Category: Video Games

“Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind!”

From: PaRappa The Rappa

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Chop Chop Master Onion

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from one of the first games to come out for the original PlayStation, PaRappa The Rappa. It became a big success for Sony’s new console because of its very unique look as well as having some pretty memorable songs. The game tells the story of PaRappa, an anthropomorphic dog who has a crush on Sunny Funny. Throughout the story, PaRappa goes through different events in his quest to impress Sunny Funny.

The quote comes from the very first stage of the game, entitled I Need To Be A Hero. After watching a superhero film, PaRappa and his friends go hang out at their local burger joint. They get accosted by the local bully before they are “rescued” by a person named Joe Chin, who seems to have impressed Sunny Funny. PaRappa then imagines becoming a hero and taking down the bullies. But, before he’s able to do that, he realizes he needs to be good at fighting. So, he visits Chop Chop Master Onion to learn karate from him.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we can set limitations with the things we can do. We can have self-doubt tell us that something is impossible. Bashfulness and shyness can actually prevent us from doing great things. And the fear of failure can stop up from even trying something.

But, like Chop Chop Master Onion said, “It’s all in the mind!” Self-doubt, shyness and fear of failure are pretty much barriers from achieving greatness. So, kick and punch out these things from your thoughts!

“I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel”

From: Mass Effect 2

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Commander Shepard

The story behind the quote: Mass Effect 2 is the second installment of the Mass Effect trilogy. In the games, you take control of Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. In the first game, Shepard learns of the Reapers, a sentient race of machines that wipe out all organic life in the galaxy after a certain amount of time has passed. Shepard does manage to prevent the initial invasion from happening. However, it only postponed the inevitable.

In the second game, Shepard is proclaimed a hero after the events of the 1st game. Shepard decides to capitalize on this to get discounts from the various stores of the Citadel. The Commander simply delivers the same quote as a personal endorsement at different shops.

Geek wisdom: We see celebrities endorse products all the time and we do get the urge to buy whatever product it may be because the person using it is popular and well-known. But, here’s the thing: are they being honest when they do it? Or are they just doing it because they are getting paid to do it?

Here, Commander Shepard goes around different stores on the Citadel and makes a recording that they are his/her “favorite store” in the area. Which is not true. He/She is doing it to get a discount!

People lie. It’s up to us to try to tell the lies and the truth apart.

“Little dog? *arf, arf* Or big dog? *woof, woof*”

From: LifeLine

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Rio

The story behind the quote: This quote actually comes from an Easter Egg from Lifelife for the Playstation 2. This survival horror game from Konami is remembered because it was a good game (most reviews gave it an average score). Rather, what made his PS2 game memorable was its unique control scheme.

It takes place in the future where you are attending a party in a hotel that is orbiting the Earth. The festivities are abruptly put on hold due to invasion of alien monsters. Your character gets trapped in the control center of the space hotel. Your character manages to make contact with another survivor named Rio (voiced by Kristen Miller). However, you can only communicate with her by actually talking to her.

As mentioned, the game was pretty different from other survival horror games because of the way you control Rio. The player cannot use the controller to issue orders to Rio. Rather, you would have to use a PS2 USB microphone and give the commands by talking to her. The concept was good… but the execution was bad. The game simply couldn’t keep up, especially if you issue commands hurriedly. However, using your voice to control the onscreen character was used in weird ways, especially with the aforementioned quote.

At any time during the game, you can command Rio to bark like a dog for no reason at all. The weird thing is that the developers actually thought of this and Rio has a response for it!

The video below has Adam Sessler reviewing (and blasting) the game. You can skip to 2:03 of the video to here the sequence and the quote. You can clearly see that Adam didn’t really expect a response!

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, taking a weird and irreverent chance can make you stumble on to something good. In the game, there is really no reason to ask Rio to bark like a dog. It’s something generally something someone would do on a whim… and it actually works!

We can get too focused on our own lives and get too serious. Because of this, we forget that being spontaneous and irreverent… just doing something for no reason… can also be fun. Let your hair down once in a while… and bark like a dog for no reason.

“Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you.”

From: Resident Evil

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Barry Burton

The story behind the quote: The Resident Evil series from Capcom popularized horror games and was the basis for the entire “survival horror” genre. Take note that didn’t actually create survival horror as there were horror games like Alone in the Dark or Clock Tower that came before it. However, it does earn the distinction of taking horror games into the mainstream.

