7 Heartbreaking Fights That Made You Kill a Player Character

[@tba113]

Seeing Andy and Jane trying desperately to find another solution to the final confrontation in A Way Out was heartwrenching.

[@barsni4779]

I mean, rather then "desperate" it was obvious solution. Basic logic even.

[@bustinarant]

My friend is way better at shooters than me, I was the driver in A Way Out, but in our finale I crawled slowly to the gun and he SPRINTED. Don't think he was even slightly injured lol Funniest "duo racing towards one gun" scenario I have ever seen.

[@lycanthrochick]

No idea why there wasn't a third ending

[@diamondplayz2145]

Exactly

[@thedj9553]

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the “double threat” line from Andy in the first entry? Comedic genius.

[@philiphunn194]

Made me giggle like a schoolgirl, that’s for sure 😂

[@VonBlade]

I love how you can hear him struggling to keep it together through the next line. Quality Mr Farrant, quality.

[@looler12123]

... I didn't get it.

[@eleanorsmith7152]

@Party Pooper Willy is a slang word for an intimate body part I’m not sure I can name on this family friendly KZbin channel

[@thefamilymealgaming]

@@eleanorsmith7152 you can its a penis. That's the science term for it every male has one nothing wrong with saying it

[@zulubunsen9067]

The Anakin vs Obi-Wan fight is even better in the first Lego Star Wars game, as each player controls one of them, playing through the level cooperatively (interspersed with a few clashes), ending in a duel between the two.

[@samward7539]

Yeah, Lego Star Wars the Video Game for PS2 and Lego Star Wars the Complete Saga for PS3 did it better. Made the fight significantly more impactful, emotionally speaking. Especially if you’ve been playing through the rest of the game together.

[@supervegito2277]

Aye... this is also the only example i can think off, where the PLAYER also has a boss health bar. Very unique mechanic.

[@geoff_bee]

I was always disappointed this wasn't part of other lego games - it blew me away to have the final boss of the game as Player 2

[@michaelandreipalon359]

There's also the PS2/Xbox game adaptation of Revenge of the Sith... sort of.

[@supervegito2277]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Oh? Do tell.

[@Taracinablue]

I remember watching Andy & Jane play the whole game and being shocked and devastated by that twist ending.

[@RedTail1-1]

Okay... This video has 7 different games in it... No one knows what you're talking about...

[@bct2308]

@@RedTail1-1I’ve also never watched their playthroughs, but I think they’re referring to A Way Out where the two players themselves have to fight each other? Just a random guess.

[@lonelyratgirl3688]

I'll be honest, the fight between Vincent and Leo still makes me cry

[@r3l1csvk]

yap,Farewell song even nails it

[@aquaplush7531]

One of the few games to make me cry… The others were Death Stranding and RDR2.

[@AverageJoe_15]

I recently played it through for a 2nd time with a random who never played it before. Poor guy had no idea what was coming 😔

[@NotsoCreativeName0]

R.I.P Leo/Vincent

[@BlaqjaySama]

Imagine playing this with your girlfriend lol. That twist hit us outta nowhere and we ended up talking during the rooftop portion to decide who’s ending we wanted to see first lol

[@sambridgett]

"It's the game Nietzsche would've made if he'd had access to Crunchyroll" should be a quote on the Nier Automata box.

[@finnover9781]

The boss fight between Eltariel and Talion in the DLC for Middle-Earth Shadow of War. Seriously, you've spent the majority of the main game playing as Talion, and now, you're being forced to fight him all because the replacement Ring of Power finally corrupted him. And Eltariel's suffering even more because she knows that what Talion is now is her fault for siding with Celebrimbor and abandoning him to die.

[@r3l1csvk]

yeah,being of the lads which rather wanted eltariel to die the whole dlc due to what she and celebrimbor did to talion

[@finnover9781]

@@r3l1csvk I'm more even-minded in that regard, but yes, she did wrong and she knows it

[@Canadian_Zac]

Eh, i hated that fight, not because of the fight, but because they were just straight using the exact same lines as Gandalf and Bilbo about handing over the ring Doesnt feel like a parellel, just felt like they stole the lines to avoid making their own dialogue

[@HanithSVK]

Hate Eltariel for what she did. She practically took from Talion what was the best weapon they had against Sauron. Then she left for god knows how long and returned only after Sauron fell... Shame i cannot choose the ending, even if that would mean that i doom middle-earth, at least one time i wanted to stab her in that prideful, elven face.

[@ajmcdonald1753]

I was waiting on someone to mention this game, you’re a legend

[@music0in0my0head]

Detroit become human broke my heart almost as much as a way out. You don't get Connor deviated enough and he will end up fighting Marcus. When that happens you have to pick whichever one you play, and duke it out. I played a good run immediately after so they did live happily ever after.

[@r3l1csvk]

yap,that part where you have to choose of the two can be painful for some,but not for me as i was of the people who would have wanted d:bh being about connor only,making him hunt deviants anbd kara,alice and markus being other deviants to hunt

[@zackdelarosa14]

They really need to include them in the commentor addition

[@kagetpm1315]

@@r3l1csvk I don’t think Alice has anything to do with it or at least you can’t capture only Alice

[@maxhocks2006]

9S slow descent into madness was heart breaking. Especially because the whole world seemed to be built t screw him over. Neir was an amazing game that kept blowing my mind, but I was not ready for the tower.

