Algus Underdunk
Smash Journeyman
For such an upbeat game, Smash Brothers Brawl plays host to two of the most undoubtedly tragic characters to ever appear in videogames.
I'm speaking of course, of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series, and Lucas, from Mother 3, the latest in the Earthbound/Mother series of games.
WARNING BEFORE I BEGIN, I won't be mincing words, so if you want to avoid spoilers about either series, best get out now.
Solid Snake. He's a badass, that's for sure. He's lethal, efficient, and combat ready at all times. But when playing through the Metal Gear series, you come to realize that being a jacked up crack commando isn't as glamorous as you thought it would be. War isn't pretty, and that's something that Snake's games bring to light numerous times, as you'll find yourself feeling bad about killing your enemies, especially when the story reveals to you that you're both simply soldiers employed by your respective causes to kill one another. It's nothing personal, but one of you has to die.
Those of you who listened to the Metal Gear Solid 4 Love Suite musical update will take particular note that, while the music is definitely something that instills you with an urge to battle and dynamically fight off your enemies, there's also an infinite sense of sadness to the music.
Snake himself is in actuality a clone, of a soldier named Big Boss, previously called Naked Snake. Big Boss himself was a former soldier, working hard to save the world from dangerous thugs, and meeting just as many tough lessons about life as his prodigy eventually would. Big Boss was later killed by his own flesh and blood, Solid Snake. Big Boss's own ideals and concepts eventually led him to side against those Solid Snake worked for and, nothing personal, but Snake had a job to do.
Snake then discovers that he has two brothers, Liquid and Solidus. He does battle with both of them, killing Liquid in the first Metal Gear Solid, and battling Solidus in the next. Essentially, Snake's killed his own family, but in all fairness they did try to kill him first.
Finally, for those of you who've seen shots of Metal Gear Solid 4, you may notice a much older Solid Snake. Sad to say, time hasn't jumped ahead 50 years, we're not seeing the future after Snake has had a nice long life. The cloning process has aged him rapidly, so we're literally watching the character die before our eyes as we play.
...That's nearly a textbook definition of a tragic hero. But whereas Snake's tragedy is mostly intrapersonal (emotions, his relations with other people, etc.), Lucas's tragedy happens on a much more global scale.
Mother 3 begins with an ideal world of peace and tranquility. People barter with one another, offer free room and board, a close-knit community that respects one another, and helps out whenever there's trouble. Lucas, and his twin brother Claus, are at their grandfather's house with Hinawa, their mother. Their dad's back home near the village watching after his flock like a good shepherd.
Meanwhile, in comes Pokey Minch from Earthbound (Mother 2) and his Pigmask Army. Their first step is to carpet bomb the forests, causing a huge panic. At the same time, they begin stealing away animals for strange experimentation. Don't think this is the same experimentation people do to find cures for diseases or help the world. They're literally hacking animals apart and sewing them back together to make designer creatures to sell to other people, for entertainment, security, etc. But wait, it gets worse.
Flint (Lucas and Claus's dad) is called upon to help put out the fires and rescue people trapped in the forest. While doing this, he's unaware of the attack taking place at the house where Lucas, Claus and Hinawa are. He races to get there, the path obstructed at every turn. When he finally manages to get there, Lucas and Claus are wet and shivering by a fire, and the villagers sadly reveal to Flint that Hinawa's dead, her body found with a drago-tooth pierced through her heart.
In a fury, Flint madly swings a blazing two-by-four in a blind fury. He's quickly subdued and thrown in jail to cool off. While he does, Lucas's brother Claus takes it upon himself to avenge mom, and goes storming off to fight the beast that killed her. Keep in mind, Lucas and Claus are only about six or seven years old at this point. Claus gets killed, his body gets lost, and things get worse.
We cut forward several years. Lucas is now somewhat older, and all of society has been changed thanks to the Pigmask Army and Pokey's insane ego. The once peaceful village is now a military state where people are put to work nonstop. Anyone who disobeys is either carted off or punished severely. In short, reality for Lucas is a nightmare for the rest of us.
Lucas, with a group of strange people (Kumatora, Duster, Boney, and also folks like Salsa the monkey) fights to stop the Pigmask Army, and essentially bring down society. He ends up fighting Pokey Minch, whose body has become withered and twisted from the rigors of time travel, and then Pokey's general, his own reanimated brother Claus.
At the end of their fight, Claus regains his memory thanks to the assistance of Flint and Hinawa's spirit, and he then kills himself, horrified by what he's become. Lucas, in one final act, removes the final needle that kept the dragon who dwells beneath the world asleep, and all the world is swept up in an apocalypse that wipes the slate clean.
Granted, this also resets the world and gives everyone a second chance at a Pokey Minch-free life, but it's also an incredibly grim story of loss.
In Snake's case, he never really knew his father or brothers, and they were all kind of nuts so it wasn't that difficult for him to battle them, psychologically speaking. But for Lucas, he was battling his own twin brother who died when they were just kids, just to see which of them would get to destroy the world.
So take it as you will, now you know a little more about them, and suffice to say, they're easily two of the most tragic characters that Smash Brothers will ever play host to.
