Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 163

Halo 5 Rated T – What Does This Mean for the Flood?

The ESRB rating has been released for Halo 5: Guardians. Halo 5 has been rated T, making it the first main-series Halo game not to receive an M rating.

Now, if you know the kinds of games I play, you know the age rating doesn’t matter to me. E, T, M, or whatever, I don’t care. So in general, I have no problem with a T-rated Halo 5.

Unless it means no Flood.

I always liked the Flood. I enjoyed the element of horror they added to the Halo story, and when I finished Halo 4, I hoped the sequel would bring back the Flood and another Gravemind.

There have been a lot of rumors that the Flood would be in Halo 5, in part because of the Reclaimer Saga’s strong ties to the Forerunner Saga. The Flood played a key role in the revelations of the Forerunner Saga, which sets them up as a looming threat.

Several other clues suggested the Flood would return.

So, what does this have to do with Halo 5’s rating? Well, people often question why the Halo series was ever rated Mature. Compared to other games on the market, it isn’t particularly violent, and it lacks the profanity or sexual content that would demand an M rating.

In an interview with Gamasutra back in 2007, Bungie cited the Flood as a primary reason for the game’s rating. This matches a common anecdote (for which I was unable to find a source, so if you find it, feel free to leave the link in the comments) that Halo: Combat Evolve was going to be rated Teen until the ESRB saw the Flood.

Are the Flood scary or gory enough to make the game Mature? That’s subjective, but a more important question is whether or not the ESRB still thinks so. Unless the ESRB’s stance has changed, Halo 5’s T rating could mean the Flood won’t return after all.

On the other hand, Halo Wars got away with the Flood, so maybe times have simply changed.

What do you think? Does the rating have any bearing on whether or not the Flood will appear in Halo 5: Guardians? Let me know in the comments below.

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Mini-Games I’d Love to See in FFXIV’s Gold Saucer

Gamescom didn’t leave us with much Final Fantasy XV news, so let’s talk more about Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn instead. One of the primary reasons Final Fantasy XIV became my first MMORPG is because I fell in love with that haven of mini-games, the Gold Saucer.

While FFXIV’s Gold Saucer has several fun mini-games already, including Triple Triad and Chocobo Racing, I’d love to see more added. Here are some mini-games from Final Fantasy’s past that would make the Manderville Gold Saucer even better.

G Bike

Final Fantasy VII’s motorcycle scene hasn’t held up well, but polished controls could make it a lot of fun. For those of you who haven’t played FFVII, the basic idea of this mini-game is that you ride a motorcycle down a highway and attack enemy riders when they get too near.

It’s popular enough to get a mobile game based on it, so it should be a successful addition to Final Fantasy XIV.

Snowboarding

Similarly, the Final Fantasy VII Snow Game needs to be refined, but many players would love to snowboard down an obstacle-strewn mountain slope collecting balloons. It also received a mobile tie-in, so there’s clearly fan interest.

Ghost Hotel

There’s nothing weird at all about having a haunted house section in Final Fantasy VII, right? FFVII’s Gold Saucer has a single inn–the Ghost Hotel, a haunted house environment with creepy denizens, spooky scenery, and Kefka’s laugh.

Not only would the Ghost Hotel be an amusing change of mood for Final Fantasy XIV’s Gold Saucer, but it’s perfect for GATEs. Just imagine the sorts of special events you could have in a haunted house. It may not be a mini-game itself, but I’d love to see it added.

Plays

We’ll be done with FFVII’s Gold Saucer soon, I swear, but first let’s consider the play. During part of Final Fantasy VII, you are chosen to participate in a play at the Event Square. You get to choose your lines when it’s Cloud’s turn to speak, and the lines you choose determines how well the play goes.

Whether it uses dialogue options or emotes, this could be a fun step up from FFXIV’s The Time of My Life GATE, where you mimic NPC actions. Maybe it could even incorporate shout-outs to Final Fantasy VI’s famous opera scene, or the play from Final Fantasy IX.

