False Protagonist

Overview

The false protagonist is a technique which preys upon gamers' preconceptions of a game's main characters and the roles they will play throughout the story. This can be done by granting the player direct control over the false protagonist then suddenly switching control over to the "real" (defined as the protagonist who experiences the most gameplay time) character, as seen in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Solid Snake, the face of the Metal Gear franchise, is only playable for a few hours before he is replaced by Raiden. Another type of false protagonist is a character whose identity is unknown, or a lie, either to the player, themselves, or both, such as Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife.