as a result of becoming his split personality Kiyondo Ishida.
    • There's also Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami and Kyoko Kirigiri, the three main "point getters" (i.e. the most proactive in the class trials), and the three most prominently featured survivors. Makoto is a Nice Guy who cares deeply for others and even feels compassion for the murderers. Byakuya is an Insufferable Genius who cares little for others, and while he does become a bit nicer over the course of the game, he's still fairly abrasive. Kyoko has a Sugar-and-Ice Personality, and while she often seems distant and even cold, she also has a caring side that shines through from time to time.
  • In Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the three main characters Hajime Hinata, Nagito Komaeda, and Chiaki Nanami fit this trope really well.
    • Chiaki is the Nice being the most helpful person to Hajime and the entire group in general despite her quietness. She is often the voice of reason getting others to clam down whenever a situation arises (such as preventing a hunger-crazed Hajime from entering the Final Dead Room and slapping Akane before she choked out Nagito). She also made it her mission to prevent any one of her friends from dying/killing each other and it helps that she is the Token Good Teammate of the entire group being the only one of them that isn't part of the Remnants of Despair.
    • Nagito is the Mean being an Ax-Crazy nihilist who is obsessed with hope and fighting despair. He is also a major Wild Card who often states that he will side with whoever has the most hope (even if that means siding with the killer) and even attempted to be the first killer of the game. After learning that everyone including himself are a Remnant of Despair, he Took a Level in Jerkass and started to belittle everyone especially his Morality Pet Hajime. He even tried to kill off the remaining group with his own elaborate murder except for the traitor (who was Chiaki as Nagito knew she was the only one who wasn't a Remnant of Despair.
    • Hajime himself is the In-Between. Like with Chiaki, he is eager to help out his friends and tries his best to prevent any more killings. However, he is a bit more cynical than Makoto from the first game and is prone to making snarky comments toward his friends (most of the time to himself). His true idenity as Izuru Kamukura is most likely the cause for this.
• The protagonist of Double Homework and his sisters, Johanna and Tamara, are this. Tamara is blunt and sarcastic, Johanna is nice to a fault, and the protagonist can go either way depending on several factors.
• Fate/stay night: Of the three heroines, Sakura is the nice, Rin is the mean, and Saber is the in-between. Sakura is unabashedly sweet, partially thanks to her incredibly low self-esteem but also her genuine love of Shirou. Rin is sarcastic, aloof, and unapproachable due to her strong defense mechanisms. Saber falls squarely in-between, being generally kind but stoic and stubborn.
• Highway Blossoms:
  • The Trio, a group of drifters who serve as the main characters' rivals on the treasure hunt, but later develop a friendship of sorts with them. Joe is a Nice Guy and the most personable of the three. Mariah is a Jerkass, albeit with a few Pet the Dog moments. Tess is emotionless and snarky, but a significantly better person than her sister.
  • The main couple and Cassi. Marina is probably the nicest character in the cast, albeit capable of jealousy and resentment. Amber is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but a good person at heart. Cassi is also rather nice, albeit rather cynical.
• Kindred Spirits on the Roof
  • The main characters. Sachi Enoki, the older of the two "kindred spirits" is the Nice, being kind, mature and devoted to helping couples get together. Megumi Nagatani, the younger kindred spirit, is the Mean, being outspoken and often harsh with most people besides Sachi, but nevertheless likes Yuna despite bickering with her. Yuna is the In-Between, being a bit aloof at the start of the story, but gradualy finding that she enjoys helping others.
  • The broadcasting trio. Umi Ichiki is the Nice, being a Nice Girl who's determined to keep her group of friends together, even if she can be a bit overzealous in doing so. Sasa Futano is the Mean, being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who is brutally honest and likes telling everyone who annoys her to "die," but shows a kinder side to her friends. Nena Miyama is the In-Between, being sleepy and introverted, but is remarkably perceptive and caring.
• In Shinrai: Broken Beyond Despair, there's the three guys. Taiko is the nice, being a Nice Guy with a strong sense of justice. Hiro is the Mean, being an arrogant Jerkass who thinks nothing of cheating on his girlfriend. Kotoba is the In-Between, since while he's a notorious pervert and a stalker, he does have a few redeeming characteristics, unlike Hiro.