Video Game Growing Pains Awards 2013

Greetings and salutations!  Seeing as it's a brand new  year, I felt it important to, as with last year, totally copy all the other reviewers out there and make a best/worst list.  Yes, I know, I'm a hack.  Moving on, this list will consist of three categories of games that I played in 2013.  Some of these came out in 2013, some just need mentioning...just because.  Also, this list is purely subjective, so if you disagree with me, fine, disagree.  Better yet, comment and explain to me your perspective.  I'm genuinely curious.  Anyway, let's take a look at the best, worst, and most WTF?! games for me of 2013.

Worst

            Which games made me sad, angry, or just plain frustrated?  This list is all about games I wish I hadn't bought, wish I hadn't played, wish...hadn't been, really.

Worst Identity Crisis: Bioshock Infinite(PS3/Xbox360/PC)

            Starting off controversial, huh?  Don't I always?  Let's get this out of the way.  Bioshock Infinite is a critical darling.  And I can't stand it.  Most of this stems from my distaste for the plot, which focuses on the concept of hyper time.  Hyper time basically posits that all decisions made by anyone creates a split parallel universe where the opposite decision was made.  I think this is handled very poorly, especially through the ending, and just frustrated me.  However, even without that thorn in my side, this game still would have made my worst list.  Why?  Because it doesn't know what kind of game it wants to be, really.  

Be Halo or be Biocshock...at least commit to SOMETHING.

            There are a lot of elements of the first two Bioshocks in this game, like scavenging in trash for food and coin, comboing plasmids and weapons for greater effects, moral ambiguity, audio logs, etc.  However, the game plays very much like a Halo clone.  You have a regenerating shield, you have a stock array of military weapons, from pistol, to shot gun, to RPG, to machine gun, and you are only allowed a two gun load out.  Putting aside personal preference, whether you like the two gun load out of Infinite or the carry as many guns as you want of the previous two, the fact that they couldn't decide on how it plays...whether the pace should be interrupted to scavenge or whether you were pressed for time...whether you should become skilled with one weapon or, in case the enemies don't drop ammo for it, just be an all rounder...it says to me the developers didn't want to commit for fear of alienating...well...ANY potential buyer.  And the game is weaker for it.  The tone of the story clashes with the actions taken by the player.  The style of play in down situations clashes with the style of play in fire fights.  Even the gameplay seems torn, as the improvements made to Bioshock's plasmid/weapon system in Bioshock 2 were either forgotten or excised for Infinite.

This was what we were promised...what we got was a game that didn't know what it wanted.

            I just wish Infinite was more consistent...if it were more consistently Bioshock, I'd have liked it more.  If it were more consistently Halo or some other modern military shooter, I'd have stayed away and been happier for it.

 

Most Boring/Pointless Grind: Skyrim Legendary Edition(PS3/Xbox360)

            I started playing Skyrim wanting to love it...and ended up feeling kinda empty and bored by the end.  I played Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion to death.  5 full playthroughs.  It was a colorful game that made me feel like I was on a grand adventure, that each item I got was unique and that some should be kept or stored rather than sold, that each situation was different, special, and fun.  And Skyrim felt like a grind to me.  First, yes, Skyrim is an amazing game.  It greatly improves the combat of Oblivion, adds in some more options, improves graphics with a new engine, and gives the players more freedom and choice.  However, in doing some of this, other changes were made that kind of turned the game into a slow, boring grind.

We're all just slaves to the grind

            The inclusion of a skill points system, with perks, was a positive change from Oblivion, but because armor, potions, and enchanting were tied to it, often times players had to grind out skill points to get the best stuff, unless they wanted to face vastly over powered enemies...and this was boring. 

"Okay, I bought a thousand iron ingots and leather strips and made a few hundred swords!"

"Congratulations!  You gained 10 skill points.  Do another thousand and you can make NEW armor.  Now, let me take those swords and give you money."

"What should I do with the money?"

"Why, buy more materials...to make more SWORDS!"

Yeah, to me it just felt kinda like a pointless slog.  Added onto that, the game has serious loading issues on a console, is very glitchy, and...really, there was no great reward at the end.  At the end of Oblivion, the gates to Oblivion were sealed...you could tell a tangible difference in the game, because you no longer got ganged up on by otherworldly beasts and there were no more red skies.  In this game...you kill a dragon, other dragons still exist for you to grind out materials on...nothing has changed.  The game is also very modern...by that I mean, washed out colors, lots of grey, white, brown, black...Oblivion was colorful and vibrant, a place I wanted to explore and enjoy.  Every mine and every dungeon of Skyrim just made me more and more bored and question why I put so much time into it.  This even extends to the maps and menus.  Oblivion had an old world, parchment like menu theme, for maps, skills, etc.  Skyrim goes for a semi-clear, bland, boring look to the map and menu screens.

This would have made the grind all worth while...cept this was just an awesome mod for PC versions.  Console gamers got left out.

            Let me just say, this ONLY applies to console versions of Skyrim.  PC versions are much better.  The inclusion of mods allows players to experience a fuller, more enjoyable game, such as with the High King of Skyrim mod, which feels like what I should have gotten for beating the game regularly.  You would still have quests to do, but you have the authority of a king to fall back on, to belittle, build up, or just mess with your subjects to your own enjoyment.

            For me, it was a grind...and grinds can be fun, but Skyrim was not.  It gave me no real feeling of changing the world or its people...everything was pretty much the same at the end of the game as the start.  A dragon and a few extra people were dead, but...no real change to the world at large.

Game That Loves to Give Players the Middle Finger:  FTL(PC)

            I hate FTL.  Some friends of mine encouraged me to try this starship simulator and, to their credit, it was pretty fun for a while.  However, FTL is a roguelike game done poorly.  Roguelikes frequently have you die and have to start over from scratch, however one of the cornerstones, in my opinion, of a good roguelike game is incremental progress.  You get better as a player, you get small rewards to make your next playthrough different or more enjoyable, etc.  Spelunky does this with unlockable shortcuts, players, and by slowly teaching you skills needed to survive through trial and error.  Rogue Legacy does this by allowing you to purchase new weapons, classes, or stat upgrades after each death that you keep.  FTL...doesn't really do this at all.  If you are SUPER lucky, you can have an event which may unlock a new starship.  These events are few and far between, though, and most players will be damned lucky to ever see one.  I've dropped at least 30 hours into FTL and only unlocked three of it's twelve ships...yeah...

Get used to seeing this.  FTL screws you.  A lot.

