Not So Above It All / Video Games

Characters who turn out to be Not So Above It All in Video Games.

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• Best of Three: Discussed. Grant discusses well-known yet cliche romance novels, which he looks down upon for being too structured and not realistic, seeing them as mindless fluff that "desensitizes readers to actual thoughts". Helen admits that she has read a few, to Grant's disbelief.
  Helen: Fine. I read these things from time to time, but it hasn't obliterated my capacity for rational thought. So get off your elitist high horse and admit that there are things that even you enjoy irrationally, and that this is not itself the highway to stupidity.
• Early on in Blaze Union, when the party commandeers a beat-up cannon from an enemy, they decide it would be a good idea to try using it for themselves — except that nobody knows how. Garlot tries and sets it off accidentally, Siskier yells at him for being careless and sets it off accidentally, Jenon shoos her away because it's not suitable for a girl to do and sets it off accidentally... and then when Medoute comes to yell at them for fooling around, they make her give it a try too. Medoute instantly takes a liking to cannon-firing as a form of stress relief and immediately gets carried away.
• Bug Fables: While Leif is more rational than Vi, he is not above occasionally agreeing with her greedy and mischievous methods, such as considering pulling some pranks on sleeping technician on Golden Path, snitching Doctor H.B.'s medals, and agreeing with Vi on leaving Kabbu in the inn the next time they would plan on raiding Bandit Hideout to steal the food from their treasure room (since Kabbu insists not on stealing, since he believes that a thief who steals from thieves is still a thief).
• The Ancestor in Darkest Dungeon spent his entire life spending the family fortune on "higher things" (read: Things Man Was Not Meant To Know), and mostly views your loot as fuel for your campaign to get Man to un-Know those things, generally in a tone that, while not exactly flat, is heavy on the Dramatic Pronouncements and rarely seems impressed. However, if you manage a sufficiently profitable run, he may break this pattern:
  Impressive haul! ...Ahem. If you value such things.
• A subtle, but core element of Vergil's character in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Despite trying to present himself as an aloof, stoic swordsman, there's more than a few hints that he has an ego just as big as his loudmouthed, cocky brother Dante, just delivering it in a more dry sense of humor rather than Dante's boisterousness. Examples include Vergil playing along with Dante's banter before their first battle ("My sincerest apology, Brother. I was so eager to see you I... couldn't concentrate on preparations for the bash"), his constant trash talk during his boss fights, opting to test out his brand new Power Fist weapons in his second fight with Dante rather than the sword he's an expert with, and, in the finale, teaming up with Dante to deliver a flashy coup de grace on the main villain ("I'll try it your way for once"). It carries over to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with some of Vergil's victory quotes (Chuckling while saying "The flames of desire? Couldn't even melt a marshmallow," after beating Ghost Rider, for example). In Devil May Cry 5 more is learned about Vergil's character, and we see playable character V, Vergil's human half divorced from his demonic lust for power, with the same dry wit, from killing enemies while reciting off William Blake poetry to tap dancing as one of his taunts. When the true Vergil is restored at the end of the game, it comes to a head as he's just as willing as Dante to fight to the death for the sake of nothing more than their sibling rivalry. The very end of the game has him arguing with Dante — on more friendly terms now — over their score in their sparring matches, and as much as he denies it in front of Dante, he does like to say "Jackpot" (he'll say it when you do four Judgment Cuts in a row).
• Disco Elysium: Kim Kitsuragi is normally The Stoic Consummate Professional By-the-Book Cop who plays The Straight Man and Cloud Cuckoo Landers Minder to The Detective, who (even if you laser-focus in on playing as a Regular Law Official) is likely to come off as having more than just a few screws loose, what with the whole 'drank themselves into amnesia' thing. Despite this, there are a number of ways of cracking Kim's facade; he loves cars and will occasionally find himself dragged into geeking out about them, sarcastically mocking racists will often lead to Kim joining in with his own (bone-dry) humor, you can buy and play a board game with him that he'll eventually admit to enjoying, and if you reveal to him you named one of your previous cases "THE SQUARE HOLE BULLET MURDERS" Kim will reluctantly admit he once named one of his own cases "THE MAN WITH A HOLE IN HIS HEAD" because he thought it was funny.
• Dragon Age:
  • Dragon Age: Origins: Tall, stoic swordsman Sten can be induced, with the right dialogue choices, to talk about how incredible cookies are and how the lack of such foodstuffs in Qunari lands needs to be urgently rectified. If you have Leliana in the party with Sten, she can catch him picking flowers or playing with a kitten (he insists that he was helping it train).
