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Writing in games that makes you uncomfortable.

S

StrawberryJam

Member
So I just started playing the first Trails In The Sky game and, while I'm enjoying the rest of the game, (mild beginning spoilers here)
the game keeps pushing a romance between Estelle and Joshua and it legit disturbs me. I know they're not related by blood, but Joshua keeps calling Cassius his dad and Estelle even says she looks at him as family. I do not like this thread, not one bit.

So what about you GAF? What games make your skin crawl with their writing, intentionally or unintentionally?
 
I

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
I have a pretty high tolerance for pretty much anything.

Except when it comes to relegating women to weak roles. I hate that shit more than anything.

*EDIT*

and i forgot about Persona 4's sickening treatment of gay people. Just no. Yosuke, no, its not funny.
 
Labrynian Rebel

Labrynian Rebel

Member
Everything related to the Murderess in Xenoblade X. Well not her specifically, she's awful but that's the point, the problem I have is the characters around her never seem to actually react to the fact that
she repeatedly kills people, there's even a sidequest where you "prove" her innocence that she never killed anyone, despite all the other sidequests saying and showing the opposite
 
P

pashmilla

Banned
Persona 4's treatment of Kanji and the girls can sometimes be reeeeeeally >.>. Especially Kanji, yikes. Like, I know most of it is through Yosuke who's a dumbass anyway, but the game never really calls him out on it either, so you have to sit through stuff like the tent scene and it's just profoundly uncomfortable and gross. Ick.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Dear Valerie,
Did you think you'd get away with it?
Did you take delight in thinking to yourself, "Oh, let's try a fast one
on dumb ole' Simon!"
Did the thought you might of outsmarted Simon excite you?
Did you perhaps do the the dirty and pleasure yourself over that?
Oh, Valerie.
Valerie, Valerie, my dear Valerie.
I of course knew when you became hesitant to give me kisses,
my dear.
You were bringing someone between us.
You wished to dirty your core.
Pulsating, yearning.
Thump, thump.
Simon knows.
That's why Simon must punish you, dear Valerie.
You were so delicate, unspoiled... You hurt me, Valerie.
You were like a pure, glistening flower.
I'll make it so your beauty can shine on, Valerie.
I'll get rid of all that which soils you.
First will be your eyes. I will take my thumbs and wiggle them
around in your sockets.
Squish them, into mush. A fine paste. I'll lick away the liquids that
pour out of your eyeballs, like overflowing tears.
I wonder what Vitreous and Aqueous Humor taste like?
Isn't that such a funny name for it? May we possibly in this moment
just sit back and laugh at how silly a name that is?
But don't stir too much, dear Valerie, or else the next part may be
more painful than it has to be.
Of course, it may be me that's trembling. You know how...
Excitable I am.
But the pain you may feel from my shakes and quivers is out of my
love for you. With each sharp needle of pain and hot, pulsating sore
you may feel, that's my love, Valerie. I want you to feel my love.
When you can no longer see for which you've sinned, then I will
get to work of making sure you can never reach out to sin again.
I'm going to dissect your arms, dear Valerie.
Do you know how many nerves are in the arm, my dear?
I want to open you up, let your inner warmth flow over me.
And I want to give you a treat for the senses.
I will be delicate, my dear Valerie, as I begin to poke and pull at
your nerves and veins.
I want every nerve, every part of your arm to feel the bliss of my
love before, snip, I cut them open.
One by one.
Snip, snip.
And then to saw through the bone.
Before you know it, your arms will be gone.
And that's almost enough, you will have almost felt the pain of
which you've brought upon me, my dear Valerie.
But we must scrub away the sin.
I think you know where, dear Valerie. You need to stop yearning
for him.
He's already dead, he won't come between us again.
At least, he won't, once I've scrubbed you down thoroughly.
So you'll never crave for the flesh again, my dear.
Until then, scream! Scream, dear Valerie! Scratch at the walls, claw
with your beautiful fingers at dirt and rock!
Maybe someone will hear you? Maybe you'll find a way out I
overlooked?
Maybe I'm just lying to you, maybe I didn't kill your perverted
little boyfriend either.
I'm coming for you, Valerie.
Maybe you can still get away.


