History DecoyProtagonist / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/ChainedEchoes'': The prologue does everything it can to keep the player guessing who the main character will be. Is it the young prodigy they're directly controlling with wishes of personal freedom? Is it TheMentor who stays back to overhear plot-relevent dialogue at one point? Is it the captain of their mercenary company who might be the SoleSurvivor as the mission starts to go rapidly south? Some combination of the above? There's even a CommanderContrarian who's a GuestStarParyMember despite not getting [[NominalImportance dialogue portrait privileges]] to emphasize the other three. Then the characters unwittingly set off a FantasticNuke, putting themselves at ground zero of a blast that kills tens of thousands, and the narrative switches to completely unrelated characters a year later.

** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' first introduced Keebo, who was designed to resemble [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Makoto Naegi]] down to the IdiotHair, mentions him as someone he looked up to, had a name that could be read as "[[CentralTheme Hope]]", and was put in the first official video and in the first official artwork along with Kaito and Maki to fool the player into thinking he is the main character. Then comes the Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer, showcasing Kaede Akamatsu as the main character (with her even saying as much in the trailer herself)... [[spoiler:and then Kaede got executed in the game's first case, from then the protagonist position is shifted to Shuichi Saihara. Then, in Chapter 6, it's somewhat subverted when you briefly take control of Keebo during the trial... and then subverted the rest of the way when it's revealed that Keebo ''was'' technically the protagonist all along, just not from your perspective, because the game is a MetaSequel set in a world so obsessed with ''Danganronpa'' that they turned it into a reality TV show where teenagers happily sign up to get mind-wiped, implanted with new fictional identities, and murder each other for an audience of millions. Keebo was built as the protagonist of the current season whose eyes serve as the camera the audience is watching the show through, and his "inner voice" that guides him is just telling him the results of audience polls about what he should do next.]]

* At the beginning of VideoGame/{{GLITCHED}}, FROG Inc assigns you to Conrad, who plans to leave the town. You control him as he interacts with people around Betwixit at night. He can optionally help Lenny with getting back into his house and buy Snap Candy from Slick Rick. Conrad even shows some paranoia that [[ProperlyParanoid someone might be watching him.]] [[spoiler:By the time he meets up with Gus, however, he gets corrupted by the glitch. The player then saves the real protagonist, Gus, from the glitch and assumes control of him from there.]]

* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' features a hitman as its protagonist for the majority of missions, but it's [[spoiler:the boss at the phone station who solves the mystery behind the answerphone messages]]. Given that Richard is an UnreliableNarrator, one assumes that [[spoiler: Biker survived their encounter, and went on to kill the villains]]. [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber the sequel]] shows that [[spoiler:both storylines are canon, with Jacket and the Biker having survived their encounter and both storylines progressed independent of one another]].

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' appears to love using this, or rather, Decoy Hero trope.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' zigzags this trope. While the first character we control (or rather, mind control) is Terra, and she is the most interesting character, it is Locke that is framed as the protagonist of the story. This later ends up as an aversion as the game adopts an ensemble cast by the end of the story.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has no less than ''three'' fakeout protagonists:
** One might initially expect the brave and handsome young Prince Rasler to be the main character... but he doesn't even make it past ''the opening cutscene''.
** Reks, a level 3 soldier, is this as you briefly control him through the castle, and fight empire enemies in attempt to save the king during the prologue. The prologue ends with [[IntroOnlyPointOfView his death]].
** Vaan, Reks's brother, is the first proper character the player is given control of, and is depicted as your typical male ''Final Fantasy'' protagonist. Except his role in the story is, relatively speaking, very minor, as the story revolves around the widowed wife of the aforementioned Rasler, Ashe, who is both TheChosenOne and TheLeader, while the position of TheLancer in the team alternates between Basch and Balthier. Vaan is there until the end, but he's more of a TagalongKid than anything else.

* Done twice in ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'', first when it's revealed that Kalas is TheDragon, and Xelha takes over, and then second when Kalas experiences a HeelFaceTurn and rejoins your party.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' While the protagonist is clearly cloud, the initial hero is set to be Aeris, as she is the one with the AllLovingHero with the capability to stop Meteor. But after Disc One, it is clear that she is not the in universe hero of the story.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSilverCase'', the promotional material makes it seem like Sumio is the primary protagonist, but he a side character at best and [[spoiler: turns out to be the main antagonist of the third case and vanishes after that]]. On top of that, it is neither player characters - [[HelloInsertNameHere yourself]], nor Tokio, as they don't actually accomplish anything by themselves or really get a grasp of the plot until the end. Instead, the main focus of the plot, and the one who drives it all forward is [[spoiler: Kusabi]].