  • Dragon Age II: The normally grim and angry Fenris occasionally surprises the party with sarcasm.
    Varric: So what do you do in that gigantic house all day?
    Fenris: I dance, of course.
    Varric: ...Really?
    Fenris: I run from room to room, choreographing routines.
    Varric: You're actually joking. Alert the Chantry! They need to put this day on the calendar.
    Fenris: And you thought I was always serious.
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition:
    • Cullen is sometimes a bit of a Butt-Monkey for the others because he's The Comically Serious surrounded by Deadpan Snarkers. But he tells funny stories, jokes with the other advisers, snickers at Bull's sense of humor when in an uncomfortable situation during Bull's romance arc, and even points out that "If you squint, Lake Calenhad is shaped like a bunny."
    • Cassandra was introduced as a focused, serious Seeker, and remains as such for the most part... until you give her one of Varric's books. She's a huge fan of his writing, even the goofy smut he considers an Old Shame. She even asks you to persuade Varric to write a sequel because the last book ended on a cliffhanger. He'll do it, just because he thinks it's funny.
• When Hendrik, from Dragon Quest XI, finds Rab's copy of Ogler's Digest, he gets rather excited even identifying it as a first edition and in mint condition. Up until this point, Hendrik had always been presented as a very upright, straight-laced figure. Later, if you get the "puff-puff treatment" in the Battlegrounds, he will state that it was unlike any puff-puff he has ever seen before, only to then backpedal and state that the word "puff-puff" is unfamiliar to him and suggest talking about the weather, or swords because he likes swords.
• In Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Domon Kasshu, Elpe Ple, and Milliardo Peacecraft wind up fighting on the same team in the story mode. A lot of humor is derived from Domon's Hot-Blooded-ness and Ple's excitedly going along with it, compared to Milliardo being The Comically Serious. Yet, in the end, Ple convinces him to do the "School of the Undefeated of the East" kata with her and Domon.
• In Final Fantasy X-2, Paine is generally presented as aloof and uptight, but she's the one in Chapter 1 who says that she could use an "awesome sphere" when Rikku suggests abandoning the mission. Later, when the group questions whether it's really right for them to take a dip in the sacred hot springs on Mt. Gagazet, she states that "No one's looking."
• One of the funniest moments in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is in a particular conversation after Chapter 23; after an already rather comical scene of Ike running from Abhorrent Admirer Aimee, Soren, his antisocial, serious, stone-faced but extremely, extremely loyal tactician, not only shows his unlikely ability to calmly get Aimee off of Ike's trail, but was apparently so amused by the scene he quotes Aimee and teasingly calls Ike "Ikey-poo". One can only imagine him mentally giggling to himself as he says the ridiculous line.
  Ike: Hey, wait a minute!
• Heroes of the Seasons: King Frinch, Lord Aldwol, and the demoness Matria are the nominal leaders of a Christmas-hating alliance because they find the holiday annoying. In a postgame skit, the three admit that they like Braith's cover of "Jingle Bells," though they still hate Christmas as a holiday.
• In I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, the stoic and studious Tangent isn't above Prank Calling the protagonist by ordering "ID-10-T gas" from them during work at the Supply Depot.
• Kirby: For as much as he is a cold and serious knight, Meta Knight clearly isn't above doing Kirby's iconic victory dance whenever they complete a level together. This even applies to Daroach and Dark Meta Knight in Kirby Star Allies, who have no issue jumping into Kirby's victory dance due to being The Comically Serious of the Star Allies.
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land: In the post-game Kirby and Elfilin revive Leongar in Forgo Land using the pieces of his soul collected throughout the adventure before they proceed to do the victory dance. Leongar is initially confused at first, but then joins them near the end... only for Fecto Forgo to immediately possess him seconds later, leading into another fight with the possessed lion.
• In Knights of the Old Republic, Bastila Shan, a Jedi Knight whose mastery of Battle Meditation makes her key to the Republic's war effort, tries to present herself as a serious and competent leader. As such, when Mission Vao, one of the youngest party members, asks Bastila if she's ever thought of tripping someone she doesn't like with the Force, Bastila denies it. Mission soon gets snippy in response to Bastila's condescending attitude, and when she's pushed too far, Bastila trips Mission with the Force, denying it when Mission confronts her about it.
