Category: Video Games

“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.

“I love the Power Glove… it’s so bad.”

From: The Wizard

Genre: Movies, Video Games

Who said it?: Lucas Barton

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the movie long Nintendo commercial, The Wizard. The story of the film is a “special” kid named Jimmy who wants to travel to California to put pictures of his dead sister in a dinosaur. His half-brother (played by Wonder Years’ star Fred Savage) breaks him out of the institution where he stays to help him get to California. Along the way, they meet a girl named Haley and they find out that Jimmy is a “wizard” in playing video games (get it?) so they enter Jimmy in Video Armageddon, a video game tournament with a prize of $50,000 going to the winner.

The quote comes from one of the “villains” of the film, Lucas Barton. Lucas encounters the trio and exclaims that he is the best NES player ever since he has all of the Nintendo games ever made. To emphasize this even further, he produces the Power Glove and uses it to play Rad Racer. After completing the race in the game, Lucas turns to the audience, delivering the quote and plugging the Power Glove to the young kids who are watching the film.

Geek wisdom: While it may seem like arrogance, it’s actually a good thing to take pride in what you have. Whether it be material things or your personal accomplishments, you have to be proud of it. There’s actually nothing wrong with what Lucas did in scene shown above. He’s just stating that he loves the Power Glove… and he proved why it’s awesome.

“It’s dangerous out there! Take this.”

From: The Legend of Zelda

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Old Man

The story behind the quote: This is a classic quote from the first Legend of Zelda game, a classic game for the NES. It’s also hard to believe that a simple 8-bit game revolutionize gaming as we know it with the ability to save. Before, gamers had to write down a password (which were usually incredibly long) when they had to continue where they left off. The Legend of Zelda changed all of that since the cartridge had a battery which allowed you to save the game. Oh, and it also helps that the game was just plain awesome!

While there have been several games (and reboots) during subsequent releases, the general plot remains the same. The hero of each game is an elf boy named Link. The kingdom of Hyrule is under attack by Ganon and Link goes on a quest to defeat the evil wizard and save the kingdom and Princess Zelda.

Anyway, the quote comes from the start of Link’s 1st quest. He enters a cave where he encounters an old man who tells the hero that the world is filled with monsters and he will need a weapon to defeat these evil creatures. Link gladly takes the sword that is offered and (like all other objects he finds along the way) raises it up in celebration.

Geek wisdom: Simply put, no man is an island. A lot of times, we do feel pride and we think that we can take on the world with no problem. However, there are going to be some instances when it’s simply not true. We will need assistance and every little bit helps.

Even if we are confident and sure that we can take on the world, it doesn’t hurt to be ready for unforeseen circumstances that can prevent us for success. That’s why we would need every little advantage to make sure we will do well.

“Leeroy Jenkins!”

From: Youtube (I guess)

Genre: Video Games, Internet

Who said it?: Leeroy Jenkins (I guess)

The story behind the quote: This is going to be a weird one since it doesn’t really come from anything other than Youtube. However, it does bear mentioning that the video is funny if you know the basic idea behind it. So, let’s first explain what the video is about.

The video shows a bunch of friends planning a raid within the World of Warcraft MMORPG. Before then enter the citadel where the raid is to take place, the group huddle up and meticulously plan and strategize how they are going to attack and what each persons role will be to minimize losses.

Unfortunately, one of the players, Leeroy Jenkins, becomes impatient (or just doesn’t care about strategy) and charges into the battlefield, yelling his name like a battlecry. Leeroy’s actions alert all of the monsters in the citadel and they begin attacking. Their plans wrecked because of this impulsive act, the group is decimated very quickly and all they can do is berate Leeroy Jenkins for it.

Geek wisdom: Planning definitely helps, especially if you want to be successful. Rushing into a dangerous situation without any form of strategy is, as the video shows, just plain suicide. Take a step back and predict possible failure points and make countermeasures. This just doesn’t go for video games; planning also helps with every thing in life.

“You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!”

From: Street Fighter II

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Ryu

The story behind the quote: This is actually the victory quote from Ryu, one of the characters from Street Fighter II. However, it created a lot of questions and confusion, which sadly could have been avoided if Capcom was more serious with their documentation.

The quote will appear when Ryu beats his opponent. However, people who were playing the game started wondering who the heck Sheng Long is and why we won’t be able to beat Ryu unless we go through this Sheng Long guy? A lot of people (myself included) that Sheng Long was Ryu and Ken’s master. We all thought that he was some tough Karate master who trained Ryu in his fighting style and must be one tough sonoabitch.

It was a great mystery and EGM, a popular video game magazine at the time, fueled the rumor that Sheng Long was actually in the game by publishing a method to actually fight him!

The method EGM published turned out to be an April’s Fools joke.

The real story behind the quote actually comes from sloppy translation of the victory quotes. The original Japanese quote reads “You must overcome the Rising Dragon,” which is Ryu’s jumping uppercut move, AKA the Dragon Punch. The Japanese text was translated into Chinese, where “Rising Dragon” can be translated into… yep, “Sheng Long.” When it came time to translate the quote to English, the localization staff misunderstood that it was a special attack and not a person, so he (or she) transliterated the text to read the quote we all know and love.

Still, we can sort of thank this mistranslated text. Because of this error, Capcom actually created Akuma (Gouki in Japan… don’t ask why they keep on screwing up the names), who had the moves of “Sheng Long” as described from EGM’s April’s Fools joke, and Gouken, the “official” master of Ryu and Ken who look strangely like the character art from EGM’s joke.

(Whew! That was another long one!)

Geek wisdom: We have to know our limits. A lot of people try to overcome great obstacles and that’s still admirable. However, we sometimes have to realize there has to come a time to step back and actually assess if we have the ability to perform the task. I mean, an ordinary guy just can’t come up to Kobe Bryant right now and challenge him to a one-on-one basketball game and hope to dominate! There’s a certain skill level involved to even stand a slight chance of beating him!

Now, I’m not saying it can be done. It can… but there’s a lot of practice and training involved. But, until you become skilled enough, just stay back and admire the man’s skill on the court.

“The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night”

From: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Narrator?

The story behind the quote: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest is pretty much known as the black sheep of the series. While the first game focused on platform jumping and a brutal difficulty level, Simon’s Quest took a totally different direction. It was now an RPG, where you need to talk to people and collect items. Because it was such a departure from the original, it wasn’t embraced by fans. It does have some unique tricks, such as using items to overcome obstacles and the day and night transitions (where the enemies become tougher at night).

Anyway, the quote will pop up during the transition to morning from night. A box will appear to the left of the screen, signalling the end of the night, which can be a relief to players when they are just starting out with a low level.

Geek wisdom: Time does heal all wounds. We can be deeply hurt by the actions of other people, especially those close to us. At the start, we can feel that we will never be able to forgive them. Heck, we can even not talk to them for years and years.

However, as time goes by, the intensity of the pain that was inflicted magically starts to fade. We then remember the good times we had with that person and the hurtful action that was done becomes a distant memory. Once this happens, forgiveness become easy.