Examples of Nice, Mean, and In-Between in Video Games.
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Video Games
- Animal Crossing:
- Nice: The normal villagers and the lazy villagers.
- Mean: The snooty villagers and the cranky villagers.
- In-between: The peppy villagers, the jock villagers, the sisterly villagers, and the smug villagers.
- Baldur's Gate III:
- The six Origin characters fit these character types. Karlach and Wyll are both goody two shoes heroes, who disapprove of villainous acts and even leave the party after a certain evil choice is made. Astarion and Lae'zel are the mean ones. Astarion approves of bullying and other underhanded behavior, while Lae'zel is a Proud Warrior Race Girl operating on Might Makes Right. Shadowheart and Gale are the In-between. Gale leans more towards being nice, but can be convinced to take a darker path, while Shadowheart's whole character arc is actually about her moral conflict between her religious beliefs and true nature.
- The three Chosen of the Absolute are villainous versions of this in a twisted way. Lord Enver Gortash can be seen as the Nice one. He is still a nasty piece of work who brutally enslaves people, but appears to be an Affably Evil man who genuinely offers the player to rule the world together. Orin the Red is the mean one, as she is a sadistic monster who likes to cause as much painful deaths as possible For the Evulz. Ketheric Thorm falls In-between. While not as sadistic as the latter, he still is a ruthless warlord who casually kills people he deems unworthy, but was only part of the evil cause as they promised to resurrect his dead daughter in return.
- In Banjo-Kazooie (more specially Tooie), the main playable trio of Banjo, Kazooie, and Mumbo Jumbo. Banjo is the lovable, kindhearted, and cowardly bear who would rather talk things out than fight. Kazooie is a very snarky, wise-cracking, and aggressive bird whose taunting always get the duo into trouble against bigger foes (and is generally disliked by everyone who isn't Banjo). And Mumbo is the perfect middle-man who is eager to help defeat Gruntilda but isn't above making jokes toward others when he feels like it.
- The trio of Banjo, Kazooie and Bottles also counts in the first game. While Banjo and Kazooie retain their roles, Bottles is the in-between as he is very helpful to the duo but not afraid to snark back at Kazooie.
- Bear & Breakfast: Among the main trio, Anni is the Nice, optimistic dog who's looking forward to adventure, Will is the Mean, snarky bird who complains about not doing anything "fun", while Hank is the laid-back, In-Between bear who simply likes tagging along with them.
- In BlazBlue the three main characters, Noel, Ragna and Jin fit this. Noel is a kind girl, while Ragna is a bit hard around the edges, and Jin is basically the walking definition of a Jerkass.
- In Bug Fables, Team Snakemouth, the main character trio, consists of Kabbu, Vi, and Leif. Kabbu is Nice; an Ideal Hero who is kind, noble, selfless, and chivalrous, willing to help just for the sake of it. Vi is Mean; greedy, snarky, hot-tempered and rebellious bee who's mostly Only in It for the Money and always demands a reward for every deed (though she does have a Hidden Heart of Gold). Leif is In-Between; stoic, rational and collected, yet not above being brutally honest, insensitive to others' feelings, and occasionally agreeing with Vi's greedy or mean-spirited tactics.
- The three main characters in Bully (2006) are polite, sensitive Extreme Doormat Pete Kowalski (Nice), cruel, arrogant, manipulative Jerkass Gary Smith (Mean), and aggressive and cynical but ultimately good-hearted Bully Hunter Jimmy Hopkins (In-Between).
- Cuphead gives us The Root Pack. Its members are: Ollie Bulb (Nice), Chauncey Chantenay (Mean) and Sal Spudder (In-Between)
- Deltarune:
- In the main party, Ralsei is the most gentle, affectionate, patient and pacifistic out of them, while Susie is a violent, aggressive and rude bully and Kris is a stoic, voiceless kid whose actions during the game are controlled by the player.
- There is also the three-headed miniboss Clover. The first head is affectionate, the second is aggressive, and the third is too timid to disagree with the other two.
- The first three chapter villains form a trio of varying personality types. King is the mean one, being a Fat Bastard of a tyrant who seeks revenge on the Lightners and is willing to play dirty in battle. Queen is the nice one; though she's misled into trying to open a new Dark Fountain and only knows how to use force to get what she wants, she genuinely wants the best for her subjects and the Lightners and immediately gives up when she learns what will happen if her plan succeeds. Tenna, finally, is somewhere in between; while he's affable and has an understandable motive in wanting to return to the good old days before Kris's family stopped watching him, he's working with the Knight willingly and for entirely selfish reasons.
- Detroit: Become Human has Connor as the Nice Guy android, Gavin as the Jerkass cop, and Hank as the Jerk with a Heart of Gold cop.
- The main characters themselves fit the description. Kara is a housemaid android providing what's best for Alice (nice), Connor is an advanced prototype android hunting down his own kind for becoming deviants even if it's for the right reasons (mean), and Markus is a former caretaker android who leads a rebellion for the freedom of androids either through pacifist or violent methods (in-between).
- There's also Josh as the android pushing for pacifist options, North as the android pushing for violent options, and Simon following either of the two depending on what will Markus decide.
- The main trio of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Laharl, Etna, and Flonne fall into In-Between, Mean, and Nice respectively. Etna is one hell of an unpleasant bitch, a sharp contrast to Flonne, who's usually very sweet (unless provoked). Laharl falls in the middle, although he'd tell you that he's definitely mean. Laharl undergoes Character Development during the course of the game that gradually pushes him away from mean and closer to nice, although he's still nowhere near as nice as Flonne.
- Dragon Age has some of this in each game.
- Dragon Age: Origins: After Ostagar falls, the Player Character is joined by Alistair and Morrigan to stop the Blight. Alistair is Nice since he's something of a naive, idealistic, kindhearted simpleton who believes in doing what's right and helping people. Morrigan is Mean since she's very abrasive, sharp-tongued, believes in taking the ruthless path every time, and often antagonizes Alistair for being too much of a bleeding heart. Just short of acting like a blood-thirsty psychopath who revels in being pointlessly cruel and killing everything in sight, the Warden is In-Between, since being the leader forces them to act sensible and make the tough decisions that Alistair won't make (no matter how nice you are), but they obviously aren't as abrasive or ruthless as Morrigan.
