Jimquisition: Crying Through The Laughs

[Amaror]

Spoiler: Dragon Age 2 spoilers

The death of Hawke's mother was the most tragic moment I've seen in a game. There were plenty of light-hearted moments throughout the whole game that, at worst, had undertones of worry, sadness, or dread in order to offset the deaths of his family members and some of the other tragic moments, such as killing off Merrill's entire clan in self-defense.

Hmm i am not sure i agree.

Spoiler

Don't get me wrong, it was sad, but by no means was it "the most tragic moment in a game". The reason is, at least i, couldn't really get me to care for hawkes mother a lot. Sure you get to know her a bit, but it is just not enough. The same goes for hawkes sister and brother. One dies way too early to even know the character and the other one gets pulled out of the game not that much later.
And Merril and co. I would probably care about those incidents if they would not involve the hurt character being really, really stupid.
I am sorry, merril, but if you hadn't persisted on summoning that demon, something the whole world told you would be a bad idea, than this wouldn't had happened, you fucking retard.

For me the most tragic moment in a video game was in To the moon. That one made me actually cry. I am not gonna spoil it, because if you played the game, you know what i am talking about.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This is why I used to love Bioware games. Even their current gen games like Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins did that right.

 

[SpaceBat]

Apart from the entire episode being good, I'd like to thank you, Jim, for stating one of the many, many reasons as to why Lightning is a terribly written character.

 

[MaxwellMouse]

This is a major reason I prefer Persona 4's story and characters over that of 3.

 

[Mortamus]

Pretty much this. This is exactly why I can't get into FF-XIII.

For anyone that went to the Expo on day one, Jim's ability to emulate that laugh is uncanny and incredibly entertaining.

 

[PunkRex]

Gawd I love FF9, but ya know what Jim, Squall was actually alright... IN KINGDOM HEARTS. He actually learned to be part of a group and freaking emote making his little tag team with Cloud all the more badass!

 

[Undeadpool]

what about Mass Effect 3? It was really sad when Thane died (or at least it was for me).

Boom, done in one. That and

Spoiler

Mordin got me legitimately choked up.

Spoiler: Dragon Age 2 spoilers

The death of Hawke's mother was the most tragic moment I've seen in a game. There were plenty of light-hearted moments throughout the whole game that, at worst, had undertones of worry, sadness, or dread in order to offset the deaths of his family members and some of the other tragic moments, such as killing off Merrill's entire clan in self-defense.

Hmm i am not sure i agree.

Spoiler

Don't get me wrong, it was sad, but by no means was it "the most tragic moment in a game". The reason is, at least i, couldn't really get me to care for hawkes mother a lot. Sure you get to know her a bit, but it is just not enough. The same goes for hawkes sister and brother. One dies way too early to even know the character and the other one gets pulled out of the game not that much later.
And Merril and co. I would probably care about those incidents if they would not involve the hurt character being really, really stupid.
I am sorry, merril, but if you hadn't persisted on summoning that demon, something the whole world told you would be a bad idea, than this wouldn't had happened, you fucking retard.

Gonna agree: I actually thought DA 2 had some better moments, emotion-wise such as

Spoiler

Anders' betrayal. It wasn't "sad" per se, but it was devastating emotionally. And Merrill's entire arc with the mirror really got to me, but that's partially because she was, in my opinion, an amazing character.

 

[Entitled]

Sounds like Jim needs to try some Nakige visual novels. That is basically a whole genre based around that principle, with a light-herated, comedic first act, a heartwarming romantic second act, and a third act that will make you cry.


WARNING! IT'S NAKIGE, WITH AN "A". UNDER NO CONDITION SHOULD ANYONE TRY THE "NUKIGE VISUAL NOVEL" GENRE, WITH AN "U", OR DO AN IMAGE SEARCH FOR "NUKIGE".

 

[The Material Sheep]

Was I the only one who was annoyed with Titus for being a whiny little prick? That he deserved all his hopes and dreams being blown to bits for being a self important whiny water polo celebrity? Just me? Oi....

 

[Tanneseph]

I don't know if you read these (I often don't!), but I wanted to tell you that I thought the video was particularly good this week. So many weeks I think you are on the -cusp- of something great, but just miss it by simply restating your point over and over. This week you did a great job of giving supporting evidence from multiple games, which does a lot to improve your otherwise solid points. As you jumped from game to game, you were inspired to hit the different sides of your theme. Very nice.

(Sorry, if I sound like a teacher it's because I am. But I love video game analysis, and love it when you're -on-.)

 

[roushutsu]

Was I the only one who was annoyed with Titus for being a whiny little prick? That he deserved all his hopes and dreams being blown to bits for being a self important whiny water polo celebrity? Just me? Oi....