            FTL just wastes my time, largely because it is so random and luck based.  Now, lots of roguelikes are random and luck based, but FTL, regardless of your skill, can and will kill you with random events for no reason.  No matter how skilled you are, it will just end you...and to me, this is bad game design, because it wastes the player's time and isn't fun.  Others may enjoy it, but I don't.  You may as well roll a set of dice and end the game immediately unless you roll anything but snake eyes.  The game gleefully kills you and wastes your time, with no real lessons being learned and no progress being made.

Egregious Backpedaling: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time(PS3)

            I am a HUGE Sly Cooper fan.  Alongside the Jak and Ratchet and Clank games, it was one of the finest platformers of the PS2 era and I was super sad that it wasn't making the jump to the PS3.  However, when it did, I was psyched.  I grabbed this beauty up and played it right away, and...it wasn't BAD, but...it felt like a huge step back for the series.

Bentley's expression says it all.  WTF, Sly Cooper.

            First, the plot...it is hugely contrived and turns fun characters we loved into enemies for the sake of getting our main cast back together.  This pissed me off, as we saw a series favorite turn evil for...really no reason.  It.  Made.  Me.  Angry.  Putting that aside, though, there was just a general lack of variety in missions, in my opinion.  Granted, there were a few interesting ones based on new outfits Sly Cooper could wear, such as deflecting projectiles with samurai armor or making huge leaps with a sabertooth tiger rug, but...the general play felt lackluster.  We also had the return of clue bottles, which were included in the first Sly game, however with no map, radar, or other way to find them, digging them up in each hub world became a chore...the first 28 are easy.  The last 2 are impossible.  It was just a ton of amateur mistakes and step backs.

            Sly 4 rubbed me the wrong way...it's not a bad game, but it was a huge step back for the franchise...and that makes me sad.

Honorable Mention: Resistance 3(PS3)

            Once again, Resistance 3 isn't REALLY a bad game.  It's got some fun weapons, interesting enemies and gunplay, and while the story is boring, it was a pretty enjoyable ride.  HOWEVER!  Not only did this game have to dump several gigabytes into my PS3 before I could play it, when I tried to erase it to make room for other stuff, the data corrupted and now it's stuck.  This game was glitchy and had issues with pacing, but that was the nail in its coffin for me.  It doesn't deserve a title under my worst list, but I have to bring it up.  First Sly is handed off to a new team, now Insomniac botches it's PS3 shooter...what's happening to game developers these days?

You done me wrong, Resistance 3...you done me wrong.

Best

            Okay, the depressing worst is out of the way, so let's move onto a few games that I absolutely ADORE!  These games made my year bright, fun, and were true reminders of why I play video games at all.

Delicious blend of genres and themes: Sang-Froid(PC)

            Fun fact.  I spent January 2013 in Montreal.  November 2013, after Steam's fall sale, I got this game and gave it a try.  Oh.  My.  God.  Sang-Froid is a wonderful blend of separate elements that come together in a gloriously silly, wholly unique experience.  Sang-Froid is a story about two lumberjack brothers in Canada who have to protect their sister and neighbors from Werewolves, skin changing Inuit, Wendigos, and the Devil himself.  TotalBiscuit calls this the most Canadian game ever and that's not a bad thing at all.  The new twist on a familiar story, the interesting cultural references and differences, and the strange characters and names that could only come from our friends to the north, accents and all, make this a very memorable play.  However, what sold me was the gameplay.

Yes.  You kill ice demons with a magic axe, a musket, and a ballista.  This game is made of Canadian win.

            The gameplay is divided between a strategy section and an action section.  In the strategy section, you can set traps, some automatic, some you need to activate, you can chop lumber for money, you can buy items or check the movement paths of the waves of wolves, etc.  In the action section, you take those traps and information you gained during the strategy section and try to defend your home.  Not only can players rely on their traps, but they can also fight with axe and musket, making this an interesting blend of action/hacknslash/strategy/rpg/canadian game.  It's great fun.  The voice acting and story can be a bit off or cheesy or stilted, but it kind of lends to the game's charm.  It's dark and serious, but also a bit silly, like an old B movie.  And I love it, for blending a fun story, Canadian culture, and rock solid, super fun gameplay together.

Valentine's Came Early: Pandora's Tower(Wii)

            The last game of Operation Rainfall came out in 2013 and...it was a bit of a Zelda clone.  But my god, what a fun clone it was.  This game features our hero, Aeron traversing several dungeons, killing enemies, and getting new items for the sake of a cursed girl named Elena...yeah, sounds familiar.  However, it really is a fun play.  The chain you are given at the beginning is both weapon and tool and it's just as fun to swing around or grab distant items with as it is to tear chunks of your enemy off with it.

How can I love a monster?  Pretty easy, when she's as wonderful as Elena.

            While the combat is fun, what really sold me on this was the relationship dynamic.  You have Aeron killing monsters and giving meat to Elena, who is a vegetarian, but has to eat or she will turn into a monster.  It's an interesting, subtle bit of character study, between these two friends who slowly grow closer, but also more distant due to Elena's curse.  The game reflects this with a stock relationship meter, but Elena really is an endearing character who works with Aeron rather than being his reward or his burden.  The game does have a few glitches and is at times a but frustrating, but for the characters and for how fun it is living in their world, I have to put it on my best list.

Fantastic, in Spite of Abysmal Publicity: Dragon's Crown(PS3)

            Dragon's Crown has had an unfortunate series of public shamings.  The flame war between producer George Kamitani and Jason Schrier of Kotaku, the examination of character art by Jim Sterling and TotalBiscuit, the decrying by both reviewers and gamers for how the art style or depictions of women interferes with the game...it's been a bad time to be Dragon's Crown.  In spite of all that, it has managed to do very well.  Selling a good amount is one thing, but Dragon's Crown is also a fantastic game.

Not your proudest moment, Mr. Kamitani -_-u

            Make no mistake, some of the complaints made by the above personalities are valid.  Hell, I've made similar complaints here.  The Sorceresses design is sexist and frustrating, the Amazon has some unfortunate animation choices, and oversexualized women of the fantasy genre are front and center.  However, it's still a great game.  Six characters, each with a different style of play, in a world that is full of strange beasts, myriad treasures, and awe inspiring sights.  It's a joy to play and I've sunk at least 80 hours into it, completing all 6 character campaigns and beating the final secret boss.  It's been a fun ride and in spite of all the negative publicity that Dragon's Crown has...well...rightfully received, it is still a great game.

In spite of the controversy, the game is still beautiful and plays like a dream.

            Some people may not be able to get over the art style, and that's fine, but it is still something I heartily enjoyed.  I wasn't bothered by the art because I was too busy trying to stay alive fighting cyclopian monstrosities, wicked demons, and the fearsome fire dragon.