- Dragon Age II: A rather interesting case with the three Hawke siblings. Depending on the player's chosen personality, each sibling fits a different spot. If the player tends to choose the "Good" dialogue options, then Hawke is Nice, Carver is Mean, and Bethany is In-Between, since she's not as saintly as her eldest sibling, but also not as abrasive as her Jerkass twin brother. If the player chooses the "Funny" remarks, then Bethany is Nice, Carver is still Mean, and Hawke is In-Between, since they're friendlier than Carver but their humor gives them more of an edge than Nice Girl Bethany. If the player chooses the "Aggressive" dialogue options, then Bethany is still Nice, Hawke is now Mean, and it's actually Carver who is In-Between since he's not as nice as Bethany but not as perpetually angry or ruthless as Hawke. (One of the twins always dies during the prologue, though, so this dynamic is never made especially clear while playing the game.)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition:
- The first three companions you get for the first chunk of the game seem to embody this trope. Varric is Nice, since he's a wise-cracking and easy-going dwarf who gets along with everyone. Cassandra seems Mean, since she's very harsh, abrasive, and starts off being rather hostile to you since she believes you're the one who caused the explosion that killed thousands of people. Solas is In-Between, since he is very polite and agreeable like Varric, but also very pragmatic and tends to brush off sentimentality in favor of obtaining one's goal as efficiently as possible like Cassandra, making him more diplomatic than her. The three main companions maintain this arrangement even after the dust has settled in the prologue.
- The three advisors could be seen as falling into this as well. Josephine is Nice; she's the ambassador and resident Nice Girl of the entire organization, always favoring diplomatic approaches. Leliana is Mean, in the sense that many of her approaches to war table operations involve silencing people through threats, bribes, or occasionally, outright murder. Cullen is In-Between, as he's generally a pretty sweet guy but also extremely pragmatic and down-to-earth, neither as ruthless as Leliana nor as fond of negotiation as Josephine.
- At the end of the game, the Inquisitor helps select the new Divine (Fantasy Pope) to restore the Chantry after the Mage/Templar War, whose politics represent this trope. Leliana is Nice since she's the most humanitarian and charity-driven, and focuses on making dramatic reforms to abolish Fantastic Racism against elves, mages, and men in the Chantry. Vivienne is Mean, since she is the most traditionalist and ruthless, and almost fully restores the controversial Circle and Templar practices that caused the civil war in the first place. Furthermore, her reception from muggles is equally hostile since she is a mage. Cassandra is In-Between, since unlike Leliana she restores the Circle and Templar Order, but unlike Vivienne she enacts serious reforms to both, making sure that the templars will be hold accountable once they screwed up once more and is now dedicated not just to the Chantry but to the populace while the mages are given more opportunities and freedom, providing if they work hard to deserve it.
- While not describing the characters per se, this trope also applies to the companions' different stances on the Orlesian Grey Wardens and on what the Inquisitor should do with them after learning the scope of their mistakes and how they are accountable to them.
- Nice: Blackwall, Dorian, and the Iron Bull advocate for alliance. Blackwall is the most sympathetic of the Wardens' intentions and actions, only believing that Corypheus' false calling perverted their intentions. Meanwhile, Dorian and the Iron Bull acknowledge that the Wardens were completely wrong for what they did, but they are still needed to defend the world from future Blights. Bonus points for Dorian since the Grey Wardens are the ones who halted the mistakes of his countrymen, the very people who started the Blights in the first place.
- In-Between: Varric, Sera, and Vivienne stand in the middle. Varric outright states that he's not sure of his verdict on them (and his actual reaction depends on whether or not Hawke survives the Fade portion of the main quest, which he will go Nice if Hawke survived and Mean if Hawke was left out in the Fade). Sera has mixed feelings in regards to the Order. She both fears and respects the Wardens and believes that have committed a lot of mistakes, but they're still needed and their mistakes are why they should learn to do better. This ties to her trauma as a survivor to the Archdemon attack at Denerim and how she is uncomfortable to their presence being synonymous to danger. While Vivienne's opinion that the Grey Wardens have overstayed their welcome could count as mean, she doesn't necessarily dislike the Wardens like the last three below do.
- Mean: Cassandra, Solas, and Cole outright call for the Inquisitor to banish them. They believe overall that the Wardens are no longer the order they once were, having committed too many atrocities that they find hardly justifiable, and also see them as too dangerous to be given a second chance. This is very personal for Cassandra and Cole, the former learning that the Grey Wardens have a hand over the death of Divine Justinia and the latter being shaken of the demons present in the fortress and his growing fear that he can be controlled by Corypheus. As for Solas, as revealed in the fourth game, the Grey Wardens destroying the Old Gods is destroying the Evanuris, binding their immortality and power to those high dragons. The Evanuris are imprisoned and being used as a seal to erect the Veil. Not to mention the Blight is also contained at the prison where the Evanuris are held. This means that if they were all to perish, the Veil would likely collapse, allowing the full power of the Blight and plenty of other demons to easily enter the world.
- Elden Ring:
- Invoked with Marika and Godfrey's three known children: Godwyn the Golden is framed as nice; Mohg, Lord of Blood is mean; and Morgott the Omen King is in-between. While Godwyn is a Posthumous Character whose death kicked off the Shattering, he's remembered as a noble and charismatic prince, and was beloved by his subjects for his kindness. Mohg, by contrast, was locked away in the sewers beneath Leyndell at birth for being born as an Omen (a grotesque troll-like monster), eventually taking revenge on the Golden Order by pledging his soul to the Formless Mother and becoming a malevolent demonic sorcerer. Mohg's twin brother Morgott is somewhere in the middle: he was also imprisoned beneath Leyndell at birth for being born an Omen, but became a staunch supporter of the Golden Order when he fought his way to the surface; one of the most tormented and morally conflicted characters in the game, he's known for being unfailingly loyal to the Golden Order but utterly merciless to their perceived enemies.
- Ranni the Witch's three primary servants fit this pattern: War Counselor Iji is nice, Preceptor Seluvis is mean, and Blaidd the Half-Wolf is in-between. Iji is a kind-hearted and gentle troll and a humble blacksmith who cared for Ranni as a child, Seluvis is a cruel and arrogant sorcerer who openly treats the player with disdain, and Blaidd is a rather cold and aloof (but generally honorable) werewolf knight who serves as Ranni's bodyguard.
- Interestingly subverted with the three "Empyreans"note : at first glance, Miquella is nice, Malenia is mean, and Ranni is in-between. Miquella is a mild-mannered and pacifistic mystic who's widely known for his benevolence, and is even known as "Miquella the Kind"; Malenia is an intimidating warrior who's known for being utterly merciless to her enemies; and Ranni is one of the most enigmatic characters in the game, known for keeping her true motivations largely shrouded in mystery. But as we learn more about all three characters, it eventually becomes clear that it isn't nearly that simple: despite his benevolent image, Miquella is actually ruthlessly manipulative, and his reputation for kindness stems from his ability to psychically compel people to do his bidding; and despite her apparent brutality, Malenia is primarily motivated by her staunch loyalty to her twin brother Miquella.