Blitzball

I’ll be honest, I hated Blitzball. I know lots of Final Fantasy X fans loved it, though, to the point where some put more hours into Blitzball than into the main game. For FFXIV, players could join teams, or maybe each Free Companies could have a team. Practice bouts, matches, and tournaments could make Blitzball a Gold Saucer mainstay.

Tetra Master

While not as famous as Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX also had a game in which you placed cards on a grid to capture your opponent’s cards. Each card in Tetra Master had four stats (power, battle class, physical defense, and magical defense), and these stats determined the card’s success in challenges.

It’s more complicated than Triple Triad, but quite fun. Square Enix attempted to make Tetra Master a standalone subscription-based online game, which failed, but maybe it’s not too late to bring it to fans in Final Fantasy XIV.

Chocobo Hot and Cold

One of my favorite Final Fantasy IX mini-games was Chocobo Hot and Cold. Your Chocobo would make different sounds (well, more enthusiastic forms of “Kweh”) to let you know how close you were to buried treasure. Then you could try to dig it up.

A FFXIV variant would probably have you digging up MGP instead of items, and a few little tweaks like that could make it a perfect match.

Well, those are my candidates for the Manderville Gold Saucer. What mini-games and events, from past Final Fantasy games or otherwise, would you love to be added to Final Fantasy XIV?

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Gamescom 2015 Highlights

No catchy title this time. Unlike last year when I shared great games from Gamescom, this year I’m just going to go through a few highlights of what has otherwise been a fairly lackluster show for me.

I went into Gamescom looking forward to two games: Scalebound and Final Fantasy XV. Therefore, I was very excited to watch Microsoft’s briefing to learn more about PlatinumGames’s new exclusive. What I saw didn’t impress me. I hate to say it, but I’m just not sure about Scalebound, and part of it is the protagonist.

When Scalebound was announced, a lot of people wondered if it had a custom protagonist. Well, this guy’s name is Drew. He’s from Earth. Now he’s been transported to the fantasy world of Draconis, where he bonded with a dragon.

And he is incredibly annoying.

Maybe he gets better through character development. But right now I have a hard time seeing the charm that drew me to PlatinumGames with that guy on the screen. It also sounds like Scalebound might be open world, so let’s just say I’m unconvinced.

But Microsoft had more than just Scalebound, so let’s move on. I appreciated hearing more about the Xbox One’s backward compatibility, which I hope will eventually expand to include the Xbox 360 games I have.

They also showed trailers for an adventure game called Thimbleweed Park, which looks old-school and entertaining, and We Happy Few, which… well, I’ll let you see for yourself.

Yeah, that one stood out to me. It’s a survival roguelike, so I don’t know if I’ll play it, but it certainly knows how to set the mood.

Next, the trailer for Dark Souls III was just fantastic and reminded me (yet again) that I need to really get into the Souls series.

The Halo 5 focus was on multiplayer, so I was less interested, especially since it will not have local multiplayer. I’m not big on multiplayer to start with, but I’ll miss the ability to sit down and play with my friends. Rise of the Tomb Raider looks interesting, and while it’s great to see a hoped-for announcement like Halo Wars 2, I don’t get along with RTS games.

Halo Wars 2 closed out Microsoft’s conference.

I didn’t watch EA’s live either, just checked out the highlights. Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst could be interesting, and The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire sounds pretty cool (even if it won’t be my first MMORPG).

Garden Warfare 2 might be worth playing, and Unravel looks just as adorable as it did at E3.

EA may not have had the most fantastic show for me, and I’m not interested in the Blizzard show tomorrow, but I was excited to see what we would learn about Final Fantasy XV today! The trailer revealed last night didn’t know much, but they wouldn’t hold a special Active Time Report during Gamescom if they didn’t have exciting announcements, right?