• The Legend of Zelda:
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Marin is a nice girl and often calls Link out when attacking animals or messing with people's pots and drawers, but there are moments when she displays an uncharacteristically quirky side... though it often dips into a more sinister and/or bloodthirsty one should Link meet certain criteria. This is referenced in Hyrule Warriors, as well.
    Marin: [if Link digs with the shovel] Great! Dig it! Dig it! Dig to the center of the earth!!
    Marin: [if Link plays the ocarina without knowing any songs] Not very good... eh? What? Did I say something? No, you're hearing things...
    Marin: [occasionally if Link breaks a pot] Yes! Yes! Break them! Break them all! ... ... ... ... What? What's wrong?
    Marin: [if Link attacks a Cucco too many times] Ha ha ha! Do it! Do it! Do it moooore...! ... ... Huh? No, it's nothing... I didn't mean it.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Most of the time, Riju does her best to project a regal and formal air as is befitting for the Gerudo Chief. However, she can also be seen playing with her stuffed animals and her pet Sand Seal Patricia in a way more befitting a child of her age. She'll get rather embarrassed if you catch her doing the former.
• Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis:
  • Anna is something of a Child Prodigy (she entered the academy at 12 years old), and her personality quirks are her overactive sense of imagination and Neat Freak tendencies. Roxis, on the other hand, is The Stoic, who sometimes puts himself above the other characters. However, their interactions with the other members of the workshop have desensitized them to the weird... Most notably, they fell for the masquerade of a slug-like alien that transferred to the school...
  • Vayne is a straight man mostly by his background — and he usually ends up engaging in activities like being a "Superheroes" Sidekick, or popping said Alien's spawn. (It Makes Sense in Context).
• Mass Effect: Andromeda:
  • Cora, usually the Only Sane Man among the Tempest and its ragtag team of misfits, can be heard at one point talking with the ship's doctor, Lexi, who is once again trying to get everyone to take a physical already. Cora reassures her she'll make sure everyone turns up and then is told she's first on the list. Cue Cora swearing under her breath.
  • A note found in the Remnant city of Khi Tasira is essentially "yes, we know the weather systems aren't working. Stop bugging us about it." Not the sort of thing you expect to find in a Precursor Apocalyptic Log.
• LQ-841/"Blade Wolf" from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, despite being a very advanced and intelligent Artificial Intelligence in a wolf-like machine whose only real motivation seems to be freedom to choose his own path in life, really cuts loose around Sunny and is willing to shake a paw for her (but not when Raiden tries it seconds later) and happily wags his tail when she pets him. This is all in spite of Mistral earlier torturing him by forcing him to do all of this while electrocuting him.
• Soldier: 76 of Overwatch is gruff, jaded, no-nonsense vigilante, but he's not completely above having a little fun. An arcade in Blizzard World shows he has one of the high scores in Murky Skeeball.
• Persona:
  • The later stages of the Hermit link in Persona 3 can have this vibe depending on how you played the Magician link. To elaborate, in the latter, you help Kenji get over his feelings for his teacher (who's already engaged), while in the former, you can end up having your own teacher fall for you.
  • Compared to her more playful Cloudcuckoolander younger sister from Persona 3, Margaret from Persona 4 seems a lot more mature and professional. That is until you start her Social Link, where she does things like admit that she had the protagonist fuse a certain Persona so she could ride on it, or so that she could have a Persona that could outdo Igor's Gag Nose.
  • Due to her role as Team Mom, Makoto Niijima from Persona 5 is far more serious than the rest of the team, and is usually the one keeping them on-task. She's also one of the party members who's more willing to use underhanded tactics in order to overcome their foes and get justice and is easily one of the most vicious of the Phantom Thieves.
    Makoto: Would anyone know any good vendors for professional-quality brass knuckles?
    Ryuji: I know you're serious, but you say the scariest shit sometimes.
• Iron Lady Captain Cyllene (identical grandma of Team Galactic Boss Cyrus) in Pokémon Legends: Arceus has her moments, such as panicking upon seeing a Wurmple in her office and screaming for her Abra to teleport it outside.
• In Potion Permit, Mayor Myer, role model and leader of Moonbury Town, isn't above playing at the arcade late at night. He's also forgetful sometimes due to his age, like when he loses the pocket watch from his late father at either Willow Waters Bathhouse or Matheo's house and asks the Chemist to find it.
