Top 10 Favorite Plot-twists in gaming.

[Wolf Kanno]

What it says on the tin boys and girls, what are your ten favorite plot twist in all of gaming?

[Quindiana Jones]

Sean Bean's heroic demise at the end of Oblivion. Came completely out of the blue.

[maybee]

Bioshock's


Would you kindly


Would you kindly give this a rep + ? :jess:

[blackmage_nuke]

Off the top of my head

1. 999
2. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
3. Bioshock
4. 6 Days a Sacrifice and the games in that series
5. Portal
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Monkey Island 2
8. Alpha Protocol
9. Braid
10. Magicka

I threw in a few to make it 10. Im sure theres better twists out there I cant remember right now.

[Bolivar]

My favorite of all time is MGS' "Mr. Preisdent..."

[Wolf Kanno]

I was kind of hoping for lists with details people... 53137

[NeoCracker]

Well that's what I'm here for Wolfy!

...Or at least it would be why I was here, but I'm kind of busy right now. So that's what I will be here later on tonight for WOlfy!

[Karifean]

If Visual Novels are excluded I won't be able to think of 10 :erm:

Although even if not, they're probably all going to be character deaths anyway.

[blackmage_nuke]

I was kind of hoping for lists with details people... 53137

spoilers :colbert:

[Wolf Kanno]

I was kind of hoping for lists with details people... 53137

spoilers :colbert:

we have tags for that :p

[Skyblade]

I'm really having trouble thinking of any. Most of the time a "plot twist" shows up, I either saw it coming a mile away, or I utterly hated it. Or both.

[Wolf Kanno]

You people are seriously over-thinking this. :p

For me, many of these are simply twists that I felt had a strong impact on their games or the overall experience, I pretty much stuck to twists I personally saw as opposed to just naming off stuff that surprised me from second hand sources like "Samus is a woman". Warning their will be spoilers but I'm only putting spoiler tags on more recent games as opposed to stuff that's been around for a decade or two. I'm still a bit iffy on the order but whatever.

10. Zanza(Xenoblade) Man where to start? I mean it was pretty obvious when you first met "Zanza" that he wasn't someone to be trusted but then it just got bigger and bigger as you learn he's the body snatching soul of the Bionis who is preparing to destroy the Mechonis once and for all and then purge all life on the Bionis to maintain his warped view of godhood. Compounding on all of this is the revelation about why Shulk was the only survivor of the research team and how he can use the Monado, which was learning that he didn't survive and he's been harvesting the soul of Zanza since the beginning. Up until this point Xenoblade had been emotionally gripping but not necessarily a Takahashi Xeno title and then this series of bombshells fall and I am like "There's the Xeno team I know"

9. The truth about 25 years ago and the Alternate Tokyo's (Shin Megami Tensei IV) Only once before has a mainline SMT game taken place in the aftermath of a previous game and chose a canon route. One of the big mysteries when you reach Tokyo is what the hell happened 25 years ago when Tokyo became the way it was and what is it's relation to the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado. Slowly as the story unfolds you begin to piece together the angels kidnapping children, the distribution of the Demon Summoning program on the net before the bombs fell, the Counter Demon Force being created and their use of the National Divinities to help save Tokyo from the forces of Lucifer and Archangels, and just as you start getting pulled into the Cult of Gaea and Ashura-Kai turf war the White show up. Suddenly you are plunged into different Tokyo's where the forces of Heaven or Hell won and meet up with the disturbed survivors of the Counter Demon Force to suddenly discover that your whole game is your party being in the aftermath of a previous protagonist making the choice. You get to play through all three outcomes and see the horrors of each to help you make your own terrible choices. I love this because usually the Chaos/Law ending routes are a bit vague about their conclusions so it was fun to actually waltz through alternate timelines and see first hand the awful results.

8. The Second World/ Hero's Reward (Dragon Quest III) DQIII is a pretty standard RPG about a Hero avenging his allegedly dead Hero father. Having the Big Bad turn out to be a minion to an even bigger bad was a bit surprising but not quite as surprising as leaping into the real villains world and noticing that it looks very familiar. The alternate world is the same world as the original DQ and you wander through building a special set of armor and a weapon and key needed to reach and defeat the evil Zoma, you may quickly realize what is going on and it is very satisfying when it's confirmed in the game ending that your character is in fact the legendary Loto and you've been playing a prequel game all along. It might seem silly now but considering this was done on an NES game from 1988 makes this all the more impressive and I feel this is one of the reasons why this game is so beloved.

