Games You Love With Protagonists You Hate

[Tao]

Are there any games you love playing but has main characters you're basically forced to be with the entire way through it?

The 'main' protagonist? Additional party members? Those characters you can't control but are with you every step of the way?

Personally, I love most of the Mario games. Mainline 3D, the retro 2D, RPG spinoffs, Kart and Party. It's not a question of if I'll play them, it's when. They're just so good.

But I really dislike Mario.

I'm not fond of his design, his voice annoys me, he severely lacks any real or consistent personality...Especially compared to the extended cast like Wario or Luigi. He serves his purpose of being an avatar for the games but if I could swap him out for near anybody else, heck, I would rather be playing Super Koopatrooper Odyssey.

 

[fairysyndrome]

fire emblem awakening. it's been one of my favourite games since i first played & got attached to it in high school, but i can't stand chrom. never liked him. never will like him.

i think he's incredibly frustrating as a protagonist in the sense that he's incredibly flawed and makes tons of mistakes over the course of the game, but he's always treated as in the right and thus never learns or grows as a person or protagonist (to the point that one of the endings is him being willing to essentially sacrifice the entire world circa 1000 years from now just to save his best friend's life, and it's treated as a good thing. everyone cheers and applauds for him, including the characters who literally travelled back in time to help destroy the evil god that destroyed their timeline & that chrom puts to sleep for 1000 years instead of letting his friend slay said god outright.) the only time he's ever actually challenged is in a drama CD track released years after the game where another character essentially calls him a hypocrite for being blind to his own country's atrocities and war crimes (as he constantly blames the other country he's at war with, says no good is to be found among their people, and says they're always the aggressors despite his father having started a war which essentially destroyed the continent not even 20 years prior). which is, again, not in the actual game itself.

i can't even give him credit for being a good father (his only redeeming trait) because the core story of awakening should be his daughter's (and her friends') tale to tell, but instead he's the main protagonist through her arc, all her friends are optional recruits, and too much of her character is tied to fawning over him. sick of this guy.

 

[Midoriya]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2, not because of Pyra/Mythra, but because of Rex. I really, really, really wish they would have given us the ability to make our own avatar for the game rather than have a pre-set main character. I know that doesn’t really make sense because that was only a thing in X, and it would also mess up the story quite a bit, but they definitely could have adapted the story a bit to accommodate it. I just don’t really like Rex as a character or feel any sort of connection towards him. Not to mention he makes questionable decisions sometimes…

 

[your local goomy]

It's gonna sound a bit weird, but as much as I love Pokémon, I really don't like any of the protagonists, even in the games where you can customize your trainer. I don't know why they really get so much love and fanart, because pretty much aside from Dawn, who I mainly love because of the anime, I find their designs bland and just...unappealing. Even in the manga, they just seem to have basic, cookie-cutter personalities, but for some reason people adore them. Also, I wish we could finally stop playing as a kid and maybe play as a teen or something. I get that it'a a kids' game, but I hate playing through the game knowing that canonically I'm supposed to be like 10.

 

[Yanrima~]

I'm neutral about Genshin Impact now but I don't really like how the writers handle Aether/Lumine, they're inconsistent in whether to make them the player-insert character or a character with an established lore. In fact, the writers were inconsistent in writing a protagonist.

I don't even like how they jumped from "I just wanna find my sibling" to "please be friends, no killing" or "I'll save this nation with friendship" and vice-versa. Paimon is the second protagonist I don't like, she's just annoying in general and there needs to be breathing room for Traveler to interact with other characters without the over-explanation from Paimon.

Inazuma's act 3 of the archon quest is the proof that the game's writers didn't know what to do with Aether/Lumine and just made them bland protagonists.

 

[-Mars-]

-

 

[Neb]

I honestly dislike most video game protagonists. They’re usually either blank slates that are jarring against the more developed cast or one note archetypes that are straight out of a bad Y.A. novel.

 

[TurnipBell20]

I'm not fond of his design, his voice annoys me, he severely lacks any real or consistent personality...

I feel the same way about Mario actually. The only thing that I disagree with is that his voice is annoying. I always thought his voice fits into the games. His design can’t keep up with most of the other characters though. As the main character he should look somewhat special, but in contrast to some other characters Mario looks boring. It’s true he doesn’t have a real personality. In the cut scenes for example, he barely shows emotions and if he does, they don’t feel real.

