No More Holding Back Speech / Video Games

"No More Holding Back" Speeches in video games.

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• Assassin's Creed:
  • In the Assassin's Creed II Bonfire of the Vanities DLC, Ezio delivers one of these after Savonarola is killed, coupled with a bit of Shaming the Mob. Some of which is Truth in Television and including quotations from The Light in the Heart.
    Ezio: Silencio! Silencio! Twenty-two years ago, I stood where I stand now... and watched my loved ones die, betrayed by those I called friends. Vengeance clouded my mind, and it would have consumed me, were it not for the wisdom of a few strangers, who taught me to look past my instincts. They never preached answers but guided me to learn for myself. We don't need anyone to tell us what to do. Not Savonarola, nor the Medici. We are free to follow our own path. There are those who would take that freedom from us, and too many of you gladly give it up. But it is our ability to choose - whatever you think is true - that makes us human. There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the path. Choose your own way. Do not follow me, or anyone else.
  • Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: Bartholomew Roberts begins his pirate career with one of these, some of which is Truth in Television, including quotations from A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates.
    Black Bart: In honest service there are thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. Yet as gentlemen of fortune we enjoy plenty and satisfaction, pleasure and ease, liberty and power... so what man with a sensible mind would choose the former life, when the only hasard we pirates run is a sour look from those without strength or splendour! Now, I have been among you six weeks, and in that time I have adopted your outlook as my own, and with so fierce a conviction that it may frighten you to see your passions reflected from me in so stark a light. But... if it's a captain you see in me now, aye then... I'll be your bloody captain! For I have dipped my hands in muddied waters, and withdrawing them find 'tis better to be a commander than a common man!
• In Asura's Wrath, when Asura is finally facing down Chakravartin in the final DLC chapter, he lays it all out in his distinctive way:
  Asura: I understand it all now! The true reason for my wrath!
  Chakravartin: You are not worthy!
  Asura: I could not stand it! There is always some fool who wants to rule the world! Always forcing others to do what they cannot do for themselves!
  Chakravartin: How can he, be so powerful!? I am the only God!
  Asura: That, is why... I pray to no one! Nor will I be prayed to! And above all else... I will never forgive you... for making MY DAUGHTER CRY!
• BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma: As Noel was being assisted by Rachel into accepting her Murakumo nature, the process is interrupted by (who else?) none other than Terumi, going on about how she has a the power to destroy a god. Noel refutes his claim, saying that she'll use it to save Tsubaki. This only make Terumi mock her further by calling her a puppet. What does Noel say in response?
  Noel: You're right... no, it's true. I am a puppet. But... but even then, there's nothing false about my desire to save Tsubaki. As long as I feel that way, I'll always be Noel Vermillion. Whether I am a human or a doll... it has no bearing on my thoughts and feelings!
• The PSP remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (The Dracula X Chronicles) has Richter give one after beating the True Final Boss.
  Richter: I'm a Belmont. That's my job.
  Dracula: Humanity will call me back.
  Richter: You're right. We never learn. But one day, we'll have to. And if you return, someone like me will be waiting for you.
• Dawn of War: Dark Crusade features a rare villainous example given by Necron Pariah Thomas Macabee in the introductory movie to the Necron stronghold.
  Macabee: Lucky creatures. At long last you have found the tranquility of death. I was like you once, clinging to life and blind to the truth. When I uncovered the truth, I too shuddered and paled with fear. Deep in these catacombs, I was remade. Here, my brethren slumbered for aeons, while the living grew like weeds. My lord knew this day would come. He had plans for us all. We would purge this world, once more. So come, poor victims of life. We will grant you tranquility in these crypts. Kronus will be a tomb world, once more.
• Disgaea:
  • In one of the bonus maps of Disgaea 2, Kurtis faces an army of clones of his old Anti-Hero self, seeking to eliminate him for being an "outdated" kind of hero. Seeing them as incarnations of his previous mistakes, he gives a lengthy speech about true heroism and proceeds to kick ass.
  • In Disgaea 5, the main character Killia has one of these moments later in the game. Killia has been doubting himself since the death of his Love Interest Lieze and his revenge against the Big Bad has been his only reason to keep going. But when the party is almost defeated by The Dragon Bloodis, his friends remind him that he is not alone. Killia understands that he does have a reason to keep fighting, to protect the people who are important to him.
