10 Games Where You Aren't the Main Hero of the Story

Chances are that astir of your favourite games impact you being the main leader of the story. Perhaps the playable quality is meant to prevention the world, oregon possibly they person a unsocial endowment oregon quality that nary 1 other has.

But what astir the games wherever that work falls to idiosyncratic else? While it's empowering to person specified greatness thrust upon you, immoderate of the astir satisfying games are the ones wherever you interaction the satellite indirectly oregon alteration idiosyncratic other to bash so.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's intro is beyond incredible, some successful presumption and however it eases you into its world. Your travel begins successful a situation cell, and it conscionable truthful happens the king is secretly leaving the castle done a passageway lone accessible from your cell. Upon gathering you, helium remarks connected however he's seen you successful his dreams and beckons you to travel with. This has each the makings of you being a benignant of chosen one, but successful actuality that relation belongs to the king's illegitimate son, Martin.

Your travel passim Cyrodil revolves astir uncovering Martin and the events that unfold afterward. It's unfair to accidental your quality isn't influential, since you're adjacent recognized in-game arsenic the "Hero of Kvatch," but Martin is the cardinal to Cyrodil's future, portion you play a much supportive role.

Luckily, if you've ne'er played, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was simultaneously announced and released successful April 2025, and makes a compelling lawsuit arsenic to wherefore the gaming satellite needs much shadiness drops.

9 Final Fantasy X

The comic happening astir Final Fantasy X is however the crippled emphasizes its events being Tidus' story, contempt that not wholly being the case. Tidus whitethorn beryllium a main character, but helium is simply a guardian to Yuna, a summoner embarking connected her pilgrimage to get the powerfulness needed to prevention the world. Specifically, Yuna travels crossed each of Spira to assistance bring astir the Calm, a play of respite from the calamity known arsenic Sin.

Make nary mistake, Tidus is imperative to the story, particularly fixed his ties to respective plot-critical characters. What happens successful the game's climax is owed to his influence, and he’s undoubtedly a hero, but the communicative is chiefly focused connected Yuna. You walk a bully chunk of the crippled accompanying her from temple to temple arsenic she acquires much powerfulness successful the signifier of Aeons, and the crippled cannot determination guardant without her.

8 Legend of Mana

Legend of Mana features a soundless protagonist arsenic the subordinate character, who tin beryllium either antheral oregon female. The Mana Tree, which provides mana and beingness for the full world, burned down hundreds of years earlier the crippled begins. The protagonist wishes to reconstruct the satellite and does truthful by aiding definite characters passim 3 main quest arcs, arsenic good arsenic a last arc.

Notably, determination is nary accusation fixed astir your character, and their soundless quality provides nary clues astir their property oregon background. They service much arsenic an enabler and enactment for the different characters successful the story, who each play a important relation successful restoring the Mana Tree.

7 The Last of Us Part I

Despite lone controlling her for a little play of clip (in the archetypal game, astatine least), Ellie is the main leader successful The Last of Us Part I. Similar to Final Fantasy X, you play arsenic a bodyguard fundamentally the full game. After it is discovered that Ellie is the lone known idiosyncratic immune to the Cordyceps corruption that has devastated the world, Joel is hired to support her. Your extremity is to regroup with the Fireflies, a faction that aims to reverse-engineer a vaccine susceptible of curing those who go infected.

Joel is thing but virtuous, and adjacent calling him a leader is simply a agelong considering however cynical and ruthless helium is. As you question passim the game, you observe that Joel has killed galore people. At 1 constituent successful his life, helium and his member were nary amended than raiders, often mounting traps to execution and rob anyone unfortunate capable to pass.

Joel is surely a main character, but helium decidedly isn't a hero. Everything successful The Last of Us Part I revolves astir Ellie and the imaginable power she tin person connected the world.

6 Halo 3: ODST

The information your in-game quality is known arsenic "Rookie" successful Halo 3: ODST (an Xbox crippled you astir apt ne'er played, but should) tells you everything you request to cognize astir your relation successful the story. Though Rookie is the main character, the bulk of the crippled is really experienced done a bid of flashbacks.

The communicative begins successful New Mombasa arsenic helium awakens aft being knocked unconscious from his bumpy landing. You past scour the metropolis to effort and find antithetic beacons, each of which is associated with 1 of his squadmates successful immoderate way. Upon discovering a beacon, you instrumentality power of the comrade successful question to portion unneurotic what happened portion Rookie was retired cold.

Not lone bash you play arsenic aggregate characters passim the Halo 3: ODST's campaign, you are noticeably weaker than bid protagonist Master Chief owed to being an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. That's not to accidental that daze troopers successful the Halo universe can't beryllium heroic, but Rookie's exploits aren't noteworthy successful the long-run.

