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Games where you're not the 'hero/chosen one/savior' etc.

Planescape Torment: What can change the nature of a man?

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Tingle is this to a T in Freshly-Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.
Not only is he the ultimate anti-hero (35 year unmarried man who thinks he's a fairy) but
he hires bodyguards to do the fighting for him.
 
Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. You're just a group of 4 guys trying to survive thousands of zombies going after them.
 
FF12, heh. I can't think of a game where you're more of an observer/along for the ride, in terms of who the main character actually is.

That's true to an extent, but once the game gets going, there are no real mechanics in place to say Vaan is the main character over anyone else.

Also FFXI felt like this most of the time. You were basically hired muscle and you certainly wouldn't had been the star if the game was magically turned into a single player game (you'd be the powerful NPC companion). With CoP and WotG you were more like a "chosen one" due to being exposed to stuff that changed you in some way.

That's talking about a single-player like elements. In any MMO everyone is a "chosen one"... so in truth, no one is chosen. There are no heroes or icons in MMOs, maybe save for the people who excel in inter-guild server drama.
 
Guild Wars 2

You're the powerful sidekick that becomes a right hand man to an out-of-nowhere NPC that suddenly gets a legendary sword even though he's been a scholar his entire life.
 
Max Payne 3?

Or hell, the entire Max Payne series of games?

Because Max is doing a pretty shitty job of being a "hero" all around, hahahah.

He's not a hero since he fails to protect anyone but himself (which is a central theme throughout all the games), but he's pretty much a one man army.
 
The first half of infinite undiscovery was like this.

Final fantasy 6 to an extent. The game never makes a main character clear, but terra would fit the whole chosen one thing.
 
Actually
if you replay the game with the knowledge of the time loop you'll realize that Cid has been pretty much preparing Squall from the first time.
Ah I see.

I think I was at the final boss and I didn't finish the game. I played it over 10 years ago, so the story is a little vague to me now haha. (but I really loved ths game)
 
The first half of infinite undiscovery was like this.

Final fantasy 6 to an extent. The game never makes a main character clear, but terra would fit the whole chosen one thing.
I came to post IU. And as far as I can remember, Suikoden 3 is similar
You learn mid game the hero you're looking for is dead and choose who will replace him
 
I'd put in an argument for Demon's Souls, since you're one of the many adventurers who venture into Boletaria for reasons unknown. The player character is simply the only one who succeeds. Dark Souls, on the other hand, has the propechy of the Chosen Undead, so that's an automatic DQ.

I dunno, as far as I recall in Dark Souls the only thing they say about the Chosen Undead is that they're chosen to make a pilgrimage, not to save the world. I think Dark Souls qualifies on that basis. I certainly don't remember it pushing any real notions of self-importance on the player, if anything the game goes out of its way to show you're just a fragile character in a very harsh environment and it's up to you to change that.
 
Some awful suggestions in here. Just because it isn't in the story that you are the chosen one doesn't mean that the main character isn't following the typical path of the chosen one. If you have regenerating health, super combat abilities, infinite ammo, or a whole slew of other abilities commonly given to the main protagonist, you are still in essence, the chosen one. Especially if you end up saving the world.
 
I dunno, as far as I recall in Dark Souls the only thing they say about the Chosen Undead is that they're chosen to make a pilgrimage, not to save the world. I think Dark Souls qualifies on that basis. I certainly don't remember it pushing any real notions of self-importance on the player, if anything the game goes out of its way to show you're just a fragile character in a very harsh environment and it's up to you to change that.
No, they pretty much imply right at the beginning your character is the undead messiah. That asshole at Firelink tempers your ambitions quite quickly though.
 
Sora from Kingdom Hearts is a weird case, but he qualifies:
Riku was actually supposed to be the original Keybearer, but the whole "swallowed by darkness thing" happened, among other things. Because of that, Sora was granted the keyblade because he was the only other one capable of using it at the time.

Tales of Symphonia too, since you're basically controlling Colette's bodyguards.
 
No, they pretty much imply right at the beginning your character is the undead messiah. That asshole at Firelink tempers your ambitions quite quickly though.

Well googling the Dark Souls forum appears to show the issue is actually fairly contentious as to whether you're the chosen undead or just one of many chosen undead (the game does rely heavily on the idea of parallel worlds). But in fairness I forgot that Frampt does specifically refer to you as the chosen one, so I guess Dark Souls is indeed disqualified.
 
I dunno, as far as I recall in Dark Souls the only thing they say about the Chosen Undead is that they're chosen to make a pilgrimage, not to save the world. ..
If you get the hidden dialog with darkstalker kaathe:
It is pretty much clear that you are the choosen one with the dark soul to start the age of darkness(humanity). And yeah, Frampt is lying
 
Another Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days thread in disguise.

Play this game and let it be the standard for all games to come.
This post gave me cancer.

Good choice.
Reminds me i need to give this game a third playthrough.

On Topic
[ProtoType]
Star Wars The Force Unleashed and its sequel.
CastleVania Lords of Shadow
Halo: Reach - unless im misremembering the story
Major GTA titles essentially right till the end you arent really the "chosen one"
Even Spec:Ops The Line?.....You are far far from the chosen one in that game.
NO WAY, Claudia foretold gabriel's Destiny as did Marie, Zobek thought he did but it didn't count on Gabriel becoming the lord of darkness. But his own order did so they hid his son Trevor before he knew him.
 
Yeah, this is much what I thought as well, but the reality was much different--at least with the ones I played. Less a world populated with unique individuals, than mega-important heroes co-existing on parallel paths.

Supplementary reading.

many more military styled Gundam Games.
Not sure if Front mission counts.
The Walking Dead.
many other zombie games.

That makes me thinking, in almost every MMORPGs where everyone turns out to be "the chosen one/ special", every one is just actually not "the chosen one/ special" huh.

It's worse when EVERYONE is the SAME chosen one with the exact same story. There's mandatory, useful suspension of disbelief, and then there's that.

No, they pretty much imply right at the beginning your character is the undead messiah. That asshole at Firelink tempers your ambitions quite quickly though.

Yeah, it's disqualified from the getgo, but does its damnedest to make up for it. :D
 
Erm what?

The purpose of Final Fantasy Tactics was to show that history was wrong AND you (Ramza) ARE the main hero. Essentially you're viewing the game in the eyes of the historians uncovering the truth.

Delita was NOT the chosen one, nor was Ovelia. It was both Alma and Ramza.
 
Star Ocean 2, so much that the game throws some Hero of Light nonsense at you non-stop in the first few hours, you repeatedly deny it, then it's all but forgotten.
 
Already posted but I stress Dragon Quest 5.

Majora's Mask.

thats what i loved about majoras mask.
nobody knows about you, how youre shifting through time.
some crazy mask saleman has trust in you and thats about it.

at the end, when everythings good, nobody really knows that it was you

and thats what i didnt like about the newer zeldas ( ss, tp) where its obvious from start that youre the hero of XX and so on.
 
Star Ocean 2, so much that the game throws some Hero of Light nonsense at you non-stop in the first few hours, you repeatedly deny it, then it's all but forgotten.

As the game goes on however you do end up fulfilling the description
 
Witcher 2
Unreal
Freespace 2
Medal of Honor Allied Assault
Battlefield Bad Company

All great games that don't have you playing a hero

Bad Company is one of my favorites since all your trying to do is get gold in between a war
 
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