[@rizkyanandita8227]

Have you read all the suplemental material? Cause the story of 9S and 2B is just a bad cycle.

[@NimbleTack]

Having Andy and Luke fight is a bit harsh, but I suppose it's one way for Jane to get that corner office at Oxboxtra Towers.

[@Brasc]

At which point the office explodes as she sits at her desk in her new office, overseen by a cackling Mike with steepled fingers watching from the other tower across the way. Then the cackling abruptly stops and Mike collapses, revealing a hooded Ellen crouched behind him with a Hidden Blade, the vent covering askew behind her where she stealthed into the office. That's right, friends. _It was Ellen all along!_ At which point the bruised and battered Andy and Luke show up, take in the scene, and declare that it was all "a bit much." To which a singed Jane and minorly lacerated Mike agree, while a dissipating smoke cloud remains where Ellen was mere moments before, leaving behind a note that calls their motives for trying to obtain the Towers' corner office "a bit Fawlty."

[@bustinarant]

@@Brasc My god it was an Elleningception

[@diamondplayz2145]

@@Brasc You should write fan fiction about this.

[@PLAYER_42069]

I remember watching a stream of "A Way Out", and when the final fight at the end turned out to be against the streamer's co-op partner, it was one of those "Oh, shit!" gaming moments that can't be matched. It seems predictable in hindsight, but that's just how good a story teller Josef Fares and his team is when they can take a trope and still make it fresh and impactful.

[@4nna8096]

@@khamjaninja. That second paragraph is the best thing I’ve ever read and it took me on a rollercoaster of a journey XD

[@samwill7259]

I'm so glad that my brother and I never had any of these games when we were younger. The trauma forcing a pair of twins through that would have caused might have mad my mom sue a game publisher for therapy

[@RedTail1-1]

Eh... Most of these games are not really THAT old...

[@glyphin343]

I'm certain most people know, but originally deathwish in GTA V would've had Franklin die and you'd have to finish as Lamar. However Lamar's actor had some legal trouble and wasn't able to record the needed material so they changed the ending.

[@DrownInLysergic]

GTA voice actor has legal trouble? He's just a very serious method actor.

[@conformistbastard9842]

I was watching his check your nuts videos on KZbin before he got the part of Lamar. It blew my mind when I realized he played Lamar lol look up gcode check your nuts. Classic!

[@tevinanarchy774]

Not legal trouble, medical issues

[@glyphin343]

@@tevinanarchy774 double checked it, in his Reddit AMA he said it was personal issues, I've always heard it was legal but you're right it could be medical.

[@sothedain5801]

Honestly I'm glad we got what we did.

[@samthompson1804]

For some reason 'Little Nightmares 2' popped into my head when I heard this premise. Though I'm not sure why, because I'm pretty sure I remember that game ending happily with Six and Mono holding hands as they run off together into an idyllic countryside free of terrifying monsters, to settle down together as bestest best friends in the whole wide world. That's how everyone else remembers that game ending, right? Right?

[@Hyperdisk]

Unfortunately no. They run off together to a comfortable cottage. It's not in the country side but near the art museum. They do settle down as bestest friends though along with the little gnome people. That's what happens, it's still a happy ending

[@samthompson1804]

@@Hyperdisk Just as long as the museum curator doesn't have an accordion neck or seven elbows.

[@milesrobison1826]

I remember when I played A Way Out with my young brother who has problems with abandonment. That was really really... fun.

[@eddythefool]

In the SMT Devil Survivor series you basically have to fight all of your companions in certain endings and maybe recruit them if you raised your relationship enough. There's also Fire Emblem Three Houses where in some routes, namely the Black Eagles, you'll lose party members depending on a choice you make half way through the game and you'll have to fight those party members to the death later.

[@Rubyfir3]

Also as an extension to 3H: there are two students who can defect based on your timeskip route, but you have the option to spare them and bring them back to your side when you defeat them.

[@medusathedecepticon]

Glad to see someone else mentioned Fire Emblem 3 Houses for this. I swear on my first playthrough I tried so hard to recruit everyone I could just so I wouldn't have to kill them later.

[@abyssion8]

I was going to mention Devil Survivor 1 and 2. They're my favorite games that no one has heard of.

[@eddythefool]

@@medusathedecepticon my Byleth ended up with messed up stats because i was trying to get them to b rank on a bunch of skills to recruit as many people as i could. Didn't even use most of them, i just didn't want to have to kill them later.

[@eddythefool]

@@abyssion8 they're the SMT games with the best alignment endings. The chaos endings in particular don't end with an apocalypse scenario like they usually do. Still waiting for the third one.

[@Crocogator]

Seeing that 9S ending the first time had my jaw on the floor. Yoko Taro don't screw around.

[@chrisc1140]

Probably the most *uncomfortable* death I can remember in a videogame

[@Crocogator]

@@chrisc1140 Easily. The slipping on your own blood thing is what really got me. Just. Damn dude.

