So you had nostalgia 30 years ago when you first played Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.? I assume by 'emotion' you are talking about caring or crying. But being excited is an emotion too, so is being happy. You're telling me in 30 years of playing Nintendo games you've never even felt excitement?
Games don't have to be deeply complex or narratively multifaceted to get me to feel something lol. And Nintendo games off on fire on so many cylinders that something as simple as the music is often effective enough to stir up my emotions when hitting a significant story beat.
That's not to say there aren't some fantastic and emotionally resonant stories in Nintendo games just in general, however. Super Paper Mario, for instance, fucked me up.
Zelda seems to do this a lot in our household. My wife still hasn't finished Twilight Princess because she finds the ending with Midna leaving so sad (having seen it in my okay through).
When I was in middle school, I found OoT really moving, especially the relationship between Link and Saria once he grew up, and legitimately hated Ganondorf by the end.
I actually found the Zelda-Link relationship in SS adorable and pleasant.
Recently, I was really moved by the relationship between Link and
Mipha
that you discover when you do that divine beast quest.
I was insanely high at the time though
. Still, I think the whole
Zora
section is interesting because they apparently live long enough to remember Link pre-Calamity, and that actually brings baggage along with it, which I think is great.
In general, a lot of Nintendo games tend to be sort of like fairy tales, and fairy tales are designed to be emotionally engaging, even for kids, who have fewer heartstrings to pull (scientific fact). I don't really understand this apparently popular drive to constantly criticize Nintendo games, specifically, for not doing...whatever it is someone has decided is important that day. I can think of plenty of non-Nintendo games that I felt totally detached from, for instance.
I have just been playing DQV for the first time, and that's a game that produced a lot of emotions for me despite relatively simple graphics and writing, more so than a lot of other, technically fancier games. Maybe I just react better to simple, earnest stories than the overwritten melodrama that is so common in games in general. If I feel like the writers felt it, it will probably work for me.
gameplay moments mixed with music and nostalgia may have done it. I don't really get emotional or anything over video game storylines, from Nintendo or otherwise.
For example, I got really into the characters, world, and story of PoR as a kid.
Fighting the Black Knight was terrifying, thrilling, and emotionally satisfying, for example. Ike giving his dumb speech to the army put me in a fighting spirit. The music changes at various steps of the campaign fit the mood and tide of the war. Etc.
as much as i love to shit on skyward sword it got the story part down
but i dunno, nintendo was never really about sweeping narratives. there are a few exceptions i'm sure i'm overlooking here but that sort of thing has just never been their forte for better or worse.
I'm assuming that by "anything" you mean something other than a positive emotion? Because Nintendo games are petty uncanny in their ability to deliver a sense of joy and awe. Nintendo's main goal is to put a smile on your face, and they deliver that in spades for sure.
For a sense of sadness or loss, Skyward Sword had some goodbyes that really hit me.
As for anger... that was intentional on Nintendo's part (So no Other M or Federation Force )... it was easy to hate Duke Oliver from Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn. Guy was such a scumbag.
Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker all filled me with emotion. Especially Majora's Mask, where quest after quest after quest was full of FEELS.
EarthBound, of course, is another one. Rosalina's subplot in Super Mario Galaxy is another.
Of course, if we include "joy" as a feeling, then virtually every Nintendo title makes me feel something.
Xenoblade/XCX (for X it's more the 'Oh fuuuuck' revelation that dawns on you as part the ending)
Several of the Zelda games - as a kid, several of the LttP characters. As an adult, endings of WW, TP, and SS all. BotW in a different way - it tends to sprinkle the emotion throughout.
Various Metroids, mostly of the murderous vengeance variety (Super Metroid, Zero Misison)
Most of the Nintendo stuff tends to be light on the narrative/emotion front, so not surprising it's limited to those few.