(Also, Samus Aran is both a triumphat/tragic figure, and Ike story is fairly sad.)
I'm speaking of course, of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series, and Lucas, from Mother 3, the latest in the Earthbound/Mother series of games.
WARNING BEFORE I BEGIN, I won't be mincing words, so if you want to avoid spoilers about either series, best get out now.
Solid Snake. He's a badass, that's for sure. He's lethal, efficient, and combat ready at all times. But when playing through the Metal Gear series, you come to realize that being a jacked up crack commando isn't as glamorous as you thought it would be. War isn't pretty, and that's something that Snake's games bring to light numerous times, as you'll find yourself feeling bad about killing your enemies, especially when the story reveals to you that you're both simply soldiers employed by your respective causes to kill one another. It's nothing personal, but one of you has to die.
Those of you who listened to the Metal Gear Solid 4 Love Suite musical update will take particular note that, while the music is definitely something that instills you with an urge to battle and dynamically fight off your enemies, there's also an infinite sense of sadness to the music.
Snake himself is in actuality a clone, of a soldier named Big Boss, previously called Naked Snake. Big Boss himself was a former soldier, working hard to save the world from dangerous thugs, and meeting just as many tough lessons about life as his prodigy eventually would. Big Boss was later killed by his own flesh and blood, Solid Snake. Big Boss's own ideals and concepts eventually led him to side against those Solid Snake worked for and, nothing personal, but Snake had a job to do.
Snake then discovers that he has two brothers, Liquid and Solidus. He does battle with both of them, killing Liquid in the first Metal Gear Solid, and battling Solidus in the next. Essentially, Snake's killed his own family, but in all fairness they did try to kill him first.
Finally, for those of you who've seen shots of Metal Gear Solid 4, you may notice a much older Solid Snake. Sad to say, time hasn't jumped ahead 50 years, we're not seeing the future after Snake has had a nice long life. The cloning process has aged him rapidly, so we're literally watching the character die before our eyes as we play.
...That's nearly a textbook definition of a tragic hero. But whereas Snake's tragedy is mostly intrapersonal (emotions, his relations with other people, etc.), Lucas's tragedy happens on a much more global scale.
Mother 3 begins with an ideal world of peace and tranquility. People barter with one another, offer free room and board, a close-knit community that respects one another, and helps out whenever there's trouble. Lucas, and his twin brother Claus, are at their grandfather's house with Hinawa, their mother. Their dad's back home near the village watching after his flock like a good shepherd.
Meanwhile, in comes Pokey Minch from Earthbound (Mother 2) and his Pigmask Army. Their first step is to carpet bomb the forests, causing a huge panic. At the same time, they begin stealing away animals for strange experimentation. Don't think this is the same experimentation people do to find cures for diseases or help the world. They're literally hacking animals apart and sewing them back together to make designer creatures to sell to other people, for entertainment, security, etc. But wait, it gets worse.
Flint (Lucas and Claus's dad) is called upon to help put out the fires and rescue people trapped in the forest. While doing this, he's unaware of the attack taking place at the house where Lucas, Claus and Hinawa are. He races to get there, the path obstructed at every turn. When he finally manages to get there, Lucas and Claus are wet and shivering by a fire, and the villagers sadly reveal to Flint that Hinawa's dead, her body found with a drago-tooth pierced through her heart.
In a fury, Flint madly swings a blazing two-by-four in a blind fury. He's quickly subdued and thrown in jail to cool off. While he does, Lucas's brother Claus takes it upon himself to avenge mom, and goes storming off to fight the beast that killed her. Keep in mind, Lucas and Claus are only about six or seven years old at this point. Claus gets killed, his body gets lost, and things get worse.
We cut forward several years. Lucas is now somewhat older, and all of society has been changed thanks to the Pigmask Army and Pokey's insane ego. The once peaceful village is now a military state where people are put to work nonstop. Anyone who disobeys is either carted off or punished severely. In short, reality for Lucas is a nightmare for the rest of us.
Lucas, with a group of strange people (Kumatora, Duster, Boney, and also folks like Salsa the monkey) fights to stop the Pigmask Army, and essentially bring down society. He ends up fighting Pokey Minch, whose body has become withered and twisted from the rigors of time travel, and then Pokey's general, his own reanimated brother Claus.
At the end of their fight, Claus regains his memory thanks to the assistance of Flint and Hinawa's spirit, and he then kills himself, horrified by what he's become. Lucas, in one final act, removes the final needle that kept the dragon who dwells beneath the world asleep, and all the world is swept up in an apocalypse that wipes the slate clean.
Granted, this also resets the world and gives everyone a second chance at a Pokey Minch-free life, but it's also an incredibly grim story of loss.
In Snake's case, he never really knew his father or brothers, and they were all kind of nuts so it wasn't that difficult for him to battle them, psychologically speaking. But for Lucas, he was battling his own twin brother who died when they were just kids, just to see which of them would get to destroy the world.
So take it as you will, now you know a little more about them, and suffice to say, they're easily two of the most tragic characters that Smash Brothers will ever play host to.
(Also, Samus Aran is both a triumphat/tragic figure, and Ike story is fairly sad.)
Interesting story however *Claps*.