[@marhawkman303]

@@Crocogator and the A2 ending... she saves 9s..... from himself.

[@MicahMotion]

I did the last mission in a way out and did not do anything when someone got the gun and thought I could get a secret ending but it just stops and you have to kill the other player.

[@disneyboy3030]

Someone should write to the developers to make a special edition with this secret ending.

[@BTBSOUNDS]

@@disneyboy3030 nah they shouldnt make that. The fact that there is no perfect ending is what makes it brilliant and memorable

[@JogBird]

poor Yoshi, killed billions of time by now for the double jump

[@marhawkman303]

makes you wonder how his species is still alive.... or is Peach cloning them?

[@lugismansion2400]

At least he can have his revenge in Super Smash Bros

[@DigidesteinedSayian]

Shin Megami Tensei makes murdering party members for plot reasons practically a tradition. In SMT1, two of your three fated companions leave the party, join separate factions, and fight you if you're not part of their faction. The best ending is the one where you reject both factions for being too extreme and crazy, so you have to murder them to save what's left of civilization.

[@shadowsnake5133]

JESUS! I MEAN MY GOD, THAT'S BRUTAL!

[@Rubyfir3]

The spinoff Devil Survivor (and its sequel) do the same. For the first game, depending on what side you choose, you may need to fight old party members. For the sequel, everyone's split into three teams near the end depending on their preferred Law/Chaos/Neutral alignment.

[@VelvetTeacake]

Digital Devil Saga continues the tradition too. In a way.

[@phantomnite]

Not really in nocturne and 5. 4s the same I believe

[@jardex2275]

That's pretty much a mainstay for any SMT game that doesn't have Persona in the name. SMTIV had two of your friends become the vessels for Lucifer and the Chariot of God respectively. The best ending has you killing both of them.

[@VoiceofKane3]

"The game Nietzsche would have made if he'd had access to Crunchyroll" is the absolute perfect description of NieR: Automata.

[@clarkesteinman5098]

The first game I played that pulled this off really well was Splinter Cell: Conviction. You and your friend play as American agent Archer and Russian agent Kestrel, with unique costumes, voices, dialogue and plot points. You play through several missions together, and then after the last mission, on the plane taking you home, Kestrel and Archer end up receiving orders to kill the other one. Whoever survives the fight holds the other one as they die in their arms, and then is shot in the back by the third operative in the plane. I remember playing it with my brother, and totally surprised at the conclusion. What a fun and tragic twist. Every time I see it happen now I always fondly remember Splinter Cell: Conviction. (Fun fact: in the single player game, you can find Archer and Kestrel’s bodies.)

[@Xazyv]

I think a particularly noteworthy detail is I don't think they *both* get kill orders. I don't remember who gets what but one gets a kill order that the other one overhears somehow, from opposite ends of the plane. And suddenly the bond they'd formed up to that point didn't matter, they both knew they were gonna kill each other. With Vincent and Leo there was a betrayal that was personal and it hurt the characters, but for these two it was just... An order and a moment of figuring out who was gonna shoot first.

[@ILoveFilm247]

I just commented about this! Hadn't seen your comment yet. This blew the mind of my friend and I, who had just played through it all in one go.

[@clarkesteinman5098]

@@Xazyv Yeah. It was Archer that received the order. They called him because he hasn’t answered their message they sent to his device…the same device that was left right by Kestrel, who saw it. They both knew the other was going to be hunting them. (I didn’t say all that because it might’ve been confusing a long-winded for anyone that hasn’t played it.)

[@Holydragonblade]

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits has you play as two separate groups of characters, and then near the end the two groups have to fight each other with you picking a side to control. True in the end they join forces anyway, but still.

[@ghostderazgriz]

Hey wait a minute. Have they ever made a list where the protagonist and bad guy team up for a sick fight? I love those moments. Usually they're pretty cool

[@ChaosMechanica]

Any examples?

[@medusathedecepticon]

Like whenever Mario and Bowser team up? Or when Mario and Bowser Jr. teamed up to save Bowser? My favorite would be when Poison Ivy teamed up with Batman in Batman Arkham Knight.

[@mayhem436]

When the flood team up with you in Halo 3 to stop the halo rings firing

[@aikan7457]

Co-op campaign for Splinter Cell: Conviction ends with the two players getting orders to kill each other.

[@drakonicboom3775]

Me and my best friend literally spent years beating every Co-op mode in that game. It never mattered how long it had been since we last saw each other, it was a staple of our friendship, he was Kestrel and I was Archer. We saved the last campaign mission for last and had no knowledge going in.. I lost.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

One of them survived though, as Blacklist shows.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Man, I sure miss Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory co-op. Stupid Ubisoft.

[@Xazyv]

My brother and I did every shooter co op mode we could afford to try back in the day. We were a fantastic team that could beat the hardest shit any game threw at us, but he was waaaaay better than I was in 1v1 fights which made this fight so much worse for me Cuz yeah there's the whole "allies killing each other" and "he's my dang brother" problems I'm sure a lot of other people got, but I also got the added struggle that *I* am the final boss for *him*. This was not a game I would win, but I had to be a hell of a boss fight on the way out. I got my revenge in the second Army of Two game though.

