Nintendo is often
seen as the Video Game Worlds Disney. This comparison makes a lot of
sense. Both companies are significant influences in most childhoods.
Many of us have fond memories of them, no matter if it's the first
steps in Mario 64 or the Duck Tales Main Theme, which you won't get
out of your head for the next couple of weeks now. You're welcome.
But something that
is often forgotten is that both companies also have a darker side.
And no I'm not talking about Disney as a mega corporation or
Nintendos stupid Youtube Policies. I'm talking about actual content.
So today I wanted
to share with you my choice for the Top5 Darkest Nintendo Games. And
to be absolutely clear I'm only counting games which were published
by Nintendo AND are not targeted exclusively for Adults. So I'm sorry
but no Project Zero (Fatal Frame) or Eternal Darkness on this list.
First let me give
a quick shout out to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. While
the whole Crocodile Isle has an eerie feel to it the level Haunted
Hall freaked me out as a child. The music in conjunction with the
creepy ghosts that chase you and that ungodly laugh, if the catch
you, was and is truly horrifying.
But now on to the
actual list:
5: Super Mario Bros.
Source: Super Mario Bros.
The
original Super Mario Bros. starts this list, and some of you may
scratch your head asking yourself why. Well while the game isn't
scary at all, except for the Hammer Brothers in World 8-3. Did you
know they start chasing you, if you don't engage them for to long.
Combined with the inability to walk back this is scary as hell. But
back to the actual issue at hand. Some of you may already guessed why
I call Super Mario Bros. a dark game. And it's not because anything
in the actual game, but what's written in its manual. You see back in
the day, and yes I know how stupid
this sounds coming from someone born in 1991, video games often had
extensive manuals. They explained the games basic control to you, and
what's more important, often included an introduction to the games
story. Or sometimes even the whole story, because games at that time
weren't great a presenting a cinematic experience. Well just take a
look at the official manual of Super Mario Bros.
Source: Super Mario Bros. Game Manual
Yeah
that's right. It's easy to forget nowadays, but Bowser was, once upon
a time, a magic user. And during the first game he turned nearly all
Toads in the Mushroom Kingdom into blocks. That's why each time you
break a block with your fist you basically kill a Toad. Well they
could have dead from the moment they have been turned into bricks,
but still that's a very dark fate for such peace loving creatures.
And that is why I'll put Super Mario Bros. a Number five of the
darkest Nintendo games.
4: Super Metroid
Source: Super Metroid
Metroid was an
easy pic for this list. After all the games are known for their dark
and intense atmosphere and the feeling of being all alone on a
strange and hostile Alien World. And while Metroid Prime transferred
this feeling perfectly into the third dimension, Metriod Prime 3 had,
what is basically a level from a horror game, with the G.F.S.
Valhalla and Metroid Fusion turned you into the Prey of an all
powerful hunter, my choice still fell on Super Metroid. Planet Zebes
is a dark and disturbing place full of strange beings, but that
didn't qualify it for this spot. No the reason I choose this game
were two things. First this:
Source: Super Metroid
You watch the skin
an flesh of Crocomire melt off after you pushed him into the Lava.
Coupled with the nightmare inducing scream of the beast this is some
fucked up shit and completely catched me off guard when I played the
game.
But what makes the
whole game even darker for me is the story of the last Metroid.
Metroids have been a dangerous species, but after eradicating the
whole race in Metroid 2: Return of Samus there is only one single
Baby Metroid left. And during the final battle against Motherbrain it
sacrifices it's life to protect Samus. It's easy to forget during the
intense fight, but what you witness is the end of an entire species.
And I know that
Metroids get recreated/cloned/etc. in later games, but at this time
you couldn't tell. It took over six years after Super Metroids
release for the next game in the series to arrive. So when you
finished the game for the first time this was the end of the Metroid
Race. And that is pretty dark.
3: Super Paper
Mario
Source: Super Paper Mario
I guess now we're
starting with the pics everybody expects. Super Paper Mario is the
third game in the Paper Mario series, and while it's predecessors
didn't shy away from darker imaginary, most of it was censored in the
West. Oh and nothing ever got as dark as this game. This game has
everything. Little girls, who turn their head 180 degrees and reveal
that they are a strange spider monstrosity, to the end of all
existence and a young girl basically dying before your eyes. Oh and
it also has the Underworld with the River Styx and countless souls in
it. If you take away the child friendly presentation and focus on the
story you'll see that Super Paper Mario is a very dark game. The two
stand out experiences during the game, at least for me, have to be
Luvbis ''death'' and the fate of Sammers Kingdom.