…Right?

No video game company trolls its fans better than Square Enix. Many fans went into Gamescom hoping to learn Final Fantasy XV’s release date. And they announced… that they know when they’re going to announce the release date.

There also might be a new demo available to anyone, and they also know when they’re going to announce details about that.

To be fair, they gave some information about the game. It will have a serious, emotional story in addition to the more lighthearted moments seen in Episode Duscae. Family bonds are a theme alongside bonds of friendship. Lunafreya is in a difficult political situation but has great inner strength. Airships may or may not be possible.

And they claim it has a villain who will top the previous games’ villains. That’s a bold statement to make, especially in response to a question mentioning the appeal of characters like Sephiroth and Kefka. I love a good villain, so I’ll be interested to see just what makes Final Fantasy XV’s villain so great.

At last, they shared a tiny bit of new gameplay.

Between Scalebound uncertainties and a lack of Final Fantasy XV details, this Gamescom wasn’t very eventful for me. What games stood out to you–for better or worse–at Gamescom 2015?

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DOAX vs. AAI2: Sometimes Niche Games Aren’t Localized

I’ve never played the Dead or Alive series, or its spin-off series Dead or Alive Xtreme. But when Team Ninja announced yesterday that Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 would only be released in Japan and Asia, the fan reaction surprised me.

I expected fans of the series to be upset and start campaigning for its localization, which they did. However, the majority of DOAX fans seem convinced this game isn’t coming to North America or Europe because people will complain about its sexual content.

There has been nothing to suggest this, particularly with the continued success of the main Dead or Alive series, which saw a third version of Dead or Alive 5 released across all territories this past February. Yet Team Ninja’s decision has somehow led its fans to believe the company is afraid of backlash.

Maybe it’s because I’m such a fan of series like Ace Attorney, but every time I hear about a cool game announced for Japan, my immediate question is, “Will it be localized?” I know there’s a very real chance it won’t be.

Just look at our fight for Ace Attorney Investigations 2. Localization has been a concern for Ace Attorney, Fatal Frame, Yokai Watch, EarthBound, and many other Japanese video game series… not because of content, but because of the market size.

Why else do fans start localization petitions? To show interest. It’s at the core of the Xenosaga HD situation and the potential for Baten Kaitos 3. And controversial though it is, Shenmue 3’s Kickstarter proved there was enough interest for Sony to back the game.

In 2013, Team Ninja had no plans to make Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 because “there isn’t much of a demand for the DOAX series at the moment.” Yosuke Hayashi encouraged fans of the series to make their interest known.

In other words, this game very nearly didn’t exist at all. Apparently enough fans showed interest to justify the game’s development… from Japan and Asia.

Stop looking for a conspiracy theory. Maybe Team Ninja has become mysteriously afraid to release a sexualized game in markets that already accepted Bayonetta, Dead or Alive 5, The Witcher 3, and Senran Kagura. Or maybe, it’s just the simple, sad truth: sometimes niche games aren’t localized.

All we can do is import them… and fight as hard as we can for localization.

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Dai Gyakuten Saiban Crackdown – Good News?

After our recent discussion of concerns for Dai Gyakuten Saiban, here’s a curious situation that may or may not be good news. Capcom is cracking down on people who attempt to post DGS material online.

On the surface, this sounds bad. We won’t be able to enjoy Dai Gyakuten Saiban videos, which (at least if you could read Japanese) would be one way to experience the story if it’s never brought West. On the other hand, however, this is unusual behavior for a company that doesn’t go after the other Ace Attorney material online.

This is fine, but a song from DGS gets pulled for copyright reasons?

Cutscenes, walkthroughs, soundtracks… all of this material can be regularly found on Youtube for all other Ace Attorney games.

You can even find full Let’s Plays of Gyakuten Kenji 2 or its fan translation.

Yet multiple users report copyright strikes from Capcom after they posted Dai Gyakuten Saiban material.