That I kind of dislike Mario is not something that I‘ve thought about too much though. I enjoy playing the games and don’t really care about Mario most of the time.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

Pikmin 2! I would not say that I love Pikmin 2 as its my least favorite in the series, I even like Hey! Better than 2. I just HATE LOUIE. Like, Olimar is nice, but LOUIE RUINED EVERYTHING. HE IS HORRIBLE. I do love the main characters in Pikmin 3 WAAAY better than Olimar and Louie. The characters in 3 are so colorful and full of life. I love their personalities!

 

[CylieDanny]

Im a big fan of Fnaf, or Five Nights at freddy's, mostly for the lore. Because its pretty deep, and creepy. I've only played one game,

But I really REALLY didn't like Gregory, the protagonist in the newest game. He was just so annoying, always complaining. I mean I didn't love that game, its gameplay was more annoying, then creepy.

But as far as protagonists go in a game series I love, he's my least favorite.

 

[Croconaw]

It's gonna sound a bit weird, but as much as I love Pokémon, I really don't like any of the protagonists, even in the games where you can customize your trainer. I don't know why they really get so much love and fanart, because pretty much aside from Dawn, who I mainly love because of the anime, I find their designs bland and just...unappealing. Even in the manga, they just seem to have basic, cookie-cutter personalities, but for some reason people adore them. Also, I wish we could finally stop playing as a kid and maybe play as a teen or something. I get that it'a a kids' game, but I hate playing through the game knowing that canonically I'm supposed to be like 10.

I get that. I kind of like the trainer designs for Gold/Silver/Crystal. I really like how you can customize your trainer now. It gives you more flexibility. I haven’t played Legends Arceus, but isn’t the trainer, like, 16 in that game? I recall them being a bit older from watching gameplay videos.

 

[your local goomy]

I get that. I kind of like the trainer designs for Gold/Silver/Crystal. I really like how you can customize your trainer now. It gives you more flexibility. I haven’t played Legends Arceus, but isn’t the trainer, like, 16 in that game? I recall them being a bit older from watching gameplay videos.

I don't really care for that game, so I don't really know. Definitely looks older though.

 

[michito]

(I'm not sure if I can discuss M-rated games on this forum, so I will keep it kinda vague)
Sigma.... it's a problem in most of this author's games from what I'm seeing, but the kind of comments he kept making towards the female cast made me so uncomfortable. The protagonist of the previous game also made innuendos, but way less often and were actually kinda funny: on this game they were unbearable

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I feel the same way about Mario actually. The only thing that I disagree with is that his voice is annoying. I always thought his voice fits into the games. His design can’t keep up with most of the other characters though. As the main character he should look somewhat special, but in contrast to some other characters Mario looks boring. It’s true he doesn’t have a real personality. In the cut scenes for example, he barely shows emotions and if he does, they don’t feel real.

That I kind of dislike Mario is not something that I‘ve thought about too much though. I enjoy playing the games and don’t really care about Mario most of the time.

I get this a lot. while I don't dislike him in any way, I do agree that he (as well as most ongoing video game protagonists) suffers from having a very stagnant and bland personality. I enjoy games that give their protagonists lots of personality (thinking in particular of the original Spyro trilogy) and in that sense Nintendo really doesn't do Mario any good unfortunately.

 

[Flicky]

Lulu in Dragon Quest Builders 2. Whyyyyy out of all the great characters in the game, did she have to be our second companion? All she does is make demands and declare herself the ruler of your island, and she doesn't even help fight the monsters. I much preferred Rosie and Anessa as a secondary buddy.

There's probably others, but most of the time it's more of a mild dislike than actual hate.

 

[fourel]

in terms of main characters that aren't strictly the protagonist, couldn't stand hau in pokemon sun / moon. it felt to me like his only personality trait was being irritatingly optimistic and sunny even though he kept losing. i wish he had actual bad traits / character flaws so that he felt a little less one dimensional. i hate to say this, but i really do prefer rivals that are kind of mean, as it makes me actually invested in their character. i want to beat them, and i want to see them improve. hau doesn't give me that. he's just there, and i've never been able to form an emotional connection with him.

