Last time, you decided that ding! is superior to the Howie scream. This week, I suppose it''s a matter of spectacle. Do you want to do ridiculously cool things or have ridiculously horrible things done unto you? Tell me, what''s better: ridiculous spell animations or the mangled hands of Ethan Winters?
One of my favourite moments in RPGs is coming into a back-alley brawl with misguided muggers who don''t realise I have endgame magic. While they brandish bronze daggers, my mage blasts a laser into outer space, shattering an asteroid, and drawing the fragments down to rain meteors upon the poor bandits. Overkill, though.
I''ve discovered that my first encounter with dreadful spell animations was in Planescape: Torment. Perhaps my first was Mechanus Cannon, a spell that forms a gigantic cannon to charge up, then opens a portal to fire into your target. Absurd. Planescape also has spells that summon angels from outer space, pull enemies down into hell, and other ridiculousness. However, I''ve discovered all that''s nothing compared to some JRPG spells, which
I appreciate non only the absurdly colorful displays of special effects (which artists must delight in!) but the philosophical and moral implications of using a literal god to deal catastrophic damage to beat up just some guy. It''s funny when sometimes that guy isn''t even killed by a spell that should vaporize all life within hundreds of miles.
Ethan Winters'' left hand is cut off and then removed from the wound, until a poisonous monkey bites his fingers. A sexy girl cleans his hands with a knife, and his hair is mysteriously still attached. He then removes his palm, causing his bodies to collapse. He is then dragged through his lips, which he then collects as an inventory item. I''ll remember how many other incidents he encounters across the two games. I''m amazed by how many times people
Even if we get shifted, we don''t see much of new outfits, we often have a limited perception of other characters'' reactions, we don''t see limping animations, or bloodsplats on our body, it''s mostly us and our gun-holding hands (and, if we are very lucky, our visible legs). RE 7 and 8age focus their trauma, waving it in our face. It''s all absurd, but you feel Ethan going through hell (and the absurdity does
I''m still a little irritated that Alone In The Dark''s jacket inventory won''t win the game, but I''ll still show up and say this thing seen only in these two games is one of my very favorite things in all games.
I''m going to turn this over entirely for you. Tell me dear, reader, which thing is better?
Pick your winner, vote in the below, and make your case in the comments in order to encourage others. Next week, we''ll investigate which item will be triumphant and continue the great contest.
