From Software's Patches is a damn deceptive swine.
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00:00So, as we all know, NPCs come in all shapes, sizes, and allegiances.
00:05Some are extremely helpful support characters, others are annoying fools, and some fall somewhere
00:10in between.
00:11And then there are those NPCs that you initially trusted, and yet turned out to be duplicitous
00:16turncoat butts, eventually showing their true colours and summarily screwing you over as
00:21a result.
00:22And that's what we're talking about today.
00:23As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Video Game NPCs You Shouldn't
00:27Have Trusted.
00:2810.
00:29Atlas – Bioshock
00:30Throughout the original Bioshock, players are guided through the city of Rapture by
00:34the support character Atlas, a revolutionary who they speak to via a radio for the majority
00:39of the game.
00:40Later on, however, it's revealed that Atlas is actually the shneel conman Frank Fontaine,
00:46who faked his death and assumed the Atlas alias in order to agitate a civil war and
00:50take control of Rapture for himself.
00:52We also learn that Atlas' oft-repeated phrase, would you kindly, which he uses whenever he
00:57asks a player to do something, is actually a hypnotic inducement, a trigger phase that
01:01forces protagonist Jack to do anything he asks without pushback.
01:04So the lesson here?
01:05If a game keeps a support character at arm's length from you, and you never actually meet
01:09them in person, there might just be a good reason for it.
01:129.
01:13Basically Everyone – Castlevania II Simon's Quest
01:17Castlevania II Simon's Quest really takes the damn cake where dishonest NPCs are concerned.
01:23The game was designed to offer only vague hints at how players can progress, such that
01:27the various NPCs provide largely cryptic and scarcely comprehensible clues as to what you're
01:32supposed to bloody do.
01:33While the NPCs were always written to be dishonest, and only offer vague hints at best, this was
01:37exacerbated when the game was localised for the West.
01:40Poor translation resulted in the NPCs' nuanced wordplay becoming lost, in turn making these
01:45piecemeal clues even more vague and confusing.
01:49One of the more infamous localisation gaffes involves the clue, hit Debra Cliff with your
01:53head to make a hole, which is a total nonsense statement which is basically close to useless.
01:58This is just one of the many examples of NPCs who are either intentionally misleading, or
02:03are just so poorly translated as to be actively unhelpful.
02:06Hilarious it is, but it's also very annoying if you're trying to play through this without
02:09a guide.
02:108.
02:11The Blind Beggars – Red Dead Redemption 2 Red Dead Redemption 2's world is absolutely
02:16bustling with life and impossible levels of detail, including the presence of countless
02:20beggars on the streets of the various settlements that you pass through, and you might also
02:24periodically notice a blind beggar asking for spare change.
02:28And though you're free to throw some cash in his cap, there's also a chance that you'll
02:31discover on closer inspection that they're actually a faker trying to scam you.
02:35Hilariously, if you point a gun at the beggar, the faker will recoil in a way that indicates
02:39they saw exactly what you did.
02:41Though they'll initially try to save face, if you keep your gun pointed, they'll then
02:45undo their blindfold, omit their ruse, and run away with their tail between their legs.
02:49Otherwise, if you stick around after handing out some money, you might hear the beggar
02:52laugh at duping you, or even get up and just start walking off.
02:56Granted, your losses in this regard are minimal, but it's still a totally unexpected detail
03:00that further fleshes out how absolutely wild this game's Wild West truly is.
03:067.
03:07Kreia – Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 – The Sith Lords
03:10In Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, the player controls an exiled Jedi Knight
03:14who attempts to restore their connection to the Force with a little help from their friends.
03:19One such friend is Kreia, the exile's mentor who was eventually revealed to be Darth Traya.
03:24As in Darth B-Traya, get it?
03:27And to hammer home the point, she also goes by the moniker, The Lord of Betrayal.
03:31Ultimately, Kreia is revealed to have manipulated the player through half-truths and cryptic
03:35answers in an attempt to destroy the Force once and for all, as leads to a final confrontation
03:40between the two and Kreia's demise.
03:42However, long before this reveal, she's actually presented as a prickly enough character
03:46that players should probably think her a little bit sus, especially after the original Knights
03:50of the Old Republic pulled off its own late-game identity-related plot twist.
03:54Still, Kreia is a fan-favorite character for a reason, and as such, we wouldn't have
03:58it any other way.
03:596.
04:00Master Miller – Metal Gear Solid Throughout the original Metal Gear Solid,
04:04Solid Snake is aided via Codec by Master Miller, a former drill instructor and survivalist
04:09coach, who basically serves as the moral support during the more arduous portions of
04:12Snake's mission.
04:13Yet the fact that Miller doesn't really dispense much in the way of tangible advice, sticking
04:17more to broad platitudes, probably should have clued in players to the deception that
04:21is happening right in front of their face.
04:23Late in the game, Miller reveals that he isn't actually Snake's pal, but rather the game's
04:27primary antagonist and Solid Snake's twin brother, Liquid Snake, who has tied his hair
04:32back and hidden his distinctive eyes behind a pair of sunglasses.
04:36At this moment, Colonel Campbell also reveals to Solid that the real Miller's body was
04:40just discovered at his home, having presumably been killed by Liquid, or indeed his men,
04:45in order to impersonate him.
04:46It's an ingenious twist that makes replaying the game a totally fascinating experience,
04:51knowing full well that every verbose conversation you have with Miller is just Liquid screwing
04:55with you and basically wasting your time.
04:57While anyone who noticed that Cam Clark voiced both Liquid and Miller probably thought nothing
05:01of it, it should actually be a total red flag to not trust Miller at all.
05:055.
05:06Maik the Liar – The Elder Scrolls
05:08Now in fairness, if a person literally goes by the moniker Maik the Liar, you've really
05:12only got yourself to blame if you take anything they say seriously.