- Final Fantasy VII's initial trio of fighters: Tifa is the sweet, compassionate one, Barret while devoted to the cause, is the loud, aggressive one, who has to be frequently restrained to punch people who just stand in his way, and Cloud, while aloof and cynical, is far less confrontational and seems to have a sort of a "live and let live" mindset. Even their respective weapons appear to translate it: Tifa fights with her fists, Barret with a Gatling machine gun and Cloud with a sword.
- Final Fantasy VII Remake alters this so that Cloud is now the mean one, continually getting into pointless arguments with people, pushing people away for trying to help him, having to be restrained from killing unnecessarily and being flat out told by Tifa that he's scaring her, while Barret is still loud and confrontational but in a much friendlier, more community-spirited way. The thread about him punching his men is dropped in favour of him being A Father to His Men, and his initial conflict with Cloud is played more like he's trying to make friends with Cloud but keeps rebounding off Cloud's awful personality. Notably, Tifa, in the original, takes Cloud's side and defends him in front of Barret, but in Remake she's most likely to take Barret's side and appeal to Cloud's better nature to control him.
- Fire Emblem
- From Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the three lords. Eliwood is the Nice, being one of the most compassionate characters in the game who even feels a measure of pity for the Big Bad. Hector is the Mean, since while he's not a bad person at heart, he's more brash and brutally honest. Lyn is the In Between, since she's a kind person at heart but harbors a desire for vengeance against the bandits that destroyed her tribe.
- From Fire Emblem Fates, the ninja trio of Kaze, Saizo, and Kagero form one of these trios. The three can all support with each other, and Kaze is the nice character, Saizo is the mean character, and Kagero is the in-between character. Though it's downplayed somewhat in that Saizo is more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold than an outright Jerkass.
- From Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the childhood friend trio of Ingrid, Felix, and Sylvain form this. Ingrid is Nice, Felix is Mean, and Sylvain is In-Between. It's Played With a bit, however, as Ingrid is also a critical Control Freak and Felix is merely a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Grand Theft Auto:
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has the main trio of Tommy Vercetti, Lance Vance and Ken Rosenberg. Ken is the cocaine-addicted lawyer who helps Tommy throughout the game (nice). Lance is loyal to Tommy during most of the game, but the final mission sees him betraying Tommy (mean). Tommy is out for revenge on Sonny Forelli and Ricardo Diaz (in-between).
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas gives us C.J's friends: Big Smoke acts as the Big Fun to C.J. and enjoys his company the most even if it is to cover up his true colors, Ryder is the mean one who doesn't hesitate to chew out C.J. for running out five years ago and is just a general Jerkass, while Sweet is the in-between, who, like Ryder, isn't afraid to criticize C.J. for leaving Los Santos, but, unlike him, recognizes his efforts to help Grove Street, and remains loyal to him after all of his other "homies" betrayed him.
- The Johnson siblings as well. Kendl is easily the nicest of the siblings, not wanting to be involved in criminal life and welcomes C.J. back with open arms after the latter left home 5 years ago. Sweet takes on the role as the mean, constantly giving C.J. a lot of crap for his faults and is too stubborn to move out of Grove Street. This leaves Noble Demon and Anti-Hero C.J. as the in-between, as he's not above trash talking his enemies and committing various crimes, but cares about his family and friends.
- The C.R.A.S.H unit, despite being the main antagonists, are a downplayed example of this: Hernandez is easily the most (and only) moral of the trio, only killing Ralph Pendlebury because Tenpenny forced him to and taking a bullet for C.J. when Pulaski tries to kill him, while Tenpenny and Pulaski are both malevolent Dirty Cops who are nothing but trouble, Pulaski lacks Tenpenny's coolness and humor, and is very racist and hot-headed.
- Grand Theft Auto V has Michael, Trevor, and Franklin fulfilling these roles respectively. Michael is a Noble Demon who prefers to let people go if he can. Trevor is the most violent and aggressive of the three and is likely to kill either out of blind rage or just for kicks. And Franklin is the in-between due to being the most pragmatic of three; while not as merciful or gentlemanly as Michael is, he's also far less temperamental than Trevor. Both Michael and Franklin can sometimes interchange since the former is much more prone to violent outbursts while the latter tends to be the calmest and most reasonable of the group.
- Heavy Rain has Ethan as the pleasant family man, Blake as the Jerkass Rabid Cop, and Jayden as the By-the-Book FBI Agent with a temper.
- The three members of the Security Service in Hidden City. Rayden Storke is the nice one, being very friendly, trusting and sympathetic towards everyone he meets. Mr. Black, the leader, is the mean one, being suspicious and often hostile towards anyone not directly under his command (and sometimes even then). Kira Woodville is in-between, being described by Carlos Light as "kind, but strict". She is not as confrontational as her leader when talking to others, but she's quite brisk and is not as sympathetic as Rayden towards wrongdoers.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong:
- The Snails Shamans have this dynamic: The Chapel Maid is the Nice one, never being rude to Hornet and actually praising her. The Bell Hermit is the Mean one, being a Misarthrope Supreme that disdains the rest of the bugs. The Caretaker is the In-Between, annoyed at Hornet at first because she accidentally made him the de-facto leader of the Songclave, something he didn't want to be, but he does have a heart and still helps the pilgrims who were lied by the Citadel's promises as well as being the one who helped Hornet in trying to seal the Grand Mother Silk, albeit with terrible consequences.
- The three surviving members of the Threefold Melody holders groups also have this dynamic. Ballador is the Nice, being only cordial to Hornet and lamenting how he couldn't be the first to initiate their meeting in his poor health. Cardinius is the Mean, as he's highly displeased with an outsiders' presence in the vault and only helps Hornet because he's obligated to aid Weavers. The Twelth Architect is the In-Between, being polite but not outright friendly, and charging Hornet to build her tools and equipment.
- The King of Fighters has the Three Sacred Treasures team with Kyo Kusanagi, who is good-hearted and heroic yet cocky and brash as the In-Between, Iori Yagami, who is rude to everyone and wants to kill Kyo as the Mean, and Chizuru Kagura, the kind priestess who often brings the trio together to stop threats such as Orochi as the Nice.
