Video Game Characters We Felt Really Bad For
In the world of gamers, there is no shortage of player archetypes. There are those that mash the buttons through any sort of dialogue only to look back and ask "Wait, what am I supposed to be doing?", and those that appreciate a well written story. If you're the latter, then you no doubt have a thirst for big text-driven adventures, hours of complex dialogue, and of course meaningful characters to tug at those heart strings of yours. But sadly not all heroes and underdogs end their adventures in a field of Skittles and kittens. In fact, often it is the inevitable tragedy that really gives you a bad case of the feels. So here's a look at a few characters that have brought on the tears. Warning, a few spoilers ahead...
Dominic Santiago - Gears Of War
Dominic, better known as Dom, is the best friend and war buddy of Marcus Fenix, the brooding protagonist from most installments of the Gears of War series. Dom may have the most depressing story of any video game character ever. After losing his two children to the Locust, his wife falls into a deep depression, eventually vanishing into the war-torn wilderness. On top of that, Dom sacrifices his own career in order to save Fenix from a nasty execution. And through all of his pain he still manages to find time to win your heart with a joke or two. But in the end, he's forced to kill his own wife, and ultimately gives his own life to save his squadmates from meeting their doom.
Chell - Portal
Not much is known about the silent hero of the Portal series, but that doesn't stop players from truly developing a relationship with her. Through various hints and dialogue it has been revealed that she was the daughter of one of the scientists at Aperture Science Labs, but her entire life has essentially been spent inside of the white walls of the test facility. She's been a test subject all of her adult years, and even after presumably escaping the labs at the conclusion of Portal, she awakens back in the lab at the start of Portal 2. And then to make things worse, when she finally does free herself from the bowels of Aperture, she's set loose into an empty field, with no knowledge of the real world, or how to live a life outside of the test chambers. At least she's finally reunited with her companion cube.
Bill Overbeck - Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead introduces the world to four unlikely survivors trying to escape a city drenched in mutating zombies. But L4D was more than just a mindless zombie shooter. The four playable characters were bleeding with personality all throughout their journey, which made it a real tear-jerker when players who completed "The Passing" DLC chapter came across Bill's dead body at the end of their trek. Shortly after "The Passing" was released, players were treated to another DLC chapter titled "The Sacrifice," a prequel to "The Passing" which allowed players to live out Bill's death. In truth, any player could be the unfortunate one to leap down into the fray and give themselves to the zombie hordes, but "The Passing" had pretty much canonized Bill as the one that was, well, left for dead. Not to mention the comic that was released before the DLC, which gave us the real scoop on Bill's heroic end.
Mega Man - Mega Man
Most will recognize Mega Man from the golden age of platformers. But outside of his linear side-scrolling adventures, the Blue Bomber actually has a pretty sad story. He was created to be a peace-loving lab assistant to his creator, Dr. Light. But when Dr. Wiley started unleashing his evil robot bosses into the world (eight at a time), Mega Man was transformed into a super fighting robot. Now, you might think that this doesn't matter because he's just a mindless machine, but Mega Man is by all account the closest thing to human that a robot can get. Remember the face Mega Man makes when he takes a hit? That's not annoyance, that's the face of pure anguish. Mega Man feels everything, which means that he sure feels the weight of war after being sent back out to murder his brethren year after year. The robot never had a chance to enjoy the life intended for him. Instead, he's forced back into an endless fight that he was never meant to be a part of.
Frog (Glenn) - Chrono Trigger
A game that has been debated as one of the greatest RPGs ever made, the time traveling adventure Chrono Trigger has no shortage of lovable characters. But the knightly swordsman from the Middle Ages known as Frog (or Glenn in his human form) lives quite a pitiful life indeed. Cursed by the dark mage Magus, Frog lives alone in the woods, lamenting his failures as a protector of the Queen. Though his spirit is redeemed throughout the game's long quest, Frog's journey is one of great inner turmoil. He's haunted by the loss of his best friend Cyrus and blames himself for pretty much everything bad that happens to the house of Leene. It gets worse: towards the end of the game, players have the choice between defeating Magus and breaking Frog's curse in one of the game's multiple endings, or allowing the blue haired, scythe swinging mage to join your party as a playable character. Needless to say, Magus is a welcomed addition to most entourages, leaving poor Frog to remain in his amphibious form forever.
Lee Everett - The Walking Dead
If you've been feeling too happy lately, try playing through Telltale's adaptation of The Walking Dead. Lee's entire life is pretty messed up. After being jailed for killing a Senator who had an affair with his wife, Lee crashes (literally) into the zombie apocalypse. Then he has to revisit his old stomping ground, loot his brother's corpse, and basically make the hardest decisions ever found in a video game. This series really pushes you into some worst-case scenarios, leaving you to pick between several impossible choices, all for the sake of playing mediator to an ever-changing group of survivors who are constantly at each other's throats. The only ray of sunshine in his otherwise bleak existence is little Clementine. If you finish The Walking Dead without having to pause for a cry break between chapters, you truly are an animal.