While the first game in the series was a breakthrough and did have some genuine scares (remember the jump you got when the dogs jumped through the windows?), that’s not to say that the story and script was very good. In fact, the voice acting is pretty bad, especially if you compare it to today’s standards. But at the time, having any voice acting in a game was pretty phenomenal. However, there is an advantage to having such poor voice acting and awful dialogue: the quotes in the game become extremely memorable… such as the quote in question.

If you play as Jill Valentine, the female in the game, you and one of your squad members, Barry Burton, get separated from the rest of your team members. So, they decide to split up to cover more ground. Barry then remembers that he found a lockpick. Knowing that Jill is “the master of unlocking,” he generously gives it to Jill since it will be much more useful to her.

Geek wisdom: If you’re not really using something and you know that someone will find that item useful, you might as well let that someone have it. We tend to be greedy with our possessions and actually hoard stuff, citing that we “may need it in the future” or there’s some sentimental value with these items. But there may be people that may need these items much more than you.

Try to remember to help other people. It may be difficult to let go but, if it helps other people, you know that the thing that you loved before is being put into good use.

“What strength! But don’t forget that there are many guys like you all over the world!”

From: Street Fighter

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Various characters

The story behind the quote: We’ve already discussed a bunch of Street Fighter II quotes, such as Ryu’s victory quote regarding the “mysterious” Sheng Long and even M. Bison’s quote regarding Tuesday. However, these quotes came from the extremely popular 2nd entry in the series. Most people haven’t even played the original Street Fighter game. Now seems like the perfect time to take a gander at it.

The original Street Fighter game was actually a pretty amazing fighting game… for its time. While there were some games that used different characters like Yie Ar Kung Fu, you normally played as an ordinary guy with no real special skills while your opponents can do amazing things. In Street Fighter, Ryu (or Ken if you’re playing as the 2nd player), you can throw fireballs, perform spinning kicks or a devastating jumping uppercut. While the controls weren’t responsive (you’d be lucky to actually get the fireball motion to register), that was pretty different for its time and did gain a significant following.

Another big innovation would be digitized voices. Ryu and Ken would yell out “Flash Fire” or “Dragon Punch” when they did the fireball and Dragon Punch, respectively. The most memorable use of digitized speech used would have to be the entire quote spouted out by the computer opponent when you beat them. Even though the sound quality was terrible (it was pretty hard to understand it without the subtitles), it was still amazing to actually hear it.

Geek wisdom: You may think that you are the best at a certain thing but you cannot rest on your laurels. You have to constantly practice your craft in order to actually be the best. For example, you may think that you’re the best Street Fighter at your arcade, however, unless you actually go to different arcades and test your skills against new players, you’ll never improve.

Sure there’s a fear of losing, but that fear is also important since the only way you can get better is to try testing yourself against others. If you want to be the best at anything, you have to prove yourself as the best.

“Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.”

From: Assassin’s Creed series

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Various characters

The story behind the quote: Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series is a weird game if you think about it. Although it is set in the present time, the bulk of each game takes place in the past. You take control of Desmond, who uses a machine called the Animus so that he can relive the lives of his ancestors. His ancestors, by the way, just so happen to be a part of a clan of Assassins who used their skills to oppose the Knights Templar. He needs to experience their lives in order to to find an item that can possibly prevent the world from dying.

Anyway, the Assassins follow a Creed (hey, that’s the title of the games!) that is basically the quote in question. Although it is mentioned several times throughout the games. However, some people do not seem to really grasp the gravity and the meaning behind the message of the Creed. In Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (technically the fourth installment in the series), one of Desmond’s ancestors, Ezio Auditore de Firenze, explains it to someone…

Geek wisdom: Since there are two parts to the Creed (and already explained by Ezio very well), let’s just break it down into simpler words…

Saying that “nothing is true” is not actually a negative thing, as Ezio mentioned. All of the rules and laws that we’ve made are just that, they were made by us. And these rules can change for the better and the worse. Before, having a slave was not only acceptable, but gave people a sense of privilege. Thankfully, that time has passed and slavery has been pretty much outlawed all over the world.