    • In a later stage, the plot that has been running regarding Killia's inner personality Killidia finally comes to fruition. He's been struggling to hold down his destructive impulses, fighting with a voice in his head that can kill everyone. In the final moments before a huge showdown with Bloodis on Goldion's home planet, Killia finally realizes this other voice never existed, he was so scared of having to confront his power that he wasn't using it, but after this the player gains use of Killia's exceptional Overload skill, and for this one single battle it is permanently active. Killia takes the power he's been hiding from, and realizes it doesn't have to be about power, it can be about protection, effectively destroying Killidia and merging Killia with his power.
• At the start of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Dante is brash, irresponsible, and has nothing but contempt for his father Sparda, blaming his father and all of demon kind for the death of his mother and only fighting his brother Vergil, who has raised a hell tower and unleashed demonic hoards into the city, not because to protect the people but simply because he doesn’t like Vergil. Come the final mission of the game, and Dante has accepted his demonic blood and the fact that his father was a hero, learning what Vergil didn’t; the legacy of Sparda is more important than his power, and that the power they do wield should be used to do what is just and to protect the humans that Sparda loved, and that love for humanity is what gives Dante the edge over his brother.
  Dante: We are the Sons of Sparda. Within each of us flows his blood. But more importantly, his soul! And now, my soul is telling me it wants to stop you!
• Final Fantasy:
  • Delivered collectively by the heroes at the end of Final Fantasy VI as they're about to fight Nietzsche Wannabe Kefka.
  • Yuna delivers a good one to Lady Yunalesca in Final Fantasy X, when she announces her intention to Take a Third Option rather than complete the Final Summoning.
    Yuna: I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when it will be but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it without false hope.
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy:
    • The game is full of these, often combined with a Heroic Second Wind moment. In fact, pretty much all of the cutscenes in the ten Destiny Odyssey storylines before the battle with the villain consist of the hero giving one of these: Cloud refuses to let Sephiroth psyche him out, Terra learns not to let her powers define who she is, Cecil decides to fight for what he really cares about, etc. Here's Firion's for an example:
      Emperor: You should have disposed of your fantasy and accepted me as master.
      Firion: There is no meaning in strength only used to hurt others! I have dreams... dreams worth dying for!
      Emperor: What will an insect like you do?
      Firion: Believe in the future! And persist in the present! That's what I'll do!
    • And here's Onion Knight's. Bit of backstory. Throughout his Destiny Oddyssey, Onion Knight acted as a bit of a Straw Vulcan, arrogantly trusting only his intelligence, running from every encounter with people that he thought he "can't defeat", and pushing Terra to go to the source of a strange power, to prove that he wasn't "without valor" despite that. So, after that backfires horribly, he's learned a little more about how to be a hero, and faces the Cloud Of Darkness, who multiple people said is too powerful for him:
      Onion Knight: I finally got it. I was a fool to defy my heart, just to bind myself to reason. I will protect Terra with my own strength. That's what's most important to me! Don't get me wrong—I still won't fight against anyone I can't beat. But I've decided in my heart to fight. That's why I'm going to beat you!
    • For the Warrior of Light, there's the end of his personal journey, where he meets his rival Garland, who tells him that they are fated to continue fighting forever and ever Because Destiny Says So and that all that's left for them is to find some grim enjoyment in it; in response, the warrior stoically refuses to fall into despair, declaring he will fight to bring the cycle to an end.
      Warrior: Garland, I pity you.
      Garland: Pardon?
      Warrior: You are bound by the chains of destiny and steeped in despair. And for that, I pity you. Indeed, we have repeated our battles time and time again. You could say that we have been caught in the cycle of battle. But now that I know the truth, I can overcome it. All that is left to do now is fight to end the cycle!
      Garland: You can defeat me here, but that would only be another step in the cycle!
      Warrior: Whatever destiny the world may hold for me, I can never give up! This battle shall come to an end, and I shall save you, too!
  • In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Marche, after being captured, accidentally gets teleported into the fourth crystal room. While the totema cannot defend the crystal, Babus stands in Marche's way and Cid reminds him that he's alone, asking him if he believes he can do it. Marche notes that he hasn't always been confident in himself, but while he enjoys the world, it isn't real and he must destroy the crystal to go back home.
