History HiddenDepths / VideoGames

** Seon Gong, the ByTheBookCop working for AVAC, used to be a violinist like her grandfather Deok Gong. [[spoiler:She was active in her field before she ran away to Ajik City after the [[EmotionSuppression Fixerain]] poured in her hometown, Umok City. She then changed her name from "Sueoun" and also her appearance so that no one would recognize her anymore. This revelation gets her outed as a Fixerain fugitive and exiled to the Fixie residence with Eggie.]]

** Seon Gong, the ByTheBookCop working for AVAC, used to be a violinist like her grandfather Deok Gong. [[spoiler:She was active in her field before she ran away to Ajik City after the [[EmotionSuppression Fixerain]] poured in her hometown. She then changed her name and appearance so that no one would recognize her anymore. This revelation gets her outed as a Fixerain fugitive, making her run away to the neighboring city.]]

** Yeongmi Mo, the narcissistic actor, [[spoiler:turns out to be working for a company selling microchips called [[PunnyName Potato Chips]] to Bluebird, which are used to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy mind control Fixies]] so they can be part of the workforce. However, HUE believes that this makes Yeongmi altruistic since he's giving Fixies jobs this way.]]

* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', Seon Gong, the ByTheBookCop working for AVAC, used to be a violinist like her grandfather Deok Gong. [[spoiler:She was active in her field before she ran away to Ajik City after the [[EmotionSuppression Fixerain]] poured in her hometown. She then changed her name and appearance so that no one would recognize her anymore. This revelation gets her outed as a Fixerain fugitive, making her run away to the neighboring city.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'', even Red himself is a bit surprised in Samoyede, when Elh reveals that [[spoiler:she knows a little about flowers, despite not being the girlish type, though [[IWasJustPassingThrough she claims it's only because they grew in her home village]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', Seon Gong, the ByTheBookCop working for AVAC, used to be a violinist like her grandfather Deok Gong. She was active in her field before she ran away to Ajik City after the [[EmotionSuppression Fixerain]] poured in her hometown. She then changed her name and appearance so that no one would recognize her anymore.

* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', Seong Gong, the ByTheBookCop working for AVAC, used to be a violinist like her grandfather Deok Gong. She was active in her field before she ran away to Ajik City after the [[EmotionSuppression Fixerain]] poured in her hometown. She then changed her name and appearance so that no one would recognize her anymore.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' also contains much depth on nearly everyone:
** Ragna The Bloodedge, a fearful foul-mouthed figure known as The Grim Reaper who claims that he's going to take down NOL [[spoiler:[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold has a lot of sweet spots]] where he doesn't act like a jerk... and not exactly your ChaoticGood Robin Hood figure, he's not there to release the world from oppression..]]