05:15Nevertheless, Maik is a recurring Easter egg character in the Elder Scrolls series, having
05:20appeared in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and The Elder Scrolls Online.
05:24During idle chit-chat, Maik will wax lyrical on a multitude of subjects.
05:28But for the most part, he's basically a stand-in for the developers, allowing them to pass
05:31commentary on the more absurd aspects of the Elder Scrolls' world in tongue-in-cheek
05:36fashion.
05:37Granted, most of Maik's claims are tall tales that most sensible players would take
05:40with a truckload of salt, including him telling you not to believe the claims that he is indeed
05:44a liar, but even so, he should clearly be trusted about as far as he can be thrown.
05:484.
05:49Eric Bloody Sparrow – Tony Hawk's Underground
05:52While the stakes might not seem as high in a Tony Hawk's game compared to everything
05:56else on this list, that doesn't make Tony Hawk's Underground's Eric Sparrow any
06:00less of a detestable degenerate.
06:02Eric is the player character's best friend at the start of the game, but throughout Thug's
06:06surprisingly involved and wacky story, Eric becomes a routine thorn in your side, exhibiting
06:11patent self-interest and flat-out screwing you over again and again.
06:15From needing the player to bail him out of jail, to actively attempting to impede their
06:18career progress by passing their hard work off as his own, Eric's behaviour is all
06:23the more infuriating because the protagonist gives Eric second, third, and fourth chances
06:27to not be an asshole, and he still is.
06:30This culminates in Eric drunkenly stealing a tank during a trip to Moscow – yes, you
06:34heard that right – and blaming the subsequent $700,000 worth of damage on the protagonist,
06:39getting him kicked off the skate team.
06:41Douchebags don't come in much stronger flavours than Eric, and while it's certainly satisfying
06:46defeating him at the game's end, the protagonist was clearly way too patient and way too trusting
06:51with him.
06:523.
06:53Everybody in Zozo – Final Fantasy VI
06:55Final Fantasy VI's town of Zozo is home to criminals, thieves, and worst of all, liars
07:00who will do anything but offer you actual assistance.
07:03Aside from a single NPC south of the inn, every NPC you encounter will tell you a half-truth
07:09or flat-out porky pie.
07:10Hell, the first NPC that you come across even tells you, Zozo, never heard of it, and another
07:15NPC who promises to let you pass will immediately start attacking.
07:19All in all, this really sets the tone for your time in this town.
07:22There's a quest in Zozo that requires the player to set the inn's stopped clock to
07:25the correct time by asking the town's citizens what the current time actually is, yet because
07:30everybody in Zozo is a liar, you're basically forced to figure out answers by process of
07:34elimination, assuming that every time an NPC tells you is wrong until there's just two
07:38options left.
07:39At least in this case, the dishonesty is played for total laughs, and it's made almost immediately
07:43clear that nobody here should be taken at their word.
07:462.
07:47Patches – FromSoftware Games
07:49FromSoft's reoccurring trickster character, Patches, is one who fans love to hate.
07:53A patently dishonest tosspot, a proto-version of whom first appeared in the studio's 2008
07:59game Armored Core for Answer, and has been a regular fixture in the titles ever since,
08:03Patches turned a lot of heads when he showed up in Demon's Souls the very next year as
08:07Patches the Hyena.
08:09Patches initially attempts to trap the player with the promise of treasure, later apologizing
08:13for it and offering to sell you items, but then kicking you down a hole in an attempt
08:17to kill you.
08:18He reappears as trusty Patches in Dark Souls, unbreakable Patches in Dark Souls 3, and Patches
08:23the Untethered in the recent Eldant Ring, each as tricksters who aid the player in one
08:28breath and attempt to sell them down the river in the next.
08:31Patches also shows up in Nightmare Fuel's spider form in Bloodborne, where despite his
08:35more uniquely grotesque appearance, is once again up to his usual chicanery, promising
08:40the player riches, only to set them up for a downfall.
08:43Despite this, Patches is such a charming scamp in this bleak and desolate world, that it's
08:47basically impossible to not like him at least a little bit.
08:51Patches can't ever be trusted, but you would definitely miss him if FromSoftware ever retired
08:55him.
08:561.
08:57Master Li, Jade Empire
08:58Ah, betrayals don't come much more crushing than this.
09:02Master Li is the Spirit Monk's mentor in the first half of cult classic RPG Jade Empire,
09:07but once you defeat the apparent big bad, Li reveals his true colours by straight up
09:11murdering your ass, stealing your goodies, and installing himself as the new emperor.
09:16Players then have to navigate their way back to the land of the living for their revenge
09:19confrontation with Master Li.
09:21Story-wise, it's certainly a compelling twist on the overly familiar master-apprentice dynamic
09:25that we've seen done to death in martial arts media, and at the same time totally demoralising
09:29that our seemingly wise mentor had basically been using us this entire damn time to get
09:34what he wanted.
09:35And the lesson learned here is that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and if somebody's
09:39giving you an awesome gift seemingly out of the goodness of their hearts, like training
09:43you up to be a badass warrior for example, they might just have an ulterior motive.
09:46And there we go my friends, those were 10 Video Game NPCs You Shouldn't Have Trusted.
09:51I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
09:53the comments section below.
09:54But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
09:56There is one thing that you can trust, my friend, and that is me telling you that you
10:00deserve love, happiness, and success, because it is damn well true.
10:04You deserve all of the best things in life, and do not let anything or anyone else tell
10:08you otherwise, alright?
10:09Trust in yourself, believe in yourself, and I really hope that you smash your life goals
10:13today.
10:14Big love to you.
10:15As always I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon.
10:18Bye.