- Kirby:
- The main trio form this dynamic. Kirby is cheerful, friendly and childish (Nice), King Dedede is a vain and greedy Jerk with a Heart of Gold (Mean) and Meta Knight is a mostly well-intentioned, but standoffish Anti-Hero who can be an antagonist or ally depending on the game (In-Between).
- The second wave of Dream Friends in Kirby Star Allies are Adeleine & Ribbon, Dark Meta Knight, and Daroach. Both Adeleine and Ribbon are helpful, cheerful and friendly allies of Kirby, Dark Meta Knight is a cold, ruthless antagonist and the Token Evil Teammate of the three Dream Friends, and Daroach is a thieving-but-polite antagonist-turned-ally.
- The third wave of Dream Friends is the same, with the formerly-evil prankster Magolor (In-Between), the already-redeemed Taranza (Nice), and Susie, who aims to mechanize planets and their people (Mean).
- The Three Mage Sisters get this as well. There is the polite, collected but shy Francisca (Nice), the Hot-Blooded Fiery Redhead Flamberge (Mean) and the stern, earnest and straight-laced Zan Partizanne (In-Between).
- The Legend of Zelda
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: The crew of the S.S. Linbeck includes Link (a brave, passionate hero), Linebeck himself (a greedy Lovable Coward), and Ciela (a friendly fairy with an abrasive streak).
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: The Champions' unique personalities have this type of dynamic:
- Nice: Mipha and Daruk are definitely this, with the former being a gentle soul who loves her family and teaches her little brother "I believe in you.", and is quite beloved by all, from her own people to those outside her race for her healing power and there's no doubt that she has a crush on Link, but even then, it is best that you don't ever threaten her family or anyone she loves; the latter is very friendly with the people he meets, especially Link, whom he bonds with once they learn that they have common traits such as a huge appetite and strength.
- Mean: Revali is a perfect example of this, mainly due to his arrogant and abrasive personality that he displays at various points, and he looks down on Link with every chance he gets, due to the fact that Link was chosen to fight Calamity Ganon over him simply because he has the Master Sword, the blade that has dispelled evil for millennia while he trained all his life to be the best he can be and perfected his signature move. He still has a soft spot for his own people, his friends, and especially children, even if he doesn't openly admit it.
- In-Between: Urbosa is supportive of the team, and she sympathizes with Princess Zelda due to her struggles with awaking her sacred power needed to destroy Calamity Ganon and understands why she doesn't get along with Link, with him being successful where she didn't. That said, Urbosa stands up to Revali when he acts up and disses at Link for reasons stated above and she will display her aggressive side in battle, especially with the Yiga Clan and Ganon itself.
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: There is a villainous variant in the Dark Forces in the forms of Master Kohga, Sooga, and Astor. Master Kohga (Nice) is the goofy leader of the Yiga Clan and can be polite with others when he needs to, especially after he redeems himself; Astor (Mean) straight-up talks down to the Yiga Clan, especially Kohga and Sooga when their plans fail, threatening them that turning on him means turning on Ganon, and then he sadistically sacrifices a portion of the Yiga to revive the Blight Ganons in front of them; Sooga (In-Between) is the only Yiga Clan member, a second in-command no less, who is actually no-nonsense and provides a serious side to the Yiga Clan and actually has some common sense that he is aware that Calamity Ganon isn't a force that can be controlled by a mortal being, and very smart in battle when he misleads his foes by luring them away so his army can deal with the main target. He also cares for Master Kohga and his clanmates to the point where he was willing to give up his life to ensure his safety and, in some challenges, he is actually quite cordial with Impa and the Hyrulean Forces.
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: The three main Gerudo characters you interact with have this dynamic. Dohna, the captain of the guard and daughter of the chief, is very thankful to Zelda for saving her from monsters, unhesitatingly believes that the latter can dispel the rifts spreading around the Gerudo Desert, constantly vouches for Zelda's ability and desire to help, and considers all the soldiers under her command to be her friends. Facette, the advisor to the chief, immediately distrusts Zelda just because she's an outsider, blows off Dohna's request that they let the Hylian girl into the Gerudo Sanctum, repeatedly advises that the Gerudo soldiers keep slaying monsters to dispel the rifts despite how blatantly futile this is, and eventually tries to order the soldiers to arrest Zelda while also insulting the chief in the process. Chief Seera is sympathetic to Dohna's concerns for the soldiers and desperation to get any kind of help, but she is still skeptical and dismissive of Zelda both because of Facette's advice and because Zelda is a stranger who has yet to prove herself. However, it turns out that this "Facette" is a rift-born echo giving the chief deliberately bad advice to aid the enemy. The real Facette, once she's rescued from the Still World and her doppelganger destroyed, is perfectly kind and reasonable, as is Chief Seera now that she's no longer being actively deceived.
- In Live A Live, the Shifu's pupils start out this way in the Imperial China chapter. Lei is the Mean, as she's extremely cocky and mostly joins the Shifu to get revenge on him for beating her. Yun is the Nice, since he's the most humble and hard-working of the three. Hong is the In-Between, since he's mostly nice, but still dines-and-dashes to the point of hurting Hoi's business and will fight the Shifu if pressed into it.
- Lonely Wolf Treat:
- The three main girls form this type of dynamic, especially in the second chapter. Mochi is the optimist who wants rabbits and foxes to become friends with one another, Moxie is the bully who likes to chase rabbits around for fun, and Treat is the recluse who prefers to just keep to herself.
- Moxie's fox friends qualify as well. Salt is playful and affable, Pepper is a grumpy Perpetual Frowner, and Chai is quiet and stoic.
- In Mega Man (Classic), Rock/Mega Man is the nice one, rivaled by Forte/Bass, the mean one who fights usually just for his own sake, while Blues/Proto Man, though excessively independent, strives to live by the idealism and optimism of his younger "brother" robot.
- In the X series, X is the nice one who is pacifistic and somewhat gullible, if a bit easily guilt-ridden and no ball of sunshine. Even so, Zero is the mean one who is cold, snarky and cynical and calls out X for his idealism. Axl mediates between them, being neither as gullible nor as pacifistic as X, but also not having the same extent of a shoot-first questions-later mentality like Zero.
- Snake's main support team in Metal Gear Solid: Mei Ling is nice, always kind and supportive (unless the player really goes out of their way to push their buttons) and is completely loyal to Snake, Naomi is mean, being aloof and judgmental and a willing accomplice in a plot to kill Snake though she eventually regrets it and Colonel Campbell is the in-between, a somewhat gruff, no-nonsense military officer but also Snake's Old Friend who understands him way better than the above two and while he also betrays Snake, it's only because he's been coerced to do so.