Best Bang For the Buck: Rage of the Gladiator(Wii)

            Welp, this was a surprise.  I'd heard about Rage of the Gladiator on the Wii for a while, but only recently got a chance to play it.  It's...pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.  The game plays a lot like Punch Out on the Wii, with various enemies appearing and attacking with specific patterns that you need to block, dodge, attack against, or what have you.  The kicker here is that the enemies are all monsters, like goblins, beholders, magicians, minotaurs, etc. and it's super fun getting to fight them all.

You take on dragons and demons Punch Out style...need I say more?

            There are two modes of play, basic and challenge, and they both scale up the difficulty very well.  There is a skill tree that requires some sacrifices to get what you want.  There is also one of the best things to ever exist in a Wii game.  The option not to use the Wiimote.  It's a game that very much uses Wii motion controls, however you can select a classic controller or just the Wiimote held side ways if you want.    These options allow the game to be played by both the hardcore and the casual alike and really feels like it should have been a full on retail release rather than a 15 dollar downloadable title.

            Rage of the Gladiators is what all Wii downloadable games should be.  It's fun, it's got a lot of content, it's got a lot of options, and it may just be the best Wii game that no one has ever played.

Honorable Mention: Dark Souls(PS3/Xbox360/PC) & Ni No Kuni(PS3)

            Yep, two honorable mentions for Best.  While I am getting more and more jaded with the games industry, this has been a pretty great year.  I played Dark Souls the most last year, but because it frustrated me, I kept it off my best/worst list...and that was unfair, because I've easily sunk over 200 hours into it.  Dark Souls is a fantastic game, mixing moody old school challenge with brilliant graphics that make even the dark or dreary beautiful and well honed design placing control almost completely in the player's hands.  I love this game...almost as much as I hate it.  But...I felt others deserved the mention...especially since I'm now waiting for Dark Souls 2 to come out.

Intimidating, frustrating, but oh so satisfying to conquer...Dark Souls in a nutshell.

            And Ni No Kuni...this would have been my game of the year if not for the crappy control scheme in combat.  It should have been a regular turn based RPG.  That's basically what it is, only you can only control one character, the others have crummy AI, and it goes in real time, so the game doesn't give you a lot of room to rest/mess up/think.  Which is frustrating, since Ni No Kuni is amazing in all other respects.  The villain is amazing...well, except for the White Witch.  Shadaar is amazing.  Let's say that.  Ahem.  Anyway, the graphics are fantastic, with cut scenes by Studio Ghibli.  The dialogue is actually worthy of mention, since it's tame enough for kids, but not painful for adults.  The creature raising mechanic is fun, if in need of a bit more polish/speeding up, and the quest and crafting systems, as well as the wizard hand book you get near the start of the game are great for immersion, world building, and overall fun.  The combat rubbed me the wrong way and that's why it's not on my best list, but Ni No Kuni is a damn fine game.  I just wish it were better, so I could heap more praise on it.

So close to perfect!  If only the combat had been fixed TT_TT

WTF?

            Some games are just...weird.  Or deserving of more than just an arbitrary good or bad rating.  They deserve a new perspective.  So, let's look at these WTF titles and see what craziness was heaped onto use this year.  Also, confession time, these are all great games...I just wanted to talk about them and couldn't fit them into my other lists.  They are certainly strange though.  Trust me.

Game You Love to Hate to Love: Hearthstone

            I hate Hearthstone.  I love Hearthstone.  I...have an odd relationship with Hearthstone.  It's basically a free to play version of the World of Warcraft card game.  It's not perfect by any means, as it's still in beta and still being balanced, but it is a ton of fun.  However, it's probably the only game besides Dark Souls that I scream at, at the top of my lungs, and yet still want to go back to.  It's frustrating, but there are moments of supreme bliss, like when you pull that one card you need in a match.

Yu-gi-oh: Warcraft edition.  Insanely frustrating.  Insanely fun.

            The real reason Hearthstone makes it on my list though is because it's...the way a free to play game should be.  It basically gives you a Yu-gi-oh starter deck and tells you to go unlock the others by playing with the one you have.  Then it tells you to play more and unlock the structure deck cards.  Then it tells you to earn gold and buy booster packs for all the rest of the cards.  If you don't want to earn gold through daily quests, you can buy with real money...but you don't have to.  You can play the game, make good strategies, meet friends or tough opponents, all without spending a penny.  In fact, the shop is just a tiny icon near the bigger play ones and the game only tells you it's there once.  It never badgers you for money and if you are actually about to spend real money, Hearthstone says "Wait a minute...are you SURE?!  You know you'll be spending real money, right?"  It's very honest for a free to play game.  And yet, supremely well polished.  It has a few glitches here and there but it's a balanced game that works well.  With the promise of more to come, I have to say it's probably my game of the year for 2013.  It made me fall in love with collectible card games again, but isn't being a huge drain on my wallet like Yu-gi-oh or Magic the Gathering were.  It's a fantastic title and once it goes open beta, I heartily recommend it to any card gamers in the world.  You won't be sorry.

Come and play a game or two beside the hearth, friend.

THE WIIMOTE ACTUALLY WORKS: Trauma Team

            I've been an apologist for motion controls in the past.  however, the truth is, they don't really work as well as a regular controller or mouse and keyboard in terms of input and probably never will.  However, Trauma Team...Trauma Team makes me question that truth.  It's a fantastic little Wii title that uses only motion controls and uses them well.  Part of the well established Trauma Center series, it focuses on surgeons who have to save patients from everything from regular transplants or lacerations to a brand new super virus.  However, this one focuses on a team of doctors at a specific hospital.  One is early response and can only use certain tools due to having to be on the go, while another performs bone cutting, setting, and makes braces.  Another uses an endoscope to look through a person's body from the viewpoint of a snake while another does triage to determine the malady a patient has.  Each of these doctors uses tools that the Wii mote substitutes as or in the case of triage or mortician, acts like a mouse pointer in a point-and-click game.  And it works.  It works amazingly well.  The wiimote is very accurate, but more than that, it also feels natural doing all the things that the doctor's do.

Even diagnosing an illness feels natural...on the WII!  That is amazing.

            The game isn't perfect, mind.  It can get quite hard in places and the triage and mortician sections are much longer than the surgeries, since they follow the same rules of point-and-click titles, namely, "What the hell do I do now?!"  There are also some odd story bits, like the bone surgeon having a side job as a super hero or the endoscope user having a butler who she regularly shoots arrows at and who can wield a samurai sword.  Hell, the head surgeon is a prisoner sentenced to serve 120 years in a biological freezer.  Yeah, it's a weird title, but the story is surprisingly heartfelt and compelling and the gameplay is just plain fun.  I highly recommend.  If more games like Trauma Team came out, we'd probably be heaping praise on motion controls rather than wishing for their death.

