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Games that don't have a clearly defined antagonist?

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bomblord1

Banned
What are some examples of games with no clear "bad guy" or narrative villain of any sort?

A good example of a game that pulls this off well without actually going for a non-traditional approach would probably be the Sims. You have clearly defined goals and a lose state (death) but there is not anyone or anything that actively attempts to impede your character.

Can you think of any good examples gaf?
 
dark souls 2 (who is the antagonist, seriously)

don't say nashandra that shit is obviously not true
edit:
though this isn't really a good example since it's basically done by having poor writing
 
SMTIV spoilers

By the end of the game I was marching into heaven with Lucifer in my party and I thought I was going for the "good" ending.
 
Brothers A Tale of Two Sons. Just two brothers on a quest to save their dad.

On a different note, I had no idea who was the main villian in Final Fantasy XIII.
 
Ocarina of TIme.

It isn't revealed until Wind Waker that the
farts of the people of Hyrule that wafted in the direction of the Gerudo Valley was the true antagonist.
 
theechrisfox said:
Hohokum. Not much at all is clearly defined but its super fun.
Click to expand...

I would simply say that Hohokum simply doesn't have an antagonist, unless you count the jerks in the elephant level. Are we talking games with no antagonist whatsoever or games with a certain antagonizing force but with no explicit leader or group?
 
FFT
wasn't sure if it was the saint or Delita

Mr. RPG said:
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance...

Who was it?
Marche?
Click to expand...

OMG you are so funny.

Marche? it is totally his fault for not wanting to stay trapped in a world filled with monster and magic because one of his friends wanted to have RED hair instead of white hair. The other friend did not want to face the same reality that all humans might will one day face. The only one who had a somewhat justifiable reason would be Marche? brother.

Obviously, I am assuming you are joking.
 
I'd say PaRappa the Rapper. The only vaguely antagonistic characters are the two bullies and Joe Chin, but the former only appear in the intro and get immediately shut down, and the latter is only a bad guy from PaRappa's point of view since they're both interested in Sunny Funny.
 
Far Cry 2 (I'm still playing through it though).

Sure, the Jackal is the target, but right from the beginning, he is not really interested in getting in your way, killing you, or even a particular faction. As the protagonist, however, you are certainly a bad dude, playing both sides and only helping out the locals to get meds that you need.

The antagonists are anyone in the way of your next target, your disease, the landscape, and the shoddy quality of the tools at your disposal.
 
Dragon Age II; although there is a final boss, they aren't even introduced until like 2/3 through the game (and depending on your choices, might not even be an opponent a until the last fight). Your motivation during each act is completely different.
 
Perhaps the first Dark Souls? You're given an objective to complete, but there isn't an antagonist who directly opposes you throughout your journey or whose ambitions conflict with yours. The final boss seems more like the last obstacle on your quest than an out-and-out villain.
 
Edit: Whoops. I read that as Protagonist instead of Antagonist.

Hmmm, Pretty much any Souls game.

There really isn't any defined antagonist in those games. You're basically a hero running around in a strange land and coming across people who have lost their way or have been corrupted by a curse. No one actively tries to oppose your quest in any other way than "You stumbled in here and now we have to fight."
 
Civilization V and any 4x strategy games. You can make someone your enemy, but it isn't clearly defined, and enemies can become friends later.
 
Dark Souls 1 doesn't really have an antagonist. The player is fulfilling the legend of the Chosen Undead but there aren't really people out to stop him. Yeah there's Gywn at the end but he's a husk of himself. The bosses don't really count since they just kill anyone who wants gets in there way.

Edit: beaten.
 
Walking Dead Season 2.

You can make a pretty strong argument for
Kenny
or
Jane
as the main antag. I don't count
Carver
since he was mid season. Hell, I would almost argue that
Kenny
became the main character of S2 by the end, and Clem was just along for the ride.
 
Eidan said:
The antagonists in GTAV are pretty clear cut.
Click to expand...

From beginning to end though? For me it took about 3/4 through the game before I knew who the real "villians" were, although it didn't take much for me to find out how much of a douche
Steve Haines
was.
 
The Witcher 2. It doesn't have villains, just different types of assholes.

