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00:07Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're looking at the infamous Bait and Switch.
00:12Some games like to offer multiple perspectives.
00:14Love it or hate it, there's nothing crazier than when a game puts you in someone else's shoes,
00:19only to rip you out and throw you into someone else's shoes.
00:21And it always seems to happen right when those shoes were just starting to feel comfy.
00:25These are 10 games that switched protagonists.
00:27Before we continue, we publish content all week long,
00:30so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:36Kiryu to Majima Yakuza 0
00:47Yakuza 0 doesn't just flirt with a perspective shift, it builds the entire game around it.
00:52The game opens with Kazuma Kiryu, young, intense, and already carrying the weight of a murder accusation.
00:58You settle into his side of the conflict, trying to clear his name.
01:01Then, the narrative cuts sideways, and suddenly, you're controlling Goro Majima,
01:05managing a cabaret club and operating under strict limitations imposed by the Yakuza hierarchy.
01:10The tonal contrast is immediate.
01:12Kiryu feels stoic and restrained, while Majima carries a sharper edge, masking calculation behind charisma.
01:17The game alternates between them chapter by chapter, letting both arcs develop in parallel.
01:22And it's sitting at number 10, because instead of replacing one protagonist with another,
01:26Yakuza 0 uses the switch to expand the scope of the story,
01:30turning what could have been a single revenge tale into a dual story.
01:33It's really awesome.
01:41Nero to Dante, Devil May Cry 4
01:44Go! Get out of here!
01:52Nero!
01:54Devil May Cry 4 shakes things up right away by introducing Nero, a brand new protagonist,
01:59who opens the game hunting Dante after the chaos at Fortuna.
02:02For long-time fans, that was a bold move.
02:05Suddenly, the face of the franchise is your enemy, and is also sidelined for someone unfamiliar,
02:10and you're expected to roll with it?
02:12The gamble mostly pays off.
02:13Nero feels distinct, especially with the Devil Bringer adding a grappling aggressive twist to combat.
02:19Then, about halfway through, the game flips again and hands control back to Dante for several missions.
02:24He plays differently, juggling multiple styles and weapons with his usual swagger.
02:28By the final stretch, you're back with Nero to close things out,
02:31and it feels right.
02:32It almost makes you appreciate the things that make Nero great.
02:35Smartly, the game keeps both characters comparably upgraded,
02:39so neither feels underpowered.
02:41Instead of replacing Dante, Nero compliments him.
02:44How beautiful.
02:52Snake to Raiden Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty
03:04Few protagonist swaps have caused as much uproar as the one in Metal Gear Solid 2.
03:09The game opens exactly how fans expected, with Solid Snake infiltrating the tanker in the classic stealth-heavy style that
03:16defined the series.
03:17It feels familiar, comfortable, reassuring even, while also bringing the beloved protagonist to the new generation.
03:24Then, the tanker sinks, Snake disappears beneath the waves, and the story jumps ahead two years.
03:28Welcome to the Big Shell.
03:31Welcome to Raiden.
03:32And welcome to the greatest cover-up in video game history.
03:35Suddenly, you're controlling a brand new character for the entire plant chapter,
03:39while Snake lingers in the background as a supporting figure.
03:42For many fans at the time, it felt like a slap in the face,
03:45especially considering Raiden's involvement was completely kept under wraps,
03:49with Snake even replacing him in some demo footage.
03:52People bought the sequel expecting more Snake, not a rookie operative with silver hair and a different tone.
03:57Over time, Raiden earned appreciation, but back then, I hated him with everything in my soul.
04:06My name is, my name is Plissken.
04:10Iroquois Plissken.
04:12Sigurd Tusellaf Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War.
04:23Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War isn't exactly a household name outside of Japan.
04:27It was a super Famicom entry that was never officially released in the West.
04:31I say officially, because fans did translate it.
04:34And it's this beloved fanbase that made it into a cult classic,
04:37with one of the best protagonist switches in gaming.
04:40The game opens with Sigurd as the central hero,
04:42leading campaigns and building what feels like a standard Fire Emblem arc.