I felt the game failed on that front, I personally did not feel they implemented the emotional impacts properly because the times they use it
you are not invested in the characters, you get to use claus in one battle when they are young, your mother is not a long lasting impact in the journey like Ness's mom. You are simply told to care for the sake of it, it did not feel organic. There was no situation where I felt - "If only I could have done this, if only" I simply thought "Well that's unfortunate".
You know what's up! No other game has made me laugh as much and as consistently, can't measure the sheer joy that game brought. Even if not as impactful as it could have been,
I did feel for Huey's sacrifice too.
.
There's really too many examples with Ninty games, 'cause even if the cutscenes or bits that are specifically about the story aren't actively pulling heartstrings; some of the best titles bring a sense of wonder and enjoyment from the gameplay alone and -that- is the storyline, the one you're creating as you make your way through the game. For example, Metroid Prime won't push any cutscenes your way, and yet there's something to be said for its exquisite atmosphere delivering strong emotions on its own merit. My crowning example in that game is
that submerged area where a melancholic piano piece starts playing.
Delicious chills down the spine that no script could have delivered quite the same way.
If you want more typical instances, Super Mario Galaxy, Chapter 7 in Rosalina's Storybook never fails to make me tear up. Elite Beat Agents has a certain level which subverts the game's usually wacky/comical tone that also delivers the feels.
Zelda series is crammed with these moments; suffice to say that in the Symphony of the Goddesses I attended a month ago, several of the songs played, in addition to the gameplay clips that accompanied them, drove the audience to tears.
In almost three decades of playing Nintendo games I can't think of a single game that moved me emotionally (unless you count Other M making me feel extreme rage ).
Maybe I'm an outlier, but from my experience Nintendo has never been about emotional investment beyond nostalgia.
Super Metroid's story is minimalistic, but I'll be damned if I wasn't blown away by the drama in that final boss battle.
Glad to see people mentioning Link's Awakening too. I was a child the one and only time I've played through the game, but remember it triggering a particular brand of melancholy at the time.
I'll add Super Mario Bros 2 as a personal one, and I admit that in order to have this one mean anything one would need to have actually read the manual and be of a particular mindset, but my childhood mind missed every hint that the game was a dream right until the ending, which again, proceeded to slightly blow my mind. It's a cheesy trope by all accounts, but it was the first time I was exposed to it.
Zelda, Breath of the Wild: The flashbacks and realising how cool the world would have been if Ganon didn't screw it up lol. Also the exhilaration of mounting the Divine Beasts and dread of going into the labyrinth of Hyrule Castle...
Super Mario Galaxy: The opening cinematic (and score!) was truly amazing and such a good setup. Disappointed SMG2 didn't keep with the big budget look and feel, even thought the gameplay is on point.
Metroid Prime: How badass you feel going through rooms you've now got upgrades with and can skip everything haha. Also the general awe that Nintendo does have some ability to oversee serious games targeted at mature gamers.
Plenty of times, and I don't know if the implication is that "non-Nintendo" games are supposed to be some sweeping emotional roller coasters or what. Plenty of games that I've played or watched that are acclaimed for some sort of narrative are trite as absolute fuck.
But again, the answer is yes. A lot of the time. BotW is only the most recent.
Majora's Mask's myriad stories of the end of the world
Wind Waker's moving on from the past
Super Mario Galaxy's Rosalina's storybook
All the Mario RPGs are incredibly funny
Luigi's Mansion, the ending, when I finally beat it, I felt Luigi's relief, and I cried along with him when his brother popped out of the Machine. I've always loved Luigi so I guess I just really empathized with the great lengths he went to save his family in that moment.
The only game that ever brought a stronger emotional response (besides fear, and laughter which it is easy to make me laugh) was Undertale, so no other company has bested it yet.
Oh, and I felt he sadness at every turn in Majora's Mask. Especially the transformation mask related stuff. The fact no one knows Miku has passed away real hit me in my last playthrough.
This is a weird premise for a thread because I feel like there are tons of games that I could name here that would not be remotely controversial choices.
