10 Video Game NPCs You Shouldn't Have Trusted
From Software's Patches is a damn deceptive swine.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 So as we all know, NPCs come in all shapes, sizes, and allegiances.
00:05 Some are extremely helpful support characters, others are annoying fools, and some fall somewhere
00:10 in between.
00:11 And then there are those NPCs that you initially trusted, and yet turned out to be duplicitous
00:16 turncoat b*tches, eventually showing their true colours and summarily screwing you over
00:20 as a result.
00:21 And that's what we're talking about today.
00:23 I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Video Game NPCs You Shouldn't Have
00:27 Trusted.
00:28 10. Atlas - Bioshock
00:30 Throughout the original Bioshock, players are guided through the city of Rapture by
00:34 the support character Atlas, a revolutionary who they speak to via a radio for the majority
00:39 of the game.
00:40 Later on, however, it's revealed that Atlas is actually the sh*tty conman Frank Fontaine,
00:46 who faked his death and assumed the Atlas alias in order to agitate a civil war and
00:50 take control of Rapture for himself.
00:52 We also learn that Atlas' oft-repeated phrase "Would you kindly", which he uses whenever
00:57 he asks a player to do something, is actually a hypnotic inducement, a trigger phase that
01:01 forces protagonist Jack to do anything he asks without pushback.
01:04 So the lesson here?
01:05 If a game keeps a support character at arm's length from you, and you never actually meet
01:09 them in person, there might just be a good reason for it.
01:12 9.
01:13 Basically Everyone - Castlevania II - Simon's Quest
01:17 Castlevania II - Simon's Quest really takes the damn cake where dishonest NPCs are concerned.
01:23 The game was designed to offer only vague hints at how players can progress, such that
01:27 the various NPCs provide largely cryptic and scarcely comprehensible clues as to what you're
01:32 supposed to bloody do.
01:33 While the NPCs were always written to be dishonest, and only offer vague hints at best, this was
01:37 exacerbated when the game was localized for the West.
01:40 Poor translation resulted in the NPCs' nuanced wordplay becoming lost, in turn making these
01:45 piecemeal clues even more vague and even more confusing.
01:49 One of the more infamous localization gaffes involves the clue "Hit Deborah Cliff with
01:53 your head to make a hole", which is a total nonsense statement which is basically close
01:57 to useless.
01:58 This is just one of the many examples of NPCs who are either intentionally misleading, or
02:03 are just so poorly translated as to be actively unhelpful.
02:06 Hilarious it is, but it's also very annoying if you're trying to play through this without
02:09 a guide.
02:10 8.
02:11 The Blind Beggars - Red Dead Redemption 2 - Red Dead Redemption 2's world is absolutely
02:16 bustling with life and impossible levels of detail, including the presence of countless
02:20 beggars on the streets of the various settlements you pass through.
02:23 And you might also periodically notice a blind beggar asking for spare change.
02:28 And though you're free to throw some cash in his cap, there's also a chance that you'll
02:31 discover on closer inspection that they're actually a faker trying to scam you.
02:35 Hilariously, if you point a gun at the beggar, the faker will recoil in a way that indicates
02:39 they saw exactly what you did.
02:41 Though they'll initially try to save face, if you keep your gun pointed, they'll then
02:45 undo their blindfold, omit their ruse, and run away with their tail between their legs.
02:49 Otherwise, if you stick around after handing out some money, you might hear the beggar
02:53 laugh at duping you, or even get up and just start walking off.
02:56 Granted, your losses in this regard are minimal, but it's still a totally unexpected detail
03:01 that further fleshes out how absolutely wild this game's Wild West truly is.
03:06 7.
03:07 Kreia - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords
03:10 In Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, the player controls an exiled Jedi Knight
03:14 who attempts to restore their connection to the Force with a little help from their friends.
03:19 And one such "friend" is Kreia, the exile's mentor who was eventually revealed to be Darth
03:23 Treya.
03:24 As in Darth B-Treya, get it?
03:27 And to hammer home the point, she also goes by the moniker, The Lord of Betrayal.