04:46Then, it pulls the rug out completely.
04:48Sigurd, and his entire army are wiped out,
04:51in a shocking turn that flips the narrative on its head.
04:54After a time skip, the story continues through his son,
04:57Seliph, who steps into the protagonist's role to carry on the struggle.
05:00There's far more political drama and tragedy surrounding Sigurd's downfall,
05:04but that's the core twist.
05:05Killing off your main character mid-story is bold, even now.
05:09It's the kind of ambitious storytelling that makes this game so beloved.
05:192B to 9S to A2, Nier Automata.
05:26Activating short-range attack gear.
05:31Nier Automata plays with perspective in a way most games wouldn't touch.
05:35It opens with 2B and 9S ascending to Earth to fight back against the machine invasion
05:40and reclaim the planet for humanity.
05:42Roll credits once, and you quickly realise you're not finished.
05:46The second playthrough retells much of the same story,
05:48but this time through 9S, shifting both tone and gameplay.
05:52Familiar events just hit differently when you see them from another angle.
05:55Then, the third route arrives, bringing A2 into focus
05:58and pushing the narrative into far stranger territory.
06:01It stops feeling like a simple protagonist swap
06:04and more like a story shared between fractured viewpoints.
06:06By the time you reach the true ending, the game does something even bolder,
06:10asking you to delete your save file as an act of sacrifice.
06:13Not many players expect a game to demand that kind of commitment.
06:24JD Fenix to Kate Diaz, Gears 5.
06:29I got you! I got you!
06:39Gears 5 starts out feeling like a continuation of JD Fenix's story from Gears of War 4.
06:45He's positioned as the central figure, once again,
06:48still carrying that confident, slightly idealistic soldier energy.
06:51Then, Act 1 hits hard.
06:53The Hammer of Dawn incident changes everything.
06:56JD survives the catastrophic strike, but several of his allies don't.
07:00And the fallout leaves visible scars, both physical and psychological.
07:04From that point on, he's not the same character.
07:07And from that point on, he's also not the main character.
07:09The optimism fades and the game subtly shifts its focus.
07:12Instead of doubling down on JD's arc, the narrative pivots to Kate Diaz.
07:17JD doesn't disappear, but he's no longer the driving force.
07:20Kate's family history, particularly her connection to the Locust's legacy,
07:23becomes the emotional core of the story.
07:25The spotlight moves, and Gears 5 is all the better for it.
07:29I'll push Jack the coordinates.
07:30Now, Corto, you are coming back to Noa Fira.
07:33That is a direct order.
07:36Well, Captain, screw your order!
07:39Cole Phelps and Jack Kelso, L.A. Noire.
07:42Skipper says that Phelps has fallen behind again.
07:44He's got his fire teams checking every cave.
07:46He's lost another flamethrower.
07:48He wants you to get over there and hurry them along.
07:50For most of L.A. Noire, you're in the polished shoes of Cole Phelps,
07:53climbing the ranks of the LAPD in 1947 through homicide, vice, and beyond.
07:58It's a steady rise built on discipline.
08:01That is, until his personal life detonates.
08:04An affair becomes public, his image collapses, and he's demoted to the arson desk.
08:09That's where things get interesting.
08:10While investigating a string of suspicious house fires,
08:13Phelps uncovers a much larger conspiracy tied to land development and corruption.
08:18The problem is, members of the police force have tangled up in it,
08:21which blocks him from digging deeper.
08:23So, he turns to someone outside the department, Jack Kelso,
08:26a former wartime acquaintance, now working as a claims investigator.
08:30From that point forward, control shifts,
08:32you step into Kelso's role and pursue the truth Phelps couldn't openly chase.
08:36And the final stretch of the game plays out through his eyes.
08:38It's really cool, and unexpected.
08:41I have the coordinates.
08:4334 degrees, 4 minutes, 29 seconds north.
08:46118 degrees, 17 minutes, 58 seconds west.
08:50Alright, that makes it a bit more difficult.
08:53Come with me.
08:54Ellie to Abby, The Last of Us Part 2.
08:58Where's Abby?
