Difference between revisions of "Essay:Greatest Conservative Video Games"

Revision as of 18:46, December 26, 2017

Although the video game industry by and large is liberal, there have been instances of video games promoting conservative values.

Ubisoft

• Watchdogs: Despite coming from the ultra-liberal video game company Ubisoft, the game Watch Dogs has several Conservative messages, namely those of pro-family, anti-crime, and anti-big government. However, its sequel qualified as liberal.
• Assassin's Creed Unity: Despite it coming from the ultra-liberal video game company Ubisoft as well as the liberal Assassin's Creed video game franchise, the game's plot specifically condemned the French Revolution and its adherents, with various notable figures of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror being targets for assassination.
• Rainbow Six series: Based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, it deals with a special forces unit dealing with terrorists worldwide.

Koei-Tecmo

• Dead or Alive series: The fighting game franchise had several conservative messages. One of which was pro-family, as the main character, Kasumi, joined the Dead or Alive tournament specifically to avenge her brother when he ended up critically injured by her uncle, and Kasumi, despite being on the run from her clan due to her technically violating their laws to do so, ultimately wants to return to her clan and family someday throughout the series, and in Dead or Alive 4, 5, and Dimensions, Ayane eventually managed to put aside her murderous jealousy against her half-sister and try to aid her. Similarly, Hayate, her brother, is also reluctant to kill his sister, despite the law mandating it, and their mother, Ayame, also stops Ayane (who was an illegitimate child due to Raidou, the uncle of Hayate and Kasumi who was responsible for the former's injury, having previously raped Ayame) from committing suicide and specifically stated not to kill Kasumi specifically because she was family, which was stronger than any Shinobi code. Similarly, in Dead or Alive 5, the character of Helena Douglas attempts to honor her deceased father's memory by restoring DOATEC to what her father Fame envisioned, and her overall character arc had her trying to avenge her deceased mother when she was murdered during a performance. In addition, the reason Helena's mother had died was because she took the bullet to save her daughter, due to said assassin, Christie, actually aiming for Helena herself during the performance. In addition, the character Hitomi in Dead or Alive 4 took control of the dojo specifically because her father had succumbed to an illness and needed money to help him and his dojo, with the character Gen-Fu having a similar motive regarding his granddaughter Mei Lin in Dead or Alive 1 and 2, entering to gain money for an operation to save her, and in Dead or Alive 3 to pay the medical bills, retiring only after she was fully cured and he fully paid off the debt and spending time with her afterward. Helena Douglas is also depicted as a Christian as well as depicted in a more positive light. In addition, even though it was a Japanese-created game series, it is also notable as featuring a surprisingly pro-American message in the form of the Armstrongs, as their patriotism was depicted in a positive light, and the character Tina was depicted as also trying to follow through with the American Dream. Also has an anti-cloning message, as the villainous DOATEC (and later, MIST) created various clones of Kasumi, with all of them being depicted as either villains (Alpha Kasumi, later known as Alpha-152) or victims (Phase 4). There is also a slight condemnation against feminism in Dead or Alive 5, as Tina tells Mila that "pretty girls shouldn't fight."

