Clichés are found in everything from music to movies to anything where creativity finds a home. This is no different with the video game medium, which mimics past ideas to no end. Why tamper with a formula for success? Repetition has been the basis of our great civilization, and so it comes as no surprise that there are numerous clichés in the video game medium. Some of the clichés we can do with. Some of them actually make us happy when we see them all the time. Others however are just plain annoying and we will go through these in this list. Here then are the top 10 most used clichés in video game history.
10. Super Soldier
It seems like every 3D game has some form of a Super Soldier that can destroy entire worlds on their own and dominate beasts that are 10 sizes his size; not that we don’t like a good David and Goliath story once in awhile, but enough of the Super Soldiers. A salient example of the super solider is in Halo where “you are a genetically altered , elite super solider”. Does “elite” really need to be stated in Halo? Isn’t it already implied by every 3D shooter game before it and by the conjoining adjective “Super”? Why can’t the protagonists in these games be something else like a car mechanic or a garbage man? Where is the parody in modern games like these?
9. Space Marines
Along with Super Soldiers, there are too many games with Space Marines. Starcraft and the Warhammer 40K games are perfect examples. How about Space Monkeys? How about Space astronauts? Now there’s an idea. Play a game as a space astronaut who has to learn fighting skills while landing on a planet for the first time. Yes. we get it though; there are space marines that have machine guns, who wear body suits that are overly inflated and speak like gruffly bearded commandos. Move on to something else. This shit gets boring quick.
8. A Chosen One
How many RPG’s and adventure games have you played in your life where you are first recognized as “The Chosen One”? What the fuck is with all this savior syndrome in these games? Fuck it, I don’t want to be the chosen one. I want to be the least chosen one for the mission. I want the fairy tale God to come down in the beginning of the game and say “You’re the least chosen one, but yet you have to save the world”. This is why Mario was so innovative. Whoever thought to make a plumber “the chosen one” was an utter genius. Out of all the championed possibilities of being a chosen one, Nintendo decided to use a plumber. No wonder why we love Nintendo so much.
7. The Hero Starts the Game in Bed
How many video games are there where the teenage male lead will begin the first day of the game in bed oversleeping, being woken up by his mother, and being reminded that he’s slept in so late he missed meeting his girlfriend. Our much beloved Zelda Link To the Past follows the same kind of trend (well not the girlfriend part), as does Chrono Trigger. For 3 or 4 games, starting the game out in bed rule is fine, but at some point I want the developer to explain why the fuck the guy I’m supposed to be controlling can’t fucking wake up except when he needs to save the world and a woman.
6. Hero’s Town gets destroyed
What is the single most common reason why a hero in a video game has to go on a quest for vengeance? It’s because his town gets destroyed. This idea has been run to the ground in the adventure and RPG mediums. Why can’t there be different reasons for a hero leaving a town to get vengeance? How about a brutal taxation system by a fascist or monarchical government? What about the bad guys building a dam near the town so everyone in the town becomes malnourished without food? How fun would that be? You have to go out and first destroy a dam, then chase around the nefarious bastards who came up with this actually very clever idea.
5. Hero only has one parent.
Can anyone name an RPG where the main character has both of his or her parents? These RPG’s many times take place in antiquated ages so you weren’t able to get divorced. Oh yeah, the father died in a battle with a villain you have to eventually face, or the mother was captured by the same villainous enemy. This idea has been over-done. Oh yeah, something happens to the parent in the beginning of the game which frees the protagonist from any familial responsibility. Snore fest. Let’s see some creativity. Why doesn’t the one parent gain an ambition to be an Olympic runner and tell their child that they can’t be with them anymore because they need to practice marathon running. This will really get the child motivated to do some destruction!
4. All Prophecies Come True During the Course of the Game
The cliche is in almost every adventure game ever made for the video game medium. All legends are 100% accurate that are told throughout the game. Not only that, but all the rumors in these games are also 100% factual. All prophecies come true too. Forget the fact that legends and prophecies are founded on the mystery of them possibly not coming true. They always come true in any adventure game with a prophet wanting to propheteer, and the prophecy usually comes true immediately, like right when you leave his candlelit cave.
3. WW2 Games
How many wars have there been in the history of the world? Anyone who can count the exact amount will get a free Old-Wizard T-shirt. For the TV (History Channel), movie and video game medium though, there is only one war. That is good ol’ World War 2. Sure, we understand the importance of World War 2. We understand how The United States became the most powerful country in the world afterwards, but do we really have to keep rehashing this war in every new war themed video game that gets released? What about the Great Northern War, or even the subtle forays into Bosnia and Cambodia? And why the fuck does every guy in your squad have to have a West Virginian accent smoking some bullshit cigarette?
