The "Damsel in Distress" is one of fiction's oldest conventions. It's used so often in storytelling that over the years, it has become a cliché. Of course, like any cliché, it's ripe for comedy. That's why more recent tales have taken to poking fun at it. These range from merely subverting to outright spoofing.

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This pattern extends to games, which makes sense. "Save the princess" has been an easily digestible premise since the days of the earliest Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda titles. As such, it's funny to see how subsequent titles lampoon that idea, like the following games do so well.

8 The Spyro The Dragon Series

Sheila and Marco in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy

The old-school Spyro games are fantasy farces, meaning fairy tales are fair game for parody. One example comes in the second entry when the purple dragon must reunite Romeo & Juliet. The catch is that the former is a blubbery blob, while the latter is a skinny bird. When Spyro finds Juliet seemingly stranded in a tower, she simply flies down to Romeo and lives happily ever after.

The third game forgoes such a sentimental ending. The desperate Marco enlists Sheila the kangaroo in rescuing his love, Rapunzel. The heroine hops to the top of the tower, but she learns that the princess doesn't want to be rescued. In fact, she has a restraining order against Marco. At least she still rewards players with a collectible.

7 The Crash Bandicoot Series

Tawna and Crash in Crash Bandicoot

At first glance, Crash Bandicoot's girlfriend, Tawna, fulfills the damsel quota. She spends the whole first game trapped in the villain's lair, and the hero must sally forth to rescue her. However, the visual is so ridiculous that it's hard to take seriously. Her overtly feminine design, coupled with the fact that she's twice Crash's size, makes her seem like a fantasy from the bandicoot's dirty magazines. Sadly, that fantasy is short-lived, as Tawna leaves him shortly after. The sequel's Japanese manual even says that she dumped the poor guy for Pinstripe Potoroo, one of the villains he fought.

The most recent entry further spits on convention. It's About Time presents an alternate version of Tawna from another universe. She's now a muscular freedom fighter who aids Crash and Coco several times. Considering the sad state of her dimension, though, she probably doesn't think her new physique was worth the tradeoff.

6 The Witcher Series

Longlocks and Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This fantasy series follows Spyro's lead, but it aims more for gallows humor than outright farce. Through several side quests, the Witcher games portray many fairy tales found in the real world, such as Snow White and Cinderella. These tales sport a dark twists that would make the Brothers Grimm blush. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the third game.

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Toward the end of the Blood and Wine DLC, Geralt dives into a book of fables. It's here that he fights his way through many an iconic freak. One of the more morbid encounters occurs when he climbs Rapunzel's tower. Tired of waiting for her prince, the maiden hung herself with her own hair. Her wraith than attacks the witcher. Thankfully, he's already spoken for by a sarcastic mage or two.

5 The Bard's Tale

The Bard and the innkeep in The Bard's Tale

This hack-and-slash title gets its kicks lampooning medieval adventures and fantasy RPGs. That's clear from the first few minutes. The titular musician/merc offers to rid an inn of its basement rat problem at the behest of the provocative owner. It turns out the vermin in question is a giant, fire-breathing rodent, and the maiden just sent the Bard down there for a laugh.

In fact, the whole game revolves around rescuing a princess from an order of evil wizards. His reasons for embarking on this quest are far from altruistic: the princess is hot and promises him whatever he wants. That would be amusing enough, but the endgame throws in an extra twist: the princess is a demon bent on the land's destruction. Most heroes would consider that a deal-breaker, but the Bard can still choose to release the villainess for his own selfish satisfaction. His depravity truly knows no limits. Other gaming protagonists could learn from that.

4 Final Fantasy 7

Aerith, Cloud, and Don Corneo in Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Wall Market is a seedy place even by Midgar standards in Final Fantasy 7. It's a lawless town ruled by crime lords, and mightiest among them is Don Corneo. So notorious is he that he takes a new prisoner/bride to his bed every other night. Tifa poses as a would-be wife to infiltrate the don's palace. Thinking she needs help, Aerith and a cross-dressing Cloud also get themselves invited. The setup practically begs for the typical plot of "Rescue the Pretty Lady from the Bad Guy's Lair."

That said, the whole episode is deliberately over the top. Corneo's silly design, coupled with the demeaning things Cloud and company must do to qualify as brides, ensures players never take it too seriously. The icing on the cake comes when the trio threatens to tear off the villain's family jewels. He probably wishes he'd picked someone else, but then gamers wouldn't have one of the wackiest levels in the Final Fantasy series.

3 Deadpool

Deadpool and Rogue in Deadpool

This should come as no surprise. The chauvinistic antihero has no shame, but nor do the X-Men have time for his nonsense. When Deadpool hears that Mr. Sinister plans to sacrifice Rogue in a gladiatorial arena, the Merc with the Mouth rushes over to save her. He expects a kiss from the southern belle, but he gets more than he bargained for.

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Rogue pulls him in for a NSFW lip-lock, which saps his life force and puts him down for the count. She dons his powers, his mask, and even the voices in his head. It sounds absurd, but that's only because it is. No subject is safe from visual ridicule in this game, and the misadventures mostly end with Deadpool drawing the short straw. He probably wishes he'd just stuck with pursuing his number-one fangirl. Then again, that whole mess ends with him fondling Cable's metal pecs.

2 Batman: Arkham Knight

Catwoman and Batman in Batman: Arkham Knight

Suffice to say, this is not how Catwoman wanted to spend her evening. A side quest in Arkham Knight sees her trapped in an abandoned orphanage by the Riddler. He outfits her with an explosive collar, which will detonate if she tries to leave (or if he gets too irritated). To get it off, she and Batman must play the villain's games.

Thankfully, there's no real urgency to this conundrum. As previously stated, this is a side quest, meaning that players can take as much time as they need to complete it. That will probably take a while, since Riddler is among the less menacing Batman rogues. Catwoman solidifies that impression by constantly making fun of him every chance she gets. Rather than screaming for help or breaking down, she's just annoyed. Players probably feel the same way after several hours of dealing with the Riddler's ridiculous puzzles, which makes her roasts all the more amusing.

1 Bully

Eunice and Jimmy in Bully

One of Rockstar's lesser-known titles, Bully still sports the same absurd humor as Grand Theft Auto. It's simply applied to a school setting instead. Protagonist Jimmy can help out his fellow students for extra rewards, but those rewards aren't always gratifying.

That becomes clear when he encounters Eunice Pound: the biggest, hoarsest, ugliest girl in the hall. She's not in trouble; she's crying because a classmate stole her chocolates. Jimmy promptly beats up said classmate and reclaims the sweets. Eunice then asks, point-blank, if he wants to make out. Rockstar characters normally skip the small talk and go straight to in-your-face insults, so it makes sense that a damsel in distress would immediately kiss her gallant hero. This just isn't the princess most people expect.

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