    Cid: You're alone now. None of your friends can help you. You would fight even with the odds stacked against you? Are you so sure of your abilities?
    Marche: Not at all. I'm always nervous. But... I can't afford to let that stop me. I love this world... there's magic and the clan is fun. Sometimes, I'm not sure I really want to go home. But I am sure that this place isn't real. It's a game! It's just a dream— an escape from the real world! But you can't just avoid problems forever... I have to go back! I have to destroy the crystals!
    Babus: And I suppose you think we're just going to stand here?
• Near the end of God of War II.
  Kratos: If all on Olympus will deny me my vengeance, then all on Olympus will die. I have lived in the shadow of the gods for long enough. The time of the gods has come to an end!
• Halo 4 has Cortana give a very simple speech to Master Chief as she explains how she sacrificed herself to ensure that he survived the destruction of the Didact's ship. Much of the game shows how Chief is so involved with being the hero that he has lost much of what it means to be a regular person.
  Master Chief: It was my job to take care of you.
  Cortana: We were supposed to take care of each other... and we did.
• In Injustice 2, Superman gives a chilling one, twisting the sentiment around to explain why he doesn't care if he breaks the cardboard:
  Superman: I used to be afraid. Afraid my powers would make people fear me. Afraid who I'd hurt if I wasn't careful every second of every day. I spent my whole life holding back. My fear cost me Lois. That's why I don't hold back ANYMORE!
• Towards the end of Kingdom Hearts, Sora is all about these.
• In the freeware RPG Last Scenario, what was meant to be a Rousing Speech takes the form of one of these. Prince Wilhelm delivers a speech to his disheartened troops, explaining how selfish he's been while people like the protagonists risked their lives to see him rise to the throne. Until then, he was bitter about the new responsibilities thrust on him, and never realized how much his people were sacrificing while he did nothing. He promises that he'll finally become the leader they've idealized him as if they'll just keep fighting a little longer. The speech alone is enough to convince the enemy commander to order a retreat, since his entire plan hinged on getting the soldiers to give up on their weak-willed leader.
• Zero in the Mega Man series has a knack for these.
  • At the end of Mega Man X8:
    Zero: Even if we Reploids are destined to join the scrap heap when that evolutionary step does come about...we still have to fight...Not only against Mavericks but against our own destiny as well.
  • During the Elf Wars (detailed in Drama Tracks), he delivered another one to Omega. This one more or less speaks for his earlier incarnation and says more or less the same stuff.
    Zero: Omega, I finally knew because I fought with myself!; What kind of fighting I have done so far? What exactly my hesitation has been so far? Now I can say that my power is not for destruction. It's for my friends; my power is to protect my friends' beliefs! Be gone, my nightmare!
  • Before the Final Boss battle in Mega Man Zero 4, Zero delivers this speech as a Shut Up, Hannibal! to Dr. Weil's attempt at a Breaking Speech. It is one of the most iconic lines in the entire series:
    Zero: If I destroy Weil's core, the explosion will take Ragnarok out with it...If Ragnarok is blown apart, it no longer poses a threat!
    Weil: Are you even capable of it? The Reploid hero, protecting justice and humanity! I am one of those humans you have sworn to protect! Do you have it in you to defeat me?!
    (cue One-Winged Angel)
    Zero: I never cared about justice and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero...I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate...If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!
• Metal Gear Solid has several per game.
  • In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Raiden delivers a pretty badass one before his final rematch against Senator Armstrong.
  Raiden: I said my sword was a tool of justice... not used in anger, not used for vengeance. But now... now I'm not so sure... and besides... this ISN'T my sword.
• In Modern Warfare 2, Captain Price gets two epic such speeches, back to back, in the final two levels.
  Price: The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is its last day on earth. But I think that's a luxury, not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take... inventory. Out-gunned. Outnumbered. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the sand and rocks here stained with thousands of years of warfare... they will remember us. For this. Because out of all our vast array of nightmares this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight: We. Will. Kill him.