From right to left.  Biker chick, best friend is a robot, talks to ghosts, 120 year sentence prisoner, samurai endoscope doctor, costumed superhero.  So...yeah...the cast is a bit strange.

Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Grandson: Rogue Legacy

            What does one even say about Rogue Legacy?  Fantastic roguelike?  Check.  Enjoyable little Metroidvania-esque game?  Check.  Most likely to make you go WTF IS UP WITH THIS CHARACTER?!  Ehehe...check.  This is a fun, interesting little roguelike game where you build up stats and unlock new classes by gaining money inside a castle and then try and kill the four main bosses to unlock the final one.  The story is okay, but really, what people came to this game for were the wacky, insane descendents system.  See, each time you die in this game, your son/daughter takes your place.  You get the choice of three, each with a random job, power, and...handicap?  Players have different unique traits about them, like the ability to only see the world in sepia tone because they are "nostalgic" or they fart every few seconds because they have irritable bowl syndrome.  Some are actually quite useful, like the inability to set off spike traps because they are "Light on their feet" or more amusingly, excitable, meaning that each hit they take claims to be thousands of points more damage than it really is.  This game truly does offer an interesting and unique look at roguelikes and Castlevania-esque games with this mechanic.  It's weird, but oh so fun and silly.  What other game can you have an amnesiac, gay, daughter?  Or a short sighted, dyslexic, old man for a son?

Even the greatest of Knights can have irritable bowel syndrome

2013's Shortest Game: Tiny Barbarian DX

            First game I ever kickstarted.  Tiny Barbarian DX is a super fun throwback to the NES era of games.  It's got arcade gameplay and while challenging, doesn't use a lives system that arbitrarily throws you back or ends your game after a certain number of deaths.  It's wonderful at showing with actions and expressions rather than dumping exposition and it's all around a very fun title.  It's also less than an hour long.  For a $10 game on steam.  Usually, I wouldn't even pay half that much for such a game.  But Tiny Barbarian DX won me over.  Its music, its aesthetic, its gameplay...it's a strange little title, for being so short, but it's surprisingly enjoyable.  I have to recommend this to any old school fans of chip tunes, Conan the Barbarian, and NES gameplay.  While short, it's worth it...though I have to wonder how this game gets a digital for profit release and Maldita Castilla is free.  Then again, different strokes for different folks.

Conan would be proud, even if the game is short...or rather...tiny...

Honorable Mention: Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Night Sky

            I played this game to death all the way back in 2011.  And then I bought it again this year to play it again.  Yes, really.  So, now I own 2 copies of DQ9.  Why?  Cause there's only one save slot and with the DQ9 wi-fi store being shut down I didn't want to wipe my old game or my old items.  I'd rather keep those and all the quests I beat and just buy a new DQ9 to play through for fun.  And I did.  And it was fun.  But...yeah, looking back...wtf was I thinking?  Either way, still just as fun now as when I first played it.

Yes.  Yes I am DQ9.  So nice, I bought you twice.

             Welp, that rounds out 2013.  Thanks again to any and all fans for sticking with me and I can only hope I will be able to enrage you further in 2014.  I have about 2-4 articles I'm sitting on for one reason or another and really do want to get out, but my time is seldom my own, so that's why I've not had much output.  This list was just plain fun for me, though, so that's why it's out before anything else.

            Anyway, give the good games a try and the bad games the middle finger.  And remember to enjoy 2014.  Life is short...so game on.

The Right Tool for the Right Job: The Wii and Wii-U

Okay, the Wii and the Wii-U have gotten a lot of hate.  The Wii from the hardcore crowd over the course of it's lifetime and the Wii-U for a lackluster launch lineup which has yet to improve.  However, what I think people often forget is that while both consoles have used gimmicks and tricks to sell games, their hardware do have specific strengths.  You can scoff all you want at the shoe-horned in bits of gameplay which rely on waggling the Wiimote or meddling with the Wii-U game pad.  I have no issue with that, as gameplay needs to be organic.  However, try and remember that hardware is created with specific things in mind.  Remember that while you shouldn't use a hammer to fix a shattered dinner plate, you should use a hammer to nail down a board.  The right tool for the right job.  Are the Wiimote and Wii-U controller often used for gimmicky gameplay?  Sure.  But the fact is, they do have practical uses that are both fun and engaging.  And I intend to discuss this with the gaming public because, while I think it's fine to demand developers stop using gimmicky controls, that doesn't mean we should declare a new piece of hardware a failure just because it does something different from what we're used to.  We need to encourage developers to use the right tool for the right job.

It's different certainly, but different isn't necessarily bad.  Both the Wii and the Wii-U have their strengths.  The important thing is recognizing the potential of their hardware and using the right tool for the right job.

            First, I want to look at the Wiimote.  This was the defining feature of the Wii.  Motion controls.  It was a way to attract the casual gaming crowd, but also a new way to experience old classics.  However, what many games did was try to FIND a use for the Wii-mote rather than build a game AROUND it.  Herein lies the problem.  If you have to find a use for a new piece of tech, chances are you're better off making a game in the traditional style.  Sure, it won't be as gimmicky and might not be as memorable...but it will be a lot more fun and will probably sell more.  So, what can the Wiimote's motion sensors do?  Well, the basic actions it seems to be good at are slashing, pointing, dragging, detection of distance and force based on position, and shaking.  Now, if a game is setup properly, it can make use of these features and actually create an engaging product.

One thing no one can deny is that the Wiimote offered a style of gameplay unlike anything we'd ever seen in the past.

            Slashing is pretty self explanatory.  Games like Dragon Quest Swords and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword focus on using the slashing action to determine speed, angle, and to mimic certain sword motions.  These work well for your typical action game, provided it's set up to recognize the slashes and to have a reason to do more than flail about, like an enemy who can block in one direction, so you need to slash in a different one.  And these two games do that well.

There's something inherently cathartic about slashing something to bits and this is one thing the Wiimote can do very well.

            Pointing actually has a lot of implications.  You can use it for an adventure game or a hidden object game, like Zak and Wiki, where it mimics the movement of a mouse on a PC.  However, they can also be used for light gun games, where if you point at an enemy, you will shoot it.  When done properly and either put on rails or integrated with competent movement controls, this makes shooters much faster, more intense, and more personal.  Games like Sin and Punishment: Star Successor or Metroid Prime 3: Corruption have proven this much.  It can also be used to simply set objective markers or to touch icons, like in Battalion Wars 2 where you can switch units by clicking on their icon or in Overlord: Dark Legend where if you click on something, your minions will either attack it or grab it.

