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| 6 | RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething in VideoGames. |
| 7 | ---- |
| 8 | * Victoria from ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki2''. She's of the opinion that one should lead from the front-lines rather than behind and is a general via AsskickingLeadsToLeadership. Mostly gets it from her father Wolfgang, who himself is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who admits the only reason he isn't fighting is because of old age. |
| 9 | * ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'': Once it's made clear that you're trying to save the world, both the elven princess Raven and King Loghaire Thunder Stone of the dwarves (assuming you talked him out of his self-imposed exile) will take up bow and axe and aid you as party members, if you wish. Loghaire explicitly says he cannot sit idly by when Arcanum is threatened. |
| 10 | %%* Cloche Leythal Pastalia and Luca Trulyworth from ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica''. Prince Targana as well. |
| 11 | * The House of Auditore (especially Ezio) from ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' are a family of Italian arisotcrats from Florence who are loyal members of the Assassin Brotherhood since 1293. Ezio in particular not only dismantles Templar influence over Renaissance era Italy but he becomes the mentor to young Chinese Assassin Shao Jun and |
| 12 | * ''VideoGame/AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland'' is all about Princess Merurulince, who prefers just "Meruru." She decides to use the skills she's learned in alchemy to help her kingdom and a successful completion of the game involves seeing the kingdom's population grow to at least 100,000, at which point it merges with the Arland Republic and she and her father are no longer royalty. |
| 13 | * In the ''VideoGame/{{Awakening}}'' series, Princess Sophia manages to defeat the evil Dreadmyre using just her brains and her wits. Her parents had sealed themselves in a time bubble with him in order to stave off further damage of his attack on the human kingdom until Sophia arrived. |
| 14 | * King Ladekahn, Duke Calbren, Queen Corellia, and [[spoiler:Xelha]], from the first ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos''. |
| 15 | * ''VideoGame/BokosukaWars'' has the main protagonist, King Suren, who leads his army into battle against the forces of King Ogereth, and fights alongside them. The {{Platform/Famicom}} version of the game takes it a step further, as he starts with no allies at all, and has to free them from having been turned into inanimate objects before they can fight alongside him. |
| 16 | * In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Catie is the queen of her home site, and she also happens to be the main protagonist who goes out adventuring to save the Internet. |
| 17 | * One of the unlockable playable characters in ''[[WesternAnimation/Cars2 Cars 2: The Video Game]]'' is the Queen of England! |
| 18 | * The king from ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers'' is a GIANT example of this trope -- a bearded, midgety giant example. For one thing, though he starts out utterly terrified of the Big Bad, he gets his groove back real fast -- and helps you by doing everything from dispensing useful advice to ''leading an attack boat filled with knights and cannons at a giant boss catfish''. He even saves you from a giant frog by filling its stupid face with cannon fire! |
| 19 | ** Taken to a much further extreme with the King Pack DLC, which allows you to actually play as the King. Weirdly, he still appears on the boat with the knights and the cannon and whatnot to fight alongside himself. Oh, and he's also the only character with healing magic, which is insanely useful. |
| 20 | * ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'': |
| 21 | ** Marle, AKA, Princess Nadia of the kingdom of Guardia, the first person to join Crono's party, who actually proposed the idea of taking down Lavos. |
| 22 | ** Ayla [[spoiler:is Marle's ancestor]], and it makes sense considering she's the leader of her tribe. Which sort of makes Ayla fall in this trope. |
| 23 | ** And then there's the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Fiendlord Magus]], a.k.a. [[spoiler:Janus, the prince of Zeal]]... |
| 24 | * ''VideoGame/ChronusArc'' has Princess Sharna of Kiribay who regularly interacts with the townsfolk and is more determined to set out on the initial journey than the game's hero. |
| 25 | * Played with in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings''. There is nothing stopping you (or the CPU, who does it regularly) from appointing your ruler as head of your army (in fact, the game does it by default for troops raised from your demesne), but the effectiveness of this depends heavily on your ruler -- not to mention that this is one of the better ways to get your character killed. The same goes for any other members of your family -- [[HeirClubForMen excluding females]] (usually anyway), even they happen to be [[FridgeLogic the ruler of the country]]. |
| 26 | ** Apart from that, most royals will likely get involved in the running of the kingdom in some other way, be it as stewards, diplomats or spymasters. RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething tend to be much more common in the players' close family than normal, though. |
| 27 | * The protagonist of ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' is the princess of Betancuria forced into hiding after a successful invasion by the kingdom of Dhorn. If she didn't fit this trope it would be a pretty boring game; despite being a princess she has rescued every one of her party members at least once and broken out on her own in all but one scenario in which she was captured, among other things. |
| 28 | * Princess Monica Raybrandt in ''[[VideoGame/DarkCloud Dark Chronicle]]'' is skilled [[MagicKnight with her sword and magic]] and traveled back to the past to battle Emperor Griffon. Of course, since she holds the [[CosmicKeystone Blue Atamillia]], she's pretty much the only one who can. Plus, she needs to [[YouKilledMyFather avenge her father's death]]. |
| 29 | * There are lots of folks with RoyalBlood all throughout the ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' and, for good or for ill, most of them fit this trope. The ones who don't are usually incapacitated in some fashion -- often by magic -- and once released, they immediately return to being this. |
| 30 | * Royalty in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' tends to have earned their position, not inherited it. |
| 31 | ** Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, from [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI the first game]] was one of the most active and successful warriors in the war against the Dragons, and [[spoiler:personally and knowingly sacrificed his life in an effort to save the world.]] |
| 32 | ** His son Gwydolin, the last remaining deity in Anor Londo, is also quite active in the attempt to continue the Age of Fire. While he never leaves the honorary tomb of his father, he appears to be working with Frampt and has set up the various guards around the divine city to test the skills and resolve of anyone who enters, seemingly in an attempt to find a worthy vessel for the First Flame. He is also an incredibly difficult boss fight if you choose to enter the tomb and fight him, showing he has the power and skill to deserve the title of Sovereign of the Darkmoon. |
| 33 | ** In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'', King Vendrick is remembered as a mighty ruler who lead his kingdom of Drangleic into a golden age, until the war with the Giants brought it all down. When the player learns more about Vendrick, they learn that [[spoiler:he spent most of the last part of his life desperately researching a cure for the Undead Curse. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but is implied to have come closer than anyone ever has before]]. The Giant Lord in the same game is revealed to have personally lead his troops on the front lines of battle, and it was his death that turned the tables and finally lead to the defeat of the Giants. |
| 34 | ** The Three Kings of the ''Lost Crowns'' DLC were all powerful leaders who spent more time fighting and innovating that sitting on their thrones. The Old Iron King founded a kingdom made almost entirely of iron, building and building a huge sprawling fortress for himself before its own weight sunk it into the Earth. The Sunken King built a vast underground empire in fealty to the Slumbering Dragon, Sinh. And the Burnt Ivory King established a kingdom directly above the Old Chaos (implied to be where the Bed of Chaos once sat) so that he could fight the encroachment of its corrupting flames. |
| 35 | ** In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'', Yhorm the Giant was remembered as a beloved ruler who personally safeguarded his people with an iron will, as well as a '''really''' big sword and greatshield. He too [[spoiler:willingly sacrificed himself for his people... though, in a cruel twist, his sacrifice ended up being the catalyst for the destruction of his kingdom.]] |
| 36 | * The obscure SNES game ''Videogame/DeaeTonosamaAppareIchiban'' has a bumbling Japanese feudal lord and a foppish French prince as protagonists. They're both stupid. [[spoiler:But save Earth in the end.]] |
| 37 | * ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and other similar titles from Creator/NipponIchi have them in spades. In the Disgaea universe (and extended universe) Overlord's are essentially kings and queens, however they are expected to keep their thrones and titles by way of force. It doesn't mean they have to fight fair, but ones ability to hold their throne is dependant on their raw power and/or special abilities. Demon Lord's seem to be stronger-than-average demons who typically either go out with the goal of overtaking an Overlord, or establishing their own netherworld's, and Netherworlds [[spoiler:like Toto Bunny]] that are peaceful and avoid combat are not necessarily unheard of, but are incredibly rare. |
| 38 | ** ''Disgaea'' stars the overlord-to-be (and eventually Overlord proper) Laharl. Many of his opposers also are Overlords from other Netherworlds. Funny enough, since Laharl is a major character and is available from the beginning of the game, this trope is 100% true for Laharl, as he is front-row to all of the action during the entire game and actively participates in combat. In fact, the only reason Laharl is prince and not king is simply because demon law is different, in human terms Laharl would be the equivalent of a 13-year-old king that can destroy kingdoms with his bare hands... and does. Laharl has this line in ''Disgaea D2'' when he's telling off the Krichevskoy group: |
| 39 | --->'''Laharl''': What good am I if I can't save the lives of my vassals? Just shutup and believe in me! |
| 40 | *** The direct sequel focuses on Laharl once more as he takes center stage to prove his power. |
| 41 | ** The second installment has Princess Rozalin as co-protagonist. She's badass enough to [[HammerSpace hide a minigun under her gown]]. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that ''she's'' the ''real'' Overlord Zenon.]] |
| 42 | ** Princess Sapphire Rhodonite from ''{{VideoGame/Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' serves as the army for her nation... No, we do not mean she serves ''in'' the army. She doesn't lead it either. She ''[[OneManArmy is]]'' the army. |
| 43 | ** All of the major characters of VideoGame/Disgaea5 are overlord's of some kind. [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Killia]], for example, is a former Overlord who was known for his ruthlessness. [[RichBitch Seraphina]] is in line to take her netherworld when her father passes. [[DumbMuscle Red Magnus]] is the current overlord of his netherworld. [[BadassAdorable Usalia]] is a former princess in a way who ascended to title of Overlord when she reclaimed her Netherworld from the villains. |
| 44 | ** Zetta from ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom''. He wouldn't be caught dead letting anyone steal the show. |
| 45 | ** In ''{{VideoGame/Disgaea 6|DefianceOfDestiny}}'', Misedor always wanted to be a hero, but always believed his duties as king kept him from doing so, but laters comes to realize he can just do both instead, and refashions himself as the "Hero King". Also, Overlord Ivar shows himself to be quite helpful and versatile with his attacks despite being a bit of a moron, a softie, ''and'' a creep. |
| 46 | * King K. Rool from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'', who serves as the FinalBoss of the first four games (including ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'') and is a real pain in the ass to defeat. |
| 47 | ** Despite taking a huge power nerf, K. Rool is still fairly active on the front lines in the ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' television show. Sure, he may not be attacking the kongs directly with his hands, but he's at least often present and directly alongside his attack force. |