7. World of Ruin (Final Fantasy VI) This was partially ruined for me, not because of the map or because a friend told me but because the game I first played was a friend's and I couldn't help myself in checking out his end game file and sort of took notice. Still it was a pretty huge shock if not much story wise as it was gameplay wise as the second half of the game is pretty different from the first half. It was a world altering moment and I felt that unlike some other games in the series it was a twist that really changed the tone of the game and was the best at changing the stakes.

6. The Truth about Mary Sunderland (Silent Hill 2) I am going to be a bit vague about this because this plot twist was ruined for me ages ago but it also made me decide to pick it up and eventually play it. SH2 is a wonderful psychological thriller and unlike some of the other games in the series, it has a much deeper and more sinister atmosphere because it's not about cults and haunted lands, it is about watching people who have made terrible mistakes letting their sins eat them apart and none are more visceral than James Sunderland's journey to the quiet unassuming Lovecraft country town. Even though I knew the truth it still didn't diminish the moment of the revelation for me.

5. Solid Snake's true mission (Metal Gear Solid) Before this became the staple of the series as every MGS since MGS1 has made Snake the pawn of bigger threats, MGS1 threw the whole game into a loop with the terrible revelations that everyone knew why Snake was at Shadow Moses Island except for poor Snake and the player. It's not just him being an assassin with FOXDIE to cover up the government's secrets but also learning that Liquid and FOX-HOUND knew he would come and set up all of Snake's encounters just to trick him into activating the nuke. It was pretty shocking and amazing to get the once around by everyone involved, it did start to lose it's luster when this became the norm for the rest of the series.

4. The Other Side (Persona 2) Here's something you don't see everyday, a game where the party utterly fails their objective and the world is destroyed, and if you think the Ruined World is a hell hole then well, you don't play MegaTen then. So Maya is killed, the prophecy comes true and ends the world except for a small chunk of Sumaru City and Nyalarthotep wins the bet. The only thing the party can do is beg Philemon, Nyalarthotep's good counterpart for help and his solution is to force your whole party to sacrifice their memories and friendship together to create a new world where everything that happened in Innocent Sin didn't. Enter Eternal Punishment the second half of Persona 2 and the story of Tatsuya breaking his promise to forget the old world and causing the new world to come asunder.

3. Ashley Riot's past (Vagrant Story) While I can respect what they did with Cloud, I never liked the plot twist about his past. Ashley Riot is the character that does it right. He tries to establish one idea of who he is and then gets that reality shattered by different revelations but unlike Cloud, Ashley never gets a dream sequence where his hot not-girlfriend pieces it all back together and you get a truth, instead we're left to question whose version of the story is actually true. Did Ashley really have a family or are they made up to help him cope with his past where he murdered them? Which does Ashley believe? Cloud's revelation is that he's a nobody who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and became a somebody from outside sources, Ashley starts off as an expert soldier who takes on suicide missions after his family was murdered only for Sydney and others to reveal that Ashley is actually an elite assassin suffering from PTSD which the government manipulates in order to keep him on active roster, yet Ashley is still visited by the spirits of his "family" so which version is the truth? The game never tells you and it's brilliant for it.

2. Fei's past (Xenogears) Fei is the most smurfed up character in RPGs that is saying something from a genre filled with basket cases. Xenogears is the story of Fei and while the game certainly doesn't try to hide some of Fei's secrets, how they all interconnect and how they all affect the plot is something that is slowly unveiled through the course of the game. We all know Fei is smurfed up, but it's not until later we realize just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

1. Magical Kingdom of Zeal (Chrono Trigger) Okay, Zeal isn't exactly a plot twist, it is more a series of plot twist but Zeal was the game changer for CT. Before, CT was sort of a mishmash of different worlds but there were always nagging questions about who certain characters were, about the magic doors you couldn't enter, Marle's pendant, Magus' goal and why does magic cease to exist anymore? Then you finally stumble upon the origin of Lavos and then you finally reach Zeal and everything starts to finally make sense. Not only that but many of them game's biggest plot twists come to fruition here like Magus' past, the origin of the Masemune, how the Wise Men wound up where they did and most of all Crono's death. Even if the time travel gimmick of the game makes it lose a bit of it's impact, it still takes balls to kill off the main character before the end and it certainly sends a message to the player baout how dire things have gotten. Before Zeal, Chrono Trigger wasa fun romp through time to save the future from the alien Lavos, after Zeal it becomes a story about mankind's hubris and the question of mankind's place in the world. The struggle against a force that will not only destroy all life in the future but has changed the course of history for the entire planet.