Pointing and clicking isn't just for adventure games.  In terms of how the Wiimote is used, it can also greatly change how a console shooter is played.  That reticle on the screen?  That's where your Wiimote is pointing.  It offers a whole new level of control.

            Dragging was made very useful in the Trauma Center games on the Wii.  If you click on a specific tool, like a scalpel, or antibiotic gel, or sutures, then you can drag them across a surface to perform a specific action.  The brilliance of this type of game is that if done properly it can mimic something that is normally very difficult in real life and make players feel accomplished.  If you can break something down to dragging, you could easily make a slew of popular and fun Wii games out of many mobile titles and frankly, I'm shocked there was never an Angry Birds or a stand alone construction game, like Sim City, focused around dragging something a certain way.

Dragging sutures over a wound may not be how it's done in real life, but it makes for a fast paced and engaging play session in Trauma Center on the Wii.

            Detecting distance and force based on position sounds complicated but it boils down to this.  Sports games.  The Wii-mote detects the movement of your swing and the power based on it's position and how rapidly that changes.  A swing of a golf club, rolling a bowling ball, hitting a tennis racket, etc.  Boxing was also popular using this system and that has been proven to be adaptable.  The game Rage of the Gladiator used this system to take what amounted to a boxing game into a first person fantasy fighter game against mystic monsters.

Rage of the Gladiators showed that sports games weren't the only kind of game you can play with the ability to detect distance and force.  With a little inventiveness, you could do anything.  This game uses controls popularized in boxing to fight monsters in an arena with weapons, magic, and wits.

            Shaking is pretty minor, all things considered, but if you lack buttons or want to use a cathartic action, then it can be useful.  Wario Land: Shake it made you feel good about shaking the Wii-mote because you got money for it, making it very cathartic, or the Kirby: Return to Dreamland title allowed you to shake the controller to suck in things with greater force, eliminating the need for an additional button.  It's minor, but it does have it's uses.

Pretty minor as far as the Wiimote's capabilities, but still enjoyable.  Shaking does have its uses, after all.

            And of course, any of these different skills can be integrated to create a relatively unique and enjoyable game.  Red Steel 2 managed to including pointing and slashing in the same game by making you a gun slinging samurai.  Trauma Team combined dragging and pointing for doctor sessions and adventure game like triage and post-mortem analyses.  Wario Ware on the Wii combined all these actions in various forms in different mini games.  If you use your brain, you can actually get quite a lot out of these simple actions.

By combining what the Wiimote was good at, crafty game developers could create unique and interesting experiences, rather than trying to do what other controllers already did better.

            The problem with many developers was they either were trying to re-invent the wheel in terms of game design or they did not accept the system's limitations.  The Wii-mote's motion sensing should not be used in a platform game or an action-adventure or fighting game where a d-pad controller and standard jump controls would work better.  A Metal Slug game where you need to waggle the remote to throw a grenade is the opposite of intuitive.  A Wii-mote does not need to be used for games that already have decent control schemes and I think this is what scared off many hard core gamers.  They saw Mario Galaxy having the shoe-horned in star bit collecting when just replacing coins with star bits would have been more fun and accessible and grew fed up.  That aside, you also have to accept the limitations of the Wii-mote.  It can have trouble with path finding or is loopy for a little bit when it goes from off screen to on screen.  Some games allow you to recalibrate it's position and this can help, but...don't try and do something the Wiimote can't do.  If you want it to spin, don't, because more often than not, the motion sensors will just get confused.  Don't try and make it detect movements like reeling back, because if the sensor goes off screen, it will go all loopy.  And if you're making a long game, like an RPG, and want to use motion sensors, then either offer an option for an alternate control scheme through mundane parts so player's arms don't get tired, or make the game best suited for small spurts over a long period, so gamers don't get fed up with all the motion controls.

Collect 50 coins and get a life.  Collect 100 star bits and get a life.  To collect star bits, you have to use a shoe horned in Wiimote control scheme...why not just take out the coins and the motion gimmick and make the game more fluid?  Sometimes you need to know your limits, Wii.

            Now, this information is kind of useless posthumously aside from just making people try to appreciate the Wii when it does it's job right.  However, while the Wii may be done and games aren't really being made for it anymore, you can take these conventions of game design and use them for the Wii-U.  What does the Wii-U have?  It has a big tablet controller with a touch screen.  So, build a game around that.  A game that works intuitively.  In fact, mobile games might be a good place to look.  Get HD ports of games like Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, or Infinite Blade which require touch screen controls and have them work with the Wii-U tablet.  More than that, look to the DS and 3DS for inspiration.  You have a touch screen, so touch things.  Don't try and make the tablet give you information that you could have just as easily gotten off a TV screen, like with ZombiU.  Allow someone to go cooking or crafting on the Wii-U like with Cooking Mama on the DS.  Use the touch screen for path finding, like in the DS Zelda games, like Phantom Hour Glass.  Draw on the screen, like with Okamiden.  And don't forget what was learned with the Wii controls.  You can drag, slash, point, etc. on a touch screen just as easily as you can with a Wii-mote.  Make use of that.

Imagine how fun and intuitive this game would be on a Wii-U game pad in HD.  Mind.  Blown.

            Nintendo land is actually really amazing in this aspect, as, like Wario Ware, it shows a bunch of mini games showcasing the possibility of the game pad, from flicking on it to throw shurikens, to using it to guide a character with path finding, to touching the screen to alter certain parts of a level to keep a character from dying.  However, one thing I adore is that in some games, like the Yoshi mini game, is that they use the tablet in conjunction with the television.  This will be your big seller.  Don't use the tablet to replace information on the TV, but use it in CONJUNCTION with it.  Yoshi's game shows you a path on the TV, then you can look down at the tablet to drag out the path you want Yoshi to take.  Then, he will do it on the TV.  This is a great way to use the touch screen and it allows you to force cooperation with the tablet and the TV because your goals are only visible on the TV, but your path is only visible on the tablet...so you have to work together.

This is how you use the game pad right.  Make it work with the TV rather than fighting against it.

            What else can you use the tablet for?  Well, just some ideas, but...how about using the touch screen without forcing people to look at it.  Create item shortcuts on the tablet that you can just touch without having to look down to make an action game more intuitive.  This would take control and accessibility to a new level for games like Dark Souls.  Or have the screen as a blank canvas that you need to draw on, so you don't need to look at it, you can just draw and what you draw affects the world on the TV.  There are lots of possibilities, however you cannot shoe-horn things in.  Making the Wii-U a scanner seems like a good idea in ZombiU, as it allows you to use it as a sniper scope or scan for threats or see what containers have what items...however, because of the size and the effort involved, it feels really unintuitive and cumbersome, especially since you don't NEED the game pad to do these things...they can be done easier on the TV.  The Wii-U needs to find things that it can do, then build games around it's capabilities.  That's how you'll get hit titles.

