History EstablishingCharacterMoment / VideoGames

** [[HandsomeLech Kagura Mutsuki]] gets a good example in ''Chronophantasma'', where heroines Noel and Makoto walk up to meet him in his office, to pass an infuriated woman in the hallway shouting about how he's a complete pervert. They walk in and he spends the whole conversation between casually flirting with both of them, and complaining about how [[HotScientist Kokonoe]] turned his bachelor pad into an elevator.

** The collection of fan-made modules isn't immune to this either. ''Tales of Arterra'' introduces [[HornyDevils Persey]] with a scene in a brothel that underlines her inability to think of herself as a person. [[PrincessClassic Evanine]] is introduced in a temple in the grips of a deep bout of depression that can only be broken by a gift of flowers and a silly remark, foreshadowing just how much of an effect kindness can have on her. [[BloodKnight Montador]] starts out being belligerent.

** Presea enters carrying a piece of Sacred Wood that [[PintSizedPowerhouse Lloyd and Genis can't even lift]]. She answers every question in a monotonous robot voice, and her equipped weapon is a ''[[AnAxeToGrind woodcutter's axe]]''.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', Commander Kamado introduces himself by challenging the player to a fight as in, an actual physical fight, not a Pokémon battle). He proceeds to toss them across the room no matter what option you choose. This establishes him as tough and intimidating, and the fact that it's meant as a test of the player character's bravery shows that he values courage.

* The first cinematic in ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', in which Lara reveals herself for the first time to the player by cutting the rope that holds her, tossing off her shawl, drawing her guns, and firing a few shots at the wolves attacking her guide before she hits the ground.

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'': The first thing you see the UFE do onscreen is execute downed gangsters in cold blood rather than trying to secure them or call for paramedics. [[spoiler:It comes as little surprise later on that they're in on the conspiracy.]]

** In the very first level, "Hell on Earth", Doomguy, after ripping-and-tearing his way through a host of demons on the Hell Barge he's on, reaches Deag Nilox, the first of the Hell Priests he's after, and wastes no time in seizing him by the throat, showing him a Sentinel coin when he tells him that his soul is guarded, and then calmly and ruthlessly ''ripping his head off''. When he catches up to the other two Hell Priests, he silences their talk about how no one can pass through the gate by [[DecapitationPresentation throwing Nilox's head at their feet]], horrifying and intimidating them, and then, after listening to them talk smack about how he won't save the people of Earth from their judgement, he turns around and [[DramaticGunCock pumps his shotgun]], prompting the two Hell Priests to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere GTFO.]]

** In the trailer for ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' Doomguy calmly marches through the demon-besieged Phobos base, paying no heed to the scattering civilians or the frantic shouts through intercoms. He has nowhere to hurry -- after all, the execution will not start without the headsman. Upon seeing an employee with a keycard around his neck, he grabs the keycard and drags it to the reader without bothering to take it off the poor man. Then he passes by a couple guards, plucks a plasmagun from one of them as if taking a toy from a child, despite the guard's weak protests, and finally ''gets to work''.

** In the very first level, "Hell on Earth", Doomguy, after ripping-and-tearing his way through a host of demons on the Hell Barge he's on, reaches Deag Nilox, the first of the Hell Priests he's after, and wastes no time in seizing him by the throat, showing him a Sentinel coin when he tells him that his soul is guarded, and then calmly and ruthlessly ''ripping his head off''. When he catches up to the other two Hell Priests, he silences their talk about how no one can pass through the gate by [[DecapitationPresentation throwing Nilox's head in their midst]], horrifying and intimidating them, and then, after listening to them talk smack about how he won't save the people of Earth from their judgement, he turns around and [[DramaticGunCock pumps his shotgun]], prompting the two Hell Priests to GTFO.

** In the very first level, "Hell on Earth", Doomguy, after ripping-and-tearing his way through a host of demons on the Hell Barge he's on, reaches Deag Nilox, the first of the Hell Priests he's after, and wastes no time in seizing him by the throat, showing him a Sentinel coin when he tells him that his soul is guarded, and then calmly and ruthlessly ''rips his head off''. When he catches up to the other two Hell Priests, he silences their talk about how no one can pass through the gate by [[DecapitationPresentation throwing Nilox's head in their midst]], horrifying and intimidating them, and then, after listening to them talk smack about how he won't save the people of Earth from their judgement, he turns around and [[DramaticGunCock pumps his shotgun]], prompting the two Hell Priests to GTFO.

* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'': Mere seconds after waking up and finding himself surrounded by zombies, the Doomguy breaks free of the manacles holding him, backhands the first one to get near him hard enough to draw blood, then grabs and smashes its head into the slab/operating table he's on hard enough to [[YourHeadASplode turn it into a bloody smear]], just before taking up a pistol to kill the rest. Even if you've never played any of the previous games, you'll know instantly why he's one of the iconic badasses of FPS.
** Two more moments come just after this. When Doomguy reclaims the Praetor Suit, when Samuel attempts to greet him and tell him that they may be able to work together, he throws the monitor into the wall. And when he does so again in the elevator, stating that what they were doing was for all mankind, Doomguy takes a very deliberate glance at the mutilated corpse at his feet (as if to say "tell that to ''him'', you son of a bitch") before ''smashing the speaker in'', clearly having had more than enough of all of this.
* In the trailer for ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' Doomguy calmly marches through the demon-besieged base, paying no heed to the scattering civilians or the frantic shouts through intercoms. He has nowhere to hurry - after all, the execution will not start without the headsman. Upon seeing an employee with a keycard around his neck, he grabs the keycard and drags it to the reader without bothering to take it off the poor man. Then he passes by a couple guards, plucks a plasmagun from one of them as if taking a toy from a child, despite the guard's weak protests, and finally ''gets to work''.

*** In the No Mercy run, [[spoiler: she tanks a hit meant for a child and starts disintegrating. However, she realizes that you're a threat to not just monsters, but the world, and pulls herself together through sheer Determination and puts up a hell of a fight, proving that she's much more of a hero than [[VillainProtagonist you have]] [[KillEmAll been]].]]

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': In her reintroduction to the series via ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo7'', Sega establishes [[ButtMonkey their take]] on Draco Centauros by having her be lured to Loch Ness by Dark Arle on the promise of a {{beauty contest}}, then battling the player with AI only matched in ArtificialStupidity by that of [[StarterVillain Skeleton-T]].
* The titular [[ImplacableMan Nemesis]] from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' drops in out of nowhere, [[OneHitKill kills your only comrade in one hit]], [[ItCanThink speaks its one and only word]], and moves in for the kill, which immediately establishes him as a serious threat unlike any other in the game that is hell-bent on killing you.
-->'''Nemesis: STARS...'''
** Nemesis gets an even more fitting introduction in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', where he first appears breaking into Jill's house ''in the opening minutes of the game, shrugs off multiple headshots from Jill's Samurai Edge,'' '''''and spends the entirety of the opening chasing Jill down, only being incapacitated after being shot twice with a rocket launcher -- and he caught the first shot!'''''
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' emphasizes the [[ItCanThink comparative intelligence of the Las Plagas B.O.W.s]] with a cutscene during the first village battle sequence: Leon scrambles to take shelter inside an open house, and as he looks out the window, he finds the Ganados -- whom the players would treat like the previous games' zombies -- actively communicating with each other, bringing weapons to break down the door, and ladders to enter the second floor. It's the first and last warning that ''[=RE4=]'''s monsters are more intelligent, agile and aggressive than before.
* The Nemesis' SpiritualSuccessor Ustanak has a similar appearance in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''. He appears out of nowhere, spots Jake (his target), and begins to advance, the normally calm and snarky Sherry [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness loses her nerve and shrieks "RUN"]], and Ustanak is ''[[MadeOfIron completely unphased by a massive explosion]]''. '''[[RunOrDie Start running.]]'''
-->'''Jake''': Son of a '''bitch''', he's strong...!
-->'''Sherry''': '''RUN!!'''

*** Auron is introduced in a way that officially sets up his "CoolOldGuy who knows a lot more about what's going than he tells people" credentials: He [[IHaveTheHighGround climbs up to a high place]] and seems to welcome Sin as it comes closer to Zanarkand without a word. He then walks calmly through the street as a wave of water approaches the city and begins to ''disintegrate it'', and when he shows up later to help fight off monsters, once again without losing the cool head, he's officially established as the resident DeadpanSnarker / {{Samurai}}. He has another one when he actually joins the party. He stares down a lizard the size of a horse and then proceeds to kill it in a single swing.