For example, Youtube user Bolt2nd uploaded the DGS soundtrack, only to have it removed for copyright reasons. In contrast, his uploads of the Dual Destinies, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, and Gyakuten Kenji 2 soundtracks weren’t touched.

So what’s up, Capcom? Why is Dai Gyakuten Saiban footage not allowed when all other Ace Attorney footage is?

I want to believe it is good news in disguise, an attempt to limit access to footage before the game’s Western release! Granted, they didn’t do this for previous titles, but video uploads might be rampant due to the fear that it won’t be localized.

Why do you think Capcom is being so strict about this game’s copyright?

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First Look at Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky

Most JRPG fans are currently abuzz about Dragon Quest XI. It caught my attention, so I hope to hear more about it. (Should I dig out my GBC copy of Dragon Warrior III?) Then there’s the upcoming PC release of Grandia II.

But since we seem to be in some sort of JRPG renaissance, we’re going to talk about a different JRPG recently unveiled, Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky.

Over the past week or so, Spike Chunsoft teased details about its new game developed by tri-Ace. It was finally revealed as Exist Archive for the PS4 and PS Vita, and the first details about it have reached us thanks to Famitsu.

(Note, all of my details come from Gematsu, since putting that Famitsu page through Google Translate really won’t help.)

An evil god named Yamatoga kills the game’s 12 heroes in an explosion. They become immortals, with part of Yamatoga’s soul inside of them.

Another look at the game from Gematsu suggests this makes the 12 characters “evil gods” as well, but that’s unclear. Either way, you can use this evil god soul power for powerful attacks in battle.

Story details are pretty scarce so far, other than that these characters get caught up in arguments between the gods, but the premise is interesting. It’s the gameplay that caught my attention.

It’s a side-view RPG, although the characters in dungeons will be 3D chibi models. In the dungeons you explore, you’ll have to use skills in order to solve puzzles. I enjoy puzzles in my RPG dungeons, so that sounds great! Enemies appear on the screen, and once in battle, you’ll use the “Active Chain Battle” system.

Each of the four face buttons corresponds to a party member, and you can chain their attacks together in different orders to get a higher battle score and increase your chance of getting rare items from the battle. (I would guess these attack chains form combos, with different combinations being more effective than others.)

Fans have said this battle system is similar to that of Valkyrie Profile. I haven’t played it–perhaps I should. Can any Valkyrie Profile fans weigh in on this sort of combat?

Party members can also be swapped between the front and back rows during battle. As is typical for battle systems that use rows, characters in the front deal more damage but will be attacked more often, while characters in the back deal less damage but are attacked less often. I’ve seen this system in many RPGs and have generally enjoyed it.

The developers also said there will be an important choice that influences events in the game, it will be about 40-50 hours long, and it’s not a “typical rule of right” story. Moral ambiguity and shades of gray since the characters are all evil gods, I guess?

It has the director and writer Masaki Norimoto from Valkyrie Profile, character designer Mino Taro from Love Plus, and composer Motoi Sakuraba, who did music for games like Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, and Tales, among many others.

Anyway, Exist Archive has my interest. I’m not very familiar with Spike Chunsoft, but I want to play its Danganronpa and Zero Escape games. Chunsoft also developed the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, which I also hope to try. Meanwhile, tri-Ace (not to be confused with tri-Crescendo, a mistake I tend to make) has an entire lineup of games I want to play: Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, etc. The founders of tri-Ace also have ties to Tales of Phantasia.

I probably should play at least a few of these before Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky comes out. Which games should be at the top of my list?

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Three Biggest Concerns for Dai Gyakuten Saiban

Dai Gyakuten Saiban, or The Great Ace Attorney, is the newest addition to the Ace Attorney series. After its release in Japan on July 9th, fans in the West have one big question: will Dai Gyakuten Saiban be localized?

