“Wow, we sure crossed the Spec Ops: The Line.”
I didn’t like how this game delivered its message.
“Gee, you sure are in a pickle. Maybe use some of that white phosphorus over there!”
Nah I’m good.
“Hmm sure are lots of enemies though. Should probably use some of that white phosphorus!”
Are the enemies just going to keep spawning until I do?
“…yes”
Alright, fine. I’ll use the white phosphorus.
“USING WHITE PHOSPHORUS IS A WAR CRIME! YOURE A WAR CRIMINAL! DO YOU FEEL LIKE A HERO??”
Bruh…
It’s essentially a reflection of how Walker feels in that situation. You’re pretty much supposed to feel like you didn’t have a choice because at the same time that’s how Walker felt.
Even though Walker did have a choice at the very beginning. He was supposed to scout the area out and return with his findings, he was never supposed to go deeper into Dubai like he did. But at every step he convinced himself that he had no choice but to do so. Culminating in the white phosphorus event.
That’s kind of the point. Most other war games don’t give you a choice either, but we find that acceptable because they reward us. Of course, this isn’t how war actually is, but we tend not to criticize that despite how a lot of these games are blatant propaganda. Spec Ops turns that around and actually makes you face the consequences of your actions. It even points out the excuse of the lack of choice.
At the end of Undertale, there’s a mirror you can interact with, and the response is “Despite everything, it’s still you.” I don’t know why that’s stuck with me, but it has.
I don’t remember the exact line, but fairly far in the game half minute hero, there was a stage where there was a ghost you could befriend and later you encounter it in battle and avoid killing it by tapping the escape button to move back and forth to not hit it until it came to it’s senses or whatever. The asshole dev move though was to give you the “duel greaves” shortly before this encounter which provide great stats while disabling running away.
Being called a liar after being forced to kill the ghost has been my lifelong emotional trauma.
“War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other”
- Niko Bellic
“Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.” -Mordin Solus, Mass Effect
“I’m going to the last place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism… SPACE!”
Capitalism. Tim Curry was the Communist in this scenario.
Oh you are totally right, my bad
For me, it was definitely when Kratos is speaking to Mimir to warn Mimir about seeking vengeance. Mimir snaps at him, saying of all people, you’re one to talk! And Kratos replies:
“I am an authority on the subject. You would do well to listen."
Honestly, this interaction impacted my perception of people and when they have insight that is counter to their behavior.
I also found the “Do Not Mistake My Silence For Lack Of Grief.” Quote very fitting. Just because you are not showing it doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.
“Remember us… Remember that we once lived…”
And
“So let there be no way back. From that temptation I sunder us. No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.”
From Final Fantasy XIV. There are so many more, but those two stick out the most in my mind.
And I suppose “for those that we have lost, and those we can yet save.” For my favorite recurring line.
Probably not the absolute most touching, but, yeah, I think it’s a pretty touching scene in context.
Spoilers for Brok the Investigator:
During chapter 2 there’s a scene where Brok and Graff go up to a spot where Brok and Graffs mom used to go on dates, outside the dome. They have a father son bonding moment and at one point Graff asks:
Is it… wrong if I can’t remember her? Not just her but… My father too.
It’s an emotional moment where he wonders if not being able to remember his birth parents makes him a bad person and to me is a pretty emotional moment, with the music playing a just as equal role as making it emotional as the voice acting does.
All you had to do was follow the damn train CJ
Aw shit, here we go again
You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are forerunner, but this ring, Is mine.
That one gave me both the feels and goosebumps the first time I heard it.
Doomguy dropped quite the gem at the end of his story.
“No.”
Final Fanatasy x:
“Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!”
- Auron
There sure must be a lot of better candidates, but this one comes to my mind:
We can forget happy things. We can probably forget sad things too. People have the power to forget.
One of my favorites is from Hollow Knight; at the start of the game, Quirrel makes a comment about your weapon not being very good, saying you should pick one off a corpse as “the dead shouldn’t be burdened by such things.” Later in the game after you kill the teacher and talk to Quirrel for the last time, when you come back, all that’s left is his weapon.
