Latest / The Autistic Mile / The Ideal-ist: Episode 12 (Hikari)
Transcript
- Shane: Hello everyone, welcome to The Autistic Mile. My name is Shane Gaffney, and this is episode 12 of The Ideal-ist. Today, we'll be talking about the character of Hikari from the game Octopath Traveler 2. Now, the Octopath franchise is a personal favorite of mine, because it's a game that has a little something for everyone. There are eight different campaigns in all, all with different heroes, different themes, and different characters to interact with and get to know. So effectively, it's physically impossible to really play this game and not come out of it with some sort of story that you deeply resonate with. And for me it's no different. I liked both games and have a favorite protagonist from both of them. Hikari happens to be my favorite character from the second game. And admittedly, when I first saw the marketing for the various characters of Octopath Traveler 2, Hikari wasn't really on my radar because admittedly, they didn't really do a very good job of marketing him, simply being vague in saying that his story would be about trying to save his home. And I immediately thought to myself, well, okay. But why? What's the significance? What is the motivation or the crisis or anything like that? What is the thing that really gives this adventure its flavor? Because if he's just trying to save his home, then well good for him. Hooray hurrah. High fives all around. But If there's no real message or idea the game is trying to explore, then that sort of storyline doesn't really mean anything. said Because it's too vanilla and broad. I find that the best stories are the ones that give players something to wrestle with, something to really think about even after the credits roll. So when I started up Hikari's campaign, I honestly wasn't going in with any high expectations at all. But to my surprise, it ended up being my favorite story because of the things they didn't mention in the marketing material. Namely that Hikari is not trying to save his home from some external threat, rather, his home, the desert kingdom of Clan Ku, happens to be a very dystopian place. A place where the strong rule and the weak are sort of just regarded as peasants, pushed around, and in forced to live in poverty simply because they didn't happen to be born with incredible skills or talent. And that alone sets a firm foundation for me because this is exactly the sort of ideology that I feel personally compelled to stand against. the And unsurprisingly, the villain of Hikari's story, his brother, General Mugen, or King Mugen after he assassinates his own father in cold blood is sort of an embodiment of all of these Social Darwinist thoughts and ideas taken to their logical extreme. The royalty of Clan Ku in general, which Mugen and Hikari are a part of, happened to be cursed with a sort of infected bloodline that causes them to devolve into these feral and bloodthirsty warriors that crave destruction and domination. And that's effectively what happened to Mugen, but don't feel sorry for the guy, because it was something that happened entirely of his own volition. He was just naturally a prick, and so he gave in to his own curse because it just happened to be convenient for him. Gave him the sort of drive and power that he thought was necessary in order to claim the authority he wanted. but Hikari, though, was raised primarily by his mother, who was not of the Ku bloodline, but rather a commoner. And that, in a sense, gives him a chance to really fight against this internal instinct. It's something that Mugin sees as a stain of embarrassment on their nation, but for Hikari. It allows him to really develop into a person with compassion and humility, able to really appreciate people regardless of their lot in life or what they have to offer on a practical level. That's not to say that he doesn't struggle with the curse as well, because there are several points in the story where it shows that he very much does still struggle with it. There are points where he's forced to turn to violence in order to resolve problems related to Ku, because after Mugen launches a coup that successfully ends with him striking down his father, and taking the crown for himself, as well as ousting Hikari from the kingdom, Hikari sort of has to work on the outside to try and stop Mugen from engulfing the world in another mindless war for the sake of his insatiable thirst for conquest. And simply the act of violence or even the scent of blood is enough to sort of draw out the curse's effects. And it manifests as a sort of hallucination where Hikari starts to hear his own voice and see a demonic version of himself goading him on to embrace the violence and sort of become a monster like Mugen. Not a literal monster, obviously, but you get the idea. And at every point, Hikari has to exercise intentional effort to block out this influence and really prevent it from taking over. And that is something that I personally relate to for reasons I've mentioned in previous episodes. Hate is one of those things that really passes down from person