2. Food that completely fills your energy
Picture this; you’re about to die and are gasping for your final breath. You’re rushed to the emergency room, and what does the doctor give you? A roasted chicken. You eat the chicken and walk out as if nothing happened. Could you imagine what would happen in the real world if all your physical and mental ailments could be solved by a piece of chicken? What would happen to modern medicine? All modern doctors would have to become nutritionists, or at least know how to use an oven. From Gauntlet to Castlevania, the most inane pieces of food are able to make you feel better. There’s gushing blood coming out of your arm from being attacked by a warrior or a skeleton, and somehow a piece of chicken heals it. Are we just supposed to assume they used the roasted chicken as a bandage?
1. Saving a Princess
Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite games involve saving a princess. Super Mario 1 and 3, Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past, and even more recently Super Mario Galaxy; but why does it always have to be a princess? Surely the imagination can conjure up a better quest than a damsel in distress. How are princesses always being kidnapped anyway? Don’t these kingdoms have any security? And why are they always being kidnapped anyway? Is it because they’re all virgins? Do the nefarious bosses of these games want to keep the princesses virgins for a reason? Are there other reasons that the villains kidnap the princess besides obvious sexual reasons? We may never know the answers to these question, but as long as there are new video games being made, its a sure bet that more princesses will be kidnapped.
It’s as if every online column or blog has suddenly turned their attention to Top 10 lists… how cliche.
Seriously, having a top 10 list of the best XXXXXXX, you’re going to cover everything ever done, regardless of what it is. You basically covered everything that videogames are based on besides sports and racing. Is competition a cliche? Because there are a shitload of games that require competition. Oh, and guns, how cliche, why don’t some hero’s just use their old fingernails? That is innovative and would fly copies off the shelf! FNF2009. (that’s Finger Nail Fighter 2009… how cliche… abbreviations and using a year that hasn’t come yet…)
How about the fact that most city/world/universe saviours are American?
Geez, make up your mind: Do you want surreal or realistic?
First you say you’re sick of space marines and would prefer garbage men, car mechanics or space monkeys. Then you rag on life-saving roasted chicken as being weird. I thought you wanted weird!
hrmm, the list was ok, nothing too original. my one complaint is that you bitch about 40k being cliche about space marines, when first of all they dont fit the typecast cliche you give us of how they”speak like gruffly bearded commandos” second of all, 40k cannon, and the tabletop game have been around longer than most video games cited here so I wouldn’t really include them as cliche.
The dude from pikmen was a Space astronaut in a situation very similar to your description.
Oh and Ness from Earthbound, he had both parents, its just his dad was always working but he stayed in touch, even called you every now and then.
Saying those are clichés is like saying that laying havoc and destruction on your enemies in a videogame is a cliché. You need a supersoldier or a “chosen one” or whatever to kick ass in a videogame, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. If a garbage man is able to fill those objectives, then the game is going to be inconsistent and boring, just like this article.
When I read #10 I thought of Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes. A skinny dude with glasses want to be a super assassin.
I actually got goosebumps when I read your comment about Mario and Nintendo picking a plumber! Too true.
I think my favourite cliche is FIZ’z. They always fall for the virginal healer mage. Maybe cause they are the more settling down and raising a civilization type (since you just finished killing off the last civilization!).
One more cliche: In WW2 games, the guy with glasses always gets shot.
boring.
@ Blue
I know… I’ve been trying to think of a JRPG with a male lead that doesn’t fall under FiZ’s clinch, But nothing I’ve played comes to mind…
The closest thing I can think of to making it past that clinch is Skies of Arcadia where you had two potential love interest to chose from at one point in the game…
Aika the annoying peppy red-headed chick that he had grown up with, Who’s obsessed with money and freaky hair styles…
And Fina the most extreme example of the definition of being a virgin that I’ve ever seen in ANY video game EVER!… Likely because she was born on a space station occupied by several VARY OLD men that never seemingly talked to her outside group meetings, And one boy who was more into the strong muscular world conquering male types…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_with_a_thousand_faces
@ Tom
Thanks for that link!…
Great list! Me, I’d have combined 9 and 10 and put “saving the president’s daughter”.
um… you contradicted yourself in number 8… really badly.
I don’t know that you can include Link to the Past in the sleeping in category. Was he sleeping in or did he get the little psychic message in early morning (i.e. before sunrise). I can’t seem to remember.
