History RealityEnsues / VideoGames

** [[spoiler: Arthur may be a hardened badass who cheats death on an almost daily basis, but he's still only human. And since this game is a prequel to the first one and he doesn't appear in it, what happens to him? Is he killed in a robbery gone wrong? Is he gunned down in a defiant LastStand like John will eventually be? No. He's diagnosed with tuberculosis after contracting it from one of Strauss' debtors near the beginning of the game. Arthur's death is a slow, painful, and completely unavoidable one, because the Old West didn't have the medicine or technology to treat diseases that in this day and age aren't such a big deal.]]

* After a particularly brutal WhamEpisode in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV,'' [[spoiler:the party's resident TeamMom and healer Ignis]] goes blind. Instead of being a HandicappedBadass, they promptly and immediately become TheMillstone as you're forced to [[EscortMission help them get through a tough dungeon]] with no assistance. And even when the character tries to fight, they just end up flailing wildly, more often than not hitting the player's party. And the character is fully aware of how unhelpful they've become, too. [[spoiler:It takes the ten-year TimeSkip and constant practice for Ignis to get any semblance of his talent back. Even then, he still uses a cane to walk.]]

** [[spoiler: Arthur may be a hardened badass who cheats death on an almost daily basis, but he's still only human. So what finally kills him? A robbery gone wrong? A defiant LastStand against the Pinkertons? No. He's eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis after beating up one of Strauss's debtors, who also had it. Arthur's death is a slow, painful, and completely unavoidable one, because the Old West didn't have the medicine to treat diseases that in this day and age aren't such a big deal.]]

** [[spoiler: Arthur may be a hardened badass who cheats death on an almost daily basis, but he's still only human, and the Old West didn't have the medicine to treat diseases that in this day and age aren't such a big deal. This is what finally ends up killing Arthur after he's diagnosed with tuberculosis.]]

** If Arthur is CoveredInGunge and/or hasn't bathed in a while, people will refuse to interact with him. Being covered in blood may result in people actually running away from him, possibly to the point that the law enforcement acts hostile to him. And of course, walking around with a mask covering your face while openly armed isn't the best way to get people to talk to you...

** John can get away with a lot of carnage in the first game since he's basically a government-sanctioned hitman; the Bureau will turn a blind eye to John's crimes as long as he stays useful. Here? He, Arthur, and the rest of Dutch's gang have no such luxury. Every time the gang pulls off a high-profile stunt, they have to immediately GTFO because the law isn't just going to wait until they strike again.
** It doesn't matter how many deputies, policemen, Pinkertons or soldiers they kill or escape from, the Van der Linde Gang is ''still'' only a handful of struggling, nomadic criminals going up against the limitless, established resources of the United States government. [[ForegoneConclusion The outcome is never really in doubt; it's more a matter of when.]]
*** Related to the above, [[spoiler: killing the man financing the Pinkertons isn't going to stop them. Considering Leviticus Cornwall was ''extremely'' powerful and wealthy, the Federal government can't ignore such a high-profile assassination, resulting in even more Pinkertons and bounty hunters being deployed to find the gang.]]

** [[spoiler: Much like [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Devin Weston]], [[TheDon Angelo Bronte]] believes his vast wealth means he can get people to do anything he wants; [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney all he has to do is name the right price]]. Also similar to Weston, he finds out the hard way that having more money than God is worthless when offered to men [[UndyingLoyalty who are devoted to ideals other than money]].]]

*** [[spoiler: Finally, murdering [[IOwnThisTown a man as influential as Bronte]] by storming his mansion guns blazing is bound to bring the law down on the gang. When the gang's bank heist in Saint Denis goes south, Marston says they should have left Bronte alone.]]
** [[spoiler: Arthur may be a hardened badass who cheats death on a near daily basis, but the Old West doesn't have the medicine to treat illnesses that in this day and age wouldn't be such a big deal. This is what finally ends up killing Arthur after he's diagnosed with tuberculosis.]]

* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve2'' features a type of special, genetically engineered bio-weapon called a GOLEM which is outrageously strong, resistant to small arms gunfire, and armed with a gigantic sword. Eventually, a plot development leads to a unit of GOLEMs squaring off with an entire company of US Marines... where it turns out that 'being really strong' and 'having a big melee weapon' doesn't quite compare to dozens of highly trained and coordinated soldiers [[CurbstompBattle opening fire from long range with assault rifles, sniper rifles, light machine guns, and contact grenades.]]