** Sitting alone on the roof of the ghoul-infested Hotel Wahid, Saïd already looks out of place in the war-torn desert even from a distance, being dressed as he is in a crisp white suit and [[NiceHat fedora]]. Then you get a good look at him in "The High Cost Of Dying": he's actually an ancient Egyptian {{Mummy}}, complete with empty eye-sockets barely hidden by his CoolShades. There's a long pause as he considers you... and then [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu he takes a photo of you with his phone]]. Then he drags you into a business meeting, bombarding you with details at a pace that would make Kirsten Geary nod with approval, all while making it clear that he's an avaricious, hedonistic, self-important, and infuriatingly charming undead bastard.

** [[BeleagueredBureaucrat Arturo Castiglione]] gives every impression of being a dignified, elderly statesman... right up until [[RantInducingSlight a rather unfortunate phone call causes him to completely lose his shit]].

* '''[[BringIt "COME ON!!!"]]''' Asura stopping a country-sized finger with his fists and punching it back in the first trailers of ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath''.

* The opening scene for ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' serves as a big one to [[BigBad Lan Di]], cementing him as a cold, mysterious, and ''very'' powerful martial artist to be feared. Breaking into the Hazuki Dojo to steal the mysterious Dragon Mirror, he remains calm and eerily composed as he [[NonchalantDodge gracefully evades]] everything the elder Hazuki throws at him, before taking him down in two kicks. He sends Ryo [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom flying across the room]] with a single palm thrust, and threatens to [[AdultFear kill him in front of his own father]] unless he reveals the mirror's location. After Iwao caves in, Lan Di asks him about a man he killed before granting him [[YouKilledMyFather a warrior's death]], leaving both martial artists lying on the floor with the Dragon Mirror in his hands, [[CurbStompBattle completely unscathed]]. It's no wonder everyone who has heard of him [[TheDreaded wants to steer clear of him]], and ''no one'' believes in Ryo's chances against him in his quest for revenge.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' has a couple of good ones:

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':

** The intro sequence of ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea5}}'' tells us what you need to know about the two leads -- [[{{Ojou}} Seraphina]] [[TheBeautifulElite would rather enjoy herself]] [[UpperClassTwit than understand what fighting the Lost amounts to]], and Killia [[BigEater loves to enjoy a good bowl of curry]] [[CurbStompBattle before wrecking his enemies' shit]].

** ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' (''The Broken Seal''):

** ''VideoGame/GoldenSun: The Lost Age'':

** While Gravemind was already long established as a bad guy, he is defined as an ''asshole'' by having him gloat while betraying both the Arbiter and the Chief in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''.
** Arbiter Thel 'Vadam gets one in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''. When we first see him, he's on trial for failing to protect Halo from destruction. First, we learn that he's a super-competent fighter (being a Zealot Fleetmaster (admiral) in a society where AsskickingEqualsAuthority and being a zealot alone means you've killed thousands). Second, we learn that he's also willing to ignore the HonorBeforeReason mentality of his species for the good of his forces and the galaxy at large by focusing on the [[TheVirus Flood]], possibly saving the galaxy but sacrificing the Halo. Then, when he is to be tortured for his failure, he makes good on his promise not to beg for the crowd's entertainment by not making a sound even as he's being electrocuted to the point of ''smoldering''. It takes a red-hot brand to the chest to get him to make a sound.

* Several party members in ''Videogame/TheLegendOfDragoon''.

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'': The first thing you see the UFE do onscreen is execute downed gangsters in cold blood rather than trying to secure them or call for paramedics. [[spoiler:It comes as little surprise later on that they're in on the conspiracy.]]

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39gX7GpYf0Q infamously chilling close-up of SA-X's face]] in ''[[{{VideoGame/Metroid}} Metroid Fusion]]'' does well to convince the player that they should steer clear of this foe.

