History SadisticChoice / VisualNovels

* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', [[spoiler:after you learn that your client Matt Engarde was the one who ordered assassin Shelly de Killer to kill Juan Corrida, you are, towards the end of the final day of the case, forced to decide the verdict of the trial. Oh, and your sidekick Maya is being held hostage by ruthless assassin [[ProfessionalKiller Shelley De Killer,]] and the only way he will release her is if you get a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde. But if you do that, an innocent woman who [[TheWoobie has been hurt immeasurably due to Engarde's actions]] will be convicted in his place. The way to win is to TakeAThirdOption and convince de Killer over a handheld radio to abandon his contract with Engarde, freeing Maya and letting you give Engarde his justly-deserved Guilty verdict. In the process, Engarde gets his own unpleasant choice -- go free and get killed by de Killer, or plead guilty to murder and spend the rest of his life in prison.]]

* ''VisualNovel/YourTurnToDie'' is all about this, with Sara and the other participants forced to contend with various deadly games, with the worst of the lot asking them to determine who dies through a majority vote -- with the added wrinkle that one among them has been placed into an even more precarious position. Much like in ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1986'', some of the players have hidden roles, and if someone in a particular role gets the most votes, they'll win... at the cost of everyone else getting executed (save one person of their choice). But if they ''don't'' get the most votes, both they ''and'' whoever got the majority vote will die.

* ''VisualNovel/YourTurnToDie'' is all about this, with Sara and the other participants forced to contend with various deadly games, with the worst of the lot asking them to determine who dies through a majority vote -- with the added wrinkle that one among them has been placed into an even more precarious position. Much like in ''TabletopGame/{{Werewolf}}'', some of the players have hidden roles, and if someone in a particular role gets the most votes, they'll win... at the cost of everyone else getting executed (save one person of their choice). But if they ''don't'' get the most votes, both they ''and'' whoever got the majority vote will die.

** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' also gives you a SadisticChoice in Chapter 5, where Kyoko, who's been Makoto's closest ally thus far, is trying to fend off suspicion of herself being the murderer, even if it means that the suspicion falls on ''Makoto'' instead. [[spoiler:By the end of the trial, Makoto has the option of either exposing a lie Kyoko's told, thus clearing himself of all suspicion but playing right into Monokuma's plans, or letting her lie slide, thus making him the prime suspect. The correct choice is the latter one, and while Monokuma does try to get Makoto executed as a result, Alter Ego saves his life. In the bad ending, however, Makoto exposes Kyoko, resulting in Monokuma ''successfully'' executing her, and the surviving students spending the rest of their lives inside the GildedCage of Hope's Peak Academy.]]
*** In the final trial, the survivors are forced choosing between Hope and Despair. Choose Despair? [[spoiler:They surrender and stay in the school forever and Makoto gets executed]]. Choose Hope? [[spoiler:The Mastermind dies, but they will be forced out of the school and into the outside world... which is devastated. Makoto convinces them to take the latter option, as he's hopeful that they can rebuild the world and heal it from the despair Junko has wreaked upon it]].

* Common throughout the ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' franchise, but the final game, ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', is based on these with the "Decision Game" repeatedly foisted on the characters. Does Diana risk blowing Sigma's brains out in order to save Phi, who is trapped in an incinerator? This is just one example of many.

** SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome ''and'' SugarWiki/{{Funny|Moments}} at the same time if you [[spoiler:convince the judge that Engarde is innocent after all of that plays out. Convincing de Killer to end his contract with Engarde involves proving to de Killer that Engarde recorded the hired hit and was saving the tape for blackmail if need be. Once he realizes that he's been deceived, De Killer reiterates that trust between himself and his client is the most important thing in the world to him, and if a client were to betray that trust, he would hunt them down to the ends of the earth to get his revenge. Before the verdict is handed down, Edgeworth reminds Engarde that De Killer is both ''very'' angry at him and ''very'' good at what he does. If you convince the judge that it's best for Engarde to go free, Engarde ''freaks out'' and ''demands'' to be put in jail on the off chance that he might be even a little bit safer behind bars.]] ''Very'' satisfying. It's also worth noting that in the sequel to ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', Edgeworth and company encounter [[spoiler: De Killer, and he's completely occupied with a new contract, and considering both how De Killer can make his way into very secure locations and that we never hear of Engarde again after his verdict is handed down, we can make a reasonable assumption about what became of him.]]

* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', [[spoiler:after you learn that your client Matt Engarde was the one who ordered assassin Shelly de Killer to kill Juan Corrida, you are, towards the end of the final day of the case, forced to decide the verdict of the trial. Oh, and your sidekick Maya is being held hostage by de Killer, and the only way he will release her is if you get a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde. But if you do that, an innocent woman who [[TheWoobie has been hurt immeasurably due to Engarde's actions]] will be convicted in his place. The way to win is to TakeAThirdOption and convince de Killer over the phone to abandon his contract with Engarde, freeing Maya and letting you give Engarde his justly-deserved Guilty verdict. In the process, Engarde gets his own unpleasant choice -- go free and get killed by de Killer, or plead guilty to murder and spend the rest of his life in prison.]]

** SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome ''and'' SugarWiki/{{Funny|Moments}} at the same time if you [[spoiler:convince the judge that Engarde is innocent after all of that plays out. Convincing de Killer to end his contract with Engarde involves proving to de Killer that Engarde was going to screw him over later on... ''in the courtroom''. Nearly everyone in the room realizes the subtext of what Phoenix and de Killer are talking about, and de Killer pretty openly promises to kill Engarde for it the moment Engarde is alone, while also informing the police of his (hostage's) location. If you convince the judge that it's best for Engarde to go free after this, Engarde ''freaks out'' and ''demands'' to be put in jail.]] ''Very'' satisfying.

* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', [[spoiler:after you learn that your client Matt Engarde was the one who ordered assassin Shelly de Killer to kill Juan Corrida, you are, towards the end of the final day of the case, forced to decide the verdict of the trial. Oh, and your sidekick Maya is being held hostage by de Killer, and the only way he will release her is if you get a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde. But if you do that, an innocent woman who [[TheWoobie has been hurt immeasurably due to Engarde's actions]] will be convicted in his place. The way to win is to TakeAThirdOption and convince de Killer over the phone to abandon his contract with Engarde, freeing Maya and letting you give Engarde his justly-deserved Guilty verdict. In the process, Engarde gets his own unpleasant choice -- go free and get killed by de Killer, or plead guilty to murder.]]

* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', [[spoiler:after you learn that your client Matt Engarde was the one who ordered assassin Shelly de Killer to kill Juan Corrida, you are, towards the end of the final day of the case, forced to decide the verdict of the trial. Oh, and your sidekick Maya is being held hostage by de Killer, and the only way he will release her is if you get a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde. But if you do that, an innocent woman will almost assuredly be convicted in his place. The way to win is to TakeAThirdOption and convince de Killer over the phone to abandon his contract with Engarde, freeing Maya and letting you give Engarde his justly-deserved Guilty verdict. In the process, Engarde gets his own unpleasant choice -- go free and get killed by de Killer, or plead guilty to murder.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' hinges on this: are you willing to kill all of your companions in order to escape?

* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', [[spoiler:after you learn that your client Matt Engarde was the one who ordered assassin Shelly de Killer to kill Juan Corrida, you are, towards the end of the final day of the case, forced to decide the verdict of the trial. Oh, and your sidekick Maya is being held hostage by de Killer, and the only way he will release her is if you get a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde. But if you do that, an innocent woman will almost assuredly be convicted in his place. The way to win is to TakeAThirdOption and convince de Killer over the phone to abandon his contract with Engarde, freeing Maya and letting you give Engarde his justly-deserved Guilty verdict. In the process, Engarde gets his own unpleasant choice--go free and get killed by de Killer, or plead guilty to murder.]]
** The thing is, before you ''can'' TakeAThirdOption, [[spoiler:you have to choose, at two points, which option you'd go with. In the first instance, the judge is willing to declare a verdict on the spot, and you're given the option to either encourage him, or prolong the trial. However, regardless of your decision, [[ButThouMust Phoenix cannot bring himself to get the verdict announced, and he will prolong the trial instead]]. In the second instance, you're asked to either declare your client "Guilty" or "Not Guilty", but Franziska barges into the courtroom before Phoenix can go through with either choice. If you manage to successfully take the third option afterward, you're explicitly told that the second choice [[WhatYouAreInTheDark was really about the kind of person you were]].]]
** SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome ''and'' SugarWiki/{{Funny|Moments}} at the same time if you [[spoiler:convince the judge that Engarde is innocent after all of that plays out. Convincing de Killer to end his contract with Engarde involves proving to de Killer that Engarde was going to screw him over later on... ''in the courtroom''. Nearly everyone in the room realizes the subtext of what Phoenix and de Killer are talking about, and de Killer pretty openly promises to kill Engarde for it the moment Engarde is alone, while also informing the police of his (hostage's) location. If you convince the judge that it's best for Engarde to go free after this, Engarde ''freaks out'' and ''demands'' to be put in jail.]] ''Very'' satisfying.