Close Your Eyes, seen a lot of people get disturbed at this note by Simon, and a note earlier in the game when Simon begins to show his true colors.

Similarly, for myself there's this riddle on the Hard difficulty setting of Silent Hill 3:

Pure eyes, blue like a glassy bead —
You are always looking at me
and I am always looking at you.
Ah, you're too meek —
beautiful, unspoiled:
thus I'm so sad, I suffer —
and so happy, it hurts.
I want to hurt you
and destroy myself
What you would think
if you knew how I felt.
Would you simply smile,
not saying a word?
Even curses from your mouth
would be as beautiful as pearls.
I place my left hand on your
face as though we were to kiss.
Then I suddenly shove my thumb
deep into your eyesocket.
Abruptly, decisively,
like drilling a hole.
And what would it feel like?
Like jelly?
Trembling with ecstasy, I obscenely
mix it around and around: I must
taste the warmth of your blood.
How would you scream?
Would you shriek "It hurts!
It hurts!" as cinnabar-red tears
stream from your crushed eye?
You can't know the maddening
hunger I've felt in the midst of
our kisses, so many of them
I've lost count.
As though drinking in your cries,
I bring my hopes to fruition:
biting your tongue, shredding it,
biting at your lips as if tasting
your lipstick.
Oh, what euphoric heights I would
reach, having my desires fulfilled
like a greedy, gluttonous cur.
I longed, too, for your cherry-tinted
cheeks, tasty enough to bewitch my
tongue.
I would surely be healed,
and would cry like a child.
And how is your tender ear?
It brushes against my cheek;
I want it to creep up to my lips so
I can sink my teeth into its flesh.
Your left ear, always hearing words
whispered sweet as pie —
I want it to hear my true feelings.
I never lied, no...
but I did have my secrets.
Ah, but what must you think of me?
Do you hate me? Are you afraid?
As though inviting you to the agony
at the play's end, if you wish, you
could destroy me — I wouldn't care.
As you wish, you may destroy me
— I wouldn't care.

...

I think I've got a thing for long regulated creeper love notes.
 
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Devil may Cry did this a few times. Went way too in depth with the wiccan stuff (Kat talking about squirrel semen), Kat talking about rape, aborted sniper rifle demon fetus, bald guy having sex with his stripper wife, stripper wife bragging about being his bitch, Vergil claiming he has a big dick, actually I could just go on describing the entire game
 
I

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
SolVanderlyn said:
Devil may Cry did this a few times. Went way too in depth with the wiccan stuff (Kat talking about squirrel semen), Kat talking about rape, aborted sniper rifle demon fetus, bald guy having sex with his stripper wife, stripper wife bragging about being his bitch, Vergil claiming he has a big dick, actually I could just go on describing the entire game
Click to expand...

I would not say it made me comfortable, but it was very cringey in a try hard 'look how edgy we are treating all these things super disrespectfully' type of way. one of the reasons i could not really stand DmC's dumbass story.

If that's Ninja theory's idea of 'cinematic storytelling' they can keep it.
 
D

DeviatePanda

Neo Member
Rule of Rose - "The Funeral" kinda sorta spoilers so I tagged it just in case.

Once upon a time, a girl found a hole in the ground in the yard.

The Little People came out and told her the news.

Today is the day of your funeral.
If you don't like it, then you must sacrifice your friend.

Who wants to be buried alive?

So the girl did what she had to, and buried her best friend.

Well, I wouldn't want to be her best friend!

The whole game is a dark, twisted, uncomfortable coming of age story about jealousy and how it can turn people against each other. If you like old silent hill esque games, you should check it out if you can find it.
 
L

Lunarwhale

Member
EDIT: Probably should specify that these are all unintentionally uncomfortable.

Actually came in here to say just that, OP. The first Lunar game's even worse. I think Estelle's dad adopted Joshua when he was 10~? In Lunar, the protagonist Alex's parents adopt Luna when she's a fuckin newborn and the two end up lovers. As in, some direct product of their raising led to that.

I get different cultures and the like, but the "I can't believe it's not incest!" trope is just otaku pandering.

Persona 4's treatment of Kanji was shitty as well. Frankly, so was Naoto with that whole questioning gender arc. An arc that wouldn't have been nearly as problematic if P4 actually showed police sexism, but instead it's just a story about that maybe being a thing in P4's world and that Naoto's just childish for wanting to be a man and needs the protag to make her more effeminate.
 
S

StrawberryJam

Member
pashmilla said:
Persona 4's treatment of Kanji and the girls can sometimes be reeeeeeally >.>. Especially Kanji, yikes. Like, I know most of it is through Yosuke who's a dumbass anyway, but the game never really calls him out on it either, so you have to sit through stuff like the tent scene and it's just profoundly uncomfortable and gross. Ick.
Click to expand...

I always found it so strange in a game that is ultimately about being true to yourself they treated Kanji the way they did, it was such a missed opportunity. Also, FUCK Yosuke. He's a creep.
 
H

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
StrawberryJam said:
I always found it so strange in a game that is ultimately about being true to yourself they treated Kanji the way they did, it was such a missed opportunity. Also, FUCK Yosuke. He's a creep.
Click to expand...

Hey, Yosuke is just being true to himself. That just happens to be a douchebag.
 
H

hampig

Member
SolVanderlyn said:
Devil may Cry did this a few times. Went way too in depth with the wiccan stuff (Kat talking about squirrel semen), Kat talking about rape, aborted sniper rifle demon fetus, bald guy having sex with his stripper wife, stripper wife bragging about being his bitch, Vergil claiming he has a big dick, actually I could just go on describing the entire game
Click to expand...

Woah, do not remember any of that. Is this DMC we're talking about?
 
I

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Lunarwhale said:
EDIT: Probably should specify that these are all unintentionally uncomfortable.

Actually came in here to say just that, OP. The first Lunar game's even worse. I think Estelle's dad adopted Joshua when he was 10~? In Lunar, the protagonist Alex's parents adopt Luna when she's a fuckin newborn and the two end up lovers. As in, some direct product of their raising led to that.

I get different cultures and the like, but the "I can't believe it's not incest!" trope is just otaku pandering.

Persona 4's treatment of Kanji was shitty as well. Frankly, so was Naoto with that whole questioning gender arc. An arc that wouldn't have been nearly as problematic if P4 actually showed police sexism, but instead it's just a story about that maybe being a thing in P4's world and that Naoto's just childish for wanting to be a man and needs the protag to make her more effeminate.
Click to expand...

Wasn't the point was that Naoto didn't want to be a man, she wanted to be respected and not looked down on because she was a woman even though she didn't act 'cute' like what a preset gender role female should act like?

Which would have been a good pro feminist viewpoint had they not kept forcing her into that 'preset gender role' to act like a girl around the protag like wearing the school uniform or that ridiculous outfit they made for her in golden.

hampig said:
Woah, do not remember any of that. Is this DMC we're talking about?
Click to expand...

DmC
 
H

Hero Prinny

Member
Nothing really. I guess when that woman kisses sonic, that was pretty gross but i wouldnt say it made my skin crawl or make me uncomfortable
 
M

Modoru

Member
Huniepop

Mostly because people unabashedly praise this game.

Not necessarily on here, but I have many issues with its writing.
 
S

Squire

Banned
That's unfortunate about Trails since it seems to push into that direction continually.

It's going where you think it is, OP.
 
J

JeffZero

Purple Drazi
I just played those games and their relationship development was one of my favorite aspects of the 140-hour experience.

I'm surprised, myself.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Inuhanyou said:
Wasn't the point was that Naoto didn't want to be a man, she wanted to be respected and not looked down on because she was a woman even though she didn't act 'cute' like what a preset gender role female should act like?

Which would have been a good pro feminist viewpoint had they not kept forcing her into that 'preset gender role' to act like a girl around the protag like wearing the school uniform or that ridiculous outfit they made for her in golden.



DmC
Click to expand...

Just adding to it,
Her struggle was about her own lack of confidence to overcome the preconceived gender roles in society which also influenced her(adoring male detectives). So she took the mentally easier road building a more masculine image etc, pretty much burying her side that society would consider feminine. In the end her storyline resolves with her gaining the confidence to just be herself and not change just to fit some image she and society has.