So far, only one Ace Attorney game hasn’t been localized. Like Investigations 2, Dai Gyakuten Saiban is a spin-off, so the success of Dual Destinies isn’t a good guide. And while the crossover was localized, Professor Layton and Level-5 may be why.

The more time passes without a localization announcement, the more uncertain fans become. Let’s lay out all the details and look at the three biggest concerns for Dai Gyakuten Saiban.

Worry #1: The Setting

Your average California girl.

The earliest concerns began because the game is set during Japan’s Meiji Era. Localized Ace Attorney games try very hard, and often hilariously, to pretend they’re set in California. It would be difficult to keep up the facade with a game more rooted in Japanese culture.

First of all, most fans would be fine with Capcom dropping the pretense, although it might be a little late to retcon the entire series now. Second, and more importantly, Dai Gyakuten Saiban begins in Japan but switches to London for most of the game. While there could still be trouble with the first case, it isn’t as a big a problem as it first seemed.

As for the character coming from Japan… it’s not an issue. Ace Attorney’s California already has towns founded by Japanese immigrants, so it’s easy to say Phoenix Wright has a Japanese ancestor. Sure, it would be jarring if DGS’s protagonist was named “Wright,” but his name can stay Japanese. One of his female descendants married a Wright, and there you go.

Worry #2: The Timing

While some fans worried about the game’s content, others worried about the timing of its announcements (or lack thereof). Dual Destinies was teased in January 2012, revealed in September 2012, and announced for the West at the same time.

This makes the lack of a Dai Gyakuten Saiban announcement especially worrisome.

However, Dual Destinies may have been a special case–perhaps the quick announcement was even meant to reassure fans after the Investigations 2 incident. In contrast, Apollo Justice was revealed in June 2006. Forget Apollo Justice, Trials & Tribulations wouldn’t be announced for North America and Europe until April 2007.

Of course, the original trilogy was in a unique position as the GBA versions had been out in Japan for a long time already… but the point is that Dual Destinies’ simultaneous announcement isn’t the norm.

Worry #3: The Reviews

Dai Gyakuten Saiban didn’t receive a stellar reception in Japan. Right now it has an average of 2 and a half stars on Amazon. Most of the negativity comes from claims that the game is “incomplete.”

Apparently it was planned as a trilogy (which can cause problems) and left a lot of loose ends and cliffhangers as a result. This didn’t please a lot of fans. On the other hand, Amazon Japan has a reputation for low reviews, and the review from Famitsu was much more favorable.

Still, if Capcom decided to gauge reception before making up its mind about localization, this could be problematic. In fact, its nature as a planned trilogy also raises concerns. Will Capcom commit to the start of a trilogy without any idea of how the later two games will be?

As much as I believed DGS localization was likely (enough to not consider it a pipe dream), even my faith has been shaken. What are your biggest concerns for this game, and what do you think its localization chances are?

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Final Fantasy XIV Became My First MMORPG

I’ve never been an MMORPG player. For that matter, I’m not big on multiplayer in general. During E3 2015, I noticed two games that could convince me to try an MMO for the first time: Rare’s pirate-themed Sea of Thieves revealed during Microsoft’s press conference and EA’s look at the new expansion for The Old Republic, Knights of the Fallen Empire.

Well, neither of those will be my first MMO, because Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn beat them to it.

It took me a little while to warm up to the free trial, in part because my story missions had a very slow star. On the other hand, I picked the lancer class, which meant I got to see this guy:

My lancer quests were far more interesting than the early parts of the story. Plus, come on, he looks like Fenris!

After that, my story quests started to pick up at last, and I also unlocked access to the Gold Saucer! Between Chocobo racing, Triple Triad, and special events called GATEs, I became addicted to the Gold Saucer.

(I apologize for the poor video quality)

If you know my gaming tastes, you probably already know what I dislike about FFXIV: I wish I had smaller areas to explore before new ones were unlocked, and I kind of wish I could play the entire thing alone instead of teaming up with other players for dungeons.