Explain to me again why this couldn't be done on the TV instead of the game pad?

            Rayman Legends actually offers an interesting compromise between looking at the TV and looking at the tablet.  You can do either and still play the game, however in many sections, you can alter the environment with a quick swipe or touch on the tablet, opening up new paths for your character, however, often, you're timed or being chased, so you'll want to see all the action on the big screen.  This creates a choice.  You can sacrifice control for a short cut or a power up and risk taking a hit or miss the secret to survive.  It creates a dilemma where either path can finish the level, but where one may be more fun or more challenging than the other, opening up venues for replayability.  And it does this by mimicking a concept from DS games and their touch screen controls.  And that kind of experience will be unique to the Wii-U.  It's not necessarily a gimmick, but a different kind of choice.

Go for a straight run through, or use the game pad to speed things up and open up short cuts?  In Rayman Legends, the choice is yours.

            The Wii-U's biggest benefit is that it is not shackled to the TV, because the tablet does not require the TV to function...so, you could synchronize the Nintendo E-shop from the DSi or the 3DS with the Wii-U to play those games on the tablet in HD.  Or you could release games in a similar style to mobile or DS games, relying on a touch screen, that can only be played on the tablet.  The biggest problem, however, is that no one wants to invest in the Wii-U unless it has a proven concept which works, like the Wii did with some of it's early titles, like Punch Out or Dragon Quest Swords.  No one seems to know what to do and in the bloated AAA industry, few want to risk anything on the Wii-U's novelty and unique capabilities.

            The trick is to use the right tool for the right job.  Look at the Wii-U and what it can do...and build a game around that.  It doesn't matter how simple or ugly it is, so long as it uses the tablet and is fun.  If you create a game that uses it but looks like crap, release it as an E-shop game and take what you've learned to make a more complete game.  Just don't try and re-invent the wheel or mistake the Wii-U's novelty for limitless potential.  Embrace the limits of the tablet alongside it's strengths and work in conjunction with them.  And this goes for all new tech.  You don't need to create a survival horror game or a shooter for the Kinect.  What can the Kinect do?  Recognize movements.  Where would this be useful?  Dance games.  If Microsoft or it's partners don't realize the Kinect's strengths and instead keep trying to use the wrong tool for the wrong job, then...it'll flop with the Xbox One just like it did for the Xbox 360.  Same for the Playstation 3's sixaxis...it had a set of strengths to be exploited, but like the Kinect, it wasn't used to it's fullest.  A few good ideas were thrown out there, but...it was just too limited and the demand to use it died down.

Last I checked, no one was clambering for another Kinect horror game.  Why?  Wrong tool for the wrong job.  Use your hardware for what it's good at and you'll have better luck.

            Now, this little lecture on capabilities has two purposes.  The first is, of course, to defend the Wii and Wii-U.  Were they perfect?  No.  Could they be annoying?  Most definitely.  However, did they have some experiences that were almost completely unique?  I'd say so.  Trauma Team, Sin and Punishment, Dragon Quest Swords, and Metroid Prime 3 all used unorthodox control systems that actually worked and were more memorable and unique because of it.  And the Wii-U has the potential to do the same.  If people will give it a chance.  Secondly, whenever new tech comes out, be it a physics engine, a level designer, or a new motion control scheme, I have to encourage a developer to remember what the tool was designed for an to use it accordingly.  Does your game really need physics?  No?  Then don't build it around Havok.  Does your game make good use of the Unreal engine or would it be better with a made from scratch engine?  Remember.  Right tool for the right job.

Month of Characters: Top 10 Heroes I Wish I Were

Sometimes in games, we have power fantasies about the heroes we're playing.  We wish we could be him because he's so cool or we want to be strong like that one...it's escapist entertainment, so this is only normal.  For me though, I kind of respect certain heroes because I enjoy hearing their stories.  I don't want their stories to be my own.  However, other heroes I really wish I could be, just because their lives and their persona really gel with my own.  So, for those interested in power fantasy, here are the top 10 heroes I wish I could be.  Needless to say, there will be spoilers

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Kain (Legacy of Kain Series)

I love Kain.  He's a different kind of vampire who could just as easily be a villain instead of a hero, but his actions are carefully calculated to be of net gain to not only himself, but to the world.  Kain is arrogant, but wisely so.  He has enough power, wisdom, and foresight to allow himself to be a little confident.  What I love most about Kain is how Shakespearean he can be.  He is masterful with his language and very dramatic, using his words to great effect in both his musings and in arguing to justify his actions.  Having lived for thousands of years, he proves his intelligence not just through cunning but through philosophy, as he often waxes on what a king should do, condemn himself to death for the good of the world and in doing so destroy his race, or live, rule an empire in a dying world, and quietly await the end.  Kain believes that while fate may normally be immutable, there is always a better way, having long since set into motion a plan to cheat fate.  Kain is a vampiric messiah as well, being forever at odds with a being who aims to keep the world in an ignorant spiral of death and decay for his own profit.  Kain also never lies.  He can be cruel and wicked at times, as needs demand, but Kain will never go back on his word.  Those who betray him are damned by their own treachery, as Kain is still noble, at his core.  I wish I could be as commanding, confident, and intelligent as Kain.  Only someone truly amazing could aim to cheat fate and have both the courage and the audacity to move forward without hesitation.  Plus, he's a vampire.  That doesn't sparkle.  Bonus.

The Vampire has lived for countless ages.  He can afford arrogance, for it is juxtaposed by his cunning, his strength, and his drive.  Fate is his plaything.

