Video games right? They're all good fun until the best character dies. Games can have really impactful moments in their stories. They can be heart wrenching and leave you really distressed if they need to be. A lot of games try to be depressing the whole time and it just becomes an uninteresting melodrama. I want to talk about how games can tear your heart out without having to resort to melodrama. Spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles and probably Mother 3 I guess.
Xenoblade is the inspiration for this. I'm a few hours in and I just reached
. This scene left me shocked and was the first time in a long time a game had made me genuinely sad. I got thinking about *why* I got upset though. I've played sad games. I recently beat Celeste and even though that game had a lot of sad and relatable moments, I never got upset by it.
I believe the difference between these two games is their tones. Celeste comes out of the gate as somber. It sets it's tone as hopeless and you already expect the worst. XC however, had an epic opening scene and resolves into a peaceful beginning. You spend a decent chunk of time getting to know these characters in a carefree environment. Once things become to go wrong, its only about 15 minutes until tragedy strikes.
The false security is the key here. The first time I had a similar experience with games was Mother 3. [SPOILERS] Even though Hinawa's death has a lot more build up than in XC, you still don't expect it to end how it does. The imagery of the fang in her heart, Flint's rage, the music, it all has the perfect shock factor to invoke feelings of sorrow. [/SPOILERS]
Anyway, these are just some disorganized thoughts I have and wanted to write down somewhere. Thanks for reading I guess.
Xenoblade is the inspiration for this. I'm a few hours in and I just reached
Fiora's Death
I believe the difference between these two games is their tones. Celeste comes out of the gate as somber. It sets it's tone as hopeless and you already expect the worst. XC however, had an epic opening scene and resolves into a peaceful beginning. You spend a decent chunk of time getting to know these characters in a carefree environment. Once things become to go wrong, its only about 15 minutes until tragedy strikes.
The false security is the key here. The first time I had a similar experience with games was Mother 3. [SPOILERS] Even though Hinawa's death has a lot more build up than in XC, you still don't expect it to end how it does. The imagery of the fang in her heart, Flint's rage, the music, it all has the perfect shock factor to invoke feelings of sorrow. [/SPOILERS]
Anyway, these are just some disorganized thoughts I have and wanted to write down somewhere. Thanks for reading I guess.
