7 Worst Uses Of Video Game Plot Armour

Here it is, the plot armour so thick its lead to an entire section of the gaming community swearing blind that it can’t be true. Squall Leonheart, protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, is dead.

Let’s rewind a little bit. The moody middle child of the PS1's Final Fantasy output, FFVIII holds a special place in many fans’ hearts for its rich character development and challenging yet rewarding Junction system. Following Squall and his fellow SeeD cadets, members of an elite military force for hire, the game sees the party squaring off against the time bending sorceress Ultimecia. Following a failed attempt to assassinate their foe, the young protagonist is stabbed with a high speed shard of ice, the force knocking him back to fall to his apparent doom.

Then he’s…fine.

The cinematic really hammers home that this magical assault on Squall is a big deal, with love interest Rinoa looking on tearfully as he plummets, the ice shard still embedded in his chest.

Squall’s progress from mortal wound to irksome imprisonment is so convenient that fans speculate he did not in fact survive, and that the fantastical back half of the game, combined with perceived hints in dream sequences, are evidence of a dying fever dream.

Alas, Square Enix confirmed that the shard did actually pierce Squall's shoulder, and the rest of the game is in fact real. Whilst it's tempting to believe the hype, we do all just have to sigh in bitter disappointment, as it turns out this shoulder was indeed wearing plot armour several inches thick.