| 48 | * Deconstructed in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' with [[spoiler:Amy. Not wanting to merely ride on her privilege and accomplish something on her own merit instead, Amy started her own Twitch channel... and built a considerable following.]] |
| 49 | * ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'': This describes [[TheHero Prince Euden]] ''way'' too well. He’s always willing to help anyone that comes across, either it be with the MonsterOfTheWeek or simply assisting the residents of the Halidom with their mundane tasks, there are few things that Euden won’t do for the good of his people. His siblings as well, as they are always willing get in the front lines with their troops. [[spoiler: This is especially true after they have a HeelFaceTurn, where we learn just about how skilled they are and what makes them such competent leaders]]. |
| 50 | * The royalty and nobility of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' can't seem to keep their noses out of trouble: |
| 51 | ** King Cailan in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is determined to be one of these, insisting that he fight on the front lines against the darkspawn army. [[spoiler:It backfires spectacularly as he is killed in the ensuing battle]]. |
| 52 | ** Also the player if they are a Dwarf Noble, being the second child of the dwarven king and proving an epic-grade badass who, after defeating the Archdemon, is declared a Paragon -- one of the quasi-''gods'' of the dwarves. |
| 53 | ** The nobles of Ferelden in general qualify, since they have to be able to protect their vassals, who otherwise won't swear fealty to a lord who can't ride to their aid in time. Loghain, who spends the middle chunk of the game as regent of the kingdom, certainly qualifies. An Orlesian immigrant who had, along with her [[BigBrotherInstinct brother]], fled Orlais after a Chevalier [[DroitDuSeigneur tried to take what he thought he had rights to]], says in Ferelden, "the nobility is not so high, and the commoners not so low". |
| 54 | *** The family of the Human Noble, the Couslands of Highever, ''particularly'' qualify. When word arrived that the King was to do battle with the Darkspawn, without a moment's hesitation, Teyrn Cousland and his heir immediately prepared to ride out with their forces to join the King's Army. Unfortunately, Arl Howe took that moment to strike, murdering the Teyrn, leaving the Human Noble as the sole survivor. [[spoiler:Almost. Their brother, Fergus Cousland, is revealed to also have survived, having ridden to Ostagar with some of the Highever forces before Howe's coup took place. The Human Noble is also the only player character who can possibly end the game having been named Queen or Prince-Consort of Ferelden, in which case they completely fit the trope.]] |
| 55 | ** Both candidates for the throne qualify. While [[spoiler:Alistair]] doesn't have political savvy, he leads the army against the darkspawn in the end if you choose him and, hardened, he shows a willingness to learn how to rule. Anora, while lacking any martial training, took care of the politics in her late husband's place, making her a savvy and cunning ruler. One of the options for ending the Landsmeet is to arrange a marriage between the two, which provides a bright future for the country. |
| 56 | ** In ''Awakening'', [[spoiler:if you are a human noble and married Alistair or Anora in Origins, you qualify. The fact that you are the co-ruler of all of Ferelden is almost completely ignored, but still.]] Even if you didn't [[spoiler:marry Alistair or Anora]], your character is still the Arl/essa of Amaranthine as well as Commander of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. Part of the gameplay is you dealing with the problems assaulting your realm, including how best to defend it. |
| 57 | ** Also played straight with King Maric and his mother, the Rebel Queen Moira, who were leaders of LaResistance during the Orlesian Occupation. Maric also marries Rowan, the daughter of the Arl of Redcliffe who led the cavalry during the war against Orlais, who becomes the Queen of Ferelden alongside him. Later, Maric accompanies a group of Grey Wardens into the Deep Roads to fight Darkspawn despite Loghain's objections. One of the reasons Cailan wants to fight on the front lines is because he has heard stories of his father doing the same. |
| 58 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', we have Prince Sebastian Vael of Starkhaven. After his entire family is massacred, he leaves the Chantry to become a ReluctantRuler. He's also got the skills of a rogue and is deadly with a bow, and actively participates in the Templar-Mage conflict. |
| 59 | ** Given Hawke's noble background, they can also be considered this. It's mentioned in ''Mark of the Assassin'' that after Hawke was recognised as the legitimate heir of the Amell family, they turned down the title of "Lord/Lady Amell", because they wanted to ''earn'' the right to use a title and be recognised as "Lord/Lady ''Hawke''". [[spoiler:Supporting the Templars during the end-game shows that they elect Hawke as the new Viscount/ess of Kirkwall. S/he doesn't hold the title long, but still.]] |
| 60 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' there are further examples -- companion Cassandra Pentaghast is in line to the throne of Nevarra (78th in line, but still) yet is a Seeker and one of the founders of the Inquisition. As a human character, the player is also from a noble family, the Trevelyans. Regardless of origin, the Inquisitor is essentially the head of a NGOSuperpower, complete with honorifics such as "Lord/Lady Inquisitor" and "Your Worship". |
| 61 | ** Varric Tethras is from an exiled noble dwarven family, which essentially makes a noble dwarf on the surface, due to their hierarchy. In fact, he might be the single wealthiest member of the entire Inquisition, due to his powerful connections in the Merchants Guild, wealth that he made with Hawke in ''II'', and being a highly successful novelist, and yet is still in the thick of things with everyone else. And as of the ''Trespasser'' DLC, [[spoiler:he's been named Viscount of Kirkwall!]] |
| 62 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' |
| 63 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'', the entire party consists of royal cousins of a common ancestor, with two princes and a princess. |
| 64 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Princess Alena is the main character of Chapter 2, and a member of the Chosen team tasked with saving the world from Psaro the Manslayer. |
| 65 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': |
| 66 | *** Almost every important human party member is in some way connected to a royal family. This includes two kings (Pankraz and the Hero), a prince (Harry), your wife turned queen (Bianca, Nera, and Deborah), and a prince and princess (your son and daughter). |
| 67 | *** It also points out the problems this can cause. While Harry is adventuring with the Hero, his country suffers greatly, and while Pankraz's brother proved himself a decent ruler in his absence, he was miserable in the role and eager to hand it over. Soon afterward, the Hero gets [[WhatTheHellHero called out]] when he risks his life on another adventure -- one that leads to [[spoiler:him and his wife being TakenForGranite for several years]]. |
| 68 | ** The King, Queen, and Prince of Somnia in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' all attempted to challenge Murdaw. [[spoiler:All of them fail, and it's the Prince's ''dream'' self who has to take up the job.]] |
| 69 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has Prince Kiefer. While not The Chosen One, he's primarily responsible for getting the adventure started by working to solve the riddle of the Mysterious Shrine and continues to aid in restoring the world. |
| 70 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': |
| 71 | *** [[spoiler:The Hero]] doesn't learn until post-game (that is, after saving the world and all) that he's the son of the previous crown prince of Argonia and thus has royal blood. |
| 72 | *** Jessica Albert is a noblewoman who joins the party to avenge her brother and save the world. |
| 73 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': Near from the end of the game, King Godwyn, tyrannical ruler of the Gittish Empire, decides to fight you personally (thought admittedly, it may just be because you've slaughtered his defenses.) |
| 74 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': |
| 75 | *** [[spoiler:The Luminary]] is actually the prince of the kingdom that was decimated by Mordegon's demon army 16 years ago. |
| 76 | *** [[spoiler:Rab]] is the penultimate king of Dundrasil, on the road for years to find out what was behind the fall of his family's kingdom. |
| 77 | *** [[spoiler:Jade]] is Crown Princess of Heliodor and an excellent martial artist. After [[spoiler:the Luminary]] goes missing, she spends years looking for him while honing her fighting skills. |
| 78 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Dragonsphere}}'', King Callah insists upon personally fulfilling the prophecy that he will overthrow the evil wizard Sanwe, despite the concerns of his queen. [[spoiler:Only, in a subversion, it turns out that the "king" is a [[TomatoInTheMirror shapeshifter who only believes that he is the king due to fake memories]].]] |
| 79 | * ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' has Caim, a prince whose kingdom was taken away from him due to a black dragon [[spoiler:killing his parents]]. He proceeds to make a pact with a red dragon, [[spoiler:Angelus]], and take down TheEmpire. |
| 80 | * ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' usually averts it, but sometimes plays it straight. Nobles are best known for demanding elaborate lodgings and not doing anything while mandating the creation of items using materials the fortress doesn't have (and sometimes even Slade, which ''cannot'' be mined or worked and which the nobles shouldn't even know ''exists''), and banning your most common exports, and then jailing your best craftsdwarves for not complying with their insane demands (sometimes even craftsmen who had ''nothing to do'' with the mandate going unfulfilled), which usually leads to them suffering [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident Unfortunate Accidents]], like pulling a lever that turns out to flood their room with magma. However, some nobles fight and mine along with their subjects and make only reasonable, easily-fulfilled mandates. These nobles tend to lead longer and happier lives. |
| 81 | ** And then there are the community characters, who were sometimes royalty and got their story remembered by being spectacularly awesome. |
| 82 | *** Queen Tholtig Cryptbrain [[RedBaron the Waning Diamonds]] was a dwarf who crusaded against the elves to save her clan from extinction, personally killing thousands. When she finally died undefeated from old age, she became the Dwarven equivalent of King Arthur. |
| 83 | *** Cacame Awemedinade [[RedBaron the Immortal Onslaught]] became Elf King of the dwarves after his wife was killed and eaten by another elf. Aside from having a [[ElvesVersusDwarves very unusual position for his species]], he has done things like kill a dragon with his hammer and break sieges on his own. |
| 84 | * Prince Poo in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' joins Ness' party to save the world. He is encouraged by his master to go on the journey. |
| 85 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 86 | ** The {{Backstory}} of the series is chock-full of royals personally leading armies to battle and being legendary warriors in their own right. In fact, in the history of the Nords, RankScalesWithAsskicking is in full effect. Tiber Septim, aka [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Talos]], founder of the 3rd Tamriellic Empire and Septim Dynasty, is perhaps the most shining example. |
| 87 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'': |
| 88 | *** Though not officially the government of Morrowind, the [[PhysicalGod Tribunal]] have exhibited great influence over the affairs of the Dunmer for thousands of years and each has a royal title. They embodied this trope in past ages when they led the defense of Morrowind from multiple takeover attempts by the Reman and Septim empires over the course of several millennia, thwarted at least two takeover attempts by Akaviri races, and banished Mehrunes Dagon at least once. They also established and maintained the Ghostfence, which is the only thing keeping [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] and the Blight at bay. By the time the game takes place, they've gone several centuries without being able to recharge their divinity, so they've been forced to withdraw from the day to day affairs of mortals in order to conserve energy. |