At least that's what I took away from the Jp version.


As for trails feels like you might be judging too early. I think the game handles that struggle tastefully and explores their relationship in different and interesting ways. What I mean it does not feel like pandering to the incest fetish, but like a legit romance between people young people caught in complicating situations.
All I'll say without spoiling what makes that romance not appear that way is not just what's going on between Joshua and Estelle but also Joshua and Cassius.
 
E

epmode

Member
Squire said:
That's unfortunate about Trails since it seems to push into that direction continually.

It's going where you think it is, OP.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I thought it was fine in Trails in the Sky while it creeps me the hell out in Cold Steel. Estelle's a great character.
 
M

Modoru

Member
Kthulhu said:
It's a fun game, bit it's clear the writing is meant to create a harem around the player.
Click to expand...

It's not really about the harem, it's just the
racist/stereotypical designs attached to the characters - also the infamous scene with two characters cussing each other out at the mall or something
. I just didn't find it funny in any way and gave me a really bad perception of the person involved in writing it. Otherwise it's a match-3, there's really not that much to fuck up there.

TissueBox said:
"Jill, here's a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you."
Click to expand...

relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRhDmUzWuBI
 
I

IDKAboutThat

Member
Okay, Fire Emblem, I'm aware that Nowi is a thousand year old dragon person, but she looks and (and this is the important part) acts like a child. That shit makes the fact that she has a fucking kid with one of the other infinitely more adult-seeming members of my army deeply, horrendously creepy. And then her kid looks and acts older than she does, and you make me feel even more weird about the whole thing. Not cool. Also, Pokemon protagonist ages are clearly bullshit, but that's less creepy cause they don't fuck anyone in-game.

Inuhanyou said:
and i forgot about Persona 4's sickening treatment of gay people. Just no. Yosuke, no, its not funny.
Click to expand...

I always saw that one as more of a Yosuke and Kanji are dumb teenagers who aren't being mature about the whole thing, but Japan isn't great with the whole gay thing so it could be either one.
 
D

Dr. Worm

Banned
The protagonists of 999 and VLR, Junpei and Sigma, have some cringe-inducing dialogue with female characters (moreso Sigma than Junpei).
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
More like, "made me roll my eyes", but Wiegraf Lecturing Ramza about Atheism seconds before he uses A HOLY STONE to turn into a HOLY DEMON from the scriptures of the CHURCH, not to mention in a game where FAITH LITERALLY GRANTS YOU MAGIC, like, it's literally the stat that allows the magic game mechanics.

It was fixed on the War of the lions version.
 
Celcius

Celcius

°Temp. member
Generally whenever a character gets possessed. I'm like "NOPE". I've dropped games/series I liked because of this lol.
 
L

Lord of Ostia

Member
StrawberryJam said:
So I just started playing the first Trails In The Sky game and, while I'm enjoying the rest of the game, (mild beginning spoilers here)
the game keeps pushing a romance between Estelle and Joshua and it legit disturbs me. I know they're not related by blood, but Joshua keeps calling Cassius his dad and Estelle even says she looks at him as family. I do not like this thread, not one bit.

So what about you GAF? What games make your skin crawl with their writing, intentionally or unintentionally?
Click to expand...
Eh, they aren't related, and they are also in their early teens when they first meet. Joshua calls Cassius his dad out of respect for taking him in and providing for him, but they aren't don't really have a father-son relationship, it's more of a ward-mentor one. Also Estelle seeing him as family doesn't mean she sees him as her brother. You also see your significant other as family. I can see why it would rub people the wrong way but it's no different than like...taking in a kid from your friends family at 12 because their parents die and then your own daughter has the hots for them in 3 years. That's not really incest.
 
CassidyIzABeast

CassidyIzABeast

Member
MGS2-Emmas-Death-1.jpg


EFy9n3c.gif


The whole relationship is strange and then your man Hal randomly drops a "I smashed your mom multiple times"
 
T

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Inuhanyou said:
and i forgot about Persona 4's sickening treatment of gay people. Just no. Yosuke, no, its not funny.
Click to expand...

This is really what bothers me, and they do it again in P5. It's terrible.
 
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