I also wish there were treasure chests in towns and regions. It would give me more incentive to explore every nook and cranny like I usually do.

Still, after my disappointment with Final Fantasy XIII, it’s nice to see a recent Final Fantasy game I can get into. It gives me hope for Final Fantasy XV and the Final Fantasy VII remake.

It may not be a traditional Final Fantasy game–the MMO style of gameplay reminds me more of Dragon Age than anything classic–but it got me to play my first-ever MMORPG. When my trial expired, I decided to buy the game. I haven’t technically subscribed yet, since Final Fantasy XIV comes with 30 days for free. Once that time expires, we’ll see if I still enjoy it enough to pay more money.

Maybe it will depend on what the mysterious lancer is doing.

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PC Owners Will Get Hatoful Boyfriend’s Tohri Route

Following our discussion of mad scientists in video games, it’s time to shed light on somebirdie I referenced: Tohri Nishikikouji.

Tohri is a character from Hatoful Boyfriend’s sequel, Holiday Star, which is due out on Steam later this year. However, he’s also available in the PS4 and PS Vita releases of Hatoful Boyfriend.

I was pretty excited when I heard the news, and curious if the new content would come to Steam. Not that I object to buying another version of such a fantastic game, but I don’t have a PS4 or PS Vita yet.

Yesterday, Siliconera announced that PC players would get the Tohri route for free. However, their article left some doubt as to whether it would be released as an updated for the Steam version or not.

So I went straight to the source and asked Moa Hato, the creator of Hatoful Boyfriend. She clarified that the Tohri route will not come to Steam, but will be available for free on the PC for everyone.

@SamLienhard No, I'm sorry. Please wait a while for my free edition release:)

— moa (@moa810) July 22, 2015

She hopes the new Tohri content will be available this fall. I would have liked an update or DLC for the Steam release, but a separate free release is great!

For those of you who got Hatoful Boyfriend on your PS4 or Vita, how is the Tohri storyline? And for those of you who haven’t played this game yet… what are you waiting for?

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Top 5 Mad Scientists in Video Games

The plot of my novella The Accidental Zombie is driven not only by the zombie, but by the need for secrecy. Its protagonists want to keep the zombie a secret so they won’t be branded as “mad scientists.”

I picked such a silly premise to take a lighthearted approach to the concept of mad scientists. After all, I love mad scientists (heck, one of my stories is published in The Mad Scientist Journal).

In honor of that, I thought I’d look at some of my favorites. There are far too many mad scientists to pick from, so I narrowed it down to one category. Here are my Top 5 Mad Scientists in Video Games.

5. The Prophets (Wild Arms 3)

This team of villains earns its spot on the list mainly for being so unusual. Look at them! Is that when you expect when you hear “mad scientist”?

Wild Arms 3 is one of my favorite RPGs, partly because it does stuff like this. It doesn’t follow the rules. Leehalt, Melody, and Malik are a team of Wild Arms 3 villains known as The Prophets. Despite their name and attire, they are in fact scientists.

They also have an amazing battle theme. Of all the amazing video game villain themes out there, “Black as Sin, Red as Blood” is one of my favorites. It just radiates pure, awesome evil.

They want to restore the dying world at any cost, and each also has a personal goal to seek. Their plans involve, among other things, making plans with demons. Which are alien cyborgs, of course. Because this is Wild Arms 3.

4. Cave Johnson (Portal 2)

One of the most hilarious parts of Portal 2 is the addition of audio logs from Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science.

While his lemon rant might be the most memorable, every quote from Cave Johnson is gold. I almost included a link to the lemon rant, but it and his other audio logs are best experienced in the game itself, so I won’t spoil them. Don’t worry, Valve also released a series of promo videos narrated by Cave Johnson.