Konami

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater: Although it was part of the liberal Metal Gear Solid series, the game's overall message was surprisingly conservative, emphasizing a promotion of patriotism in a (in comparison to the rest of the series at least) positive light throughout most of the game, and also featuring the Soviet Union and Communism in general in a more negative light, including depicting the main villain, Colonel Volgin, in a truly villainous and horrific light, as well as referencing several real-life war crimes conducted by the USSR such as the massacre at Katyn Forest during World War II (including making clear that the Soviets, in particular Volgin, was responsible for the event, not the Nazis which was even referenced in-game, as well as making explicitly clear that Joseph Stalin had ordered for the massacre by the NKVD in the first place, as well as similar massacres within the Ukraine and Western Belarus as well as it resulting in at least 24,000 deaths including the mass grave discovered by the Wehrmacht near Gnezdovo village), the massacres during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 as well as the uprising in East Germany on June 17, 1953. It also to a certain extent attempts to promote American values (especially in comparison to most entries in the series prior to and after that game). In addition, the man trying to defect from the Soviet Union to America in the beginning of the game, Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov, is shown in a sympathetic light and was also shown to be a family man, as when defecting to the United States and trying to cross the Iron Curtain, he made clear that he won't leave without his family, and late in the game, when acknowledging he probably won't be able to go to America, he has Naked Snake swear to take care of his family for him. In addition, it has a slight anti-homosexual agenda message due to the character Major Raikov alongside the main villain Volgin being strongly implied to be in a homosexual relationship, and neither character being depicted in a positive or sympathetic light. Also, contrary to most Cold War-related storylines which usually downplays Soviet involvement in various third-world conflicts such as Vietnam, it is made explicitly clear that the Soviets played a huge role in various uprisings within the third world, with radio conversations dealing with various weapons making very clear that the Soviets had involvement in South Vietnam, in the Malaysia Emergency, and that they even devised various traps specifically to be adopted by any communist allies in third world regions and were researching various traps within the Soviet Union via one of the key locations in the game.
  • Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops: Like Snake Eater above, it also attempts to invoke patriotism in a more positive light, and the main villains are explicitly shown to try and invoke nihilism, anti-American commentary as well as promoting class warfare at one point (citing a growing gap between the rich and poor during a speech midway through the game). It also has a condemnation against Soviet policies, as a large part of the reason why the personnel of a missile base in Colombia (who were of Soviet origin) ended up turning to Gene's cause was out of revenge for essentially being cut off from the Soviet brass due to the events of Détente in order for the Soviets to place the blame on "out-of-control soldiers" in the event the base was discovered, and when the Soviet personnel ultimately did aid Snake in stopping the possible nuclear launch against the Soviet Union, it is solely due to the Soviet Union being their homeland and not out of any love for its policies. Similar to Metal Gear Solid 3, it makes clear that the Soviets were also heavily involved in the actions of various liberation fronts in the third world, as the reason the Soviets had the missile base in Colombia in the first place was because the Soviets had been aiding the FARC communist rebel group in the backstory, and the character Frank Jaegar, aka, Null, had formerly been a member of the communist-backed FREMILO, with Big Boss being implied to have aided the Portuguese Soldiers during the Mozambician Civil War.
• Contra series: Pro-military and Pro-American. American heroes fight against villainous organizations and alien invaders

Activision

• Call of Duty series: The Call of Duty series tends to promote American values as well as being pro-military, focusing on both World War II as well as modern warfare, including black ops.

Play Mechanix Inc.

• Big Buck Hunter series: Pro-hunting arcade game series.

Electronic Arts

• Battlefield series: Similarly to the Call of Duty series, it tends to promote American values as well as being pro-military.
• Medal of Honor series: Like above, it tends to promote American values as well as being pro-military. Although the series mostly deals with the events of World War II, two of the more recent games deal with the War in Afghanistan.

Bethesda Software

• Skyrim: Inspired by conservative novels such as Lord of the Rings, Beowulf, and The Chronicles of Narnia and has conservative messages just like them.

Multiple parties

• Home Alone: A video game adaptation of the greatest conservative film of the same name, retaining many of its themes.
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: A video game adaptation of the greatest conservative film of the same name, and retains many of its themes.

Nintendo

• The Legend of Zelda series: Similar in vein to stories such as Lord of the Rings, Beowulf, and The Chronicles of Narnia, the games detail a classic message of good fighting evil, and also featured implicit Christian themes in the series. There was also a pro-family message in at least one game in the series, as one of the entries, Wind Waker, featured Link trying to save his sister after she was abducted early on in the game, as well as their getting along amicably throughout.
• Radar Mission: Pro-military game based on the board game battleship, it teaches the player the art of strategy, with the story involving the player fighting against an enemy fleet and, later, an enemy airfield that is implied to be the main headquarters of the enemy. Also has an alternate game mode that deals with Submarine warfare.
• Metroid series: Although largely being based on the liberal movie franchise Alien, the game franchise has several conservative elements. Namely, it depicts piracy and terrorism in a negative manner in the form of the murderous Space Pirates who frequently act as the main antagonists of the franchise. The game Super Metroid also promotes parenthood in a positive light, as the main plotline of the game involved Samus Aran trying to rescue her "child", a Metroid hatchling she adopted after wiping out its race in the previous game due to it imprinting on her, from the Space Pirate forces. The Prime series also depicts the military in a positive manner in the form of the Galactic Federation Marines, and some of the Chozo Logs as well as the Luminoth also have some similarities to biblical accounts (i.e., the Worm, alluding to the titular antagonist Metroid Prime, alluding to Wormwood in the book of revelations). In addition, although the main protagonist, Samus Aran, is female, it does not promote the concept of feminism. The game Metroid Fusion also showcases the warnings of playing god and government corruption.
• Punch-Out!! series: Pro-American dream, as the player, as Little Mac, a rookie boxer from New York, has to fight to the championship to acquire the title of world champion of boxing.

SNK

• Metal Slug series: Pro-military and pro-American, deals with the main characters trying to fight terrorists of various stripes.

