For this entry, I want to write about what makes a great video game in my opinion. For me, there are three things that make a great video game: Story, Characters, and Music. Characters drive the story. Music is the emotion of the characters. Story connects you to the music. If one of these things is lacking or missing altogether, then the game is one I will not ever have the desire to play.
Today's entry will focus on my favorite characters. These can be characters I identify with, characters I love, characters I hate. Yes, I hate some of my favorite characters. I have been playing video games for more than twenty years, and in that time I have come to know hundreds, maybe even thousands, of characters. They are what fills my dreams each night, and their lessons are what I hope to practice each day. Gosh, that sounds so cheesy. But video game characters have struggles and obstacles to face, and people can in fact learn from their triumphs and failures. And with that, let's begin.
First up is Vivi Orunitia from
Final Fantasy IX. This game is the first of the series that I played, and Vivi is the one that I feel went through the most during the game. He learns that his existence is one of a tool of war, nothing more than a puppet to be played with when his owner feels like it. He fought to end that situation, despite having knowledge that it would also lead to his eventual demise. For someone so young and to have the wisdom of an elder, is something that no one I know can truly have.
Up next is Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is from a multitude of games, being one of the longest living game characters ever. Now, I grew up a Nintendo kid, so I knew nothing of Sonic until much later. My neighbor back when I was 10 had a Sega Genesis, and we go to each other's houses to play. I would play Sonic at her house, and she would Mario at my house. In most games that he is in, he's charged with saving the world. Rather than using brute force to knock heads, he uses fast footwork to confuse the enemies and make them bow down to him (metaphorically, of course). In later games, he was given more of a story and more powers. One of my favorite Sonic games is
Sonic Unleashed. It showed another side to Sonic that you don't see in many games.
One of my favorite characters to hate is Seymour Guado from
Final Fantasy X. Since the very first time I played the game, I have always hated him. Seeing him come off the boat in Luca, I knew right then that this guy was not a good person. I was new to RPGs at the time, but there was just something in me that said that I could not trust him. He is the type of person who used his past struggles to become stronger. However, he didn't rise up and move on from the struggles. He let them sour him. Instead of using his new strength to be a truly good example for the Spiran people, he manipulated them and twisted the rules to fit his agenda. On top of that, his hair is horrible. He needs to comb that mess.
After getting those images for this entry, I seem to have extreme feelings toward characters in blue. It's not intentional. I could go on and on about every character, but then it would be a mile-long entry, and no one would want to read that. I wouldn't want to write it, although I'm sure I could. I may talk about some more at some point, but these three are good enough as a jumping off point.
Well, I don't know when I will write about the other two keys. I could do it tomorrow, or next week, or whenever. I don't have a schedule of topics I'd like to talk about. It would be really organized of me if I did. No, I didn't think of even writing about this until fifteen minutes before starting it. Anyway, that's all for now. So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!
Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎
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