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When a tiny fraction of the population controls a disproportionate amount of power, rational minds are forced to ask themselves this question “Is it a conspiracy?” Yes, gentle reader, yes and it always has been. Now we have the thankless task of uncovering this ruse, divulging their secret machinations, and flushing this cabal from the shadows. Let us name our persecutors once and for all – it’s the twins!
Hidden in plain sight, brazenly flaunting themselves, have we forgotten that Mario and Luigi are twins? They announce themselves as “bros”; how genial of them, perhaps this concession to urban vernacular is supposed to be endearing. But look at what it conceals, and how we endured four decades of understatement. Whether they want us to notice it or not, these are twin bros.
Let us briefly touch upon some noteworthy twins in gaming, not for the sake of a history lesson, but to amplify the purpose of our essay. It begins, as it must, with Double Dragon. Twins were a convenient design choice, simply exchange red for blue and you have a new character. It sounds so simple, but that’s precisely what the twins want you to believe. Look at the conclusion of that arcade classic, and notice the dark undertones. If both players reach the end of the game, they are forced to fight each other to the death! Having endured waves and waves of enemies, these brothers in arms commit fratricide without a moment’s hesitation. Even Cain had to be rebuffed by God before he slew Abel. And so we shouldn’t be surprised to see this pattern recurring; the history of twins in gaming is a history of violence.
There are some exceptions, of course, Final Fantasy gave us Palom and Porom, as well as the Figaro brothers. Even Yun and Yang from Street Fighter III seem supportive of each other. But for every Veronica and Serena (Dragon Quest XI), there is a Dante and Vergil (Devil May Cry), for every Caroline and Justine (Persona 5), there is a Les Enfants Terribles.
We come at last to our central players, these so-called “terrible children”. Liquid and Solid Snake are living weapons, and the latter is even
The Patriots did not see twinhood as a sacred bond, they saw it as an opportunity to expand their control. Separated at birth and plunged into combat, their lives were not unlike the original Frankenstein’s monster: "No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which I distinguished nothing." Can we really think of Liquid Snake as a monster, when love had no hand in his creation?
Let us step back from these private anguishes and reflect on the significance. Twinhood in gaming is an invitation to reflection; it assures us of this unassailable maxim, that in this life there are always at least two perspectives. Hegel described the mediation between these perspectives as “restless”, and his dialectics partake of this same recursive character. To think deeply about anything is to step into a hall of mirrors, to feel oneself straddling a tightrope with an infinite regress on either side. It is daunting, but it is the path towards truth, from cellular division came life as we know it!
Breathe the clear air, courageous reader, you have scaled the peak and survived. We can descend now from these lofty configurations and state our case in simpler terms. Twins in gaming have always been a symbol of man’s duality, of his capacity for both love and strife. Without division we would never know love, desire itself is born from our inner lack. Perhaps we should even refrain from wanting world peace, lest our prayers bring about a loveless world. Love is partiality, it is the preference for one thing over and against all others. Perhaps we even understand Billy and Jimmy Lee better, destroying each other for the love of Marian. Conflict is the other side of love’s coin, all of man’s misery is the cost of his joy.
Must we come to a screeching halt then, because our enjoyment inevitably causes suffering? Should we take up the broom of Jainism and refrain even from swatting flies? Far from it, we are gamers, we have long since discovered the thrill of victory, as well as the ennobling humiliation of defeat. Games offer us gratifications that our ethical systems abhor; while not the cause of our violent tendencies, they might be the proof of them. We never stopped wanting to fight, we crave enemies in the same way we crave friends. Returning briefly to Hegel, our very identity is defined by our negation. Only with something against us do we feel ourselves real and distinct.
This is why Solid Snake founded Philanthropy, despite having the prospect of a peaceful life with Meryl, he cannot stop the activity that defines his existence, he cannot stop fighting. He is a twin snake, one half of life’s caduceus, a cosmic principle we find mirrored even in our genes.
Can we finally enjoy the impeachment of our adversary, have we foiled his plot? Like Scooby-Doo we have unmasked him, but marvel at the reversal! And witness your own eye blazing atop the pyramid! It was you, dear gamer, it was always you. Twins in gaming stem from two complimentary drives, we want to fight, and we want to fight together. Love and Strife, Mario and Luigi, player 2 stands at the ready. Gaming itself was born from our duality, twins merely made it explicit.
So enjoy it, enjoy the tension that animates you, the inner dis-ease that compels you to fight virtual enemies. Hegel once said: "Contradiction is the root of all movement and vitality; it is only in so far as something has a contradiction within it from the start that it moves, has an urge and activity." Watch the markets surge and crash, see the nations of the world enmeshed in forever wars, and know that your own nature is the cause of it all. Whatever noble intentions you might possess, whether you aspire for goodness or wallow in evil, all outward motion engenders its opposite. We will always find ourselves opposed at the boundary line, our doppelgänger will meet us with equal and opposite force. Twins have taught us that, see that you heed their lesson.
