Happy Halloween from the NintendoFever staff! To scare up a little fun, we thought we’d talk about some of our spookiest video game memories:
Lukas Termini
1) Resident Evil (GCN) – Lisa: Let’s face it, Resident Evil is a series that banks on terror, but few abominations were as frightful in the original GameCube title as Lisa Trevor, the immortal, disfigured abomination that hounds you during a particularly trying portion of the game.
Her looks were scary enough, from her partially exposed skull to her chained hands and grotesque shuffle, but what really made her such a terror was her aforementioned immortality and the way she called out “mo-ther…” as she tormented you.
2) Donkey Kong 64 – Frantic Factory: Whether it was intentional or not, it’s hard to deny that Donkey Kong 64 can be a really creepy game. The soundtrack really gives the entire game a sinister, off-putting tone, but nowhere is this fear more acutely realized than in Frantic Factory.
The music in this section is just downright creepy, and the enemies are equally disturbing in appearance. Add to that the maze-like structure of this stage, and you have the recipe for some true childhood scarring. And to bring it all together, the final boss is a cybernetic, demonic jack-in-the-box named Mad Jack.
3) Pikmin – One of us, one of us: Pikmin wasn’t a particularly scary game by design, but the constant fear of failing to collect all the spaceship parts in 30 days did create some serious tension. If Olimar couldn’t accomplish this task, he wouldn’t be able to escape the planet and would suffocate on the planet’s poisonous oxygen.
If you didn’t manage to escape the planet’s surface, as was my experience during my first play-through, you crash back to earth and seemingly die. It’s at this point that the pikmin carry your lifeless body to one of their pod-like onions, and convert you into a pikmin. And there you sit, a vegetable stalk protruding from your head, waiting to be plucked. Of course, since the planet is abandoned, there isn’t actually anyone to free you from the ground. I hope you like photosynthesis, Olimar…
Collin Crowder
Metroid Prime’s Phendrana Drifts Pirate Base
Metroid Prime has multiple distinct areas, none of which are as cold and desolate as the Phendrana Drifts. While making your way through the Phendrana Drifts, you’ll encounter a space pirate base. The base is pretty creepy and enemies lurk around every corner. After maneuvering through the base you’ll eventually find the Thermal Visor…. And the then the lights go out. Complete darkness all around you. Metroids break out of containment, more space pirates are after you, and you need to escape the base the way you came in.
The entire base in encased in darkness, and the only way to see is with the Thermal Visor. Even using the Thermal Visor, it is tough to see what is happening around you. Space pirates hang from walls waiting to strike. Metroids are everywhere and you just hope they don’t try and grab you. I remember pausing the game when the lights went out, and I remember just not wanting to play anymore. I persevered, got the through the base, and never wanted to return.
Banjo Kazooie’s Mad Monster Mansion
There are a lot of creepy levels in Banjo Kazooie, but Mad Monster Mansion takes the cake. Ghosts, skeletons and gravestones are out to get you. On top of that, the level is confusing to navigate and many secrets are hidden in subtle locations. Once inside the mansion, pictures that seem to be no threat have monsters pop out of them, perhaps draining what little life you have left. In one of Banjo Kazooie’s later levels, it can be tough to collect all of the puzzle pieces, musical notes and Jinzo’s.
A cathedral in the level has its own mysteries, including a massive organ inside, in which you’ll need to mimic a ghost’s hand playing a particular tune. Mumbo Jumbo is even in this level, transforming you into, of all things… a pumpkin. You can’t do much as a pumpkin, but you can reach smaller, hard to reach areas. There is always something lurking around each corner, and the spooky atmosphere of Mad Monster Mansion makes it a great level to play leading up to Halloween.
Resident Evil 4’s Castle Cultists
Without a doubt, Resident Evil 4 is my favorite game of all time. The atmosphere, farmers, shooting mechanics, the merchant, all of it is great. The second section of the game has always stood out to me. After taking care of the village chief and escaping the crazy farmers, you find yourself retreating into a castle. A castle run by an insane amount of cultists. Cultists wear black and red robes and carry flails, shields, scythes and even dynamite.
You can also hear them coming, as they have numerous chants that let you know of their presence. The most common chant is “Morir es vivir.“, which translates to “To die is to live”. The first time I heard those words, I felt chills throughout my whole body, and I hadn’t even seen the cultists yet. I actually stopped playing the game for quite some time after that. Eventually I went back and completed the game, but the cultists still haunt me.
Holly Fellmeth (that’s me!)
I only wish to speak on one moment, and I didn’t even mention this on the podcast… The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Arbiter’s Grounds. I don’t play horror games, but some of the Zelda games come quite close enough, thank you very much! Arbiter’s Grounds are located in the heart of Gerudo Desert in Twilight Princess. They are isolated, lonely, ruinous, and creepy. It stands to reason: the place was built to hold the kingdom’s most dangerous criminals.
The Grounds contain ghost rats, the walking dead, scarab beetles, and more, but the mini-boss, Death Sword, really did a number on me when I first faced it, what with the piercing screams and such. I’ve played a lot of Zelda games and braved a lot of dungeons, but few of those dungeons will stick out in my mind as well as Arbiter’s Grounds.