[@Subpar1O1]

The best part is that you find the bodies of the Co-op characters in the single player story mode. It's really sad if you play the co-op campaign after, because you find out the nameless goons in body bags from the first level are the characters' you and your friend played as

[@MercuryA2000]

That freaking Neir ending was heart breaking. The entire buildup, swapping back and forth between them, was epic AF and one of my favorite parts in any game, but having to put down 9S for his own good was painful. Then going back to murder A2 was rough.

[@buffcode]

***Spoilers*** Get the true ending though, and they end up getting rebuilt

[@MercuryA2000]

@@buffcode I know. If finished the game. Doesn't change that that was heart breaking.

[@buffcode]

@@MercuryA2000 Fair

[@quirda77]

Kingdom hearts 3 fight sora vs roxas always gets me. The fight isnt against a bad guy just someone struggling with the existential crisis caused by losing literally everything and everyone dear to him because he isnt supposed to exist. It hits even further home with the battle music for the fight which normally is there to hype you up, but instead here is a somber reminder that if you win you're taking the last hope away from a person who's life you already destroyed who you never knew existed.

[@elijahemerson4934]

It was KH2 that this happened. It’s a great fight, until he starts spamming his finisher move that doesn’t let you hit him and lasts for 20-30 seconds

[@therealchaosguy]

I cannot deal with the pain of having to kill the students I couldn't convince to join my House in Three Houses... RIP Dedue, you shall be missed... Not Lorenz though, despite being from my favorite house I was GLAD to kill him on my Eagles playthrough

[@devilkris07]

Same. And in my first run through I picked red house. Imagine my dispair when I didn't go with Edelgard and had to kill her in the end.... *cries*

[@Neonsilver13]

I think legacy of kain defiance might have qualified for this list. Spoiler: You spend the whole game playing as either Kain or Raziel until they meet each other again, then you fight at first with Kain against Raziel, then with Raziel against Kain. Raziel rips Kains heart out seemingly killing him. Admittedly the death doesn't stick to Kain, so that might disqualify the game.

[@tracerau7424]

I utterly loved the whole Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver series and it saddens me that we will never get a game that continues from Defiance. That whole story saga was epic as hell.

[@ryukiri]

It gets better when you add in the fact that the heart of darkness that Kain has been using since the first Blood Omen game was ripped out of Janos Audron's chest by the human Raziel. You fight and kill human Raziel as Raziel in SR2, because you spent that entire game trying to revive Janos; then you finally succeed after ripping it out of Kain and you find out that Janos is an evil tool of the Hylden, whom you then must kill again. Ultimately Raziel gives in to his fate and becomes the Soul Reaver so Kain can take on the Elder God, so technically they both live (in a way) and team up again. LoK is the best series ever.

[@CD-Gaming]

I feel bad for forgetting about that now...

[@Lord_Of_Night]

Technically not two characters fighting each other but still... Darkest dungeon during the final boss forces you to sacrifice two characters to ensure victory. What makes it worse is you have to choose which ones die *and* watch them beg for their lives!

[@4nna8096]

I played A Way Out with my sister a couple weeks ago and it was good. She played as Leo and I played as Vincent. However, I may have gotten *slightly* mad at the reveal and that Vincent betrayed Leo… we both agreed on it and so I may have spent the final fight literally walking out into the open so she could get a better shot at me XD

[@jeanetten.s.8557]

Me and my brother had the same reaction though debated over different solution to the final confrontation. We needed to step away from the game for a few weeks so that we can agree on killing Vincent because he's the backstabber.

[@4nna8096]

@@jeanetten.s.8557 haha glad we’re not the only ones who disliked Vincent at the end. You know what they say ‘snitches get stitches’ XD

[@jeanetten.s.8557]

@@4nna8096 though we still needed the step back because well ... The two men had family and there was the argument for a moment that Vincent would live a better life than Leo.

[@medusathedecepticon]

Honestly I still liked both of them. The one I didn't like was the government agent that gave Vincent the gun and spilled the beans. Would have been interesting to see a final confrontation where Vincent and Leo team up against the government one last time. It's such a great game though.

[@AussieMoist]

I love watching let's plays of A Way Out because the reveal always gets a good reaction and in almost every case the Vincent player is more upset than the Leo player. I'd guess it's because for the Leo player their character remains the person they've thought they were since the beginning but the Vincent player is finding out their not who they thought. If it were a movie it might be less upsetting but because games give the consumer more agency I would guess it feels like more if a betrayal to find out you're character was a double agent all along. No idea if that applies to you but the pattern is interesting imo!

[@DJVm4GOD1]

I always have the funnest memory of A way out's end, cause watching a stream and his actual brother play the game, and they made the last part so fucking hilarious. I'll always remember it.

[@krazymanproductions8378]

Slightly disappointed that Army of Two wasn't on here, having to off Salem after multiple games wasn't fun.

[@MoonlightStrider]

To this day I wish that if there ever was a new Army of Two game, I'd be happy if they just retgone'd that story and have Salem and Rios being the kick ass two man army they were.