Let us start with
the Kingdom first. After arriving in the Asia styled world you are
tasked with defeating One Hundred of King Sammers warriors. Normally
this would be a tedious and time consuming grind task, but not even
halfway through it makes a dark turn. You see the Void is almost at
full size in the kingdom. You can see it in the background all of the
time. And after reaching the 30th door it finally reaches
critical mass. The group is forced to flee into the safety of
Flipside. After the event the door to Sammers Kingdom remains intact.
So you return and are greeted by this:
Source: Super Paper Mario
This is the first
time you actually see what the goal of your enemy is. No dark Kingdom
of his own. No control over the world. Only absolute nothingness. Oh
and all of the inhabitants of the kingdom perished of course.
The second mature
and dark thing that stands out to me in this game is the fate of
Luvbi. After witnessing the destruction of Sammers Kingdom you're
then sent to the Underwhere and Overthere, Super Paper Marios
equivalent of Hell and Heaven. There you're tasked by the rulers of
the spheres to protect their daughter. At the end it turns out Luvbi
(the daughter) is the Pure Heart you were looking for all of the
time. As a defense mechanism it had been turned into an actual
person. Being in the presence of heroes deserving the Pure Heart
makes Luvbi change back into her true form. While she is struggling
to maintain her personality she has a sincere and heartfelt goodbye
with her parents. Many younger players won't recognize the heaviness
of the situation, but this is a young girl saying goodbye to her
parents before passing. You actually witness a girl dying in the arms
of her parents.
2: Majoras Mask
Another Pic that
many of you probably have anticipated, but if you talk about dark
Nintendo games you have to mention Majoras Mask. This game is heavy.
Really, really heavy. Not as heavy as my top pic, but damn it's still
a game about the end of the World and how the people deal with it. I
often talked about how genius the whole three day mechanic is.
Without it creating such an atmosphere would be impossible. It
enables the possibility of failure without lasting consequences.
Seeing Romani in a nearly vegetative state for the first time after
the attack of the Aliens in the previous night made me do this side
quest on every following three day cycle.
Majoras Mask is
filled to the brim with heavy themes and stories. There are countless
theories about the game. Whether it's Link is actually dead or the
five areas of Termina representing the five stages of grief. I want
to focus on the personal stories instead. Seeing the whole World
deteriorate over the course of the three days, while despair takes
over. The Sword Master, who, in the last hours before the moon falls,
cowers in fear unable to do anything but cry that he doesn't want to
die. Cremia, who allows her oblivious little sister to drink Chateau
Romani (the equivalent of Alcohol in Termina) during the last night
and let's her sleep in her bed to numb the young girl before the
inevitable end. The Postman, who is unable to break from his
schedule, even during the worlds end. Over the three day cycle you
get to know these characters. And that drives their despair home even
harder.
Together with the
dark stories not directly linked to the moon this makes Majoras Mask
the darkest Zelda game and one of the overall darkest Nintendo games.
There is some pretty heavy stuff in there. If you haven't played the
game so far, grab your 3DS and do it. Do it NOW!
1: Mother 3
Source: Mother 3
My number One pic
without question. Mother 3 may have only released in Japan, but
through the excellent fan translation you can also enjoy it in the
rest of the world. And damn is that game dark. I don't want to spoil
to much, because Mother 3 is a niche game and many of you probably
haven't played it, but damn is that game dark. Even though it's
presentation is childish and happy go lucky this game deals with some
very heavy themes. Loss, Death and Despair are only the tip of the
Iceberg. And it's also an excellent game. If you haven't played it
you should definitely check it out. Because of it's exclusivity it
often gets overlooked, but in my opinion it tops even Earthbound. It
is that good. But it's definitely not for children.
And now to finish
this post I'll leave you with a picture, which will break your heart
if you have played Mother 3.
and as always
thanks for reading
Source: Mother 3
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