* Due to one of the central messages of the game revolving around opening up to others and expanding your horizons, ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' is packed to the brim with this, with the main characters showing this off quite nicely.
** [[DeadpanSnarker Neku Sakuraba]] is, on the surface, a stereotypical EmoTeen with no real regard for other people and just wants to be left alone to sulk. On the inside? [[spoiler:A BrokenBird dealing with a huge amount of SurvivorsGuilt due to his apparent involvement in the accident that claimed his best friend’s life, causing him to shut himself off from other people in an attempt to NeverBeHurtAgain. He’s also a socially awkward fanboy of resident artist CAT himself, shows himself to be a lot more thoughtful and empathetic than he lets on, and is capable of giving out solid life advice that helps to change his partners for the better.]]
** [[TheFashionista Shiki Misaki]] is a pretty, cheerful GenkiGirl with a bit of a ditzy personality and a huge passion for fashion, to the point that Neku thinks of her to be nothing but shallow at first. [[spoiler:However, as it turns out, her personality was all an act, and her physical appearance in the UG is not that of her own because it was used as her entry fee in the Reaper's Game, but of her friend, Eri, a talented seamstress who she finds herself very jealous of and feels incredibly guilt for said jealously. She’s really a ShrinkingViolet who has huge self-esteem issues regarding her physical appearance and lack of talents compared to Eri though, thankfully, she learns to overcome her insecurities thanks to Neku helping her learn that [[BeYourself it’s okay to be Shiki and that there’s nothing wrong with that.]]]]
** [[PrettyBoy Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu]] seems to be nothing but an InsufferableGenius that can get pretty damn arrogant and callous at times, occasionally referring to his sheer brilliance and showcasing his often haughty attitude towards others, [[VitriolicBestBuds especially Neku.]] He's also much more [[TheCynic cynical]] than even Neku at times, showing his disdain for others and believing that people can never truly understand one another. Despite this, he is shown to have some surprising insights on humanity and later on actually shows some willingness to at least try to understand other people. There's also hints that his haughty attitude was the result of pushing away people who refused to believe him about his ability [[ISeeDeadPeople to see the UG while still alive]], [[FriendlessBackground which made for quite a lonely existence.]] [[spoiler: In the end, he also turns out to be [[PhysicalGod the Composer]] who was planning to destroy Shibuya, [[WellIntentionedExtremist with his reasoning being that the complacency of its residents would end up poisoning the world at large.]] However, through his interactions with Neku, the one person he pegged to never be able to willingly change throughout the game, and seeing his growth throughout the weeks, he comes to change his mind about humanity and ultimately spares Shibuya.]]
** [[IdiotHero Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito]] comes across as nothing but a no-good thug with no self-awareness whatsoever but, in actuality, he’s actually quite well aware of how much he comes off as an IdiotHero and [[HeroicSelfDeprecation hates himself for it]], feeling that because of this, it has gotten the people he loves hurt. Despite his HotBlooded personality, Beat also reveals himself to have been a rather laid-back slacker who took life at his own pace, much to his parents’ ire, and that his dream of becoming a professional skateboarder was nothing but a MotivationalLie in order to help Rhyme, his partner[[spoiler:/sister]], out of her own depressed funk over her lack of dreams.

* ''VideoGame/{{XenoGears}}'': Bart is a lot more intelligent and perceptive than people often think, he just acts HotBlooded partially to motivate himself better. Several moments he shows wit and understanding that people forget at times, and often poke fun at.
* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'':
** [[EnsembleDarkHorse Goro Majima]] is originally portrayed as a "[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation boggle-eyed weirdo who dresses like he woke up naked in a pet cemetery]]", but every game in the series seems to add new layers to the man. By the end of ''Yakuza 6'', his portrayal is that of an intelligent, emotional and introspective man who created the "Mad Dog of Shimano"-persona he has worn as a way of dealing with the harsh reality of yakuza life. He has also wrestled his way into the top echelons of the Tojo clan and can block the new blood without even trying. He turned at least three flagging legitimate businesses into serious money-makers. He has a keen interest in music and a very good singing voice, and will gleefully participate whenever anyone suggests karaoke (and he isn't above deliberately singing off-key to mess with people). He has a serious BigBrotherInstinct, especially when it comes to kids and abused women. And he is ''very'' serious about environmentalism and recycling.
** OldMaster Sotaro Komaki shows a keen interest in youth culture and dancing. In "5", he follows Haruka's idol career intently and challenges her to a dance battle, and in "0" he is the one to introduce Majima to Osaka's underground breakdancing scene.
** Mikio, one of the Ryudo lieutenants in ''3'', appears to be a FatIdiot. He is actually the Ryudo clan's bookkeeper, and while he isn't fast or particularly strong, he is ''immensely'' tough. He is also a decent "hands-on" man, capable of building a beautiful doghouse in an afternoon, and well-liked by the locals for his friendly and helpful nature.
** Shun Akiyama, one of the new protagonists in ''4'', appears to be lazy and not one to take his work as a moneylender very seriously. Beneath his lackadaisical facade, however, is one of the most shrewd and successful self-made men in Kamurocho, a man who went [[RagsToRiches from homelessness to owner of several thriving businesses]] in a short amount of time. He is also far kinder than one would expect from someone in the same industry as Kamurocho's notorious LoanShark[=s=], his business practice at his moneylending company essentially being "Give money away to help people". In his spare time, he also likes to share food and drinks with the homeless.
** Nick Ogata, from ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', may be flamboyant and like his creature comforts, but he doesn't hesitate to help Ichiban by calling out a politician he knows controls significant portions of the Japanese underworld and has killed multiple people to boost his career, in public and in front of cameras, while doing nothing to mask his identity.