[@sarahthompson2179]

Well in splatoon 2 in the Octo expansion dlc, you end up having to fight the player character Agent 3 of the first game you previously spent so much time building up into a threat now forced to fight them., also a reminder that even though they don't die , they were in fact being mind controlled so you were also forced to fight the previous player character against their will

[@Salgood01]

Just gonna throw out the boss fight in the game “The Last Story.” Where you end up being forced to fight and kill one of your own characters towards the end. (He even keeps the equipment and skills you had on him for the first part of the fight). Made my fight super hard after hours of grinding. Though I will add. It does kinda hint up to the big betrayal.

[@lilymau]

Oh yeah, him. Once I had obtained the frying pan weapon, guess whom I gave it to^^

[@Salgood01]

@@lilymau that’s gold!

[@Knopey]

I would have loved to see Suikoden II's most heart-breaking duel on this list: Riou vs. Jowy, two best friends separated by crisis, ending up as commanders of opposing armies.

[@ShadowJCreed]

Hmm would Iron Bull from Dragon Age Inquisition be a good choice for a list like this? If for Iron Bull’s personal mission during the base game you let his entire crew get slaughtered, during the DLC he eventually turns on you and you’re forced to kill him. With at that point of the game meaning you’ve most likely spent many hours playing through the game with Bull in your party (or at least I did because he was one my favorite party members) and any time this happens it never ends well especially if you also had a romance going on with him. Luckily if you don’t let his crew die in the base game that means he doesn’t turn on you so at least his death is not set in stone

[@joenesvick7043]

It's like no matter what he'll join the Tal-Vashoth, they say those Qunari aren't Tal-Vashoth, but that crumpled note I found suggest they are going against the Arishok. If that note was a lie to the Inquisition, why would they intercept it and crumple it 🤔

[@brucewayne404]

That Machine Gun Willy joke was god tier, well done.

[@madmaxandrade]

4:59 The Deathwish always seemed like the canonical ending to me anyway (and it was basically confirmed a few years later by GTA Online). Sure, Michael and Trevor spent the entire game bickering, but Franklin was always there trying to get them to make piece and work together.

[@jordanp.davidson5977]

And yet the only thing we got about Michael was Franklin referencing him in the DLC about Dr. Dre

[@hectorwhoz]

For the Lego Star Wars portion, why didn't you go with the origina Lego Star Wars? That game had you contrilling both Anakin and Skywalker in the fight, or player 1 vs player 2, solving puzzles and entering small arenas of fights against each other as you progressed through Mustafar I think that version encompassed what this list was about much more succinctly

[@Richtofen-gy9cj]

Anakin and Obi-Wan

[@howlphantomwolf]

"A robot lingerie model and a robot child". I want to argue that... but it's too accurate.

[@LillySwifty]

I expected to see Fire Emblem Three Houses on this list. It was just so sad… I literally levelled up the relationships only to then fight them 😭

[@muhammadrifky18]

Although Alex Mercer wasn't a playable character in Prototype 2, he was in the first game. It was disheartening to see us, as James Heller, ripping both of his arms before killing him

[@MrNintendogeek01]

Yoko Taro loves making gamers suffer. He did a similar thing one game earlier in NieR.

[@RTitleySage]

None obligatory but there are at least five Dragon Age companions you can wind up fighting to the death - Wynne, Sten, Leliana and Zevran in Origins and Iron Bull in Trespasser. At least two of these can be made to happen while your player character is in a relationship with them.

[@SwampVVitch]

I immediately thought of Zevran as well. Then I thought hey wait you get into a fight if you desecrate the urn of sacred ashes. Or if you just don't alpha enough for Sten. You can piss a lot of people off in Dragon Age lol

[@jojobee2133]

Not sure if it counts but, willingly walking Roxas into disappearing broke me and since I played kh2 first I didnt even get it till later...then it killed me

[@AlexxxMYLSince2013]

It would count if you talked about the fight agains Roxas in the world that never was since Sora tecnically kills him.

[@shadowsnake5133]

12:44 i feel like the original lego star wars did this better, as in multiplayer, one of you controls aniken, and the other obi wan, both with increased health. sure, the combats weaker, but nothing beats fighting your friends and family in such an iconic duel to the death.

[@0PercentImagination]

The thing about cinematic games like A Way Out is being forced into something just ends up more frustrating than it is 'impactful', that and it feels that there was room for more variety in the part explained in the video. Perhaps have both characters struggle and fall to their deaths if both players reach the gun at the same time, or the other character push you off if you take too long to fire the gun.

[@UnrealGenius]

My fave is how Marvel’s Spider-Man handled the Doc Oc & Peter Parker relationship! You know how it’s going to go from the first hour of the game but it’s still heartbreaking in the end.

[@ILoveFilm247]

Doc Ock was playable in that game? Because this is about playable characters.

[@Red-Pandora]

Honorable mention: co-op knight in castle crashers. Not heartbreaking, but you do _have_ to fight your friend, to the ( *temporary* ) death

[@NGMonocrom]

4:43 ~ Sorry Luke, but Leo only turns his life around afterwards if he's the one who survives their final encounter. If Vincent survives, Leo just dies. Vincent just goes on living his life.