-
Letho was basically forced into doing the job by the Nilfgaardian Emperor and he also had personal reasons for doing what he did.
-
Philippa and Silé wanted to create a strong, unified North against Nilfgaard.
-
We don't know the Nilfgaardian Emperor's intentions (should become clear in the sequel), but it's to be expected that he won't be some moustache twirling cliché as well.
 
Dominic_Shade said:
Perhaps the first Dark Souls? You're given an objective to complete, but there isn't an antagonist who directly opposes you throughout your journey or whose ambitions conflict with yours. The final boss seems more like the last obstacle on your quest than an out-and-out villain.
Click to expand...
Definitely. The main threat to the world of Dark Souls isn't some villain or madman, it's the inexorable passage of time. As the light fades, time crumbles cities and brings the mighty low. Seath the Scaleless is a despicable creature of great power, yet even he is a victim of time as the crystal that gave him immortality slowly encases and imprisons his body. You can hold back this ruin for a few more moments like Gwyn did when he rekindled the flame, but sooner or later the clock will start ticking again.

All one can do in Dark Souls is enjoy the time they have left.
 
Seyavesh said:
dark souls 2 (who is the antagonist, seriously)

don't say nashandra that shit is obviously not true
edit:
though this isn't really a good example since it's basically done by having poor writing
Click to expand...

Nashandra is clearly the villain. You get a good idea what happened before and during your time there and even why it happened, in typical Souls fashion. If anything Dark Souls has less of a clear villain (the closest of which could be considered allies depending on how you play it). It has nothing to do with "bad writing".

I guess I shouldn't bother to spoil tag this.
 
Homunculus said:
Edit: Whoops. I read that as Protagonist instead of Antagonist.

Hmmm, Pretty much any Souls game.

There really isn't any defined antagonist in those games. You're basically a hero running around in a strange land and coming across people who have lost their way or have been corrupted by a curse. No one actively tries to oppose your quest in any other way than "You stumbled in here and now we have to fight."
Click to expand...
King Allant seems like a clear antagonist to me.
 
I'd argue Kirby does this a lot...actually Sakurai in general seems to like the idea of sort of "ambiguous" villains. With Kirby, DeDeDe and Meta Knight have both played the villainous role, but there's always a catch. Most of Kirby's enemies are either forces of nature, like Dark Matter, arguably with no real moral capacity, or the villain at the end has a change of heart and is redeemed.

Kid Icarus Uprising played with this as well, although I'd argue that's a big part of Greek Mythology, with the Gods and Goddesses being the villain one day, and your ally the next. Even Hades, undoubtedly the big bad, nevertheless helped you out during the Aurum Invasion.

Subspace Emissiary also did this, with all the villains switching to the side of good by the end, and Tabuu fell under the category of a force of nature with no real moral compass as far as I can tell. If you believe the "lore" of Smash, he probably simply represents the idea of growing up.

Linkstrikesback said:
PIkmin. The enviroment is out to kill you , sure, but they're certainly not antagonists.
Click to expand...

Well, spoilers for Pikmin 2/3...there is perhaps a real antagonist...

Louie.
 
A lot of point-and-click adventures would qualify as they tend to be about a character's journey through a world. The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, though they have a few characters who get in your way for a section, don't have an overarching antagonist for the whole story. The first Syberia too. Myst (the first one) only has a villain in the loosest sense but who doesn't do anything to impede you.
 
Watch Da Birdie said:
I'd argue Kirby does this a lot...actually Sakurai in general seems to like the idea of sort of "ambiguous" villains. With Kirby, DeDeDe and Meta Knight have both played the villainous role, but there's always a catch. Most of Kirby's enemies are either forces of nature, like Dark Matter, arguably with no real moral capacity, or the villain at the end has a change of heart and is redeemed.

Kid Icarus Uprising played with this as well, although I'd argue that's a big part of Greek Mythology, with the Gods and Goddesses being the villain one day, and your ally the next. Even Hades, undoubtedly the big bad, nevertheless helped you out during the Aurum Invasion.

Subspace Emissiary also did this, with all the villains switching to the side of good by the end, and Tabuu fell under the category of a force of nature with no real moral compass as far as I can tell. If you believe the "lore" of Smash, he probably simply represents the idea of growing up.



Well, spoilers for Pikmin 2/3...there is perhaps a real antagonist...

Louie.
Click to expand...

Is that a joke or are you serious if serious could you explain the logic? I would consider the environment in pikmin to be the antagonist.
 
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