List of video games that break the fourth wall

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• AdventureQuest - A moglins says that he will not turn into a monster because "the AdventureQuest staff doesn't have time for that".

• Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt - When the miner asks, "Well, stranger, what brings you to these parts?", Yakko answers, "The person with the controller in their hand, if I'm not mistaken."

• Banjo-Kazooie (and its sequel Banjo-Tooie) - All the characters demonstrate through their dialogue that they are well aware of being in a video game, such as Mumbo Jumbo's comment "Me best shaman in whole game." Both games include a character who provides information about the controls and how to play the game (Bottles the mole in the first game, and his brother Sgt. Jam Jars in the sequel). After freeing Tooty near the end of the game, the end credits are shown, but the game still continues, prompting Kazooie to wonder why the game isn't over yet, as does Banjo in the sequel after the credits roll and Bottles and Jingaling are brought back (before the credits roll, Kazooie says, "Do you reckon that's the end of the game?" and Banjo adds "I don't think so, we haven't had the credits yet...". At the end of Banjo Kazooie, the characters openly discuss the development of the sequel, Banjo-Tooie. At one point in Banjo-Tooie, before the final fight with Klungo, Banjo says, "Hey, Kazooie, there doesn't seem to be anyone in here...", and Kazooie says, "Oh, yes there is. The music's changed. Every time that happens, we always end up in a fight," and the defeated Gruntilda also tells the characters she will have her revenge in Banjo-Threeie (a sequel which did not exist at the time). They also seem to know that they have transferred from one game to another, as in the prologue of Banjo-Tooie, after Bottles dies, Kazooie says, "He wasn't the favorite character in Banjo-Kazooie anyway!" and when they steal the water from Gobi the camel in Hailfire Peaks, he says, "It took me since the last game to save that!"

• Chrono Trigger - One of the endings to the game involves the characters being able to visit the real life cast in the video game's character bodies and hear comments and congratulations about beating the game so quickly. In one of the rooms, there's also a machine that says "3...2...1...Reset" and the screen goes black, suggesting that it reset the game, which then comes back on with the message "Just kidding!" Also, the final room has the lead programmers talking and when they've all be spoken to, one of the programmers will say "We have redone the credits more to your taste.", after which the credits go by at an amazing speed and the game ends.

• Conker's Bad Fur Day - After defeating the final boss, the game appears to freeze -- except for Conker, who complains about the "Q&A department" and contacts "the programmer" to receive a better ending. When Conker visits the Uga Buga cave the first time and sees the dinosaur god statue, dramatic symphony music plays until Conker turns toward the camera and says "Hey Maestro! Don't you think that's a little too overdramatic? Can you give me something with more of a beat?". The music changes to a caveman hymn and Conker says "Yeah, that's better!".

• Conker: Live and Reloaded (which includes a remake of Conker's Bad Fur Day) - When something isn't the same as it was in the original Conker says that he talked to "the producer" and was told that it was "just a port" of the old game. Conker also sometimes talks "directly" to the producer after such things occur.

• Crash Twinsanity - At one point, Dr.Cortex explains that the last two years have been slow and that The Wrath of Cortex didn't do as well as hoped.

• Custom Robo (Gamecube version) - during the Police Sponsored Tournament, one of the boys watching makes comments such as, "It must feel great to be the main character. Me? I'm a minor character. I just stand here and add nothing to the plot", and "I don't even have a name. The hardships of a minor character."

• Destroy All Humans! - If the player idles on the main menu, the character Orthopox will eventually begin complaining about it, such as acknowledging his status as a fictional character in a video game.

• Discworld series - Rincewind is unhappy with the fact that he's in a video game, and he refers to environmental factors as "Plot element, Locations, Hint and Items etc." as though he were nothing more than an objective observer. There exists an easter egg in which Rincewind travels back into the first game from the second, exchanging a few words with his previous self about its sloppy graphics and ridiculous budget, while at the same time boasting about his recently improved artwork. He is very sensitive about being clicked on, occasionally even "confiscating" the cursor for short periods of time.