| 89 | *** King Helseth, as seen in the ''Tribunal'' expansion. He's [[MagnificentBastard actively working]] to turn his position as "King of Morrowind" from a PuppetKing/figurehead position into one with some real power, first by having his predecessor killed and then by trying to weaken the power of the Tribunal Temple. He is also a MasterPoisoner and isn't afraid to sic the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] on anyone he sees as a threat to his power. The main quest of ''Tribunal'' centers around a power struggle between Helseth and the Tribunal Temple (among other things). |
| 90 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', Martin leads a bunch of people to the safety of Kvatch's chapel; helps you fight off the people attacking Weynon Priory; calls on all his knowledge of Daedra worship to get the Amulet of Kings back; leads the defense of Bruma; and even [[spoiler:sacrifices himself in order to stop [[BigBad Mehrunes Dagon]]]]. Most of this he even does while trying not to believe that he's actually an important person of any sort, much less the son of the Emperor. Well, technically, he hadn't been crowned ''yet.'' But certainly he would have ''become'' the living embodiment of this trope [[spoiler:had he not sacrificed himself to save Tamriel.]] |
| 91 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim's]]'' has Titus Mede II, the current Emperor, who is stated to have been a very skilled general who managed to successfully fight off the Thalmor during the Great War. |
| 92 | * ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' has Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade. Prince Crescendo is the prince of Baroque, who is taking care of the kingdom in place of his ailing father. When the kingdom is threatened by Forte, he decides to turn himself over to the game's BigBad, Count Waltz. The UpdatedRerelease Platform/PlayStation3 version gives him more to do by having him join your party and making him part of a BonusDungeon. Serenade is his fiancee and a spy for Forte, but she realizes that what Forte is doing is wrong and flips sides. She also joins the party in the updated rerelease. |
| 93 | * ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'': |
| 94 | ** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'': In the ''Untold 2'' remake, Arianna is the Princess of Caledonia, having turned up in High Lagaard to participate in a ritual at the nearby ruins. |
| 95 | ** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIITheDrownedCity'': The Prince/Princess class (renamed Sovereign in ''2 Untold'' and ''Nexus'') are nobility who actively join adventuring parties in dungeon diving, rallying them in the thick of combat. They learn Order skills that help them keep their teammates focused on the fight. |
| 96 | * In ''VideoGame/EuropaUniversalis III'', a nation's leader (often a king, although bishops, emperors, elected leaders, and popes are also possible) can be converted into a field commander and used to lead armies. Some kings can make quite effective generals, depending on their attributes and the social slider settings of the nation. However, one of the main reasons to do this is in the hopes of getting an incompetent ruler killed so that another (hopefully more capable) leader will replace him before 30+ years of rule by an weak/rude/unsavvy monarch bankrupts the nation. |
| 97 | * ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': Sharkungo, the Prince of the Shakun Star. In ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance Star Resistance]]'', he instantly fights in the defense of his home planet upon learning of the AlienInvasion against it. Afterwards, in ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce Attack of Darkforce]]'', he travels to the Earth to personally warn them of the approaching invasion fleet and helps defend them. In the credits, he is seen actively helping the rebuilding process on Shakun. |
| 98 | * In ''VideoGame/FableIII'', the player eventually becomes the ruler of Albion after overthrowing their tyrannical brother Logan. This, of course, doesn't interrupt their ability to go around the world farting at villagers and doing sidequests. |
| 99 | * In ''VideoGame/FarnhamFables'', the princes of Farnham are actively involved in their community: |
| 100 | ** In Episode 1, the three princes gather the missing ingredient for a medicine, and help find a lost girl. |
| 101 | ** In Episode 3, Prince Philip offers to host a special presentation on rare creatures at the local elementary school, and takes on the responsibility of finding the animals when they escape. |
| 102 | * Several servants from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', seeing how they used to be the above-mentioned mythical heroes when they were alive. |
| 103 | ** Saber deserves a special mention. Due to being [[spoiler:Myth/KingArthur]]. |
| 104 | ** Enough in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' to warrant a Servant with a specific "anti-monarch" skillset. That said, royals who ''don't'' do anything [[JustifiedTrope tend not to be remembered as Heroic Spirits]]. |
| 105 | * Extremely common in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games; |
| 106 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has Princess Hilda. While she isn't as hands-on as many of the examples here, she is still the leader and the brains of the Wild Rose Rebellion. Notably, she goes camping with her troops before the assault to retake Fynn, instead of staying in Altair where it was safe. Prince Scott also had an active role before his death, [[spoiler:and Prince Gordon alternates between working with the party and working with Princess Hilda once he [[TookALevelInBadass Takes a Level in Badass]].]] |
| 107 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' presents Princess Sara, who takes it upon herself to venture into the Sealed Cave to defeat the Djinn and save her people from a nasty curse. Although the party ends up helping her instead, she can cast support spells from the background. |
| 108 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has this in spades. During the original game party members Edward and Edge are princes, and in the sequel ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'' they're joined by Cecil and Yang (kings), Rosa (queen), Ceodore (prince), and Luca and Ursula (princesses). The strongest summons in the game are royalty too -- Leviathan and Asura are king and queen of the Feymarch, Odin is the spirit of the former King of Baron, and Bahamut is the king of monsters. |
| 109 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has [[spoiler:Galuf, the reigning king of Bal]]; his granddaughter Krile; and Lenna [[spoiler:and Faris, both princesses]] of Tycoon. Bartz too would be royalty, if [[spoiler:his father had gone back to his home dimension where he was a king]]. |
| 110 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' gives us Edgar, the king of Figaro (and a skilled engineer), as well as his twin brother Sabin, as playable characters. |
| 111 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' tries its best to avert this trope by having most of the world under the thumb of a MegaCorp, but there is still [[RebelliousPrincess Princess]] [[{{Ninja}} Yuffie]], who comes from one of the few free nations left in the world. |
| 112 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' comes close with Rinoa, whose father is Minister of Defense for the Galbadian Republic. (As the highest-ranking government official left by the end of the game, this might make him president; the game doesn't address the question, though.) In any event, her officers in the Forest Owls refer to her as "princess". |
| 113 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has Princess Garnet/Dagger, [[spoiler:who in a twist on the usual application turns out to not be royalty after all, but rather an adopted [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Her Kind]]]]. She's a slight deconstruction, though, since she constantly feels responsible for her kingdom as its princess (and later its queen), and that leads her to constantly try to handle matters on her own without any help other than those whose duty is to help her (e.g. Steiner). Unfortunately, both major times she does this, she's largely unsuccessful and ends up needing the help of those who've chosen to help her (e.g. Zidane). Worse, she tends to feel guilty any time her kingdom either causes trouble for others or she fails to do something to help it or others...even when no one ever blames her. |
| 114 | *** There's also Prince Puck of Burmecia, who doesn't do a lot other than sneak about and cause trouble: there's Queen Brahne, Garnet's mother, who both accompanies her arial troops into battle and, [[spoiler:having drained Garnet's Eidolons, is the one to use them in combat. She is not ineffective]]. There's also Regent Cid, who is the city's chief engineer, and, without participating in any actual battles, accompanies the party for a segment of their journey. |
| 115 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': |
| 116 | *** Considering that her dad took out an EldritchAbomination, Yuna probably could have gone her entire life in comfort. You know, [[CrapsackWorld comparatively.]] But instead, she decided to go and save the world herself. |
| 117 | *** The whole reason Sin, the aforementioned EldritchAbomination, exists is because [[spoiler:Yu Yevon, the ruler of Zanarkand, used his summoning powers to create both it and a "Dream Zanarkand" where their civilization could continue to exist. Unfortunately, his plan to summon an Aeon that could fight back against the machina of Bevelle worked ''too'' well; for a thousand years, Sin has constantly obliterated machines and cities across Spira, and Yu Yevon himself is too insane to be able or willing to stop it.]] |
| 118 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Princess Ashe, who fights to restore her kingdom and become queen. |
| 119 | *** Larsa is another example (deciding to personally investigate incidents and even guest-joining the party). In fact, what sets House Solidor apart from the other Archadian patrician families is that its members still abide by the meritocratic principles of the early Archadian Republic, which is why the Archadian military under their direct control has remained so formidable while the parts of the Empire controlled by the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny democratic-in-name-only]] [[DecadentCourt Senate]] are showing evident signs of decadence. Larsa's brother is [[WellIntentionedExtremist arguably]] a more villainous example: Vayne's main motive is [[spoiler:topple the [[JerkassGods Occurias]]' [[ShadowDictator hidden tyranny over the mortal races]]: getting rid of his family's corrupt enemies and establishing himself as a benevolent enlightened dictator is just a nice bonus]] |
| 120 | *** There's also MagnificentBastard Al-Cid Margrace, who, despite not doing a lot onscreen, apparently works very hard in a political sense to postpone war. |
| 121 | ** The closest character that ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has to royalty is [[TagalongKid Hope]], who is the son of a high-ranking Sanctum employee. Like many tropes in the game, this one is deconstructed in that Hope doesn't ''want'' to do anything, but is forced into action due to his overzealous mother and her [[FailureKnight "protector"]], Snow. |
| 122 | *** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' plays this straight when Hope ends up becoming effective King of Earth, and he happily spends most of the game beating up monsters and creating war machines and tech for Serah and Noel to use. In an early treatment of the game's plot, Hope was supposed to be the ''third party member.'' |
| 123 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' gives us Hien, the Lord-in-Exile of the nation of Doma. As a fighter he's one of the most skilled Samurai in the world, as well a well loved general and military leader. If there's a fight that Doma is involved it at all, Hien will be on the front lines with his men leading the charge and keeping pace with [[PersonOfMassDestruction the Player Character]]. |
| 124 | ** Prince Noctis, the hero of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXV'', was forced to become this after being an [[AvertedTrope Aversion]] for most of his life due to the rival kingdom of Niflheim invading Lucis while he was away with his TrueCompanions in order to get married to the princess of their last allied kingdom. He's also the only person that can wield multiple magic weapons at once due to his royal blood as well as teleport innately. |
| 125 | *** His father, King Regis, was certainly no slouch before the invasion, as he had sacrificed a decent amount of his youth and vitality to maintain the shield over the capital city of Lucis, and Kingsglaive troops are explicitly stated to get their powers from the King himself through his magic ring and the Crystal that powers their kingdom. |