Thus spoke Amalia.
Hidden in plain sight, brazenly flaunting themselves, have we forgotten that Mario and Luigi are twins? They announce themselves as “bros”; how genial of them, perhaps this concession to urban vernacular is supposed to be endearing. But look at what it conceals, and how we endured four decades of understatement. Whether they want us to notice it or not, these are twin bros.
Let us briefly touch upon some noteworthy twins in gaming, not for the sake of a history lesson, but to amplify the purpose of our essay. It begins, as it must, with Double Dragon. Twins were a convenient design choice, simply exchange red for blue and you have a new character. It sounds so simple, but that’s precisely what the twins want you to believe. Look at the conclusion of that arcade classic, and notice the dark undertones. If both players reach the end of the game, they are forced to fight each other to the death! Having endured waves and waves of enemies, these brothers in arms commit fratricide without a moment’s hesitation. Even Cain had to be rebuffed by God before he slew Abel. And so we shouldn’t be surprised to see this pattern recurring; the history of twins in gaming is a history of violence.
There are some exceptions, of course, Final Fantasy gave us Palom and Porom, as well as the Figaro brothers. Even Yun and Yang from Street Fighter III seem supportive of each other. But for every Veronica and Serena (Dragon Quest XI), there is a Dante and Vergil (Devil May Cry), for every Caroline and Justine (Persona 5), there is a Les Enfants Terribles.
We come at last to our central players, these so-called “terrible children”. Liquid and Solid Snake are living weapons, and the latter is even
employed as a biological weapon.
Let us step back from these private anguishes and reflect on the significance. Twinhood in gaming is an invitation to reflection; it assures us of this unassailable maxim, that in this life there are always at least two perspectives. Hegel described the mediation between these perspectives as “restless”, and his dialectics partake of this same recursive character. To think deeply about anything is to step into a hall of mirrors, to feel oneself straddling a tightrope with an infinite regress on either side. It is daunting, but it is the path towards truth, from cellular division came life as we know it!
Breathe the clear air, courageous reader, you have scaled the peak and survived. We can descend now from these lofty configurations and state our case in simpler terms. Twins in gaming have always been a symbol of man’s duality, of his capacity for both love and strife. Without division we would never know love, desire itself is born from our inner lack. Perhaps we should even refrain from wanting world peace, lest our prayers bring about a loveless world. Love is partiality, it is the preference for one thing over and against all others. Perhaps we even understand Billy and Jimmy Lee better, destroying each other for the love of Marian. Conflict is the other side of love’s coin, all of man’s misery is the cost of his joy.
Must we come to a screeching halt then, because our enjoyment inevitably causes suffering? Should we take up the broom of Jainism and refrain even from swatting flies? Far from it, we are gamers, we have long since discovered the thrill of victory, as well as the ennobling humiliation of defeat. Games offer us gratifications that our ethical systems abhor; while not the cause of our violent tendencies, they might be the proof of them. We never stopped wanting to fight, we crave enemies in the same way we crave friends. Returning briefly to Hegel, our very identity is defined by our negation. Only with something against us do we feel ourselves real and distinct.
This is why Solid Snake founded Philanthropy, despite having the prospect of a peaceful life with Meryl, he cannot stop the activity that defines his existence, he cannot stop fighting. He is a twin snake, one half of life’s caduceus, a cosmic principle we find mirrored even in our genes.
Can we finally enjoy the impeachment of our adversary, have we foiled his plot? Like Scooby-Doo we have unmasked him, but marvel at the reversal! And witness your own eye blazing atop the pyramid! It was you, dear gamer, it was always you. Twins in gaming stem from two complimentary drives, we want to fight, and we want to fight together. Love and Strife, Mario and Luigi, player 2 stands at the ready. Gaming itself was born from our duality, twins merely made it explicit.
So enjoy it, enjoy the tension that animates you, the inner dis-ease that compels you to fight virtual enemies. Hegel once said: "Contradiction is the root of all movement and vitality; it is only in so far as something has a contradiction within it from the start that it moves, has an urge and activity." Watch the markets surge and crash, see the nations of the world enmeshed in forever wars, and know that your own nature is the cause of it all. Whatever noble intentions you might possess, whether you aspire for goodness or wallow in evil, all outward motion engenders its opposite. We will always find ourselves opposed at the boundary line, our doppelgänger will meet us with equal and opposite force. Twins have taught us that, see that you heed their lesson.
Thus spoke Amalia.
