Favorite Fourth Wall Breaking Moments

[ShakerSilver]

Title basically says it all: what are your favorite moments in fiction that break the fourth wall?

Mine would be this particular moment in Max Payne:

Spoiler

What I like about this one is that it's like a mix between breaking the fourth wall and Max's Valkyr induced tripping. I mean if you were given that much drugs, wouldn't you think you're in a video game?

Now, let the demolishing of the fourth wall commence!

 

[Spade Lead]

OOOhhhhh, I so have to tell you about this book I read that ruined itself for me.

David Weber's Out of the Dark was a great book about humanity's fight to survive an alien invasion. Until Literally the 13th to last page, when the book was totally destroyed by it's own ending.

Spoiler: I wasn't going to do this, but what the hell...

As the Admiral is preparing to destroy the Earth because humans have proven so intractable to conquer, DRACULA uses his army of Vampires to take over his fleet. Yep, that is how it ends.

I literally spent the last ten minutes of my fifteen minute break in utter shock (I couldn't stop laughing). Up until that point, it had been the best book I had ever read. Then it shattered the fourth wall and I couldn't stop laughing at it.

 

[Nexus4]

Disgaea 3: Early on Mao thinks he has discovered a way to topple his father as evil overlord. "Making chapter 1 the final chapter! What an economical game!"

 

[GaijinAndrew]

OOOhhhhh, I so have to tell you about this book I read that ruined itself for me.

David Weber's Out of the Dark was a great book about humanity's fight to survive an alien invasion. Until Literally the 13th to last page, when the book was totally destroyed by it's own ending.

Spoiler: I wasn't going to do this, but what the hell...

As the Admiral is preparing to destroy the Earth because humans have proven so intractable to conquer, DRACULA uses his army of Vampires to take over his fleet. Yep, that is how it ends.

I literally spent the last ten minutes of my fifteen minute break in utter shock (I couldn't stop laughing). Up until that point, it had been the best book I had ever read. Then it shattered the fourth wall and I couldn't stop laughing at it.

That isn't exactly breaking the fourth wall. It's sounds more like breaking the story by adding an element that didn't belong in the plot at all. Breaking the fourth wall would mean that somehow the book itself would acknowledge the fact that it's a book and/or the fact that the whole plot is just fiction.

 

[Spade Lead]

That isn't exactly breaking the fourth wall. It's sounds more like breaking the story by adding an element that didn't belong in the plot at all. Breaking the fourth wall would mean that somehow the book itself would acknowledge the fact that it's a book and/or the fact that the whole plot is just fiction.

No, the way it came out was just so absurd that it ruined the whole thing for me, and my father, who recommended the book to me for that reason. I definitely never saw that coming.

Dale Brown wrote a book in 1993 about a terrorist using airplanes to cause terrorist incidents across the country, and one of the federal agents says, and I quote:

"This isn't some Dale Brown novel."

 

[fanozelda9]

Phineas and Ferb, like every third episode.
I'll give an example from a recent episode.

The secret agent platypus is getting orders to protect a foreign princess.
Major-"We don't have a picture of her, but she's a 15 year old girl, they all look pretty much the same"
A picture of one of his owners, a 15 teen year old girl, is put on a screen in front of the platypus.
Major-"There, now put a crown on her." A crown is added to the picture. "There you go."
Intern-"Oh wait I found a picture of the actual princess"
A different picture is put that looks almost identical to the platypus's owner.
Major-"Wow, what are the odds of that?"
Intern-"Well, it is a cartoon, sir."
Major-"Carl, what did I tell you about breaking the fourth wall?!"

If I had a video I would have put it instead of typing it.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Metal Gear Solid 2. I'm not even going to go into specifics because I'm sure everyone automatically knows what I'm talking about.

 

[LostNumber]

The Psycho Mantis fight in MGS. I actually just bought the game on PSN (always wanted to play it, but never got around to it until now). The whole fight was hilarious, from him reading your memory (card) to him "disconnecting" the Playstation mid-fight.

 

[bbad89]

I think almost every metal gear solid game has broken the 4th wall in some way right?

 

[TheKruzdawg]

Spaceballs: When they grab the VHS of Spaceballs the movie off the shelf to find out where Lonestar is hiding and Rick Moranis acknowledges that they haven't finished the movie yet. What a great scene from one of my favorite movies.

 

[fix-the-spade]

The Psycho Mantis fight in MGS. I actually just bought the game on PSN (always wanted to play it, but never got around to it until now). The whole fight was hilarious, from him reading your memory (card) to him "disconnecting" the Playstation mid-fight.

Sooooo... you like to play Castlevaaaniaaa...

My favourite too, although reading the CD box to contact Meryl was a stroke of genius too.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Either "Sword of Mana" or "Secret of Mana" a guy says he can't sit down and he ask you to tell him which you reply L+A. He says he never knew how to sit down like an adventurer and didn't know it was so hard.

 

[Bomberman4000]

Family Guy breaks the fourth wall all the time, but my personal favorite use of breaking the fourth wall is Monty Python's Spamalot. The whole show constantly breaks the wall by talking to the audience, acknowledging that it's a musical, and poking fun at a lot of musical archetypes throughout the whole show.

Also, Sara Ramirez singing "Diva's Lament" is just incredible.

 

[Avatar Roku]

OOOhhhhh, I so have to tell you about this book I read that ruined itself for me.

David Weber's Out of the Dark was a great book about humanity's fight to survive an alien invasion. Until Literally the 13th to last page, when the book was totally destroyed by it's own ending.

Spoiler: I wasn't going to do this, but what the hell...

As the Admiral is preparing to destroy the Earth because humans have proven so intractable to conquer, DRACULA uses his army of Vampires to take over his fleet. Yep, that is how it ends.

I literally spent the last ten minutes of my fifteen minute break in utter shock (I couldn't stop laughing). Up until that point, it had been the best book I had ever read. Then it shattered the fourth wall and I couldn't stop laughing at it.

oooh, I like David Weber, but I never read that one. I have a new one for my list (though I'd just as soon have the new Honor Harrington)!

 

[ZombieGenesis]

The entire game of Eternal Darkness.

 

[Ladette]

Eternal Darkness, the entire game. Example:

 

[Ice Car]

That is all.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Also a contender, Angry Beavers.

I forget the exact scene, but it involved the words "GREAT DEUS EX MACHINA!"

 

[Blind Sight]

Can't think of my favourite one right now, but I thought that Dead Space 2 had a fairly decent one. When you're on the tram with Nolan he's having an episode and freaking out. Anyway, he's talking to Issac, mumbling about the steps and what not, but then suddenly turns and looks directly at the camera and yells "STOP LOOKING AT ME!". Thought that was a nice touch, having the most insane character realize it's only a game.