GamerSushi Top Six: Video Game Twists

Here there be spoilers…

Games are an interactive medium and therefore it can be very easy for games to play tricks on us. Lead us in one direction, only to change the whole game around on us a few minutes later. Some twists have to do with the plot, others with gameplay. These can leave us cheering, reeling, or just plain dumbfounded in the wake of their awesomeness.

For instance, Metal Gear Solid 2 pulled a fast one on gamers worldwide when it turned out that Solid Snake wasn’t actually the protagonist. Likewise, Chrono Cross flips everything on you by suddenly swapping the identities of the game’s bad guy and good guy.

So sit back as GamerSushi unveils its first “Top Six” feature, as we look at gaming’s best plot twists.

 

6. Metroid — You Got A Chick In My Dude Suit

metroid

We know, it’s been done a million times on a million lists, but come on! Even the damn NES Metroid manual refers to Samus Aran as a cyborg dude, ready to massacre millions of metroid aliens with a variety of weapons. I mean, it’s the ultimate dude fantasy, right?

However, after navigating through a room full of crazy guns, one nasty bitch of a brain, and a frustrating platform room while eluding a timed explosion, the game treats you to its famous ending screen. Yay, you’ve beat the metroid, let’s pray for peace in space, etc. Also, you find out that Samus is actually a chick, as her armor comes off. Beat the game in under a few hours, and she appears naked. True story.

 

5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night — WTF Castle

castlevania1

The first Castlevania game to do away with level-by-level progression and allow for a free-form of exploration is the best in the series. As you gain new abilities and items, more of the castle becomes accessible to you. Once you advance far enough, you can go to the Throne Room and face Richter Belmont. Defeat him and you win the game.

However, if you manage to defeat him while wearing certain optional items, you discover that Richter is merely a puppet of Dracula’s servant, Shaft. Doing so opens up an inverted version of the castle and the adventure you thought was over has only just begun.

 

4. Metal Gear Solid — Take Your Pick

mgs1

Metal Gear Solid can go down on this list for any number of reasons. How about the DARPA Chief at the beginning of the game wasn’t really the DARPA Chief, but one of the members of Fox Hound, who contracted the FOXDIE virus and died instantaneously? Or maybe that the Master, who’s been guiding you the whole game and talking about rats and all kinds of other Alaskan things, is really Liquid Snake. Oh, and he’s your brother and also a clone of the series’ main bad guy.

This franchise has always been known for its epic plot twists, and the first game has a lot of good ones that don’t quite push it to the ridiculous level that later entries did. The most memorable and impactful one, though? Solid Snake, thought to be the stronger of the two brothers, turns out to be the weaker one… Mr. President.

 

3. Chrono Trigger — Crono Who?

chrono-trigger

This game gets on here for a few twists in the plot. First, all game long you are told about Magus, the evil wizard who you find out might be responsible for summoning Lavos and the end of the world. Turns out, you actually get Magus in your party as a playable character!

This was unheard of back in the day and was only overshadowed by one thing: Crono, the protaganist dies. You can choose to beat the game with him still dead or undergo a long, epic quest in order to revive him. Trust me, this blew many minds back then and is still one of the best twists of all time.

 

2. Bioshock — Happy Gilmore Style

andrew-ryan

Rapture is a place full of secrets, but one stands above all others: you are a genetically engineered creation, programmed to obey commands when the phrase, “Would you kindly…” is used. The villain? He’s your dad.. The guy who has been guiding you the whole game? He is the villain and he has manipulated you the whole time.

Bioshock puts a spin on the typical NPC/player relationship by making your character a pawn in a game between two shady people. In every game, you always do what people tell you to, that’s how you get missions. In Bioshock, you feel used and betrayed. A masterful twist.

 

1. Knights Of The Old Republic — Put On That Revan Mask

kotor

In one of the coolest moments in video game history, you learn that the mysterious and evil Darth Revan, who set the events of the game in motion before being killed by his apprentice (the game’s villain), is none other than… well, you. Even worse, the Jedi council knew about it, and threw you into a plot in the hopes that you would rid them of their problem.

The way the reveal is done is probably the best part of all. It seriously slams you upside the head in a way that you’d never expect, and leaves you completely dumbfounded. People are still pulling their jaws off the floor after this one. Well done, Bioware. Well done.

————-

So, which of these games have you played? And what are your favorite plot twists of all time in a video game?

Written by

I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

21 thoughts on “GamerSushi Top Six: Video Game Twists”

  1. Bioshock was probably my favorite, I remember reciting “Would you kindly” for weeks after playing that game, it was unexpected and awesome. I dont think they can top that in Bioshock 2, but I hope they come as close.

  2. (some Spoilers)

    Halo Combat Evolved- Halo is a weapon that kills everything. Makes the whole Library level seem more annoying this way. And adds a new enemy type to the game.

    XIII- You are not the assassin and your face is not your face.

    Assassins Creed- Your teacher is the last Templar.

    Breakdown- The whole first part of the game is a memory being relived thanks to a matrix like machine. You only realize this once your half way done with the game/finish the memory being relived and you pop out of the machine.

    Mass Effect- The conduit is real and its been staring you in the face since you got on the Citadel.

