From pulling ancient daggers to ignoring obvious dangers, our favorite video game heroes aren't always the brightest. Join us as we count down the most face-palm-worthy choices made by protagonists that left us wondering if they skipped the tutorial on common sense!
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00:00Welcome to Watchmojo and today we're shaking our heads at some of our favourite characters.
00:14Whether it was stupid in the moment, stupid in hindsight or stupid with foresight we're
00:18looking at the top 20 stupidest decisions by video game heroes.
00:23Let's do it.
00:24Pulling the Dagger
00:25How many people need warnings not to take things out of ancient caves?
00:43Indiana Jones taught us this in 1981, Aladdin taught us this in 1992, why the hell didn't
00:48Lara know this in 2018?
00:50Pulling the Dagger was one of the earliest things Lara Croft does in Shadow of the Tomb
00:54Raider and it's particularly stupid because she was given pretty fair and significant
00:58warnings via cave drawings, which she just ignored.
01:01The dagger was a key part of a ritual meant to restore balance and by taking it Lara inadvertently
01:06triggered a catastrophic series of events, including a devastating flood and the unleashing
01:11of supernatural forces, returning to work.
01:34This seems like a pretty obvious one which is why it's all the more frustrating and unbelievable
01:38that someone could be this stupid.
01:40I understand, we've all got bills to pay, but in Five Nights at Freddy's the player
01:44as the night security guard learns on their very first night that the animatronics come
01:49to life and are clearly trying to harm them.
01:52This begs the question, why the hell do you go back to your following shifts?
01:55Even on my tiredest budget eating every third day I wouldn't step foot back in that place
02:00for a paycheck.
02:11to the Forbidden Island.
02:32At the beginning of Jack and Daxter we witness the birth of the Daxter we know and love,
02:36when the two friends visit Misty Island and Daxter falls into a vat of dark eco, transforming
02:41him into his furry alter ego.
02:44If only they had been told that this island is dangerous, forbidden and inhabited by evil
02:50they had been told?
02:51Oh well then they're just stupid dumb idiot dumb dumb people then, I guess.
03:10You were right, I did lie to you, I shouldn't have, all I can say is that if you get this,
03:24stay away.
03:26Resident Evil 7 sucks us in with an intriguing premise from the get go.
03:30Ethan Winters is travelling to a derelict plantation in Louisiana after receiving a
03:35message from his wife who had been missing for 3 years.
03:38The concept worked in Silent Hill 2 and was equally intriguing in Resident Evil 7, the
03:42difference being that there is absolutely no reason why Ethan has to go alone.
03:47He has physical footage of Mia, he has evidence, he could have brought police, hell he could
03:52have just brought a buddy, but no instead he goes in all on his lonesome ignoring the
03:57clear warnings of danger from his wife.
04:05Giving Yourself Amnesia
04:16Amnesia is a trip and it would take all day to explain the events leading up to the climax
04:20of the game, but essentially the game reveals that Daniel the player inflicts self-induced
04:25amnesia to give his mind a break from the mental torment he was experiencing.
04:29This makes sense I guess, but the question remains why are you so extra about it?
04:35Leaving notes for yourself, not destroying the creature tormenting you beforehand, everything
04:39the player did before giving themselves amnesia is incredibly melodramatic and just frankly
04:44a bit stupid.
04:45You weren't helping yourself, you were making everything way worse.
04:49Getting Captured 4 Times
05:06One of the most annoying side characters to ever exist in gaming is Ashley Graham, the
05:10President's daughter and throughout Resident Evil 4 Ashley's choices like pushing Leon
05:15away and carelessly running into traps set by the lost illuminatis led to her capture
05:19not once, not twice, but 4 times by the end of the game.
05:24Her reckless behaviour often hinders the players progress, earning her the spot on the idiot
05:28list.
05:29Sorry Ashley, but jump into that dumpster and shut the fuck up.
05:41Killing the Colossi
05:50It's never too late to turn back, that's what most entries on this list need to learn.
05:53Sure, your determination leads you on a mission and when you get to the goal and notice something
05:58is weird, you can always turn back.
06:00That's how learning new information works.