 

[-Blue-]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2, not because of Pyra/Mythra, but because of Rex. I really, really, really wish they would have given us the ability to make our own avatar for the game rather than have a pre-set main character. I know that doesn’t really make sense because that was only a thing in X, and it would also mess up the story quite a bit, but they definitely could have adapted the story a bit to accommodate it. I just don’t really like Rex as a character or feel any sort of connection towards him. Not to mention he makes questionable decisions sometimes…

I don't think it helps that this was his voice actor's first ever gig. I think his last name is Weaver? His emotions feel so uninspired and contrived. Like all the times he would go 'Pyyyyyra!' with like no emotion lol.

Not saying I dislike his character, just I can see where you're coming from. I think what bothered me most about the game was that you spent the majority of it 'losing' to boss battles. Even if you overpowered them. I feel like a few more big-bad grunts that you could take down before getting to the big cheeses would had helped this part out immensely.

 

[Alienfish]

It's gonna sound a bit weird, but as much as I love Pokémon, I really don't like any of the protagonists, even in the games where you can customize your trainer. I don't know why they really get so much love and fanart, because pretty much aside from Dawn, who I mainly love because of the anime, I find their designs bland and just...unappealing. Even in the manga, they just seem to have basic, cookie-cutter personalities, but for some reason people adore them. Also, I wish we could finally stop playing as a kid and maybe play as a teen or something. I get that it'a a kids' game, but I hate playing through the game knowing that canonically I'm supposed to be like 10.

Yeah, I only like those you can customise/buy clothes later on in the games. I mean yeah it's kids game from start but yeah both your playing character or the "rivals" are very boring (except for Redhead in GSC) the personalities is very boring.

Most of your playing character always had this ugly visor/cap on them too like did they get sponsored by some burger company for the clothes or lol

 

[VanitasFan26]

I always was never fan of silent characters. I mean since when you get so used to playing games that have great story telling and where the characters do talk that when you go back to older games that didn't have your character not saying anything it just felt awkward

 

[Jinglefruit]

Danganronpa suffers this for me. The 1st and 3rd games expecially. The story was great, but Makoto repeating things 184 times, and then talking as though he still hasn't figured out something that was stated explicitly on the 185th time in the trial, made the game feel too slow and annoying. I ended up putting it down and watching a LP on youtube so I could just skip ahead 30 seconds whenever he decided to devolve into a parrot.
Then in the 3rd game Kaede was absolutely excellent and I loved her. And I think that's all I need to say about that for those that have played the game.

fire emblem awakening. it's been one of my favourite games since i first played & got attached to it in high school, but i can't stand chrom. never liked him. never will like him.

i think he's incredibly frustrating as a protagonist in the sense that he's incredibly flawed and makes tons of mistakes over the course of the game, but he's always treated as in the right and thus never learns or grows as a person or protagonist (to the point that one of the endings is him being willing to essentially sacrifice the entire world circa 1000 years from now just to save his best friend's life, and it's treated as a good thing. everyone cheers and applauds for him, including the characters who literally travelled back in time to help destroy the evil god that destroyed their timeline & that chrom puts to sleep for 1000 years instead of letting his friend slay said god outright.) the only time he's ever actually challenged is in a drama CD track released years after the game where another character essentially calls him a hypocrite for being blind to his own country's atrocities and war crimes (as he constantly blames the other country he's at war with, says no good is to be found among their people, and says they're always the aggressors despite his father having started a war which essentially destroyed the continent not even 20 years prior). which is, again, not in the actual game itself.

i can't even give him credit for being a good father (his only redeeming trait) because the core story of awakening should be his daughter's (and her friends') tale to tell, but instead he's the main protagonist through her arc, all her friends are optional recruits, and too much of her character is tied to fawning over him. sick of this guy.

While I wouldn't say I loved FE:A (FE games aren't really my style), it's nice to see someone else who also hated Chrom. The longer I played the more I disliked him and I ended up dropping the game because I hated that he was forced upon me more than I cared about anything else going on. But worse than all the plot points that work against him, the fact you had to keep him alive at all costs and he was hell bent on dying repeatedly on me really drove me into hatred territory. He's the only character in Smash I refuse to unlock because I'm still annoyed at him a decade later.