* ''Videogame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope:'' If you want a look at how terrible this particular timeline can get, and especially how utterly malignant Himmler's Burgundy is, just play it for a few minutes and have a look at the very early event "From Cradle to Grave". How repulsive is the Burgundian System? Why, repulsive enough that [[spoiler:a mother is forced to name her newborn child "only for paperwork purposes", without ever seeing him, but ''after'' being told he had been euthanised but a minute ago because he had a few "mongoloid" traits]], all told from the [[spoiler:mother]]'s perspective. More than one player's been known for quitting the match right then and there.
* ''Videogame/{{Nihilumbra}}'': [[spoiler:Assuming you're going through the levels in order, Void Mode introduces itself by plopping a deadly Crawlaggar right in front of your face. You have approximately four seconds to dig out your Brown color and latch onto the wall out of his reach before he eats you. And it only goes downhill from there.]]

** Akihiko introduces himself as the captain of the Gekkoukan High boxing team and states that he really likes protein. This tells you [[CloudCuckoolander everything you need]] [[DumbMuscle to know about]] [[{{Flanderization}} what's happened to him]] since the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'':

* The entire first mission of ''Videogame/{{Prototype 2}}'' is one for James Heller. When first we see him, he's sharpening a large combat knife while inside an APC that is patrolling a zone full of viral zombies. After the rest of his squad is wiped out, he proceeds to kill a Hunter with nothing but the knife. Hunters are known to tear apart ''tanks'' with minimal effort. When he catches up to Alex Mercer, he slits the latter's throat. [[HealingFactor It doesn't take,]] but it and the subsequent dogged pursuit firmly show that if anyone can take Alex down, it'll be James and his depleted uranium balls. It's so impressive that Mercer infects him rather than simply eating him.

* VideoGame/SimonTheSorcerer 's very first line (If you don't count the opening credits) is him saying he wants to run his dog Chippy through the dryer cycle because he's bored.

* Episode one of ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'', for those who hadn't read the [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire books]] or watched the [[Series/GameOfThrones show]], goes really out its way to establish the kind of man [[AxCrazy Ramsay Snow]] is. [[TheDreaded Whenever he is spoken of, it comes with a very noticeable sense of dread in the voice of the person speaking.]] His first scene shows him [[FlayingAlive flay a man alive for not acknowledging his father's rule.]] The end sees him [[FauxAffablyEvil playfully taunting the new and young Lord Ethan Forrester]], and then threatening to rape his twin sister, followed by him [[spoiler:stabbing Ethan in the throat and taking his younger brother as a hostage, and cheerfully leaving the room while Ethan's family watches him bleed to death]].

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'':

*** Auron is introduced in a way that officially sets up his "CoolOldGuy who knows a lot more about what's going than he tells people" credentials: He [[IHaveTheHighGround climbs up to a high place]] and seems to welcome Sin as it comes closer to Zanarkand without a word. He then walks calmly through the street as a wave of water approaches the city and begins to ''disintegrate it'', and when he shows up later to help fight off monsters, once again without losing the cool head, he's officially established as the resident DeadpanSnarker / {{Samurai}}. He has another one when he actually joins the party. He stares down a lizard the size of a horse and then proceeds to kill it in a single turn.

--->''Hey, kiddo. Jack here, President of Hyperion. Lemme explain how things work here: Vault Hunter shows up. Vault Hunter looks for the new Vault. Vault Hunter gets killed. By me. You seeing the problem here? You’re still alive. So, if you could just do me a favor and off yourself, that’d be great. Thanks, pumpkin.

* ''VideoGame/FantasticNightDreamsCotton'' does a good job at establishing its heroine's [[NominalHero personality]] in the intro: as the land of Filament starts suffering from TheNightThatNeverEnds, Cotton is seen wandering around, fantasizing about snacking on [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Willows]] as opposed to caring about the ongoing crisis. Then she runs into the fairy Silk, who tearfully begs her to save her land from the monsters causing havok there...only for Cotton to [[BystanderSyndrome promptly ignore her and go on her way]]. When Silk makes mention of a giant Willow that can be made from seven smaller ones, [[FoodAdBribe she immediately changes her mind]].

* The main enemy bots of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'' get a scene unsubtly showcasing their main personality trait: Roxy is [[{{Pride}} reciting compliments to herself in front of a mirror]], Monty is [[{{Wrath}} wrecking his room while roaring]], and Glamrock Chica is [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers playing a guitar solo]]... but is also found [[VillainousGlutton eating pizza from a pile of trash]] shortly after.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'''