| 126 | * The royal family from ''[[VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza Find Mii]]'' (aka ''Streetpass Quest'') prefers to manage their kingdom from the ground level rather than atop their thrones. Not that they get a chance to demonstrate this before they all get kidnapped, but it has clearly helped their popularity enough to get [[SocializationBonus hundreds of passerby]] to take up swords and fight to free them. |
| 127 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblem:'' |
| 128 | ** Every game of this franchise has this. Of every Fire Emblem protagonists, only one isn't either noble or royal: Itsuki from ''Tokyo Mirage Sessions#FE''. Kris from ''New Mystery of the Emblem'' can be either a noble or a commoner, depending on the player's decisions. |
| 129 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': |
| 130 | *** Convolutedly played with in [[spoiler:Micaiah]] and Pelleas' case. [[spoiler:The latter [[RagsToRoyalty discovers he's the prince]] as a young adult, proceeds to take his throne back from the invaders, and then realises he was just another commoner after all, prompting him to abdicate in [[MyCountryRightOrWrong Micaiah's]] favour. Then the epilogue reveals she's actually the thought-to-be-dead older sister of another country's Empress, Sanaki, who offers her the throne. Micaiah refuses, choosing to lead the country she's fought for.]] |
| 131 | *** The ''actual'' heir to the throne [[spoiler:of Daein is [[HalfHumanHybrid Soren]], who has also been "doing something" -- he's been [[SquishyWizard fighting alongside you]] the whole time.]] Subverted in that he doesn't know his lineage. |
| 132 | *** Even though Ike has no royal blood, he still ''becomes'' a noble during the course of his first game. Not to mention that his father [[spoiler:was one of Daein's Four Riders]]. Not quite a royal, but close. |
| 133 | *** The laguz kings, who get to become kings because they are their tribes' most efficient warriors. The most obvious case is Tibarn, though Naesala, while he prefers not to fight himself, is also pretty damn powerful and all he does is more or less for the sake of Kilvas. |
| 134 | *** Tellius also brings us Elincia, princess and later queen of the kingdom of Crimea. She was for most of ''Path of Radiance'' inactive...however, near the end, she comes to Ike wearing armor next to her great-grandmother's pegasus saying she’s tired of sitting around and gets involved in the final battle of the game. This continues into ''Radiant Dawn'', where she is shown ruling her kingdom and is an active unit. In fact, she's a popular end-game choice. |
| 135 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' features three princes and three princesses in its cast fighting on the frontlines alongside their armies to [[spoiler:defeat the Demon King and save the continent of Magvel]]. Two of them [[YouDidntAsk didn't reveal until much later that they are royalty.]] |
| 136 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' there's main character Chrom and his sister Lissa, royals of the Halidom if Ylisse, both who patrol Ylisse and fight wars, [[spoiler:Chrom's daughter]] Lucina and her cousin Owain, who've come back in time to change history, villains Gangrel and Walhart, both kings of their respective nations Plegia and Valm, who lead their troops in battle, by technicality [[spoiler:the Avatar during the middle chapters]] who serves as a tactician, minor nobles Maribelle and Ricken who are part of Chrom's army, exiled noble Virion trying to reclaim his duchy, Chon'sin princess Say'ri leading the resistance against Walhart, co-rulers Flavia and Basilio who also personally lead their troops in battle, [[spoiler:and Emmeryn (Chrom's sister), Yen'fay (Say'ri's brother), Walhart, and Gangrel are all optional recruitable characters]]. And anyone who marries any of the above become this by marriage as well. |
| 137 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', it’s entirely possible to fill the dispatchable unit amount for a mission with entirely royalty -- an absolute minimum of six royals will join up on any route, and a maximum of 22. The royalty of both the kingdom of Hoshido and the kingdom of Nohr fight with their armies to defeat [[spoiler:GreaterScopeVillain Anankos]] during the fourth route of the game. |
| 138 | ** The entire plot of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors'' is about a series of kings and other royals from various timelines in the ''Fire Emblem'' franchise helping the Crown Prince and Princess of Aytolis stop the destruction of their own kingdom, with Rowan and Lianna as the heirs to the throne. Given their mother is caught in the destruction of the castle [[spoiler:although she does ultimately survive]], the twins are the last remaining military leaders of their kingdom, and rush straight into battle themselves as plot-required characters. |
| 139 | ** Two of the four main protagonists in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' are royalty -- crown prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd of the Kingdom of Faerghus and imperial princess Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire attend the [[MilitaryAcademy Officers Academy]] at Garreg Mach Monastery, where noble and royal youths are trained in combat and leadership by the Church of Seiros in order to keep peace on the continent of Fódlan, putting down bandits and other insurgents that threaten the peace and balance of power of the three nations of the continent. While not a house leader, [[FunnyForeigner Petra]] is the princess of Brigid and will inherit her grandfather's throne. [[spoiler:And Claude, the third protagonist, is actually a prince of Almyra in addition to being the heir to House Riegan of the Leicester Alliance. The first thing is a secret until the WhereAreTheyNow epilogues.]] |
| 140 | ** In the remake of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'', ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia,'' both main protagonists [[spoiler:Albein]] Alm [[spoiler:Rudolf]] and [[spoiler:Anthiese Lima, also known as]] Celica [[spoiler:are secretly prince of the Kingdom of Rigel and princess of the Kingdom of Zofia, respectively]]. During the course of the game, they fight to free their homeland Zofia from occupation and stop the war with Rigel as well as defeat the cult of a corrupted god. |
| 141 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' has this trope in full force, with multiple different factions of royals who fall under this, with all of them being fully willing to jump into battle and risk their lives for their cause. For each kingdom... |
| 142 | *** Lythos has the Divine Dragon Monarch Lumera, and her [[spoiler:adoptive]] child Alear. |
| 143 | *** Firene has the prince Alfred and the princess Céline. |
| 144 | *** Brodia has the crown prince Diamant, the second prince Alcryst, and the King's niece and royal knight Citrinne. |
| 145 | *** Elusia has Ivy, the first princess, and Hortensia, the second princess. |
| 146 | *** Solm has the crown princess Timerra and the first prince Fogado. |
| 147 | * ''VideoGame/FlowerKnightGirl'' features several queens of the various nations -- Winter Rose's Novalis, Bergamot Valley's Japanese Anemone, and Lotus Lake's Lotus and Pygmy Water Lily -- who also double as Flower Knights that fight against the ever-present threat to Spring Garden. Discussed by Casablanca, a knight aspiring to be queen of Banana Ocean, who believes that this trope should come with the territory of being a ruler. |
| 148 | -->'''Casablanca:''' Isn't a queen supposed to stand at the frontlines of their people and fight bravely? |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'' has two noblemen ([[Creator/GeorgeTakei Lord Hakkera]] of Kusari and Diedrich Von Claussen of Rheinland) who are both Order agents and pretty good pilots. In fact, Von Claussen is known throughout Rheinland as an ace who has never lost a wingman. |
| 150 | * [[spoiler:The second set of player characters]] in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' are all royalty. |
| 151 | ** Anyone who played ''Lost Age'' knows that the people of Champa resort to piracy to feed their mouths, because they have only their smithy otherwise. Eoleo ascends to captainhood [[spoiler:as a result of his father Briggs' death]], but still swings a mean blade regardless of his rank. A captain who cannot fight alongside his crew doesn't remain captain for very long. |
| 152 | ** Amiti lived a relatively sheltered life off his mother's fame until Matthew and his friends came along. He may have volunteered to escort them through the Barai Ruins, but he takes on a more active role once [[spoiler:the Insight Glass chooses him]]. [[spoiler:Given the injuries sustained by King Paithos during the eclipse, Amiti ascended to the throne in its wake.]] |
| 153 | ** [[spoiler:Himi, like Amiti, lived relative comfort as a [[{{Miko}} Shrine Maiden]] alongside her parents, Susa and Kushinada. She falls into a coma after foretelling Isaac's descent into disaster, sending her older brother off to his aid, but winds up going with Matthew once the Third Eye awakens her from said coma.]] |
| 154 | ** [[spoiler:The beastmen of Morgal take the brunt of FantasticRacism on many sides, meaning even the Czamaral clan must remain primed for combat when it comes. While she runs your operations in Morgal, especially Belinsk, from behind the scenes, Sveta is no less capable as a fighter. Of course, the racism may not have ended soon enough, given the Grave Eclipse's activation, so when she ascends to queenhood in the wake of her brother's death, she's going to have to train a new army and capitalize on the light Adepts that emerged as a result of the eclipse's end.]] |
| 155 | * [[spoiler:Prince (later King) Roan]] in ''VideoGame/GrandiaII''. |
| 156 | * The King from ''{{VideoGame/Grow}} RPG'' will attack a dragon himself and even make it flee when his guards are defeated, later when the hero is having trouble with the same dragon the King will [[ShockAndAwe zap it]] which allow the hero to win the fight. |
| 157 | * The second player ship in the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' [[GaidenGame side story Salamander]] is piloted by the prince of the planet you're defending. Later incarnations name this ship after him: Lord British. |
| 158 | * In ''VideoGame/GuildWars: Nightfall'', one of the first heroes to join your party and set your characters' plans in motion is Tahlkora, who is revealed to be a princess of Vabbi. |
| 159 | * The Gryphonhearts in the ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' series, starting with Rion Gryphonheart, who led the Erathian army against [[AntiHero Tarnum's]] barbarian hordes and defeated Tarnum in CombatByChampion. Rion's daughter (and [[spoiler:Tarnum's niece]]) is also this, after Tarnum trains her. |
| 160 | ** ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'' has [[UnwittingPawn Isabel]], [[CoolOldGuy Godric]] and [[RebelliousPrincess Freyda]], as well as [[WisePrince Zehir]]. |
| 161 | ** The Ironfist brother that wins the Succession War (canonically Roland) goes on the field ''personally'' for the final battle of the war (the other brother is also on the field, but that is less impressive considering the battle is about besieging the last stronghold of the losing brother). Roland also went on a campaign against the Kreegan in the period between ''Heroes II'' and ''Might & Magic VI'', though with less impressive results (it led to him being kidnapped by the Kreegan and held prisoner for some six to seven years). Archibald, while it was not readily apparent in-game about the Succession War, turned out to be a remarkably knowledgeable mage in contexts that made it clear that it must have applied before the War's end. |
| 162 | * ''VideoGame/HeroOfSparta'' has the player assuming the role of King Argos of Sparta, a warrior-king out to save his home from Hades, and fighting off hordes and hordes of gigantic monsters all the way. In the second game's ending, you even deliberately exile yourself to prevent a doomsday from befalling your home! |
| 163 | * ''VideoGame/HollowKnightSilksong'': Hornet, princess-protector of the kingdom of Hollownest, serves as the PlayerCharacter of this action-adventure {{Metroidvania}} game. |
| 164 | * The Taiidan Emperor from ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' provides a {{Deconstruction}}: being a paranoid tyrant and having no idea of what he's doing, he made an enemy of most of the galaxy, brought the Taiidan population on the verge of rebellion, and then ''triggered it'' by ordering the destruction of Kharak in his paranoia. He also personally commands the Imperial Guard in the final battle, but proves an inept commander and, once the initial ambush is survived, the player can take him down with relative ease. |
| 165 | * All the royals in ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' have at some point been pretty active. |