Also, Chrono doesn’t fall in love with a healer, does he? It’s been too long since I have played some of these games.
First – It is nice that you regurgitate the same list that’s been floating around for years.
Second – Who cares? If these themes are Cliche to you stop playing Video Games or Create your own. Your so called Cliche’s are familiar themes in all forms of media. They are tried and true stories that connect with almost all people. We all want to be a super soldier or the chosen one. The hero wakes up in bed…this shows he or she is an ordinary person just like you or me. As far as single parents and prophecies, they normally have a small reference in the beginning of the store and show up at the end to give closure and a sense of fate or destiny. WWII was the biggest war to happen on earth, The pretty blue place we all live on. I wasn’t there, You weren’t there, these games give a connection to that time and place. My last note will be on saving the princess. Look as far back in history as you can and you will see people saving the damsel in distress. it’s in our nature. It’s probably why they call it a Hero complex. Your list seems strangely focused on Chrono Trigger. It fits at least 4 of your top ten, but Chrono Trigger is the best RPG of all time. for these reasons.
10. Multiple Antagonists.
9. Time Travel
8. That crazy sound Lavos makes(It’s in that Beck song Where it’s at)
7. Robots
6. Multiple Endings
5. Restarting the game with saved data
4. Magic Monsters
3. Magus was a bad ass
2. Sub plots galore
1. The Protagonist, Chrono, Dies three quarters of the way through the game.
I know you can bring back Chrono but if you didn’t plan a head you can’t.
WTF?!?! No exploding barrels?
@ cmalberg
Link was sleeping as indicted by the little ZzZz thing going on above his head before Zelda woke him up with her telepathic message, And Crono didn’t just fall in love with but was actually revealed to have married (In the PSone’s Anime ending) Marle, The games only healer…
@ Common Theme
I think you misunderstand the degree at which most here (Including the list maker) consider the term “clinched” to be a bad thing…
True if you’re going by a proper english definition of the word it’s a bad thing, But most people in america and several other countries don’t use every single word in the english language in it’s exact context yaknow…
There’s this little thing called slang which often involves i’ll defining a world or term… (Such as calling something sick when you think it’s good)
IE. Sick = Good, Cliche = staple/and or trademark
Space marines were made up by Robert Heinlein in 1959 and Warhammer 40K further developed the idea in the 80′s
Bliz took that idea, along with Warcraft: orcs and humans one from Games Workshop.
Dont get me wrong, I love blizzard
World War Two is done a lot, because it is the most famous, and most recent conventional war. A WW1 game would be no fun because youd be sitting in trenches using bolt action rifles the whole time. Earlier wars youd be in lines marching at eachother with only one gun available to you.
Most of those cliches are silly, and only involve one or two games.
Terrible list. Absolutely horrible. Like so many people have said here, the list in itself is a cliché.
Now, I didn’t read all the comments, there are tons. And I don’t claim to be a good writer, this is just what I’d like to say on your article.
Okay, so the super soldier thing: Yeah, that’s common, and happens to be the situation for the main character in Halo. However they actually explain how he comes to be the super soldier that he is if you read into detail a bit. Other games do this too, but hell, they still sell, and would you rather play as a random NORMAL soldier? Personally, I love kicking ass and ravaging whole platoons and such.
Space Marines… Where to begin. If the game takes place at a point in time in the future where humans are space-adept, what other kind of marines do you want? Think about it: Space + war = soldiers fighting in space. Space + soldiers = space soldiers, or space marines if you will. What alternative did you have in mind?
I’ve played very few games with “the chosen one”. Games that include this generally have a theme that matches, and as such I have no complaints. There are plenty of games that involve the underdog rising up and taking ending up on top, or regular everyday people making something of themselves.
How many CURRENT games, or even games within, say, the past 6 years, have you played where the hero wakes up in bed? I think this is mostly a cliché from older games, and doesn’t fit in with recent games on the market. And honestly, who cares how many parents the hero has, it in no way has an effect on gameplay. I have one parent, am I cliché and boring? As for the town being destroyed, yeah this is common. But hey, your last three arguments all had to do with the hero directly, let’s get some variety here.
As far as propchecies go, you said “They always come true in any adventure game with a prophet wanting to propheteer.” What the fuck is propheteering? And do you expect they would involve a prophet that was wrong…? What kind of plot line is that for a game? And WHY would developers spend the time programming tons of script for these rumours and such that you hear from NPCs if they were all false? It would be a total waste of time.