** [[TheRockstar Kerry]] comes off as an aloof SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll washed-up rockstar who [[AnythingThatMoves has lots of casual sex and can't commit]], but his romance route reveals him to be arguably the most devoted and loving LoveInterest out of four available, with him writing V a song and reasurring him that [[spoiler:he's going to stay with him untill V dies]]. He's also very proud of his Filipino herritage and has a deeply spiritual side.

* ''VideoGame/AtelierIrisEternalMana'', you have various shopkeepers that can synthesize items for you. After enough times of this, they start to unlock various character scenes. Veola's scenes in particular are much more developed than one would expect from a mere side-character [[spoiler: having her contemplating risking her life making an item to try to bring back her dead family.]]

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'': Max will occasionally view the photography of a person she dislikes, like the RichBitch Nathan or AlphaBitch Victoria, and admit to herself that, whatever their defects of character, they do have real artistic talent.
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'': Chloe thinks Eliot is a nice guy who really likes her, but she doesn't think they have any chemistry. When rifling through his room, she can discover some impassioned poetry he's written that is obviously about her. While feeling awkward about his continuing infatuation, she admits that she never knew he had such talent. It later turns out this poetry is something of a [[StalkerWithACrush warning sign]].

* Solid Snake of ''Franchise/MetalGear'' is characterized as a guy who lives entirely for fighting and being a soldier, but as the man exclaims himself, he's rather fond of dogsledding. Apparently he even participated in dogsledding competitions before Shadow Moses.

* Billy Coen of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' comes off as a rather thuggish, bitter, and cynical ex-Marine during his early appearances. As the game progresses, however, we discover he's a KnightInSourArmour with a powerful belief in the justice system (despite it having condemned him), has a strict code of honour, plays the piano rather well, and seems to know more about Umbrella than he's letting on.
** Easter eggs in 5 show that Chris Redfield isn't particularly patriotic and dislikes capitalism.

* A lot of characters in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' have some level of hidden depths to them, but two of them stand out the most:
** Reyn is a self-admitted DumbMuscle that nonetheless can be surprisingly insightful, such as the moment he calls out Shulk when he's treading into PoorCommunicationKills territory; and is also more emotionally mature than he lets out.
** Riki is a RidiculouslyCuteCritter with a child-like attitude common in his species. He's also [[OlderThanTheyLook a 40-year-old]] father of several children who shows some moments of fatherly care and wisdom that surprise everyone, including TeamDad (and actual ParentalSubstitute) Dunban.
* The cast of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' all have complexities hidden beneath their exteriors.
** Rex seems like a stock protagonist at first, believing the in power of friendship and acting as TheIdealist in a CrapsackWorld, however the game slowly reveals why he is this way. As a child he lost his parents and was adopted by the community of Fonsett, driving him to become a career salvager by the age of 15 so he could send money back to the village and also search for a way to find a way to Elysium in hopes that it would stop the wars for land that plagued Alrest. He frequently insists on taking on everyone’s burdens and wants to help everyone, which of course he can’t. Part of his character arc is to accept that he can’t do everything himself but to instead support others work through their pain.
** Pyra is a NiceGirl who starts Rex on his quest for Elysium, but there a frequent hints to a much darker side of her. She constantly struggles to explain her past and expresses guilt towards whatever happened. She puts herself in danger unnecessarily and has a softer touch that while kind doesn’t always help. This is further explained by her [[spoiler:being [[DeathSeeker suicidal]] and wishing she had never existed]], and it’s hinted that her a bit of a push over is because she’s too afraid to hurt people, with [[spoiler:Klaus’ test of Rex suggesting if she didn’t want to die she would be more forceful as she would no longer be afraid of leaving bad memories.]]
** Mythra, Pyra’s older sister, appears to be only a hat headed {{Tsundere}} with an overbearing personality. However, she’s much more emotional and desperate for affection than Pyra, and is also much more honest with how she feels, good or bad. Like with Pyra, [[spoiler:[[DeathSeeker Mythra wishes to die]], but her feelings are tied to her being directly responsible for the destruction of Torna and specifically killing teammate Hugo and her surrogate little brother Milton, with it being hinted that her self-loathing is the reason Pyra was created as she was, being everything Mythra wished she was; nicer, a better cook, and too weak to unleash the destruction she did.]] Her standoffish personality is also hinted to be her trying to push people away so she can’t hurt them, and in [[spoiler: Klaus’ test]] she is much kinder than she normally is, comforting Rex when he breaks down.
** Zeke starts off as a silly {{Chuunibyou}} who dresses like an edgy anime character and wears an eyepatch because he thinks it looks cool ([[ButtMonkey and because he can only afford one contact lens]]). However, he’s a [[TheCynic deeply cynical person]] who’s travelled the world and seen all kinds of suffering throughout Alrest, though he still refuses to turn a blind eye and works to help whoever he can. Notably, he was exiled from the Kingdom he was prince of due to his belief that their isolationist politics were killing the people, and he’s able to put aside his dramatics to acts as a political mediator, and he's apparently quite the mathematician.
* ''{{VideoGame/Yakuza}}'': EnsembleDarkHorse Goro Majima is originally portrayed as a [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation "boggle-eyed weirdo who dresses like he woke up naked in a pet cemetary"]], but every game in the series seems to add new layers to the man. By the end of ''Yakuza 6'', his portrayal is that of an intelligent, emotional and introspective man who created the "Mad Dog of Shimano"-persona he has worn as a way of dealing with the harsh reality of yakuza life. He has also wrestled his way into the top echelons of the Tojo clan and can block the new blood without even trying. He turned at least three flagging legitimate businesses into serious money-makers. He has a keen interest in music and a very good singing voice, and will gleefully participate whenever anyone suggests karaoke (and he isn't above deliberately singing off-key to mess with people). He has a serious BigBrotherInstinct, especially when it comes to kids and abused women. And he is ''very'' serious about environmentalism and recycling.

