Sonic War

I recently started playing through my old Playstation collection again, and rediscovered the joys of Suikoden II and Final Fantasy VIII. I remembered the countless hours I spent playing these games and other RPGS in my childhood and my teenage years (hours I DIDN’T spend in Church), and it set me a-thinking…

Since the beginning of Human history, mankind has used narratives, fables, and songs to impart the values of one generation onto the next. The world’s great religions sprung up from these oral traditions and the divine unknown. Today’s traditional societal values are actually the roots of ancient cultures. Religions have filled their role very well over many thousands of years, and they still continue to be a driving force in the world today. In America, Japan, and countries all over the world, though, There is a new platform for the communication of morals and values…

The Gaming Industry.

The Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1985, three years before I was born. Kids born from the early 80’s through today’s generation have never really known a time without accessible and family-friendly video games to play. One of the landmark moments in all of gaming was the release of the first Final Fantasy on the NES. Never before had a video game held such a rich story, a massive world, and freedom of play. Final Fantasy II only expanded on this now legendary franchise, and the seeds of one of the greatest storytelling series in history were sown. The Legend of Zelda for NES also set huge precedents in the RPG world. Further down the road, the Playstation 1 Saw some of the best and most influential RPGs of all time: Final Fantasy VII, which many consider the best Role-Playing game of all time, Suikoden I and its masterpiece sequel, Suikoden II (which I consider the best RPG of all time), Star Ocean 2, Final Fantasy VIII, Xenogears, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and many, many others. Nintendo also made HUGE strides in the introduction of RPGs to younger children with the Pokemon series on GameBoy around this time. An entire generation of boys and girls, some of whom are now men and women, grew up playing iconic, groundbreaking games which tell some of the best stories ever written in an interactive, entertaining way.

What effect does this have on children?

For a growing number of Americans, religion is becoming less important. Many will pay lip service to their belief in God, while many others have outright denounced their religious beliefs. This doesn’t make them evil; It means that the times are changing. Societal values no longer need to be bludgeoned into our heads week after week in church. Everything moves faster now, kids are involved in more activities that their parents desperately pray will build their child’s character, and more children grow up in front of television screens. How do communicate your values to those unwilling to learn? You put a controller in their hand and let them do it themselves. Kids connect with entertaining stories – they connect even moreso with those that they feel they are a part of. As I stated earlier, storytelling for the sake of imparting beliefs and values has long been a staple of religion.

I’ll use the examples I know the best – the two Genso Suikoden games for the original Playstation. I was never forced to go to church as a child, but every night when it came time for bed my dad would read Science Fiction and Fantasy classics to me and my brother (This included the complete Lord of the Rings with props, voices, sound effects, and songs where appropriate). My insatiable lust for a good story drove me to video games, and I remember vividly the first time I plugged the crappy little Playstation RPG “Beyond the Beyond” into my console and played through it. I was hooked, and like a child buying his first bicycle, when it came time for me to purchase my first video game I went straight to the RPG section. I picked up a relatively unknown game called Suikoden. Its box had pretty cover art and absolutely no indication of a plot, but I decided I’d give it a try for the sake of something new. That decision changed my life forever.

The game’s plot was innovative, deep, and thoroughly touching. It told the story of a young boy from a priveleged family coming of age in a massive empire. The boy soon discovered that though his father defended his emperor to the death, the empire was fundamentally corrupt. Though magic was common, truly powerful magic was limited to twenty-seven rare artifacts called runes. The hero’s best friend, Ted, held one of these runes – The Soul-Eater, the cursed rune of life and death, and when his power was discovered he was hunted down by the empire. Making a choice that would alter the world’s destiny, he passed the rune to the hero, who went on to gather an army of supporters and defeat the empire once and for all. Suikoden contained magic, treasure, dungeons, monsters, and other fantasy staples, but it stood out from its contemporaries. The game contained 108 characters that rallied under the hero, and each of them was unashamedly, undeniably human. Each character had a rich and developed backstory, and through the hero’s quest and this massive supporting cast the game touched on the themes of friendship, love, higher powers, loyalty, family, heroism, rebellion, and death.

Suikoden II, a masterpiece to this day, developed the themes of friendship and destiny more than any other. The protagonist of this game stands against one of the purest villains of all time, the evil prince Luca Blight. With his childhood friend Jowy and his adopted sister Nanami, the hero tries to find himself in a world where things are more complex than he ever thought. The characters are richer, the plot absolutely heartbreaking, and the game leaves a lasting impression on everyone it touches. (An interesting side note:  The game contains the first live-recorded Orchestral piece in any video game, and the music, composed by Miki Higashino, is highly considered the best of any RPG past or present. I consider this game one of the foremost reasons why I ended up pursuing Music as a life long study.)

These games touch people. They bring joy, sadness, anger, and a feeling of heroism and accomplishment to the lives of their players much like an incredible novel will. The characters are relatable and human, the plots sweeping and epic, and they instill a feeling of awe. They share these traits with numerous religious texts around the world.

Am I saying that RPGs should be worshipped in the same way as deities in major religions are? No. I’m saying that societal values like friendship, loyalty, love, piety, courage, honesty, and perseverance don’t need to be taught by religions anymore. Some of the best Roleplaying Games can be considered defining works of art and literature like their printed companions. Drama, Music, The Written Word, and other forms of media have been intruding on this role for millennia; Now, I feel that Video Games have secured their place in that lofty pantheon. Just like literature, just like drama, and dare I say, just like religions – For every groundbreaking and truly touching work, there are hundreds of pieces of complete and utter shit. However, the pieces that do stand out are golden and define entire generations and cultures.

Including the fat, ambiguous-gender Cosplay culture. God Dammit, Japan.