[@Ceece20]

Ah Nier Automata, holy crap I was not ready for that game.

[@jamesgraham6492]

Same. It hurt so much killing 9s and pascal

[@phantomnite]

Yeah, it really sucks

[@Xazyv]

Even after all this time, having heard so much about it and never been able to play it, with it being probably the only game currently on my gamer bucket list, I still don't think I'm ready for it

[@rashkavar]

Jaden Korr, from, Star Wars: Jedi Academy (or Dark Forces IV: Jedi Knight III: Jedi Outcast II: Jedi Academy, for the meme title). In the dark side route, the final boss is Kyle Katarn, who is the PC from the previous 3 games in the series. Which PC you're forced to kill in this route is debatable, because Kyle Katarn is a tough as nails boss fight - it's a massive difficulty spike that only exists for dark side players. Every time I've played the dark side route, the ending I've had is that Jaden Korr canonically dies at the hands of Kyle Katarn because I try the fight 50 times, get murdered 50 times, and surrender to that fate.

[@strawberryduchess656]

If you do a part two, I’d say include Detroit: Become Human. Sure, the characters don’t _have_ to fight, but depending on the route you take, they certainly can.

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

I know I mention this game a lot, but it is my favorite game. Does Akira from Astral Chain count for this sort of list? Technically you don't play as them, but they do take up the gender of the player character that you did not pick. Not only do you have to have an intense emotional boss fight with Akira, who is mentally unstable because of big story stuff, but then you have to kill them at the end of the game. Platinum Games really wanted me to feel like a jerk towards the end of Astral Chain.

[@Joe90h]

Platinum still on that bittersweet boss fight kick from Nier Automata, I reckon. I really hope it's out of their system for Bayonetta 3. And they got "Shitty game" out of their system with Babylon's Fall.

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

@@Joe90h Honestly, for a second there I thought you said shitty game out of their system with all their games. Dang KZbin notification wouldn't show me the full reply. Also, I did skip over the 9S portion, since I have not played NieR Automata and plan on getting it once the Switch version comes out. While I do not mind being spoiled on how you have to fight 9S, I do mind being spoiled on the fight itself.

[@nightmarethrenody8232]

Similarly, in AC Odyssey, you end up having to fight whichever sibling you choose not to play as.

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

@@nightmarethrenody8232 Hm, did not know that.

[@Mongward]

A Part Two of this video should mention Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The fight between Raziel and Kain in the cathedral was incredible, not only because the gameplay was very fun, but also because the voice acting was top notch.

[@tomaszkubala6266]

" Trevor is there to make the Rampages seem less out of character" that is so probably the truth

[@TheLaur200]

Having a "heartbreaking fights" video and not putting the fight with Pixy from Ace Combat Zero is a SIN! You are literally killing your wingman - your best friend - by doing "fighter jet jousting" in nuclear snow above a nuked country. If that is not heartbreaking, I do not know what is.

[@konoikurozora5851]

Live a Live hit me hard (I wonder if it's just as awful in the remake) You either have to kill everyone else with Oersted, or kill Oersted with everyone else. No going around that. There's also the special case of Tales of Xillia 2. If you want the Julius ending (which is my favorite), you have to kill the entirety of your team aside from the main character (since he's doing the killing). But you don't have to do that if you're going for a different ending. Also Utawarerumono, where the last boss is the main character and you have to kill him...

[@spungebub4569]

Omg finally someone else said it! I played Live A Live too and Oersted’s death definitely made me sad. Everyone hated him and he lost his one chance to save his timeline from himself. I didn’t think he deserved a fate like that.

[@TheBarbourShop]

The fight against Jill in Resident Evil 5 comes to mind immediately with this list. Broke my heart. Even the song that plays when you fight her is named "Sad But True"

[@SpySecretSquirrel]

I'd like to put an honorable mention to KH2/KH2 final mix. You start the game as Roxas and lose him after his summer is over, then you get to fight him again. I liked Roxas. Back then I thought he was gone forever

[@Evanz111]

“Beware spoilers for the following” - literally seeing the game on that list is a spoiler that your playable character is going to die haha

[@Jono_]

**SPOILER ALERT** Oooooh the dark side ending in Knights of the Old Republic has you killing off most of your party. I'm still haunted by the Mission/Zaalbar ending. :(

[@immortalfrieza]

Especially if you get Zaalbar to kill Mission.

[@WarriorAngelLetsPlays]

The game that came to mind for me when seeing this video was the prologue multiplayer campaign for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. Two agents from different countries having to work together until the end when they are ordered then to kill the other one.

[@whitefluffydog5871]

Breath of Fire 4 lets you choose to willingly join the Emperor and kill your own party. They even programmed one PC to never fight back and only guard through the whole battle.

[@davidbusch383]

Chrono Trigger gives you the option to either recruit Magus or have Frog attack & kill him as revenge for Cyrus's death and Frog's being...well a frog.

[@BlueThunder1988]

Though tbf, up until that point, Magus was only ever antagonistic towards you so it wasn't such a shock. That said, he uses his dying breath to tell you how to revive Crono, when he had no ulterior motive to do so.