03:31 Ultimately, Kreia is revealed to have manipulated the player through half-truths and cryptic
03:35 answers in an attempt to destroy the Force once and for all, as leads to a final confrontation
03:40 between the two and Kreia's demise.
03:42 But long before this reveal, she's actually presented as a prickly enough character that
03:46 players should probably think her a little bit sus, especially after the original Knights
03:50 of the Old Republic pulled off its own late-game identity-related plot twist.
03:54 Still, Kreia is a fan-favorite character for a reason, and as such, we wouldn't have it
03:58 any other way.
03:59 6.
04:00 Master Miller - Metal Gear Solid Throughout the original Metal Gear Solid,
04:04 Solid Snake is aided via codec by Master Miller, a former drill instructor and survivalist
04:09 coach, who basically serves as the moral support during the more arduous portions of Snake's
04:13 mission.
04:14 Yet the fact that Miller doesn't really dispense much in the way of tangible advice, sticking
04:17 more to broad platitudes, probably should have clued in players to the deception that
04:21 is happening right in front of their face.
04:23 Late in the game, Miller reveals that he isn't actually Snake's pal, but rather the game's
04:27 primary antagonist and Solid Snake's twin brother, Liquid Snake, who has tied his hair
04:32 back and hidden his distinctive eyes behind a pair of sunglasses.
04:36 At this moment, Colonel Campbell also reveals to Solid that the real Miller's body was just
04:40 discovered at his home, having presumably been killed by Liquid, or indeed his men,
04:45 in order to impersonate him.
04:46 It's an ingenious twist that makes replaying the game a totally fascinating experience,
04:51 knowing full well that every verbose conversation you have with Miller is just Liquid screwing
04:55 with you and basically wasting your time.
04:57 While anyone who noticed that Cam Clark voiced both Liquid and Miller probably thought nothing
05:01 of it, it should actually be a total red flag to not trust Miller at all.
05:05 5.
05:06 Maik the Liar - The Elder Scrolls
05:08 Now in fairness, if a person literally goes by the moniker "Maik the Liar", you've really
05:12 only got yourself to blame if you take anything they say seriously.
05:15 Nevertheless, Maik is a recurring Easter egg character in the Elder Scrolls series, having
05:20 appeared in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and The Elder Scrolls Online.
05:24 During idle chit-chat, Maik will wax lyrical on a multitude of subjects.
05:28 But for the most part, he's basically a stand-in for the developers, allowing them to pass
05:31 commentary on the more absurd aspects of the Elder Scrolls' world in tongue-in-cheek fashion.
05:36 Granted, most of Maik's claims are tall tales that most sensible players would take with
05:40 a truckload of salt, including him telling you not to believe the claims that he is indeed
05:44 a liar, but even so, he should clearly be trusted about as far as he can be thrown.
05:48 4.
05:49 Eric "Bloody" Sparrow - Tony Hawk's Underground
05:52 While the stakes might not seem as high in a Tony Hawk's game compared to everything
05:56 else on this list, that doesn't make Tony Hawk's Underground's Eric Sparrow any less
06:00 of a detestable degenerate.
06:02 Eric is the player character's best friend at the start of the game, but throughout Thug's
06:06 surprisingly involved and wacky story, Eric becomes a routine thorn in your side, exhibiting
06:11 patent self-interest and flat-out screwing you over again and again.
06:15 From needing the player to bail him out of jail, to actively attempting to impede their
06:18 career progress by passing their hard work off as his own, Eric's behaviour is all the
06:23 more infuriating because the protagonist gives Eric second, third, and fourth chances to
06:27 not be an asshole, and he still is.
06:30 This culminates in Eric drunkenly stealing a tank during a trip to Moscow - yes, you
06:34 heard that right - and blaming the subsequent $700,000 worth of damage on the protagonist,
06:39 getting him kicked off the skate team.
06:41 Douchebags don't come in much stronger flavours than Eric, and while it's certainly satisfying
06:46 defeating him at the game's end, the protagonist was clearly way too patient and way too trusting
06:51 with him.