06:02In Shadow of the Colossus, the player believes that killing the colossi of the area will
06:06take them down a path that will result in bringing their dead princess back to life.
06:10But after killing the first colossi and witnessing the gruesome effect it has on your body,
06:15our protagonist Wanda should have realised they were being fed false information.
06:19And as he got sicker and sicker with every dead colossi, maybe he should have turned
06:23around and gone home and said maybe dead people should just stay dead.
06:38Martial arts tournaments should resemble those in Karate Kid, featuring large events
06:44held before massive crowds, definitely not in secret, with referees and doctors present.
06:49In these competitions, if any opponent lands a hit, the referee awards a point, but also
06:53ensures the fighter stops any further attacks.
06:56While a kid might end up with a sore leg now and then, the stakes are low enough that no
07:00one ends up in a body bag.
07:02When it comes to regular humans like Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, they have no business
07:05attending a secret death tournament like Mortal Kombat, and anything other than saying
07:10no is just plain stupid.
07:28Many stupid decisions are made across the course of the Monkey Island series, but who
07:31could forget the moment when Guybrush Threepwood lit a match to illuminate a room in Monkey
07:36Island 2 LeChuck's Revenge, only to discover that the room was coated with dynamite.
07:41His mishap gave players a good laugh as they watched him drop the match, resulting in a
07:45massive explosion at sea, but Guy, friend, pal, why would you drop the match?
07:58Blinded by Anger
08:05Vengeance is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, appearing in various tales.
08:09It's easy to grasp Kratos' quest for revenge on Mount Olympus, but that doesn't excuse
08:14his blatant stupidity.
08:16Going into all the stupid decisions he made through anger would take all day, his relentless
08:20anger often clouds his judgement, leading to Zeus to deceive him into relinquishing
08:24all of his godly powers, and Gaia to manipulate him into collaborating with her right before
08:28she betrays him.
08:30Talk about stupid.
08:32Slippy is always in trouble.
08:38I apologise for doing two vague entries in a row, but unfortunately some characters like
08:43Kratos and Starfox's Slippy just act pretty consistently stupid, and we just need to point
08:47at them and say, are you dumb?
08:50Slippy is often seen as the outcast of the Starfox team.
08:54Few fans of the series would name him as their favourite character, given that this
08:57little frog pilot is always getting into trouble.
09:00When he's not under attack from enemy forces, he's busy lamenting the challenges of piloting.
09:04For instance, he often flies directly into obstacles, and even once got knocked onto
09:08another planet.
09:09Great job Slippy, you idiot.
09:16Altaïr goes after Disable
09:35One of the stupidest decisions Altaïr ever made came at the beginning of the first game
09:39in the series, when the master assassin broke the second tenet of the creed by confronting
09:43his enemy directly.
09:44I'd understand if he broke the tenth, but the second?
09:47His failure to stay on mission resulted in the death of his friend Kadar, and Kadar's
09:51brother Malik, losing his arm.
09:53Altaïr ultimately lost his rank as master assassin, and was stabbed.
09:57Seems fair.
10:04Letting Dr. Wily go
10:05Given the chaos Dr. Wily has made throughout the Mega Man series, one would expect that
10:09at some point, someone would have thought, maybe we should lock this guy up.
10:13This decision would likely cut down on robot-related crimes significantly, if not eliminate them
10:18altogether.
10:19Dr. Wily is pure evil, even going so far as to wear skull-patterned pyjamas, which should
10:24make it clear that he's untrustworthy.
10:25Despite all the damage, pain and turmoil he has caused, Mega Man always manages to forget
10:30to lock the bastard up.
10:42Dan thinks he rules
10:48In Street Fighter, Dan's story centers around his father Goh, who was killed in a confrontation
10:52with Sagat, another character from the series.
10:54Fueled by a desire for revenge, Dan eventually tracked down Sagat, arguably his best decision.
10:59However, the one-eyed antagonist felt pity for Dan, and pretended to be defeated.
11:04Following this, Dan establishes his own martial arts style, called the Strongest Style, notorious
11:09for its weak foundation, and opened a dojo to teach this style.
11:12Unsurprisingly, he fails at running the dojo as well.