Synergestic Software

• Super Battleship: Pro-military strategy game based on the board game Battleship. In addition to the standard game, there is also a story-based mode that has you dealing with several military operations and fighting against enemy fleets (implied by the eagle on the flag to be the Nazis). Teaches the player about the art of strategy.

Pterodon/Illusion Software

• Vietcong: Promotes American forces in a positive light, and, despite the title of the game, the Vietcong are depicted as villains in this. Overall promotes the Vietnam War.

Square-Enix

• Final Fantasy: The first game in the franchise has a simple tale of Good vs. Evil.
• Final Fantasy IV: Promotes the concept of redemption, and showcases a clear message of good vs. evil.
• Final Fantasy XV: Similar to Disney's The Lion King, the game promotes the concept of honoring one's father and has several Christian themes in the game.

Capcom

• Mega Man ZX series: Has a significant condemnation of Social Darwinism in the form of Serpent and Master Albert, and also has a condemnation of homosexuality in the form of Rospark the Floroid. Also depicts terrorism in a very negative light.

Debatable whether Conservative

Indie/Small Developers

• Undertale: On one hand, it teaches the importance of core Christian values such as mercy and compassion by discouraging killing characters, and instead solving conflicts non-violently. On the other hand, it involves homosexual and bisexual relationships, some of which may involve the player character (who is 12 years of age) depending on what dialogue choices the player makes.

Capcom

• Resident Evil series: The games generally have a subtle anti-capitalist and anti-American agenda. However, it also has a condemnation against social Darwinism and eugenics, as most of the main villains in the franchise tended to promote some form of eugenics as well as social Darwinism as their motives. In addition, one of the protagonists, Barry Burton, was implied in the English localization to be a member of the National Rifle Association, and the games also to some extent featured pro-family messaging, as Barry Burton was shown to be very loyal to his family, and the character Claire Redfield is depicted as being loyal to her brother Chris, spending Resident Evil 2 trying to find him and in Code Veronica refuses to allow Albert Wesker to harm him. The games also showcase government corruption in a scarily realistic and negative light in the form of Albert Wesker (who was a former police officer in the first Resident Evil) and Brian Irons (the police chief for the Raccoon City Police Department in Resident Evil 2). Resident Evil 4 also has a condemnation against pagan religions in the form of the Los Illuminados.
• Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record: Although it has largely the same plotline as in the first Dead Rising, it also to some extent is pro-family, due to the main character trying to save his daughter from infection. In addition, unlike the first or third main entries to the series, the hidden antagonist is not a military person, but instead a former rapper and TV executive who orchestrated the entire outbreak to boost ratings as well as steal wealth, acting as a subtle condemntation to Hollywood values.

Konami

• Metal Gear Solid/Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes: Although the first game does have condemnation towards Cloning and genetic engineering, and also has (albeit unintentionally) a pro-life/anti-abortion message due to Liquid Snake, when describing the process of the Les Enfants Terribles' creation, in particular its use of abortion to encourage fetal growth, explicitly labeling it as murder (although in that case, he attributed the act of murder more to himself and his brother Solid Snake, both byproducts of the project, than to the people actually responsible for the Super Baby Method), as well as promoting the concept of redemption to some extent, and also paints terrorism in an appropriately bad light, it at the same time is rife with anti-Americanism among both heroes and villains (although obviously not to the same extent as in later entries) as well as pushing an anti-nuclear and anti-war agenda, both of which seemed to focus more on America doing so than other countries, in particular Russia and China (specifically, the character Nastasha Romanenko, a member of NEST, spent most of her time condemning America for using nuclear weapons or even using nuclear power at all, and giving very little, if any criticism towards Russia and China for their having nukes, despite the fact that the event that caused her to hold a strong hatred for nukes, Chernobyl, having originated from within the Soviet bloc).