- Mortal Kombat:
- The original three ninjas in the first timeline: Sub-Zero is the honorable one (nice), Reptile is a murderous servant for one of the main villains Shang Tsung (mean), and Scorpion is a spectre from Hell who is out for revenge on the deaths of himself and his family (in-between).
- The three incarnations of Sindel: the first timeline's Sindel is the Nice, being a Dark Is Not Evil queen who was forced to marry Shao Kahn against her will and genuinely loves her daughter Kitana, the second timeline's Sindel is the Mean, turning out to be Evil All Along and willing to join Shao Kahn in murdering her own family, and the New Era's Sindel is the In-Between, trying to be a responsible ruler and mother yet struggling with her prejudices.
- The Lin Kuei brothers in Mortal Kombat 1 has Smoke who is sweet-natured and rather dorky (Nice), Sub-Zero who is gruff and abrasive (Mean), and Scorpion who is polite and humble, yet stoic (In-Between). Out of the three of them, only Sub-Zero betrays Earthrealm.
- Neptunia: Of the main CPUs, Neptune for the most part is the nice one due to her being kind and energetic, Noire is the mean one as she tends to be prideful and conceited (though she has her moments of kindness), and Blanc mediates between the two as she's normally calm, but becomes violent when angered (which is frequent) or in her HDD form. Vert also falls in the middle as though she has a kind-hearted and mature personality, she's a hardcore gamer with a perverted streak and tends to boast about her well-endowed figure.
- Nobody Saves the World: Among the leaders of the three guilds you join, Armanda of the Knights Guild is friendly and welcoming heroic figure, Alistair of the New League of Wizards is a complete jerk only interested in lining his pockets, and the leader of the Thieves' Guild is a Reasonable Authority Figure for a bunch of crooks who neglects his niece but realizes his error and retires to spend more time with his family.
- The Power Trio of Joker, Akechi and new character Kasumi form this dynamic during the third semester in Persona 5 Royal when they're the only characters who haven't fallen to Maruki's world. Kasumi is a cheerful, kind-hearted girl, Akechi is a belligerent, Ax-Crazy Jerkass and Joker's generally heroic, but can be a bit of a show-off and The Gadfly at the player's discretion.
- Pikmin 3: The three main characters. Alph is the naive and kind one in the group, and is often mocked by the more brusque and mordant Brittany. Charlie, the leader, stands as a mediator between the two (but that doesn't keep him from being mocked by Brittany as much as Alph is being).
- The three main rivals in Pokémon Sword and Shield fit this dynamic; Hop (the player's cheerful Childhood Friend) is the Nice, Bede (a smug jerk who repeatedly belittles other characters) is the Mean, and Marnie (nicer than Bede, though she generally remains The Stoic) is the In-Between.
- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has the three Team Galactic commanders— Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Mars is the "nice" one, being prone to outbursts of anger when she loses but otherwise courteous towards the player. Jupiter is the "mean" one, who enjoys taunting her opponents in battle. Saturn is "in-between". He doesn't go out of his way to bully the player the way Jupiter does, but he is much more stern and devoted to the Team Galactic cause.
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has the five bosses of Team Star: Eri and Atticus, despite looking pretty mean and having the Fighting and Poison types respectively, are nice and graceful upon defeat. Giaccomo and Mela are in-between with them having rougher attitudes, as well as being more willing to fight, but at the end they are nicer than they initially look like. Ortega, despite being The Baby of the Bunch and using the cutesy Fairy type, is mean, being a Spoiled Brat who looks down upon others and is a terrible Sore Loser (though he's still very protective of his Team Star companions).
- The Aura trio are composed of Xerneas, the Life Pokemon (nice), Yveltal, the Destruction Pokemon (mean), and Zygarde, who keeps the aforementioned two Pokemon in balance (in-between), respectively.
- Psychonauts has this dynamic in the form of Whispering Rock's staff. Milla is a friendly woman who is good with children and makes her lessons as fun as possible (Nice), Coach Oleander is a Drill Sergeant Nasty who is generally unfriendly to the kids and actively endangers them to Take Over the World (Mean), and Sasha is generally aloof and not great with kids, but does care about the kids in his charge and helps Raz out because he sees himself in the boy (In-Between).
- Ratchet & Clank: Whenever paired up, Clank is the nice robot always willing to help, Captain Qwark is the mean, narcissitic Hero with an F in Good and Ratchet is the in-between hero with some snarky moments.
- Sly Cooper: The Cooper Gang are a downplayed case of this as they are honourable thieves who are sweet and compassionate towards each other. However Murray tends to be the most sensitive and emotional, Bentley is the most cynical and temperamental and Sly balances between the two as he's not as sensitive as Murray but is calmer and more optimistic than Bentley.
- Smite: Though this might not be the case in the actual Japanese Mythology (it's a lot more complicated), the three main Japanese/Shinto gods, Amaterasu, Susano and Tsukuyomi form this dynamic. Amaterasu is the Nice one, being the benevolent and kind leader of the Japanese Pantheon. Tsukuyomi is the Mean one, since he's a cruel Jerkass who kills people who shows weakness and thinks Amaterasu's leadership is worse than what he plans to bring. Susano is the In-Between, he used to be a Jerkass too, but then he got a shot in a redemption arc by slaying Orochi, becoming a better person and made peace with his sister and keeps to himself rather than taking a side between the conflict between Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
- Sonic the Hedgehog:
- We have the trio of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Tails is the mild-mannered best friend of Sonic, Knuckles is the tough, hot-headed friendly rival, and Sonic mediates the two, combining the kindhearted attitude with his cocky and snarky attitude (although it's mostly geared towards his foes).
- While Team Rose are all friendly, Amy is the mean one by default due to her hot-headedness and relentless obsession with Sonic, Big is the nice one as he's a Gentle Giant who rarely fights people, and Cream is in-between since she's extremely polite and kind-hearted, but has been shown to be brave and step up when necessary.
- Team Dark consisting of Shadow, Rouge, and Omega is a downplayed example. Rouge is the closest to nice in the group and by far the most social, Shadow is in-between in that he appears to be very cynical, egotistical, and moody, but is caring to others even if he doesn't show it, and Omega is the mean one due to being a Killer Robot who's on the team for the sake of destroying things and considers just about anyone who's not Shadow or Rouge to be expendable.
- Detective trio Team Chaotix has this as well. They're all pretty friendly fellows, but Charmy's the nice, being the enthusiastic one, Espio's not necessarily mean, but he is an example of Good Is Not Soft and is focused on getting paid, Vector is the In-between, being greedy, but also being willing to do jobs for free.