• Rave Heart: Lady Tajuma seems like a strict authority figure, but she turns out to be into the tabletop game, Asteroids and Aliens, a DnD parody.
• Resident Evil Big Bad Albert Wesker proves to be a villainous version of this. While normally an Omnicidal Maniac without even a shred of a good quality bent on bringing about The End of the World as We Know It and ruling over the new race of humanity as its God, he still seems to have genuinely considered William Birkin to be a friend (during Wesker's Report, he sounds genuinely angry at Hunk for killing the man) and he managed to (ahem) "tolerate" the company of at least one woman to sire a son.
• Both Marge and Lisa in The Simpsons Hit & Run are the first to chastize Homer and Bart for causing trouble. However, they themselves have reactions to causing destruction or mayhem, or doing something ludicrously dangerous or damaging, where they laugh or cheer and then immediately note how they shouldn't be enjoying it.
• Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog usually mantains an air of stoicism and aloofness about him but there are times when he lets his grumpy persona slip a bit and has a bit of fun, especially when a chance to compete with others (Namely: Sonic) shows itself.
• Spider-Man (PS4) sees Spider-Man say to Vulture when he and Electro team-up "Yo, Adrian, it's me, Spider-Man!", complete with Sylvester Stallone impression. While Vulture doesn't get it, Electro does — as he shortly says Ivan Drago's infamous "I must break you!"
• Rosalina from the Super Mario Bros. franchise is described as a stoic motherly woman who has a calm and dignified demeanor. In the spin-off titles like Mario Kart, Mario Party and sports games where she's playable, while still keeping an air of elegance and mysticism to her, she's just as willing to cut loose like the other characters. Her profile in Mario Kart Wii specifically takes note of how she's come to especially enjoy riding choppers as a hobby.
• Super Robot Wars: Original Generation:
  • Raidiese F. Branstein, the team straight man, ends up falling prey to his friend's wackiness. At one point, when the protagonist tells him his idea for the name of their new Limit Break, he realizes he can't think of anything better:
    Rai: Can't do you something about your taste in names?
    Ryusei: Well, what do you have in mind then?
    Rai: ... ...... ....... .............
    Ryu: Okay, okay, forget I said anything...
  • In Original Generation Gaiden, when Ryusei asks him a name for his new move, he dubs it Galaxy Phantom Explosion (constituting a very easy seiyuu joke). In one scene, he ends up joining Ryusei for a marathon of a super robot anime, because after Ryusei's love interest who watched it as an excuse to spend time with him, but ended up really getting into it, and their CO who ended up watching it because she didn't want the other two alone in the same room with the door closed (Ryusei's love interest is her younger sister) and ended up analyzing every battle in terms of strategic value, he didn't want to be the only one on their team who had no idea what Ryusei was going on about. He refuses to admit whether he liked it or not.
  • In Scenario 11 in the Earth Route of Shin Super Robot Wars, Rai introduces himself formally after the battle, saying that the aliens have been up to abducting people. Sanshirou has been eyeing Rai, wondering if he's another weirdo like Ryusei. Rai stiffly asks him not to liken him to Ryusei, the shame of the SRX Team. Sanshirou tells Rai about Ryusei's "self-proclaimed genius pilot" line, which Rai allows after a moment is pretty much true. The others realize that Rai, too, is somewhat off his rocker.
• Super Sized Family has the kids described as "seven screaming children", even the normally responsible Torri and polite Duncan. Torri also sometimes uses her phone despite not being allowed.
• Sniper from Team Fortress 2 claims to be polite, professional and have no emotional ties to his work. However, his domination lines are so very rage-filled. Spy also says some amazingly immature things in his lines. Furthermore, while the Spy is as cultured and hoity-toity as he is, he has absolutely no qualms about performing any of the wackier single and co-op taunts with anyone else, including flipping friends, excited Kasack dancing, dealing and receiving high fives and even a friendly bit of headbutting with whoever's available. In fact, Spy sounds outright eager to take part in all of them (except line-dancing).
• Valder, The Stoic and Big Bad of Wargroove, gets hit by this in his Arcade Mode route as one of his match-ups is against Caesar. Valder starts out the battle perplexed as to what a dog is doing leading an army, and ends it by telling Caesar there's no sense making Puppy-Dog Eyes at him over losing, before catching himself and wondering aloud why he's talking to a dog.
• World's End Club: Aniki is the oldest of the Go-Getters club and very aloof towards the others, he still plays along with their antics whenever the moment calls.

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