*** As noted in ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', Mitsuru Kojiro is actually much more of a BloodKnight than her usually calm demeanor lets on, and in the final labyrinth, pushes a suspicious red button out of curiosity due to being tired of being seen as the "prize pupil" all the time.

* ''VideoGame/KnightEternal'': Primrose once had an interest in singing and dancing, but her mother forbid her from practicing these arts because they could interfere with her royal duties. Keller convinces her to reembrace these fields in a way that can help Zamaste, and gives her an emblem that grants her singing or dancing related skills.

** Nick Ogata may be flamboyant and like his creature comforts, but he doesn't hesitate to help Ichiban by calling out a politician he knows controls significant portions of the Japanese underworld and has killed multiple people to boost his career, in public and in front of cameras, while doing nothing to mask his identity.

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'': Chloe thinks Eliot is a nice guy who really likes her, but she doesn't think they have any chemistry. When rifling through his room, she can discover some impassioned poetry he's written that is obviously about her. While feeling awkward about his continuing infatuation, she admits that she never knew he had such talent.

*** Mizuno, Maya's superior at Coolest, is first shown as nothing more than Maya's MeanBoss who's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of her]] [[ChristmasCake for her youth and good looks]], but once Sumaru City gets turned into the Ameno Torifune, she's revealed to actually be a rather contemplative person who regrets never being able to fulfill her past dreams.

** Same goes for everyone in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates''.

** Ganondorf, suprisingly enough, has some hidden depths. While he is almost always a CardCarryingVillain, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' (which takes place after he had been sealed for hundreds of years, ''twice'' -- once in the Dark World and once under the ocean), he is much more calm and seems to regret a lot of what he did in the past. But then at the end of the game [[LaughingMad he]] [[TakingYouWithMe completely]] [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].

** Pyro is an apparently an IdiotSavant ramped UpToEleven, being able to run a construction company as its CEO and turn its entire board of directors into multimillionares in under a year in spite of never actually taking off his mask and perceiving everything as a SugarBowl.

** [[BikerBabe Panam]] seems stubborn, HotBlooded and angry. If you get to know her better, you'll find out she's fiercely loyal and has a sweeter side to her, especially if you've romanced her.

** [[TheHighQueen Rosalina]], introduced in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', is the elegant and soft-spoken mother of the Lumas and guardian of the cosmos, with some strong implications of PhysicalGod. That said, she is not above letting herself go and having some fun, and as ''VideoGame/MarioKart Wii'' states, she has [[BikerBabe a passion for motorcycles]].