Beyond the Narrative

Art, if it truly IS art, has an intrinsic value beyond its thematic depiction. Whether it be a painting, a novel, a piece of music, or, yes, a game, there is some way that these various media give (or at least *CAN* give) glory to God. As an amateur critic of gaming, I've often seized on the narrative of a particular game as the reason for its moral worth (or lack thereof), even as I never neglected to critique the technical aspects of a game, as well. But if narratives are the only "real" reason games are worth our time, then we're probably better off sticking to novels. I'm quite convinced that there is some way in which particular game play systems are themselves an art. I've written about this before, and I've cited Ratzinger's "Spirit of the Liturgy" in my defense. I'd like to know what other people think about this. Are gameplay systems themselves an art form?

Disdain for new Mario game inspires soul-searching

As a kid, I idolized all of Nintendo's Mario games. I played the original NES trilogy to death, had Mario lunch boxes, pajamas, hats, and recorded the Super Mario Bros. Super Show every afternoon. That fondness extended past Elementary school: after a short relationship with Sega, the only consoles I ever purchased were Nintendo ones, which is true even as recently as my Wii purchase a few years ago.

Even recently, I made it a point to do something I always wanted to do: finish Super Mario Bros. 3 in its entirety, no warp whistles allowed. Doing that has to be one of my greatest gaming moments, alongside finishing Final Fantasy VII with every secret unlocked and those times my sister and I played Dance Dance Revolution in the arcades.

So you'd think when I got my hands on New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii (late to the party, I know), I'd be ecstatic. A throwback to those simpler times in my life. One of the most critically acclaimed games ever made by Nintendo. Mario the way I'd once loved him.

I hated it. Every single moment of that game was agony. I tried telling myself that maybe things weren't so bad, just keep playing and you'll get around to liking it. But after 20 minutes, I dropped the controller and just stared at the TV with nothing but contempt.

It had been months since I'd played a Mario game, so I know I'm not fatigued by it. It was just so alarming to see something I loved and cherished so much as a kid turn into something that I hated with such vile contempt. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has seen their tastes evolve, but this latest chapter actually makes me sad. There's so much history to Mario and I that it almost feels like a horrible breakup (a bit melodramatic, but you get the point).

Maybe I've done everything I possibly can with Mario. Maybe it's time to move on and devote myself more fully to other genres. Maybe my next gaming system should be something other than a Nintendo one (I love my PSP, and while I really like Zelda, that's the only Nintendo first-party franchise that I truly care about).

Without sounding too high and mighty, maybe the birth of my daughter four weeks ago flipped some switch in my brain. Not sure if anyone else has had that happen to them, but given the fact that I'm grinding through Final Fantasy I in my free-time, I doubt that birth flipped much of a switch, as I still love gaming. Still, the words of St. Paul do run through my brain: when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

There are a lot of faith aspects to this that are running through my head. The main thing is the fact that I pretty much worshipped Mario as a kid to the point of idolatry. Part of the reason I bought all of those Nintendo consoles is that childhood love of Mario: If I bought something different, it was like I was crapping all over my childhood and cursing a friend (when in reality, it's just a corporate product, not a true friend). Being disgusted with a Mario game makes me look back and start thinking about other things I've put in front of God. Playing on the computer. Work. Sports. Games. If I want to keep those other things from disgusting me at some point down the road, I'd better get my priorities straightened out.

Rest in peace, childhood memories.. I'll find another Mario really soon. And this time, I won't put it on such a pedestal.

3DS Troubles

So for the second time since I first purchased my 3DS at launch day last March, I've had to send it in to Nintendo for repair. The first time, something went wrong with the gyroscope. The system would automatically shut down when I would apply pressure to it. Now, the circle pad/control stick is messed up. Both problems apparently require Nintendo's own folks to fix. :/

Fortunately, my brother has his own 3DS and I can just mooch off of him when I want to play Tales of the Abyss. But has anyone else had trouble with their 3DS like I have?

Soul Calibur 5 Releases Today?!?!

Seriously, How did I miss this?

Head over to the Cross and the Controller to view the hilariously awesome launch trailer.

You can also read my review of the series' previous iteration, Soul Calibur 4, here.

The Cross and the Controller and other "Shameless Plugs"

A friend of mine recently posted a link to this website on my facebook wall, and I figured I'd pass along the favors to the readership here. Check out "The Cross and the Controller" website here:

http://www.thecrossandthecontroller.com/tcatccom/Default.aspx

Also, a certain Colin Malcolm contacted me on facebook recently requesting that I ask around for Catholics who are involved in or interested in game development. While I find it hard to believe that Catholics AREN'T involved in this industry, I do think Colin presents an interesting question. How does a Catholic integrate game development into their Catholic faith? I'd love to hear from an actual game developer about this.

On a final note, Merry 4th day of Christmas!

Saying goodbye to Gampro

Although I'm a little late in reporting the news, apparently Gamepro is closing its doors.

I found out about the news while listening to the Retronauts podcast last night, where the group fondly reminisced over Gamepro's history. It made me very sad to think that the majority of its employees have to go through this holiday season without a job.

Gamepro was good to me throughout the years. I got my first issue in November 1995, as a replacement for Sega Visions. They sent a nice letter stating that they were ceasing publication, ,and that the remainder of my subscription would be filled with Gamepro.

And wow, Gamepro was amazing to this 12-year-old kid! Sega Visions was great, don't get me wrong, but Gamepro showed me games outside of the Sega spectrum. I read all about Chrono Trigger and fantasized about owning this game, even though I had no Super Nintendo to speak of. They had articles about going to school to become a game designer, features on hot arcade games, and an awesome editor named Johnny Ballgame (the greatest Gamepro editor that ever lived).