[@lumehaash8926]

I'm still not over having to fight and kill either Kratos or Zelos in Tales of Symphonia. The worst part is that the game does give you the option to pick the character who will still be part of your team. Just. Ahh........... I'm stilll crying over it :((

[@kyuubinaruto17]

I know you kill Zelos, but don't you just wound Kratos? I think he still has plot relevance later on. Been a long time since I played it but I still love the opening cinematic. I also loved that Teen Titan's Robin was the voice actor for Lloyd.

[@sothedain5801]

@@kyuubinaruto17 you do wound Kratos in that fight and not kill him but that choice does lead to his death later in game. The only way Kratos lives, is if Zelos dies.

[@kyuubinaruto17]

@@sothedain5801 Does he die from the one on one fight with Lloyd in that path?

[@EmperorDodd]

@@sothedain5801 I'm pretty sure that's incorrect. Kratos does _intend_ to sacrifice himself later on, but things end up not working out that way, and he gets his scene in the game's epilogue regardless of how we got there. Although, it is only if Zelos died that Kratos ever rejoins the party as a playable character afterward.

[@immortalfrieza]

@@sothedain5801 Nope, Kratos lives no matter what. He only joins your party again if Zelos dies.

[@jareda.3155]

I'm suprised I haven't seen any mentions of Tales of Symphonia. Though they betray the party, hot-dad Kratos and hot-bro Zelos are both redeemable...but the one you don't save is fought as a boss and killed. The worst part is there isn't an explicit choice, it's guided by a hidden affinity metric that the game doesn't warn you of. My heart was crushed when I unknowingly flipped the outcome on my second playthrough and suddenly had to kill my husbando (and best party member at the time) Zelos.

[@BlueThunder1988]

Well, Kratos doesn't die,but Zelos absolutely does 😢 I did expect to see it on the list.

[@NexeL_NKC]

Oh come on, Astral Chain isn’t on the list?! That sibling brawl between you and the other player character is one of the best fights ever! All set to a killer soundtrack! And BOTH OF YOU ARE INVINCIBLE CHIMERA MONSTERS!! And the later parts of the game make the fight that much more impactful.

[@fallingarrows1401]

'this tends to prove the theory' is the funniest OX moment in OX history

[@frodobaggins7710]

Devil May Cry 4 lets you play as both Dante and Nero in the main story, but you have to do so much of it as Nero (including two fights against Dante) that Dante almost feels like an afterthought

[@medusathedecepticon]

I guess they wanted to make sure to give Nero the spotlight since Dante starred in 2 games already? *Shrugs*

[@samward7539]

I don’t know why they went with the skywalker saga duel of the fates battle when the original in Lego Star Wars the video game for ps2 and Lego Star Wars the complete saga had you actually fighting the other player during that segment. Making it much more impactful cause you two were working together for all the missions before.

[@Bowmansparkles]

Thanks for the Way Out spoiler on the thumbnail 🤣 I’m currently playing it now for the first time with a friend who’s only in town for a week. I know it’s an older game but damn outsidexbox🤣

[@griffinraynor8425]

KotOR loves this! KotOR 1 has Dark Side Revan kill playable companions Juhani and Jolee if you've brought them along (you actually have two opportunities to kill Juhani, but one is before she becomes playable), and KotOR 2 has the Exile likewise kill Kreia regardless of alignment. You can optionally kill a few other playable/potentially playable characters in KotOR 2's endgame.

[@dsmiley53]

I know it was a "bad" ending, but I killed Trevor with barely a second thought. The man was a monster.

[@saturn4602]

My first playthrough I ended Trevor for killing johnny

[@keithjohnson6477]

Me to plus when I played gta v the third option wasn’t death wish it was labeled “franklyn” and when I picked it the second run through out of curiosity franklyn commits suicide on the spot

[@marhawkman303]

@@keithjohnson6477 O-o' Makes me wonder if there's a branching unlock option?

[@deathbykonami5487]

@@marhawkman303 No, they most likely used the commit suicide cheat code. The third option is always Deathwish, whether your playing on old or current consoles.

[@ihave3dogs2]

Honestly, Trevor was a character that they tried too hard to push. I find him to be needlessly over the top. I can see what they were trying to do, but it gives off the same energy as like, "I'm so edgy! Lol!"

[@foxmind2490]

Nietzsche and CrunchyRoll are names I never thought I would hear in the same sentence. Best line ever Luke!

[@darebrained]

Borderlands 2 - Bloodwing Technically not a player character, but the action skill and pet of one of the PCs in BL1, it none the less made me feel like I was Prometheus - chained and screaming in pain with a giant bird feasting on my innards.

[@Xazyv]

I didn't play the first Borderlands but I decided Mordecai was my favorite pretty quickly after I saw him, partially because of Bloodwing. That whole area leading up to the fight, and then the fight itself, hurt my heart.

[@werewolfbat7817]

In the Revenge of the Sith game, you play the final twice, first as Obi Wan and then as Anakin. It even has an alternate ending where Anakin wins

[@theelectricgamer9889]

Can you do a video titled 7 times your best friend or friend was a boss or the final boss? Two suggestions for this list is Riku from Kingdom Hearts and Pixy from Ace Combat 0 The Belkan War.