- The Babylon Rogues follow this trope too. Storm defaults to being the nice in the trio due to him being the most sympathetic in the group, Wave is in-between in that she appears to be very snobbish but is the sanest of the group and Jet is the mean one to due to him being a trademark immature Jerkass for the sake of being short-tempered.
- The three male hedgehogs also fall into this mold. Throughout the majority of the series, Silver is the nice, being a Hope Bringer to his future but trusting and optimistic to a fault, Shadow is the mean, being a brooding Anti-Hero and the most willing to be ruthless, and Sonic, as described above, balances them by being typically nice but snarky to his enemies. The Rivals duology switches Sonic and Silver's roles however, Sonic maintaining his friendly and fun loving demeanor, while Silver is significantly more headstrong and openly hostile to others, though still has an amiable side.
- The three most prominent members of the Robotnik family; Maria Robotnik was an All-Loving Hero who brought out the best in Shadow, making her nice. Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik himself is the Big Bad of the series, a pompous villain bent on taking over the world, making him the mean. And finally, Gerald Robotnik was once a seemingly well-meaning scientist who just wanted to heal his beloved granddaughter, but had some skeletons in his closet and her death caused a Sanity Slippage that made him want to take revenge on all of humanity, thus making him the in-between.
- Soulcalibur II: The three Guest Fighters — Link is the Nice, being the most clear-cut hero of them all and openly fighting against the forces of evil, Heihachi is the Mean, being a ruthless martial artist who openly treats many of his own family members like trash, and Spawn is the In-Between, being a servant of Hell who nevertheless uses his powers to repent for his many past sins.
- Star Fox: The series has plenty of notable teams with varying degrees of personality to them.
- The Star Fox team consists of Slippy Toad and the newcomer, Krystal (if you don't count her portrayal in Star Fox: Command where her standing in this trope fluctuates depending on the path the player takes) are one of the more cordial members of the group which makes them fit well for Nice. Falco is a short-tempered, snarky and rude Ace Pilot who tends to pick on Slippy the most for being the least experienced pilot and doesn't like authority, which he easily qualifies as Mean. Both Fox McCloud and Peppy Hare are the In-Between, the former being level-headed even in the direst situations who greatly care for the greater good but has some snarky and sarcastic moments, and the latter guides the team and is the father figure of the former while he can sometimes become impatient with his team.
- The Star Wolf team in Star Fox Assault has Panther being the more polite member and brings the moral to the team while also making his crush on Krystal known, making him fall under Nice. Leon is a sadistic pilot who enjoys torturing others first before killing them, making him the Mean. Wolf is the In-Between, a Benevolent Boss to his subordinance and the most level-headed of the bunch and is sometimes willing to work with his rival, Fox when a bigger threat hits the Lylat System, and he does show that he won't tolerate betrayal and greed which has him kick out Pigma for, but he retains his feud with Fox and wants to be the only one to take his life when the right opportunity arises.
- Inferno Squad in Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) has Del, the nice one who knows the Empire is evil and only serves them because they gave him a place to belong, Hask, the mean one who's so fanatically loyal to the Empire that he goes on to join the First Order, and Iden, the in-between who disagrees with the Empire's more evil actions while being a loyal Imperial officer.
- The three gods of the Zee in Sunless Sea: Stone is Nice (praying to Stone if you're in trouble will give you succor one way or the other, and her curse does essentially nothing); Storm is Mean (praying to Storm involves Human Sacrifice and is likely to kill you because invoking him angers him, and his curse involves being plagued with bad weather); and Salt is In-Between (Salt is... mysterious. Praying to him if you're in trouble usually means being teleported to either Irem or Kingeater Castle, and getting his attention means crew can disappear. As for his Curse, well, the less said about it the better, but he knows that the worst thing one can do to a traveler like you is take away all they could return to).
- Super Mario Bros.:
- In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, we have the Shadow Sirens; Beldam, Vivian and Marilyn. Beldam, the leader, treats the other two members horribly, verbally berating them and punishing them for the slightest transgressions. Vivian is kind and non-confrontational, and she pulls a Heel–Face Turn mid-game due to her treatment at the hands of Beldam. Then we have Marilyn, whose personality is sort of an enigma due to her tendency to speak in grunts and moans, rather than actual words.
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle:
- Nice: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi are this by default; generally heroic whose number one priority is the safety of the Mushroom Kingdom.
- Mean: Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Yoshi; the former being self-centered who is obsessed with taking photos and has done several questionable deeds in order to get a good selfie and is the Clingy Jealous Girl who has a crush on Mario and was hostile towards the princess herself while being sometimes sadistic when she laughs at others' pain, and the latter being a crazed Trigger-Happy combatant who prefers to attack first and ask questions later.
- In-Between: Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Luigi are considered this; with Rabbid Mario showing a huge level of respect towards Mario and loves to play music to the tune of famous themes in the series, while he will sometimes make fun of Mario during The Phantom's song about him; with Rabbid Luigi, he is considered to be one of the more friendlier Rabbids while also encouraging Rabbid Peach to push off the block tower Rabbid Kong was on and relenting when Mario tells him to stop and at one point, poking fun at Mario during the battle with The Phantom.
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope:
- Nice: Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach are once again qualified as such and Rabbid Luigi also being updated to this thanks to his Cheerful Child going much further into this area, with his mischievous nature toned down significantly (even though he has at one-point stolen Rabbid Mario's overalls in the prologue) and they all still keep their heroic personalities and carry out the mission of saving the universe from Cursa and the Spark Hunters out of selflessness.
- Mean: Rabbid Peach and Bowser retain their status as this, with each of them retaining their Jerkass traits, while Bowser, who is normally the Big Bad in the franchise only joins them because he wants to take back his minions from Cursa since it brainwashed them and it's obviously no surprise that he would side with them to help take down a threat greater than him.
- In-Between: Edge, Rabbid Mario, and Rabbid Rosalina fit into this. Edge is the most sane Rabbid of the group, being mostly stoic with no history of the Rabbids' silliness whatsoever and does not take part in it, while usually being gruff and somewhat aggressive, but she greatly cares for her old and new friends and the safety of the Sparks and doesn't hesitate to show her gentle side to put the innocent Sparks at ease, who are targeted by Cursa and its forces, including the Spark Hunters who were her old friends since she was once their leader, and spares their lives instead of killing them. Rabbid Mario loves to brag about his strength and even insisted on burning down a forest just to reach the Darkmess Tentacle, but he has become nicer and it's even apparent that he is capable of showing his softer side around female Rabbids, notably his strong crush on Edge, and Rabbid Rosalina is apathetic for the most part and would rather do things at a slower pace, but she will become ecstatic once she meets her idol Rosalina who spends most of the game under Cursa's possession. and she gladly considers her friends as family and does everything in her power to protect them.