06:52 3.
06:53 Everybody in Zozo - Final Fantasy VI
06:55 Final Fantasy VI's town of Zozo is home to criminals, thieves, and worst of all, liars
07:00 who will do anything but offer you actual assistance.
07:03 Aside from a single NPC south of the inn, every NPC you encounter will tell you a half-truth
07:09 or flat-out porky pie.
07:10 Hell, the first NPC you come across even tells you "Zozo, never heard of it", and another
07:15 NPC who promises to let you pass will immediately start attacking.
07:19 All in all, this really sets the tone for your time in this town.
07:21 There's a quest in Zozo that requires the player to set the inn's stocked clock to
07:25 the correct time by asking the town's citizens what the current time actually is, yet because
07:30 everybody in Zozo is a liar, you're basically forced to figure out answers by process of
07:34 elimination, assuming that every time an NPC tells you is wrong until there's just two
07:38 options left.
07:39 At least, in this case, the dishonesty is played for total laughs, and it's made almost
07:43 immediately clear that nobody here should be taking up their word.
07:46 2.
07:47 Patches - FromSoftware Games
07:49 FromSoft's reoccurring trickster character, Patches, is one who fans love to hate.
07:53 A patently dishonest tosspot, a proto-version of whom first appeared in the studio's 2008
07:59 game Armored Core for Answer, and has been a regular fixture in the titles ever since,
08:03 Patches turned a lot of heads when he showed up in Demon's Souls the very next year as
08:07 Patches the Hyena.
08:08 Patches initially attempts to trap the player with the promise of treasure, later apologizing
08:13 for it and offering to sell you items, but then kicking you down a hole in an attempt
08:17 to kill you.
08:18 He reappears as trusty Patches in Dark Souls, unbreakable Patches in Dark Souls 3, and Patches
08:23 the Untethered in the recent Eldent Ring, each as tricksters who aid the player in one
08:28 breath and attempt to sell them down the river in the next.
08:31 Patches also shows up in Nightmare Fuel's spider form in Bloodborne, where despite his
08:35 more uniquely grotesque appearance, is once again up to his usual chicanery, promising
08:40 the player riches, only to set them up for a downfall.
08:43 Despite this, Patches is such a charming scamp in this bleak and desolate world, that it's
08:47 basically impossible to not like him at least a little bit.
08:51 Patches can't ever be trusted, but you would definitely miss him if FromSoftware ever retired
08:55 him.
08:56 1.
08:57 Master Li - Jade Empire
08:58 *sigh* Betrayals don't come much more crushing than this.
09:01 Master Li is the Spirit Monk's mentor in the first half of cult classic RPG Jade Empire,
09:07 but once you defeat the apparent big bad, Li reveals his true colours by straight up
09:11 murdering your ass, stealing your goodies, and installing himself as the new emperor.
09:16 Players then have to navigate their way back to the land of the living for their revenge
09:19 confrontation with Master Li.
09:21 Story-wise, it's certainly a compelling twist on the overly familiar master-apprentice dynamic
09:25 that we've seen done to death in martial arts media, and at the same time totally demoralising
09:29 that our seemingly wise mentor had basically been using us this entire damn time to get
09:34 what he wanted.
09:35 And the lesson learned here is that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and if somebody's
09:39 giving you an awesome gift seemingly out of the goodness of their hearts, like training
09:43 you up to be a badass warrior for example, they might just have an ulterior motive.
09:46 And there we go my friends, those were 10 Video Game NPCs You Shouldn't Have Trusted.
09:51 I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
09:53 the comments section below.
09:55 But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
09:56 There is one thing that you can trust, my friend, and that is me telling you that you
10:00 deserve love, happiness, and success, because it is damn well true.
10:04 You deserve all of the best things in life, and do not let anything or anyone else tell
10:08 you otherwise, alright?
10:09 Trust in yourself, believe in yourself, and I really hope that you smash your life goals
10:13 today.
10:14 Big love to you.
10:15 As always I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon.