Jason Brody’s transformation in Far Cry 3 is one of the best character transformations I’ve seen in a game. In this article, I will go into detail and explain how he turned into a mentally unstable and traumatized man.
There will be four sections to this article. The first sub-topic will contain heavy spoilers for the game’s story and the rest will also have minor and major spoilers. If you haven’t finished Far Cry 3’s story, I suggest clicking away. Also, you will understand this article better if you know the complete story of Far Cry 3.
Brief Summary of Far Cry 3’s story
Jason Brody, his two brothers, girlfriend, and other friends were on vacation in Thailand. This is where they met someone who was actually a spotter for Vaas Montenegro. He persuaded them to visit Rook Island, where adventure awaited. The playful group went there and was captured by Vaas and he kept them hostage. He wanted to ransom them and rather than actually sending them back home, he planned to sell them for higher profit. When Jason and his older brother Grant tried to escape Vaas’s captivity, Grant was shot by Vaas. And he allowed Jason to run because he wanted to hunt him down later.
Jason miraculously escaped and landed in Dennis’s care, a local man of the Rook Islands. Dennis gives him money to buy a gun and Jason is hesitant of fighting at first, but he has no choice. This local also introduces the Rakyat tribe to Jason, convincing him that joining forces with them will help him save his friends. Our protagonist has no choice but to accept, and he becomes a warrior of the Rakyat.
He eventually meets the Rakyat leader, Citra, who’s the sister of Vaas, and she seduces him and poisons his mind by saying that he was destined to come to this island and by giving him hallucinogenic drugs.
At the end of the game, Jason will be mentally unstable to a serious degree. He gets to choose whether to escape with his friends or kill Lisa, his girlfriend and cause the deaths of the others as well. In this bad ending, he will side with Citra and it shows that he’s too far gone and completely seduced and manipulated by Citra.
Jason’s Goals
After his other brother, Riley, and his other friends were captured by Vaas, his sole goal was to save all of them and escape the island. He takes up arms, joins forces with the Rakyat and works towards saving his friends. But his goals and motives change as he meets certain characters.
In the previous section, I told how Citra poisoned Jason’s mind. She makes Jason use some kind of hallucinogenic drink as well, and Jason even has hallucinations because of that. She introduces him to new goals: Kill Vaas for her and also kill Vaas’s boss: Hoyt Volker. While Jason was hallucinating because of the drink the Rakyat leader gave him, she tells him about a warrior from a foreign land that is destined to free the island from its usurpers. These usurpers are Vaas and Hoyt.
What Jason says after killing Vaas further emphasizes the fact that he did it for Citra as he says “I did it, Citra”.
Citra tells Jason that he must abandon his friends and that she and Jason will rule the island together after Vaas’s and Hoyt’s deaths.
Now Jason strays far from his original goal of saving his friends. Now he aims to free the island and rule it with Citra.
If Jason chooses to join Citra in the end, he will kill his friends. And Citra would later kill him and tell him that the child of Jason and hers will lead the Rakyat.
How other characters and events affected Jason
The main person that first affects Jason is Vaas. His insane and extremely violent behavior shocks Jason and he hates Vaas. He wants to kill him and avenge Grant, his brother. But before delving deeper into Vaas’s character, we must discuss Citra, who’s actually Vaas’s older sister.
As I mentioned in the previous section, Citra manipulated and seduced Jason. It actually turns out that she did the same to Vaas and that’s part of the reason why Vaas is insane. And just like Vaas, the hallucinogenic drugs she gives him, and her manipulation cause Jason to lose sight of his original goal and falls in love with the Rakyat leader. While Jason was hallucinating, Citra tells him about a warrior from a foreign land that is destined to free the island from its usurpers. These usurpers are Vaas and Hoyt.
Let’s get back to the topic of Vaas. Jason constantly suffers the abuse inflicted on him and his friends by the psychopathic pirate. These incidents constantly affected him mentally and slowly added to his downfall.
Was being a “Warrior of the Rakyat” worth it?
What the above subheading says, is something for you to think about. Consider the good and bad things that happened to Jason after he was forced into becoming a Rakyat warrior.
Let’s now discuss how the unforgiving jungle changed Jason into a strong warrior, but at the same time, slowly tore away his good and humane side. Friedrich Nietzsche’s following quote describes how the chaotic and mad world of Rook Islands affected Jason
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
We also need to discuss about his friends and family whom he’s responsible for. They try to convince Jason to leave the island with them but he wants to stay with Citra and this causes scenes among the friends… In a conversation with one of his friends Daisy -who was Grant’s girlfriend-, Jason reveals to us a detail that further implies that he’s indeed going towards the dark side…
You know, I never thought, I’ll be able to kill somebody. The first time it felt wrong, which is good right? But now, it feels like winning…
Jason Brody
That quote somewhat shocks Daisy and she asks him if he’s okay, to which he replies by saying Yes.
One of the major impacts Jason has is the number of people he killed. This seemingly endless killing fills him full of guilt and regret, even though he did it to accomplish his goals… He likes killing now… The same Jason who was afraid and helpless the first time he killed a man is now declaring that killing is “winning”.
Jason Brody’s Transformation
First of all, observe and try to understand the following quotes by Vaas.
Who are you, huh? Who the **** are you? You are me… and I am you. I have come to deliver you. I’ve come to deliver us.
Vaas Montenegro to Jason Brody
Take me into your heart. Accept me as your savior. Nail me to the ******* cross and let me be REBORN!
Vaas Montenegro to Jason Brody
In previous sections, I mentioned how Jason despised Vaas. But with the events that affected Jason, isn’t he becoming just like Vaas? Isn’t Jason becoming Vaas?
What I mean is that Jason was being consumed by the jungle, the characters around him, and the endless killing he does. He slowly loses his good side and delves into the dark abyss of despair and insanity. Just like what happened to Vaas. Jason transforms into a sadistic and traumatized man, who slowly comes to love killing and enjoying the utter chaos around him.
Vaas understood that his sister Citra has manipulated Jason and that Jason is becoming like him. Like I said earlier, the reason why Vaas is insane is that he also was manipulated and used by Citra. He escaped her, but his mind was unredeemable by then.
To deeply analyze and understand Vaas, I’ll have to make another article entirely dedicated to him, as he’s an incredibly complex character.
Based on Jason’s choices, in the end, it is determined if he will be completely consumed by his love for Citra, or if he would redeem himself and go home with his friends. The good ending prevents him from completely becoming a raving madman like Vaas.
I’ve killed so many people I’ve lost count. I can’t come back from this. I’m a monster. I can feel the anger inside me. But I am still, somewhere inside me, more than that. Better than that.
Jason Brody if he chooses to save his friends
