Literature in Video Games: Rediscovering the Classics

So in an earlier post (Day 21: Game with the Best Story) I talked about Dynasty Warriors and how it is based upon one of the Four Great Chinese Novels.  I thought it would be interesting to research this a little further.  Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which DW is based on, is regarded as one of the greatest books in Chinese history, and I wanted to see what else has had a similar treatment.  Because there are lots of minor games based on books: http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/literature-inspired-games/offset,75/so,1d/  on everything from Dracula to Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, and because I am looking specifically for great interpretations of classical literature, I’m going to stick to only a few examples.  Ok, Dracula should count really, but I’m not big on horror.  I may come back to this another day, but for now, I think I’ll keep to two.  Otherwise we’ll be here all day.

After some rooting around on the internet, I’ve found a game series that I really want to play now: Suikoden.  These games have been coming out for years now, and revolve around the 108 protagonists called the Stars of Destiny.  For those of you who don’t immediately spot the reference there, these games are based off of one of the other Four Great Novels: The Water Margin.  To be fair, I only know about this because we have the box set of the 70’s TV show of The Water Margin, which was fantastic and hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvd6s6q_LxU

Basically, the Water Margin is about 108 heroes who fight against the corruption of the Chinese government at the time.  Coming from all sorts of backgrounds, they gather in the marshes and are labelled bandits by the government.  It’s a really cool story.  Suikoden apparently takes this and puts it into game form.  I have to see how this works...

Then we come to Alice in Wonderland.  This story has been taken in more directions in more manners than pretty much any other story in existence.  I played an 8 bit educational version of it in school when I was 8.  Wikipedia lists around 20 different games with elements based on the story, and at least 4 or 5 direct interpretations.  American McGee’s Alice is perhaps the most famous of these in recent years, taking the whole story through an incredibly dark, Sucker Punch-esque twist.  There is also now an American McGee interpretation of most of the Grimm fairytales, which also look interesting.  I’m rapidly discovering lots of games I have to play today, but back to Alice now.  Alice in Wonderland is just such a delightfully bizarre story that it seems to lend itself to the reference-laden, mystery-filled world of computer games. 

What is interesting about this is that while we may not get the references to Romance of the Three Kingdoms or the Water Margin, at least not in the Western Hemisphere, we all know and recognize Alice when we see her, and know what things to look out for as a result.  In Kingdom Hearts, when you go to Wonderland and you enter a room that looks like a giant kitchen with an enormous glass table, you immediately know two things.  First, there’s a bottle on that table.  Second, there’s a talking door somewhere around.  A mushroom will change your size.  Its an interesting thing to consider, how games rely on concepts and rules that we already know to make the task of leading us through the gameworld easier.  But I digress.

Literature clearly makes some great video games.  It can provide the background and set up to some fantastic stories.  It’s amazing to me that more of the Greek classics like the Odyssey haven’t been made into more impressive games.  There have been a few, most commonly interpretations of Dante’s Inferno.  But I’d like to see more.

Day 21: Game with the Best Story

I was immediately tempted by games with classic stories like Kingdom Hearts, Neverwinter Nights, or any of the great RPGs. All of these are excellent, there is no doubt. But one game, or rather one series of games, blows them all away, because it is beyond classic. It's ancient.

The Dynasty Warriors series is a generally hack-and-slash sort of game where you control an officer in a great Chinese army. You slaughter hundreds of soldiers each level, each level being a key battle in the overall story. It's the story though, which makes this game so great, even more than the incredible variety of characters, weapons, and fighting styles.

The story from Dynasty Warriors is directly based upon the Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This is known as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and thus one of the best pieces of Asian literature in history. This long tale of three kingdoms fighting over who would control China serves as the background for the various battles you fight through in the game.

Other games out there craft a beautiful or moving story, there's no doubt about that. But not even American McGee's Alice is the match for Dynasty Warriors for a representation of great literature. It's an old story, surviving for centuries, and Dynasty Warriors doesn't just let you witness cutscenes with the story, and in between you fight through random segments of level. Instead, every officer you slay, every objective you have to complete, and every event in the level, is based off of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

No other game out there can claim such historical heritage, or such highly rated literary background. Plus, its a great series of games. Love them to bits.

Day 5: Character I Am Most Like (Or Would Like To Be)

A short post today.  This is one of the harder ones, for sure, especially because it has the most potential for arrogance. Contenders included Sora from Kingdom Hearts, Frog from Chrono Trigger, and the Science Advisor from Civilization II. Ultimately, and I'm not convinced that I made the best decision, I have gone with Pang Tong, from the Dynasty Warriors series.

Pang Tong is friendly, and more interested in strategy than actual battle. He's covered in long robes all the time and carries a heavy walking stick, so its hard to know that he's actually one of the youngest characters in the game. For his sense of humour, his love of strategy over actual battle, and his fighting style (a simple staff, and a blazing pillar of light for his super move), I'm going to go with Pang Tong as the character closest to me.