Now, as for your hate for WW2 games, I do share your feelings. However your reasoning is shit. I dislike it just because there are so many and I’ve never found shooters from that era very entertaining. It just isn’t for me. Do you actually want to fight in a war before that anyway? Like somebody already mentioned, WW1 was in trenches with shitty bolt-action rifles, firing an impressive 15 rounds per minute. Oh, and before that they stood in lines, with one gun each. Sounds like a fun time, definitely something I’d like to experience in a video game. Honestly, wars get more and more worthless (in terms of entertainment value) the older they get. And I don’t think you want to play a Vietnam game, it doesn’t really represent you Americans at your moment of glory.
And what’s your problem with food replenishing your health? Maybe you would rather play a game where there was no way to refill your health, and when you die you just start over. Or a game where you inject yourself with needles and pop meds in an alternate universe where it doesn’t even fit the setting. Again, what alternative to this method did you have in mind?
As for he princess situation, I will once again ask you how many current games do you know of where you need to do this? This seems more a cliché from older RPGs, and doesn’t apply to new games. And no, they don’t capture princesses for sexual purposes, they just happen to be amazingly valuable bargaining chips. Coincidence? Nah, couldn’t be, Bowser must have just wanted to steal that virginity away from lil ol’ Peach.
A comment on the cliche of WWII games. Today wars are rarely fought person to person. They are tactical battles fought from where you cannot see your enemy. Doesn’t sound like to much fun for a shooter does it? Before WWII there was the first great war, trench fighting and waiting for the wind to change to use mustard gas doesn’t sound to great either. Before that we had inaccurate weapons and people lined up to die. WWII was the most intimate form of warfare man has ever known. Actually that’s untrue. Hand to hand combat era is the most personal but still its going to be hard to make a game where you control a sword and a shield and battle against other players.
I don’t know why we don’t have as many scenes from the pacific theater in games but my best guess would be that America wasn’t doing as well in the Pacific until we dropped the bombs. There’s a reason the people who lived through WWII ended up being called “The great generation”
What an idiot when he says “Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite games involve saving a princess. Super Mario 1 and 3, Super Mario World” ehh NO. There is no princess rescuing involved in Super Mario World. It’s Yoshi rescuing time… and that is no cliche.
*Looks at Edbad’s post*
*Facepalm’s*
did the same thing, SP.
I disagree with a number of these. The first one, for instance.The Half-life series, one of the most succesful first person shooters to date, is all about run of the mill nobodies becoming heroes. Namely, the main character. Gordon Freeman, a low level scientist and researcher who just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, becomes a bane of alien invaders. Also, in half-life 2, 100 percent of everyone that has anythign to do with anything ever is no one special. Sometimes they dont even have names. Also, The warhammer 40k series invented the super soldier archetype, so you cant blame them for using them. Furthermore, starcraft is loosely based off of warhammer so it would make sense they had armored space soldiers. However, these soldiers are niether “super” nor very capable soldiers, as much as convicts wearing space suits with heavy duty armor. Read the story, itll make sense
You forgot one cliché: Every world is full of crates for you to break open. Most are empty but some contain (strangely enough) food, arrows, ammo, medical kits, stars, fairies, swords, maps, tools, clothes, hats, guns, fire, water, notes, clues, musical instruments, gold coins, jewels, or points.
Also, no one in your world seems to mind that you go around destroying every crate in sight.
stupid list, stupid explanations, stupid zeromage
i’m stupid for posting this
Amusing article you have. Nicely written too! I agree that there needs to be some sort of change-up in video game stories. But then again, books arent much better either. There isnt a story that hasnt already been told before. (or so I’ve heard!)
the writer sorta takes these cliches personally. let it go man, its just the nature of entertainment for people to copy what works.
Can we add “Video game cliche lists” to this list?
your list is cliche and bullshit
“The list in itself is a cliché.”
QFT.
Not being combative, just clarifying. The post says (in the text) that the hero is “oversleeping.” Not quite the case. Finally, Frog can heal as well. Slurp, I believe.
At any rate, I enjoyed the list.
GOD DAMNT ALL I JUST GOT IT!
I’m horrified it took me this long but I FINALLY thought of one RPG girl who was BOTH the main love interest and in no real way a healer/support character!… Thanks to your comment camalbug… (I think Robo had a healing movie too now that I think back on it right?)
