Summary
- Real life has no redo buttons, but in video games, a family line is one way to transfer the “protagonist” role from parent to child.
- Video game sequels often follow descendants to evolve the story while staying connected to its roots.
- Games like Fallout 2 and Gears of War 4 showcase the legacy of the hero through their descendants.
In real life, there are no character rerolls, sequels, or quick-load options after a fatal mistake. As far as anyone knows, everybody is playing life in hardcore mode, where a game over really does mean game over. The closest thing is the ability to reproduce, which transfers the mantle of “protagonist” from the parent to the child (whether the parents realize it or not).
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However, unlike in real life, players in video games can easily be transferred from one character’s body to another. Where a studio might want to leave the fate of the series’ previous hero in the player’s hands, or they want to pull a time skip while continuing a family saga, putting the player in the shoes of a descendent provides a natural way to evolve the story while keeping ties to its root. Beware of family tree-splitting spoilers ahead.
6 Fable 2
The Orphaned Branch Of The Oakvale Family Tree
- Released
- October 21, 2008
Given how much emphasis was put on player choice (at least within the dichotomy of good and evil) in the first Fable, it would have been obvious that a sequel would have had to be about a new hero, as players would probably have balked at seeing their one-horned demon avatar defanged for a new chapter.
With legacy and lineage being so prevalent in fantasy, it makes sense to make the poor orphan child of Fable 2 a descendant of the Hero of Oakvale. However, those with a keen eye for lore would have noticed that the Hero of Oakvale had canonically taken the path of good (at least in the end), given that his sister, Theresa, still lives after the 600-year gap between the two games, as he would have slain her to truly embrace the life of malevolence.
5 Tekken 3
A Constantly-Evolving Family Feud
Tekken 3
- Released
- March 20, 1997
- Developer(s)
- Namco
Even with such a large roster of characters, each with their own intricate history and interconnected dramas, the Tekken series has, at its heart, always been a saga revolving around a family feud. Kazuya Mishima began his career as the series protagonist, out for revenge against his father, Heihachi, for throwing him off a cliff as a test of his strength.
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After taking his father’s place as the final boss in the sequel (in his demonic Devil form), Kazuya disappeared. Tekken 3, which takes place 20 years later, stars Jin Kazama, Kazuya’s son. Of course, the protagonist’s mantle has bounced back and forth throughout the series, with several family members long thought dead returning for another round in the Iron Fist tournament.
4 Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Returning Again As Day Follows Night
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
- Released
- December 18, 2010
It’s one thing to see the descendant of one character in a sequel but quite another to find out how the entire party from a previous game ended up. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn follows the adventures of the children of the heroes who restored the world of Weyard thirty years prior in one of the greatest GBA games, Golden Sun.
As adepts, they are tasked with facing a new threat: “psynergy vortexes,” which once again threaten the balance of the world. Along with all being adepts, the heroes’ offspring all ended up being friends with one another, which is incredibly sweet.
3 Fallout 2
The Lonely Legacy Of The Vault Savior
- Released
- October 29, 1998
- Developer(s)
- Black Isle Studios
At the end of the original game, the Vault Dweller was cast out of their home and forced to wander the Wasteland alone on the outside, even after saving them from a water crisis and the rest of humanity from the machinations of the Master. In Fallout 2, that hero’s deeds did not go unforgotten.
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In fact, a whole mythology was built around them in the 80 or so years since they founded the village. It is a legend that the player, the descendant known as the Chosen One (not so named for their fated destiny but because, once again, they were chosen to do all the hard work by the rest of the group), is asked to live up to when tasked with retrieving the Garden of Eden Creation Kit, or GECK, a device that may be able to restore life to their dying village.
2 Gears of War 4
Rise Of A Fresh-Faced Fenix
9/10
Gears of War 4
- Released
- October 11, 2016
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
After years of grinding in the Locust and Lambent wars, Marcus Fenix eventually hangs up his serrated rifle and starts a family with Anya during the 25-year gap between Gears of War 3 and Gears of War 4. While he left the military forces of the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) behind after their authoritarian turn, his son, J.D., sees fit to sign up.
After finally seeing the light, J.D. and his friends abandon COG, but in doing so, uncover a new threat, which J.D. dubs “the swarm.” The new crew seeks out the advice of old Marcus, who helps them uncover the truth about this “new” hivemind collective army that threatens the last remains of humanity.
Unearthing A Long, Snaking Legacy
Although the series started with Solid Snake back with Metal Gear, the true origin of the military conspiracy saga began with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which stars Naked Snake (AKA Big Boss). In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, fans got to see what eventually happened to the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2, but also the fate of pivotal characters from Snake Eater, including EVA, Snake’s surrogate mother.
Like the coiling of a snake, the Metal Gear Solid series frequently throws twists at its players, with one of the strangest being Old Snake’s final meeting with Big Boss. After embracing him as his son, Big Boss is finally defeated by Snake’s FOXDIE, which he contracted of his own volition, finally bringing the story to a close.
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