** Late in the game, [[spoiler: [[TrickBoss Adachi]]]] uses a pistol as his weapon and just uses it as his basic (read; weakest) attack and nothing compared to his powers. The AnimeOfTheGame, however, treats the protagonist having a gun pointed at him with all the realistic threat and severity of someone bringing a sword to a gunfight, supernatural powers or not.

** The protagonists inflict HeelFaceBrainwashing on corrupt adults. Eventually, they successfully manage to do this to the BigBad [[spoiler: who's been leading a political conspiracy to exploit the Metaverse to become Prime Minister.]] However, this doesn't immediately solve everything. [[spoiler: The evil conspiracy ends up covering for the BigBad because they would also be screwed over, and due to their control over the media, the public doesn't care. In order to ensure the BigBad can be found Guilty by society and that the conspiracy won't continue to exploit the Metaverse, the Thieves decide to destroy Mementos, the Palace of the Collective Unconscious and the source of all other Palaces, even if this means not being Phantom Thieves anymore.]] Furthermore, [[spoiler: even after Mementos is destroyed and society starts moving to convict the BigBad, he can't be found guilty without evidence. And since the Metaverse is gone, TheDragon is (presumed) dead and the conspiracy obviously unwilling to testify against themselves, the only person left who can testify against the BigBad is the Protagonist, who has to confess to being the leader of the Phantom Thieves and be sent to Juvenile Hall due to his prior record... for all of two months, as all of the good he had done as the leader of the Thieves lead to his Confidants and allies proving how unfair and bogus the initial arrest was and getting it removed from his record and released early since prosecuting him as a phantom thief would rub in to a now very aware society that they were scapegoating him and cause unrest.]]

** [[spoiler: Much like [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Devin Weston]], [[TheDon Angelo Bronte]] believes his vast wealth means he can get people to do anything he wants; all he has to do is name the right price. Also similar to Weston, he finds out the hard way that having more money than God is worthless when offered to men [[UndyingLoyalty who are devoted to ideals other than money]].]]

*** [[Beforehand, his men also discover that intimidating local businessmen and murdering the odd policeman does not mean you're capable of going toe-to-toe with seasoned, skilled, and heavily-armed outlaws who have survived dozens of gunfights over the years.]]
*** [[Finally, murdering [[IOwnThisTown a man as influential as Bronte]] by storming his mansion guns blazing is bound to bring the law down on the gang. When the gang's bank heist in Saint Denis goes south, Marston says they should have left Bronte alone.]]

** [[spoiler: No matter how badass you are, the Old West doesn't have the medicine to treat illnesses that in this day and age wouldn't be such a big deal. This ends up killing Arthur when he's diagnosed with tuberculosis.]]
*** [[spoiler: Similarly, traumatic brain injuries weren't widely understood nor easily treated at the time. After a botched robbery results in a trolley crash, Dutch begins showing signs of a TBI, which goes untreated. This is implied to be one of several reasons for [[SanitySlippage his rapid mental decline and erratic behavior.]]]]

** People you beat up have a chance of getting up, and can either try to continue the fight or limp away. However, [[PistolWhipping hit them with a gun in your hand,]] and they will stay down for good. After all, getting hit in the face with a fist hurts, but being hit in the head with a heavy metal object can actually kill you.
** Enemies that are set on fire are unable to be looted. After all, anything of value they might be carrying would be charred and thus worthless.

** The typical ''Fire Emblem'' plot of "Prince invades evil empires, kills their dictators and everyone lives happily ever after" doesn't end so well here. Both Verdane and Augustria end up crippled by Sigurd's actions, and even one generation later neither country has fully recovered.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' shows that just marching up and killing the dictatorial leader of a dystopian nation-city isn't going to magically solve everyone's problems. The first time it happens, the Four Guardians simply keep his death a secret and everything in Neo Arcadia continues on as normal, and when said leader is brought back as a puppet leader for Dr. Weil and Zero kills him ''again'', Weil publicizes his death to demonize Zero before stepping up and taking the reigns himself, turning Neo Arcadia into even ''more'' of a nightmarish hellhole.