Radical Games

• The Simpsons Hit and Run: Although there are some liberal themes, such as Marge's crusade against Bonestorm-an implied violent video game-being depicted in a negative light, some characters engaging in lawlessness in a similar manner to Grand Theft Auto, and one of the later chapters for the game having the main antagonists supply the townspeople with ray guns as well as tainted cola in a way that could be interpreted as supporting gun control, it also had several conservative messages, namely pro-family, as two of the chapters dealt with Lisa and Marge trying to find Bart after he went missing and trying to find out the cause behind his addled behavior, and later attempting to stop the production of Buzz Cola due to its effects on Bart, respectively, the first chapter and most of the game features a condemnation towards mass surveillance due to the presence of surveillance vans and wasp cameras and their being treated in a clear negative light, especially in a matter that isn't essential to stopping a threat, and is also anti-Hollywood values due to the main antagonists, aliens by the name of Kang and Kodos, deliberately trying to cause a ruckus in Springfield, including the aforementioned distribution of ray guns and tainted Buzz Cola to cause a shootout and later reanimating the dead via Buzz Cola, plus using the wasp cameras and surveillance vans all in an attempt to boost ratings of their reality show "Foolish Earthlings," which as the title implies deals with depicting various people of Earth, in particular Springfield, doing various stupid actions. Also has a rarity in the franchise where nuclear power is actually depicted in a positive light due to it ultimately being the only thing that stopped Kang and Kodos's alien invasion. There is also a humorous condemnation towards gun-free school zones, as during the same level that Bart has to stop the distribution of ray guns to the populace at Squidport, Principal Skinner explicitly references the no-gun policy among students at Springfield Elementary when confiscating Bart's ray gun, despite Bart making clear he only needed the gun to supply evidence towards an evil plot.

Activision

• Call of Duty 2: Like most entries in the franchise, it ultimately promotes American values and the military, as well as the British during World War II as well. However, at least one of the main campaigns depicts the Soviets in a positive manner due to it focusing on the Battle of Stalingrad.

Nintendo

• Metroid: Other M: Although largely part of the Metroid series and retaining some of its more conservative elements (namely, the promotion of parenthood and condemning the concept of playing god), the game was rather infamous for several criticisms it experienced in the game, namely the characterization of Adam Malkovich and his relationship with Samus due to it coming across more as promoting an abusive relationship (such as Adam shooting Samus in the back before sacrificing himself). The game, unlike in the Prime series, also depicts the military in a more negative manner, as a flashback had Samus being restrained from turning her back on Adam despite her intention being to save Ian, his brother, from death, as well as one of the more controversial elements of the game being the authorization element which at one point has Adam failing to actually authorize the Varia Suit to allow Samus to traverse through a superheated area despite it nearly killing her until a long while afterward, and also had as its main plot a conspiracy to weaponized Metroids at the order of the Federation military (as well as having someone within Samus's group attempt to assassinate each of the members in order to silence them to any potential discoveries to the conspiracy in question via the character The Deleter).

Pterodon/Illusion Software

• Vietcong 2: Although like its predecessor, it ultimately portrays American involvement in Vietnam as a positive, and depicts the Vietcong in the main story as the bad guys, there is an additional mode that features the player playing as the Vietcong and them being portrayed in a more positive manner.

Ubisoft

• Assassins Creed 3: The Assassins help the American Revolution by killing the Templar leaders of the British. However, a DLC came out for the game that has you kill all of the Founding Fathers.

Square-Enix

• Final Fantasy II: In initial releases for the game, the game had an undeniably pro-Christian element to the games, and also condemned Satanic worshippers and totalitarianism in the form of the game's main villain Emperor Mateus Palamecia, who explicitly goes to Hell when he dies and tries to take over the world with the powers he gained from Hell. However, the remakes starting with the GBA version added in a new mode called "Dawn of Souls" which has the killed party members fighting against the Emperor's light half who took over Heaven, which could be interpreted as an anti-Christian message.
• Final Fantasy VI: Promotes parenthood due to Terra Branford becoming a mother figure for the Mobliz orphans late into the game, which also had her learning the concept of love, and also showcases the horrors of totalitarian ideologies in the form of the Gestahlian Empire, and also offers a condemnation of nihilism in the form of the game's main antagonist Kefka. However, Terra also makes a more relativistic remark when trying to refute Kefka regarding finding meanings in things.
• Final Fantasy VII: Promotes the concept of redemption and condemns unethical science in the form of Professor Hojo, but on the other hand, it also has a more anti-Capitalist view on things with Shin-Ra, the main antagonists, being a corporation, and is hinted to promote environmentalism due to the main protagonists being eco-terrorists.

Rockstar North

• Bully: Despite coming from the same developers ultra-liberal series Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club, this game can be seen to show the dangers of high school cliques as well as bullies. However, the game's main protagonist, Jimmy Hopkins, can be quite a jerk himself and still gets involved in fights with bullies and high school cliques.

Total Jerkface

• Happy Wheels: This computer game is very violent, bloody, and gory. Despite its content, it can be seen to teach physics and the point of the game is to avoid getting into car wrecks.

Doodie Man

• Whack Your Boss: This computer game is very violent, bloody, and gory as well. However, it can be seen by some to rightfully vilify workplace bullying. The violence is also played for comedic purposes rather than being promoted.

See also

• Essay:Worst Liberal Video Games

References