* Common throughout the ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' franchise, but the final game, ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', is based on these with the "Decision Game" repeatedly foisted on the characters. Does Diana risk blowing Sigma's brains out in order to save Phi, who is trapped in an incinerator? This is just one example of many.

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' and its sequels, ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' and ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' hinge on this: are you willing to kill all of your companions in order to escape?
** The first game also gives you a SadisticChoice in Chapter 5, where Kyoko, who's been Makoto's closest ally thus far, is trying to fend off suspicion of herself being the murderer, even if it means that the suspicion falls on ''Makoto'' instead. [[spoiler:By the end of the trial, Makoto has the option of either exposing a lie Kyoko's told, thus clearing himself of all suspicion but playing right into Monokuma's plans, or letting her lie slide, thus making him the prime suspect. The canon choice is the latter one, and while Monokuma does try to get Makoto executed as a result, Alter Ego saves his life. In the bad ending, however, Makoto exposes Kyoko, resulting in Monokuma ''successfully'' executing her, and the surviving students spending the rest of their lives inside the GildedCage of Hope's Peak Academy.]]
** Both of those games have an even nastier choice in the finale. In the first game, the final trial has the survivors choosing between Hope and Despair. Choose Despair? [[spoiler:They surrender and stay in the school forever. Oh, and Hope, aka Naegi, gets executed]]. Choose Hope? [[spoiler:The Mastermind dies, but they will be forced out of the school and into the outside world... which is a ''wasteland''. Makoto convinces them to take the latter option, as he's hopeful that they can rebuild the world and heal it from the despair Junko has wreaked upon it]].
** The second game has three choices. The survivors can either [[spoiler:stay on the Jabberwock Islands with the members of the Future Foundation (AKA the "World Destroyers", which they are NOT; they're on the students' side)]], [[spoiler:escape the Jabberwock Islands as intended, which will allow the Mastermind to escape too, and keep the Future Foundation members trapped]], or they can TakeAThirdOption and [[spoiler:shut down the game, escape the Islands with the Future Foundation ''and'' slay the Mastermind... but run a heavy risk of going completely insane in the process. After going through a HeroicBSOD, Hajime manages to overcome his indecision with the help of Chiaki, and he convinces everyone to shut down the game and destroy the Mastermind, promising them that this choice will allow them to take full control of their future. He turns out to be right]].
** The climax of the final chapter of the third game pits the remaining cast in one: Hope or Despair. [[spoiler:Choose hope, and Tsumugi the mastermind shall receive punishment, but the remaining four will have to pick two to receive punishment as well (and by receiving punishment in this sense, it really means having to move on to the next iteration of the killing game). Choose despair, and K1-B0 is executed and the killing game continues. Either way, the audience is sated and Danganronpa will continue. The only option that won't allow Danganronpa to continue is [[TakeAThirdOption by refusing to vote and giving the audience an ending they wouldn't like]]. However, doing so has another catch, as those who abstain from voting will be executed. Shuichi eventually talks the remaining cast into abstaining.]]

** The thing is, before you ''can'' TakeAThirdOption, [[spoiler:you have to choose, at two points, which option you'd go with. In the first instance, the judge is willing to declare a verdict on the spot, and you're given the option to either encourage him, or prolong the trial. However, regardless of your decision, [[ButThouMust Phoenix cannot bring himself to get the verdict announced, and he will prolong the trial instead]]. In the second instance, you're asked to either declare your client "Guilty" or "Not Guilty", but Franzieska barges into the courtroom before Phoenix can go through with either choice. If you manage to successfully take the third option afterward, you're explicitly told that the second choice [[WhatYouAreInTheDark was really about the kind of person you were]].]]

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' and [[VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2 the]] [[VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3 sequels]] hinge on this: are you willing to kill all of your companions in order to escape?

** The spin-off ''VideoGame/AbsoluteDespairGirls'' keeps up the tradition. Do you, A: [[spoiler:destroy the Monokuma robot controller, putting an end to the rampaging slaughter machines, which will also cause the brainwashing helmets being worn by thousands of children to explode,]] or B: [[spoiler:not destroy it, and let the Monokuma bots continue to rampage, further riling up the already bloodthirsty mob of adults bent on killing the children]]? By the way, it's revealed that [[spoiler:not just the children's lives are in the balance. Depending on what you do, a complete and utter ''war'' between various powerful parties will be started depending on the choice.]]