** The Railroad's secret password to access their hidden underground base [[spoiler:is [[ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish Railroad]]]]. The player character can point out to the Railroad's leaders how bad that password is, for them to counter that most wastelanders ''don't know how to spell''. This ''is'' a post-apocalyptic setting with no public education, remember?

** Fellow God Eater Eric der Vogelweid decides to take the time to introduce himself to to the player character midway through his first mission with the player character. As a result, an Ogretail sneaks up on him and attacks, killing him before the player or Soma can save him. Even if the player had been able to react fast enough, Eric would of been likely killed anyway. Not paying attention during a mission is easy way to die after all.
** The God Eaters get to live somewhat comfortable lives in Fenrir, but thats because they have a role to play for the Fenrir command. As a result, the normal people, or even families of God Eaters, are living in slums or relatively poorer living conditions. Its shown that the people frequently are protesting Fenrir's policies because the living conditions just kinda suck for normal people, and Fenrir can only do so much to keep them happy.

** A minor one, but the Arbiter's armor might look cool, but its quickly explained that his armor is very out of date compared to the more common armor of the Covenant forces. This results in weaker shields, and the built in camouflage being very short compared to the standard armor of the other Covenant forces. Even if the armor has practical uses, the armor was made first and foremost to be a symbol to the Covenant forces to see, so its actual military application will be behind as a result.

** After a millenia of forced MedievalStasis, Spira's freedom from Yevon's oppressive Machina ban causes the world to change ''drastically'' in just the small time skip between the two games. Formerly untamed wildernesses like the Calm Lands, and religious sites like Zanarkand have turned into flat out tourist attractions, augmenting technology into combat has forced off most wild beasts, leaving formerly endgame zones safe at best, and the fiends that do show up are very low-level. The thunder plains in particular, for what a pain to navigate they used to be, has turned the lightning storms into a non-issue with machina-augmented lightning rods laid out across the entire road.

** As the one who defeated Sin for good, Yuna is beloved by the people and many see her as a railing figure. When Yuna finds a potentially important sphere and has to choose who gets it, it results in one side getting very upset at her and them calling her a traitor. Just because she is beloved by most, doesn't mean other factions will ignore what comes across as blatant favoritism, especially if you side with New Yevon.

** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry''
*** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry1InTheLandOfTheLoungeLizards'' can have you get an STD that destroys your genitals from unprotected sex with a prostitute, be shot by a clerk for stealing from his shop, and try to leave a cab without paying its cabby only to get beaten by him.
*** A non-lethal example happens in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry2LookingForLoveInSeveralWrongPlaces'', where Larry goes to the home of Eve (the woman he ended the previous game with with) only for her to not only forget about him but angrily demand he gets his stuff out of her garage before going away. Turns out having what was a one-night stand with a woman doesn't mean she'll stay fond of you, let alone remember you. This happens again with the next game, which has Larry's wife from the last game tell him she's dumping him for another woman. As Larry learns the hard way, you saving a woman's island doesn't mean the two of you won't have any marital problems or that any annoying behavior of yours she notices after getting to know you won't offend her.
*** Patti in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry3PassionatePattiInPursuitOfThePulsatingPectorals'' can try to offer sex for a male stripper, only to get shot down by said stripper refusing then pointing out how her [[ReallyGetsAround experience]] has made her a STD risk. Patti gets told upfront that the stripper won't touch her unless she shows him what is, in his words, a ''clean bill of health.''

** The series really likes to point out the physically weaknesses of the protagonists Rhys and Fiona. In the first episode, Rhys tries to kill a bandit with his bare hands. Only for the bandit to be amused by the attempt and later be annoyed by it. Rhys is a corporate businessman turned janitor, he's out of his element on Pandora and has had no reason to train for this sort of thing.
** Fiona is just as unprepared physically, as she is mainly a con-artist and scavenger. When she tries to shoot Vallory (who is incredibly strong and is effortlessly holding a missile launcher) mid-air. Vallory simply throws the gun at her, causing Fiona to be knocked to the ground and pinned by the sheer weight of it. To further elaborate on how heavy it is, both Sasha and Fiona had to hold it, just so Fiona can have a steady aimed shot.

-->'''August:''' [[WhatWereYouThinking What, you think you can just roll out of the way of a bullet? All I have to do is move my hand a little bit and oop, I'm aiming at your face again!]]