| 166 | * Pretty much every aristocrat in the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series, be they good, bad, or neutral, does ''something'': Baron Praxis actively fights against Jak and the Metal Heads; his daughter Ashelin is a member of the Krimzon Guard (later the Freedom League); Count Veger does things himself rather than relying on {{Mooks}}. |
| 167 | ** And after TheReveal, we now know that [[spoiler:Jak himself is one of these.]] |
| 168 | * The Prince of All Cosmos from ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' has saved and/or rebuilt the cosmos numerous times. Sadly, his father gets all the credit, even though [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he's usually the one who endangers the cosmos to begin with]]. |
| 169 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 170 | ** WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse. He's the king of Disney Castle, a badass and powerful Keyblade Master, and one of the main characters in the series, acting as a BigGood (though he defers to GreaterScopeParagon [[{{WesternAnimation/Fantasia}} Yen Sid]]). |
| 171 | ** WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse qualifies when needed. She's got {{Holy|HandGrenade}} on her side. |
| 172 | ** [[spoiler:Kairi]] is starting to become one of these as of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', despite her status as a princess being only through the fact that she lacks darkness in her heart. Though it is mentioned at one point that her adoptive parent is a mayor... |
| 173 | ** Ariel is unusually not grouped with the other Disney princesses who make up the seven Princesses of Heart. Instead, in the first Kingdom Hearts game she can be used as a party member to fight alongside Sora in Atlantica. |
| 174 | ** The lord of Beast's Castle is first met off-world, fighting against the Heartless to recover Belle, and again seen proactively fending off invaders during Kingdom Hearts II and 358/2 Days, where in the latter, the playable member of Organization XIII ruminates on this opposite approach compared to his lord's delegation of duties. |
| 175 | * ''VideoGame/KingOfDragonPass'' has all your tribes duties overseen by nobles. From trading and diplomacy to dangerous expeditions and warfare, they work their ass off until old age or death. They definitely earn their keep. |
| 176 | * In the Conquest ambition in ''VideoGame/KingOfTheCastle'', the Kingdom declares war on the neighbouring Ashmedean Empire, which is larger but torn apart by internal strife. If the ambition succeeds, whether the King leads the military from the front or spends the war in a tent looking at maps and discussing strategy with the Marshal, they are hailed as a great leader by the common folk, although at the cost of spending the rest of their reign fighting endless battles to gain new territory or re-gain lost territory. |
| 177 | * ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' sounds like it says it right there in the title, although the name probably refers to the King giving Sir Graham his quest in the first game. Following his promotion at the end of the first game, all [[ExecutiveMeddling but one]] of the other games involve royalty in a main role, either King Graham or his family members, personally saving their kingdom. While they are involved with exploits of purely the personal variety, you have an entire BadassFamily whose exploits involve a lot more than afternoon tea. |
| 178 | * Regardless of their social standing, royals from ''VideoGame/KingsRaid'' are just as likely to join the battle as their counterparts from the lower hierarchy: |
| 179 | ** Zafir, the WarriorPrince and the leader of the Mauhata tribe of Desert Warriors. He is the rightful heir to the throne of his fallen kingdom. |
| 180 | ** Scarlet, bona fide Princess who has also proven to be a very good pick for the Arena. |
| 181 | ** [[TheDragonslayer Phillop]] is an interesting case. He is the king of Dwarves, yet seeks to step down because of TheChainsOfCommanding. |
| 182 | ** King Kyle was well-known for his battles against the demons. ItRunsInTheFamily, as his son [[spoiler:[[HeroicBastard Kasel]]]] has likewise actively engaged on the battlefield. |
| 183 | * King Dedede of the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' series goes back and forth on this. While he is a fearsome fighter, both when he opposes Kirby and when he occasionally helps him, he isn't much of a ''ruler'', as it's explicitly stated that he [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything performs absolutely no administrative duties whatsoever]], to the point that the citizens of Dream Land more or less ignore his presence. |
| 184 | ** Prince Fluff from ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' also counts, if playing in a 2-player game. The in-game cutscenes avert this. |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare'' has Willimgard [[spoiler:who, despite being dead, comes back as the Wisp in order to prevent the villains from accomplishing their goal]]. |
| 186 | ** The same series brings us [[VideoGame/YggdraUnion Yggdra and Gulcasa]]. [[spoiler:Milanor, Luciana and Aegina probably count too.]] And in the same ''game'', there's Arlier... and although Nordische doesn't get too far, he tries. |
| 187 | ** And [[VideoGame/BlazeUnion three years ago]], Soltier, Ordene, [[spoiler:Aegina...]] |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has one that is only recognizable in hindsight. Turns out GuestStarPartyMember Trask Ulgo, killed during the first level, was a ''high'' ranking nobility from Alderaan, enough for his distant relative to seize the throne of Alderaan during the SuccessionCrisis 300 years later. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' has Queen Talia of Onderon. She's a staunch supporter of the Republic and sends them material assistance (despite its controversy among her people) while dealing with a SuccessionCrisis. She's also a LadyOfWar who duels her cousin Vaklu with swords, and he's no match for her. |
| 190 | * ''VideoGame/TheLastRemnant'' has numerous examples of this (both good and evil). The most notable is David, the Marquis of Athium, who is a very competent and active leader both in the throne room and on the front lines. |
| 191 | * ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has Jarvan IV, son of the King of Demacia, taking a commanding role in the military and subsequently, the League of Legends. More than merely competent, he is one of the greatest troops at his city-state's disposal. So is his ArchEnemy Jericho Swain, ruler of the city state of Noxus. A cunning mastermind and a competent leader, he is also a formidable mage with a very hands-on approach to battle. |
| 192 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'' has both the title character and his far more enthused sister Starly -- while he's out helping his amnesiac space-bunny friend, she's at home in Pufftop beating the pants off of the invading army. Before boss fights, Moe even asks if you want to summon Starly for help. |
| 193 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has King Albert of Basil, who essentially picked up where a previous player character, Lavitz (a knight from Basil), had left off. |
| 194 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': |
| 195 | ** Princess Zelda has fought alongside Link in several of the games in the series, including ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]''. Even in games where she doesn't directly fight, she often plays a major role in vanquishing the BigBad. |
| 196 | *** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Link's mentor [[ItWasHisSled Sheik is actually Zelda in disguise]]. During her time as Sheik, she informed Link where he should go after his seven-year slumber and she also saved Ruto from freezing to death. She also helped Link defeat Ganondorf by first giving him the Arrow of Light and aiding Link in sealing Ganon away. |
| 197 | *** In the beginning of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', Zelda has her soul separated from her body by the BigBad. She then joins Link as his ExpositionFairy, giving her the largest role she's ever had in canon. And within the tower she has the power to possess a suit of animate armor, becoming a sword-wielding badass made of metal and ghost that far outranks Link himself in strength. |
| 198 | *** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', Zelda is an AdventurerArchaeologist [[spoiler:who's spent her entire life trying to unlock the divine power needed to help defeat Calamity Ganon; after awakening said power, she's been busy keeping Ganon sealed up in Hyrule Castle for the past 100 years]]. |
| 199 | ** Princess Zelda is even the protagonist of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'', one of the [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canonical]] Philips [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames CD-i games]]. The same game also has King Harkinian; once he hears that his brother, Duke Onkled, is in danger, he runs off to Gamelon ([[MemeticMutation after dinner]], [[YoutubePoop of course]]). He even comes prepared with the Triforce of Courage. Granted, nothing comes of it, but he tried, after all. |
| 200 | ** King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]''. For the majority of the game [[spoiler:he's Link's boat, serving as his only transport form island to island and giving him vital information for his quest]], and just before the final battle, [[spoiler:he cheats Ganondorf out of his wish on the Triforce by making his own wish: to have Hyrule, and Ganondorf with it, washed away forever]]. |
| 201 | ** Princess Ruto of the Zoras in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. When her people are threatened in the future, she boldly ventures into the Water Temple to save them. She also becomes the Sage of Water and aids Link and the rest of the Sages in their fight against Ganonforf. |
| 202 | ** Hell, franchise BigBad Ganondorf himself may count. He did start out as King of the Gerudo, after all. |
| 203 | ** Minor character example in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'': When you defeat the undead swordsmen in Ikana Castle, the king himself jumps up from his throne without a word, pulls out a sword and shield, and proceeds to continue where his generals left off. There's also the Deku Princess, who went with her monkey friend to get rid of the poisonous waters emanating from Woodfall Temple. |
| 204 | ** One word: [[spoiler:Midna]]. True, she was dethroned in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', but she still helped Link more than any other character in the entire series. [[spoiler:She was more like his partner than his sidekick, which is more than can be said of the various fairies]]. The dethroner, Zant, is not above accompanying his minions into battle, either. |
| 205 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]'', there's [[spoiler:Ralph, heir to the throne of Labrynna]]. [[TheScrappy Not the most endearing sidekick ever]], but he does have his moment. |
| 206 | ** Queen Gohma, King Dodongo, Stallord, and tons of other bosses who are the direct rulers of the {{Mooks}} you fight also count. |
| 207 | ** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' allows many other established royal characters to fight directly in battle, including Zora Princess Ruto, Goron Chieftain Darunia, and "Insect Princess" Agitha. Special mention is for Princess Zelda who, in the very first mission of the game, when the kingdom comes under attack she rushes directly into the fray without any hesitation alongside Impa, whose entire job is combat and military direction. None of the other characters hesitate in the slightest to attack the enemy forces either. In a way, Ganondorf counts as well, as he is the [[OneManArmy main attack force the player controls]] that nearly demolishes Hyrule in about three missions. |
| 208 | ** [[BadassFamily The Zora royal family]] is very much this in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''; Prince Sidon and King Dorephan are renowned warriors, while Princess Mipha was one of the four Champions selected to help Link and Zelda defeat Calamity Ganon. |
| 209 | * [[PoliticallyActivePrincess Elodie]], the crown princess of the kingdom of Nova in ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', is required at times to carry out various regal duties as she prepares for the day of her coronation, such as presiding over court cases and managing successions over her kingdom's provinces. As well as this, she can also elect to command her navy to repel an invading fleet in the lategame, and, with the right skillsets, even figure out that there's a potential threat coming ahead of time and direct resources to prepare for it. |
| 210 | * ''VideoGame/LittleFlowerFairy'': Prince Simon is explicitly stated to be a warrior and has repeatedly saved his kingdom, Yongqi Kingdom, from the Garden of Evil. |