5 Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age

Vaan is absorbing successful that helium is simply a main quality successful Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age, but not needfully captious to the story's narrative. Beginning the communicative arsenic thing much than a thoroughfare urchin, Vaan gets swept up successful a struggle betwixt the Kingdom of Dalmasca and the Archadian Empire. Ashe, heir to the Dalmascan throne, heads a absorption question to fend disconnected the Archadians and reclaim her throne. Vaan's companions, peculiarly Ashe, Balthier, and Basch, are each cardinal players regarding what befalls Ivalice. Even Balthier comments astir however he's the "leading man" of the story.

In the expansive strategy of things, Vaan is much of an outer observer, oregon a self-insert of the subordinate into the game's universe. His comparative ignorance of the satellite provides casual ways for different characters to explicate what's going connected to him without the subordinate getting lost. He does assistance beforehand the crippled and has galore important moments successful the story, but the greater absorption is connected Ashe and her extremity of liberating Dalmasca.

4 Xenoblade Chronicles X

Xenoblade Chrnoicles X begins with you creating an avatar character, known by default arsenic Cross. As the crippled begins, you're awakened by Elma, the person of BLADE (Builders of the Legacy After the Destruction of Earth) and brought backmost to New Los Angeles. Before you cognize it, Cross becomes a subordinate of BLADE nether Elma's bid and embarks connected a fig of missions and adventures.

Though the missions you instrumentality portion successful person a monumental interaction connected the world, you are yet a portion of Elma's team. Elma's squadmates lend successful ample ways, but she is the narrative's superior absorption and what occurs successful the communicative would not hap without her.

3 Fire Emblem: Awakening

In Fire Emblem: Awakening, the avatar quality (canonically known arsenic Robin) plays a pivotal relation successful the story, but is inactive 2nd to Chrom and Lucina. A descendant of the Hero King, Marth, Chrom is Ylisse’s prince who leads a vigilante radical known arsenic the Shepherds that support the kingdom. Chrom finds Robin passed retired successful a tract and suffering from amnesia, who past travels with the Sheperds, serving arsenic their strategist.

Things get much analyzable erstwhile Lucina, Chrom's girl from the future, makes an quality to forestall her begetter from being killed arsenic helium was successful her time. I'll refrain from spoiling the communicative too heavily, but Robin is surely an integral portion of the plot. When Robin's individuality is revealed, helium does go a focal point, but Chrom and Lucina are inactive the ones taking halfway signifier arsenic they prevention the contiguous and the aboriginal together.

2 Final Fantasy Tactics

Final Fantasy Tactics may look similar an unusual inclusion connected this list, but according to the in-game records, the main quality is simply a heretic. Ramza Beoulve was calved into the respected House Beoulve and, contempt his presumption arsenic a noble, helium rapidly became friends with Delita Heiral, a commoner. While Ramza initially fights to grant and uphold his household name, his motivations alteration erstwhile helium sees however twisted and unfair the satellite genuinely is, peculiarly to radical similar Delita.

Ramza and Delita correspond 2 precise antithetic lines of reasoning and methods of making the satellite a amended place. Delita believes it is acceptable to manipulate others to bring astir bully and Ramza tries to execute that aforesaid extremity done virtuous means, nary substance what.

Both characters question to alteration nine for the better, but Ramza's methods are much overt, resulting successful the religion branding him a heretic. Meanwhile, Delita yet becomes king, courtesy of his cunning and scheming. Ramza yet saves each of Ivalice, but his deeds and individuality are astir wholly omitted from history, truthful helium technically isn't a leader astatine all.

1 Gothic

Gothic is a brutal RPG wherever you statesman arsenic a cipher and the satellite is actively trying to instrumentality vantage of you. The crippled starts with your quality being sentenced to a mining colony arsenic a captive for an unmentioned crime. Before serving your time, you person a missive and are instructed to present it to the Order of the Magicians of Fire, a task that begins your journey.

As Gothic's plot progresses, you bash go reputable, however. I'll debar spoilers, but determination is simply a crushed the crippled refers to the main quality arsenic the Nameless Hero. Nonetheless, it is an arduous escapade and 1 wherever it takes an inordinate magnitude of enactment for different characters to adjacent admit you, overmuch little notation to you arsenic heroic.

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Though it's bully to beryllium the main leader of a story, sometimes it's conscionable arsenic satisfying to beryllium on for the ride. Many of the champion games astir are the ones wherever your actions whitethorn not person straight changed the world, but helped those whose actions could. Whether it's for a person oregon to support idiosyncratic adjacent much beloved to you, the affectional interaction of being determination for them outweighs the pridefulness of redeeming the satellite immoderate time of the week.