History PlayerPunch / RolePlayingGames

** Also the end of both discs of the Playstation version of this game. The first disc ends with [[spoiler: the destruction of Planet Expel by the Ten Wise Men]]. As bad as that is the second disc is even worse considering that the Nedians can actually SetRightWhatOnceWasWrong in this case, but it comes at a ''very'' high price [[spoiler: considering that it takes all of Planet's Nede's energy to restore Planet Expel and its entire population, which in turn destroys Planet Nede in an epic level HeroicSacrifice.]]

** The TomatoSurprise was a ''big'' one for Light Side players. Double it if you played Light side female with the Carth romance. You're giving credits to beggars, restraining yourself, reuniting families, petting kittens, and being a first-rate example of LawfulGood...OhCrap. What did that bastard ''say,'' Carth?! And here's Malak himself - stand back! IAmWho?!

** Aside from that, one of the worst moments by far is [[spoiler:the deaths of the two disciples in the Imperial China chapter. Up until that point it's been a mostly lighthearted story about an old martial arts master nearing the end of his life passing on his art to [[RagingBunchOfMisfits three unlikely disciples]], complete with [[TrainingMontage Training Montages]], sparring and teaching the occasional thug a lesson. But it all goes to hell when Shifu returns home after having done the latter in a nearby village and discovers that in his absence two of his disciples have been murdered by the Indomitable Fist, with the third just barely surviving. It comes out of ''nowhere'' and there's nothing you can do to prevent it from happening, but it's arguably even worse when you realize just why the third disciple survived... because you gave him or her more training than the others. With that knowledge, on repeat playthroughs you're literally choosing who lives and dies.]]

** There's at least one extra one for every origin, as well, some during, some when the PC comes back into contact with their old life. Dalish Elf origin... [[IncrediblyLamePun that'll leave a bruise]].

** Depending on the completion of a certain sidequest, you may be forced to kill [[spoiler:Iron Bull]] in the ''Trespasser'' DLC. [[spoiler:Having romanced him only serves to twist the knife deeper.]]

** In the Shivering Isles expansion, Sheogorath runs out of time and becomes unusually unhappy. Then he transforms into Jyggalag and the player must fight him later on. It is the last time the player ever sees Sheogorath.

** Killing [[spoiler:Paarthurnax]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't fly off until you chip away 50% of his health, and seems to try to plead with you as you attack him initially. Not to mention, he's only level 10, which is much weaker than the majority of dragons.]] It really does feel more like murder than a fight.

** The boss battle against Sif is particularly infamous. Get them down to low enough health, and they'll start limping around the arena. It gets especially heartwrenching if you go through the DLC first, in which you get to save the young Sif from the horrors of the Abyss. If you do, Sif will get the jump on you when you enter their arena for their bossfight, but sniffs you before letting you go, recognizing you as their old friend who saved them way back. But it doesn't matter. You need the covenant of Artorias, and Sif is dutybound to protect their master's grave. Only one of you will be alive when the battle ends.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' Gives us the fight with King Vendrick, the leader of Drangleic who has been made out to be the BigBad from the first moment. As you enter the door to the crypt he's in, you find a tower knight with a giant mace... who isn't him, it's his second in command Velstadt. After you kill him, you walk into the room where the real Vendrick is to find... a giant, naked hollow ambling around mindlessly with a greatsword. This godlike being that you've been hyped up to fight since you first met the Emerald Herald, the king of this harsh land... fell to the curse of undeath like any other person who falls to despair. At this point, fighting him is completely optional, as the ring you need to progress is in his discarded armor in the corner of the room, and the only reason to do so is to claim his soul and put him out of his misery.[[folder: You can make things a little better by doing the DLC and getting his blessing, which makes you immune to hollowing and gives him hope that his sacrifices to break the ViciousCycle of the First Flame aren't in vain. And killing him becomes necessary to fight Aldia and unlock the 'leave the throne' ending.]]

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' Gives us the fight with King Vendrick, the leader of Drangleic who has been made out to be the BigBad from the first moment. As you enter the door to the crypt he's in, you find a tower knight with a giant mace... who isn't him, it's his second in command Velstadt. After you kill him, you walk into the room where the real Vendrick is to find... a giant, naked hollow ambling around mindlessly with a greatsword. This godlike being that you've been hyped up to fight since you first met the Emerald Herald, the king of this harsh land... fell to the curse of undeath like any other person who falls to despair. At this point, fighting him is completely optional, as the ring you need to progress is in his discarded armor in the corner of the room, and the only reason to do so is to claim his soul and put him out of his misery.