| 211 | * ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'''s Ming Numara at first seems like a useless figurehead, but soon proves herself to be an extremely powerful sorceress and a strong, competent, and proactive leader who was only in the position of a figurehead because she had been forced to [[spoiler:seal away her own memories in order to save the lives of her subjects]]. |
| 212 | * ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'' has Princess Melphis of Alstadt Kingdom joining your party. [[spoiler:Fellow party member Deckard turns out to be her brother, the missing Prince Alheim.]] |
| 213 | * In ''VideoGame/MagnaCarta2'', Princess Rzephillda should be sitting in a tower somewhere hiding from her country's Civil War. Instead, she leads a front-line elite unit in an effort to retake her power. |
| 214 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Mechwarrior}} 4: Vengeance'', the protagonist Ian Dresari is from a royal family, seeking to restore legal rule to his planet (and the final battle is with his cousin). After one of his missions, a lancemate actually says "I guess you're not one of those royals who let the rest of us do the heavy lifting." |
| 215 | ** In the original ''Mechwarrior'', the protagonist Gideon Braver Vandenberg is the heir of a Duke who was overthrown by a political conspiracy with Gideon as the patsy. Instead of taking this lying down or getting others to fight on his behalf, Gideon goes on to form his own mercenary unit to prove his innocence and exact bloody revenge. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VII'' includes this; the starting island of the game centres around a contest in which the prize is for the winning group to jointly become 'Lords of Harmondale'. After winning and arriving at Welnin, the main settlement of Harmondale, the adventurers quickly find out that, amongst other things, the inhabitants all think they won't last long, no-one of the nobles and royals of the continent regard them as actual nobles, and the Castle that is supposed to be their home as Lords is partially in ruins, as well as goblin-infested. The middle portion of the game is about fixing all that. [[spoiler:Also, it is possible for Harmondale to become an independent Kingdom, making the Lords more properly Royal]]. |
| 217 | * ''VideoGame/MinionMasters'' has a number of kings and queens. Given the nature of the game, they all fight. |
| 218 | * ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' has Princess Kumatora, who fights alongside Lucas. |
| 219 | ** Of course, [[spoiler:there were never any real monarchs on the Nowhere Islands; she was just planted there and entitled as one when everyone's memories, save for Leder's, were wiped and rebuilt when they moved there]]. |
| 220 | * Each of the five kingdoms in ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' is ruled by a king who leads his own combat party and has a high renown value (this being a game statistic usually increased by winning battles). Though they sometimes hang out in their respective castles, they are known to lead campaigns into enemy territory. Good thing the NeverSayDie rule applies to all named characters in this game, because they're always part of the first group to deploy, and they often get knocked out and captured in the course of a battle. Still, unless you've got some serious skills/leveling/equipment, do ''not'' engage the king alone. He'll cut you down in seconds. |
| 221 | * ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}'' has The Masked King of Facade, who leads his soldiers into every battle, [[spoiler:including their last stand, which he knows he won't survive, but still manages to win.]] |
| 222 | * When VideoGame/NintendoWars came to the GBA under the ''Advance Wars'' title that it is known by in the West, the Yellow Comet faction embodied this trope, with the two commanders representing the faction in the first game being Emperor Kanbei, and his daughter, Sonja, who also is the head of intelligence operations for the faction. [[spoiler:While Sonja did become a DamselInDistress during the final mission, this was from her attempt to confront [[BigBad Sturm]] directly.]] |
| 223 | * The cast of ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' is made up mostly of these. Four of the five main characters are princes, princesses, and queens. [[spoiler:Even Oswald turns out to be a long-lost prince of Titania, and Cornelius' cousin]]. The supporting cast gets in on this as well. The only royal who doesn't really do anything is King Edmund, who's just too old and feeble at this point (but still has [[spoiler:killing his father after he transformed into the Darkova and ran amok]] [[RetiredBadass as part of his backstory.]]) |
| 224 | * There's quite a few in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', but foremost is Queen Himiko. At first it looks like she's the one responsible for Sei-An city being covered in toxic fog, or at least apathetic to her citizens plight, being shut in the imperial palace; however, [[spoiler:she died in a HeroicSacrifice. Using [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning her murder]] by Ninetails to fuse her soul with her clan's CrystalBall to locate Oni Island and give Amaterasu the chance to slay Ninetails and destroy a major source of monsters. And thanks to her powers of prophecy, she ''knew'' she was going to die. Needless to say, the PlayerPunch reaction when Ninetails taunts you with not being able to protect her (and in fact [[MacGuffinDeliveryService giving her the tool she needed to kill her!)]] is a powerful one. Even in death (and a sidequest), her tears give Nuregami a power boost and will net you a new and powerful water attack.]] |
| 225 | * ''VideoGame/OneWayHeroics'' allows you to recruit King Victor and Queen Frieda to fight alongside you, if you are lucky enough to find them and have enough charisma. |
| 226 | * Lian from ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' is a young heir of a once powerful noble family who has taken it upon herself to lead her family's armies and restore her House's glory. |
| 227 | * In ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'', as with the tabletop campaign, the player character [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership is granted a barony for driving a bandit gang from the region]]. Later on, the barony gains independence, and the PC is promoted to monarch. But with constant danger from bandits, monsters, rival kingdoms, and even worse things, the new ruler has to frequently take up arms and deal with the threats personally. |
| 228 | * In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' Team Plasma's King [[spoiler:N aka Natural Harmonia Gropius]] is a fighter first and foremost, and a king second. |
| 229 | * [=PoPoLoCrois=] for the Platform/{{P|layStation}}S1 and PSP has Pietro, who is the prince of the country of the same name. Another party member who joins you in the [=PS1=] version is Jilva, who is the princess of another country as well. (And actually a pretty strong physical attacker.) |
| 230 | ** [[spoiler:Narcia may also count, as it's revealed she may potentially be the daughter of Titania, queen of the faeries.]] |
| 231 | * ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''. To date, the Prince has let loose an ancient curse, battled basically [[YouCantFightFate Fate itself]], and WON, and then fought the Vizier who caused the first problem by manipulation, who by then [[AGodAmI absorbed a lot of the Sands of Time]], turning him into pretty much a [[PhysicalGod really shiny being who was supposedly immortal]]. If there's one man who embodies Royals Who Actually Do Something, it's the Prince of Persia. |
| 232 | ** To a lesser extent, Farah as well, being the daughter of the Maharaja. |
| 233 | * Every princess in ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz'' is some form of badass. The Princess Waltz tournament of the titular VisualNovel allows the strongest princess in the land to marry the Emperor, giving them good reason to not just sit around. Most notable are Princesses Liliana and Angela, who both fight in their Kingdom's navy and army respectively. Princess Liesel, on the other hand, is a noted inventor and smith. |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/PromiseOfWizard'': Despite being the prince of the country and being able to actually pass the duty to others, Arthur goes on joining the Sage to save the world of The Great Calamity himself. |
| 235 | * In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris'', in addition to being the captain of the S.S. Tetra, Tee is also the Tetris King and is often the one who takes charge of a situation. |
| 236 | * The ''Videogame/QuestForGlory'' series has a few: In the first game the baron's daughter is a skilled swordsman, and she returns in the fifth game, as an accomplished fighter and adventurer. The Hero's long-time friend and mentor Rakeesh the Paladin used to be the king of his homeland Fricana. When a demon horde threatened the kingdom, Rakeesh personally fought the most powerful of the demons and won. After the rest of the demons were driven out of the land Rakeesh wanted to make sure they would never threaten anyone again, but the ruling council refused to commit to fighting a threat that had moved on to become someone else's problem. Thus, Rakeesh abdicated the throne to pursue the demons alone. ''Then'' he met a paladin who mentored him and eventually became one himself. Finally, in the fifth game the King of Silmaria has died without a heir, and tasks have been set to choose the new king. The Hero can succeed in ascending to the throne, and if he chooses not to, Elsa will take it up instead. Given that pretty much every task requires Hercules-levels feats of heroism, ''anyone'' who manages to succeed would qualify under this trope. |
| 237 | * ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'': Princess Eruca or Granorg is very active, first doing her best to use her political sway to try and limit the damage her lazy, vain, and stupid, ''stupid'' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen stepmother]] is doing, and when that doesn't work, she [[RebelLeader spearheads a rebellion]]. She'd like to be even more active, but is constantly told to stay off the front lines. She is usually swayed to agree, since while a martyr would be good for the rebellion, [[spoiler:the world as a whole is boned without her]] and the nature of [[TheHero Stocke's]] time travel means he's better off avoiding the circumstances of her possible death entirely, rather than altering the specific moment. |
| 238 | ** In the backstory, her older brother, Prince Ernst, who made himself beloved by the populace for basically trying to fix ''everything''. It didn't turn out so well, since [[TheCaligula King Victor]] started getting a little nervous that his son's popularity might be a threat to his reign and had him executed on false charges of treason to get him out of the way. |
| 239 | * Most nobles in ''VideoGame/RavenmarkScourgeOfEstellion'' have, at one point or another, served in the Imperial Mark. In fact, due to the meritocratic nature of TheEmpire of Estellion, any commoner who wishes to achieve Ravenhood (temporary nobility) has to serve in the military for 22 years (there is an alternative of 36 years of administrative service, but most choose the military path). Ravenhood is passed on to the soldier's children but not grandchildren. Any family that manages to retain Ravenhood for 10 unbroken generations (i.e. constant service) becomes a permanent noble House with the 11th generation firstborn becoming a Rook (a title equivalent to a RealLife Lord but also signifies a general-type rank). Specific examples include Rook [[MilitaryMaverick Vidius Harper]] and Rook Delvinius Cato. However, the late Emperor Sergius Corvius ascended to the throne after leading a successful military campaign in the northeast region of the Empire. The four Queens (more like department heads), one of whom is Sergius's daughter, are also capable military commanders, even the manipulative [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Phoebe Corvius]]. Exceptions include Sergius's son Gratian, who is more of a schemer, and Gratian's son [[DirtyCoward Ovidius]]. The Court of Shadows (formerly House Cordance) are a borderline example, being a secret order made up of {{Heroic Bastard}}s of House Corvius, trained in espionage and BloodMagic, and sworn to protect their legitimate brothers and sisters from any threat within the Empire and without. The "borderline" part comes from the fact that it's not clear if bastards are considered to be nobility. |
| 240 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'', Princess Darcy and Prince Tail commentate on Robopon matches, and Tail is an expert battler. In the second game, the Kings of Wonder and Delica battle, too. |
| 241 | * In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4'', the player is named acting prince/princess of the town of Selphia and is responsible for pretty much the entire plot. The actual prince, Arthur, is perfectly willing to let them take over for him, but he earns his keep by maintaining a busy trading practice. |