Demi-Fiend (Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne)

The Demi-Fiend is an avatar for the human players in Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne.  He has his own look and powers and what have you, but he is mostly silent and his choices are made by the players.  Get used to those in this list.  So, why did I pick him?  Well, the Demi-Fiend is an amazing character.  He is caught up in the destruction and rebirth of the world and gets trapped in the inbetween world, partway between recreation, where a mysterious child implants a magatama, a demon worm, in him, transforming the normal school boy into a half human, half demon warrior.  His skin is grey and covered in pulsating tattoos and his eyes glow golden.  Only his shape even resembles human anymore.  Along with his new look, the Demi-Fiend is given new powers, such as breathing fire, causing great bursts of wind or ice to appear and the ability to heal and revive his friends.  Speaking of friends, the Demi-Fiend also gains the ability to talk to demons and by bargaining, begging, or threatening them, he can recruit them to fight for him.  This character would be amazing to be, for his insane level of power, quirky demon friends, and all the crazy sights he sees.  The Demi-Fiend travels around a Japan turned upside down by the end of the world, seeing its natural beauty turned horrific and fantastical.  An apartment complex turned into a demon prison?  Check.  A shopping mall inhabited by demons?  Check.  A palace to an unholy demon god?  Double check.  And all along the way the Demi-Fiend is hounded by fiends, monsters hunting him as a way of proving their mettle.  These include the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the whore of Babylon, and the trumpeter, among many others.  Once defeated, they can even serve the Demi-Fiend.  What I love perhaps most about the Demi-Fiend is he personifies choice.  With the world ended, he is given the choice of supporting some differing philosophies of how the world should be reborn, such as a world for each of us, survival of the fittest, or elitism.  Or, he can reject all these reasons and save the old world, recreating it just as it was before the cataclysm.  For all these reasons and more, I would love to be the Demi-Fiend.  Master of demons, who walks between two worlds, the chooser of destiny, he is the wild card planted in the middle of a battle between angels and demons.

The Halfbreed shows true power.  Not through strength or cunning, but through choice.  He holds the power to guide the world into a new age...or free it from its hidden oppressor. 

Dark Souls Hero (Dark Souls)

This is kinda cheating, if you think about it, but I like Dark Souls alot.  The fact that they let you make your own hero shouldn't be any room for its disqualification, because the reason I wish I was a hero in Dark Souls is based more around the world than the character.  First, there is the immortality.  Heroes in Dark Souls are undead and will always be reborn at a bonfire when they die.  While others may go insane, turn hollow, and attack people, as the hero, that will never happen to me.  Plus, I get to wield all sorts of amazing powers, from slinging spell bolts, tossing fireballs, and hurling lightning spears to healing myself, turning invisible, and casting clouds of poison out in front of me.  Perhaps the most attractive thing about Dark Souls though is it makes you feel like a hero.  Players face insurmountable odds, like dragons, gargoyles, giant demons, huge wolves, undead monsters, cursed spider women, etc. and these things can be many times our size.  But, the immortality, coupled with a few tricks discovered through experimentation, means we can inevitably find a way to win.  Nothing inflates your ego more than taking down a giant iron golem even after it's whooped your ass several times.  There are lots of beautiful places to visit and cool weapons to wield in Dark Souls.  It's kind of a fantasy for all of us who wish we could be Stallone or any other action hero.  In Dark Souls, we can be powerful.  It would be a lonely existence, but Dark Souls is a game about personal betterment and striving.  You can find friends if you so desire, but the goal is self improvement and making a choice to either cling to the past or move on to the future, and all the risks that entails.  Being a hero with all that power, all that potential, and immortality?  Sign me up!

The Undead face the world in abject despair, bereft of all hope...yet still they continue onwards.  Cursed with everlasting life, forever bound by pain, they will fell dragons and bring the gods low to find their destiny.

Link (LoZ Twilight Princess)

This might seem sort of like an odd choice, considering that Link is kind of another avatar for players, wears a green skirt, and spends alot of the game cleaning up a giant mess.  But Link is so much more than that, in my opinion.  Link is almost an adult, physically fit and attractive, has his own horse, and is gifted with lots of friends as a support group.  When twilight engulfs the land, rather than becoming a monster or being rendered helpless, he turns into a powerful wolf and meets Midna.  And right there are some huge reasons to want to be Link.  The wolf form is cool, but Midna really sells it.  Snarky and sarcastic, but also tender, helpful, and even vulnerable.  Midna's a friend like you seldom ever get in a Zelda game and I'd love to have a chance to be there for her.  But that aside, you also get a ton of cool tools to play with, from iron boots that magnetize to steel walls, to a skateboard like cog, to a rod which allows you to give life to ancient statues.  Link's amazingly versatile and also a master swordsman.  There's also the beautiful land of Hyrule to explore, with snow mountains for snow boarding, rivers for rafting, farms and mountains for sight seeing, and a bustling castle town, full of fun places to visit, like Agatha's bug palace, the local bar, and even a real life haunted house.  Games abound as well, such as hook shotting around a cage to collect rupees or holding onto a chicken as you use it to glide onto a platform.  Let's not forget that Link also gets to meet amazing people.  How many of you can say that you've sumo wrestled a goron or had hot pumpkin soup with a yeti?  Not many, I can bet.  Link himself is a great guy too, doing everything he can to help out his friends, especially Midna, since her kingdom was taken from her.  Who wouldn't want to be him?  A great world to explore, fun toys to play with, neat people to meet, and the best little side kick ever?  Yes, please!

The Hero never fights alone.  It is for his friends that he fights and it is his friends who give him the strength to battle.  The world is always more fun to explore with company.

Frederick Chopin (Eternal Sonata)

Eternal Sonata was an interesting title for featuring Frederick Francois Chopin in a fantasy dream world, which he created as he lay dying.  And honestly...that's kinda what I love about Frederick.  He knows who he is and where he is, but goes along with the dream anyway, since he has nothing else to do.  He sees amazing sights, meets people, makes friends, and shares his piano music with the world.  And when the time comes, he must fight his friends to give their world substance as he loses his hold on life.  In death, he is able to save one of his friends, Polka, and offer a brilliant epitaph in the form of his piano playing and words that postulate that life is what you make of it, just as a flower can be named for something depressing or something uplifting.  It is all about perception.  Frederick as a character doesn't go through much growth or leave too much of an impression, but I'd love to be him and explore the crazy, musical world he spends his last moments in.  His sacrifice and piano playing are especially moving and often I wish I could see the world as he came to.  Even in death, he found something beautiful worth believing in.  So beautiful, he asked the question, "Which of my worlds is real and which is truly the dream?"

The Dreamer revels in his fantasy.  Though he know the sun will rise and his dream fade, he clings to it...for it is beautiful and more real than any truth he could find in the world we know.

Hero (Dragon Quest 8)

Another hero who you have to give a name to.  I probably am cheating, seeing as a ton of these entries are silent protagonists, but the Hero of Dragon Quest 8 is someone I really wish I could be.  In a world where death basically means going back to the last church you stayed at with half your money, the Dragon Quest universe is just fun.  I'd be strong enough to fight monsters, but I might be too busy laughing as the Hero.  The monsters in this world are so smiley and happy and goofy.  Hero also loves and is loved by a cursed princess, who when cured is a knockout, and Hero frequently makes reliable friends.  He converts a bandit to be his vassal and cures a lecherous knight of his philandering ways...to a degree.  He's kind hearted and honest, loves his friends, his lord, his lady, and his pet mouse.  He's immune to curses of any kind and has supernatural powers...and he's also a dragon.  Did I forget to mention that?  The Hero is a bastard child born of a tryst between a female dragon and a prince.  He holds dragon's blood in his veins and is also a member of royalty.  Is there any reason to not want to be this guy?  Friends, safety, a beautiful world to explore, royalty, cool abilities...the Hero is someone I'd love to be.  And on top of all that, he's a great guy too.