09:01You're that girl from Jackson?
09:03Tell me where she went.
09:05How do we know you won't kill us?
09:06Give her what she wants and we're dead.
09:08You guys can survive this, I just need her.
09:11The Last of Us Part 2 wastes no time pulling the rug out.
09:14It opens quietly, with Joel and Ellie settled into life in Jackson,
09:18trying to build something normal in a broken world.
09:20Then, everything unravels.
09:22Joel is brutally killed early on,
09:24and the story pivots into Ellie's relentless pursuit of Abby, the woman responsible.
09:29But this change from Joel to Ellie isn't the change we're concerned with.
09:32The game builds towards their confrontation,
09:34and when they come face to face and players expect the story to continue from there,
09:38it rewinds.
09:39Suddenly, you're controlling Abby,
09:41starting from the moment right after she killed Joel.
09:44It was a daring narrative swing from Naughty Dog,
09:47asking players to inhabit and eventually understand someone
09:50who murdered a beloved protagonist.
09:52Joel was flawed, but he was deeply loved.
09:55The shift sparked intense backlash when the game launched,
09:58and this backlash makes fans of the series really anxious
10:00for the upcoming Season 3 of The Last of Us.
10:18Gustav, to Verso, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33.
10:25Gustav, to Verso, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33.
10:32Is this it?
10:38Our latest entry on this list, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33,
10:42begins with a clear focal point.
10:45You step into the role of Gustav,
10:46a determined member of the latest expedition,
10:48sent to confront the paintress and break the cycle
10:50that erases an entire age group each year,
10:52and that's the simplest way I could pitch you the lore.
10:56Play the game.
10:56It's crazy.
10:57For the opening stretch,
10:58it feels like his story,
11:00his resolve driving the mission forward.
11:03Then, the game makes a sharp turn.
11:05Midway through the narrative,
11:06control shifts to Verso,
11:08and the tone subtly but unmistakably changes.
11:12Where Gustav felt grounded and driven by responsibility,
11:15Verso carries a different energy,
11:17more introspective, more ambiguous,
11:20forcing players to reassess what they thought
11:22they understood about the mission.
11:23The swap isn't just cosmetic.
11:25Combat rhythms, dialogue weight,
11:27and narrative emphasis all feel slightly altered.
11:30It's a sudden and shocking change.
11:32One that we truly didn't see coming.
11:39I'm really sorry I didn't arrive sooner.
11:54Arthur to John, Red Dead Redemption 2.
11:57So why are these two still here?
11:59Old pals of Micah's.
12:01They're getting real comfortable.
12:03We need guns for what's coming.
12:06Cleet and Joe know how to fight.
12:09It's lucky I bumped into him.
12:11As a sequel to a game infamous for switching protagonists at Endgame,
12:15we should have seen this coming.
12:16I don't want to brag, but I did.
12:18Red Dead Redemption 2 works as a prequel,
12:20but it's Arthur Morgan's story, not John Marston's.
12:23You ride with Arthur as a core member of the Vanderlind gang,
12:26watching Dutch's ideals slowly unravel
12:29and the group fracture under pressure.
12:30Arthur is charismatic, conflicted,
12:33and surprisingly thoughtful for an outlaw,
12:35which makes what happens next hit even harder.
12:38Midway through the decline of the gang,
12:40he contracts tuberculosis,
12:41and given the late 1800s setting,
12:44there's no miracle cure waiting around the corner.
12:46His health deteriorates alongside the gang's collapse,
12:49and eventually he dies,
12:50both at the hands of Micah,
12:52but also through his weakened state.
12:53But the credits don't roll.
12:55Instead, the game launches into a lengthy two-part epilogue
12:59where control shifts to John Marston.
13:02Hell yes.
13:03But I've been thinking,
13:04ain't it about time you stopped being the man
13:06making them decisions?
13:07I'm trying.
13:08Are you?
13:09I think so.
13:11You gotta find someplace to lay low.
13:14Keep quiet.
13:15Maybe Dutch was right.
13:17Maybe we should have just gone to Tahiti.
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