| 242 | * TheHeroine and her family in ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateMagicSword'' are this. The princess has always been a tomboy and had taken an interest in sports. The prologue focuses on the princess trying to defend her kingdom from invading forces. |
| 243 | %%* [[DefectorFromDecadence Prince Enrique]] from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia''. |
| 244 | * ''VideoGame/SongsOfConquest'': Cecilia Stoutheart, main character of Arleon's campaign, is also a Baroness, and leads her troops in defending against wrathful Faey, invading mercenaries, and the living dead. |
| 245 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 246 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', ''Sonic himself'' [[spoiler:(him being the actual King Arthur, and all)]] counts as an example. In context, he is able to wield the legendary sword Caliburn and fight many Arthurian foes throughout his adventure. In the climax, he was able to transform into [[spoiler:Excalibur Sonic]] and take out [[spoiler:the Dark Queen from enacting her plans to create a never-ending world]]. Once all's been said and done, [[spoiler:Sonic was seen as the one and only King Arthur by the rest of the knights, much to his surprise.]] |
| 247 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' and ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'' would feature Blaze the Cat, who is an interdimensional princess from another world, who guards the Sol Emeralds, the same gems that allow her to travel between worlds. |
| 248 | * Hildegard "Hilde" Von Krone of the VideoGame/SoulSeries. She's the princess (and acting ruler, due to her father's insanity) of a small kingdom, who is very much a LadyOfWar and leads her country's army into battle. |
| 249 | * Princess Ami of Charmed Ridge from ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'', a literal fairy princess, just so happens to be a WrenchWench who assists Spyro in building a ''goddamn rocket ship'', and even alerts Zoe to the location of Starfish Reef. Even her [[StarCrossedLovers Star-Crossed Lover]], Prince Azrael, rides around on a ''[[CoolBike flying motorcycle]]''. |
| 250 | * Prince Valerian Mengsk of ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' is shown to be a BadassBookworm trained in Martial Arts and swordsmanship as well as classical knowledge in the books. He's an AdventurerArchaeologist, to boot. He's also definitely taken notes from his father in {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry and by the end of ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' [[spoiler:manages to disinfect Sarah Kerrigan [[EnemyMine with the help of]] Jim Raynor]]. |
| 251 | ** [[HiveQueen Kerrigan]] herself in VideoGame/HeartOfTheSwarm personally leads all the Zerg assaults as a playable Hero Unit. |
| 252 | ** [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver Highlord Alarak of the Tal'Darim]] ascended to his position by [[TheChessmaster manipulating]]/[[BloodKnight killing]] every point of opposition until he became the forefront of his army. He's not only not about to let you forget it, [[{{Sadist}} but he actively complains about you letting others take glory in combat when he isn't out there to slay his enemies]]. There's a reason his ability in his appearance of VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm is "Sadist". |
| 253 | * ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'': [[spoiler:[[LadyOfBlackMagic Celine Jules]] if one unlocks her secret ending in Rena's story. In fact, ''Blue Sphere'' confirms that the secret ending is canon.]] |
| 254 | * Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine are playable Heroes in ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront2015'', engaging with troops in massive infantry assaults. |
| 255 | * Games belonging to the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series are obviously filled with these. Special mention goes to King Lino en Kuldes, one of [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the best fighters]] in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' and his daughter Flare, two popular characters in, arguably, the series' most unpopular game. |
| 256 | * ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'': Prince [[CanonName Freyjadour]] himself, AKA the protagonist, and his aunt Sialeeds. |
| 257 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' |
| 258 | ** When she is not [[DamselInDistress getting kidnapped]], Princess Peach often helps Mario, such as in ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach''. And sometimes even when she is, as evidenced in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games. |
| 259 | ** There's also the BigBad Bowser, King of the Koopas and most prolific FinalBoss in all of gaming. While Bowser will always have his minions do the work in taking over and attacking Mario, he's not afraid to do the deed himself when push comes to shove. The ending to ''Super Mario RPG'' also has Bowser [[spoiler: rebuilding his castle alongside his minions]], showing that he's willing to work alongside his minions rather than sitting on the sidelines barking orders at them. |
| 260 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' introduces a third royal in [[WarriorPrince Prince Mallow]]. He [[AvertedTrope averts this trope]] at first due to IdentityAmnesia of his royal status, but played straight in that after he finds out who he is, he stays with Mario and the party without a second thought. |
| 261 | ** Peach's EvilCounterpart from ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', [[BigBad Princess Shroob]], personally leads [[AlienInvasion her people's invasion]] of the Mushroom Kingdom. |
| 262 | * In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', when Princess Shine's [[TheGoodKingdom kingdom]] is overrun by the Divine Crusaders, [[DamselInDistress she has to be rescued]] by your team. When the Neo DC attack again in ''Original Generation 2'', she instead joins your team with a pair of custom-made ElegantGothicLolita-styled HumongousMecha for herself and her friend to help protect her kingdom. |
| 263 | ** This is actually discussed in the anime adaptation of the second game. When Shine and her friend Latooni launch in the Fairlions, Archibald Grimes wonders if Shine understands what she's doing. She points out that, yes, she does and she's willing to shed blood -- hers or others -- to protect her kingdom. Grimes even uses the term ''noblesse oblige'' when she finishes. |
| 264 | ** The spinoff ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' has [[GratuitousPrincess more princesses than it has worlds]], and each one that you meet joins the party to protect/redeem/avenge their kingdom. There's Kaguya Nanbu, master of the Nanbu Reijutsu sword arts; Suzuka, who controls a [[GatlingGood multiple gatling-wielding]] robot by dancing; and Neige Hausen/Howzen, who fights with a bayonet-equipped laser rifle. Then there's King Rubor Cullen, who would be better for his kingdom if he ''didn't'' pick fights with everyone he thought was a threat, Shuten, who regularly fights the party for his people's honor, and Stahl Dieb, who personally led an expedition into [[spoiler:the Einst dimension]]. |
| 265 | * Quite a few of the fighters in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' can be counted as Royalty or have some kind of royal title in their home games: [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser]] (King of Koopas), [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganondorf]] (King of Evil), [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] (Self-proclaimed king of Dream Land), [[Franchise/FireEmblem Marth]] (The Hero King), [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach]] (Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom), [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]] (Princess of Hyrule), [[Franchise/FireEmblem Lucina]] (Princess of Ylisse), [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser Jr.]] (Prince of Koopas), [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Daisy]] (Princess of Sarasaland) and [[Franchise/DonkeyKong King K. Rool]] (King of the Kremlings). Other characters are also rulers of their domains, but don't have a royal title, like [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Rosalina]], [[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Palutena]] and Franchise/DonkeyKong. |
| 266 | * VideoGame/TalesSeries: |
| 267 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': While Prince Garr/Woodrow initially trained in the woods with a legendary archer, when his uncle usurps the throne he very quickly comes back to end his tyranny, and when the party needs help saving the world he immediately joins them. |
| 268 | ** Natalia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. On top of being the main party's archer, she's also politically active, using her position to help the economy and foreign relations and the like. [[spoiler:As a result, when it's revealed that she's actually a maid's child that was swapped for the real princess Natalia when the real one was stillborn, and the king goes to exile her, the people rise up to help her out.]] |
| 269 | *** [[ShelteredAristocrat Luke]] becomes one, after his ImportantHaircut, and he's around fourth in line for the Kimlascan throne, as well as the heir to the most powerful non-royal aristocrat in the kingdom. |
| 270 | *** Emperor Peony may not be a playable character, but he does a great job running his country and is often highly involved with helping Luke and the party save the world. |
| 271 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheTempest'': Prince Tilkis of Senshibia. When his country was attacked by Spots, he crossed the ocean in a ''rowboat'' with only one bodyguard (who insisted on coming) to figure out what the hell was going on in Aurella. When he meets Caius and Rubia, the two (especially Rubia) see him as a cool older brother. |
| 272 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Princess Estellise suffers from such an acute case of ChronicHeroSyndrome that she feels compelled to personally try to solve every injustice Brave Vesperia hears about. It finally reaches the point where Judith [[RageBreakingPoint snaps at her for it]], causing Yuri to intercede by telling Estelle deal with one situation at a time. And, as [[WhiteMagicianGirl a white mage]], she has a compulsive habit of using her healing artes to treat any wounded she sees. While normally an admirable trait, it has [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone dire consequences]] later. |
| 273 | ** Prince (and later King) Richard from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. When [[spoiler:his father is murdered]], he leads the uprising and insists upon fighting alongside his men. Also, as revealed in the epilogue, he [[spoiler:dedicates his time to killing the monsters Lambda created.]] |
| 274 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership King Gaius]] is a firm believer that it is the duty of the strong to protect and lead the weak. True to this, he often sees to the threats to the people of Reize Maxia personally. His conviction reaches WellIntentionedExtremist levels when [[spoiler:he takes it upon himself to serve as Maxwell and destroy Elympios in order to protect his world]]. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', he decides to travel about Elympios [[KingIncognito incognito]] to better understand the people there and therefor better act for everyone as king. He also sees to eliminating the threat posed by the fractured dimensions along with the party. |
| 275 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': Due to her low claim, Princess Alisha trained as a knight to better serve her people. After Sorey becomes the Shepard, she is more than willing to travel with him as a squire to help cleanse the kingdom of Hyland of malevolence. Unfortunately for her she also [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this as her efforts to help tend to not be useful in the long run. Not until she starts getting ''politically'' active, that is acting as a princess instead of a knight, and [[spoiler:after the reveal of her EvilMentor and the crushing of her last illusions about knighthood makes her realize what she really needs to do if she wants to help.]] |
| 276 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Subverted with Prince Percival. While his subjects believe him to be this, he's actually very restricted by his family in what he can do. [[spoiler:Played straight after the Suppression.]] |
| 277 | * ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'': Stronghoof Hoofstong is the Jarl of Reine. And all though he isn't technically one of the game's Champions, he's also well-aware of the return of the Predators and has taken on and defeated a number of them himself. |
| 278 | * In ''VideoGame/ThronebreakerTheWitcherTales'', you play as [[ActionGirl Queen Meve]] of Lyria & Rivia who takes to the battlefield herself to command her troops. |
