A while ago, I wrote a blog about Odin Sphere and the emotion guilt. This time, I'd like to talk about another game that got me emotional. You've probably heard of it if you've been around GiantBomb for a while: Persona 4. There are going to be major spoilers. I repeat:

MAJOR SPOILERS 

 
 
Right.
 
 
Persona 4, as you probably know, puts a lot of emphasis on relationships. You can have relationships with everybody -- your classmates, your uncle, a hot nurse you run into at the hospital, an old lady you also run into at the hospital. Hell, you can even have a relationship with a fox. And not just any fox, we're talking a mysterious fox. Anyway, the relationship I want to talk about is the one I had with Nanako, the main character's 6-year-old cousin. Nanako's mother was dead and her father, the detective Dojima, spent most of his time working. As I progressed through Nanako and Dojima's Social Links and helped repair their relationship, Charlie(after all those hours of Endurance Run, I could never picture him with another name) basically became Nanako's big brother. 
 
But Charlie wasn't the only one who had grown close to Nanako. I had too, and I hadn't even noticed. I came to realize this fairly late in the game, when Nanako got kidnapped. When Namatame took her, I became angry. It didn't make sense -- I was angry at a fictional character who had kidnapped an equally fictional character -- but that didn't matter. Nanako meant a lot to me and I swear to god, if the game had given me the option, I wouldn't have hesitated to fucking rip Namatame to pieces. Anyhow, the Investigation Team braved Namatame's dungeon and rescued Nanako. I was relieved -- she was going to be fine. Or so I thought. 
 
Shortly after she had been rescued, Nanako died as a result of the TV world's corruption. This came as a shock to me. Of all the characters in the game, Nanako was definitely the lowest on the "characters I expect they might kill" list, and when you add to that the fact that I really cared for her... I cried. Before I played Persona 4 there was only one work of fiction that had brought me to tears, and Persona 4 is still the only game that has managed to do it.
 
I think it's pretty amazing that a game can make you care for its characters like this. What do you guys think? Did you feel the same when you played Persona 4? Are there any other games that have managed to get you emotional? Go ahead, discuss. 
 
Oh, and please don't spoil the good endings. I'm still in Adachi's dungeon, and haven't gotten either of them.

When we speak of video games, we usually talk about things like graphics, sound, controls and gameplay. There's nothing wrong with that, as they are important aspects of each and every game. But how often do we talk about emotions? After all, that's what games are all about. Emotions. It might sound silly, but think about it. Why do we like blowing people's heads off in Call of Duty? Satisfaction. Why do we enjoy action games like Uncharted 2? Exhilaration.  What makes us play horror games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame? The relief that proceeds the tension.
 
I'd like to take a moment to praise a game that managed to manipulate my emotions in outstanding ways: Odin Sphere. There are -- by necessity -- going to be spoilers, so if you haven't played the game and don't want it ruined for you, you probably shouldn't read this.
   
Odin Sphere consisted of five parts, each with a different playable character. The storylines were deeply intertwined and, to some extent, parallel. In the first part of the game you play as a valkyrie called Gwendolyn, and at the beginning of Gwendolyn's story, I found myself fighting in a war. On my side were king Odin, dwarves, and other valkyries. On the other side were fairies. Gwendolyn never questioned Odin's motives, and neither did I -- the game told me to kill the fairies, so I did. They were the enemy, so they had to be evil, right? I mean, that's how it usually goes down. So I defeated the fairies' mighty dragon, and Odin slew their Queen. The good guys had prevailed, as the always do in video games, and as I progressed through the rest of the game's first part and later proceeded to the second, I forgot about these events.
 
But the thing was, the good guys hadn't prevailed. I learned of this in the game's third part, which had me playing as Mercedes, princess of the fairies. At first I figured Mercedes was an innocent in a nation of villains, and that her mother would be a cruel witch with a heart of stone. I mean, the game wouldn't have made me kill innocents, right? Not so. The queen of the fairies -- the one I had helped kill -- was benevolent and kind, and so were the other fairies. Odin's only reason for declaring was against the fairies had been greed. I had helped kill countless innocent creatures, and why? Because I was told to. I had never questioned, or even cared about the reason I was killing them. The game had told me to do it, and for me, that had been enough.  
 
I felt guilt. No other piece of fiction has ever made me feel guilt, and you know what? I think Odin Sphere deserves a LOT of credit for managing to manipulate emotions in the way it did. 
 
So, people, did you feel the same when playing Odin Sphere? Do you have any examples of other games that have played with your emotions? Go ahead, discuss.

I've been excited for Bayonetta since the first time I saw it. The art style, the music, the insane over-the-top action... everything just clicked. It was love at first sight. However, there's this gnawing worry that's constantly been there, in the back of my head. What if the game wasn't as good as it looked? What if it was just all flash and no substance? What if the game was shite? Now, don't get me wrong. I never expected the game to be horrible --  after all, this is a Kamiya game we're talking about --  but still, what if it was? 
 
Today, I downloaded the Japanese demo on my 360. The gnawing worry is now gone. In its place is more excitement, which is impressive, considering how excited I already was. That's right folks, the game's good. Damn good. 
 
Try and imagine a game that takes the best aspects(and only the best aspects) from God of War and Devil May Cry, and seamlessly merges them into one experience. Now try and imagine that, except better, and with a whole slew of originality. That's Bayonetta.
 
So, what makes the game so good? For starters, it's beautiful. Like, really beautiful. The art design is as colorful as it is intricate, and the crisp graphics and the rock-solid framerate do it more than justice. Small details like Bayonetta's butterfly-shaped shadow and the lip-shaped lock-on reticule give the game tons of character, and spectacular special effects never cease to amaze. Simply put, Bayonetta is a visual feast. The music if good, too -- the R&B(I think -- I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable dude in the world when it comes to music) soundtrack sounds really nice, and aside from being a perfect fit for the feminine-yet-wild feel the game is going for, it's also a breath of fresh air after Devil May Cry's brain-dead butt-rock. 
 
But if you've watched the trailers, you already know all that. What the trailers can't tell you, however, is what the game plays like. I'll tell you what the game plays like. It plays better than any action game on the market. It has the combos of Devil May Cry, except better. It has the freedom(in that you don't need to lock onto enemies) of God of War, except better. It's fast-paced, it's exhilarating, it's deep -- Christ, I'm telling you. So smooth. So polished. So much fun.
 
Forget about Devil May Cry, forget about God of War, and forget about those games with the boobs and the crazy ninja who dies all the time. Bayonetta's demo was more fun than all those games combined. I, for one, can't wait for January. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go replay the demo for the umpteenth time.

Yet another sequel I'd like to see:

Another sequel I'd like to see. This time it's...