Anyway… Kid from Chrono Cross!… She was a Red (Fire) adapt assassin… Mind you any and all characters in CC could use healing moves thanks to it’s “Element System” Which was like FF7′s Materia…
But only Blue, Green, & White adapts could use them well…
Red, Yellow, & Black adapts where better used as attackers with the games main character Serge being the only real exception… (He was a White adapt)
I love that all the buddy’s have West Virginian accents. I’m from Wv, and if I’m not mistaken, we generally lead the nation is residents in the military per capita. That may be because we have a small population. It’s also a sad watermark regarding the health of our state economy. There’s just nothing here. Awesome place to live though… lol
There are actually games where you’re not a super soldier. Freedom Fighters is about a plumber who becomes a resistance fighter. Duke Nukem is about a regular guy who just loves the ladies.
Wait, what?
of COURSE chicken totally heals you! Chicken soup? You just try to tell me chicken soup doesn’t totally heal every disease and condition you get, and I will simply ignore any evidence to the contrary and assume my position is infallible.
9. Space Marines
Does anyone else remember in Star Blazers Comet Empire [The TV show] how the space marines the star force had to rescue from the moon had the WORST manners, and were violating poor Nova’s personal space and stuff? The Star Blazers show was pretty popular. Maybe they popularized it? Or maybe they were following the trend?
March 1941 Original super solder is born. Steve Rogers, an American Private during World War 2, invades a Nazi Laboratory. He accidentally comes in contact with a top secret serum called the super solider serum. with his new powers He becomes a super hero for justice and the American way as Captain America. This was the start of the super solder archetype not War hammer. It also helped bolster American morale during the war by glorifying the deeds of American soldiers.
Bull! You left out the single most over used video game cliche. The hero who starts the game with no memory of who he is.
Cliche 9 and 10 are the same and 9 only proves you don’t know anything about RTS games. The Space Marines from 40k are the original Marines in games, designed nearly 25 years ago and Starcraft was blatantly a 40k homarge on the computer befor GW got there so it kinda required a Marine/Guard soldier type. If your gonna slag of things for not being original, don’t go for the originals.
although this list makes some very good points, to me it seems that the majority of it is really just aimless bitching. I guess the biggest problem I have is the no more space marines thing. To me it seems to be less of a lack of imagination on developers part, and more of a logical next step. I mean, think about it. Marines are called marines because they fought on ships and such, and the name stuck. Well if it’s a future game, most likely it will be in space, if there’s fighting, there will be some type of soldier, tradition has them being marines, but they are in space…logically they would be space marines. And starcraft and Warhammer 40,000 are actually very bad examples of cliches, as they both take the concept of marines to the polar opposites of infantry, as in starcraft they marines are the cannon fodder basic troops and in warhammer the marines are the pinnacle of human military engineering. (and while this point does start to overlap on the more justifiable super-soldier cliche, it’s not so unbalanced as one soldier killing…well basically everything.)
maybe a little more thought on why the “cliches” are used, and a little less knee-jerk bitching for next time.
Of course they’re going to use something like chicken as a means of health. You have to realize the limitations of video games. To save time, they’re going to give you a quick fix rather than make you sit through an extensive surgical procedure followed by two days of bed rest.
The Hero Starts the Game in Bed
Ironically, that’s how they’re advertising the game. “Good Morning, Crono.”
Can anyone name an RPG where the RPG characters have both of their parents?
Earthbound.
Number 10…
Half life series…
you are a scientist, not a super soldier
question answered.
you should read propp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp)
he has the 30 elements that are always in a story.
Functions
After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence of 31 functions:[3]
1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
2. An interdiction is addressed to the hero (‘don’t go there’, ‘don’t do this’);
3. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
5. The villain gains information about the victim;
6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim’s belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
7. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
11. Hero leaves home;
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary’s powers against him);
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
16. Hero and villain join in direct combat;
17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied, captive freed);
20. Hero returns;
21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23. Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
24. False hero presents unfounded claims;
25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26. Task is resolved;
27. Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28. False hero or villain is exposed;
29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
30. Villain is punished;
31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).
Occasionally, some of these functions are inverted, as when the hero receives something while still at home, the function of a donor occurring early. More often, a function is negated twice, so that it must be repeated three times.[4]
I guess this is why Call of Duty 4 is so critically acclaimed?
You know, how none of those things really apply to it…
this article is retarded, you just pick out a bunch of games and criticize parts of them. With the millions of different games that have been created, of course they are going to have overlapping ideas, you fuck.
The only support you have for any of your ideas are some of the most popular games ever made.
As to the WWII games.
I prefer to play games in which I don’t have to kill bosnians or serbians or “terrorists”. I’ll play just about any shooter but I just feel better about killing nazis. I’d like to see a Spanish Civil War game though that would be tough seeing as the Fascists won.