| 279 | * Toki from ''VideoGame/TimeAndEternity'' repeatedly travels back in time to prevent the murder of her fiancee at her own wedding. She ends up [[spoiler:saving the entire timeline while she's at it]]. |
| 280 | * The royal families in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series. They can act as generals, accompanied onto the battlefield by generals, and can also act as a provincial governors, their personal attributes influencing the efficiency with which the province is managed (for better or worse). |
| 281 | ** Less son in the games set later, such as ''[[VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar Empire]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/NapoleonTotalWar Napoleon]]''. However, historically, many of the generals in ''Napoleon'' were aristocrats. Examples include Napoleon himself and Mikhail Kutuzov, although neither had actually been born into nobility. Napoleon made himself Emperor, and Kutuzov was granted the title of Knyaz (Prince or Duke) after his victory over the Turks. |
| 282 | ** In earlier games such as ''[[VideoGame/RomeTotalWar Rome Total War]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar Medieval 2 Total War]]'' the royal family are so powerful they can singlehandedly win battles that should be considered impossible. Every general comes with a personal unit of bodyguards, who have very high stats, great armor, are very brave, can survive hits that kill normal units, and are heavy cavalry, meaning they can perform devestating charges that might kill or rout an enemy unit in one swoop. Combine this with bringing several generals to one battle and you can completely wipe out an enemy army while suffering minimal losses. They're also the only unit that regenerates lost soldiers, while the rest of your army has to be sent to a friendly city or castle to recruit and retrain. It's no wonder why an army with most of your generals can result in an early-game blitz against your neighbors. There are a couple downsides though. Since they're cavalry units, they're very vulnerable to spears and pikes. They're at risk of dying in battle, and if your ruler dies without an heir it's an instant game over. |
| 283 | * The ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' has a few. |
| 284 | ** First is the Liberl princess Klaudia von Auslese, [[spoiler:otherwise known as Kloe Rinz, who joins as a party member in all three ''Trails in the Sky'' games.]] |
| 285 | ** Second is the Erebonian prince Olivert Reise Arnor, [[spoiler:otherwise known as Olivier Lenheim, who likewise joins as a party member in all three ''Trails in the Sky'' games, but he also works behind the scenes to help the main cast of ''Trails of Cold Steel'', getting involved in events personally every now and again.]] |
| 286 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'': Arcueid Brunestud is one. Actually, by this point 'doing stuff' is pretty much all she does anymore when not sleeping. She used to be treated like a princess by a castle full of vampires, but then [[spoiler:she killed them all]]. But she's still doing the job that went with being a princess, and other characters still refer to her as one. |
| 287 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series: The only reason Lord British isn't joining your party (without cheating) is to maintain some pretense at game balance. Nonetheless he aids you constantly, offering equipment, aid, room and board, and free heals and resurrections for both you, your party and the occasional collateral-damage NPC. Shamino, who can and usually does join you in practically every game, is also a king, although he's been stranded in Britannia since the breaking of Sosaria during the time of Exodus. And they're both Richard Garriott. |
| 288 | ** Lord British gets off his throne twice of note -- in the backstory to ''Videogame/UltimaV'' he leads the expedition into the underworld; and in ''Videogame/UltimaIX'' he realizes he has been relying on you too much, and personally goes off to kick Blackthorn's ass and stop the moons in their courses. |
| 289 | * ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': Asgore may be a recluse, but he's clearly quite competent. He's a formidable warrior, and before he isolated himself, he was a very active, involved king who sought to foster close ties with his subjects, including attending parties as Santa Claus to entertain children. [[spoiler:All this applies to Toriel as well.]] |
| 290 | * Prince Maximillian from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' who takes an active hand in TheEmpire's invasion of Gallia. |
| 291 | * Princess Alicia in ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria'', along with a good chunk of the Einherjar she can call up who happen to be royals of one sort or another. |
| 292 | * ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'', especially ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', has several royal heroes fighting on the frontlines, including Arthas, Muradin Bronzebeard (and his brothers in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', to an extent), Kael'thas and Anub'arak (ancient king-turned-traitor of Azjol-Nerub). |
| 293 | ** Brann Bronzebeard is so active as an AdventurerArchaeologist in the more recent expansions that his status as royalty seems mostly superfluous to his character. |
| 294 | ** Queen Azshara of the Kal'dorei empire when faced with a colossal tidal wave threatening her city actually held it back briefly, and only accepts working with N'zoth if she remains a queen. |
| 295 | ** ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'' rather inverts the trope, with legendary and/or royal heroes who when they appear on the field need to be kept away from the front lines at all cost, being weaker than regular units. |
| 296 | ** Then there is Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind, in the comics. When he was introduced in VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft, he was quite a bit too eager to fight to actually make wise decisions, but he seems to have mellowed down in Icecrown Citadel. |
| 297 | *** Varian's father Llane Wrynn was one of the most beloved kings of Stormwind. It was his courage and determination that kept the orcs from razing the city for the 4 years of the First War. Then he turns his back on a former ally and gets his heart cut out for his trouble. Without Llane, Stormwind falls quickly. Lord Anduin Lothar (descended from the Arathi royal line) is a skilled commander and fighter. Unfortunately, his duel with Orgrim Doomhammer ends with his skull crushed by Doomhammer's warhammer of the same name. |
| 298 | ** Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen, also fits. |
| 299 | *** She's technically not royalty as much as just calls herself that. |
| 300 | *** Arguably justified title, being that she is a recognized ruler of a distinct sovereign nation. |
| 301 | ** You also have Genn Greymane, king of Gilneas, even before becoming a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent worgen]]. During the Second War, he personally leads the Gilneas forces to cut off [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orc]] reinforcements after the ruler of the neighboring kingdom of Alterac makes a deal with Orgrim Doomhammer. He's the first to leap into battle. In the novel ''Wolfheart'', Genn and Varian go on a hunt and bond over a fight with an angry bear. This is despite the fact that Genn is by this point over 70-years-old. Genn's son was also this until taking a poisoned arrow for his father. |
| 302 | *** His daughter Tess turns out to be a Shadow, one of the leaders of the Rogue's guild The Uncrowned. |
| 303 | * ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000RogueTrader'': Despite the name sounding like a SpaceTrucker, the eponymous Rogue Traders are actually roughly equivalent to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess marquesses]] in terms of their role in 40k's FeudalFuture, and are expected to be active rulers of their fiefdoms and not sit on their laurels. All the Rogue Traders you interact with in the game indeed do, albeit with mixed results: |
| 304 | ** Lord Captain Theodora von Valancius was on her way to meet a contact in the Holy Inquisition when all hell broke loose during the JustifiedTutorial, and had picked the PlayerCharacter up from a subject world on the way there after discovering they were a by-blow of the von Valancius dynasty. [[spoiler:It's gradually revealed she was involved with a lot of really shady and likely heretical stuff.]] |
| 305 | ** Once they become Lord Captain, the PlayerCharacter is an active ruler by default [[EnforcedTrope because it wouldn't be much of a game otherwise]].[[note]]Although oddly enough, you actually ''can'' outright [[DecliningPromotion decline the role of Lord Captain]], though this causes a NonStandardGameOver since you're refusing to engage in the game's plot altogether.[[/note]] During Seneschal Adelard's first companion quest, he actually insists you ''don't'' lower yourself to dealing with something as petty (in his opinion) as a labor strike on the lower decks. If you ignore him and then negotiate with the strikers instead of putting down the strike by force the way he wants, he complains that Lady Theodora would never have sullied herself by sticking her nose into something so minor--to which you can reply with a couple different variations of [[DeathByOriginStory "And look where that got her."]] |
| 306 | ** Your competitor Lord Winterscale's cousin Evayne personally travels to the Rykad system in hopes of getting his old friend, the Warden of the local PenalColony, to abandon his rebellion against the governor. [[spoiler:He fails miserably: the Warden is a Chaos cultist and tries to use him as a HumanSacrifice.]] |
| 307 | * In ''VideoGame/WorldNeverland,'' being King or Queen is a job, and it's one of the most intense in the game. It requires running every single event, attending every council meeting to decide what happens in the kingdom, and, in ''Daily Life in Elnea Kingdom,'' you must also tend to the kingdom's sacred honeybees and the Royal Greenhouse. |
| 308 | * ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'': |
| 309 | ** The Antiqua family of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' rule the [[OurElvesAreDifferent High Entia]]. Sorean travels to Prison Island alone in an attempt to [[spoiler:release what was trapped there to try to fend off a Mechon attack]], Melia goes to try and kill an escaped Telethia [[spoiler:even if that was an attempt to get her killed]] and travels with [[TheHero Shulk]] and co. and Kallian takes the leading role in forming the Allied Force of Bionis later leading them from the front lines of the Second Battle of Sword Valley. |
| 310 | -->'''Kallian:''' Divisions 1 to 3, continue supporting the Homs and encircle the Faces.\ |
| 311 | '''Guard:''' Your Highness, think of yourself!\ |
| 312 | '''Kallian:''' Once the vanguard has been eliminated we must join the fight. Better that than die as cowards. Move! |
| 313 | ** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' has Ga Jiarg, former prince of the [[CatFolk Wrothians]]. He would much rather battle his foes himself than send in his soldiers to do it for him. |
| 314 | ** Mòrag Ladair in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' use to be the Heir presumptive of the Empire of Mor Ardain before her cousin, the current Emperor, was born. She serves as the Special Inquisitor and aide to the Emperor for Ardainian matters, even including detective work regarding the assassination of the wife of a senator. [[spoiler:Zeke Von Genbu, birth name Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal, is the exiled crown prince of Tantal who, in spite of his silliness, is serving as an aide to the Praetor of Indol. Both of them end up joining the party.]] |
| 315 | ** {{Averted}} for the Queens of Keves and Agnus in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', they're merely puppets to the organization that controls both sides of the ForeverWar, [[spoiler:quite literally, as they're both robotic fakes of the ''real'' Queens, the above Melia from ''1'' and Nia from ''2'', respectively. They both have been fighting against Moebius since the RealityMerge that created Aionios, assisting the party during the FinalBoss and serve as post-game Heroes.]] |
| 316 | * In ''VideoGame/YsSeven'' we have Aisha, she originally joins up with Adol and Dogi as a [[KingIncognito Princess Incognito]] to investigate the Bizarre phenomenons happening all over Altago. After a bit she ends up getting found out when she returns back and the King Introduces Adol and Dogi to her(Unaware that she was with them the entire time). However after the [[spoiler:[[WhamEpisode The Last Seal is gathered by the group]] and Adol and Company become fugitives after being framed for the murder of the king,]] she is temporarily removed from the party and is forced to stay in the castle. |
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