[@AlainSTO]

I was gonna riot if they didn't include 9s. But what about the first character in Danganronpa V3? I remember some things she did stood out to me, but not in a "This is a bad thing" just "That's a weird thing to want to do." And then you find out in the middle of the trial that you have to accuse the character you played and her, being the sweet person she is, encourages you.

[@marcjehle2480]

And after her trial you go to her lab (every character has a specific room for honing their talent called a lab for those who dont know) and the song plays that she wanted to play to you

[@GracMist]

No Detroit: Become Human? That last fight between Markus and Connor broke me.

[@Aluna0]

Loved the video! Was surprised to see that Splinter Cell Conviction was here. The Coop ending was amazing! Suddenly being forced to kill your friend who's sitting next to you was such a twist. Crazy to see how many games have us killing the playable characters 😂😂 😂

[@nickd6303]

In the original star wars Lego game the Anikin vs Obi-Wan fight could go on forever if you played co-op with invincibility on.

[@tomcarrasco3290]

I know this isn’t a player character battle but extremely heartbreaking but Jin vs his uncle at the end of ghosts of Tsushima I mean he kills the bad guy nearly cripples the mongol invasion force and protects the people and what does he get for it the shogun labels him a criminal dissolves his clan and orders his uncle who happens to be his only remaining family to kill him and one of the endings has jin kill his uncle

[@shawngillogly6873]

Dragon Age: Inquisition, you have to choose to leave behind in the Fade to almost certain death at the hands of an endlessly regenerating fear demon, either Hawke, your player character from DA2, or Stroud the default player character from DA:Awakening.

[@pinkpugilist]

Or Alistair, if he was still a grey warden at the end of DA: Origins

[@dailin4945]

"Also carrying a machine gun" Really appreciated this joke, thank you.

[@TheDarkEnigma]

Itd be interesting to see them cover the Seneschal from dragons dogma. I mean cmon? You play through the game and defeat the previous Seneschal, and then become the Seneschal. On top of that, if you do an entire new game + run of the game (dont quote me) and refight the Seneschal again in offline mode. It can be your own previous character you controlled in playthrough 1!. Can someone please word this better in another comment?

[@ChristopherCherry02]

The 9S and A2 fight takes the cake on this list..that whole series is just downright depressing

[@thisidiot4502]

You mentioned the skywalker saga, but player 2 doesn't play as anakin, in the complete saga co-op, player 1 and 2 have to duel, similarly to a way out now that I think of it, but with lightsabers rather than guns, but I do agree that the skywalker saga fight is just as emotional.

[@danielthibodeau6014]

Ya but most people were surprised by the A Way Out fight while I assume most people knew Anakin and Obi-Wan fight was coming.

[@thisidiot4502]

Well I was more referring to the format of player 1 vs player 2

[@nickkoabel]

Mega Man X5, you have to fight Zero if you're using X, and vice versa, in one of the final levels. It has such cool battle music and it is a pretty fun fight.

[@gleaminglotus]

honestly, my money's on Andy winning the Luke v Andy fight

[@Ryujishida]

I'm not going to lie. I'm kind of wanting to see that fight now.

[@jamimuhammad3699]

The nier automaita versus is dark as hell. Good lord. I like the A2 ending. Yeah Obi Wan vs Anakin was sad.

[@Nathan-gaming-12]

It’s not a player character but in Minecraft story mode season 2 you have to fight Petra or jack depending on who you choose to break the clock and it can be really heartbreaking.

[@allelsefailed83]

As yes - I remember this in "Deadly Creatures" where (spoilter alert) there's a final confrontation between the two invertebrates that you control throughout the game. I know have to check under my bed before sleeping (again).

[@Rostkort]

Last of us II was a doozy. Still recovering from that emotionally confusing fight. How dare you make me question my need for wholesome and bloody revenge, game!

[@petervoros262]

I raise you Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The game has a horrid camera handling, but it finally gives closure to both protagonists, Kain and Raziel (after running around for three prequels and a spinoff). During the story, the player learns a lot about their history and their motives, and by the end, they are both actually fighting for the greater good, not for their own petty power hunger/revenge. And then, you know... it's in the title of the video.

[@cookie-199]

🍪🍪🍪 here fore the early ones take one 👇

[@MunchlaxMakara]

Ooo yum now i just need some milk 🥛

[@thisidiot4502]

Many thanks good sir

[@thejkittymews9045]

...I feel so evil for laughing at 9S' extended cut death scene. It just feels so over the top that I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

[@dadab22]

If you count characters between games, in Dark Souls 3 the final boss is your character from dark souls 1 and 2, if you linked the flames. It's heartbreaking, seeing that the chosen undead, alongside countless others, literally burned themselves alive for the sake of the Age of Fire ... only for their sacrifice to be utterly meaningless.

[@ghostiebaka2809]

In the Splinter Cell: Conviction CO-OP mode you play as two agents from different companies, working together to recover a stolen EMP device. You can actually see their bond getting stronger throughout the missions, but at the end they are both ordered to murder the other