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November 9, 2007
WARNING:
This column contains spoilers for Heavenly Sword. Do not read if you want to be
surprised by the game’s ending
To
sequel or not to sequel, that is the question
By
Michael Lafferty
There
are times when making a sequel diminishes the impact of the original story
If
there is one standard that seems to be prevalent in the entertainment business,
it is that a hit will breed a sequel – sometimes more than one.
Take
The Simpson’s Movie. Maggie utters her first word (at the end of the movie) and
it is, you guessed it, “sequel.” Rocky was a great film and has yielded five
sequels. It just feels like the powers that be see the dollar signs and
regardless of what the story or characters would want, plow through with a
sequel. And if the sequel is not feasible, then they put together a ‘pre-quel’
(using the characters for events that happened before the telling of the
timeline).
This is
just wrong on so many levels.
Consider the literary world. While some have gone the route of using popular
characters over and over, regardless of what happened to them in the last story,
some authors understand the value of the story and honor their characters. Once
Tolkien had Bilbo and Frodo depart for the Grey Havens, he didn’t bring Frodo
back for another adventure. He realized that the scope of Middle-earth was grand
enough to tell so many other tales. Perhaps none compared to the scope or depth
of the Fellowship, but he allowed that thread to remain where he laid it.
Tiny
Tim didn’t grow up and have a Christmas remission and have to learn the lesson
anew in A Christmas Carol II.
Some
stories stand on their own and should be left as works of art, as literary
stories well told. And yes, that means forget the sequels.
We have
had characters that seemed to die in one story to be mysteriously resurrected in
yet another tale. Or, the dev team decided that the character probably should
not come back and instead devised a plot line that involved them before the
events of the previous game.
In the
original God of War, the game starts with Kratos, driven mad through the
machinations of the gods, dropping from a cliff to his (presumably) death. But
nope, that was one possible outcome and the story was twisted to not only allow
Kratos to live through the original game’s ending but he came back for at least
one sequel. God of War II was a good game, but scored a bit lower than the
original title (if you look at some aggregate scoring publications). Offshoots
of the intellectual property (IP) have not fared as well.
Why?
Because like a good book a story once told is compelling and can touch the
reader (or player) in a manner that any sequels will have to work doubly hard to
come close to. We play a game, we get to know a character and then our
expectations for that character in subsequent releases are slightly higher. Fans
of a character would be quick to point out anomalies in behavior, while the
plots have to test them moreso than in their previous adventure.
SPOILER ALERT …
Which
brings us to Heavenly Sword and the story of Nariko. This was a tale that was
well told. The characters were compelling and had motivations for all their
actions. Nariko was spurred on by her caring for Kai, and for a principle, not a
people, that meant more to her than her own life.
And in
the end of the game it cost her; even with her last breath, with every ounce of
ethereal power she possessed, she gave of herself so another could live.
That is
a compelling story. And it was told exceptionally well through the art work and
animations of the game’s development team, Ninja Theory. Nariko was more than a
Shakespearian character; she was the embodiment of true hope that denies what
the rest of the world thinks and follows the passion of the heart, even unto
death.
The
ending of the story was beautifully told. To bring her back would be to spoil
all that the first game delivered to its players. There are other tales to be
told from that land, other stories that can weave in and out of the tapestry
first woven by Heavenly Sword. There is no need to dishonor the memory and
sacrifice of a few characters for the sake of dollar signs.
Ninja
Theory delivered a game that elevated the connection between superb graphics,
amazing artistry and story to a new level. It should be left that way. You can’t
improve on it, you can only diminish it.
