There are a lot of games where players begin as an already famous character. Licensed-based games are a great example, like Marvel’s Spider-Man and the Batman Arkham games. It’s fun to inhabit the roles of superstar characters, but it’s equally fun to go from rags to riches throughout a campaign.
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That’s how players can measure how far they’ve come. Some games play into becoming famous more than others, adding to the gameplay. Also, some characters become more infamous than famous in their campaigns, like in a Grand Theft Auto game. These examples best represent all forms of fame in games, and they’re waiting for players to dive in.
There will be some spoilers.
8 Brutal Legend
From Roadie To Rock God
One of Double Fine’s better one-offs, Brutal Legend, starred a no-name roadie named Eddie who had no aspirations in life until he stumbled into a world of metal one day. Slowly, he assumed the role of a chosen one, destined to fight for all things metal.
Gameplay was a cross between a core action game and an RTS, as there are big battles. Brutal Legend ends with Eddie becoming more of a rock god than some lowly roadie, and even though there was never a sequel, the legend lives on thanks to backwards compatibility.
7 Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake
Becoming The Hero Erdrick
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Dragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvation was a prequel to the original Erdrick trilogy on the NES. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is an HD-2D remake for modern consoles that expanded the story a bit and tweaked the gameplay.
Players start as a nameless hero who gathers a party and forms classes around them called Vocations. Most old-school RPGs find protagonists on a hero’s quest to become the most powerful warrior and save the world, which is what happens in this game. After defeating a dark lord, players are given the title Erdrick, whose descendant stars in the next game, which is quite the legacy.
6 Jeanne d'Arc
JRPG Joan Of Arc
- ESRB
- T Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- Tactical
Jeanne d'Arc is a PSP tactical RPG by Level-5 that reworked the mythology surrounding the heroine Joan of Arc. She starts as Jeanne in this game and begins as a humble French farmer before demons, as part of the English army, attacked her village.
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Thanks to powers from the gods, she can transform into a mythical knight during battle to turn the tide. Jeanne becomes famous throughout France, uniting her countrymen to defend their land from the demons and the English.
5 Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii
Luffy Would Be Jealous
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
- Released
- February 21, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii stars a renowned character in the Yakuza franchise, Goro Majima, but resets his status. Suffering from amnesia, Goro winds up on an island near Hawaii, thousands of miles away from his native land of Japan.
Through circumstances, power, and charisma, Majima quickly becomes a pirate captain and sails the Hawaiian islands in search of treasure. Players can build their reputation around Honolulu to recruit members for their pirate ship to create an even bigger name around Majima.
4 Marvel’s Avengers
Kamala’s Big Break
Players can assume the role of typical Marvel heroes in Marvel’s Avengers, like Captain America and Iron Man. However, the main campaign focuses on a fan girl, Kamala, who helps rebuild the Avengers who get scattered after a big incident.
Most of the game puts players in control of Kamala, who has a fun set of powers from stretchy hands that can act like swinging ropes to long legs good enough to pummel robots into scrap. By the end, she’ll become Ms. Marvel and rise into Marvel fame like she always dreamed.
3 Metaphor: ReFantazio
Become The King
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a game about politics, with the king dying quickly in the beginning. He returns as a flaming sun god, declaring a race of kings around the world. Whoever gathers the voice of the people deserves to be the new king, and anyone can try.
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That’s where the protagonist, Will, comes into play, who is trying to get control of the throne for his Prince, who is in a diseased state. Through the main story's progress and side quests, players can build their reputation and get the will of the people behind them, and along the way, Will becomes an icon as well.
2 South Park: The Stick Of Truth
The New Kid Rises
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
South Park: The Stick of Truth had a clever premise for a South Park game that allowed players to create their own character. This “New Kid” becomes a chosen one in the fantasy RPG world that the kids of South Park are playing.
Even though players aren’t given a name by the end, they ascend as the most powerful kid in South Park, whom they all worship. Funnily enough, the sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, resets the New Kid back down to a lowly peon.
1 Space Channel 5
From Reporter To Hero
Space Channel 5 is something a little different as a music rhythm game from the Dreamcast era. Ulala is a reporter who is investigating a series of alien takeovers. Instead of battling them with action, Ulala dances to save citizens and get them to follow her.
This culminates in the final battle wherein Ulala loses, and it’s up to the rescued citizens to revive her with the power of music. It sounds silly and it is, but it’s also a powerful moment that shows the trust Ulala has gathered by the end.
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