- The Spark Hunters count as well; Midnite (Nice) is the friendly face of them all and she strongly values friendship, even if her perception of it is somewhat twisted, Daphne (Mean) takes joy in the suffering of other people, especially the Sparks, unsympathetic towards her other two friends, and very disrespectful to her former leader, Edge and Bedrock (In-Between) is destructive, but shows a soft spot sometimes while being ambiguous overall due to her being the mute brute.
- Mario & Luigi: Brothership has the Extension Corps trio. While he still proves to be a threat, Shun (Nice) is noticeably more cordial and gives insight on many things, but often the victim of getting talked over by the other group members, up until Shun finally gets to interrupt the others and reveal Reclusa's backstory. Ecks (Mean) is highly aggressive, impulsive, and has a very short temper. Ten (In-Between) is the level-headed leader who keeps the group together and communes with them very well and isn't above telling both Ecks and Shun to knock it off when they get into arguments.
- In Tales of Symphonia, the initial three members of the group fill this trope. Compassionate and self-sacrificing All-Loving Hero Colette is the Nice, Bratty Half-Pint Genis is the Mean, and Lloyd, who can be a bit hotheaded but is nevertheless truly heroic, is the In-Between.
- Tekken:
- The current core members of the Mishima Clan: Lars Alexandersson is the Nice, being the White Sheep and currently the sole member that has a pure heart. Kazuya Mishima is the Mean, stoic Jerkass who treats weak people with contempt. Jin Kazama is the In-Between, as he is going through a Balance Between Good and Evil fighting his Devil Gene.
- Lee Chaolan shares the In-Between role with Jin as he started off with ambiguous morality till he eventually changed his ways while still acting eccentric at times.
- Reina started off Tekken 8 sharing the Nice role with Lars as she is friendly despite her villainous look, but by the end, she shares the Mean role with Kazuya after The Reveal she is not only Heihachi's adopted daughter, but a Devil Gene Bearer.
- In previous games, Kazuya continued to serve as the Mean, being a stoic Jerkass who treats the weak with contempt. Jin was the nice, being the one member of the Mishima bloodline until Lars's introduction to have heroic inclinations, while Heihachi filled the role of In-Between, being an egocentric Blood Knight who wants to prove himself the best in all endeavors, often pitting him in Evil Versus Oblivion situations where he opposes world-ending threats as a matter of pride.
- The three Kazamas: Jun is the Nice, having the most caring personality as she wants to save Kazuya even during his lowest point. Jin is the Mean with him having a very cynical outlook in life. Asuka is the In-Between, nice in her own right but she is more than willing to get into fights.
- The Wrestlers: King serves as the Nice, always keeping his duty to protecting people and never losing his idealism, Marduk is the Mean, having a very-violent temper even when he Took a Level in Kindness after befriending King, Armor King is the In-Between as he is much more subdued emotionally than Marduk.
- The Yggdrasil leaders Lars, Alisa and Lee. Alisa serves as the Nice, being the most kind-hearted one. Lee is the Mean eccentric member. Lars is the In-Between, while Nice in his own right, is still prone to short-tempererness.
- The main Tekken 3 trio Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu is the Nice and excitable Genki Girl, Hwoarang is the Mean Hot-Blooded fighter and Jin is the In-Between, being The Stoic. After the events of Tekken 6 Jin and Hwoarang switch places due to the former starting World War III.
- The current core members of the Mishima Clan: Lars Alexandersson is the Nice, being the White Sheep and currently the sole member that has a pure heart. Kazuya Mishima is the Mean, stoic Jerkass who treats weak people with contempt. Jin Kazama is the In-Between, as he is going through a Balance Between Good and Evil fighting his Devil Gene.
- Wild ARMs 1:
- Among the heroes: Rudy is the Nice, being eager to help anyone who needs it and leaping into action to protect who he can. Jack is the Mean, being rude and abrasive to hide his past. Cecilia is the In-Between, being less selfless than Rudy but more polite than Jack, friendly to most people but willing to chew someone out when they do wrong or annoy her.
- Among the villains: Zed, Boomerang and Lady Harken are the Nice, with them being Noble Demons, who are rather disgusted and disturbed by the destruction and mayhem caused by the other demons. Mother, Alhazad and Berserk are the Mean, outright reveling in the destruction they cause, and gloating over making people suffer. Zeikfried is the In-Between as, while he doesn't want Filgaia to be destroyed ( when he's not being controlled by Mother, that is), he will do anything to subjugate Filgaia, including eliminating the Guardians who support the world with their power.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: When Eskel, Lambert, and Geralt interact, they drift into this dynamic. Unflappable, amiable and courteous Eskel is Nice. Bitter, cynical and volatile Lambert is Mean. Deadpan Snarker Jerk with a Heart of Gold Geralt is In Between.
- The World Ends with You has Neku's three partners, Shiki, Joshua and Beat. Shiki is a Nice Girl who's friendly, compassionate, and surprisingly patient with Neku's initially abrasive and anti-social behavior, even though she doesn't hesitate to call him out when he goes too far. Joshua is an obnoxious Jerkass of an Insufferable Genius, who enjoys casually belittling Neku and turns out to have killed him in order to enter him into the Reaper's Game and use him as a pawn in a plan to destroy Shibuya. Beat is a hot-tempered Jerk with a Heart of Gold who cares for his sister, which leads him to join the Reapers and fight Neku a few times, but he ultimately saves Neku from an otherwise hopeless situation and helps Neku prevail in the final week.
Visual Novels
- In Ace Attorney:
- The childhood friend trio of Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, and Larry Butz. Larry is the nice being the most excitable and hotheaded of the trio and is always willing to help out (mainly to girls). Edgeworth is the mean being a Perpetual Frowner who isn't afraid to say what is on his mind about others. And Phoenix is the in-between being a fairly Nice Guy always willing to help out his clients to make sure they're found innocent, but is a major First-Person Smartass due to being the series' biggest punching bag. Later games would have Phoenix and Larry trade roles, Larry acting much more self-centered and abrasive, though still remaining a positive and friendly individual .