  Price: This is for the record... History is written by the victor. History is filled with liars. If he lives, and we die, his truth becomes written, and ours is lost. Shepherd will be a hero, 'cause all you need to change the world is one good lie and a river of blood. He's about to complete the biggest trick a liar ever played on history. His truth will be the truth. But only if he lives, and we die
• Phantasy Star IV has Chaz giving a most righteous two-part version to Le Roof, where he essentially calls bullshit on the entire spiritual meaning of the Algo solar system: the Protectors are mindlessly obedient servants of the Great Light the same way that Zio and Dark Force are the servants of the Profound Darkness, the only difference is that the good guys are outside the seal and the bad guys are trapped inside it. After that, he realizes that none of that matters, and neither do the gods: what matters is that innocent people will die if somebody doesn't do something, and that is worth fighting for.
• One of the possible endings for Planescape: Torment has the Nameless One making a speech... and disbelieving the final boss out of existence.
  The Nameless One: If there is anything I have learned in my travels across the Planes, it is that many things may change the nature of a man. Whether regret, or love, or revenge or fear — whatever you believe can change the nature of a man, can. I've seen belief move cities, make men stave off death, and turn an evil hag's heart half-circle. This entire Fortress has been constructed from belief. Belief damned a woman, whose heart clung to the hope that another loved her when he did not. Once, it made a man seek immortality and achieve it. And it has made a posturing spirit think it is something more than a part of me.
• Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones had the Prince discovering his slain father in a deep cavern. Being taunted by his evil side, he had a revelation that gave him the mental fortitude to reject his Superpowered Evil Side.
  Dark Prince: What now then? Gather up enough sand, perform another grand rewind? Or perhaps you can return to the Island and travel back to a time when he might still be saved. Maybe rescue a Damsel in Distress along the way!
  Prince: NO! You are right. I have been like a child. Naive and arrogant; always rushing to undo my mistakes. Never facing the consequences of my actions. No more. I accept what I have done, and all that it implies. (transforms back, without water)
  Dark Prince: What is this?! You have no water! How did you—?
  Prince: You hold no power over me now! Be gone! Retreat to whatever dark hole spawned you, and do not trouble me again.
• The Secret World:
  • Carter spends most of her time wishing she was normal and fearing her magical powers for their sheer destructive potential; however, in "Carter Unleashed", she finally decides to cut loose on the Familiars swarming up from the basement.
    Carter: Miss Usher and Mr Montag want me on the bench for this game, and I know it's to keep their star player from being injured mid-season, but it feels more like being put in the penalty box. I want to step up to bat... I mean, I want to help out! I can use my powers- the really freaky ones. (Beat) You know they warded this school from the inside because of me? (Beat) I'm tired of being scared of it, being made sick by it; maybe that's how my powers want to be used- for me to just say the words and tear it all down!
  • Freddy Beaumont delivers a rare villainous example during the confrontation in the Illuminati Archives.
    Freddy: I've been in exile for a very long time. I was forced by false prophets to flee my homeland in disguise, degrade myself by pretending to be something I'm not, to be much less than I truly am. I spent a long time cursing my kind, planning my revenge and victorious return. Eventually, I got on with my life, and now, they're all dead and forgotten by those who once worshipped them! There's a lesson in there somewhere, I'm sure. Thing is, I'm ready to be myself once again; no more disguises. Their false prophecies perished with the White God. I'm free... and I don't plan on anything... or anyone changing that.
• Silent Hill 2 has the final fight with Pyramid Head begin with James realizing why it existed.
  James: I was weak. That's why I needed you. Needed someone to punish me for my sins. But that's all over now. I know the truth. Now it's time to end this.
• StarCraft:
  Zeratul: You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities. Unto my experience, Aldaris, all that you have built here on Aiur is but a fleeting dream, a dream to which you will only wake up to an even greater nightmare.
• Star Wars Legends: The Force Unleashed 2:
  • In the trailer:
    Starkiller: [narrating while slaughtering stormtroopers and droids] Betrayed by Vader for the last time. A new journey begins... with something worth fighting for... someone worth dying for... and I will not stop... I will not rest. Vader can't stop me now! [quietly] Vader can't stop me now. Nothing can.
  • There's one in the actual game too at the very end:
    Starkiller:[to Vader who has been captured by the rebels] I let you live. You tell me I'm a clone but I chose to spare you. [beat] Maybe Kota's right. Maybe this is all a trick — a way to get me so confused... that I'd forget who I really am and become your slave again. But either way... I. Let. You. Live. I've finally broken your hold over me.