However, the best part of the Creed (for me, anyway) is the “everything is permitted” part. We like to think that fate led us to what we have become up to this time. In fact, what we are right now is the culmination of all of our decisions. Even the smallest ones, like if you wanted to eat an apple or a candy bar as a snack, has made you the person that you are. When bad things happen to us, we like to think that “it isn’t my fault.” Well, it is. And we have to own up to our choices, whether the outcome be good or bad.

“Beware the battle cattle but don’t fear the battle cattle!”

From: Fallout: New Vegas

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: “Tabitha” and “Rhonda”

The story behind the quote: This quote actually comes from a fairly recent game called Fallout: New Vegas. I already have a post from the entire series, so I won’t really go into detail as to the backstory of the Fallout universe that Bethedsa created for it. If you want to see what I wrote or if you do want to learn the history of the series, you can check on that post here.

Anyway, you can hear the quote when you tune in to the Black Mountain Radio station. The broadcast is being controlled by Rhonda and his “best friend” Tabitha. Tabitha complains that the other Super Mutants are running away from fighting something called “battle cattle.” While she/he agrees they are dangerous, it is shameful that they are running away from the creatures “like a scared little human.” Rhonda then chimes in with the quote, telling them that they should be careful with fighting the battle cattle but they should not run away from the fight.

Geek wisdom: We have to face our fears or else those fears will control us. It’s like riding a roller coaster; it is terrifying but to simply not ride it will deny you from experiencing the fun and thrill it gives. I’m not saying that we should confront all our fears. I’m afraid of being stabbed by a mugger, but this doesn’t mean that I’m going to confront my fear and let myself be mugged. I’m saying that we should confront irrational fears.

Irrational fears are the fears that we know are kind of stupid but it is so deep within us that we let them control us. These are the ones we should face and show them who’s boss. In the game, the super mutants should be able to take down the battle cattle easily, but they are too afraid to face them since they were told to be afraid of them. We shouldn’t act like scared little humans in the face of irrational fears.

“The controls are online. The switch — and consequences — are yours.”

From: Mass Effect 2

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: EDI

The story behind the quote: While not particularly remembered by a lot of gamers, this quote comes from the 2nd Mass Effect game. Developed by Bioware, each of the Mass Effect games lets you take command of Commander Shepard, a tough space soldier who is destined to save the entire galaxy. However, each game has you making choices that will impact the other entries of the series. For example, in the first Mass Effect game, Shepard has to decide to sacrifice two of his loyal officers, Kaiden Alenko or Ashley Williams. Now, who you select does die and, if you import your save game to Mass Effect 2, this will impact the story. So, each choice you make becomes important.

The quote comes after you retrieve a krogan (think lizard alien) in a pod. Your ship’s AI, named EDI, informs Shepard that it cannot tell if the alien is hostile or not. However, if Shepard says that he/she (you get to choose Shepard’s gender) wants to release the krogan, EDI tells him/her that the choice is ultimately up to him/her… but he/she will have to live with the consequences.

Geek wisdom: Every decision that we make will always have a consequence and we cannot simply run away from the results of our actions. We have to take responsibility for our choices, whether it be good or bad.

“Stay awhile and listen!”

From: Diablo II

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Deckard Cain

The story behind the quote: This is a really classic quote and became synonymous with Blizzard’s massive hit, Diablo. The one delivering the quote is Deckard Cain, essentially a wise man who’s main role is to guide the hero (that’s you) on how to defeat the Lord of Terror, Diablo.

Although Deckard Cain is an old man, he has a vast knowledge of Diablo and his brothers, Baal and Mephisto. In fact, he is a descendant of one of the people who managed to defeat and imprison Diablo eons ago. In Diablo II, he becomes the guide to gives the players the necessary knowledge (and quests) to gain the skills and items to beat Diablo.

In fact, the quote was so popular that Blizzard made the voice actor, Michael Gough, create a rap song.

Geek wisdom: It’s a good idea to stop and listen to the opinions of others. While we may not follow them, it’s always a good idea to get the inputs of others. The reason is simple: they may see things differently from others. This is why, although the president will ultimately make the hard decisions needed to run a country, he (or she) will always turn to his advisers first.

Ask others to give their opinions regarding a topic or a choice; they may have some information that you don’t have or have another way of looking at a problem to help you make a better (informed) decision.