“Panels”

“Bot Trust”

“Turrets”

“Boots”

“Perpetual Testing Initiative (PeTI)”

But it doesn’t end there. That last video introduced the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC, where players could build and share their own levels. Due to its nature, such content can’t really have a coherent story… but that didn’t stop Valve from including Cave Johnson! Every time you select a player-made test chamber to play, a short message from Aperture’s founder plays.

If you aren’t tired of Cave Johnson yet (and don’t plan to play enough player-made levels to hear all the dialogue), Youtube user Murdoink has compiled all of his PeTI quotes into a 26-minute video of increasing hilarity.

Cave Johnson: the funniest mad scientist on this list.

3. Shuu Iwamine (Hatoful Boyfriend)

Yes. Not only is Hatoful Boyfriend, which sounds on the surface like a joke game, an unexpectedly amazing game with a sequel I can’t wait for, it has a mad scientist worthy of this list.

If you like dark, morbid humor, you’ll love Shuu’s route, as you relentlessly pursue this obviously maniacal and dangerous bird. And I won’t spoil his role in the game’s true route (or name the other video game character I can’t help but draw comparisons to), but it’s great.

You all need to play this game.

Like the Prophets, Shuu’s theme also adds to his appeal, though you’ll never be able to watch certain Christmas features the same way again… hohoho!

When Hatoful Boyfriend is released on the PS4 and PS Vita, it will include another mad scientist as a new romance option. Will Tohri overtake Shuu as the best bird mad scientist?

2. Hojo (Final Fantasy VII)

Cave Johnson and Shuu were on the more lighthearted side of mad science, but let’s return to its darker depths with Professor Hojo from Final Fantasy VII. It’s hard to talk about him without spoilers (an especially good thing to avoid with a remake on the horizon), but this guy is evil.

How bad is he? Some fans consider him the true main villain of Final Fantasy VII.

Outside of the fandom, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Almost everyone knows who Sephiroth is, but how many people who haven’t played Final Fantasy VII have even heard of Hojo?

Once you play the game, you’ll understand why he’s memorable enough to take the #2 spot on this list.

Hojo fits the mad scientist trope down to just about every detail. He only cares about science, he’s willing to do horrific things to further his research…

If you want to know what a mad scientist villain is, look at Hojo.

1. Albert Wesker and William Birkin (Resident Evil)

It’s difficult to top Hojo’s level of villainy, but the Umbrella Corporation manages. If Hojo is the archetypal mad scientist, Umbrella is the archetypal evil corporation. They’d hire someone like Hojo in a heartbeat, and he’d still have to compete with his colleagues to see who is the most amoral.

Wesker, of course, is infamous. William Birkin, not so much, but he took a great role in Resident Evil 2.

But you know, even though it’s not my favorite Resident Evil game, I love the portrayal of Wesker and Birkin in Resident Evil Zero. Maybe it’s because we actually see them together after supplementary materials describe them as a team. Maybe it’s because of the bizarre not-quite-involved role they take in the game.

Maybe it’s because I consider it to have one of the purest “mad science” scenes for both of them.

Of course, a case can be made for them series-wide, even if that’s my favorite portrayal. Both are ruthlessly dedicated to their research, both make compelling antagonists, and to me they perfectly embody the video game mad scientist as an extension of the Umbrella Corporation.

Albert Wesker and William Birkin undeniably take the #1 spot. (And yes, I know I’m counting multiple people as one again.) Of all the characters on my list, they probably had the biggest influence on my own science duo in The Accidental Zombie.

So there you have it, my Top 5 Video Game Mad Scientists. Of course, even doubling up on some slots didn’t let me name everyone…

Honorable Mentions: Shin (Fragile Dreams), Sasha Nein (Psychonauts), Rodyle (Tales of Symphonia), The Architect (Dragon Age: Awakening), Fawful (Mario & Luigi), and Professor E. Gadd (Luigi’s Mansion).

Who are your favorite mad scientists from video games?

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