Top 10 Lists: The Top 10 Greatest Video Game **SPOILERS**

An integral part to a truly epic game is a story that draws you into it's world and makes you a part of it. Every now and then, though, a well-written story throws a plot twist at you that not only surprises you, but seriously affects your emotions. These **SPOILERS** are the greatest plot twists that some of the finest video game writers have thrown at us over the years.

The Fate of Ramza - Final Fantasy Tactics was a story told from the point of view of a historian who was revealing the true hero of the Lion War. After all of his hard work, Ramza finally defeated Altima (who was the transformed St. Ajora), but appeared to die in the ensuing explosion of the final boss. The game's ending then shifted to Ramza's grave, where Olan the historian sadly mourned the loss of Ramza. But, as Olan walked away from the grave, he caught a glimpse of Ramza and his sister Alma (who was also presumed dead) running past on chocobos. It was very satisfying to watch Ramza and Alma ride off into the sunset after being led to believe that they were dead.

The Masked Bishop's True Identity - The main villain of Suikoden III didn't seem very out of the ordinary at first. He was simply trying to collect the True Runes for some unknown reason. However, the game eventually reached a point where the Masked Bishop was revealed to be Luc from the first two Suikodens. To people who had never played the first two Suikodens, this probably didn't seem like a huge deal. Fans of the Suikoden series were floored, though. In Suikoden I & II, Luc was portrayed as an arrogant young man who had little desire to fight. He was a well-known supporting character of the series who was never expected to become a main villain. Being twenty years older in Suikoden III changed Luc's outlook, though, and he decided that the True Runes had to be destroyed at the cost of many lives to prevent future abuse of the Runes. This unexpected plot twist created a very well-developed villain and a great spoiler.

Kratos the Mysterious Swordsman - Through the first part of Tales of Symphonia, Kratos is portrayed as a mercenary hired to protect the Chosen. He tries to be a mentor to Lloyd, the main character, but seems to know more about Lloyd than he should. Even after Kratos appears to betray Lloyd, he continues to look after Lloyd and alludes to a deeper connection between them. Eventually, it is revealed that Kratos is not a human, but he is actually a 4000 year old Seraphim. As if that wasn't enough of a twist, it is also revealed that Kratos is Lloyd's true father, making for a double whammy of a spoiler.

Dracula's Upside Down Castle - Throughout Castlevania: SotN, it was well-established that Richter Belmont was possessed by someone or something. So, when you finally reached him, you knew there had to be more to the fight than killing Richter. Only equipping a special item enabled you to see and defeat Shaft, who was the person controlling Richter. Now, up to that point, the game kept track of the percentage of the castle you had completed and you would be right near 100% if you had done everything up to the point where you meet Richter and Shaft. So, you really didn't expect much more after defeating Shaft than maybe a final showdown with Dracula. Instead, you opened a door to another castle that was an upside-down mirrored image of the castle you just completed. As a result, an already great game just became twice as long and twice as cool.

Epilogue - Lunar 2 ended on a somewhat sad note. After defeating Zophar the Destroyer, Lucia and Hiro (the two main characters) expressed their love towards each other. After saying good-bye to their other friends, Lucia decided that her duty was more important than her love for Hiro. She fulfilled her destiny by returning to the Blue Star, which was the world she came from, and left Hiro behind with the pendant she dropped. After watching the credits roll, something unique happened. You gained access to a new option called "Epilogue." Apparently, Lunar 2 wasn't over just yet. Sure enough, in the epilogue, Hiro finds a way to travel to the Blue Star to be reunited with Lucia. Several hours further into the lengthy epilogue, Hiro and Lucia do find a way to be reunited, turning a sad ending into a great ending.

