Popular Post Remilia Scarlet Posted June 4, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) The Last of Us is one of the most important video games of all time. It received universal acclaim and accumulated over 240 Game of the Year awards. It has been lauded time and again as the pinnacle of character driven story-telling and a true example of video games as an art form. It is also Sony’s best-selling exclusive. But none of that matters for what I am going to talk about. Please stick with me throughout this, as it will be a relatively long post. Everyone has a different experience with entertainment, especially when it comes to games. When The Last of Us initially released, I brushed it off as another generic TPS zombie shooter. All of my friends were going on and on about how this game is the best game ever, yadda yadda yadda. I put off buying the game for the longest time. In fact, I didn’t buy the game at all. I was given the game by Jack Tretton himself at a special Sony event (I did buy The Last of Us Remastered though). It was at this point (almost a year after the game released) that I said fuck it, and decided to see what the hype was about. Thirty minutes in, my eyes were red with tears and I was fighting to keep playing. The opening alone was enough to convince me that I was wrong about all of my misconceptions about The Last of Us. The mere voice acting was so powerful, so emotional, so well-done and well-scripted that I felt as if I was there. The character development is some of the best I have ever witnessed. These people feel real. They are fully realized and no other game has ever come close to the heights that The Last of Us reached. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic future. Yet, this future is so very real. Naughty Dog has done something impossible. They crafted a world that is distant, yet is literally under our very fingertips every day. This America isn’t some fictional doodle some guy cooked up. This America is one we all see, breathe and interact with in our daily lives. Distant, yet familiar. The apocalypse is not a half-brained idea, either and this is just another stroke of genius. Naughty Dog utilized REAL science, and created a plague that CAN happen. And this is what terrifies me about The Last of Us. That despite being science fiction horror, it is so damn believable. We play as Joel, a ruthless smuggler who has been worn down by a brutal future. Aged beyond his years, Joel has suffered more pain and loss than most people can claim. In many games this would automatically make him the hero. This is not so in TLOU. Joel is not a hero; he is a ruthless killer, tired, weary, worn down by his world. He has arguably done twice as much harm as good. And the beautiful thing is, the game does not shy away from any of this, yet it does not paint Joel to be a bad person. I’d argue that it shows us a good man who was forced to do bad things in order to survive. As one person once said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “morals go out the window when it comes to surviving. You can hold on to your morals and die, or do something bad and live.” Never has that statement rang so true than with Joel. While we never get a true sense of where Joel lies on the morality scale, we do get a sense of who he is NOW, and who he used to BE. Twenty years of the apocalypse does thing to a man, no matter how good or how bad they start off as. Maddeningly mysterious, instantly likable, all badass. “We’re shitty people, Joel” said Tess. “It’s been that way for a long time.” Multiple times in the game, it is hinted and alluded to that Joel has a very dark history with the bandits, highwaymen and raiders. “I’ve been on both sides,” he says. That moment, those seconds after he speaks those words, are some of the most chilling in the game. The instant he said that, the hairs on my arms bristled. Who was this man we call Joel? Throughout the game we see various facets of Joel’s character as we play. We see the loving, doting father he used to be, the emotional being, the brutal mercenary, the heartless killer, the dedicated guardian and the survivor. All of this blends to create one of the most complicated characters in modern gaming. Without a close examination, Joel is just another badass video game character. That just isn’t acceptable. While it is true that Joel is a hardened survivor, we also see his capacity to care for others. This is especially noteworthy when Tess, Ellie and he are cornered at the capitol building in Boston. Soldiers are rushing the main entrance, and Tess insists that they leave while she buys them time. Multiple times he protests, only be told to leave again. “I can fight-“ “Just fucking go!” Tess cuts in. It was only after that last burst that he gives in. After seeing her dead body, Joel is visibly tormented, going so far as to verbally berate Bill and Ellie for merely mentioning her name. This sort of reaction is admittedly normal for friends, but the game does not leave it there. Several times, it is alluded to that he and Tess were once in a relationship together, and it is possible that Joel was not over her, however lofty he may have been when around her. “You were always the romantic type,” Tess says. “I have my moments,” he replies. Joel is both lover and fighter it seems. He walks a line of moral ambiguity, and it is important to keep that in mind. This, coupled with the loss of his daughter, and the horrors he encounters in the post-pandemic America, serve to create one of the most complex, most well-fleshed out characters in gaming history, and the reason Joel has affected my outlook on life. Seeing Joel transform like this, hearing his small-talk with Ellie on their journey, seeing his story unfold as led me to gain a greater appreciation for the small things in life. We never know what the future will bring. We never know when our time will come. Joel lost everything, but took the time to invest in a child and gained more than ever. We could all take a note from Joel’s book. Many people say that The Last of Us is not about Joel at all, but Ellie. I have to disagree. While Ellie is certainly an amazing character unto herself, The Last of Us is the story of a man that the world tore down, broke and drained the life from. Joel was kicked to his knees and beaten until he was a shell of his former self. The Last of Us is his journey to redemption, and finally accepting the loss of his daughter. And that's what makes him so important. Edited June 4, 2015 by AnimeDreama 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aela Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 This is some deep analysis You have the point, quote, comment system and everything If this was an english essay, you'd get an A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remilia Scarlet Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 This is some deep analysis You have the point, quote, comment system and everything If