* Taken UpToEleven in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. After Keiichi has been the main character for three arcs, his spotlight is taken away for the rest of the series, with three arcs devoted to Akasaka, Shion, and Rena. Then the first episode of ''Kai'' focuses on Akasaka and Ooishi. Then we get an arc centered around Satoko. The eventual main character? [[spoiler:Rika Furude]], a [[TrueCompanions True Companion]] who had received the least attention prior to the reveal. Keiichi still plays a critical role, though, as a source of inspiration and courage.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

{{Decoy Protagonist}}s in video games.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/CookieRunKingdom''. In the Odyssey story, it initially appears as if Clotted Cream Cookie will be one of the main villains of the story; however, come Chapter 2, and Clotted Cream Cookie is then shown to be explicitly a hero and ally, with him working together with everyone to defend the Republic from Dark Enchantress Cookie. The real main villains are the aforementioned Dark Enchantress Cookie, and Mille-Feuille Cookie.

** The Chosen One is not the main character, but his son.

* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' features a hitman as its protagonist for the majority of missions, but it's [[spoiler:the boss at the phone station who solves the mystery behind the answerphone messages]]. Given that Richard is an UnreliableNarrator, one assumes that [[spoiler: Biker survived their encounter, and went on to kill the villains]]. [[Videogame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber the sequel]] shows that [[spoiler:both storylines are canon, with Jacket and the Biker having survived their encounter and both storylines progressed independent of one another]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' starts with a brief prologue where you play as Lucas, and also control Claus for the first battle of the game. [[spoiler: (After the first main chapter, Claus is never seen again until the end of the game, except for as the Masked Man.)]] The first main chapter has you play as Flint as he looks for his wife and kids, and then for Claus a second time. [[spoiler: (Again, Flint is never seen again until shortly before the game ends.)]] Chapter 2 focuses mainly on Duster, who actually is one of the core protagonists, but not the main one of those four. Chapter 3 is about Salsa, who afterwards, is only seen again at Chimera Laboratories. From chapter 4 onward, after the three-year skip, you play as Lucas, the boy you started the game as.

* ''Videogame/{{Persona 2}}'' starts out with five protagonists: Tatsuya, Michel, Ginko, Maya, and Yukki. However, [[spoiler: Yukki ends up being a decoy protagonist for Jun, a.k.a. Joker, who joins your party near the end of the game.]]
** ''Videogame/{{Persona 3}}'' is a weird example, as the Main Character wasn't originally this, but after the UpdatedRerelease added a PlayableEpilogue, the role of Main Character switches over to the {{Deuteragonist}}, [[RobotGirl Aigis]] after [[spoiler: the protagonist's death at the end of the game]].

* ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'': [[spoiler:Ethan is built up as one of the main characters as Lord of House Forrester, but he is murdered in cold blood by Ramsay at the end of the first episode. Rodrick takes his place as lord after turning out to have survived the massacre. You even play as Ethan until he is killed.]]

* In the ''Videogame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' tutorial Delta squad members all have names and talk to each other and command but 3 of them die before the mission ends. And the fourth might be well put in the locker by the player (or die) from the following mission onwards.

* In ''VideoGame/{{WWE}} 12'', when the player first starts the "Road To Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}}" mode, the first person they plays as is Wrestling/JohnCena, who's about to wrestle Wrestling/TheUndertaker. Cena comes out... only to get Brouge Kicked by Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', you plays Krystal who investigates the destruction of her people in the Krazoa Palace. After releasing the first Krazoa Spirit, she gets sealed in a CrystalPrison and you play as Fox [[=McCloud=]] for the rest of the game.

* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' features a hitman ([[FanNickname "Jacket"]]) as its protagonist for the majority of missions, but it's [[spoiler:[[FanNickname Biker]], the boss at the phone station who solves the mystery behind the answerphone messages]]. Given that Richard is an UnreliableNarrator, one assumes that [[spoiler: Biker survived their encounter, and went on to kill the villains]]. [[Videogame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber the sequel]] shows that [[spoiler:both storylines are canon, with Jacket and the Biker having survived their encounter and both storylines progressed independent of one another]].