• After beating Alkaid, the Shura King in the final scenario of Super Robot Wars Compact 3, Alkaid asks, "Folka Albark, you say that the old ways of our worlds were wrong and searched for an answer, is that so? What is the difference between our people and these people?" Folka answers, "I have fought alongside the people of these worlds and learned from them the answers to my question, the people of this world and us are exactly the same." Keita is surprised at Folka's answer but Folka continues, "Do you GET that, Shura King? We are like they are, we just have to find a way to live without fighting, that's all. We just didn't know HOW. It's not just about fighting; we have to learn how to build a new Shura World with our own hands." Van asks, "So that is your answer, Folka?" Alkaid says that ideals alone will not make it a reality, but Folka retorts that they can do it. Alkaid says again that anyone can SAY they can do it and Folka says that he and the remaining Shura will find a way. Alkaid says that it is time then that he joined his beloved Generals in the great beyond and says "Folka, I leave the Shura World in your hands."
• There's a really, really anti-heroic version in Tales of Vesperia when Yuri reveals why he's become a Vigilante Man. It's definitely a case of the hero breaking past his limits and taking action, but as Flynn points out, that's not necessarily a good thing.
  Yuri: The laws have always been the tools of whoever happens to hold all the chips...You can't deny that lives were saved because those bastards were put down. You'd rather tell those people, "sorry you have to die today, I promise we'll change things soon?"...They're out there, you know. People so bad they'll just go on hurting others. What can the average person do but be victimized by people like that? You know it was the same way with our people in the lower quarter.
  Flynn: Even so, Yuri, what you're doing isn't right. Do you intend to rain down your justice on all the villains of the world? That's the behavior of a common criminal!
  Yuri: I recognize it for what it is and I've made my choices. Murder is a crime.
  Flynn: And even knowing that, you intend to dirty your hands.
  Yuri: Intend to? I already have.
• In the Genocide run of Undertale, the final boss, Sans has one that runs for the entire first phase of his fight, admitting that he Stopped Caring a long time ago, and never bothers to put his all into anything anymore, but that what you've done and are about to do are so awful that he can't afford to not interfere anymore. You're going to hear this speech a few times.
  Sans: our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting... until suddenly, everything ends. heh heh heh... that's your fault, isn't it? you can't understand how this feels. knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset. look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago. and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either. cause even if we do... we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right? to be blunt... it makes it kind of hard to give it my all. ...or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? hell if i know. all i know is... seeing what comes next... i can't afford not to care anymore.
• Alicia of Valkyria Chronicles has one when she's standing against an enemy battleship fortress as an activated Valkyria, stating that she knows how to give her life as a Valkyria meaning. Her impending Heroic Sacrifice is stopped by a 1-2-3 punch from Welkin consisting of a confession of love, a marriage proposal, and a Cooldown Kiss.
• In the final battle of Wild ARMs 2, what starts with the protagonist extends to all of humanity delivering a speech about how they should stop relying on heroes to do all their fighting and making Heroic Sacrifices. They promise to fight together to protect the world... while the protagonist is fighting alone in the one place they can never physically reach. Cue Combined Energy Attack and Awesome Music. It starts around 2:50 and extends through the entire fight.
• Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends with You delivers a combination of this and Shut Up, Hannibal! when Megumi Kitaniji asks him to help brainwash the entirety of Shibuya for the supposed greater good.
  Neku: Maybe living in your Shibuya WOULD be easier. Maybe. Except one problem - it wouldn't be Shibuya! I was never good with people. I covered my ears and blocked them out. But you know what? If I don't clash, I don't change. The world ends at my borders, and the best moments slip away. Shibuya's full of people waiting for those moments, when we clash together and find something new. Here in the UG, I clashed. I changed. And now I know - Shibuya should stay just as it is!
• Nia, from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 gets a brilliant one when confronting Malos in Chapter 7 after The Reveal.
  Nia: I should have used this power earlier. But I was afraid. Afraid to go back to those days. Lives have been lost... because I was afraid. But someone taught me that I don't have to be afraid. Now I get it! My life has a purpose! Your power might destroy, Malos, but my power restores. As long as my friends have the will to live, that's all I need. There is no wound you can inflict that I cannot heal!

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