this was an english essay, you'd get an A Thanks a lot! I'm glad you didn't mention my fuck up in the title I just thought that with the surprising lack of character analysis on the Internet for Joel, I should do one. Considering the insane coverage the game STILL gets two years later, you'd think a psychologist or SOMEONE would do one, seeing as how Joel is the perfect model for it. On the note of my title for the topic: Could a mod or someone put The Last of Us between How and Impacted please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aela Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thanks a lot! I'm glad you didn't mention my fuck up in the title I just thought that with the surprising lack of character analysis on the Internet for Joel, I should do one. Considering the insane coverage the game STILL gets two years later, you'd think a psychologist or SOMEONE would do one, seeing as how Joel is the perfect model for it. On the note of my title for the topic: Could a mod or someone put The Last of Us between How and Impacted please? No problem, and I didn't actually notice the error in the title If you click edit on your original post, click full editor, you can then edit the title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senbon Kaguya Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Nice overview of Joel, I can admit that he is one badass man. Definitely can't wait to play TLOU on PS4! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remilia Scarlet Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) No problem, and I didn't actually notice the error in the title If you click edit on your original post, click full editor, you can then edit the title *facepalm* Of ocurse. Silly me It must be my sleep deprivation. I've been up all night working on this and trying to make it good. I've been reading all kinds of wiki pages and going over scenes in the game because I really wanted to make Joel real here, you know? He's one of my all time favorite game characters. And holy balls 9 users, 2 guests, and 5 likes already? OMG Nice overview of Joel, I can admit that he is one badass man. Definitely can't wait to play TLOU on PS4! Thank you! And you totally need to! It's even better than the PS3 version! Uncompressed audio FTW! Edited June 4, 2015 by AnimeDreama 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gotakibono Posted June 4, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Interesting post and a very good read - nice job! However, I feel that you missed out on Joel's most important, morally bankrupt moment of all: When he saved Ellie at the end of the game. Joel was essentially sticking a middle finger up to the world that had taken so much away from him; he'd been seemingly powerless to avoid loss throughout his life, but whenever he was in the position to save Ellie he seized it. He sacrificed potentially saving humanity to selfishly protect the one thing in the world he has left to care about. Joel is a father again in his eyes, and he's using Ellie as a way to atone for the past in which he failed to protect his own daughter. Bear in mind that he went against Ellie's wishes to keep this facade alive, even going as far as to blatantly lie to her and tell her there's no hope for a cure. Joel passes on his own thoughts of what the world is to Ellie at the end of the game: Depraved, broken and not worth saving, much like Joel himself. That's my interpretation of Joel and his actions by the way, not fact. Joel really is a fantastically layered character. Anyway, great post and I hope you write more stuff down the line. Edited June 4, 2015 by Gotakibono 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remilia Scarlet Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 Interesting post and a very good read - nice job! However, I feel that you missed out on Joel's most important, morally bankrupt moment of all: When he saved Ellie at the end of the game. Joel was essentially sticking a middle finger up to the world that had taken so much away from him; he'd been seemingly powerless to avoid loss throughout his life, but whenever he was in the position to save Ellie he seized it. He sacrificed potentially saving humanity to selfishly protect the one thing in the world he has left to care about. Joel is a father again in his eyes, and he's using Ellie as a way to atone for the past in which he failed to protect his own daughter. Bear in mind that he went against Ellie's wishes to keep this facade alive, even going as far as to blatantly lie to her and tell her there's no hope for a cure. Joel passes on his own thoughts of what the world is to Ellie at the end of the game: Depraved, broken and not worth saving, much like Joel himself. That's my interpretation of Joel and his actions by the way, not fact. Joel really is a fantastically layered character. Anyway, great post and I hope you write more stuff down the line. Yet, it's obvious Ellie knows this, but she accepts what Joel says without question. It'd be interesting to know how this affects their relationship in the future, should Naughty Dog release a sequel. Never have I seen a more complicated ending than the one at the end of The Last of Us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorchy_ Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 This was a very great read! Quality post and awesome analysis of Joel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLamb858 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Really nice post. I also agree that the part where he says he has been on both sides literally gave me chills. The other part I like that is really telling about his past is when he meets back up with Tommy at the dam. It's clear that Tommy was disturbed by Joel's actions that he took to survive saying that he has nightmares from those days. I imagine Joel being like the hunters and gunning down innocent people to gain supplies, food, etc. and Tommy being completely against that means of survival. Not too stray too much off the topic, but I love the title of the game - The Last of Us. I think the game paints such a good picture of how the last people left on earth would most likely be filled with bad people. Mostly hunters, ruthless survivors, corrupt military and even brutal resistance members like the Fireflies. This really stands out to me when, in the hospital at the end of the game, the Firefly who is escorting Joel out tells him, "Give me a reason (to shoot you)." Even this guy who just saw a man bring them the cure for all mankind is still such an angry guy that he wants to execute Joel over just escorting him out. One example of how "nice guys" wouldn't survive in that world for long. Back on topic, Joel is the best character from any game I have ever played (including Ellie of course). I think she was totally necessary to compliment Joel and be somewhat of a replacement for Sarah but I agree that this game is mostly about Joel. Anyway, awesome post! Best game ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabid_lnfant Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) I feel so guilty for having not started TLOU yet. I have had the game downloaded for about 4 months and have never so much as loaded it. To be honest, your post was amazing, credit where it is due but I must confess to having skirted a lot of what you typed for fear of reading something that I shouldn't. Now I have beaten LA Noire I will most likely start TLOU. Finally. Edited June 4, 2015 by Rabid_lnfant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayades Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Interesting essay. I think a lot of people overlook Joel a bit in favor of Ellie so it's nice to see someone talk about his awesome character. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcemanEire Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Very good post and a great read. Have to say this game was one of the best games I've ever played. I took my time playing through it and enjoyed every minute playing it. I really hope ND make a sequel or some follow up on this. Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringtonwhaledog Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Excellent post and an engrossing read - well done. TLOU is one of the best games I have ever played and had a 'profound' impact on me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR_McGarrett Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) This was really great post, and I agree in everything you wrote. I was like you in the start, I didn't understand all the hype around the game, but at last I bought it (the remastered version, since I don't have a ps3 ) and I don't regret at all, I regret more on that I didn't buy it earlier. The Last Of Us has become my favorite game and Joel one of my fave characters. Have to say that the developers did a really great job with the casting of Joel's actor too. Troy Baker is just amazing. The game itself made me wanna travel to USA even more (though it's set in a post-apocalyptic version with nasty zombies). Edited June 4, 2015 by LCDR_McGarrett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmland12 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Great post. The Last of Us is one of those rare games (or any other media) that you just can't overhype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remilia Scarlet Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thank you all for the kind comments and support! I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope to do some more in the future! I'd also love to see your analysis of various characters that had an impact on you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LtNepIffy Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Just wow, well done on the analysis, I couldn't have been more complex than you, well done. Hats off to you, AnimeDreama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remilia Scarlet Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Just wow, well done on the analysis, I couldn't have been more complex than you, well done. Hats off to you, AnimeDreama. Thank you very much for the kind words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakk55 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slash Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Obvious spoilers galore coming: A moral scale doesn't exist. There is no good and evil in the world of The Last of Us, only survival. It's a theme that you see used often in post-apocalyptic settings, but the thing that made The Last of Us such a riveting piece of art to me was that you play as someone who isn't even thinking about being a moral arbiter. In most other forms of media, protagonists in post-apocalyptic settings still show some level of compassion for others outside their comfort zone. But not Joel. He kills for the same reasons everyone else wants to kill him: they're just in the way. Naughty Dog made the combat reflect this well. You ever notice that you can avoid combat in most of the encounters with the Infected, but you almost always have to kill when humans are involved? He can be such a loving person, but can also be incredibly heartless. Joel refuses to accept or even consider any other realities other than his own. The scene that hit me hardest was when Joel captures 2 of David's henchman and tortures them into telling Ellie's location. Naughty Dog did a sensational job in that scene, thanks to phenomenal voice acting and mo-cap. You can see their fear of death by the eye movements, their bodies trembling, and their inability to even beg for mercy with a straight tone of voice because they're so terrified. Yet Joel, very much like a villain would, mercilessly kills them without thinking twice. Half of was me like "**** yeah Joel! Now go get Ellie!" and the other half was disgusted. But then 15 minutes later, he's embracing a traumatized Ellie and calls her "baby girl", what he used to call his own daughter. It's a complete 180 in character. In the end though, to me, Joel is a pathetic old man whose is driven solely by his own selfishness. We see this in the final scene when he effortlessly lies to Ellie, the one person he cares about the most, about what really happened with the Fireflies. He doesn't care about humanity, he only cares about his desire to have a child again, even if it means that said child must be ignorant about the truth (I know there are many suggestions that Ellie knows he's lying, but that's a whole different topic ). That can certainly be condemned, but then again, humanity clearly showed itself that it doesn't deserve to be saved. Why should Joel want to save anything? He's just one man in this god forsaken world. Joel made the decision that made most sense for himself, so in that sense the ending, as far as I'm concerned, is perfect. This ran long and is invoking the feels. So here is a cute pic of Joel and Ellie moving via pallet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30 Year Old Boomer Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Great post buddy I like your analysis about joel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie-Outbreaks Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Very good read and very well written character analysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazeadeel Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 this game has a very very strong opening I cried for like 5 mins after the intial prologue very strong stuff or i am too emotional 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KratosTheMighty Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 With each replay, no matter that I know how the beginning of the game is... I still get a big kick to the feels. Love the game, Love the characters.... just great overall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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