Violence in video games has been a hot topic for decades. Some people think it’s inappropriate and over-the-top, while others think it’s completely harmless. Plenty of games are entirely built around being violent. Players of Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and Postal go into the game expecting a fair amount of gore.
What’s more shocking than expected violence, though, is the surprise of a brutal death during a game that doesn’t really have anything to do with excessive violence in the majority of its gameplay. These are some of the most surprising of them all.
Link in Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (1998)
The Legend Of Zelda games are some of the most well-known of all time. Specifically, Ocarina Of Time is the number one ranked Zelda game on Metacritic. What fans weren’t expecting from the fantasy game with cute blocky animation was a violent death animation for the main character.
Apparently, as some gamers on Gamespot figured out, if a player tries to attack Cuccos–the chickens of the Zelda world–enough times, the game will transition to a cut scene of the chickens becoming enraged. Then, a swarm of chickens will begin to attack Link, and if players aren’t able to run away, they will be pecked and beaten to death by the Cuccos.
Maria Robotnik in Sonic Adventures 2 (2001)
Sonic is a playful racing game where players speed through jungle roads and fight off mechanical foes made by supervillain geniuses. What gamers don’t expect from a children’s game is a death that is not only visually brutal, but also emotionally gut-wrenching.
Maria Robotnik spent her entire life on the ARK spaceship where Professor Robotnik tried to cure her fatal disease by creating Shadow (who fans think could be voiced by some amazing actors in the upcoming live-action films). In an effort to get to some escape pods during an attack, Maria is callously shot and killed by a soldier as Shadow, her best friend, has to watch. Maria uses the last of her strength to send out Shadow’s escape pod.
Mario in Super Mario 64 (1996) & Super Mario 64 DS (2004)
In older versions of the Mario games, underwater deaths were hardly gruesome: Mario simply sunk below view and the End Game music played. Unfortunately, the drowning got more and more graphic as new versions of the game were released over the next few decades.
Mario games aren’t exclusively children’s games, but they are for younger players. That’s why it’s so shocking that Mario’s drowning sequence evolved into a disturbingly realistic death in Super Mario 64. If a player runs out of air/Life, Mario begins grasping at his throat and flailing around in the water before going eerily still.
Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy (2021)
Being owned by Disney, players would expect a Marvel videogame to be on the tamer side, especially when it comes to violence. And for the most part, Guardians Of The Galaxy is a game that uses “elemental guns” that shoot things like ice, lighting, wind, and plasma instead of bullets.
However, when it comes to player deaths, the game is a bit more gruesome. When Gamora isn’t having her head smashed in with a giant mallet by an alien foe, she’s being strangled to death by her estranged sister, Nebula. The animation for her death is pretty intense, with a close-up of her face as she struggles for air before Nebula snaps her neck and her face spasms and goes limp.
Earthworm Jim (1994)
Earthworm Jim is an early, pixelated game made for the Sega Genesis. Although there are guns, its 2D style doesn’t make anything too gory or violent. When Jim shoots at the crows they merely disappear with an explosion animation and a beak falling to the ground.
Overall, it’s definitely not the scariest Sega Genesis game to exist. In fact, the more disturbing death doesn’t take place until the end of the game. When Jim finally reaches Princess What’s-Her-Name, a cow that he had launched into the air at the beginning of the game comes crashing down on top of her, mangling her body. Her blank stare haunts the entire credits roll.
Aerith’s Death In Final Fantasy VII (1997)
While the majority of the original Final Fantasy VII’s animation is more blocky and simple, the cut scenes of the game are more detailed in nature. The characters use swords and other weapons, but there is nothing particularly brutal until a scene featuring an unsuspecting Aerith.
Cloud Strife, the main playing character, approaches Aerith as she kneels in a room with a glass ceiling. Suddenly, Sephiroth descends from the ceiling with a giant sword and impales Aerith with it in front of Cloud before she slumps forward, dead.
Player Deaths in Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts (1991)
Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts is a classic side-scrolling game, like Mario and Donkey Kong. Gamers play as King Arthur with the goal of rescuing Princess Guinevere. The game premiered with many other top Gameboy Advance games that video game lovers should try.
Much of the gameplay is pretty light in terms of violence. When King Arthur gets hit by a foe, he loses his armor, then is reduced to his underwear. With such silly-looking consequences, one would expect the player’s final life to be Arthur falling to the ground–but, he is brutally incinerated and turned into a skeleton, which promptly tumbles to the ground and falls apart. It’s shocking, to say the least.
Donald & Others In Kingdom Hearts III (2019)
Kingdom Hearts III had quite a few brutal moments in cut scenes and battles at the climax of the game. In one heartbreaking and uncharacteristically dark cut scene, Donald uses the attack Zettaflare when trying to defeat Terra-Xehanort before lifelessly falling to the ground.
Donald and other characters have been completely wiped out in this cut scene, with their bodies surrounding Sora and the survivors. Then, a swarm of heartless begin to barrel over and consume everyone but Sora and Riku. As if this wasn’t emotionally scarring enough, Master Xehanort hits Kairi with a keyblade later in the game and she bursts into shattered pieces.