11:15His blind belief in himself is not borderline stupid, as it's presented, it's plain stupid.
11:20If I beat The Rock in a fight, I promise I'd know that something was up.
11:30Activating Rex
11:38Snake is not a stupid man, nor is his team, but somehow, even with his team of military
11:42personnel behind him, and the computer genius who created Metal Gear Rex, Snake was somehow
11:47still tricked into going through the process of deactivating Metal Gear Rex, only to discover
11:52that he was being tricked into activating it instead.
11:55Stupid.
11:56Just so stupid.
11:58Somebody had to have read the manual.
11:59I mean, Otacon probably wrote the f***ing manual.
12:02I need to calm down.
12:11Working with the government
12:22No one is claiming that rescuing his wife and daughter from the government agents would
12:25have been a simple task for the ex-gunslinger John Marsden, but it certainly seems like
12:29it would have been more straightforward than the route he chose.
12:33Tasked with taking down Dutch Van der Linde's gang, of which he was once a member, Marsden
12:36shows no hesitation in his willingness to kill to protect his family.
12:41It's not just about hunting animals, throughout the game, John Marsden ends up killing literally
12:45hundreds if not thousands of men and women as he pursues his goal.
12:50His belief that this would result in him running away scot-free is a level of stupid that lines
12:54up perfectly with the gang-raised protagonist.
13:03Lying to Elena
13:24Men, am I right ladies?
13:43Deception undermines trust, which is crucial in Elena and Nate's relationship.
13:48And sure, we'd forgive Nate if this was his first time lying to Elena, but his lies had
13:52already caused the breakdown of his relationship back in the third game, and since he got it
13:55back, you'd think he'd have learned his lesson.
13:58By hiding his involvement in treasure hunting again, Nate risks damaging the bond they've
14:02built over the years.
14:04Additionally, his lies create unnecessary tension and conflict, ultimately putting them
14:07both in danger as they become embroiled in this quest.
14:11It's clear to the player and Elena, had Nate explained the situation of finding his long-lost
14:15brother and needing to take on this quest to save his life, that she probably would
14:19have not only allowed him to do it, but could have been a crucial tool in the success of
14:23that mission.
14:24Stupid Nate.
14:25Stupid.
14:26Forgetting to save the planet.
14:44Commander Shepard I miss my sister.
14:46Commander Shepard I have unresolved issues with my dad.
14:48Commander Shepard, I feel sad. Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3 literally has to save the
14:53planet and he gets bogged down by so many useless side missions that it begins to become
14:58a bit of a glaring plot hole in the games story. Of course this is a choice by the player
15:02which is why this is our only entry that is a player driven choice, but we thought we'd
15:06include it to highlight how ludicrous side missions really are in RPGs, especially when
15:11the player has a life or death main mission to achieve. Come on people, can't you handle
15:16your own problems? I'm the commander of a spaceship, I'm the dragonborn, I'm the goddamn
15:20vault dweller, go away. Staying in Silent Hill.
15:34A stupid decision is made at the start of almost every entry of Silent Hill, and it's
15:38a true doozy. Now admittedly almost every character is in Silent Hill for a reason that
15:42is more substantial than a holiday, but not every reason justifies remaining there once
15:47you discover the town is filled with monsters. Almost every character has the opportunity
15:52to turn around and go home, some to a blatant degree, but all remain and explore the horrors
15:56that the town has to offer. Your errands can wait, leave and come back with three big friends.
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16:34This is a tough one because nobody likes to call Joel stupid. Towards the end of The Last
16:43of Us, Joel is presented with a conundrum. Allow his surrogate daughter Ellie to die
16:47peacefully in her sleep so the doctors at the Firefly Controlled Hospital can reverse
16:50engineer a vaccine to end this decades long nightmare the world is living through, or
16:55brutally murder every single person in the hospital and save Ellie. We all know how it
16:59ends. Taking autonomy away from Ellie is stupid enough, especially considering she would have
17:03definitely allowed herself to die, but condemning the whole world to save one person is inarguably
17:09stupid, especially when you're sending that person back into the worst world imaginable.
17:14I can't say I would have done any different, but I'm also very, very stupid. Did you enjoy
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