10 NPCs That Broke Video Games

It doesn't take a genius to understand the strategy elements of Fire Emblem games. However, if you are especially bad at managing your units, Path of Radiance can potentially softlock you with one unassuming NPC.

In chapter 10 of the game, the player has to infiltrate an enemy prison. Inside of it, there are a number of captives that the player can "rescue" by moving them around the map. One of them, Sephiran, has a ridiculously high defense stat (due to being a secret antagonist of the game), which lets him suffer no damage from enemy attacks.

Combine this with the aforementioned moving mechanic, and you can set up Sephiran at the entrance of a room with only one way in to effectively separate yourself from your enemies. The problem is that if your only character who has the ability to "rescue" people dies, you will be stuck behind the Sephiran-shaped wall indefinitely.

Since you can't move Sephiran and the enemies can't kill him, you end up in a permanent stalemate, preventing yourself from progressing. Your only choice is to restart the level or die of old age.

All of this is because of one brooding anime boy.