In the third part we get to leave Nintendo for Playstation land.
Number 2 - Suikoden III's introduction
A stellar anime style introducing some of the themes in the game. This game is the third part of the Suikoden series, which involves many complex and interwoven stories of individual characters. With 108 playable characters in each game along with several non playable characters interacting over a span of 200 years in the five main games plus two side games and one tactics game, the stories can get quite complex.
This installment takes place in a region known as the Grasslands, an untamed stretch of land which is attractive to large and powerful civiliztions both for its strategic location and resources. The Grasslands sit in between a mercantile realm known as Zexen to its west, and the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia to its East. These two countries both are trying to lay claim to the Grasslands. However, this region is home to several indigenous peoples, the Karaya, the duck clan, the lizard clan and others who are determined to fend off all invaders to protect their ancestral homelands. The last time countries had tried to invade someone known as the flame champion managed to unite the native tribes under a single banner to repel the invading forces and was able to force a peace that lasted a century, but the new aggressive postures of Harmonia and Zexen lead to a second battle for the Grasslands. This of course all gets complicated further by the masked wizard who is trying to engage in a plot that will destroy the whole area (pretty much because he's insane and things it'll be a good idea). I think this storyline hits on some important themes that we can consider in the real world involving the displacement of native peoples and exploitation of land for resources.
Here is the opening clip featuring the different factions squaring off in the open grasslands and giving a hint as to who some of the heroes of the story are. One particularly interesting character is Hugo, the Karayan chief's son who in every scene is flipping out and fighting giant barbarians, ice breathing dragons, Yuber the man in black, or is escaping capture with his Griffin friend or riding across the open planes on some type of cat creature thing. Also present is a female knight from Zexen, the masked wizard and his female wizard friend (and potential love interest), Yuber, the former flame champion, and Geddoe a mysterious mercenary. The part I think was done particularly welll in the clip below is the demonstration of the airstrike on the seemingly peaceful Grassland village, which could be paralleled to real world events.
Number 4 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (introduction)
The original is a classic. The spinoffs are all popular in their own rights. Not many people appreciated WW as much as I did. I found the concept of a Zelda on the high seas to be interesting and travelling around to various isolated islands was very entertaining to me. The introductory sequence I also find quite good. The mode is simple, words on a screen combined with slow music in the background and crude geometric illustrations. However, the way the three elements are combined with a sense of timing makes the whole story seem very important and vivid. I particularly enjoy the musical change when the boy in green is introduced, the picture of Ganon climbing over the hillside after everyone had thought he was banished, and his eyes hovering ominously over the burning landscape. Additionally important to note is the idea that there is some sort of theme surrounding each reincarnation of Link and Zelda. The previous incarnation was about travelling through time, and so this one being set in the ocean focuses on the wind. The transition is alluded to in the introduction as well.
Number 3 - Super Mario Galaxies
The game is just very pretty. The backgrounds are surreal, varying from the vast emptiness of outter space to bright and colofrul 3D worlds full of fun characters, sunshine, and of course wacky gravity and look and the whole atmosphere (pun) is quite imaginitve. The scrambled gravity element definitely gives a new perspective to what would otherwise seem like an old concept. Here are two clips, one of the G4 trailer which showcases the bright colorful background and zany characters, and one of just some people messing around with the gravity and perspective changes that can go on.
After the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 there was a kind of backlash against video games as a medium. I am not a fan of the GTA series, I think they're redundant and pointless in their glorification of killing and torturing innocent people (where's the challenge?). Don't get me wrong, I am not skittish about violence in video games and I happen to believe that they are not likely to cause increased violent tendencies in youth. I am of the opinion that if the people playing the games can't distinguish between reality and fantasy their problems run deeper than anything the games could cause to begin with.
However, many screamed about the violence and the inherent evils and how video games couldn't possibly be art, a point with which I take offense. At the Carnegie Museum of Art near where I work there are countless pieces of "art" that are far worse than the interesting things that can arise from video games. One of my favorites is a piece of moldy insulation stapled to the wall. It represents the worker's struggle or some other such nonsense (so the placard next to it reads).
Anyway, as a response I am going to do a top 6 favorite artistic video game creations courtesy of youtube (because it's easier to use other people's creativity than my own). Today are number's 6 and 5 in my countdown.
Number 6 Mario Paint
There is a great deal of inherent artisticness (word?) involved with Mario Paint. After all the whole game is just there to create art. To pick just one piece I chose a song recreated by youtube user Axelrod777, which has gained some viral popularity and is also like having epic win in the bank gaining interest! Here is his recreation of the song "What is Love" by Haddaway.
Number 5 Sephiroth and Aerith (or Aeris if you prefer...also SPOILER ALERT!)
This is from Final Fantasy VII. This is also a very famous scene wherein the bad guy (Sephiroth) whom you've been following for nigh on 20 hours of game is believed to be lurking in the city of the ancients. Aerith who has been with you this whole time and revealed to be a sweet yet fun character to whom you're supposed to have grown quite attached to is praying for something in the lost city of the ancients as well. You are in the city (as the spiky blonde headed Cloud) to look for her and Sephiroth when this quite unexpectedly (unless you read a spoiler like this beforehand) happens...
You know, I was speaking to a big muppets fan recently and got to thinking that was a great show. Not just for kids but adults as well. They even once had Tony Clifton on!!! Let alone the wide plethora of other stars. Not just that but the show was funny. The jokes were often cutting and clever. I just can't get over it. So I started youtubing for muppets and came across this brilliant little piece. Enjoy!