The Knight holds the heart of a dragon and the soul of a saint, forever seeking sanctuary and solace for his lord and lady.  He does so with a smile and without need of thanks, for he is justice itself.

Rudy Roughknight (Wild Arms)

Rudy was one of my first big RPG characters and I loved his soft spoken demeanor, his skill with guns, called ARMS in the series, and how he did what was right, even if it meant that he was going to be ostracized or suffer for it.  It very much felt like Rudy and I were kindred.  Then it turned out Rudy was a cyborg.  So much for that.  Rudy, despite his differences, is beloved by his friends and plays the part of a true wild west gun slinging hero.  Perhaps one of the best scenes for me in the game is where he cuts off his own arm to prevent himself and his friends from being pulled into a death trap.  And this is how he's revealed to be a cyborg.  Rather than being freaked out, his friends pull out all the stops to find someone to help fix him and even the girl who liked him before still cares for him after knowing.  For being so somber and quiet, but so moving, strong, and stoic, I wish I could be Rudy.  I wish I could be a gun slinging hero with my friends close by my side.  Rudy was the outcast who was chased away for his power.  But despite that, he always held hope.  He went back and saved the people who hurt him, showing them what a true hero was, and when the final guardian of the world, the dragon Zephyr, the west wind of hope, was trapped, it was Rudy's artificial heart which saved him.  If I had even a fraction of Rudy's strength and hope, I could rule this world.  But I wouldn't.  Cause Rudy wouldn't.

The Gunslinger is ostracized for his beliefs and feared for his power.  Yet he never loses his pride or his principles.  His aim is sharp, his heart strong, and his spirit as free as the wind.

Adol Christian (Ys Series)

Adol Christian, or Adol the Red as he is sometimes called is quite possibly the ultimate adventurer.  He's saved the world eight times and each time he does, it seems like there's a beautiful maiden waiting for him to settle down and be her beloved.  But each time, Adol continues exploring, looking for new vistas to see and new challenges to face.  And a good thing to, since he's one of the few swordsmen who not only routinely battles gods and monsters seeking to destroy whole countries or the world, but who is also genuinely likable.  Despite being ruggedly attractive, Adol never comes off as a cheat or a player and there's an air of tragedy to his departing those who love him.  But part of his journey is knowing he can always come back to visit.  I'd love to be Adol.  Skilled with both blade and mind, a kind hearted soul, handsome to the point of ridiculousness, has an amazing roster of friends who will always look out for him, and gifted with wanderlust, which guarantees adventures for him for the foreseeable future, Adol Christian is the kind of wandering swordsman we all dreamed we could be since we were kids.  I adore Adol because he does all the things I'd want to do if I could just sling a sword on my back and head towards the horizon.

The Adventurer's greatest weakness is his wanderlust.  Forever seeking new quests and people to save, he is never still and always on the move.  Those he leaves behind mourn for his departure, but the adventure continues...and some day, he shall return.

Hyakkimaru (Blood Will Tell)

This is actually kind of an odd choice, all things considered.  Hyakkimaru has lived a terrible life, with his father selling his organs to demons before he was born.  He would have died as a babe if an advanced herbalist had not healed him, given him a new body, and installed weapons in his limbs to go hunt the demons who took his organs.  Hyakkimaru is the kind of bad ass we all wish we could be.  He's a Japanese samurai, in feudal era Japan, with detachable arms which hide blades, a machinegun in his elbow, a rocket launcher in his leg, and on top of all that, he's a master swordsman in his own right.  He takes down demons every day, some the size of mountains, and doesn't even blink.  What's more, though, is that Hyakkimaru is always experiencing new things.  His life starts out bad, but when he gets his eyes back, he sees the world for the first time.  When he gets his nose or ears, he can hear and smell.  When he gets his vocal cords, he marvels at the sounds he can make.  His life is always getting better.  Coupled with a rapscallion named Dororo who keeps him honest, Hyakkimaru is an interesting twist on the samurai archetype and one I wish I could be.  Also, interesting note, Dororo is actually a girl and full grown by the time the game ends.  What can a world weary samurai and his friend for years, now a full grown woman, do together, I wonder?

The Cripple is born without hope or a future.  His weakness shall become his strength as he plods forward against the tides of destiny.  He shall protect the weak and fight for his lost youth.  He shall be a samurai.

Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

Kingdom Hearts is a whimsical little series, where the magical world of Disney works hand in hand with the grittier, more mature Final Fantasy series.  At the heart of Kingdom Hearts is Sora.  This kid is like an adventurer's dream.  He grew up on a tropical island most of his life with his best friends, sought out adventure in a bigger world, and was gifted with the power to wield the Keyblade, the greatest weapon of all.  He is the bridge between worlds for other characters, a pure hearted, honest youth who's greatest goal is to save his friends, and despite all this, is one helluva fighter.  Whether soaring through space in a gummi ship or exploring the sands of the desert outside of Agrabah, Sora is like all our childhood dreams, fostered by movies and imagination, rolled together.  Partnered with the comedic pair of Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora is prepared for any situation, no matter how grim, because he knows he can count on his allies.  To the point where even if it goes against their mission, Donald and Goofy refuse to abandon their friend.  Sora's also extremely powerful, shown to not only be nimble enough to dodge around large enemies and use their strength and smaller foes to his advantage, but also strong enough to cleave through whole buildings with his Keyblade.  Face it, at one point in life we all wish we could pal around with the Disney gang and later on, gamers often wish they could meet the Final Fantasy crowd.  Sora gets to do all this and more.  To a child of any age seeking adventure, he's a dream come true.

The Keymaster holds the ultimate weapon.  He wields the key to the hearts of worlds.  He unlocks the hearts of his friends.  He restores the hearts of the fallen.  The true power he wields is kindness.

            And these are the power fantasies of a simple gamer.  Many of us wish to visit strange new worlds or take to the road with sword in hand and a song in our heart, but society has changed from the medieval settings or the wild west archetypes we see in movies.  You really can't get anywhere in the world without identification, money, and connections...it's not possible to really go wandering, as these heroes do.  Which is why they're so precious to me and why I'd like to be them.  I've lived my life vicariously through these heroes and would love a chance to see their worlds first hand.  If nothing else, these heroes and their worlds are just fun.  They're worth exploring more than once.  To me, that's the sign of a great game and a great character.  Someone we want to be in a world we can't help but revisit.