• Disgaea: Hour of Darkness - Laharl frequently refers to the enemy Vyers as "Mid-Boss". When Laharl first sees the optional boss Baal, he shouts, "You gotta be kidding! Level 4000!?".

• Disgaea 2 - Rozalin claims to be "level one hundred million." There also exists a petition to be the main character in the game.

• Doom 3 - Just before entering the arena with the final boss, there is a small tunnel that leads to a button with the logo of id Software, the development studio that created the game, embossed upon it. When the button is pressed, the player receives a PDA containing numerous emails from the developers themselves, congratulating the player for getting so far through the game.

• EarthBound - The player is asked several times throughout the game for his/her real name for use in the battle with the final boss. Also, some signs and characters say things like: "These actions will help you in EarthBound", "I wanted to get in touch with the people at [game developer] Ape", and (outside of a closed building) "Planning meeting for EarthBound 2." There is also a sign in Moonside that says it can sense a controller in the player's hands.

• Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - In the Extra Stage, if playing as Marisa Kirisame, the boss Flandre Scarlet informs the player that he/she can't continue prior to the battle.

• The Emperor's New Groove (PC version) - Kuzco will at one point ask how Tico got there so fast, to which he replies, "Hey, it's a game!" Kuzco then says, "Don't get cocky, kid."

• Escape Velocity - A number of the programmers can be seen flying spaceships. One randomly displayed news article makes a reference to "Escape Velocity 637."

• Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - When the player's "sanity meter" drops or becomes empty, various effects occur such as the game appearing to erase the save files or turn off the television screen.

• Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (Japanese and German versions) - The main player can visit Zelda and hear a comment about being in the wrong game.

• Final Fantasy V - During a dance sequence, the characters call out to "you out there in front of the TV". In the Game Boy Advance version, the line is changed to "you on the other side of the screen".

• The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - In Story Mode, after a fight against Irwin, Grim explains that Irwin was "infected with supernatural rage", and when questioned about it, he answers with "I thought we agreed not to talk about the plot holes."

• Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker and Archer Maclean's Pool - Both from the same author, when you don't press any key or use the mouse for a few seconds, flies appear to fly over the screen, sometimes landing and crawling on it. The effect simulates what flies would do over a real screen because of attraction to the light.

• The Journeyman Project - Except for main character Agent 5's apartment, the apartments in the building where the game begins are inaccessible. For certain apartments, an announcement declares that they were "never modeled or rendered."

• JumpStart Adventures 5th Grade: Jo Hammet, Kid Detective - If the player fails the game of disarming one of Dr. X's bombs, thereby causing the bomb to go off, Jo Hammet will inform the user that "we couldn't let that happen in an educational product" and the disarming game begins again.

• The Lost Vikings - At the end of one of the industrial stages with cranes, the three titular Viking brothers pose an existential question about if they were somehow being controlled by some other entity than themselves. One Viking states that is ridiculous then another of the Vikings points toward the player and asks "Then who is that guy?", then the other two notice the player, and all three of them decide to leave because this is too creepy. If the player fails to finish a stage too many times they complain about the player losing all the time or say they are getting tired of this stage, sometimes Thor's voice will come out of nowhere and ridicule the Vikings' incompetence, stating how he never took so long to finish stages in his video games and how they are much harder than this game.

• Makai Kingdom - The main character Zetta is turned into a magical book, and states to the camera "I got turned into a book? who writes this crap?". Laharl, the main character of Disgaea, acknowledges that the only reason Zetta is able to beat him is because "I'm not the main character in this game, so I'm destined to lose", and later joins the party in an attempt to be the main character. At another point in the game, Zetta runs into Etna, another Disgaea character. After defeating Etna, Zetta arrogantly declares, "I'm more main character than this game can handle!"