In fact, Gamepro was my first published article on anything! In issue #125 (December 1999), I wrote to Gamepro asking why the N64 only had kiddie and racing games, instead of more "mature" games like the Playstation. Gamepro replied that I needed to look around and see that the N64 had a lot more than just racing and kiddie games. True, the N64 had some amazing games, like Zelda and Goldeneye (two games I loved), but I still think I was right on the money when I said the N64 was filled with racing games.

I since quit subscribing to Gamepro in the early 2000s, and up until 7 years ago, I had all my back issues stored in the closet. I wish I had kept them, as they'd be a nice thing to relive.

Since this is a religious gaming web site, I wanted to post my memories as a reminder that the people we love and look up to are always in need of prayers. Definitely keep the good folks from Gamepro, and the others without work this holiday season, in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless.

Finding Catholicism in Final Fantasy VII

Notice: This article contain spoilers related to the storyline of Final Fantasy VII. If you're looking to replay this game (about $10 on Playstation Network), you should really skip this article until you finish the game.

A friend of mine, who is the father of two, recently gave me some sound advice.

"Do everything you like to do now," Chris told me a few weeks ago when I asked if he had any parenting advice for me (my wife and I are expecting a baby girl in late February). And when it comes to video games, I've taken that advice to heart. I spent five-and-a-half hours completing Super Mario Bros. 3 without any warp whistles back in August, knowing full well that 330 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay will not happen with an infant in the house.

I then extended that logic to Final Fantasy VII. I've been playing that nonstop on my PSP. I never finished the game when I first played it in 1999, nor did I finish it when I tried again in early 2010 (foolishly selling my PSP for a DS, only to turn around and sell the DS to get a PSP 15 months later). This time though, I was determined to win the game.

And not just win the game. I wanted to get all the secrets. I wanted to actually succeed at that stupid Chocobo breeding, get the crazy awesome materia that I was too lazy to get on previous playthroughs, and feel a sense of unrushed accomplishment when I finished the game.

And I succeeded, well, for the most part. I did get that Gold Chocobo through breeding (his name was Neil), which allowed me to get the good materia, like Knights of the Round, but I didn't waste my time killing those giant monster weapons that roamed the planet (with the exception of Ultimate because I needed Cloud's ultimate weapon).

And last night, at 3:00 a.m., after nearly 50 hours of gameplay, I finally defeated the game. Were my Catholic sensibilities assailed throughout this game? Actually, I was able to find some positive elements in the game. Yes, a game that deals with people dying and returning to the planet's lifestream is far from what Christianity teaches. I realize that. But if you look past that, you can find elements and ideas our Faith would support and champion.

Such as:

• Life is sacred. The game shows why we should not try to "play God" when it comes trying to create life through artificial means. Professor Hojo tries to create clones of the main antagonist Sephiroth on two characters, Cloud (the main protagonist) and Zack. The result is a painful discovery by Cloud that many of his memories are falsely implanted. The game would agree with paragraph 2273 of the Catechism, which states "Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."


Sephiroth himself was created through natural conception, but during the pregnancy gets injected with "cells" from an alleged supernatural being. Again, I see this is as a definite violation of the Church's teaching that the integrity of a person should be respected.

Later in the game, Hojo tries to convince Cloud that he's nothing more than a failed experiment. But that line of thinking fails when Cloud's friends convince him that he's not a failure. Cloud realizes that, which to me says that no matter what bad things have happened to us in the past, we can still rise above those misfortunes and honor God with our lives.

And while not specific to FF7, the characters all feel the need to save the planet and it's people.

• Good intentions do not justify evil acts. In the beginning of the game, Cloud joins a terrorist group named AVALANCHE, which is made up two other main characters, Barrett and Tifa. The group is labeled a terrorist group because they end up destroying a MAKO reactor due to the (rightful) belief that the corporation SHINRA is killing the planet by using MAKO energy for electricity.

And while the group had good intentions (taking down Shinra), they soon realize that maybe they weren't doing the right thing after all. The Church would agree, as paragraph 1753 says "A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The end does not justify the means."

Barrett and the group later realize that by destroying that reactor, a lot of innocent lives were lost, and that their terrorist actions made them no better than Shinra.

• Church is a sacred place. Early in the game, Cloud meets Aeris (I named her Sarah) inside of a Church. Despite the decrepit slums that surrounded the church, flowers managed to grow and look beautiful in this building. Even one of the villains orders his troops not to step on the flowers. I liked this respect that this church was afforded in the game.

• Our abilities are gifts from God. While the Materia system in this game is inherently flawed (you can just slap any of the materia onto the characters and they immediately know the magic) and not nearly as good as previous job systems like in Final Fantasy V, I think it subtly shows that the talents that we have are a gift from God. God, not ourselves, is the source of our talents and abilities, just like Materia was the source of the characters magical abilities. Take the materia/God away, and we're left with nothing. Yes, God gives us the opportunity to hone our abilities (much like you have to build up the Materia), but we should always give thanks to him for what he has provided.

• The power of Prayer. When Aeris decided to stop Sephiroth, she didn't take any weapons. Nope, she just prayed. And while she ended up dying while praying, it was her faith and prayers that made it possible for the characters to defeat Sephiroth in the end.

Yes, there are things that you could find objectionable to our faith, such as the lifestream and cross-dressing (done for humor purposes, not erotic), but you almost always have to look past those things when playing a Japanese RPG. You aren't going to find explicit faith in most of these games. But, as the Busted Halo Show teaches me on Thursday nights, it is possible to find positive spiritual messages throughout our pop culture, including video games.

I thank you for joining me on this faith-filled look at one of the most hyped RPGs of all time. Anyone have any suggestions for another RPG to occupy the next few months of my life? I'm thinking either Final Fantasy IV or Lunar?