Samus is ...... a Girl? - The instruction manual for the original Metroid referred to Samus Aran as a tough bounty hunter. So naturally, gamers everywhere assumed that Samus was a guy, seeing how just about every other lead character at that point was a guy. Upon beating the game, however, Samus takes off "his" helmet to reveal the long, blonde hair of a female bounty hunter. Beating the game in under an hour took the shock further by revealing Samus out of her armor and in a swimsuit. Not only was this one of the first true spoilers, but Samus also paved the way for other strong female lead characters by being one of the first female leads to break the "damsel in distress" stereotype of virtually all other female characters of her time.

The Boss's True Loyalty - Of the multitudes of crazy plot twists in the Metal Gear Solid series, this one has to be the biggest and best one. In Metal Gear Solid 3, The Boss was a mentor to Naked Snake and the two had a very close bond. But, The Boss wound up defecting from the American government to the Russian government and the two friends knew they would have to fight each other eventually. As expected, Snake and The Boss finally faced off against each other after The Boss explained why she defected. Snake won the fight, killed The Boss with her own gun, and became known as "Big Boss". After escaping to Alaska, though, Snake (Big Boss) learns the truth about The Boss and her loyalty. It turned out that her defection from the U.S. was staged by the U.S. Government itself to make The Boss a personal scapegoat for an attack that would have otherwise started a nuclear war. It was a bit complicated, but basically, The Boss's mission was to allow Snake to kill her. Even when it appeared to the rest of the world that she betrayed her country, The Boss was an example of true loyalty to her country. Not only was this plot twist a great example of character development for The Boss, but it also helped explain why Big Boss became the character that he did in other Metal Gear games.

Darth Revan's Identity - When you begin playing KOTOR, your character is presented to you as a person who has lost their memory, but was skilled at using the Force. Because of your amnesia, you could decide whether you wanted your character to follow the Light side of the Force and become a Jedi Master or follow the Dark side to become a Sith Lord as you progressed through the game. Whichever path you chose, your main enemy was a Sith Lord named Darth Malak who betrayed his master, Darth Revan. Eventually, in a stunning plot twist, it becomes revealed that your character actually was Darth Revan and lost your memory because of Darth Malak. From that point on, the game takes on a whole new meaning as you get to choose whether you want to exact your revenge upon Darth Malak as a Jedi Master or as a Sith Lord.

Kefka Destroys the World - Part of what truly set Kefka apart from other villains is that he actually succeeded in carrying out his insane plans of destruction. High atop the Floating Continent, Kefka killed the Emperor and created his own twisted World of Ruin by upsetting the balance of 3 powerful statues while the heroes watched helplessly. Upon upsetting the balance of the Statues, the entire continent crumbled, forcing the heroes to literally race against the clock to escape. The airship they tried to escape on ripped apart, though, and the game faded to black. A year later, the game picked up again with only Celes and Cid still alive on a small island. Now, instead of trying to make peace with the Empire, you have to track down all of your old partners again and convince them to stop Kefka's maniacal rule. Not only did this spoiler change the overall goal of the game, but it also completely changed the layout of the game's world itself.

Death of Aeris - This is quite possibly the most famous spoiler of all time. It's not just because a playable main character died, either. The cinema of Sephiroth slowly falling from the sky and driving his sword through Aeris's body while coldly staring at Cloud is an image that few people could forget. Then, the sad Aeris's Theme played while Cloud released Aeris's lifeless body into a pool of water. No amount of Phoenix Downs or Life spells were going to bring Aeris back, either. She was dead for good. Plus, not only did you have to deal with the loss of a character you had leveled up and become attached to, but the entire tone of the game shifted from just trying to save the world to also seeking vengeance against Sephiroth. Never before, or since, has a villain committed a single act that drew so much hatred and stirred up the emotions of both the game's characters and the player.

These **SPOILERS** have created some of the greatest moments that gaming has ever seen. Well-written stories that include these plot twists are one of the main things that have caused video games to transcend beyond a simple children's hobby to an accepted form of entertainment and a truly creative form of art. It's moments like these that remind us why we invest so much time, money, and effort into playing these magnificent games.

List by cykoatom (11/01/2005)