• Metal Gear Solid - Psycho Mantis is able to stop the game's background music (which the protagonists take note of), and makes comments about other Konami games saved on the memory card. He also appears to "make" the player's controller vibrate and to display "Hideo" in green text in the corner of the screen (making it appear as if the TV was switched to "Video"). If the player is unable to defeat Psycho Mantis, Colonel Campbell will call and inform him/her to switch the controller to the second port. After Mantis is defeated, he says, "So, you used the other..." Colonel Campbell also tells the main character, Solid Snake, to look at the back of the game's CD case to find Meryl Silverburgh's (a female protagonist) radio frequency. During a conversation over the Codec radio with Naomi, she instructs Snake to relieve his pain by putting the controller against his arm. The controller then vibrates, "massaging" the arm of the player if they have followed the in-game instructions. In another scene Revolver Ocelot informs Snake that he is going to torture him. However, he tells Snake to "Press the O button repeatedly to regain your strength," and that if he dies during the torture, it's "Game over. There are no continues, my friend." If you haven't saved for a long time he will point that out at this time as well. Ocelot adds, "Don't even think of using auto-fire, or I'll know!" [1]. All of the above were retained for the GameCube remake Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.

• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - A conversation between Pliskin and Raiden makes references to VR training and "war as a video game." Near the end, Colonel Campbell (who has actually been replaced by AI) breaks the fourth wall on numerous occasions. First, he orders the player to switch off the console, and soon tells them that they have "been playing the game for a long time" and asks if they have "something better to do" with their time.

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - As the prequel to the Metal Gear Solid series, if the player kills a character who appears in a (chronologically) later Metal Gear game, they will receive a "Time Paradox" game over screen. Also, while calling The Boss during the Virtuous Mission, she'll tell Snake to 'rely on his instincts as a gamer' after learning that he can't smell. Like the first Metal Gear Solid game, Snake Eater also allows players to think outside the game to complete specific sections.

• Monkey Island - A number of characters, including Guybrush Threepwood and Lechuck, frequently address the player. A popular reference also includes the third game where Guybush dies halfway through the game and the bartender comments that Lucas Arts (the people who made it) just killed off their main character, and this leads straight into the end credits (with Guybush screaming later that he isn't dead and to cut it out).

• Muppets Party Cruise - Sometimes when a character is losing, they will say something about their player. Animal may say "Save now! SAVE NOW!", Fozzie might say "Uh, hello? Could someone please wake my player up? Thank you." Miss Piggy complains that she's having "a bad player day."

• NFL Blitz 2003 - The game commentators will occasionally insult the player for making poor play calls. One example: the first commentator says, "Why did they go with that play?" and the other responds, "Ask the kid with the controller!"

• NASCAR 06: Total Team Control - When using the voice recognition feature with the PS2 headset, if a profanity (or words that sound like profanities) are used, the crew chief will scold the driver saying "Hey, this game's rated E!"

• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Late in the game, a disguised Lord Crump (named "Four Eyes") addresses the player with, "You out there, in front of the TV... I know it's obvious that I'm an X-Naut, but don't tell anyone!", while Mario and his bemuse about who Four Eyes is addressing.

• Pokémon series - Various characters appear throughout each game trading Pokémon between their own Game Boys; some of them will even trade a specific Pokémon to the player. Additionally, Celadon City in the Kanto region contains a building staffed by "Game Freak" -- the game's own development staff, one of whom identifies himself as the game designer. In Yellow Versions outside of Japan, if the player is able to fill their entire Pokédex (i.e. entries 1~150), the designer will reward them with a special certificate; in the Japanese Yellow Version, he will also reward the player with Mew. If you talk to a certain person in one of the games, he will state that he is the game's developer, and he states "I designed you!" In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, they will be at Cove Lily Hotel in Lilycove, Hoenn later in the game.

• Rayman 3 - Murphy reveals that he gets all the "helpful" information he provides to the player by reading "the manual". As the level progresses, he becomes increasingly sarcastic regarding the manual, which he seems to regard as merely stating the obvious, while the manual itself argues with him, through subtitles. For example, in one part of the level, Rayman must stop a panicked Globox by closing a door in his path. Strangely, the door is right in the middle of an open area, apparently serving no other purpose. Murphy then remarks "Who came up with the idea of putting a door there anyway? Must be the same person who wrote the manual", to which the manual replies "Well, this is what the manual has to say to YOU!". At the end of the level, Murphy says goodbye to Rayman by saying, "See you in Rayman 4!" Globox is scared of the Hoodlums and attempts to calm himself down by repeating "It's only a video game... it's only a video game...." Shooting Globox can sometimes provoke responses such as:
  • "Quit it! The manual says you're my best friend!"
  • "You better watch out we're going to be censored mister. It's bad enough that I'm butt-naked."
  • "We're going to be rated PG-13!"

• Secret of Evermore - A character named Socrates preaches philosophical platitudes to a group of people. Talking to Socrates repeatedly causes him to say, "This is a video game. We are all characters in a video game." One of the people in the audience comments, "This guy is a nut case", to which Socrates replies, "If I am lying, may I be struck down by the powers that be!" A menu box then opens, allowing the player to select whether Socrates should be turned into a goat, a chicken, or a basket -- and he remains in that form for the rest of the game.

• Serious Sam 2 - The main character frequently makes reference to the fact that he is in a computer game. For example: when fighting a giant bee, he states that "There are no bugs in this game!"; when told to find and collect a statue to proceed for seemingly no reason, he says "Who makes these puzzles?"; when entering a sewer, he says "You can't have a game without a sewer level!"; he refers to the creators of the game, CryoTeam, when he sees a picture of them; in one sequence, he looks over a gallery of pictures of his adventures in previous computer games, remarking how fun those games were.

• The Simpsons Hit and Run and The Simpsons Road Rage - Homer says, "This video game SU-UCKS!" when he loses, and may occasionally accuse other drivers of using cheat codes. Marge says, "Where to next, video game?" when she completes a mission or delivers a passenger.

• Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - In one mission, Lambert tell Sam Fisher to try not to trip too many alarms. Fisher says "Let me guess, three alarms and the mission's over?", to which Lambert replies: "No, this is no video game, Fisher," referring to the previous two games where three alarms would end the mission.

• SpongeBob SquarePants: Employee of the Month - SpongeBob enters a television studio in Chapter Two. Upon examining a workstation of a secretary, SpongeBob remarks, "A computer! Sometimes I feel as if I am stuck in a computer game! Oh, the horror!" In the same room exists a poster of another 'Spongebob SquarePants' game poster. The tooltip states "View America's Favorite Sponge" and the title character says, "Ah, (name of game), good times, good times..."

• Spyro: A Hero's Tail - When Spyro is threatened by an enormous mammoth, Spyro mockingly describes how he could defeat the mammoth with ease, making light of the mechanics used in many boss battles. Soon after, as Spyro is captured, Hunter reassures Sparx that Spyro is alive by remarking that if Spyro had actually died, they would be going back to a previously saved game.

• StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War - Terran Vultures and Goliaths threaten and insult the player if selected multiple times. Most other Terran units, and several Protoss units talk to the player. Artanis is also well aware that he is a video game character, commenting that "This is NOT Warcraft in space."

• Super Princess Peach - In the opening intro, Army Hammer Bro openly brags about how the Koopas will finally have their revenge on Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom thanks to the powers of the Vibe Sceptor. Bowser quickly corrects him, saying "Hey! Idiot! Not so loud!". He looks up toward the screen towards the player and says: "Hey! You there! Close that door in front of you, will ya?" He then points down to the bottom screen, where a little icon appears near the door. The player has to touch the door to close it, and resume the intro.

• Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 - If the player manages to defeat a group of extremely powerful bosses that, in the game's storyline, were supposed to be impossible to defeat, the last of the Bosses expresses surprise at the player's skill, congratulates the player directly, and gives them several powerful items as a reward. In another part of the game, one character chastises another for almost getting them into trouble when he compares someone's nickname with that of a character from the Gundam series.

• Viewtiful Joe - When Alastor appears, he reads from "the script" to explain the main villain's evil plot, to which Joe responds by noting that "there are children watching, ya know!"
• Viewtiful Joe 2 - When Alastor appears, he again reads from a script and denies to introduce himself, instead telling the player to "go to [their] local discount store and pick up a copy of Viewtiful Joe".

[edit] See also

• Fourth wall
• List of fiction that breaks the fourth wall