[NeoCracker]

I don't think I'll do 10, but here are some that really stand out. :p

Wild Arms 3 - You know, despite all this games flaws, I actaully felt that it did a damn good job setting up it's major plot twist. So many strange things are being pointed out like how insanely bizarre it was people only started investigating the cause of the dying world ten years ago, the growing knowledge of Ygraddsil for your party and the usage of demons in research, and even the return of Asgard after you banished his ass in time.

All this leads up to the twist that the world hasn't been dying for all this time, but actually suddenly deteriorated ten years prior, and the demons fucking with the peoples memories, leading them to believe the world had always been like this. It actually does a damn good job setting this up, and is one of the few good points about the game. :p


Mana Khemia - Alchemists of Al-Revis - It's not so much that you learn your character is a mana that's wonderdful, as you can guess that the reveal is coming fairly early. But where it shines is your characters reaction to it, and the returning memories of him killing his father when he was born (Which was his fathers wish, and Vaynes power of a mana is that of granting people their wishes), and the inner conflict and events that follow as the result.



Breath of Fire 2 - The Church of St. Eva. When the reveal Eva is evil comes there is this overwhelming sense of forboding that comes with it. Really it's not until you start learning it's evil that you stop and realize just how far reaching the church is. Something that just seemed like a bit of a world set piece and lore suddenly becomes the forefront of the plot, and the world feels so much less safe.

Infamous - Yeah, time travel twists can be a bit silly, but dammit Kessler was so awesome. The Reveal he was the future self of Cole has the impact it does because of the depth it adds to all of his actions, and how tragic it makes him out to be as a character.

[Forsaken Lover]

"You've been talking to an AI!"

MGS2's ending has so many twists but The Patriots being your support team is the best.

I definitely don't have 10. Most plot twists tend to be terrible.

[Fynn]

This could take a while.


...

I'll be back.

[Skyblade]

Ok, let's see.

Bravely Default: It has one of the best plot twists because it doesn't have a dramatic plot twist reveal. It gives you hint after hint as to who the bad guy is, but leaves it up to you to draw the conclusion. It's a fantastic twist when you uncover it, as is the actual major reveal it does. But it really feels as though the game is saying "if you haven't gotten it by now, too bad", rather than actually trying to psyche you out with a plot twist.

Super Metroid: The baby Metroid's final appearance. You spend the entire game questing after this thing. You get into the final corridor, and you see foes that are powerful, taking several Super Missiles to take down. Then the "baby" swoops in and reduces one to dust in seconds. It then chows down on you... Only to see you as it's mama. It's such a fantastic little twist, and it culminates with one of the most heart wrenching scenes in gaming, when the little baby is so concerned with saving you that it perishes at the hands of Mother Brain. AND THEN YOU CALL DOWN THE THUNDER.

Mark of the Ninja: Ora's identity. Foreshadowed the entire game, perfectly sensible, yet it's executed so well that very few people actually clue into it before beating it.

Robotech: Battlecry: My gosh, this game does not get enough love. The twist in this case is Skarrde's defection. Another one that was well set up, even if it wasn't exactly a huge moment in the overall plot.

[metagloria]

Three come immediately to mind:

FF7 (...this obviously shouldn't be a spoiler for anyone on this forum, but out of courtesy...) Aeris's death, then the whole sequence of untangling Cloud/Zack's past in disc two. Absolutely classic.

Chrono Cross, when... halfway through the game you swap bodies with the main villain. UM WHAT. I feel like this has become really underrated over time, but if you didn't know anything about the game it would be a total mind-eff.

And, probably my personal favorite, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time... going through the Time Gate to Arkives, and discovering the nature of the Eternal Sphere. Some people apparently think this is a terrible plot twist, but I couldn't disagree more. This was probably the last gaming moment that literally had my jaw on the floor. I mean, this is so far out of left field and so unexpected based on how the rest of the game sets up. Absolutely stunning.