** Winning the hardest BonusBoss fight of Part 1 would have been satisfying [[spoiler:except the boss is Pia's mentor, who as a Celestial automatically turns to sand the moment he fulfills his duty, which he just accomplished by training Pia well enough to protect the Faraway Continent. The result is a non-canon BittersweetEnding as well as the implication that he might eventually die in the full release of the game.]]

** The first few hours of the game focuses on developing the main characters and their lifestyles, including [[EveryoneCanSeeIt the relationship]] between [[TheHero Shulk]] and [[TheChick Fiora]]. Fiora becomes a party member early on, and she is the first character you can improve your relationship with, and come to like her as time goes on. So it becomes a devastating Player Punch when Metal Face, despite her best efforts to protect Shulk and their hometown, kills her. It's made worse in that Shulk sees it happen via a vision before it happens, which serves to extend the tension we feel, while also giving us hope he can change the events of that vision since he had done it moments earlier.

* ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' is full of these. Early-game party member [[ChildhoodFriend Tia]] has a very obvious [[AllLoveIsUnrequited crush]] on main character Maxim, but when Maxim finds someone else he loves, she surprisingly gets out of his way and leaves the party. This is a punch to anyone who was waiting for Tia and Maxim to get together, and Maxim's interest Selan doesn't have much characterization at this point.
** The punches get worse from here on - [[BoisterousBruiser lovable idiot]] [[TheBigGuy Dekar]] sacrifices himself so the party can get away. As he's one of the most entertaining (and overpowered) characters, and you don't get him for that long, this is unexpected and lame. Lessened since near the end of the game it reveals [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat he]] [[NeverFoundTheBody survived]].
** The worst offender is the extremely sad ending of the game - Maxim and his wife Selan both die saving the world, and the end-game cutscenes show their friends waiting for them to come back to celebrate their victory, still believing they survived.
*** The ending is especially terrible because the game's ending was playable as the prologue to ''Videogame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'', so the player goes in ''knowing'' that Maxim and Selan will not make it... and ''then'' the player has one final task to play through.
* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' makes you choose between saving the life of Nightcrawler or Jean Grey. The ending you get from saving Nightcrawler is preferable (if he lives Jean comes back as Dark Phoenix. If he dies Professor X is assassinated by Mystique), but you can bet some fans were torn by the choice, especially since Jean is something of a ChewToy, and it'd be nice to give her a break for once.
** Ultimately subverted for those who decided to save Nightcrawler, as ''MUA 2'' shows that Jean's case was resolved cleanly by virtue of her being a secret playable character.
* In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter 4 Ultimate'', a High-Rank quest to capture a Rathian ends in the Seregios chasing her away, resulting in a scripted quest failure. This has angered many players who went through a good deal of prep work for the quest only to have their efforts wasted. Sure, the Caravaneer and the Guild compensate you for your efforts, but all you get is 7000 zenny and some common Rathian parts like the Rathian Scale+; you don't get any rare Rathian drops like the Rathian Plate or Rathian Ruby, and [[ShaggyDogStory any post-completion rewards you would've gotten from breaking her parts are nullified]].

* In ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey: Heroes of Lagaard'', the player gets punched when they find a wounded Kurogane and realize what happened to his partner Flausgul... It's particularly jarring because they appeared to be getting set up as recurring characters you could expect to meet in the labyrinth ''far'' more often than you actually do to get see them.
** And in ''The Drowned City'', something similar occurs with the Murotsumi Guild -- only this time, the player has to ''choose'' whether it's Agata or Hypatia that dies.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' kicks the player in the crotch repeatedly in the first chapter. First, Flint's wife, Hinawa, dies, and he is notified via one of the most painful {{Can Not Spit It Out}}s ever. The chapter's boss is the mother of a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Drago]] family that was friends with Flint's children, cybernetically modified into a killing machine. After the battle, the player is shown the broken body of Flint's son Claus lying in a canyon.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}} 2'', your [[{{Mentors}} teacher Shanti]] is captured when she goes scouting ahead of you. Much of the middle section of the game revolves around finding her. When you finally do find her, she's been murdered, dressed in a slave's robe, and dumped in the woods. Definitely an ItsPersonal moment, and it makes your revenge against [[TheDragon Stannis]] much more satisfying.