*** Snake attempts to hide from Lucario and Meta Knight using his trademark cardboard box. In [[VideoGame/MetalGear his home game]], mooks would be fooled. But not Lucario, who immediately notices something strange about a cardboard box in the middle of an otherwise-empty hallway. Likewise, once more enemies arrive to harass the group, Snake has [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere immediately tried to hide behind a wall]], because in ''Metal Gear'' proper, taking on that many enemies at once head-on would be suicide.
*** Captain Falcon makes a DynamicEntry from his speeding Blue Falcon. But because he was going so fast, he didn't notice the crowd of Pikmin and promptly kills them all as he landed and struck a pose.
*** Ganondorf and Bowser's battleship's defensive cannons managed to hit and destroy the Halberd, whose large size makes it an easy target.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', The fourth world you visit is in outer space. And maybe BatmanCanBreatheInSpace, but Mario ''can't!'' The first time you enter it, you have to be taken back to Flipside because of this, where you obtain a "helmet" of sorts. If you repeatedly [[SchmuckBait refuse to put the helmet on]] when you go back, you ''will'' get a NonStandardGameOver. What else did you expect to happen?
* In [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros:

* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'':
** In the opening of ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVIRogerWilcoInTheSpinalFrontier'', Roger is court-martialed and bumped back down to a lowly space janitor for all the mayhem he caused and the regulations he broke saving the day in the last game, ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVTheNextMutation''.

** The Terran Campaign of the [[VideoGame/StarCraftI original game]] has as its main focus a classic story of rebels trying to overthrow a corrupt confederate government. As it progresses however, it becomes increasingly clear the RebelLeader, Arcturus Mengsk, [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized isn't quite the idealistic revolutionary he appeared to be]]. The campaign ends with him crossing the MoralEventHorizon by causing an AlienInvasion on the Confederate homeworld, resulting in billions of deaths, and the new government he establishes ends up being [[MeetTheNewBoss just as bad the the old one]].

** Ann is BornLucky in regards to her metabolism; she can maintain a model-quality body while subsisting on a diet of fast food burgers, junk food, and candy. However, physical attractiveness doesn't equal fitness. Without a proper diet or exercise, Ann has almost no muscle, thus she the lowest Strength stat out of all the party members.[[note]]Makoto, by contrast, has the same body type as Ann, but is also loaded up with physical skills and is the party's BareFistedMonk with a decent Strength stat because she practices martial arts to maintain her muscles.[[/note]] Ann also can't handle the recoil on her SMG, and is the first to get tired and complain about it during Mementos dives or Palaces due to her low stamina (which also means she has [[SquishyWizard a low HP pool]]). Also, because Ann works in the cutthroat and often ''very'' physically unhealthy world of modelling, her genetic advantage earns her plenty of envy, and once a BitchInSheepsClothing model finds out that Ann has to put no effort into her physique, she actively starts trying to sabotage Ann out of spite.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'':
** The protagonists inflict HeelFaceBrainwashing on corrupt adults. Eventually, they successfully manage to do this to the BigBad [[spoiler: who's been leading a political conspiracy to exploit the Metaverse to become Prime Minister.]] However, this doesn't immediately solve everything. [[spoiler: The evil conspiracy ends up covering for the BigBad because they would also be screwed over, and due their control over the media, the public doesn't care. In order to ensure the BigBad can be found Guilty by society and that the conspiracy won't continue to exploit the Metaverse, the Thieves decide to destroy Mementos, the Palace of the Collective Unconscious and the source of all other Palaces, even if this means not being Phantom Thieves anymore.]] Furthermore, [[spoiler: even after Mementos is destroyed and society starts moving to convict the BigBad, he can't be found guilty without evidence. And since the Metaverse is gone, TheDragon is (presumed) dead and the conspiracy obviously unwilling to testify against themselves, the only person left who can testify against the BigBad is the Protagonist, who has to confess to being the leader of the Phantom Thieves and be sent to Juvenile Hall due to his prior record... for all of two months, as all of the good he had done as the leader of the Thieves lead to his Confidants and allies proving how unfair and bogus the initial arrest was and getting it removed from his record and released early since prosecuting him as a phantom thief would rub in to a now very aware society that they were scapegoating him and cause unrest.]]

** The first villain you encounter is the Overseer of the Vault you start in. You might think you could just kill him, but doing him will cause his daughter and your friend Amata to angrily confront you about murdering her father- a completely justifiable reaction if your friend killed your parents.