to person if you don't exercise sufficient restraint or even if you try to exercise sufficient restraint and it overpowers you anyway, because it's very hard to unlearn something that becomes your norm. And so In a way, Hikari's story can be viewed as symbolism for something a bit more horrifically real. And another thing I like about it is that it doesn't shy away from the fact that this curse is a part of Hikari. It's not going anywhere, even after he defeats Mugen and saves his home, preventing it from devolving into another warmongering tyranny. These instincts and impulses, they're a part of him for life. He can't simply willpower his way out of having them. They're something he has to adapt to and sort of work around for as long as he lives. And that feels like a very satisfying way for that sort of plot line to conclude. There are plenty of parts of me that I know that I have that I would not wish to inflict upon anyone. For example, I make a point never to raise my voice past a certain volume. And it's not even something I do intentionally. It's more that being made to yell reminds me of some very bad memories that I try not to ever instill into anyone else. So even speaking too loudly myself kinda frightens me to a degree. Of course, the story also doesn't shy away from the fact that sometimes conflict is necessary. You can't just get rid of all the problems in the world by extending an olive branch and just hoping that the other person has a sense of decency in them. Mugen is not a person who can be reasoned with. In fact, it's revealed at the end of his story that the entire time Mugen's curse had escalated to the point where it physically ate him away, to the point where he was just a corpse. And the curse was the only thing keeping him alive up until Hikari defeated him. But there's always a time and a place to be confrontational or to exercise healthy aggression. It's not something to be exercised frivolously. Admittedly, there are times where Hikari comes off as too idealistic and too sort of blinded by his ideals. Like there was a moment in the game where Hikari chooses to spare a bunch of slave masters in an underground arena. Simply because of that tired trope that I like to quote a parody movie about, which is "killing is wrong. And bad. There should be a new stronger word for killing, like bad-wrong, wrong or "badong."" And that didn't really click with me, because it did not at all seem to apply to the context of this situation in a way that made sense to me in a sense of my moral compass. But that was really the only wrinkle that I can think of. And I can understand some people may find Hikari a bit too vanilla for their taste. That's something that everyone can evaluate on their own basis. But I felt very inspired by this storyline, and taking on Mugen in that final boss fight was perhaps one of the most satisfying memories I have in playing a video game. Because In that moment it felt like sort of facing down a personal demon, not one that is necessarily limited to me or one person. But I've always been one to believe that people are naturally selfish and Tribal. When they have the power to do what they want without consequence, that understanding can sort of erode their sense of right and wrong to the point where they decide what is best is simply what's good for them. And so fighting Mugen in a sense felt to me like fighting the worst of mankind embodied in a single opponent. I mean, he's so unwilling to bend the knee to anyone that in the second phase of the fight, he's willing to sacrifice his own soul in order to gain more power to try and defeat Hikari in the final stand. And that really shows you just how much this mindset has completely overtaken him. And the reason that I feel so motivated to stand against villains like that is because when you come down to it, they're just bullies. Really. They may appear more methodical, and they might paint their intentions with different justifications, but when you really come down to it, their philosophy boils down to "I am stronger than you, therefore I get to do what I want to you, and you have no say in the matter." And that really emphasizes how powerful Hikari as a protagonist is by comparison, because he suffers from the same curse that Mugen does, and yet he still chooses to be different. He still has the power to resist his nature, and as see the bigger picture beyond any false illusions of glory or empowerment. It was never about himself, it was about what's best for his people, and those that are close to him. And sometimes staying true to that one priority of valuing others just as much as yourself or seeing everyone as being worthy in a sense. Sometimes that's really all you need in order to not become a guy like Mugen. Everyone has good and bad in them. It's all a matter of which side you choose to listen to in any given situation. Maybe that's an oversimplification, but that is a helpful way to think of it, in my opinion. And yeah, that's about all I have to say about Hikari. Feel free to leave a comment if you want to. Like and subscribe, and I will see you next time. Thank you.