** Sayaka Maizono from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' is played up throughout Chapter 1 as the main female lead, becoming Makoto's sidekick and potential main love interest. [[spoiler: It turns out at some point she started manipulating Makoto to become the fall guy for when she killed somebody, but when she actually tries it, it backfires horribly and she ends up as the first victim.]]
** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' first introduced Keebo, who was designed to resemble [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Makoto Naegi]] down to the IdiotHair, mentions him as someone he looked up to, had a name that could be read as "[[CentralTheme Hope]]", and was put in the first official video and in the first official artwork along with Kaito and Maki to fool the player into thinking he is the main character. Then comes the Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer, showcasing Kaede Akamatsu as the main character (with her even saying as much in the trailer herself). [[spoiler:And then Kaede got executed in the game's first case, from then the protagonist position is shifted to Shuichi Saihara. Then, in Chapter 6, it's somewhat subverted when you briefly take control of Keebo during the trial... and then subverted the rest of the way when it's revealed that Keebo ''was'' technically the protagonist all along, just not from your perspective, because the game is a MetaSequel set in a world so obsessed with ''Danganronpa'' that they turned it into a reality TV show where teenagers happily sign up to get mind-wiped, implanted with new fictional identities, and murder each other for an audience of millions. Keebo was built as the protagonist of the current season whose eyes serve as the camera the audience is watching the show through, and his "inner voice" that guides him is just telling him the results of audience polls about what he should do next.]]

* ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'': In the ''Burial at Sea'' DLC, Booker once again serves as the hero of Episode 1. Then, at the end, [[spoiler:it's revealed that he isn't a Booker but a Comstock who regressed back into his old identity, and he gets killed by a Big Daddy, leaving you to play as Elizabeth for Episode 2]].

** Reks, a level 3 soldier and the brother of the protagonist, is this as you briefly control him through the castle, and fight empire enemies in attempt to save the king during the prologue. The prologue ends with [[IntroOnlyPointOfView his death]].
** Vaan is the first proper character the player is given control of, and is depicted as your typical male ''Final Fantasy'' protagonist. Except his role in the story is, relatively speaking, very minor, as the story revolves around the widowed wife of the aforementioned Rasler, Ashe, who is both TheChosenOne and TheLeader, while the position of TheLancer in the team alternates between Basch and Balthier. Vaan is there until the end, but he is more of a TagalongKid than anything else.

* The prologue of ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' introduces Dunban, a legendary hero who is the only one who can wield [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement the legendary Monado]]. Then there's a TimeSkip, and he's retired after losing the use of his right arm because he ''wasn't'' actually the true wielder of the Monado. We then meet Shulk, the game's actual protagonist, who can not only use the Monado but can also unlock many of its hidden abilities that Dunban couldn't. Unlike most examples of this trope, not only does Dunban not die, but later into the story [[TookALevelInBadass takes further levels in badass]] and becomes a powerful party member in his own right, using a katana [[HandicappedBadass with only his left arm to fight]].

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' does this is a weird, spoilery, meta way, as it does a lot of tropes. You'd think the PlayerCharacter, through whom the player interacts with the world, would be the main character. Heck, "Main Character" is what he's typically referred to in outside media about the game (in the game he's named by the player). [[spoiler: But the player character becomes increasingly less responsive to the events around him as they become weirder, leaving only the player to notice what's going on and follow the actual plot... and in the climax, the character is put aside entirely as the game involves [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the player]] themselves directly in the plot. Thus it's the ''player'' who's the protagonist of the overall story, both through the character and without him. It's even possible, given the right conditions, for the game to address the player by their real name -- without ever asking what it is -- even if it's different from the character's.]]

* Haytham Kenway of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', is playable through the first three memories. The kicker is that [[spoiler:he turns out to be a Templar, and becomes an antagonist for his son Connor]].

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' does this is a weird, spoilery, meta way, as it does a lot of tropes. You'd think the PlayerCharacter, through whom the player interacts with the world, would be the main character. Heck, "Main Character" is what he's typically referred to in outside media about the game (in the game he's named by the player). [[spoiler: But the player character becomes increasingly less responsive to the events around him as they become weirder, leaving only the player to notice what's going on and follow the actual plot... and in the climax, the character is put aside entirely as the game involves [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the player]] themselves directly in the plot. Thus it's the ''player'' who's the protagonist of the overall story, both via the character and without him. It's even possible, given the right conditions, for the game to address the player by their real name -- without ever asking what it is -- even if it's different from the character's.]]

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' does this is a weird, spoilery, meta way, as it does a lot of tropes. You'd think the PlayerCharacter, through whom the player interacts with the world, would be the main character. Heck, "Main Character" is what he's typically referred to in outside media about the game (in the game he's named by the player). [[spoiler: But the player character becomes increasingly less responsive to the events around him as they become weirder, leaving only the player to notice what's going on... and in the climax, the character is put aside entirely as the game involves [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the player]] themselves directly in the plot. Thus it's the ''player'' who's the protagonist of the overall story, both via the character and without him. It's even possible, given the right conditions, for the game to address the player by their real name -- without ever asking what it is -- even if it's different from the character's.]]