  3. When I got to the point in Chrono Trigger where CHrono died, I had to stop playing the game for about half an hour while I wandered around the house in a daze mumbling “It’s not possible, you can’t kill off the protagonist, it’s not possible…”

  4. man bioshock was cool, I was so p.o.d when I let my friend borrow my game, but she ends up watching it like a move in youtube format >:(

  5. I totally 100% agree with Kotor – I was blown away by learning that I was Revan – totally freaking awesome.

  6. Fallout 3 has a good twist as the bad guy is actually a supercomputer. But that doesnt compare to Bioshocks twist.

  7. I’ll agree with Verd. XII’s twist was awesome! I liked MGS’s twists but, as mentioned, they did get ridiculous. VERY ridiculous. FFX was good. Auron was dead and Tidus was never alive! Any others?… Do the plot twists in The Leet World count? They do take place in a game that has no real story otherwise.

  8. i think the flood twist is awsome, having this one unstopable force to now having two, epic. as well all though it wasent all that BIG, i think the cod4 nuke was epic, i mean, who really thought it was going to go off and KILL you, then the presentation was fabulous, having you act the final moments. win.

  9. I would have to say Bioshock had the best twist. Me and friends still ask each other “would you kindly” because it was that epic

  10. Damn it Eddy, I never got to play BioShock and now you ruined it! Just kidding…sort of.

    Anyway, I’ve actually had to think back quite a bit to any games that might have really flabbergasted me.

    Fallout 3 was littered with twists. From just about every single thing involving Vault 101 to the Enclave and their evil scheme to cleanse the country of ghouls and mewties, Fallout 3 was so epic because of all the great twists.

    Halo 1 had a neat twist with Guilty Spark and the Flood, but maybe the desperate atmosphere of the Flood levels kept me from appreciating how much of a douche Guilty Spark was.

    Halo 2 also had an epic twist when the Arbiter figures out how much a douche the Prophet of Truth is. The whole Elite rebellion made for some great story.

    I’ll have to play BioShock, and then I can add that to list.

  11. I agree with KOTOR the first time i played it I was stuck on it i couldn’t wait to get home and turn on my xbox(1 not 360) and see what happens next

    i luv Dualweild lightsaber 🙂

  12. Once again, I have to namedrop Deus Ex. Although the whole Conspiracy thing might be cliché now, it blew my mind at the time. And it doesnt stop at the first twist. The whole game is nuts. Then to go on to Deus Ex 2, If you can see past all the bugs and glitches, the story was once again delicious. Even more twistier and decievienger!

  13. I feel so shitty…I played Halo 2 first and barely cared for the plot so the twists of it and Halo 1 were ruined for me!

    I have to agree about KOTOR, excellent twist. And don’t forget you get the main villain in your party most of the game for KOTOR 2.

    One of my favorite twists has to be Kingdom Hearts 1. I’ll namedrop this when it comes to good game anythings, I love KH. Finding out that this guy you’ve been hearing about, Ansem, was one of the earliest characters you see, and that he possesses Riku, along with the realization of always having Kairi’s heart despite spending the entire game looking for it and her…plus Sora’s ‘death’ scene wrenched by heart.

  14. I definitely agree with BioShock and Chrono. I think I’d have to say (and yes, I know I practically spam this game all the time. It was the 2nd RPG I ever fell in love with COMPLETELY, give me a break) Tales Of Symphonia had AMAZING twists in the story. Too many to name here. All epic. (and here we all think at the beginning of the game that it’s going to be a common rpg) No lie. Play the game and you’ll see. But yeah, SoTC. The ending was a complete surprise. I wasn’t expecting to die and turn into some huge demonic thingy.

  15. And I have to just throw it in here, no spoilers but, THE LEET WORLDS TWIST WAS F**KING AWESOME!!

  16. [quote comment=”5550″]
    Assassins Creed- Your teacher is the last Templar.
    [/quote]
    I saw that one coming a mile away actually, lol. Bugged the crap outta me that Altair didn’t see it.

    Anywho, being the Dragon Warrior fanboy that I am, I have to mention that in Dragon Warrior III, when you kill the Demon Lord Baramos and get an amazing welcome home hero party, The Demon King Zoma shows up and calls everyone stupid for thinking that Baramos was the supreme evil being (Genuinely surprised me). Then you have another long adventure in the Underworld. (Which is actually copied from Dragon Warrior I, but whatever, still cool.)

  17. Dragon Warrior Monsters 1

    When you find out that your sister is your final opponent in the starry night tournament.

    THAT fucked me over, i seriously almost dropped my gameboy at that point. Lulz

  18. The metal gear series had ALOT of crazy twists, but I guess listing them would not make much sense.
    The Bioshock one was very nice, and very nicely done, “Would you kindly?”
    Fallout 3’s was just odd, the “president” is just a robot… honestly didn’t see that coming.
    I loved Fable 2’s big plot twist, though I saw it coming honestly. Your sister from the FIRST game, set 500 years BEFORE, and shes the lady that raises you and starts you on your journey, just amazing.

  19. KOTOR is definitely the biggest twist ive ever experienced in a game. the way they revealed it was nothing short of brilliant. Once you go back and play through again, you notice that all the hints were there, but you just passed them off as a bit dialogue to fill the pauses in the storyline.

    And i’ll agree with Verd saying mass effect and the conduit was pretty good too, but to be honest its got nothing on KOTOR

Comments are closed.