akasharose

Although I love most this list, I feel like To the Moon and Thomas Was Alone should be higher on here. To the Moon is one of the saddest games I’ve ever played, but simultaneously one of the most beautiful. Whenever I hear “Everything’s Alright”, I can’t help but break down and realize my own mortality- nothing inspires me to seize that day like realizing that this might be the only chance I have. Thomas Was Alone, on the other hand, was a genuine gem. I’m not sure I laughed as hard at any game than at Claire’s entrance- and I literally had to stop playing when John started hoping that he wouldn’t die last so that he wouldn’t have to be alone. Both of these games are fantastic indie games, and just games in general- and need to be played by more people.

Another recent game with some fantastic emotional scenes is Telltale’s comedy/drama ‘Tales From the Borderlands’. Episode 4 in particular had a ton of emotional keys it hit, such as a character wondering what a ‘home’ actually is, someone saying goodbye to a friend for possibly the last time, and one of the most emotional video game character deaths I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely worth a look- you’ll laugh, you’ll feel, you’ll scream at your computer, all that jazz.

Thanks for the list- it’s nice to see a list of emotions in games. Be well!

The thing I find is the case with many of these viciously difficult games (Dark Souls, Super Meat Boy, and so on) is that they don’t actually teach you mechanics. They tell you how to move, and how to attack, and let you do the rest. Many of the deaths at the beginning of the game is discovery. Learning how to utilize a roll, or a way to use your environment against your foes- and as you learn this, the beginning areas of the game become much simpler. Then, you’re thrust into the more difficult areas of the game, where you’re forced to hone your skills more and more, using repetition to learn the way your enemies move- going step by step until you finally manage to make it to the next challenge. Then, you die again- and continue to fight your way through the area.

It keeps us hooked because we feel like we’ve learned- that now we’ll be able to get past that minotaur on the bridge- that we’ll be able to jump over that next obstacle. We’re hooked because we’re confident in ourselves- and that’s the beauty of this game. I leave the game thinking “Wow- I’m really good at games”, even after having died more times than I could count. It’s fantastic design.

I find the end of Deathnote’s second season fascinating- mostly because of what it sets up in the third. Some people hate the third season because L is gone, but I personally love it. While the first two seasons are about the battles between L and Light, the third season is about Light finally going insane. Near is nowhere near as smart as L- but Light still loses in the end. Mistakes he made come past to attack him, and he becomes abusive to Misa, who he’s now using as a toy and a tool. While in the first two seasons, Light and L are morally ambiguous, Light is certainly the villain in the end- and I think that’s why people don’t like it.

Another great anime is Akame Ga Kill. Though the beginning is rather boring and predictable, there are some fantastic scenes as the plot progresses. It’s also wonderfully emotional, as about 80% of the main characters all die- and even the villains have some emotional death scenes. It does have a little bit more sexualization than I’d like, but the emotion in many of the scenes is just fantastic.

Awesome list, though- it’s good to see people talk about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brootherhood. That anime remains one of my favorite to this day.