You're not alone. Tidus is the FF hero I hate the most. Any sense of tragedy was completely lost to me when it came to him. Half of the time it felt like he was complaining about everything. Yeah he was an upbeat character like Zidane, but I found Zidane to be FAR more endearing and likable in the long run. However, I could sympathize and feel for Yuna's tragedy much for what Jim had stated. Not once did Yuna complain about her pilgrimage and always focused on keeping everyone's spirits up, so seeing her break down before Tidus decides to make out with her really tugged at my heart strings. The tragedy worked for her, just not for him.

 

[Grimh]

Yep. You're right.

Not much more to say really, other than I fucking love Final Fantasy IX.
My annual playthrough of that is coming up. I always play it around my birthday as a special gift to myself.

October can't come fast enough.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Was I the only one who was annoyed with Titus for being a whiny little prick? That he deserved all his hopes and dreams being blown to bits for being a self important whiny water polo celebrity? Just me? Oi....

I think the problem is that the writing can't reconcile him being a stuck up jock ("Star player of the Zanarkand Abes" and all that shit) with him also being a whining crybaby with massive daddy issues.

I mean maybe this is supposed to be a clue that he's only a pretend person, but even then he's supposed to have been from an internally consistent simulation space, so he should be an internally consistent personality, and he isn't.

Anyway, who cares, FFX stole all its best story elements from Grandia and Grandia 2 (To the extent that I basically had every major twist figured out from the Mi'hen highroad because I played Grandia and immediately recognised it).

 

[The Material Sheep]

Was I the only one who was annoyed with Titus for being a whiny little prick? That he deserved all his hopes and dreams being blown to bits for being a self important whiny water polo celebrity? Just me? Oi....

You're not alone. Tidus is the FF hero I hate the most. Any sense of tragedy was completely lost to me when it came to him. Half of the time it felt like he was complaining about everything. Yeah he was an upbeat character like Zidane, but I found Zidane to be FAR more endearing and likable in the long run. However, I could sympathize and feel for Yuna's tragedy much for what Jim had stated. Not once did Yuna complain about her pilgrimage and always focused on keeping everyone's spirits up, so seeing her break down before Tidus decides to make out with her really tugged at my heart strings. The tragedy worked for her, just not for him.

I agree... and Honestly I felt I would have enjoyed FFX so much more if Yuna had been the main character. She had a character arch that I at least felt was deserved... at least in X. In X2 it was about her wanting to get her only sense of self importance back from the dead.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

Agreed. Walking Dead is getting emotional for me though. I'm not in the business of spoilers, but let's just say I welled up around the time I got the train moving...

 

[Epona]

So glad you mentioned FF IX. It is easily my favorite FF game and one of my favorite games ever. After VII and VIII it was nice to have a main character who did not make me want to shout 'Cheer the fuck up!' at the screen after every sentance.

And I had forgoten how bad the laugh scene from FF X was. I love the game but that really is one of the worst things I have ever seen. Although it is still better than anything from FF Return of the Jedi XII or XIII.

For IX you had to scream "hurry the fuck up", the game was so slow.

The laugh scene in FFX gets so much hate that it is now good. In other words, it is not as bad as people say it is so that puts it squarely on the good side rather than the bad side. People don't seem to comprehend that it was MEANT TO BE A FAKE LAUGH and therefore it sounds like a fake laugh.

As for the video, I agree. I don't know what else can be said though.

 

[Killing_Time]

I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but I'll say it anyways.

The gaming industry has not yet evolved to the point where they know how to make truly emotional experiences happen within their medium.

This is because they don't understand how to make the player really relate to the protagonist and major characters on screen. If you're playing a videogame in the first place, chances are you're doing it for FUN. Fun, as in you enjoy it. As in you're capable of experiencing joy and happiness. Which, as Jim pointed out in this episode, is something you rarely see in game characters these days. People are complex. People are multifaceted. Therefore how can we relate to something that is seemingly one dimensional?

The only game that actually had any emotional effect on me was God of War. God of War even begins in a way that breaks the mold. He attempts suicide. How many games do something as radical as that? He's lost all hope to the point where he no longer wants to live, but it means that at one time he did have hope and a reason to keep on going. Then as you play the game you see his origins. You see how he came to be the monster he is through his mistakes and Ares' betrayal. You see how he lost everything he loved and seeks redemption at whatever cost. That moved me because I saw the humanity in Kratos. I saw a bit of myself in him and it made me feel sympathetic... Until 2 & 3 took his character in a completely new direction, which rendered him a mindless ball of fury and testosterone -__- But still, it was nice to see that games are very capable of evoking an emotional response. They just don't know how to properly strike a balance yet.

 

[Elyxard]

Easily one of your best episodes, couldn't agree more. I'm an amateur writer that holds this very notion to heart. Tragedy doesn't mean anything if there isn't anything to fall from.

All of my most favorite games of all time fit that formula of high contrast in one way or another. FF9, FF10, Persona 2, 3 and 4, Baldur's Gate 2, Suikoden (most of em), Metal Gear (most of em), etc. Even the darkest stories need their fair share of comedy or happiness. Heck, even Silent Hill 2 has comedic-ish moments to lighten things up (Eddie in the bowling ring, UFO endings).