- Interesting case in Apollo Justice where there is three people (at the time) working at the Wright Talent Agency. In this case, Apollo, Phoenix, and Trucy. Trucy is the nice being the most upbeat of the group who works hard to keep company going. Phoenix is now the mean as losing his badge for many years caused him to become very cynical and his former First-Person Smartass is now in the open (especially toward Apollo). And Apollo himself takes over the in-between much like with Phoenix: overall nice who is always willing to help out his clients but is actually a bigger Butt-Monkey than Phoenix ever was leaving him in a constant state of annoyance toward others.
- The three main prosecutors of the Apollo trilogy. Klavier is the nice, being a Nice Guy and the most helpful prosecutor in the series, as well as one of the few with no Amoral Attorney tendencies whatsoever. Blackquill is the Mean, since he has a tendency to give people insulting nicknames, and remains a Jerk with a Heart of Gold after Character Development. Nahyuta is the In-Between, as a complicated case; at first glance, he's a ruthless prosecutor for the Kingdom of Khura'in, but he actually is a rebel and a truly kind person at heart.
- Danganronpa:
- Chihiro Fujisaki, Mondo Owada, and Kiyotaka Ishimaru from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Chihiro is a Shrinking Violet who can't even kill a mosquito, and feels guilty for voting Leon Kuwata guilty, believing it to be equal to killing him directly. Mondo is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold whose Establishing Character Moment is punching the protagonist so hard he knocks him out and sends him flying. Taka is a Badass Pacifist who would be a subversion as he is also a Nice Guy until he Took a Level in Jerkass as a result of becoming his split personality Kiyondo Ishida.
- There's also Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami and Kyoko Kirigiri, the three main "point getters" (i.e. the most proactive in the class trials), and the three most prominently featured survivors. Makoto is a Nice Guy who cares deeply for others and even feels compassion for the murderers. Byakuya is an Insufferable Genius who cares little for others, and while he does become a bit nicer over the course of the game, he's still fairly abrasive. Kyoko has a Sugar-and-Ice Personality, and while she often seems distant and even cold, she also has a caring side that shines through from time to time.
- In Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the three main characters Hajime Hinata, Nagito Komaeda, and Chiaki Nanami fit this trope really well.
- Chiaki is the Nice being the most helpful person to Hajime and the entire group in general despite her quietness. She is often the voice of reason getting others to clam down whenever a situation arises (such as preventing a hunger-crazed Hajime from entering the Final Dead Room and slapping Akane before she choked out Nagito). She also made it her mission to prevent any one of her friends from dying/killing each other and it helps that she is the Token Good Teammate of the entire group being the only one of them that isn't part of the Remnants of Despair.
- Nagito is the Mean being an Ax-Crazy nihilist who is obsessed with hope and fighting despair. He is also a major Wild Card who often states that he will side with whoever has the most hope (even if that means siding with the killer) and even attempted to be the first killer of the game. After learning that everyone including himself are a Remnant of Despair, he Took a Level in Jerkass and started to belittle everyone especially his Morality Pet Hajime. He even tried to kill off the remaining group with his own elaborate murder except for the traitor (who was Chiaki as Nagito knew she was the only one who wasn't a Remnant of Despair.
- Hajime himself is the In-Between. Like with Chiaki, he is eager to help out his friends and tries his best to prevent any more killings. However, he is a bit more cynical than Makoto from the first game and is prone to making snarky comments toward his friends (most of the time to himself). His true idenity as Izuru Kamukura is most likely the cause for this.
- Chihiro Fujisaki, Mondo Owada, and Kiyotaka Ishimaru from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Chihiro is a Shrinking Violet who can't even kill a mosquito, and feels guilty for voting Leon Kuwata guilty, believing it to be equal to killing him directly. Mondo is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold whose Establishing Character Moment is punching the protagonist so hard he knocks him out and sends him flying. Taka is a Badass Pacifist who would be a subversion as he is also a Nice Guy until he Took a Level in Jerkass as a result of becoming his split personality Kiyondo Ishida.
- The protagonist of Double Homework and his sisters, Johanna and Tamara, are this. Tamara is blunt and sarcastic, Johanna is nice to a fault, and the protagonist can go either way depending on several factors.
- Fate/stay night: Of the three heroines, Sakura is the nice, Rin is the mean, and Saber is the in-between. Sakura is unabashedly sweet, partially thanks to her incredibly low self-esteem but also her genuine love of Shirou. Rin is sarcastic, aloof, and unapproachable due to her strong defense mechanisms. Saber falls squarely in-between, being generally kind but stoic and stubborn.
- Highway Blossoms:
- The Trio, a group of drifters who serve as the main characters' rivals on the treasure hunt, but later develop a friendship of sorts with them. Joe is a Nice Guy and the most personable of the three. Mariah is a Jerkass, albeit with a few Pet the Dog moments. Tess is emotionless and snarky, but a significantly better person than her sister.
- The main couple and Cassi. Marina is probably the nicest character in the cast, albeit capable of jealousy and resentment. Amber is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but a good person at heart. Cassi is also rather nice, albeit rather cynical.
- Kindred Spirits on the Roof
- The main characters. Sachi Enoki, the older of the two "kindred spirits" is the Nice, being kind, mature and devoted to helping couples get together. Megumi Nagatani, the younger kindred spirit, is the Mean, being outspoken and often harsh with most people besides Sachi, but nevertheless likes Yuna despite bickering with her. Yuna is the In-Between, being a bit aloof at the start of the story, but gradualy finding that she enjoys helping others.
- The broadcasting trio. Umi Ichiki is the Nice, being a Nice Girl who's determined to keep her group of friends together, even if she can be a bit overzealous in doing so. Sasa Futano is the Mean, being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who is brutally honest and likes telling everyone who annoys her to "die," but shows a kinder side to her friends. Nena Miyama is the In-Between, being sleepy and introverted, but is remarkably perceptive and caring.
- In Shinrai: Broken Beyond Despair, there's the three guys. Taiko is the nice, being a Nice Guy with a strong sense of justice. Hiro is the Mean, being an arrogant Jerkass who thinks nothing of cheating on his girlfriend. Kotoba is the In-Between, since while he's a notorious pervert and a stalker, he does have a few redeeming characteristics, unlike Hiro.
- Slay the Princess: In the "Stranger" route, the three sets of stairs down into the deeply cursed Princess Doppelmerger plot point are the "soft" stairs, the "harsh" stairs, and the "neutral" stairs, which do indeed lead to a soft, a harsh, and a neutral Princess - although as the conversation proceeds, after spawning in the two you didn't pick, it also adds "Ax-Crazy" and "extremely emo" Princesses just to make the eventual Body Horror more horrifying.
